HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-09-02, Page 1tr
ia-
The Goderieh advisory
committee of the Architec-
tural, Conservancy Society is
split on what stand to take -
/
with regard to the future of
`the former Colborne Hotel..
The .committee refused to
comment • p ibli?ely ontheir.
opinions and is ' awaiting `a
study -o€ -.the btrikdi#►g. te- c
done by committee secretary
and county planner 'Gary
Davidson: .
, The decision to await the:
restilts:of the study was mde• "
in a 'special .meeting `of 'th.e
• cpmrnittee after they had
""toured the 105year old hotel.
The members met Thursday
evening to discuss the issue,
at which_ time 'building
owners Ken and Alvin McGee
of McGee Motors dropped in
to see what. the committee
intended to do. '
The committee refused to
reveal its feelings .an the
issue, insisting they wanted to
first meet le,. private to
discuss the subject. They said
they had not., met about the
m -atter and felt they .Would
t'
prC"T' mni o 4h,�,i-,-1-nitls�J4
• •commeats in private.
1
The . owners. . doomed the
hotel when 'they announced
that .the . triangular shaped
building would be demolished "
in early Octoberto provide
added apace for. them to store'
automobiles,. They applied for
and received a. demolition'
permit in August and were ,
later advised that 'to use the
property for car storage they
would have to have it
rezoned,. .
•
Alvin McGee invited the
advisory committee tb tour
the building .to prove its
unsound condition . claiming
that structurally it needed to
come down. He said that the
` . build in>; was ahod$e,-p.odge of
efforts by' 'several owners
over a number or years
• "between- •hankrupjcies"e.
adding, that it was', not an
asset to the town. `
"I don't think 'anyone here
can conscientiously say that.
.the building has a lot of. style
nor has .itany glamour
historicatiy," said- Mr.
McGee • ,
CComm,ittee secretary.Gary
Davidson commented that
not everyone :felt, the ,same
way about the building as Mr'.
McGee did. He pointedout
that there were .people who'
•
1
felt tIe Parr. House and the -
Huron 'Minty Gaol were •
eyesores but they were ,both
repaired.
Ken McGee said that from
what .he has, heard- on the
street, :ihe Colborne Hotel is
the la ughini stdck . of
Goderich.
"That's • a _ma.ttter • of
opinion,-said.Da'vidson.e
- The building is a financial
burden to it's owners, ac
cording.toAlyin McGee who?.
said- that it doesn't, even
provide •enough revenue to
_ carry,. itself. He.. said that lin
one insurake firm will'un-
derwrite it and that the rent
of the • apartments • in the
building;, was sub . par. He
added that he was unable to
raise the rents •an the units
but that there was nothing to
prevent • other firms from
costs `adding to
the•. maintenance Q of " the
buildingraising,their.
Mr, McGee said thathe was
in no gre.at9rush to apply for ..
rezoning of the land, adding
that.,, the building wocild be.
vacant at the. end of ..Sep-
teniber. He said that therel''w,
was something less than 4,0.00
square feet of land under the
building and'that his firm had
gotten along this long without
the land and it can coetinue •to" "
dos° fora while.
Conor-jittee • .member
Dorothy Wallace said that the
building stood as' one of the
vista ,cornersleading off The
'Square, taking advantage . of
the unique..land patterns
created b the radial road'
pattern Of the core area. She
said ,she felt that the
building's `loss would be
,"esthetically poor".
The. committee refused .to
com.ment ' on .its"', feelings
rtowards the hotel's - €t ware;
saying members preferred: to
discuss the .site muni in-
private. Gary. Davidson said •
that the project had been
developed into a crisis and
that•. the •advisory committee
had not even had a chance -to -
meet about it.
He did .•Offer the owners
some idea of the . options
available to the society if they
chose to protect the building:'
He said the society would
comment to c' uncil t-hat..the
building, be designated
historie•and aa'aucli would be
preserved. Re added that the
demolition permit for„ the
project may be invalid .and
that the • firm would bare -
apply for rezoning' of the
.. property which would be' the
ideal place for theeornmittee `
; r-naaake their feelings k-nwwn
•
FCen M'o said. he was.
• Concerned about about.. the
problems :encountered by the
firm since its announcement
of the dein. oli'tion, He saidthe
firm had- owned the .bttild ing • • `
for 10 years, pays huge taxes
'fog their downtown.. location,
employ a large numberof
• people and have an unusable
building.
• • "Who has the;righi to tell us
what to..do;with it he asked..:
uN,re
rias: Ae"S.00 at"`
I WSPA
129.
YEAR -36
It's that time of year again. School starts up next week.
