HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-12-14, Page 1•
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This key will get you into a lot more places than you think. That's what retiring
warden Gerry Ginn told Hay township reeve Jack Tanney after Tinney was
acclaimed warden of Huron for 1979 at county council's inaugural session
Tuesday. Gin put the warden's chain of office on Tanney and turned over the
key to the county, the gavel for council sessions and the warden's pin in a
ceremony Tuesday afternoon. (photo by Jeff Seddon)
113th year -No. 50
Thursday December 14, 1978
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1978 .1977
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Hay reeve named newHuron warden
BY JEFF SEDDON
Jack Tinney, reeve of Hay township,
was acclaimed warden of Huron
County in a peculiar turn of events at
the inaugural session of county council
Tuesday. Tinney was acclaimed after
Harold Robinson, reeve of Howick
township, used his five minute cam-
paign speech to council to withdraw
from the election for warden. The
Howick reeve said he felt support
promised Tinney by councillors after
last year's election for warden was a
"hard wall to run up against" and with-
drew from the election.
Tinney opposed . Gerry Ginn for
warden last year ,,and was defeated, by
the Goderich township reeve. He ap-
parently turned last year's defeat into.
this year's victory.
Robinson told council he had
discovered the support Tinney had
been promised when he began cam-
paigning for warden. Candidates for
the job usually run a personal type
campaign amongst county councillors
prior to the inaugural session and
Robinson said when he had visited
members of county council he had been
told many had promised to support
Tinney after his loss to Ginn in 1977. He
said he was convinced that Tinney had
the election half won before he even
started campaigning this year.
Tinney told council he planned no
major changes at county council ad-
ding that any changes would come
from council since he was only the
chairman. The Hay reeve conceded to
council that he may not be the most
intelligent or able man for the job but
promised to try hard.
He said he was not all that concerned
with the need for county council to be
restructured and said he planned no
proposals for council to consider.
Restructuring was a favorite topic of
Gerry Ginn's and he used his parting
remarks to council to mention that
council should be prepared to take a
look at the matter, Ginn always
claimed that a 45 member council was
too large to effectively govern the
county and that many of the members
were not needed. He felt that many
municipalities, or perhaps all, did not
need to send both a reeve and deputy -
reeve to council and suggested that
deputy -reeves be taken off the county
council roll.
Tinney said he felt deputy -reeves
played "an important part in the
county" and that the role was an
"education for them • for when they
become reeve".
Tinney, a father of eight, has been a
politician for 16 years, the past six of
which have been spent at the county
level. Robinson first came to council in
Historical buildings to be catalogued
Local Architectural Con-
rvancy Advisory Committee was
,;g wen a budget in principle of $1,000 by
this Clinton council on Monday night.
,Although the motion was passed, the
actual budget for the LACAC group will
'.not be set up until the spring when
other budgeting is normally done.
As well, after a hour long discussion
in a closed session, council agreed to
pass a motion giving the LACAC
committee permission to apply to hire
a summer student to conduct a survey
of the downtown area of Clinton.
The student, who will be studying
architecture or fine arts, will be hired
to catalogue the buildings in the core
area of Clinton of archietectural of
historical significance.
The town will pay 25 per cent of his
salary, or close to $300, while the Some discussion was raised by
Heritage Foundation will cover the council with the members of the
rest. The $300 will come out of the LACAC committee about this proposed
LACAC's $1,000 budget, along with an hiring.
additional $200 for expenses and office Reeve Royce Macaulay ed, "1
supplies. don't like things like this dropped on
The LACAC committee must apply me. It leaves me a bit in the cold."
for the summer help through the Heather Hunter, LACAC chairman,
Heritage Foundation by a December 31 later explained, "Council was . con -
deadline.
Thieves make full restitution
Ferdinand Reinsma, 18 and- his
brother Lawrence 22 and Harold
Colclough 16, all of Clinton pleaded
guilty in provincial court on Monday in
Goderich to a series of charges in-
cluding theft and property damage.
