Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-06-29, Page 1Business or pleoStPrii, book now! FIRST SECTION Wingham., Wednesday, June 29, 1977 Isna Listowel Qntoricr 29i -2i t C®Il Toll Free 1-B1�9: 543 2 Single eApy Not Over 30c Mayor faces opposition ove early start to street project' Wingham has the worst main street in Western Ontario, Mayor William Walden feels, and he in- tends to do something about it as soon as possible. He faces opposition, however, from some councillors and businessmen in town who, for several reasons, are not in favor of an early start on reconstruct- ing the street. - They would prefer to see the project postponed for at least two years, until after the centennial year in 1979, to avoid the possi- bility of having the street torn up during the celebrations. Mr. Walden, accusing the town of being "against progress", wants work to start on the street next April. The engineering firm of B. M. Ross and Associates has assured him the job could be completed by September 15, in time for the plowing match, he said. He is not in favor of putting the project off. "Things are getting dearer all the time," he noted, predicting, the cost to the town could increase substantially in two years. He also warned: "If they don't fix up the main street now, they're going to have a shopping mall here." That would force merchants out of business, push prices up and be of "no value to the town", he said. ,Those who think the project can't be finished during one con- struction season "don't have enough business experience," Mr. Walden added. With more experience, he felt, they would realize it can be done if it is pushed hard enough. He said penalty clauses could be placed in the contract to ensure comple- tion by September 15. Mr. Walden pointed out that: "When I went in for mayor, I went in on a platform to recon- struct the main street. If they don't want it done, they shouldn't have voted for me." This declaration ,came in response to sentiments expressed by Wingham Business Associa- tion members last week, oppos- ing an early start on the recon- struction. William Rintoul told associa- tion merrrbers council is "on the right track" in favoring the pro= ject, but added: "We don't want to see it before 1980." He said councillors are wrong if they think the work' can be finished and cleaned up before the plowing match and centen- nial. "It's. got to be put off until after the centennial." Jack Hayes cited a case of one Teeswater merchant who has ""lost half his business" during the extended reconstruction of the main street there, adding that some businessmen are worried the same thing could happen here. The project also faces some opposition from within town council. At the April council meeting, which approved going ahead with 1 preliminary GENERAL PROFICIENCY Vaughn Passmore won the General Proficiency award at Wingham Public School. He received the award, which included 25 silver dollars donated by the Wingham Lions Club, during the school's graduation banquet June 23. Vaughn also won a Huron County Board of Ed ucation crest for placing in the top 10 in the Gauss math- ematics contest.' engineering of the project, both Reeve Joe Kerr and Councillor , 'Allan Harrison voted against it. Mr. Kerr said he feels it's wrong to spend so much money on the main street when other streets in town are in worse shape: "Those people pay taxes too," he pointed out, and they deserve the same consideration as the merchants op Josephine Street. Mr: Harrison asked where the money for the project would come from, noting the town has just completed one sewer project and is starting on another one. At that time, the cost to the' town was estimated at $265,000. This included replacement of storm sewers, sanitary sewers and watermain. Since the street ''is used as a connecting link for Highway 4, the province would foot the bulk of the bill for re- placement of the street itself. If an inspection by the engineers shows the sanitary sewers don't need to be replaced, the town's share would drop by about $75,000. SERVICES INADEQUATE? One reason given by Mr. Wal- den for urging an early start to the project is the condition of the services under the street. •The storm sewers are too small and form a bottleneck, he said, and the watermains are extremely old and unreliable` He said he has been told by Public Utilities Commission Manager Ken Saxton that the , services are bad and need to be. replaced. Mr. Saxton confirmed that the watermain has been in for a long time, at the same time pointing out that is the only service, ex- cept the hydro, for which his HIGHEST MARKS—Karen Wood won the Marion Ihglis, medal for achieving the highest marks artiong eighth grade students at Wingham Public, School. She received the medal and..a $25 cheque from the Wingham Home and School Association during the graduation b nquet at the school last Th day. commission is responsible. Hedenied, however, that the PUC' has been putting any pres- sure on the town to replace the main. It's a job that should be done if the street is torn up, he said, but he wouldn't "run out and dig them up" otherwise. He said while there have been a few breaks in the main thewater supply seems to be adequate, though many of the services branching off it are not adequate. He doesn't know exactly when the watermain was installed and has no plans showing it, but knows the pipes are six and eight inches in diameter from digging down to repair services. When re- placed, the new mains would probably be 10 ort inch ones. COUNCI'LORS' OP1NiONS VARY Earlier this week, Mr. Harri- son said he has rnixed feelings on the project. It's going to have to be done sometime, he noted, but he's not too sure when. He said he doubts whether it could be done in time for the plowing match, and he doesn't want to see the street torn up dur- ing that or the centennial. Primarily, he said, he's in- terested in seeing what it's going to cost: "Can the town afford it?" Councillor Argus Mowbray felt the . job should be started as soon as possible, since the cost will be going up if it is postponed. If it is tendered