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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-06-23, Page 11._ Canada Week eelebrations begin BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The Goderich Tourist Committee, klecreation Department and several service clubs have been working hard all year to develop a Canada Week program that offers something for everyone. This year there are several reasons for celebration, points out Tourist Committee Chairman Doug Bundy. June 29 is the town's 155th birthday. July 1 is Canada's 115th birthday. And the country's con- stitution has been repatriated. Canada Week also gives the town a chance to host a delegation from its sister city, Bay City, Michigan. The week literally `kicks -off' Saturday, June 26 with an old-timers soccer tournament at agricultural park. This day -long tournament includesteams from all over Ontario and admission is free. ' At the Goderich Municipal Airport the same day there is a fly -in breakfast sponsored by the Experimental Aircraft Association. Breakfast is the available from 8-11 a.m. In the evening at 7 p.m. there will be a band concert in Court House, Park featuring the GDCI stage band with lots of Big Band numbers. At the end of the program there will be an exhibition of modern square dancing with caller Glen Patterson and the Goderich Squares. At the Legion on Saturday night, The Billy Meek Show will feature entertainment, old-style English pub singing, food and dancing. Tickets are available from Legion members at $7 per person. At dusk on Saturday at the Goderich harbor there will be a giant fireworks displayfeattaring over $2,000 worth of fireworks. This was funded bya $1,500 grant from the Secretary of State and donations from local citizens. . The Goderich Lions Club will host a pancake break- fast Sunday morning from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Court House, Park. This includes pancakes, sausages and coffee for $2. A civic ceremony will take place in Court House Park at 1:15 p.m. Member's of parliament, local dignitaries and Bay City dignitaries will be welcomed. There will also be a flag raising and a tree. planting to honor the repatriation of Canada's con- stitution. Music will be provided by the Clinton Legion Pipe Band and the Goderich Laketown Band. The Founders Day parade will start at 2 p.m.,. forming up on Elgin Avenue and following the same route as the Santa Claus parade. There will be floats, clowns and bands including the Seaforth Girls Daum and. Bugle Band which will be travelling to the Calgary Stampede this year. Last minute entries -into the parade can be accepted at the recreation office (524-2125). The Lions Club will hold a beef barbecue in Court House Park from 2-7 p.m. featuring full -course beef dinners with dessert and beverages or just beef -on -a - bun. The Goderich Arts Foundation will sponsor a strawberry social at the Livery Theatre from 3-6 p.m. featuring fresh strawberries, cake, ice cream and beverages. So, you can enjoy a beef dinner on The Square, then walk across the street to the Livery Theatre for dessert and a tour of the building. At 7 p.m. there will be another band concert in Court House Park, this time featuring the Knights of Jazz from Kincardine. Anytime during the week, people are invited to drop into the Welcome Centre to pick up a guide for a self -conducted walking or cycling tour of the town. The guide will help you learn a bit about the history of Goderich and its residents and enjoy the picturesque beauty of the "Prettiest Town in Canada". The week wraps up on July 1, 2 and 3 with the Goderich and District Optimist Club's annual Music Festival and Friends (for more information on this, see the recreation pages). • 134 YEAR -25 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1982 50 CENTS PER COPY There's plenty of construction work going in Goderich daring the summer and the extent of that work will escalate in the coming weeks. Motorists have undoubtedly noticed a detour at the corner of South Street and Elgin Avenue where workers are busy installing new storm sewers along South Street to Britannia Road. The above photograph is a picture of the construction shot through one of the sections of sewer pipe. ( Photo by Dave Sykes) Hydro opts for land preservation By Stephanie Levesque Nev Ontario Hydro transmission lines won't be going through Huron and Perth counties. Preserving prime agricultural 'land is the main reason the Consolidated Hearings Board favors Plan M3 for the building of transmission lines in South- western Ontario. That and other reasons were given in a report by the board released June 18 in Stratford. The plan chosen, which now has to be approved by the Ontario Cabinet, includes a 500 KV double circuit line from Bruce Nuclear Power Development to Essa transformer station, through Bruce and Grey counties to Barrie, two 500 KV single circuit lines from Nanticoke generating station to a new London area transformer station through the Ilaldimand- Norfolk Region and Oxford County. And a 500 KV double circuit line from Middleport transformer station to Milton transformer station through the Hamilton -Wentworth area. To reduce the impact on specialty crops east of London ( tobacco ), the board suggests the Highway 401 right-of-way from London to Milton be included in the route stage study area. This suggestion originated from the Foodland-Hydro committee. The detailed route 'stage study, after cabinet ap- proval, is Hydro's next step. It will work with municipalities and interested groups to establish an exact route. In the board's report, two of the three members favored plan M3 while chairman B. E. Smith favored plan ' M1. This plan, which covers the area from BNPD to London through Huron County east of Seaforth, is also Hydro's preferred route. It received support from other groups including Huron County Council. But at hearings held in Stratford this past winter, agricultural