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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-07-22, Page 1I 139 YEAR - 29 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1987 60 CENTS PER COPY Even with the start time moved back a half-hour to avoid the 'late -morning heat, the warm weather took it's toll on participants in the annual Goderich 10 Kilometre Classic Saturday. Rollande Schafenberg, of Tiverton (centre), who placed first in the Women's -Open category with a time of 41 minutes, 35 seconds, collapsed into the arms of some fellow runners and had to be treated for heat exhaustion at the Alexandra Marine and General hospital. (photo by Patrick Raftis) Free Press article upsets police,commissioners told By LOU -ANN HOPE Representatives of the Goderich Police Association are upset with comments made by Goderich Mayor Eileen Palmer regarding provincial police coverage in the municipality. Sergeant Jerry Hilgendorf and Con- stable George Lonsbury attended the Goderich Police Commission meeting held Thursday morning to voice the police '- staff's concerns regarding the ongoing issue. Their attendance was in response to articles concerning provincial police coverage which appeared in The London Free Press following the June commission meeting. At the June meeting, Sgt. Hilgendorf and Const. Lonsbury requested additional manpower on the local police force to com- bat what they described as a seriously understaffed force. At the meeting, Mayor Palmer told the officers the commission has their safety at heart noting, however, that they would not make a rush decision regarding increased manpower. It was the appearance of a full-page arti- cle in the London Free Press shortly after this meeting that upset the local police force. The article, in which Mayor Palmer was quoted, discussed OPP coverage within the municipality. "We were assured by the chairman (of the Police Commission,' being Mayor Palmer) that the commission had our safe- ty in their hearts. One week later, there is full-page coverage in The Free Press con- cerning OPP taking' over coverage, in the area. This has caused a lot of morale pro- blems in the force," Sgt. Hilgendorf said at the July meeting. "You had no guarantees, no assurances" given at the meeting, Mayor Palmer said: "We left the June meeting with a good feeling," Sgt. Hilgendorf said, adding that within one week that feeliing,was destroyed by the articles .in the London Free Press. "Everyone took 'we have your safety in the bestof our hearts' accurately. Then the article appeared. It's something like that that knocks the bottom out of the morale field. It left nothing to the imagination that possibly the OPP could be coming in here within the next year or two," Const. George Lonsbury said, adding that they had left the June meeting with the assump- tion the commission would study their re- quest for manpower. "The rest of the quote was 'we're not about to decide today to increase, the man- power.' There are many facets to be ex- plained," Mayor Palmer said. "Other town areas increase so why doesn't -the force itself increase. It seems to be a struggle for the force to'increase," Const. Lonsbury said. Larry McCabe, town administrator, denied an increase in town personnel in the past 10 years. "There were around 55 full-time person- nel with the town corporation 10 years ago and there are still 55 to 57 today. The in- creases in departments haven't happened. It's not as if therehas been a drastic in- crease in full-time personnel. I would be willing to go back with those figures to, verify them with either of you two gentlemen," McCabe said. When the officers reiterated their con- cerns regarding OPP 'coverage in the municipality, McCabe said "There are a number of police commissions in- vestigating this possibility. Surely as a management board they have a right to investigate." "There are many things that would need to be researched and studied. How thepro- cedure is implemented is none of your con- cern. There have been no implementa- tions or recommendations made as yet," Mayor Palmer said. She explained any recommendations would have to be chan- nelled and approval given by -the Police Commission and then passed on to town council. Final approval regarding OPP coverage has to come from the solicitor - general. "We owe it to our taxpayers to look at police costing if the police commission and council decides to go that way. Until we have costs to compare, we're floundering in the wilderness.. We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't go that far," Mayor Palmer said, adding "At this stage there is no recommendation." Const. Lonsbury then asked whether the Turn to page 2 • Tiger would be proud of celebration plans Dr. William "Tiger" Dunlop would be truly proud of this special Anniversary Celebration scheduled for July 31 - Aug. 3 in Goderich. A combined total of over 45 elInts, activities, and displays is schedul- • ed for the four days"of festivities. Displays will be a feature, with the On- tario Provincial Police, Goderich Public Library, and Bluewater Radio Club • all having displays at various times on the weekend. A tour of the Coast Guard vessel at the South Pier and a Heritage/Hor- ticultural Bus • Tour are also scheduled. Specific information related to tours/displays is indicated in the Schedule of Events in this weeks edition of FOCUS. Friday afternoon, July 31 the