early,.. he said, it could be finished by the time of plowing match, noting that the soil tests done by the engineers will in- dicate how much excavation is required and how long the job will take. If it looks like it can't be finished during one construction season, he added, it should be put off, since he wouldn't like to see the -street all torn up during the. match. He felt there is no problem with the town affording the cost, say- ing Wingham is in fine shape debenture -wise compared to some other towns. Ray Walker, another council member, agreed .the job should be done only if it can be corh- pleted before the plowing match. "I don't want a situation like Teeswater," he said. He also felt the town can afford the cost without much difficulty. Councillor Jack Bateson said that although he doesn't think the town can afford it, "It's got to -be done." He noted he doesn't want the' town to "get iiia mess like Teeswater", but thinks the work can be completed before the plowing match. Councillor Tom Deyell pre- ferred to reserve judgment on the project. It hinges on the pre- liminary study, he said, That will tell the cost and he will make his decision when council receives the results of the study. Burns Koss of B. M. Ross and Associates, whose firm is carry- ing out the study, said last week he is awaiting results of soils tests and financing approval from the transport ministry. He has been authoriz" by the town to°go ahead with the design of the project, he said, and will proceed as money becomes available. He predicted it will take an- ErEZChristmas. monthr the design SACRED HEART GRADUATION -The grade eight graduating class of Sacred Heart School held their banquet last Wednesday night at Sacred Heart Church Hall. Front row from left are Ann Kumm, Teddy Brophy, Rachelle Campeau, and Lisa Rammeloo.' Middle row, Pauline Schmidt, Louise Harnack; Della Huenik, Lizann Morrison and Susan Wilhelm (valedictorian). Back row, Richard Cherry, Richard Poels, David Nesbit, Paul Montgomery, Frank' Homen and Robert Ortlieb. a1g t1Ing or ere d . for approval. It would then take a , 'further three months for ministry • f•ore tenders Could td contact DeputyIF - Reeve or ing a m -smaln. r ' , approvals be be called. Attempts Reeve Harold Wild and Coun- cillor David Cameron were ur,- successful. • iWingham''s main street will be • 44i ►ght. d this Christtnas,'e,en though it is costing the business association $750 more than • planned. Lisle a e t s as re e. diector , Association members last v►veek approved spending the additional main street this winter: money toward their share of the following resignation decorations to be installed along • The decorations are al d Gary Lisle will be filling in as recreation director for Wingham this summer following the resignation of James Ward, recreation and community centres board Vice Chairman. David, Shaw reports. • He said Mr. Lisle will be taking over the position on an interim basis July 15, the date Mr. Ward's resignation takes effect. The board will be advertising for a permanent director during the summer and hopes to have one selected by the end of August. Authorization to approach Mr. Lisle and to advertise the position cgme. during a special June 17 meeting of town council, called to deal with the resignation. Mr. Shaw'pointed out the board' has many programs going during the summer and needed someone to take over the running of them immediately. He said the board chose to ap- proach Mr. Lisle because it knows he has a background in recreation and has recently qualified as a teacher, but has not yet found a • position. He also noted Mr. Lisle has been active in athletics around Wingham, both as player and coach. Plant environment will be improved Western Foundry Company Ltd., Wingham, is making major changes in the plant's environ- ment to provide the best working conditions of any facility of its kind in Ontario, it claims. Due to raw materials used in producing iron castings, it is difficult to match the outside fresh air environment inside the operating plant, but a system de- signed to provide fresher air is being installed at a cost of $200,000. Western Foundry, over the past number ofyears, has installed many systems to collect and remove the various in -plant con- taminants and at the same time provide heating and ventilation. This is the first time, however, that the total problem has been studied in detail by a specialized engineering firm. The system, designed to take -care of the problems in all departments, will provide tempered air to the foundry to make up for air which has been exhausted from the plant at the various points of dust collection. For comparison, 1,000 cubic feet of air per minute is the amount of tempered air required to keep an average.1,200 square foot house comfortable. The total air system when installed at the foundry is the equivalent of what would be required for 250 average homes. John Moreland, maintenance superintendent, has pointed out that the new system will provide approximately 12 air changes per hour within the total foundry complex. He advised that good engineering. practice states that four to six air changes per hour is normally accepted as being satis- factory. The new system should be com- pleted in August. ' Mr. Ward gave the reasonfor his resignation as a feeling he has used up his attributes as recrea-. tion director as far as Wingham is concerned. He said he feels it is time for a change, pointing out there is only one recreation director in a com- munity this size and there • is a tendencyto grow stale' after a ' time. He could mov,e on to the same position in another community. he noted, but prefers to'remain in Wingham, probably taking a job in the insurance business. He said he has enjoyed his stint as director here and is pleased to see the department has come as far as it has.. He also said he is pleased with the help he's had. Mr. Ward came to Wingham as recreation director in November, 1967. rea y ordered, members learned. Gor- don Walter told the meeting that by the time he had reache n agre;ment with town counciprs on an appropriate type of lighting for the street it was necessary' to order immediately to have it for this year. He said he decided to go ahead and authorize the higher amount after checking with another as- sociation member, Jack Hayes, who advised him . to go .ahead, even if he (Hayes) bad to pay the extra money. This prompted a motion 'from one member that Mr. Hayes be allowed to pay the bill. The total tab for decorating the 35 street lamp standards along Josephine Street will be about $7,500, the bill to be split 50-50 be- tween the Business Association ACADEMIC TROPHIES were awarded to Karen Jaretzke and Robbie Nicholson during East Wawanosh Public School's graduation banquet June 23. The girls' academic trophy is donated by the Co-op, while the boys' is donated by the Credit Union. 