HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-01-06, Page 1a.
25 cents
,ThiprsdaY, January 6, 1977
.1.12th Yetar No. 1
•
Weather
1976 1975
-1,41 ,1:49
DECEMBER
28 21 T2
9
'230, 20 5
7 • -9
31 15 2
' January j.977
2-2
2 24 15.
321Snow 13'1'2';
Neiv election called for Clinton mayor
• The n Clinton council at their
MaOgura ineeting last Monday night,
opted for a new election to fill the vacant
mayoest hair.
, The air was left vacant when
7.;mayor-e ect Don Kay died suddenly on
'4Decemb r 15, only 10 days after winning
..the D'ecer ber 6th election. °
In the unanomous decision, council
'called on the clerk to draw up a by-law
• calling fo a new 'election, and should
there be n election, it would likdly be
held on M rch 7th, according to Clerk-,
-*treasurer rn Proctor. ,
If only on person is nominated by
February 16 and 17th nomination
deadline, t en, the position would be
Med by ac lamation, and there would
416e no electio ,
After the n w council was sworn in last
onday nig ht before nearly 40 spec=
ators-, the la rgest to attend an inaugural
UC
meeting in several decades, deputy -
reeve Frank -Cook was picked as the
acting chairman of the meeting.
There was some confusion in the
council's ranks as to which course of
action they should follow first, vote on
picking a new mayor from within the
council, or deciding t6 have an election
instead.
A motion by councillors Ernie Brown
and newcomer Wayne Holthauzer
asking for an election was moved, and
then withdrawn, after four-year veteran
Roy- Wheeler, who indicated he had an
interest in filling the mayor's chair, said
that council should follow the first
course of action, .and .try and pick a
mayor from the new council.
Deputy -reeve Cook said he thought
council had a third option, to pick
someone. from the general public, but
clerk Proctor said he; had checked four
times with the ministry of treasury,
economics and intergovernmental af-
fairs, and they told himiliat there were
only two courses open, as spelled out in
• the Municipal Act. -
"I personally feel that we should save
money by avoiding another election, but
it appears t� me this is what the people
want," Mr. Cook said.
In reply to a question from -councillor
Holthauzer, Clerk Proctor said an
election could cost up to $1,800 because
exactly-- the" same procedure for a new
election as for the last one must be
followed.
New councillor Ron McKay said that
the section of the Municipal Act calling
for a council appointment "reads to me
as if it was to replace someone who has
already started their term",'and he said
the late Mr. Kay hadn't.
"In. conversations I've had around
ersnzith takes over Va•nastm rec. board
BY Chris Zdeb'
All fiv members of Tuckersmith
ovniship ouncil have been appointed
the tow hip's recreation board, once
.,ominated Vanastra_residents. „
may t my face slapped, (fdr
giving the township greater contrOt in
matters of recreation), but I'm prepared
for that and I think you boys, (coun-
cillors), are prepared to back ,.me up,"
Reeve Ervin Sillery said at Tuesday
night's inauguralcouncil meeting.
All of the electe \(,), fficials joined hands in a circle at Clintonreouncil Monday
night fey:the-swear g ceremonies; It was -the -Hist time in memory that no
mayor was sworn i due to the death in December of mayor -elect Don Kay.
Council has opted for other election. (News-Regoid photo)
aries.
By'Chris Zdeb
TuckerSinith. Township C
Six percent increase in th
erk- Jim McIntosh a
Mr. Silleryalso said that names from
non -councillors, (up to four) would be
added to the recreation board as the
council saw fit, in the near future.
A decision was made to tour the
Vanastra Recreation complex this af-
ternoon, (Thursday afterneon), to give
council members a better idea of the
complex they will be administering. -
A report by Clerk Jim McIntosh
revealed that the. complex operated only
$11100 in the red in the last quarter of the
year. He said the figure compared with
$27,000 and $48,000 in prior years, costs -
that included final construction of the,
complex. Mr. McIntosh. said the deficit
-would continue in a downward trend now
that construction costs had been
eliminated.
"We need a good 'manager and the
interest of the people in the area to make
the complex -operate 'efficiently," he
said. ,
Mr. McIntosh also said that the $80,000
deficit acquired by the recreation centre
over the last two years was what could
be expected of any complex in its first
'stage of operation.
-
• "SO far it's really not a bad venture,"
Mr. Sillery said, considering the com-
plex's estimated worth stood at $450,000.
