HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-01-31, Page 1Although the editor may have cut his lawn last week, it
will certainly be a few week's now until the lawnmowers
come out again, as winter finally came to Huron County
in the past week, dumping up toa foot of snow (30.48 cm)
H�spi.alhap
By Shelley McPhee
With an 8.5 per cent increase in
their operating budget for 1980, the
Clinton Public Hospital is unlikely to
make any major cutbacks this year.
'Clinton -hospital. administrator
Doug Coventry- said fhat after an
_in.+crease.:in 1.97 ..oLnniy..2 16 per .cent,.._.
"We're quite happy .with this year's
budget." . - -
Health - Minister Dennis Timbrell
recently :announced the Ontario
health., budget of $2.;.:5,9. billion: to
provincial hospitals_ and according to
Mr. Coventry, the substantial in-
crease for 1980 was given so that
'smaller hospitals would have fewe>i
budgeting difficulties. •
"The bigger you are, the easier it is
to cope with a cutback. A cut in a $1.5
million budget is. much harder to deal
with than a cut in a $10 million
budget," he explained.
Despite a low, budget, increase in
1979, Mr. Coventry said that by the
end .of the fiscal year, in March}.. the .-
Clintoir► hospital may not finish off as
,,badly as anticipated.
He noted that presently the hospital
is only $3,000 under budget which he
reasons is fair for a hospital with an
operating budget of over $1.5 million,
Mr. Coventry ' explained that the
hospital came, or may come close, to
breaking even was because the
hospital Was granted an additional
$92,000 from the ministry of health to
meet the 1979 operating costs.
Although the -Clinton hospital will
receive an extra. $147,601 for their
on the district. Jeff Corrie of Raglan Street inay not have
to cut the lawn, but he still has a big laneway to shovel, .
and was hard at work Tuesday afternoon when the
photographer stopped by. (News -Record photo)
y::wjth 9%'i,zc'i"se
operating budget for 19$0 with the 8.5
per cent increase, medical and
surgical supplies have incr ed their
costs by 15 per cent and,tht, ..ost of X-
ray films has risen 60 per cent in the
past two months, because -of the silver
content. However, Mr: Coventry
noted that part, of that increase can be
offset since some . of the silver is
recovered from the processing and
resold by the hospital.
r Later in the year or perhaps in 1981,•
the hospital board will study the
proposal of sendingthe laundry out to
a service, Central Laundry in London.
Mr. Coventry noted that while the
,proje,,ct, may not save money, it would
make the process more efficient.
In previous years, the hospital had
considered moving out the laboratory
services as a cutback move, but Mr.
any issues e.on cern voters
BY JEFF SEDDON government's would not impose a tax.y
Ivoters ,in the north end of the on gas or diesel fuel and would not establish a Canadian oil price 15
Huron.Bruce riding feel any one issue continue with- the Conservative percent less than the American price.
v shotiltl keynoter the February 18 mortgage interest_ deductability He said another important piece of
election they failed to show. it at an all. scheme legislation that died when the election
candidates meeting in -Lucknow He added that "interest rates was called was the farm tax credit for
Monday night. should be lowered". money y paid by a farmer tohisspouse.
The three candidates in this riding, Conservative Murray ,Cardiff told He said that cr'edtt,..was,a bonus for
— .,...Liberal--Graerne-Craig., Pregresskve--:._:.....-voter-s....-...,.the - P.C.—govPrn ent Was .._..wm.os•t farme s rn-•Hur-an rnce ..-...
Conservative Murray Cardiff and "brought down in the" middle of WTonyIcQuail told the: audience "in
New Democrat Tony McQuail, faced business". He said the election was power there was very little difference
between 300 and 400 voters in the "unnecessary"' and would not have between the Liberals and the Con-
Lucknow Community Centre happened had not the Liberals and servatives".tween•
highlightijng their party policy and % NDP joined forces in December of He said "insanely high interest
fieldingquestions from voters. 1979.
