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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-09-14, Page 1135 YEAR -37 eric SIGNAL—STA GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1983 50 CENTS PER,COPY Constable George Lonsbary demonstrates how the portable ALERT (Alcohol Level Evaluation Roadside Tester) machine works. The local police department purchased the machine in 1981 and use it for spot cheeks of drinking drivers. (Photo by .Joanne Buchanan) Be on alert for ALERT The public can now expect increased spot checks by the local police in an effort to get drunk drivers off our roads. Police Chief Pat King says all his officers will be making more use of the department's ALERT machine for the detection of drunk drivers. Spot checks with the machine are legal under the Highway Traffic Act and may be conducted any time of day or night. 'The small portable machine is carried by the of- ficers in their cruisers. ALERT stands for Alcohol Level Evaluation Roadside Tester. Drivers may be requested to blow into the machine. If it registers a warning, a 12 hour driving suspension will be issued. If it registers a fail, a further test on the OPP brethalyzer machine could lead to charges under the criminal code. Refusal to blow into the machine without a reasonable excuse carries the same penalty as an impaired driving charge. The maximum penalty for the first offence of impaired driving is not more than a $2,000 fine or imprisonment of six months or both. The second offence carries a penalty of imprisonment for not less than 14 days and not more than one year. Since the Goderich Police Department purchased the ALERT machine in 1981, 354 drivers have been checked with it. Of this number, three were unable to blow, five refused to blow, 38 failed the test and 60 registered at the warning level. Twenty-four criminal charges were laid as a result and almost one in seven drivers checked received 12 hour suspensions. Captain Fats has hopes of expanding into a restaurant- dining room Plans to expand the existing Captain Fats restaurant were presented to the Goderich Town Council at their first regular meeting following the summer break. Ron Moody, owner of Captain Fats, would like to add an additional 60 feet to his existing building on the south dock. Moody also wishes to elevate his proposed restaurant -dining room, leaving the bottom section open. One of the areas would seat approximately 76 people, another area would seat 42, while the small bar room would seat 26. The addition, which *rottd,be to the west end of the building where the picnic tables are now located, would create employment for the local people ac- cording to Moody. He also feels that it would provide eating alternatives for tourists as well as residents, and improve the area. Severance granted for compassionate reasons Council agreed that the proposed restaurant dining room would create employment and enhance the area, but there was a question as to whether the town owned the land or the Federal Government. At the present time, Moody is leasing the land from the Federal Government. Moody was told that he was to take the case to council, as it would not be possible for him to sign a rezoning application through the Planning Advisory Committee because the Federal Government states that the land is not subject to municipal rezorn ng.... Presently the land itzoned as industtMt land, but would have to be rezoned to commercial land. During Monday's meeting, council made the motion to contact the Federal Government, get their response to the situation, and then bring the case back to council. Neighbor not informed; case isfirst BY EISA HAYDON Second time Ontario's new Planning Act came into force on The committee members and all other persons in - August 1 this year. On August 18, the Huron County volved were aware that in July last year (1982 ), Mrs. Planning and Development Committee, sitting as the Ingram had made an essentially identical application consent granting authority under the new Act, made for the same property (only reversing the parcels of its first decisions and promptly found itself in the land to be severed and to be retained) and that the middle of a controversy over a land severance ap- Huron County Land Division Committee had turned it proval. down because "the application does not conform to An objection has been filed and the matter goes to the Secondary Plan for Hay Township, as the the Ontario Municipal Board. In addition, it appears severance would create an incompatible non-farm that there will be some form of appeal to the provin- use in an agricultural area." cial government to have the new Planning Act It was also understood that the 1982 reasons were amended. equally valid in 1983. The controversy combines elements of private What the new committee did not know in August human drama, individual rights, bureaucratic pro- was that the 1982 severance application had a poten- cedures and the role the governments and their agen- tial objector (as the application was turned down for cies are expected to play (or not to play) in our other reasons, no actual objection had to be filed) private lives. who was represented by a lawyer mentioned in the The land severance in question concerns the pro- file. perty of Mrs. Pauline Ingram in Hay Township. In August this year, Mrs. Ingram proposed to sever ap- proximately 88 acres of agricultural land from one acre on which her son, Rick Ingram, had built a house a few years ago. The Planning and Development Committee minutes read: "This application is being presented on compassionate grounds, since the son had built a home on the property with the idea of some day pur- chasing the property from the father. The father passed away suddenly at age 46 leaving the spouse no alternative but. to sell the property and the son is unable to raise the funds to buy the entire farm at this time." The committee granted the severance