HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-03-27, Page 11 T5t year -No, 13ThijrSdclYt MarchMo.rch 27,1980
35 cents
__The kids kept their eyes glued to the puppets during the ° whole show last
' Thursday at the Clinton Town Hall, as Bob Stutt of the Frog Prince Theatre in
Toronto put ona excellent one,rnan show that thriled all of the klds (and
adults) jammed into the room. The show was part of the library's spring break
program. (News -Record photo)
Provincial government to
pick-up housing tab
Eight Huron County municipalities
will save a total of $57,900 this year
with _the ---federal government's new
plan to pick up their share ' of
operating 'losses on Ontario Housing
Corporation (OHC) subsidized rental
units.
---Ontarie municipalities where the
OHC rental units for families and
senior citizens are located will no
longer be required to pay a'7%/2 per,
cent share on `the operatinglosses of
the units in° their areas. Instead, the
provincial payment of 421/2 per cent
will increased to 50. per cent and the
federal government will cover the
other half.
The new agreement takes effect on
April 1 and while municipalities will
be responsible to their full share of the
1979 losses, which amounted to
$62,662.45 in Huron, they will be only
required to pay one quarter of the 1980
losses and none thereafter. For Huron
County municipalities, this means
their total 1980 bill of . $77,200 will be
lessened to $19,300.
Clintoh had expected to pay $9,700
this year, Bayfield was scheduled to.
pay $3,900 and Blyth's total figure was
set at $4,900. Exeter's 1980 payment
for the units was $7,400, Goderich was
to pay -$9,000, Seaforth was scheduled
to pay $8,900, and Zurich's share was
set - at . $5,100, The 1980 share for
Brussels was to be $7,800, Lucknow
was to pay $4,500 and Wingham had
highest loss to cover in the county
MON.
0.
Housing Minister Claude Bennett
explained that the move was rnade•to
"lighten the burden -6f the local
taxpayer."
He said, "This will . mean an
estimated saving of about $20.5
million annually for the more than 300
municipalities in which the OHCS
subsidizes rents."
Although municipalities will no
longer be required to make a financial
contribution towards assisting
housing losses, there will be no
change in m-unicipai involvement in
housing studies and policy develop-
ment.
Municipalities will continue to be
involved in the management of OHC
rental units through their par-
ticipation in the appointment of
members to the beards of Ontario's 59
local housing authorities,,Mr. Bennett
said.
Spring came in like a lamb last
Thursday morning, and according
to the oldtimers in the area, a
warm south wind, combined with
blue skies when the.sun crosses the
equator means a warm dry spring.
However, a snowstorm the next
day, last Friday, seems to belie
that superstition, but then the old
fellows tell us that means nothing.
And the local farmers need a
decent spring for a change and
with the soaring input costs,
ridiculously low prices and
outlandish interest rates, it would
be one of the few bright spots.
Spring also means the return of
the spring flowers, and here in
Clinton, the return of thousands of
daffodils this week, as the- local
chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi will
be selling several thousand of them
today, Friday and Saturday, to
raise funds for ~the Canadian
Cancer Society.
- The gals, dsepite inflation, are
offering more for the ,same price
this Year, as the flowers will be
priced at $2 per dozen, instead of $2
for 10 as was the case in years past.
▪ -1-
Spring
Spring also means the end of the
hockey and ice skating season, as
the ice comes out of the arena this
weekend.
But before the plant is shut down
this Sunday night, the arena will be
having a fmily skating night and
it's free to all corners.
+ `++
The end of the hbckey season
(except in '%the NHL, which goes
until June) should not be greeted
with sadness however; as It means
the baseball and soccer seasons
are just around the corner.
The Clinton -Minor Baseball
Association, now in its second year,
is planning vigge� and better
things for this season, and will kick
things off with an organizational
meeting this Saturday at noon at
the arena.
This year the Association will
also include girls teams, and they
are also most anxious to have help
,.with their executive, so all in-
terested parties are invited to
attend.
+ + +
This is also the final week that
this writer will suit up for his
hockey games, as the "has beens"
(and in my case, the never-were's)
end another enjoyable season. The
fellows talked me into playing net
for a few, weeks, and it certainly is
an enlightening experience,
guarding the net while grown men
slap an object at 90 mph at me;
while I'm standing there, sup-
posedly protected by about 50
pounds of armor.
+ +
Another sure sign of spring in
Clinton, even more definite• than
the return of the robins, was the
appearance on Main Street last
Thursday, the first day of spring, of
the local police force, out giving
tickets for the first time since last
fall. Yes, I got one too.
