Loading...
The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-12-12, Page 1receiv or. new A letter read at town moi' meet on Monday a alng from tbe Ministee of Social and. Family Services gave approval in 'prin• cipfe for construction a�new Wilding use the tom a day . nursery facilities, At previous • Meetings Councillor Jack Mil pie,,who chairs the daycare com- mittee, had outlined the vis alternatives which were opento combine services for day care and for .the mentally retarded. After advice from the ministry, application was made for the new building. Wever, the letter cautioned t no finalized plans or contracts- are to be completed without approval of the minster. Town 'Solicitor Robert Camp- bell, who was present, informed council that a day care centre is. planned for unoccupied space in the East Wawanosh public school at Belgrave. Councillor Tim Willis asked whether the opening of such a facility would decrease the enrolment in the Wingham centre and thus alter the need for bigger quarters in town. Mr. Campbell. said he did not think the Belgrave centre would affect Wingham, since a different cate- gory of child care. would be pro- vided there. 'Lower Town Dam A* letter from the Ministry of Natural Resources outlined the preliminaries which would be necessary if the tom wants to have the Lower Town dam re- built and 'a lengthy discussion arose over the various ap- proaches which could be used in .solution of the problem. Mayor i►eWitt' Miller said that under present arrangements with thb. Maitland Valley Conservation Authority the town would not be permitted to proceed with any repair work. at its own expense. (It is believed that repairs to the. present. structure might be made for about $10,000.) "No way can this. town affo 4 spend a million dollars for a heir dam," said Councillor Harris, referring to the type of structure which government approved plans might recommend. Several other councillors pointed to the money the Authority is prepared to spend on other dams and for the purchase .of new development sites, par ticularly eight miles of Lake Huron shoreline ' south of Goderich. "`I'd hate to see another sum- mer without water in the pond," said the mayor, and cited the fact that the revenue from tourist campers in the adjacent town park was down by $1,500 in the first season of unsightly weed growth over the 20 -acre pond site. All agreed that whatever is to be done about replacing the dam should be started at once. Questioned about the Authority's responsibility for the flood damage which had washed out a portion of the structure last May, councillors stated that spokesmen for the Authority said a lack of liaison between management and field personnel had been responsible for failure to remove Stop logs in time to save the dam as the water rose to flood level. Correspondence In other letters to council the BP oil company requested per- mission to use a parcel of land at the north end of Josephine Street for the installation of under- ground storage tanks. Since the use suggested does not conform with the zoning by-law the request will be turned over to the planning board. The Town of Seaforth re- quested support for a resolution urging the provincial govern- ment to cease its present practice of assisting large centres in the financing of modern waste dis- posal and recycling facilities, while at the same time enforcing regulations which demand costly incinerators for small com- munities. The resolution was en- dorsed. John Street Deed The town solicitor outlined the background of a curious problem when he stated that the town does not own the land on which a por- tion of John Street East is located. He said that there is no deed of record for the section of that street which lies between Frances and Carling Terrace. A by-law was prepared to rectify the situation --one which has been in existence for many years. Councillor Margaret Bennett received approval for the pay- ment of general accounts total- ling $305,027. Reporting for the police com- mittee, Chairman Rill Harriss a Said the new "police eruhas boon delivered. red. alio sold ldrs. Munger, who is the " standby operator the pence radio Osten, is ate! per year '` over present *2,000! - one week end per month off duty,., from Saturday .morns to - day evening and two weeks' boli- Ilays. Year. lr. Harris"pointed out that she Is on duty 24 hour; a day and seven days .�a week at the present time and recommended that her requests be met, retro- active to Nov. 1. The report was approved. Council moved into Committee,' • of -the -whole to make its decieion on. appointment of a new pelice chief. VOfl 1 A 29722 recorded vote of Huron County councillors showed that members were not in favor of hir- ing a planning trainee at a salary of *8,500 in place of a qualified planner as previously agreed. That vote r.'eje ted the recom-., mendatiop of the planning .board submitted to county council by its �,.of the p� committee dis- mo needed. slide* replacements'and .t the print orltieswhich should be saw ed to each of the/problem ar,'e, of' which there are' several In town, . Reporthlg for the COM- mittee, Councillor 'rim Willis said the new water tankerwill be de- livered on 6.. ` vehicle will carry 1,500 g of water and will' cost � the participatingrural. nn ties about about * 8,i�/ HOME Pian The 'Mayor said that there has been no further word 'f the Ontario Housing