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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1967-05-18, Page 116 • 120th_ YEAR, No. 20 THE GODERICH SIGNAL STAR„ :filURSDAY, MAY 1B,1967 New Bank offices Now. Open. The new premises of the God.. erich branch of the Bailie of Mon• treat were ,Opened `$n Saturday, afternoon with ceremonies :fitter ing to the occasion whenbank off. icials and the mayor of Goderich cut a ribbon, unveiled a plaque,• and welcomed a capacity audience • to inspect the building and all .. its facilities. The, newaalr conditioned office .was - in still ,operation Monday morning. * Ideal weather favored the event and the main sectionoftheofficq was quite„ filled when ceremonies got cinder way. • PRETTY GOWNS Lending an authentic air to pro. • ceedings were the female mem. begs of the staff adored in old time. Centennial dresses, which, the audience was reassured, were the hardiwork of the ladies them.., selves. . Principal speaker in the brief ceremonies was John Lesslie, vice.president of the bank's East. . ern' Ontario division; a former Goderich resident who 'recalled some of the old merchants and business places' around the Square now gone but not for. gotten.. , Mr. Lesslie and Dr. Frank Mills teamed up to cut the 'offic. is 1 ribbon across the frontportal. Mayor Mllethen did the honors on unveiling the bronze plaque at the front entrance. Formal handing over 'of -.the keys on behalf Of -the contractor was done by H. Falls, a London architect. The local manager, Milton Rayner, acted as chair. • man and introduced the, guests. Also-, taking part in the cer. emonies was W.A. B. Hill; dis. tract manager of the bank. Following the ceremonies,. t'open house" was held for %cap., acity crowd of guests which - ii . eluded members of•town council, businessmen, bank customers, their wives, families and friends. The••facilities of the bank were thrown open to inspection andre. freshmentswere served.'" . • The new -building takes the place of the one on the corner of Wiest.. meet and the Square ccupied' by the baniG since. l9057 -- ",Ontario' prides itself onbeing the province tlf opportunity fin Canada. One the prime reds.. ons that opovince is growing at 'such a .:int d gate and one of the priticklrill• factors behind, its bright prOeets tor, the future is the, abunidaance of water re. sources With' which b atario is ` ,blessed. • Qur challenge, for the " second century of Canada, is to use ._ ;this poteiltifl1 along with ' our - other rich .resotirces; to obtain maximum benefits for our people. "As the -treasurer of this pro. vince for the past six months, I have had a unique opportunity to view the whole broad pro Pm of development in Qntarto. I Was not. ,office very: long before I and my associates began poring over the considerable volume of estimates°whicl, made up the bud. ° get which I had the privilege of presenting to the Legislature ear. , lier . this year. It was a `rather staggering exercise to stand in the swirl of figures from the ,., branches and divisions of all the departments which make up the Government of Canada's richest province..There was, however, a main stream of impression whose strong undercurrent forced the stream toward, one purpose. ful goal. When you hear the T.V. boradcaster 'say !Watch out World . here corns Ontario,' don't dismiss it as a bit of pr -o. paganda. This province is .just beginning to gather the cnnmen. tum which will carry it to world prominence. "Onenof the streams that carr. les this province to its great des: tiny is water. I have been con. vinced of that since my two years' service in the early days of the _Ontario Water Resources„Com. Mission. . "Those of you who attended the first annual meeting of the On. tario Municipal Water Associa.. tion in Toronto 'in March .heard the present chairmarf of the Com. • mission, 'Dr. James A. Vance, give a history of the com hiss. ion and an indication of how . it is' fulfilling its role. I want to go over that briefly with you this afternoon. "The Government of Ontario in 1955 set up the "Water Res.. ounces and Suppy Committee" to investigate ways and means of developing ' Ontario's vast water resources to their fullest potential. After almost a year of intensive study; .the committee brought rirs. report to the govern. mento which resulted in a pass. ing f the Ontario Water Re. sources Commission Act and the formation of the OWRC in 1956. The Comm; ssion as we know it today came into being on April 1, 1957•- just !a decade ago. It took over responsibilities which Wearing their own creations to *lend°,a Cen- tennial flavor to the opening of the new quarters of the Goderich branch of - the Bank of Montreal Saturday afternoon were ladies of the staff, including, from left to right, Mrs. George Bacon, Miss Karen McLean, Herman Lansing, Mrs. Robert Hoy, ' Mrs. James Drehmann, Mrs. Don Masse and Miss.. G. Lutz. (staff photo)- `A• •A Hard Times Years Ago The following are from the minutes of town council meeting, •1867: excerpt$ Goderich May 4th, The council assemtled, -mayor' in their, with all the members present of the last meet. ing were read, approved and sign. ed. A report from the finance com mittee regarding the account of Fred Marsh, asking payment for 8 trees planted by him in 1864, • recommended that the account•be• not paid. • "It appears from the report of the street inspector that such trees have not been planted long enough to entitle him to pay. ment." Dr. Frank Mills, Mayor of Goderich, unveiled • the bronze plaque at the main entrance, which recognizes the long history -of the -bank in Canada, in Goderich, and Centennial year.. .. ; . �v • a•.