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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-06-04, Page 1Polk new • J 'Y JOANNE-ATOM/IAN The Goderich Police Commission approved a 61 page by-law setting - ';down rules and regulations for the Goderich Police Depart- ment at a meeting last Thursday evening. The by-law, based on the rules and regulations governing -other Ontario police forces, Was written by Police Commission Chairman, Judge F.G. Carter and presented to the commission for revision. All the revisions Short hair, no smokes and no chew BY JOANNE BUCHANAN Everyone knows that police officers are required to wear their hair a certain length. But did you know that they cannot smoke or chew while on patrol or in public view while in uniform; cannot take an active part in any movement for the nomination or election of candidates for political office; cannot play cards or other games of chance in the police station; can wear only black or plain blue socks with police uniforms; and must come to at- tention when meeting the Chief once during a tour of duty in the station? These are just some of the many rules and regulations laid down for members of the Goderich Police Force in a 61 -page by-law recently adopted by the Goderich Police Commission. Some of the rules and regulations are quite flexible, some are very strict and others are specifically made for the protection of the of- ficers.. Most are in conformity with other Ontario police forces. Here are some of them which are probably least known to theipeople: When an officer attends county or supreme court as a witness, he must appear in civilian clothes. Officers may use billies or batons to prevent being overpowered if violently attacked or if attacked by a person armed with an offensive weapon or to prevent a prisoner, being taken from his custody. When a billie or,baton is used, the officer must try to strike the person on the hand, arm or legs and avoid striking the person . on the head. Officers cannot carry parcels,,,umbrellas or other articles when wearing the police uniform except as required for police duty. Officers cannot wear scarves, handkerchiefs or other items that show above the uniform coat (the Goderich commission agreed with Chief King that it was okay for Goderich, police officers to wear navy blue scarves in winter). Officers, when in uniform, must come to attention when meeting in public or addressing a member of the police commission or the Chief of Police except when the nature of the duty at the time makes it impossible or undesirable. Officers must salute during the playing of "God Save The Queen", "0 Canada", during the raising or lowering of theflag and the passing of a funeral cortege. The full by-law listing all the rules and regulations is on file at town hall. n adopts Ake frce were agreed upon .except for one regarding the absence of the Chief of Police from the municipality for a short period of time, The by-law stated that wheil the Chief of Police is going to be absent from the municipality for eight hours or less, he must leave his location and telephone number with the police officer on fluty. Should the period of absence be longer than eight hours, he must request permission from the chairman of the police commission. Chief King felt that this part of the by-law was too restrictive and the commission agreed that he should check with other police chiefs regarding this matter beforearevising it. Up until this by-law, which is by-law number 2 of 1980 of the police commission, there were no formally written rules and regulations for the Goderich police force. Judge Carter says the by-law is important because it sets out the rights and responsibilities of the chief, sergeant and constables and it also explains that the force's governmentcomesfrom the Board of Police Commissioners under the. Ontario Police Act and not the town council. It brings the Goderich force into conformity with other police forces, something which the commission had proposed as far back as two years ago. Standing orders can be added to the by-law. A standing order' is an order or matter of im- portance on policy which is'permanent and is to be continuously observed by the entire force. The Chief can also give routine orders which are orders of a temporary nature, regarding personnel, police details, functions and emergencies. The new by-law covers everything from retirement, promotion, resignations and suspensions to use of firearms, code of dress and proper conduct. There is even a section on the release of news and information to the press. , Eating an apple generally requires more than one bite unless, of course,. you're Rob MacDonald and involved in record setting ac- tivities at GDCI. Last Wednesday the school held a punk and record setting day that Involved a myriad of activities of the flaky variety. One student Issued a one -bite apple eating challenge and MacDonald obliged by