HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-12-11, Page 3E 1y 1'1
Bc,x .�
Blyth, ;rt. NON IH
Jt,
PATRICIA DAER was presented with a framed `letter of commendation by Ian
Moreland, chairman of the Wingham Board of Police Commissioners, during last.
week's ••ard meeting. Miss Daer, 13, the daughter of Wingham Const. Ed Daer, is
credited ,.�. helping the police to apprehend thieves who stole a number of wallets
from dress' rooms at the Wingham arena earlier this fall.
Gir 's quick thinking
helps foil wallet thieves
Quick thinking by a
Wingham-area teenager
helped to foil the plans of
thieves who made off with a
number of wallets from a
dressing room of the
Wingham arena this fall.
Patricia Daer, who was at
the arena at the time,
happened to notice a
suspicious -looking vehicle
which kept circling the area.
She noted the licence
number and, when the theft
was discovered, passed the
information along to her
father, Const: Ed'Daer of the
Wingham police force,
Her action enabled the
Wingham police, in coopera-
tion with the Goderich pol-
ice, to apprehend the ve-
hicle, with the wallets still
inside, at Goderich. Arrests
were made and two suspects
are currently awaiting , a
court appearance.
The missing wallets,
containing valuable personal
papers and approximately
$150 in cash, were returned
to their grateful owners.
Last week, at a meeting of
the Wingham Board of
Police Commissioners, Miss
Daer, 13, was honored for
her part in solving the crime.
Chairman Ian Moreland
presented her with a framed
letter of commendation and
congratulated her for her
presence of mind.
The fact 'that she noticed
the suspect vehicle and
thought of writing down the
licence number made the
quick arrest and.recovery of
the wallet's possible, Mr.
Moreland noted. The
suspects were arrested
"before they ever got home
. to divvy up the loot." .
He said Miss Daer's ac-
tions were a tribute to her
upbringing.
Police Chief Robert Wittig
reported to the commission
that Const. Daer also has
received a special com-
mendation in his personal
file as a result of his handling
of three occurrences during
the past year.
On March 29 the officer
checked a vehicle on
Josephine Street and
discovered two men with a
quantity of hardware ar-
ticles. Upon questioning
them it was found they had
just completed a break,
enter and theft at a nearby
village and were en route
New council passes
policg benefit bylaw
In a unanimous vote
coming at the end of its
inaugural meeting Monday
night, the newly -installed
Wingham council passed the
controversial bylaw provid-
ing for the early-retirement
benefit to be awarded to
members of the town police
department.
All discussion of the bylaw
was held in -camera, after
council had moved behind
closed doors to read a letter
from its solicitor regarding'
this matter.
Neither Mayor Jack Kopas
nor Reeve Bruce Machan
could be reached for com-
ment Tuesday morning,
however Deputy Reeve (and
former mayor) William
Harris said the solicitor's
letter had advised council to
pass the bylaw,
- ---The letter- outlined- pro-
cedures and what •council
can and cannot do, he said,
adding it had been "ex-
plained very' thoroughly".
- He also said the majority
of police forces now have the
early-retirement benefit and
"it was going to come sooner
or later."
The new councillors had
some questions about the
matter, Mr. Harris said, but
"whe everything was ex-
plaine to them, everyone
seemed airly happy."
He ad ed tlat council still
plans to Old joint meeting
with the police commission
sometime next month to
clarify their respective
areas of responsibility.
The new council's action
represents an about-face
• from the stand taken by the
previous council at its final
regular meeting in Novem-
ber. At that time a number of
councillors questioned the
new benefit, which was
awarded by the Wingham
Board of Police Commis-
sioners in a three-year con-
tract signed earlier this
year, and council declined to
pass the bylaw.
Former councillor James
A. Currie objected that
council had been given no
infdrmation about the early-
retir,ement award, describ-
ing it as a luxury the town
cannot afford.
Ata subsequent meeting of -
the police commission, Mr.
Kopas had proposed a joint
meeting of the commission
and the new council, and as
recently as last week he had
said such a meeting "should
precede further considera-
tion of the (early-retire-
ment) bylaw." However the
bylaw was on the agenda for
Monday night's inaugural
meeting of council.
The police benefit repre-
sents an additional cost to
the town of $41,519 in a lump
sum or $72,750 spread over 15
years.
from the crime. The accused
were sentenced to :jail terms
in September • and the
property was returned.to its
owner.
• On May 31 Const. Daer was
dispatched to 'a parked
vehicle' left overnight on a
commercial' • lot. Although
the vehicle itself revealed
nothing ' unusual, serial
number checks on articles
found in the truck showed
them to have been stolen
recently from the Goderich
area. Two persons were
arrested for possession of
stolen property and are
currently awaitijig trial.
