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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-05-11, Page 1.0444 The party's o er for Clinton and area automobile drivers, as the six-month gas war came to an abrupt end last week. Gasoline prices shot up 10 cents a gallon in one day from 82.9 to 92.9 cents, the same as in most centres in this part of Ontario. There are still some pockets of resistance, such as Hensall where gas is 85.9 and Goderich, where it was selling earlier this week for 87.9 cents per gallon. As usual in most gas wars, oil company executives were silent on the sudden rise. (News -Record photo) Rabies on rise in Huron Iliabies are on the increase in Huron unty and already this year a record number of people have had to receive rabies shots. For the first four months of the year, there have been 15 cases of rabies diagnosed in animals. Ten people who have come in contact with these animals are undergoing treatment, a series of 14 shots in the abdomen. • The incidents are unusual. Five cattle have come in contact with the rabies virus, nine foxes and one horse. Seven of the ten people involved with the cases came in contact with the horse. Rabies is a virus that must get into the blood stream in order to take effect. Any open wound or cut when exposed to saliva from a rabid animal can become infected and the virus can take from days to months before symptoms ap- pear. The Huron County Health Unit is encouraging owners to keep a careful watch on their pets and to keep them confined. Signs to watch for in a rabid animal are hard to pin down. Dr. Bill Thompson, of Health of Animals, Seaforth, reported that if specific symptoms are listed and a pet owner doesn't recognize the symptoms or if the animal does not react in the prescribed manner then the owner feels that his pet does not have the disease. If the animal acts out of the ordinary a vet should be consulted. The areas with the most recorded cases are East Wawanosh, West Wawanosh and Ashfield townships although other cases have been reported throughout the county. The scheduling of a rabies clinic in Huron County is decided by Health of Animals, the Huron County Health Unit and the number of enquiries about having a clinic, plus the number of diagnosed rabies cases. The cost of having a clinic is high and the immunity gained from these im- munization shots lasts for dogs, between three and four years. In cats, the im- munity does not last as long. The only sure way to diagnose a rabies case is to send the head of the animal in question to the lab in Ottawa through Health of animals in Seaforth and have it tested. Health of animals officer Dr. Thom- pson pointed out that "It is too risky with humans involved to go by diagnosis without a lab result". Average increase $12 Goderich Twp taxes up 3% Goderich Township taxpayers face a Very small three per cent increase in their municipal tax bills this year, after the township council set their tax rate last week. An average public school residential and farm township taxpayer with an assessment of $3,000 will see his taxes go up $12 to $384.87 from $372.54 of last year. The increase was due mainly to an increase of the township mill rate of 4.13 mills from 32.88 of 1977 to 37.01 of this year for homes and farms, while the commercial rate is up 4.86 mills to 43.54 mills this year, compared to 38.68 in 1977. A residential or farm owner who supports public schools will have a total mill rate of 128.29 compared to 124.18 of 1977, The commercial total mill rate is 146.23 this year, compared to 141.68 of last year. A residential separate school ratepayer will have a mill rate of 129.44 up 4.88 mills from last year's 124.56, while a commercial separate school supporter will pay taxes of 147.50 mills, up 5.4 from last year's 142.10. Tn other hiicinecs. council gave per- mission to the Bayfield Action Com- mittee to canvass the township for funds to build the new arena in the village but took no action on a request for a grant from committee chairman John Sier- tsema. Building permits were issued to Gordon Smith, addition to store; James Stoner, feed storage; John Sturdy, demolish porch; Evert Ridder, hog barn; Doug Norman, chimney; Dwight Williams, remodel house; Allard Fed - des, addition to barn; John Lindsay, house; Robert Norman, hog barn; Ed and John Deeves, demolish barn; John Talbot, house; Paul Simpson, house addition; James Clark, hog barn. Henry Drost was also issued two building permits for a house and a barn, but council wanted proof of ownership and the barn must be mostly constructed before the house permit is issued. Don Duff was also present to protest dogs running at large in Holmesville and his complaint was referred to the by-law enforcement officer. Tile drain loans were approved for Don Lobb, Gordon Lobb and Allard Feddes. Clinton News -Record 113th year - No. 19 Thursday, May 11, 1978 30 cents 3 At an earlier meeting in April, council gave J. Hudson permission to operate a mobile home park, called Five Seasons Park, and gave Jim Morris and Morris and Mel Timms permission to develop a five -lot subdivision on part lot 13 of the Maitland Concession. The developers must give the township five percent of the value of the lots, plus the beach access be built to township and Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority standards, and the road into the subdivision must be brought up to township standards before the township takes over maintenance of it. Severances were granted to William Gerrits of 115 acres, arta Doug Norman, lot 1. Council also accepted the tender of J. Alexander for a used M.F. tractor and loader at a cost of $1600 and accepted the tender of Ray Potter and Sons, Clinton for a new Ford 3600 tractor and loader. Building permits were issued to J. Gilbert, verandah; D.G. Kilgour replace kitchen; William Klomps, silo; Gilbert Brand, shed addition; Bonnie Rivard, mobile home; and Swamp Castle, green house. MAY 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Weather 1978 1977 Ht LO HI l0 6.5 4.5 63 42 13 6 62 29 11.5 2 56 41 8 4 74 45 10 1 74 47 14 1 54 35 13 9 53 30 No Rain Rain 56.0 linton gives in to Goderich on police radio With letters from Exeter, Wingham and Seaforth supporting Goderich as the central location for the proposed