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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1979-04-05, Page 1The fishing season started last week on Lake Huron, with Captain Ed Siddall reporting a catch of 400 pounds of whitefish last Monday. But before the nets can be used they must be kept in good repair, a job handled here by Anne Martin, who was busy filling the needles for the crew to mend the nets, using a mechanized rig. (Photo by Milvena Erickson) t. Weather 1979 1978 041 l0 HI LO March C C 35 31 27 - 2.5 10 39 27 28 5 6 37 26 29 12 4 40 13 30 16 6 41 26 31 4 1 APRIL 52 35 1. 4.5 0 33 22 2 9.5 1 Rain 32.2 mm 1 114th year -No. 14 Thursday, April 5, 1979 35 cents Vanastra curling rink found unsafe By Wilma Oke The Vanastra curling rink has been found to be unsafe on three , counts according to the National Building code and the Ontario building code, and it will cost $105,000 to repair. At a meeting of Tuckersmith township council Tuesday night a preliminary engineering report by B. M. Ross and Associates of Goderich revealed that the building does not qualify for snow load, wind or fire safety requirements. The curling rink purchased by the staff at the former Canadian Forces Base near Clinton in 1960 had been vacant following the closing of the base until purchased in 1974 by a group of Vanastra citizens as part of the Vanastra recreation complex. The Vanastra curling rink, along with the Vanastra Recreation Centre, are County council trim ranks BY JEFF SEDDON Huron county council trimmed its ranks Thursday when it changed requirements for municipalities to send deputy -reeves to the county council chambers. By a 36 to 16 vote 'council reduced its size from 45 members to 29 beginning with the 1981 term. The restructuring means that only municipalities with 2,500 or more voters will send both a reeve and deputy -reeve to county " council. At present municipalities with 1,000 or more voters send two representatives to the county level. Under the new system only Goderich, Exeter and the township of Stephen will send two representatives to county council. The restructuring was done to at- tempt to streamline council. Under the old system the 45 member council, considered by some to al> ' oo large to be practical, was about to Clinton Hydro to vote on strike The 45 members of the Clinton Local of the Canadian Union of Public Employees are among the 15,000 Ontario Hydro workers who will cast ballots in a strike referendum during the next three weeks, following break- down of negotiations on a new contract. Ballots will be counted on April 23, but if a majority favor a strike, no date has been set. When negotiations ended, the union was demanding 'an 11 per cent wage increase and improvements in vacations, pensions, and income protection, shorter hours of work, and a revised cost -of -living clause. The company has offered raises ranging from six to eight per cent in a one year contract, the union said. become larger. West Wawanosh township is eligible for a deputy -reeve in the 1981 election under the old system and Bayfield is also very close to deputy -reeve status. Under the new system several townships and two towns are very close to the 2,500 electors needed for a deputy -reeve. The townships of Tuckersmith, Goderich, Howick and Hay will probably be electing deputy - reeves in 1981 as well as the town of Clinton. Some members of council balked at the idea of trimming deputy -reeves. Wingham deputy -reeve Harold Wild felt that the councillors should take the, matter back to their respective councils for. discussion and direction. Wild said he felt he couldn't make a decision adding that he would like to "talk about it at home". Turnberry deputy -reeve Harold Elliott said he felt the position of deputy -reeve was -"a good opportunity for younger people to get into this (county council business) for the time they step up to reeve". Elliott also felt reeves left at the council table would be unable to handle all the county business and committee work. County clerk Bill Hanly said about the only thing that would be altered by the reduced size is the number of councillors sitting on council. He said the voting powers of the individual municipalities would change very little. Hanly said he didn't like to talk about rural versus urban situations but pointed out that every once in a while it "rears its ugly head". The clerk pointed out that where a rural municipality has three votes of a total of 57 it will now have one vote of a total of 30. He pointed out that rural votes still outnumber urban under the new system. Voting power for individual municipalities is established by population. A municipality is given one vote per 1,000 population to a macimum of four votes. my told councillors the rural vote still stronger under the new sys1cm. He said rural votes are now 65 ntitf the total and urban 35. Afti restructuring rural votes would amount to 57 percent of the total and urban 43 percent. The clerk said restructuring is not doing away with deputy -reeves just reducing the size of county council. Lloyd Mousseau, deputy -reeve of Hay township, told council he felt a vote to limit deputy -reeves would be Turn to page 3, wa owned by the residents of Vanastra but have been managed by the five - member Tuckersmith Township council for the past two years. A large debenture debt incurred when the complex was purchased, is slowly being paid off by the Vanastra ratepayers. Tuckersmith council leases the curling rink to a curling club com- mittee which has 40 members. This past winter the curling club, .to raise money for maintenance costs, rented ice time to curlers from Stanley Township, the Village of Bayfield and some school students. Engineers Ken Dunn and Bruce Potter of B. M. Ross and Associates informed council from their preliminary study of the rink as to its structural adequacy, demanded by officials from the provincial Ministry of Labour, estimated the total