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Times Advocate, 1994-8-10, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, August 10, 1994 IN THF. NEWS Fire could have forced evacuation WELLBURN - A fire at Hut- ton Farm Supplies two weeks ago caused in excess of $1 mil- lion in damages and could have resulted in an evacuation of peo- ple living in the village. A firewall protecting the chemical warehouse may have averted a disaster for the hamlet, it was reported in the Journal Argus. The storage shed con- tained herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals. Lucan OPP were prepared to evacuate people from 120 homes in the Wellburn area. The fire started at approxi- mately 9:55 p.m., destroying the maintenance shop and seed warehouse, two vehicles and farm supplies. Food bank use still high MITCHELL - The decrease in the number of people depending on welfare has not been noticed at the Community Food Cup- board at Grace Lutheran Church. At the end of June, the unem- ployment rate in Perth, Huron, Grey, and Bruce counties was 7.2 percent, according to Dennis Young, acting manager at the Canada Employment Centre in Stratford. Also, the number of people de- pending on welfare assistance dropped in rural and small towns in Perth County - not including Stratford and St. Marys. Social services manager 011ie Henry said there were 163 welfare cas- es which dropped from 193 cas- es in April. Last year in June there were 185 welfare cases. But volunteer,rppnager, Joyce Kahle said food.enatiotts are still needed to help many Mitch- ell families. Although the shelves are not completely empty, Kahle said the supply of canned and pack- aged food is low, it was reported in the Mitchell Advocate. Arcade on hold for now CLINTON - Plans by a local man to opev an arcade on the outskirts of Clinton have been put on hold after concerns were raised by some community members at a public meeting two weeks ago. On July 27, the planning advi- sory committee held a meeting to discuss a zoning change for a building and land located on Hu- ron Street. Applicant Tom Ta- bor was asking that the zoning be changed to permit a billiard or pool room and video/pinball game amusement arcade, it was reported in the Clinton News - Record. But some community mem- bers at the meeting had concerns about the zoning change and the impact of having an arcade in the arca. There were also con- cerns that someone might be in- jured walking to the arcade be- cause there isn't adequate sidewalks in the arca. The committee will continue to discuss the issue at a August 15 meeting. Fishing allowed at old quarry ST. MARYS - St. Marys council decided in a 5 to 1 vote last Monday night not to ban people from the old quarry al- though it has been off limits to all for more than a month. Council had been concerned about liability if someone was injured at the quarry. But coyn- cil decided that if people still want to enter the quarry despite signs warning against swimming or fishing on the premises, than they should be allowed to do so. Only councillor Midge Jewson voted against the proposal, say- ing the quarry wasn't safe with- out some modifications, it was reported in the Journal Argus. Back road crossroads concern reeve Yield signs and high corn crops make for accidents just waiting to happen? EXETER - What is the difference in approaching a town- ship intersection in the dead of winter or in late summer? Winter drivers, of course, have to contend with high snow banks obscuring visibility of other cars, and face slip- pery and treacherous roads. Without the snow and the ice to deal with, Usborne Township reeve Pat Down is worried that too many drivers take gravel road safety for granted, and don't realize that the height of corn crops blocks visibility just as badly, if not worse. The fact that many township intersections employ yield signs rather than stop signs has her concerned too many drivers fail to stop or slow down enough when they can't be sure a car is approaching on the road with the right of way. "People take stop signs liberally too," noted Down, but added that yield signs are often disregarded completely. While the traffic might not be as heavy on a back road as on the paved ones, Down said she knows of at least four ac- cidents at the intersections near her farm in recent years, two of them fatal. She said the township is making many efforts to improve the safety of its roads and intersections, but too many driv- ers take too many liberties with their safety. One of her neighbours lives on a hilly corner, which all four roads approach uphill and blind. Still, Down said her neighbour often sees cars run right through the stop sign, barely slowing. Down said she has been paying attention to the inter- section visibility solutions other townships have been em- ploying. While Usborne