HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1981-09-02, Page 1116th year—No. 35
Nothing beats cotton candy, balloons and stuffed animals at the fair, Rob Cooke, 12 and
Greg Green, 12, both of Goderich made surethey didn't miss any of the fun and entertain-
ment at the Bayfield Fall Fair on August 29th. (Shelley McPhee photo
Wednesday, September 2, 1981
Weather
1981 1980
HI LO Hl LC
A UG3RUA RY
25 24 7
26 26 9
27 23 14
28 22 15
29 25 17
30 26 17
31 25 16
Rain 28.2 mm
28 8.5
28 16.5
30 16.5
23 17
30 16
29 19
25 19
Rain 3m.
Industrialparkplansstill in air
Whether or not Clinton develops an in-
dustrial park is1 still an unanswered
question.
Plans to purchase 54 -acres of land in
Clinton and develop it in phases as an
industrial park have now been halted until
a new agreement is made between the
owners and tie town of Clinton.
The offer to purchase on the land expired
on July 31, 1981 and council had asked for a
possible extension until October. The land
owners said they would agree to this if the
town paid an extra $4,000 a month for each
month the extension was in effect. This
extra payment was over and above the
$140,000 original offer for the land.
Council members, however, turned
down the offer and a compromise is still
being ha: hed out.
Clerk Cam Proctor noted that the town
wanted the extension because they were
Weather hurts beans
Wet weather has Ontario white bean
growers. biting their nails with their
harvest just underway, but soybean
growers aren't too concerned yet because
their harvest doesn't begin until the end of
September.
Charles Broadwell, manager of the On-
tario Bean Producers' Marketing Board in
London, said the Ontario crop has sustain-
ed some rain damage to date but the
world's largest growing area and On-
tario's main competition — Michigan —
has had more problems.
Despite the potential of rain damage
with this year's harvest, white bean
growers can take some consolation that
they'll receive more than $28 per hun-
dredweight bag for last year's crop which
has finally been sold out — a record price.
Mr. Broadwell said if good weather
prevails, the crop this year would run
about 1.4 million 100 -pound bags.
Otis McGregor, general manager of the
Ontario Soya -bean Growers'. Marketing
Board. in Chatham said rain and hail have
caused .some spotty damage to soybean
crops across Southwestern Ontario but
farmers at present aren't too concerned
about weather problems.
1,100 make Bayfield Fair success
By Shelley McPhee
Over 1,100 visitors celebrated the 125th
birthday of the Bayfield Agricultural
Society this past weekend at the annual
Bayfield Fall Fair.
Even Mother Nature did her best to
make the fair a success and the heavy
morning rains stopped just in time for the
early afternoon parade.
Spectators of all ages and sizes lined the
usually quiet village streets to see the
floats, the local politicians, the horse and
buggies, the Shriners brigade, the Clinton
Legion Pipe band, the vintage cars and
Attrucks, and dozens of area children
dressed in their finest and funniest apparel
or the annual parade.
Crowds followed the parade to the fair
grounds to enjoy an afternoon of fun and
entertainment. The local arena was
filled with an impressive variety of
exhibits and according to fair secretary
Audrey Graham, "The exhibits were -
appropriate for our 125th year."
While the needlework display had fewer
exhibits than in past years, the flower,
food and garden displays were ex-
ceptional. People of all ages gathered at
the Bayfield Historical Society display of
old photographs from past fairs and the
Huron County Pioneer Museum showed
tools and techniques from days gone by.
Cattle and sheep, horses and poultry
were judged as the prize winners of the
fair. The poultry exhibit was the best ever
and the record number of entries filled two
-1
'®
It can't be helped if the general public
feels a little like one of the more
popular ladies in a house of ill repute,
after seeing the implications of the oil
pricing agreement signed by the
federal and Alberta governments on
Tuesday afternoon.
As near as can be figured out by a
preliminary look at complicated agree-
ment, we are going to be like the salt
mine at Goderich, shafted, and shafted
but good. By the time the agreement
runs its full course in five years, and the
Ontario government adds on their own
taxes, it will cost over $100 to fill the gas
tank of- your. present car: that's four
bucks a gallon! ! !
