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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1981-02-04, Page 14V`. lham Advance -Times, February 4, 1981 9 By Sharon Dietz Huron County Council learned at its January 29 meeting that, for, the year 1980, the county highways department accumulated a deficit on a cash basis of $201,068. According to County En- gineer Bob Dempsey, the deficit occurred when two projects during the ye r had substantial overruns. The road construction of County Road 11, from the Perth boundary to Highway 23, originally was budgeted at $281,000, however $584,000 was spent on the project. The engineer and the road committee decided to con- tinue with the construction of County Road 11 beyond the point originally. anticipated since w ther conditions, manpower L.. ' pment and time were liable to con- tinue with the work in August and September. It was understood, said Mr. Dempsey in his report, that this would result in some overrun, but it also would permit the possibility of paving the road in 1981 in- stead of 1982. In light of the rapid increase in petroleum prices, this would result in a substantial saving to the county. "Unfortunately, due to un- foreseen problems, we came in with a greater deficit than anticipated," the engineer reported'. All underdrains were replaced along the road udge¢ up 27percent way last year because the road department prefers to see them in for one winter. If they bubble, they can be re- placed "before the road is paved. Despite efforts to learn the number of drains to be re- placed along the road before proceeding, there were more drains than anticipated. Bad weather also slowed down the road crews, especially during the rains in Septem- ber. The second project which saw a substantial overrun was the construction of the Auburn garage. The,.original estimate of $400,000 did not include the cost of buying the land or relocation of the radio tower and additional costs. The original estimate was the cost of the building alone, and the final cost of replacing the garage is close to $700,000. Mr: Dempsey told council there are anticipated re- venues which will reduce this overrun, such as the sale of the old property, and the sale of the well on that prop- erty, but these cannot be budgeted because they could be misleading. He reminded council that it decided to build a more ex- pensive building because the overhead and maintenance would be low. In presenting the 1981 county highways budget to council, Mr. Dempsey noted that an attempt had been t, s made to reduce the county rate to a recommended level by reducing and eliminating proposed expenditures in 1981. The county rate in the 1981 budget rose 27 per cent, from $1,281,000 to $1,629,500. Under construction and paving, the engineer decided to eliminate the resurfacing of County Road 20 from Huron County Road 1 west into Ashfield Township, a total of four kilometres, at a saving of $157,000. A revised estimate on the completion of Road 11 from Whalen's Corner north four kilometres has been reduced to $130,000 from $145,000. A review of equipment re- placement found that the re- placement of one truck could be held over one year realizing a saving of $25,000. The county engineer pointed out that he is reluc- tant to cut resurfacing pro- jects because the county is falling behind in its resur- facing. If it resurfaces 10 kilometres a year, it would take 24 years to resurface all existing paved roads in the county, and the anticipated life of a paved road is only 15 years, said Mr. Dempsey. "I am concerned that if we maintain the present resur- facing policy, we will work ourselves into a box in the future where we will not be able to maintain service un- less we do more than 10 miles a year," he observed. "While we are spending County counelapproves marine .museum project By Sharon Dietz Huron County Council has, approved in principle the re- location of the wheelhouse of • the Shelter Bay lake freighter to an on -shore site in the Goderich Harbor to create a marine museum. The freighter, which is owned by the Goderich Ele- vator Company, is to be donated to theeounty and the town of Goderich to be used as a museum. It is estimated that re- moval of the wheelhouse and setting it up as a museum will cost between $25,000 and $30,000, which is to be shared between the county and the town. • Elsa Haydon, chairman of the Goderich waterfront committee, spoke to council at its January 29 meeting, asking that the county ap- prove the proejet in prin- ciple: Goderich Deputy Reeve Bob' Allen added that the project depends upon when the boat is available for the wheelhouse to be re- moved. He said that the boat will beunloaded toward the end of February and moved to an area of the dock where re- moval • can be ` made. He added that the freighter cannot remain in the docking area indefinitely or it will block trafficin the harbor. Mr. Allen concluded that the town wanted the county„ to approve the project in principle to assure