HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-07-19, Page 1• Fire early' Tuesday Mor ning completely, destroye. d a
barn on the farm of Ross Faber•"just north°of' Kippen,
'burning•feed and'some sheep, Mr, Faber discovered the
fire at 1:30 aim, shortly after -a severev ectrical storm
passed through the drew, du pin up to•11./2. inches of rain
in ' a short: time. Brucefield and Hensall firemen were
able to save. a nearby ,implement shed. (NewsRecord
Photo)
Ih
Town budget Jlnallypas$d
By Shelley
Clinton taxpayers 'will be,facing the
second highest increase in. their taxes.
in 10 years. 4 ".
The 1980 budget of $1.5 million
passed. by Clinton council at theirJuly
7 meeting is' causing some additional
stir ,this, year by people :who were also
hit by the new increased assessments
on their homes this year.
In a comparison using° the
residential public mill rate, • the
budget has risen ,by 18.25 per cent
over last year.— • '
The highest increase over a:10 year
av----span--eame-in-19,75-when-the-laudget—
took.. a drastic jump by 27.5 per cent.
Smaller increases were felt. in other
years and for three years Clinton.
taxpayers were treated -to a reduction
in the budget The " budgets' per-
centage changes --from 1970 �to 1980
were: 1970, 135 mills; 1971 and 1972,
140 mills 'for 'a 3.7 per 'cenT'"increase;'
1973,.. 1 35.9(14mills,, 2.9 per cent
decrease; 1974, 135.188 mills, .5 per
cent decrease; 1975, 172.346 -mills, 27.5
per cent increase; 1976,.176.320 mills;
•
2.25 per cent' increase; 1977, 168,968
mills, 4.1 ped cent decrease,; 1978,
172.584 mills, 2.1 per cent increase;
1979, 187.457 mills, 8.6 per cent in-
crease and in .1980, 221.664 mills for an
1-8.25 per cent increase.
This year's budget will see Clinton
taxpayers digging deeper into their
pockets this year, For the public
school. supporter, with a $4,000
assessment their taxes .will increase
.by nearly $146 to $897.56 this year, up
from $75.1-,76 in 1979.
Council was able to knock a few
thousand dollara—off-the budget with
e
L the.;cancellation.,oi.constnucti_s�.i�.an.ih
't r� � sewers. The
George Street sanitary y
project, which was' to cost over
$17,000, was rejected in a petition,
from the property owners on George
Street. There is- no demand for the
e are
this time. There
services there at t s
several vacant lots along George
Street and oyrly only one home could
link up to the sewers.
Council were somewhat :disap-
pointed that the local improvement
project was not accepted by the land .
Storm keep Hydro -busy
High winds, lightning and: careless
drivers have kept the-Cllmtbn,offace of
Ontario Hydro- busy in the past few
days.
Electrical power was off in parts of.
Huron County including Clinton and
Bayfield from a few minutes to over
an hour late, last .Saturday afternoon
when a large tree was blown across a
' 27,000 volt feeder which crosses the
Baytwfield River near JeIlystone Park.
Don Eastman, operations manager
for Hydro, said that the line goes
'"across country, and if they hadn't
received a call from Jellystone about
the downed wire, the area mighthave
been blacked out much longer.
Mr. Eastman explained that when a
cross country line is down, Hydro
crews have to patrol the whole line to
find the break.
Nearly all ,the crews - a dozen in
Lfirst'column�
total - were out again early 1.uesuay
morning when • a severe electrical.
storm crossed the area, knocking out
dozens of 'individual customers in a
wide area of Huron, Perth, Lambton
and Middlesex counties.
The; crews worked all night and Mr.
Eastman said he hoped the . work
would be completed by noon on
Tuesday, baring anymore storms.
And if nature herself wasn't giving
the Hydro crews enough work,
humans were compounding the
problem as five hydro poles were
snapped off over the weekend in auto
accidents. -
Mr. Eastman, said it was unusual
for so many poles to be knockeerover•
in the summer. Most poles are
knocked over during the first snow of
the winter when the roads are slip-
•
p'ery.
Although we all complain about
the weather a great deal, the crops
may be a bit behind and that
weekend camping, trip can spoiled
by cold, rainy weather, we still
have a great deal to 'be thankful
Mr, especially after looking ,at the
TV 'reports from the rest of North
America. • •
Down in the American south-
west, people `are suffering; from
temperatures of 40 degress C plus
(100 to 115 P')', while a prolonged
drought. in Saskatchewan and
Manitoba has all brit wiped out
their grain and hay, crops. Many
cattle farmers are faced with
liquidating their herds, while
others have had to.. cut theirs
drastically and rely on expensive
imported hay to tide them over.
