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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1981-09-09, Page 1T7 116th year—No. 36 Wednesday, September 9, 1981 50 cents Weather 1981 1980 HI LO HI LO SEPTEMBER 1 27 18 26 17 2 21 16 21 14 3 23 15 25 9 4 20 1 26 13 5 23 16 24 13.5 6 22 15 23 10 7 23 15 22.5 7 Rain 76 mm Rain 110 mm Despite protests, arcade to stay By Shelley McPhee While several Clinton residents, business people and members of council are opposed to the possible establishment of a pinball arcade in town, there's nothing the town can do to stop it. At the September 15th council meeting Dr. and Mrs. Don Palmer, nearby residents to the proposed mini -mall at the former Clinton Hotel site, voiced their opposition to reports that a pinball arcade will be built. "I don't think we need anymore pinball arcades," Dr. Palmer told council. "Do we need this sort of facility in our town?" "What good can it be to the citizens of Clinton?" he asked and noted that even. when properly run, pinball arcadesoften become youth hangouts, gambling establishments and drug abuse centres. Mrs. Palmer noted that she had polled business people and residents in the area and almost 100 per cent were not in favor of seeing a pinball arcade in the mall which is now under construction. Clinton already has one pinball arcade and Clerk Cam Proctor said that the second arcade is a permitted use in the Zone 5 commercial area and council does not have the right to stop the establish- ment of the business. They may only regulate the -business hours under the Municipal Act. Other municipalities have tried to limit the number of pinball centres in their towns and cities, Clerk Proctor said,` and the cases usually end up in court and the municipalities' lose. It becomes a case of discrimination, he noted, and the town can't discriminate against a legal business. "I was appalled when I heard about the whole developrnent," Mayor Chester Archibald stated. "I'll say openly that I hate the idea of that development." With trophy and hands held high signaling victory, the Clinton Colts baseball team took a victory' ride through town on Monday as the new reigning all -Ontario Senior "C" champs. The Fleming Colts won the title at an all -weekend tournament in first column Tillsonburg. Unfortunately, the victors were relegated to a pick- up truckride instead of the traditional fire truck, because of new regulations. (James Fitzgerald photo it always seems that in or around Western Fair time, just after the kids are back in school, the season suddenly takes a turn for the worst and we go from summer to coolish fall weather in a couple of days. Mind you, the summer is not over by any stretch of the imagination, but that cold wind on Tuesday and the black rolling clouds give all veteran Huron residents a signal to start to think about buckling down the hatches for another winter. This agent wore a jacket on Tuesday for the first time in I don't know how long, and while putting the garbage out last night, 1 suddenly noticed the storm windows for the first time in several months, still sitting against the wall where i dropped them only a few weeks ago. Actually that's about all it was, as I delayed taking them off this year until the last week in May because of the cold month we had. The highways department has the sand and fait already mixed and ready to go, the furnace filter, anti -freeze and snow tire ads abound on radio, TV and in the newspapers, and the ice is in the Clinton arena, ready for the start next Monday of the hockey school. Gee, i hateto complain, but ain't the winters here long enough without pushing them. i mean, I can't really get enthused about the hockey season until the snow really starts to fly, sometime in November. If the NHL hockey monguls had their way and could control the climate, they'd cut summer to a couple of weeks in July. Personally, i agree with the Main Street Wit yvho's really fed up with the all the sports now occupying everybodys' life. The baseball season is just nicely going again, and won't end until nearly Novemebr, and already the football season is in full swing and the Canada Cup Hockey Series is half over. Says the Wit: "Any dairy farmer will 6_11 you that a cow can only be milked twice a day." And so too the public. t + l - in In truth, all this sports on TV has really hurt the local sports scene. People would sooner sit at home in front ofIheidlot box than toCome out a •'atch the local teams play. Over the years of covering sports, I've seen attendance decline with every increase in professional sports on TV. And we have some mighty good teams in the area who deserve more support. The all - Ontario champion Colts are far better to watch live than the cellar dwelling Blue Jays. Sometimes I wonder if our whole social fabric wouldn't improve a great deal if all the TVs blew up at the same time. We'd have to start talking to one another again about something other than whether one pompous, overpaid dope is