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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-02-11, Page 1i 139 YEAR - 06 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1987 60 CENTS PER ('OPY Mus 1.'1 miijion grant; • The announcement of a $1.1 million grant from the Ministry of Citizenship and •Culture for the first 'phase •uf the reconstruction of. the Huron County Pioneer Muse.wn in Goderich was warm- ing news for the people who gathered in the unheated facility for a press conference Friday afternoon. Both Ontario Health. Minister •Murray Elston and Agriculture and Food Minister, .lack Riddell brought confirmation of the grant from .Legislature colleague, Lily Munro, The $1.1 million grant frons' her ministry's Community Facilities Improve - 'Tient Program i ('FI P i - will cover up to one-half the costs of the Phase I reconstruction program planned for' the county museum. • The county has previously endorsed plans to renovate and rebuild a section of the existing museum and the•pld Central School portion of the facility will; also be upgraded. This is an important initiative to enhance • the museum's role.. as a historical attraction to its many visitors, Munro said. Tenders for new construction ,:are ex- pected in mud -March and project co-. ordinator Claus Breede .said the new con- , 'struction involved in' the.first phase,' which • will create 37,000 square feet of space, will take.at least 14. months to complete. The county has cornmitted $1:•1 million to the project and Breede said•it was hoped the federal government would contribute $1 milliori,to the:project through its Culture, Initiatves_Program but there has been no indication the work quai•lifies fpr the money. It 'will take about three years to complete the reconstruction, project. Making the armouncement of the grant '• on behalf .of his cabinet colleague, Riddell - "••said -it was a pleasure to help preserve a part of the province's .heritage in his own riding. "It is'.delightful to corne and bring.:glad tidings ,through this historic. announce- ment," he. -told the gathering. "This is a unique museum and one of the largest museums• of its type in Canada•. It grew from the original schoolhouse and opened • iri'1951. I am glad the ministry could. be'of assistance to ensure that improvements, are carried out." Commenting on the fact that the grant announcement was timely in kicking off ..the province's annual Heritage' Week .which begins Feb. 16, Riddell commended the work of local politicians and officials iri formulating plans for the restoration work. ' "I commend the -hard Work and dedica- tion of area officials," he. offered. "Your efforts are most worthwhile." Health Minister Elston told the group their efforts in ••preserving the museum went beyond the mere preservation of ar- tifacts for display. "It is important to preserve this type of facility,", he said. •This type of work is preserving the sour of 0 colIniiunity which • Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Jack°Riddell and cabinet col- league, Health Minister, Murray Elston were in Goderich Friday to announce a $1.1 million grant for the restoration work at the Huron 'County Pioneer Museum. The model of the finished product is pie-. ,lured in the top photo and will he on displaysthis week. Above, Rid- dell discussed the plans with curator Ray Scotchmer and architect, 'Chris Boreal. (photos by'Dave Sykes) • is.so trnportant. We can't ever lose that. came ' here as a school 'kid and remember •I.'H. Neill welcoming us. The soul of Huron County was on display here and we all' ,have. a particular remem- brance. The storage of items here is im- portant to the people of Huron County„ and it„ is important to the development of a (•onlrnrrrlLty." Town of Goderich Reeve, Harry Worsell, now chairman of county council's museum committee, welcomed the ministers and offered his thanks to the provincial govern- ment for its support of the project. 'This is a great thing for the county of Huron and for the town of Goderich," he said. "And we're glad it's finally happening." The Huron County Pioneer Museum began in 1948 with the county's acqusition of the unique Neill collection. The facility opened with the purchase of the Central School Building in 1951. Several additions have been made to the building, which was erected in 1856: A portion of the museum was "condemn ed and later closed by county council. The renovations will mean that the Huron County -Pioneer Museum .will be open to the public on a year-round basis and an elevator will be installed for use by visitors and the handicapped. CFIP grants are awarded to non-profit comunity organizations ^to help repair and restore historical buildings, sites and bridges. County council lends support to proposals Huron County Council has agreed to add — its support to a brief Which a committee of mayors from Huron's five towns hopes will persuade the Ontario Ministry taf Transportation and Cornrnunications to improve and develop Highway 8 from Kit- chener to Goderich. ' The request for support was one of three items included in a presentation made by the committee of mayors in an appearance before council at its February meeting in Goderich. Goderich Mayor Eileen Palmer told council the Highway '8 traffic corridor must undergo improvements in order to enhance development in Perth and Huron Counties. "We understand that MT(' has land purchased and plans In place to ex- tend thefour.