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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-04-19, Page 2PAGE• 2--GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1973 a 1 1I A crazy ca oon appeared last Decem- ber. In it one aracter said, "Hi! Haven't seen you since last Christmas..." Another character answered, "I. was sick Easter". --raster is no time to be sick. Easter is the time for a wild and unrestrained joy - exhilaration across the nation. You see this was the day a close -in group of friends who thought their leader was dead, suddenly discovered that he was alive. The close -in group of friends were the disciples. Their leader was Jesus Christ - the Superstar who, was nailed to " a super spar. Scripture records the response of the disciples as "disbelief, joy and wonder". Someone whom they thought was dead, gone and lost, was alive! That's our 1973 kick of hope. The shrivelled up cocoon of despair bursts out into an unexpected new thing. New shoots of green in the burnt-out forest. Evidence of peace where before there was only war and waste. Ecological destruction and nuclear catastrophe give way to survival and love. Too good to be true! Disbelief, joy and wonder! That's Easter! Join the crowds at church and celebrate. SteitiThree:careful decision The Property Committee of Huron County Council and Goderich Town Council are now agreed. Together they have decided the walls at the former uron County Jail should stand. They have worked out an alternate plan to provide the additional space requested for the Huron -Perth Regional Assessment Office. The matter now requires only the sanction of Huron County MCouncil which meets for its April session Thursday, April 26 at 10 .a.m. in; . the court house, second floor. The Save The Jail Society has served this community wolf. It has forced the municipal legislators to look beyond today where the former jail is concerned and it has shown .local and county council that Huron's history belongs not only to the local people, but to the province and even the nation. It is to be hoped, however, that when Huron County Council studies the proposal of its Property Committee and the Town of Goderich to retain the jail walls, it will not ask the Save The Jail Society for a quick solution . ,, the problem of how to make the jail u ` ' u I and "economically. justified. The Save The Jail Society is just that -a group of persons dedicated to the preservation of this historic structure. At no time did the Save The Jail Society promise to make the jail a paying proposition and it should not be expec- ted to do so now. In deliberations, The "Save The Jail Society claimed some "imaginative and innoviative use" could probably be devised by which the jail would become an attraction in Goderich. But if the jail only stands undisturbed at the northern entrance to town, The Save The Jail Society's purpose will have been accom- plished. It would be unwise to rush into further development at the jail without making careful plans. Just as expert opinions from outside the community were solicited to save the jail walls, so suggestions for- the site's ultimate use should be invited from informed sources throughout Ontario and "Canada. Ap- proached correctly and with dignity, the former jail can be an asset. Allowed to become .a political pawn, the building could become ' 'as fake as a penny ar- cade. One final thought. There have been rumors that an Atnerican interest has given some thought to purchasing. the former jail. A price has been mentioned. So has a possible project. While this newspaper does not usually print rumors, more 'often than not it has been''learned that most rumors have some grain of fact contained in them. How ironic it would be to have saved a small corner of Huron history only to have it fall into the hands of the United States of America! No doubt that kind of action would re -activate The Save The Jail Society and unleash a renewed kind of fervor not evident to now. The way they do it there When -Town Council announced last week that copies of council ,session minutes could be obtained at the cost of 40 cents per 100 words, we were aghast. We figured "either inflation had really gotten out of hand, or the town was out to make a bit on the side. Upon discussing the matter further with Town Clerk Hartley Fischer however, we've had second thoughts. In view of what could be involved and the town's present policy regarding the public's access to the minutes, perhaps the rate of 40 cents per 100 words isn't so outlandish after all. Firstly, it should be noted that ac- counts of council proceedings are open to the public anytime during general of- fice hours. Furthermore, anyone wishing to copy information for themselves is free to do so, providing they come equipped with their own pen and paper. As Clerk Fischer pointed out however, those wishing a copy of the so-called minutes, are often after extracts of such things as zoning by-laws which could be used in a court of law, Therefore, they must not only be retyped, but proof read andcertified by the town clerk and _ signed with the town's seal. For this amount of work, 40 cents per 100 words is not unreasonable. Clerk Fischer also noted that even when it comes to making duplicate copies of minutes, considerable time is involved. Someone, he said, first of all has to locate' the minutes, then take them out of the files, and make the copies and return them to the files. Paper for the town's copying machine costs approximately 13 cents per sheet. -Now here we're not so ready to admit the processing is worth 40 cents per 100 words --especially when you consider the average length of the council minutes runs to approximately 1500' words. At roughly 200 words per page that would amount to 71P pages which in terms . of paper cost would be 98 cents. Yet the town is going to ask $6.00. Well, at least it'll discourage those people asking for copies of minutes just for nuisance sake, which is maybe what council had in mind all along.