Articles valued at approxi-
mately $2,000 were returned
to the owner.
The third incident con-
cerns the recovery of the
wallets stolen from the
Wingham arena Oct. 28 and
subsequently found in a car
in Goderich.
Most of the discussion at
the meeting dealt with. en
forcement of the new two-
hour parking bylaw along
the main street of Wingham.
Chief Wittig reported that
Pat Angus, the department
secretary and an auxiliary
police officer, has been
patrolling the street and
chalking tires, adding he had
received "a number of
positive comments about her
being on the street.
Mr. Moreland noted that
the police commission had
not received any direction
from town council on how it
wants the bylaw enforced.
"This is just a trial run.
Jack Kopas, mayor -elect,
suggested the ' commission
should ask council to put in
writing - its expectations for
parking enforcement, ad-
ding this would be an ex-
t:ellent topic to add to the
agenda of the joint meeting
the commission hopes to hold
with council next month.
It takes considerably more
time to enforce parking
without the »meters, Chief
, Wittig reported, saying the
police will "do as much, as
we can to the hest of our
ability." However he noted
that on the list of priorities
involving police work,
parking is probably near the
bottom. If council is not
-satisfied with the results, -
can appoint someone else to
do the job or else change the
system, he suggested.
William Harris, the retir•
-
ing mayor, repeated his
prediction that the removal -
of the meters will prove a
failure. "1 hope they hung
onto them, because I bet in
five. years they I the meters)
will be hack in," he declared.
He said he hopes the•
change has been for the good
of the town, "hut 1've had a
FIRST SECTION
ibt 191
bbanciezeimiNe
bain
Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1985
Offer of advice brings
eviction threat at council
The chairman of one of the
town's advisory committees
was threatened with eviction
from the council chamber
Monday night for trying to
offer advice to council on a
matter it was considering.
The incident came near
the end of the lengthy but
otherwise uneventful
inaugural meeting of the
Wingham Town Council
when Ernest Eaton, chair-
man of Heritage Wingham
(the local architectural con-
servation advisory commit-
tee) attempted to speak to
council on the subject of two
bylaws being proposed to
clear up the incorrect
designation of a heritage
property.
Newly -elected Mayor Jack
Kopas told council the
bylaws were required for
"more appropriate identifi-
cation" of a property and
had been prepared by the
town solicitor.
At this point Mr. Eaton,
who frequently attends
meetings of council and had
been an observer throughout
the meeting, raised his hand
for permission to address
council. However Mr. Kopas
refused to hear from him.
"This meeting is not open
to the public.... The chair
does not recognize the
member of the gallery," the
mayor declared, without
looking at the man who had
also been his closest rival in
the mayoralty election,
losing by seven votes.
He said the public may
only address council as a
del4gation.
"Does the chair not
recognize its own committee
to give advice?" Mr. Eaton
inquired, then asking
whether the council might
consider "a momentary
recess to the benefit of
council" in order to receive
his information, which he
said was intended to prevent
later embarrassment on the
part of council.
"I hope the chair will not
have to request the member
of the public to vacate the
chamber," Mr. Kopas
responded. "This is very
embarrassing for us."
Following this exchange
council resumed discussion
of the bylaws, which dealt
with the heritage designation
of a cast iron fence located
on a residential property on
Victoria Streo.t. The fence
had • received heritage
designation in 1983, however
council was told the property
description in the original
bylaw was found to be in-
correct, creating problems
for an adjoining landowner.
Council eventually voted to
PUC employees are
awarded five per .cent
The Wingham Public
Utilities Commission ha's
granted its employees an
across-the-board pay in-
crease of five per cent for
1986.
The increases, approved at
a meeting held last Thursday
evening, will bring PUC
employees here' up to par
with those at other PUCs in
the district, according to
Chairman Roy Bennett.
Manager Ken Saxton's
annual salary goes to $44,289,
while PUC Superintendent
Ken Simmons will earn
'.$34,450 in 1986.
The salary of PUC office
manager and commission
secretary -treasurer Brenda
Adams will go to $21,793 in
1986 aid office,employee Don
McKay will make $16,482
next year.
The hourly rate fora PUC
lineman. will to go $13.70
from $13.04.
Mr. Bennett said the
commission members also
will be requesting a five per
cent increase in their own
honoraria.
The chairman currently is
paid just over $1,000 per year
for his work on the com-
mission, while the other two
members ' received ap-
proximately $200 less.
