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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-11-24, Page 10 Clinton, Ontario 30 cents Thursday, November 24, 1977 Weather 1977 1976 NI 10 ' NOVEMBER 15 47 30 16 49 39 17 45 36 18 39 34 19 38 22 20 52 33 21 53 34 ll2th Year No. 47 Rain 1.44" NI LO 36 12 42 9 40 22 40 34 42 35 37 28 30 25 Snow 3" Rain .30 No pay, no pace horsemen told by wwn by Jim Fitzgerald F" Out-of-town persons who don'to pay taxes in town will be paying a surcharge to use the Clinton race track for training their horses, the Clinton recreation committee decided last Thursday night. It will cost non-Clintonions $25 per year for the first horse, $10 for the second horse and $5 for the third horse to use the Clinton track to train their horses. The rec committee had discussed the idea in the past about non-taxpa f `s using the track and paying nothin:==�' .r its maintenance, and last week decided to go ahead with the levy when the Turf Club said they would police the new policy and collect the fees for the rec committee which will use them for track upkeep. Frank MacDonald, a rec committee member and a Turf Club member, said the Club thought it would ease the Tuckersmith fire report kept secret by Wilma Oke A report on fire protection in Tuckersmith Township was to be kept confidential despite a public meeting called by council Monday night to discuss the subject. It was not until the end of the meeting after fire protection needs at Vanastra 40 had been aired again - the only area in the'"-' township where , residents had expressed dissatisfacflon with it - that one of the councillors spoke up. Councillor Frank Falconer said "For your benefit, I would say the report was of no use to us." He said it called "for # scrapping everything we've got and setting up a new fire department here in the township. We can't afford that." The report of the survey . was com- pleted in the spring and presented to council at a committee -of -the -whole in camera meeting in the summer. The report was made by Donald R. Owens, a fire services advisor with the Ontario Marshall's office who was at the meeting Monday and said it was up to council whether or not to make it public. Mr. Falconer did not name the sites for the new firehalls in the township as WinterCarnival mai be finished eight straight years, the Clinton and District Winter Carnival will likely fold this winter. Ruth Lombardo, who has been chairman for the last three years, said on Monday that she is too busy to take on the job this year, and no one has in- dicated an interest in being her suc- cessor. She said that it is almost too late to begin planning for the event, which is usually held in January, as the arena is booked and it's getting late for booking dance bands, etc. Thank goodness, everything is nearly back to normal here at the News -Record and the water has nearly all drained away or dried up. We finally had our roof installed last Thursday, and now it can rain and snow all it likes. Now if I can just get the rust out of my typewriter.... + + + Normally, in this part of Ontario, we don't have any trouble with thun- derstorms this time -of the year, but in the last week lightning strikes have caused more damage than during their normal period in the summer. Last hursday afternoon a strange thun= ercloud passed over the area, dropping, • would you believe, snow, while lightning struck a ,home in Kippen. On Sunday evening, another thunderstorm went over, this time dropping a deluge of rain and setting a house south of Bayfield on fire. The oldtimers say it is a sign of an 'open winter. + + + The latest form of laughter around town concerns the completion of the project to fix the new grandstand which yy was found unsafe this summer. Now everyone jokes: "I wonder what Davis will find wrong next." + + + Which reminds us of another joke that oes something like this: "The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was." + ++ The Clinton Minor Hockey Association has come ,up with a unique idea to im- prove the agility of their players and each Friday they will be having power skating and goal tending schools for boys in the association. Each session will be from 5 to 6 p.m., and will emphasize power skating and goal tending under guidance of Chirs Cossit and Dean Ryari of ,the Mustangs. This Friday, Lowell Barites of the Minors says the pee wees, bantam and midgets will have power vskatirtg; while next Friday, December 2, the atom and novices will skate, Friday, December 9 will see the goaltending �► soliool for all ages,.and the next three :weeks the set up will be repeated. proposed in the report but the press has learned the locations were Egmondville, K ippon and Vanastra. The issue of inadequate fire protection at Vanastra has been a problem for at least 18 months, Ben Bridge, businessman and vice-president of Vanastra Community Association told the 39 persons at the meeting. He said more protection was required for life and safety and to lower the insurance rates. "We are not happy" he said. Mr. Bridges said a survey has been made by the community association and found 43 men willing to serve on a volunteer fire department. Owens, however, said the problem is not solved that easily. He said starting a fire department takes weeks of training - - at least 22 weeks of one night in- struction each week and until they pass standards set by the fire marshall's office, he would not recommend even buying equipment. Then, he said, it can take up to two years on a waiting list before a truck is delivered. Bridges said the