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Clinton News-Record, 1980-07-24, Page 1t 98 ► ► ' 'HI' HI 1. 20 .17,5 22.5 129 9 23, 6.5 26.5 10.5. 1U1Y 1;6 80 /5 16 2,7 14 25 1.45 17 28. 16 . 1829 ..12 If 20'• 18 20 28 ,20 21 - 27,5' 1.0 28 11 Rain 31.0 mm No rain 120 an market • _The --first Fipally, after a three" week delay, 'the new Clinton swimming pool opened on Tuesday to the delight of dozens of youngsters who turned out for their first dip. :So far 130 have signed up for swimming lessons, while 109 family memberships have been sold. (James Fitzgerald photo) After months of debate township to get new hall By Shelley McPhee After months .of discussion, plan- ning and rejection: the Goderich Township council has finally accepted a revised plan for the construction of a community hall. At a special meeting held on July 3, ' Council agreed to sign a contract with Muer Construction of Guelph to build a township hall at the cost of $211,067. The hall is a smaller version of a structure that council turned down earlier in the year and. according to township Reeve Grant Stirling, the new hall will cost less then half of the original proposal. According to Reeve Stirling, the new halLwhich will begin construction next week, , A�w%I1 include . a an auditorium, 50 by 75 feet with two storage rooms on- one end. An all- purpose meeting room measuring 20 by 3,9._ feet will open' onto ..the auditorium. The hall will also contain the clerk's office, a fire proof storage room for municipal records, a kit- chen, washroom _ facilities and cloak rooms. The hall will be built on township owned land behind the township shed in Holmesville. Reeve Striling explained that the hall will be a pre-engineered steel structure and construction will be completed in 16 weeks or less. With the inclusion of hydro, sewage AINIONW and water services, the total cost of the hall project will , amount to $265,052. - Reeve Stirling doesn't think the township will have much difficulty in receiving 'Wintario and culture and recreation grants since the original hall proposal . at $500,000 was ac- cepted. "If the grants come through we'll,. be in financially good shape," Reeve Stirling noted. Already the township has $200,000 in the bank to be used exclusively for the construction of the hall. A large portion of the money was left to the muncipality by the late Pearl Woon in 19-78- as a bequeath to be used to build a hall. - Since that time, the township has studied several' proposals but found that it wasn't feasible to build a large structure. Earlier in the year, they accepted a bid from Genan, a • Kit- chener based firm but decided the $515,151 plan than Genan was proposing was toisive. Reeve Sq ptirling thinks 'that most people in the township are satisfied with the new proposal and the building will be large enough to use for municipal purposes as well as bring in some extra revenue through rentals. I must be getting old or something, 'cause it only seems like the other day we were fran- tically putting out our Clinton Centennial editon, and I was off right at deadline time to London to become a father for the first time. Time sure does fly. That Cen- tennial baby is now starting school and the fervor of- the celebrations, the parties and the shirt-tail parade are now only pleasant memories. Five years does go by swiftly when you're having fun. In many ways, it would be nice to have some of that enthusiasm still on tap in Clinton, as that spirit of co-operating and working together added a great deal to our com- munity's life. Maybe we should have an "old bog's reunion" every five years, instead of every 25 years, just to. keep things going. As anyone with a garden already knows,. this is salad month in Ontario, as our own home-grown Ontario produce hits the market to replace the cardboard imports from down south. In fact the stuff is too plentiful, and it's getting harder and harder to keep up with the garden. It's even getting more difficult to give the stuff away. Wouldn't it be nice to slip out to the patch in the middle of February and cut off a fresh head of lettuce ora tasty cauliflower? If it's salad month, I think it should also be declared national bug month, as the mild winter seems, in my humble opinion, to have .allowed more bugs to survive than usual. It's getting to be a real fight to gets to the lettuce before the ear- wigs do, or pickvthe raspberries before the sap betties ruin them with their rummaging. Those earwigs have -got to be the most versatile insect going. They can live anywhere, on nearly anything and to get rid of them would mean fumigating the whole countryside, which of course would kill all the beneficial bugs as well. -F,+ The Main Street Wit says this week that if scientists are so smart, *hy`can't they keep bugs out of wet paint? + + + Although the gala pool party is still a few weeks off, organizers are already selling tickets and hope for a sell-out crowd on September 13. Remember the $25 cost of the ticket covers the whole evening, meal and all and it's tax deductable as well. If you want to see how your donation was spent, drop over to the new pool, which just opened on Tuesday. ecord number of houses for sale. in Clinton By Jim Fitzgerald to two per cent yet, and when they hit Ifyou have been driving around bottom, we"fiave a glut of buyers." Clinton and the area lately and ' The,surplus of "used" housing, and noticed what seems like a lot of "for high interest rates has also snared s ow r•aril-on"""" "a- ynew-hvm-e-builders-a.