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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-08-26, Page 1Trio plucked from grounded boat Bruce MacDonald has never seen the seas like that before Bruce MacDonald of Goderich has sailed the waters of Lake Huron for many years and he's seen many storms whipped up on the fickle lake in that time but the wind - whipped waves that threatened to wash away the Goderich sailor and his two com- panions on the weekend, were the worst he's ever experienced. MacDonald and two passengers, Jim MacKinnon of R.R..6 Goderich and Carol Baril of Toronto had to be rescued by helicopter from a 37 -foot yacht off the shore of Kettle Point early Sunday morn- ing after the disabled vessel was blown on- to shoals. "I've been in a lot of storms over the years," MacDonald said in a telephone in- terview Monday. "But never anything as bad as this. It was bad all the way." The trio was plucked from the lake about 2 a.m. Sunday as the boat was being bat- tered by 10 foot seas one kilometre off the shore from Kettle Point. The American Coast Guard helicopter hovered over the boat and lifted the three to safety while a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter was forced to keep its distance because of the high waves. Police from both Kettle Point and the Forest OPP detachments were on shore Goaericeh during the rescue operation. The ordeal for MacDonald and his com- panions began Friday when they set sail for Port Sanilac, Michigan from Grand Bend, a trip of about 43 nautical miles. Their journey would end over 30 hours later with the help of the American rescue team. The sailing experience turned into a series of mechanical failures that were magnified as the weather deteriorated. "We couldn't get into harbour at Port Sanilac and sailed all night back across the lake," MacDonald explained. "Our bat- tery went flat and we were off Grand Bend with no chance of getting in because of shoals off the mouth there. We got the engine going and set off for Sarnia." MacDonald set sail in a westerly direc- tion but the steel -hulled boat was washed in a.south-easterly direction towards Ket- tle Point. "The seas were just piling over us," he said. "A prop had been pulled off, the hydraulic steering was gone and we were pretty well helpless. At that point, there was no way to control the boat and we washed up on the shoal. We dropped an anchor but that was Turn to page 3 139 YEAR — 34 GODERICH ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1987 60 CENTS PER COPY The Imperial Hell Drivers put on quite a show Monday evening before hundreds of spectators at the Ron Feagan Memorial Granstand. The final act of the night's entertainment was an im- pressive one as a flaming car sped over a ramp and flew through the air onto a parked wreck. Members of the Goderich Fire Department were on hand to quickly douse the.flames. The Hell Drivers performed many unique driving feats and Paul Riddell, who clowned around all night, was the star of the show. The Hell Drivers show was sponsored by the Goderich Police Associa- tion. (photos by Dave Sykes) Plans call for 250 new units Plans are in the works for a new 250 to ,2,75 -unit . housing subdivision in the southern section of Goderich. Goderich Town Council approved a revised plan for the development at its. Aug. 17 meeting, after the developer ( a numbered company identified as 577213 Ontario Limited) agreed to changes in parkland, lot configuration and road con- figuration, recommended by the Works and Property Committee. The revised design is now being review- ed by the Ministry of Municpal Affairs and Housing's Planning Administration Branch. Pending their approval, the developer must apply for appropriate zon- ing and Offical Plan changes, before final approval for the project can be given. The proposed subdivision would be located on approximately 24 acres of land bounded on the north by Suncoast Drive., the East by Eldon Street and the West by. Bayfield Road. South Street, which cur- rently ends at Suncoast Drive, will be ex.= ended through the new subdivison. The major arterty . through "the sudivi- sion will be a new street, which will possibly be named either Balvina Drive, or Galt Drive. It will begin at Eldon Street and exit onto Bayfield Road at a point just north of South End Auto Body. Plans call for the subdivison to contain 86 lots for single-family dwellings ( houses, bungalows), three 'condominiums, two apartment buildings and several townhouses or semi-detached units. Plans also call for creation of a 1.4 hec- tare park ( approximately 3.5 acres ), which in addition to providing recreational space, will serve as a buffer between the apartment blocks and the single -dwelling units. The proposed name for the park is John Galt Park. Bert Alexander, of Alexander and Chap- man Realty, local project manager for the developers, said the group hopes to have the neccessary approvals in place to begin laying groundwork (sewers etc.) for the project in the fall and expects the first of the residental units will be under construc- tion by the spring of 1988. Alexander said no time frame has been set for the project. "It could be done in the next three years, it could take 10," he said, adding that con- struciton of 25 or 30 housing units a year would not be unreasonable. Asked to estimate the projected cost of the project he said, "It would probably rock you out of your boots," noting that the single -housing units and lots alone would probably approach the $8 million mark. Agricultural concerns dominate meeting By Anne Narejko I.ONDESBORO - Foreign land ownership, economic development, upgrading of Highways 4 and 8 and the suitability of the existing Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) office were a few of the topics debated by Huron riding candidates at the all -candidate meeting held here on August 24. MPP Jack Riddell, representing the Liberals, Nico Peters representing the Pro- gressive Conservative (PC) party and Paul Klopp, repiresanting the New Democratic Party (NDP), were provided with the oppor- tunity of making an opening statement and then were faced with both verbal and writ- ten questions