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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-09-04, Page 1115th year -No. 36. Thursday, September 4, deed $21,004. more Jim Butler, white shirt, watches closely as Clinton firemen pour water on the back of his workshop on. Spencer Street in Clinton during a blaze last Wednesday afternoon. Quick action by the firemen prevented the fire from doing more than several thousand dollars damage, and the front half of the shop escaped with only smoke and water damage. No cause is known. (photo by Steve Cooke) 125th Bayfield Fair attracts 1,000 The Bayfield Fair got lucky again this year and missed the heavy rain that hit the village earlier in the morning, and enticed nearly a 1,000 through the gates Saturday afternoon. Before the gates opened, .the usual well -watched parade made its way through the village, with a host of entrants receiving prizes. The Bluewater Goderich float took first and second prizes in the horse Tony ,and rig class, with Ken Merner being third and the Hammond family fourth. Dave Simons was the top horse and rider entry, folowed by Bev Semple, Janice Simons, and Marg Love. The Jowett Grove Riders were first in the decorated bicycle class, with Sarah Bower second and Darren . McAsh third. In' the decorated tricycles, Tyler. Brady was first, followed by Jim Patterson and Lee Anne Hurtle, while in the antique car class, Arch MacDonald of London was first with his '28 Ford, followed by Howard Scotchmer of Rayfield driving his. '28, Chev and DonDrew of London in his' '28 Ford. The Clinton Public . Hospital Auxiliary float was judged the 'best organizational float, with the Goodtime Ball team second, The first column Lighthouse Cove had the best com- mercial float, with Old Homestead second, and Pride. Corn third. "Save .Our River" had the best float in the 'other' catergory. Ken Bradley was first in the novelty vehicle class, followed by Brian Simmonds and Lance Antiques. In the best dressed pedestrian class, winners included: pre- schoolers - Carrah Goodman, Rippa- Gammage, and Frank Baur; kin- dergarten to grade two - Nicole Getty, Malcolm Getty, Mark Johnson, and Krista McAsh; Grades 3 to 6 AlisonDunn, Tanya Grillmeyer, Lysa Philips, Jennifer Papineau; Grades 7 to 10 - Ellen Warwick, Sarah Murphy and Jennifer Pal; group entries up to Grade 8 - Francis Funnies, Blue Anchor, Six Stooges, and the Black Shiek and Harum; all other groups, the Magic Dragon (the Downie family) , and the Balloon'People. In the special events contest;–, Trevor Hamond was first in the saddling contest, followed by Cheryl Moriarity, Trevor Scotchmer, and Dave Simons, while Trevor Scot- chmer won the horseor pony obstacle course, followed by Trevor Ham- mond, Bev Semple and Tyler Ham- mond. , Racing on horseback with and egg Grine never really wants to admit they're getting older, but there are certain milestones that pop up and vividly remind you that, yes in- deed', you are aging. I still think of myself as being young, able to burn the candle at both ends and such. Why wasn't it only yesterday that I went out on my first date? It seems like just a few days ago I was in school or down at the beach in the Bend oggling all the scantily clad girls. But that all changed on Tuesday when our eldest, Andrea, a Clinton Centennial baby, started to school for the first time. And now, being a parent of school -aged children makes one feel suddenly older, somehow. + + + Oh well, school's back and things are getting back into the grove, which makes it a lot easier for the newsroom to put out a paper each week. • + +.+ The Main Street Wit wondered this week just how good the public school system is, 'cause he claims to have heard on the television the other night .that both the premier of Ontario and the minister of education send their children to private schools! • +++ While thingsmay be slow in most sectors of the economy, what with auto sales down and housing sales near a standstill, the Wit observed the other day that the only businesses in town that are going ahead right now are both banks and the two grocery stores, who are the only ones constructing or expanding their quarters. "Looks like there's lotso'of money in banking and food," the Wit ob- served. + + + It's sure funny how things can change, especially in the agriculture scene. Take for in- stance the humble old milkweed. Countless thousands of dollars are spent on herbicides and fuel for tillage equipment here in Huron County alone 'to get rid of the nuisance plant and now a scientists say tint wihtin a few years, we may be growing fields of it for energy. Apparently, scientists have discovered that by some process of which I have little understanding, the sap of the milkweed plant can be distilled into oil. That's right good old oil, up to seven barrels an acre. Now can't you imagine this, in a few'years farmers wil be going out to spray their milkweed fields for weeds like beans and corn! + + And so far, the farmers have been very happy with the summer so far in Huron County, in fact, if we don't get any bad weather such as excessive cold or rain in Sep- tember, the ag department is forecasting a bumper year for crops. But as the Wit says, "the chickens ain't all hatched yet." August put the icing on the cake, according to the month's weather records. The past Month was warm and sticky and depending on were you lived, either very wet or dry. Graham Campbell of the Goderich weather office reports that the mean temperature for the month was 21 degrees C (70 F), well above the long term average of 18.9 C (66 F). However, while there was -only 52.2 mm of rain (two inches) measured in Goderich, other areas received much more, with up to 150 mm (six inches) deluging places like Seaforth. - + + + The Clinton ° fun ' slo-pitchers finally won a game the other night, beating Holmesville by a few runs and this week we try to extend our streak to two in a row when we play Porter's Hill at the Holmesville diamond. + + + There are still plenty of tickets for the Gala Pool Party on Sep- tember 13 remaining, as it seems poeple aren't as willing to part with $25 as they once were. There are also plenty of openings for the hockey school set to go here in Clinton at the end of the month so give the arena a call now if you want your boy°enrolled. + + + We have just received late word that because of a prior com- mitment at the Clinton park, the Colts baseball garbe set for tonight (Thursday) has been moved ahead to Friday night at the same time. 8:15. and spoon was done best by Kate Chorley, followed by Trevor Ham- mond, Trevor Scotchmer and Tyler Hammond, while Janice Simons turned in the best horse performance, followed by Cheryl Moriarity, Trevor Scotchmer,.and Tyler Hmmond. In the adult egg' threwing contest, Anne- Lobb and Pat Millington were. the winers, while Brent Johnston and Sandra Faber were tops 'in the junior contest. Alex Boa teamed up . with John Okum to win the horseshoe pitching contest, with the tem of Jack Bender and Don Talbot second, and Moose Pennesi and Ted Weiss third, and Bud Sturgeon and Rae Fraser fourth. In the, exhibits catergory, Marie Brand showed the top junior 4-H Jersey calf, while Dan, Van Ninhuys was tops in the Holstein class. Susan Van Egmond had, the top senior 4-H Jersey calf, while Gerald Brand was tops in the Holstein class. Heavy horse winners included Tom Penhale, Arnold Young, Howard Ross, Jim Aitchison. Don Dearing Exeter and Peter Kudelka of Gadshill were top showmen in the•sheep class. Top winners in the pigeon, poultry and pet stock class included Emery Baechler of Goderich, George Tieman of Goderich, Barry Cleave of Goderich and Henry Pattison of ,Blyth. Junior poultry winners were Greg Mayhew, Robbie, Deb, Ian and Duane Siertsema. In the fruit section, Fred_ McC.lymont of Clinton was the top exhibitor, while Dave Johnston of Bayfield topped the vegetable section followed by Mrs. Helen Turner of Varna. Mrs. Turner was also tops in the flower and plant class, followed by Mrs. David Turner and Doreen Mackenzie. Mrs. Anna Dolmage of Londesboro was top point getter in the sewing and handiwork section, followed by Mrs. Bert Evans, Mrs. Rosemary Sellers, and Mrs. J. Siertsema. Mrs. Ester Makins was the top senior citizen exhibitor. Jeff Stevenson was the top point getter in the ceramics class.'Mrs. Dot Smith 'was tops in the hand crafts class, and Mrs. R, Trewartha was tops in tube painting. In the art classes, major winners included Evelyn Holmes, John Rouse, Mrs. J. Cook, Douglas Getty, Kim Flowers,- Ruth Hey and Phil Duboulay. Baking queen this year is Mrs. J. Siertsema, while Mrs.' G. Porter won top honors for her preserves. Poster contest winners included Tammy Schilbe and David Rouse in 9 to 11 class, while Janice Mayhew and Cindy Evans were tops in the 12 to 15 age group. 'own Hall repairs escalate By Shelley McPhee An .extra $21,000 is needed . to complete structure repairs onthe town hall. Clinton council is not pleased. At--their---Segtemb eeLing— council heard from architect Chris Borgal that the mortar on the outer walls was weaker than they an- ticipated, A considerable amount of rubble fell out during the excavation and as a result more concrete has to be put in to build up the foundation. Mr. Borgal also recommended that the footing under back wall of the 100 - year -old building be repaired since it was found that the timber footings supporting the building are not secure and are rotting. Mr. Borgal explained ' that the ar- chitects and engineers did not know about the timber footings since they were covered by a concrete wall and he added, "That's not the major expense, the foudnation is where it was bared and torn away during excavation." Council was not ready to approve the extra expenditure and will be seeking legal advise as to the restriction of the $46,000 contract they signedwith Cobrell Construction. Councillor Chester Archibald said, "We accepted a contract and we did a lot of arguing but were pleasantly surprised when we . got the tender. I only . voted in favor of taking the contract because• the figure was considerably lower than the $80,000 estimate. It I knew it would cost another $21,000 I would have never voted for this. Now we've signed a contract price -and we shouldn't pay' cent a more." Councillor Archibald added, "What .Enrollment dips in county schools By Jim Fitzgerald Enrolment at schools in the News - Record readership area is steady this year, with some schools being up slightly and some down a few pupils. The total enrollment in Huron County schools on the first day of school was 11,004. This is down 412 students from last year. The difference is seen mainly in the secondary schools, where 4,153 students registered as compared to 4,446 last year. At Clinton Public School, there are five fewer students this year, with 418 being enrolled the first day back, while at St. Joseph's Separate School, eight more students turned out to bring,the student body to 124. 