better than the other pompous overpaid jock. i + 4 - Well, Well, if you have got soft sitting for long hours in the chair in front of the box, you will have an.excellent chance this Sunday to get some of your con- ditioning back in the Terry Fox run for the Cancer Society. Registration is from 10 am to 2 pm at CRSS and you can walk, crawl, or run the 10 kilometers I six miles to us oldtimers ►: 4 + + Also, Sunday is Grandparents Day, so after the Fox run, run over to your grandparents and give them something to smile a bout. + 4 4 - Gee, Gee, all this rain is starting to dampen enthusiasm out on the con- cession roads, not that there was a lot to dampen in the first place, what with the record high interst rates and the low prices paid for some of the farmers' produce. It's bad enough to have to fight the weather, something farmers usually do every year at some time or another, but this year the combination of economic factors and weather makes it par- ecularly hard to find any positive at- titudes out in the country. + + + Just one final word on our paper distribution: the News -Record comes down to Clinton about 4:30 pm on, Wednesday, and will be available to box holders sometime between 5 and 5:30 pm, while store sales start about the samr time. All other mail routes will get their papers on Thursday morning. He added, "The use is in the terms of our zoning bylaw and there's nothing we can do to stop it." He said that council's best hope is to make the business hours, "As tough as we can, as long as we don't discriminate against them." Councillor Ron McKay noted that in London, arcades were being set up next to high schools and the city opposed this but lost. Councillor Bea Cooke said that the problem was discussed at the annual municipal convention but noted, "They said it was out of their hands." Cou nc it agreed to have the town solicitor draw up regulations for the operation of the proposed arcade and Mayor Archibald added, "There's nothing I'd like better than to say we'll knock it right out. \ Councillor Ross Jewitt suggested that it should be parents responsibility to 'keep their children out of arcades, but Coun- cillor McKay said, "that's idealistic in this day and age." "It's the times we live in unfortunately," Mayor Archibald conceded. Clinton already has one pinball arcade and neighboring towns also face opposition to similar arcades. Goderich has three and Seaforth has two such businesses. Jessica Baker of Clinton tells kindergarten teacher Mrs. Rogerson of her summer at her first day of school at Clinton Public on Tuesday, as all area schools opened their, doors again. Jessica was also able to wear her own hat. (James Fitzgerald photo) Student enrolment drops in Huron Huron County students are back to school this week, but there aren't as many as last year.. is a total of 10,776 students pro- jected to fill the classrooms in Huron Coun- ty, compared to an actual figure of 11,088 students on Sept. 30, 1980. These figures are from the Huron County Board of Education. At the elementary school level, the pro- jected enrolment is 6,721 students, with the 198Q actual figure of 6,788 students. At the secondary school level, the pro- jected enrolment is 3,992 students, with last yeatP's actual enroiment,at 4,235 students. In the trainable mentally retarded schools, the projected enrolment is 63 students, with the 1980 actual enrolment at - 65 students. The total number of teachers across the county are: secondary, 245 teachers; elementary, 332 teachers; and trainable mentally retarded schools, 9.5 teachers. The total number of teachers with the Huron County Board of Education is 603.45 which includes teachers working out of the Board office. Industrial park go again By Shelley McPhee Clinton Council and property owners have come to a tentative agreement and papers may be signed before the end of the month, purchasing land for a proposed industrial park for the town. Situated at the southwestern limits of Clinton, council has offered to buy 33 acres of undeveloped land at a cost of $90,000 and according to industrial committee chairman Mike Falconer. the offer may be accepted. Mr. Falconer told council at their September 15th meeting that the owners will accept the offer as long as the town provides access to 20 acres of privately owned land at the back of the proposed park. The owners also would like to ex- change right-of-ways with the town, allowing the town to reopen Devon Street and giving the land owners a 66 foot right- of-way at the former sales barn site on the Bayfield Road. Council had originally looked at the 33 acre site last year and offered $85,000 for the land. later it was proposed that the town buy the entire 54 acre parcel for $140,000. ,However learning that govern - Turn to page 3 • Bean loss hits millions A sudden shift in weather patterns in the last three weeks from hot and dry. to humid and wet is costing Huron County farmers millions of dollars. Hardest hit by the constant rain is the white bean