—Listowel Banner. ►CNA the OobecicFj - SIGNAL -STAR -.j-- The County Town Newspaper of Hurerl U rounded in 1346 and published every Thursday at 37 West St Cinder ich, Ontarin Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation. the CWNA andOWNA Advert,ainq rates on request Subs+r,pf,ons payable in advance %600 in Canada, $q4,0 ,n all countries other than Canada single copies 20 rents Second class mail iaegistrationNumber 0716 Advertising is accepted nn the condition that, in the event of typograpMcalerrorthat portion of the ady.rhsing 'apat. occupied by the orroneous ,tom, ingother with reasonable allowsnr a for signator• will not he char god for but O. balance Of ih. advert s.menl wn11 b. paid for at thia appt,abl. rate In the event of a typographical error adver',sing gond% or services al a wrong price, goods o, n.rv,cs may not h. told Advertconq •s mer•If an (Myr In sell and may be withdrawn at any rim. Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524.8331 area code 519 Second class mail registration number -0716 Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER—president And publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER--editor R. W. SHAW ---editorial staff EDWARD J. BYRSKI—advertising manager DAVE R. WILLIAMS----advertising representative DEAR READERS Like it citizens in Ontario, I'm still digesting the provin- cial budget brought in by Provincial Treasurer John White. My initial reaction is about the same as everyone else's, I suspect. I accept it because I have to .... because the greatest majority of Ontario citizens appear to be in favor of the Progressive Conservative way of doing things. The part of the budget which most disturbed me, I suppose, was the seven percent tax on energy - heat and light. There are many people who say it is high time we 'were taxed for these commodities because . it is necessary to begin now to con- serve our resources like oil, gas and electricity. They may be right. • But I resent the fact that On- tario ,Hydro, for instance, has been permitted to sell, sell, sell. They've spent (and continue to spend) vast amounts of hydro consumer dollars to promote "all electric homes" with every gadget that can be devised by modern man working at the flick of a switch .... and now we are to be penalized, in a sense, for becoming dependent upon that source of energy. Where was our government then? - Arid does Ontario Hydro have to make sacrifices now? Hardly. Just a day or so after the blow dealt by the budget, Ontario Hydro announced it will be granting wage and salary increases to most of their employees amounting to a healtry 22 percent over the .next 'three years! The consumer has it in the neck again .... and there's sweet nothing he can do about it, unless he wishes to follow John White's shining example. According to White, the an- swer lies in turning off the lights, turning down the heat and putting on a sweater! Really , Mr. White. The Progressive Conservative plat- form in the last election talked about "doing things for people". Is that your govern ment's idea of keeping a promise? * * * Speaking for just a moment about Ontario Hydro's recent wage increases, I' noted with in- terest some comments by Lloyd Hemsworth of Hickling John- ston Limited, a Toronto management consulting firm. Hemsworth belie'ves' -that Hydro employees are already paid well in relation to the average citizen of Ontario. He said Hydro has made no at- tempt to deal with the problem of high wage levels of weekly - salaried employees compared to those of the community in which they live. According to a release from Hydro, Hemsworth said Hydro was "only postponing the need to bring the Hydro salaries more in line with the com- munity". The people of Kincardine, i believe, will stand up and cheer for Hemsworth. That com- rpunity has seen what Hydro ratet!s, of spay can do to a small town and the surrounding area. in fact, some of the natives of Kincardine are showing signs of extreme displeasure at the type of living standard which has been introduced to their community. Some are leaving the old town..... and that may be good or bad, depending upon how you look 'at, it. Still, Ontario Hydro and its employees must be forced to do some soul-searching 'about the affect Hydro's generous salaries have on the individual community .... and the province as a whole. In my humble opinion, that kind of . action should have preceded a government move to tax energy