Recreation • Department will be running the -annual Penny Carnival at 1 p.m. in Court House Park. The evening gets underway with the "Under The Stars, Behind' The Bars" Historic Jail Variety Night - 7:30 p.m. at the jail, featuring the Goderich No -Notes Jug Band & Horizon (The Seaforth Ladies Barbershop Quartet). The Goderich Figure Skating Club also has a Teen Video Dance featuring Dr. Music at the arena auditorium starting at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, August 1, registration com- mences for the Goderich Horseshoe Pit- ching Club Open Tournament between 10 a.m. & 10:45 p.m. at Harbour Park. The tournament commences at 11 a.m. Ac- tivities are also set to take place in Court House Park at 10 a.m. with the Parade to Harbour Park scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Br- ing your lunch and "Picnic In Harbour Park" at noon. Afterwards the Civic Ceremony, Baby/Toddler Contests and Children's Games all take place in the ' park. Free tug boat rides will be available at the South Pier from 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. Minnow wrestling and dew worm racing get under- way at the Town Beach at 3:15 p.m., followed by the Glub-A-Dub-Dub Competi- tion (home -made vessels) - 3 : 45 -pm., also at the Town Beach and the Landing Re- enactment - 4 p.m., South Pier. The Knights of Columbus Lobsterfest & Steak Fry takes place Saturday evening - 4 p,m. - 7 p.m. in Harbour Park with free horsedrawn wagon rides available from 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. At sunset a "Sun Sets Twice" Ceremony gets underway at St. Christopher's Beach and a Legion Dance including a performance by Folksinger Jim MacMillan is scheduled for 9 p.m. On Sunday, August 2 the Mixed Volleyball Tournament commences at St. Christopher's Beach followed by the Per- rier Waiters' Race - Noon at Harbour Park, starting beside the Park House. Details are available from Richard Wendler. Phone 524-4431. Other Sunday ac- tivities include the Kids Costume Parade & Fun Art In The Park (1:00 p.m. - Court House Park), The 160th Anniver- sary/Tiger Dunlop Days Historic Parade (2:00 p.m. - the Square), Family Contest Capers (2:45 p.m. —Court House Park), The Lions' Fish Fry (4:00 p.m. -7:00 p.m.) in Harbour Park, fol -lowed by the Laketown Band Concert Series "Western Night" at 7 p.m. in Harbour Park. Bluewater Boardsailing Club Races/Windsurfing Tug -O -War (St. Christopher's Beach), a model airplane aerial display by Sky Harbour Modellers at the airport and the Recreation Depart- ment Public Swim (2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the municipal pool - free drink of cider) are all scheduled for Monday, August 3 the final day of the Goderich 160th Anniver- sary/Tiger Dunlop Days Celebration. A special "Sun Sets Twice" Time Guess- ing Contest with prizes that include sunglasses, courtesy of Sales Creators and a Trip for Two to Clearwater Beach, Florida (four days/three nights) spon- sored by Wardair, Thomas Cook Travel, and The Park House has a July 29 deadline. The key is to guess the time of the second sunset at the Park House for August 1, 2, and 3. To enter and for contest details contact Richard Wendler at 524-4431. - For additional information about Goderich 160th Anniversary/Tiger Dunlop Days please contact the Goderich Tourism Office/Bureau at 524-6600/2513. Mayors; county council discuss common problems BY DAVE SYKES Huron County politicians received assurances from Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw that the county will remain intact, but he also urged the county's executive committee to pay attention to urban concerns. Speaking to a special meeting of the county's executive committee and the mayors representing the five county towns in Goderich Wednesday, Shaw said he threatened secession from the county system in response to frustrations ex- perienced by the urban municipalities. The meeting, called by Huron County warden Brian McBurney, was designed to address concerns expressed in the media by the five mayors covering such topics as planning, unity, the development of Highway 8 and the creation of a county economic development office. "This meeting was brought on by ar- ticles in the paper and I hoped to bring peo- ple together and have an open and frank discussion," McBurney told the meeting. "I hope we can be open and honest. I don't want this to linger and hopefully we can put concerns to rest because we're all responsible to the same people." While the discussion on the respective issues was honest, Shaw and reeve Rill Mickle, .Exeter's re resentati_ve on county council, assured tlfg executive committee they would not sit idly by if they felt their concerns were being ignored. "We get the impression as mayors and Exeter council that pot a lot of attention is The mayors of the five county towns met with Huron County Coun- cil's executive committee last week to discuss matters of mutual concern. The mayors, an ad hoc committee, have been meeting over the past few months and Warden Brian McBurney called the meeting to openly discuss concerns expressed by the mayors in paid to recommendations from council," Shaw explained. "We have asked for a few things and while we're not always looking for support, at least some interest. We're left with the impression that ideas and con- cerns are being dismissed." That attitude, Shaw reasoned, an- tagonized Exeter council and