Corporation of the progress of a plan which provide upto a► home* kr tie community. Last er` two representatives froi' ibo O t considerable t amy in Wingham,. looking at avail* building sites and surveying la- **Wes about "tier pots lass future ' :' " ° a *. M men indicet ° ., , t�tmey ' favorably r approi such a pro {. for gJ The mayor said they that fwrther• word. Would . co. and;that someone be sent to purchase land, but neither has taken, Place__ Councillor Bennett sctsl s connected with �r tery management and at the elusion ofthe resulting disci council everaf. members xpa.essca the vpiui t, ;t s:em,�tery manage - Meat . - • Y be rettr r o-` ;i eject c a tr 'Of ' ce►2 r �'_.4 r than coant1 under a see, „t s l ed board; At the conclusion of the meet- tip retiring mayor eaeMb: his: 'refit at f departure from ape poli and proferred Pie t� to all t mcillors for the co- peiation and `good rola- ha*. enjoyed over:his ' years 'ode He.said, ,f don't<l e'to .- , but it is times for me . gt�%,tt.�11,: • Reeve diu ' rr. voiced the ap- fir.elation of the councilfor the Unselfish ,� which Mayor Wilier has given ids community. planning board • ret ized it would- take some time ;% turn a trainee into: a ..qualifi,' planner.; but heeaid' the board had found any q i ed applicants) meted a much. amore substantial . salary than the county was prepar=ed to. pay at this time. A salary range of 812,000to.`$13,000 had been **- chairman, James A. Mair, and °;gested, sent the matter back to con- "If the board were to advertise again the position of a qualified planner, salary ranges would have to be increased and this° in ' turn would mean salary ranges of our•present staff would have to be reviewed. again," .pointed out. Planning director Gary David- son said the planning department 'now ha, an assistant who. does much'of'tlie ground Work toward' Hi kpeakirig to the record= th preparation t\� *secondary mendation of his committee, plans, but he said only a qualified Deputy -reeve Mair said `that the planner can compile this data mittee for further deliberation., Present indications are, though, that many County coun- cillors believe the county should engage another qualified planner at whatever cost is necessary to expedite the preparation of sec- ondary plans for all muni- 'cipalities. Estimated salar.'.y ,for such a pees n is between $16,000 and $18,000wally: • Robert Wittig selected as town's police chief Robert F. Wittig, 'who has served ' as a constable with the Ontario Provincial. Police Detachment in Wingham for the past eight years, was named as the new chief of police for the town at a meeting of council on Monday evening. He is 32 years of age, married and the father of four children. Councillor Bill Harris, chair- man of the town's police com- mittee, presented two names for council's consideration and out- lined the background of both candidates. He explained that some 20 applications for the post had been received and that his committee had been assisted in the screening process by the On- tario Police Commission, em • - ploying a group of experienced police chiefs to interview the applicants. All phases of the of- ficers' experience in police work were thoroughly investigated. Mr. Wittig and his wife, the former Joan Webb, are. both natives of . Stratford. He joined the OPP eight years ago and has been posted to the local detach- ment since that time. He is a graduate of the Provincial Police School in Stratford and of two courses of training at the Pro- vincial Police College at Aylmer. The family resides at 169 Patrick Street. The new chief will assume his duties for the Town tof Wingham on January 6. Commenting on his appoint- ment, the successful applicant said, "This is a big job. I have some pretty capable men to suc- ceed," obviously referring to the late Chief Miller's place in the community. Late resignation leaves ranY or s post The legality of Jack Reavie's election as fnayor of the Town of Wingham on December 6 came under question at the meeting of town council on Monday evening. A letter from Mr. Reavie was read, confirming his resignation from employment by the muni- cipality in two separate capaci- ties—as a crossing guard and as building inspector. The resigna- tions were requested to become effective December 31. Town Solicitor Robert Camp- bell was present at the meeting and was asked to immediately review the latest statutes govern- ing the status of persons elected to public office. It then became evident that a candidate for elec- tive office in a municipality is required by law to submit his resignation from any paid em- ployment by that municipality before the election takes place. (An alternative course would be to request leave of absence from such employn ent for as much as 30 days prior to and following the election. The onus rests with the candidate to meet these legal requirements.) Reviewing legal precedents in similar cases the solicitor said in question there are several courses which may be followed to validate the election of the candidate after a certain period of time has elapsed, but it was not clear which of these would effectively ensure Mr. Reavie's tenure of the mayoralty. In the case of an unseated candidate there were precedents which automatically placed the runner-up in the election as the legal office holder. However Councillor John Hayes, the defeated candidate, did not raise the