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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-02-17, Page 4.lg aG ?ry K�i�i+ki :r; tti i^1 An analysis; of. Monday evening's council deliberations concerning the McGee matter, reveals 'three decisions: that Ken McGee • be encouraged to remain on the planning board; thatthe McGee • property at the corner of Hamilton _ and Newgate Streets be ruled legal in its current use as a sales - parking lot; and that the Restricted Area Bylaw No. 29 be reviewed with an intent to protect the Square area "from any further deterioration from its' existing use". Of the three decisions of town council Monday evening, by far the most significant for the municipality is the last one. Not only does council imply through this decision that the Restricted Area Bylaw No. 29 is possibly lacking in some respects, it also leaves the distinct impression that council does not necessarily concur' with the McGee sales -parking . lot located on what has been termed a "vista corner" - nor would it welcome a similar enterprise elsewhere in the Square area at this juncture. The word of the approved -motion "from any further deterioration from its existing use" give cause for citizens to wonder whether council was indeed fair to Mr. McGee Monday evening. As a member of the planning board, Mr. McGee will now be charged to work towards a time when a sales - parking lot, such as the one in which he has an interest and which has been permitted by town council, will be banned from the Square area. It is obvious the McGee matter was a test issue. It was a testing ofBylaw 29, and it appears from the discussion of council that even the planners are not agreed what Bylaw 29 really does say about the McGee sales -parking lot. The Majority of council agreed that the ruling of Municipal Planning Con- sultants, the authors of the plan, should • be accepted without question, probably because' it was favorable toward the use and eased the municipality out of a difficult, and dicey situation. Only Councillor Elsa Haydon had a desire to, be informed according to the viewpoint of the county planning department, to wait until alt the information was before council to make the decision. It was Councillor Stan Profit who pointed out .that .if Municipal Planning Consultants felt that the intention of the plan was to permit such use as the McGee sales parking lot at the corner of Hamilton and Newgate Streets, it should be' acceptable to council. What Councillor Profit did not appear to understand was that the intention of the planners does not matter,' but rather it is the intention of town council which must be served. Bylaws are written to control. When the control is in .doubt, as is the case here judging from council's motion to protect the Square area "from any further deterioration from its existing use", then bylaws are written to be tested, to be tried for their strength and clout. Much is said about putting "teeth" in a bylaw but it is the biting and the chewing that cause the in- digestion. This time of testing came and went. The bylaw was not tried. Council chose to let the horse out of the barn, and now will attempt to lock the door. There will be another time of testing. It could be tomorrow, before the bylaw can be reviewed. It may be next year. Ten years from now. But there will be another testing. Will council at that time have the courage of its con- victions - to try their bylaw, to test its control in court if necessary - to protect The Square as a unique, historical heart of The Prettiest Town in Canada. —SJK Good work Wheeler One of the weaknesses of Ontario educational system, it has been said, is the alrhost total absence of instruction for youngsters about municipal government. In fact, not all that much is taught in Ontario schools regarding the composition and functions of provincial- and federal government. At the high school level, for instance,. a portion of the Year 2 Canadian History course entitled How We Are Governed touches on federal, provincial and municipal govern- ments, but not all students in Year 2 study Canadian History. Those who do take the course get only a general outline of governments and notthe in- depth kind of study which is so vital to produce a generation of knowledgable and potentially qualified citizens to one day hold a government office. At the elementary school level, there ki provision againfor a study of the workings of all levels of government -in Canada; . To be perfectly fair, if the course outline were followed to the letter by an enthusiastic teacher, students would be well acquainted with many aspects of federal, provincial, county and municipal government. Also, the course of study is broad and the topics on it are varied. Teachers are free to pick and chose from the topics on the course of study and, the section on government and how it works may be totally omitted. It is only the occasional teacher who has suf- ficient interest in government - par- ticularly municipal government - to really get down to the nitty-gritty and how municipal councils work, how municipal legislation is passed, the duties and responsibilities of municipal council