the five mayors, who began meeting as a social and ad hoc committee to discuss matters of mutual concern. The Exeter mayor admitted that much of the animosity related back to the "damn planning problem", an issue that resulted in an Ontario Municipal Board hearing. newspaper articles. Pictured at the meeting from left are; Exeter reeve, Bill Mickle; Exeter mayor, Brace Shaw; Seaforth mayor, Alf Ross; Goderich mayor, Eileen Palmer and Clinton mayor, John Balfour. (photo by Dave Sykes ) That problem dealt with a plan of subdivi- sion for an agri-industrial park by Hay Township at the intersection of Highways 4 and 83 near Exeter. The plan of subdivision was prepared for approval by the county's planning depart- ment but failed to clear the OMB hearing after Exeter filed an objection. The plan did not conform to Ontario Foodland guidelines and has subsequently been redrafted. Shaw told the meeting Exeter will again object to the development. It cost Exeter council $8,000 in consul- tant and lawyer's fees to contest the plan to the OMB and. Shaw argued before the 6 ft committee that while the judge's decision vindicated Exeter's position, the town, in effect, paid both for its own fees and that of Hay (through assessment) to prove its po t "It" was a philisophical problem and we won the case which vindicated Exeter's position," he said. "We said, in a letter to council, there should be some shared costs. Hay was given the support of the county through the planning department. The Planning department also represents Exeter. But the county bore Hay's costs and not• Turn to Ea'e 9 _ Beach a„;.et a snack wagon The possibility of allowing some sort of concession booth, most likely a mobile food wagon, to sell refreshments at St. Christopher's Beach will be considered -by a joint meeting of the Goderich Ad- ministration and Parks and Waterfront committees. The committees will meet to discuss the matter on June 29, at noon. Goderich Town Council received a let- ter at their July 20 meeting, from a local entrepreneur requesting permission to set up a mobile food wagon at the beach. Council has had a policy of allowing no commercial operations at St. Christopher's Beach, even though such wagons can be licenced for operation in other parts of town. "Do we want to commercialize it ( the beach)? I don't think that was the idea when we decided to develop it," said Councillor Bill Clifford, noting that such operations are "difficult to control," and allowing one would raise the question of who should be given the licence to operate there. "j don't - necessarily agree with the idea it should be totally uncommercializ- ed — it's a' beach," replied Councillor Glen Carey,' who opposed the idea of referring the matter to the joint meeting and suggested :council deal with it on the spot. Mayor Eileen Palmer said she "gets the feeling from parents they like the beach the way it is," with no commercial operations. ° "Everybody has a different concept of what should be down there," said Deputy Reeve John Doherty, who made the mo- tion to refer the request. Doherty noted there seems to be a demand. for "some type of refreshments," on weekends when the beach is busy, and said he would support the idea of licensing a mobile wagon to sell food at peak periods, but would not necessarily sup- port the idea of a permanent concession stand. Waiters races help children The first annual Goderich Perrier Waiters Race will be run during Tiger Dunlop Days and the money raised in the event will go to the, Goderich Lions Club to aid handicapped children. Perrier Mineral Water and the .Park House are sponsoring the race set to start at noon Aug. 2. The race is open to anyone who has ever been, or has ever had a desire to be, a waiter or waitress. Contestants pay a $5 entry fee and collect pledge donations. Entrants must haveat least five pledges to participate. Each waiter or waitress carries a bar tray with an open bottle of Perrier along a course that runs -from Lions Harbour Park, up WeSt St., one lap of The Square and returns to Harbour Park. Pledge forms are available at the Park House. The Park House and Perrier will match and donate the entry fees to the Lions Club and have provided all par- ticipants with prizes, -free- beverages and appetizers. The winners (male and female) will - receive $100 compliments of the Park House and all finishers with a minimum of 20 pledges will be eligible for a lucky draw for a trip for two to the Muskoka Sands Inn, Gravenhurst; Racers are asked to wear a •classic waiters' 'white shirt with a bow tie, if possible. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR 111.11111110111111111, Sports weekend This past weekend was a busy one for sports enthusiasts as the Ladies Slowpitch Tournament and the Goderich 10km Classic were both held. For pic- tures and stories, see the Sports section. Miss B almoral9 9 With its run sold out prior to opening night, the comedy of "Miss Balmoral Of The Bayview" is destined to be the hit of the 1987 Blyth Festival season. Acting in the play is Goderich native Shirley Hall. For a story on Hall and a review of the play, see the Page 4A of the Community section. Arts and crafts The Goderich Festival of Arts and Crafts was a success again this year as more than 5,000 people visited Cour- thouse Park to take in the variety of displays. For pictures from the festival, see the front page of the Community section.