costs for the structural repairs would be about $93,000, with engineering costs about $12,000. Engineer Dunn estimated this amount would bring the building up to National Building Code requirements but added, "We wish to emphasize the building would` not qualify for fire coding, but at the present time the government is not enforcing this." The engineer warned, "This could happen at any time and should • be considered if you decide to renovate or rebuild." He suggested if renovations should be done that council might consider looking at several areas in the building including the lighting and plant system to determine their condition and life expectancy., The engineers in their study of the rink said it appeared as if it was con- structed by the Butler Building Company in the United States but was brought to the Clinton Air Base about 1960 from Winnipeg, Manitoba as a war surplus building. They were unable to determine the exact age of the steel clad building, saying it could have been built in the 1940's or 1950's. The engineers said they found no real deterioration but some minor rusting. The requirements are for wall gifts and sadings.__steel-_trusses for roof .section,_. repair of purlins which are grossly undersized, some repair work on trusses, more floor beams because floor joists overloaded by 50 per cent, all for a cost of $75,000. Timber framing would cost another $4,000 and a roof over boiler room, $2,000, and engineering fees of $12,000 for a total of $93,000. Reeve Ervin Sillery stated, "I can't see spending ratepayers' money on these renovations. We'll have to digest this and see what route we take." Engineer Dunn replied, "I can see where you would want to see about the grant situation, determine the fire regulations, new lighting ...." Councillor William Brown asked, "As of now, the costs will fall back on the Vanastra Recreation Centre?" Reeve Sillery assured him the Vanastra ratepayers would be responsible. Deputy Reeve Robert Bell asked the estimated cost of replacing the rink with a new building and he was told around $300,000. Councillor Robert Fotheringham said, "If we can't get the grants there is no use in us looking at it." Clerk Jack McLachlan said he was not sure what community centre grant money would be available but un- derstood the Wintario grants were frozen at the present time. Councillor Fotheringham said, "The other curling rinks in the area 'could pick up the curlers from Vanastra." Clerk McLachlan was authorized to make an appointment with the Minister of Culture and Recreation through Jack Riddell, Huron -Middlesex MPP to discuss grants and the future of the curlingrink._ _ b Two members of the Vanastra curling club who attended the council meeting, Alex Townsend and Ivan Lince, were concerned when or if the Ministry of labour might padlock the door. They expressed the hope grants would be available to renovate the building. In other busin s , council heard Spence Cumm ngs,. Development Officer for Huro County, speak of the difficulties of attracting industry to the county, partly because of the distance from Highway 401. He discussed, too, the problem of attracting tourists to the area. He showed council members various booklets and pamphlets which are put in various centres available to tourists. Township accepted the tender of Pollards of Harrow to supply the township with chloride for township roads at a cost of $103.50 per ton. The construction of a third well in Egmondville was discussed at length. More information is required as to location. Council will provide Peter LeBeau of RR 1, Brucefield, with a letter assuring Turn to page 3 ounty holds line on taxes If property taxes in Huron county go up in 1979 it won't `be because costs increased at the county level. Huron county council approved its 1979 budget Thursdayapproving a 1.79 percent increase, a total of $48,000 on a $2,711,000 budget. The remainder of the county expenses will be handled using $4.4 million in provincial grants coupled with fees for county services. County clerk Bill Hanly said a $421,236 surplus from 1978 was used in the budget to hold the county levy Londesboro phones get priority by Shelley McPhee Bell Canada subscribers in the Londesboro and Blyth area will be getting better telephone service, but it won't come for a few months yet. By the end of August, users in the 523 exchange shouldn't have any more problems with crackling phones, in- termittent service or no service at all. 4 After the request of Shell Oil of Canada to County Council last week to begin drilling for oil in county - owned property along roadways etc., some people including yours truly have had the brainwave of killing two birds with one stone. You see, the Shell spokesman says there is a very good chance there is quite a bit of oil and gas under parts of Huron County, so I've decided they can come on the Fitzgerald estate in Little England "any time .they want. Not only would we get 12 per cent royalties on anything they find, but we could sign an agreement to burn the stuff in our furnace, and save again. +++ Oh well, if that doesn't pan out, we at least know that summer is not far off and we can Shut down the heating system for another month or two. Even though the weatherman still has snow squalls in his forecast, now that its the fifth of April, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that winter is now over. Thanks to a warm November, and a warm March, winter this year will go down as short and cold, as December, January, and February were the only horrible months this year. According to Graham Campbell at the Goderich weather station, March this year was very warm, with the mean temperature of plus 1.1 degrees Celcius, 2.6 degrees above the long -tinge average of Minus 1.5. Graham also said the month was drier and sunnier than normal, with only 43 mm of rain falling, compared to the average of 58.4. +++ "Surely it can't be intentional," one main street observer asked us