representatives, and the ad- ministration of municipal government. Consequently, generation after generation does not really understand municipal governement and has no desire to learn about it. Not many will ever aspire to serve at any level of government in this country.. Still more appalling is the'fact that those men arid women who do get elected to • office, particluarly municipal government offices, must often spend the first few months - even years - listening and learning about the job they have been elected to do. It is a kind of municipal government apprenticeship at the expense of the ratepayers. First -term councillors all over the province are paid to learn a lesson which , more correctly should have been taught in school. Because they are unprepared for their job, they, are . lessening the effectiveness of council everywhere. There is no guarantee that once trained, they will remain at the municipal council table and there is the extreme likelihood they will resign or be voted out of office to be replaced by another new face to be trained and instructed in the ways of municipal government. Locally this year, Councillor Don Wheeler, a newcomer to the council table in Goderich, saw the problem and attempted to do something about it. One of Councillor Wheeler's first contributions to council work was to draw up a set of guidelines for future harbor chairmen to follow. He has set out the duties of the harbor chairman as well as any other .pertinent in- formation in such a fashion that other harbor chairmen after him will have a ready-made short course of study in order to carry out his or her duties more -effectivelyright from the beginning. Hats off to Councillor Wheeler; —SJK cD E3 A SIGNAL -STAFF Tho'County Town Newspaper of Huron —0— _ Founded In 1845 and published every Thursday at Goderich. Ontario. Member of the CW NA and OWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable fn advance $12.00 In Canada. 215.50 to U.S.A., $20,00 to all other countrlea, single copies 25 cents. Display advertising rates available on request. Please ilk for Rate Card No. 7 effective Oct. r, Idfs. Second -chats mill Registration Namber.O71/. Advertising'it'lfecepted on the con- dition that, in the event of typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable ailowance for signature. will not be c�ih�arged for • but the balance of the advertisement will be paid forst the appiicabterate.In event of a lypbgrapbicai error advertising goods or servicer st a wrong price. goods er service may net be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer told!, and may be withdrawn at any time., The Signal -Sur is not responsible for the toes -or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or pbotes. ausinNF slind;EditorialOfficer 1ELEPHONE 3244331 • � - rttiia`:9�ode:3lii,. � , Published by..,Signal-Star Publishing' Ltd. ROBERT 0. SHRiER -•resident and .. .p ,... Publisher SHIRLEY' J.�.KELLE1t -- ifditor , ' EDWARD J.<iBYRSKI -r- advertisingManager Itt Ott • ; r �, ' I I , a s � y,,.h. `f be Sign ianguage BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER The editor of the`.Clinton News -Record last' week wrote a letter to Frank Miller, the man ' who while he was Minister of Health for Ontario went into Clinton and opted to close down the hospital there along with several others in the province. Needless to Say, the citizens of Clintrdn° and surrounding area will probably applaud`the editor's open letter to Mr. Miller, for it points up in a most terse fashion that Miller was dumb, dumb, dumb to figure that Clintonians could get along without their hospital. Editor Jim Fitzgerald writes: "It's been exactly a year since you made your unan- nounced visit here to Clinton, with a brief stopover at our local Clinton Hospital, for a nice chit-chat with all the good people there, and quite frankly, Frank, we hope you don't come back. "A lot of water has flowed 2 More pix please Dear Editor, With the deadline for getting our "Memories of Goderich" to the printer rapidly approaching, the history committee. asks the. favor of communicating with your readers by this letter as a last call forpictures of people, places and events in the history of the tovbn. Amongotherswe are-tryingr. to locate photographs by nineteenth century photographers E.L. Johnson DEAR under the bridge, or maybe it should be under the beds, sincethen, and even your boss Billy seems to have lost faith in you. " "Anyhow, what I'm writing about is to say that the people hereabouts are still getting sick, in fact they get sick at the dumbest times, Frank, right in the middle of a winter that even Polar Bears would shun.,: • "You see, Frank, had our local hospital not been open, at least two people wouldn't be reading this, unless there is such a thing as a sub- terranean lighting for coffins. "How much is life" worth Frank? $800,000? "We're just hoping here in Clinton, Frank, that your new replacement Dennis, has the "energy" to sit down with the hospital boards and the medical profession as a whole; -and try and talk this problem out. "We agree wholeheartedly that health care costs are way y Jeff Sedd HEADERS out of line, but why use