The PC candidate said Canada rate's" did little more than encourage
Tile meeting was organized by an
independent group of- ciforeign investment in Canadian
tizens in- would have to take a hard stand on agriculture and business.
terested in hearing what each can- energy policies. He said the country He told voters that policies unposed
didate felt he -could offer voters in was a net exporter of oil in 1974 and by government for the production and
Huron -Bruce. now relied on oil imports. exporting of Canadian natural
Craig told voters he felt energy and Cardiff said that situation forced resources amounted to a "sellout of
finances were at stake in the election. Canada to rely on Oil Producing Canadian jobs". He said government
He said the government put in power Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations should use these resources for
by voters would have. to manage for its energy needs and that reliance Canadian industry. He claimed
national finances ensuring that was shaky due to political instability Canada exports resources and then
taxpayer's money was used ef- in some of those nations. buys' back :expensive. manufactured
ficiently, strive for energy self suf- "We can't be controlled by the goods from other countries rather
ficiency with e0'•—anal energy prices whims of OPEC nations,",he said. than manufacturing those goods here.
fair to all 1 ' adians, . promote He said the tax the Conservative
economicMc ail said the NDP has never
increasing the number of jobs and federal budget reduced the subsidy . growth with the aim of ,government proposed in the 1980
been given an opportunity to govern
Ca ada but pointed out that many
greater economic strength in every paid or imported oil leading to lower p policies have been im-
region of Canada' and helping those taxes for Canadian oil producers. He plemented. He said a governments
that need assitance. said that lower tax returned money to have seen the wisdom in many New
The Liberal said his government the oil companies for increased, ex- Democratic policies and used them.
�_..._. _ nr _. -.. lora-tion--tucd -ro
would-"1ioTd`t ie�Iine'on government " ``p p ducti-cm7-.--- --'-�.m-- .--meter elections.
spending". He said any increase in He added that the higher prices He added that much of that p.olicy
government spending would be less
than the increase in the gross national
product.
Craig told voters - a Liberal
Coventry said that the hospital hopes.
to retain this service. •
"The doctors and patients ap-
preciatehaving it here. Four .years
ago we sent out 80 per cent of our lab
services and now 70 per cent is done
here."
Mr. • Coventry said that bed cut-
backs, whi-C -were int ated1 it year
by the ministry,, had been met in
Clinton,.. The hospital is now operating.
with 30 active- treatment beds and"
their allocation is 28. However; Mr.
Coventry explained that hospitals
with under 100 beds, may exceed the -
minstry guidlines by up to 10 beds.
With the cut for 14 beds in the past
ye.ar, the amount of day surgery has
increased and the Clinton hospital is
presently running at a 80 per cent
Turn to page 3 •
BIA to have. study done
The Clinton Business Improvement
Area (BIA) have not already spent
$3,000, according to BIA chairman
David Anstett.
That statement came after C,linton
council, at their last regular meeting
on January 21, objected to the BIA
spending. $3,000 on blueprints of the
area without council's approval. The
$3,000 was included in the BIA budget -
which was subsequen.tly- okay-e-d--by-
the council at the same meeting.
first
column
You won't know it -,-but this is the
105th birthday of the town of
Clinton, and it doesn't seem
possible that • Centennial
celebrations were five years ago,
a lready:-•Tirneseems to fly.
The other day I had the occasion
to go over the old Centennial
edition, and the history book, and I
was amazed at the changes in town
since '1975. Time waits for no one,
and it certainly is true here. Take
for instance the Centennial com-
mittee, where death and 'cir-
cumstance has exacted their toll.
Many familiar faces like Tom
Feeney, Don Kay, Danny
rolquhoun, Laurie Colquhoun, are
no longer with us, while other hard
workers like Don Hall, Rollie Steep
and Dick Briere have moved away.
But- looking back should serve
only to give us strength'th carry on,
and that's why we must look ahead
to our 105th birthday, when again
the town will be filled with
thotleands .of visitors, here as. part
of the Shriners celebration. This
paper has more to say about that
on the editorial page. '
The longer one is in the
newspaper business, the harder .it
is to understand ^^me . people.
Recently we've had - oral reports
•of abandoned dogs and cats left on
some lonely sideroads by some
uncaring owner, and in one case,
we found a -small dog, freezing to
death under a carpet on a sideroad
just east of Clinton.
