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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1981-07-30, Page 1Also serving: Bayfield, Londesboro, Auburn, Kipeny Vanastray Brucefield,e , Hensall 116th year No, 30 Is she dead? See .page three Clinton students involved in the National Lifeguard Course take part in a rescue study. The rescuers are alerted to the simulated emergency situation and are tested on their ability identify the Engineer called in Clinton arena may get addition medical emergency and take the proper steps to help the victim. Here rescuers deal with a well dramatized attempted suicide, enac ted by Susan McKay. (Shelley McPhee photo) Tenders are being called by Clinton Council for a proposed addition to the arena. The engineering firm of J.F. McLaren, on a recommendation from the town's recreation department, has drawn up a proposal and cast estimates for the construction of two new dressing rooms and washroom facilities at the arena. The project is eligible for a 25 per cent grant from the ministry of culture" and recreation. Property bylaw • under study Clinton's property standards bylaw still remains under study by council and the town solicitor, No decision has been made to draw up a stiffer bylaw which could give council the power to authorize properties cleaned -up or demolished at the owner's expense. Gov't cheques are here now Most, government cheques are available today, tomorrow and Friday, July 29, 30, and 31 at the Clinton Town Hall from 9 am to 5 pm. Those cheques include Family Allowance, Canada Pension, Superan- nuation, War Veterans Allowance, CPC and Gains. As well, Mother's Allowance cheques will be availableonlyon Thursday at the Town Hall .from 10 am to 4 pm, and Welfare cheques will be available only on Friday morning from 10:30 to noon. In order to get your cheque, you must have proper identification, or if you are sending someone to pick it up, you must have a signed letter of authorization. Only people who normally pick their mail up at the Clinton Post Offiee will be able to get their cheques, as other outlining. areas and rural routes still have twice -a - week delivery. Residents protesting a shabby property at 45 Mary Street were present at the July 20th counciimeeting and spokesperson Ina May Durst asked council if uninsurable buildings may be demolished by the town. Council wasn't sure whether they had the authority to take such action, but Mayor Chester Archibald noted that a letter had been written and delivered to George Levis, owner of 45 Mary Street. Barns are insured Geiser Kneale Insurance Company has- been instructed to put coverage on two horse barns at th'e Clinton Community Park. Maintained by the Central Huron Agricultural Society and owned by the town, the barns have not been insured in the past, Two other barns, were not insured since they wouldn't be re -built if destroyed. Building permits discussed Clinton council has told building ins spector Tom Chuter that the . Clinton Presbyterian Church does not need a building permit to replace ,steps at the church's front entrance. Council explained to Mr. Chuter that the town . bylaw does not require building permits': for'°`~exterIor retificement or Get a book. repairing, but only are needed when the. outside configuration of a structure is altered. It was noted that the Presbyterian , Church is only replacing their steps and. puttingin new doors, and are not changing the exterior appearance of the building. Mr. Chuter said. he would gladly donate the building permit and explained, "Money is not the question here," hut said .that issuing a building. permit would protect the town- in case of any property damage to the town sidewalk. Council however maintained that issuing a permit was not necessary. Riinning for Hope Council has approved a Marathon of Hope run in Clinton. In a letter, organizer Elaine Townshend of Clinten explained that September 13th is being named the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Day across Canada and to honor this special day many municipalities across the country are sponsoring 10 km. runs. Miss Townshend noted that Clinton's proposed run already has the support of one service club and. one Youth group. ;a Turn to page 3. ..very cheap By Shelley McPhee Those lazy days of summer are upon us, and a perfect time of year to enjoy the company of a good book. An excellent place to start your summer reading is at the Clinton Public Library and begirjning this morning, Thursday, July 30th, the local library will be hosting its annual book sale and will offer more than 1,200 different books to choose from. At 25 cents each for adult books, and 10 cents apiece for children's reading, there's bound to some novel, non-fiction work, or Ehrr Finally, Charles and Lady Di will be married by the time you read this, and half the country will be yawning and going to bed early tonight, after getting up in the middle of the night to watch the grandeur of the Royal Wedding. It sure takes our minds off the pitiful state we are finding the country in. Actually spirits all around the Clinton area and indeed a good part of Ontario were bolstered by the all -day rain we had on Tuesday, prior to the Royal Wedding. Boy, this place was starting to look like a desert, it hadn't rained in so long. Out in the country, some of the corn and beans were shrivelled up pretty bad, and the deluge was cer- tainly a million dollar rain, as one farmer said. Actually, it wasn't quite as dry here in town, as we've had several timely showers in the past eight weeks, and the gardens were only drying up badly in the last week or so. Hopefully, the rain will also drown some