+++
The Main Street Wit says this
week, in honor of all those who are
working on their income tax forms,
that money is someting that
brushes against your fingertips on
its way to the government.
But, says the Wit, "A dollar may
not do as much for us as it used to,
but then we don't do as much for a
dollar either.
+ -F•+
And of course,- next Tuesday is
the Wit's day, as the nation plays
April Fool jokes on one another.
Don't get caught.
eye's.
by Shelley McPhee
Tragedy has struck a Clinton family •
for the second time within a year, On
March 22, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth
Wildforirg and Donald Forrest lost
"�h�eir second cfiili�'`and Sister': ,��'�.
Their 15 -year-old daughter Donna
Jane Forrest, who had just celebrated
her birthday on February 20, died in
Victoria Hospital, London after a
week's illness from the rare disease,
Reye's Syndrome.
Her death about, a year after her
younger brother, Dennis died from
leukemia.
Donna was a Grade 9 student at
Central Huron Secdndary School in
• Clinton and a member of the Wesley -
Willis • United Church. She was also
kri,wn by many Clinton people
through her part-time job as a
waitress at the Kum -In Restaurant in
Clinton.
She was diagnosed as a victim of
the mysterious disease on March 15
weekend, and was transferred from
Clinton Public Hospital -to London..
Dr. William Sibbald, director of -the
critical care trauma unit at Victoria_
Hospital, said in an interview that she
came tothe hospital_ in a partial
coma. She was later placed in a drug
MARCH
18 1 ' 8 9 M.1
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Rain 18,5 mm Snow 2 em
Snow 3 cm
0.
ome bills Clinton girl
induced full comain an attempt to
save her life.
A simiiar drug induced coma
helped to save the life of a nine-year-
old S,taffa_,,area
ine-year-
dStaffarea .girl _who,.'a,1�_t,.
Victoria Hospital two weeks ago also
suffering from the disease. She was
placed in a coma to allow the brain a
resting period and to help reduce the
swelling in it, one -of the most life-
threatening aspects of the strange
disease. She is making a total
recovery at War Memorial Children's
Hospital in London and doctors hope
she will be able to return home soon.
Along with the Clinton teenager one
other girl, a seven-year-old from
Kitchener, died last week at the
Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto
from the disease which doctors stress
is not contagious.
Dr. J.E. Boone of the War Memorial
Hospital said in an interview that
people tend to compare Reye's -
Syndrome owith polio epidemics of
early days. He stressed, however,
that many doctors••treated all kinds of
polio victims then and Reye's Syn-
drome case are extremely isolated in
comparison.
, In total, there have been, at least
nine cases of, Reye's Syndrome in
Joseph Atkinson, left, the president of Clinton's newest service club, receives
the club's charter from Ab Flood, Ontario district governor, as the club held its
charter banquet last Friday night. The club already has 40 me#nbers, and has
staged several successful fund raising projects. (photo by Verne Sawyer)
$10�fine
Dog owners to be charged
If you haven't pi ,rchased your dog
licences this year, be prepared to pay
a fine.
Clinton Police Chief Lloyd Westlake
has warned that summons are being
sent to over 100 pet owners in town
who haven't purchased their dog tags
for 1980.
Chief Westlake reported that so far,
180 people have purchased the tags
for their pets this year, compared to
265 bought in 1979.
The fine for those not having tags
for their dogs is $10, plus the price of
the -licence which is a minumum of
$10.
In other police news, it was
reported that a window in a car
belonging to Josh Bloss was broken.
The March 20 incident occurred at.
Mr,. Bloss' Joseph Street residence in
Clinton and police suspect that the
window was broken with a pellet gun.
Another case of break, enter and
theft was reported at the Dry Dock in
Bayfield.
The Goderich OPP reported that
the theft occurred sometime between
March 24 and 25. A quantity of liquor,
Hurnan remains
found in bush
police reveal
The remains of a human body have
been found in a bush area north of
Goderich.
The' Goderich OPP reported that
they are conducting an investigation
into the discovery with Detective
Inspectors Icon Roberts and Charlcs
Judson from . the Criminal
Investigation Branch of the OPP from
Toronto.
Police would give np further details
at this tine.
irre
food and a microwave
stolen and police
vestigating.
The burglars also inflicted some
vandalism damage.
oven Were
are still in:
Ontario this year. In Michigan,
however, 40 cases have been reported
since December 1979 arld in Ohio, 102
cases have been discovered in the
��past four w_Ee.k , a —
Along with the Clinton and Staffa
area girl, Victoria Hospital has
treated a third case of the disease
since December and a 10 -year-old
Chatham area boy remains in a coma
in War Memorial Children's Hospital.
