HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1986-10-01, Page 1L(HPORATU G -THIS BLYTh STANDARD) -THE HAY FIELD Ll) BUGLE
NO. 40 121 YEARS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1986
50 CENTS
Proctor settlement will
end. October 9, 1987
By Anne Narejko
CLINTON - In March of this year, the
Town of Clinton lost its long-time clerk -
treasurer Cam Proctor over a situation
which still has two conflicting stories today.
Regardless of the circumstances which in-
itiated the incident, the outcome was Mr.
Proctor's departure and the town providing
a settlement.
Mr. Proctor's settlement entitled him to
17 months full salary, including benefits and
a raise for 1986, plus full pay for any unused
sick time. When the agreement runs out on
October 9, 1987, Mr. Proctor will have col-
lected $81,885 from the town.
Breaking this figure down, his 1986 salary
totalled $35,292 and his 1987 salary will
amount to $29,410. The remaining $17,183 is
sick leave credit which was paid in 14 equal
installments.
,Both the town and Mr. Proctor acquired
lawyers with the town paying both bills
which totalled $4,510 - $500 for Mr. Proctor's
lawyer and $4,010 for the town's lawyer.
When Mr. Proctor left, Marie Jefferson,
(then deputy -clerk) was appointed acting
clerk -treasurer by council and will remain
in this position until a clerk is hired. But to
hire a clerk, town council placed adver-
tisements in four papers, costing $2,615.88 -
$1,406 for the Globe and Mail; $524 for the
K -W Record; $65.0 for the London Free
Press; $35.88 for the Clinton News -Record.
Council has interviewed 29 applicants for
the clerk's position and will announce their
official decision at the October 6 council
meeting.
''Walsh case remanded again
By Anne Narejko
WINGHAM - The case concerning theft
and fraud from the Village of Blyth has been
remanded for the third time in three
months.
Larry B. Walsh, former clerk -treasurer
for the village, made another brief ap-
pearance before Judge Gary Hunter in Pro-
vincial Criminal Division Court in Wingham
on Septemeber 24. Judge Hunter was told
Mr. Walsh's lawyer, David Smith of Guelph,
requested the case be put off to another
date.
Judge Hunter complied with the request,
setting Mr. Walsh's next court date for Oc-
tober 22.
In late May, Blyth Council accepted Mr.
Walsh's resignation. After the village
auditors found irregularities in the 1985
financial records, Mr. Walsh was charged
with one count of theft totalling $79,190.27,
and one count of fraud, diverting funds of
the Corporation of Blyth to himself, in the
amount of $79,190.27. Both charges have the
time frame of January 1, 1980 to May 31,
1986.
During Mr. Walsh's second court ap-
pearance on August 27, the amount of the
charges were up an additional $15,715 to
$94,905.27.
Mr. Walsh had been clerk -treasurer of the
village for 13 years.
Blood bank will be located
at Clinton Public Hospital
CLINTON - The Board of Trustees of Clin-
ton Public Hospital were pleased to learn at
their regular meeting held on September 22,
that their hospital's laboratory has been ap-
proved to operate a full scale blood bank.
In the past, the hospital had to rely on the
-availability of compatible blood either in
Goderich or if that was not possible, then
Stratford was the closest major centre. In
an emergency there could be up to two hours
delay before blood could be available when
it was needed. Now this delay can be nearly
eliminated since the service will be
available locally.
The hospital has been working for years to
bring this service to Clinton but only recent-
ly has had the necessary space available to
offer this service andpass the .licensing in-
spection criteria. The patients of the
hospital catchment area are benefiting from
the ever expanding services that the Board
and medical staff feel are necessary for the
hospital to provide.
$LUF`,,WATER HEAD SAYS
Rapist, murderers,
not to be found here
Tony Jeacock's basement in Vanastra experienced severe flooding Jeacock said the water was coming in through his wash basins as
on September z9. The amount of water in his basement was enough well as his back door. (Anne Narejko photo)
to overturn his freezer, dumping the meat into the water. Mr.
Floodingupsets Vanastra residents
By Anne Narejko
VANASTRA - The excessive rain has
cancelled outdoor activities, postponed
trips and generally put a damper on all
plans that call for leaving the house.
But there are some residents in
Vanastra who don't have to leave their
homes to have the rain effect them. The
water has found its way into their homes,
destroying furniture, rugs, appliances and
personal belongings.
In approximately 45 minutes, Tony
Jeacock's basement at 1 Toronto
Boulevard had accumulated three and a
half feet of water and rushing water could
still be heard entering the home.
Barry Harney's home at 7 Toronto
WEEKLY9WEATHER
1 1985
HI LO HI LO
SEPT. 23 20 14 26 17
24 21 12 20 10
25 22 11 16 4
2624 16 18 11
7 14 13 16 6
28 25 12 20 5
29 26 18 22 9
Rain
59mm 6mm
Boulevard had a basement full of water on
September 29 as well. The water has
damaged some new appliances but Mr.
Harney's major disappointment was the
loss of Personal belongings.
In Through Sinks
Both Mr. Jeacock and Mr. Harney
believe the water is backing up through the
storm sewers.
"It's coming up through the wash tubs
and in through the back door," said Mr.
Jeacock whose backyard was flooded as
well as the street in front of his property.
Mr. Jeacock's wife, June, said she went
down in the basement at 10 a.m. and it was
dry. Approximatley 45 minutes later there
was over three feet of water in the base-
ment which holds a recreation room and a
sewing room as well as appliances.
"There's so much water down there it's
lifted my freezer upside down," said Mr.