::,, fter a two month vacation :for students and teachers
•. alike and Betty Fisher, a Grade One teacher at. Victoria
School, is .getting a jutnp on her students by using the
• final week of .the -summer layd'ff to get her'classroom
.ready for her new students. Mrs.. Fisher taught kin-.
dergarten last year at Victoria as a supply teacher and :
this year joined the staff. fulltirr4e..(staff'photo)
•
s -c
Higk school crow
Area schools will be
opening their doors' for the
1976-77 school year on
Tuesday.. According to Don
(17
Kenwell; superintendent .of
education from the Clinton
office of : the Huron County
Board of Education, the. trend
•
A ambton County. Planning report
says villages like Grand Bend have too
• sm' 1 a tax base and should annex or
.amalgamate with areas -in neighboring
townships. The .Grand Bend Reeve
. agrees but the suggestion is • meeting
with little favor in the 'townships: The
' issue will be brought.up for.d'is"cussion at
meetings of both Huron and Lambton
oun y s I'i`5 later this ra•entli_ _
•
...
The province, through the Ontario
tiE
. Housing Corporation, has replaced two
existing housing authorities •(in
•' - Goderich and Clinton) with a Huron
• County • Housing Authority. The new.
body, will bring public housing in other
county comrhuni'ttes under' local
respotisibility which up. to • now were
Fadministered directly ' by the O.U.C.
Some questions; however,. are'being
111 asked about the method by which
representatives were appointed to the
new authority. ' .'
The- loss of prime agricultural land to
urban sprawl is in the news again. A
report prepared for the Department of
Urban Affiars •predicts- rocketing in-
flation of food prices as we approach the
• year 2000 because Canada will be forced:,
to eliminate present food crop exports.
See
England is suffering through its worst
drought in 500 years and dry conditions
in Europe have C st farmers dearly. •
Canadat,onthe other hand is fhoping for
bumper- crops. New export markets
could result,
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1+x.7.6
SINGLE COPY 2Se
steel roof with a wider span to the front of the arena to.house
• The Goderich.• Recreation cover the .existing ' dressing ; ` a beard,roo'rn and recreation
Board" building committee rooms: offices after learning that'.the
has .abandoned plane -for an ' The buildin .committee estimate on the total project
arena ' addition and will abandoned t ose earlier would, reach $430,000. C:•C:
proceed with the erection of•a• -plans.for a 19 fo t extension to Parker' and Associates, . who
7t2 Sim s ' 2.7- 1 � i i •}p1LS".V E r +s mz c
•
unitipd - crossing guards
will have govt authority
hetoWn's.fourschoQ1'Cress frig:guards
will be: backat their posts Tuesday
morning, but for the -first time they will
beofficially recognised by the Ministry
-'of Transportation and Communications.
'as having the authority to halt traffic
• with.a stop sign, ` •
Goderich's crossing guards are
Gordon Jamieson, David •MacDonald,
Elizabeth Miskie • and William
MacNaughton.. According to the new
legislation, • they will, be carrying'
florescent red signs with -the word STOP .
at least five ---inches .,high :ina white
reflective material. •
These stop signs are to be used only on -
roads with speed limits of 40 mph or less.
No one other . than a :school -crossing '
guard can use such.signs.
7.7"v�.l. S^' 2'g.4a.,`V ;R:.u.�. .7 0u• , rg.;
cool again
ed; elementary -schools hold
Failure Stu a`• far such signs could
make a driver subject to a general
penalty of from $2.0"ito $100. -
A school crossing .guard is defined in
the -act -as "a person 16 ,years of age or
• Older 'employed by a rriunicipality to
'direct the movement of children across a
highway". Under: no circumstances will
a school crossing 'guard direct traffic
when children are` absent from.,the in-
tersection. • '
Drivers in Goderich and area are
asked to be especially cautious • on
Tuesday morning., the first day of a new
school year, when children • are'
exuberant after a vacation and
motorists may have becomeaccustomed
to summer streets with no school: traffic
them:
..: Vit . ',7 re v24 hr N..a .�" 1.1- _�1.::" ir.:'ief. t? vviiiaRregeee..: ..
of the past •six years will
probably prevail again - a
slight decrease in enrolment
in the elementary schools, a
steady or increased
enrolment .in the secondary
schools.
At-Goderich District.
Collegiate ' Institute, con-
ditions will be crowded with
the largest Grade 9 class in•
the •history of the sch'odr
converging.Septeniber 7. Two
portable classrooms have
been pressed into service at.
the ' school to handle the
overflow.
• Principal 'John Stringer
says enrolment •at .GDCI
should reach 980 ' this fall,
about 40 more than ' the
number of students, attending
classes at GDCI when the
school year ended in - June.,
The .Grade 9 -class will•
number ,250; : the Grade 13
class about•70. .
Five new teachers will be
on hand to greet students on
Tuesday, Phillip McMillan
will be teaching Theatre.
Arts; John. Geiger and•Mrs.
1-Iudson,Warr will be.working
in the' :mathematics depar-
tment; John Mc1ishne: has
been •' hired to `teach
.mathematics and, science;
and Mr. Del Almeida will be
° the school's new Spanish
instructor. • •
Warren Robinson has taken
over as head of the' English
Department,'
There will be:.'.one
organizational change at
GPCI, this\fall. To gain
classroom vane, the student
population will have a split • ;Increased . and changing'
noon -hour. Each shift will population .. •at the trailer
have one hour for lunch with' a ; parks in Colborne Township
common 20-.' minute break. ' make estimates difficult, Mr:
Kane said. '
There will be three new
teachers on -staff at Colborne,
Linda Vanplew, , ak 1976
graduate of teachers' college,.
will be teaching. Grade 1;
Edna Jenken comes from .•.
