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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1958-12-25, Page 1:all ith 12, 'yl or, --r cg. 65 NEW East n, for ;over - it up -9tf a kit- e re- rhone -19t1 iodel- water • . and 3-;hael, �3-3O aeci- wind, irton, G38tf up by rnnon last Rhone .50x 1 -east lasses after - wire,' -50 ay 'in ward. -50 mile ember 1 and ryone this ;It. 3, 5-r-20 fered. 50x 'ION Lit Cir+ i Of.51 ?I. 111th Year --No,, 51 44 1' rt •` „lam }• 1,: r•}S Y • /T��#j. �'4 L ertcIj �.I r 1asers Vsiais °SS `c1,vJo✓ , 401 sli •asas s ly If s brightltj as the star of `.Bethlehem, that Silent 'night, maj the spirit of the first Christmas shine -forever -in your heart. Cray its message -of `Pease and Good Will become an abiding source of hope to .sou and yours. a Was 5 ,•r GODERICH, ONTARIO, THU,RSDAYi .DECEMBER 25, 1958 st {....., ♦' 5, ssA kok Goderich voters will have the .last word on the swap. A by-law authorizing a vote of .tie municipal electors on Wednes. day, January 14, was passed by Town Council at a special meeting' Monday snight. The electors will be asked to vote "yes” or "no" on the 'follow. ng -question. `+, :•a`,Arze- you, in, favois of each ngirig the ToWn Hall property, less a fire hall site on Newgate street, for, the Post Office property and $14,000? A bylaw authorizing the swap was passed by council, with onl- Depu•tyReeve 'Peter MacE`wan ob• jetting, at 'a special meeting on November 25. The swap was criticized on nom= ination night and more objections were iegistered by citizens,.at the. re ulcer council � c l rneeting held. last Friday night. "Declaring that he would not want .anyone to be 'deprived of their democratic right to vote on the asissuee, Reeve James Dannelly led a -njouFriday_night•_to:.put •the ques- tion before the . people for 'their decision., --- -No -Binding Agreo-ment Though the by-law authorizing the swap was passed on November 25 and, forwarded -to Ottawa,::the. reeve- Stated Monday night: "The - •'est information I can obtain is we haven't any binding or legal, agreement." • Among the citizens who address- ed the Friday night council meet- ing were Tony Wisser, Guy Emer- son, Charles Breckow; Mel Culbert, Miss Josie Saunders, John H. Gra- ham and John E.- Huckins. The majority of these- people .° spoke against the plan to exchange the 78 -year-old town hall on East street for the 70 -year-old post of- fice on West street. A letter writ- ten oil,,,the subject by G. L. Baxter, was also read to council. This letter is published elsewhere on the front e of this issue f 'lam gna ar. A by-law td clear up certain dif- ficulties' whicth have arisen in rt - gardato legal title. to the town hall property was . passed by council Monday. This by-law is regarded as necessary, whether the swap oes through or ,not.. A legal survey q f the town hall property 'has been 'arranged, ac- cording to a letter sent to the town by W. T. Rutherford,' district fnanager, property and buildings manage.nertt braneh, Department of Public. Works. .The surveyor found • certain' inaccuracies and overlaps in the boundaries. ' The above mentioned by-law was past. ed to remedy this difficulty-.•• If .,Voters Say 'No • When -the matter-ofa vote of -the. people" was being discussed Mon- day, Councillor Bruce- Sully .w nd- ete I What -Win -happen happen if the voters say '"ne." ' He indicated be was worried about the.cost of a survey sand- .whether-. the, -town might -get- , tagged considerably in 'event the swap is not completed. "You won't be here to worry about • it, Bruce," said the reeve. 'Councillor Sully, who was chair- man of the special post office com- mittee, is retiring after his first year in council. Councillor Sully said Monday he regretted seconding F'riday's mo- a: • 15 THE YULETIDE MESSAGE OF YOUR $!GNAL-STAR YO 1K,EDITOR, STAFF, AND RURAL CORRESPONDENTS STAFF—George Ellis; Mrs. G. Ellis, Clayton Nivins. Mrs. Rae *Nevin, Bob Henry, Austin Purd -- .. , y,• Ken-iVlrlfer -WrHram-Cavell,• Mrss James" -Green; -John -Socha-if-an. RURAL CORRESPONDENTS—Mrs. Eleanor Bra dnock, Auburn; Mrs. Ray'Finnigan, Crewe; Mrs. Robt, Chamney, Donnybrook; Mrs. L. Stingel, Dungannon; Mrs. Earl Howes, Mafeking; Mrs. Gilbert, Frayne, Kirigsbrjdge; Mrs. Frank McCullough, Holmeiville; Mrs. A. A. J. Simpson, Kintail; ,Mrs. ''Graham McNee, •Nile; - Mrs. A. Lockhart, • Porter's ', Hill; Mrs. Wallace Miller, St. Helen's; Mrs. Frank Rising, Sheppardten; Miss -Berthina Sturgeon, Bayfield; Mrs. Walter Tigert, Port Albert; Mrs'. John Westbrook, Taylor's 'Corner. FORESEES UNEXPECTED EXPENSES Taxpayer Doubts Wisdom Of Town Council's Plans Since Town Council, t its last meeting for 1058 last Fridhy, finally decided to go to the taxpayers for their decision on the Town Hall - Post Office swap, the following rate- payer's letter to Town Council will 'be found of interest. The letter, ,together with numerous personal representations to council, formed the basis for objection to the plan formulated by Town Council. The firstletter, which speaks for itself, was read at the -last • Town Council meeting. The second letter is one sent to the Signal -Star since that time to clarify': any 'mis- understandings which might have arisen as a result of the f'i'st letter. Goderich, Ont., .. « Dec. 16, 1958. His Worship, Mayor 'E. C. Fisher, 'Reeve Jas. Donnelly, Deputy Reeve Frank Walkom, and Members of 'Goderich Town Council. .„, setting- before you- the views WM • o one, of your ratepayers on the Town Hall versus Post Office swap, I do so without any personal 'anim- osity towards any of you, If my opinions differ from yours, it may be from lack of inf91mation, or just plain ignorance,' However, my opinions do seem to be different. I have -talked to a good many rate- payers on this question and the only one who was in favor of the swap was assessor and tax collec- tor, swap, Jessop: To say that his opinion might be biased is only voicing an opinion. 111 the first place, if 1 personally owned the Town Hallro.perty,, and the buildings were falling down ro td f he.�. ra r e i or epos o ce, especia ly f'o the puicpose it is to be used for. ' 1 do riot believe the Town Hall is in 'such dire -need of repair, or of a new furnace. I took a good 1pok at the ceiling nomination -night • and while it has been leak- ing,. do not see any need for shifting the desks. argued tois's the leaks, or of having tubs around on the floor 'in the 'auditorium. It has been suggested that the council chamber furnishings were• obsolete, I will grant you this, But I do not see how moving to the Post Office would improve the furnishings. And, if my Memory serves me Cor- rectly, no estimates for new -furn- isbings were contained in the swap deal. Further, it is my understanding that if the deal is pushed through, we will build a new lire hall --on a strip 30' x 70' facing Newgate street. Is this a good idea? How far' back will this be set from the sidewalk? Does the ,g,.ioted price include new walks an curbs, place for drying the hose, etc., etc. What abotl't caretaker, heat, telephone, etc.? The same applies to the sheds' to be built at the dump for ' e keep 'equipments* It would seem—to- me a. that - aims -Hefty ..of lighting meters, telephones, heat- ing units, caretaking, etc., would be a constant source of cost, At present, 'under our centralized sys- tem, we can always get a prompt and courteous reply and generally prompt' action on any request about such services by calling the town clerk's office. It does not ,a•ppear to me as if Newgate street is any too wide for fire trucks to man- oeuvre in, and before you can get anywhere you have to stop for a turn.+off. It is further suggested that the police need more room Also the assessor's office is inadequate, These . are definitely problems. o ce cou a mover to a Ouse next door and this room could be given to the Police Department for an extra sitting room, card room, or place to pile seized beer, or whatever it is needed for. Wha` • about removal of cells, toilet facil- ities, etc., in the Post Office for the "Police department? Were these taken care of in the estimates sub- mitted? These are among many things I would liketo know to O.K. such a deal. With reference to Post Office floors. HoW many floors were you going to cover, ane, two, or three? If my memory serves me correctly, twelve hundred feet was the area for one floor in the Post Office. Based on this size, here is what I'think it would cost you for each floor. 135 yds. A gauge Battleship ' Lino or equal fir $3,00 $405.00 38 sheets 5/16” underlay plywood, today's price • $4.16 158:00 4 rolls saturated felt $5.50 .. 22.00 30 lbs. barbed nails 45c 13.50 10 gals. lino paste $1.25 12.50. 