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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-06-16, Page 10 Y Clinton, Ontario 25 cents Thursday, June 16, 1977 ll2th Year No. 24 Illeather 1977 1976 HI LO HI LO JUNE 7 54 38 82 45 8 59 36 84 52 9 61 37 85 57 10 68 39 87 58 11 72 41 81 62 12 68 54 75 50 13 72 45 89 55 Rain 0" Rain 0" ' Maybe Gaunt's last term After his resgunding election victory June 9 in the Ontario election, Huron - Bruce MPP Murray Gaunt hasn't ruled out the possibility that this may be his last term.., .. Mr. Gaunt said in an interview that he has made no final decision. If his next term in the legislature lasts four years it will have meant he has been the area's Liberal MPP for 19 years. "At this point I don't rule it out. I'll make my judgment at that time," Mr. Gaunt said. He won the riding this time by a margin of almost 10,000 votes defeating Progressive Conservative Sam MacGregor and NDP Dave Zyluk. Mr. Gaunt polled 17,356 votes com- pared to 7,523 for Mr. MacGregor and 1,754 for Mr. Zyluk. As well, he won at almost every polling station losing to Mr. MacGregor only in the town of Kincardine, the PC can- didate's home town, and Tiverton. Mr. MacGregor said Thursday night after the results were in, that Mr. Gaunt would resign after this term. Mr. Gaunt said that Mr. MacGregor was probably referring to a conversation the two men had last fall when he said his next term could possibly be his last. Mr. Gaunt said he resisted pressure from sone of his supporters to change the style of his campaign. Instead he stuck to the basics by mainstreeting and shaking hands. His campaign was a contrast to the PC effort which was geared more to media exposure. Mr. Gaunt • said he didn't want to analyse the PC campaign but he did feel the Conservatives made some mistakes that helped him win. "I didn't expect to win as big as I did," he said. He termed Mr. MacGregor's cam- paign as "intense" and that worried him when the campaign first started. Winning smile Jack Riddell and his wife Leone.gave the smile of a winner as they talked with a CFPL-TV newsman, following Liberal Jack's victory for Huron -Middlesex. The Riddells were present in their home area of Exeter for victory celebrations and congratulations. (News -Record photo) :Jack is back in *Huron -Middlesex • Liberal Jack Riddell, a 45 -year-old farmer from Dashwood had little trouble winning the riding of Huron -Middlesex in the provincial election last Thursday. The election saw the Progressive Conservatives return with a minority government with 51 seats. However, the New Democratic Par.ty lost the position of the opposition party by one seat. The .a Liberals gained the position by 34 seats while the NDP held 33. -, • Riddell who was first elected in a 1973 by-election, upset the Conservative led riding of 32 years. In 1975 ftiddell's final tally gave him.11,963 votes, 4,000 more than, PC Jim Hayter who gathered 8,106. And NDP's Paul Carroll slipped to 2,008. Although Riddell lost his first poll in Goderich, at the nursing home, with nine votes while PC Anson McKinley held 17 votes, by 9 p.m. an hour after the polls had closed, Jack was 2,682 votes ahead of Mr. McKinley and from there he never looked back. _ The final tally showed Riddell with 12,749 votes, McKinley with 8,878 votes and NDP candidate, Shirley Weary with 1,405. Riddell had a clear majority in almost all of the polls, except Lucan where he lost by 29 votes to McKinley who held 326 of the votes. Riddell also had a slight majority in Bayfield where he won by *two votes ahead, of the Conservatives. • • 81 CoIiiiiin•. by Shelley McPhee I've been abandoned. My guiding light, editor Jim Fitzgerald has gone on a week's holidays and left me with a desk full of copy and pictures and' a paper to put out. However, I cannot take all the credit, or the blame, for this week's efforts since we have Bev.Clark back at the News -Record to help for the week. I also have to give advertising manager Gary Haist some credit for supporting the masculine side of things and contending with an office full of ladies. Election fever is finally. -over, but the stories of the outcomes and campaigns are still circulating. One story comes from Heather Gardens where the residents in that place hadn'tbeen enumerated. Two days before the election this was realized and in record time the poll was established. A representative from Queen's Park came to the poll to supervise and the 80 residents on the voters list all arrived to set their ballots. He held 173 votes here while McKinley gathered 171. Riddell's success was clearly in- dicated in the rest of the polls. In Goderich he held 1,861 votes while McKinley captured 1,467 and Weary gained 263. In Goderich Township, Riddell was ahead with 600 votes, McKinley had 391 and Weary with 42. Riddell also held a clear majority in Clinton with 904 votes, while McKinley held 632 and Weary again lost with only 89 votes. Seaforth supported Riddell with 616 votes and McKinley was defeated with 443 as was Weary with 31 votes. Four hundred and thirty-two votes went to Riddell in Stanley Township while McKinley came second with 397 and Weary third with 32 votes. Zurich also went Liberal and gave Riddell 297 votes, McKinley 126 and Weary 11. Hay Township voters gave Riddell 674, McKinley received 358 here and Weary held 42. In Hensall Riddell again won with 286 and McKinley fell behind with 238. Weary .brought in 19 votes at this poll. Riddell captured 510 votes in Usborne Township while ,McKinley received 274 and Weary gained 31. Exeter, supported Riddell and . gave 1,050 yotes in his favour. McKinley