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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-01-16, Page 1FIRST SECTION Wingba i 4 0 TOWN COUNCIL members pose for a picture ar the end of the first 1975 Meeting. Seated are Councillor Margaret Bennett, Deputy Reeve Harold Wild, Reeve Joe Kerr and Mayor Jack Reavie., Standing (left to right): Councillors John Bateson, Bill Harris, Town Clerk Bill Renwick, Allan Har- rison, Angus Mowbray and Jack Gillespie. Rec. bd. budget disma The Recreation and 'Com- munity Centres Board of Wing- * ham presented its 1975 'budget proposal to town cnuhc!l Monday night and caused some dismay amore~,coatcih,,.meipbaera.,,, The request to council presented by board chairman Mrs. J. K. McGregor was for $40,910, an in- crease of more than 50 per cent over the 1974 budget. Mrs. McGregor agreed that the increase was rather high but in- sisted it was warranted. A large part of the increase would go toward hiring a part-time em- ployee for the arena and for arena improvements and repairs, she explained. She pointed out that utilization of the 'Wingham arena, estimated at 76 hours per week, was exceeded only in Owen Sound, a much le larger community than Wing - ham. A comparative study of recreation departments in sur= rounding areas indicated that most employed three full-time workers, she said."The board's No damage in chimney fire One fire call and one false alarm roused the Wingham and District Fire Department twice in one morning as winds buffeted the area with gusts of up to 60 miles an hour. A chimney fire at the home of Harold Keating ons -the fourth line 41 of Morris County called firemen out at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. Fire Chief Dave Crothers reported no damages from the fire. Only several hours earlier fire- men were roused by what turned out to be 'a false alarm. Chief Crothers said the 4:45 a.m. call was triggered by water in the relays on the poles. *4 Former resident named camp head A former Wingham native has been named director of the United Methodist Camp at Frontenac, Minn. Robert Ostrom, a forest management specialist and former bush pilot, • was formerly employed by the Ontario Government in the Quetico Provincial Park. He already has assumed his new dutie6 at Frontenac. This is a church owned camp, covering about 14 acres of land along the shore of the Mississippi River in Minnesota near Rochester. It is open all year, but is restricted to weekend retreats a during the winter season. Ap- proximately 4,000 are accommo- dated at this camp each year. Bob Ostrom is the Son of Rev. and Mra flatrnni and sat - request for one part-time em- ployee to ,assist the director in day-to-day details was neither extnrtinnate nor iinrP.acnfablPy Mrs. McGregor said. The addded personnel,, would also enable Recreation Director Jim Ward to spend more time on arena pro- gramming and _creating new' avenues of revenue for the arena. The recreation board also recommended a salary increase of $1,515 for Mr. Ward. Repairs and improvements for the arena would total an esti- mated $5,000, Mrs. McGregor continued. These would include roof repairs andtests on a "heav- ing floor" that might cause pipe damages. Vice-chairman Don Kennedy explained the floor is moving as much as three inches in some spots. Other areas hit badly by infla- tionary costs are fuel supplies for • the arena which jumped from $1,500 in 1974 to an estimated $2,400 this year; Public. Utilities Commission fees at $5,200 as compared to $4,594 in 1974 and ball supplies and ball' park im- provements ,which would in- crease from about $1,000 in 1975 to a total of $4,000 in 1975. The proposed ball park im- provements were favorably received as Councillor Margaret Bennett commented on the dis- order in the park. "I think our ball park has been .a disgrace," she said. "There's been nobody Damages light, one injury in car mishap One person was injured and damages were moderate in three isolated car accidents investi- gated by the Wingham division of the Ontario Provincial Police this week. Louis Toth of Toronto was in- volved in a single -car accident on Highway 86 west of the Maitland River Bridge Tuesday, Jan. 7. Mr. Toth was injured, and damages to the car were esti- mated at $200. A car driven by Donald Roppel of RR 3, Tiverton was involved in, an accident in Brussels Jan. 10 when it slid into a car owned by James Panos of RR 3; Ayton. Damages were estimated at $100. Robin Wormington of Lucknow was involved in a single -car acci- dent Jan. 12 on Concession 1, west of Sideroad 10-11, Turnberry Township. Damages were estimated at $500. The Wingham MP detach- ment also charged four persons under the Liquor Control Act, laid 15 charges and issued 20 warn- ings under the Highway Traffic looking after the ball park in the last few years." She said that weeds and refuse were an eye- sore and many improvements would be needed. Mrs. McGregor also pointed out that the board's proposed budget compared favorably with budgets in surrounding com- munities. The figure of $40,910 is s council well below the estimated recrea- tion budgets for Listowel at. $56,000, Walkerton at $48,000, and Pt Elgin at $68,000. The Mount Forest estimated figure of $24,000 iswlnonly5because that town has no pool, she explained. The budget proposal was greeted with some dismay by council members. Councillor John Bateson said "We can keep on turning these pages (of the