Loading...
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.