The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-05-16, Page 1T
u
0
Paint The Square
project is approved
0
r
c
..Goderich students definitely
will paint the town this sum-
mer, according to a 'report
released Wednesday by the ac
''tion committee for the
beautification of the downtown
business core.
Preliminary approval has
granted $10,700 to the Oppor-
tunities for Youth 'project .sub-
mitted by 12 local students.
They want to implement color
co-ordinated painting of .shops
on The .Square.'
m .
The•' grant will pay, 'wages
only4or eight of them howesrer,
and businessmen must pay the
other four. Eight are students •
from Goderich District
Collegiate Institute. and- the
others attend university.
The businessmen, will also
pay for paint.°and materials.
Fi'cal approval from the
Secretary of State 'is expected
soon, the report said. Work will
probablyustart in mid-June.
The painting will correspond
to a color scheme devised- by
local artist Jim Marlatt, of the
,.Green Gallery, in cooperation.
with -the action committee,
A limited number of sand
)i'colors will achieve harmony.
Brick 5 itdittgs which have not
been painted will he left un-
touched.
As for as possible, only _those
buildings already painted will
` be repainted, the report said.
To ensure that painting
progresses satisfactorily, t e sonnei who woul ev se
businessmen who will have color scheme: rt raised the
their shops painted should ' money in .one month.
form , an implementation -coin- 'The personnel who devised
mittee. It would' include a ,, the color scheme included. Ron
representative from each block Shaw, 'photographer, Bob Pear -
on the Square and three mem- son, dreftsmain, Kent Thor-
-•bers from the present action burn, graphic artist and Jim
cdmmittee, `` the report. Marlatt, fine artist. -
suggested. - All buildings on the Square
The . action committee hopes , and . three ;radiating streets
that streets radiating from the
Square will be painted in , the
future.
Painting is one part of a
scheme developed by downtown
businessmen to improve the ap-
pearance of 'the Square. They
asked the Huron County Plan -
ging Department early in 1973°
to make proposals ' for im- •
provements because they felt
the area was "falling into a
state of disrepair antLneglect",
according to the report.
The planning department an-
swered the businessinen s
request 'in August, 1973, with
three proposals, a color scheme .
for buildings, landscaping for
the sidewalks and a design
bylaw for new buildings..
The businessmen accepted
the proposals and formed the
action committee to begin the
• project. •
The action committee, 'under
the direction of John Schaefer
and Bole Swartman, canvassed
downtown businessmen for
$1,800 neeslkesl<t;:to pay for per -
were photographed; put. onto
architectural line drawings and
colored.
"Many evenings' were spent
• 1
by the action comrnittee in
deciding the colors", the report
says. •
As work on the color scheme
progressed, th , committee con-
sidered ways of implementing
it..
In March the 12 students ap;
plied for theOFY'grant. With
its acceptance one phase •of the
scheme is due to. be completed
by the end of the summer;
The action 'committee asked
town' council, in early May, to
provide financiait assistance for
the second phase of the scheme,
landscaping of sidewalks.
Council is now considering it.
-The third phase, a design
bylaw for new buildings, will
take a long time because of the
many aspects that must,be con-
sidered- I5' 'p'lanners, according
to Bob Swartman and ' John
Schaefer, who have been
motivating forces 'behind the
action ,,committee.
They want to see the
beautification project ..tackled
uron covnciI to consider
`policing proposal
Huron County Council will
have .to consider an .important
step, probably on May 31, in
resolving the future of county
policing as a- result. of a
proposal made May`9 in Clin-
ton.
-The proposal was made
"during an open meeting called
by county police chiefs to
discuss a possible 'union of five
area muncipal police forces.
Officials 'from the Ontario
„ar • 0,
S
1 t d
Police commission; a ec e
municipal officials and
policemen participated in the
The five municipal police
chiefs ,,began discussions about
'uniting their, forces in the wake
of`an Ontario government task
force report which recommen-
ded police forces, in towns with
populations under 15,000, be
disbanded.
