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Clinton News-Record, 1980-04-03, Page 1.. gip. .. .th, 10, left andhis brattier Ray, 15, right, have that the Easter bunny will miss visiting their ne. In fact, Easter comes 365 days a year for boys who raise nearly 400 rabbits. These two only two weeks old but Ray and Allan are hoping to sell some of their older bunnies as Easter pets this year. For more on the Oesch's bunnies and other Easter sytories, see page 15 of today's editon (News- Record photo) wer drinking y Shelley McPhee anges in the Provincial ,ct has lowered liquor fines :ounty by over $75, and has •ty policing agen cies upset. gust the fine for having an of liquor or case of beer in set at $104 by the local ler the new law, which puts setting powers back in hands, it has been reduced estlake pointed out that > he and .other ' are police d asked tome increased last also dxQpped in the new wide. standards. Minor ion of liquor and un - noise have been dropped to 104 and the fine for being ith drunkeness in a public d for someone in Toronto to ne on our area ,w.h.en they v the problems,''- Clinton ief . Lloyd Westlake ex- ipprove of some of the new added, "We had trouble them at the higher fines." that most summer areas nm areas previously had les set for particular gut under the new court fines will remain the same >rovince. g to Chief •Westlake the new system, which was introduced on March 31, also involves much- more paperwork for the police depart- ments, despite the fact that it was. designed to simplify and streamline the system. Chief Westlake explained 'that under the old system, offenders were given one ticket and court was held once a month. Now, the offender receives an``information sheet, a of- fence certificate and has the choice between a summons ticket or an out- of-court settlement notice. The police now have six pieces of paper to deal with when a charge is laid. Under the old system,' copies of offences- were mailed to- Goderich to be signed before the court date and. returned to Clinton. Now Clinton police,officers will be forced to drive to Goderich to have the • notices signed. According to Chief Westlake, this will take time and will add an- dother 100 miles a week to the police cruiser. The reports have to be driven up because court has now been set for twice a month and offence notices must be seen' by te,_Court within 15 days. If an offender doesn't make plea within that time, the court will assurrrethan they do not wish to dispute the charge and may enter a conviction against the offender and impose a fine. ° Those charged with commtting a lly, for - all those poor stiffs who more and more be carrying the rest of the - aholiday! s right. For the first time in ionths, we'll be getting a Friday, as the Christian :elebrates the highlight of ;ious season. ime people, the day off will first break in a long and winter, while for others, it's other four day weekend. oce;, the kids:1t1st got back 3l 1at" week from winter and they're out on the Lgain! roliday this Friday has some confusion amongst ulace, and depending on :upation,•it might be a four kends or a pain in the rear. ance, inos'i'1?us'inesses will late Thursday night, closed and open Saturday and including the banks, who open til 6 pm Thursday er, the post office and the it stores will be open late y night, closed Friday, turday, and then closed ind Monday. Ditto for the e. ose connected with the ystem and other govern.. ces, except the post office, oy the full four day , although I'm still con - to why the kids are out and the public paid ent workers should get a hile the rest of us work our :o pay them. these days, the public's get wise to this feeding at e trough _ -and. demand a e work for their taxes. Course if you're a hog )r cash cropper, you'll • the three-day weekend the slaughter houses and ty exchanges, so you get a m the depressing news of y falling prices and rising ites. + + + are a few bright spots, and one of them being the of the calendar to April idence of spring, came in like a very cold lamb, and went out as a somewhat milder lamb, and -.according to the weather office, March was more wintery than usual. Graham Campbell, keeper of the statistics at the Goderich weather office, says that March this year was colder than normal, and snowy. He says we had 42.4 cm of snow (16.7 inches), compared to the average of 31.2 (12.3 inches), and the total precipitation last month was 94.0 mm (3.7 inches) well above the average of 58.4 mm (2.3 inches. The mean temperature last month was -2.4 C (27,7 F), colder than the long term average of -1.5 (29.3 F). .. So overall, because of a' cold February and March, and a mild December and January, the winter of 1979-80 will go into the books as just slighly colder than normal, but lacking in snowfall, and almost totally lacking in any major storm, an unusual happening for this part of the cotlntry, right in the heart of the snow belt. + + +. Because this is also the first weekend in.the_month, don't forget to put your papers out to the curb this Saturday morning, weather 'permitting, and the Londesboro Lions will be around to pick them up, sometime around 9 am.., The Main Street wit says this week that some folks never get interested in anything until it's none of their business. - l-t+ We have repeiced a couple of unsigned letters