such as electricity which is basic to modern life in Ontario. * * * Of course, the budget did •have some good paints although it makes one wonder the value of taking money out of one pocket and transferring' it to another. - It appears, you see, that the increase irr sales tax from five percent to seven .'percent together with the tax on energy has been, required to pay for the Property Tax Stabilization Plan. Under this scheme, the Town of 'Goderich '.will receive $106,000 as a kind of windfall which will be used to reduce municipal taxes here. ' In. a brief ,chat t with Town Administrator Harold Walls, I learned that $106,000 represents about 12 or 13 mills in Goderich. "If we are fortunate enough to get $106,000, "mused Walls, "we may not have an increase in taxes." "It would be°a welcome gift," added. Walls. Walls felt fairly certain this extra. money would be in ad- dition to the mining grant which this year is ,expected to amount to something like $40,000. available and to change the departments into which the taxpayers are paying their money. Special Note: It was lear- ned Tuesday evening that the $106,000 includes the mining Brant, the per capita grant and the police commission funds. It was estimated by Finance Chairman Dave Gower that this "extra money" really represents only about $14,000 more to this municipality in relation to other years. Needless to say, local politicians are not over - impressed by the province's generosity. Of course, this mining -grant has fallen off considerably since 1970 when' it was about $130,000. In 1971, it was about $87,000 and in 1972 it was about $57,000. Walls feels this grant may level off at about $25,000. If this is the case, and if the Property Tax Stabilization Grant should continue for a few years (although there is no immediate assurance it will), the Town of Goderich would be just about back' where it was with the former mining grant in effect. In other words, while- the provincial government would like everyone to believe it is really doing something to help the local municipalities, very little has been achieved except to redistribute the funds * * * Looking now for just a moment at the municipal budget p*e can expect from Finance Chairman Dave Gower, I can tell you it will require some head -scratching to keep the mill rate as it was last year .... even with the so- called provincial gift. Administrator Walls falls me the police budget is up, the ad- ministrative budget, it up, and wages are up. Add to this the fact that a considerable amount of drainage work has been con- tracted, the South Storm Sewer is in the works, the Industrial Park costs` are mounting and there is the possible purchase of Sky Harbor Airpark. Wallsadmitted figures haven't been put together yet so that any speculation about the possible budget it just that - speculation. By Shirley '1. Keller But it will take some real fancy pencil work to keep things levelled off in this town in 11973, you can be sure of that. I don't very often plug a movie playing in town but I'm going to make an exception to this rule in the case -of Fiddler on the Roof now playing at The Park. I saw this marvellous production last fall in Montreal and thoroughly enjoyed it. I plan to see the movie at least once this week while it is in town .... and I strongly suggest that -you do the same. And by the way, this is a family -type movie 'which is truly first rate.- By modern movie-goer standards, perhaps, Fiddler on the Roof may be considered "just another musical". But it is far from that and should be required viewing for anyone .who believes in freedom and human dignity for all races and creeds. DEAR EDITOR Cots tic illor cons i►►enis Dear Editor: As I have always promoted people's informed involvement and interest in their Council's work on behalf of the Town, it is perhaps suitable that I should now point out some drawbacks and shortcomings in such an approach, if it is taken without strong enough stress on the word "informed". My lines are prompted by the treatment given to the matter of Goderich "South Storm Sewer" by Mr. Norman Wight - man of West Wawanosh, whose comments and accusations ap- peared at length in last week's Signal -Star and have created some confusion among a few residents. Mr. Wightman is simply crossing bridges before coming to them. I have welcomed Mr. Wight - man's interest and was pleased to take him, - to have some points clarified for him as well as for myself, to see the Town Engineer and / the Town Ad- ministrator and finally suggested that, as Mr. Wight - man was obviously not prepared to accept the infor- mation received locally, he may wish to write to Todgham and Case, the engineering firm working on the preparations for this trunk sewer. Mr. Wightman is manipulating a lot of figures, whereas it is a fact that right now nobody (the Town Council included) knows what the assessment figures will be until the final report arrives from Todgham and Case. At a meeting of major landowners specifically named in a preliminary' report it was repeatedly emphasized by Mr. Todgham that the figures were by no means final, a fact that has been brought to Mr. Wight - man's, attention by several people.lt would follow that for any accusation to