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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-12-04, Page 1w wo roa By Jim Fitzgerald'• saying that .the township ;should and One of the priorities of the Goderich ., - build :'more , roads up toresist snow Township Council should., be- a ,.neww , accumulation. works shed, Reeve Grant Stirling told. •The new PIts and'Quarries Act will council in' his inaugural address''at , ' also pose some specialproblems for council on Monday morning. both the township and private The council was meeting for the operators, as they all have to be first time in the spacious new guar- approved and licensed by July 1st. ters they had build in the recently "This is going to make more ex- -`-completed Community Centre. pensive gravel, I'm afraid," Reeve Reeve Stirling said the old shed has Stirling said. outlived its usefulness and now has The perennial problem of become inefficient to heat, is over- crowded, and isn't worth remodelling. He said its replacement would be up to two years down the road, as ministry of transportation and communication approval is needed yet. The Huron County Board of An official. opening of. the new Education and Its secondary school township hall will be held sometime in teachers will finally sit down later the new year, Reeve Stirling sald.and this month to hammer out a contract alI-township rest enlrwill- einvitedhfor-1980.81. to attend the ceremony ; ' t ,"4i; . ,iRecently talks broke down between' "We should also continue our rb�a• ds 'I the negotiating parties and the program," Reeve Stirling noted,;. Education Relations Commission severances also surfaced in . the reeve's address: "We have some tough decisions to make, but we'll have to be fair. We can't do something for one man without doing , it - for another," he stressed. The new deputy -reeve, Jake Reder in his address expressed a desire for council to pave a few of. the more heavily travelled roads in the township, and even have one rqad Salary talks toresume appointed Professor Gandz as mediator in the dispute. Gandz is with the business administration depar- tment of the University of Western Ontario -in -London. Gandz has notified the board and teachers that meetings will take place December 16,17 and 18 in Benmiller. made into a county road. , After being asked for his opinion,. Clerk Robin Thompson said he wanted to see council begin work on the 150th birthday celebrations for the townhip, which will be'in 1985. Next to Tuckersmith, Goderich Township, which was incorporated in 1835, is the second oldest township in the county. Clerk Thompson said planning should start now. and he would like to compile a history book. And with the new quarters, Clerk Thompson said council should be thinking about the possibilities of having a fulltime clerk. Prior to the address, the council received a blessing from Rev. John Oestreieher-,—who—will -have-to-come.- back on December 15 .to swear in a new councillor to be elected in the December 8th election. On Monday night after 13 years in municipal politics Harold Lobb stepped away from the council table and handed over the mayor's chain of office to acclaimed Clinton Mayor Chester Archibald. Mr. Lobb is retiring from the political scene. (Shelley McPhee photo) Weather 1980 1979 AHI LO HI LO NOV. 25 2 -3 26 4' -7 27 1.5 -4 28 2 -2 29 2 -1 30 5 -1 DEC. 1 7 0 Rainfall- 8 7 13.5 7.5 5.5 -5.5 0 -1 5 4 -2 -4 -5 -3 -9 Rainfall - 13.00 mm Clinton mayor slams apathy, wants industrial Viand By Shelley McPhee The less than half-dozen Clinton taxpayers and business people present at Clinton council's inaugural meeting on Monday seemed to be a clear illustration to Mayor Chester Archibald's sPeech. Along with his hopes and aspirations for the town, Clinton's new mayor made some hard hitting points directed at the apathy he sees in Clintonians. First," Mayor Chester Archibald said, "I would like to thank members of council for the community spirit they have . demonstrated by letting their names stand for election, spirit which is all too rare here and in most of the smaller municipalities in Ontario. I also want to thank the people of Clinton for their expression of confidence in allowing me to be. acclaimed as mayor. Howeverhe went on to say, '=I must admit to being disappointed that we did not have even enough people file nomination papers to give us a full complement of council members, let alone require an election. Such apathy does not bode well for our town. ' I have heard several businessmen remark that they will not run for council because, whenever a merchant has been on council, he` has been beseiged by people soliciting support of their pet projects and some of these people will actually cease tol patronize his store or whatever, if he doesn't give the requesteEi support." ;Mayor Archibald stressed, "If our town is to move forward as it should, some of our businessmen and women Finally, after waiting with baited breath for the last month, Clinton and Huron County, along with most parts of Ontario, got their first wintery blast on Tuesday night. In only a few short hours beginning about 4:30 pm, and ending shortly after midnight, about six inches (I5.24 cen- timetres) was dumped on the area, temporarily closing a few .roads, and reminding all . residents just how bad things can get around here in the winter. Anyone who has lived here any length of time knows these storms come, but that doesn't mean we're any better prepared for them than any other year. Yours truly, by some lucky stroke, only put the snow tires on Monday night. But so far, we've been very lucky and escaped most of the bad weather. In fact, according to weather records, November was a dry month with normal tem- peratures. At least that's if you go by the analysis now only available from the London weather office, as the government decided to close down the Goderich office and in- stall automatic equipment. Now you'd think that if every MP had one less cocktail each day at their subsidized lunch