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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-02-23, Page 1Stubborn • blaze Clinton firemen were called back to a fire at a house owned by Milt Dale at RR 4, Clinton on Saturday morning after fire broke 'out again in the house. The house was heavily damaged earlier Saturday morning in a stubborn blaze. Here Fireman Harvey Carter, up ladder, battles a pocket of fire while Fred Lobb, left, Clarence Neilans, and Eric Switzer look on. (News -Record photo) Gasoline war escalates by Shelley McPhee No one is saying why, but the gasoline prices in this area are continuing to remain low with the gas war that has been going on since the middle of December. Last Thursday morning ' the greatest change occurred in the gas pricing when the prices briefly jumped as high as 85.9 cents a gallon for regular gas.. However, by Thursday afternoon the gas war had started again as prices fell to the lowest they have been in a year, 78.9 cents a gallon. For the most part, this price has remained stable in the Clinton-Goderich area, with the exception of a few outlets. In Clinton, high test gas is hovering around the 85.9 to 87.9 mark and the unleaded gas is sitting at 82.9 cents. Goderich prices are running close to the Clinton gas prices put elsewhere the gas 'prices haven't dropped. Seaforth garages and service stations are selling regular gas in the high 80's and low 90;s, for a gallon and their prices have remained stable. Likewise, Wingham gas stations are selling regular gas for 88.9 to 91.9'cents a gallon and 94.9 to 96.9 for unleaded. Exeter gas stations have an average, regular gas price of 84.9 cents a gallon for regular gas and in the low 90's for unleaded and high test gas. . Yet, the prices still remain low in the Clinton-Goderich area and there have been no definite signs that the prices will be going up yet. Two fires leave $55,000 loss The Clinton V.olunteer Fire Depart- ment had a busy weekend, answering three calls to two separate fires. Early Saturday morning, they were called to a stubborn house fire on farm of Milt Dale on Concession 10 of Hullett Township, three miles east of Clinton and spent five hours -trying to contain a blaze that heavily damaged that Dale house. Dale's daughter and son-in-law, Don and Cathy Reuger were living in the house, that suffered heavy damage to both the structure and the contents. Damage is estimated at $40,000. - Firemen were hampered in their attempts to put out the fire by a number of false ceilings and walls and by ex- tremely cold temperatures, which froze the water nearly instantly on their cloths. Deputy Fire Chief Fred Lobb said the firq started in the second storey and quickly spread into the roof area. Rueger drove all the way into Clinton to turn in the alarm after his phone was knocked out of commission. Firemen were called back to the blaze again at 8:15 Saturday morning when fire broke out again in the roof. Neighbours and friends helped rescue furniture and appliances from the house during the height of the blaze, but the couple lost all their clothes. The blaze caused an estimated $15,000 Another fire broke out at 11:45 on damage to one end of a driving shed, Saturday morning and sent firemen burning a snowmobile, equipment and rushing to a blaze at the farm of Mike tools. Dykstra. on the w„ct prim nC Clinton No cause of the blaze has been given. Woman, babyjump 25 feet as fire levels area home A RR 2, Auburn woman and her 16 - month -old baby are in satisfactory condition in Clinton Public Hospital after leaping 25 feet to safety from the second storey window of their burning home on Tuesday morning. Carol Menary, 25 and young Teri Menary are both suffering from burns, and Mrs. Menary is also suffering from a broken leg in the jump from the brick home, that was completely destroyed in the blaze. Lucknow Deputy Fire Chief Budd Hamilton said Mrs. Menary rescued five-year-old Bobbi and had gone back into the house to get the baby, but was unable to escape from the burning house except by leaping from the window. Her husband, Harold Menary, was at the barn at the time of the fire, and came running when he heard his wife's screams above the sound of the milking machines. Another child was in school at the time of the fire. When the Lucknow Fire Department arrived at the scene of the blaze, about three miles east of Dungannon, at 10:30, the house was a ball of fire, Hamilton said. The family lost everything in the $45,000 blaze, but Menary says he will rebuild again. Hamilton said he could give no cause for the blaze, which raced through the house so quickly. Mrs. Menary is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jim Edwards Sr., of Clinton. Clinton, Ontario Thurschy, February 23, 1978 4 ' 30 cents • Weather 1978 1977 Hi LO Hi LO FEBRUARY 14 17 -10 26 18 15 23 -5 5 5 16 24 -14 14 -7 17 20 9 17 -10 18 21 5 29 9 19 19 -18 30 17 20 20 -7 20 1 Snow 1 Snow 2” • 113th Year No. 8 till teachers walk out, 4,600 students affected BY JEFF SEDDON Secondary school teachers in Huron County stepped up protests against the board of education this week closing down thecounty's five secondary schools two straight days. The teachers worked Monday of this week but refused to enter the classrooms in the schools either '1 ue uay or Wednesday. Both days the teachers didn't inform the board of their actions until just prior to the commencement of classes forcing the board to operate buses as normal. The students were tr,ansporte`d to the schools both days and upon arrival principals turned the buses around the sent the children home. Teachers refused Wednesday to disclosewhat strike action was planned for today. The Huron County Board of Ed. cation - set the