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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-08-17, Page 1• " ' • 'LAND-SEA:141 • no*Int**.ot' ListoWeli Onfatia 114,11, Ccdl Toll Frara 1400. fipt(4$ FIRST SECTION Winghan Wa4lIe4flaY, August 17, 1977 ,The problem with dogs is owners vvho abandon them The biggest problem with dogs, according to one local farmer, is people: They tire of a pet but, in- stead of having it put down by a veterinarian, they take old Rover out into the countryside and turn him loose. Then they drive back to town, abdicating responsibility and soothing their consciences with the thought of the pet -happi- ly running free. What usually happens, Bev Brown of Turnberry Township points out, is one of two things: the dog will be unable to fend for itself and starve or it will turn wild and learn to live off the land. In farming country this means learning to kill livestock and poultry and, where there are a number of dogs, 1t can lead to running in packs and producing wild pups. Miss' Brown knows the problem exists. She has seen some of the wild dogs and once actually saw one being abandoned — simply taken out of a station wagon and left behind — and recently a friend's son came home with a half-starved dog he had found. There is little agreement on how severe the problem is, how- ever, or on what should be done about it. George Humphrey, road super- intendent for West Wawanosh Township; reports "a pile nf dogs" running around. Some- times they run deer in the spring, he said, and then the department of lands and forests moves in to thin them out. Mostly, though, he "takes care of them" himself when he sees there is a problem. He noted the local council has been 'getting a lot of dog -related complaints from residents, par- ticularly around Auburn, and is working on a joint bylaw witlr East Wawanosh and Hullett to control the animals. Morris Township Road Super- intendent Bill McArter, on , the other hand, reports having heard a few complaints about dogs, "but not that many". One gauge of the problem is claims submitted to township councils by farmers for lost stock. Most townships have a fund, maintained by money raised through dog taxes, from which they will compensate owners of livestock or poultry which it can be proven were killed by dogs. So far this year, Morris has paid $262 for two ewes and two lambs killed and Turnberry has had several claims for turkeys and one for a sheep. East Wawanosh reported the dog problem seems to be waning. R had no claims this year but had two last year, one covering 20 ducks and one for a calf. The most serious claim was in 1973, when a herd of 68 heifers was chased to exhaustion by dogs, with the result that several had to be destroyed. Sgt. L. B. George of the Wing - Men's clothing store to open A new store will be opening in Wingham, hopefully tomorrow. Although the business is a new one, the manager will be familiar to many people in town. Ross Gibson will be managing Gentleman's Corner at 247 Jose- phine Street. Mr. Gibson has been in Listowel for the past four years but as a clerk at Hanna's Men's an oys' Wear for some time before that. The new store, owned by Tom Deyell, Ray Walker and Doug Layton will be selling men's dress and casual clothing. Damage slight in morning fire Damage was slight in a fire at Doug Foxton's house On Cather- ine Street Monday morning. The fire was reported at 8:30 a.m., Fire Chief Dave Crothers said. When the firemen arrived on the scene shortly afterward, they found an electrical feed line into the house had apparently shorted and started a fire under the eaves. As soon as the wires were parted, he said, the fire went out. The problem was' then turned over to the Public Whitt Com- mission. ham OPP said he isn't aware wild dogs are a big problem here. They haven't had many calls, he said, but in any case the OPP prefers not to • get involved. regarding it as a township prob- lem. He noted that the problem of determining how many wild dogs are around is complicated by the' fact councils seldom know exact- ly how many dogs are supposed to be in the township. Dog counts used to be taken at the same time tax assessments were made, he said, but since the county took over the assessing duties the counts have become more in- formal. Most kills are made at night and it is seldom possible to prove an abandoned pet was the culprit rather than a renegade farm dog. The sergeant pointed out that the Dog Tax and Live Stock and Poultry Protection Act allows anyone to kill a dog: found killing livestock or poultry; found stray- ing from its usual premises between sunset and sunrise in a township or village; or found straying at any time and not under proper control on premises where livestock or poultry are kept. He warned, though, that while a farmer can shoot a dog, he may face civil court action by the dog's owner, seeking damage& He also related a case in which a Meaford man shot a stray dog and was then charged by police with a firearms violation — he ' followed one section of the law but violated, another. In general, however, he recom- mended farmers should