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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-11-27, Page 11 Blyth bri.nc:n LitBcx t Birth, Ont. NCNi 1H4 Jtira.i BEST WISHES, BiLL & TOM—So said the sign on the wall, and more than 300 people showed up at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre last Fri- day night to echo the sentiment. The occasion was a retirement party for Bill Elston, stepping down after 30 years bn the Morris Township Council, including 18 as For Bill Elston & Tom Miller reeve, and Tom Miller, who has served for 18 years as a councillor and deputy reeve. Mrs. Elston (left) and Mrs. Miller (right) were also honored for the part they played in helping their husbands compile so worthy a record of community service. Retirement party marks end of long careers in Iocai politics "We're going to miss you, Bill." These words by' outgoing Huron County Warden Paul .Steckle spoke, for the hun- dreds of people gathered at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre last Friday night to honor Bill Elston, retiring after a {{long and illustrious career as councillor, and reeve of Morris Township. 'leek/e, vh' is also retiring as reeve of Stanley Township, noted that he and Mr. Elston had become great friends over the years on county,council together. ty of id s d g f e. n g e h e• n 8 d d e "-You've served the coun well, Bill." The warden was just one a number of people who pa tribute to the service rendered by Mr. Elston an Tom Miller, who is steppin down as deputy reeve o Morris. Doug Fraser, who will b taking over as reeve i December, noted that durin Mr, Elston's 30 years on th township council, whic included 18 years' as reev and a term as county warde in 1974, and Mr. Miller's 1 years as .councillor an deputy reeve, they ha helped to build roads bridges and a new garag and clerk's office. "I've been privileged to have served under your leadership," Mr. Fraser said. "The things we learned in the past will serve us well in the future." Ross Procter, a ratepayer and former councillor, paid tribute on behalf of the rate P y of the- township. He with a watch noted that of all the different ypes of politicians, "we're robably the most comfort- ble with local politicians, because we know them." At the'same time, he,add- to Mrs. Elston and Mrs. Miller in'recognition of their contribution to their hus- bands' careers in municipal politics. The flowers were presented by Helen Martin, a former clerk, and Florence McArter, a township care- taker whose husband had been road superintendent. Clem McLellan, incoming deputy reeve, presented a plaque to Mr. Miller and CCeuncillor Bob Grasby\ did the same to Mr. Elston, expressing council's appre- ciation for their long service. Mr. Miller and Mr. Elston each said., a few words in reply, with Mr. Elston noting, "It's a pleasure to see so many appreciate what I tried to do over the years 'for the Township of Morris." . He said the council had tried to plan things and pay as it went along, adding, "It's really nice to retire and feel things are not in bad shape for the/people coming He also had a few words for Reeve Leona Armstrong of Grey Township, wishing her "the very best as warden (of Huron Count-)-,.', He - noted he had sat with her father on county council and, "I've been around municipal politics long enough to know you will be our warden after the 10th of December." Mrs. Armstrong, who is so far the only declared can- didate for the post, would be the' first woman warden in the history of this county. The ceremony closed with a rousing chorus of "For They Are Jolly Good Fellows". FIRST SECTION bain Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 1985 Single Copy 50c Mayor, council seat questioned Dec. 4 is selectecl as .ate for ,r t of Wingham vote December 4 has been set meeting, but councillors. as the date for a t�aadicial agreed that in light of recount of the votes hast in questions raised by the the Nov, 12 election for results at one poll there was mayor and council seats in no alternative but to count Wingham. again. The recount will be con- The special meeting was ducted by District Court called by Mayor William Judge Francis G. Carter of Harris after Ernest Eaton, Goderich at the Wingham one of three mayoralty Town Hall, starting at 10:00 candidates in the recent a.m. election, brought to his at Since both the election for tention a discrepancy in the mayor and for the final vote count at Po115. A total of council seat are involved, 211 votes for mayor were Clerk -Treasurer Byron counted at that poll, while Adams estimated the records showed that only 205 recount might take more ballots had been issued. than a day to complete. Mr. Adams told council The judicial recount is that when Mr. Eaton notified being held at the request of him of the problem, he the Wingham council, which suggested the candidate, during a special meeting last who finished second to Jack week voted unanimously to Kopas by 13 votes in the final ask that the votes be tally, should seek legal checked. None of the can- advice. didates involved in the He reported •that sub - recount attended the sequently Mr. Eaton con - Election results change Huron school board Three major upsets in