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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-05-14, Page 1Steve Hardaker is on temporary duty at the Goderich Weather Station and will be moved to another location once the system is automated by the Ministry of Environment. Town council, the airpoort committee and several users of the weather facility are launching a protest against the. automation. Huron Bruce Conservative MP, Murray Cardiff, is also working to reverse the Ministry decision, (photo by Dave Sykes) Developer will listen to objections BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Bert Alexander of Suncoast Estates Limited says he is willing to make compromises with regards, to his proposed subdivisjpn at the extreme southwest of town if he can be sure that all objections will then be withdrawn. Alexander met with approximately 20 residents from the subdivision area on Tuesday evening to discuss their objections which mainly centered around the proposed 18 unit, two storey apartment building to be built within the subdivision, the lack of parkland being offered and traffic congestion. "I'm quite willing to listen to objections and I'm open to minor changes but if the objections are not Withdrawn, we'll have to go through the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board) and let the chips fall where they may," Alexander toldthe residents. Chris Kiar of the, surveying firm of Kiar and Ross made a presentation to the residents on behalf of Alexander and warned them that the OMB is very "pro multiple dwellings". Goderich Police Chief Pat King, one of the residents with -objections to 'the subdivision, said he felt the OMB would listen to 70 tax - Turn to page 20 • • it lodges formal jection over weather station The town of Goderieh will formally lodge an objection with the Ministry of the Environment over the proposed automation of the Goderich Weather Station. Council unanimously endorsed a motion at its Monday meeting calling for a letter of objection to be filed with the Ministry. Reeve Eileen Palmer said the town should protest to the Ministry adding that it was im- perative Goderieh have ' a manned weather station. "Because of the geography, location, proximity to the lake and changing weather patterns due to the kae effect it is imperative - we have a manned weather station," she said. In his report to council, airport co-ordinator, Ed Scruton, said there is a concern from operators and pilots at the airport that the type of service provided fro"' the computers will be tress than adequate to service their needs. He added that to an inbound pilot, it is vital that he know the current conditions at the airport regarding cloud bases and visibility. "To lose it would detract from the whole operation at the airport, Scruton said. The Ministry of the Environment recently announced plans to automate the Goderich Weather Station, thereby eliminating the need for personell at the facility. The computerized system would feed statistical information to the weather network but local pilots, boaters and residents would not be able to obtain any weather information from the station. The move was to have been completed by the Ministry before June 1 but it is not known if that date can be met. During the past week a Ministry inspector was at the Goderich station taking measurements for the cont rsion to the automated system. Steve Hardaker is on tenporary duty at the station for the present time and indicated there has been some feedback to the Ministry's proposed automation of the station. The station is now down to a one-man staff meaning it is closed by 2 p.m. daily and is not open on weekends, which are quite often the busiest times for air and boat traffic in the Goderich area. Protests against the automation of the, weather station are slowly taking shape. A group of aviators at Western Air Services have launched their own petition and have so far, secured a list of close to 90 signatures of local and visiting pilots. Airport committee chairman, Don Wheeler, said the committee has also taken steps to make their vievis known to the Ministry. "We have contacted Murray Cardiff and he is looking into the matter," Wheeler said. "We will see if he can make some progress and also get some information back to us on the mat- ter." Wheeler said that Conservative MP Cardiff will make a representation on the committee's behalf and that the aiport committee would also put forth a strong front. "We'll be expressing our opinion to the Ministry in strong terms and there definitely is ' enough interest," he said. "The users are certainly in favor of maintaining the service. The loss of it could curtail airport operations." Wheeler explained that the weather station services are valuable to visitors or people travelling distances by plane to Goderich. The airport committee is also concerned since the weather station was incorporated into preliminary drawings fqr a terminal. Although the drawings are only preliminary, the committee had hoped to move the weather station into a new airport terminal. The Ministry had not been notified of the -move but Wheeler said it could make a differnce in their decision. The airport committee will deal with the problem at their May 21 meeting. Salt spread freely here Some members of council charged that -town works foreman, Stan Meriam, was using too much road salt on the streets and simply, because it was free. Reeve Eileen Palmer suggested that works crews dispense with more salt on the streets because it is received free. She asked Meriam if that was the case. Meriam said the town does not salt more frequently than other municipalities. The town used 180 tons of salt this winter during daylight hours and an additional 159 tons were used foTfowing police requests tosalt icy sections of road and intersections. He added that the salt is free _but is not a top grade and would only disposed of by Domtar. When asked why the crews do not use sand or a mixture of salt and sand Meriam replied that it would create a dust problem, especially on the Square and could wreak havoc with drains. 132 YEAR -20 WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 1980 ' 35 CENTS PER COPY ial for. Life program a teafity...., BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The Vial of Life program, a simple concept which can save lives in medical emergencies, has begun in this town thanks' to the local Kinsmen Club and the Goderich Ambulance Service, ' in particular, ambulance attendant Joe Ducharme. During a Hospital Day display at Suncoast Mall on Monday, Mr. Ducharme began distributing the 1,000.0 vials purchased for the town by the Kinsmen Club for $250. These vials are small plastic cylinders which look exactly like pill bottles. However, instead of pills, they contain fill -in -the -blank forms. Once com- pleted, these forms contain pertinent medical information on the various members of the - household. If for some reason such as unconsciousness, A man's, er bird's home is his castle even it's above a porch light. This mother robin took up residence above the porch light at the home of John Finn, 334 Comox Crescent, and is keeping a watchful eye over a nest of young ones. To help out, John has blocked off