cramming a good portion of the apple into his cheeks. Social graces didn't apply in the contest. (photos by Dave Sykes) a 132 YEAR -22 WEDNESDAY, 118, 1980 35 CENTS PER COPY The Shriner's parade here Saturday was a rather 'large time' as evidenced by this tall clown. The hour-long parade was enjoyed by thousands of local residents who lined the mile long route. A full-page of pictures appears on - page 10 of the second section. (photo by Dave Sykes) ounty supports airport objection BY SHARON DIETZ Huron County Council passed a motion to support Goderich Airport's objection to the automation of the Environment Canada Weather Station at the Airport, when they met on Thursday, May 29. Letters ofobjection will be sent from the county to Environment Canada and Transport Canada voicing the county's objection to the move. Environment . Canada recently announced plans to automate the Goderich Weather Station, thereby eliminating the need 'lfor personnel at the facility-. The computerized weather system will feed statistical in- formation to the weather network but local pilots, boaters and residents will not be able to obtain any weather information from the station.' "An automated station only gives you tem- perature, humidity and wind direction, the things you can get from a barometer on. your kitchen wall," commented Warden Bill Morley. The airport is concerned 'about the automation of the station, said Morley because pilots need to know what the weather is like up around 3,000 feet. Morley made his comments after council voted on the motion by John Tinney, Reeve of Hay. "Environment Canada is only interested in. centralizing the weather stations in London," observed Reeve Morley. Representatives from the Atmospheric Environment Servs, Environment Canada were in Goderich during the past week to install the Mars -I meteorological automatic reporting station. It was expected to be operational within a week and will feed data to the national network 24 hours a day. The Goderich station was established in 1973 and has maintained two full-time employees, however, weather records have been kept in Goderich since the 1880's. The weather station has' been invaluable to boaters, aviators, far- mers, anyone interested in weather and also acts as a valuable warning system against natural disasters. If a weather warning is to be issued, the Goderich station phones.. local police, PUC, municipal authorities and county officials requiring notification. • The switch to an automated' system in Goderich could leave a gap in weather in- formation from Sarnia to Wiarton. The Mount Forest office has been automated but is also staffed, however, weather varies between Mount Forest and Goderich. Goderich Reeve Eileen Palmer feels it is imperative that Goderich has a weather station because of the' geography, location, proximity to the lake and changing weather patterns due to the lake effect. The Goderioh Municipal Airport Committee decided 'at their May 21 meeting to send a Town negotiates tower site Town council was angered by a motion of a special subcommittee asking commissioner of works Ken Hunter, to negotiate with two property owners and return to council with an offer to sell on property council is eyeing for a water tower site, A special sub committee of council, con- sisting of Reeve. Eileen Palmer, deputy -reeve Bob Allen, councillor, Stan Profit and Hunter was recently held to discuss the possible location of a new water tower. The committee looked at three sites for the proposed tower. The one town -owned site is located near Graham Electric and is preferred by the PUC because of its proximity to the trunk" water main. The other two sites are larger, but, further from the trunk main and would involve more expense to service. The other sites are also surrounded by industrial land. The special committee passed a motion at the meeting authorizing Hunter to negotiate with two property owners in question and bring back an offer to sell to the sub committee. Some members of council were angered by the moves of the special sub committee in that they were proceeding without the knowledge of council or the PUC. Profit said he was not upset when the PUC took it upon themselves to choose a site for the tower and that it was council's responsibility to look into purchases. Deputy -reeve Allen said the committee was not trying to take anything away from the PUC and their respected preference but that council should at least explore alternatives. "The PUC has looked at a site and that's good but we also have a mandate to.get the best," he 'said. '"We are not taking anything away from the PUC." Councillor Jim Searls disagreed claiming the motion passed at the sub committee level gave Hunter specific intructions to proceed with. the purchase, "The other sites will cost up to $50,000 more," he said. Commissioner of Works Hunter, said an engineer visited all three prospective sites and proclaimed