+.•. : A :• •:: •. •.tv:r,., .• •:l: •it r.v;:;.•.y{f,: {.;.y •.Y:.• :{::•y{{.Y i:;:Q\:%:�:;'.�iiP:. f. ... .:. . •... ..... • .....:... ... ..! .. • ... r;! ....+:. .. yy¢p. jj .. ��t�J. o. J.vy.rY;�';J•.;,;%J,::.:)v,< •�.xv,,:.'•.?:tc:•io>'?�J:r': N:x{J.•'/AlhMY.YIh lA•}::.{K,::r �. :•:•i: rx•:: �:.::::::•:::.•:.»:•>�� , Looking on are• John Lesslie, vice.president, Eastern Ontario Division and M. Rayner, manager of the local branch. (Staff photo) The report upon the motion was adopted. Another entry . in the minutes records that the' mayor, `J. A. Finlay; :had examinedthe safe offered to council by M, Will. Tams 'but he did not approve of it and could not recommend coin: cal to purchase it. Council then instructed the mayor to get a safe for the use of town as cheap- ly as possible. Councillor Dancy° repor fed that °. only 550. feet of hose are ser- viceable and would reconmend that 300 feet be purchased. The clerk was instructed to write to the fire departments of Toronto, Hamilton and London regarding the kind of hose they 'Would re. commend. •• Council then adjourned. The minutes were signed by James Thompson, clerk, and J. A. Fin. 'lay, Mayor. A near.record attendance marked ,the spring meeting of the Western Ontario Water Works convention at the Maitland country. club on Wednesday, 'May 10, when over 160 delegates from points throughout several Western Ontario counties met here to discuss latest technique and equipment used by- public utilities commissions in different mun. ancingi' design, construction and operation • of water and sewage projects, was unique and attract. ed wide attention in the water and pollution fields. 'During the ten years in which this co.operative program has been operating, I believe the OWRC has established ' itself as a prime example of the partnership approach to govern. ment which underlies the success story of this generation in On. tarso. "IVf.ore recently, in a further extension of this partnership pro. gram, : the com-nis§ion has arr. anged to finance water develop. • ta. ment programs at a most econ. omicai cost for the municipalit. ies. ''The, extent to wnich.this water program !.s flowing. is ,evidenced in the latest report presented to the Legislature only a short time ago.. "The value of certificates of approval issued in 1966 by the s OWRC for construction of water and sewage throughnnt the pro. vince 'reached its highest point in the ten-year period since the . OWRC started operations. "Certificates issued for both water and sewage works last year had a value with' $153 mill. ion, compared withthe previous high in 1962' of $148„ inion, The grand total value of certificates issued during the ten.year period of the Ontario Water Resources Commission's operation has'no'w passed the $1 1/4 billion mark, "Since 1961, the commission has issued 'oyer 4,500 watertaking permits, making available almost, 4"billion gallons of water per day for ° commercial, industrial, ,ir,. rigational, • municipal andrecre. ational uses in the province. "Last year alone, over 500 permits were issued involving 1.4 billion gallons per day. • "The breakdown Of these fig. ures for 1966 illustrates What I mean by -water as a principal stimulant for growth in Ontario. Of the 500 water permits issued, %some 52,about 10 percent,were for industrial supplies. However, these industrial water sources involved over 1.3 billion gallons per day or well over 99 percent . of the total water resources re. leased during they past year. "To illustrate how the pro. gram to develop our water re. sources is mushrooming, I need only to look at the Ontario bud. get for 196'7 The. net, ordinary expenditure of the commission is projected to reach some $7 1/2 million compared to $6 million in 1966. In capital disbursements, the increase i5 even greater. For 1967; the budget provides for an investment of $65 million in capital works, compared to the provision last year of some $25 million. "As you people in Western On. tarso will•recognize, some of the key factors_behind that increase, , particularly in the capital area, -are the two -major lake pipeline developments in this area. I know that you are following their pro. gress with considerable interest and anticipation. "As treasurer of the province, I feel I should emphasize the fin. ancing benefits which accrue to the municipalities through the assistance , provided, by the had formerly been handled by the Departments. of Health and Mines. PARTNERS HIP "The commission has been giv en the authority to regulate the province's water. resources, in. eluding all phases of water man. agement. Its co-operative pro• gram with the municipalities, • through agreements for the fin. John Lesslie. (centre) struck a nostalgic note during ceremonies attending the Opening of the "new Bank of Montreal office here, recalling days of his youth in Goderich, Looking out through the windows of the building, he recalled Merchants and .stores long since missing from .the ...local business scene. Left to rigl}t;;are Mrs. 'Ted McLean of the offiee• staff; Dr. Frank M•i11s,�may'or of Goderich; Mr. Lesslie; partially hidden fro?