as follows: "This application conforms on compassionate grounds. " Warning signs posted again on Goderich Beach The warning signs have once again been posted at the Goderich Beach, meaning pollution has come back and swimmers are to use the water at their own risk. According to Ed Harrison, Chief Inspector with the Huron County Health Unit, the signs were posted around September 2 and are not expected to be taken down for awhile. The source of the pollution is still unclear, but Harrison says the Health Unit is continuing to in- vestigate the problem from all angles. The level of pollution is the same as the last time the signs were posted. The warnings will remain posted until tie Health Unit gets three consecutive readings at an acceptable level. The objector is Adrian Bayley whose home is next Although Mr. Hanly, Warden Grant Stirling, and to the property in question, who has lived there for County Planning Director Gary Davidson share the over10 years and who was not notified of the view that "compassionate grounds", among other severance application. things, must have been considered to some degree in Grey Township Reeve Leona Armstrong, Chair- many past severance decisions, they agree that it is man of the Planning and Development Committee, the first time that, in the absence of other reasons, stated in an interview, "I was very upset when I such grounds were officially stated in so many words found out later that Bayley had objected last time and by a Huron County land division committee. had not been notified." When one speaks of "compassionate grounds", it Mrs. Armstrong is not sure whether the knowledge must be taken into account that - quite would have made a difference in the decision, but she understandably - there is reluctance to reveal per - feels that the information should have been brought sonal and financial family matters to strangers. It is to the committee's attention and "we would have difficult for people to understand that if such private been more cautious, had we known". matters are part of public situations and form the Goderich Deputy -Reeve Jim Britnell, also on the basis of official decisions by elected persons, it is in - committee, agrees with this opinion. evitable in our system that questions are asked. According to the County Administrator Bill Hanly As quoted above, the passing away of the father of who is secretary to the committee, the omission was the Ingram family has been referred to in connection "simply an oversight". Turn to page 2 ,.."9Mf .,v: r✓ P A deserted beach usually means bad weather, but lately the Goderich :...' ach has been deserted because of recurring pollution. Last week the signs warning of periodic pollution were onee again posted on the beach. It is still not known what is the cause of this or how long It will last. (photo by Anne Narejko) , Evenshen hearing set for Nov. 28 Doris Noreen Evenshen, 48, of Goderich was released from custody on her own recognizance last Wednesday by a Supreme Court judge in London. She is to appear in Provincial Court, Goderich, on November 28 at 10 a.m. for a preliminary hearing. Evenshen had been in custody in a London detention centre since being charged with the second degree murder of her husband. Myron Evenshen, 44, ° of 313 Cambridge Street, Goderich, died in Alexandra Marine and General Hospital on Sunday, August 7 as the result of an apparent stab wound. Fishing boats hindering freighters The Goderich Harbour is a busy place with the fishermen fishing and the freighters docking and undocking and recently there has been a problem of the fishermen getting in the way of the larger boats. Goderich Police Chief Pat King was told by the coastguards, that the smaller boats were getting in between the freighters and the dock. In one instance a boat bumped into a tug that was turning the freighter around. According to the Public Harbour Regulation in the Canada Shipping Act, no vessel shall, in a harbour, obstruct or impede the navigation or safe docking, or undocking, of other vessels. Chief King also points out that by doing so, they are not only breaking the law, but are putting themselves in great danger. Number of ' escorts for prisoners up Prisoner escorts by the local police department jumped from one in August of 1982 to 19 this past August. The Goderich Police Commission learned from Chief King's monthly report last week that he has put a claim into the Ministry of Correctional Services for $2,322 to cover the costs of gas and oil for these escorts. According to the Chief, the reason for, the big jump in the number of escorts resulted from the separate arrests of two females who were kept in custody in jails out-of-town and driven back and forth for court appearances here. Overtime costs for investigations resulting from these two incidents are borne by the taxpayers through the Goderich Police Commission budget. INSIDE THE Karate school Pierson's Karate School, held in the Goderich Township Hall in Holmesville holds classes all year round, but will be starting special 10 week programs for anyone over 10 years of age. For pictures of a few of the activities and more details, take a look in the Recreation section. Domtar tournament The Annual Domtar Tournament was held last Saturday in Goderich. The hometown crowd was in for a real treat when it *as Goderich One against Goderich Two in the championship game. Although it was a hot day, the seven teams involved never gave up, making the tournament very competitive. The overall champions and the individual winners, as well as pictures, can be found in the Recreation section. Bottle collecting A local man has an interesting hobby that takes quite a bit of his time. Greg Little collects different types of beer and pop bottles from Huron County, and although he has been at it for a while now, he feels he still has a long way to go. Take a look in this section for the story on Greg Little's bottle collecting.