police - communication system in Huron, Clinton Council on Monday night decided to go along with the majority. "It looks like, due to the democratic process that this particular municipality should go along with the others," Mayor Harold Lobb advised the members of council. With that statement and the sup- portive letters, council passed a motion to support Goderich as the site of the communication dispatch which will link the five towns under a central radio system. Although Clinton had hoped to house the central site and council agreed to accommodate it, the other municipalities weren't willing to accept the offer. "We agreed to hire another man to give 24-hour service and we would have extended our police station to make room for the system," Mayor Lob ex- plained. Exeter had initially given their ten- tative support to Clinton if there would be a savings in costs to locate there. "I don't know where we failed," Mayor Lobb, added, "but somewhere along the line we went wrong even though there would be a saving on the First column: for the birds By Jim Fitzgerald As a bird lover, I thoroughly enjoy the return of our song birds each spring with their cheery notes but honestly, my nerves are wearing a little thin because a male robin uses a branch right outside our bedroom window from which to do his solo recital every morning at 5 a.m. Actually, what he is doing is illegal, according to a Clinton bylaw passed several years ago. The bylaw says, in effect, that no animal or bird shall make continuous noise from 10 p.m. at night to 8 a.m. in the morning. I wonder, should I phone the police tomorrow morning and have them charge this red -breasted disturber of the peace? Seriously though, the birds seem to be paying little attention to the cold, very unspring like weather, and are going about their duties as usual, raising their new broods. + + + Here's a sobering thought for anyone who drinks too much and then drives an automobile. According to the latest issue of "Safety Canada", the Moscow City Court recently sentenced a drunk driver to death by firing squad when he was found guilty of causing an accidentthatkilled eight people, and Injured seven others. Valentin Shimko, a truck driver in that city of Russia, won't have to worry about paying his fine on time, or having his licence suspended for three months, as a result of the conviction over the accident last June. And speaking of driving, have you ever wondered, like 1 have, how all the gasoline stations in town can simultaneously put up the price exactly the same amount, when many of them are owned by different, supposedly competing oil companies? Such was the case last week in Clinton when every gas station in town_put up the price of petro 10 cents from 82.9 to 92.9, all at the same time. All the suckers aren't in the Bayfield Rive/ after all. +++ The Signal -Star publishing family, of which the News -Record is a senior sister, is launching a new tabloid newspaper in Kincardine this Friday, to compliment the already fine Kincardine News, which hits the streets Wednesday morning. The newest baby sister in our family is being called the "News Weekender" and could set a new trend in weekly newspaper circles, especially in places growing as fast as the Kin- cardine area. +++ Bill. Craig, always a man who has been community oriented, is starting up a "sandlot" baseball league in town this year for boys from eight to 10 years old, so he is in bad need of some ball equipment. But rather} than go out and spend a great deal of money on all new equipment, Bill is trying to dig up some used bats, balls, helmets, etc., first. So if you have some used equipment, or know where there is some, call Bill at 482-3669 anytime, and he will gratefully acknowledge any donations. The "sandlot league", which is something like a houseleague, plays on Saturday mornings from 10 to noon, and after school from 4 to 5:30 p.m. So far 20 boys have enrolled. system here just on phone lines alone." With the centre of the system in Goderich, it will cost the five municipalities a total of $146. more a month to rent lines tothat town. Mayor Lobb noted that he received these figures from Bell Canada last Thursday. Initially it was previously thought that the cost would be $60 a month to link the four other municipalities with the dispatch in Goderich by telephone lines. Mayor Lobb explained to the London Free Press that in 20 years the monthly fee of $146 would total $36,000 with the present rates alone. He also said that he thinks that the other municipalities had acted too hastily in supporting the Goderich site. • "There was pressure put on them from somewhere," he further added to the News -Record. Despite the sense of reluctance to give up the chance at the site for the system Mayor Lobb said, "We don't want any hard feelings with the other municipalities because we have to get along." Councillor Ron McKay offered to council, "I wish Goderich the best of luck with the system." With Clinton's decision to support Goderich, the municipalities will soon be asked to sign a joint agreement and tenders for the equipment will be called for. On Monday, the five police chiefs met to complete designs for the new com- munication network with the near J confirmation of Clinton's support. Start up costs of the new system will be approximately $70,000 with . the province paying 75 percent of the costs and the five municipalities sharing the other 25 percent of the equipment and operating costs. The system, which has been on the drawing board for the past year, will link the five forces together and the present, answering services or radio telephones after hours will be dispensed with the new 24-hour service. Townships and council agree to housing survey By Shelley McPhee With support from Hullett, Stanley, Goderich and Tuckersmith Townships, Clinton Council passed a motion Monday night requesting the Ontario Ministry of Housing (OMH) to conduct a survey determing the housing needs within the municipality. The housing survey request came after a letter was received in February from John Lyndon, manager of the Huron County Housing Authority. He explained,to council through correspondnce that the OMH wanted to see future senior apartment facilities shared by Clinton and the four surrounding