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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-03-18, Page 1NOol l 121 YEARS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1987 50 CENTS Square dancing's for everyone By Anne Narejko CLINTON - No equipment is needed, you don't have to have any special skills and no university diploma is required - "just learn your left from your right." Every Wednesday night. 36 couples in the Clinton Wheel 'N' Dealers square dancing group get together in We Clinton Public School gymnasium and follow the calls of their caller, Les Greenwood. "It's a night of fun. We're finished early and are usually home by midnight," said Helen Trewartha, who, along with her hus.- band Ross, are two of the original members. The Clinton Wheel 'N' Dealers started in October of 1963 at the IOOF Hall with Earl Jokingly, some square dancers say one of the good things about square dancing is you get to change partners often. At the Clinton Wheel 'N' Dealers invite a friend night on March 11, Edward Wise Above. and his partner showed their great concentration while square dan- cing. Norman and Florence Wightman take part in a round dance. (Anne Narejko photos) Bowles of the Clinton Air Force Base as their caller. In January they moved to Cen- tral Huron Secondary School (CHSS) where they danced weekly until May of 1964. In 1966 the dancers made the air force base their meeting location and there they joined the Clinton Cross Trailers. The following year, the Clinton Wheel 'N' Dealers joined the South Western Ontario Square Dance Association (SWOSDA). It was during 1970-71 that the dancers moved to their present dancing location, Clinton Public School, and couples from the Clinton, Goderich, Seaforth and Londesboro area came to join in the fun. It was also at this time that the group changed back to their original name. To mark Clinton's centennial, a square dance was held at CHSS on July 26, 1975 with former and present Wheel 'N' Dealer dancers and callers participating. Of the original members, 12 are still danc- ing today. They are Mr. and Mrs. Ross Mer- rill, Mr. and Mrs. Ross Trewartlia, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Wise, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Woods, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Falconer, Charles Mer- rill and Roberta Plumsteel. Commenting on why they joined, Lois and Edward Wise said they spotted an adver- tisement in the paper. They agreed with the Trewarthas when they said, "We thought it would be good to go to the same meeting at the same time." This year's presidents, Deb and Ian Hulley, started modern square dancing in 1979, and it was Ian's interest in the activity that prompted them to join the Clinton Wheel 'N' Dealers. "I'd been interested in square dancing since back in my high school days and this was something we could do together," Ian said. To get started in square dancing, a person must advance through the levels. First there is the beginners' class where you are taught the bas . movements such as allemande left and allemande right. From the b>sginners' level, a square dancer moves up to mainstream, then mainstream plus, advance and challenge. Although knowing your left from your right is of great importance in square danc- ing, one also has to be a good listener. "You can't talk," said Helen. "And you can't daydream," added Lois. Not For The Barn The modern square dancers describe their activity as a "participation sport" - a sport that can be done by people of all ages. Over the years, the club has had members as young as 25 and up to over 80 years old. "We'd like to educate people so that they know that square dancing is no longer done in the barn," said Lois. Modern square dancing is done around the world, and Lois and Edward plan their holidays around the square dancing schedule. Explaining this point, the dancers said square dancing is the national dance in the United States, and in Japan and Germany the callers learn to call in English. "They're friendly people no matter where you go," they all agreed. New Language "Once you learn the language, and it is a whole new language, you can dance anywhere," said the club's caller, Les Greenwood of Parkhill who has been calling for 19 years both in Canada and the United States. To become a caller, a person must attend callers' school and Les recommends going to callers' clinics so ideas can be traded. According to members of the club, Les has many ideas. "He's' very humorous," said Ian. "R's nothing for him to stop in the middle of a song and tell a joke." Turn to page 2 What wouldyou like to see • during municipal government week CLINTON - April 13 - 17 has been designated as municipal government week and the town council here would appreciate your input. Last year Clinton. did not hold any special events during the week because they receiv- ed notification too late. However, this year they would like to mark tle occasion with an activity of some sort. The question is, what would the public be interested in? Clerk Marie Jefferson received several ideas and Councillor Case Buffinga thought the idea of holding a council meeting in a large area• was good. The only problem he Foodland Hydro to preparf appealeal success as it would he seen as undermining