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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-12-04, Page 1131"Th . BGx B-1Fth, Grit. NOM 1H� Reeve ' s retirement ends a 30yearcouncil- career The grand old man of I His entry into municipal Wingham municipal politics, politics was quite unplanned. Reeve Joe Kerr, is stepping Away back in 1951, Mr. Kerr down after more than 30 had no intention of running years of service on town for political office. Having council. moved to Wingham from the For Mr. Kerr, the end of farm in East Wawanosh Township where he was born, he was content to be the owner of a successful gravel business which was back on its feet after a massive heart attack had rendered him bedridden for. two years during the early 1940s. In spite of Mr. Kerr's reluctance, W. T. "Doc" Cruickshank had other things in mind and he nominated the gravel con- tractor to council. Since that early beginning, Mr. Kerr has served as his political career came quietly, just the way he wanted it, because as a "no- nonsense" type off fellow, he says he doesn't like a lot of hype. However Wingham resi- dents for more than a generation have known no 'other reeve than Joe Kerr for most of their lives and his name has hecome synony- mous with small-town poli- tics. In fact it has been said he is the longest -serving county council member in. Ontario. WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT'S NOT WINTER YET?—Ac- cording to the calendar winter may still be nearly three weeks away, but Wingham and area residents found out differently when they awakened Monday to snow whip- ped by high winds which made driving hazardous and even walking an adventure. Many school children got a day off, while store owners got a chance to try out their new snow shovels. Fortunately by Tuesday things had calmed down and business was getting back to usual. Schools closed as winter storm hits ------Schaols auexe_closed- a-nd- cir+vtng hdzacdons in many motorists were urged to stay off the highways as the first winter storm of the season struck midwestern Ontario on Monday. The storm, which' moved... into the area Sunday night bringing high winds and snow accumulations of six inches or more, made areas Monday. Police reported poor visibility, although no highways in the Wingham area were closed. Despite the storm, Wing - ham OPP reported only one accident on Monday, sending a Mildmay -area woman to hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Police reported that Jeri - Porter lights Lee Diebel, 26, of RR 5, Mild - go on Dec. 10 The lights will be turned on at Wingham's Christmas wonderland on Tuesday of next week, December 10. Fred Porter's home, gar- age and front lawn on Leopold St. South, will again attract hundreds of children and their paren ts..Fred_has _ re -worked his fabulous dis- play to make it always new and fresh and more appeal- ing to the many who drive r past it each year. It adds a s festive touch of Christmas spirit to the town during this s happy holiday season. may was westbound on Highway 9, Howick ' Town- ship, when the pickup truck she was driving went out of control on the snow-covered roadway, crossing the high- way -and strikinga tree -in the ditch. Ms. Diebel was taken to the Walkerton hospital by police cruiser for treatment. The truck, a 1980 Dodge, rec-ei-ved- damage estimated at $7,000. iBy Tuesday morning police reported that most oads in the area were astill now -covered, but visibility was good and the plows and and trucks Were out in Wingham Christmas shopping hours Wingham stores are now open every Monday until Christmas, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. During the week of Mon- day, Dec.. 16, to Friday, Dec. 20, stores will be open 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 21, 9:00 a.m. to6:00p.m.; Monday, Dec. 23, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; • Tuesday, Dec. 24, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Santa Claus Parade will be held next Saturday, Dec. 14, starting at 1:00 p.m. To date four marching bands and 25 floats and units have beenregistered. The Optimist Christmas Party for Children is set for Sunday, Dec. 15, at 2:00 p.m. at the Wingham Legion Hall, featuring a magician, car- toons and, of course, Santa Claus himself. councillor, deputy reeve and reeve. His early reluctance to sit on council soon evaporated and he became engrossed in the affairs of the town. Mr. Kerr always believed that the town could benefit from his road -building ex- pertise, he said and he put that experience to use on more than one occasion, probably saving the town many dollars in engineering fees over the years. William Harris, mayor of Wingham and deputy reeve - elect, readily agrees that Mr. Kerr has been a great asset to the town's pub works committee over he years, saying that he d bts anyone could hayet'i d Mr. (Phase-ttiin to Page 5) FIRST SECTION GRADUATED Bill and. Nancy Mulvey of Belmore are pleased to announce the graduation of' their son Jeff from .the University ui Abvaieriou' un Oct. 25, 1985. Jeff received his Honors Bachelor of Mathematics degree in com- puter science and is currently employed at the Insurance Bureau of Canada in Don Mills. JOE KERR, reeve of Wingham for almost 30 years, has retired after a long career in municipal polities. A gravel contractor, Mr. Kerr used his considerable expertise about roads to help the town get the best value for its tax Money over the years. bain tint Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1985 Single Copy 50c `Commercial fringe' planned Proposal to expand core draws fire at public meeting A proposal to centralize commercial development in Wingham by permitting cer- tain types of businesses to lo- cate on residential streets adjacent to the town core is showing signs of being a very hot potato. The plan, which would es- tablish a "core fringe com- 1,tercial" area for profes- s'fonal (Juices along Centre and Edward Streets, in the block between John and Patrick Streets, has run into spirited opposition from at least one resident, who claims this 'would degrade the existing residential Hydro rates to rise by 4.5 per cent in '86 Most customers of the awaiting . approval by Wingham Public Utilities Ontario Hydro boost the rate Commission' will find them- for residential customers by selves paying about 4.5 per 4.3 per ce,.