in the newsroom lately, and because it is :policy that we can't print any letter without the writer's signature, these well- written missives will have to be left out. We ,do permit -pen names, however, so even if your letter is signed, you can still keep your identity private. Here's a little tip that could save you 13 bucks if you're stopped by the police. You must have atopy of the vehicle insurance certificate in the car or truck at all tittles. Otherwise, it's an automatic $13 fine. 9 million county budget approved BY SHARON DIETZ • The 26 municipalities in the county Huron County Council approved ,will contribute $2.2 million whereas their 1980 budget of $9 million at their last year, they contributed 2.7 million. March session last Thursday. The The municipalities will pay less this budget represents a.seven per cent year because the province has paid r. Tatal--ex��--thy---reser�rce equalization grant penditures have increased $841,125. or directly tQ; the county. In previous nine percent, years this grant was paid to the This year's increase means total municipalities. expenditures have increased 48 The county apportionment has percent since 1975. In the same decreased by 0.003 percent -in -the mill period, the total taxable assessment rate since 1975 which is "an enviable has increased 14 percent and the record for the councils over the period province's share has increased 40 1975 to 1980, when you consider the rate of inflation in those years," according to County Clerk -Treasurer . Bill Hanly. A major proposal in the budget was to increase the reserve fund for working capital by $50,000 to $900,000 in 1980. Hanly told council there was no need to borrow working capital in 1979 and indicated it would be "nip percent. ines irk police minor offence now have three plea options, spelled out on the report given by the police. A guilty plea may be entered on the offence notice and sent with the specified fine to the court office. A not guilty plea may be taken and it is forwarded to the court • for a trial time and place can be set • up. The third, new plea, is guilty with an explanation. -This new right allows those charged the chance to explain the .circumstances the _charge was laid, but they .cannot dispute the charge itself. Through -an ex- planation, a reduction in the penalty or _extension of time to pay the fine can be sought. Chief Westlake feels that the new plea has some merit but also noted, "It will be abused too." Part of ,the idea behind the ' requirement for ,pleas before court day is that it will allow a person to come to court without having to spend the whole day there. The. charged person will now be assigned a time to appear, where before, people had to arrive at court at the 10 am beginning time and wait until their case was ot. • "The idea of the new system seems good," Chief Westlake said, "but it's cluttered and no one seems to know the right way to do things yet." He added, "Basically it's supposed to be easier, but from this side it will mean'more paper work." Police chiefs from across the province will meet with Attorney General Roy McMurtry at a special meeting in Aylmer on April 23 when the new system, its merits and•flaws will be discussed. "We'll just avenues are Westlake said. have. to see open to us," what Chief Murder victim not known The identity of a dead woman found on Horizon View Rpad in Ashfield Township March 25 remains unknown. The Ontario Provincial Police have released. a. composite drawing which wilL appear in newspapers throughout Canada and the United States in the hope that someone may. recognize her or come tor - ward with information which might lead to her identification. An appeal for information earlier in the week brought a good response. A11 leads o• �Y It h0 is she? and reports of missing persons were investigated but they led to a dead end. The partially burned body of the woman was found near the roadside laying near the stump of an overt,urned tree. John MacKenzie who owns a farm nearby, discovered the body, while on his way to a barn near the lake, where he keeps horses. Mr. MacKenzie said he thought at first it was -a dead calf, which someone had tried _to burn, but when he looked closer, he discovered it was a human body. Goderich OPP investieated and tors Ron Roberts and Charles Judson of the OPP investigation branch in Toronto have been working ori .the case. Teams of investigators from detachments in the area are tracing leads which until now have turned up nothing. The victim is female, described as 'white, 18 - 25 years of age, weighing approxi- mately 110 pounds, 5 feet, 4 inches' in height, light brown hair worn in a ponytail, small ears, no lobes, low on the side of her head; nose: right nostril, slightly turned up, with a small growth at the entrance of the left nostril; teeth: good. but an overbite, mouth is round and has a thickness to theright side; possible curvature of the spine. A yellow gold diamond wedding band and engagement ring were found near the body. If you have information which might lead to the identification Of the victim, please call the Goderich OPP, 524-8319, collect. All calls are confidential. Township shelves plans for hall by.Shelley McPhee There will be no $500,000 corn- munity complex build in Goderich Township this year, but council is studying a modified plan for a