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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-10-04, Page 1Board supports township The Huron county board of education is all for a Goderich township recreation facility on board property provided it doesn't cost the board any money. The board gave Goderich township the go ahead to survey the Holmesville School property for the proposed hall but made it clear it had no intention of paying for any part of the survey. 'The board was asked by township council to consider permitting the proposed hall on board Reception's fine but clock is wrong Carl Fisher has a rather unusual complaint against cable television. Carl claims Channel 12's service to cable television customers got him to work 12 minutes early. Carl said he turned on Channel 12 to check the correct time with the station's clock and then proceeded to synchronize all the clocks in his house. He said the next morning he discovered he was 12 minutes ahead of the rest of the world. Carl had no complaint with his television reception. As he said he could see the clock clearly but he is paying for the service and felt it should be accurate. Youngsters win I - -- support -for -idea • The Goderich Recreation Board promised a young delegation to look into the feasibility of • creating a skateboard park in Goderich next summer after being approached by four young skateboard enthusiasts Thursday. Group spokesman, John Empson, attended the regular board rkeeting with three friends and asked .the recreation board to, consider • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1979 their proposal. "We would like a skateboard park," Em • property adjacent to ?fie elementary school. By doing so the board could take advantage of facilites the hail offered and the township could tie into services now used by the school. The board agreed to the survey after • its management committee reported that it was necessary to determine exactly where the proposed building would go and how it would affect the school. The committee also told the board there are several details yet to be worked out with, the township pointing out that long before any construction starts that agreement should be drawn up. "If we don't have an agreement we may as well not have a building," said committee chairman Don McDonald. The Brussels trustee said he felt it was the board's duty to draw up a firm agreement spelling out who was responsible for what. Exeter trustee Clarence McDonald asked if the management committee made it clear that after the building was up the board may share some operating costs but would pay nothing for construction. He said if the board was using the. building for students at Holmesville it should -be prepared to pay•but it shouldn't pay to put the building up. McDonald said the board would probably cost share caretaking costs for the building but that was all. Members of Local 1863 IAM held a banquet at Saltford Valley Hall Saturday marking the 35th anniversary of the union and also the burning of the mortgage on the hall. On hand for the mortgage burning ceremony were; Ken Mullen, past president and chairman; Bill Dobie, Past chairman, Don Goddard, hall board chairman; George Drennan, Grand Lodge -Representative _o:f IAM; Bruce Sully, Chairman and Chief Executing, Officer of Champion Road Machinery Group Ltd.; Don Johnston, past chairman and president of Local 1863 and Gerald Dobie, past president and chairman. (photo by Barry Pitblado) 132—YEAR 40 " 35 CENTS PER COPY explained.. ' "Then kids wouldn't have to be in 0 the -streets getting hurt and it would be more eritage p an fun."Board member Elsa Haydon said it was ood to see oun sters followtng Y u their g g pwishes at possi sn • b the board level. "If build BY JEFF SEDDON ' can at Goderich town cannotsucha park we council will have one objection least give them reasons why," she said. " It is and a possible legal hassle to contend with good for young people to come to the board." when it looks at approving a draft of the Empson suggested their was enough space in Goderich District Heritage Plan later this the•Dawnrose Park area for a skateboard park. month. Board chairman, Mary Donnelly, said there Goderich planning board learned Tuesday was no money to pursue the, project this year .night that the plat had one formal objection but promised the matter would be investigated lodged against it and that a recommendation next spring at budget time. 'from planning board for council to approve the plan may have been illegal. The plan was originally approved by- plan- ning board in March at a public meeting. The meeting was called to explain the plan, which is designed to preserve architecture of buildings in the core area, to landowners that may be affected by it. That meeting 'produced no ob- jections and planning board recommended to council 'that bylaws be passed approving the plan. n Council approves' sailing club project despite decision not to talk about it BY JEFF SEDDON Goderich town council agreed Monday night not to talk about construction of a proposed pavilion it had no power • to stop and then promptly gave its approval of the project. In a strange twist of events council ended up approving the Goderich Sailing Club project despite the fact that the matter never got to the council table for approval. Th -e pavilion, basically a shelter for sailing club members, was approved by last year's council and will finally be started this weekend., The sailing club got approvals in 1978 from the federal government, which controls land at the waterfront, and town council but never got construction underway. Finalization of the project went to ,the Goderich waterfront committee at its last meeting and that committee planned •an in- formation report for Council. But that report was never written because' its chairman Elsa Haydon did not have time to prepare it. Haydon told council Monday night that her report would be available for the next council session adding she was • Willing to offer a verbal report if council wished. Reeve Eileen Palmer asked that the matter, be tabled which meant no discussion could be held on the subject. Palmer told council she approved of the project "100 percent" but pointed out there could be more to it than meets the eye. She said approval of the pavillon was giyen by the council' of lastyear and since that approval developments at the harbour may make council want to rec.onsid.er permanence and location of the pavilion. Deputy -reeve Bob Allen asked that council reconsider its motion to table pointing out that the sailing club had arranged volunteer help for "Saturday to start construction of the pavilion. Allen said the club already had all its approvals and there was little council could do to halt the project. 