Turn.to page.2
The new maximum security wing at the
Bluewater CiMtre for Young Offenders will
not necessarily house rapists, murderers
and arsonists, says Carl DeGrandj , the
centre's superintendent. �
"The unit is not intended to il:. `d le a
peelfic type01,0;4014 Father.to. ok,4,,4„, ,P,f rnmlis. reicnarIced•
trot a specific behaviour that you want to
it. If he misbehaves, sanctions are applied
including the loss of privileges, the
removal of pass opportunities and removal
to a more structured institution.
"Discipline is within the bounds of the
law and within acceptable standards,”
control within the institution," DeGrandis
explained in an interview Monday. "The
feeling that the unit is being created for
rapists, murderers and arsonists is
erroneous."
From a behaviour standpoint, this kind
of facility may be required within the
treatment program for the young of-
fenders. The physical structure of the
maximum security unit will control
behaviour while the program will deal
with it.
-Itis the policy of the Ministry of Correc-
tional Services that each institution in
each region be responsible for handling
secure custody under the Young Offenders
Act, said DeGrandis. Each institution will
lie responsible for handling the whole spec-
trum of people who get secure custody
dispostions and therefore each institution
will build a maximum security unit to ac-
commadate this type of behaviour control.
When considering the new unit, you have
to look at the number of people who may be
served in a maximum security arrange-
ment, he said.
While the secure custody unit in the
Goderich centre will have 26 cells, there
aren't 26 rapists, murderers and arsonists
in that age group, he explained. In fact
presently, there aren't five in maximum
security custody in the province. Studies
indicate rapists, for example, invariably
fall into the age group between 19 and 27.
This type of behaviour is practically non-
existent before the age of 19 and falls off
dramatically after the age of 27. The
Bluewater Centre serves offenders age 17
and 18.
If one maximum security institution
were established to serve the entire pro-
vince, it would be very easy to send young
offenders there, out of sight, out of mind,
and-they_would just stay there. What is the
motivation to work on your problems when
there is only one stream in the institution?
asks DeGrandis. At the Bluewater Centre,
a young offender in maximum security
can work to move into another area of the
centre where there are more privileges
and less structure to the program.
DeGrandis also pointed out that serious
charges such as murder, arson and rape
can be moved to adult court. This is a pro-
vision in the act. If the case is heard in
adult court, the person will not go to a
young offenders' facility.
Assuining that the majority of murder,
rape and arson charges will be moved to
adult court and assuming this type of
crime is not overwhehning in this age
group, you don't build a maximum securi-
ty regional facility for the purpose of
handling these charges.
Should some of these charges not go to
adult court, each institution must be ready
to accommodate them. It is incumbent on
the ministry and the institutions to prepare
for all eventualities, said DeGrandis
During the interview, DeGrandis dealt
with several misconceptions contained in
the letters to the editor column of the
Signal -Star.
"We're not in the business of beating up
16 aitd 1/ year olds. We're not in the
business of corporal punishment," he com-
mented. "This doesn't mean we don't
discipline." If an offender rips a shirt
issued to him by the centre, he pays for it
out of funds he can accumulate at the cen-
tre. If he lases his locker key, he pays for
A portion of Toronto Boulevard was under water on September 29 which received extensive flooding. (Anne Narejko photo)
after heavy rains. Tony Jeacock (left), watches from his property
DeGrandis
tries to clear
misconceptions
The more appropriate approach to
discipline is to handle it in such a way that
the youth learns self-discipline. Discipline
is not something to oppose but something
to accept, he said.
The law of the province reads that so-
meone over the age of 16 does not have to
go to school. "We're not about to say to so-
meone who has come to the school for
breaking the law, we're going to break it,"
by forcing them to go to school, com-
mented DeGrandis.
The school has attracted 70 per cent of .
the centre's population to the program
which is considerably higher than the 35 -
40 per cent considered to be necessary for
the school to be a success.
If an offender attends when he doesn't
want to and is distruptive in the classroom
or sits with his head down on the desk,
what does this do to the atmosphere of the
school program? The teacher is spending
time negatively maintaining control over
the class which is where these kids came
from. "We don't need to be replicating
this," said DeGrandis.
If they don't go to school, they don't lay
around," said DeGrandis. They work in
the kitchen, on maintenance, grounds
keeping and cleaning floors. It's not work
that makes work, it's work that con-
tributes to their quality of - life at the
institution.
As far as pampering the young offenders
at the centre, DeGtafidis pointed out that
one of the biggest underlying reasons for
the changes in the way the ministry deals
with these kids is that sending them to
adult institutions meant they would be in-
fluenced by older, hardened criminals. In-
carcetation in such institutions produced
very little behavioural change and in
many ways taught criminal behaviour.
The accusation that the centre is lux-
urious, DeGrandis finds hard to believe.
The comment that the cafeteria is better
than any in a Huron County high school,
DeGrandis finds just as hard to unders-
tand. While he hasn't seen the cafeterias in
the local secondary schools, he observes
that, the caferteria at the Bluewater Centre
has a floor that is half cement and the re-
maining half is a mixture of cement and
concrete. The only other changes made to
the cafeteria when it was transformed
from a workshop in the former facility was
to paint the walls and add several potted
plants to brighten the room.
Concerning the criticisms levelled. at the
centre since the escape of three young of-
fenders in July, DeGrandis asks what com-
passion and understanding the critics haves
• shown towards the young human belt% at
the centre.
"The very fact that we're dealing with
human beings indicates we need to make
sure that each of them is handled within
their own reality, rather than imposing a
group responsibility. Not one of the young
offenders at the centre had anything to do
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