HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-08-28, Page 1Over 13,000 visitors
see Huron's.
0•
, There will have been more than 13,00(1 visitors to Huron
Historic Jail this summer; says Harry 'I3osnell who co-
ordinates the program there,
"There, have been many favorable comments by the
visitors," Mr. Bosnell told the Signal -Star.
He said people .who toured the premises appreciated the
cleanliness of the attraction and the; park -like grounds with
its colorful flowerbeds,outdoors,. Many approved the use,of
hand -mowers to cut the lavin and thought it°was'more in
keeping with the general atmosphere of the jail_
After Labor Day, the jail will be open only Saturdays and
Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m.' It will close for the winter in
October.
Work op the restoration of the building will continue
through the fall andwinter, however, and plans will be made
for an even better season next teaewith more for yisitors to
see'and enjoy.
On Wednesday evening, the board entertained the young
people.Who worked at the jail all summer long. The banquet
was in recognition of the hard work of these emploYees,
provided through the Opportunities for Youth program - one
of the reasons that the jail project was so successful again
this season.
Ne'coostaiiIe
Police: :Chief, ief, P.D.• King,, an:
riounced the'eaddition of Con-
stable Wayne Tunney to the
Goderich Police Force Mon-
day, August • '25. Constable
Tunney,, 32, is a five year
veteran of the Tillsonburg
Police Force and a graduate of
the Ontario Police Cdllege.
Constable Tunney, his wife
Joan and their two daughters
now „live in Goderich.' Chief
King announced the addition to
the force as a replacement for
Constable John. Ruxto>n who is
,persuing a career in law.
_-Agnounce
new store
for Mall'
+7
Bert .Alexander of .Suncoast
Estates Ltd. announced that
Knit Wit Limited will lie one of
the new stores locating in the
Suncoast Mall.
The' Knit Wit Limited is 'a
knitting and sewing -needs store
that will be managed by .Mr.
Joseph Downes, president. -Knit
Wit stores are also located in
the WestmotSnt and White Oaks
Mall, London, Devonshire Mall,
Windsor and ' the October -
opening -of the Gode°rich store,
will. coincide with the opening
of another in St. Thomas. °
The Suncoast -Mall is
scheduled to open October 23.
Accidents
keep police
hopping:
The Goderich Police
Department was kept hopping
during the .week investigating a
total of 12 traffiemishaps, eight
major and four minor. ' . •
On August 20 a vehicle driven
by Maurice Gardiner 'of
Goderich sustained $1,200
damage in a two car accident
On Kingston Street. Mr. Gar-
diner was travelling north on
Kingston Street in the outside
lane when Berund Gerrits of 142
'Cambridge Street. bacI ed ' his
car ou,t of a parking spot and
backed into Mr... Gardiner's
vehicle. Damage to the Gerrits'
vehicle.was nil.
A collision at Wellington and
West Streets caused $700
damage to two cars',on• August
21., Jean Zomer of, Embro and
Paul 'Pa'rsons'of 128, ast Street
collided at the ,intersection
causing $400 damage to the
Zomer vehicle and $300 to the
Parsons car.
On •;August . 23 a •rear end
Collision on Huron Road caused
$350 damage to a vehicle d'riv"en
by Janice McCuspeyr of R,R. 5
Goderich and $500 damage to a
van 'driven by Stevan Kelly, of
13'7 30th Street, Toronto.
On August • 24 a
vehicle driven- • by 'Clarence
Hugill of 154 Nelson Street
sustained` $400 damage when it
struck two parked 'vehicles on
The Square. .One vehicle
belonging to Daniel Burns
754 Chips Lang.? London
r•e.ceiyed $100 damage and
another vehicle belonging ',to
Wilikini C. . German of 78
Toronto 'Street in Goderich
suffered $300 damage:
On August 22 two vehicles'
sustained a total of 4;600
damage; in a collision on
Hamilton Street at The. Square.
