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Wingham Advance-Times, 1981-12-09, Page 1rF THE KEIL CHILDREN were pleased to see Santa .last Saturday afternoon. Marc, Tharen and Kirsten had a few reminders to give Santa about what they want for Christmas, Over 100 children visited Santa that afternoon and more willhave a chance to see hilt; this Saturday and next Saturday as well. Huron. County Council approves Hydro route By: Stephanie Levesque GODERICH — Huron County Council was unanimous in its support of the proposed transmission line route recommended by - Ontario Hydro. At a special meeting here recently council met with four officials from ;Hydro. They explained the route Hydro has recommended•the process of having the route approved by both govern- ment and the ‘public, and answered council's -question. Besides supporting the ;cour%d� n)I Hydro that it be allowed representation on any groats planning the specific route if Ontario approves Hydro's plan. At a preliminary hearing of the Consolidated Hearings Board to be held in Stratford council sent Reeve Tom CUP- . ningham of Hullett Town- ship, chairman of develop- ment • committee, Warden Fred Haberer and -planner Gary Davidson. Following the meeting, Mr. Davidson said no formal submission would be made at the preliminary hearing, except to ,`make known council's position. He said a formal submission would be made at hearings tentatively scheduled for mid-January and council's involvement will be "more detailed" at the route planning stage. ' Several reeves spoke in favor of supporting the route. Reeve Cunningham said "maybe in the past Hydro hasn't been open, but on this particular issue they've done their best to' ,answer questions". Reeve William Elston of Morris Township said he was involved with Ontario ,Hydro when they put transmission lines from Bruce Nuclear -Power Development (BNP - D) through the Seaforth area: He noted While he didn't like Hydro's attitude at the beginning, there was "quite a turn ` around" towards the end. "They (Hydro) were excellent to work with," said Reeve Elston�` :;f:3'14.0:01401„,, ebiVlt 14taiO1WW Wilder of Hay Tov(dfahip reifiinded council to remem- ber farnr organizations such as the Federation of Agricul- ture and the National Far- mers Union and see they are represented at future meetings. Reeve Don Wheeler of Goderich said while the proposed transmission line route will not run through his backyard, he praised County Council for its "positive approach" in dealing with Hydro. After the meeting, Warden Haberer said he was pleased with council's stand. The proposed transmission: line route recommended by 'Ontario Hydro to the province, runs front BNPD, through Bruce County, Huron County and Middlesex County to the London area, then across to Hamilton. Hydro has recommended 500 KV double circuit lines from BNPD to London and 500 KV single circuit lines from London to Hamilton. Dorothy Wallace heads Huron education board By Stephanie Levesque CLINTON — Dorothy Wal- lace of Goderich was elected as • chairman. of the Huron County Board of Education at its December meeting here. Acclaimed as vice-chair- man was Trustee E. Frayne of RR 3, Goderich. Mrs. Wallace defeated trustee Bert Morin who had been vice-chairman. She has served the county board •since its inceptio in 1969, except for, a couplA,of years off. Initially, Mrs,, Wallace was hesitant about standing for chairman, but she told her fellow trustees other matters had . "cleared away". She was involved in establishing a theatre in Goderich. Mrs. Wallace has served on all standing committees, and several ad hoc com- mittees. in the coming year, Mrs. Wallace would like to see a' session devoted to es- tablishing a board philos- ophy, to determine the direc- tion in which the board is going. She would also like to foster an image of partner- ship between trustees and teachers. The new chairman also ex- pressed concern for students who drop out of secondary school. She said, "We are failing the kids if we don't make some effort . . . ar- range some alternatives". Trustee Frayne has served the board as a representa- tive of separate school sup- porters (north of Highway 8) for six years. He has served 'on both education and per- sonnel committees. Mr. Frayne was also deputy reeve of Ashfield Township. for eight years. • Committees and commit- tee chairman• were also named at the meeting. Trustee Frank Falconer was named' chairman of management committee, with the following as mem- bers: M. E. Zinn, Murray Mulvey, R. K. Peck, and John Jewitt. 