farmer explained, while the London lawyer the hearing process and cabinet would be said there was certainly no guarantee of very reluctant to throw out a 180 -page report winning either case and it would be only a submitted by the three members of the matter of buying some time. He cautioned hearing board who heard testimony for 130 they could be held liable for costs brought on days. by a delay in construction and that could be The groups's lawyer. Peter W. Kryworuk, in the millions. of Lerner & Associates, backed McQuail's After taking a break and meeting in their opinion by noting cabinet would not want to respective township gropps, the members second guess the hearing board. • overwhelmingly adopted the plan to prepare By initiating an appeal, it could open the an appeal to cabinet and to use it only if door for Hydro to follow suit and ask that some other group initiates the action. some of the benefits won by farmers be However, the land owners let it be known removed. they were not prepared to back down from McQuail said he had no difficulty agreeing their fight with Ontario Hydro and will turn with those who found fault with the final their energies to getting the best possible decision on the line. "it's a real disappoint- deal for owners who will be affected by the ment to have any line to London," he ex- transmission line. plained, but quickly added that it was still It Was unanimously agreed to restructure better than having two, lines. the organization so the board represlen- Two other options were outlined at the tatives will be primarily from the townships meeting: to appeal to the divisional court or -directly affected. That is expected to take to start an action with the National Energy place within the next two to three weeks. Board. Although there was some minor opposi- While there were calls for taking the mat- tion, the membership also agree to accept ter to the "highest court in the land", those new members at the current rate of $1 per alternatives received no support after the acre or $50 per household. ramifications were outlined. McQuail said the alternatives were to Both were seen as being very costly (one deny new memberships, allow them under in the $100,000 to $200,000 range) and both the existing terms, or allow them with a were also seen as being nothing more than premium being charged. delaying tactics. "The reason for the line One audience member argued against continues to be there," the Lucknow area Turn to page 8 • EXETER -- Members of the F'oodland Hydro Committee agreed in Exeter this week to prepare an appeal to the Ontario cabinet over the recent decision allowing Ontario Hydro to build a major new transmission line from the Bruce nuclear plant to London, but the appeal won't be presented unless other parties, particularly Ontario Hydro, make an appeal. Noting that he was Considering the matter with kis head and not his heart, chairman Tonf McQuail advised that action in his comments to about 400 of the 1,200 -member committee in attendance at the Wednesday session at South Huron District High School. He said preparing the appeal would he a "safety precaution" and would only be presented if Hydro appealed the decision or it appeared that some other group had started a lengthy appeal process. It was explained that Hydro was unhappy with the joint board hearing which approved a single line which will pass through prime agriculture land in Bruce, Huron and Mid- dlesex and there was a possibility the utility could appeal in an effort to get a different plan more to their liking or at least to change some of the terms and conditions handed down in the board's ruling. The audience, constituted primarily by land owners who will be directly affected by the new line, were told that any appeal to cabinet would not have a great chance of could foresee was getting the public in- terested in attending. Mayor John Balfour thought the sugges- tion to hold a mock council meeting with students playing the part of council was another good idea. At the conclusion of council's discussion on March 16, they had not yet come up with an event to hold. If anyone' has a suggestion as to what they would like to learn more about, let Clerk Jefferson know. The week has been designated to educate the public. Let your municipal government know what you are curious about. Daylight saving time extended Thanks to the wisdom of the Ontario government, we will soon be able to enjoy daylight for two extra weeks. Instead of turning our clocks ahead in mid-April, legislation has been passed to allow Ontario residents to put them forward by one +he first Sunday of April. Town receives However, the time to turn the clocks back to standard time has remained the last Sun- day in October. As this is the first year for this legislation, don't forget to turn your clocks ahead by one hour at 2 a.m. on April 5. X50,000 grant By Anne Narejko CLINTON - The .town has received a $50,000 grant from the Ministry of the En- vironment for the sanitary sewage works project, and at council's March 16.meeting, the decision to pay the town's share of $30,000 was made. For the past few years, the Town of Clin- ton, under the direction of the Ministry of the Environment, has been undergoing preliminary work on their sewage