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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-06-01, Page 1Council lets paving tender The tender of E.C. King, Owen Sound, for paving five stretches of Goderich streets was accepted at a special council meeting last week. The King tender was the lowest of two at $63,722.50. Paving will include Blake Street from South Street to Bayfield Road; Sunset Drive from Warren Street to Eldon Street; Warren Street from Sunset Dr. to Bennett Street; Rich Street from Warren Street to Eldon Street; and Delbar Subdivision. Town clerk Larry McCabe said work will begin just as soon as final approval for the project is given by the Ministry of Transportation and Communication. The other tender was from Lavis Contracting in Clinton for $69,040. Chief says break the chain Chief Pat.. King said this week that • a chain letter is circulating in Goderich which 'has religious connotations and suggests that unless 20 letters are sent onto other people in 24 hours, bad luck will plague the original recipient. Chief King urges anyone who receives such a letter to "rip it up". "Your luck will continue the same as it would normally," said the police chief. Sending out chain letters is not an offense against the law, the police chief added, but it can be most upsetting to superstitious persons. This particular chain letter involves no exchange of money or gifts. Ruttledge plans holiday for 100 kids BY JEFF SEDDON Martin Ruttledge wants to send 100 kids to camp ttis summer. Ruttledge, a student working with Family and .Children's. Services iqt Huron County this sum- mer is planning farm holidays and trips Eto summer camps for kids in Huron County whose parents can't afford to send them. He is working on an Experience '78 project for Children's Services and hopes to make this summer holiday one many of the children will remember. John Penn, director of Children's Services, said Tuesday that the summer camp project will be expanded this year through Experience '78. He said last year the agency placed 39 kids in summer camp but this year with a full time staff member "organizing and promoting the project he hopes to involve more children. Penn said the program was the responsibility of an agency secretary last year who ad- , ministered it along with her other duties. He said the extra work placed on the secretary prevented the agency from promoting the program, something planned for this year. Penn said camps along the shore of Lake Huron are being contacted now for placement of children. He said parents of the children are being made aware that the service is there for their children if they wish to take advantage of ft. He said it costs about between $30 and $40 a week to send a child to camp and the funds are coming from private and public donations to the agency. He said money is available this year for the project but unless more donations are received for next year the program will be a one year deal. He said Ruttledge has'also enlisted the support of about a dozen farm families willing to,take children- under their wing, for a farm holiday during the summer months. He said the families are willing to take children into their homes for four or five weeks to give them the experience of living on a farm. He said the families are not charging for the service. The . director said the farm holiday was designed to encompass family units. He said the volunteers are willing to take all the children from one family,to permit the youngsters to stay together during the holiday. •Hesaid many of the youngsters may be the children of single parents who normally couldn't afford or wouldn't be able to give their children such a holiday. Ashfield township votes wet...but just Voters in Ashfield township made it clear Monday night that they are in favor of the sale of beer, wine and spirits in licensed establishments within the township boundaries. Well over 50 percent of the resident voters in the township turned out at the polls Monday night in a plebiscite vote to determine if the township would be .wet or dry. Ashfield clerk - treasurer Don Simpson said there are about 2,300 eligible voters in the township but almost half of those are cottage.owners that are non-residents, Of approximately 1,150 resident voters 753 cast ballots on the liquor issue. Simpson explained that the three questions. One asked if favor of beer, wine or spirits establishment where food was concerned it being sold under a lounge license and the third under an entertainment license. About 62 percent of the voters answered yes to all three questions. Simpson said 62.53 percent were' in" favor of a licensed dining "lounge, 61.48 percent, were in favor of a lounge license and 62.25 percent were in favor of entertainment licenses. The vote showed that a clear majority of the residents of the township are in favor of the sale of liquor but ironically that majority managed just enough support to make the township wet, Provincial law requires that a 60 percent majority be in favor of liquor sales and that percentage was met with two percent for good measure. The question of liquor sales was first raised in December of 1977 when he Dungannon Agricultural Society asked to' le'° ship council to call for a plebiscite vote. Council turned down the request because it felt not enough interest was shown. The Agricultural Society came back to the council table in February with a petition con- taining 305 names, approximately 25 percent of ballot contained the voter was in being sold in an sold. The second the resident voters. Council arranged the plebiscite and