'A few fanTi1iTs"moving away from the Clinton Christian School area is blamed for a loss of 10 students, with 195 registered this year compared to 205 of last September, while Vanastra Public suffered the biggest public school decline with only 102 turning up, down 13pupils from last year. Huron Centennial in Brucefield has 12 more students this year, with a student population at 513, while Holmesville school lost four students, and now has a pupil count of 290. Aulfett school at tondesbora gained" five students for a population of 290. Although Central Huron Secondary School has lost about 100 pupils, new principal Herbert Murphy said that• he expects 40 or 50 more students will register within the next week or so. So far, 878 have crossed the threshold, down from the 978 of last year. Teacher has new post BYCATH WOODEN A Huron County secondary school teacher, Shirley Weary, of Goderich, will be a filling a new post this year as Federation Officer for her fellow high school teachers. Weary will be teaching Math and Consumer's Education every other day at Seaforth District High School and will be spending the rest of her time promoting better relations between the Huron County)Board of Education and secondary school teachers. "I 'guess you could say I'll be a trouble-shooter before the trouble starts," said Weary of her job which entails providing materials for teacher committees and doing research for individual teachers who may not have time to do it themselves, She will also be attending board meetings as a spectator. This is the first year the Huron district of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation (OSSTF) has hired an officer, though a number of other districts have them. Her salary as a Federation Officer will be paid from OSSTF dues from this district. Weary, who will be "operating out of her basement," was a teacher representative during the 1978 strike. Weather 1980 1979 ,HI LO HI 10 AUGUST 26 28 16,5 27 30 16.5. 28 23 17 29 30 16 30 29 19 31 25 19 SEPTEMBER 1 26. 17 31.5 13 Rain 12.0 mm Rain 4,0 24 12 24.5 14 26 15.5 24 18 25.5 12 27 7 good is it to have a contract, to have engineers and to have architects?" Mr. Borgal 'pointed ' out that his firrn, Hill and Borgal, were not told the extent of the timber footings lin der-the--builttirg:-Ie added; -"VGe were also told by more than one Council member that considerable work and underpinning had been done on one corner when in fact it hadn't." Engineer Peter James pointed out, -"If we had spent more time testine ,.,, the foundation it would have cost more. Would you have permitted us to excavate to test the foundation?" Council was not ready to agree to the extra money needed to complete the work and Councillor Ron McKay sated, "Someone goofed somewhere. I was involved with the swimming pool and the arena and they were put up by the contract whether they ran into quick sand er not. Personally, I'm not ready to spend another $21,000 and we may not have approved this work if we knew it would cost more." To ease the financial strain of the situation, Mr. Borgal sugg sted taking the $7,000 left in the budge and putting that towards the cost ; of building -up the concrete founds ion. He said that the $7,000 was to be used to fix the cracks In the exterior walls but noted, 'It's -a ,cosmetic problem and doesn't have to be done this year." He also explained that the replacement of timbers along the back wall could be left for another year if necessary, thus cutting down on the cost' of the overrun, but he advised that the work should -The completed as soon as possible. Councillor Archibald questionned, "The front part of the building has been deteriorating for 30 years, can the other side last that long? If it cin then ,,you know' what I say about the wogd. I was against this and only voted for it because I thought someone,would get killed if the front wall caved in some day." Councillor Rob Parr asked, "Were we consulted when the additional concrete was put it? Did we endorse the change in specifications?" "I realize that now is the time to do the necessary work,"Mayor Harold Lobb pointed out, but I figured a contract was a contract and it didn't matter if there was timber or quick sand under. there." Councillor ' Rosemary Armstrong concluded the lengthy discussion with one point, "Do you realize that the last four contracts we've had problems with the contractor. We had the grandstand the arena floor, the, pool and now the town hall and we've all had problems about money with them. They were all dressed up and had somewhere to go on Saturday as the Bayfield community held It's 124th Fall Fair on August 29 and 30. Many children from the area were decked out in their finest for the fair parade on Satruday and the judging for the best costumes that saw everything from a Dolly Parton outfit to the famous Magic Dragon. (Shelley McPhee photo) Drivers' course costs up BY CATH WOODEN Following a dramatic fee increase in Driver Education costs last year, Huron County students taking the "'course through their high school or others taking it through night school will again be paying more to learn how to drive this year. At its regular September meeting, the Huron County'Board of Education approved an increase in-. the fee charged to students, raising it from $80 to $85 for students taking the course as an extension of day school, and to $90 for night school or summer school students. In the 1978-79 season, the fee was $35. The substancial increase last year was ° due to a take -back of governrrient subsidizing of the program. The split of the cost of Driver Education now is: 55 per cent student fees, 30 per cent by the provincial government, and 15 per cent by Huron County ratepayers. Superintendent of Education, R.B. Allan stated that there was "not a significant decrease in enrollment last year," due to fee increases. The board was told by Allan that the program is very expensive to run and that fee increases were necessary to keep up with car maintainance 'costs and instructor fees. .� In -car instructors will receive $9 per hour this year and in -class teachers will be paid at the prevailing night school or summer school hourly rate, approximately $17 per hour. Even though fees are higher this year, students will receive one hour less in -car instruction, lowering the total to seven hours The government minimum is six hours.