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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-12-19, Page 1r014,0 Libra itlingbam, ont g 1 .1 n BICENTENNIAL MURAL—The students at the Turn - berry Central School have put a lot of work into a mural depicting 200 years in the history of Turnberry Town- ship as ea bicentennial project. Derrick Evers, Angela Musgrove. Sarah and Sally Fillsinger, John Musgrove and' Fabienne Glauser posed with the mural, but honorable mention goes to Jana Sue McKague, Darren Davidson and Brett Martin. The teachers who helped the• young people were Mrs. Anne deBruyn and Hugh Sinnamon. Turns down proposal for higher raises County sets four per cent as salary guideline for '8 Huron County councillors were in a four per cent mood at their December meeting as they set guidelines for pay increases. for 1985. Council unanimously endorsed a' recommendation from "its executive com- mittee authorizing a four per cent increase in committee and session pay for council Members. The increase boosts the per diem rate to $73, or $49 for a. half-day session. The warden's honorarium was also increased by four per cent to $4,160 for the coming year.. Council also endorsed a travel allowance package, calling for an increase to 19 cents per kilometre for councillors with car allowances of $80 and 22 cents per kilometre for all others. Following a closed session and in a ,recorded vote, council overwhelmingly • Welfare rates rise in Huron Some major increases were incorporated into the social services rate struc- ture for Huron County, Ad- ministrator John MacKinnon told county council at its De- cember meeting. ?He said a family of four winnow receive from $676 to $721 monthly plus a $90 heat allowance, while a single welfare recipient will receive $275 per month plus the heating allowance. Dependent children of welfare recipients will receive an increase in their portion of the family allowance translating into an additional $4.00. per month per child. While the general assist- ance caseload decreased by over 11 per cent compared to figures for October of last year, the numbers will swell as unemployed seasonal workers require assistance, Mr. MacKinnon said. He told council that the number of cases in October increased by eight over the previous month and in- dicated the welfare rolls are likely to continue to swell until spring• "There- was about a 39 - case increase in November, and December may be even higher," he said. rejected a recommendation from the executive com- mittee that county depart- ment heads should receive salary increases ranging between four and 16.8 per cent. Councillors voted 21-8 to reject the recommendation which suggested. a salary GRADUATED Ruth Taylor, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Murray Taylor of Wingham, received her honors diploma in banking from Lougheed Business Col- lege, Kitchener. She is pre- sently employed by the Bank of Nova Scotia in Waterloo. schedule with a four per cent -increase over 1984, plus certain adjustments due to re-evaluation of some positions- compared to similar positions in other. counties. Moments earlier coun- cillors had endorsed a motion granting themselves a four per cent pay raise and in view of that, Morris Reeve Bill Elston said, other salary increases should also reflect the county guideline of four per cent. "We're setting a policy with our pay and it should be set for the rest of the county. At least that's .my feeling," he said. "I'd be happy with four per cent or,less because we have to keep things under control. I would support our raise if the others get four per cent." Warden Tom Cunningham said the county is taking four ner cent as a guideline. Before going into closed session Exeter Reeve Bill Mickle noted that the proposed salary schedule$ increases ranged from four per cent to 16.8 per cent. "Council should be told why," he said. "It's too high a variance." The proposed increases for department heads were as follows: Clerk -treasurer and ad- ministrator, 16.8 per cent or $7,748 for an annual salary of $53;976; Deputy clerk, 16.5 per cent or $6,248 for an annual salary of $45,448; County engineer, 8.3 or $3,848, $50,076;• Medical officer of health, 7.3 or $4,420, $64,818; Planning director, 8.6 per cent or $3,744, $47,190; Social services ad- ministrator, 10.3 per cent or $3,250, $34,580; Huronview administrator, 6.8 or $2,444,$38,523;. Chief librarian, four per cent or $1,352, $34,866; Museum curator, four, per cent or $1,040, $26,728. The recommendation said some of the salary' increases took into account adjust- ments to bring the salary to a comparable level with salaries paid for similar positions in other counties. Theincrease for the clerk and his deputy