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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1981-04-09, Page 11 Town finishes year with nice surplus By Shelley McPhee Members of Clinton council are hoping that 1981 will finish up as well as the past year has. At their April 6 meeting mem- bers of council teamed that the town finished 1980 is good financial position, with a surplus of $39,091. Bill Vodden, of the Goderich auditing firm, Durst, Vodden and Bender told council: "The town's in a good financial position." Mr. Vodden pointed out that a number of factors left Clinton in a favorable position, with its revenue fund surplus increasing from $86,495 to $125,526 during 1980. In the town's financial statemen- t,Vodden noted that even though the town faced a $13,000 reduction in ministry of transportation and communication road subsidies,' the town's street and public works costs were $10,800 less than an- ticipated. The street reconstruction and storm sewer work cost $17,000 less than was expected and street and public works maintenance was $6,400 under budget. While the town hall restoration costs were $11,900 higher than anticipated, a budgeted $7,000 worth of sanitary sewer construction was not undertaken. Tran - Man wins $1010, Clinton had a big winner irtLast Thursday evening's Wintario draw when Bill Jenkins had a lucky ticket, good for $100,000. Mr., Jenkins, 60, is a farmer and drives a school bus for Murphy Bus Lines of Clinton.'He and his wife Ruth have three sons. -Mr. Jenkins told Wintario draw officials this week that he intends to share the tax-free prize with his family. Members of both of Clinton's sororities had little trouble selling 12,000 dafodils for the Cancer Society last week, and in fact ran out of flowers before Friday night. The women turned an estimated $2,400 in proceeds over to the Clinton Cancer Society branch, which hopes to raise $11,500 this year. Mary Diceman, left, and Ann Adams sold flowers at Friday's the Daffodil Tea. (James Fitzgerald photo) About $lO, OOO Rec budget in red _ _By Shelley McPhee While the Clinton recreation committee began the year with a $3,041 surplus, they finished 1980 with a deficit of $10,799. In an auditing report completed by Durst,` Vodden and Bender of Goderich, figures show that it cost $190,946 to operate the recreational facilities and programs in town during the past year. This budget overstepped the total revenues of $180,167 which came in over the year. In 1979, the actual recreation ex - in 1980 the budgeted figure of $180,458 fell short of the actual costs. The unexpected expenditure of $7,734 for a new dehumidifer at the arena was a major factor in the resulting deficit. Community centre utility payments, budgeted at $16,000 jumped an unexpected $3,000 to 19,000. A new recreation and relaxation program undertaken by the committee cost an unbudgeted $6,233 in wages and expenses. Of this $1,326 was recovered in programs fees and admission. Purchases at the canteen amounted to $32,400, some $4,000 more than was an- ticipated and wages amounted to $4,716 for a total expenditure of $37,116. Subtracting the $42,726 revenue the refreshment booth, finished the year with about a $5,000 profit. While the roller skating fees and rentals brought in an additional $3,996, this figure was cut with an unbudgeted expenditure of $2,000 for the cost of new skates. Park and track maintenance only cost $1,233 in 1980, compared to a budgeted $4,000 and an actual expense of $4,630 in 1979. However, playground employee wages were up to $6,000, some $2,000 over the 1979 costs. Revenues from the bantam hockey tournament w were up $2,479 over budget and the rec committee received an ad- ditional $4,626 grant from the government that they hadn't expected. As for their annual -grant from the town, the corn--- mittee only spent $77,500 of the $93,639 available to them, While this appears to lower their revenues and thus result in a higher deficit, the figures still show that w actuallity the committee overspent ac- cording to their 1980 budget, by $10,779. For 8,67,000 i16thyearNo. 14 Thursday, April 9, 1981 40c sfers to the town's recreation were $16,100 less than budgeted figure and swimming pool costs were under budget by $7M00. Clinton's $5,800 share of the senior citizen housing deficit is now being paid by the county and another $3,400 was saved from the budget totaL Mr. Vodden noted that while town hall restoration costs only amounted to $15,012 in 1979, over the past year $61,338 was spent on the building. Part of the cost, he explained, $34,988 was paid out of a special reserve fund for town hall restoration work and $26,350 was charged to the 1980 taxes. Some $2,000 remains in the town hall reserve fund for future use. In 1980, taxes paid for $25,266 of the final construction costs at the new Clinton swimming pool and an additional $19,002 was charged to general revenue in 1979. However, this year it is anticipated that these expenditures will show up on the revenue side when the town receives a further provincial grant of $444,138. Alttroug i tire -=money bias rag been received, the ministry of culture and recreation has approved the town's ap- plication and has been assured that financial support will be given. With explanations from Mr. Vodden, council studied the detailed report at their Monday meeting, and were pleasedwith the facts and figures it showed. However, council did not readily accept Councillor Ron McKay's lighthearted suggestion, "Things look so good we should start a couple more big projects." Strap to staff in Huron scfzools BY DAISYKES If Huron County .chool Board trustees get their way, the rap will remain in the school system. At it's regular monthly meeting Mon- day, the board endorsed a motion