legal question in the first place and emphatically stated that he would take no action to unseat Mr. Reavie. Several councillors raised, the evident point that a strong majority of voters had indicated Mr. Reavie as their choice and that the conflict of interest posed by the late resignation is, in fact, only a legal technicality. As a consequence, the status of the election results will remain undecided until the town solicitor can advise on the best procedure to follow. One of the possible alternatives would be a second nomination and a by-election for the mayoralty. and prepare proper plans for county municipalities. He poised out that student help during. summer of 1974 had resulted the collection of research pa- terials for seven municipal and it is this material the plan- ning department is most magus to convert into secondary phial, Reeve Everett McIlwaIrt of Goderich Township told council it should not get the idea that"a planning trainee would hadgt the preparation of much -nested secondary plans. "Possibly there is a place fora aintee but just: don't get the:3 with the qualifications of sa�yz. :*ants at:. average coat of *6,000 Nick . Hill," pointed out Reeve. :each, it would be exPensive as Mcilt►airr. h+ir. Hill is a qualaiflalpd ;well • 7A C planner already in the' co t. ' ice a 7 planning depi a t• w: *call fora !nt elf who Deputy -reeve of Goderich it) capable of handling the full re - Township, Gerry Ginn reminded sponsibility of planning," said council that groundwork/ s ch as ' Shewfelt. a trainee would do, could. done Reeve Charlie Thomas of Grey by summer studentll. Last, Township. warned that training summer the government sub- someone in the, department might sidized these students at the rate "burden the present staff" and of 80 per cent. He advocated even slow down the planning pro - hiring a qualified planner for the cess in Huron. "It is' foolish to fulltime post. spend . *8,500 •oil something we "It is foolish business to hire don't need," said Thomas. someone you probably don't need when you can get work done at an Deputy -reeve Stan Profit of. 80 per cent subsidy by hiring Mich reiterated a statement summer students," Ginn told he had made at earlier meetings. council. "Municipalities are "Maybe the municipalities waiting for secondary plans. It is . should do a little for themselves," not good business to hire someone he said. "How imperative is plan - we don't need at •38,000 a year if rung to you people?" we can hire someone we do need Reeve McIli�vain said the whole at 16 boo , Stephen- Township Deputy - reeve , sja :rine of the plan- ing board said that if council is prepared to ireadjust the salaries of allthe present: planning board' Staff, ,it; -could, hire a qualified. planner at "what the market de- mands" as' Glpd had suggested: He recommended, ded, however that the trainee .bo retained. "I think yoli'l1 fine p place for him," said Desjardine. Reeve Deb Shewfelt of God- crick Alii out that if the 17 munneipeliilest still waiting ' for tr' seconds t„.� plans were each to that .we're going. to get a planner hire thseE dawn planning 'consul - ROBERT F. WITTIG Robert F. Wittig, who is presently serving with the Wingham OPP detachment, will become the town's new chief of police on January 6. Const. Wittig has been a resi- dent of Wingham for the past eight years. He succeeds the late Jim Miller, who lost his life in a boating accident at the end of September. (Staff Photo) Population explosion Don't point any fingers at India! We have had a temporary population explosion right here in Wingham. Late last week there were no less than 12 new babies in the nursery at the Wingham & Dis- trict Hospital—the largest num- ber of births within a week for several years. county is "underwriting the cost of the planning department" and 'has a right to expect service. Deputy -reeve Ginn added that there would be "greater consis- tency in planning -•- throughout the county if we hire extra staff at the county level. Qualified planners are not only expensive, they are scarce, ac- cording to Chairman Mair. He said there is a good chance Huron might not even be able to hire a qualified planner even if it offer- ed top dollar — the province is Paying planners $24,000, Warden Bill Elston reported. Mair suggested that perhaps priority should be given to first preparing plans for those areas'of municipalities adjacent to urban centres where the bulk of the problems seem to arise. Reeve Derry Boyle, Exeter, agreed. He said each muni- cipality should be prepared to spend a little extra money to ex- pedite the planning in Huron. "If it's a planner you want, this is the place to say so," stated ;Jack McCutcheon, reeve of Brus- sels. Those opposed to the planning board retcommendation to hire a trainee, and in favor of sending the matter back to committee for further study were John Baker, Derry Boyle, Frank Cook, John Flannery, Gerry Ginn, Joe Hoff- man, Joe Kerr, Robbie Lawrie, Harold Lobb, Bob Lyons, Everett Mcilwain, Anson McKinley, Roy Pattison, Stan Profit, Girvin Reed, Charles Scanlon, Deb Shewfelt, Erwin Sillery, Charlie Thomas, Jack Tanney, Harold Wild and Roy Williamson. Ina other business, it was learn- ed the restructuring committee still has not held a meeting al- though it was indicated one may still be included on this year's agenda. The official plan for the village of Brussels was approved by council and