also included the amount council has granted for their duties in investing funds. However council turned back the proposal and the incoming executive com- mittee will be asked for a new recommendation. Councillors whQ voted in favor of the salary increases were: J. F. Austin, A. A. Bedard, Tom Cunningham, Dave Johnston, Russell Kernighan, J. C. Krauter, Brian McBurney and Neil Vincent. barn 1#1,0.4ZiAmir Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Dec. 19, 1984 Reeve of Stanley Township is elected Huron warden After four' ballots, Paul Steckle, reeve . of Stanley Township, "was elected Huron Coi my Warden for 1985. The 42 -year' -old hog farm- er and faun implement salesman _defeated three other candides in the elec- tion: Grey Tiwnship Reeve Leona Armstrong, Turn - `berry Township Reeve Brian McBurney and Tuckersmith Township Reeve Robert Bell, The audience watching the ;,proceedings overflowed the 'council chambers into the hall and down the stairs of the County Court House. The tension mounted when • after three ballots, only Reeves Steckle and Bell re - `s. mained on the ballot. The ' fourth ballot ended in a 15-15 I tie. At that point, county policy calls for the head of the larg- est municipality in the county to decide the vote. Reeve Harry Worsell of God- • erich, a former candidate • himself before withdrawing earlier this fall, voted for Steckle. If Goderich Deputy- -Reeve Jim Britnell had been present, there would have been no tie- - Reeve McBurney was eliminated from the running after a tie -breaking vote in the second ballot. Reeve Armstrong was ousted from we race after the third bal- lot. County gives backing to open -meeting report Huron County Council has given its backing to a report advocating that council and committee meetings should be open to the public and that the public should have easier access to certain in- formation. The report, prepared by a joint provincial -municipal committee and dealing with open meetings and access to information, was given unanimous support by council without discussion at its December meeting. County council has grappled with the issue of open committee meetings over the past year after a 'request from a citizen that it should consider the open concept for all meetings. The joint committee report recommends' that: —all council meetings be open to the public; , —meetings of committees of council should be closed to the public only when the subject matter under discussion involves matters permitted by statute to be discussed in closed session; —councils provide a public notice of all meetings; —the clerk provide in writing the reason for a closed session when a committee or committee -of - the -whole meeting is closed; —bylaws be passed only during open sessions of Council. Therecommendation on access to municipal in- formation suggests that the list of documents available to the public for inspection b'e expanded; that municipalities be given reasonable notice of requests for information and be permitted to levy fe7 s dor supplying document and that an avenue of appeal be provided in case municipal employees refuse to supply requested information. Nominated by Exeter Deputy Reeve Lossy Fuller., Reeved'Steckle said "dia- logue,of confrontation" would hi his Method ,of governing the county. Restraintis important said the new warden, but he told his fellow county councillors that they have to be "good managers". He singled out the road de- partment, the Huron County Atlas, additions to Huron - view, the museum question and hydro transmission lines as issues to be faced in 1985. The new warden said the museum will be the "most difficult decision we face in 1985". He said there is no argument that there is a need to preserve the heritage of the county. Warden Steckle said post- poning the upgrading of the county roads because it is too expensive would give the county a "false economy" because it will be more ex- pensive in the future. "We can't allow our roads to deteriorate," he said. The new warden said if care of the elderly in the county is to continue, changes will have to be made at Huronview, the home for the aged in Clinton. He hopes he is able to see projects through to their completion, including the museum. Pre- vious wardens Tom Cun- ningham and Grant Stirling made similar comments about the Huron County Pioneer Museum when they were elected. Judge F. G. Carter of God- erich presided over the dec- laration of office made by the new warden. Devotional exercises were conducted by Rev. Robert Crocker of God- erich, Councillor Clarencer au of Stanley Township, the war- den's township, brought greetings and congratulated the Warden Steckle and county, council- for electing him. Similar greetings were brought by Goderich