stage fir a lockout of its se' on- dary school teachers at a special board meeting called, Monday night. The board met according to provincial regulations to, hear the final offer by the teachers in a public session. Clinton seeks help from townships by Shelley McPhee The Clinton Town Council will be seeking the co-operation of Goderich Township, Hullett, Stanley and Tuckersmith to agree to a joint study for future senior citizen housing. Council learned -at their regular February meeting last week from John Lyndon, manager of the Huron County Wait! Before you throw this column away along with the rest of the paper, remember the Londesboro Lions Club. They are going to gather all used newspapers in town the first of each T.aturd,�,y, arch 4. he ions wilfe touring town in their truck beginning at 9:30 a.m. and. ask that you bundle the papers and place them out at the curb (or if the curb's covered with snow, as close as possible to the road). At the present time, they only want newspapers, so no magazines just yet. All the pagers will eventually go to a recycling plant, and the Lions will realize funds for community projects. Good idea! + ++ If you., haven't got your licence sticker yet for your car, then you had better rush down immediately and get fixed up, as the deadline is next Tuesday night, February 28. Van and pick-up owners have until the end of March. +++ Due to the teachers' strike, there will be no Central Huron Chronicle this week, and unless the strike ends soon, there won't be a Chronicle for some time. + ++ And the strike means a lot of students will be out wandering the streets, so motorists are advised to be on the lookout for the footloose few who don't watch where they're going. �- + -1- Which Which reminds us of a recent ditty: "The golden age of parenthood is when the kids are too old for babysitters, and too young to drive." -1-++ To celebrate heritage day last Monday (remember, that's the holiday we never got), and to mark the first rites of spring, the Bluebirds and Merner's of the summer industrial softball league fame, had a slo-pitch game last Satur- day - in the snow. It turned out to be a lot of laughs, and a repeat performance will be held in the future - maybe - if they can get thawed out. Merner's won 12-6. Housing Authority that the Ministry of Housing would like to see future senior apartment facilities shared by Clinton and the four surrounding townships. Presently, there are two senior housing buildings in ,Clinton, one on James Street and the other on King Street .with a total of approximately 38 units. These buildings are basically used by the townspeople and on occasion special permission has been given to people outside of the municipality to rent one of the apartments. Clerk Cam Proctor noted that in the fall of 1977 there was a waiting list of about 35 citizens from Clinton who wanted to move into senior housing . It is unknown by council how 'many senior citizens require housing in the surrounding townships, but if an agreement is reached, the Ministry of Housing will conduct a survey to find the mbe,dof apart meries tha4`iarwed ea. In the past, each municipality has looked after its own Senior citizen housing, but areas outside the towns were short on such services. However if a regionalized agreement is met, the services would be provided and the co- operating townships would help to'pay Police to charge unbuckled drivers The Ontario Police Commission (OPC) has informed all Police Chiefs in Ontario that seat belt usage legislation should be put into effect immediately. The law which came into effect over a year -and -a -half ago has not been fully enforced up until this time. However, Clinton Police Chief Lloyd Westlake noted that more people throughout Ontario are now wearing their seat belts. "It has cut down on a lot of injuries," he added. Now the OPC is making the requirements that police offices are to record the number of charges laid, warnings issued and "monthly con- victions of those breaking the seat belt law. They are,also asking for a list of the estimated savings of hospital and medical treatment that has occurred as a result of people 'wearing their seat belts when involved in accidents. The Chief noted that his force will too be required to wear the belts and thos people who are unable to war seat belts for medical reasons, must have a doc- tor's certificate. He added that a fine of $28 will be charged t� anyone who is found not to be wearing the seat belt equipment that is found in their vehiole. for the deficit now picked up by the municipality. Clerk Proctor noted, "I think the ultimate result of this will be that the county will take over the senior housing and the deficit will be put into their expenditures and in turn reproportioned out to the various municipalities." In other correspondence, council received a letter and invoice from the PUC for a traffic pole on the south side of the island at the main intersection in town. The pole was damaged in a car accident and the bill was sent to the accused. However thq invoice totalling $359.51 included an extra* pole which was also bought, to be stocked for the future. Clerk Proctor noted that it is not good municipal bookkeeping practice to keep inventory of goods, "It might not be hit for another 10 years and then it might be itzueyiatetc): ' , 1 Councillor toy Wheeler added, Gus Boussey (the PUC manager) should have asked council's permission before purchasing the extra . pole, "We shouldn't be held to his inVbice." Reeve Macaulay, chairman of the meeting in the absence of Mayor Harold Lobb noted, "We should, have had a letter from the PUC on this, but now that they've bought the pole we can't send it back. I can't see why it was