Fortunately, in this case,
someone rescued the dog from his
snowygrave, but many of our rural
readers tell us this is a frequent
happening, and many times the.
kittens or puppies die before they
are discovered. One wonders how
"advanced" our civilization really
is.
+
"Keep in mind," jokes 'the Main
Street wit, "that even if you're on
the right track; you'll,getrunnover
if you "just sit there."
t r -r
Although I'm one who usually
hopes for sunny skies as much as
possible, I'm in favor of the skies
being covered in a thick overcast
cloud this coming Saturday,
February 2, as the old ground hog
comes out to decide whether we
will have six weeks -more of winter
or not.
Actually, we've only ..really had
one ' week of winter so far, so I
guess we could stand another six
weeks. And for all we know, the
ground hog might have already
been out during one of those mild,
sunny days in January, and his
predictions are coming true now.
+ + +
As well *as being Ground Hog
Day, this Saturday is also Minor
Hockey Day in Clinton, when the
young lads take to the ice at 11 in
the morning to 10 or so in the
evening.
And the family skate returns
again ' Sunday night, when mom
and..dad and all the kids can skate
for only $1.
We are lucky in this area to have
one of the finest post -secondary
'school institutions in the area,
namely Centralia. I -had- the
distinct pleasure of taking one of
their short courses on money
management recently, and I can
only say that those that missed it
should demand it be held again, it
was that good.
Most of the people at the course
were young farmers, but 'from
comments from bankersand
agricultural officials, there should
have been many older farmers
there as well.
+ o
"Inflation is a stab in the buck,"
says the Main Street wit.
Just another reminder that If for
any reason you won't be able to
Vote in the February 18 election,
you may do so in an advance poll.
Look for the ads elsewhere in thio
edition.
Reeve..Royce Macaulay commented
at the meeting that while he approved
of the budget, he objected to the fact
that the BIA had spent the- money
without -making the , council . or the
business owners in the BIA aware of
the fact. '
However, on January 23, Mr.
Anstett informed the News -Record
that the council had been misin-
formed_He stated that the money had
not yet been spent, and the BIA •was
just in the process of hiring architects
Hill and Borgal from Goderich to
complete a plan of the area. The plan,
which is expected to cost between
$2,500 and $3,000, will be completed in
Torn to page 3 •
For dozen break-ins
prompted Canadians to conserve
energy to save.their money.
Cardiff said- the goal of the Con-
servative government was to
Man gets 8 months
Robert Gerald Reynolds, 21, of 19;9 following an extenive ` police
-Seaforth was found guilty on Monday investigati by the Goderich Detach -
on _II counts of break, enter and theft, _ment of t e Ontario Provincial Police
and sentenced . by Judge William of a cou , ty=wide break-in ring.
Cochrane to eight months in jail on. He Was found guilty of break-ins at
each account. a dozen Huron County establish -
in Augustm its, which included the break-in at
e McKillop Township office in
Winthrop in.- which , a resulting fire
caused $30,000 in damaged. He was
also found guilty to break-ins at the
Goderich- Township office . in
Holmesville, Mitchell's Family
Market in Londesboro, the Ministry of
Transportation and Communication
building in Clinton, the Country
Market at Vanastra, Merner's Meat
Market... in . Dash_wood, the Hay
Municipal ,Telephone office, the
Hensall District Co-op, the Pro
Hardware storeandthe Huron. County
Shed, all in Zurich and the Seaforth
Legion.
In connection with the break and
enters, all charges were dropped
against William Alexander McKeIvie,
of Seaforth.
Goderich OPP reported that
following a January 25 break and
enter at the Bayfield Boat Works in
Vanastra, from which a quantity of
cash was stolen, a man going by a
Goderich and Windsor address had
been arrested. -
Robert Lewis Simonato, 29, from
Goderich and" Windsor was charged.
The' investigating officer was Con. -
stable Lorne Carter of the Goderich
OPP.