at the Parliamentary Restaurant, there'd be more than enough money to keep the office open. - Not was the station important to the airport there, but having ac- curate local readings is of in- creasingly vital importance to Huron's $239 million agriculture industry. Which just shows you what kind of priorities the feds have. They can dump millions of dollars of our money into a dying auto company and a poorly managed tractor manufacturer, but they can't see fit to spend a few bucks making sure the most important industry of all - food production - gets even a small break. +++ And that opens up another bag on a government mistake - the metric system. According to a story out of the United States last week, the Metric Commission in that country ittle damage. says that conversion over there is -+--+--+ �t,least 10 yegru-away, and-rnayb never. Says the Wit: "Old firemen never Apparently the citizens down die, they just go to blazes." there are so overwhelmingly against it that it may never come. Now where does that leave Canada: stuck halfway in between two systems, with most of our trade done with the U.S. still on the old system. My guess -is the government here will throw in the towel on metric, write-off the millions of dollars wasted on the conversion, and revert back to the old system. At least in the United States, the populace has had a say on whether or not they wanted to convert, up here it was just thrust upon us. + + + And with that, the Main Street Wit reminds me that to fully enjoy life, I should breathe through my nose and keep my mouth shut. --+' One positive benefit of the snowstorm, as well as encouraging snowtire sales to desperate retailers, is to put everyone in the mood for the Santa Claus Parade this coming Saturday afternoon at 1:30. And don't forget to take Rover or Kitty over to the free rabies vac- cination clinic at the town Hall this Friday -from 2to 8pm. Another special event is the open house next Thursday, December 11 at the CHSS night school, where displays of the fall evening classes' work will be shown off. - iy++ Talk of spring is already rising and spring in Clinton for 1981 means the Klompen Feest. Plans are well underway for the May event but more help from all area citizens is still needed. To help make this venture an over- whelming success organizers urge you to attend their meeting on Tuesday night, December 9 at the Clinton Town • hall at. 8 pm. And don't forget to order your wooden shoes for that May weekend. Bob Campbell and Clarence Denomme are taking orders for the Dutch shoes, so give them a call and leave your shoe size. + + + Clinton firemen were called out Tuesday night during the height of that blizzard to a chimney fire at the Ray Foster home. There was are going to have to take the attitude that such people are not worth having as customers." _ "A community should not be deprived of the expertise its business leaders can contribute to operting the muncipal corporation."; Mayor Archibald went on - to comment on some ongoing projects and his plans and hopes for his two years in office. Pool project He noted that the largest project undertaken in 1980 was the .con- struction of the -new swimming pool and ,said, `'I am pleased to report that,L;. the 'financing of it appears to be well - plications to the Ontario ministry of housing (MOH). and the Ontario Municipal Board are pending for approval of 13IA plans to revitalize Clinton's downtown area. ,He noted that businesses in the BIA are being assessed for 50 per cent of the total cost and the town has agreed to cover the other half of the costs from general revenue. Mayor Archibald also noted, "The application to the MOH includes' a request to borrow the required funds froti ;the province at a very low in- terst, cent, and to i"plrekrepay me over-10.years.''' Need for industrial Iand under control." Mayor Archibald stressed the need He went on, "To date, ap- and importance for the town to obtain proximately $227,000 has been paid - municipally owned, serviced land for out for engineering and construction industries. He explained that Clinton and itis estimated that a_maximum of is now looking purchasing such in - S10,000 is still to -be paid, -bringing the dustrial land; but_ .the ._council _has final total cost to $237,000." asked I.M. Ross and Associates of On the credit side, Mayor Archibald Goderich to draw up estimated costs said that a total of $70,130 has been to service the property. raised -through --.donations --and com- "It is most desirable that the town. munity events and grants of $56,935 obtain this land and proceed to ser - each have been approved by the vice it as, without it the town cannot ministry of culture and recreation grow," he warned. - - and Wintario. This makes a total of "Admittedly, growth for its own $184,000 and leaves a balance of sake is not necessarily all good, but a $53,000. As well, an amount of $33,087 larger industrial assessment base was included in the 1980 budget to does help to keep taxes on residential cover interest and part of the properties down," he added. municipality's share. The mayor offered few comments "The interest cost to date has been on town hall renovation project, but well under $3,000, which means we said that the town's solicitor Beecher will be able to apply at least $30,000 Menzies and the architect Chris against the actual project cost. This Borgal are attempting to work out a will leave an amount outstanding of compromise regarding the thousands not more than $23,000 which we can of dollars of extra work, not included spread over the next two years if in the original contract, that was necessary," he explained and added, done. "The final total to be paid by the town Need another councillor will be even less as there are still Mayor Archibald pointed out to the more donations to come and we can new council that one of the most possibly get supplementary grants of important matters that they must fill up to a toal of $4,000." the vacant seat on council. He Business