does cut off the tops of the corn once the cobs have formed near intersections, she said Hay Township has been planting trees on roadsides in an effort to discourage crop planting right up to the road's edge. "We're looking for solutions too," said Down. Crop rotation also makes the problem a transient one. An intersection with poor visibility one summer can pose no problem the next once a shorter crop is planted.. Even if the township posted "hazardous intersection" signs, they'd have to be moved the next year, said Down. Despite the horror stories of near misses, and the mem- ories of past tragedies on back roads, Down said she is sur- prised there aren't more intersection collisions. "We're reasonably lucky there aren't more accidents," said Down. Terry Devine at the Exeter OPP acknowledged that vis- ibility at some back road intersections isn't very good, and motorists "should just take precautions, common sense real- ly„ Yield signs, he said, do not give a motorist the right to just blast through an intersection. "If you see a yield sign and you go through at highway traffic speed, you're obviously not yielding...especially if there's corn growing," said Devine. While more stop signs might help traffic safety at certain intersections, Devine said a better solution would be to see motorists a little more cautious. "I can't say we have a major problem," he said. "But it does come occasionally into play." Can you spot the car? Actually, there is a car just barely concealed by the com in this photograph taken at this Usborne Township intersecton. Even though the corn has been cut back at this corner, the car (with the right of way) is only about 30 metres from the intersection. If travelling 80 km/h, it would be in the intersection in less than 1.5 seconds. A malgama tion ' may join Lucan and Biddulph The two municipalities already share major services 1e -Continued from front page. they try to cut down on the number of municipalities which now stands in excess of 800. Both reeves said there is plenty of goodwill between the two mu- nicipalities at the present time as they have shared duplication of ser- vices in fire protection, recreation, animal control and building bylaw officials. French said he feels there is a po- tential for considerable savings in many areas such as legal and plan- ning, etc. in addition to those al- ready shared. McLaughlin agreed saying, "I feel there could be a lot of cost cutting, but the study will give us a better idea." Both reeves agreed there will be ample opportunity for the public to speak after the study is completed. Regardless of thc findings of this study, the regular municipal elec- tion process will proceed in both municipalities this fall. Rebate worries councillors Will more businesses want their tipping fee money back? or -Continued from front page. before the December 31 dead- line, to which Darling objected.. He insisted the storc conducted research into recycling, pur- chasing balers, and had hoped for a town -coordinated program with other retailers. "You all agreed there was a flaw in [the tipping fee program] and you were going to do re- search or something," said Dar- ling. "Everybody else down Main Street followed the procedure, except you," commented coun- cillor Dave Urlin. Councillor Bob Spears noted Darling's still has no cardboard recycling of its own, and that the town is collecting it from them only on a temporary basis. Councillor Ervin Sillery was the first to suggest that Darling's request for a S7,500 rebate was based on subtracting the older tipping fees from the new rates. Sillery said that Darling ad- mitted half his loads were card- board, and proposed that at most, the store be entitled to a rebate on only half its waste, which worked out to $4,500. To settle the matter, council agreed to pay Darlings the re- duced rebate, but some coun- cillors expressed concern about the precedent they might be set ting. "Arc we setting a prec- edent...for all those people who have paid to have [their card- board] hauled away during that time?" asked Urlin. "You betchum," agreed coun- cillor Robert Drummond. Works superintendent Glenn Kells suggested Darling's case was perhaps different, because the store had already paid the higher tipping fees to the town, but Urlin wondered if requests were going to come forward ask- ing the town to pay half the cost of some businesses' cardboard recycling. Administrator Rick Hundey and Kells agreed that Darling's case had been handled spar- ately by the town because the store's building and waste chute was not designed for recycling or separation. Drummond said he still ex- pected anyone who paid to di- vert waste would he at the next council meeting demanding a re - hate. Councillor Ben Hoogcnboom said he could accept that this matter was a "grey area" for council and Darling's, and