The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-09-03, Page 5in Iti.
524-8171 16�GElODERICHeE 5111®
JOHN JEFFERY AND SON PAINTS
LUMBER AND BUILDING SUPPLIES
Q
Port Albert resident urges
action to revent mor erpion
Dear editor,
There I was standing in my black rubber
boots, clenching a mug of hot black coffee
while trying to stay warm in my bright
yellow rain suit. It was 9:10 a.m. on Thurs-
day Aug. 28. We were in our second day of a
big blow from the north west. The Lake
Huron breakers smashed onto our Port
Albert public beach roared across and up
the sandy beach, around the two clumps of
trees.... and on up into the parking area and
then draining back into the already swollen
Nine Mile River.
My feeble attempts to dig a trench to
release and drain our flooded river were
erased with one Lake Huron wave. The river
pushed by the fierce northwest winds strug-
gled south to meet the lake at a new point
some 360 feet south. With every hour this
point moves further south toward the Lahn
and Lavis properties. (which is the natural
flow of the Nine Mile River as can be found
in the 1879 Historical Atlas of Huron Coun-
ty). (Large sand dunes carefully stored on
the south side are quickly gobbled up by the
combination on Lake Huron wave action
and unceasing relentless push southward of
the Nine Mile River driven by the prevailing
northwest blows. On the north side beautiful
large willow trees continue to be threatened
and uprooted by the fierce wave action.
The public beach and parking lot on the
north side are flooded. The driving nor-
thwest winds create waves at the river
mouth and all the way upstream forcing
Norville Anderson and his wife to pull up
their carpets and pile their furniture. Paul
Johnson's red van is stranded with water to
the top of all four tires. Other river residents
have left or are in the process of leaving for
higher ground.
The lawn on which our. Sunday June 29 an-
nual ratepayers meeting was held with
representatives from Maitland Valley Con-
servation Area present ( whose job is to
assist in times of flooding - phone Les Tervit
'in Wroxeter 335-3557) is now under three feet
of river water!
Bulldozing to date has been a curious
policy of pushing tons of sand from, the
public beach on the north side and spreading
it„ strictly on the south side all under the
heading' of `opening the river mouth.” But
no amount of bulldozing this week would
have kept the river mouth open and in fact
by not bulldozing two days ago, the ac-
cumulated sand on the public north beach
acted to some degree as a natural breakwall
to diminish heavy wave action roaring
directly in from the lake and on up the river
thereby increasing the excessive flooding
and river bank erosion.
Norville Anderson is our, resident expert
on river mouth excavation and my nomin-
ation for, the "Grace Under Pressure"
award. Norville excavates by shovel the
minute the wind dies down and deserves a
lot more support than that expressed in the
12-lettaent: Reetaejllan
Gibson this
past July 25.. bythe South-On-Beach-ers.
There was, ipping my black coffee and
deep in thought searching for a solution that
would help ease the lake erosion and river
flooding to the public beach on the north
side... help ease the terrible flooding affec-
ting properties along the river... and at the
same "south -on -beach". •
Along conies a stranger sipping his own
cup of coffee, and informs me from his per-
sonal experience over the past' five years
that there is no question in his mind that a
groin shouldgo in right from the old cribb-
ing on the north side. And, if Ashfield
Township follows what is currently going on
in the Plympton Township area from Point
Edward to Brights Grove you will see how
NOW
OPEN
Men's &
Ladies'
TRENDY
FASHIONS
.Hours:
Monday to
Friday 10-9
Saturdays
10-6
OFF BEAT
Suncoast Mall
Goderich 524-9500
99, IMUZEIIMIS (MM.,
West Wawanosh
Mutual Insurance
Comp. Nan
Dungannon nt
OM 1R0
529®7961
,FARM RESIDENTIAL ALMS
AGENTS:
Frank Foran R.R. 2 Lucknow
Lyons & Mulhern 46 Well S1., Goderich
Donald MacKay R.R. 3, Ripley
Kenneth 0. MacLean R.R. 2. Paisley
John Nixon R.R. 5, Brussels
Donald R. Simpson R.R. 3, Goderich
Delmar Sproul R.R. 3, Auburn
Laurie Campbell Brussels
FOR A QUOTATION ON YOUR
528.3824
524-2664
395-5362
368.7537
887.9417
529.7567
529.7273
689-9051
FARM,
HOME, COTTAGE OR AUTOMO®ILE
INSURANCE CONTACT THE AGENT
iN YOUR AREA
DIRECTORS:
Eldon eta* Luchnow 5282214
Jahn 0syce R.R. 3, Paisley 351-5634
Wan Coulton R.R. 5, Brussels 889.6124
Gerold Karr P.O. Box 62, Blyth 523-9275
Gordon A. Stewart R.R. 2, Ripley 3954233
Donald McKenzie 162 Elgin Ave. Wt
Goderich M 324-7602
CLAIMS SHOULD BE REPORTED
PROMPTLY TO THE DIRECTOR
IN YOUR AREA
LETTERS
WNW
not to install metal wall groynes but if you
go to the area from Blue Point to Brights
Grove you will see properly installed metal
wall groynes set directly into the prevailing
wind's from the northwest! ! !
