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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-05-12, Page 1UOUerlC:t I�I�JA GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 1982 Hearing dismissed by OMB chairman A proposed Ontario Municipal Board hearing into restricted area bylaws 32 and 33 of 1981 was dismissed here yesterday when OMB chairman C. G. Sharron ruled that land owners in the area were improperly served with notice. Bylaw 32 , which was passed by council April 13, ,, 1981, rezones a parcel of land along the Suncoast Drive extension from development to industrial M1-3. The purpose of the bylaw was to open up additional lands in the industrial park for industrial develop- ment. However, since the parcel of land abuts the residential area of Dawnrose Drive, the range of industrial uses was restricted to those capable of meeting higher performance and site planning standards to ensure compatibility with the residential area. Within that zoning some of the permitted uses in- cluded a warehouse, industrial mall,fire hall, com- munications facility, parking lot, recreational facility, textile plant and a woodworking or upholstery shop. _ Restricted area bylaw 33 redesignates a parcel of land south of the Suncoast Drive extension from developmental to Industrial M1-4. There were two objections to bylaw 32 and a group of 44 petitioners submitted an objection to both bylaws. Only one of the objectors was present at the hearing Monday. tiuwevei, Sharron dismissed the hearing on the bylaws claiming that all owners were not properly served notice of the rezoning. Prior to the hearing on the matter, town counsel, Dan Murphy informed the chairman that one of the landowners within the 400 foot circulation area; had purchased a property subsequent to the circulation of the bylaw. The owner, who lives in Zurich, was not served with notice, but the tenants and- tormer owners of the property, were served. Sharron,said the matter would have to be dismissed and thtown would have to apply for another hearing, after all affected owners are served with notice of the intention to redesignate the properties in question. "It's improper notice and you'd have to do it again," he said. "It's sad, but true. We will have to nullify the matter because the courts are, on us for improper notice. My hands are tied." The town will now apply to the OMB for another hearing into the matter. Earlier in the day, the board chairman heard evidence on an appeal of a decision of the committee, of adjustment. - The committee had granted a.,minor variance to Ken Fisher of Lighthouse Street to construct an addition to his residence. That decision was appealed by neighbours Mr. and Mrs. Roy Burchill. Chairman Sharron said he will submit a written decision on the matter at a later date. 50 CENTS PER COPY a Farm leaders ask government for credit BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE HOLMESVILLE One billion dollars for farm credit at a 10 per cent interest rate will be requested at an upcoming meeting between farm leaders and federal government officials. Merle Gunby, an• executive director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture told the Huron Federation at its, May 6 meeting, •60 farm leaders from across -C-anada---will--deet vr-it-h--finance.--sinister.-.Allan MacEachen later this month. Mr. Gunby was not sure if Mr. MacEachen would beat the meeting, but said there would be other government officials present. Send letters in support of the request to Huron - Bruce MP Murray : Cardiff, with copies to Mr. MacEachen and Prime ' Minister Pierre Trudeau, Mr. Gunby urged farmers. The important thing is for the farm community to stand behind the request, he said. The $1 billion figure is the minimum said Mr. Gun - by,. and is not very much when spread oilt across Canada. "It's an opportunity to do something without leav- ing home," said Huron federation president Gerry fortune. Mr. Gunby said consideration had been given to a march, but its effectiveness ,was questioned. He said .a march may be considered as a last resort to press for financial assistance for farmers from the govern- ment. The federation also heard from member Doug Gar- niss, who met earlier that day with Ontario's agriculture minister Dennis Timbrell to discuss absentee land ownership. -- _He__as_one_of_three representatives.o£_Cmncerned. Farmers for Ontario ' Farmland, an independent - group. The group of about 15. evolved from.a recent seminar of the Huron. Federation and the Rural Development Outreach Project. ' . Concerns raised with Mr. Timbrell- included non - Canadian absentee ownership and non -family farm corporate ownership. The concerned farmers sug- gested these groups be restricted to 10 acres and that real estate reporting be strengthened to enable closer monitoring of the situation. While Mr. Timbrell was responsive, Mr. Garniss said the minister didn't want to restrict foreign in- vestment. Mr. Timbrell suggested