HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1979-08-09, Page 1„ , .,.•. ,
114th Year -No. 32 •Thursday, August 9, 1979
$107,000 surplus
Town
udget
by Shelley McPhee
Thanks to a $107,212 working capital
left over from the 1978 budget that
included a surplus of $60,100 and a
property sale of $47,112, Clinton's
�. taxes will go up only 15 mills, despite a
1979 budget that is up $145,622 or 12
per cent from last year.
At a special closed meeting on July
31, that was opened for a few minutes
to pass the budget, the Clinton town
council struck the new budget
totalling $1,402,975.
A breakdown of budget figures
shows that the increase is due to a
number of factors including $29,663 to
be paid on .the arena floor that the
town was not able to raise through
1,
IP
35 dents
1.4 milll�
donations. Other increases came in
the recreation budget, which was up
$14,000; a $22,000 hike in the public
school levy; and property aquisitions
which amounted to $25,000.
General increases went across the
board in all expenditures. Despite a
low budget in 1978, due to few
equipment costs, the public works
budget for 1979 has been set at
$236,500 which is up over $12,000 from
the previous year. The.police budget
for 1979 is, set at $158,867 which is up
$9,741 from last year..
'The parks and recreation budget is
up $14,675 to $100,675 and the garbage
collection is up $5,500 to $38,500 this
year.
• London Free Press
to close local bureaus
•
The London Free Press, a daily
newspaper which •enjoys strong
circulation coverage in the area, will
be closing both its Huron and Perth
Bureaus this fall, cutting back on
home delivery in Stratford, and all
areas in Huron and Bruce counties,
north of Highway 8.
All of Huron county south of High-
way 8, including Clinton and
Four injured
in Holmesville
Four persons were injured in a
head-on collision between two cars on
Highway 8 at Lavis gravel pit, near
Holmesville early Sunday.
William Lewis, 20,. of 175 St. David
St., Goderich, was in serious condition
late Monday in University Hospital,
London. Christine Ehrat, 20, of RR 2,
Baden, was in satisfactory condition
in the sarne hospital.
Debra Wilker, 19, of 143 Hope St.,
Tavistock, was in satisfactory con-
dition in Stratford General Hospital.
Linda Gillis, 20, of RR 2, Baden, was
in fair condition in hospital in
Goderich.
Provincial police said the east-
bound car was driven by Ms. Wilker
and the westbound car by Lewis.
Damage was estimated at $5,000. '
first
• column
Goderich, will still receive their
morning edition by carrier boy, but
•other communities north of that line
will only be able to purchase the
paper at newsstands.
Garnet Dauber, circulation
manager of the Free Press, said
Tuesday the closing of the bureaus,
which operate out of Goderich and
Stratford, will takel3lace the end of
August, while home distribution will
likely end on October 1st to the nor-
thern areas.
Mr. Dauber said that private
truckers will carry the paper into
areas such as Wingham and Blyth
depending on the time they arrive in
those towns, carrier boy service could
be continued. He said paper boys
would continue to deliver in Clinton
and Goderich for an indefinite length
of time.
The withdrawal of the Free Press is
expected to save the company about
$250,000 a year, _mostly tramsportation costs, while •bureau
reporters Helen Connell of Goderich
and John Matsui of Stratford are to be
assigned to the main newsroom in
London.
The move ends a 120 year tradition
of Free Press coverage of the area,
and opens the • daily field up to
newcomers, including the Kitchener -
Waterloo Record, who withdrew from
Huron County after a brief cir-
culation drive last fall fizzled.
The town will be paying $141,968 to
the county this year, an increase of
$4,295 from last year, while the public
school levy climbed from the 1978
figure of $142,650 to $165,367, a jump of
nearly 15 per cent this year. The
seconddry school levy is up $8,271 to
$137,505.
For the average public school
residential taxpayer with a $4,000
assessment, the 15 mill .increase will
mean that taxes will go , up $60 to
$749.83 from last year's $689.83.