'trustee R. J." Elliott was named chairman of the per- sonnel committee, with the following as members: Mr. Frayne, C. McDonald, D. McDonald, and H. Hayter. Dr. J. C. Goddard was named as chairman of the education committee, with the following as members: Joan Van Den Brock, Dennis rau, Jean Adams, and Bert Bonin. Hydro official Jim Bayne (systems planning depart- ment) said contrary to rumors, the lines . will not be providing export capabilities for Hydro or just service to London. Instead, they will strengthen the supply of power for all of Southwest- ern Ontario. Council raised questions concerning land acquisition and the possibility of using current right-of-ways. Hydro officials said land purchases won't happen•. until - after final approval lvhich is about two Years P'dOne.orc an individua basis with ,landowners. . Regarding the right-of- way, officials said they. would be considered, but, noted they had been planned• along lot lines and any future lines would have to be placed about 125 feet away, putting them in the middle of fields. Jr. Citizens plan activities The Wingham Junior Citizens have a busy week of Christmas activities planned for groups within the com- munity. This Sunday the Junior Citizens are sponsoring a hayride of Christmas carolers which will start out at 6:30 p.m. and visit the two senior citizens' homes in town, the nursing home and the hospital. • The young people also will serve refreshments at a euchre party scheduled for, Saturday at the Armouries. They will be on hand next Wednesday as well to serve refreshments at the day centre for the homebourid's annual Christmas party to be held at the Armouries. 94 • .B Wingham is an the prioxity , gas, but that is nb guarantee it i see a pipeline here next year,; eiillors learned !Londa During a meeting ri u represe Upion Gas Ltd., ;e5.aipot ~has exptel ansion of gas )ervi a into depends, on incentive grants beii..r. by the federal government. -Until those grants are: forthc*axp so far there has been noindication will be — the proposed pipeline on the drawing board: So, while it is not imposstble},a'+ could reach Wingham by neltt , chances of it happening are p rete *;is, Cowan; regional manager for `U reported. • He said the decision depends: entire, when Ottawa decides . to „makethe mi available and which areas.are given priori on a national basis. While Wingham is at:0 near the top of his company's priority*s" he doesn''t know how it ranks with he noted. The federal government. lobi, decide it more urgent to expand gas ll- eastward into Quebec and the Marjtim Mr. Cowan, who together with Bob v'tin *nd Jim Lane attended couneil's meeting ( IGionday night, reviewed the Canada 00 $ubstitution Program' (Cbsp"), announced last year. The program aims to reduce oil imports by encouraging consumers to Switch to alternative sources of energy for heath ineluding natural` gas and electric "city.. The COSP announcement ..also mentioned possible subsidies for gas utilities to expand their services into new areasof the country, he said, and this was reinforced in the energypact signed with Alberta. Under the agreement, Alberta will con- tribute a portion of its increased natural gas sales to be used by Ottawa in providing incentive grants for expansion of gas ser- vices. However, while the general outline of the program is known, the gas companies have no idea yet how much money they can ex- pect or when they might get it, he explained. "Unfortunately, it's 'not economically feasible to service (Wingham) without some incentive subsidy." Council inquired whether it can do any- thing to speed up the process and was told it ,.already has shown support by backing a C resolution calling for expansion of natural gas diSti jbution facilities in Ontario, Thirty- two towns, and `townships supported that resolution, which was circulated earlier this year by the township of West Nissouri. Mr. Lane showed councillors a map and, told them . there are two possible routes a pipelinecould follow to Wingham. It might come north front Clinton, which already has gas, or it could run up from the main line south of Stratford. Union Gas already has done preliminary surveys of a number of communities in soutltrestern Ontario, and Wingham and TeeSwater are good .candidates for gas service because of their industrial - commercial mix, he reported. Councillor Richard LeVan, who is president of Western Foundry Company Ltd., said he had been assured last year there would be a gas line into Wingham by 1982. However Mr. Lane denied that was a firm assurance, "it was just a good chin ce." Mr. LeVan also inquired about the gas well drilled a number of years ago in Wawanosh and capped.'11r. Cowan said he knew nothing about it, but Mr. Lewis, who FIRST