Now we're really going to need some
of that new math to figure out how
we're going to heat our houses, run our
cars, buy groceries, without a
substantial rise in wages.
Those who are in unions, and the
large corporations will be able to make
up for the difference by demanding
higher wages and prices for their pro-
ducts, but what about those not so well
secured, like the grain and livestock
farmer, who sells his produce on the
open market, or the persons on a fixed
income.
+ + +
And if that isn't enough, there's a
rumor flying around that the cost of a
postage stamp is going from 17 cents to
30 sometime later this month. That's
nearly an 80 per cent raise in one fell
swoop. I though inflation was running
at 12 per cent a year! Who's kidding
whom?
4- + +
I guess the reason for this anger this
week is the sudden realization that it's
September already, the days are
noticeably shorter, and summer went,
far, far, too'fast.
Yes kids, the yellow buses will be
snaking their way down the concessions
"n Tuesday, and it's back to school for
another 10 months.
i'ut before the school bells ring, we
have one more holiday weekend left to
live it up or to try and do all those things
you said you were going to do last June,
but never got around to doing.
Like all holiday weekends, most
businesses will be closed on Labour
Day Monday, as will the post office, and
all government offices and banks.
+ + +
Says the Main Street Wit this week:
"Once, parents tried to bring up their
children. Now they try to keep up with
them.
+ +
And with the return to school comes
the resumption of all the clubs, groups
and social events, which reminds us to
tell all those in charge of public rela-
tions that the News -Record is now a
Wednesday afternoon paper and so we
require our copy earlier. If you have a
report to bring in, don't leave it until
Tuesday, especially if happened five or
six days before. Our typesetters,
reporters and editors like to process
material on a steady on going basis,
and not have it arrive in one big lump
on Tuesday. So if you can, bring the
reports in on Thursday and Friday and
help us out.
The same goes for coverage of an
event, most of which are planned mon-
ths in advance. Let us too know several
weeks ahead so we can schedule our
reporters and photographers ( all two of
'em) and they'll be able to eat, sleep
and have time off just like normal peo-
ple do.
+ + +
Most of our youth groups get back
together over the next couple of weeks,
including the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts,
and Venturers, so if you're interested in
joining up or helping out, have a look at
Town Talk this week.
+ +
And don't forget the newspaper col-
lections this Saturday by the Lions
Clubs in the communities of
1,ondesboro and Bayfield.
barns. Some entries were even moved out
of the barn after being judged to ac-
commodate more entries.
Men spent the afternoon throwing
horseshoes and sawing logs, in a new
contest at the fair. Children tried their luck
at games of chance, whirled and twirled on
Yields this year will run about 33 bushels
per acre on about 720,000 acres plantect he
expects.
waiting to hear further information from
the ministry of industry and tourism
regarding their eligibility for a govern-'
ment loan.
As of yet, Clinton hasn't applied for a
loan because according to Mayor Chester
Archibald, "The town would have to do a
lot of work to be eligible for government
help.
He explainc_' that the government
requires much greater water capacity
than the proposed Clinton park would have
available. He noted that there is a long-
term plan prepared and the entire acreage
would be upgraded and developed and the
water servicing would be meet govern-
ment loan requirements.
However, at the present time, the town
isn't prepared to spend over one million
dollars to complete the entire project at
one time.
Mayor Archibald spoke with engineer
Burns Ross of Goderich and reported that
Mr. Ross had said that there are few small
municipalities whose services come up to
the required government standards.
Council will meet • again with govern-
ment officials, with lawyers and the land
owners in attempt to come up with some
agreements and compromises and Mayor
Archibald stressed that the industrial park
could be developed, one way or another in
Clinton.
"If we go ahead with our industrial park,.
we'll do it alone," he suggested. "It may
be tough, but it could be the best way."
D'Arcy Rathwell points out all the hay that he had stored in a
large barn that burned to the ground on Tuesday afternoon at his
farm just west of Brucefield. The barn had been emptied the
previous day of the last 32 head of cattle. Although partially
Near Brucefield
Fire levels Rathwell barn
Although it wasn't much consolation to
D'Arcy Rathwell, a strong southwest wind
Tuesday afternoon helped firefighters
from Brucefield and Clinton saved nearby
buildings and granaries from destruction
when a fire levelled his large barn.
