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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-06-15, Page 1r U . 0 ;,--. L cl S) U —4 0 O O 17 E 50 cents No. 25 ou Cl ranson By Shelley McPhee Neither comments of opposition or support from the public will change Clinton council's mind. Council will carry out its original decision ordering Branson Place Antiques to close its doors. In April owners of the antique business requested zoning changes to allow the establishment of their home occupation business in a residentially zoned area. Although their proposal was defeated by incorporating THE BL,YTHST Wednes ay, Jun, 15, 1983 118th year `ll stand y deciion, lace must close doors council, Branson place opened its doors for business id 139 Ontario Street over three weeks ago. Owners Thomas Fowler and Emmanual Nikalaou say the business will stay open until council enforces other bylaws in Clinton. Mr. Fowler noted in an earlier in- terview, "They're hot going to play politics with us and nobody else. If we get a letter from council we're,going to go through the whole downtown hrea and pick out the Bluewater Shrine Club president, Dr. Mark Raithby, presents Brenda McEwin of Lady Diana Nursery with a cheque for $1,200. MeEwin accepted the money on behalf of the Goderich and District Association for the Mentally Retarded who will use the contribution to bus students to the three nursery schools for special children in Huron County. (photo by Dave Sykes) number of people breaking bylaws. Then we are going to demand that council en- force the bylaws on them, that includes the sign bylaw." Council at their June 6 meeting agreed to send that letter to Branson Place through the town solicitor. It will state that Branson Place is contravening the zoning bylaw by operating a business and displaying a sign in a residentially zoned area. Council warned that if the antique shop owners refused to abide by council's ruling, further legal action would be taken. Council members still have mixed feelings on the issue, but those in favor of Branson Place, particularly Councillors Rosemary Armstrong and Bee Cooke, agreed not to challenge council's decision. Councillor Armstrong commented, "One or two people almost hold us at ransom. Most townspeople don't object to Branson Place. We (a council committee) toured Branson Place and were delighted with what we saw. I believe that's the way commercial zoning should go." She noted that other businesses are operating in improperly zoned areas, "By trying to do things properly we've come down like a ton of bricks on Branson Place. It's not fair." Councillor Jim Hunter said that the concept behind Branson Place is good, but he noted, "Council can't allow a full fledged business. If Branson Place leaves in five years, an � ;, ler could set up." He added,` .`t► want to carry on a business in r 1Y'. i ge and no one ob- jects, then let there J ' on. Council must act, as in the Bransgb Place case, to any complaints.' It .wns , il; _,l ce's "insistance on the ease to make spot zoning," that bothered Councillor Ross Carter. He suggested, "If they (Branson Place) simply forgot the spot zoning there would be little trouble." Councillor Armstrong noted that the only objectionable part of Branson Place is their business sign. She suggested that they could take down the words "open" or "closed" and "antiques" and simply refer to their home as Branson Place. "If people choose to visit and buy fur- niture, that's their business," she said. Taking the issue to an Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing with all supportive neighbors appearing on their behalf is one way Branson Place could be allowed to operate, Councillor Carter said. "If Branson Place has their (the neigh- bors') support, then the OMB should ap- prove the business." OMB hearings involve a great deal of time, lawyers and expensive legal costs. Councillor Bee Cooke said that Mr. Fowler was not willing to spend money at an OMB hearing, but she said, "I believe that should have been his next step. In supporting the business Councillor Cooke added, "1 think we need more businesses in our town. That home now looks much better." , Councillor Charlie. Burgess has a dif- ferent position on the issue. He feels that a motion should be passed to close .Branson Place, no matter what the legal costs. He stressed, "These two gentlemen knew they were buying in a residential area. They're from the big city and they think council's afraid of them." Despite the heated discussion, council agreed to maintain their stand and decision to order Branson Place closed. Mayor Chester ' ,Archibald reminded, council, "How can we pass a resolution and then not follow it up." Laddaphone Racksasouk and Vatthana Visouvath were captured by the camera, en- joying the cool breeze. The CHSS Grade 11 students had just finished writing their final math exams. (Shelley McPhee photo ) Board to develop family life guidelines BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE In response to parental concerns for a filee *pm at South flur ' ►. 