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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-09-29, Page 4PAGE,4r—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1977 `0, IANI Nrry ti „GA Goderich SIGNAL- STAR The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded In 184$ and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CW NA and OW NA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable In advance $12.00 in Canada, $15.50 to U.S.A.. $29.00 to all other countries, single copies 25 gents. Display advertising rates available on request. Please ask for Rale Card No. 7 effeclive''Ocl. 1. 1976, Second class mail Registration Number 0716. Advertising Is accepted on the con- dition that. in the event of typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item. together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for al the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or service may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos, Businessand Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 area code 519 Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER — ptesident and pybftsher SHIRLEY J. KELLER — editor EDWARD J. kYRSKI — advertising manager Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 220, sIndustrial Park, Goderich Second class mail registration number — 0716 Well spoken Mayor Deb Shewfelt certainly knows where to place a few choice words at just the right time. When a London Free Press reporter asked the mayor for his im- pressions of what Darcy McKeough's speech meant locally, Mayor Shewfelt said emphatically that it could result. in a hefty increase in taxes in Goderich in 1978. On Tuesday in Goderich, • many people including town councillors were mulling over in their minds the prospects of a "shocking" tax increase. A few people became downright angry. But for the most part, there was a growing determination in many quarters to prove the mayor wrong and to make certain that the tax hills ip Goderich did not take a monstrous jump in the new year. Another link Regular Signal -Star readers will be delighted to see another area of news coverage beginning last week. That is the monthly report from the Board of Governors of Alexandra ,Marine and Whether the mayor planned it or not, his tactics, brought about a desirable effect on citizens. Suddenly everyone felt the seriousness of the vehole thing, and v illingly readied themselves for some severe belt tightening. Apd that after all, was. what Darcy McKeough's visit was all about -Voluntary restraint. Mayor Shewfelt only dealt the crucial blow that may have awakened taxpayers from their apathetic ,lumbering. Now let's look toward the boric get meetings with a positive • attitude. Let's really begin to pare down the side dishes and as Mayor Shewfelt says, "Get down to the meat and potatoes." Let's try to make next year's tax hills pallatable to just about everyone.—SJK news to be released.lt isdifficult for someone writing news about personal in- volvements to always remain objective_ Many hospitals in Huron operate dif- ferently_and-the press is welcomed at board General_Hospizal. meetings nn a r lilac osis_ Per,.laa}as at This report, it must be pointed out, is not some future date, the board at AM&G will provided in he regular way. That is, Signal -Star reporters do not sit in hospital board meetings because that privilege is not possible under the present regulations governing the board. The report is sent in to the Signal -Star by Administrator J.W. Banks who actually compiles the highlights of the meeting into a story for the newspaper. Quite naturally, the Signal -Star editorial staff does not see this as the ideal way to get news for the paper. There is always a tendancy in such cases, for only the positive amend its procedures bylaw in favor of open meetings. In the meantime, the Signal -Star is in- deed grateful for the efforts of the hospital administrator and the board members to provide the citizens of Goderich and area with regular reports of the happenings at hoard meetings. This kind of co-operation is another link. It is what makes a weekly newspaper invaluable to the men and women who live in the community served by both the newspaper and the hospital.—SJK The tax puzzle The debate in county council on the new property tax proposals gave new insight into the kind of people who are farmers. It has long been known that farmers are fiercely independent and hardworking, but it was most evident at last Thursday's meeting that farmers in Huron County are also intensely proud individuals who want nothing more than tg stand - -or fall - on their own resources. It was a young Stanley Township farmer, Paul Steckle, who seemed to speak for the farmers of the county at the September session of county council. Steckle said in no uncertain terms that he doesn't want someone paying his taxes for him... and he doesn't think other farmers • want that either. What farmers do want, Steckle insisted, was a fair return on their in- vestment and a fair price for their farm produce. "Then we can pay our taxes," asserted Steckle. The main argument put forth by Steckle, and by fait•nersin general for years now, is that farmland should not he taxed to pay for such things as education. libraries, health services, social welfare etc. These are people services, farmers say. and should be paid for by people. On the other hand, farmland should pay a share for roads since roads are vitally important to get supplies to the land and produce from the land. Farmers in Huron County believe that the 50 per cent rebate farmers now get on their property taxes is a kind of admission by government that things haven't been done as fairly as they should have been in the past. Many farmers are anxious for some tax reform to he approved which would allow them to pay taxes at the regular rate on their