immediately a temperance organization, sprang up to oppose the liquor sales. Howard Blake served as ^ treasurer for the temperance group and said opposition to the sale of liquor was never really an organized fight. He said a few church groups and organizations got together and decided to place some advertising in local newspapers asking voters to turn down the Liquor license request. He said he was merely treasurer of the group and although he had publicly commented on the issue he said he was no official spokesman. "We thought there were enough liquor outlets around," he said. "Liquor was available and it wasn't as if they were going without." Blake said the group didn't really approve of the liquor sales adding it was their option to say so and they did. Wegave thema..fightand lost" 'Hesaid the group felt that the young people of the township "didn't really need liquor at sporting events"., He said he himself was a non- drinker and while he didn't oppose anyone,taking a drink he said it "seems they can't do anything without getting tanked up". Blake said the temperance group had no in- tention of continuing opposition and hopes that people or groups getting liquor licenses will be moderate. He said he was confident the liquor control board would monitor the situation for- cing license holders to "toe the mark". Spokesmen for the Agricultural Society felt that the results of the vote will enable them to turn a profit at activities like the Dungannon Fall Fair. They claim money made at public func- tions like the fair will be turned back into community projects and money made from the sale of liquor will provide profits at the functions, many of which have barely broken even in the past.' HMCS Saguenay to visit When Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Saguenay docks in Goderich harbor June 18 it will be the first time in over a decade that a Canadian warship entered Goderich waters. Mac Campbell, chairman of the Goderich tourist committee, said Tuesday that he had received word from' the Canadian, Founders Day Committee that the warship would be making Goderich a port of Call on its summer cruise of the Great (Lakes, The vessel will sail from Montreal and arrive here some time June18for a three day visit before sailing for Sault Ste. Marie. Campbell said a reception was planned aboard the vessel upon its arrival and there will be two days of open house for residents of the Goderich area. The first public tour will be held from nine to 11 Monday morning and from one to four in the afternoon. Tuesday afternoon from one to four will be reserved for public tours. The vessel will depart some time Wednesday. The visit will be in honor of Founders Day which is June 29 in Goderich. Campbell said the town would have liked to have the vessel here for the actual Founders Day but the timing could not be arranged and June 18 was the closest time available. During the visit a baseball team put together from the 250 man crew of the ")6 foot destroyer will play an exhibition game 4 ;t an All-Star squad from the Goderich Industrial Softball League. Campbell said he did not yet know of any other special events that would take place during the visit. The tourist committee chairman said the visit to Goderich was unique since the vessel was primarily visiting larger centres on the Great .Lakes tour. He said Montreal, Swift Ste. Marie and Windsor were the other three ports it would visit.' He said the call to Goderich had been negotiated over the past year, Eleven years ago the HMCS Nipigon visited Goderidh and last year the HMCS Athabaska stood offshore and took on visitors shuttled to the ship in small boats Waving Goderich harbor. Ruby a dub dub nine cubs in a tent the oaerich -The designer of this small tent probably never intended It to be home for this many campers but at a cub and scout camp anything can happen. These nine cubs from the Fifth Goderich Cub Pack used a recreation break at a weekend camporee held at Point Farms Provincial Park Saturday and Sunday to relax In one of the tents set up for the weekend excursion. The cubs are (bottom row from left) Colin Shand, David Riehl, John McDonaugh, Chris Edwards and Bruce Parent, (top row from left) Rob Dunne, Dean Jeffrey,•„Mike Riehl and Peter Chrysler. Over 900 cubs, scouts, leaders and volunteers,gathered at the park for the two day outing involving cubs and scouts from Goderich, Bayfield, Vanastra, Exeter, Lucan and Crediton. More photos inside. (photo by Jeff Seddon) 131 YEAR -22 nfusion BY JEFF:DDON The Goderich Ratepayer's Association (GRA) is urging its members tb, go on a letter writing campaign protesting a recent town council decision to replace the street lighting on The Square. Brian Knights, spokesman for GRA, said the executive of the association was- urging its membership, between 150 and 200 families, to write council members expressing their opinion on the lighting project. Knights said a ratepayer's meeting Monday night attracted about 25 members and most of those were "upset” with council's decision claiming the money for the lighting could be better spent elsewhere. Knights said the poor turnout at Monday's meeting was probably due to the hot weather and he was confident more support could be raised for the protest. He said letters sent to council from the GRA executive were politely ignored by council and the executive felt that individual letters would have greater impact on council members. The ratepayers claim that the beautification project on The Square is going to cost Goderich taxpayers a great deal of money to maintain. The group also feels that the lighting