1' •jet Hig» School the rffiron County •; r' of Ldti $- tion will be developing guidelines for the a.....;s.. ee-e.dry health Parking meters are.....t, time limits are still in By Shelley McPhee Areas in Clinton previously regulated by parking meters, will now covered by a two- hour parking limits. Town council at their June 6 meeting passed a bylaw designating nine downtown Clinton Streets as two-hour parking zones. The parking restrictions are effective from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday to Saturday. The bylaw will remain in effect until Bayfielder prepares Disney wagon By Rod Hilts A lifelong resident of Bayfield has put new meaning into the words "from little acorns grow mighty oaks." Nine years ago, Tom Penhale started building custom wagons as a hobby. Today, the demand for wagons has in- creased to the point where he has turned his hobby into a full time business. His latest project is with Walt Disney World in Florida: Mr. Penhale said his business relationship with Walt Disney World started around Christmas time when he delivered a couple of hand crafted chrome hames (part of a harness) to the Walt Disney Ranch. "It was a demonstration of my work," says Mr. Penhale. "They liked what they saw so they wanted me to build them a wagon." According to Mr. Penhale, Walt Disney World sent a delegation to Bayfield around the First of May. The delegation included the manager of the Walt Disney Ranch "Fort Wilderness" and designer Dave Marquis. The purpose of the wagon show piece is for promotional events across North America. Mr. Marquis said he got the design to build the wagon by taking the best wagon designs from farms spanning all over North America. "We travelled a week collecting the different designs. I took photos of the 4,1 Torn Peilhale of Bayfield has seen hien wagon building lobby expand wagon he built for Wait Disney World of F loll Into a full tlzue business. Mr. Penhate's West project is a custom (Rod Hilts photo) different wagons and then dimensioned them to the actual size," said Mr. Marquis. Mr. Marquis describes the style of the wagon as "a draft horse hitch." The elegant wagon features include 23 karat gold pin striping with the name Walt Disney in silver leaf lettering. The wagon is also equipped with a hydraulic disc brake system. Mr. Penhale says all the chrome and steel work on the wagon is hand crafted. A crew made up of Tim Curtis, Jake Reder and Dave Webber aided Mr. Penhale in the construction. The project is almost completed and the wagon will be transported to the Calgary Stampede on June 23 or 24, where it will be shown hitched to eight prize black Persian horses. Mr. Penhale started building custom wagons as a hobby in 1974. He says the idea came from his life time interest in horses. "i built my first wagon mainly to satisfy my own curiousity," Mr. Penhale said with a grin. The first wagon was built without blueprints and was constructed out of wood. The wood was then varnished giving it a natural look. Since then Mr. Penhale has built about a dozen. He bases his work on quality not quantity. His reputation as a fine craft- smen has travelled far and fast. "I have a number of orders on stock. Last week i got a call from the Canadian National Exhibition for one. It's a hobby for some of my customers and advertising for others," said Mr. Penhale. Mr. Penhale travels to about 20 fairs a year showing some of his prize wagons. e says local people have taken a great terest in his work. "Everytime i finish one, people come in toesee it before it's shipped off," said Mr. Penhale. This Sunday, Mr. Penhale is holding an open house to exhibit the Walt Disney creation. Don Lindsay, the owner of the neighboring :.; yfield Harness Shop, is also inviting visitors to browse through his store. Mr. Lindsay often provides ac- cessories for some of Mr. Penhale's customers. The event will feature a band from Kitchener with activities kicking off at 2 p.m., just north of Bayfield, on lot 20 along the Bayfield Line. council determines the future of parking in Clinton. Meters were taken out of these areas earlier in the year to allow council time to study the need for controlled parking in the core area. The new bylaw does not include the town owned lot behind the Clinton Library, however Councillor Jim Hunter believes that two-hour parking should also be en- forced