the managed to hold her seat, Nov. 12 municipal election defeating one challenger in brought some changes to the an' election in Goderich and Huron County Board of Colborne Townships. Education. Incumbent Trustee Art Three incumbents, Dore- Clark. topped the polls for the'a Wallace of Goderich, Wingham, Turnberry and writ Fzdconer of RR 5, Hwowick, with newcomer Clinton and Robert Peck of Brian Jeffray picking up the RR 1, Zurich were defeated second seat which had been at the polls by newcomers. vacated by Murray Mulvey, Mrs. Wallace, a long-time who did not seek re-election trustee who had represented this year. . Goderich for 30 years, was The only other trustee who defeated by newcomer Mary did not seek re-election was Ann Dempsey, while Mr. Clarence McDonald. He is Falconer lost to Sally Rath- replaced by Beatrice well in a three-way race for Dawson, who won by ac the seat representing Clinton clamation the seat repre- and Tuckersmith Township. senting Exeter and Usborne Audrey McClennan-Triebner Township. will replace Mr. Peck as Other acclaimed trustees • representative for Bayfield are: Donald McDonald from and Stanley Township, • Grey Township and Other trustees facing Brussels; Dr. John Goddard. election battles fared some- from Hensall, Zurich and what better. Hay Township; Graeme Tony McQuail defeated Craig and John Jewitt from two rivals to hold his seat for Seaforth, Hullett and Ashfield and West McKillop; ;Harry -Hayter Wawanosh Townships while from Stephen Township, and John Elliott defeated Jack the two R.oman'Catholic Gaunt_tokeep the seat for representatives, Eugene Blyth, Morris and East Frayne from RR 3, Goderich Wawanosh. and Dennis Rau from RR 2, Joan ,Van den Broek also Zurich. REEVE JOE KERR, centre, of Wingham was honored at a retirement party last Thurs- day evening along with Tom Wharton, retiring Wingham waste disposal site super- visor. Mr. Kerr haq spent more than 3.0 years on town -council and was presented goldby Bruce Machan, in -coming reeve. Mr. Wharton was presented with a sum of money. ed, it is not always easy to be a local poTi[i Tiii.. 7" -We're the . most comfortable with them, but also the most demanding of them." He predicted the two retiring council mercers would miss their phones ringing with complaints about barking dogs, wild dogs, dusty roads, worried sheep and poultry, blocked roads, toppled -mailboxes, plugged drains and 'the myriad other things • which keep a municipal politician's life from getting boring. "There have been good councils for a long time in Morris," Mr. Procter said, noon -g. that-thetavvn—s�iip--lids - long practised a pay-as-you- go philosophy which other municipalities are only now beginning to adopt. "The things we have we've paid for. and we're not ex- pecting our grandchildren to pay for them." Master of Ceremonies Lloyd Michie introduced the Elston and Miller families, after which Nancy Michie, the township clerk - treasurer, presented.fiowers ew doctor coming, —all the a.cczdents—theouth_._dit6h -,.and-_struck ----______ were minor, with only one the boadis1iFd:r� Icy roads cause several accidents tacted the mayor and' that, with all the polls requested a recount, noting located in the Armouries that a section of the Elec- building, the voting had been tions Act gives council the "quite confusing", and she authority to request a asked whether things could recount "in the public in- be organized differently the terest". next time. "Ernie said he was not Councillor Bruce Machan disputing the vote for mayor, suggested there should be only the discrepancy in the more polls, . noting that ballots," Mr. Harris told results from many other council, adding 1 that municipalities had been "possibly ballots could have tallied long before all the been put into the wrong ' votes were counted in (ballot) boxes," thus ac- Wingham. counting for the additional In a related matter, votes. council also extended its However Councillor Tom term for a week by post- Miller pointed out that in poning. until Dec. 9 the such a case the count should inaugural meeting of the new have been off at the other council. That meeting was polls as well. originally set for Dec. 2, but "It obviously appears to be councillors agreed that with a technical error in pro- the uncertainty over the out- cedure," Councillor James come of the recount it would A. Currie'commented. "If so, . be better to wait until that we don't really have any was resolved. alternative but to bear According to statute, an responsibility for the two inaugural meeting must be challenging nominees." held by the second Tuesday (Unsuccessful council can- • of December. didate Bill McGrath, who lost to Dianne Grummett by Club meets - two votes, has also requested u a recount in t election.) at Legion H� "It behooves thaus to at least clear the air to make amends BRUSSEiS — The Senior for the procedural mix-up," Friendship Club held its Mr. Currie concluded,noting meeting in the Legion Hall that "It (the mix-up) can last Wednesday with 23 happen." members present. He asked what the recount ' An interesting and in - would cost, to which Mr. formative talk was given by Adams answered he had no Constable John Marshall idea. Normally a candidate after