Rt'v
nnidc
w
rr.6,,ted
W�ther
1980 1979
HI 10 HI LO
JAN
22 0 -3.5 •2 . 6
23 -1 ,10 -2 7.5
24 -2 -16 2 .5
25 --5 -12 /3 -2
-26 .. 4 _ .g 1 - 1.5
27 -5 -8,5 2 - 2
28 -6 - 10 0 -2.5
Snow - 17 cm Snow 10 cm,
Tourney head retiring
The Clinton Recreation Com-
mittee's Bantam Hockey Tour-
nament, which concluded last
weekend, also concluded the 13 year
reign of its founder and co-ordinator,
Len Fawcett.
Mr. Fawcett announced t ii's week
that the 1980 tournament was his lett,
after organizing and running 12 of
them (the one in 1977 was cancelled
because of .a blizzard).
He, along with -hi -s -•wife and family,
volunteered their services each year,
usally six months before the tour-
' narnent, getting ,out registrations,
setting up schedules, and then during
the tournament"' making sure the
teams were properly looked after.
"It's time for sdtneone else to do the
job," Mr. `Fawcett said. "I've had'
some pressure from other people_
telling me howto run it, but I sure
hope someone -else will take care of
it."
"Many coaches and fans said i•t was
one of the best tournaments in,
Western Ontario, but ;the Clinton
people just haven't supported it the
last few years," Mr. Fawcett said.
'He was disappointed at the lack of
local support of the tournament and
commented, "We had an excellent
crowd on Sunday for the cham-
pionships, but 90 per cent of ' them
were from out of town.".
"People complain there's nothing to'
do in town, and then when we bring in
some excellent hockey like this, they
don't show up," Mr. Fawcett said.
He added that all the profits of the
tournament, whichhave been sub-
stantial over the years, where plowed
back into the recreatiuon program for
the town, either in capital ex-
penditures, or subsidies for minor
hockey ice time.
In the championship ganyes on
Sunday afternoon that concluded the
seven -game tourney held over two
weekends, Brantford beat Welland 5-2
take the Triple 'A' title, while Oak-
ville uuthustiea Brampton 4-1 to take
the double 'A' trophy.
. In the D & E division, Thedford
edged Elma-Logan 5-3, and in the
most exciting game of—the _ day,
Kincardine beat a big Parkhill team
1-0 on a gaol with two minutes to go, to
win the B & C title.
was established because -of the.
needs of Canadians" and not the
wants of corporations or for-eigi in-
vestors.
The Lucknow area fariner said the
NDP promised to lower interest rates
that were causing small businesses
and farmers to suffer. He said th°e
prime interest rate would be lowered
two percent by an NDP government
suggesting more Canadians "will
invest. in their country if they can
borrow money at decent rates"..
He said government taxation
1
policies should be estab >.she d for the
good of the country suggesting the
Conservative budget was set "by a
misguided Robin Hood like John -----
Crosbie who gave to the rich by
robbing the poor".
At times candidates were at a loss
when asked to comment on their
stand or their party's stand on
specific issues. The meeting
organizers offered the audience an.
opportunity to querie the -candidates
on anything perceived to be a national
topic and some of those questions
-caught candidatesoff guard.
The session indicated that many
voters 'disagreed with what the
candidates felt were number one
issues and at times showed that
voters were better informed than
politicians.
Graeme Craig , was asked to com-
ment on his party's agricultural
policy and could only say party leader
Pierre Trudeau planned to reveal that
policy later in the week.
Murray Cardiff wastold one of the
PC television ads claimed the
Liberals had run up a $47 billion
deficit in 11 years while Crosbie's
budget would betterthat in four
years. Cardiff offered a weak
suggestion that inflationfactors had
to be considered but was at a loss to
`Turn to page :3 •
The three federal candidates - for
Huron -Bruce in the February 18
federal election faced about 350 voters
Monday night at an , rli-oanaidates
meeting in Lucknow." The three
highlighted their party's platform in a
short address and then faced voters in
a question and answer period. The
candidates, from left, NDP Tony
ivtc Quail, Conservative Murray
Cardiff and Liberal Graerne Craig,
are allservicing the federal ,seat
vacated- . when •'incumbent Robert
McKinley announced his retirement
shortly after the election was called.
(photo by Rick Shaw) '
9