During the Clinton meeting,
a committee was chosen to ask
county council to request the
Ontario government to'make a
study of . policing needs and
costs' in Huron County.
The committee is composed
of the chairmen of police corn -
missions from Clinton, Exeter„
Goderich, Seaforth • and
Wingham. William Harrisro-f
•Wingham; 'will head the group.
County Warden Bill Elston
hailed the committee's im pen-
ding presentation to' council.
He has been plagued with
questions 'he can't answer
Minot a possible county police
force, he said. .
• 4
one step at a time....Now that
the Square will be painted, the
next action will be to paint the
radiating streets.
Some people have suggested
that the actions of the down-
town 'businessmen have been
spurred because they feared a
new shopping mall' would steal
business.
The two men agreed that was
the reason the downtown mer-
chants association 'was refor-
med after many years, but not
the, reason for the redevelop-
ment of The Square.
The redevelopment ,idea was
• first proposed° in 19559. It s
mention .during one of the
association's .meetings, sparked
the .recent scheme, they main--"'
tained,
Mr. Swartman and • Mr.
Schaefer gave credit to' the
county. planners Gary Davidson
and Nick Hill as their work
provided concrete proposals for
'the basic idea.
Local police
-investigate
five mishaps
.Goderich police report three .
accidents on May 4k
e At 7:20 p.m. a collision at
, "1 •would definitely like • Victoria and Elgin Streets
someone to comp and, talk .to caused $200 damage to car
'countycouncil to get it (county driven by Angus John MacKay,
force) past the rumor stage", he Downsview, and $300 to a 'car
said. The warden didn't know driven by John Hindmarsh, RR
about current studies being 2-Goderich. -
made by county police chiefs ' At 8:45 p.m., another
until two weeks ago• .;„,.,, collision at Victoria and Elgin
If county council decides to Streets resulted 'in $1,100
ask for the 0police study, paid., darhage to a car driven ,by John ,,.
for by the province, two ap- McIntyre 204 Mary St., and
proaches could be , used in $300 to car driven by Elmer
making the request Jermyn, 248 Gibbons St. , •
Chairman of the Ontario A collision on South Street at.
-' 11:00 p.m. . caused $75 damage
Police Commission, Elmer Bell, ,
explained the approaches in to a car driven by Geraldine
' response to a question from Schmidt, Walkerton and $200
to ""a' car driven by Maurice
Ivers, RR 1 Dungannon.
Police report two accidents
on May 10'."
Victor Searles and i:eslie Pichin stand on the deck of their
little sail boat in which they braved storms and fog in a long
cold journey home that covered about 4,000 sea miles.(staff
photo)
Perilous journey
4,000 sea miles
`BY JEFF SEDDON
Deeply satisfied, weary and almost -home the crew of the
sailing vessel Aku-Aku settled down„over coffee to relate
'their adventures of the sea.•
It all began several years ago when Victor Searles,•master
. of the vessel suffered a heart ailment. He was encouraged to
{• ,retjre`from his job but 'couldn't• settle down to the easy life -
we all think we want. He went to Meaford Ontario in 1973 W
and opened a sailing school, offering the public instruction
and cruises onboard' his schooner. This he did for health'`.
and relaxation purposes'.