which he answered is required to pay $100 to questions and showed a film have a recount. on police work. Deputy Reeve Patricia It was decided to hold the Bailey asked who would be Christmas dinner on Dec. 10. affected by the recount. Mr. Several games of euchre Adams told her that, unless and Uno then were played the judge decides otherwise, with the following winners: the recount will affect only high lady, Mrs. Eva Gordon; the election between Mr. low lady, Mrs. Marjorie Kopas and Mr. Eaton and the Ritchie; high man, Mrs. one between Ms. Grummett Mary Yuill and low man, and Mr. McGrath, "the Mrs. Annie Engel (playing lowest one who won and the as a man). The Uno winner highest one who lost." was Mrs. Geanne Car- . Mrs. Bailey also noted pentier. The first real snowfall of and struck a hydro pole' the season last Friday led to Friday evening. icy _road conditions q/hich Miss Dane was eastbound contributed to a number of on County Road 7 just east of accidents around the Sideroad 15-16 in Turnberry Wingham area, local police Township when the car she forces reported. was driving skidded entered Injury reported. She did not require o Ice repor a ospital treatment Howe • Provincial p l' t d •h GP' qualifications Dr. Bekasiak had training in internal medicine in Poland. He alio told the board the hospital had received "an ern harassment of replies" in connection with its search for additional doctors and has now stopped its ad- vertising campaign. In other business at the meeting, Vice Chairman Mary Lou Thompson, who chaired the meeting in the absence of Hans Kuyven- hoven, reported en the Small .. Aospita7s' Convention which she and several other mem- bers had, attended at Toronto. She said one session stressed the need for a good working relationship among board, administration and medical staff, with "free and frank" communication, regular meetings and "no surprises". The board agreed to designate the minor trauma room in the new wing in The Wingham and District Hospital's long search for another doctor qualified to administer anesthetics ap- pears at last to be over. Administrator Norman Hayes told members of the hospital board last week that the hospital has found a general practitioner -anes- thetist, who will be going into practice with Dr. Mel Corrin at Lucknow next summer. The new doctor's name is Przemyslaw Antoni Bekas- iak — referred to as "Tony" =nd1CR�r-Nayesdescrib&-`" him as "a very nice chap" in his mid-30s with a wife and three'young children. ' The Bekasiaks presently live in Edmonton, where they went after immigrating from Poland about four years ago, but they will be moving to the Wingham- Lucknow area in July. "i think we're going to get a very excellent physician," Mr. Hayes told the board, noting that, in addition to his memory of the late William Bernard Craig, from whose estate the hospital received nearly$22,000 for its building fund. The hospital also has received a donation of $2,500 and a pledge of $2,500 more to come from the Teeswater Village Council, Mrs. Thompson reported that after the official opening of the new wing the council was suffici.ently impressed to approve the donation, adding .th-at another. counciL-_i.s_ considering doing the same. Reporting for the hospital auxiliary, Marilyn Wood said that after the cancer clinic moved to its new room they saw 44 patients the first morning with one d The transfer went "fairly smoothly", she said. The board held most of its meeting in committee -o - e, whole in -camera to al with what were described as "financial, personnel and property matters". that Shauna N: Dane, 18, of the car, a 1978 Oldsmobile, RR 1, Wroxeter, received received an estimated $2,000 minimal injuries when her damage to the left front car skidded on an icy road fender and hood. Anonymous benefactor pays for stroller repair Jennifer Hewines has her stroller back again, thanks to the kindness of a Wingham-area farmer who pre(er)s to remain anony- • Jennifer is the Wingham girl whose stroller was set ablaze by vandals the night before Hallowe'en. Although seven. years old, she has cerebral palsy and needs the special stroller to, get around. Police Chief Robert Wittig, hose department is still investigating the fire, said a local farmer was touched by the account of the incident carried in The Advance - Times and contacted police to ask if the stroller could be repaired, offering to pick up the costs. The police acted as inter - tried iar esIind.in.g...--_a--' qualified repairman and obtaining an estimate. The farmer said "fine", the stroller was reupholstered and he paid the bill. Bob Hewines, who is care- taker for the Town of Wingham, said the family really appreciates the gesture by its unknown benefactor. The stroller is worth several hundred, dollars, he noted, and the incident has helped to renew their faith in human nature• GOOD AS NEW—Seven-year-old Jennifer Hewines of Wingham sits in her stroller which is now as good as new again. Someone set fire to the stroller the night before Hallowe'en. However after reading of the inci- dent in The Advance -Times, an anonymous benefactor paid to have it reupholstered. Jennifer, who has cerebral palsy, needs the stroller to get around. With s er a , Bob Hewines.