HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-05-08, Page 1NDP would save
prime farm land
Ontario New Democratic
Party leader Stephen Lewis
told a Coderich audience
Saturday night that his party
would do everything in its
power to curb the piracy of
prime agricultural land in the
province.
"The entire province has
forgotten "the primacy of
agriculture and the need to
maintain the land," Mr. Lewis
said. "I want to pledge that `if
the NDP holds any semblance
of power after the election, not
another acre of prime
agriculturalland will go out of
production."
Mr. Lewis was in Goderich
for a speaking engagement on
return from a. trip to Massey
and Blind River. However, a
delay . on the. ferry. Chi-
Cheemaun forced a can-
cellation of a stop in Port Elgin.
Mr. Lewis, told his Goderich
audience that they should be
prepared for an election
possibly by June but more
probably by fall. He claimed
that the Tories are frantic
trying to recoup favor that they
once held in the province and
the people now want to change
, the government.
"What alternative do we
offer the people?" Lewis asked.
"The NDP has three themes,
moods or emphasis that will
become more and more deeply
rooted in the campaign."
Mr. Lewis explained that the
first of these themes . was to
"provide an alternative to the
failure of leadership by the
Conservative government. He
stated that the issue central to
this riding was agriculture and
(continued on page 16)
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0,1 28 YEAR -19
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1975
1-n •,141
:' SINGLE. COPY ,25c
Paul Carroll (left)' looks on intently as Ontario New Democratic Party leader Stephen Lewis
fields -questions from the floor at a brief visit made by the NDP leader to Goderich ..last
Saturday. A delay in transportation forced Mr. Lewis to cancel an engagement in. Port Elgin.
(staff photo)
Rec Board recommendation upheld
Town seeks
arena __ass 't
Town council agreed Monday went to the council table on
night with a reoreation-boar-d—_Monday.. night and sparked
recommendation to °hire an 'some discussion once again.
assistant manager"' for the
Goderich Memorial -Arena. In a
recorded` vote, members
decided to forget their original
idea to hire a co -manager to
Work beside present arena
manager. Bill Lumby and in-
stead, hire an assistant,
demotuii,,p�g assistant manager
Russel'I ruder to third man in
thetig;ion.
decision ends two years
of ntroversybetween council.
and the rec board, ,a -con-
_,troversy a -It began when the
.two: .couldn't agree on. ' who
should be . hired for assistant
manager of the arena. The rec
board made two recom-
mendations, to council after
advertising the = position and
saw both of them turned down.
Complaining of political in-
, fluence in' their. decision they
hired- who they felt council
wanted for the job..
The matter came to a head in
June' of 1974 when the
recreation director for the
town submitted a report to the
rec board. requesting that the
assistant ' manager be given
three months probation to
improve his attitude and work
habits and if .he failed to do so
he be given one month's,notice.
The 'lack of communication
between council and the rec
board again caused the
situation to worsen and council
ignored the boards: recom-
mendation' to hire an"lassistant.
Instead they: called a special
meeting between council, the
rec director and the •arena
staff. ' ' -
After a bitter debate the
council decided to recommend
to the recreation board that
they hire a comanager. The rec
board couldn't accept .the ac-
tion and again suggested'. the
assistant manager be replaced.
That -final recommendation
4,
Reeve Stan Profit told council
that he was against the move to
demote the assistant manager,
not for personal reasons but
because of the principle of the
situation. •
a ",If this man is replaced in
this manner then anyone in
fulltime employment for the
town of Goderich has their job
in jeopardy," claimed the
reeve.
He went on to warn council.of
what he termed "collusion" to
remove Pruder from' his job.
He asked that a letter from rec
board member Emily Crew
written to the board be read to
council. The fetter was written
by Mrs. Crew stating her,
opinions in the staff situation
and Was to be read at ' a board.
meeting she couldn't attend.
Some points in the letter?'
indicated °to Mr. Profit that
someone was sponsoring a
move toyunseat the assistant
manager due to a phrase en-
ding the letter reading 'good
luck in removing Mr. Pruder, I
think he will be around long
after most of us are gone.' The
letter also referred to what
Mrs. Crew believed to be stron
political influence behind
hiring of Pruder.