In '1971 while en route to*Bronte to deliver a boat to its
owner he put into Goderich Harbor in poor health. From
here he was taken' byambulance' to Toronto to. undergo open"'
heart surgery. The operation was not considered successful
but still Mr: Searles returned to his sailing. . n
In 1972 he set out for the South Atlantic in another '
sailboat and this time made it as far as Port Stanley,. iHe
docked the vessel, prepared"it'for `storage and hitchhiked to
• London for. his second heart operation. This time , the •
surgeons achieved what they set out to do and deemed Mr.o,
With this bit of good news in, mind he planned another
voyage to the South Atlantic in his own vessel, Although he
was confident that. his health would permit ,the exertion
required --for the trip he decided' not to risk anything and
him.
went looking for' ern• able bodied seaman `to accompany
Last fall, after closing -the` sailing school for the season;
M•r. Searles and an able bodied seawoman set out for the
south. Leslie Pinchin a native of Midland, Ontario; had
worked as an ,instructress in Mr. Searles' sailing school and
was an extremely' capable sailor. She had to be, according to
Mr. Searles; since She may have been required to take -.,.the
helm of the Aku-Aku by herself at any time and under all
conditions' of weather should the skipper's health fail.
They sailed south and docked their craft in Wilmington,.,,,•
North Carolina, for the winter. From there they flew back to
Canada, for the winter planning to bring the Aku-Aku back
to Meaford in time for the school opening on. June 2.
With this deadline for their return voyage they put out of
Wilmington on March 7. When they left it was sunny and 88
degrees. - This weather was short lived, however; ' for they
soon, encountered winter conditions in the Atlantic.
One particular storm they passed 'through claimed the
racing schooner Innisfree. She was battling heavy seas in
water that was charted at 40 feet deep. She encountered an -
unusuaL,phenomenon in the form of a double trough wave
and struck bottom when she came off the crest of the .first
wave. She began leaking badly and had to be taken into tow ' -
bv the U.S. Coast Guard. But "she was leaking too badly to
make shore and went down with no, loss of life. .
The Aku-Aku Left the Atlantic at Manhattan in 28 degree
temperatures with four inches of sn dw on her decks. She
proceeded inland to follow the canal systems to the Great
Lakes.. Coming up the Hudson produced other hazards, this
time man made. Huge timbers' by the score had been broken
off the decaying docks in New. York and•were floating freely
'brandishing huge-spikefi and bolts that spelled disaster for a
small craft. Dodging these proved to be tiring and certainly
ruled out any night sailing.. •
• They finally reached the Lions Lock System at Three
Rivers Junction and what they thought would be safe and f'
comfortable cruising. After the gala grand opening of the
looks they proceeded inland into as dangerous waters as
they had .encountered. Flooding in the regions the locks
passed through had caused the river parallel to them to rush
over the wall and send huge- amounts of garbage swirling
down the lock systetn. ,
These conditions they encountered ' for 60 miles only to
find that 'the remaining 100 miles to North Tonnawanda,
N.Y., wasn't flooded and they would have to turn back. One
hundred and twenty miles and three weeks all in vain. Un-
daunted they went through the Oswego Canal to' Lake On-
tario aCr'"os3 `t'he lake to the Welland Canal and then to Lake
Erie where they should have been` when they reached the
end of Lion' Lock. .
Crossing Lake Erie in one of her storms also produced
hardship., The radio that Mr.. Searles and Miss Pinchin
relied on for weather reports and navigation aids was torn
from its mountings and thrown to the floor in ruins. Now
down to the bare essentials they made their way across Lake
* Erie to Lake St, Clair where they once again encountered •
severe weather that held them up.
They put out if Sarnia on• Sunday during„a severe th.Vin-
derstorm and were ble ised with good winds. ,By 2:00 a,m.
Monday they were coming through the break wall into Snug
.Harbor having covered 80 miles in one day.
Mr. Searles was very impressed with the service he
received from Marina Manager Lee Gateau. Mr. Gareau
was down at the harbor early in the morning with a weather °
report for the skipper and was prepared to pump out the
holding tanks and fuel up Old.Moses,'the auxiliary engine
on the Aku-Aku.
Miss Pinchin and Mr. Searles sit gazing about the cabin of
the Alai-Akti with the reverence that comes from living in
her foetwo months. The little two burner propane Stove sits
on a shelf in the corner sputtering the blue flame tttat
produced many ,a hot meal for the wet end cold crew.