best fire training was working at an actual fire and that there were lots of second hand firetrucks around to buy. Owens, told him the reason there were lots of old trucks around was that once a truck reaches 15 years, it does not meet the standards of the fire marshall's ...officered becau ..,a...mu li,cipality does not want to make costly repairs to an old truck. He estimated that to totally equip a fire department, it would cost $150,000 plus annual operations costs, perhaps in excess of $25,000 with communication systems, workman's compensation, etc.... He said manning the department was a big problem. With volunteers it takes four men to have one available at all times. He said they start off en- thusiastically, but as time goes by the men lose interest and it is difficult to have enough men around to answer calls, especially on weekends. Vanastra business owner, Steve Rath - well of Central Machining (general repairs and welding), said that ac- cording to one insurance company, the community is an unprotected area. "Why is the insurance company so hard on us?" Owens suggested. Vanastra residents should shop around for other insurance companies with different attitudes. He said it can take longer for a fire truck to reach the scene in heavy city traffic than on country roads. He said no one in Tuckersmith is farther from a firehall than six miles. Vanastra is less than three miles from Clinton and about five miles from Brucefield. Mr. Owens recounted on one.occasion, he and an official from an insurance firm in London had waited around most of a day at Vanastra to discuss problems with a Vanastra owner with an industry, but that he went away that day when they were to meet, not- even his secretary knew where he was. Rathwell said to develop Vanastra as an industrial park there must be some enticement to get them in. He said the present insurance rates prevented that. He asked council what to do. - On page 3 burden of keeping up the track, and buy new maintenance equipment. The new surcharge comes into effect on January 1, 1978. Rather than go ahead and levy a surcharge on all out of town residents using th.e Clinton arena, however, the rec committee decided to set up a meeting with the townships and give them a breakdown on how many residents are using the facility. The rec committee made that decision last Thursday night at their November meeting making it the second time in over•a year that the surcharge idea has been discussed. Last year, the rec committee decided to charge $15 per person for each out of town child or adult using the facility but part way through the hockey season, dropped the idea. "There's no question that there are all kinds from the surrounding townships using the arena," said member Dennis Jewitt, but he withdrew it (the sur- charge) when they (the .townships) indicated they would be willing to help us financially." Ron McKay, a Clinton councillor who sits on the committee said they should bill the township councils so it goes on the general tax levy and not billed to each individual parent. The rec committee will now try to find out a breakdown on cost to run the arena and how many people from each of the townships use the facility. Included are Hullett, Stanley, and Tuckersmith townships. In other business, the rec committee is getting new plans drawn up for a tractor room by Cale Doucette and then will take them to the Clinton Lions Club who had indicated an interest in financing the room. Grandstand now safe Clinton's new grandstand, which was condemned this summer, is again safe as workers this; week completed putting new footings under the centre supports of the $250,000 structure. Here John Neutel, left of Brucefield and Dave Laking of Vanastra finish digging down six feet prior to pouring in the concrete. Cale Doucette is in charge of the project, which the Kinsmen, say was the fault of the contractor, Twin Locks Iron Works of Niagara Falls. (News -Record photo) rovince d fers hospital renovation plans The Ontario Ministry of Health has delayed plans for renovating and up- dating Clinton Public Hospital,. but the board of governors decided Monday night to go ahead and get plans anyway, in order to find out the real cost. Health Minister Dennis Timbrell announced Friday that Clinton's renovating plans, along with the plans of a dozen other hospitals in this part of the province, had been deferred until 1980-81 or later because of an over spent health budget. Those approved will cost $90 million over the next three years. Arson suspected in blaze Arson is suspected by. the Goderich detachment of the OPP to be the cause of a barn fire on the property of Valentine Louis Becker which occurred on November 15. The vacant barn located at the Beckers summer residence on lot 15 concession 5, Stanley Township, had estimated damage of $4,000 as a result of the blaze. Robert Adams a fire investigator from the Fire Marshal's office attended the scene and took photographs and ob- tained Arrloi•uiaL,on for the continuing investigation. Three juveniles have been charged with break, enter and theft following an incident at the Bayfield Boat Works in Vanastra sometime last Wednesday evening or early Thursday morning. The Goderich OPP reported that the thieves broke inl through a window and took $30 in cash and damaged a wall along with a drawer amounting to $75. The business is locpted on Winnipeg Street in Vanastra and is owned by Donald G. Hart. "The current necessity for spending restraints makes it imperative that we get the highest possible value for every dollar spent," Timbrell