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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-03-09, Page 1Birt, H,i noh LXbrcr Box 202 Blyth, Int ` NOM 1R1) k Jan. 4 ._,:x•:....,..�?;a,•.i'£i+i%#s Vii`;itE.. WINGHAM FIGURE SKATERS competed at an inter -club in Mitchell on Sunday and brought home a number of medals and trophies. Those skating for the Wingham club included (back row) Tonya Stain- ton, Jennifer Hunter, Leanne Simpson, Cheryl Underwood and Karen Montgomery, and (front row) Patty Walker, Brenda Hallman and Melissa Schefter. Medal winners included (middle row) Christa Crawford, bronze; Nancy Walton, gold and Jeffrey Pettit Trophy for novice ladies; Charles and Yvonne Tr pp; gold and Dupee Family Trophy for novice mixed pairs; Patricia Daer, gold and the juvenile ladies' interpretive free -skating trophy; and Tammy Storm, silver. Skaters from 13 clubs around the region took part in the inter -club competition. Lowest rise in five years Tax increase held to five per cent in town budrosed for 1983 °' Property taxes in the Town of Wingham will rise by only five per cent this year, under a proposed budget which was adopted by town council Monday night. This increase is the lowest in five years, going back to 1978 when the tax increase also was five per cent. Since then taxes have gone up by 10.5 per cent (1979), 8.4 per cent (1980), 14.6 per cent (1981) and 10.5 per cent (1982). In presenting the budget to council, Finance Chairman Jack Kopas said a number of factors have contributed to holding down the tax in- crease. One is the provincial in- flation restraint program, limiting municipal wage and salary increases to five per cent. Another and very im- portant one is the $64,000 surplus accumulated by the town over the past two years. A third is what he described as "bare bones" budgeting, while the fourth is the "careful and selective utilization of various grant Charges pending following brawl at Manor Hotel Charges are pending following a brawl in front of the Manor Hotel in Wingham last weekend. Though it has been dif- ficult to confirm details, it was reported that at least one person was taken to hospital with injuries suf- fered during the incident, and a car was damaged. Police were called to the scene, but Police Chief Robert Wittig said Tuesday morning he was still piecing together the details and didn't have it all tied together yet. He confirmed there had been a disturbance in front of the hotel at around 2 a.m. Sunday, during which a vehicle was damaged, but said he did not know yet how many people were involved or whether there were in- juries. He said police are following up their in- vestigation and charges will be laid. programs," such as the Ontario Neighborhood Improvement Program which will contribute $175,000 to streets and selected other services over the next several years. In all, spending is forecast to rise by $106,370 in 1983 to a total of $1,978,800, an in- crease of 5.68 per cent over last year, while .the revenue from local taxes will rise to $1,348,200 from $1,283,981, an increase of 5.001 per cent. The difference is ac- counted for by the $64,000 surplus carried over from last year, Mr. Kopas ex- plained, since the revenue from provincial grants is up only marginally over last year. He also.. noted that this budget assumes that the levies required by the public and separate school boards will rise by not more than 15 per cent this year, and that the increase in the county levy will be held to five per cent. He explained later that his committee had checked with the School boards and the county, and these are the increases they anticipate when they complete their budgets later this spring. The idea that the school boards could increase their spending by 15 per cent while the town is trying so hard to hold its own to five per cent rankled with some coun- cillors. "Every year we have to. cut back the services in town just to pay the school board increase," Councillor William Crump complained, saying he was sorry to see the board coming in with such a high increase once again. "1 insisted they hold me to five per cent, and they did!" Mr. Kopas, a teacher, joked, adding he is a bit puzzled that, since 70 per cent of the school board budget is devoted to salaries which are held to a five per cent in- crease this year, spending would be up so much. He said he is hoping for some explanation. The last time the town held its tax increase to five per cent, it finished the year with a deficit of nearly $100,000, and finance committee members acknowledged they have considered that risk. Some budgets are so bare - boned the committee felt there should be some ad- ditional money to cover unforeseen expenditures, Mr. Kopas said, so it has allocated $15,000 to the working capital reserve and $18,100 to the reserve for capital expenditures, providing a margin of breathing room. Councillor James ' A. Currie, another member of the committee, said the one thing uppermost in their minds was balancing .the desire to come in with a budget palatableto the taxpayer against the "high- risk game" of running up a deficit. "We're running on the very sharpedge of the sword," he said, "and I hope we don't fall on it in December." The low tax increase was accomplished by holding down spending increases in most major budget areas to between five and six per cent, and Mr. Kopas ex- pressed his appreciation to all the people involved in the budget process. The largest item in the budget is the payment to . chool boards and county, which it is estimated will amount to $734,200 this year, up from $648,713 in 1982. This