Mayor Eileen Palmer and Huron County Board of Education Chairman Eugene Frayne. "If you don't have con - Police are on alert for drinking drivers Both the Wingham Town Police and the local detach- ment of the Ontario Provincial Police will be on the alert for drinking drivers over the holiday season. Chief Robert. Wittig of the Wingham police said his department will be running extra checks with the por- table ALERT breath tester in an effort to discourage impaired driving. Everyone should be well aware of the serious attitude governments are taking toward the problem of drinking and driving, he said. "I hope people will keep this in mind and don't spoil their holidays and ours." Sgt. John McKee of the Wingham OPP said provin- cial police will continue their program of random spot checks using the ALERT and breathalyzer. "We will be out and about over the holidays, as we've been doing all year," he said. tests, you have problems," the school board chairman said of the election for war- den. MP Murray Cardiff was unable to attend because the Ottawa airport was fog- bound. Warden Steckle's immedi- ate reaction after his elec- tion was one of satisfaction. "Someone once said that there is no point in reaching a peak unless you enjoy the climb. I enjoyed the climb," he said. The last warden from Stanley Township was Anson McKinley. WardenSteckle and his wife Kathy have two sons, Cameron and Bruce, who both live at the RR 2, Zurich farm. The Steckles are members of the Zurich Men- nonite Church - A past chairman of both the health and Huronview committees of County' Coun- cil, Warden Steckle has served on County Council for eight years, four years as deputy -reeve and four years as reeve. He has served on Stanley Township Council since 1970. He praised all three of his competitors saying it had been a fair fight and all had worked equally hard. Those voting for the new warden on the final ballot were: J. R. Aitchison, J. F. Austin, Tony Bedard, Tom Cronin, Lossy Fuller, Dave Johnston, Russell Kerni- ghan, Joe Kerr, Calvin Krauter, Isadore LaPorte, Bill Mickle, Paul Steckle, Ralph Weber _and Harry Worsell with two votes. Those voting for Reeve Bell were: Leona Arm- strong, Reeve Bell, . Ernest Brown, Bill Campbell, Tom Cunningham, Bill Elston, Marie Hicknell, Harry Klun- gel, Brian McBurney, Gerry Profit, Jack Stafford, Grant Stirling, Neil Vincent, Alan Walper and Lionel Wilder. . PRETTY PUZZLING—Elizabeth Burchill got a hand from Julie Nicholls as she worked on a puzzle during Fun Day at the Armouries. Members of the cheerleading squad from the high school entertained youngsters, allowing their parents to do some Christmas shopping. OATH OF OFFICE—Paul Steckle, Reeve of Stanley Township, was elected Huron County Warden following four ballots- Here, the new warden takes the oath of of- fice- (Levesque Photo) Fire chief warns of holiday hazards `Tis the season to be jolly, but don'tlet a fire turn your family's Christmas into a tragedy,•says Wingham Fire Chief Dave Crothers. The local department has been called out to only a handful of fires in the past month and Mr. Crothers said he hopes the good luck continues, but he needs the cooperation of the com- munity to do so. If the family plans call for a natural tree, it should. be bought fresh and green. When it is brought home, two to three inches should be cut diagonally from the butt and the tree should be set up with the butt in water, to be maintained above the level of the cut. Strings of lights should be checked carefully before use each year and only non- flammable decorations should be used. Finally, set the tree up away from heat sources like fire places, television sets or radiators and do not allow it to block access to doors and windows in the event of a fire. Tree lights always should be switched off at bedtime or when you leave the house. The chief urges parents not to leave small children at home alone over the holiday season because of the added fire hazards. The popularity of wood stoves and fireplaces. in the last few years has added another risk. Mr. tYothers says that fireplaces, chimney and stove pipes should be checked regularly to reduce the chance of a fire getting out of control. Moredamage at Kerr yard More damage has been reported to the windows of vehicles at the Joe Kerr Ltd. property in Wingham over the weekend. Mr. Kerr reported Monday that a number of windows had been smashed out of vehicles parked on the back part of his property. Police Chief Robert Wittig said the problem appears to be a continuation of the vandalism which has hap- pened there before, although he expressed concern that older youths may . now be getting involved. He said police are aware of the problem and are keeping an eye on it.