Lngers oll with- -14 --years .:ex -:..-:..
peri:ence; and. Linda (Haugh)..
Students will have the same.
noon .>.hour "each . day .'and
- classes at the school will
begin .and end ,at the same
times -as in previous years.
A reunion of former
students at G:oderich's
elementary, '-schools .-and _the.,
high school is being planned
for 1977,`" the • 150th an- ..Nakamura, a native. :of
niversary of the town's: , Crediton, will b' teaching
founding. in this connection, • French' at Colborne and at
a'reunion committee at-GD.CI . HolEriesville.P.S. this year. will be activer'throughout the _. Mrs.' Nakamura is :the;only
school year. new . teacher' on staff at
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Holmesvil;le Public School •
•
this wear, reports Principal -•
Brookside Public School Bob Raeburn. Mr. Raeburn is
Principal Gary Jewitt is' • expecting enrolment at
anticipating enrolment to be Holmesville to be down
down slightly from last year. sligntly froth ass ear.
Staff members will be .-Another interesting bit of
reduced from 18 teachers •to
area elementary school nevus ,
17 • • • comes from Mr. Kenwell at'
Even, at that, enrolment. the hoard office. He reports"
sur ease the classroom that Bill Black has returned
space provided in tirefrom a one year sabbatical -school. leave . and will become
One portable classroom will principal at ' Blyth Public
still] be in use at.Brookside -School. Mr. Black was for -
this September. -
Shelley Grange of Auburn • meriy principal at Colborne'
will be the only new -face on Central .School. and 'at
•
the staff at Brookside this . Brookside Public School.
.fall. • • S.S. SCHOOL.
Enrolment could be "upENROLMENT °
bit" at Colborne. • CenTF 1 '-'"
Sehooi. Principal John Kane Sister Jean Moylan will be
points out that enrolment was a new "face at St. Mary s
20. more than elstirnate'd last - will be to School this fall: t. She
September and he "really will be teaching Grade 1. dray.:.:
couldn't say until the doorslFrench at the school „will be
tau
open" Jot what enrolment
will
year by Terry
will be this fall. ry,-,trnntinued on page 20
prepared the drawings, also
withdrew . tenders ' for
structural steel that were to
bereceived today. • '
Members of the building,
committed met Graham -
Pitman, foundation ; and
structural engineer, at the
arena Friday and decided, on
a steel roof construction with
.a•wider span to be attached to
the ,existing" •auditorium roof,`.
The auditorium' roof would
also have "to be reinforced to
conform to standard and the
estimated cost of the project
none is $250,000:
Originally,. the, committee
was the receive 'structural
steel tenders today and make
:a -presentation' to council on.
the tenders anddrawings for
the -overall•-• project. The
tenders for structural' steel
have been withdrawn and
committee • Member -'Bob
Allenestimated that new
dr'awi.igs ' could be, ready
today and tenders Could be let
immediately • for . a. 10 day
period. -
Allen said that it .was not
impossible for work to begin
sometime- .• in November
following a six week waiting
period for the steel. If-itere
likely" that work could be
undertaken that quickly,. the
ice surface could, be operative
this year. The space between
the dressing,roorn walls and
the roof will be filled in with
steel:;siding
The committee •seems
somewhat relieved and:
content that drawings will be
° finaI and there is a definite•
direction -to work: in: ••
- "I. am.pleased with ,the •new
• plans now and I, think the
building committee , is too," .
Allen comrnented
Recationboard chairman
Pete McCauley viewed the
new .Aps as muchmore
realistic 'but^still anticipates
some problems in the area of
fund raising:
"Council cannot domuch
about the tenders until the ;.
money is raised and they
already stated that-- tax
dollars would hot be used," he
said. "Council would be
irresponsible to'go ahead with
the project without the money
and the people. of the com-
munity have`to realize that 4,
panic is on '
• Recreation • director Mike..,;
Dymond clairned that, fund:
raising efforts wouldstill
maintain their original target
of $130,000 '
Fund raising efforts will
become more prominent in
the near future and if enough.
(continued on page 20
Goderlch: volunteer fire chief Ralph 'Eltigswell directs the flow of Water 'at.a fire last ..
Thursday at thehome of Bessie Moore of Colborne Townshir. The fire,believed to hake
been started"by lightning striking the television aerial, caused considerale damage to the
two story frame -house before firemen could -'get .to the scene. Two other' fires burning at
'.9the same time. stretched the volunteer force thin but heavy'rainske t the blaze frotn •
spreading too fast enabling firemen to control it fairly e'atily: About a dozen friends and
neighbors of Mrs. Moore'srworked furiously retrtoving her furniture and :belonghigs,
arn
the burning house before the firemen ariived. She was not home at the time of the fire.
(staff photo) • ' -
•