smaller community hall. A contract with the tentatively accepted bid from Genan, a Kitchener based construction firm was not signed by council and instead, the project will be retendered and plans for a' smaller and less expensive hall will be drawn up. Council was forced to drop the Genan contract since approval of a Wintario grant did not come before the contract signing date of February 24, Council learned that they would be eligible to receive Wintario funds five days later. Genan, the lowest of 11 ap- plications, had proposed to construct the new hall for $515,151 but council agreed that the prices put in by the tenders and the engineer's estimated price of the hall at $560,000 were too expensive. The highest tender price recieved was $566,577 and although the tender's prices fell .in line with the engineer's estimate, council agreed to limit • the costs to a maximum of $400,000. Township Clerk Robin Thompson said that their Wintario grant is going to be kept open but no guarantee has been given that total funds will be Cause undetermined in local house fire The cause of a fire that gutted an Erie Street home on Tuesday, March 18 s undetermined, following an investigation by the Ontario Fire Marshal's office. 'Robert Adams of the Mount Forest fire marshal's office said the cause of the $35,000 blaze that destroyed the vacant, house is undetermined. The house, owned by Cliff Halam of Clinton, was being renovated at the time and was just about ready to rent. The loss was partially covered by insurance. available. Wintario grants can cover up to one third of the cost of the structure, after a Community Centres has been deducted. To receive a Wintario grant matching dollars from public funds must be raised. Clerk Thompson also pointed out that the Wintario grant does not cover costs for council chambers or offices 'and bar or liquour facilities. Township Reeve Grant Stirling said that council would be meeting with the architect Brian Garratt on Monday night to discuss and draw up new plans for a smaller hall. One that, Reeve Stirling suggested, would cost well under the $400,000 mark. Reeve Stirling noted that the township is committed to building some sort of hall, a request made by the late Pearl Woon when she left a $150,000 bequeath to build a hall in 1978. The township now has a total of $200,000 in the bank to go towards the hall and they are eligible to receive a Community Centre grant of 25 per cost of the total cost, up to a maximum of $75,000. However, funds from the Community Centre grant and Wintario jwill only be given if the project is completed within a year. and tuck" as to whether it would be necessary to borrow in 1980. He said a further subsidy would be requested from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications _.w-13 eh -__if reeeived; •-vweuld-�perxnrt-thy--- county to operate without borrowing in 1980. The application of tax equalization factors on the 1980 assessment resulted in urban assessments decreasing and an ,increase in the rural assessments. The province had frozen assessment in the early 1970s , and the price of land has increased dramatically since then, especially in rural areas. No assessment was allowed to fluctuate more than five percent by application of the factors in the 1980 assessment. Vanastra water rates increased by Wilma Oke After May 1, Tuckersmith Town- ship Council will have to pay more for the water it bought from the town of Clinton for the residents of Vanastra. - In a letter to council Tuesday, the • Clirntoni Public Utilities Commission stated it was increasing its water rates from 50 cents to 60 s cents per 1,000 metered gallons. This mill mean about a 20 percent increase. Clerk Jack McLachlan said the monthly water bill from Clinton now averages $1,000 per month. There was no indication as to whether council will pass this in- crease onto homeowners in Vanastra. Court of revision was held on both the Geiger and the Van Lodn drainage works and bylaws were passed: Tenders were open for the Geiger drainage works and council accepted the tender from . McKenzie and Henderson of Arkona for $4,650; the lowest of . the four tenders. The engineer's estimate of cost was $5,500. Approval was given for Clerk McLachlan to . attend the annual convention of the association of municipal clerks and treasurers 'in Toronto on June 15 - 18- and a tax seminar in Toronto on May 8 and 9. Passed for payment were the following accounts: Vanastra Day Care Centre, $3,836.30; Vanastra Recreation Centre, $8,454.82; Roads, $13,.153.04; general accounts, $37,735.39 for a total of $63,209.55. Kim Hodgins of R.R. 5, Clinton the annimal control --officer, was given a wage increase of 50 cents per hour when on duty, raising his wage to $5 per hour, and council also increased his car mileage to 40 cents per mile from 32 cents. Weather 1980 1979 HI LO HI LO Mar. 25 2 e 3.5 7 • 6 26 3 - 4 ' 4 -9 27 8 ®1 2.5'10 28 8 -1.5" 5 — 6 29 9 +2 12 4 30 10 0 16, 6 31 4 2 4 1 Rain4.5mm Rain32.2mm Telephone service finally returned to normal on Tuesday • with the return to work of several thousand operators in Ontario and Quebec, including the 13 union mientbers' of the Clinton local. Shown here back at work in the Clinton office after three months of picketing are left to right, Annjeanette Boshart, Mari Willis, and Bev Chowen. (News -Record photo)