"If council does not feel it is
important to find out the whole.
truth in this matter then it sets
a precedence whereby anyone
wishing to remove a person can
start a campaign to do so
without ever saying why and
council will listen' to them,"
said Profit. '
Cpuncilfor Elsa Haydon told
council that one person's
„personal opinion should not
bind council in any way. She
called the situation a "mini -
Watergate „,complete with
secret documents."
"I've written letters to people
in town. and to the newspaper
stating my personal opinion
and"it has never bound council
to a decision. Why should Mrs.
Crew's letter bind us?" Mrs.
Hayden said.
'Councillor Bob Allen pointed
out to council that the decision
by the rec board was not a snap
one. He , said they had un-
dergone long and bitter debate
.on the subject and agreed that
they should hire an assistant to
work under the •manager and
prove , himself . worthy to
manage the arena. He said they
thought ' that hiring . a co -
0
Ram
A letter this week from R.E.
McKinley, MP for Huron, and
Chief Opposition Whip in • the
House of commons, , advised
that some kind of"action may be
forthcoming by way of The
Ontario School Trustees'
Council regarding the wide
variances in the Easter Break'
period for schools in the
province.
Mr. McKinley advised he had
written . to P.F. Bargen,
Executive Director for OSTC
after noting the concern of
many people in Goderich
regarding. the school holiday
when he was here in March to
present a trophy during Young
Canada Week. Tournament
officials had difficulty
scheduling games because so
many.schools were still in class
during Huron's Easter Break,
In a letter from Mr. Bargen to
N rMr. McKinley, the following
mescontaid
```Yousager cowasncern rs aneppreciated
and certainly this office has
received many indications of
dissatisfaction and-confusion-srrs-
a result of the present. prac-
tices. Since the Ontario School
!Trustees' • Council is a'
federation, of four Trustee
Associations, the matter will be
referred to them for comment
and any recommendations. At
the same time the Ministry of
Education will be advised of the
concern expressed in 'your
communication. Let us hope
that the matter can be
ref i ►arized in a better manner
4..km.rat present."
manager would be a slur on Bill
Lumby's work record and they
in no way wanted to imply that.
Better, communications
between arena staff and .,the
public , and .amongst the staff
itself is what is needed, ac-
cording to councillor Jim
Peters. He said .the situation
has been back and forth _too,
much -,and that council has. to
decide whether they wanted a
manager or an assistant and do
it; .p ,
"If we have a man that has
(continued on page 16)
Town must find spot for spoilage
kir
The newly elected executive for the Huron -Middlesex Riding of Ontario posed for this picture
last week at the inaugural meeting in Dashwood. Front left to right are Mrs. Dean Gibson,
Lucan; Ian McAllister, RR 2 Zurich, president; Jean Adams, Brucefield, vice-president; and
Jack Riddell, presently Huron MPP; back row, left to, right, Gordon Strang, RR 3 Exeter,
treasurer; George Walker, Adelaide Township, vice-president; Morgan Smith, Bayfield, past
•
president; and Howard Aitken, Goderich, secretary. (staff photo)
�w; Riding still;.unaff cit�l
abetatitiii*Stei-.
. 1
Harb�r dredged in
Goderich Town Council
learned'Mobday night that the
.entrance to the town's harbor
would be dredged by • the
federal government in May if
the council could decide on a
spot to dump the dredged
spoilage, �,
In a letter to council the
federal department of public
works advised that the
dredging had been approved
for early in the 1975 shipping
season. The works department
spokesman informed the town
that as soon as a dredging
machine • could be moved to
Goderich and the town and the
department of"athe environment
could decide where to dun)* the
spoilage the operation could
begin.
Plagued by , scandals over
price fixing in contracts to
Canadian dredging companies
the federal government was not
able to have the sandbar at the
entrance to the Goderich
harbor removed.. The public
works department recently
decided to hire American
companies to handle the
emergency jobs while trying to
settle the problems in Canada.