this week, "but one of the new stamps issued by the post' office has a picture of a turtle on it." Actually, it's a new stamp in a series picturing nearly extinct animals in Canada, including the eastern spiny soft-shelled turtle, which because of poisonous cherhicals, and turtle soup devotees, is nearly extinct from its native habitat of south central Ontario. It is not a comment on the speed of the Post Office's services. + ++ And speaking of service, the Londesboro Lions will be out and about again this Saturday morning to do their monthly newspaper collection on Clinton's Streets. Please have your papers bundled and tied and by the curb by 9 a.m. + ++ Well, the Major league baseball season opens today (Thursday), while the National Hockey League doesn't even wind up heir regular season until Sunday night, after which the playoffs will start and drag on into June. Silly, ain't it? . + + -i- "No wonder the Russians are getting so confident," one hockey fan noted the other day. "If they watch Canadian TV, they must think we all; have tired blood; indigestion, and nagging headaches " By that time the hundreds of affected telephones will be serviced with a new $80,000 cable system. According to Peter Croome, of Stratford, area manager of Bell Canada, the replacement of six miles of cable in the area north of Clinton is a top priority project. However, the new cable cannot be placed immediately for several reasons. Mr. Croome explained that the job must first be engineered, manpower to complete the work must be found and most importantly, funds are needed for the major changes. The. new cable is expected to cost up to $80,000. The widespread problem with the telephones has been caused by the main lead -covered, overhead cable that carries over 100 pairs of wires to provide communication service. "We think the old cable has swung in high winds and this has caused a break down in the lead sheathing," Mr. Croome explained. Water from rains seeps into the hairline cracks in the above -ground cable, the telephones are then affected after the water reaches the inside wires, causing them to "short". The cable, put in by Bell Canada's predecessor, the Maitland Tele Ser- vices, is outdated and ,no longer made, according to Mr. Croome. The im- proved cable,. that will be installed, is made out of plastic, is waterproof and will be buried underground. The necessary installation of new cable in the 523 exchange did not come as an unexpected expense to Bell Canada. They have been planning to update the equipment there for sometime, but their schedule has now been moved ahead. Mr. Croome explained that by 1980, the entire system in the Blyth exchange will be modernized. This $100,000 project will include the cable im- provements as well as changes 'to the ,existing lines. More private lines will be introduced and party lines will be reduced from five Or six users, down to a maximum of four. Bell Canada has also been looking at the possibilities of extending the 523 limited free calling area. Presently they can only call twd other exchanges, Auburn and Brussels, without a long distance charge. However, Mr. Croome noted that the expansion of free calling area would increase the local rates. The people 'on the exchange will get a chance to vote on the decision if it arises. Meanwhile, those who are facing telephone difficulties with the present cable will be able to receive some compensation for their out -of -order phones. By calling the Bell Canada business office, their bill will be ad- justed accordingly, said Mr. Croome. down. He said the surplus, along with an increase in assessment of slightly more than two percent, enabled council to give ratepayers in the county a break this year. Hanly added that the county budget enables individual municipalities to determine their own mill rate, putting no pressure on them to pay higher county costs. The biggest chunk of the county expense is in public works where a $186,000 increase brought the total costs for rods and services to $3,335,000. The province pays the lion's share of public works. The county contributes $1,186,000 and had to pay just $48,000 of the $186,000 the costs for public works increased by The town of Goderich, the largest contributor to the county coffers, had its apportionment increased $2,234 to $371,925. Exeter will pay $179,862, $13,140 more than last year. Clinton costs went up $4,295 to $141,968, Wingham will pay $6,389 more for a total of $138,074 and Seaforth's levy increased $6,909 to $90,063. Most townships and villages were handed slight increases in the county levy but some actually had decreases. Brussels and Hensall both enjoyed decreased county costs, Brussels b� $2,939 for total county levy of $36,729 and Hensall by $3,160 for a 1979 levy of $51,125. The townships of Ashfield, McKillop, Stanley, Stephen, Usborne and East Wawanosh had decreases in their county levy. Bayfield arena finally gets grants According to the Bayfield Village Clerk, Mr. G.J. Graham, as of Monday, April 2, approval of the Wintario Grant and Community Centres grants have been received. A Wintario Grant of $203,947.84 and the Community Centres grant of $102,293.50, along with approximately $60,000 already raised, leaves. about $40,000 to $50,000 yet to raise to com- ple,e the .Arena and Community Centre. However, work on the construction is going along very well with the hope that it will be completed the end of April. There were some pretty weird looking kids up t Clinton Public School last Friday, as the school celebr ted "odd day" with students dressed in a mix-up of clot es. Back row, left to right, are class winners Norm Mcisaac, Kris Macdonald, Tim Craig, and Dave McKeiRan. Centre row. Doug McLean, David Wright, Daryl Dice -man, and Craig Bowker. Front row are Dawn Powell, Jonathon Ostreicher, Joanne Duddy, Mark Walker, Glen Bowker, and Chris Watt. In front is Nicole Garon. Missing from picture was morning kindergarten winner Sherri Watt.