•s-weli. many country properties, you're Clinton building permit issuer Tom right. A record number of properties Chuter said this week that not one are for sale in the area and real estate building permit has been,issued for a agents say it's a buyer's market. new home in town so far this year•and A combination of severalfactors in Goderich, only one permit has been has led to the surplus of houses and taken out -for a house. farms for sale and although the In fact, apart from the new Royal realtors each have their reason, they Bank building and the major addition all agree that the high interest rates of, recent tnoriths have kept poeple from either selling their house or buying another one. ' In Clinton, for instance, there are about 120 homes for sale, estimates to the Bank of Montreal, there have only been a few permits for renovations,. and five demolition permits issued this year in Clinton. There have been afew issued in the surrounding townships of Hullett, Hal Hartley, a salesmen for G.K, Stanley and Goderich, but they were Realty of Clinton. And that includes . to homes already pre -sold. both homes with signs on their front But if sales are quiet in town, they lawns and those listed but signed. are even quieter out in the rural "That's far more than usual," sa,d'. areas, with farmers hit by not only the Mr: Hartley, "About 30 to 40 on the market at' any given time would be the optimun number.'' Although it looks like . there are more houses for sale in Clinton than in many other towns, most of the agents agree that the situation is the same .all over the province. "It's just as bad in other towns and cities as well. There's just a surplus of houses, said Mason Bailey of Bailey Real Estate. Oneof the chief causes of the slow sales right now is the high interst rates' of this spring and last winter which scared most people away•from the' housing market, The rates peaked at 17 per cent at some financial institutions in April, but have fallen since to 121/2 per cent. "People are confused (over the Interest rate) and don't know what to do," said Keith (Willy) Bunn of Culligan. Real Estate. "Interest 'rates should bottom out then-tomero up a notch and people would start buying." Some • agent ,,,,,afsc ,,.have other reasons why houses aren't selling very well in .Clinton, with only four 'sales in the first five months of the year. Harold Workman of Workman Real Estate, who has the most listings in town, said the lack of industry in town is failing to attract new people. ."Houses' sold well in Seaforth last winter." Mr. Bailey says that .Clinton homes are too expensive right now and sellers should _ price them more realistically. "The same home in London or Sarnia is cheaper." Mr: Hartley says the situation is the same in other towns' as in Clinton. "Everyone is anticipating that in- terest rates will go down another 11/2 high interest rates, but also by in- creased production costs and depressed prices. Cornelis Buruma of G.K. Realty, a 30 • -e ing farms, said it's the worst he's seen in many years, with farms not moving at all. In some cases, particularly with some 'desperate pork producers who face low prices and possible bankruptcy_,......, farms are moving 'at substantially lower prices. "Many pork producers have already lost their investment in their farms," Mr. Buruma said. Mr. Bailey noted that farms aren't moving because prices for some units are too high: "The Farm Credit Corporation and the banks are turning down some farm sales because the farmers can't meet the costs of production and still pay for the ' land," Mr. Bailey ex- plained. Mr, Workman said there are more farms on the market than in the past five years, but whether prices are ' down or not is hard to tell, especially with cash crop land, because it's --not selling. "There are quite a fe switching farms or relocating," Mil. Workman. said. As far as foreign buyers driving up the cost of land, Mr. Bailey said "it's just a myth." And what do the bankers in town think of the high interest rates on mortgage and operating loans? "We live and work ,with these people evercy,,day;" said one Clinton bank manager recently, "and it bothers