HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-07-08, Page 1133 YEAR -27
WEDNESDAY, JULY &,1981
60
SartOOM(
Councils face big
challenge MPP says
BY SHARON DIETZ
Municipal councils face a "tremendous challenge"
ahead because of government cutbacks; observed
Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron -Middlesex when he ad-
dressed the June session of county council Thursday.
Riddell warned municipal councils will • see cut-
backs by both provincial and federal governments,
meaning municipalities will not be able to rely as
heavily on the funds available from these govern-
ments to support many off the cost-sharing programs
in place.
"Both governments have backed themselves into a
financial corner," said Riddell, "and they have little
' room to manoeuvre."
Riddell made his comments to council at their last
session before the summer recess,, a meeting when
past wardens and local members of parliament are
guests of council for the day.
Riddell said the transfer offesponsibility for able-
bodied welfare clients back tb the municipality from
• family benefits, is one more indication where more
respdnsibi:lity will be placed'on local mainteipalities.
County council learned at their meeting that it was
announced recently that the province will begin
negotiations shortly to transfer this responsibility to
local municipalities. The ministry will be setting up.
pilot projects in the province to work out the details of
transferring cases back and the changes to take place
within the current cost-sharing areas.
Council approved a social services committee
reconrfinendation that the . Social services ad-
ministrator contact the Ministry of Community and
Social Services, indicating Huron County's will-
ingness to participate in a pilot project to transfer
some Family Benefit Assistance responsibility back
to the municipal level and request additional infor-
mation.
Bob Allen, chairman of the social services' commit-
tee, said it is the desire of the committee that Huron
County become involved in the transfer from the
beginning. He said it is a distinct advantage for the
county to be in on the ground floor.
Turn to page 5
1
Harold Lapointe of London, a 60 -year-old disabled
war veteran, pedalled to Goderich last Friday
after starting a 6,000 kilometre cycle tour on
Wednesday. He says he will complete the fund-
raising tour for the Thames Valley Children's
Centre on Labor Day. (Jason Ainslie photo)
War veteran .cycles
torealize dream
BY JASON AINSLIE
Harold Lapointe believes a dream isn't a dam
unr
less you do something about it.
So he pedalled away from London on Friday
morning on a 6,000 km cycle trip to spread the
message, word of mouth, of his dream.
Mr. Lapointe is proposing to raise a million
dollars over the next five years to furnish one floor
of the crippled children's c ntre which is to be
relocated at London's Wes minter Veterans'
Hospital within the next decade.
The 60 -year-old war veteran said there are two
purposes to his journey. "I want to furnish a new
floor in the centre," he said, "and in the foyer of
the veterans' hospital, I want to leave a scroll
naming all southwestern Ontario's war dead since
Confederation."
And his plans are well charted. Thames Valley
Children's Centre cares for an average of 1,100
children each year and Mr. Lapointe feels the nine
counties through which he's pedalling should
contribute $1,000 over five years for each of the
children.` He said Huron County's objective over
the next five 'Years should be$75060. •
"I wanted to, leave a tvar memorial that could be
v.
6
used 365`days of the year," he said. "When our
grandchildren see a veterans' hospital, I don't
want them to forget what it is."
..'When Terry Fox was in London last year, I told
him of my dream," the disabled veteran said,
"and he said `there's only One way to see it done -
and that's'todo it'."
Now, a year later and armed with Terry's Sp ' it
and his own determination, Harold Lapointe will
pedal 6,000 kilometres with only the aid of a leg
brace, his momento of a World War Two plane
crash over Belgium. '
His tour will include the counties of Oxford,
Middlesex, Bruce, Huron, Perth, Elgin, Lambton,
Kent and Essex, and he is counting on 150 area
Legion branches to act as collection agencies and
promoters for his fund-raising efforts.
Mr. Lapointe said he is not suggesting what the
legions should do to raise money, but if any
branch wants him to lead off a bike-a-thon or other
fund .ra•iser next summer, he'll be more than
willing to participate.
For this ride, however, he °is not soliciting
donations, but he's wflling tb, collect donations
along the route. He said'he will complete his ride
on Labor Day.