SUCTION Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, December 9, 1981 was Stationed: in Wingham With the .. number of., -years ago, • c ntul"fned bt exists. Mr. Cowan assured counc l that , a dustry representativea +are m eeting wita federal government :.slid lie is pili few s wmemonths.thtng:will be am iounced withtt ' • If his compa, town.ny gets the ineentivej; Vass of the it will proceed to car out; a detka>ti ,tio deter nine pd_ consumption. He 'said the • e)or - halculates that 75 per cent of ,all kloa, eated by an energy source other than*l '''tricity would convert to gas wi; years, if it becomes available, vest cent of those making the switch " year. . ows o ., ed provMred,G't ee.actuaanicgnstructionoil and servicing of a town cat; prole quickly. The big. thing is She. cos, struction,'he said; reporting t thumb for pipeline co structttin c $15,000 per inch mail;~ d ,. That means'it costs $15,000 t.0;j4. mile of one -inch line, or $l,5p,00p,tor 10 -inch line. - ' : Single Copy 50c - Taxes' could 'ri arply ouncil consider. �tliT Wingham ratepayers should brace themselves for another sizeable , hike in property taxes next year as council struggles to maintain services in the face of rising costs andsalaries. This was the warning issued Monday night as town councillors had their first look at a proposed budget for 1982. - The budget prepared by the general government and planning committee projects a rise in spending to $1.9 - million next year from $1.65- million this year, an increase of 16 per cent. To meet that figure, however, property taxes would have to rise by 22 per cent to $1.4 -million, a jump that some, councillors ob- jected is entirely too much to swallow. After reviewing the changes proposed in various areas of the budget, council agreed to send it back to' the committees and boards with instructions to make further cuts and attempt to hold increases in line with council's 1982 wage guideline of 10-14 per cent. • The areas showing the HERB PHILLIPS is back in his familiar spot on Josephine Street with the Salvation Army ball, collecting donations to help make this Christmas a little merrier for some of the less fortunate people in the community. largest spending growth in the preliminary budget are generale office expenses at the town hall, with a projected increase of $19,000 or more than 50 per cent, and recreation, where spending is projected to increase by $15,000 or about 24 per cent. Council was told part of the reason' for the 'town hall budget increase is a change in accounting procedure for items such as audit fees, while recreation will be boosted by a number ' of capital purchases. The largest dollar in- creases are projected in the areas of payments to school boards and county,up by an estimated $89,000 (15 per cent); roads, up by $37,000 (12 per cent ), and police, up by'$30,000 ( 15 per cent). Councillor Richard LeVan, chairman of the general `government and planning committee, reported the committee has been through each budget in detail and was "as frugal as we felt we' could be in challenging the figures", • He noted the percentage increase proposed is 'a significant one and said the committee decided to present it to council and let it decide what to do. "How much are we able to increase the mill rate in 1982?" he asked. '"We must know,what the target is so we can intelligently look at these expenditures and decide'what to do." He said he personally would not be distressed to ask the taxpayers to pay an additional 12-15 per cent, "but l don't think we can go much above that." , Councillor James Currie, saying that council canndot keep deferring expenses forever, suggested that an increase of 18 per cent would be reasonable. However Councillor William Crump, noting that even a 15 per cent increase in N• j taxes next year, added to the 14.6 per cent this year, would amount to nearly 30 per cent in two years, objected that is entirely too much.' He said committees should be asked to reconsider and trim their: budgets and bring them back to council. Part of the reason costs are mounting up so rapidly now might be because past councils were too concerned With reducing costs, to t,he long-term detriment of the town, Mr. LeVan suggested, They operated "on the ,cheap" and as a con sequence the town has not grown. He said council needs to change the environment to make Wingham a place where people want to spend money, creating jobs and adding to the tax base. "I don't know what the answer is," he said. However he agreed to have .the committees review their Wingham hydro rates to rise Most hydro users in the Town of Wingham can ex- pect to pay about 13 per cent more for electricity next