Dressed in period costume Clinton Bank of litontreal
manager and officer Mrs. Cooper cut the birthday cake
as the bank celebrated its 100th anniversary last Wed-
nesday, when all customers were treated to free coffee
•
and cake.During its 100 years in Clinton, the bank has
gone through millions and millions of dollars. (News. -
Record photo)
Tuckersmith finally pass pits bylaw
by Wilma Oke
Tuckersmith Township council
passed a bylaw Tuesday night to
regulate the erection and use of liquid
manure , pits in the township since
liquid manure is a potential cause of
water and air pollution.
The bylaw which will be effe,ctive
immediately, has been the subject of
debate of the past few weeks as
council struggled to come up with
needed controls that would not meet
too much 'opposition from farm
owners.
•
• Included 1n. the bylaw is the
requirement that all liquid manure
pits must be constructed of solid steel.
or concrete covering, or be con-
structed of solid steel or concrete two
feet above grade ,and have a solid
enclosure to a minimum distance of 10
feet above grade.
Robert Broadfoot of Brucefield,
who has attended meetings when the
bylaw was being debated, convinced
council that if they went for their
proposal to go four feet above grade
then a person would need a pumping
system and there would be three feet
of waste space. However, at two feet
above grade, then only one foot would
not be usable; He convinced them as
• well to lower the top enclosure
requiiement to 10 feet from 12 feet.
Other regulations are: no run-off or
seepage to enter any municipal drain;
the pits are to be properly and ef-
ficiently maintained and operated
according • to the ministry of
agriculture and food code of practice;
storage capacity must be sufficient to
carry six months supply; all building
permit applicants must have cer-
tificates of approval from the
ministry of the environment before a
building permit will be issued; and
any person who contravenes any
provision of the bylaw shall be guilty
of an offence and liable to a penalty
not exceeding $100 exclusive of costs
for each day the offence continues.
In other business, council amended
Mother Nature continues to
dominate the conversation in these
parts, as severe summer weather
seems to becoming the , norm.
Clinton fortunately missed the
tornado that went through Port
Albert on Tuesday morning and we
had a brief taste of the terrible
thunderstorm and tornado that
devastated Woodstock and area on
Tuesday night.
Power was out to a small section
of Clinton (Little England) and
parts of Hullett Township when
lightning struck a high tension
wire, but the lights were only off
for an hour from 5:15 to 6 pm, so
many people had to cook supper on
their barbecues or have cold
plates.
+.++•
'The summary of our July
weather is now in, and depending
on where you live in the county, it
was either a wet or a dry month, so
variable was the rainfall.
At the Goderich airport, , for
instance, weather watcher
Graham Campbell recorded only
30 ' min (1.1 inches) of rain, far
below the average of 74.2 rnm ' (3
inches) that normally falls, while,
Mrs. Baird picked up 80.7 mm (3.25
inches) on her Brucefield rain
gauge, and one spot in Usborne
Township recorded nearly 100 mm
(4 inches) in just one hour two
weeks ago! ! '
--J Mr. Campbell said that the
aVerage temp.eratfire for the
month was 18.5 C, slightly below the
long term average of 19.4, and We
enjoyed about 10 hours more
sunshine than a normal summer
month.
+ + +
• Along with the weather wat-
chers, the Clinton, Brucefield and
Bayfield firemen have been busy in
the last week or so. Last Thursday
night, the Clinton brigade, along
• .with the Brucefield volunteers
rushed out to DebbWs Custar4Cup• ,
Ikestaurant to quell'a minor, grease
, firehat caused little damage.
lk
f Vitida jhe Clinton fellows , Were
(startled y another falso alarni,
•and are hophg that their new'
I.
telephone terminal is soon installed
and working properly.
Meanwhile, the Bayfield boys
were out twice, on the weekend,
first on Saturday to : tr ck fire on
the Cutline, and t 1again on
Sunday when they • their
special cutting saw to help extract
several accident victims from that
accident near Holmesville on
Sunday.
Yours truly and spouse Lois
enjoyed a rather brief stay in
Toronto on the weekend, 'and
fortunately, haven't as yet con-
tacted Legionnaires disease from
passing all that construction on the
401. In the old days, you know,
Legionnaires disease used to come
the morning after a visit to the
local Legion, but apparently this
new disease is far more serious.