farmers, some of whom may have lost up to 50 per cent of their crop. Had good weather prevailed, a com- bination of excellent prices and average yields would have made Huron's crop worth nearly$20 million this year. Stan Paquette, associate ag rep of Huron, said on Tuesday that there has already been from five to a 50 per cent loss on the beans, which are used for human consumption, depending on the field. He said there has been considerable sprouting of the beans in some fields, Making them black and unmarketable. Hardest hit are the early maturing varieties, which were ready to harvest 10 days ago, while beans that are just turning color should suffer the least damage, providing warm dry weather returns in the next few days. Although Clinton received 78 mm r3 inches) of rain in the first seven days of September, to go with 90' ram 3.54 inches ) received in August, other areas to the east and north were hit harder. A soaking 152 mm (6 inches) was recorded in the last week at the Howard Cartwright farm near l.ondesboro, and many fields in the Seaforth area were still under water on Monday. Mr. Paquette also said the wet field conditions have delayed the corfl silage harvest and the harvest of onion, rutabaga and potato crops in the county. Some third cut hay has also been lost, he said. Other crops, such as soybeans and grain corn, don't appear to have suffered any damage at this point The actual first-day enrolment figures will be presented at the Board's meeting on Sept. 10. In the Clinton area, school enrolments at the various schools range from the same as last year to down slightly. ' The biggest drop was at Central Huron Secondary School, where the 868 students registered on Tuesday is down 40 from last September. Clinton Public School has lost a few, with 412 turning up for classes, compared to 412 last year. .,, Although the final count wasn't in yet because of the kindergarten class, Christian School . principal , Ralph Schuurman said this fall's enrolment should be about the same as last year's 195. The 128 pupils who were welcomed by teachers at St. Joseph's Separate School in Clinton is the same as last September. Holmesville Public School lost four pupils this year, as 285 registered, com- pared to 289 last September, while 496 signed up at Huron Centennial School in Brucefield, down only slightly from last year. Hullett Central Public in Londesboro lost only two students, as 288 enrolled this year, compared to 290 last year, and Vanastra Pubiic,' hick has kindergarten to Grade 6, has 101 students, the same as last year. Hospital must raise funds before addition started Unless the Clinton Public Hosptial fund raising campaign can come up with $170,000 in public donations and pledges in the next few weeks, construction of the ,new $866,000 emergency wing and renovation scheme could be delayed until next spring. And fund raising chairman Steve Coohe said the delay could add an addition 10 To 15 per cent in construction costs. The ministry of health, concerned that some other hospitals in the province have run out of money before their constuction programs ,were finished, has told the Clinton Hospital board that it has to have half the $353,000 or $170,000 raised before they begin construction. The rest of the $866,000 cost will be funded by a $303,000 ministry of health grant. a $110,000 grant from Huron County, and a $100,000 from the hospital's capital building fund. Mr. Cooke said that so far, about $30,000 has been raised. with donations ranging from $100 to $1,500. "We're very pleased with the size of the individual donations," Mr. Cooke said, "and we're hoping they keep up." "We don't have to have the money in our nands, as long as we have a signed pledges, that's as good as money in the ' bank," Mr. Cooke said. Pledge payments can be made over a year period with, monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual payments to spread out the load, and ideally, the first payment would accompany the pledge. Mr. Cooke said donations could either be mailed to Clinton Hospital Building Fund, c -o the Clinton Public Hospital, or phone Carolyn Pfaff at the hospital at 482-3447 or Steve Cooke at 482-7012 for pick-up. Police report very quiet holiday weekend The last long weekend of summer was a quiet one in the Clinton area according to local police. Clinton Chief Lloyd Westlake said that there were only a few minor occurances over the weekend and the Goderich OPP reported twominor accidents. On Saturday, September 5. Hobert Johnston, 30, of Clinton escaped injury after the car he was driving struck four Turn to page 3 • As well as normal-sized, brilliant white beans fit for human consumption, this handful of beans pulled Tuesday from a Kippen field shows a number of blackened and sprouted beans, caused by 10 days at continuous wet weather. Losses to Hurdn's white bean crop range from five to SO per rent. depending on the `ield, and could cut the county's $20 million crop sutntantially. (.lames Fitzgerald photo)