Improvement Area suggested that the situation be In—regards—to--Clinton's—Business---discussed-at_.ihe Decem.bct1.5...m..eetitag Improvement Area (BIA), Mayor and interested parties will be invited Archibald pointed out that ap- on attend the follow;ng meeting on Despite tougheryear,. CU pays 1O% d By James Fitzgerald Despite a year of economic un- certainty, and tougher times, the Clinton Community Credit Union had a good year and was able to pay a 10 per cent dividend to its shareholders. Shareholders learned that happy news at their annual meeting in Clinton last Wednesday night, November 26. The Credit Union, which has offices in Clinton and Exeter will divide $1,007,508 among the 7,560 members who have a total of $10,832,988 in share capital invested. Last year's dividend was $1,180,000. _ That is a pretty good showing. according to Jim Schnaar of the auditing firm of Ward and Gregory, who said that some Credit Unions in Chatham' and Windsor, for instance, had only two or three per cent dividends, while others paid none because of the , tough economic situation in those cities, including a number of bankruptcies. The total income for the year for the combined'branches was $2,973,256, up from the $2,419,562 of the 1979 fiscal year, which ended on September 30. Tota 1—ex pens-es--were--44741,2 22 comparedto $1,173,001 last year with most of the difference being extra interest paid out in term deposits throughout. the year. Although membership climbed to 7,560, up from the 7,370 of last year, share capital declined to $10,832,988, down from the $11,509,897 of 1979. The difference was more than made up for by a leap in term deposits, which jumped from $4,684,161 to $7,540,033. In his address to the meeting, president of the board Ernest Williams said the Credit Union will be installing an on-line computer service early in the new year, and hopes to have it fully operational by May. This will greatly speed up the processing of customers' accounts, and will allow both the revival of the customer passbook, should the members want it, and will allow a branch to be set up in -Blyth. A 390 name petition was received earlier this year from Blyth asking for a Credit Union in that village because of the poor service from the only other bank. The Exeter branch had been moved in the summer, Mr. Willaims noted from the old town hall to the former McNight's Men's Wear Store in which the Bank of Nova Scotia used to be located. The large vault in the - location--ins--much more _to .. the _in- surance company's liking. The Credit Union has leased the building with the option to buy. January 5. Atthat time, or at the second meeting in January, council will appoint someone to fill the vacancy. Beauty spots appreciated "For many years Clinton has been fortunate and a lot of tax dollars have been saved in having beauty spots of the town, such as a Cenotaph area and the Radar monument gore, main- tained by the local Horticultural Society," Mayor' Archibald told council. However, the Society has been finding it increasignly difficult to recruit volunteers for this work and there is a possibility that they. will' have to disband. "In any case," he added, "they can no longer carry. on with maintaining the parks and -the town will have to take over. I am sure no one would want to see these beauty spots go by the board." He asked all Clinton citizens to do their part to make the town attractive and clean. "In all muncipalities and more noticably in smaller ones; people often complain about what they perceive as nit-picking on the part of council or municipal employees and Turn topage3 • ti 41 1 Tina Strong, Cathy Marks and Carol Cartwright received special 300 hour awards at the Candy Striper awards ceremony on Sunday. Another recipient Susan Wallace was absent. Special appreciation and awards were also given to past Candy Striper co-ordinator Barb Hicks for her work in building the Clinton Hospital program up to its present success. (Shelley McPhee photo) .Brussels man chairs board BY DAVE SYKES Sixteen trustees. including six new members, took the oath of',office at the inaugural session of the Huron County Board of Education, Monday. Donald McDonald of Brussels was elected as board chairman for a second term and Bert Morin of Wingham will serve a term as vice- chairm an of the board. In his address to trustees, McDonald said `the board faces the prospect of increasing the education levy by an additional 8-10 per cent in 1981 because of increase in contracts. "Approximately 80-85 per cent of our budget goes to employee con- tracts," he told the board. "And with increases of 8-10 per cent in those contracts we will need an increase in the 1981 levy." The board has successfully negotiated several contracts, with the inclusion of the custodial and elementary teaching staff, but con- tracts with CUPE union employees and secondary school teachers are still outstanding..___-._. McDonald said the past year was industrious one for the board claiming old policies were improved and new ones were introduced to improve the education system of the county. He also elaborated on some of the priorities of the board. "We introduced a performance review system that included job descriptions for employees which' accomodates a yearly review of their performance," he said. "We also have a new budget format in which each committee is responsible for its own budget." Despite some needed policy changes, McDonald added that the board was shackled with emergency situations such as the fire at Seaforth High School, a brick problem in Goderich and replacement of asbestos tiles in many county schools. The new term of office will present many challenges for trustees, McDonald said, in implementing a curriculum process, examining the use of micro -computers in the education system, the implications o'f Bill 82 and the possible need for ad- ditional special education teachers --and finally- -a- -rehaul--of- the- tran- sportation system. The new board will not meet until January, 1981.