be [OOklN8 814 70 YEARS APRIL 19, 1>0 Yesterday morning at o'clock fire was discover.'' the greenhouses at Ridgew Park, and before it could be, tinguished one end of the„ servatory had been desire together with a large number valuable plants. The fire ,', supposed to have started a wood stove in the buil',, and to have been smoulde all night - The new Grand Try,;, passenger station at Gode ., which has just been compl and opened for business, u object of pride to the citizens town and t the officialsof,l Company. Goderich's importance as a businessce�,, and its claim to some more than the average °fur, beauty have been men recognized by the G.T.R. C,, pany in the erection of , building which affords cellent accommodation for L. large passenger traffic at point and, at the same time, a handsome addition to the tractions of "the prettiest to in Canada." meaningful (that would also apply to petitions) it would be necessary to wait out the period of speculations and wait for facts. The 1968 Council decided to have this trunk sewer construc- ted under the Drainage Act, as it will be serving mainly development land (which sub- sequently increases in value) whereas the sewers in built-up areas (including the future laterals in the South end) are usually built under general levy. After due consideration the Council decided it was time to carry on from where the 1968 Council had stopped. Inciden- tally, in the meantime the estimated cost has gone up by approximately $56,000. - and further delays will certainly• mean further increase in cost. In an attempt -to increase the Town Coat share in favour of the'small house lots the Town Council -passed a motion asking Todgham and Case to adjust the small house lots' assessment accordingly. This was reported in newspapers. Todgham and Case pointed out in a letter that the respon- sibility for assessing the cost lies entirely with the Engineer who must maintain complete freedom in this respect; they advised that they will let us have their final report as soon as possible. It will be made public. The motion was passed in good faith, although it now ap- pears from the explanation received from Todgham and Case that it was perhaps ill- advised and certainly un- necessary and as such will probably be rescinded' in due course. Somehow Mr. Wightnnan arrives at theconclusion that all these steps are illegal, no less; it is an expression firmly (continued on pogo 3) 25 YEARS APRIL 19, 1948 W. Frank Saunders, of Goderich Orgaii Co., wase, ted a director of the workers Accident Prevenn, Association at its ann meeting in Toronto. Thi one of the ten divtsionsof Industrial Accident Preo'a Associations the concern which is Ontario's 1947 r• of 168, 767 workers •inju who required medical care. While the people of Code', — or most of them peacefully sleeping in thee:. morning hours of Sundav l ' members of two rival marina unions - the Caaath Seamen's Union and t Canadian Lake Seams' Union — were battling at - harbour in a dispute which, a brief time turned to viole, Members of the C.S. claiming to have been "11,, off' the steamers Laketon. Bayton, were picketing 4essels v, hen taxicabs ams with scores of C.L.S.U. said to have been recruits Western Ontario towns. A tingent of Provincial police' arrived on the scene, and ted the ('.L.S:U. men to vessels awaiting them. In' scuffle which ensued h, blows were struck and one was thrown into the hut, and was thoroughly chip before he was pulled outby' of the police contingent. - The Laketon and the Bit' cleared shortly after 2 Alt Everythrng.is. Q" peacefui the harbour, but accordin{ press reports strikers followed the progress of vessels anc;,attempted to further trouble for them their ports of call. 5 YEARS APRIL 19, 1968 Twenty-one local velem the historical battle of Ridge in World War 11, honoured Iasi Wednet evening at Branch 109,l Canadian Legion headqua on Kingston Street. About!' persons assembled for thea' Goderich C annual vim1,,, memoration of the counter, which took plE'1 years ago. Comrade Neil Sha hof r' local Legbanquet. . ion . presented with a life m ship at the John D. Kalbfle ch, s° Mr. • and Mrs. Claude ,f lh, of Goderich, hag awarded n National Council post-graduate ost-graduat Eder A A graduate of Stiotutei District Collegiate In. graduated from the Univ of Waterloo in 1966 and year received a Master -Mathematics degree. the facsal. He is now onthe µ'aterloeM the University lecturer. Nis brother, Dr. lama Kalbfleisch of the Universit9 Waterloo, department"; WAS ftwarded 1C statistMemorial Felhs'ai., Howea ost.docto for further P peatd research And study, family will lease fore t6 soon where, for the Dr. Kalbfletach will CO3a on problem• research toble d statistics' and f For, the Univergityof the Cnh' A gr'a`duate t° of Toronto, Dr. Ka facultlbil y of joined the Water of a University of his and received 1966. air w d t gs th ya5 0 trea unlet Go, elucti ions t the comP1 ket F ,sitlor e for rcom f the ly d rer ice wh ' akir it. Day .ay, r sale! ve t( like 1 or cok€ we will des ens and lude Wh estin ry 1 e n l ill li pre scal On: e th ate' ng ha' 1prr sive hit • it f to It t( ake her •nt, 'tor ty tioi nl -dc t • t, se tha ool lar t go re al do be( he pn fr •n x. tc bo ty ex ,r to