-lane highway frdln Kitchener to Tama Inn," she said. The Mayors intend to request that this four -lane development be extended to Stratford,. In addition, the brief will suggest a bypass at Stratford and the possibility of passing lanes in "precarious" • locations to improve the highway between the festival town and Goderich. Representatives from the municipalities in Huron and Perth Counties which border on the highway have already met with their respective MPPs, Agriculture and Food Minister .Jack Riddell and Speaker Hugh F;digoffer. The two have arranged a further meeting with Transportation Minister Ed Fulton on Thursday, Feb. 19. Mrs. Palmer said at, least five cabinet ministers are expected to .attend that meeting to hear the brief. She also extend- ed an invitation for Warden Brian McBurney to attend the meeting. Optimist Park hill termed ` w i w© er' by McCauley The hill at Optimist park was termed "a widow -maker," by one Goderich coun- cillor, as the issue of allowing tobogganing in the park surfaced once again at the Feb. 9 meeting of Goderich Town Council. Once again council. this time in a record- ed vote, re -affirmed a decision made last fall to ban tobogganing in the park to ,reduce the threat of lawsuits resulting from potential injury to tobogganers. The vdte went 4-3 in favor of retaining in the ban, with Councillors dim Searls and Glen Carey` and Mayor Eileen Palmer voting in favor of a motion to allow tobogganing, while Councillors Peter McCauley,. Bill Clifford, John Stringer and Deputy Reeve ,John Doherty voted against it. " Although the idea of reconsidering the ban was rejected when.. suggested by a local citizen at the last. rneeiing of Council Jan. 26, the issue was re -opened by a mo- tion made by Searls and seconded by Carey•........__...,.. ' .., "I again visited (he hill on Friday and I. consider it a dangerous hill," said Stringer. "•i've seen it (the hill) and I think it's a widow -maker and i certainly wouldn't allow my kids to go down it," , said McCauley. -That's negative thinking," replied Searls. If it's not safe, let's make it safe, so people can use it and enjoy the park." Searls added that while there have been no lawsuits against the town resulting from tobogganing, three suits have arisen in connection with the operation of peer tents in town. But i don't see you cutting out beer tents," Searls said. Car cy said he supported the motion because he believes council to be "running scared" in fear of litigation. He also said that while council has posted notices of the ban at the park, the, ave "not enforced tJie' Brialy,so he s the siglig *Mild l'd have little effect on reducing the impact o: • potential law suits. "'Ne know there -are still people'tobog- ganing 'in the park, but we're not doing anything about it," said Carey. "One of the difficulties.in attracting in- dustry to this county is the poor transpor- tation route up Highway 8 from Kit- chener," she said: "It is a problem that 'pertains to all of us and deserves your support." Exeter Magor Bruce Shaw. opened the committee's presentation, assuring coun- cil the mayors, were there only for "positive reasons and (to i seek your sup- port." He alluded to earlier presumptions by some members of county council that the committee's mission was to tell them] how to do their jobs. "And'again through rumor, we understand that some of you even resent .our appearance here this afternoon." As town leaders, the mayors faced many similar problems covering a broad range of issues such as policing, communica- tions, waste disposal, recreation, planning and others. They have found in the last nine months that an 'exchange of solutions and approaches could "shorten that. endless period between discussing a pro- blem and devising a successful resolution to it." The mayors' meetings were to assist each other in searching for solutions to common problems, he said.."You can see then, we are far removed from a group of subversives trying to undermine our political structures." Although some of the committee's major concerns centre on relationships with some of the neighboring townships and various departments of council, but the presentation would focus on just three specific items. The three are the Highway Turn to page 2 Separate Catholic high school under consideration for 1988 BY W ILMA OKE CLINTON - A Roman Catholic high school for Grade 9 students in Huron County could open in September, 1988, ilia vacant wing of the public high. school in Clinton. About 150 Roman Catholic ratepayers at- tended an information meeting on February 3 in Clinton to discuss the Huron -Perth Separate School Board's plan to start its se- cond high school. The first opened in September at