Toronto during our visit was
alive with tourists, in fact all the
downtown hotel rooms were
booked sglid, mostly with
Americans, an excellent way to
recoup some of that money
Canadians spend in the South each
winter.
Unfortunately, man Y of the
Yanks we ran into were Still trying
to live up to that arrogant,
pretentious, better -than -you image
they have been known over the
world for many years.
I guess that because their dollar
is 15 cents better than ours, it gives
many of them new hope, as Canada
is the only Western country where
the Yankee dollar is at a premium
anymore.
Our main street wit this week
says that: "If you. think a single
individual can't make a difference
in the world, consider what one
cigar can do in a nine room house.”
+
The recent announcement by
Huron County Judge William.
Cochrane has certainly curtailed
gravel running hi this area, at least
or the. tinie 'being, so Until the
older Weather domes, , one news
`ource tells us that parties of all
kinds are th order of the day.
'..aligOAAWA.C4".14,,medo
The future needs of Clinton's trade area will be summarized in. a study being
completed by Marlene Turnbull, Bryan Tuckey and Louise Ann Smyth. Hired
by the county and town planning board, the three university students will be
conducting shopper and business owner interviews this week. (News -Record
phOto)
a bylaw to change the minimum depth
of lots from 53.3 metres 'to 40 metres.
Council will ask the ministry of
• transportation and communications
for a turning lane for eastbound
traffic and a passing lane for' west-
,bo.und traffic at the intersection of
Highway 8 and the Vanastra sideroad.
The tender from Roth Drainage of
Gadshill for $3,252 was accepted for
construction of the O'Brien drain. Any
connections to drains Will mean, an
extra charge of $15. Work will start
after September 3 and will be com-
pleted by November 1. The Roth
tender- was the lowest of four. -The
engineer's estimate was $4,000.
Applications for building permits
were approved for: Bill Martin, part
lot 41, concession 1, L. RS., addition to
house; Ken Carnochan, lot 38, con-
cession 3, L.R.S., addition to house;
Tom Kyle, Vanastra, addition to
house; Bill Wallace, carport, Lot lr
concession 5 FIRS; H. Gerrits,
Vanastra, renovations to house;
Seaforth Sportsman Club clubhouse,
part lot 15, concession 1 1-1:R.S..
Demolition permits were approved
for Robert Cook, Hensall, small barn'
and Martini's Guichelaar, hen house.
A tile drainage loan for $7,500 was
• approved and passed for payment
were the following accounts:
Vanastra Day Care, $4, 792 .07 ;
Vanastra Recreation complex
$9,098.16; roads $18,517.25; general
accounts, $20,587.93 for a total of -
$52,995.41.
. The 'Junior Farmers have asked
Turn to page 3- er
Town Talk • p. 2
Massed Band ready P. 3
Odds 'n ends. p. 4
p.6 7
SPPf:imilsmer grads P. 9
CountyJail p. 11
Classified •p. 14, 158 16
Floristry Award p. 16
Seats at Blyth p 18
Bell dispute deteriorates
The labor dispute between Bell
Canada and the Communication
Workers of Canada Union from
London has deteriorated. °
This week the dispute took its most
serious turn in the Clinton areawhen
2,000 Bell workers including 20 union
members of Local 46 in the Huron
area, were locked out for six days by
Bell Canada, after they went on a one -
day strike last Friday, August 3. The
lock out ends this Friday, August 10.
The lock out is the longest yet in the'
strike which began on July 11 after
contract negotiations broke down.
Previously, the Union's Toronto office
had been ordering the rotating strikes
on a daily basis and in turn Bell
Canada was retaliating by locking the
workers out the next day.
While the strike continues, with no
bargaining attempts made in that
past 58 days, telephone installation
and repair services are backlogging.
Peter McFalls, union steward for
Local 46 said that already Bell
Canada is at least 300 orders behind in
the Clinton and Goderich areas..
He noted that the rotating strikes
are not designed to cause Bell
customers inconvenience, blit rather
Students conduct planning survey
hy Shelley McPhee
Does Clinton need more parking
space, and if so where, on the business
streets or in parking lots? Are Clin-
ton's shopping - customers being
adequately served and what products
are they buying in other
municipalities? Should Clinton plan
for more department of convenience
stores in the future? .