Douglas Cooke of x'218 Regent
Street, Goderich received $100
damage to his vehicle -involved
in a mishap. with an auto driven
by Alvin Moran of 'R.R. 7
Lucknow. The Moran car
suffered $500 damage. •
A vehicle driven by Allan J:
(continued on, page 16)
• 1.1•110r
.- YEAR, -35
• THURSDAY, AUGUST 2 8, 1975
•
A dirty Itisioess
Town clerk Harold Walls was up to his axle in mud last Friday
when his car dropped into .a rut that crossed Rich Street after
the heavy morning rains washed out the fill ptit in after the
nth
0
ditch was dit; for some roadwork. The van dropped into the
same ditch when the' driver tried to ease his vehicle past the
mired vehicle. (staff -photo)
Rain the culprit
SINGLE COPY:2 5c
�il�n'MaitIun
clai
s man's life
The rain swollen • Maitland.
'River claimed • the life of a
Goderich man Monday when
his canoe tipped while he and a
friend were attempting to shoot
the rapids of the river pear
Auburn.
Norman Richard. Stephens,
22, of Goderich' had joined a
companion Mark Dauphin, 22,
also of Goderich, .near the
village to ride a canoe down the
swelling river about seven
miles' to Gide.>r•ich. When the
canoe capsized Mr. Dauphin
managed to swim to safety ton
rowboat carrying three persons
also "shooting" the river.,,Mr.
Stephens was dragged under
the water by the strong current.
Pr.ovancial police divers
joined up with a police
helicopter -to search the river
for Mr. Stephens' body. They
discovered it Tuesday about„ a
mile downstream'from Auburn
close to' the spot where -the
. mishap occurred.
OPP constable Jim McLeod
said the river ha,d risen eight to
ten feet above normal dile to
heavy rains in the Goderich
area recently. Two storms in
three days dumped neat=ly two
and a half inches of rain on the
tooderich area and some places
the north near the source of
the Maitland River received.
nearly five inches of..rain.
The Sky Harbor . weather
office in Goderich reported the •
starfns were expected but
unseasonable in their nature.
Rainfall at this time of year„
normally occurs in short•
thunderstorms averaging
about three inches of rainfall
over a month.
The two storms Thursday
and Saturday dumped well over
the month's quota in about.
three days , which caused the,
Maitland to swell as it did.
ma regia Pr`or°;es
Air' ort plans show three-phase
development program costing $400.0,000
The Goderich Airport
Committee unveiled some
Conscientious plans for the.,
Goderich "Municipal Airport
that call for a three phase
'development of existing and
new facilities at a cost of over
4400,000. •
The Kleinfeldt Group of
London showed its plans for the
three phase development to the
airport committee • at its
regular monthly meeting last
Wednesday. The plans. call for '
the construction of.a corporate
hangar, ,,12 tee hangars, , an
administration building, a
service hangar and- parking
facilities.
Th'e construction of the 8,000
Square foot corplrii ate' hangar
would involve a cost bf $130,000
and construction of' a 4,000
square foot service hangar
would cost $65,000.
The plans also included a
2,500 square foot ,ground floor
administrati.on building at a
cost of $65,000 with, provisions
fort an additional 2,000 square
foot econd storey as the -need to consider township height
aros regulations on Highway .21
The estimated cost f' chi- hecanlselof the proximity of -the
proposed 12 tee hangars in ianding 'strips, the ,distance
blocks. was $142,000 but limitations required between,
members of the committee runways and buildings,' 'the
were confident that they could- acquisition of additional lands
.produce less expensive,
alternatives with regard to tee
hangars. -
Also the reconstructiean of
taxi., ways and construction of
an additional runway and a
.•helicopter .pad will be worked -
into the three' phase program..
The' development, will also call
'for the application of a' 5,000
foot runway, the m•i;ni mum
required to aceenanodate a
icor jet" ,.
,But airport expansion 'plans
cross many paths and the
committee will have to, adhere
to some limitations__' _Colborne
Township Council is anxious for
some type of cdmmitment on
the expansion. plans v hich must
be incorporated into their '-of-
ficial. plan which is nearing
completion. ' '° '
The commit,tre will also have
for runways and the placement
of runways with regard.to the
effect' of crosswinds on light
aircraft.
Russ Kern.ighan, ,a
representative of Colborne
Township Council, told a the
committee the council is
looking for some commitment
with regard ,to the airport'
expansion because of the
,pressures for expansion on the
Highway 21' strip, 'which he
suggested. was, the : logi'cal
expansion area for the town-
ship because of its proximity to
the Town of 'Goderich. The
townships is anxious to receive
some airport plan-proposa1.4 to
'gear -the zoning regulations to
its officio; plan.