0 and the town. Earlier °this'year the la i V tion offered to spend up'to $3,000, • on a matching dollar "basis with the town, to buy Christmas lights. The decorations ordered are in two styles: a lantern and a candle. Both are made of plastic and are about six feet tall, with internal lighting. Mr. Walter said the public utili- ties commission "wouldn't go along with" an association pro- posal.to mount spotlights on the street lamp poles to shine on the flowerpots during the summer and on unlighted Christmas decorations during the winter'. The commission felt this would use too much energy, he said. 'Association members ap- proved a proposal to approach all the non-member merchants in 'town to join the association and help pay for the Christmas light- ing. Funfest Support. Questioned A report that Wingham's Junior Citizens have decided to shift their Funfest to the second last week in July from the last week sparked a heated debate on whether or not the association is giving the JCs adequate support. "We're not doing anything to help," Mrs. Bertha Miller de- clared, suggesting the merchants should change their sidewalk days to coincide with the Funfest. Mr. Walter told her it is impos- sible to change the timing of the sale now; since advertising is al- ready scheduled, but she in- sisted: "I think it looks terrible on the part of the business people to have the sidewalk sale the week before Funfest." Her proposal for a second side- walk sale the week of Funfest re - Charges laid after accident James R. Boyleand his wife Monica of Clinton are in satis- facotry condition in Clinton Public Hospital after they were involved in an accident Thurs- day, June 23. The Wingham `Detachment of the Ontario Provinoial Police ad- vises that Mr. Boyle has been charged with careless driving after the collision on Queen Street, north of County Road 25 in Blyth. Susan A. Langlois of 13rus- sels was the other driver in- volved. Mr. Boyle and his wit"e were taken to Wingham and District Hospital by ambulance, after which they were sent to Clinton Public Hospital. Damage in the accident was $1,000 to each vehicle. cerved little support. • - year, he said, but themoney was soeiation'should-do more to help the JCs, pointing out they are working hard on Funfest and de- serve a lot of credit. "The town needs an annual event of some kind," he felt. • Mr. 'Walter said the JCs originally rejected a suggestion they hold the Funfest the week of the sidewalk sale. At that ime, he said, they claimed they couldn't change their dates because of band bookings. He suggested merchants can give support by mentioning the Funfest in their advertising. The association also agreed to invite the JCs' executive to its next meeting, probably in September. Eye on Parking Reporting for the parking authority, Bill Keil told members that while the authority has its eye on aproperty to use for park- ing, it has yet to work out the financing for any purchase. The Authority had hoped 'for $5,000 from town council this Cable company makes plans for local programs Wingham Cable Television has announced that local program- ming will commence on a regular basis in July. A puppet show in four parts, sponsored by the Palmerston WCTU will be aired each Wednesday in the month at 7 p.m. Arrangements are being completed for other regular pro- grams which will 'be announced later. Film of the Wingham Public School graduation banquet will be seen Wednesday evening at 7 and Thursday\ afternoon at 3 of this week. Mike Dempsey of Listowel, program co-ordinator for the Wingham system, is organizing a workshop at which local people 'interested in taking part in this community -oriented activity will be trained to use the cameras and sound equipment. Any persons who are interested in partici- pating are asked to call Mike toll free by dialing 1-800-265-6321. Car knocks over town stop sign The Wingham Police Depart- ment investigated one accident on Saturday June 25. A car driven by Richard A. Williams of Wingham had struck and knocked over a stop sign at the corner of Josephine and. Pat- rick Streets, Wingham. Damage wa%estimated at $300. • cult ► t ,.the: budget "i ra`t v'l ` t? oltyy..didn'f Want to start a new pliogram. Hee mentioned that other towns havegiven the merchants the re- ceipts•from thee� parking meters to. use for purchasing property, add- ing, "We're hoping yet they'll see fit to turn the parking meter revenue over to us." It was decided to leave the matter with -Mr. Keil "until he runs into a stone wall", at which time it comes back to the associa- tion. In other business, Mr. Hayes 4 was made responsible for finding an organizer for this year's Santa Claus parade when no volunteers were immediately forthcoming, and William Rintoul, chairman of the centennial committee, asked the association to appoint - someone as liaison', to hia com- mittee. ACCEPTS POSITION AT WINGHAM CENTRE Genevieve Kinahan, daugh- ter p,of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Kinahan, RR 2, Lucknow, graduated from Lambton College, Friday, June 17, in the Early Childhood Educa- tion program. Miss Kinahan was on the President's Honor Roll and also received the President's Award for attain- ing the highest academic standing in the Early Child- hood Education the. She has accepted a position at the Wingham Day Care Centre, to begin in September.