Once°the,contract for the job
is let the project is subject to
approval by the department of
the environment. They require
the municipality, to resolve
where the spoilage is .to be
dumped and if it meets their
requirements, then the work is
allowed tdbegin;
Councillor 'Leroy Harrison
told council that as a member
of both the harbor committee
and the tourist association he
felt that the dredged material
should be dumped on St.
Christopher's beach. He said
that the, improvement of the
municipal beach has been a
long range project of the town's
and -should be taken care of now
that the opportunity has arisen.
"Building . up St.
Christopher's would give
Goderich a much needed beach
area which is now in short
supply," claimed Harrison.
Mayor Deb ; Shewfelt
suggested that the material, or
part of, it, could be dumped on
Indian Islan,d to improve the
Mexican hopetIs
This group of Guides Who are hopeful of making a trip to
Mexico in the summer of 1976, examine Mexican artifacts
collected by another Guide expedition. Pictured from left are
Deborah Buchanan, Tammy Wilson, Carolyn Little, Kim
Brady, Paula Butler, Nancy Bird and Heather Brander. (staff-
,
`photo)
-area and possibly make it a
little more attractive for use as
a marina. He pointed out that
the 250,000 years of spoilage
should be enough to go to both
areas.
Reeve Stan Profit agreed
with Harrison ,that St.
Christopher's should get
priority but maintained that if
it is built up to a desirable limit
Vanishing roofers
Despite some opposition to
changes in the provincial
electoral boundaries in the
area, Liberals from Huron and
Middlesex counties got
together at the Dashwood
Community Centre on ,,Wed-
nesday night, April 30, and
smoothly merged • heir
allegiance to a new Huron -
Middlesex .Provincial Liberal
M a
then 'council should be on
record as haV'ing an alternative
site for the diggings.
Councillor Dave Gower said
the matter should be left up to
the harbor committee with
power to act. He said they
should keep the buildup of
Indian Island in mind if there is
more material ''than is needed
for the beach.
dupe IocaiIaciy
The roofing and driveway
companies that 'Chief Pat King
of the Goderich Police
Department warned residents
of Goderich about have struck.
An elderly woman in town had
her roof done at a cost of about
$300 and the first time it rained
the roof leaked badly. •
Chief King told the Signal -
Star that he • had received a
complaint after the rainstorm
early this week and in-
vestigations showed that the
company that did the job left
little trace of their existence.
"The man was on`the roof of
the house about two minutes
after the woman agreed to have
it done," said the chief. "And -
he was gone ,,shortly, after he
finished." n•
The operation indicates to the
police that the roofers were an
out-of-town group looking for a
fast buck. The chief said he had
taken a qualified roofer to the
house and discovered that the
job looked good but it is sub-
standard.
Chief King... again warns
residents of town to check into
any roofers or driveway top-
pers that claim to'be able to do
a job cheaply and quickly. 1 -Ie
said a call to the police will get
a reference on the operation
and• can usually determine if
the company is 0 reputable
firm.
"The lady. with the leaking
roof is unfortunately left
holding,thc hag," cOmmented
the Chief.
•
PUC commissioners get:
more S$, Iessmeetings
Ontario f1ydro gave town
council final approval recently
to 'raise the remuneration of.
Public Utilities Commissioners
'for the town. Hydro approves
the payment to the board as a
formality after the town sets
the pay rate for the . five
members.
Under the new pay system
the *cha•irman of the board and
each of the four commissioners
receive $1,000 per annum, a
$3000 raise over 1974. The
money, covers the 12 meetings
the commission will have this
year, :that number cut in half
from 1974's 24 meetings.
Deductions for a meeting not
attended by a commissioner
are up this year, In 1974 each
meeting'missed meant a $29 cut
and this year the member will
be deducted $83 for each
meeting missed,
division of the charges
re s the same; Half of the
money will he paid by the
electrical department of the
.PUC and the other half by the
water department,
Special meetings attended by
the commissioners will earn
them $25 a day for out-of-town
trdyelling for attendance on
meetings concerning municipal
- elec,t, is utility business. That
figure does not • include
travelling costs.
Association.