foreign absentee owners have smaller shares, and Mr. Garniss said more timewould be needed to consider the sugges- tions. Building statistics improve According to Ken Hunter, Goderich's Chief 1.w!rling Official, 1981 was the best year for con- struction in Goderich since 1975. At ' a recent meeting of Goderich town council Hunter presented a summary of building permits that have been issued since 1974. According to Hunter 1975 "was the town's bumper year for building permits." That year 68 houses valued at $1,918,300 were constructed and permits ,were issued for commercial construction with a total value of $1,399,000. Total value of construction was $5,134,615 and the ritnell Selected as new member The Ontario Police Commission has announced that Jim Britnell of Goderich hal been appointed to serve on the Goderich Police Commission. In a letter to council, OPC chairman Shaun MacGrath announced that the appointment, effective April 14, was for two years. The appointment by the OPC follows the/ - resignation of Huron County Court judge F.G. Carter in March of this year. Judge Carter, who sat on the commission for nine years, resigned in March saying his involvement with police negotiations might jeopardize his position as a judge. He also found it difficult to sit on the commission and handle police business while not being able to publicly defend the decisions or actions of the commission. Britnell, 53, is well known in Goderich and formerly worked as an engineer for the County of Huron. He has served on municipal committees and ran in the provincial election in March of 1981. At the regular meeting of council Monday, coun- cillor Jim Searls said that members should be elected to the police commission rather than appointed by the government. city collected $14,539 in fees. Although there was only one house built in 1981, total construction was valued at $3,855,425.40 and, total fees collected were $15,757. Industrial construction was valued at $2,505,640. Residential repairs were valued at $390,650.40 which implies that residents are improving their present house rather than buying a new one: According to Hunter, building permits for the first three months of 1982 total just shy of $1,000,000 compared to $36,900 in 1981 which represents an in- crease of 2,595 per cent. Jim Britnell. There's been a lot of clownin' around in school these days. Several area elementary schools have been staging variety shows and spring plays and some of those performances are highlighted inside the paper. Here, a Brookside School clown entertains during that school's concert. ( staff photo' Bicycle thefts reported to police Local police report six thefts during the week. Five of these were bicycles. There were also four incidents of wilful damage, two involving windows broken by beer bottles and two involving road signs which were knocked over. There was also one minor drug offence, three minor car accidents and one criminal driving offence. Police made three arrests and laid two criminal charges, five liquor charges, 11 Highway Traffic Act charges, two 12 -hour suspensions and 23 bylaw charges for parking offences. They also issued 14 warnings. The Goderich detachment of the OPP rPnnrt three break-ins during the week, one involving a cottage in Colborne Township during which a $400 boat and motor were stolen. There was also one incident of wilful damage in which a mailbox in Ashfield Township was set on fire. The OPP laid six liquor charges and issued four 12 - hour suspensions. They also investigated one minor car accident and one minor theft. This is Police Week and a safety trailer from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications will be in Court House Park on the Square until Friday. It is open to the public and will feature police in- formation on safety, etc. Councilewants to retain bridges. BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE GODERICH - All avenues are now being explored to retain two Huron County bridges as historical sites. At Huron County council's April 29 meeting, the road committee reported efforts are being made to determine the historical value of both the Ball's Bridge and Forrester's Bridge. Ball's Bridge, located on County Road 15 is con- sidered to be the only one of its kind in Ontario, hav- ing wrought iron in its structure, while Forrester's Bridge on County Road 31 is considered to be of a more common type, but it is an old bridge. The county had received a letter from Goderich asking for consideration of retaining the bridges as historical sites. "I fail to see the sense in asking the government for In other road committee business, council approv- ed the following tenders, Towland Construction for a total price of $307,260 for hot mix paving on Huron County Road 11; Lavis Contracting Limited, Clinton - for hot mix resurfacing on county road 13. at a price of $307,719; George Radford Construction Limited, Blyth for a supply of granular A gravel at a price of $18,425 