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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-08-08, Page 11 . . - . . . ' • .. . . . r : . . . , ' . i• , . .. FIRST SECTION Wingham, Ontario, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 1989 SONG MY PADDLE SINGS—With Marc Keil and Oliver Meyer running the paddles, Selena Campbell, Jamie Baynton and Allison Culbert must have felt confident setting out on the Maitland River last week. Day -camp children enjoyed an afternoon of canoeing. Public meeting Thursday Farming federation opposes buffer zone Huron County Federation of Agriculture is fighting an official plan amendment East that CoUld'affect seveaT Olierafike farms in the north end of the town- ship. The amendment would accom- modate a proposal for development of a 200 -site adult motor home and trailer park on 35 acres of land along the Maitland River on Con- cession 14. Along with zoning changes of the site from natural ertasixOsunent to recreational, the deVeleirirrieht fiquireS re2tMing'cif a 2,000 -foot buffer zone, which could result in restricted designation of close to 400 acres of working farm- land. At a meeting in Clinton recently, the federation passed a resolution opposing any rezoning that would Riddell dropped as agriculture minister Jack Riddell, Huron MPP and agriculture minister for the past four years, was dropped from cabinet by Pre- mier David Peterson in a major shuffle last week. Just seven members of the provincial cabinet kept their old posts, including Bruce MPP Murray Elston, management board chairman, in what most feel is an atternpt by the premier to put a fresh face on the gov- ernment. In a telephone interview with the newspaper last week, Mr. Riddell was philosophical about losing his portfolio. "rve had four good years as a minister. Its been my lifetime ambition," he said, adding that he has worked in the agriculture and food industry all his life. However, there comes a time when new and fresh ideas are needed, he says, but hopes that he has paved the way for his successor as agriculture and food minis- ter, limiskaming MPP David Ramsay. Mr. Riddell looks back on this four years as agricul- ture minister with satisfaction. He says he feels he gave agricultural issues a high profile, something which had been lacking before. He also ip proud of bringing the tri -partite stabiliza- tion program to fruition and notes that all provinces now are on side. Other accomplishments of Mr. RidAell's tenure as agriculture minister include the family farm interest - rate reduction program and improved crop insurance for farmers. All in akl, the agriculture ministry has had a good record, one that we can be proud of," concludes Mr. Riddell. k Terry Deyell, manager of Mr. Riddell's Wffigham con- stituency office, said he received numerous calls last week from people offering their regret at Mr. Riddell leaving the cabinet. The callers all said Mr. Riddell had performed well in the office and they are sorry to see him leave. As far as Mr. Riddell's Wingham and Exeter con- stituency offices are concerned, they will remain open to serve he needs of constituents„ he says. First elected in a by-election in 1973, Mr. Riddell, 58, is the second.longest serving MPP in the Legislature, sec,ond only to Treasurer Bob Nixon. Mr, Riddell was ele- vated to agriculture miniSter in 1985 when the Liberals came to power and was reappointed in 1987. Mr. Riddell says he looks forward to a less -hectic lifestyle out ei the limelight and spending more time with his wife and nine grandchildren," sOon (0 be 10. affect farmland. The group will take its concerns to the Ontario Federa- tion of Agriculture" and to a public ThIrthidtr4t 7.30 ;km. in the East WaWanosh Municipal Building. About 10 landowners will be affected if East Wawanosh approves the rezoning of the 35 - acre site as the proposal stands, points out Chris Palmer of R.R. 5, Wingham, president of the county farmers' group and one of the affected landowners. "About 50 acres of my farm are included in the buffer zone," Mr. Palmer told The Advance -Times last week. "It won't affect my oper- ation at present, since it's currently in cash crop. But what does the re- designation from agricultural to restricted -agricultural land mean to us in future?" At least two farmers have build- ings and livestock operations within the buffer, he adds. "This means they cannot expand their operations." The farmers are not opposed to the establishment of the park, he stresses, but the imposing of a buffer which would inconvenience the surrounding property owners. "Why should the farmers be the ones to carry the burden of restrict- ed land use, and not the park oper- ator? It's like having a permanent lien on your farm." "If we were to move into house right beside Dofasco, would we be able to tell them when and how they can oper- ate their business? Why should people using the trailer park subject us to restrictions?" About 50 acres of the land in the buffer zone is owned by the devel- oper, Mr. Palmer adds, but even this land could be slated for park expansion, thus requiring a wider buffer and further restrictions on neighboring farmers. "If we were to move into a house right beside Dofasco, would we be able to' tell them when and how they can operate their business? Why should people using the trail- er park subject us to restrictions?", Mr. Palmer points out. The federation is not certain their resolution is a practical solution. "But we have to start somewhere," he says. The reokorting appIleation 104 mad by ,,K0a.aget,.tia , , 001*k:fit ' ' • rrr•k• • •1 • r 50e Wood now holds indoor, outdoor pole vault records Wingham's Doug Wood now holds two Canadian pole vault records, the indoor and outdoor, in addition to the Canadian junior outdoor record. Wood captured the outdoor record at the Canadian Nationals this weekend at Ottawa. He vaulted 5.50 -metres at the weekend games, tying his Canadian indoor record set earlier this year at Edmonton. The previous outdoor record was 5.44m, aocoitling to Ken Wood of Wingham, the young athlete's father. Wood's performance at last weekend's meet qualifies him to attend the Commonwealth Games next January and February in PUC ready to crack down Turn off those