Up until now, the Vanastra Recreation
Centre has been treated as a special
• recreation area and its financial burden
continued on page 18.
aised Tuckersmith decides
By JIM Fitzgerald
must be boring to many, but with t t '
ther conditions of late, what els
ld You start off -the column tha
h... you guessed it... the weather.
ecember in this part was a very cold
is i, and cloudy month. AccordIng.to
weather office in Toronto, the mean
perature of -7.5 degrees' Cetsius was
pcildest in four decades, and Norman
ird of Brucefield, who looks after the
1 -records, says that the -68.5 inches or
feet of snow we have received since
ober is,the most he can remember for
ay decades.
ver all, 1976 will go down as a cloudy,
4, andcool year, but despite what the
bathers tell you, there have been
der -years,: According to Toronto, the
..6 mean temperature of 6.2 degrees C
iVahrenheit) was below the normal
*trees, but not as cold as 1972's 5.9
ees, or the record year of 1875 when
'gra Chilly 4,8, '
+± +
t local Winter Carnival organizers
i,e in that old adage that "one rnan's
kJ is another's, food" or "it's an ill
:that • doesn't blow good for
dy” or something, I'rn not sure
nyway, all this snow means only
rig, that Winter Carnival, which
underwaynext week, should be a
)
odesb i its success .can' be
010-f ot of snow. Look .for their
sewbere in this edition; and gefyour
9400 ready! _
+.++
it Can't wait until Winter Carnival,
*OW about slipping over to Varna.
'iday night at 9 p.m. with your
lamas- tree _arid a: handful vof-
'1!Staniey.:Township's t!irst
riattlias - Tree Burning
aI'and Roast. That is if it
satilbed WO ,,
ncil -voted
alaries of
d road_
superintendent Allan Nicholson, at its
first meeting of 1977, Tuesday ni ht.
The iirt-V-ease, which falls, within the
Anti Inflation Board's approval, bring
the elefkis-ialary to $10,005; the road
superintendent's to $12,828, the deputy
clerk's salary was raised to $5,830.
In his road report to council, Mr.
Nicholson said 11 applications had been
received in connection with the LIP
grant for the removal of brush and tree
limbs hanging...oyer township roads. Mr.
Nicholsoir to select the successful
applicants, who will start -work January
17.
In • final road business, council
discussed the Possibility of outlining the
priorities givep to the roads plowed in
e winter. Roads travelled by school
buses would be given •top priority,
followed by roads inhabited by township
residents.
Council approved Mr. Nicholson's
request to hire an additional man to help
in sanding the township roads through
the winter months, and backed up his
suggestion to continue with the spraying
of weeds al9ng the roadsides during the
summer months, as in previous years.
Council also aPproved the following
appointfnents to • the various area
boards: Ausable-Bayfield Conservation
Authority - Elgin 'Thompspn; Seaforth
Community Hospital Board Cleave
Coombs; Seaforth Fire AreaBoard - Bob
Fotheringham; Clinton -Fire Area Board
- Ervin Sillery; Hensall Fire Board -
Robert Drummond; Tile -Drainage
Inspector .- Bob Bell; Vanastra Parks
and Community Centre Board for 1977 -
the whole of Tuckersmith Council;
Tuckersmith Day Care Centre Boardfor
1977 - 'Bob Fotheringham, Frank
Falconer; FenceviewerS for 1977-78 -
Elgin Thompson.
A report on the Brandlerhorst Drain
was received and 'a meeting set .with
owners for January 18 at 8:15 p.m. •
Accounts for the month of December
are: roads - $1,715.18t? day care .-
$4,028.56; Vanastra recreation - $8,138;
general - $19, 918.62. ,
The next Tuckersmith Township
Council meeting is set for January 18 at
8 -p.m. -
Storm causes 27 cra$
Friday's snowstorm resulted in 27
accidents, °including a 10 -car pile up
north of Godefick.Goderich OPP report.
The OPP extend their appreciation to
the Clinton Policelorce for their help in
investigating three of the accidents:
The only other reportable offense was
a break and enter at Leroy iaesh's
woodworking business at „Vanastra' on
December --31. A total-Oi $13 in change
and glass cutters were removed. The'
incident remains under investigation.
•
Clinton 'Police report only three minor
accidents last week,, surprising,, 'Con-
sidering weather conditions last Friday
which 'caused 27 accidekits for the
Goderich Col>1).