planned for the core area is insufficient, unnecessary and unwanted by many businessmen. They claim that the money could be used for other projects such as off street parking and are urging council to take a second look at the matter. The project is being administered under the auspices of the Business Improvement Area (BIA) and the town is merely acting as firrancial agents for businesses on The Square. Under provisions of the municipal act the town is merely a collection agency for the merchants collecting business tax, and depositing it for the merchants to use on a BIA project. The mer - Chants chose to relight The Square with the funds collected in 1977 and 1978 and advised council to authorize the exr ense for the project. Council then goes through the motions to get the project completed provided the merchants have not overspent the business tax levy agreed on. TOWN SPENDS NOTHING Town clerk Larry McCabe Said the merchants have about $40,000 to spend and ,have not over- stepped that limit. He said there is about $10,000 THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1978 30 CENTS PER COPY in surplus from last year, about $5,000 in taxes taxpayers in Goderich. He said he felt the GRA yet to be paid and another $25,000 to be collected letter represented a segment of the population in 1978. That money has been collected from the that was entitled to its opinion but added that he businessmen on The Square and covers the cost did not feel the ratepayers could effectively of the lighting. McCabe said no money has been spent from, public coffers for the lighting project and none will be spent. He said the lighting will cost the public nothing pointing out that all the money was gathered through special business tax levies agreed upon almost two years ago. BATTLE LINES DRAWN A confrontation at the council tables May 8 set the tone for the current protest when council voted to receive and file letters from the Public Utilities Commission and the GRA. The PUC letter said the official position of the utility was that the lighting planned for The Square was inadequate and that the PUC pledged its support for the project and would provide staff to plan a system that would provide adequate lighting standards of illumination, would be aesthetically appealing and would conserve energy. The ratepayers's letter asked council to take a second look at the lighting with the intent to justify the expense. It claimed the PUC had raised several pertinent points that should be considered by council before tax money is spent on the lighting. The ratepayers felt the money could be better spent elsewhere and wanted council to investigate the matter more thoroughly. Knights said T-uesday that the ratepayers were at somewhat of a loss to speak on the matter since none of them had ever seen a design for the lighting. He said ratepayers were confident changes Could be made to the existing lighting to improve it without going to the expense of altering it altogether. He added that it appeared that many Councillors were "in the dark" about the project. DECISION STANDS Mayor Deb Shewfelt said he was under the impression that a majority ruled at the 'council table and that the 6-3 vote in favor of the lighting speak for every taxpayer in Goderich. He said he was not concerned with the filing of the letter from the PUC explaining that their concern and invitation to help the town was appreciated but a decision had already been made. He pointed out that the town is a paying customer of the utility's and was paying for the work it wanted the PUC to do. "You have to remember that this is an election year and things always go a little bit astray in an election year," he said. "They're just a little bit early this year." The official stand of the PUC is a little con- fusing. The first meeting between council and the utility over the lighting was May 1 when PUC manager Al Lawson went to council and said he felt the lighting planned was inadequate and costly. Lawson said later he planned to go to council either as manager of the PUC or as a taxpayer and was told by PUC chairman Harry Worsell that he may as well go as PUC manager. Lawson .said he had prepared some notes he used when addressing council but relied mostly on his expertise on lighting. He said he ad Iibhed most of the comments and later destroyed the notes to prevent them from being misconstrued. He said when the newspaper account of the meeting was published he was contacted by PUC commissioners wanting to know about the matter and explained it to them individually. Lawson said the PUC had a meeting after the May 1 council meeting and at that time requested the manager to submit a copy of the report he gave to council. He told the PUC he had no report but would submit one for its approval. The commission decided to make Lawson's stand its own and passed a motion backing him up. It also sent an official letter to the town ex- pressing that stand. Lawson said Wednesday he had no intention of gave the project the go ahead. He said in the past getting involved in a controversy and would haveavoided it had he felt it would turn into what it the minority has fought its battle and then abided did. He said he was an employee of the com- by the council decision when it was made. He mission and wanted to do his job and stay out of said the recent controversy over the lighting the politics. He said he wouldn't comment fur - decision is a strange one. ther on the issue. Shewfelt said he was not convinced the letter PUC manager Harry Worsell could not be from the ratepaVerc represented the majority of reached for comment.