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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-02-15, Page 1laes 0 you're not subapribing to The Winghara Advance -Times, You're roissing;tett Use thls coupon . below and 'subscribe today! Name: Address: Pro .: Postal Code: Subscription rates Canada within 40 miles (65km) ad- dressed to non letter carrier address- es $27 plus $1.89 GST. Outside 40 miles (65km) or any letter barrier address $40 plus $2.80 GST. Ouslde Canada $80 plus $5.60 GST USE YOUR CREDIT CARD Card No, ErEIM000 ODOOOODO Expi Date• Visa Master Card ❑ Cheque enclosed ❑ Return To: WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES P.O. Box 390, 5 Diagonal Road Wingham Ontario, NOG 2W0 L Trinity Anglican Church in Belgrave will close its doors later this spring after over a century of worship. Page 14 Plans for a 911 service in Huron County are moving swiftly. Fred Groves reports from Goderich. Page 3. Citizens look at restoring the old mill on river GORRIE—As long as there has been a Village of Gorrie there has been a Gorrie mill. It has stood in the same spot on the south bank of the Maitland River for more than a hundred years — a lot more than a hundred years. The old three-storey building is in remarkably good shape and there are plans to put it back in working condition ,and make it the focal point of a park and tourist area. A group of Howick Township citizens met at the mill Saturday morning to tour the building and the grounds. Armed with lanterns and flashlights they 'moved from the ground floor to the two upper floors, peering at the remains of equipment that few knew much about. However, the lack of knowledge only served to make the group more enthusiastic about the pro- ject- The gathering on Saturday was the latest of a number of meet- ings. A group of interested citizens first met with representatives of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) last fall to in- vestigate the possibilities of restor- ing the mill as a historic and cultu- ral resource. Another round table meeting will be held Feb. 13 when plans will be made for a public meeting to be held in late March or early April. Please see GROUP/3 IIRQAMEN • The Wingham Junior C Ironmen got out the *, broom this Friday as they swept the Black •s Hawks. See Sports tints k\ 75e • • County Editorial Letters Births Sports T.V. Guide Classifieds Horoscopes Crossword Page 3 Page 4 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 10 Page 11 Page 14 Page 14 A LOOK AT m m A two-part series on how the 4? glican Church in the area is changing. Page 14 The Wirfgham Advance -Times is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and Information leadership A sign of the times...Roads in and out of the Wingham area were closed for the better part of the weekend as winter returns with a vengence. Several activities canceadits highthiiid hdsWthIihiji' thigton; other events success ful as people take inannualFrostyFest event While the amount of snow was conducive for outdoor winter ac- tivities, the strong winds and the harsh wind-chill factors kept the number of Frosty Fest participants down. In . past years, Frosty Fest has been cancelled or re -scheduled be- cause of mild temperatures. This year was a bit different- The weather was ideal for Frosty Fest events, but the winds and road clo- cred HeParish Hall was not as sures kept the people away. gs _ t'years• The turnout for Organizer Keith Schill of the the"=:+r 'TM at the Legion hall was Wingham Kinsmen Club said he good. was pleased with the overall re- Schill said the turnout for the sults. However, it was the weather Optimist Club's Monte Carlo night that affected the turnout for some at the Legion started off slow, but events, as it kept out of town pco- picked up as the evening pro- ple from corning to town. gresscd. He said the turnout for the Sat- "They had 10 to 11 tables of urday afternoon bingo at the black jack going," he said. Fire department budget in. at "If the lights arc bought board, they should remain w board," said John Jacques of i kT h• He added there were three snow sculptures. Prizes were awardcd to Julie Nolan and Jadcn.Dickson for their turtle at Riverside Park, Laur- en Pautler, iordama Welsh and Jill Underwood for the dog, couch and coffee table at the Josephine Street ballpark, and Lori Angus and Wendy Finlay with the enthused ball fan at the Josephine Street ballpark_ There al1park- There were 14 competitors in the pool tournament and eight peo- ple in the video game event. Prize winners in the pool tour- ney were Tom Ritchie, Gary Bum - stead, and Ed Burgers. Top honors in the video game tourney went to Femi Omolc and Kiel Watts. How - ��h �� Wescast wants to include CN bridge in future plans By JIM BROWN The Advance -Times The 1995 proposed budget for the Wingham Area Fire Depart- ment was presented to the fire board last Wednesday evening. Although the board cut 52,000 out of the proposed budget, it will not be approved until the five mu- nicipalities represented on the board get a chance to discuss the proposed S203,300 budget. The municipal councils will be able to make cuts to the proposed budget. The proposed 1995 budget is 1.7 per cent higher than the pro- posed 1994 budget. However, it is actually 51,128 more than the ac- tual 1994 budget of 5204,172. When the fire department bud- get is discussed at the respective councils, they will also decide whether to give the fire fighters a two per cent increase or a green warning light for their vehicles. Fire chief Harley Gaunt said the members of the department have indicated ° that instead of an in- crease in fire pay, they were re- questing the board purchase a green warning light for each mem- ber of the department. "These warning lights have been approved by, the Ministry of Transportation for use by volun- teer fire fighters," said the fire chief. 