The fire, which was spotted by a passing
motorist shortly after 1 p.m., completely
destroyed the large barn on the Rathwell
farm on the second of Stanley Township.
about 1' 2 miles west of Brucefield.
The large L-shaped barn had just been
emptied the previous day of the last 32
head of fat cattle, and Mr. Rathwell said
he had been in the barn 10.30 Tuesday
morning to gather some tools for use on
building their retirement honk, iii
Bayfield.
Besides the barn, this year's crop of hay
and straw were also lost. Cause of the fire
is undetermined at this time.
Fatal accident in McKillop
blacks out Clinton power
A Seaforth youth lost his life at 11:35 on
Friday night when the pick-up truck in
which he was a passenger left Concession 2
of McKillop Township, striking a 27,600
volt feeder hydro pole and blacking out a
la rge part of Clinton Tor 50 minutes.
Joseph David Huard, 16, was a
passenger in the vehicle driven by Douglas
McClure, 16, also of Seaforth on the gravel
road east of Seaforth. McClure was in
satisfactory condition in Seaforth Com-
munity hospital.
Ontario Hydro crews worked through
the night to put in a new pole after they had
temporarily restored service by re-routing
hydro to Clinton from Goderich.
Three more teenagers were killed
Sunday night in a single car crash on Perth
County Road 10, just north of Dublin.
Brian Flanagan, 17, of RR 1, Dublin was
killed instantly when the southbound car
left the road at about 7 :30 pm and went into
a ditch. Joseph Flanagan, 17, of RR 5,
Mitchell, and Warren Ellligsen. of
Brodhagen died in hospitals in London and
Seaforth.
OPP at Sebringville said they were all
passengers in a car driven by Brain
McGavin, 18, of RR 4, Walton, who is listed
in good condition in Stratford General
Hosptial. A fifth passenger, Brian Moore.
18 of Egmondville, is in fair condition at
University Hospital in London, while
Thomas Duffy, 18 of RR 1, Dublin was
discharged Monday from Seaforth
Community Hospital after treatment.
BIA gets gov't money
Clinton will receive an advance of
$44,82 for a downtown upgrading project
under Ontario's Main Street Revitalization
Program, Municipal Affairs and Housing
Minister Claude Bennett has announced.
The advance represents two-thirds of the
loan that the province is contributing to
assist Clinton in a beautification project
with parking improvements together with
street lighting, furniture and planters with
trees, shrubs and flowers.
The main street program is designed to
help communities with a population of
35,000 or less upgrade and improve
downtown areas using the business im-
provement area ( BIA) as a starting point.
( BTA is a device whereby merchants and
business people can, under the Municipal
Act, designate and tax themselves for im-
provements to streetscapes and related
facilities.)
To qualify a municipality must have:
-A maximwn pvpwdtion of 35.000 as of
the date of application
-An approved official plan
-A property maintenance and occupant•}
standards bylaw
-Demonstrated support by council and
the public -at -large
-An active BIA
The Main Street Revitalization Progratn
is one of the province's actions to assist
municipalities and the private sector in
community renewal activities. These "On-
tario Renews" programs include
downtown and main street revitalization.
neighbourhood improvement, housing
rehabilitation and property. maintenance.
In Clinton the $67,000 project is schedul-
ed for completion by the end of September
1981.
covered by insurance, Mr. Rathwell says the loss of the barn,
described as one of the most picturesque in Stanley Township,
will be heavy. (James Fitzgerald photo)
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Some tangible evidence of the Clinton Public Hosptial Fund raising drive went up on
rue,,dak, when 4 te 0 Coolie fund raising chairman. fastened the giant thermometer 0:
the wall of the Clinton Hospital. Painted by Rob Simpson of Clinton. the drive has already
raised $25,000 of the $350.000 needed. Here hospital administrator Doug (-o'entro helps
while hoping that this is one "temperature" his staff can't control. (James Fitagerald
photo;