Goderich town council that the county will share the cost of the pro- ject. County council passed a motion approving the addi- tion of $15,000 to the property committee budget, which will permit the project to continue. It is proposed that the museum grounds will be maintained by the town and the county will be respon- sible for preparing and manning the exhibit, which would be open for the summer months, probably from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Plans are for the wheel- house and the control room of the ship to be relocated on- shore. It is intended that every audible instrument and mechanical navigational aid be part of the display, generating further interest. A set of cabins below the wheelhouse known as the captain's office and quar- ters, as well as the passenger quarters, will also be in- cluded so that many items presently scattered ' around the Huron County Pioneer Museum could be located in the marine museum, creating an interesting and historically informative dis- play. This also -will present the opportunity to expand the collection. WILLING TO COMPETE For the past thirty years, the Ontario March of Dimes has helped thousands of disabled adults'compete in every area of life. Your continued support will help physically disabled men and women become Active members of society - because of their abilities. When you receive our letter in the mail... or when our volunteer calls at your door - Ple4Se give generously to the Ontario March of Dimes Ability Fund. n947nu ie my C / Wo Can't Help WithoutYour Help. fi more dollars, we are not getting any more miles of re- surfacing for the increased costs." Several councillors ob- jected to the 27 per cent in- crease in the 1981 road bud- get, pointing out that if all bud$ets come in with such an increase, it would be im- possible for the county to maintain the desired overall 15-17 per cent increase in the county budget. Lloyd Mousseau, chair- man of the 1981 road com- mittee told council that the increase in the budget this year is directly,related to the replacement of the Auburn Garage which is "a one-shot deal". Once the garage is paid for, said Mousseau, the road budget can be brought in line next year. Mr. Dempsey, suggested there were several alter- eficit natives which could bring the budget down. if council resurfaces Road 20 and omitted the paving of Road 11, the budget could be lowered to an increase of 14 per cent. He pointed out, however, that' if Road 20 were not paved in 1..1, it would have to be maintained as a gravel road at 'a cost of about '$15,000. The cost of paving it in 1981 also would be higher because of the steady in- crease in petroleum prices. Ahother alternative, he said-, is' to eliminate the re- surfacing of Road 16, which would bring the budget in- crease to 10 per cent, Mr. Dempsey asked coun- cil not -to cut construction projects such as the planned construction of Road 17 from the Perth boundary, west to Winthrop. He explained that Seniors to receive grant installments Approximately 520,000 On- tario seniors who qualified for their 1980 property tax grant will find a cheque in their mail box in April. The cheque (of up to $250) will be the first installment of "their 1981 property tax grant and will be calculated automatically as one half of their 1980 grant. Inthe fall, they will each receive an application form which, when processed, will make up the balance of their 1981 property tax grant. "Previously, seniors had to file a federal income tax return in order to receive their Ontario tax credits," said Revenue Minister Lorne Maeck. "Under the 'new Ontario. tax grants program, the in- terim property tax grant will arrive automatically in April to more closely coincide with the time when most people are paying their interim municipal and school tax bills." Seniors who turn 65 after Jan. 1, 1981 will not receive an interim grant. Appli- cations will be mailed out in the fall of 1981 so they can apply for their full 1981 prop- erty tax grant. The property tax grant is part of an assistance.. pro- gram offered by the Ontario government for the pro- vince's senior citizens. The program also includes an annual $50 sales tax grant which will be mailed auto- matically to all Ontario seniors on a date to be an- nounced. These two grants of up' to $550 replace Ontario tax credits previously claimed by seniors as part of theircome tax return. • • • • • SCOUTING NEWS 1114.0. STASIMINNINNINIPAINVINIMISIMMINMS They First Wingham Scouts' Group Committee met . Feb. i at the 'home of Marlene Leedham. A special guest at the meeting was the district president of Saugeen West District, Arnold Bernie of Ripley. Mr. • Bernie brought greetings, from the district executive and brought to the attention of the leaders all the Woodbadge courses that are available.' He introduced them to the Daymar Adventure Centre, which is an adventure centre owned and operated by the Scouts Canada Provincial Council for Ontario. It is on 150 acres of forest covered hills and fields located at the junction of the Blanche and Englehart Rivers in Little Clay Belt area of Northern Ontario close to Englhard. Daymar offers several types of year round camping and outdoor programming op- portunities for boys. Mr. Bernie also told of some fund-raising ideas that other ,groups were using in the district. 