said. "To do this we will be relying more and more on local consideration in allocating future funds, so we can meet real needs at the comrhunity level." "We will be asking district health councils (Huron doesn't have one) to provide us by May 1, 1979 with a list of their local priorities for capital funding. This will include all new proposals as well as any that have been deferred," Timbrell said. The Clinton Hospital had planned to move the emergency and the X -Ray department to the new wing on the south end of the hospital and tear down the old overcrowded 100 -year-old north wing. Total cost was estimated at $350,000. Hospital board chairman Beecher Menzies said Tuesdaythat, immediate improvements will- have to be carried out on the old north wing to meet fire marshal's office regulations. Menzies said changes include in- stallation of non-combustible ceiling tiles and alterations to exit doors. He said the hoard was optimistic the province would approve U eir plans before 1980 and doesn't intend to give up. In other business, the board learned that the Anti -Inflation Board has cut back on a raise granted to Local 210 of the Building Service Workers Union for the 56 full and part-time non-medical workers at the hospital. 1 h board had 'tried to bring the workers, which includes registered• nursing assistants, laundry, housekeeping and dietary staff, up to par' with the neighbouring hospitals. There is currently about a 10 per cent wage difference with the other hospitals, but it hasn't caused any staffing problems in Clinton. The contract with the board and the union was signed last October and the workers received a 25 cent an hour raise in January, while the board held back the remainder of the raise pending the decision of the AIB. Hospital administrator Doug Coventry said the hospital will reappeal the AIB ruling and thought they had a good chance of winning. Rec. committee rejects pay By Jim Fitzgerald Although they didn't have a recorded vote, the Clinton recreation committee rejected taking money for their work, when they met last Thursday. The topic came tip when the com- mittee discussed a story carried in a Really "tankful" Huron Pines Construction and Sterling Fuels are hoping that the good weather will stay for a few more days, as they rush to complete a new underground fuel storage area on Matilda Street in town, The $100,000 expansion project, for agent Murray Taylor of Clinton, includes three, 10,000 and two, 8,000 gallon plastic tanks, all anchored to a thick concrete pad•by plastic hoops.. (News -Record photo) • recent editon of the News -Record that reported Clinton Council was asked by the cemetery board for pay. Currently, most committee members in town don't get any pay for sitting on committees, with the exception of the town councillors; the Public Utilities Commission, and the board of education trustees. A town councillor makes $40 for a full meeting of council, and slightly less for a committee meeting, while PUC mem- bers get $300per year, and a board of education trustee in Huron County earns $3,600 per year. "I think -th-at if a person can't give something to his community without asking pay for it, then they shouldn't be serving," rec committee member Dennis Jewitt said. "I think its, our civic duty," Jewitt said. "I don't think we should get paid," said Frank MacDonald," and I don't like the way the paper (the News -Record) made it look like we (all the committees were all asking for pay." "Well, I've been on the rec committee for 20 years, and I've never been paid in the past," said chairman Poss (Percy) Livermore. "I don't want anything, and we (each member) put in at least 150 hours a year," Livermore added. "We don't have to do it (serve on committees) if we didn't want to," Cleo Colqhhoun said. - "If one committee gets it (pay) then all should get it," Poss said. "A lot of people in town give free time and the town would he in -rough shape without them," said Ron McKay, who started the questioning. In other business, the rec Committee agreed to buy the arena employees two uniforms, one light jacket, one heavy coat, and pay half on a pair olf safety shoes each year. The committee also decided to give secretary , Maria Jefferson annual stipend of $300, and learned that they have only used $57,000 of their $82,680 request from the town, making it one of their better years. Mediator appointed in teachers, board dispute The Education Relations Commission appointed Harvey L. Ladd recently as a mediator to assist the Huron County ,Board of Education and its -secondary school teachers in their contract negotiations. Ladd, of Burlington, Ontario, began meeting with board and teacher ne'gotiators this week. The.'nppointment was made after the board and the teachers agreed with a fart finder report that ^negotiations should be taken to a mediator 'if problems were to be resolved. The report, prepared by D.S. Lawless, in- dicated that negotiations had been fruitless and showed, no signs of im- proving. The teachers had asked for a mediator late in September but the board refused the suggestion. The fact finder report was submitted October 19 and the board endorsed the appointment of a mediator November 7. ^Ladd has extensive experience in his field and is privately employed as a labour relations consultant. He has lectured extensively on the collective bargaining process and has conducted training courses in the field. He has previously assisted school boards and teachers in 13 school areas including Windsor and Metro Secondary) and the counties of Bruce and Lambton.