attempt to deal with any problem them- selves, without involving the police. • Miss Brown would like to see some action taken against per- sons found abandoning pets, but Sgt: George feels there is little that could be done. The only sec- tion of the law that appears. to apply,he said, is the one prohibit- ing cruelty to animals and he is doubtful whether abandonment would stand up in court asede- liberate cruelty. Cable company to erect new 310 -foot TV tower Country Cable Limited of Listowel, owners of Wingham Cable. Television, has announced plans to erect a new 310 -foot antenna tower at their head -end site on the B Line east of town. The present 100 -foot tower will be dismantled. It is hoped that the new tower will be completed by Thanksgiving, given reasonably good weather in the, interval., Purpose of the 'change is to im- prove signals tro'm the More .dis- teat sources presently 'carried on cable channels 4 (Buffalo) and 11 (Hamilton). When the new tower is completed the: antennas for these two' stations will he re -in- stalled and their performance will be evaluated over the winter months. In addition, a rotatable antenna will be employed to search and assess all receivable signals. In the spring, with the results of the winter's tests, new and more efficient antennas will be ft stalled where needed, either to receive off -air signals, or pos- sibly new micro -wave signals. The higher tower is designed to support four micro -wave an- tennas if they are required,, In recent weeks the cable coni- • PPY has in441194,6hPilk worth of new equipment in an • MINI? 410 1400,Fir effort to upgrade reception here and subscribers have already noted considerable iniprove- rnent. Global television programming was received for some time on local channel six because of lightning damage to its' assigned channel three. However, the legally required French language programs are now received on channel 6 and Global comes in on channel 3. EMS USSMEMilf.a0 ak 61 iritn ',A 7M 4.13,. ......••••= • dm -Sop A • • • large cheering on was on hand r at the Wingham ballpark to see the Midgets end their series with Hanover with a,!•17-4.- Wu. • . • • • • • • • • -0. K. activities By Wilma Oke Help is on the way for older people in Huron County who are sitting in their homes because there is no place to go and often no way to get there if they wanted to go. A group of interested peo- BRIDGE SITE—Here, near the old railway bridge abutments in Turnberry ToVvnship, is where a temporary bridge will be constructed to carry plowing match traffic across the Maitland River next fall. A road is under construction from Concession 1 of Morris Township to Highway 86 to carry traffic to the match and alleviate congestion at the intersection of Highways 86 and 4 south of Wingham. ,"'••••••4 forHuron .thtit,ins, • ple, concerned about these lonely folk, have been holding meetings to find how they could be helped. A grant from the Ministry of Community and Social Services • for $40,289.60 has been received to start this Outreach program which is being called "Project Homebound” and will rug from Aug. 1, 1977 to Aug. 1978. The grant is 80 per cent of the sum ap- plied for of $50,362 and will be re- peated a second year. Ann St. Jean of Auburn has been hired as co-ordinator and activity director of this Huron ' Outreach program — Geriatric Day Care — and a committee has been formed. Mrs. St. Jean, wife of Earl St. Jean, United Church minister at Auburn, is a warm, cheerful wo- man sensitive to the needs of the elderly. She has a son, David, at home, a grade 13 student at Goderich and a daughter, Eliza- beth, in Toronto, working at the Recreational Centre for Children in the Regent Park area. Mrs. St. Jean gives great credit to her husband for his understanding and help at home which enables her to work with older people. Mrs. St. Jean has had previous experience working with senior citizens in various centres in On- tario where her husband has been 'a minister, such as Osgoode, Victoria Harbour, Manitowaning, and Lakefield, where she was in- strumental in starting programs for the homebound. She is work- ing at present at the Maitland Manor Nursing Home in Gode- rich, and will start her, new work toward 'the end of August. , She hopes to have a staff of two part-time workers, one a driver. She wants to aid those people who are shut in and who can be en- couraged to come out for activi- ties of a social, physical and rec- reational nature,. She will work e.opt. 4of Huronview at Clinton Where facilities will be provided for the program. At one of the meetings programs suggested were crafts, such as rug hooking which is popular with the older people and other similar crafts to be carried on for a brief period, perhaps one to one and a half hours, then so- cialization programs such as bil- liards, shuffle board and card games for a brief period and even Town plans party for visit from sister city Wingham and area residents will have an opportunity to meet and socialize with residents of Wingham's "Sister City", Stand- ish, Mich., Saturday night, Aug. 20. There will be cards and danc- ing at 9'p.m. at