All members' of the com-
mittee ,agreed that it was
necessary to establish what
5.
was required °and phase it over
a number of years. The cor-
porate and servicehangar were
two items listed as top priority
,and one member suggested
that the administration
facilities could be phased and
theairport could 'get by on
existing facilities.':•
Mayor Deb Shewfelt'pointed'
out• that'" the weather station
located at Sky Harbor needed
one year's notice ofthe move to
budget for the necessary funds.
•But the expansion programs
will also require funding from
other sources to . complete 'the
project. Aside from available:
government grants and monies
acquired through the leasing of
hangar space, the committee.
hopes to finance a major
portion of the 'expenditures
through • the Goderich.
Development Corporation.
• 'Mayor SJ ewfelt said that
priority should be'. given only to
buildings that could be.readily
leased so that the initial,phases
of the venture would pay for
theniselves. Airport com-
onstable Fortner resigns after
Constable Thomas Fortner of
the Goderich Police Depart-
ment submitted his resignation
from that force' Tuesday after
his appeal was rejected by the
Ontario Police Commission:
1,n a telephone' interview with
tire Signal -Star Tuesday
Constable Fortner submitted
the following statement after
his resignation:
"Although 1 plan to stay in
town for the immediate.future,
a ver& meaningful part of my
life is coming to an elnd. For the
past 13 years I have had the
pleasure of meeting and
working for the people of
Goderich. '. That experience 1
will always .hold close..to m
heart. During that time I haw
-worked under many good men
and worked with even more
men of high Calibre and in-
tegrity. To the intimacy of
their circle, 1 bid a heartfelt
farewell. My ties in Goderich
are too strong for me to destroy
them out of hand, so I shall
remain among the people I
haw learned to like and
respect, trying in one way or
another to better any con-
tribbtigri that 1 might have
made, to this town.
whatever name, the peo Y wish
to remetnberme, I will always
remember all of them."
The Ontario Police. Com-
mission ,(OPC) dismissed the
appeal of the 13 -year veteran of
the Goderich Police, Force in
respect to the charges of deceit
and discreditable conduct and
required his resignation from
the -force within seven days of
his receipt of the decision or be
summarily dismissed.
own admission, under oath', the
appellant made a false entry in
an official 'document .(his of-
ficial Police Note Book). 1,3y his
own admission he . failed to
report at any time the falsity of
the information given orally to
his •superiors, and:; also con-
tained in his Police Note Book
and -failed to disclose the
Constable Fortner received' evidence which he could give
the . OPC's five 'page written " for or against his fellow Police
Constable upon his trial,
"It is difficult to exaggerate
.the enormity of the offences
charged, if proven. Our whole
Police system involves a
relationship of trust in Police
Constables and Officers beyond
that demanded of citizens
generally, Police "have Special
„powers, and, in consequence,
the highest standards of con-
duct are imposed. Indeed, the
system cannot function,
evidence in relation to the properlyunlass trust -
shooting by Constable'Hilis as a worthiness exists in the eyes of
basis in arriving at his decision the Force, the public and the
in 'relatip ; "`tQ the ' t above r, Cour"ts before which Police are
charges,'.' and, therefore, the frequently called to ,give
grounds on which the con- evidence.
victions were based were ex- "The present situation
tranebus, and that the Com- exemplifies,, the serious' con=
mission should, therefore, ' sequences which can follow
order a new trial. falsifications in a Police Note
"There is littlequestionas to Book, In reliance on these,
the facts as found by , the fellow -officer was charged with
learned,, trial Judge. On his ;r eri►ninal offon, ,
decision on Friday and Judge
F,G. Carter, chairman of the
Goderich Police Commission,
released the decision Monday.
The following is . taken
directly' from the decision of the
Ontario • Police. Commission
signed. by Chairman Elmer
Bell:
"The Counsel for' the ap-
pellant, in addition to the above
grounds, •argued that the
learned trial (Judge used the.