and to Joe Kerr Construction. Wingham for the rental of a front end loader at an hourly rate of $9 per cubic yard bucket size. money (to restore the bridge) when the government fails to come up with the money needed to maintain the current road system," said Stanley Township Reeve Paul Steckle. • Hay Township Reeve Lloyd Mousseau agreed. He doesn't know how the money to retain the bridges is to be obtained. Minister announces BILD grant Transportation and CoMmunication Minister, James Snow announced that a subsidy grant under the Board of Industrtiai'h dership and Development program (BILD has been ardezl to Godertelt. The grant of $148,000 will be used for the develop- ment of a terminal building and equipment garage at the Goderich Municipal Airport. The cost of the terminal building is estimated at $80,000 while con- struction of the equipment garage is estimated at $120,000 for a total of $200,000. . The°terminal-building and the first two bays of the equipment garage are subsidized at 80 per cent by the program and the third bay of the equipment garage is subsidized at 50 per cent. OPP seek help in death of woman The Ontario Provincial Pollee Detachment "at Goderich is continuing an investigation into the death of Patricia Henry, age 39 of Goderich, Ontario. Mrs. Henry was found by a passing motorist, lying on Huron County Road 8 north of Clinton. The fatal injuries sustained by Mrs. Henry are believed to have occurred early in the morning of February 19,1' =2. Any person with information that would assist the Police in determining how these fatal injuries oc- curred, is asked to contact the Goderich Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police immediately. lniformation received in this. investigation will be treated as confidential. The continuing co-operation of the public in Police investigations' is an essential ingredient to effective law enforcement. Your co-operation may assist the Police to bring this investigation to a just conclusion. Council accepts tenders for road construction, .trucks Goderich town council accepted a tender from C.A. McDowell Construction Ltd. for the reconstruction of a number of streets. The bid of $323,836 was the lowest of eight tenders submitted for the reconstruction of parts of North, Nelson, Gibbons, South, Regent, Maple and Cam- bridge Streets. The tender calls for the installation of storm sewers on some streets and curbing and paving. The project still requires approval from the Ontario Municipal Board. Council also accepted two tenders for the purchase of a five -ton truck andya pickup truck. A bid of $18,371..90 from Hayter Che:' -Olde for the five -ton truck was accepted and the McGee Pontiac Buick bid of $10,528.80 for the three-quarter ton pickup truck was also accepted. Members of council also decided to tender for bids on the emergency van formerly used by the Goderich Fire Department. Council received estimates on the value of the van from three local dealers that ranged from $750 to $2,500. The Bayfield Fire Department is also interested in purchasing the 1969 model van and have offered $501. Council decided to seek bids on the emergency van. Council, supports marina expansion A to expand the facilities at Maitland V: • • Marina and Trailer Park hail received support wn council. :.._Jn..a letterttrcouncil, R R.It,Peever.said. the eve rs. , have ,applied for assistance through , the provincial BILD program under the .• Marina . Assistance Program, administered. by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Peever said that furtherdevelnpment of the marina and parte would increase trips to Goderich by tran- sient boaters and make it a final destination area for vacationing boaters. The development plans' for the marina are substantial and: include transient dock space, a swimming pool, club house, travelift well, mast hoist and channel protection along the Maitland. River and at the entrance to the lake. • If approved, funds from the `BILD program would be used for the construction of docks, improvements to the channel, the construction of a travelift wetland protection at the entrance to the lake. Approval was required from the town for the development and ,Peever indicated in the letter that some of the work • may be started this summer. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR Mustang painted This Mark IV Mustang fighter was repainted in Goderich and took off last week for the Canadian Warbirds Heritage Museum in Mount Hope. The World War I1 fighter was repainted in the colors of the Hamilton reserve squadron. Seasons started The softball and soccer seasons got underway this weekend and ail the scores. details and pictures are available on the Recreation page. Athletes win Athletes at GDCI turned inseveral outstanding performances in sporting events the past week. The cheerleader's, badminton team and track and -NM field participants brought championships to the school. Pictures and details are on the Recreation page.