In the first collision last Friday,
December 31, a car driven by William
Ruegerept RR 2, Clinton collided with a
car drivsen, by Till JerviS 0140 1V1111 St,
Clinton. tialniage' t‘',) both' vh ibles.was'set
at$800 apiece.
•
'A car driven by Richard Hewitt 'of
Kincardine collided with a ear driven by
es
HI 1;0—
•
t .."•••• ' V:. •
• 33 21
25 18
36 25
• 33 27
- 1976
- 30 11
35 12
• 34 22
• Snow 4" ,
Rain .68
town, the majority prefer, in fact
everyone, l'-ve talked-- to preferred an
election," Mr. McKay said.
Councillor Brown agreed, saying "I
didn't ask to run for mayor, and I wasn't
elected to be mayor."
In other business, council passed a
motion to have the clerk and the reeve,
or the clerk and the- deputy -reeve sign
the.town's Cheefileguntil a new mayoi- is
selected. •
A striking committee composed of
Reeve Royce MacaUlay, Deputy -reeve
Cook, and • councillors •.Brown and
• Wheeler, will bring in recommendations
for new committees at next Monday
night's regular council meeting.
Mrs: Violet Cooper, winner of the Great Escape contest which offered a week's
stay in Florida, sponsored by the Clinton Retail Merchants Association,
receives an $800 cheque from Association president Tim St. Louis Tuesday -in
lieuof taking the trip. Mrs. Cooper plans to take a trip to Florida at a later date
when she can spend two or three. weeks in the sunny south. Looking on is past
president of the Merchant's Association, Clarence Denomme. (News -Record
photo) -
oardchairman predicts better year
For the first time since its
inception the Huron County
Board of Education will have
a female vice chairman: At
-the Board's inaugural
meeting on Monday at Clinton
Marian Zinn, an eight year
veL,:ran as, trustee, was
elected -over John Elliott for
the post.
• -
,,-IVIr.,;Elliott is serving his
second term as •the
representative for -Blyth and
area. Alec Corrigan was also
nominated for the vice-
chairtnan's seat but withdrew
froth the election before the
vote. -
Herb Turkheim was re -
'elected as chairman for
another :term at the meeting,
He told the gathering that the
oullook for education ' in
Huron County is better for
Ile said th-e board
cahered one of its toughest
years in 1976 but prospects far
the future are improved. Mr.
Turkheim was unopposed for
the top Board position. •
"A year ago, when I was
elected chairMan of this -
board, we warned •the
trustees:of an- extrernely
a
difficult time ahead of us due
to new grant regulation's and
prearranged salary contracts
which were going to cost the
taxpayers of Huron a 'great
deal of money," Mr.
Turkheim recalled.
"We termed 1976 as a• 'year
of restraint' but we managed
to ' get through the
year thanks to a con-
scientious budget committee
with the assistance of the
administration and the people
in our schools. It was a dif-
ficult year but we struggled
through it without ...hurting'
anyone seriously,"
The chairman explained.
that grant regulations for 1977
have not been studied closely
as yet, but the financial •
situation could be better since
• there will not be a large jump
in teachers' salaries. He said
he hoped the 'buciget would
remain at $18
Last year, Mi. Turkheim
said, the teachers were given
alrno'st..3112per cent increases
to allow them to catch up to
• other boards. This year they
were held.to the anti-inflation
board guidelines.
•
Snow snow, and more
' The ferocity with which the feet at 74 inches and over
year 1976 came to an end was double the norm of 32 inches
perhaps a fitting tribute to for the same period. October
one of the bleakest years on brought 10 centimeters' or
record. approximately five inches 6f
.Snow and winds.gusting up snow and indications of a. long -
to 40 miles per hour reduced-, W.inter.- . •
visibility to nil in most parts a
of mid -western• Ontario, unusually severe • and 57.4
closing ----major, -highways, • centimeters or 22 inches of
pulling plows and,sanders off --snow was recorded; more
roads and leaving numerous than double the norm of 23
accidents in its wake. i..,,„..cen,fimetres • for the same
• The final, tally for the year month.
adds up to a dismal and ap- December's general
proximate 10 feet of snow. weather pattern and snowfall
But the estimate is modest rekindled memories of •last
and allows' for only a few January when the area was
inches -of snowfall during last hit with 41 inches of'spow in
February,and March. - the first three weAs of the
The recorded snowfall in month... December brought
the Clinton -area to the end :unusually low temperatures —
of. December is just over six and, snowfall of 44 inches that'
Mr. Turkheim said recent
announcements from the
education ministry which will
lead to tightening of
curriculum iu the province
will improve education in
Huron. . •
"Acknowledging that free
choice in subjects, lack of
measurable standards and
lack of a province -wide
curriculum had put the school
system ina mess, Education
Minister Tom Wells has
retrenched."