the Wingham Golf Club and Mayor William Walden is encouraging everyone to at- tend. "We'd like to see not only Wingham residents but area people as well," he says. Mr. Walden and councillor Angus Mowbray, with their wives were in Standish last week and Mr. Walden says the reception was just great. Standish is a -town of about 1,200 people, "much the same as our town", Mr. Walden says. The two couples noted the- town had good industry, one factory employing about 400 and 10 smaller in- dustries. Standish has formed a special committee to organize events with Wingham and Mr. Walden is hoping Wingham will be doing the same in the future. The Standish committee is separate from the town council as Wingham's will be when formed. While in Standish, they toured the town, a factory, and the com- munity hospital. The 45 bed hos- pital really is community as it was built by the community a few years ago. The school they toured practices the open concept in education, with moveable walls throughout. A fair was going on at the time and Mr. Walden again com- mented how friendly everyone was. He expressed hope Wing - ham could return the same wel- come when the Standish couples visit. Plans for the day include a lunch at the Waldens, then golf- ing or browsing downtown in the afternoon. Dinner with town councillors and their wives is planned at 7:30 at the golf club and at 9 p.m. dancing and cards for everyone. The Standish couples will be billeted at homes in Wingham. a swimming program or lawn bowling in the summer. Dancing was named as a popular period for them. It was suggested that the hair- dressing and barber shop facili- ties at Huronview might be used by those wanting to do so. One suggestion brought the greatest enthusiastic response from all present — foot care. Someone who has had a stroke would be given suggestions on how to get dressed more easily, and they could be taught to get nutritious meals. A New Horizon grant, available from the federal government, will be applied for to help run the program. A group has been form- ed tp apply for such a grant. Volunteers will be required from across the 'county to drive the participants to Huronview and to help with the programs. It is hoped that people will volun, teer perhaps one day a week or even one a month. Mileage may be paid. Later it is hoped that satellite centres may be opened in Wing. ham and Exeter areas to cut down on the distance to be driven. Mrs. Si. Jean said her first pri- ority would be to learn who the shut-ins are and encourage them to come out for the activities. Mrs. Betty Cardno, Seaforth, said the hardest part will be to convince people to come out, She said the first to be contacted would be those on waiting lista to get into Huronview or some other nursing home. Contributions needed for arena renovations Although the grants continue to come in, Wingham must still raise about $9,000 toward its share of the arena renoVation costs and donations would be appreciated, Tom Deyell, chair- man of the arena finance com- mittee, reports. The town has full approval for $150,000, about half the project cost, from Wintario, he said, but this is based on a two-for-one Two receive minor injuries in accidents Two area residents received minor injuries when they were involved in traffic accidents dur- ing the past week. Michael B. Sanderson of Fordwich was injured when the ve- hicle in which he was riding, driven by Theodore J. Klaassen, also of Fordwich, was involved in a single car accident Aug. 7. The aCcident occurred on Concession 6-7, east of County Road 30, in Howick Township. In an accident Aug. 10, Rick A. Currah of Corrie was injured when the motorcycle he was rid- ing went off the road and struck -a post. Mr. Currah was westbound along Highway 87 east of High- way 86 when the accident oc- curred. He was treated at Wing - ham hospital for a painful neck and released: matching dollar formula, with the town raising $75,000. So far contributions in Wingham have totalled about $66,000. A further grant of $21,000 from Wintario this week has pushed the funding from that source over the $121,000 mark, Mr. Deyell added, and he is expecting a further $7,000, deleted from the latest cheque by a bookkeeping error, within two or three weeks. But he warns the money will be cut off at 032,000 unless the town comes up with its full share. In addition to local and Win- tario funding, a $75,000 grant should be coming from the government's. arenas and com- munity centre's fund to make up the full $300,000. Virtually all the bills for the renovation have been paid, Mr. Deyell said, with the town bor- rowing the money until all the grants and contributions are in. All that remains is a small percentage held back for a year as a guarantee of satisfactory completion. The work appears to have been done well, he noted, and ice should be back in by Oct. 1. POSTMASTER DIES Clinton's postmaster R. J. "Dick" Dixon died in Clinton in Hospital Aug. 9 at the age of 55. Mr. Dixon became Clinton's post- , master in May 1671. Surviving him are his wife, Marie and two sons Richard of Spryfieid, N. S. and Jeff of Vanastra.