�, while the cent more on their hydro general service rates for bills next year. commercial and most indus- The new hydro rates ap- trial customers will rise by proved by the PUC and now 4.6 per cent. Plant modernization leads to job reduction During the company's additional Hunter 20 line in Christmas shutdown, the last the third quarter of 1986. The labor-intensive cope and company has invested over drag molding line will be $8 million in modernizing removed from the Western and expanding its facility Foundry, President._R...-W_...._over_.the-,pa-s.t-two-years, and- LeVan announced this week. an additional $3 million will The line will be replaced be spent in 1986. by the installation of an auto- mated Hunter 32 molding The foundry's main line. market is U. S. automotive The removal of the cope engine plants, where it faces and drag line will result in increasing competition from the loss of approximately 36 low-wage developing jol3s _a-t_44.fe-fvu7ndry;_m..._eou.n tar -les s ue h- -as-- B r a z i 1— LeVan said. However, to Korea and Spain. preserve the remaining 308 Mr. LeVan said the jobs the foundry must company regrets having to continue to increase its lay off employees at this productivity per man-hour of ' time of year, but its main labor. concern must be the long - Western Foundry has \term security of the majority. more than doubled in size of jobs at the foundry and since 1983 and the growth this security, can only come rate is expected to continue through the switch to more with the installation of an automated equipment. In both cases the monthly bill for a customer using 1,000 kWh (kilowatt hours) would rise by $2.25, going up to $55.13 from '$52.88 for a residential customer and to $57.38 from $55.13 for a general service customer. • In the case of residential customers, the minimum bill will be $4.85 a month (up from $4.50), while the charge for the first 250 kWh will be 7.8 cents per kWh (up from 7.5 cents) with the balance of consumption billed at 4.75 .cents per kWh (up from 4.55 cents). ---For---general service customers, the minimum bill , w is the'same as the residential a rate, as is the rate for the h first 250 kWh. The next 12,250 b kWh will be billed at 5.05 cents per kWh (4.85 cents), with the balance billed at 3.55 cents_(-3_4a_r._----_ The demand charge for over 50 kilowatts rises to tr $3.85 per kW from $3.60. This applies mainly to the larger service and industrial users. New filtering system is working `fabulously' A new dust -filtering plaints at all. We hope the system at Western Foundry people are 1 d " is on=strearn - aiid _"-working fabulously", spokesman Joan Middleton reported last week. In response to a reporter's query, Mrs. Middleton reported that -the Changeover to the baghouse filtering system took place as scheduled on the second weekend of November and to date the company is very pleased with its per- formance. force. "We haven't had any com- P. ease . The -new system, which replaces a less efficient cyclonic dust collection system, was promised by Foundry President R. W. Levan earlier this -..summer_. • following persistent com- plaints from residents about sooty fall -out. The cost of the filtering system, which works on the same principle as a giant vacuum cleaner, is estimated at between $150,000 and $200,000. neighborhoods During last week's publ meeting, called to review t first draft of the town proposed new official pla Centre Street resident Da Bender told the plannin advisory committee he h grave doubts about th aspect of its plan. Explaining he had been member of the town pla ning board 10 years ag when the first official pla was produced, Mr. Bender first congratulated th committee on producing. "fine document". Howeve he then went on to spell ou his objections to includin Centre Street in the cor fringe area. ' This street is one of th areas described in the o ficial plan as "attractive an pleasant residential area distinguished by many turn of -the -century residences located on tree -lined streets," he said, and.he fears that even limited commercial development would destroy its character. "I don't think those (planning) controls can do the job," he ' told the com- mittee, noting there is more tb a neighborhood than just preserving the exteriors of buildings. "Fully developed, these zones become a string of pro- fessional offices in the shells of former homes." Councillor James A. me, who chaired this part tl-ie meeting, admitted he as not comfortable with all spects of this proposal but e explained the reasoning ehind it, which he said is to pen up the core area and. keep it compact. The plan assumes that the -toter. n_aaa d a.ts�or-ear-ea�+i i ]— grow, he said, adding he has aveled extensively and has seen what happens in communities where the commercial area is stretch- ed along one street - what he called the "sausage ef- fect" - which is not good for the vitality of the com- mercial