' A good deal of that hay is corning
from Ontario, with Hugon County
supplying a large amount. The last
two years have- provided a boun
tiful hay harvest here, and because
if's far _more than we can use,
much, of itis -going west. Just this
week, 10 car-loads_,left from
Wroxeter on the CX line, and some
of the local trucker's have been
taking it back in cattle trucks for
several months now.
-l• + -1-
1-lere in Huron, although we
haven't had much to complain
about, the final, computation of the
weather records'for Jixne show that
it wasn't all that hot here either.
According to weatherman
Graham Campbell at the Goderich
airport, June' was much cooler than
normal, and depending on where
you live in the county,•.allghtly
wetter or dryer than normal. The
mean temperature was only 14,5
degrees C (58.1 P), far below the
long-term average of 16,9 C (624
by
jird fitzgerald
F), and the second coldest June on
record. .
As a result, we only accumulated'
about 309- heat units, compared to
the normal 396, as is obvious from
the 'slow-growing corn and our
heating bills will be up as we had
101 degree -days, more than 'double
the normal 48. The number of hours
of sunshine was only 231 compared-
to the normal of 243. •
• But that's all behind us now, and
hopefully, it will warm up next
week in time for the opening of the
new Clinton swimming pool, which,
baring any . unforseen problems,
should feel the caress of little arms
and feet next Monday!
The Main Street Wit says this ,.
week that: "It's a lot easier to get
someone to pick your tomatoes
while you're away on vacation than
to water your African violets."
Well, it's sort of unique., -but I'm
not particularly fond of being in.the
Clinton Book of Records for being
the jack/ !&% to have gotten the
most parking tickets in Iwo.
months. Anyway, I've smartened
up and I'm now parking behind the_
building, a long way from the
metal monsters. And everybody
thinks that the press has pull!
But the controversy still 'rages
over the meters, and 1 uhderstand
one of the merchants is circulating .
a petition to have them taken out.
Well at least they wont be en-
forcing thein. after supper during
our moonlight madness sale this
Thursday and Friday!
•The. Wit says sarcastically that
there are two ways g g'
a sof loin things
the right way and the Clintryn way!
e
'Huron County's tree cutting by-law
is creating some controversy because
of,. recent decisions made by the
-deve-lopnrent committee- ofrH —
County Council.
The committee was asked to in-
v stigate what the Maitland Valley
conservation Authority feels is an
excessive clearing of bush in direct -
contravention of the Huron County
Tree Cutting By-law on the property
of Gary Thacker, of West Wawanosh
Township: In. 1979 the Tree Com-
missioner had issued a permit to clear
owners, who would pay for a portion•tare area in question.
of the costs. r..._ , The development comniit.tee
° "It will cost twice as much to do it• recommende-d to Huron County
another year, Councillor Rob Parr Council at their July 3 meeting that
said... • • Thacker be requested to replant an
"Is it worth paving George Street equal area to that .removedin con -
without having the sewers? We'll sultation with the Tree Commissioner
have to tear ,it up later," Councillor and the Maitland Valley Conservation
Rosemary Armstrong added. Authority.
Mayor _Harold Lobb reminded the In a,secend instance the committee
council that= the , down had signed; a• . denied'',"a•-: request~ _.frim. George
contract to' reconstruct the street Underwood of Turnbea tY wnship,to -
surface. clear approximately 6, acres con -
"I hate to see those people want the - -sitting-- of soft maple, cherry, poplar
sewers after "'the; road's finished," and ash. There' are in excess of 200
Denut.. Reeve Ernie Brown noted. trees' per acne that are more than five
'1t's quite a job to re-patclii.' .. �..,-i[n`c'hes' 'Waal/tete-1'7— .�. .v,,,.-....w.�.wrv.....�...:
°Mr. Underwood .appeared. before
the development committee and
presented.a copy ofanapplication for
reforestation of 9.3 acres with the
Maitland Valley' Conservation
to continue on with the sewer work for Authority on other lands he owns. The
two years, unless a health problem.. -committee.. denied Mr. Underwood's
Councillor . Armstrong noted that
- the ;town should work on the streets
where people want serviceot those
that don't.
With the petition, the town is unable
can be established. ,
The 1980 budget was reduced by
some $10,000 because of the can-
cellation of the project, however
87,000 of the proposed cost was left in
case the town -decides to put in a short
piece of sewer on Hill Street, a neigh-
boring street to George.