sprinklers! Wingham Public Utilities Com- mission is cracking down on illicit lawn watering, says PUC Manager Ken Saxton. Lawn watering restrictions have been in effect in Wingham since mid-June, with watering permitted only between the hours of 6 and 9 a.m., and 6 and 9 p.m. "So far we've distributed about 80 warning letters, and some peo- ple have received more than one," Mr. Saxton told the commission at last Thursday's meeting. "The next offender we see will be getting a summons." Failure to comply with the restrictions could result in a $300 fine, he warned. This summer, the PUC has been pumping a million gallons extra water each day — that's three times as much as the normal town con- sumption rate of 500,000 gallons, Mr. Saxton pointed out. "Our pumps are running all night because people leave their sprin- klers on. If we're pumping three times as much water, the pumps will wear out that much faster and our costs will be going up," he noted. Excessive water usage in town can also result in shortages throughout the surrounding rural area as water levels in other wells drop, he added. "If people stick with the six hour -a -day restrictions, they'll still have a green lawn, and we won't be running the pumps nearly as long," he said. Firefighters at Gorrie have a busy week Firefighters from the Wingham and Area Fire Department's Gorrie station were kept busy at four calls last week, including one mutual aid call. A fire last Saturday evening at Lot 6, Con. 13 of Howick has result- ed in the loss of a welding shop, reports Fire Chief Harley Gaunt. The call came at 9:35 p.m. to the Emerson Weber property. Chief Gaunt says a welding torch damaged the underside of a motor home and the fire went straight to the fuel line. The chief estimatesthe loss of the 40 X 70 -foot shop at between $35,000 and $40,000. The emergency van and a water tanker were dispatched from the Wingham fire hall to help fight the blaze. sl In a, deparate incident last Friday, Aug. 4, a call came at 1050 a.m. to the Bart Scherpenzeel property at Lot 21, Con. 9, of Howick Torn - ship. Chief Gaunt says a lightning strike caused the barn fire which resulted in $45,000 damage. Lost in the blaze were 8,000 bales of hay and straw, as well as a hay elevator. However, says the chief, the fire was con- tained to one part of the barn and the Milking parlor and livestock were saved: - At 633 p.m. twit Tuesday, Aug. 1, COrtiO and Wingham firefighters reo nded to a call at Lot 12, Con. 4 Of' to the Ingo Collat.+ prop - grain field reguited al damage, sya Chief 'Atlit the kJ ohm , 'ate parte tThe souk re it he Auckland, New Zealand, Wood, 23, has been having a busy summer. One month ago, he vault- ed 5.35m at games in Morocco and one week ago, he won the Ontario championships by virtue of a 5.40m vault. He leaves today, Tuesday, for Bogota, Colombia, for the American Games. Athletes from all over North and South America, except the United States, compete at these games, says Mr. Wood, who adds that his son has a good chance of doing well. If he does do well at Bogota, Wood could qualify for the World Outdoor Championships to be held in Spain next month. He also will be competing at university games in Germany during the last week of August. The newspaper will follow these competitions and report back on Wood's performances. Youth's condition remains critical A Wingham youth• remains in critical condition following an acci- dent last Sunday evening, July 30, in Morris Township. David Heinmiller, 19, was involved in a single -vehicle accident on Con. 2-3 of Morris Township near Stone School last Sunday at approximately 11 p.m. He was later transferred to Univer- sity Hospital, London, where he remains. Paul Brophy of Wingham, 19, injured in the. same mishap, has been released from Wingham and District Hospital. • • 4fr",'P'.'iC,, • •,-f, 1 Reunion stepper . Page 3A Ladles' golf . . Page 2B Editorials Opinions Page 5A Classifieds Page 6A Page 4A Sports Page 2B Community News Page 3B „. ;40,,rev O'''''';':4Y 0 .f, 04"'"' / i ' 1,/,/, Wto t?..;. JASON AINSLIE of Walter's department store in Wingham dis- cusses the economic development questionnaire with Rose Marks, county planning summer student. Through the survey, Wingham business people have an opportunity to comment on the future development of the town. Summer student delivers development questionnaires Rpse Marks, a summer student working for the Huron County Planning Department, delivered surveys to town business people last week, asking for their input on the course of future development for the town. The questionnaire was compiled by Ms. Marks in conjunction with the Wingham Economic Develop- ment Committee, the recently - formed group which hopes to draw up a "game plan" aimed at making Wingham a better place in which to live and work. Ms. Marks delivered the surveys last week arid will be picking them up later this week. She will analyze the data collected and report back to the committee with her findings later this month. A summary of the information will be presented at a public meet- ing. An honors geography student at Witfrid Laurier University, Ms. •,':S.Marks is working for the county ptthi't1n department this summer. Hir duties have Included conduct - ng a similar surv_ey at Brussels. The Survey Vangham business people asks such questions as, "Why did you originally locate in Wingham?" and "Why do you remain in Wingham?." It also asks what improvements could be made to the commercial core to make it more attractive. Although Wingham has a busi- ness association, the survey asks if town businesses feel there is a need for a business -improvement area or a chamber of commerce. The survey goes on to ask what types or services are needed in Wingham and could prosper here and if there is a need for industrial or commercial development in town anc4 what kind. It concludes by asking business people what they feel are the town's main strengths and weak- nesses, Ms. Marks also will attempt to gather information about popula- tion trends in the town and the composition of its labor force. The participation of town busj, ness people is crucial to the devei opment of a long-term strategy, as q will focus on what the peopfe want and feel is needed in Wngham.