whether or not the town had act- ed properly or quickly enough. "It's probably a very small price to pay to resolve this once and for all," said Hoogenboom. Has Exeter gone no -parking mad? Two more town streets will get no -parking signs, and that has the mayor concerned EXETER - Yet another street is getting a no -parking zone, and that 'has the mayor wondering If the push for safety isn't creating some problems of its own. The public works committee submitted a report to council asking that a section of John Street near Marlborough and the west side of Marlborough Street in the same area be made a no -parking zone. The reason, they said, is to reduce pedestrian traffic and congestion near the upgraded ball diamond on that corner. "It seems to me over the past few years, we have taken quite a few streets out of parking mix," said mayor Bruce Shaw, adding that those changes may have altered the town's on -street parking consid- erably. It was only a few weeks ago that council moved to ban parking on a section of Well- ington Street, again due to a new hall diamond. Even though councillor Ben Hoogenboom said the parking restrictions were made in an ef- fort for safety, deputy -reeve Lossy Fuller argued the ban wasn't necessary in the non - baseball months when the Youth Centre could use those parking spaces. Some offered the view that eliminating parking next to the hall diamond would only push the parking problem further down the block, although Hoo- genboom expressed the hope that the parking restriction would encourage parents to use the parking lot at Precious Blood School when arriving for hall games. New four-way stop requested Maybe Sanders and Carling is a better spot for a four-way stop, rather than John and Sanders, says councillor Ben Hoogenboom EXETER - Concerned about the safety of children going to an from Precious Blood School, a resident asked council to consider a four-way stop at the corner of Sanders and Carling Streets. It was noted that Sanders Street traffic docs face a stop sign at that corner, but some children ignore it and cross the road in front of Carling Street traffic with the right-of-way. A four-way stop, coun- cil was told, would slow traffic in all directions and make it safer for the youngsters. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom, after the meeting, said that when the public works committee considers the request it may con- template relocating the four-way stop at Carling and John Street to the Sanders intersection. Hoogenboom noted that since John Street is one-way between Main and William Streets, its traffic re- quirements are less than Sanders. Buildings vandalized with graffiti EXETER - The Exeter OPP are asking the community to help with the investigation of recent thefts and one act of vandalism. On Friday evening police say a home south of Elimville was the scene of a break and entry. Stolen items included CDs and stereo equipment. Later Friday night another home on Concession 3 in Stephen Town- ship was also broken into although nothing was taken. On July 31, a black 20" mountain bike was stolen in the Village of Dashwood. The bike had yellow letters on the frame. As well, during the last weekend in July, police investigated several buildings in the Village of Zurich that had red graffiti spray painted on outside walls. If anyone has information about these incidents, they can contact the Exeter OPP at 235-1300 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-265-1777. Businesses sought for referral service ILDERTON - In an effort to put seniors in touch with reputable home maintenance companies, the HOMME (Helping Others Maintain Middlesex Elders) program is put- ting together a listing of companies for a referral service. HOMME, which is administered by the Victorian Order of Nurses, is putting together a list of companies that provide services such as clean- ing eavestroughs, snow removal, window cleaning, or other odd jobs around the home. Businesses inter- ested in gcuing on the list can do so at no cost. A senior, or disabled adult who calls HOMME with a particular need will be given the names of at least three individuals or businesses registered under the program. The cost of service is then negotiated be- tween thc senior and the person pro- viding the service. • Any businesses or individuals in- terested in getting their names on the list can contact the HOMME of- fice at 1-800-265-7058. Jet ski accident injures woman GRAND BEND - A woman was injured on the weekend during an accident involving two jet skis. Exeter OPP reported that on Sat- urday afternoon two jet skis were' being operated on the waters of Lake Huron, near thc Kingsmere subdivision, when the jet skis col- lided with each other. A female passenger received mi- nor injuries. She was treated and released at a London hospital.