homes and the land immediately around their homes to pay for the people services, in much the same manner as urban dwellers are taxed. It is the matter of how to tax the remainder of the land and buildings on the farm which is causing the argument. The Blair Report recommends that taxes on land and farm buildings by paid 100 per cent by the province. It is clear that as long as the land remains in use for agricultural purposes, the tax money paid by the government on behalf of the farmer will he forgivable after 10 years. If, however, the land is sold to a developer for other than agricultural use, the tax money paid on the farmer's behalf will have to be returned to .government by the farmer when the deal is - cttosed. The Huron County executive committee has suggested that farmers should have the right to pay the entire tax hill on their property if they so desire, There is••also a strong recommendation that farmers should pay at least 10 per cent of the taxes on their farirlland and buildings so farmers can retain some of the say about what will happen in regard to their farming operation. The fear among farmers is that once the government pays the taxes on the land, the government will have the say about the land. It may well be that farmers will end up paying as much.: or more - than at present in property taxes if proposed tax reform is introduced. Once farm homes and the land surrounding them are assessed at market value, many farmers maybe surprised at` the hill. It has been estimasted that taxes on a 100 -acre farm in Huron County run at an average of 5$700 now. 1f the farmer gets 50 per cent of that in rebate under the present oystem, a $350 tax'hill remains. If today's modern farm homes were assessed separately, it is indeed possible many tax hills would still he $350 under a new system. One nagging worry remains for everyone,. If the farmer isn't paying total tax hill, who picks up the slack? Where dots the. government get the money to reimburse the farmer 50 per cent under the current system or to pay his taxes on farmland and farm buildings under the new proposal? There are many explanations about how this will he managed but todate, there has been no official statement from govern- ment about it. And that's where Padl Steckle's terse solution seems most acceptable at first glance Give farmers what they need for their farm produce, and farriers will pay their own way. But wait. If farmers get more for their wheat, their corn, their milk, their eggs what will happen to consumer Kites? Who will he paying the lion's share then? Maybe Paul Steckle is right. Maybe the money should come from the consumer. the user, the people. Maybe Canadians should he paying more for their food. Mayby in the long run, that would balance the scale a little more. Or would it? W.ruld everything get out of whack then? There's the problem tax reformers wrestle with. Any way you cut. it, it is a mammoth puzzle and no solution will he a happy one for everybody, —SJK T Garbage to some By Jeff Sedd BY SHIRLEY J. KELL R Garbage is really in the news right now. Last week, the front page had two stories about garbage - one con- cerning a garbage heap that is grow Lag- on the bank of the Maitland River at the end of Anglesea St. East and one concerning the cost of dumping garbage at the Holmesville land fill site owned by George Lavis of Clinton. A third story was witten for last week, but was crowded out until this week. That story concerned a meeting at town hall to look at some of the alternatives to the present system of garbage pickup in Goderich. Currently C and W Sanitation is doing the job. Last year it cost the town in excess of $70,000 for this jobs This fall, C and W requested a seven per cent increase per annum for a new three year contract which hasn't been negotiated as yet. Right now, C and W is picking up gar- bage at last year's price plus $1,000 extra per month ,., but that will only continue until the, end of December this year. Some definite answers will have to, he found by town councillors regarding gar- bage before the end of 1977 Truly, garbage is big business. +++ I would suspect the Keller household is about average when it comes to garbage. We seem to have lots of it and 1 must admit much of our garbage is disposed of without much care and at- tention to saving space, We leave that to the big com- pacter which cruises our street once a week. Just this week, I have been giving some thought to exactly what has 4iappened regarding garbage in _the DEAR. RE past 20 years or so at the Keller household. The more I thought about it, the more I realized our situation was probably not unlike the situation in any household. Twenty years ago. g,ael3e-ge- *asn''t-e prerbienrfor us. We had a big cook stove in the kitchen which ate up all the waste paper and the bits of garbage that could easily he consumed by fire. Not only did it rid us of garbage, it helped to keep us warm and to cook our meals. We didn't think much about it at the time, .but r guess in a sense it was recycling in its simplest form. The remaining garbage went into a makeshift in- cinerator or onto two dif- ferent heaps behind the hogse. Everyone had these garbage disposals in our neighbourhood. The in- cinerator was for garbage in the summer. There was the heap for tin cans and bottles and such. There was the heap for ashes from the big cook stove, the incinerator and the other "wet" garbage that wouldn't burn - such as corn buskins and potato peelings and leftovers from the table. Sure these all attracted flies especially the heaps. But the heaps were usually cleaned up before the really hot weather arrived. and kept to a minimum during the hot weather: In the cold weather, there was not much of an odor problem and when the snow came, it covered the heaps entirely making them hare less and invisible. Where were the heaps taken when they were cleaned up? Why to the municipal dump, if you lived in a spot where you had no other dumping place. Far- mers often took their refuse to some obscure corner of the farm where they had their own private dumping grounds. 