purchased in the first place." Councillor Ron McKay noted that the PUC does stock some material such as bulbs and other supplies that will be used quickly. He added, "On being consistant, we should pay the bill when the pole is used by the town." It was decided by council that the issue would be discussed with Boussey per- sonally. Cduncil passed a motion to recom- mend to the Clinton Committee of Adjustment that the approval of severance of the property of Mr. and Mrs. John Rosenlund on part of lot 345 on the south side of Miria Street be denied because it doesn't meet with the minimum rear yard requirements in Zone 4. According to requirements of Zone 4 which includes multiple, row, duplexes or, single family housing the minimum rear yard allotment is 25 feet. However the Rosenlund severance application only had. a rear yard allowance of four feet. Clerk Proctor noted that this motion was just council's opinion and the final decision is up to the Committee of Adjustment. Building permits were issued' to: Clayton Dixon, rec room with chimney, $2,000; Fleming's teed Mill, garage, $15,000; Clinton Chrysler, signs, $3,800. The meeting is a formality the board must go through if it want to exercise its option to lock teachers out of the schodls. If that course is taken by the board it must now call a special meeting to vote on the lockout. If the vote is in favor of closing schools, classes will be cancelled in all five county secondary schools until the strike issue is settled or the board chooses to re -open the schools. A mixture of parents and teachers witnessed the short board meeting while about 200 secondary school teachers walked the streets surrounding the board offices in Clinton. The teachers picketed the administrative offices to "make a point to the board", according to teacher negotiator Shirley Weary. Weary said she wasn't convinced the board was not trying to "threaten" the teachers with the lockout. She said the teachers forming the picket line were protesting the board's stand on the 1977 contract but added that the two dozen teachers at the board meeting were there as private citizens. Director of Education John Cochrane told the hoard that before a lockout can Walking the line be considered by the board the public session must be held. He said the board must publicly review the final offer from the teachers and vote on its acceptance. 4' BULLETIN Just before press time late Wednesday afternoon, the Huron County Board • of Education locked out 273 striking teachers. It means `'cher will be no school for the county's 4,600 students until the strike is set-. tied. / • Cayley Hill, chairman of the board's negotiating committee, said the teachers had better "re -think their proposal" before assuming the board should take the first step toward further contract talks. He said the teachers know the board's stand, adding that he hoped teachers would reflect on the past Teachers at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton and at the four other schools in the county are walking the picket lines after they went on strike last week. CHSS teachers struck on Friday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The board is in before refusing to change their position. Hill said the Huron County board had "cut a lot of ground" in the past to'in- crease teacher benefits and working conditions. He said the strike appeared to exhibit a teacher attitude that if they don't get their way they won't teach. He said tl'ey didn't appear to be thinking about/the past. Hill said the board had been brought completely up to date in closed session prior to Monday night's public meeting. He said there was no discussion of possible alternatives the board could take to settle the strike issue. Weary said Monday night that a suggestion by the mediator in the con- tract talks to take the issue to arbitration was not turned down by the teachers. She did not say it was promoted either. The teacher negotiater said she "didn't know that the teachers objected to arbitration" adding that they offered to take that route in September of 1977. She said the teachers pointed out that they,had already suggested arbitration adding that it seemed a "reasonable way Turn to page 3 • the position now to lock the teachers out but hasn't yet. Pictured above are some of the teachers marching in front of the school last Friday. (News -Record photo) Five guns stolen in store break' -in Over $950 worth of guns and skates were stolen from Crown Sports, Huron Street in Clinton on Friday, February 17. It was reported that sometime bet - Ween 2 and 6 a.m. the sports store, owned by Joe Atkinson, was broken into when thieves forced open the front door. Three 12 -gauge, double-barrel shotguns, one 12 -gauge pump gun, one Winchester 44-40 rifle and two pairs of Bauer 96 skates, valued at about $75 each were stolen. '1 he Clinton Police are still in • vestigating. The Goderich detachment of the OPP reported th .t 10 pedple escaped serious injuries in a two -car collision that oc- curred on Highway 8, 2.2 km west of Clinton on Friday, February 17. The OPP reported that over $2,000 in damages occurred when a car driven by Leslie Chapman, 66, of 51 St. David Street, Goderich and a car driven by Elizabeth Reid, 17, of 245 Townshend Street, Clinton collided at the in- tersection of Highway 8 and Concession 15-16. Damages of $1,200 to the front end of the Chapman vehicle were received and Chapman was taken to the Clinton Public Hospital with minor injuries. Out of the nine people travelling in the Reid vehicle, passengers Jamie Allan, 16 . and Cathy Jewitt, 16, both( of Clinton Were treated in Clinton Public Hospital with minor iniuries. Damages to the Reid vehicle were set at $1,000.