Lawrence Reinsma told the News-
t000rd that the three made full
. tet,..
restitution for the offences, returned
the stolen goods and paid for the
damages before they appeared in
court.
Colclough and Ferdinand Reinsma
Quick thinking
averts tragedy
Quick thinking by an area woman,
and quick action by the _Clinton area
volunteer firemen prevented what may
have been a tragedy early Last Sunday
morning at the Alvin Wise home at RR3
Clinton.
The fire, which caused about $5,000
damage was confined to the upstairs
bedrooms, but if it had been left to burn
several more minutes, some loss of life.
might have occurred, firemen and
family members think.
The fire was discovered about 2 a.m.
by daughter Marilynne Wise, 24, who
was going upstairs to bed. She aroused
the five other sleeping members of the
house and then phoned the fire
department.
Clinton firetnen many of whom were
just returning from one of the several
area Christmas dances in the area,
quickly responded to the call, and had
the fire out in a few minutes.
Firemen have not determined what
started the fire, but the Wise family
thinks it may have started near an
electrical cord, which may have
shorted out.
pleaded guilty to charges of burglaries Other convictions for the month
at Champion Road Machinery Ltd., in'clu.ded: Stephen Paterson, minor
Domtar Chemical Group Ltd., Mr. having, $54 and unreasonable noise,
Stereo and the Maitland Country Club, $78; Leonard Kaastra, speeding, $102
all in Goderich. and littering $28; Clarence Govier,
They also pleaded guilty to charges having liquor, $54; Brian Millar,
of auto theft and wilful damage to a careless driving, $108; Gerrit Sneider,
fence at, Meneset,. Park,„ of
Goderidh: `.
The Reinsma brothers pleaded guilty minor having, $54; Ervine Willert,'
to a joint charge of break, enter and having liquor, $54; Raymond Drost,
theft at the Wiseway Homeand littering, $28; Gregory Holmes, having
Building Centre in Clinton and liquor, $54; Wayne Colclough, un-
Colclough admitted to false pretenses necessary noise, $78; Ronald May, $2$,
in making purchases in Kitchener -
Waterloo stores. Most of the incidents
took place in October and November.
Charges including possession of
stolen property and possession of
house -breaking tools were withdrawn.
They will receive sentencing on
March 5.
Also at Goderich court, Reid
Jamieson, of no fixed address, was
sentenced to one month in jail for the
break, enter and theft at the Brewer's
Retail store in Clinton. He will serve
the term consecutive to the six months
he is now serving for a break and enter
charge at the Baptist Church in Clin-
ton.
Michael Hawkins, 19, of R.R. 6,
Goderich was fined $250 and had his
driver's licence suspended for three
months following an impaired driving
charge laid by the Clinton police.
Harley Christie, 22, formerly of
Clinton, was fined $100 for two separate
charges of false pretense involving the
Home Hardware Store.
In Clinton court last Wednesday,
David Holden was fined $204 or 20 days
in jail for a speeding charge.
In three separate cases, three
juveniles received fines of $54 or five
days in jail for charges of minor con-
sumption of liquor. The guilty included
Randy Castle, Ben Mitchell and David
Stephenson.
In other business with the LACAC
committee, council passed a motion to
have architects Hill and Borgal
prepare a detailed plan of the second
floor of the town hall and submit a
detail costing of the project at an
estimated fee of $1,250.
In the proposed renovations architect
Nick Hill plans to accommodate a
cerned that we were only formed to • kitchen, washrooms, an elevator, make
work for the town hall, but I pointed out repairs to the stairwell and supporting
that the LACAC committee is supposed structure and make the stage smaller.
to look after these things as well, ac- Mrs. Hunter explained to council that
cording to the list of duties in the the stage will be made smaller from
bylaw.” the back, leaving the ornate apron
In open council, Councillor Ron intact.