'They are designed to assist fire fighters get through traffic when responding to a fire call." Chief Gaunt said the cost of each light is approximately S60. He added even with the green lights, the fire fighters still have to obey all traffic rules. "They do not -give the fire fight- ers any extra privileges," he said. "It gives them added recognition — it lets the the public know they arc a volunteer fire fighter re- sponding to a fire." The board was in favor of buy- ing the lights for the fire fighters, but felt they should belong to the fire board. owns r c p, Bruce Machan of Wingham said it would be easier for the board to sell the warning lights as pail of the Piro fighters equipment, then it is to put it in as a raise. "I don't know if anyone else is geuing an increase this year," he said. Chief Gaunt said ownership is not a contenscious issue with the fire fighters because the lights can- not be used legally once a fire fighter leaves the station. Jim Hunter of East Wawanosh Townshig said that if a vote would be taken he would vote against a pay increase for the fire fighters and the purchase of the green Please see ME/2 Petition presented regarding future of motocross races Both sides of the issue were in attendance last Tuesday afternoon as East Wawanosh Township council once again debated the fu- ture of moto-cross racing on the west part of Lot 29, Concession 7. A temporary use by-law was be- ing considered by council and would permit property owner Mar- tin Bitz's son Tom to have three two-day moto-cross races per yea as well as allowing motorcycle riding on the property Sunday af- ternoons and Wednesday even- ings. The racing Would be held during the three long summer weekends, beginng with the May 24 weekend. A fmal decision on the tempo- rary use by-law was deferred by council until a later meeting when Please .see NOISE'2 By CAMERON J. WOOD The Advance -Times Wescast Industries is interested in preserving the former CN Rail bridge over the Maitland River as part of a $6 million plan for their Wingham property.' Adrian deBruyn spoke to town council at their last meeting in re- gards to the foundry's landscaping and building .expansion plans for this spring. The local company has scheduled a $4.5 million building expansion and '$1.5 million land- scaping plan for when the weather breaks this spring. Last fall, after CN failed to act within 120 days to remove the bridge as required in the purchase agreement ,of land with the town, a citizens' interest group requested a delay of six months to examine future possibili- ties to keeping the bridge in place; one of which was as an entrance route to the foundry and machining plant. Wescast Industries expressed an interest in the plan, which also called for a connection to the west side of the Ecological Park trail. The access would have to cross Wescast property and would re- quire a third -party agreement. However, an option to purchase the rail land leading from Josephine Street to the bridge, has intrigued the company. " According to de- Bruyn, they are interested in devel- oping the strip as an access road to the buildings. He said their initial idea calls for a private two-lane road on either side of the rail bridge with traffic control lights on either side. If the land between the bridge and Josephine Street is not wide enough for a two-lane road, de- Bruyn said they may opt for a one- way single land access, with the exit for the traffic at Arthur Street. The company's ;plan will see a significant change regardless of the bridge option. deBruyn said the firm is planning on paving the en- tire parking lot; an addition of 20,000 square feet (10,000 square feet by two storeys) for the foundry in office and employee space. In addition, the machining plant will be expanded for office space. deBruyn said they were hoping to hear from council within two - weeks as to whether or not the bridge option appealed to them- He said if they plan on finalizing the designs soon and will include the bfidge if council indicates that di- rection. "We're seeking a fairly quick resolutionrto this. If it doesn't look positive, we will leave it out totally and not pursue our interest further." If the plan does go ahead, Wes - cast would assume liability for the bridge. Councillor Ward Robertson, a supporter of preserving the bridge, Please see BRIDGE/2