These particular metal groynes extend
100 feet out into the lake are pile driven into
lake bed are a surprising eight inches in
width, 28 feet in height, consist of a cor-
rugat4d wavy steel sheet welded and rein-
forced at top, middle and bottom and are
placed in such a manner that only three feet
show above the water line.
Apparently a company Lakeshore
Maintenance from Sarnia installs these
metal/steel groynes at $90 to $100 a foot or a
surprising $9000 per groyne. Can this be?
For further information just contact this
"stranger" Harry Fisher of Plympton
Township Council at (519) 899-4467.
Harry explains that such a groyne placed
100 feet out into Lake Huron from the old
cribbing on the north side would build up the
beach on the north side which is the public
beach currently threatened with severe
wave action erosion and at the same time a
scouring action would occur on 'the im-
mediate south side of this groyne which
would contribute to keeping mouth of river
P g
open to ease flooding and stop south beach
erosion by natural tendency of river to cut
down through south Port Albert beach.
This 100 foot into the lake angled to the
northwest prevailing winds metal/steel
groyne built by Ashfield Township to protect
and 'extend the public beach at Port Albert
and tied into the two retaining wall concept
passed recently at the Aug. 2 Port Albert
Ratepayers special meeting would answer
most if not all the immediate needs here at
Port Albert Beach and would indeed... •
"save the trees... beautify and preserve our
public beach... and help to ease the flooding
of residences along the river!
If you are an erosion expert or engineer or
just a "user" like me of our beautiful but
currently •abbreviated beaches then drop
me a note with your ideas as soon as possi-
ble for it is my understanding that, Maitland
Valley Conservation Authority will be con-
ducting yet another engineers study but this
time relating directly to the Aug. 2 special
motion passed by Port Albert Ratepayers
for two retainusg walls to be constructed
simultaneously on both the north and south
sides of the river but only 10 feet out into the
lake.
With lake levels rising, we are quite frank-
ly running out of time. I predict that with
what we have witnessed this month with
flooding, erosion and wave action, we
urgently need a fast engineer's study and
then some fast responsible not overly expen-
sive direct action by our elected represen-
tatives to secure to some degree our public
beach and trees before the fierce November
storms in two months!
Your letters of support and your ideas are
very important if anything is to be done.
Now is the time to write your elected
representatives municipal, provincial and
federal demanding action now and please
send me a copy at P.O. Box 20, RR 3 (Port
Albert), Goderich, Ont. N7A 3X9 or 181
Sheldrake Boulevard, Toronto M4P 2B1
(416) 486-1471.
And remember page 16 from "PORT
ALBERT - 150 years" book published last
month which says, "In 1886 a petition was
laid on the table at township council by
residents of Port Albert seeking that a
deputation be sent to Ottawa to secure, if
possible, a grant sufficient to finish the har-
bor. The Port Albert Harbor will this year
receive nothing from the Dominion
Treasury. We're mighty mad."
So once again let's write and if necessary
phone the following -1. Hon. Murray Cardiff
M.P. member for Huron/Bruce, Room No.