Weather
-r19
AHI' LO
, ...1979
HI LO
application on the condition it be
reconsidered if the 'reforestation
proposed has been established.YFive
other applications to have small areas
of trees cleared were approved by the
:Committee.
Tom Cunningham, deputy reeVe of
Hullett, a member of the development
committee told county council in the
instance of Mr. Underwood's ap-
ilication, the committee felt the trees
should_ be saved or "council may just
',+s ``we1l•throw out the by-law". Most of
the applications approved were scrub
JULY areas with brush arid hawthorns.
1 24 10 19 12,5 Cunningham told council that the
committee _goes out to the properties
2 , 21 9 19.5 11 in question to look over the woodlots
3 24 5 20.5 8 a before making their decision, if the
4 26 11.5 . 20 8 tree commissioner is not sure
5 27 13 18.5 5 whether the application should be -•
6 23 9 22 4,5 approved or denied. ,
7 22.5 5 25.5 6 Paul Steckle, deputyreeve of
No Rain
,,,„........„................,,,..of wished.to commend the development
Thtii slay, July 19,
siname
w bothers
committee on their decision to deny
the .Underwood request. He said the
by-law_is having the effect that it is_"
becoming- pablic -knowledge_ that
people are destroying good bushlansi.
"Had we had the by-law several
years ago," he said, "much of the
good bushland in the county would not
have been destroyed."
Chairman of the developntent
"committee, reeve Ervin Sillery of
Tuckersmith,. told council that far-
mers are choosing to clear land even
though it is costly to drain it and make
it suitable to -farm, because with
today's high prices for land, they find
purchasing land from a neighbour
even more costly. In many cases, he
said, the farmer is clearing an area to
square up the corner of a field. The
deve1oph ent committee must make
their judgement on the size of .the
trees •on the land and most requests.
only involve two or three acres. He
--added; however., that one application.
coming up for consideration involves•...
more, than 200 acres..
B' ' Elston, reeve of Morris, asked
the committee what. input the
development committee would like to
e r'
tong -K -.1-11)r r
:..��. ..:.,� . , . -- �..... � ion : , r}�;� ,.-,.,...-•,�tl?.... i. �bbot?,-.. -Qlzen..,.the '. M...p....,�.,, .�,�,.;�;
see- rega.rdrng der'-rsrans mon tree
headquarters and 'unveiled a plaque
of dedication in the library's foyer.
Mrs.`McGibbon was -presented with
• Turn to page 3,
coun
committee want the local council to
send a-cduncil�lor to see the -land to be
cleared., or is it. like the severance'
ciom mitt e=-�--where
means -nothing?" asked Elston.
Cunningham told council' the'
development ' committee would be
receptive to... --the. _township ` councils
taking a position and making com-
ments regarding applications for tree
cutting.
"They often know more than the
development committee," he . said,
"and we would appreciate. recom-
mendations from the township
councils."
MGi/ bon
opens library
The Honorable Pauline McGibbon,
Lie utenan Governor of Ontario,
officially opened the new 'Huron
County Library building on Waterloo
Street in .special ceremonies f hur-
sddy,.
The Honorable' Mrs. McGibbon .cut
cutting applications. In many cases
he said, local councillors know the-
situation
hesituation better 'than members of the
development committee. "Would the
Rain 40.2 mm Stanley Township, told council he
Town will buy
more industrial land
By Shelley McPhee •
In what Councillor Rosemary
Armstrong called, "one of tfie most
responsible things that this council
has done," Clinton town council
passed a motion approving an offer to
purchase some industrial land
The initial move to buy land was
made at council's July 7 meeting and
they are considering a parcel of land
of some 33 acres. • -
"I sincerely hope this is approved,"
Mayor Harold Lobb said. "I've been
on council for_ 13 years and all people
have wanted is industry. We met with
the government and they said we .�
needed industrial land to attract
industries."
He added, "I hope future councils
will continue to service the land we
buy and get industries -to Clinton'.'
Clinton has been without any ser-
vicedIndustrial land for at least five
years. However at the beginning of
the year, Clinton's industrial corn -
m ittee was revived under the
leadership of Mike Falconer.and they
have been looking to purchase land
since. ` *
Mr. Falconer explained to .council
at earlier meetings the need for
service land and said, "Industrial
developers don't want -to -have to wade
through the red tape with private land
changes_and waiting for servicing."
Mr. Falconer -had said, "We can't
remain a bedroom community. A few
years down, the road we'll -be in sorry
condition," and also pointed 6A that
since the Canadian Fr•oces Base had
•closed, Clinton had ' been falling
behind industrially. .