Placing the young patients in a
coma is one of the ways that doctors
have been battling the disturbing
disease, but its real cause and cure is
unknown.
Doctors and medical researchers
have found that the disease strikes
youngsters anywhere from a few
months after birth to late teens. The
disease alters the blood chemistry,
terrorizes the liver and puts pressure
on the skull. In about half the severe
cases, the child dies.
Victims usually contract Reye's
Syndrome while recovering from a
viral infection such as influenza or
chicken pox. However, Dr. Sibbald,
along with other medical experts, say
that the condition is so rare that
parents should not become overly,
concerned because their children
either have flu or chicken pox.
•
Not only the results of the disease
are frightening, but its suspected
causg are equally°dist%urbing:'
The. disease was labelled ,Reye's
y...�.3cndrarn€�••-.--1�. r�---•,ag@; bud--1}r�--.-.-,.�a
Sibbald suspects that it may have
been around much longer than that.
Modern technology and 'tests are
showing signs that . the sometimes
deadly disease may be man-made.
Doctors think that the simple
childhood viruses, like flu and chicken
pox, may be uniting with man-made
•'chemicals • in the environment or in
household products to produce a
deadly combination.
While the results, of the disease are
clearly evident,researchers have
been struggling to determine what
combination of compounds causes
Reye's Syndrome.
Dr. Stephen Safe, a professor of
• biochemistry at the University of
Guelph, said in an interview that; "It
could be a host of different chemicals.
You can't exclude any of them." •
The chemicals that may be con-
nected with the syndrome could be
found in any household product, the
air we breath or the food we eat.
Already .research' has - found - that a -
variety of chemicals ranging from
Turn
to page 3 •
Local Bell operators may
finailyget 'back to work
Thirteen Bell Canada operators in
Clinton may be back to work early
next week after a three month
, walkout.
The operators, part of Local 46 of
the Com municiation Workers of
Canada (CWC), were to have voted on
Tuesday night on a new three year
contract.
The employees have been without a
pay increase since 1977 and it was
expected that they would vote in favor
of the contract which would raise
their 1978 salaries by 15.9 per cent,
12.2 per cent for 1979 and nine per cent
in 1980. A cost of living clause will also
come into effect in the final year.
In Clinton the operators, many of
them single parents, have being
making $4 and hour. With the in-
creases the top weekly salary of $194
will jump to $225 when the contract is
approved and will reach $278 by the
end of the contract in November, 1981.
While on strike, the operators were
receiving $8 a week strike pay and
$3,50 a week for each child.
Although neither side would
volunteer details 1of the mediation
process, it seems that the agreement
carne after Bell gave in and decided to
plant the retroactive wage settlement
recommended' before' Christmas by
federal conciliator Roland Tremblay.
Bell refused to accept the report
and the 7,400 operators an¢ cafeteria
workers in• Ontario walked out in late
January after a series of rotating
work stoppages.
The final—settlement does not in- .
clude all of ;Mr. Tremblay's recom-
mendations and union demands,
which arose after,the beginning of the
strike, were also dropped.
Concessions proposed by Mr.
Tremblay, but not included in the
tentative agreement, deal mostly
with disciplinary and overtime issues.
The operators' new contract will
expire at the same time as that of
Bell's 5,000 technicians and smain-
tenance workers, also members of the
CWC. The matching termination
dates mean that Bell subscribers will
not face the prospect of'two separate
strikeswithin six months, as was the
case in the current round of talks.
The strike ' by the operators had
become an important fight for the .
Canadian - labor movement. Two
weeks ago, the Canadian, Labor •
Congress committed $632,000 in
donations. to the operators' union, and
promised further funds if the strike
continued to drag.
Fire marshal to
investigate blaze
The Ontario Fire Marshal's office
has been called in by the Clinton Fire
. Department to try and find the cause
of a blaze that gutted an Erie Street
house on March 18. k . k
Chief Clarence Neilar s said the fire
marshal hasn't released his report yet
on the cause of the blaze which caused
an estimated $35,000 damage to the
vacant home owned by Cliff Hallam.
The Hallam family had vacated the
home before Christmas last year and
had moved into a new home 40 yards
away. Mr. Hallam was renovating the
house, and says he nearly had it ready
to rent when the fire occured.
The first day of spring last Thursday turned out to be the
warmest day yet this year, and the sunny warm weather
lured out many people, includng downtown merchants/to
wash their Windows of winter's grit. Here Dave Manly of
Campbell's Men's War, works on the windo+tvs. (Newt
Record photo)
,,,r