received 811 votes and Weary captured 85. Riddell was successful in Stephen Township with 1089 votes while McKinley held 661, and Weary had 109 votes. McGillivray Township also went to the Riddell side and gave him 489 votes, McKinley'received 355 and Weary had 69. Biddulph Township was again the same story with Riddell in the lead with 566, McKinley second with 372 and weary again falling behind with 94 votes. Ailsa Craig also- supported Riddell with 195 votes and gave McKinley 152 votes and Weary 29. East Williams Township saw 289 votes go to Riddell while McKinley held 179 and Weary took 61 votes. West Williams Township followed suit with Riddell taking 281 votes, McKinley 145 and Weary 22. Riddell held the Parkhill poll with 343 while McKinley held 296 and Weary had 44. In Adelaide Township, Riddell again showed his strength with 549 votes against McKinley's 353 votes and Weary's 85 votes. A total of 23,116 voters came out to the regular and advance polls out of a possible 30,130. Riddell and his supporters, workers and friend's gathered in Exeter last Thursday evening to watch the outcome of the election and celebrate his victory, in Huron -Middlesex. Last week the News -Record noted that the Clinton Kinsmen Raceway would be featuring its qualifying races this Sunday. Normally these races are run a week before the regular, season opens, but this year they will be held on Sunday, June 26 at 12:30 noon. Kinsmen president Paul Kerrigan explaified. that they would like to get the grandstand completed before these races are run and this is the reason for the delay. He also noted the final work parties are scheduled for tonight and Monday night. This will be the last step in the grandstand and the crews will be involved in last touch painting and clean-up. So, if you want to see the grandstand completed come out and give a helping hand. et. . Clinton's newest rock group, Blitz will be making their debut on June 24 at the Londesboro Hall. The group includes Danny Lear, 17; David Lear, 16 and Wayne Lyon, 19. The boys attend CHSS "and have appeared at the high school in e the past. "It was the big blue machine textbook "We're in trouble," he said of the -- style campaign," Mr. Gaunt said of lois .province. "I gave it my best shot. You nearest rival. helped me." He said he was sorry that many Mr. MacGregor earlier admitted that Conservative supporters in the ridinghe probably would lose the election. believed he had something to do with the Mr. Zyluk also felt he had no chance of tour of the riding by federal Liberals win ning. during the campaign. He said in an interview that towards He said he had nothing to do with the the end of the ca.mpaign he discounted tour and regretted the bitterness it ' most of the union support at the Bruce Nuclear Power Development. One union even circulated pamphlets stating that if the NDP was elected as the ,government, the union members would lose their jobs. Mr. Zyluk said workers at BNPD don't understand NDP energy policies which include use of nuclear power as a bridge until new energy sources are found Mr. Zyluk is prepared to run again in the next election if the riding association nominates him. He said one of his biggest problems this time was his la continuedckof on pageknowledge 3 caused. As for the NDP campaign which in- cluded agricultural heavyweights Walter Miller and Gordon Hill, he noted that they didn't help the NDP get much of the rural votes. "Farmers are free enterprisers. They feel no kinship with the NDP despite the two renowned farm leaders, " Mr. Gaunt said. Mr. Miller and Mr. .Hill both ran wird in their respective ridings. The election that vaulted the Liberals ahead of the NDP by one seat to make them the official opposition proved that Stuart Smith "belongs in the big leagues," Mr. Gaunt said. Progressive Conservatives were predictably gloomy after their defeat. "That's a tough one," Mr. MacGregor said. He told his supporters that the election results were an example of democracy. But he said that there are a lot of problems in the riding and the province that people don't understand. People in the riding, especially far- mers have grievances and felt they would rather act in electing a member of the opposition, he said. About the 'minority government the province elected, he said that the "dimwits" leading the Liberals and NDP would hold up needed legislation. "This is my last shot," Mr. MacGregor said. He praised his campaign workers for the hard work they put forth in the high - ..powered PC effort. Budget up from last year The proposed budget in Clinton shows x'146.922 in expenses this year. This figure is $12,616 more than the 1976 budget of $114,306. However, the 1976's proposed budget was $1,411 lower than the actual expenditures. The Rec Board discussed the budget in a meeting on June 7 and saw that the taxpayer will be giving -482,687 to this year's proposal and the revenues of $64,235 will cover the rest of the costs... Administration expenses for 1977 are proposed to be $31,787 compared to $4,717 last year. Howkver the additional costs this year includes the arena manager's salary, insurance, mem- bership and training, allowances and benefits, secretarial fees and office supplies. The arena budget has been proposed at $85,435 compared to $63,579 spent last year. This cost includes the maintenance of equipment, facilities, wages and in- surance. The proposed budget for the pool in 1977 is $16,150 compared to last year's cost of $12,632. The playground costs are expected to be $3,800 this year which is slightly higher than 1976's $3,301 ex- penses. A proposed $9,'150 will be spent on the parks this year while in 1976 only $3,239 was spent. In other recreation business wage increases were given to the arena manager Clarence Neilans for $11,752 and increases to Jim Straughan and Butch Fleet to $10,712. Correspondence was received from Hugh Hodges in reference to the rental fees of the arena and auditorium for a Arena might be renovated The Clinton Rec Board made their recommended list of capital expenses for 1977. 