12 F
'township boy
killed on farm
A six-year-old Mifieid Township boy was killed
Saturday as he assisted his parents with haying on
their farm near Dungannon.
Jason William Culbert, 6, son of M. and Mrs.
James Cidbert, R.R. 1 •Dungannon, died Saturday.
after he became . caught .In an elevator machanhan
and was pulled under an iron bar opt the. machine.
The accident happened on the Culbert farm after 6
p.m. Saturday as 'JIMCulbert, his wife Simon and
their son were loading hay into a -mow. The Ontario
Provincial Police reported the child was ,tiding on
the elevator to get to the loft to help his father load
hay when he got caught up in the mechanism.
The parents and a neighbour had'ib employ theme
of cutting tools to free the boy from the loading
elevator. He was rushed to Alexandra Marine and
General Hospital by ambulance and was pronounced
dead on arrival. •
Beautiful weather on the weekend brought many people to the public
beach, and although many thought the water was too refreshing for a
plunge, Roger Lewis and Becky Vanstone of Goderich didn't mind doing a
tandem dive off the diving board at the end of the south pier. (Jason
Ainslie photo)
Strike' could last all sum'rner
All lettef carriers receive layoff notice due to strike
Local residents, along with all fellow Canadians,
may have to face the summer without mail delivery.
The Canadian Union of Postal•Workers took to the
picketiinesast Mondaeffectively shutting off any
mail service across the country: The inside postal
workers are in a legal strike, position and have
refused to return to the bargaining table until the
Government accepts recommendations contained in
, a conciliation board report.
Conciliation board chairman, Pierre Jasmin, had
recol°hmended that a new deal with CUPW include 17
weeks paid maternity leave, a 12th statutory holiday
on, January'2, .four weeks vacation after five years
service and 'an improved plan rfor premium pay for
shift work.
But Treasury Board President, Don Johnston, is
not willing to negotiate or make concessions on the
• conciliation board recommendations. Johnston was .
willing to return to th -gaining table to discuss=the
issue of maternity is but the union is seeking
acceptance of the entire conciliation board report. -
Johnston admitted this week that the mail strike
could feasibly last all summer and is firm in his •
stand on not legislating the postal employees back to
work. • '
He said the Government is ' willing to negotiate
many of the recommendations, inducting wages, but
it will not accept the report as the basis for future
negotiations. The liberals have legislated the postal
employees back to work before. They did it in 1975
after a six -Week strike and in 1978,when a legal strike
was just one -day old.
In essence, the postal system is now void of any
service. Goderich postmaster Mel Farnsworth. said
Tuesday that letter carriers were laid off as of Friday
and there are no clerks at the post office.
"There are no clerks at the post office. here and
there is no rural service!' be said. "The only ones on •
duty are a supervisor, secretary and myself."
There has been talk that the entire postal system
would shut down ,but Farnsworth ' said . that no .
directives have been issuedin that regard.
Saginaw man gets life imprisonment
A Saginaw Michigan man, convicted of second
degree murder in the death of his former wife, was
sentenced to life imprisonment in a Michigan court
last week:
Gene Woodward, 29,, of Long Island, New. York and
"formerly, of Saginaw will serve the life sentence
handedown by circuit court. Judge Joseph
McDonalfi, at the State Prison of South Michigan in
Jackson.
The, murder investigation was launched by the
Goderich detachment of the OPP 'in March 1980 when
the charred remains of a woman's body was found
lying near an overturned tree on Horizon View Road.
about 25 kilometres north of Goderich. inAshfield
Township.
Constable, Gary Martin headed the investigation
and a set of wedding rings provided the only clues to
the victim's identity. Although the body was burned,
a composite sketch was prepared and released.
The wedding rings were eventually traced to the
manufacturer in Akron, Ohio with a market area that
included Ohio, Kentucky, Maryland and . West
Virginia. Police eventually traced the purchase of the
'rings to a jewellery store in Saginaw; Michigan and
the victim was identified as Kimberly Jean • Wood-
ward, 24, of Carollton near Saginaw. She was missing
since February 19,1980..