' These are only some of the
questions that will be answered and
directed t6 the town council, the town
planning board and the county
planning board when a Clinton survey
is completed.
Marlene Turnbull, a 24 -year-old
University of Guelph student from
• Seaforth has been hired by Clinton's
planning board to coniplete the
survey.
She 'will examine the land use
chara.ctertistics and trends, the
shopping floorspace available in
Clinton, th siphoning ffects of
1
neighboring areas, m
the n ber and
needs of pe pgtiyians, the downtown
degigri and ,,available parking
facilities. 1 , %
,
• Through a random sampling of 200
people and a spegial questionnaire
which is being directed at Clinton's
businesses, Marlene will compile data
and complete a report by the end of
August.
Already 80 per cent of the
businesses have b.een approached
with the survey and a customer
questionnaire is now underway.
Situating herself of Clinton's main
businessstreets, Marlene will be
asking some 200 shoppers a number of
questions which will take about five
minutes of their time.
She is receiving help on the project
from Bryan 1TuckeY; ?a 23 -year-old
Exeter native and Louise Ann Smyth,
a 20 -year-old Hamiltonian who are
both studying at the University of
Waterloo. All three are working under
a government grant for this summer
project.
Et\ryan,„, and Louis,who have just
tonipleted -lurveys ifl
Seaftorth and Goderich, will be
complying a separate report on a
trade tteal analysis. Their report will
be S'erlt to•the Huron Planning Board
and along with Marlene's report will
be included in Clinton's Official Plan.
"This report shohld tell us what is
needed for the future and what land
requirements may be needed," Bryan
explained.
He added, "This is necessary
because of the influx of shopping
centres in smaller communities. You
need some information to go by in
case a developer comes into the area.
Presently, Clinton and Seaforth are
the only Huron municipalities without
some form of stropping centre. Only
the three Huron municipalities are
currently under study since similar
•reports were made in Exeter and
Wingham in recent years.
"This survey' will help the present
business people justify their positions
and know where they stand," Bryan
said.
Basically the customer survey will
ask where the shopper lives, how they
got to Clinton's downtown area
'if
fihad problems parking, where
thy frequently shop in the area and
•where have they recently bought a
)
number of different r.oducts. Each
'ilueltionnaire is conficential.
to create havoc for management. Mr.
McFalls added that the company's
retaliation by- locking out is what is
causing most of the problems.
• Peter Croome, Bell Canada
manager of the Stratford area, which
includes Clinton and .Goderich said
that area telephone customers may
have to wait a little longer for repairs
or installations, but the work would be
done. He said that the situation 'is
being outlined to customers and Bell
is telling people that their calls will be
looked at when the work can be done.
He noted that urgent calls would be
dealt with immediately and that
essential services such as police,
hospital, fire and ambulance would be
given top priority.
According to Mr. Croome, most of
Bell's problems are not due to work
stoppages but sharp decreases in the
productivity of workers as well as
work to rule situations.
No further attempts to meet at the
bargaining table have been made
since -the July 11 vote by the union
workers to not accept the new con-
tract. The workers voted 72 per cent
against the contract, objecting to the
length of the contract, the wage in-
crease and the overtime clauses.
Instead of the 30 month contract
with a 101/2 per cent -Wage' increase
offered by Bell, the workers want a 24
month contract with a 17 per cent
raise hike. The union's proposed
increase for Ontario and Quebec
workers would put them in the similar
wage brackets with Bell employees in
the western provinces.
The union is also not satisified with
Bell's overtime clause which permits
the company to schedule up to eight
hours of overtime a week without the
employee's consent. Bell also offered
to limit overtime to 24 hours in a four
week period, ,but the workers have
said that they want the right to accept
or reject any overtime work.
Weather
1919 1978
JULY
31 29 17 22.5 6.5
AUG.
1 25 15.5 26 13
2 24 16.5 29 15'
3 27 13 25 13.5
4 28.5 15 22 7
5 27 17 25 9
24 11.5 25.5 10.5
itih 8.0
s I 4
Nc-