McKay, who also serves on the LACAC "It won't change the appearance but.
committee, explained that the short it won't be functional .as a total stage
notice on the possible hiring occurred for theatrics," she explained.
because, "We only knew about it last ' Councillor McKay added, "The
Thursday night." LACAC group doesn't see the hall
• In support, Councillor Roy Wheeler functional for plays and concerts
having liquor, $54; Steven Grainger,;., noted, "There could be merit in Athis. anyway."
minor having, -$54; •Barry Overholt, These. buildings. -may be valuable •andMrs. Hunter further explained that
The pace is getting hectic as the
annual Christmas season quickly
reaches its culmination point,
Because of full duties here behind
the editor's desk, yours truly has yet
to hit the streets on my annual two-
hour shopping spree. And there are
only nine more shopping days left
until Christmas!
Actually, there is one less day to
shop this year than previous years,
as all stores close on Saturday,
December 23 at 6 p.m. and remain
closed until at least Tuesday,
December 26. Others will remain
closed until Wednesday, December
27, but more on that next welt,.
Meanwhile, the annual Christmas
concert circuit has started for our
staff, and we will be out trying to
cover as many of them as possible,
but we're bound to miss a few,
If ypu think the days are getting
"kinda" short, you're right. The sun
doestr't get up until after 8:30 in the
'Morning and goes down sho l raft er
4 in the d 'ternoon. , t take ,
le' Only 're'elt until solstice, and
after next nursuay, Lieu uays will be
getting longer.
+++
I dropped into the polio im-
munization clinic on Tuesday for a
picture and besides boasting a sore
arm from the needle, I'm wondering
if everybody either has their booster
shots or doesn't care. There was a
steady stream of "customers" but
no overwhelming surge.
Because the clinic was in the af-
ternoon, some working people have
complained they can't get away
from work and think there should be
one in the evening, sometime after
Christmas.
+ + +
Our uptown wisecracker informs
us this week that: "If you don't think
money grows on trees, price one this
week."
+ ++
If you thought there was any
danger of farming becoming extinct
in these parts, have no fear. We
heard this week of one parcel of 100
acres with average buildings, being
sold for $190,000! Better pray for $4
corn.
we'll get our $500 back time and time making it smaller will allow room `for
again." the kitchen and washroom additions.
Mayor Harold Lobb agreed, "We've Along with the question of reducing
gone this far, a survey of the downtown the stage, Deputy -Reeve Ernie Brown
wouldn'tgo too afar." Turn to page 3
Mary Turner looks 80, not 102
Miss Mary Turner doesn't look a day
over 80 years old, but this attractive
lady is actually 102 years old.
Although Miss Turner is confined to a
wheelchair and has some trouble
speaking, her pleasant smile, bright
eyes and becoming hair style disguise
her age.
Yet, over a century ago on December
11, 1876 Edward Turner and' '.3.e former
Eliza Code had their seventh child,
Mary, in Tuckersmith Township.
Along with her older brothers and
sisters and seven half-brothers and
sisters, from her father's previous
marriage, Mary lived with her parents
on their lot 29, concession 3 farm on
the Huron Road Survey.
The farm was established in 1833
when Mary's grandfather took the land
from the Canada Company. Six
generations later, it's still in the Turner
name and is now owned by Mary's
great-nephew George Turner. Mr.
Turner has a son Barry who someday
may carry on the family tradition.
In 1879, at the age of three, Mary was
striken with "the fever" which left her
a frail and weak child, "The fever" was
so hard on the young girl that she was
unable to go to school until she was
eight years old.
"They really had to look after her
pretty well," remembered her nephew,
John Turner of RR 4, Seaforth.
Mary did receive a primary school
Icy crashes
The Goderich detachment of the OPP
reported that snowy conditions and icy
roads were the cause of several minor
and more serious accidents in the area.