stating its opposition to the general abolition of corporal punishment in schools. A second, qualifying point, to the motion insists the use of corporal punishment should be left to the discretion of each board. A revision of the use of corporal punish- ment was prompted by a memorandum from Minister of Education Bette Stephenson, who proposed an am- mendment to the Education Act asking teathers and principals to refrain from the use of physical force in disciplining a pupil, except to protect himself or another pupil. But the ammendment, according to Huron.officials, wreaked of ambiguity and -.h.. wad prone to interpretation. The key words in the ammendment were 'physical force' a term which Director of Education John Cochrane said was ambiguous, adding that simply grabbing a child by the arm and leading him to the office could be con- sidered physical force. To properly evaluate the situation, Cochrane asked all county principals and teachers to submit opinions on corporal punishment. The response from schools was disappointing, (11 out of 27 schools responded) but the general theme of the responses indicated a willingness to retain the strap in the system. In the submissions from the county teachers and. principals, Cochrane read pertinent quotes that said the strap "Should be kept as a last resort," another said it "should be retained and used with discretion," one submission said "it is not being abused" and another read "it is a symbol of authority that deters deviant behaviour." Cochrane pointed out that a major point for consideration came from the principal of a trainable retarded school who said, "there is a time and need in a trainable "retarded school' to .;protect the, pupil from harming him or herself." . Secondary school principals suggested that use of the strap was not a significant issue in high school and that it has not been used for many years. The use of force, a report said, is sometimes necessary but infrequent. Province approves town's BIA plan Housing Minister Claude Bennett has announced that approval -in -principle has been granted for a $67,243 loan to Clinton for a proposed beautification project under the Main Street Revitalization Program. Such loans may be used by municipalities and local business im- provement areas (BIAs) to undertake Ah, that's much better. This week I'm writing this column with a clear head and bright eyes, as I'm finally getting a full night's sleep. Baby sick, you ask? Nope, I had Channel nine fever last week, and finally they've pulled it off and we're back to the normal boob tube drivel. For. the past couple of week's it wasn't hard to tell who lived in Clinton and who didn't. Natives were easy to spot as they were the ones with the drooping eyelids and the bloodshot eyes. For those readers who don't have cable TV, or live out in the country, our local cable company has been running several new stations they pirated from the satellite on Channel nine which normally carries...yawn... W indsor. But for a couple of weeks, we've had a taste of what's available from the States, bounced off that chunk of machinery in the sky, and sent through our cable. Why, there was the Islanders hockey, Lakers basketball, Apocalypse Now, Mary Poppins and Tony Curtis as Casanova romping with and whole raft of mouth watering beauties with nothing on but the radio! Now, sadly, it's back to the Maple Laughs, The National, and C grade movies. Oh well, it's probably better now, as we'll all get our beauty sleep. Don Stinson, who manages Bluewater Cable is trying to drum up support to make the service available, for a slight additional charge, on a regular basis. He's now circulating a petition you can sign and send to Ottawa, who are in charge of what you may or may not see. + + + Spring has truly arrived around the country, judging by the number of gardens tilled, and all the farmers out L....working land this week. Darn, 1 still ... haven't got mine in yet, although the by jim fitzgerald head lettuce and spinach plantea last fall is coming upnicely. The statistics have all been compiled for March just past, and according to the weather office, March this year was rather benign, being warmer than normal with a titch more precipitation than normal. Over all, the temperature mean was - 0.5 degrees C (31 F) about one degree higher than the long term average of - 1.5 C (29.3 F) with it ranging from the coldest of -17 C (1.4 F) on March 21, to a high of +18 C (64 F) on the 29th. Sort of like going from frost bite to sunburn in a week! Our 34 mm of rain and 27 cm of snow totalled up to 62.4 mm of precipitation, slighly wetter than the 58.4 normally re corded . With the approximately 560 degree days (a measure of fuel consumption) recorded in March, our total since last July 1 is 3,690, about 11 per cent colder than the normal of 3,523. So our winter, in this area anyway, was colder than normal and about average for precipitation, with no major storms really hurting us. Now to pay the hydro bill, wow! 4 + + After the annoucement on Monday that beer bottles are now worth a dime each, empty, they won't last long in the ditches after being discarded by the gravel runners. The other day, on of our readers saw a rather well-dressed lady carrying a bag, step out of a Cadillac, and proceed to hunt for bottles along the side of the road! It's too bad they didn't put a deposit on other throw aways like old whiskey bottles, candy wrappers, pop cans, old cars etc. Just imagine how clean our landscape would suddenly.become. We wouldn't need any clean-up laws at all: streetscape and parking improvements. Approval-in-principlemeans that an eligible municipality as an acceptable project, but certain conditions still must be met prior to final approval and the issuing of funds. Clinton