there. He and other members of council are concerned that the lot is being abused by business people who use it as an all -day parking zone. "The lot is not for private business people," Councillor Hunter stressed. "It is also for shoppers who are bringing money to our businesses. Close to the core area there is other available parking for business people. We know that shoppers want to park close by." He added, "The library lot is not free for library users. The lot is full by 9 a.m., long before library hours start." Councillor Rosemary Armstrong agreed, "Most businesses provide em- ployee parking. Parking should he primarily available for shoppers." Deputy Reeve Frank Van Altena is a downtown business man who believes that there isn't enough parking available for employees. He noted, "The Business Improvement Area Association paved the library lot and business people should have the right to use it." Reeve Ernie Brown agreed, "Where do our business people park?" The debate will be 'brought up again when a bylaw is introduced to limit parking at the library lot to two -hours. Murray Taylor, owner of Sterling Fuels believes that Clinton Council is not giving him a fair opportunity. Mr. Taylor was present at council's June 6 meeting to question council's acceptance of the tender from BP Canada to supply gasoline and diesel fuel to the public works shed. Council accepted the BP Canada tender at: diesel fuel, 39.3 cents per litre; gasoline, 38,6 cents a litre. Sterling Fuels prices were only slightly different: diesel, 39.0 cents a litre; gasoline, 38.9 cents a litre. A third price came from Scruton l✓'uels for diesel fuel at 42.8 cents per litre. The difference between the BP Canada and Sterling Fuels prices were .3 cents. Council decided to accept the BP offer since their rate for gasoline was slightly lower. The public works department uses twice as much gasoline ahead of diesel fuel. Mr. Taylor asked, "Does BP get this for life?" He noted that the local BP dealer has provided fuel for the town for several years now and he suggested, "One Turn to page 2 education curriculum. 'rhe board's education committee recommended the action after it had view- ed and discussed.the. m.Sharing•and p- thg _:. Parents from the Exeter area had criticized the board at its May meeting for allowing the film to be shown to a Grade 12 family studies class at South Huron District High School. In the education committee's report it was noted that the family studies course is optional and within that framework alter- native assignments are available. The guidelines, to be prepared by a com- mittee of parents, trustees and ad- ministration, will address student needs and "be sensitive to the values of groups represented in our school system" states the education committee report. Dennis Rau, the trustee who had initially asked the board to investigate the showing of the film, was pleased with the action taken by the education committee even though it hasn't banned the film. "I'm glad to see the education commit- tee is recommending new guidelines be established. I hope you get a lot of people involved. The board is moving in the right direction," stated Mr. Rau. There was one trustee who vocalized his dissatisfaction with the action taken by the board. "My name is recorded as being opposed. My reasons are that we're not delaing with the issue at hand," said Frank Falconer who suggested a yes or no answer on allow- ing the film to be shown in the schools should have been brought to the board. "The film is a disgrace to society," add- ed Mr. Falconer who as a member of the education committee had viewed the film. Education committee chairman Joan Van den Broeck said "a great deal of sen- sitivity" is required to dealing with the topic and that parents should be made aware of the alternatives available to students taking the family studies. She noted that she had received a letter from Rev. Bernard Dejonge of Exeter. In the letter, Mr. DeJonge said the South Huron Ministerial Association had viewed the film and while the precise nature of the parents' concerns eere unknown, "the majority of pastors. male and female, who saw the film agreed that it was a good teaching aid. None felt that it was por- nographic or suggestive." "However ... my concern is the context in which the film is used. The film works well as an aid, but it needs a teacher and other materials to bring out the details the students need to know. With the right kind of teacher, and good discussion materials, the film will serve its purpose well," states Mr. DeJonge's letter. r Weather 1983 198°2 .JI1N1 Hl LO 7 16 9 8 17 0 9 23 6 10 23 10 11 28 8 12 30 13 13 31 14 HI i,fD 18 11 23 12 25 12 21 12 22 7 22 10 20 9