year under a new rate schedule adopted by the town's public utilities commission (PUC), The new rates, which will take effect Jan. 1, 1982, will raise the cost of electricity to a residential customer to :9,8 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) from 8.6 for the first 50 kWh of monthly con- sumption. The next 200 kWh will be billed at 4.9 cents per kWh, up from 4.3 cents, and all additional monthly consumption will cost 3.7 cents per kWh, up from 3.3 cents. For a residential customer using 1,000 kWh per' month and paying bi-monthly, this will add about $10 to each hydro bill. Under the new rates, that amount of elec- tricity will cost $42.45 per month, up from $37.65 during the latter half of 1981. The general service rates for most other hydro users in town are up by a similar percentage. The only con- sumer to escape more lightly is the Western Foundry Company Ltd., the largest single power user in town, which will see its rates go up by about 10 per cent in January. The foundry, which ac- counts for nearly half the hydro consumed in Wingham, will pay a demand charge of $8.30 and an energy charge of 1.45 cents per kWh, up from $7.45 and 1.32 cents. Minimum bills for residential and general service customers remain at $4.00 per month. The new rates, set during a meeting between utilities commissioners and a representative of Ontario Hydro, are intended to help • the PUC recover the deficit which has accumulated on its hydro operations this year. The accumulated deficit last month stood at about $23,000, and PUC Manager Ken Saxton estimated the year-end position will be about $25,000 in the red. He said the new rates, which are about three and a half per cent above the in- crease in the cd,t of bulk power from Ontario Hydro, should allow the PUC to recoup most of the deficit nekt year, although it might, require another year to erase it completely. The PUC blames the deficit on the 3.1 per cent rate increase it was allowed by Ontario Hydro at the beginning of this year. After six months, when it was clear the new rates would not cover increased power and operating costs. Hydro permitted the PUC to take an additional seven per cent increase July 1. However by that time the. PUC was already about $25,000 in the hole and it has not been able to make up much ground during the last half of the year. Mr. Saxton also noted that cash flow remains a problem for the commission. Ideally it should have about $100,000 on hand to pay its power bill to Ontario Hydro each month, he said. • "instead of having to collect to pay the last bill, we should be collecting to pay the next bill." But he noted it is difficult to get Hydro to approve a rate increase high enough to provide thi� • budgets and try to bring their' into line with the wage guidelines. Mr. LeVan also pointed out that the majority of, costs over which council has -direct control are wagesand salaries, and it cannot very well ask its employees to help it balance the budget by taking wage increases at t below thee ate of inflation.. On the bright side, Mr: " LeVan told council it ap- pears the town will end this year almost exactly on target. It will have spent. about $15,000 more than it budgeted for. 1981, but revenues are up accordingly to balance the sheet, The town will have spent about $1,651,035 this year, compared to its budget of $1,635,800, Much of the in- crease results from adding the reconstruction of Maple Street as a works project this summer, JAaYNE M. PHILLIPS Daughter •of•.Leonard'and Marie Phillips, - has corn ,pleted the dourse'in hair- .- *styling' and 'barbering at the Academy `School of Hairstyling iin • : Kitchener; She .'gas accepted:a pose:,, tion at 'Stiperclrps at �urrlocattoriilrellh`,�8. OPP 'ivestigate cattle rustling in Grey Township ' A case of e )ttle rustl''a ,n Grey Town -;hip is being investigated b- the nntario Provincial Pi ,'e, bu' S11t, Roy Anderson ifnittea �e department has no concr,Ie 'leads in the case: Three Holstein cows, all ready to calve, were stolen from the farm of Charles Terpstra on the ninth con- cession of Grey Township Nov. 25 or 26. Total value of the animals is estimated at $4,500. Mr. Terpstra does not reside on the farm in question. This type of thing is comparative rare in the area, reported Sgt. .An- derson,.and'he asked that anyone in the community with any information con- cerning the theft would contact the Ontario Provincial Police, SHE'S 103—Emma Irwin, born on the 10th line of Howick Township in 1878, marked her 1 03rd birthday on Dec 7 A practical nurse in the Fordw,ch-Gorrie area for many years, Miss Irwin now lives at the Fordwich Village Nursing Horne (Staff Photo)