from the audience which con- sisted of approximately 200 people. ' The majority of questions centered around Huron County's largest form of employment - agriculture. "Farming is aih honorable profession and we don't need to apologize to anyone for the assistance which we need," said Mr. Peters. He went on to tell the audience about the damage which the farming community has suffered, using Bruce County as an exam- ple. Mr. Peters said a person could drive down a concession and not pass a house or barn on that road. "The roads that do have farms on them, would have no one to see the smoke if it burned down, and that's sad," he said. "And what's to prevent that from happening in Huron County? Nothing. "The fun has gone out of farming," con- tinued the man who got into the agriculture business in 1980. Mr. Peters said the budget played an im- portant role in the reasons people moved to town. "Why pay tax on a building when you wouldn't have to pay any if the building wasn't there? Why should your children have to bike for miles with other children their age?" Before ending his comments, Mr. Peters told the attentive crowd what he hoped to do about the situation he had described, statin. "I'd like to than :e this scenario to give Huron a future." Next up was Mr. Riddell who used the Liberal party's track record as an example , of what has been done, and could be done, for the people of Huron County and Ontario. "Ontario has achieved progress. We ( Liberals) have set an agenda of reform and backed it with action," he said. In the education area, Mr. Riddell said a new program has been instated which will call for smaller classes in Grades 1 and 2 and more computer training will be offered as we are in the;'age of technology." He also touched on the environmental clean-up policy, assistance for senior citizens and said the Liberals were hot "puppets of any particular interest group." "We have brought openness, honesty and integrity to government," said Mr. Riddell. Time allocated for Mr. Riddell's speech rari out when he reached assistance which the Liberals have given the province in agriculture over the last few years, but he did have time to say they have increased spending by 72 per cent in two years and Objection to ball diamond is raised Residents of a Suncoast Drive apart- ment complex are upset with the activities of local ball players making use of the St. Mary's School diamond. In a letter to Goderich Town Council at their Aug, 17 meeting, Alexander and Chapman Realty Ltd., managers of the building adjacent to the diamond, said tenants have complained about ball players using their parking lot and about parked cars being damaged by balls hit foul into the lot. Also, "There have been occasions when the hedge is being used as a washroom," said the letter'signed by A. J. Alexander, of Alexander and Chapman. "This has happened before; however, it has now come to the serious stage," said the letter. Deputy Reeve John Doherty, who has umpired games at the diamond, used by several local ball leagues, agreed that a problem exists at the diamond. Doherty suggested council look into the possibility of having a fence built between the parking lot and the diamond, to deflect the balls and deter players from parking in the lot. He also suggested "Private Park- ing" signs be placed at the entrance to the lot. Councillor Jim Searls noted the diamond is not on town property. It is located on property owned by the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board and; used by the leagues under an agree- ment with the Goderich Recreation Department. The matter was referred to the Recrea- tion Board for consideration. have introduced more than 80 new -pro- grams and initiatives. Mr. Klopp's main focus was on assisting the working people. He said th'e NDP have fought for the ordinary working people before the election and will continue to do so during and after the election. "I'm running' for the farmers, the small business people and their families," said Mr. Klopp. Unlike the previous candidates, Mr. Klopp said he wasn't going to judge government by how much more one has done than the other, but he uses a marker of improvement. "Have we seen a marked improvement? I don't think so," he said."Farmers need bet- ter income stability and a decent rate of return..." Foreign Land Ownership Paul Greb, of the Dashwood area, asked the first question of the night, directing it to Mr. hiddell. -Five farms that changed hands in Stephen Township in the last year were Turn to page 2 d No need for trailer station Desptie the high volume of tourist traffic pulling trailers, which passes through Goderich each summer, town council sees no need to install a trailer waste disposal station here. Council, at its Aug. 17 meeting, accepted a recommendation from the Works and Property Committee not to proceed with the creation of such a facility. The matter was first suggested at the Ju- ly, council meeting by Councillor Bill Clif- ford, who had heard comments that there were no waste disposal facilities available in town. The committe noted that there is very little call for the service in town and also, that the service is available to any resident at the local Pollution Control Plant, at no charge. Facilities are also available for public use at Point Farms Provincial Park, by paying a $2.50 entry fee: People with season permits for Provincial Parks have free access to the dumping station. Commissioner of Public Works Ken Hunter indicated the cost to install a sta- tion would be between $2,000 and $3,000, as a sewer and water line would have to be installed. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR California Cuties The California Cuties recently visited Goderich and played against an all-star toam from the Goderich Industrial Fastball league. For a look at pictures from this event, check the sports section on page 7. Young Offenders A two-part feature was done on the Young Offenders Act with interviews with two residents of Bluewater ('entre, Superintendent of the ('entre, Carl DeGrandis and Probation Officer Tom i;wer. For a look at the first part of this feature, see the front page of the ('om- munity section.