of those bugs that seem to be increasing profusely every, year. At the Fitzgerald house this year, we're share -cropping our garden, - with the insects. What with the earwigs in the lettuce, the fruit worms in the tomatoes, the wasps in the raspberries, the worms on the cabbage, and sap beetles into all of the above, and everything else, it's becoming a real fight to get the produce to the table before it's -half eaten by our tiny "friends." Why we've even heard of a new malady around town being treated by doctors called "beer bottle finger." It seems you get this painful finger from keeping your finger too long in an opened beer bottle while consuming it outside. From all reports, if one doesn't keep the finger in the bottle between sips, the sap beetles take to dive bombing into the brew, making for chunky suds. + + + Back to reality for a moment: Do you ever wonder who's running this ship called Canada? Here we are with the highest interest rates in history, the lowest dollar in history, the worst strike record in the western world, exceeding even once laughable, strike leading Italy, and a postal strike crippling the country. No parliament is sitting through this crisis, and both the finance minister and the prime minister are out of the country for a month. Maybe we'll get lucky and Trudeau will get eaten by cannibals during his visit to Africa in August. ° Well, maybe not so lucky. It would create an international incident when the world press runs headlines like, "Thousands die after eating tainted meat," + + + Well, seeing as how half the country is either out on strike, on two months paid vacation, unemployed, or bankrupt, the other half of us working stiffs might as well take some time off too, so this Monday is our annual Civic holiday, although not too many people are civil anymore. As a result, there will be no postal service (ha, ha!), most stores that are still in business will be closed, and the banks will be closed as well, but still charging 23 per cent for our 80 cent dollars. + + + The Londesboro Lions are still collecting old newspapers this Satur- day, as they do the first Saturday of every month, so try and have them out at the curb by9am. + + + The Main Street Wit says this week that we are supposed to be in a recession, but with one price increase following another, it's more like a procession. text to please everyone. From murder mystery to historic accounts, from science fiction to romance, the library book sale will be offering an endless selection of books. A special feature at the sale will be a complete 1960 encyclopedia collection. From Alfred Hitchcock's Stories To Be Read With The Lightt On to Nurse Drake's Dilemma from The Varieties of Religious Experidnce o The Swinger Who Swung By the Neck, the library book sale promises something for everyone. The sale will also feature an excellent selection of children's books, including those by such well known characters as Holly Hobby, Curious George and Dr. Seuss. So be sure to pick up your summer reading...your fall reading...your winter reading...your spring reading.... your everytime reading at the Clinton Public Library. Award named after Clintonian Elmer Trick of Clinton and his wife Mary were honored at the Ontario Trappers Association's 34th annual con- vention in North Bay on March 30. A new prize, the Elmer Trick Award, which will be presented to the individual demonstrating the greatest proficiency in the handling of a raccoon pelt, was an- nounced by President Alcide Giroux. Mr. Trick retired from the association's board of directors this year after serving a membership in the capacity of director since 1965. Mr. Giroux's wife, Pat, presented Mrs. Trick with a dozen roses. Mr. Trick is still an honorary member of the Trappers Association and will continue to follow his interest, d police to lay charges Thursday, July 30, 1981 5O cents ihrary may be sinkin By Shelley McPhee Clinton's stately library, which has stood. in the downtown core area for more than half a century, is presently under examination and a feasibility study may be conducted to determine how struc- turally sound the building actually is. The Goderich ficin of B.M. Ross and Associates have agreed to look at the red brick budding and find out the condition of the foundation, which is said to be sinking, and rumored to be sitting on a bed of quite sand. Last year, the town hall had new con- crete shoring put under it after it was discovered there weren't any footings under it and the 100 -year-old building was sin king into soft ground. Engineers will take a close look at the building at this point, they will begin their work within, toe month and soil testing will be included in the study. Clinton council had earlier planned this year to resurface -a portion of the library roof, but acting on a suggestion from Councillor Wayne Lester, they agreed to leave the work until the foundation is evaluated. The library was designated as a Heritage building in 1978 by the town council. The desigation came from a recommendation from the Local hitectural Conservancy Advisory 'Committee. (LACAC), an organization which. attempts to preserve architectural heritage throughout Ontario. The special designation protects ar- chitecturally .significant buildings from major design changes, renovations or possible demolition. The town hall and library park have also,been designated for their historical and architectural value. The library's special designation may help the town in their eligibility for financial support 'from Wintario and the Ontario Heritage Foundation. The town hasn't applied for any grant money yet and according to town Clerk Cam Proctor, the