concerns were presented by several groups. The Goodland-Hydro committee under chairman Tony McQuail of RR1 Lucknow proposed a modified version of M3. The committee suggested M3's proposed line from NPD to Essa remain, but that existing lines from M ton to London be updated. Two members of the bo rd .S. Colbourne and D. H. McRobb, both are also members of the . Ontario Municipal Board, state in the report, "Becau,se of the high priority we attach to the agrjculturalfindustry, we have concluded that considerable weight should be given to the preservation ,,r prin:ie agricultural land." Considering this, the two board members narrowed their choice to plans M4 and M3. "Although plan M4 affects the least number of hectares of both prime agricultural land and total agricultural land, we are persuaded to select the companion plan M3 because it ranks better in geographic diversity and especially at Buchanan ( near London), employs more 500 KV lines than plan M4 and ranks second in total length of right-of-way. Plan M3 also requires slightly fewer towers than plan M4 and possesses the best capacity to supply load after the horizon year 2000. While plan M3 affects more in total hectares of agricultural land than plan M4, in avoiding prime agricultural lands in an area which is predominantly agricultural, it is not possible to avoid the lower ranked agricultural lands," stated . the report. Other advantages of M3 'noted in the board's report, indicate it has the best ability, (of the six plans suggested by Hydro) any of which they have said they could live with to supply power beyond the year 2000 and aids in supplying power to Northern Ontario. While the number of towers for M3 is' high com- pared to the other six, 1,816 towers compared to Mi which proposes 1,188 towers, board members Colbourne and McRobb note it is one of the best for mowers located on prime agricultural lands. Defending. Ml, chairman Smith states in the report that it is best for a variety of environmental concerns. Turn to page 2 Airport buildings could be constructed by November BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Plans are moving along qpickly for the new ter- minal building and maintenaVlce garage to be built at the Goderich Municipal Airport. Tenders, for the two projects close at noon July 19 to be opened and approved by town council that evening. Completion date for both buildings could be as early as the end of November. At an airport committee meeting last Wednesday evening, elevation and floor plans for the two buildings were studied and costs discussed, The three -bay maintenance garage 'Will be almost identical in appearance to the Colborne Township garage. The terming, building will) be brick and glass with wood accent. Total cost for the two projects is $200,000 but a provincial BILA grant will reduce the town's share to $36,000. The airport committee had budgeted $34,000 for the projects but has since received another $12,500 maintenance program grant from the provincial government bringing their budget total for the projeets to $46,500. Furniture for the new terminal will be budgeted for next year. Some concern has been expressed about obtaining building permits for the two new buildings since. Colborne Township's zoning by-law is not in place yet. However, Colborne Township Clerk Hudson Milburn says he foresees no impediments. In other business at Wednesday night's meeting, airport co-ordinator Ed Scruton informed the com- mittee that Business Air Services had completed its move to Toronto at the erld of May thus reducing gas sales at the airport considerably. Scruton also informed the committee about a fly -in breakfast at the Goderich airport planned for Saturday, June 26 from 8-11 a.m. He said the break- fast had been arranged between the Goderich Tourist Committee and the Experimental Aircraft Association. Pilots who fly into Goderich in home - built aircraft will receive free breakfast. As many as 400 people and 50-10) itinerant aircraft are expected, weather permitting. Scruton suggested that the airport committee offer a draw on a free tank of gas to the out-of-town pilots as a public relations gesture. The committee agreed to this but with a $25 ceiling. , Champion announces permanent layoffs Seventy-two employees of Champion Road Machinery Ltd. will lose their jobs when the grader manufacturing company closes for a three-week vacation period beginning Friday, July 16. The employees . were notified by the company Friday that they would be in a permanent layoff position July16 when the plant closes for vacation. A company official said an extended shutdown for. vacation is not planned and employees will return to work Tuesday, August 10.y Executiv , viee-prOsid`eht, lain Bain said a poor ora& book necessitated- .the 'permanent, layoffs and added that ' I. can't see anything changing for a while." The layoffs follow a decision by more than 700. employees to grant wage concessions to the company to make the grader manufacturer more competitive on a slow world market. Employees agreed to a 10 per cent cut in wages and salaries for a six-month period effective June 1, a move that would save the company $1 million. But, the order book is severely lacking and Bain said there's no indication that situation will improve immediately. "There is a definite lack of orders and things are very, very slow. We are living from week to week," he said. "The orders just aren't out there at the moment." The cofrnpany has also applied for the federal government's work -sharing program which offers the participating company to reduce the work week by one to three days while employees receive unemployment insurance benefits for the days not worked. The company has made three applications to the program and, if approved, the program could be in place by August when production resumes after the three-week shutdown. Bain said Champion has not received any word with respect to the work -sharing