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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-08-02, Page 1The Goderich Fire Department was called .to put out a small trailer fire trailer caught fire while in tow while the driver was travelling north on on Highway 21, five miles south of Goderich, Monday morning. The tent Highway 21. There were no injuries. (photo by Dave Sykes) Liquor offenses double so fine doubles BY JEFF SEDDON Liquor offences under the Highway Traffic Act have doubled in Huron County in the past year and Wednesday Provincial Court Judge William Cochrane responded to the increase by doubling fines far Offenders. Effective August 1 the fine for having an open bottle of liquor or package of beer in a car will be $100 plus four dollars court costs. The fine was $50 plus four dollars court costs. • Judge Cochrane said the increase in the fine hopefully will be the deterrentneeded to reduce the number of liquor offenses. Policemen of the five municipal police forces and the three detachments of provincial police in Huron are,pleased with the increase in the minimum fine. They are banking that the $100 minimum will give the law enough teeth to convince drivers mobile drinking parties can be expensive things. Liquor offenses involving minors also received some attention from Judge Cochrane. Any charge involving a person under the legal drinking age will now be heard in court as opposed to entering a guilty plea and paying the fine. Judge Cochrane said by having all charges. Turn to page 16 • Small hospitals to get break Elmer Taylor, the administrator at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, says there is new. hope that the province's smaller hospitals will get a break in the future. Taylor, a member of the Ontario Ministry of Health's committee for reimbursements tb small hospitals, says that committee will be presenting to the Ministry in late August some recommendations that may assist smaller hospitals to meet the community's needs and at the same time, live within Ministry budget restrictions. - According to Taylor, there is a chance that the Ministry will be taking' another look at the funding for small hospitals, and possibly making some adjustments in the legislation.• regarding them. Taylor said his committee is finding that in Turn to page 16 • Dredging contract Huron -Bruce MP, Bob McKinley announced this week that the Goderich Harbour dredging contract has been awarded. The firm of Bero Navigation Incorporated of Les Mechines, Quebec was awarded the con- tract for the tender price of $29,190: • The dredging is expected to begin sometime in August. Huron to be home for boat families next week BY CATH WOODEN Huron County is shortly going to witness an incredible culture shock. Depending, upon its . compassion and generosity, Huron's respon- sibility will be to ease that shock. On • Thursday, .July 26, the Ca,nada Employment Centre in Goderich received word that the county will possibly be receiving up to three, unsponsered Vietnamese boat families a .month until 1980. The' first families could arrive as soon as .August 7. As Huron's immigrant Resettlement Counsellor with Canada Employment, Eric J. Smith will have the task of helping the Viet- namese refugees make new lives in Huron County. All Smith knows is that the first of the un- sponsered boat families bound for this part of Canada will be arriving in Edmonton on August 7. ' "I don't know -if we'll gelany at that time or not. Maybe they'll just pick the locations out of a hat," Smith mused.' . In the meantime, he is preparing for their arrival. All financial responsibility for the Vietnamese will be with the Canada Employment Centre. It has to find jobs for them, and provide the basic necessities of life, such as food and shelter, until they begin earning money. "These people are really chomping at the bit to work," said Smith. "They'll work at any job to support themselves and save money to send home to their relatives." However, resettlement •of these newcomers will involve more than, providing basic needs. "They arrive here wearing rope sandals and shorts," said Smith. They have no concept of the complex social existence in Canada -whatsoever. Canada Eniployment is looking to volunteer individuals and organizations to assist and teach the Vietnamese how to live in Canada. Response 'has been overwhelming in London, and officials are wondering if there is more ,help than refugees. Smith hopes that support will be•as great in Huron County. As far as material goods are concerned, the families will need clothes, household effects,' transportation, and fur- niture. Help in opening bank accounts, shopping, registering children in school, signing leases, how to use a stove, what to do with garbage, providing friendship, and teaching english all require_ only time and sympathy from -Huron residents. Smith said it is important to allow asmuch independence and self-sufficiency as possible and to encourage the new immigrants to deal with problems on their own. • However, "we must make life as happy, comfortable, and easy for them as possible until they can get over such a traumatic ex- perience.It will require much effort on our part." Smith requested that individuals or organizations who wish to assist the Viet- namese newcomers to adjust to life here' contact him at the Canada Employment Centre in Goderich. 132 YEAR -31 THURSDAY, AUGUST2, 1979 35 CENTS PER COPY armers want ownership checked BY. SHARON DIETZ Ashfield Township Federation of Agriculture members learned Thursday night there will be no swift legislative action to curb absentee ownership by foreign investors in their town- ship. Concerned about the large areas of farmland being purchased by foreign interests and the ,.effect this has on the farming community in their township, the Federation made absentee ownership the topic of their annual meeting at Kingsbridge Community School on July 26. Clete Dalton, elected president of the Federation at the meeting, told the members approximately 1,865 acres of the 64,000 acres in Ashfield are owned by foreign interests, which is about three per cent of the land. Ron White, second vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, told the meeting government must determine how 'much land in the province is. owned by foreign interests before it can pass legislation to stop purchase of Ontario farmland and by foreign investors. Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron -Middlesex introduced a private ,members bill in the legislature, the . Agriculture Investment Act, calling for foreign owners to register the ownership of land in Ontario or face fines. The bill died on the order paper at the end of the last session but will be•reintroduced by the Liberals in the fall. • White told the Federation, as important as members may consider the issue, in a neigh- bouring township where there is no foreign ownership of land, the farmers won't be con- cerned: He said the democratic process is slow. "It's.like pulling teeth." . He pointed out the Federation should gather all the statistics available to support its theory about foreign investment in Ashfield. To pass "legislation stopping foreign investment in Ontario farmland farmers will require cabinet support said White. He told the members the Ontario Federation will have to show the government report is not an. picture .. .. accurate of foreign ownership in the province. He said the Federation is a, respected lobby group and has tremendous political impact. A report released in June by agriculture minister Bill Newman said less than one per cent of Ontario's farmland is owned by foreign •interests and •stated there was no need for legislation to curb foreign ownership of land in the province at this time. Merle Gunby, president of the Huron Federation of Agriculture, called the report, "a bucket of. whitewash". He "commented that from the time the report's terms of reference were publicized, farmers knew it was going to mean nothing. Various local federation's" have disclosed figures showing many more acres are owned by foreign interests than is indicated' in the government study, according to Jim McGuigan, MPP for Kent -Elgin, who also addressed the meeting. He said the Liberals are asking for legislation to determine who does own this land because neither the government nor the federation knows how major it is. Marvin Scott of Ashfield told the meetinghe was approached by a real estate broker from London who came to his farm last week. The broker said he had flown a plane of German investors over Huron County farmland because they are interested in purchasing some 1,250 acres of land. He told the meeting, identifying the foreign interes'fs won't stop them from investing. He said he asked the broker what the Ashfield farmers are to do with their sons who wantto farm. "Will we send them out to work for them_(the foreign landlords)?" asked Scott. "Yet, this man • owned his own • business and wanted something far himself to. cal. .his ...own,":.he ad1ed.• Real estate broker`ZToyd Hutton from Kin - Hospital gets what asked for BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER It is a different story at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital this year than it was last year about this time. Hospital board chairman. Jim McCaul and hospital administrator Elmer Taylor were delighted this week to report that the financial picture at AM&G looks brighter because the Ontario Ministry of Health has officially agreed to fund 10 additional chronic beds to the tune of $60,000, and that confirmation ha§ also beep given for seven additional active treatment beds. The hospital here is now offically rated as a 90 bed hospital; actually two more than the 88 approved beds when the first bed cuts were indicated. "We've gotten•everything we asked for and a bit more," stated McCaul. The 1979-1980 budget calls for total operating expenses at AMG this year of $4,053,2"03. Revenues generated at the hospital through various other sources including payments from patients who are not insured and are using facilities at AM&G, are expected to generate more than $250,000 leaving an approved net Ministry liability -of $3,801,602. This approved amount, of course, includes all OHI•P payments for patient care for people who are covered by insurance. The administrator feels, confident that generating the required revenue to maintain the hospital in the black will be no problem, particularly in view of the fact the hospital has been' extremely "busy during the first four months of this year's budget. For instance, one day in July the hospital's 90 beds were filled to capacity and another seven patients were "stacked up" in examining rooms and other cubicles. Occupancy charts on the adminrstrato?' office wall show conclusive proof that patient days an are the rise at AM&G. Taylor believes it is partly due to a change in. :ref rral patterns.. In the city hospitals, beds ap ear to be at a premium. Stories in the daily p ers about big hospitals having to turn away pa i' attest to the trend noticed by the local administrator, that patients are beilng referred back much earlier to the community hospitals in the smaller centres. Occupancy rates are improving. at AM&G as well because the community's medical staff continues to treat more and more ailments at home „and to offer many more services locally than at, some other times in the past, said Taylor. The budget reflects an increase in revenue from all sources of $160,000 over last year. Both McCaul and Taylor were quick to point out however, that of that $160,000, $100,000 was immediately allocated to staff salary in- creases. Costs for supplies and outside services in all areas are up as well. N,ursing service accounts for $1,477,000. Special. services including the laboratory, xray, pharmacy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy ' etc. amounts to $567,000. General services composed of housekeeping, laundry, ,administration etc. totals $716,000: With the heavier patient load noticed ih the past few weeks, additional staff has had to be called in, Taylor observed.1 This is playing Turn to page 16 e cardine said he knows of a real estate broker who recently hired four men to go out and hunt for farms for. sale.. "And these men weren't even agents," he stated. • He said the problem is escalating. He recently appraised the value of a farm property and there was a $60,,009 difference between his appraisal and the money available to buy the property. John Austin told the Federation he feels they should put pressure on the government to make money more available. He said he knows of five young men in Lucknow who could not get money from the Farm Credit Corporation•and yet foreign _.investors can get first mortgages. Youngsters- In the audience goi a chance to participate in a magic show sponsored by the Goderich Recreation Department, Monday. Makician, Andrew Forgrave, entertained a large and e thuslastic audience at Victoria Public School and here offers a disguise to one of"his assistants. (photo by Dave Sykes)