548, Confederation Building, Ottawa, On-
tario K1A pA6. 2. Hon. Jack ltiddell, MPP..
llth Floor Bat Street, Toronto, Ontario M7A
1A3 phiGODERICH 524-9444, Exeter
235-0170, oronto 965-1080. 3. Hon. Murray
Elston, PP... Hepburn Block, Queen's
Park, Toronto, Ont. M7A 2C4. 4. Reeve Allan
Gibson, R4 3, Lucknow, Ontario. Phone
519-395-526.5. Deputy Reeve Grant Farrish
phone 5281-2904. 6. Les Tervit, general
manager, Maitland Valley': Conservation
Authority, IB ox 127, Wroxeter, Ontario NOG
2X0 phone (519) 335-3557 (for flooding call
him) 7. Orville E. Crawford, supervisor of
support Ser:r'ces, Ministry of Natural
Resources, Wingham District RR 5
Wingham, Ontario NOG 2W0 phone 357-3131.
Frank R. Gardiner, 181 Sheldrake
Boulevard, Toronto M4P 2B1 (credentials -
born in Mt.orest, raised in Goderich, work
in Toronto and my heart is Port Albert).
Why print offenders' names
Dear editor,
In last week's paper, 10 Goderich
residents were named by the paper, ar-
rested and charged with various drug
offences.
What bothers me however
is -that
whenever cars are stolen, B and Es occur or
, the pizza shop gets jacked up by some clown
brandishing a blade, all you say is a local
youth was arrested. Why not print the
names of all local people charged of any
crime?
Could it be that you just might have to add
an extra page and therefore boost (if you
will excuse the expression) the price of the
paper an extra nickel. '
What's the difference? All charged of-
fences are illegal and we know what that is.
An ill eagle is nothing but a sick bird.
Why centre out a few dopers when drink-
ing intoxicated seems to be very acceptable
around town and you don't see their names
splashed on paper.
' I shall be waiting anxiously for your com-
ments on this matter along with many other
local residents. Thank you, •
Pete Henry
Bluewater fears
• from page 4
original purposes or transformed into a
Home for the Aged which is a sorely needed
facility in this area.
At the veiny least, more security must be
assured, and arsonists, rapists and
murderers must not be allowed to be housed
in this institution, now or in the future, if the
present situation is to be made at all
tolerable, if not wholly acceptable.
Sincerely,
"Concerned"
GODERICH SIGNAI, -STAR, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1986—PAGE 5
Class Action
ANSTETT ' S
Gold
Chains
Great Styles, Great Prices
.......................::::::...............
Swatches
NEW STYLES
GREAT LOOKS
Only...
$5000
...comjng soon to
Anstett's
Swatch Sweatshirts
Knapsacks
Pens
Umbrellas
Swatch Guards
Fashion
Jewellery
New fall colours are in now .
School Rings
Ladies
only...
59•95
Gents
only...
GOLD ALSO AVAILABLE
See our new styles.
Pick up one of our school ring brochures.
With Every Student Purchase
receive a
GRAB BAG FREE
offer good until September 9, 1986 or while quantities last.
MEMBER AMERICAN
2 Courthouse Square, Goderich 524-4195
NSTETT
GEM SOCIETY
JEWELLERS
POLYSHADES
STAIN & POLYURETHANE IN ONE STEP
MINWAX
From bare to
beautifui
in less than a day
POL YSHADES
,P,AyuRETHANE .
ow: STEP
NEW POLYSHADES
is the simple, easy way to get a truly
beautiful wood finish.
Starting with bare wood you ca have
a finished piece of furniture in less than
a day. ,
NOW THAT'S A BREAKTHROUGH!
Brush or Spray
163 Elatn Avsnua E. MOO524--8171. GODERICH
JOHN JEFFERY AND SON
LUMBER AND BUILDING SUPPLIES
5,
PAINTS
Uncover the
hidden beauty
It's easy with Circal850
°Suri _titer
and rltiPateirrsh
Do It with Circa
1850 furniture stripper, which
removes the old finish instantly
with gentle brushing, and Circa
1850 Antique Paste Varnish, the first
rub on varnish.
All W4ca 1850 PRODUCTS }r� able