Fallowing identification of the victim, a warrant
was issued for the arrest of her ex-husband. Gene
Woodward was reported to have left Michigan and
travelled to Texas and then Long Island, New York.
About a month after« the discovery of ° the body;
Woodward was arrested by Nassau County Police at
the home of his father on Long Island. •
The investigation in Ontario was headed by
Inspector Judson of the OPP and witnesses at the
Police will enforce seatbelt
legislation. in Goderich
Sergeant JcrryyUilgendor€f of the Goderich Police
Force was one of 83 police officers who met Thur-
sday, June 25 with Solicitor General Roy McMurtry in
Toronto for a one -day seminar on increasing the
wearing of seat belts in Ontario.
Enforcement of the seat belt legislation has been'
reduced signific4ntly by many police forces across
the province. When the law came into effect in 1976,
about 79 per cent of Untarians used seat belts. That
figure now stands at 55' per cent as of June 1981.
Statistics have shown that traffic deaths on highways
have increased as seat belk use has declined.
As a result of these statistics,. McMurtry instructed
those officers attending the one -day seminar to start
laying more seat belt charges instead of handing out
warnings.
"July, August and September are referred to as the •
'deadly months' on our streets and highways. I would
therefore urge all motorists and passengers to buckle
up and help reduce the number of deaths on our high-
ways." says Hilgendorff.
"While it is a known fact that the wearing of a seat
belt will not prevent a motor vehicle accident, it has
been proven that it can reduce the number of
fatalities and serious injuries.
"I would also urge those motorists who insist on
driving with small children standing on theseats to
make a much better attempt at restraining them,
instead of turning them into human catapults."
At present.there is no'legislation covering children
under five years of age and weighing less than 50
pounds because seat belts are' unsuitable for them.
The Goderich Police Force will be following the
Solicitor General's . instructions by stricter en-
forcement and by introducing educational programs
nn the seat belt legislation.
Gird killed, boy injured in farm accidents
In a separate farm accident Wednesday, a Strat-
ford girl died after falling off a ladder on a steel
granary as she played with friends on'a McKillop
township farm.
Lisa Plante, 7, of R.R. 1, Stratford died at Victoria
Hospital London after she fell eight feet from the
ladder and struck her head on ,a hard object.
Goderich OPP reported the youngster was visiting
friends with her parents. She was first taken to
Seaforth Hospital by annbulance and latggl� tran-
sferred to Victoria Hospital, London where The died
Thursday.
A Colborne Township boy remains in University
Hospital, London following a farm accident Wed-
nesday.
Goderich OPP reported that Todd Jeffrey, 13, was
riding on the fender of a' tractor, driven by his cousin
Robert Jeffrey, when the tractor went through a
furrow, thefender broke and Todd fell under the rear
wheel. The accident occurred at 9 a.m. Ally 1.
Todd was rushed to Alexandra Marine and General
Hospital and later transferred to University Hospital.
London.
l
.three -week -trial were from. Ontario, Michigan, New
York, Texas and Arizona.
Police relied on the work of several area experts in
making, positive identification of the -victim: An
• autopsy on the body was performed in London and
• Dr. .George Wysocki of the University of, Western
Ontario .tracked dental charts of the victim before
positive identification was made. A local jeweller was.
also instrumental in tracing the ring manufacturer.
INSIDE THE
SIGNAL -STAR
0
d
A sew -sew job
A Victoria, British Columbia native has land-.
ed a. sew -sew job in Ontario that hag her
designing and sewing costumes for the Blyth
Summer Festival. Joanne Buchanan talked to
Kerry Hackett about her_unique summer job
as a costume designer and seamstress and
the story appears on Page 1A.
Elderhostel
A local couple recently participated in the
Elderhostel program, taking courses• at a
'university in Newfoundland. The McHolms of
R.R. 2 Goderich said it was the most fabulous
experience of their lives. The complete sto-y
appears on Page 1'A.
17.1attgarRiackaATIME7.911111S. PAN. ag2tar f.7
Notice
. During the postal strike, payment for in-
voices from Signal -Star Publishing Limited
may be left at the ,Bank of Montreal in
Goderich.