will now be forward- ed to the Minister for final ap- proval. URRIE'S FURNITURE float carriedtwo men Making their own`brer and>drum. THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE was occupied by youngstersfrom fhe,Winghain Day +fir_ Centre. . (Staff it hoto) Colorful floats and steam calliope for Santa's para Despite some confusion earlier this season about whether or not there . would even be a Santa Claus parade, a good crowd of spectators and shoppers turned out on Saturday to watch as the Old Boy in Red arrived in town. His sleigh, drawn by a four -horse team, was preceded by about 40 floats and vehicles and ac- companied by the Brussels Leg- ion Pipe Band. One of the unique features of the parade was a monstrous steam calliope from Stratford tootling its way along the parade route with 'music reminiscent of the circus parades of yesteryear. The combined in- strument and vehicle was drawn by eight beautiful big horses (which, incidentally, require an experienced horseman for gui- dance). At the rear end of the giant wagon stands the upright boiler which' generates the steam supply for the organ. It is a one- man job to keep the boiler fired with fuel and thus maintain the required pressure. Amidships is the keyboard from which stout wires are con- nected to the 66 whistles which make up the calliope. It takes a strong man to strike the keys at the required timing to produce good music and with each note a puff of steam is emitted from the whistle. Along with the smoke and steam belching from firebox and boiler, the calliope is a sight to remember. The relic is now owned by the Minnie Thomson Memorial Mus- eum in Stratford and was built in 1897. It is 22 feet long, seven feet wide and 101 feet high and when loaded with fuel and water weighs 12 tons. The man at the keyboard on Saturday was David Thomson; fireman, Duncan Mac- Dermid; driver, John Thomson and the trucker who brought the monster to town, John Lantz. Local business people and or-' - ganizations entered some very interesting floats and vehicles and it is largely due to their co- operation and the hard work of Don Carter and his parade com- mittee that Wingham was able to present such an excellent contri- bution to the pre -Christmas fes- tivities. Seen in the parade were Mrs. Patti Robertson and her Deb -U - Tons drill team, as well as the younger Deb -U -Tons in their colorful uniforms; Wingham Fire Department with three vehi- tend a float promoting the muscular dystrophy campaign; Boy Scouts on a big Western Foundry truck ;'Lynn Hoy En - prises; Pentecostal Church 11us; a group of youngsters. bearing big, decorated letters spelling out W -I -N -G -H -A -M; a float depicting Santa's workshop; Wingham Public School students demon- stratingt the various phases of the school's sports program; Stanley Door Systems truck with 'a North Pole theme; the Three Little Pigs in their several houses, entered by the Decor Shop, Triangle Dis- count and Middleton's Home Furnishings; Pioneer Girls; ve- hicles from Chris Gosling Chev- Olds; music by The Desperation from Shirley's House of Fashion and the Waxworks Boutique; Beaver Lumber float; Oddfel- lows;North Huron Credit Union; Wingham and District Hospita'i Christmas at School, by the Sil- ver. and Golden :circle Schools; Wingham Minor Hockey; Wing- ham Wolf Cubs; Figure Skating Club • ie s Furniture, with drummer and piper; ' Day Care Centre; McGee Auto Electric and Lloyd -Truax Limited., In addition to the floats and marchers there were several riders on their horses, a sprink- ling prinkling of clowns in animal MS tumes, police cars and the hos- pital ambulance. The parade originated at the east end of John Street, wound its way northward to Alfred Street, south along Josephine for a turn- around at the Frosty Queen and back up the main street to the armories, where Santa was host to the youngsters who had mes- sages about their hopes for Christmas morning. Turnberry Tavern owners expect to enjoy Wingham With the recent change in the ownership of the Turnberry Tavern, just east of Wingham on Highway 86, this locality has ac- quired a new family—and one which will be missed in their former home. Mr. and Mrs. Herb Kenyon took over the tavern in November from the former owners, Mr. and Mrs. Herb Reck, who had operated the business since 1971. The Stoney Creek News said, "When Ernestine Kenyon was packing in preparation for her family's move to Wingham, she made certain the telephone book was not left behind." "We've made so many friends in and around Stoney Creek I wanted to make sure I'd have all their addresses," she said. According to The News, Mrs. Kenyon feels the family will en- joy Wingham. They have four children, Darlene, Herby, Paul and Theresa, and she remarked on the fact that their new home and business are located right next to the school. "Herby and Paul have already registered for hockey," said Mrs. Kenyon, and she added, "Wingham is a good sports tovm." The new owners also com- mented on the fact that there is considerable land around the tavern and they have even con- sidered the possibility of opening a camp ground. Mrs. Kenyon's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Desrochers, have also moved to this commu- nity. —Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Ireland returned from a holiday to Pompano Beach, Florida, and a visit with . and Mrs. James Johnston of Si, Lucie.