us as an example? - "Til our bedpans meet again, Jim." +++ Yes indeed, Dennis Tim- brell, the former Minister of Energy is the new Health Minister for . the province. Clinton's newspaper editor and many Clintonians appear to be jubilant over the cabinet shuffle because they feel certain that it means the ,provincial government is backing off - saving face for poor Mr. Miller - and bringing a more sympathetic viewpoint to the Clinton situation. Many of the farmers in this part of the province are jubilant, too. Not because Frank Miller has lost the health portfolio - .although that probably pleases them too- but more because Dennis Timbrell is no long Minister of Energy. According to one report, the farmers fighting the location of the new hydro. line corridor were about to ask • Premier Bill Davis to remove Dennis Timbrell from the Energy. Ministry 'becaue he was not com- petent ., : to •'make a wise decision on the route -the line will take. Mr. Timbrell, then, may well be just out of the frying pan and into the fire. Otto put it another way, he may be just as determined to do the government's bidding in the, health ministry as in " -the energy ministry. Whoever first dreamed ttp the idea that government ministers are free agents? • + + + This -writer does not share-- the harethe conviction of the Clinton editor that with Timbrell comes victory for Clinton Hospital supporters and the end to talk about closure. Far from it. It. would appear the --provincial government of Bill EAR:EDITDR and• D. Campbell. We would people is ,working hard to like a picture to do with prepare a book of which the the bowling club, Cham: town can be proud. We hope pionship teams, girls' to have it in the bookstores by trumpet band, horses - and June the first. races; fires at Presbyterian Sincerely, Churcfi, Court House, Park House, and Big Mill, Judith Dorothy -Wallace, Gooderham:Park (or Victoria Chairman Park), Northi,Shore Railway . and its roundhouse, Babb's TO ALL IN GODERICH Hotel and.the Ocean House. ° AND I could go on to a very long . SURROUNDING AREAS lit but perhaps this will be list _ sufficient to get your readers ` In regard to Mir -4 Jubilee" thinking' of the pictures they celebration this year I cannot ,have tucked away. help but feel we should all. The committee of about 15 participate not Drily in ,the Davis is committed liospitals in a go cases with just cause is doubtful if'thd gov has changed its mind What may have c the government's And in this regard,' of -The Huron Exp Seaforth Susan" agrees. Last : wek wrote an ,editorial ry "A tricky ame" an editorial she outlin she feels may be goi the Tory camp w Onti object now, at leas erne next,: few months, is ' enl fences, restore trust whi an election. , pal t stei + + + tudy ndic Susan writes: pal "There's more ' con way to close a hospita tion what former pro ally health minister Fdrank din€ has been telling us. of tl "But the portion of ! ' , IE Davis' recent cabinet which took Mr. Mill (continued on we ell. ry, ce's. al hi lint Coti smI Coca wh alth 1 re em; celebration - but also by any assistance we may able to give - financially or other - A great many of these people willbe our guests and why 'should we- expect the service clubs to have all the expense of entertaining,` them? I suggest we all get into thi together and help all we can, Someideas that come to mind are --the- .making -of- several quilts or pillows with the town crest on, to be sold duringthe week. Deposit your change from your pay check each more if you can. Donate a pound of tea or hot chocolate, could serve it in a b of charge as a courtes1 Perhaps the town' divided into section;. sales. They could b0 the different Churche' would all donate as came and everya patronize 'it. Areas listed' if the" -paper,. would be no need 10 anyone. I think the men cnu (continueda quo Ian Tonal I1 in atior ded enta to f of F 've corp lved is We ace m). con' 7$.Y18RRS AGO Several:illegal' b'lls of tht State Bank.. of New ,:. � , Brun:,': snick„ New : Jerse h , av ' Y e made theft, a' ".earance i , Huron County and; a warning w 1 ns:.issued;':fo t'he�i ubli d .p. c sine r'U they are °worthless. Th, ,or anizatio' g o of the bank .wad newer. completed. and th engraved;.ptates fell into tit nd Gi deli li ''ilei ��Patiy has alreadyV been legally amalamated withthe fed to Brantford ,Street Ailway �ttipany and; `a , 50 year. a�ra.y tt'ancirisea h s. been obtained t"om the town of IPat is1 4 ,',• tail,., a':: Ij " r �, ;, 25 YEAliSAt,'`p_,': itt% '- ,Goderich ci.- tuns fioYk c�tyiei:t�t.i}ts oriel ` SCrvc es Yfor'. iti �`iergef th tth .... �. i .7 Su 1 .. nday and inspii'#ngeulogies were spokensby the cltrgy;of the churches. 4 , x m p . Y� o � isle` >alh. yyy�� 1#010,1g,-, ad .'�* • +.J :0 n -: µ : -. re t. ' el in,. e d b . tt#t�i�''; four cell's prer,,bourit'seef lug • i .( ��entx d>liF:i�lst >we fie, a it ri"si s � r teSt#%,piiein o ":.!It!"1. efi`4�L �4"CP �.+!�F •y'S.. }s�,ii �f.d`. IS ordin begs pith dent .F atiori 5'YEARS•AG4 rib poi and 1�1 '� a .••::,K.insrnetl:. ...l-1 .,. ,> Itlirat>flo` 99 . s'ui't- 4, .eli�lntl'% V1�a5 'SllC,,, e oup raise: to �rct :.S 154 Ate! � en'�' b fi f .Zxtc t e. t i' 1 e0 hk,l