Ian McAllister of Hay
Township was named president•
of� the new association whf'ch
will represent Liberals from 20
communities from the two.
counties.' The Middlesex
municipalities 'of McGillvary,
Biddulph, East and West
William, Adelaide, Parkhill,.
Ailsa Craig and Lucan have
cornbiped -,. • with all
municipalities , in 'the present
riding of Huron with the ex-
ception of. Hullett and McKillop
Townships, which' have been
placed in the new Grey -Bruce
riding.
Meeting. chairman A. Y.
McLean of Seaforth explained
to the 160 Liberal -faithful" at-
tending that the new riding of
Huron ,Middlesex had not yet
been approved and , in " fact,
would receive. second reading
on Thursday in the Legislature.
The only indication that the
new association is a com-
bination of two present ridings
came in the election of officers
,set out in she constitution. Of
the five vice-presidents to be in
office, three must be from the
'Huron area and two from the
Middlesex area.
Municipal representatives
from both present ridings
expressed displeasure at the
change but all indicated that
since it was very likely to be
approved, they would have to
make the best of the situation.
As'Reeve Aubrey McCallum of
East Nissouri, representing the
warden of Middlesex, , said,
.iW st the division but
e re again
if we., must be divided we
couldn't be going with -a better
bunch than Huron."
MPP Jack Riddell - com-
mented that he thought the new
boundaries would be passed as
presented ' and doubted if
Adelaide township would leave
the Huron -Middlesex
,designation as has been con-
jectured.
The meeting adopted the
constitution of the Huron,
Liberal Association with some'
changes, including the
stipulation that three of the
vipe-presidents be from Huron
and two from Middlesex.
Another change was the
addition of all chairmen of
municipal assobiations to the
executive. Also to be included
on the executive are the past
president, all candidates or
standing . members, and
presidents of any federal
Liberal associations which may
include areas of the new
provincial riding. b.
Elected in .addition to Mr.
McAllister were executive vice-
preSident; Jean Adams of
> rucefield and vice-presidents
Beecher Menzies of Clinton,
Don Oesch of -' Zurich, Ken
Duncan of Kirkton, Mrs'. Dean
Gibson of Lucan and George
Walker ofAdelaide.
Howard Aitk of Goderich
will continue as secretary while
Gord Strang of RR 3, Exeter
will assume duties as
treasurer., Past president is Dr.
Morgan Smith of Bayfield. '
In his acceptance speech, Mr.
(continued on page 16)
Windsor workers
look for increases
An information picket line
designed to'curtail shipment of
strikebound goods was manned
Tuesday by striking workers of
the Canadian Salt Mine
Company Ltd. of Windsor, The"
men, ,members of the United
Auto 'Workers Union picketed
the Goderich warehouse 'Mr the
company on Huron Road to
discourage truckers from
'accepting loads of salt.
The UAW ' Locals 195 and 240
made no attempt to stop the -17
trucks arriving at the
warehouse but nevertheless
managed to turn^ about. four
union truck drivers away.
The Windsor workers walked
off their jobs in a legal strike on
April 28 protesting wages,
safety on the job, union
representation, pensions and
fringe benefits The mine, plant
.and office workers picketed the
Goderich plant and another in
Mississauga and plan to remain
there for a week or two.
Gerry Becigneul, plant
chait•tnan of Local 195, said the
Windsor operation was com-
.pletely shut down but that the
it
two warehouses in GQderich
and Mississauga were non
union and still operating.
The workers were joined on
the line by, .sym.pathetic union
members of the International
'Chemical Workers Local 682 on
Wednesday. The members of
682 are employed by Domtar-
Sifto and number about 240
persons: Their president,
Dennis' Jewitt said they are
behind their Windsor coun-
terparts. "100 percent" and
expected to have about RIO men
at the Goderich warehouse to
help out on'the picket line.
Plant manager Jatk
MacKenzie said he had noticed
no shipping lag in the Huron ,
Road operation but added that
it was too early to determine
what effect the line could have.
The average wage of the
Windsor workers is $5.90 an
hour and they are seeking a
$1.50 per hour increaPe in a
three - year contract. Mr,
Becigneui said the latest offer
from the company was 70 cent
over three years.
6y