10 gals. waterproof cement $3.75 ' • 37.50 O'n a drr-itynnrsetf--bas'is at '-- real good prices $648,50 In regards painting the Post Office, I believe $200.00 was 'sug- rested, I paid out less thah' a month ago over $100.00 to a local painter to paint one kitchen 11' .x 18' walls and ceiling and cup- boards, three coats. Besides, I paint- ed the doors myself at home. Clow much painting would. by required, at the Post 'Office?" With regards- to the Assessor's office, I do not think it would be too crowded in,the old house, and I am sure that "the rent from this, ($12.00) per month, would never be missed. There is 'another thing, house tent. Less than ,two blacks ..r _ . o an o aged pensioned widow who 'pays $40,00 for about half of a house, and it takes three stoves to ,heat it at this time of year. Surely a more reaistic rental is4n .(Continued n page 4) .n 44, Single Copies ,?s , )N TOWN HALL. ISSL IL TOR- JATVUARY s Cost ,Figures Mayor E. C. Fisher announc- ed Monday that an advertise- ment will appear in next week's Signal -Star from the Down of Goderich with respect to the proposed Post Office - Town Hall swap. He states it will give cost figures for the Town Hall -Past Office swap in relation to what it would cost for renovations to make -••_the present Town . Hall suitable. Details of the by-law, which is to be voted on January 14, are", to be found under the Public Notice section of the classified ads on page ten. of this issue. - tion for a vote of "tile people. "I think we're sent 'here to be town managers," he -had _decided after thinking things over. He adcle'd,-"Ttegretted very much seconding it. I' wasn't firing, on all 12," Deputy -Reeve MacEwan wonder- ed if the question to be put to the voters was phrased correctly. In his view; the town will' not net 514,000 from the swap because it will have to build a new fire hall and public works garage if the deal is completed., It was decided that the wording of the question should be kept as simple es possible., however The details could be stated clearly in an advertisement to be published in The Signal -Star later, it was felt. At Friday's meeting, .Councillor Sully stated the federal govern- ment is leaving the post °Mee"'be: cause it' needs more room. If the post office is in as good shape as town officials believe, why doesn't the, government, build an extension it? --Miss- -Satin ders- know. 8 atrnde'rs- know. • Sceptical Of " Estimates Guy Emerson was the first citizen to address council on the swap at Friday night's meeting., He said he still held 'the same opinion -which he expressed at the nomin- ation meting a few weeks ago. "I really feel that we're being sold down the riirer," he stated. He was sceptical of the special post office committee's ,estimate that municipal offices : and ' the police 'department can be • moved into the post office for only $3,700. (This figure includes $700' for a new floor covering and.$3,•000 to fix up the basement for police head - ,quarters.) "I feel .quite _sa#.e._.in_sayi-ng 80 percent `of°the people .i9 the Town of Goderich would not swallow moving -into-, the--•-pont - office.- -for- $3,700," he commented. Furthermore, Mr. Emerson felt it is time the town -provid.edparking lots. A section of the present town hall 'property' might be ideal for this—and might be the only pro- perty available within reasonable distance of the business section. "A Palace" By Comparison In his opinion; the • present town hall is "a palace" i comparison to the post office, which needs paint- ing, plumbing, etc. Councillor Bruce Sully rose to MORAL OF DR. FOX'S NEW BOOK SEEN AS 'OBSERVE AND -ACT" (By Brigadier G: M. Ross) Many of you will recall that during the period 1914 to 1918 it was customary for the well- dressed man to spend at least a portion of each year in the Ypres Salient. Some of you may have -shared a Corps Commander''en: depringly known as Htlnter. Bunter. This enterprising man wrote a cathechism for young soldiers. The first question was: Am I sufficiently offensive? Everyone knows that questions of this .kind are usually answered, most lucidly by close relatives of the female sex. And with one side v,mile and a half long was probably the largest un- fenced acreage in Ontario. We rediscovered Mud Creek and the Devil's Elbow, We returned to look in on the desolation of Bake Smith. Then crossing the Cut, where -it-diverts the river to Port_ Franks, we sought out the fairy- like Rock Glen and the Gorge of the Aux. Saubles. From thence we tapped, in at the bridge over the river where you scramble down the bank and serve yourself with (Centinuea on page 5)' so, a very good question for today is: Am I sufficiently observant? " To which most honest men ..will • . ' have to answer in the negative. _ t Over the years, Dr.. Sherwood Five' More Win. Turkey's In :Draw Draw The names of .five ,.more turkey winners have beerrannounced by N: T. Ormandy Jewellery, The latest list of daily winners includes: Wednesday, Mrs. Ben Good; Thursday, Joyce • Bosnell. 