► camera is I.1. Palls of London, member of the architects' MO who tendered the key on behalf of the general ' contractor; branch Manager M. Rayner; W.A.B. Hill, district l• manager; (Staff photo). ,,,,4, The , traditional ribbon cutting,'' ceremony marked the official opening of the handsome new building at the south east corner of Court House Square and East street.Wielding the shears are Mayor Mills and John Lesslie',., vice.president, Eastern Ontario Division, With local manager M. Rayner As ,witness. (Staff photo) OWRC. As you mission provides capital re- System, which is now nearing gyired for your projects at • the completion, was the, first of these . same" cost as the province is provincial projects and, shortly able to borrow funds. This is in after the • introduction of this the neighborhood of 5 1/2 per- scheme, the commission was , ' cent which you will appreciate is .authorized to engage consulting about • one percent less than the engineers to conduct pipeline municipalities could sectitb. studies in other 'Water short Compute this interest savingover areas. Studies of this nature, as the lifetime of the borrowing and you probably know, are now under I think I could leave it to your im. way or completed in• a number of agination to consider just how areas including the Counties of much the total saving constitutes. Essex, LambtonandKentinWest+ "The popularity of the OWRC - ern Ontario. municipal financing program Is "And I • can assure you that, reflected in ;the fact that, to date _within reason, this province's fin. • some 385 projects, serving 205 ancial resources will be made municipalities have been or are available to the extent that such being, developed at a cost of :. investment manifests itself ,in a just over $150 million. Of these, continuing program. of growth 167 are for water. ` y ,opportunity. "Some concern has been ex. - "It is only fair to warn you, pressed in recent years about the' however, that there are many Capacity of our watenbresources avenues of public expenditure to meet future growth. Such talk proposals which couldhamperthe would appear to be somewhat irr. -availability of funds for develop. p es onsible ih ' the light `of re. ment of this fundamental service. searched analysis. I refer; of course, to the seem. "Mr, .A. K. Watt, assistant gen- ingly unending derriands for social eral manager of the Ontario Wat. and security programs, all of er Resources Commission and a which are beneficial in them.. recognized authority on our water • selves, but nevertheless must be problems, dealt with that subject viewed in the context of our ab. • at length in a paper presented ility, not only as i community recently to. the annual meeting of and a province but as a nation, `the Canadian Institute of Mining to • afford them. I submit, and I and Metallurgy at Ottawa. am sure you will agree, that our "Mr. Watt establishes • that first. priority on public funds is •some, 7 billion gallons per day to provide those services which are used in. Ontario at the pre. enable our people lo�take advan. sent time for all .purposes ex. tage of the opportunities provid.cept power generation. Informed ed by ourrich natural resources. projections of•our•grewth indicate "In my area, major changes this demand will increase to 12 are looming on the surface. The billion gallons per day by 1985 Federal Carter Commissirin Re. and to- 21 billion gallons per day port on' Taxation preieets major by the year 2,000. . changes in our prime sources of "That demand, figure 6! 21 bill. national revenue. Our Provincial ion gallons per day for the year Smith committee on Taxation is 2,000 is less than one .quarter -of expected to make its report soon the 94 billion gallons per day and I anticipate' that it, too,' will available water in Ontario at the incorporate major changes for present time. And the picture is both the provincial and municipal even brighter when -We consider fields. All of us in the Public that only a small proportion of service must be prepared to con. the water in use today is act. sider the changes thatwillbepro. ually consumed and, thereto e, posed.." there is a great potential overd above the present supply in the H re.use of water. icipalities. Seated at the head table for the served at 1:00 p.m. were.,. from -left: Sid Arbour, '67 WOWWC president arid chairman for the spring meeting at Goderich; Hon. C.S. MacNaughton, MPP and provincial treasarer who was guest speaker during the afternoon session; W.J. ''Bill" Mills, God. erich PUC chairman. (staff photo) know, the corn. -"The Lake Huron Water Supply • "On the other hand, we must recognize that the remoteness of much of this water from many area's in the province where it will be requireddoes reduce the atnount of water readily avail. able for use. ADEQUATE "On summary, however, Mr. Watt says that the water resour. ces of Ontario are quite ade. quate for both present and fore. seeable needs, providing, of course• that they are wisely man. aged. ' WHOLESALE 'AT R "In 1964, a most significant development took 'place in the OWRC program. The• c ommiss. ion was authorized to undertake regional water supply systems as whdlly owned provincial under. taping, wholesaling water to mp. nicipalities at cost. This puts the' commission in a position qte similar to the Ontario Hydro and furtherm....te, relieVes the cost of •these works from being reflected as- a debt against the customer Municipalities. arbor Job To Dean Firm Dean Construction company' of Tecumseh, Ont.; has beenaward: • ed a contract with the federal department of public works in the amount of $187,183.20 for a Major renovation 61 Snug Har. bor at Goderich, Hon. George J. MaIlwraith, announced in Ott. awa this week. The Dean 'firm's bid was the lowest of ten, the highest being inIce area of $257,000. ork .is expected to commence in t e near future. On .Exe•cutive Clyde E. Everett of the W.A. Sheaffer Pen Company here was elected to the board of directors of the Canadian Jewellers, ass. ociation in annual ConVentiOri at Toronto on Tuesday May 9, it .° is announcedr by Raymond P, t 'grown,` general manager of the association, 00