75 YEARS AGO The Dominion Government has sent to each of the Collegiate institutes throughout Canada a box containing the different weights and measures of the Metric System, a chart of the weights and measures, with full explanation of the same. On Friday a peddler named Moore was brought before the police magistrate charged by Constable Gundry with peddling without a license. He was found guilty and remanded till Monday for sentence and a fine of $I0 and costs was imposed. Reports come down the river that big hauls of bass have been made at "The DERS And there wasn't near the landscapes to be kept free of clean environment, or garbage then either. or so it litter and smoke. they titre? Are the seems. Canned foods were They call it progress .. and I garb,tg' disposal luxury items; many things suppose it is.• But sometimes, inadequate or $neon were purchased -in bulkand like right now when one making it easier to left little or .no garbage realizes all the problems garbage to a local behind them; everyone had a garbage disposal can cause in dump it rather thanto •gar*'n--where mtteh--ttf-the--- one sinal -1 town -like G rich, piekt•d tient the d "wet" garbage was.thrown to it really is debatable whether Holmesville location rot and get worked into the progress is worth the price, away? Ti often lock soil. I also wonder if we aren't public? Are there reverting in many, nyany prtifylems? } + ways to the past when things And •s hat abou were simpler and cheaper, prospect of the nun Just going over the foregoing We do'n't have cook stoves in getting into the g paragraphs, it is easy to see our kitchens, perhaps, but disposal business? what has happened. more and more firep xe6'es ;;mahout the people of The big cook stove a and ornament .hl stoves are buying equipment an natural garbage burner - is turning up in homes which staff.) Ha'.en't wed gone. So are the homemade may already be garbage how (t - can oscala trash incinerators in the back eaters and miniature gover•nnient of anyle yard where • garbage recycling plants to conserve over ,crsices n smouldered away sometimes energy. provided by for a whole day before finally The picture on last week- s husine,k:' going out. The garbage heaps editorial page of the garbage There are manyt aren't there anymore either. heap at the end of Anglesea yet to he inwwered There aren't many gardens Street East is proof that garbage .i.n Grtder and most that are there are people are ignoring the en- citizen, h re are sell fertilized by commercial vironmental rules and to became arquain products. Do you have a bypassing the municipal the pruhlems and compost heap? garbage disposal methods, •thinking a Why? Do people really not possible altr•rnatiees understand the need for a properiintisuers. tl a H ,00 ve li ad tiv gre And what's more, a trip to the grocery store creates a mound of garbage. Most families buy all their food, and parctically everything that is purchased is packaged in layers of cardboard and cellophane or in disposable plastic, tin or glass. We don't buy rr.uch in bulk anymore, so instead of one container we have several to get rid of. And we have lots of new things to . dispose of... like disposable diapers and paper handkerchiefs and spray cans and milk cartons and plastic meat trays and ,throw -away soft drink cans. The list is endless. We have to he.careful how we dispose of them, too, The government sees to that because we. the people, want our air and our water clean and fresh; we want our roads and Our streets attractive; and we want our natural Pr m a VI ros; :E ter lati gh erir gov CI Rob, nt 51, tire, as ri ce an shop tion$ of sa: mor tom the blit are; totes nt a; om over f roan irs, art tris Ion Ge nd iter, ould reel EAR ITDR D Got a beef? Let's hear from YO LOOKING BAC Rocks" and "The Black Hole" and if the reports are true a few men should he forted to interview the police magistrate for it is against the law to hag four or five dozen at a fishing. 25 YEARS AGO A sand and gravel bar, at least 60 feet wide and in some places 75 feet, has completely shut off the mouth of the Maitland River so that no water passes directly from the river mouth into the lake. This wash-in of gravel from the lake bottom by westerly winds has been going on for about two weeks now until the gravity of the situation resulted '" in a special deputation. examining the' river mouth. Stating it is their intention to erect a drive-in theatre on the site, George Bowra and D. M. Graham have offered the town $1,000 for the old rifle range property. Twelve building permits since the last meeting totalling $21,075 were granted at a meeting of the town council on Friday night last. Thirty-nine new Canadians have registered for the basic English course taught by Miss Margaret Mason at the G.D.0 i• evening classes. 5 YEARS AGO The Goderich Municipal Police Department is in- vestigating the theft of jewelry valued at $750 which was stolen from Shore Gifts on The Square late Monday. The jewelry was taken by thieves who smashed the front window. Police say that three diamond wedding rings and three matching engagement rings were taken from the display case at about 11:45 p.m. Goderich Municipal Police Chief Fred Minshall an- nounced following a police 'commission meeting on Tuesday evening that the local force has hired Thomas A, Jarczak as a probationary constable to replace con- stable Mel Greig who recently left the force. Evelyn Carroll, a member of the Royal Canadian, Legion Ladies Auxiliary, 13xainch 109 and zone Comma elected last week., proviniilll cxccufive RCI. Ladies Atoolia the new Honnrarli for Ontario. Just a reminder Bea O REDCR.:. Blood Do