that all three were suitable for the erection of a water tower. He added that if council chose one of the sites other than the town owned land, it would mean an additional $10,000 in servicing costs. "We are not doing anything behind the PUC's ,back," he added. "There has been lots of co- operation between us." PUC chairman, Herb Murphy attending the council meeting and explained that the utlity wanted any decision on' a water tower site deferred until the committees can meet with the engineer. He said the PUC would not like council to take any unilateral action on the matter. Profit said he had no objection to deferring the matter so it can be kicked around by the joint committee of council and PUC. The matter was referred to the joint com- mittee and the town engineer. Board votes down levies BY CATH WOODEN Once again, the Huron County Board of Education has voted down quarterly levies on municipalities for education taxes, although the vote is getting closer. Every year since the board's inception in 19'69, a motion is made to collect taxes from munici alities four times a year instead of twice. is year, the vote was seven for and seven aga st. In case of a tie, the motion is defeated. Made at the May I special budget meeting, the motion was referred to the regular June 2 board meeting for debate. Figures were presented as to how better off the board would be if levies were to be made four times yearly. They stated that the Huron County Board of Education would save.$18,465 a year in interest on loans while waiting for taxes. to come in "if more frequent levies were made. The question for the board to decide, said chairman D. McDonald, was "whether we'll be the nice ys and carry the load for the municipalities, olet them worry about where they are going to get the money." Some trustees pointed out that G.oderich is one center that would rather pay four times a year instead of twice, but its borrowing power is greater than some of the smaller towns and townships. Trustee John Henderson noted that, "I think that wherever we can save money, it is our duty .to do so." However, some trustees felt that the Turn to page 20 Board hires new superintendent The Ministry of Education recently approved the appointment of a new superintendent of education (program) for Huron County ^by the Huron County Board of Education. Theboard hired Robert J. McCall on May 12 to replace the retiring superintendent of education J.W. Coulter. The ministry approved the appointment onIune 2. McCall, 43, ' is currently the curriculum consultant for grades Kindergarten to 13 to the Wellington County Board of Education. He will start his new job sometime in August and will receive a salary of $41,000 yearly, $2,000 less than a secon$Pary school principal. In addition to experience in board work, McCall has spent a great deal of time in teaching. He taught 'at both elementary and secondary levels and has developed math programs for remedial students, as well as enrichment programs for gifted students. delegation to Ottawa to meet with the, Minister of Environment Canada and representatives of Transport Canada to discuss their objections to the automation of the weather station. The committee is agreed that the automated station will not provide the same degree of accuracy and detailed information for pilots as provided by a manned station. Members feel too, that because the airport is located so close to the lake, the weather pattern is unique and requires special attention. The airport committee is also concerned since the weather station was incorporated,into preliminary drawings for a, new terminal. Although the drawings are only preliminary, the committee had hoped to move the weather station into a new airport terminal. , With the decision by EnvironmentiCanada, there are still some available options. The station could be machine manned with no staff as planned, or it could be turned over to.private interests or private airways to operate. NDE: rt. 1 AL E. Max Webster concert The Toronto group Max Webster drew a packed house to the Goderich Arena Saturday and Star reporter Cath Wooden took in the concert and offers a picture and review on the front of the second section. Athletes advance Three GDCI track and field athletes finished in the top three in their events, in Windsor last weekend and will represent Goderich in the Ontario track and field finals. The OFSAA finals will be in Etobicoke this weekend. Picture and story page 11, Nature trail The MVTA is pursuing the prospect of implementing a nature trail in the woodlot located in the industrial park. They have the backing of the develop- ment committee and will take their case to council. See story page 3. fi } Regular Featureg; Tid Rits P. 2 Columns P. Al `r. { Editorials P 4 Martha P. A4 ,l Letters P. 4 Police P. A6`;ii Sports P. 11-13 Shtiners P. A10 : a C'lassififid P. 16.16 Scotts P Al2 1 Real Estate ...... P. IR Farm P A15d .q.