'Goderich; li'ridhy,� Mrs. Colclough,' RR 3, Clinton; Saturday, Mrs. Wil- liam Leeson, Goderich; Monday, Mr. Dube, Goderich: By the time the daily draw con - eludes on Christmas Eve, the store will have awarded a total of 17 • turkeys. " DRILLING FOR ONE YEAR Fox has performed a Variety of dis- tinguished ,services for the common weal. Not least have been the stories and descriptions contained in such books as "The Bruce Beckons" and in the present vol- urhe which deals with the rejuven- ation of the natural treasures of the Aux Saubles river 'watershed' and course. Dr. Fox's life 'has been spent, primarily, in teaching and it is not surprising that the volume under review teaches us how and what. to 'observe in the very beautiful and, interesting por- tion of Western Ontario. in which we are privileged to live, To epitomise, his theme is first: Nature ruined by , man and as a sequel: Nature rehabilitated by ,man. Fur- ther, although he does not point it up, the moral' of his story is un- doubtedly: Observe aqd act, Last summer I had. returned from, a delightful jaunt with Dr. Fox to visit iri torn the main features of interest in this descrip- tive history of the Aux Saubles river watershed. We had noted the dry river bed which was now supporting some lobelia cardinalis. We remarked that the beet fields, SANTA= GIVES GIFTS, THEN, HE GETS ONE, TOO The children of the Cementation Company em:pleyees held their Christmas party at MacKay Hall on Sunday afternoon. After the singing of Christmas carols, ,led by Rev, John Patrick, Santa appeared with his sleigh of toys. When each child had receiv- ed a gift, Santa (Mr., Milling).was himself presented with a gift from Ruthie Patrick, on behalf of the children. The children then en- joyed a treat of ice cream, cake• and pop. and an enjoyable time was concluded by the gift of a bag of fruit and candy on the way out. To 9(t tl i s. , _ party for' tile„ Cementation employees and their wives will be held On December 21th at Goderich Pavilion. The depth of the shaft at the. rock salt plant is expected to reach 1000 feet, on teat dater, -ir' Rock Salt Bed Finally Hit At Depth After one year of drilling, less about three weeks, salt has been struck at -the Rock Salt mine at the harbor.- At exactly 10 p.m., op Sunday the miners hit salt at a depth of 962 feet.,- .;, The first salts hit was dirty salt and the rock salt to be 'mined is a couple of hundred feet under this. The log at the shaft read as follows: "Sunday, December 21, at 10 p.m.—At 960 feet we have reached dirty salt. At 964fe,et we have a dolemite: At. 967 feet it's salt again ,with 15 to. 20 per cent an hydrite. At 9761 feet We get a smoky salt. , At 977 feet we get mostly an hydrite, some salt vyith it. At ee Christmas Mail More Than Ever Every passing year seems to set a new high record .in volume of Christmas mail handled at ' the' Goderich Post Office and this year i is `no exception. An increase of at least 12,000 more letters and cards. sent out from_Tsideric.h since ', December 12 is expected ' before the Post Office closes for Christ- mas Day. . I On Tuesday, things were almost 1 back .to normal at the Post Office, 1 the peak volume having been dis- 1 posed of. It is evident that people 'are at long last doing their Christ- mas mailing earlier. The Post—Office will be closed all day on Christmas but mails "Wilk be received and despatched AS ' usual, Thil year, the Post i Office will be closed on Boxing Day, also, The wickets wiIh la, open from 1 to 3 p.m., however, and the lobby from 7 a.m., to 6 p.m. et� There vxi l be no' rural delivery either on Christmas Day or Boxing 980 feet - we have still more salt, smoky and clear: . . . At 1,080 feet we reach clear crys- taline. This is- the bed we will be extracting." The area from .a depth of 1173 feet to 1196 feet will be the first level where machinery wilt be set up to extract the rock salt. It was on January 14th of this year that excavation start. ed in the shaft to search for the salt. Delays were, experi- enced through the hitting' of - considerable water but mod- ern, mining meth4tls overcame these difficulties which pre- vented miners many years ago from reaching the rock salt bed which they knew was, pre- sent there. ^Wa9 As 400 Pets Get More than 400 animals were given "the needle" at the anti- rabies vaccination clinic ' held at MacKay Hall all day Thursday. ' It was a free service of the Health of Animals branch of the Canada Department of Agriculture. Dogs were in the majority -281 of them. Then cane >�24 cats and also two rabbits. " The attendants found that the dogs, the ones that usually roam around out-of-door took the pdnish- m'eat most acceptably whereas the small dogs and the rets that usual - 1 stay iwnsfd• rats • , the_.most fuss of course, objected violently and the attendants .had, to be quite careful not to get a slhsh from them with -thefr sharp paws, There was barking, snarl'i'ng and scuffling frQm the little dogs, one of whom, • . mpg Anti -Rabies Shots managed to bite Charles Horton, of Stratford, one of those assisting in the clinic. In charge of the clinic was Dr. J. M. Mitchell, of London, of the Health of Animals Branch of the Canada Department' of Agriculture.• Assisting him was Dr. H. K. Mit- chell, of North Bay: Two district assistants were ' fir, G. S. Elliott of Clinton, and Dr, W. Coxon,• of Zurich. Also giving aid were Roy Befanger, of Clinton, Charles Horton, of Stratford, and Art Jen in_s, S.P.C.A. officer. Mem aan r', too. The animals were thought in not only from Goderich but from the aural area around'as well, Mr. Jack Sproule, of Colborne, brought in seven dogs and one cat to be given the treatment, say that the estimate of $700 to put new floor covering in the post office -was secured from a floor contractor. "Did 'you get that i,n black and white?" asked Mr. Emerson. led• -the --case- of -the•• -bo - ing alley which was converted' into the Public Utilities Comrinission building here. That was supposed to cost around $23,000, he- thought, but the final figure came to some- thing like $68,000; he 'understood,. • Another thing he disliked about the present swap is "27 steps:" To save moving partitions, etc., on the main floor of the post ofrce, council figured on putting the mun- icipal offices on the second' floor, which is now occupied by the cus- toms department. "I think you'll ,have 'about two ambulance calls a week if anyone goes to see the town clerk or pay their taxes," he said in pointing out that these steps would be•quite a climb for some of the town's older 'citizen -.- At this point in the meeting, _CQ:tw.cillor.-Snl1y:.-admitted_that. once. -- a new council,agets to work on these details, the offices may never be an the second .floor, ',, , Urges Long-range View "Before you're through, you'll have $60,000 in that old building,' Mr. Emerson warned, "and you'll still have an old building." He urged council to take a long range view of the situation. " • Councillor Sully still felt' that, even if council had to spend $10,00e more than it figured, the tome would still be better off by moving to -the -post ;ofliue. - Mr. Emerson asked: "Does bins council, tonight, decide if you're going to make the trade?" " Councillor William Tipple re • plied: "The new council, I would say, has to make ' the final dei cision." " He said'a by-law, passed by MUM cid, has gone to Ottawa bat it is 'possible that certain details in the by-law might not meet with ll tawa's approval. But if the by-law is not sent back by Ottawa for re- vision, the basic switoh will have been completed. in the councllor's opinion. Another Protest Tony Wisser, the next citizen ttti speak, said that he . had come to • register his protest also He thought it strange that a. deal for $2.900 (the band by-law question) was put to a vote of the people but the post office deal, in volving much larger sums, was not put to a' vote of the people. 'pie pointed out there had been public hearing on the zoning• by- law and citizens were warned of how the by-law could affect them.. But when it came to the post office deal, hardly' anyone 'knew (Continued .on 'page '5)'• 5 "Bob," a dog belonging to Billy Wilkinson, son of Mr. a d Mrs„ `eivei ''art' anti -rabies 'vaccination at the clinic held at1VIaa cKay Hall last Thursday. Billy holds the dog while two veterinary dootors-�Dr.".G. S, Elliott, of Clinton, and Dr. 1i: K. MifehelI, of ..:North Bay --get ready to give the dog the needle. S -S- Photo : try 11.11 7" 14,