"„Besides restoring a core of
required subjects, the
province is looking for ways
•
to improve measurement and
testing of student
achievement. and' its repor-
ting to • parents," • he ex-
plained.
..While the Huron County
Board of Educatign has been
pushing for changes- Along
such liiies Mr. Turkheim said
he did not want to return to
the education system which
existed,before the 1960's.
"Mr. Wells is not in full-
scale retreat from 'Vducation
reform...he is simply
redognizing 'that the experi-
ment' in totally permissive
education did not work," the
chairman said. "There has
been no suggestion of a return
to former iron -bound,
unimaginative teaching and
grinding province -wide
exams."
Mr. Turkheim said the big
task for 1977 will be spending
$217,000 on renovations- to the
Exeter Public _School, ap-
proved by the province last
year, and the opening of a
new school at Vanastra in the
former Canadian Forces
school building there.
R. C. Hill of Goderich wa• s -
acclaimed chairman of -the
education committee at
Monday's meeting andJohn'
'Hendersonwill be • vice-
chairman.
J. P. Alexander will be
chairman of the management
committee with Alec
Corrigane as his'-' vice-
chairman.
Clarence McDonald was
named to the chairman's
advisory committee which is
composed of the -boards
committee chairman nd a
1,nember-at-large.
a
snow - six feet already
has sent meteorologists results in most of our snow
scurrying through records to squalls to come in off the
locate a comparable lake. An entirely logical
snowfall. Their search may argument for a rotten winter.
neverend. But- the logic can only
Trying to understand or . stretch so. far as can muscles
explain weather patterns and .used to shovel out cars every
s --ha ray s-e-ens----m�rning.Strange-1-u-t4tw6tild
possible ' and ideally it is be considered illogical to
sufficient to recognize that demand the _weather man
the weather is either pleasant: shovel the eight inches of
or nasty. Opting for the latter partly cloudy or the ten _in -
with, added descriptive ad- ches of flurries from th
.jectives to complete the driveway.
phrase would suffice. The final day of last year
But .a reasonable ex- was •, blessed with winds
planation is that !Clinton is averaging 22 miles per'hour
and gusting as high 'as 40.
They obligingly subsided for .
a short period in the af-
ternoon to accommodate four
and one half inches of snow,
continued on page 18.
situated next to a rather large
lake and since temperatures
have dipped below, normal
during the month of
December, (-6C) lower than
the lake temperature, which
Cheryl POtter of 3451Mai tlaq,d, St., _CM ton—
on Huron at., in the first of two accidents
last Thursday, December 30.
Damage, to the Hewitt vehicle was set
at -$600 and at $300 to the Potter par.
.• The other colliiiOn involved Mark.,
Divok of 96 Victoria St. Clinton and Joan
Crawford of RR 2, Clinton, also on Huron
St.
The Divok car sustained $1,100
damage and and theAaniage to the'Crawford
vehicle was sevat $1,000.
Clintplt police also report the theft of
tar 'owned by Kenneth Daer of l33 -Huron
• St., Clinton•last Wednesday Decernbdr.,:,
29. The car was parked in the' driveway
with its k0g, left in the ,:imlocked glove'
-compartmeni. - The vehicle was.
▪ recovered by the OPP near`Goderich the
next day.
Finally, motorists;,' are given "a
frienc4semindqr" thatOarking meters
,'.404..boing:,,t00004,40in With $2 'lines elelleViting a vielotit inowstOrni.%f6Alhe last: day of. 1976.
—going 664 for oettithe -parking and $4
fine$ for parking in no parking zones and
foroVernight parking.
4
, 4• 4.
10,0'4004.1h the Cllnton area :were reduced to near tunnels *4stol
--
• Department Of. highway crews had to caiI In the i " --
sno*blowers to widen .several high ays)-Including1..
stietelt south .of Brucefield, Where erglit-feet drifts had
I
" I ,
o• • •
. .P
foot �f ditto* was. dumped -on the area
ng this winter's total to over nye and. onelialf. •
IrivaS also the tordest December In several
WS"-Record-plutto)
•