proposes to improve the streetscape with certain portions of the BIA including Huron Road and the areas around the town hall, the library and the firehall. The over-all plan includes parking improvements together with street lighting, sidewalk renovations, and the installation of street furniture and planters with trees and shrubs. The main street program is designed to help Ontario communities with a population of"35,000 or less upgrade and improve downtown areas using the BIA as a starting point. By setting up a BIA, merchants and business people may, under the Municipal Act, designate and tax themselves for improvements to streetscapes and related facilities. To qualify for Main Street funding, a municipality must yave: + a maximum population of 35,000 as of the date of ap- plication; + an approved official plan; A- a property maintenance and occupancy standards bylaw; + demonstrated support by council and the public -at -large; + an active BIA. In addition, the town must demonstrate that it has the necessary financialand administrative resources to oversee a proposed project. The Main Street Revitalization Program is one of the province's actions to assist municipalities and the private sector in community renewal activities. These "Ontario Renews" programs include downtown and main street revitalization, neighborhood improvement, housing rehabilitation and property maintenance. Don't leave items in car Clinton police chief warns By Shelley McPhee If you leave any valuable property in parked car, be sure you're ready to face the consequences. In the last two months, Clinton Police have investigated 31 incidents of theft. and break and enter in the town, solving most of them. According to Clinton Police Chief Lloyd Westlake, as a result of these in- vestigations, a number of charges have been laid against'teenagers and juveniles. many who will appear in Goderich Provincial Court on April 10. However, Chief Westlake still warns than parked vehicles should be locked and any parcels or property should be secured in the trunk. On Saturday, April 4 a brown paper ba;; containing children's clothing and drapery material was stolen from a car belonging; to Henry Young of Clinton. Police reported that the car was parked at Corrie's Red and White Food Store at 5 pm. The vehicle was locked, but when Mrs Young returned to her car at 5:30 pm that bag was missing. Chief Westlake noted that cases of vandalism and theft always increase during the sprint months. He also ex - punnet' that all communities in the county are dealing with similar problems. "Young people aren't working and things are too expensive for them to buy," he reasoned. Chief Westlake said his department is also dealing with a higher number of in- cidents involving gas theft. However, many people don't report these incidents and Chief Westlake suggested that having a locked gas cap is the good precaution to t ak e. Weather 1981 1980 HI LO HI LO MARCH 31 16 5 APRIL, 1 16.5 3 2 13 1 3 19 8 4 20 13 5 .16 0 6 6 --2.5 4 2 8 -1 9 2 7 -2.5 3 1 11 '-1 14 -2 Rain 28 mm The elementary school principal's association said the strap should be maintained only as a last resort adding that there were several alternate methods for controlling students. In the county's elementary schools the strap has been used 14 times in the last 61 months and the principals insist its use should be the perogative of the school board andnot a unilateral decision of the Ministry. The report said the public views discipline as one of the most pressing problems in the system along with in- creases in vandalsim. For hospital fund Despite a direct pleato the public to offer submissions on the use of corporal punishment, Cochrane only received one letter from a Goderich ratepayer who opposed the abolition of corporal punish- ment and suggested it be left for in- dividuals boards of education to make the decision. The motion passed by the board also requested the education committee' to develop a draft policy and adequate set of guidelines on the use of corporal punish- ment in the schools which will reflect the concerns of the board, the staff and the public. pock concert cpming By Shelley McPhee Clinton will be "rocking on on Friday, May 29 when the town's first-ever rock concert is held. To raise funds for the Clinton Public Hospital building fund, the concert will take place at the Clinton arena, starting at 8 pm. According to fund raising chairman Dave Hanly of Clinton, his committee is looking at three bands and may be signing contracts with the Lechia Price Band, Telemann and Zon. The concert may also feature the popular band Toronto, if they are finished in the recording studio. While plans are not finalized, more details on the concert and tickets sales will be announced in the near future. Mr. Hanly noted that the fund raising committee would be meeting with service club representatives tonight (Thursday, April 9) to discuss other money raising possibilites. "Things are starting to gell," he ex- plained and noted, "We're not very noisy yet, but one of these days we'll be coming out with all sorts of ideas and we'll need lots of •help and support." The fund raising attempts will be of- ficially kicked off on Tuesday, May 12 when the Auxiliary to the Clinton Public Hospital hold their annual Florence Nightingale Tea. The public is invited to take.part in this Open House. Tours of the hospital facilities will be given and a special display outlining the renovation and addition plans will be set up. With fireman Gerry Coz working the pump, Clayt-Grbvee spray@ a feeble stream of water on a tree and grass fire in Clinton's Little England last Saturday morning. Gale force whids kept the dead elm burning however, and the pumper had to be called In. (J=11" Fitzgerald photo)