Nearly $1,500 in damages were
received to a pick up truck driven by
Robert D. Simpson, 29, of Glencoe in a
December 11 accident.
Simpson was travelling along the
Stanley -Hay Township Line when he
lost control of his vehicle and the truck
went into the ditch and rolled. He
escaped with minor injuries.
James Hubbard of Blyth escaped
injury when the 1975 Oldsmobile he was
driving slid off road Concession 12 in
Hullett Township and entered the ditch.
The Tuesday morning accident
resulted in $450 damages to his car.
Although she could pass for a lady 20 years younger, Miss Mary Turner is 102,
and celebrated her birthday last
taMon of ass Turner was a slekly child, who
wasn't expected to live long,itb, the sixth generationof
her onriiy s'tiii'farina the original homestead. NewsuRe ord photo)
,o.
education and attended SS 6 in
Tuckersmith. However, it is uncertain
whether she ever attended high school.
Although Mary did not have a
profession, she was a self educated
woman, her nephew recalled, and she
was an avid reader.
"She was a wonderful person to talk
to, she knew so much," he added.
Mary lived with her parents on the
family farm until 1893 and then they
moved into Clinton. An unmarried
woman, she lived with the parents until
1920 and then went to Wingham to live
with her married sister.
Later, she moved to Nelson, BC,
where she lived and helped her
widowed sister. After living there for
nine years she returned to Wingham
where she made her home until
February 1969 when she moved to
Huronview, at the age of 92.
Although she had a somewhat un-
certain start at life with the nearly
fatal "fever" Mary is still enjoying•life.
"She's very happy now," Mr. Turner
said.
Although Mary has given up most of
her reading, she is able to wheel herself
around and has the company of her
nieces and nephews who held a small
party for her birthday.
Mary has lived for over a century
but her nephew explained, "The time
just doesn't seem to drag with her."
Ice soon?
Except for a few last minute checks
of the ice making equipment, the new
arena floor is ready for ice and the
machinery could be turned on early
next week,
If the green flag is given next week to
turn on the ice making equipment, then •
flooding would begin about five days
later, and the ice surface ready
sometime during Christmas week.
It takes at least five days to cool the
floor down because it is done slowly to
prevent it from cracking, explained
arena manager Clarence Neilans,
AS the busy Christmas season nears,
only $1,000 was collected this week,
bringing the arena floor fund to $52,422.
,Here are this week's givers:
Miss Ruth Shaddick $50
Stewart Middleton 50
Union Gas Ltd 500.
Pizza Express 412:50
Total to date
$52,422.50
Names only: Clinton Lions Club (A,J
Mustard).
1965 and served until 1972 when his
township "took the halter off and
turned me out to pasture" because of a
bylaw requiring county township
employees to retire at age 65. He said
four years later he was approached to
get back into politics and the "halters
were put back on and we were asked to
run the township again".
Retiring reeve Ginn told Tinney that
his philosophy of government was to
always be vocal. He told council that if
members had anything to say "for
God's sake say it", He said he always
did and although he quite often got in
trouble he felt he was respected for his
participation.
"Good discussion makes for good
government," he told council.
Judge Frances Carter, who gave
Turn to page 3
Town wants
new maps
Tom Chuter, chief building inspector
for Clinton was present at 'the council
meeting Monday night to discuss the
possibility of getting a new map of the
town.
"Our present map doesn't show
easements anywhere and a lot of town
blocks have no lot numbers," he in-
formed council.
Mayor Harold Lobb explained that
two summers ago a summer student
was hired to work on such a map but it
was never completed.
"The last official map was made in
1952 I think," Clerk Cam Proctor of-
fered.
Mayor Lobb added, "The PUC would
like to see a new map as well." --
• Reeve Royce Macal, lay offered to
contact the c.planning board to get
suggestions and learn the procedure
for having a new map drawn up.
Arena
floor.
canvass
$75,006
'60,000
''10.000