budget) all night, but it still won't get us anywhere .. •. I just don't know where we are going to get tlu extra monejk:'.4:°� - .L. members were in general agree- ment on that fact, and discussion on the budget was tabled pending further review. m� New town council holds first meetin Wingham Town Council held its first meeting in 1975 Monday night, presided over by the new mayor, Jack Reavie. Following the opening invocation by Father' A. J. Nolan on the aspirations and fallibility of man, Mayor Reavie spoke briefly in welcome to the new council. "As I take this office it is with a deep sense of gratitude and humi- lity," he said, pledging to devote - his "full attention" to the job. "I have the best interests of the town and its future at heart." The first business of council was to appoint official commit- tees : Finance — Margaret Ben- nett, Allan Harrison and Jack Gillespie; Police — Bill Harris, Jack Gillespie and Joe Kerr; Public Works — Joe Kerr, Angus Mowbray and John Bateson; Property — Angus Mowbray, John Bateson and Bill Harris; Fire — John Bateson, Joe Kerr and Angus Mowbray; Industrial — Allan Harrison, John Bateson and Harold Wild; Recreation — Harold Wild, Allan Harrison and Margaret Bennett and' Day Care — Jack Gillespie and Bill Harris. A by-law establishing a separate cemetery board was rescinded and a committee of council -was established in its place to include Margaret Bennett, ,Harold Wild and Angus Mowbray. New by-law appointments and re -appointments to various out- side 'commissions included: An- gus Mowbray to the Committee of Adjustment; Allan Harrison as representative to the Riverside Parks Commission; .Mayor Rea -I vie and John Bateson to the Plan- ning Board; John Mann, Tom Deyell and Bob Foxton to , the Recreation and Community Cen- tres Board, along with council -• members Harold Wild, Allan Harrison and Margaret Bennett; Mrs. Jane Levan and Janet Reid .to. -_the, „P . Care CoMmission,. along with council members Jack Gillespie and Bill Harris; Mayor Jack Reavie as representative to the Wingham and District Hospi- WINGHAM SCOUTS heading for the World Scout Jamboree in Norway are Tom Maclean, Doug Taylor, Brent Foxton, Dave Dbuglas, Brian Reid and Tim Morrison in the back •N row and lioug McGregor, Paul Foxton front. "Norway or bust" Join the Boy Scouts and see the world? Not exactly true, hut close to it Nine members of the 1st Wing - ham Scout Troop have qualified to represent the Saugeen West District at the 14th World Jam- boree in Norway this year. They face one major obstacle: money. The nine Scouts are Brian Reid, 15; Doug McGregor, Tim Morri- son, David Douglas and Tom MacLean, all 14 years old; and Brent Foxton, Doug Taylor, Mike Beattie and Paul Foxton, 13 years old. The boys have been Scouts They applied to the Ontario Provincial Council in November. 19721 and received letters of ac- ceptance in December. But the preparations started many months in advance. In hopes of qualifying, all the boys have worked hard to earn the nec- essary money for the trip. "Earn" is the operative word. because according to Scout by- laws "direct solicitation of funds by members is not permitted." So the nine boys have been work- ing at various jobs to get the and Mike Beattie at (Staff Photo) for Scouts and at offices, doing dishes and errands, paper routes and even money -instead -of -gifts at Christmas. Two of the Scouts have steady part-time jobs, but it's hard nonetheless. The Scouts have been offered some help in their project by CKNX, the Brophy Brothers soft- ball !ream and the Kinettes. Pro- ceeds from the various events, the CKNX-Boy Scout hockey game, the softball team's dance, and the Kinettes 50-50 draw, will be donated toward the jamboree trip fund. But it still may not be July 29 to Aug. 7. The boys are scheduled to leave for Norway on July 19 for a pre -jamboree con- ference, followed by a week's stay at the homes of Norwegiah Scouts. The jamboree location will be near the city of Lille - hammer some 120 miles north of Oslo. Activities will include out- door events, sports, nature and wildlife studies and a 24-hour hike with a central theme of interna- tional understanding. Target participation for the event is 15,000 Scouts from various courft- tal Board and Jack Alexander to the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. A by iaw was passed autho- rizing the borrowing of sufficient funds for town enses until taxes come in. The tax assess- ment for 1974 was reported as ap- proximately $3,538,000. Accounts . . Finance Committee chairman Mrs. Bennett reported a total payment of accounts of $67,698.01 for 1974, which constituted $15,000 spent over the allocated budget. Reeve Joe Kerr reported that the public works committee spent $112,746- of subsidy funds and about $40,000 of non -subsidy funds in 1974, but had managed to obtain a provincial grant of $58,400. Police committee chairman Bill Harris reported that nego- tiations with the police depart- ment on 1975 salaries have been initiated and will continue until settled. Day Care Committee chairman Jack Gillespie report- ed a projected trip and Kitchener for observatku-ei day care centre construction ,tom operation prior to starting 9lnl t new Day Care Centre in Win, - ham. Other council business ancllr+ded the review of cor esponde ce from the Ministry of Housing o the municipal landsbiy program and front, the 'Ontario Bui lding Association on uniform building