'Rev. Barry Passmore, chaplain of the Wingham Scouts, invited the groups to a church service at the Wingham United Church on Sunday, Feb. 15, The Guides and Brownies and Pathfinders will be invited to. attend. All girls and boys are to be in the basement of the Wingham United Church at 10:45., Final plans were made for the Parent and Son Banquet to be held at the Legion on Wednesday, Feb. 18. A store window on the main street has been offered to make a display during Scouting Week. Wilson Daw announced that the Big Cub Car Race will take place the evening of March 3. Eleven Scouts had an excellent weekendof winter camping at Silver Lake. We understand that Scouters Marty and Ken are excellent cooks. A little Winter Olympics was held at the camp. Special thanks to Mr. Creamer who provided transportation,for the boys to and from camp, and Allan Bridge for transporting all the equipment to and from camp. The Scouts are busy taking orders for pens to help pay their expenses to CJ in Banff this summer. The next Group committee meeting will be held March. 1. • OFA wants hydro rates same for urban, rural The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is urging the provincial government to make urban and rural hydro rates the same. Ralph Barrie, president of the OFA, said rural rates are continuing to increase faster than urban rates, in spite of the government's promise to reduce the 'gap. He said the government's $20 million subsidy program for rural hydro saves rural users only $3.00 per month off their bills. Rural ursers pay 29 per cent more for their hydro than urban users and that figure is expected to in- crease. British Columbia, Quebec and Nova Scotia all have the same rates for urban and rural users. In Saskatchewan, the gap is eight per cent and in Mani- toba, it ranges from 17 to 28 per cent. Gorr' Yohn, office manager for Clinton Hydro, explained rural rates are higher than urban rates be- cause the costs are higher. More hydro lines, lightning arrestors and transformers are needed. Installation and maintenance costs are higher because of a larger territory. However Gerry Fortune, president of the Huron County Federation of Agri- culture, responded, "We are paying for the cost of the hydro lines which take the service to the town people. "We have to put up the hydro towers and, nuclear plants which take up valuable agricultural land." .,.:„..-rit-arr�M w the present labor force is re- quired to maintain ' the county's road System in the winter. If constructiotn prom Accts are eliminated there will be an impact on the county's labor force and ex- perienced men .will .be laid off. Once that happens; he said, we'll lose experienced men. To eliminate paving or re - Surfacing projects from the 1981 program would not have the same effect he said, be- cause these jobs are ten- dered to outside companies. Warden Fred Haberer suggested that council's approval of the road budget would not be the final deci- sion, because it still must go to the executive committee for approval. Council ac- cepted the budget, which has been sent` to executive committee for final review. Jr. Farmers to compete at winter games One way to survive the winter is to enjoy it, and that's just what 350 Junior Farmers plan to do at the an- nual Provincial Winter Games Feb. 14: - Huron County Junior Farmers, hosts for the 1981 games, are expecting top quality competition in all events. The games will be held at various locations in the Exeter area. The winter games will feature competitions for men, women and mixed teams in six different sport- ing events. A new addition to the program this year is cross-country skiing, with teams of two men and two women skiing in a five -kilo- metre race. The public is invited to attend all events; a dance at the community centre in Exeter will wrap up the day's activities. • READY 'I'd-GO—One hundred and twelve snowmobllers left the Wingham Legion Hall early Sunday morning for the 100 -mile trek of the Whipper Watson Snow- arama for Timmy. A total of $33,032 In pledges was raised, with Wingham and area riders handing in pledges amounting to $8,462050. There's a lot of you, And a lot you can do, With the Red -, Cross. J friends for life Trie Canadian Red Cross Society' • .add up to big benefits l for you.... If you have an attic, garage, or closet full of things you don't use—and probably never. will — the classified can turn those` things into instant cash. The classifieds are full of merchandise and items that you can save a lot of money on. So, next time you have a need for anything, check the classifieds first! Whether buying or selling, you can do all your shopping conveniently at home!