Mr.. Searles refers to Leslie as a sailor first and a cook
second. She cooked up many a good meal with the boat
(coritinuod on pogo 16)
3
av-
New executive named
The Goderich Kinsmen Club elected their 1974 executive last
Monday night after their regular meeting at the Saltford Hall.
The executive are, standirfg left to right, Dan Sheardown,
Registrar; Allan JohnsC-ii secretary; Ray Bush, Don Parker
and Stew Thomson, Directors; (seated from left). Bill Kirkey,
Second Vice -President; Bpb McDougall, First Vice -President,
Stan Connelly, president; Paul- Baechler, Past President; and
George Hiles, treasurer. (staff photo)
-•r
Harold Lobb of .Clinton.
County cokincil could ask the
Solicitor General to direct the
police commission to make the
study or ask the commission to At 1:25 a.m. a collision with a
get approval from the Solicitor 'stop sign at Cambria Road and
General.. Elgin Street resulted in $200
The county would however, damage to a car driven' by
have to specify topics the study Brant Boak, 31 Cambria Road
and $25 to the stop sign.
should cover, such as costs of aA collision at East and Vic -
county force versus a takeover toria Streets at 5:15 p.m. caused
by • the Ontario provincial $250 damage to a•car driven by
police. David Kelly, Hensel!, and $125
: The task force report recom-
mended to a car driven by Robert Pot-
the'OPP assume duties ter, RR 2 ,Clinton,
in the •towns 'as well as the In other duties, police laid
rural areas of the county. two charges under the criminal
The general feeling of Huron Code 19 under the Highway'
County police chiefs is that a Traffic Act, three under the
county force would be better Liquor Control Act and one for
(co)inued, on page 16) violation of a. bylaw.
Searles cured.
45
Businessmen want- town to widen
sidewalks all around The Square
•
The Goderich Businessmen's
As. ociation has rogues
awn L.a.n 1_to•,,,eorts' r the
possibility Or replacing the
sidewalks around The Square
with wider walkways including
tree planters •and trees.
During a Public Works
meeting last Thursday evening,
Reeve Deb Shewfelt, chairman,
and his committee .agreed to
recorrimend ' to county at
tonight's meeting that
representatives of the 'local
police depiaiirtftent, the Ministry
of Transportation and Com-
rminication, the• county plan-
ning department and the
`businessmen gettogether with
members of council to discuss •
the proposal.
It was noted the present
sidewalks around °The Square ,
are , in poor repair. ReeveM, ,..
Shewfelt who with Councill f
Elsa ' Haydon and Town Ad-
ministrator Harold ,Walla
visited core renewal°ojects in
Stratford and Kitchener last
week, said The ' Square is a
"natural mall which would
lend itself well to the type of
sidewalk proposal made by the -
merchants'.
Councillor Bill Clifford said
he was in favor of the project'
providing the town could afford
Councillor Leroy Harrison,
said there is a possibility that
in time, The Square could be
'entirely Closed off; to traffic.
Reeve Shewfelt concurred
, saying that off-street parking
"the coming thing” in. many
• communities where efforts are
being made to provide a unique
business district.
The Administrative Cominit'
tee chaired by 'Councillor Dave
Gower will •recommend to
Council this evening that no ac-
tion be taken on a request from
the Goderich Trotting and
Agricultural Association and
Raceway for the town to spon-
''sor an Invitation Race for the
final race program this season
in town,
During the committee
discussions, it was felt the
raceway proposal was n'" dif-
fere"ht- than sortie other
proposals made by similar
groups - such as Maitland Golf
and Country Club - which had
been turned down by council.
A request from Paul 13ettles
to rent land at Industrial Park
did not receive favor from the
Administrative Committee. -A
recommendation will be made
to Council this evening to leave
land at Industrial Park vacant
for the present:
4
"Things are happening out
that way", commented Mayor
Harry Worsell.
rd