4
to the expense of clearing ' the false statement' This would
himself at a. criminal trial, as have, lessened the em -
well' as suffering the ,op- barrassrnent of the fellow-
probrium connectedtherewith.' constable and might have
"The defence to the charge of obviated' the necessity of his
"Deceit" is essentially thatthe trial in theCriminalCourts, but
appellant did not "knowingly" the appellant did not do this,
maks_ the false -statement and, in_fact, .persisted . in his -
reported in hitt Police 'Note position until he was placed
Book: 'We findthis incrediblein under, oath at .the trial of• his
'view of the evidence as to th,e,„„,,,,,Lel1ow-constahle.
"We find no merit in the.
excuses put forward for such
action by the appellant.
"Counsel for the appellant
argued very ably that the'
learned trial Judge based his
decision on the evidence as t.a
the alleged discharge' of a
revolver by Hills, which is -nit
shown in the .particulars, and,
in particular„ •refers to th,e
transcript of evidence, page
103, line 15 and following:
"The action of Hills in firing
his revolver and his manner of
driving while leaving the
Square as related by Fortner on
later occasions form the basis
"bf the charges against the
Officer and will be dealt with in
detail subsequently,
"Upon , reading the
Judgement of His Honour
Judge P,S. AN-1acKenzie in foto,
we come to the conclusion that
His Honour was referring to the
length of service of the ap-
pellant and his long experience
as a Police Constable.
"It is conceivable tha/ a
Constable might have a tem-
porary raae,ntal condition which
would cause him to' report
hallucinations or information
fabricated by a temporarily
improperly -functioning brain.
There j.,7,10 medical evidence to
support -stick an hypothesis in
this case Neither does thea
subsequent behaviour of the
appellant support it. Whatever
his naotiuitron in making the
false statement, the Com-
mission is satisfied that the
false infornmation contained
therein -was knowingly in-
serted.
"On the charge of
"Discredit=able Conduct” the
appellant, head abundant op-
por•tunity'to disclose evidenee-
to his Chief which would have,
.•in some way'. made amends for
mittee chairman Bill Clifford acquiring land for the air -
reiterated these sentiments' ...port2
saying it must .progress•as Mr: Ker;,nighan told' the
funds exist. committee that Colborne
Township council was trying to .
' We should be looking at a hold - development close to the
plan over five or seven years Goderich area but they were
and work on matters of priority also concerned with the .
as the funds exist;" he said. preservation- of farmland. He
"We must establish an overall said that the council needs a
concept and work towards it," firm projection to proceed with
The,,concensus of the corny its official plan.
mittewas to establish• ' an 'Sky Harbor. was once an•
overall plan quickly that could airport that had facilities that
be incorporated into the attracted traffic, that' was
Colborne Township official plan known. ' for its painting
and' then to proceed with the throughout North°America 'and
expansion 'program and the was even busier 'than larger
related priorities on the basis of airports such as Waterloo -
needs and funds. • Wellington and Brantford. And •
One of'the other main con- the Airport committee is -
corns of'the committeewas the 'confident that it can be restored
building of a new 5,000 foot to that stature.
runway. A runway of that
nature must be 750 feet from
any, buildings,, rwhich ' may
necessitate the acquisition of
lands to accommodate it.
But Mayor Shewfelt raised
the question, "What right does
a municipality have to pr 5pose
re's gestae •of the occurrence
from which certain ac-
tions,flowod, and are unable to
adopt Counsel's reasonjng.that
His Honour. misdirected
himself.
"His Honc�u5-'.,- Judge P.S,
•MacKenzie was exhaustive in,
his reasons for'decision, and we
concur in his findings.
"The ,appeal in respect to the
charges of "Dec•eit•'' and
"Discreditable Conduct
therefore, diwm'isalk a ,,
"In view of -the passage of
time;, tVe vary the 13unishni"ent
imp. -ed Itis follows.. • ,
..On the charge of "Deceit”:
„That Constable Thomas'
Frederick Fortner be required
to resign 'from the Goderich
Police Force within seven days
of the receipt of this decisign,
and, in default of resigning
within seven days, to be
summarily dismissed from the
Force:.
"On „ the .charge, o'f
- -Discreditable Conduct":
-That Constable Thomas
Frederick Fortner be required
to resign from the Goderich
Police Force within seven days
Of the receipt of this decision;
and, • in default of reigning
within SPV(11 days, to he
summarily dismissed from they;.
1'twee.
"
n
•k
.y�
Eicti'on
coverage
'on Pg. 3'
G decision
Constable Tom Fortner
1,11,140,
is
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