core. The fact that the plan would affect old, historic, residential areas is unfortu- nate, he said, "but we have to address the future, and a long core area is not con- ducive to good commercial development." This exchange sharked a gfhy dFrscussion involving eral others in the audi= ce and on the planning m mmittee. llis Grist, who recently rchased a house on Ed - be 1 Street which would ncluded in the core fringe a, asked whether the posed new zone would Ily be a benefit to either s community or the af- t ed property owners. lthough it is commercial t ame, it still bears many b the restrictions on c development common to a is residential area, he:. noted, he saying it should be dither one 's or the other. n, Bill McGrath, planning ve committee chairman, said g the, idea is to expand the as commercial area without at , unduly disturbing the resi ' dential neighborhoods. The a committee thought profes- n• sional offices could fit into o these areas without too much n trouble, he said. "Leave the' door open (to e commercial expansion), but a still have control." ✓ "The way I see it, it makes t , it easier for the core to sneak g out into the residential e areas," commented Ernest Eaton, who attended the e meeting as a member of the f- public. d He pointed out that by s designating the area as - commercial in the official plan, it then becomes a much simpler matter to later rezone it for additional commercial uses. • Mr. McGrath admitted that is true, saying he has heard a lot of residents say the town should "open up" and make it easier for new businesses to locate here.' Pastor Ross Smith ex- pressed concern that under the proposed change the Wingham Baptist Church . would find itself in the core fringe. area, and he refused to accept assurances from committee members that the For the largest industrial users, such as the Western Foundry Co. Ltd., the demand charge rises to $10.40 per kW from $9.75, with the energy charge rising to 2.03 cents per kWh from 1.95 cents. PUC Manager Ken Saxton estimated the overall in- crease will bring about $133,000 more into the PUC coffers next year. However -most of- this w ilF be . paid -out - again to cover the 3.9 per cent increase in the cost of bulk power from Ontario Hydro. The rate of 'return which the -KT -achieves -on -the -sale of power should be up Ten sev en co E pu E be i ghtly to about 10.3 per cent are from 7.3 per cent this year, pro Mr. Saxton said, which rea should improve the utility's the cash operating position. feet He estimated the PUC's A operating costs will rise by in n about 4.6 per cent next year. of change w_ou d_ not affert_the___ church in any way. It prefers to remain residential, he said, and finally Patty Mun- kittrick, an advisor from the county planning department, agreed to look at excluding the church from the change. Councillor Jack Kopas, a member of the planning committee, said that having ' professional offfces on the main street displaces retail . outlets. He said the com- mittee was looking for some way to get the offices off the main street while keeping them within easy walking distance. He also suggested that turning some of the old homes into, professional offices is \a way of - they are maintai ed, ex- pressing concern r future residents could afford to keep up the lovely, old buildings. It is easier for professionals, since they can write it off their taxes, he noted. Bob Gavreluk told the meeting that if the town is looking for room for com- mercial expansion, it might turn its attention to better use of Some of the property along the main street. Building the new fire hall took away some of the available room, he noted, but he also suggested that, with parkland all around the town, it might be worth looking at using Cruickshank ' Park and the main street ball park for commercial expansion. "I brought that up and almost got hung,"Mr. McGrath told him, saying the matter had been dis- cussed but the committee cone -1 -oiled - ttait -ubIic opinion is against such a change. Mr. Grist suggested that a compromise in the core fringe area could be to drop the word "commercial"' and (Please turn to Page 5) Ouick action saves Howick pig barn The Wingham Fire Department, along with the Listowel department, helped. to save a Howick Township pig barn from fire last Thursday morning. Wingham Fire Chief Dave Crothers said quick action on the part of - the owner probably did as much to save the barn as anything. As soon as the fire was detected the barn was closed up tightly to prevent the • fire from spreading, and resulted in only a few charred beams. Mr. Crothers reported the call came at 7:30 a.m. on Nov. 28 to the_ farm of -Honk_:_. deJong, Lot 18, Con. 4 of Howick Township. A heat lamp in one of the pig pens ignited Some of the urrounding straw to start he fire, said the chief. The Wingham department spent hree hours at the scene ringing the blaze under ontrol Although a number of pigs were lost in the fire, Mr. Crothers said it is difficult to estimate the entire loss as the remaining animals must be watched closely for some time to detect any ill effects. The Wingham department was called out Sunday evening to another Howick Township fire. Mr. Crothers said the call came in at 8:30 p.m. on S"undayto the horse of Ronald Sachs, Con. 11, Lot 7. There was no damage in the chimney fire. At 7:08 last Wednesday __ev=ening , -th e—�V+ngh a -m department was summoned to the home of William McGrath, 15 Albert Street in Wingham. Mr. Crothers said a pot of grease on the stove caught fire. Approximately $1,500 in smoke and heat damage resulted, he said, "however there was little fire damage.