his front entrance With a sign explaining that a mother robin is hatching eggs: Visitors are asked to use the side door. (photo by Dave Sykes) shortness' of breath, confusion, shock or a language barrier, a person is unable to com- municate ' with an ambulance attendant or doctor, the vial containing the medical in- formation is retrieved from the refrigerator. An adhesive decal which comes with the vial is placed on the refrigerator door to alert emergency personnel that the person is on the vial program. A need for the vial program is especially apparent among the elderly, people with chronic medical conditions, cottagers and vacationers whose personal physicians live in other 'towns, people with language difficulties and children who are often under the super- vision of babysitters'. However, all people can benefit from the program. The vials contain all the information for hospital admittance, the name and phone number of the patient's per- sonal physician and a means by which the hospital staff can obtain a detailed medical history of, the patient. All of this means quicker admittance to hospital, quicker diagnosis, quicker treatment and most important, quicker recovery for the patient. Many times if treatment of a patient is delayed because of a lack of esssential in- formation, the patient's.period of recovery can be significantly longer than if such information was available and treatment started im- mediately. , Thus, the Vial of Life, by eliminating delays Council compromises on senior building permit BY DAVE SYKES Pending legal clarification of a motion, council compromised with Kelly -Lyn Con- struction and agreed to reimburse part of the building permit fee on the senior citizens housing unit.. Robert—Fisher; constructioo au-ordinaof Kelly -Lyn appeared before council Monday claiming the building permit fee charged the company was erroneous. Fisher said" his company was told the permit fee was $1 per thousand and then they were required to pay an additional $2 per thousand for a total fee of $3,000 on the $1.1 million project. Kelly -Lyn paid $1,000 for the building permit assuming the rate was $1 per thousand and Fisher explained the company sent a further cheque for $2,000 for the permit under protest. "In our opinion there was an error in the cost by the building department," Fisher said. "There was also inconsistency in the figures quoted to other contractors." He maintained that other companies bidding on the project were quoted different building permit fees ranging from $4 per thousand to $1. "We are talking about $2,000 and that is a good deal of money to our company," he said. "We are a small company and I think there was an error in the building inspection department and inconsistency on the information given out." Fisher concluded adding that his company was willing to abide by council's decision. Deputy -reeve Bob Allen defended the former building inspector, Andy Boutilier, who held that position at the time the permit was issued, claiming he was a most meticulous man and that inconsistency was not consistent with his nature. Commissioner of works, Ken Hunter, suggested the company confused the thwn with the Township of Goderich and may have received the pbuilding permit fee information from the township clerk. Fisher assured council that was not the case. Reeve Eileen Palmer wanted concrete evidence that the company was quoted a fee of $1 perthousand-for the permit and maintained their claim was unwarranted unless "evidence could be produced. Councillor Stan Profit then raised the possibility of a compromise claiming the town should meet the contractor half way and charge $2 -per thousand for the per-rnite also insisted-.-. that such transactions should not be completed by phone or at least should be followed up by letter stating firm prices. Fisher argued that if the town was organized the building permit information could have been passed on to the bidding companies. Palmer explained that the town had little to do with the project while the Ontario Housing Corporation (OHC) took care of tendering the project and awarding the contract. "Once the town has apurchased the land for the building our work I§ over," she said. "OHC calls the tenders and it is difficult to get any information from them." Councillor John Doherty said there was no sense in starting this major project with animosity between council and the contractor and subsequently introduced a motion calling for the building permit fee be levied at $2 per thousand for this project only. Elsa .Hayden insisted that Doherty motion was out of order considering that council had just passed a motion setting the building permit fees at $3 per thousand. She claimed the first motion would have to be rescinded before' another could be entertained at the council table. The motion to compromise on the building permit and set the fee at $2 per thousand was passed by a 5-4 vote with Mayor harry Worsell breaking the tie. The motion also asks that the clerk seek legal clarification on the matter. Earlier in the day Mayor Worsell performed the sod turning ceremony at the site to officially initiate the senior citizens project. The $1.1 million structure will feature 53 units. The exterior of the building is expected to be completed by November of this year while the interior work will be completed over the winter. The project should be complete by the spring of 1981. in treatment, can be a significant factor in helping to decrease the costs of health care in Ontario. The victim_of an emergency situation can have a shorter period of hospitalization and can be returned to a productive role -in the community much quicker too. The concept of the Vial of Life program was formulated by a Deputy Sheriff in Monroe County, Michigan about two .,years ago and since that time, it has spread across the entire United States. The programis now being run in conjunction with ambulance associations across Canada. The. Association of Casualty Care Personnel, the professional organization for ambulance officers in Ontario, has been responsible for starting the program in this --province. The aim __is -t6_provide a_ uniform_ system throughout the country so that every Canadian has equal access to this beneficial service. By providing a standard across Turn to page 11 • 4i R, SIDE. TH SIGNAL -STAR Canoe champion Brian _Bur-tonJ a_ Canadian canoeing champion with olympiad experience and he hopes to in- troduce the sport to the Goderich area through recreation programs. See story and pictures on Page 12. Holiday Monday Monday is Victoria Day and the, Signal - Star will be -closed in observance of the long weekend holdiay. Correspondents and advertisers are asked to co-operate with the stricter deadlines. Material for the second section of the paper will have a ) Friday deadline. Legal advice On the editorial page this week the i,;, Signal -Star introduces the first in a series of articles on legal advice from Clinton- Seaforth lawyer, Paul Ross. The first of the series appears on Page 4. Regular Features;; Tid Bits » P. 2 Editorial P. 4 Letters P. 5 Sports P. 12-14 Class. P. 15=18 Real Estate P. 15 19 Columns P. Al Robert Service P. A3 ; Entertainment. P. A4-5 Church Page P. AS Farm P. All Weddings P. A 12 `s1 t7„