townships. Following that, Clinton council sent letters to the four township councils asking for their cooperation in a joint survey for future senior citizen housing, to which they all agreed. Presently, there are two senior housing buildings in Clinton, one on James Street and the other on King Street. Between the two there are ap- proximately 38 units. These buildings are basically used by the townspeople but on occasion special permission has been given to people outside of the municipality to rent one of the apar- tments. Mayor Harold Lobb noted at council that to date, there is a waiting list of 30 to 40 citizens from Clinton who want to move into the senior apartments. "I think that more housing is badly needed in our town here and with the four townships, there's apt to be more people wanting it," Mayor Lobb told council. In other correspondence, council passed a motion, by a small majority, to concur with a resolution from the City of Stratford endorsing a completely refillable system for soft drinks and asking the province of Ontario to ban non -refillable pop cans by December 31, 1978. Reeve Royce Macaulay told council, Lively decorators For children patients in the Clinton Public Hospital the nursery will be an en- joyable ward with Walt Disney characters painted on all the walls, new drapes, sleepers, blankets and pajamas all featuring Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Daffy Duck and other favorite Disney characters. Linda Ball, Lana Fagah and Mary Marsh are part of the Zeta Omega chapter of the local Beta Sigma Phi sorority who are brightening up the nursery with Disney scenes. The project was made available through the proceeds raised from the club's fashion show. (News -Record photo) "I'm in sympathy with the idea, but I'm not sure on the economics of it. I can't accept it because of the date they're to be banned on. By December 31 suppliers using canned soft drinks have a stock- pile." Councillor Ray Garon offered, "I think that to stop littering, there should be returnable pop tins, like beer cans." In other resolutions, council concurred with a motion from Woodstock asking that jury duty fees be increased to $40 a day after a period of seven days. Some discussion arose after correspondence was received from bell Telephone requesting permission to erect a third pay phone at the corner of Albert and Rattenbury Streets. Presently there are two phone booths located there. Reeve Macaulay suggested, "Do we need another phone there in front of our park?" , With this in mind, council agreed that another booth should be located Turn to page 3 Bayfield residents request village bylaws enforced By R.J. Thompson Bayfield council on Friday evening heard a request from village residents who want the municipality's by-laws more consistently enforced. In a petition to Ontario treasurer Darcy McKeough last September, 75 ratepayers protested commercial uses of lots zoned as residential under the land use by-law (1969). Objections were also registered against the expansion of operations on properties listed as non- conforming. In a letter sent to the petitioners and council, McKeough stated that in- vestigations by his ministry's staff in- dicate a need for immediate action on by-law enforcement. In part, the letter said: "There appears to be a disin7 clination on the part of the Village to take action on apprehended violations of the zoning by-law...The length or place of residence of violators or com- plainants, or of any collateral matters such as The Boundaries Act litigation, should not deter the Council from en- forcing its own by-law. Present and prospective inhabitants of the Village have the right to expect Council to en- force its own planning regulations in a consistent and conscientious fashion." McKeough further recommends that the council immediately appoint a chief building official, under The Building Code Act (1974). He observed that "the procedures for issuing building permits and for ensuring compliance with the Ontario Building Code do not appear to be adequate." He stressed the importance of the municipal government's role and local responsibility. It is the province's policy to encourage local government to manage its own affairs, but local bodies must demonstrate a willingness and ability to carry out their obligations: "While it would be inconsistent with our stated policy, to in'terilene in local af- fairs, I atn concerned that the Council be aware that the success of our policy of promoting local responsibility is dependent upon the degree of respon- sibility that the public sees in the actions of its municipal councils." Spokesman for the petitioners, Graham Beakhust stated that the residents have agreed not to press for a commission of inquiry into village by- law enforcement, at this time. In his address to council, Mr. Beakhust urged for action on the con- cerns listed in the petition, and noted that while the ratepayers do not wish to cause anyone hardship or ill -feeling: "at the same time, we are determined to see that the law is obeyed and that the village of Bayfield not make a mockery of its own carefully considered by-laws, by a failure to enforce them vigorously, consistently, fairly, and equa.11y." Council referred the matter, along with the letter from provincial treasurer McKeough, to its solicitor for con- sideration. In other business, council decided to support the senior citizens' proposal to renovate the town hall, and granted the club the use of the building "for the forseeable future". The project will be a joint effort of council and the seniors' group. Council also supported a resolution from Turnberry Township to request the Huron County Board of Education to ban "objectionable material" from the high school English curriculum. Specifically mentioned were the three books: "The Catcher in the Rye", by J.D. Salinger; "Of Mice and Men", by John Steinbeck; and "The Diviners", by widely -acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Laurence. "Of Mice and Men" is a Nobel prize winner; "The Diviners" won the Canadian Governor General's Award. During . the very brief discussion on supporting the Turnberry resolution, village clerk Gordoi , Graham stated: The author of The Diviners writes pretty hot stuff." He did not elaborate.