Wildex in 1971 and Fleming's Feed
Mill were the last major industries to
Tocate in Clinton and since• then, the
town has lost the sales barn and the
Sherlock -Manning Piano Factory.
Council., is quite eager to preper
intstrial land and Councillor Parr
noted at the Monday night meeting,.
"We're really enthusiastic with the
response that Mike Falconer and the
industrial committee has shown in the
past months."
Although no final decision has been
made to buy the- proposed • land,
.council has discussed the financing of
such a purchase. Council earlier
agreed that the cost of the land
purchase would be too much to add to
the taxes for one year and may decide
to debenture the cost.
CAS employees settle
Employees of Huron County Family
and Children's Services ratified a new
one-year agreement Wednesday
calling for a -nine • per cent across the
board`iricrease.
The 13 members of Local 1427 of the -
Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE) agreed to a new one-year
settlement offering an eight per cent
increase efl`ectivo January 1, 1980 and
an additional one per cent, July 1.
Gord MacDonald of the London
CUPE office, said the agreement also
contained changes in contract
language, with reference to mileage .
and recta§sification, •
"There is a new mileage clause that •
operates on a formula now instead of
'the . old -:1 centsper kilometre,"
0 1 kilometre,
MacDonald said. "Now if the. gas ,
aq
ti
prices incr'ea'se su uuts the rate."
Originally the membership was ,
seeking a 15 per cent across the board •
increase as well as Mileage,
reclassification and holiday con-
cessions. Management had offered •
nine per cent but was unwilling to
negotiate mileage .. and
reclassification. The reclassification
issue was also handled in the new
contract and upgraded one ~PCS
employee.
MacDonald said thgre never -was a
real problem in the wine d'epartmrent
but- the . workers were prepared to
strike over other contract language. ,
• The new contract will expire
December 31, 1980 and MacDonald
said the two sides will likelyy be back
at the bargainingtateby October to
hammer out another agreement.
oy g teens � nabbed
semi
trying -1
,steal
Three Clinton teenager's have been
.- charged with theft following a July 4
incident.
The three, a 16 -year-old, 18 -year-old
and 19 -year-old were caught by
Clinton Police while attempting to
steal a transport truck from Boyes
Transport in Clinton. The large truck
was loaded with some 40 tans of 'salt.
Goderich_ OPP reported that area
Hydro poles took a beating over the
weekend when in two separatc•-ac-
cidents cars. slammed into poles in
Tuckersmith Township.-
Richard
ownshi ""
Richard Rogers, a 33 -year-old
Hamilton man, escaped injury when
the car he was driving left a
Tuckersmith Township sideroad,
north of Vanastra and ended up
against a Hydro Pole. The July 5
. accident resulted in $2,000 to the
Rogers car and $1,000 to the Hydro
pole.
Also on July, 5 Edgar Stoll, 57, of
RR 3, Kippen received minor injuries
after his car went into a ditch and
struck a Hyrdo pole.
Mr. Stoll was eastbound on Con-
cession 2-3 in Tuckersmith, west on
Huron County Road 12 when the ac-
cident occurred. Damage to his car
was set at $700 and the Ontario Hyrdo
pole received $1,000 in damages.
A motorcyclist and his passenger
escaped with m,inor'injuries following
a two vehicle collision on July 4.
Paul Middegaal, 18, of RR 1, Blyth
and a passenger on his bike, Bradley
Freer, 17, of Blyth were bruised and
scrapped following a collision with a•,
car driven by Michael' Johnston, 23 of
London:. The accident, which oc-
curred on Highway-4,`north•of Clinton
left the Middegaal bike with $2,000 in
. damages ,and Ole, Johnston car with
$1,500 in damages.
Damages totalled $1,900 following a
two car crash on Highway 4 on July 5.
The accident, which occurred south
of Blyth left a Car driven by Gordon
•Hoggarthy-18, of RR 1, Londesbdro.
with $1,600. A second vehicle driven
by Melville Mathers, 69, of Wingharnr
received $300. No one was injured in
the crash.
Steven Maxwell, 20, of Vanastra
luckily escaped serious injury, but -the
car he was driving was badly
damaged in a June z6 mishap.
Mr. Maxwell was travelling on •
Sideroad 30-31 in Tuckersmith
Township when he lost control of his
vehicle, went into the ditch and
slammed into a tree. Damage to the
car was set at $3,000_
'WWII a little bit of luck, the new Clinton swimming pool may be open for
business' next week, as workmen from NMeDowell Construction rade against the
clock to get the pool finished. On 11oMnday they poured the last of the decking
iced the fioelhg was to be up and then watt& in by, the weekend. (�*r-Restor
Dhoto"1
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