St. Michael school in Stratford. Superintendent of education John Mc- Cauley said at least 60 of 135 pupils in Grade 7 in Huron separate schools must register ndhv for the pf oposal to go ahead, He said classroorrfs are available in an empty wing at Central Huron Secondary School in Clin- ton. The school has an enrolment of about 800, but a capacity fhr about 1,500 students. Mr. McCauley said students would be bus- ed, as at St. Michael Schhool; where some travel as far as 25 :. For after 8"010 rl programs, there is a special bus provided to deliver the students to their homes. He a*plainer some of the Catholic secon- dary schfsurl teachers with the Perth County Board of Education volunteered to transfer to the staff of St. Michael Scholl. "it was a trade ori, Ile said, "as we would hope it would happen in Huron." He said the principal would be hired to start in January, 1988•, to preparethe school to be fully operational by September, 1988. Parents have been asked to return surveys to the school by Monday, February 9, so the, board can decide whether the pro- posal has enough support. He said the hoard would report to the ministry of Education in March, with a reply expected in May. Mr. McCauley said, "We have a suc- cessful track record in Perth and we will have the same ip Huron to provide a school with a difference." Parents also watched two videos, one depicting school life at St. Michael School in Stratford and the other showing activity at a shared school in Cornwall, similar to the Huron plan. Mr. McCauley said committees from the separate and public boards have been meting regularly to discuss the proposal hi Clinton. William Eckert, Director of Education, said later he was pleased with the turnout at the meeting and encouraged that there were no negative questions asked regarding a new high school. olice catch vandals in act A window-breaking'spree during the ear- ly morning hours of Feb. 6, resulted in the • arrest of two young offenders by Goderich Police Friday morning, • Around 2 :.m., u resident in the area of Robertson school contacted police to report the sound of breaking glass. Police responded and, after a foot chase through - some backyards, Goderich Constable George Lonsbary arrested a juvenile found hiding in a nearby yard-. Police ar- rested the second _youth around 9 a.in. that morning. 'l'he youths were charged with acts of vandalism connected to the breaking of •nine windows at Robertson School ,and three private homes around. town. Goderich Police Sgt. Harry HilgendorfT said the first suspect was remanded in custody while the second was released, pending court appearance. He said the vandals, used sticks, stones and in one case a snow shovel, to break the windows. Sgt. Ililgendorff credits the quick response of the citizen reporting the inci- dent with aiding in the eventual arrests. Charity bowling event Saturaay Most of -the bowling ,done 111 Goderich this Week means more to the participants than the rise and fall of their averages. From. Feb. 8 to 14. arca bowler's are par- tic'ipating in the annual Big Brothers Bowl for Millions event,. in support of the North Huron Big Brothers Association. Money raised through, pledges during ;the week is used, to send fatherless boy.; to camp. The week is 'capped off w ith a celebrity bowling day • at Little Bow ,.in Goderich. this Saturday. Phis weekend will be a busy one around town, with the annual Snowblitz 'Winter Weekend also underway. Events include a Valentine Pancake Hr,cakfast, Snowpitch Tournarhlent, Curling Fun I) iy and Trivial Pursuit Tournament. Vor:ih,formation-con- tactthe Goderich Ij'.ecreation Department. • Storm closes areahighways Wind speeds' in the neighborhood of 90 kilometres per. hour caused' blowing; snow and drifting, resulting: in the'.closure of most area highways for several hours Sun- day. However, the,G'oderich Ontario. Pro- vincial Police detachment reports handl-, ing only ones"very minor'' accident during the day. Highway 21 north and south of Goderich . and highway 8 from Goderich te'Seaforth, were closed from around noon hour until early evening on Feb. 8. The only main road in the are which remained.open was Highway 4, from Clinton to Exeter.. . "We had a very good day," said,Corp. Chuck Vessey of the Goderich detachment, who credits the quick .closur of roads with keeping the accident tally during the' storm so low.'• ,_:i(_ar: At Vikings defeated The (f)CJ Senior Vikings basketball team lost for the first time this season in a hard-fought match against Stratford Cen- tral here Friday night. Viking team cap- tain Todd Graham led his team's scoring with 20 points, but watched as they were defeated by a score of 46-45. For story and picture, see the Sports' section. Exchange students Many Europeans 'dream of visiting" Canada just as much as Canadians dream of travelling to F'uropean destinations. For Sanna l,andenpera of Finland,d Nina C'larin of Swed --4- oderteir' 1las become their home -away -from -home for one year in an 'exchange program. For story and pictures; see the front page of the Community section,