4The list will now be given to town council for consideration and approval. In the proposed budget the board has priced the arena floor at $110,000 and the proposed change rooms are estimated to cost $30,000. If approved the new change rooms will include dressing facilities for the referees and will be located where the tractor room is presently situated. The tractor room will be in turn moved to the back of the arena. If passed by council, the rec board will be looking for aid and financial support from some of the service clubs in Clinton. referee's clinic. The board remained firm in their decision to maintain the regular'rental charges. It was noted that this fee was required to keep up with the operating costs of the arena. The board further discussed . the construction of a small building to hold lime for the baseball games. Although the board passed a motion for its con- struction at their last meeting, no one has been hired to complete the job. Frank MacDonald spoke on behalf of the Turf Club regarding the problem of out-of-town people who come in and use the track facilties. MacDonald suggested to the board that the Turf Club be allowed to charge these people a certain fee for the use of the track and the board had no objections to this. The cost of the arena and the change rooms bring the capital expenses to a total of $140,000. To pay for these expenses, the rec board will receive a Community Centre Capital Grant for 25 per cent of the cost, which equals $35,000., This leaves that balance at $105,000 and another grant from W intario for 33.3 per cent would bring the expenses down to $70,000. Along with the capital expenditures of $70,000 the rec board has also made a proposed net - request of $82,687 for operating costs of the arena. This money, if approved by council, will be helped paid by the taxpayers. Mixed up about market Although the Clinton Farmer's Market has only been in progress for the past two weeks, already a number of mixed reactions have been raised. Many of these were heard at the Clinton Business Association's monthly meeting on Monday evening. "Like any new undertaking there's bound to' be problems and complaints," said organizer Heather Ross. She also added "I don't think after two weeks we can tell whether it's a success. We have to give it a fair run before we can make a value judgment. Mrs. Ross spoke in defence . of the market after some concern was raised over the type of produce being sold and who was selling it. Some isolated cases of vendors selling items that had not been issued on their permits, such as home preserves were cited andit was also realized that one garden vendor was in the retail business. Market clerk, Nanci Eastman noted that no more retailers would' be allowed in and closer watches would be made on this. She also added that the present retailers involved in selling at the market will not have their contracts renewed. Concern was also raised over the competitive aspect of the market and what should be sold. It was agreed that the vendors should supply their own produce and should not be allowed to sell bulk quantities from a wholesaler. Des Cassidy noted, "You have to leave it wide open or not have it at all. Itis impossible to police it. If a farmer in Huron County sells his four rows of tomatoes he can go to Leamington and buy third grade ones. Who can tell its not grown in the county." Many merchants also felt that parking was a major issue in the farmer's market plan. Some felt that valuable parking space was being taken up by the vendors but Bob Campbell noted, "We'll never solve the parking problem, it's a healthy situation to have a street full of people." Mrs. Ross further explained, "The present location is the best temporarily. It willbe moved if it gets any bigger." It was suggested that further parking space be made available in the Wesley Willis church parking lot and that a sign be made to indicate that parking was in this area. Mary Divok, from Mary's Sewing Centre told the group, "Actually business people are the worst offenders. In our section of the block there are seven parking spots and four are taken by one store. After the lengthy discussion the majority of the ,merchants agreed to Maintain the mrket for the rest of the season and have it subject to review in the fall. They also decided to continue with the fruit and vegetable produce as well as homemade crafts and it would be policed from there. Mrs. Ross noted that crafts add another dimension and more interest to the market although some felt that it` should strictly be a farmer's market, selling only produce. — Mrs. Ross also told the association that plans are being made to join the church groups together to look after a coffee bar. It was suggested that the churches revolve the duties each week and along with the coffee stall they will sell crafts. Beef it up! Rene Brochu and his wife don't have any beefs about the plate full' of meat they received from Master cutter Paul -Kerrigan at the Clinton Kinsmen's second annual beef barbecue held last Saturday. The event which Included a dance attracted over 800 and the Kinsmen made about 1.000 on the project. (News -Record photo)