The increase in the
commission honoraria must
be approved by town council.
pass both bylaws, the first
revoking the bylaw passed in
1983 and the second re -
designating the property
with the correct description.
Councillor Bill McGrath
asked for assurance that all
was being done correctly this
time, and Mr. Kopas assured
him that it was.
However after the meeting
Mr. Eaton said council had
erred once again, this time in
failing to follow the
procedure set down by the
Ontario Heritage Act for
dealing with such bylaws.
The Act requires con-
sultation with LACAC and
public notification before a
bylaw is either passed or.
repealed, he explained, and
neither was done in this case.
He also pointed out that the
revoking bylaw passed by
council is incorrect in that it
contains the new land
description rather than the
old one. Had it been routed
through LACAC, as required
by the Act, or had council
permitted him to speak at
the meeting this could all
have been cleared up, he
said. .
Single Copy 50c
CHAIN OF OFFICE—Outgoing Mayor William Harris
presented the mayor's chain of office to his successor,
Jack Kopas, during ' c swearing-in ceremony
preceding the start° of the inaugural meeting of the
Wingham Town Cot,,incil on Monday night.
McGrath wins council seat
Recunt confirms Kopas
Although his margin of
Victory shrank to just seven
' votes, a judicial recount last
week confirmed the election
of Jack Kopasas the. new
mayor of Wingham.
• The final tally was 417
votes, representing 36.6 per
cent of the total votes cast,
for Mr. Kopas, 410 votes (36
per cent) for Ernest, Eaton
and 312 votes (27.4 per cent)
for Tom Burrell, the third
candidate.
In a separate recount
concerning the election for
council seats, Bill McGrath
managed to overcome an
apparent two -vote victory by
Dianne Grummett to claim.
the sixth and final council
seat.
The initial count had Ms.
Grummett winning by a
margin of 541 votes to 539.
.However the recount last
Wednesday found an ad-
ditional two votes for Mr.
McGrath while Ms. Grum-
mett lost four, giving ,him a
541 -to -537 victory.
Candidates had until
Monday to challenge the
recount, but Clerk -Treasurer
Byron Adams, who also was
chief returning officer for
the. election, said Monday
afternoon he had not been
notified of any intention to
mount a challenge.
There also is a provision in
the Elections Act allowing 90.
days to challenge the
validity of an election. If
successful, such a challenge
would require a complete re -
vote.
The recount, . which was
requested by the Wingham
Town Council as being in the
public interest, was made
necessary when Mr. Eaton
hell of a time• finding a THE GRADE 6 PUPILS from Mr. Whiteley's class at the
parking space arou d here Wingham Public School held a "Sex -Change Day" last
recently." Friday with the boys dressing up as girls and vice versa.
Everybody said they had fun dressing different for one
day, but were glad to revert back to their old roles when
Friday was over.
discovered a discrepancy in
the vote count for mayor at
Poll 5, where the number of
votes counted for the three
mayoralty, -candidates ex-
ceeded the number of ballots
reported as cast.
Mr. McGrath filed a
separate request for a
recount in the council
election.
Mr, Eaton said following
the recount he was satisfied
the discrepancies had been
cleared up.
Although the recount did
.not change the results of the
mayoralty election, it did
produce a number of
changes in the vote counts.
While the official results
initially showed Mr. Kopas
with 428 votes, Mr. Eaton
with 415 and Mr. Burrell with
318, the recount changed the
numbers to 417, 410 and 312
respectively. A total of 41
ballots were unmarked and
15 were rejected as spoiled.
Ad deadline
is advanced
As our issue during the
week of Dec: 23 will be
coming out on Monday, Dec.
23, please call us by next
Thursday, Dec. 19,,with any
classifieds you wish to have
published in the Dec. 23
issue.
This Monday will of course
be the regular deadline for
the Dec. 18 issue.
Art Clark is
chairman, of
board of ed.
Art Clark of Wingham was
acclaimed chairman of the
Huron County Board of
Education at the board's
inaugural meeting last
Thursday in Clinton. Mr.
Clark represents the Town of
Wingham, as well as the
Townships of Turnberry and
Howick on the board.
Mr. Clark, vice chairman
of the board for the past two
years, was unchallenged in
his bid for the chairman's
position and all positions on
the board were filled by
acclamation, he said.
John Jewitt of Londesboro
was acclaimed vice chair-
man and Eugene Frayne of
Goderich is past chairman.
Joan Van Den Broek of
Saltford was acclaimed
chairman of the education
committee, Tony McQuail of
West. Wawanosh Township
will head the management
committee and Graeme
Craig of Walton was ac-
claimed chairman of the
personnel committee.