facilities in an attempt to make the system run more efficiently. This preliminary work has in- cluded the use of underground television monitoring tests of sewage lines to detect breaks in tile or unnecessary seepage and extra run-off. After a joint Clinton Public Utilities/Coun- cil meeting, which was attended by the town's consulting engineers B.M. Ross and Associates Limited, a decision to accept the grant and commit the town's share was made at council's March 16 meeting. In a letter to council from B.M. Ross, a suggested work schedule listed March/April ' of this year as the startingpoint. During this period, a confirmation of the plant effluent quality criteria with the Ministry is advised. The cost of this is estimated at $5,000. The second portion of work is scheduled between May and September and calls for additional sewer investigations to confirm expected storm water flow reductions. The price tag on this is $50,000. Also in May, a public meeting is to be held so residents can gi as their input. From October/December, it is recom- mended a conceptual design be completed and perhaps a detailed design of the sewage works project be started. This is estimated to cost $25,000. BIA in Bayfield gets one step closer By Shelley McPhee Heist BAYFIELD - Council here has given a nod of approval in principle to the suggestion of forming a Business Improvement Area 1 BIA) in the village. Proposers of the BIA concept, which would incorporate 39 Main Street businesses, met with council on March 16. The preliminary discussion focussed on the formation of the BIA area, funding and council's role in the operation of the organization. Spokesperson Charles Machen said that -- the primary aim of the BIA is to provide a unified business group that would work towards promoting and beautifying the village. "The BIA will bring business people together. It will encourage new businesses to establish in the municipality ... Anyone with a sound business mind would be willing to join the BIA," he said.' The BIA concept has been proposed to some 39 businesses along Bayfield's Main Street corridor. The proposed BIA district will take in shops from The New Ritz to The Albion Hotel and The Little Inn to May's Decorating. Council members voiced some concern that other potential members would not be included in the BIA scheme. Reeve Dave Johnston noted that the Highway 21 businesses would be excluded, along with other commercial operations in the village, some 29 in number. Mr. Machen told the reeve that Clan Gregor Square was an obstacle in the con- tinuous line of businesses within the municipality. He said that the BIA should not be broken up into pockets because the unified linkage between the members would be disrupted by physical barriers. He suggested that if the Highway 21 mer- chants were included in the BIA concept, they would not have an equal voice in the plans and promotions because of their minority position. Reeve Johnston warned, "Be careful you don't alienate certain businesses. You may find someday you will need them. 1 don't want to see two BIA groups, two business cores. We need to keep harmony in the business community." Mr. Machen said it was not his intention to ostracise some businesses. He suggested as that the BIA develops over the next few years more commercial opportunities will arise and additional businesses outside the Main Street core could be included in the overall plan. Until such expansion takes place, the BIA delegation has proposed that outlying businesses in the village can become "Friends of Bayfield," whereby they may take part in any of the promo- tional work being done. The BIA is financed by the businesses that are located within the designated area. Each business is required to pay an annual levy that is based upon their business tax assessment. No business in the BIA region may be exempt. BiA monies are collected and controlled by the municipality and the BIA board of management must have council's approval of an annual budget. A sample BIA budget was presented to Bayfield Council by Gayle Gundy The pro- posal called or an $8,000 budget, to be thus divided $750 for administration costs; $2,000 for promotional brochures; $1,500 for magazine advertising; $1,500 for newspaper advertising; $1,250 for special events; $1,000 for a sign at the marina. The next step in the BIA formation plan calls for council to approve the concept and pass a bylaw. First, council must send let- ters of intent to the businesses in the propos- ed area. Those businesses have a 30 day period in which to raise any objections: Council may proceed to clear these con- cerns, or they may be taken .to an Ontario Municipal Board hearing. If there are no ob- jections, council may pass the bylaw. If one- third of the businesses object and they make up one-third of the total business assess- ment in the BIA area, then the plan must be shelved for two years. Mr. Machen urged council, "It's impor- tant that we proceed as soon as possible," noting that the group did not want to be burdened with any objections from tran- sient summer, businesses. "That may sound inconsiderate," Mr. Machen said, "but we have to be realistic. We want a BIA that will work to improve business in the spring and the autumn." CLINTON PUBLIC HOSPITAL BUILDING FUND