application won't be completed until it is estimated how costly repairs to the building will be. "We have to have a ball park figure to give them," he explained. He also said that it is unlikely that ,Clinton will receive a grant for the engineering costs, unless the town agrees to follow through on the study recom- mendations and proposals. Clerk Proctor further noted, "It may tae up to two years to ge$ a Heritage grant because money is not readily available." How much repairs may cost, and whether repairs are even needed are still questions that council cannot definitely answer, but suspicion shows that the library foundation may be sinking, seen from the noticeable lean on the basement Turn to page 3 A unidentified youth watches as firemen try iu vain to quell a blaze that completely destroyed the dairy barn of Hugh Flynn last Friday afternoon. It will cost $100,000 to replace the barn, but 6,000 bales of hay were lost in the blaze, fought by Blyth and Clinton brigades. ( James Fitzgerald photo) Fire strikes family second time By James Fitzgerald For the second time in two years, a major fire has striken a Hullett Township family, but they refuse to be beaten by it and continue to have a cheery outlook on life. Last Friday afternoon, fire levelled the dairy barn of the Hugh Flynn Family on Concession 8 & 9, Hullett Township, six Miles northeast of Clinton. But within hours, they had been offered another barn and were milking their 30 head Holstein herd by 8 pm that evening in the new barn. The family had lost their house and all their belongings when their home was levelled by flames on August 25, 1979, nearly two years ago. Fortunately, this time the dairy herd was out to pasture, and firemen were able to rescue two bulls and a calf before the barn collapsed in a heap of ashes. Lost was 6,000 ba les of first cut hay and a pipeline milking system, but firemen from Blyth and Clinton were able to save the Buckle -up or face $28 fine No more warnings will be issued as of Saturday, August 1st, so from that date on tickets will be handed out to Clinton drivers who are found not wearing seat belts. Clinton's Police Chief Lloyd Westlake reported that in two days last week, more than 30 drivers were warned by Clinton Police to buckle up, and Chief Westlake says that starting on August lst, his department will be buckling down in their efforts to get motor vehicle drivers to' buckle up. Prompted by a province wide campaign from Solicitor General Roy McMurtry, police departments across Ontario have. stepped up their enforcement of the seat belt laws which can fine drivers up to $28 for not wearing the safety equipment. Mr. McMurtry reported that a ministry of transportation and communication survey shows that only 55 per cent of drivers are now buckling up, a drop from a high of 79 per cent in 1976. Only increased enforcement, Mr. McMurtry feels, can raise this percentage rate and he has appealed to all police chiefs in Ontario to take action on this. Monthly reports will now be sent in to Mr. McMurtry's off ice from across the province to show that the seat belt legislation is being enforced. bulk milk tank and the compressor in the milk house. Mr. Flynn said it will costabout $100,000 to replace the structure, and it was only half covered by insurance. In an interview with the News -Record, Mr. Flynn said he was thankful for the use of the Doug Farquhar barn on Concession 4 & 5 and the family moved the dairy herd over on Friday night. The barn had been vacant since Mr. Farquhar sold his herd in 1976. "We had a fellow up north bring us down some milking machines and we're going to stay here until we rebuild the other barn," Mr. Flynn said. "The young lad had his tenth birthday last Friday and said to us later that a lot of people came to help him celebrate." Mr. Flynn joked. Welcome rain ends drought A million dollar, all -day rain on Tuesday put an end to a drought situation in Huron County that threatened to reduce crop yields and lower farm incomes this year. About 50 mm ( 2 inches) of rain fell all across Huron County, relieving dry situations that had reached the near crisis point in some scattered areas in the county. The Bayfield and Brucefield area. for instance, was -one of the dry areas, with only 14 mm of rain 1'z inchi being recorded at Brucefield in July up to the 27th, following a similarly dry .June when only 55 mm ,fell (2.2 inches 1 far below the long term average. - But rainfall has been extremely spotty. with Clinton, by contrast receiving 87 mm 13.42 inches) of rain in June and 45 mm (1.77 inches) in July up to the 27th. The additional 50 mm on the 28th puts Clintons July rainfall near average. But the rain may have spoiled some of the unharvested winter wheat crop as the crop sprouts very easily reducing its quality substantially. John Heard, assistant ag. rep for Huron said on Tuesday that a substantial part of the winter wheat crop was harvested before the rain. and arae off with above average yields and neavier than norrnal bushel weights. He said most of the malting barley was in the bins before the rain. with feed barley harvest well underway. The wilting bean and corn crops. as well as pasture and second cut hay crops would benefit the most from the Heavy rain. Mr. Heard said, but already, some far -niers are spraying their white beans for mould. now that the rows are filling in. Rootworm damage is also causing gocsenecking in some stands of corn, and farmers in the Bayfield area are spraying their beans for Mexican bean beetle Weather 1981 1980 HI 10 21 22 13 22 23 5 23 24 4 24 26 11 25 30 11 26 23 13 27 31 Hain 0 HI 27.5 19 25 15 24 8 26 8 27 12 22.5 18 26 17