standards! The Merl! were filed .pending the receipt of additional information: A reltobl- tion forwarded from Walkerton to encourage review of fming pro- cedures in criminal courts waif unanimously endorsed by coutteto members. A request by the Public Uti l ties Commission that the chair- man and elected commissioners receive a wage increase • of 0100 each to 0500 and $400 respective- ly, was entrusted to the town clerk for inclusion into a by-law to be presented at the next meet- ing. Request drawings for dam repair There was considerable discussion at Monday evening's meeting of the Wingham town council in regard to possible repairs to the Lower Town dam, a portion of which was washed out in last May's flash flood. The town's position in the repair problem is still not clear, since the Maitland Valley Con- servation Authority has not yet acknowledged any intention of proceeding with the work, which would requirethe approval of the appropriate government mint. try. However, one Contac or, George' Radford of Bl taw pre- viously–plated-a tetii . esti- mate on repairs to the structure rather than a replacement pro- gram. It was indicated that he would now like to re -assess the figures proposed and for this pur- pose drawings of the area to be repaired would be required: Town Clerk William Renwick said that A. W. Clark and Asso- ciates of Wingham have already done some work on the drawings. Council therefore moved to request that the drawings • be completed so they could be viewed either by a private con- tractor -for an accurate estimate of repairs and -or for use of the Conservation Authority hi dis- cussing the project with the ministry. One of the new councillors, Angus Mnwb3 ayr , hiin anAV ,' tractor of considerable •ex-. perietice; appeared to be -of the opinion "Mat limited irepai>t+all .would be well worth considering and remarked on the fact thatthe Riverside Park area adjacent to the pond oue- i'P dates. - orate in usefulness unless the dam is repaired and the pond water replaced. Damages heavy in car mishaps There were no injuries but heavy damages to vehicles in car accidents investigated by Wing - ham Town Police this week. A southbound car driven by James Moir of RR 5, Wingham hit a parked car owned by Co e Foxton, 252 Minnie St. -causing an estimated $2,400 damages to both cars. Charges are pending in the Jan. 8 accident. - A minor accident on• the parking lot of Beaver Lumber re- sulted in ,estimated damages of $100 Jan. 9, when a car driven by Herbert Reck, RR 4, Wingham slid over an icy patch into a car owned by Daryl Walker, also of RR 4, Wingham and an employee at Beaver Lumber. Two fail -to -remain accidents were investigated Jan. 12. A damaged car was discovered driven against a telephone pole in the Janeway between John and Minnie Streets. Investigations by police indicate the car is owned by Carson Snowdon, 122 Scott St.,. Wingham and was driven by Keith Snowdon. An estimated $800 damages was caused to the car. Charges are pending. Later that day a car ran into a tree on Alfred St. and left the scene of the accident. Police report the owner is Robin B. Wormington of Lucknow. Damages were estimated at $600 and charges are pending. Police also investigated one attempted break -and -enter, two thefts and two distrubances in that time. Hosp. admissions decreased in '74 Wingham and District Ho pital is "bang on" bed allo�u{{ances allotted by the Ministry of Health, the hospital executive director announced Wednesday. Norman Hayes told hospital board members that a statistical survey of the area serviced by the hospital based on 1974 population and hospital admission figures places the Wingham and District Hospital at exactly the four -bed - per -thousand ministry allow- ance. The figure is even lower, he said, if chronic care beds are re- moved from the calculations. The statistics were based on a total estimated population for the Huron -Bruce area of about 27,480. The report also indicated that total admissions decreased to 3,219 in 1974 from 3,262 in 1973. Approximately 23 per cent of the total admissions in 1974 was from Wingham alone. The hospital board set the date for the annual meeting of the corporation for March 14 at tl p.m. in the training school build- ing. Board Chairman Robert Ritter announced he would not seek re-election. Vice-chairman Jim Card also announced he would no'�' onger serve' on the 1975. A major issue in the policy review was the mandatory retirement age of 65. In previous years, a hospital staff member who had reached retirement age could request a review and exten- sion for six months at a time. The new policy eliminates the pos- sibility of extensions. Mr. Hayes announced that the change will affect three staff members at the present time and explained that they will be ex- pected to retire by March 31. He said he had discussed the situa- tion with two of the employees and that there was "no animosity toward the hospital or bad feel- ings." The request to make the retirement age mandatory had originally come from staff mem- bers. The board also approved an 11th statutory holiday for hospital employees in 1975 to be taken on Feb. 10. Other business included the approval of annual reappoint- ments to the medical, consulting and courtesy staff of the hospital and standard reports from the management and financial com- mittees and the tnedical staff. The board is still awaiting the results of the budget review ex-