program. The notified employees were part of the production staff. Bain said that general economic conditions have made financing difficult and the company has no=big orders on the books. Let PUC pay for overtime Goderich town council will take a tough stand ' against enforcing the watering restriction bylaw. At its regular meeting Monday, council put the PUC on notice that it will not pay overtime to bylaw control officer Dick Eisler to enforce the watering restriction bylaw. Unless the PUC can forward good reason for theenforcement of the bylaw the town will bill the PUC for the overtime or stop enforcing the bylaw. In answer to a question raised by councillor John Doherty, administrator Larry McCabe told council that bylaw officer Eisler is enforcing the water bylaw and in many cases is paid an overtime rate to enforce the restrictions in the evening. Doherty said that if the town is paying for overtime to restrict the use of water, the PUC should be billed for the amount. McCabe suggested council should first determine the exact amount of overtime paid before issuing' an ultimatum to the PUC. Jim Searis said the PUC is in a. position to hire studentsto enforce the bylaw during the summer months, a program in place in other municipalities. The town should not be responsible for enforcing a watering bylaw, councillor Glen Carey said, adding that something must be done about the problem now. "We should put the PUC on notice that if there is no good reason why we should pay Eisler overtime, then we will bill them or stop enforce g the bylaw," he said. The PUC is not an enforcement agency, councillor Stan Profit pointed out adding that it was council's decision to enforce the bylaw. "The question is whether or not we will pay over- time to enforce the bylaw," he said. " But it looks like 'we are just looking for something to bill the PUC for." Watering restrictions are imposed during the summer months to insure that an adequate supply of water is available for fire fighting. But, as Mayor Harry Worsell pointed out, if it keeps raining, the town won't have to worry about enforcing restric- tions. tHMininer open senior citizen complex Cluade F. Bennett, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, will be in Goderich Thursday\July 15 to officially open the new senior 'citizens apartment complex. The senior citizens apartment complex, a. project of the Ontario Housing Corporation, was completed last suanmer but official ceremonies will be held July 15 at 11 a:m. Following the opening of the apartment complex, Bennett- will treat members -of` town couricir and_ ___ former members of the Huron County Housing authority to dinner at the Bedford Hotel. After dinner, council will take Bennett 'on` a -brief tour of the town to view work completed through the Neighbourhood Improvement Program and the Community Services Contribution Program. The town has taken advantage of these programs to complete a wide range of hard and soft service •„.. construction projects. Administrator Larry McCabe estimates Bennett's ministry has given the town $2.5 million over the last four years. Council will also present Bennett with a small gift. Unemployment rate drops in ,region The unemployment rate for the midwestern On- tario region which includes Huron and Perth was 7.301 per cent in May, down from the April rate of 8.4 per cent. Statistics Canada released May employment figures on June 4. The total labor force of the economic region in May was 300,000, of which 278,000 were employed. The region includes the area north of London, south of Georgian Bay and west of Kit- chener. The regional figures are beer than both the na- tional and provincial figures. In May, Canada had an unemployment rate of 10.4 per cent, while the pro- vince had a rate of 8.7 per cent. These have declined by .1 per cent from the April rates of 10.6 per cent across Canada and 8.8 per cent in Ontario. In April the total labor force in this region was 299,000 and 274,000 were employed. Hensall man killed in crash A 21 -year-old man was killed just north of 'Hensall on Monday bight when his motorized hang glider crashed into a ploughed field. Dead is William J. Heyink who took off from his residence at R.R. 2 Hensall and crashed five minutes later approximately one mile away. He and the glider fell approximately 70 metres. Three people witnessed the crash and called police. Heyink was pronounced dead at the scene by coroner Charles Wallace of Zurich..,Anautopsy was scheduled forTuesdayinStratfortL-22'.— • A. The Goderich Detachment. of the:O.P.P. is -still investigating. Stolen vehicle taken to Stratford Goderich police report seven thefts this week, three of them bicycles which have all since been recovered. A car was also stolen and later recovered in Stratford by Stratford police who have laid charges. A sum of money was stolen after a break-in at a house on the night of June 13-14. There was also one assault, two disturbances, one case of fraud, seven incidents of wilful damage and three other criminal code offences. Police investigated eight minor ` motor vehicle accidents, laid two criminal charges, two liquor charges, four Highway Traffic Act charges and issued three warnings. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR Graham retires Bonnie Graham, principal of Queen Elizabeth School, is retiring from her post after 21 years of working with the mentally handicapped. Her story appears on page 15 of the first section of the Signal - Star. Music Festival preparations There is only one more week to go before the Optimist Music Festival kicks off for another year. This year promises to be the best ever. Get a jump on the activities by reading the story which appears on the front page of the Recreation section. Waterfront activities There are numerous recreationial activities that attract local and area residents to Goderich's waterfront. Read about them on the front page of the Recreational section. this week.