us just as much as ,it does them." An officer at another bank said "I'd be just as pleased as anyone to see the interest rate down at nine per cent." ew town rec program serves all ages REAL ESTATE LIMITED 34 STANLEY ST. GODERICH S4296B There are plenty of "For Sale" signs on dozens of Clinton homes, but real estate agents say it's just part of 'a national trend that has seen housing sales depressed since last fall when interest rates climbed to record levels, peaking at 17 percent this spring. The situation should ease this fall, they say. (James Fitzgerald photo) By Shelley McPhee It may be recreation and relaxation for most of us, but for Mary Holmes and Debbie Switzer it's work. The two Clinton girls are serving all age groups in the community this summer with a special Recreation and Relaxation program. From two years old to 82 years old, Clinton and area people can join in daily activities from macrame to tennis, from cards to gymnastics in the program funded by the federal government. Eighteen year old Mary and Debbie,. 20, began their summer job at the beginning of July. and run daily craft, sports and entertainment schedules with the help of several instuctors and park supervisor Steve Campbell. Despite a slow start, promotion and advertising has strenghtened' the program and accded"ing to Mary, "For a first time attempt, the program has been an overall suc- cess." Monday afternoon card parties and lunch for senior citizens at the town hall and the recently introduced roller skating at the arena have been two of the most successful activities. With the opening of the -new pool, the girls are also anticipating .a large turnout to their Wednesday swim regadas for children. Youngsters are also enjoying Tuesday craft, mornings were macrame, crocheting and other crafts are taught and an afternoon program of gymnastics at the high school on Tuesdays and Fridays. Children from the ages of two to five can take part in Friday morning's Tiny Tot Time. "That age group's not ready for ' craftsor coloring, " Mary explained. 'glut hopefully we'll have the as wading pool ;ready for " them by Friday," Debbie added. Ladies can get in shape with a Tuesday afternoon Slim and Trim class, Wednesday evening tennis lessons and adult roller skating on Thursday evenings. Mary admitted that the ladies' classes have had a slow start, but reasoned that most women work during the day and more evening programs maybe held for them. The girl have also organized trips to the beach for children. will be taking a busload to see a performance at the Blyth Summer Festival and are planning a similar excursion to the Huron Country Playhouse on August .6.. 27 to see Arulf our it n. Mary and Debbie are also in the process of lining up feature films to be shown on Wednesday nights at the 1 It looked like a bunch of entangled ropes to the unknowing eye, but Debbie Switzer, centre, and her young helpers, Erin Cassidy; 12, left and Pam McLean, 7, right are in full control. Debbie and her co.worker Mary Holmes are conducting a summer Recreation and Relaxatttiti program in Clinton. The daily ;activities eater to alt age groups and here Debbie works with a Tuesday morning craft group. (Shelly Mie hee photo) Clinton Public School. July 23, the first movie will be shown, Ic.e Castles and the girls are hoping that adults and children will attend. The show, .which will, -be complete with popcorn, will begin al 7 pm and admission for children is $1, for teens it's $1.50 and the price for adults Ts$'Z. "We need people to come so we can afford to show more' films," Mary stressed. She explained that under the grant from the federal government they receive $100 a month for expenses. "We don't want to make a profit on anything: We just charge what is necessary for 'the various activities," she added. The girls are arranging activities for men as well and hope to rent a bus to attend- a Toronto Blue Jays ball game in August and may hold a golf tournament. While the girls must develop and supervise all the activities and have had to learn everything from macrame to basketball, they also have help from several instructors. Rick Fortune, director at the Vanastra Recreation Centre is teaching tennis and ' Judy Carter, a day camp leader, comes in each week to lead the gymnastics class. "There's a lot of facilities that we can use too," Mary .noted. "We have the -use of the, high school, the public school and the town hall. The senThr citizens let's use use their card tables and the Legion lent us the cards." Mary and Debbie both return to school in fall, Mary to CHSS for Grade 13 and Debbie will go into her second year of business administration at the University of Waterloo. But in the meantime, these girls will be busy until the end of August making sure the rest of us get some Relaxation and Recreation into our a►nt e .