'Haydon, who reminded council discussion of the project was out of•order-since itwas tabled, said council had no authority to get involved in the matter. She said approvals had been given adding that she knew she was "our of order but you forced me". "That was an easy force," quipped the reeve. "I'm sick and tired of this nitter and natter," said councillor John Doherty. "If we hadn't GDCI honors class of '79 at annual commencement Special souvenir edition 'included in this issue been so hasty we could have thoroughly discussed the matter and gone ahead." CounciJlor Jim Searls suggested that council forget the matter and allow construction to go ahead. His suggestion was endorsed by council. Reeve Eileen Palmer told the board Tuesday night that according to the Planning Act the board may have been out of order recom- mending council adopt the heritage plan. She pointed out •a clause in the Act which says planning boards approval ofthe plan must be by a two thirds majority of all nine members of the board. She said only five members of the board were present at the March session. She added that she was one of the five and she voted against the approval. "I think you'll find that puts us back at square one," she said. Planning board also learned that Alvin McGee, owner of McGee Pontiac Buick, was formally objecting to the heritage plan. McGee raised his objections at a special public meeting called in September to re - explain the plan and then followed up his verbal protests with a letter. Two other merchants owning buildings in the 'core area objected to the plan at the September meeting but failed to object in writing. McGee's concern was restrictions he felt the plan put on building stock in the core area. He suggested to planning board that lack of attepdance at the public meetings held over the plan "leaves no question in anyone's mind" that local interest in the plan "centresaround very few people".• McGee said the preservation of a few older buildings in town gave Goderich a desireable presence but.• added "let's not become dic- tatorial and kill off all uptown development". Despite the objection and the legal concern planning board stood by its earlier recom- mendation. It agreed by a 4-3 vote to forward the matter to town council for a final decision. The board told council it approved of the plan and included minutes of the September public meeting,the letter of objection and 1etttrs from two landowners in the core area, both' of which supported the concept of the plan but expressed some concern for what it may do to their property. • Final approval of the heritage plan now rests ...with council.... mall hospitals get big break BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER_ The Ontario Minister of Health, Dennis Timbrell, last •Friday said, he has approved eight out of ten recommendations put forward by a committee,appo'iited last s.pririg to study the needs of small hospitals. One committee member, Alexandra Marine and General Hospital's administrator,.. Elmer Taylor, says the committee was generally pleased with the Minister's acceptance of the study. Four other hospital administrators served with Taylor on the committee. They were from hospitals in Sturgeon Falls and Red Lake in Northern Ontario and from Almonte and Port Perry in Eastern Ontario. Also on the com- mittee were representatives from the Ministry of Health and the Ontario Hospital Association. The eight recommendations from the com- mittee accepted by the Minister were: + That hospitals with 100 or fewer -a-ctive- treatment beds be permitted to stay 10 beds above the guideline (35 beds per thousand population) before their budget base is af- fected; + That hospitals with less than 50 .approved beds should be exempted from further ap- plication of the active treatment bed guidelines; + That a committee be formed to examine the profiles of selected hospitals, as a means) of identifying. those that can be considetled "Small" hospitals and ,deServingl of special funding consideration; + That the Ministry undertake a cost analylsis of the three types of ambulance services (hospital based, private hand • Mfinistry) to provide a more uniform program relative to operation and•'costs, and also that the Ministry pay the total net cost of operating hospital- based ambulance services; + That capital funds be ,priorized to enable small hospitals to make structural changes recommended by accrediting and licensing bodies and for conversion of active -treatment to chronic -care beds; + That funds removed from the budgets of the small hospitals as a result of bed allocation calculations should be reinstated,- based on demonstrated community needs; + That small hospitals should he encouraged to . examine existing programs and, where there is , a demonstrated community needs, implement alternatives programs, such as conversions of active treatment beds to chronic care beds; + That small hospitals submitting a budget deficit for the year 1979-80 should consider a cost-containment sttidy. . In his speech last Friday, the Minister said he has had a "growing concern that perhaps' too much of the discussion in the health system has focued on costs". "While I do not want to belittle cost concerns, I do want to try to restore a degree of balance to the health-care dialogue by emphasizing that the reasons for change within the system are not based on cost alone," said Timbrell in his speech. He said there was a need for everyone to use the resouces available in the most efficient and effective manner possible, 'while at the same time recognizing the growing need to "prepare today so we can continue to deliver eiu'ality care to our population tomorrow". Timbrell said the Ministry's main objective is continued first-class medical care while reshaping the health system to meet changing and future needs. The Minister also pointed out the Ministry's commitment to the provision of more extended care beds. "In Ontario, our birth rate is declining and people are living longer," said the Minister. "The elderly require a• larger share of health services than their numbers would seem to indicate. By the turn of the century, we expect the number of senior citizens in the province to double." "In addition to this phenomenon, the control of infectious diseases and the reduction of infant mortality have been followed by an increase in the chronic and degenerative illnesses;" Timbrell went on. "These conditions often require a heavy commitment of resources over a longer period of years." This aging population and the shifting pattern of disease will change demands of health services in the coming years, the Minister said. "I think we do need more nursing home extended care beds in this area," Elmer Taylor said this week. According to the Minister, the Ministry has realized that applying the bed -population guideline to small hospitals can create serious problems becaue of the lack of flexibility in ' such institutions. Timbrell said it is "absolutely necessary to maintain the viability" of the small hospitals, particularly when they are located in single - hospital communities. The Minister ptressed that the overall number of beds. in Ontario is about right, but the specific use of the beds is not. To this end, a provincial bed allocation committee has been for med to begin work soon. Elmer Taylor has been appointer) to work on that committee as well, 'much to the satisfac- t inn of the board at AM&G. s'