includes a payment of - $124,500 to Huron County (of which $31,500 is returned through a county road grant), $306,300 to public elementary schools, $16,100 to separate schools and $287,300 to high schools. Next -largest item is the roads budget, set at -$396,200 this year, up from $322,861. The police budget is $238,300, 24 up from $226,389, followed by debenture payments of, $106,900, down slightly from $108,943 last year. Administration expenses are set at $100,800, up from $95,659; recreation has a budget of $76,100, up from $71,888; property is $69,300, up from $66,005. The budget for garbage collection is down to $43,200 from $55,267 last year, since last year's budgetincluded the cost of a survey and site plan for the dump. The budget for fire protection is also down slightly to $38,100 from $38,653, which included purchase of a new fire truck. Council adopted the budget in principle, subject to confirmation of the education and county levies, and authorized all depart- ments to proceed with spending within the budget guidelines. MYTH Tank still structurally sound PUC stands by itstandpipe pending new engineer's report Despite concerns ex- pressed recently in some quarters, the •Wingham Public Utilities Commission is sticking by its standpipe — at least until a further in- spection planned for later this spring can give a clearer picture of what lies ahead for the concrete tower. At a PUC meeting last Thursday, two commission members tookissue with statements by a member of town council that the nine- year-old standpipe is "done". They pointed out that an inspection of the tower carried out two years ago for the town, at the request of its underwriters, concluded the tower is structurally sound. And, although they have been disappointed by the apparent failure of an ex- tensive repair project to cure "weeping" through the concrete, they have had no reason to change their minds. "I was concerned with the way it came out in the paper," Commissioner Rod Wraith commented. "It seemed (council) thought we should tear down the stand- pipe .immediately." Mayor William Harris, a n enibeir of to commissionv. said that Was"just T atise Of the way it was reported, claiming council was not that concerned. However when Mr. Wraith read him the statements made by Councillor James A. Currie, the mayor responded that "maybe if you lived there you'd be concerned too." (Mr. Currie lives on Summit Drive, not far from the standpipe.) He said that people all think of the Southampton water tower which failed several years ago, and although he knows this is a different type of concrete construction, it is hard to explain. The mayor also expressed some apprehension about the money being spent on repairs to this standpipe. "Where do you stop?" he asked, adding it would be terrible to put a lot of money into repairs, only to have to tear down the tank anyway. "Basically waterworks AWARDS WON—Wenger Publications won five awards at the annual convention of Ontario Community Newspaper Association in Toronto on March 4. The Wingham Advance -Times placed third among papers with circulation§ of 2-3,000 and the Mount Forest Confederate placed second. The Confederate also won best editorial page and best advertising in the class. Barry Wenger of Wingham, OCNA President Ron Tyler of Barrie, and Dave Wenger of Mount Forestoshow off the plaques. comes under the town, so they (councillors) are concerned," he added. "Thank God they are con- cerned." "It bothered me that if there was that type of con- cern, why not come down here and talk to us about it," Mr. Wraith told him. BILL GRANT, a student at the Wingham Public School, placed second in his division at the zone finals held last Saturday at the Clinton Legion for public speaking. Bill's topic was "Writing Speeches ", and he was second in a group' of 12. He is the son of Rev. and Mrs. Rea Grant of Wingham. He also objected to the apparent assumption by some critics that had the PUC put up a steel tank instead of concrete it would have avoided later costs. Steel tanks must be painted periodically, inside and out, he noted, which can be a considerable expense. He also said that at the time this tank went up, back in 1974, the town would not have been able to get a new steel tank for several years. The decision to build with concrete was not just one of economy, he said, it was concrete or nothing, and the commission did considerable research to find the best type of tank. He said he still is not convinced the decision was wrong, since, despite the problems, the basic design of this tank appears to be good. PUC Chairman Roy Bennett added that if the town had put up a steel tank costing $500,000 and it stood for 70 years, "divide that up and if you had to tear this down today it wouldn't be "a-WY—more expensive at $110,000." Commissioners noted that the engineers are scheduled to come back in May for a eompgete inspection of the staritllpip, inside and out, at • which time the PUC will have a better idea where it stands. They offered to meet with council at that time to discuss the report and make sure councillors understand what is going on. PUC Manager Ken SaXton said he wants to get a report from the engineers on what is needed, how much it would Continued on Page 5 It's a dog's life Animal control job abolished by council Canine culprits in Wingham can breathe easier this week. At least for the moment, it appears there is no one on their tails. In one of its final acts before adjourning Monday night, town council voted to dissolve the position of animal control officer. It then deferred action on a follow-up motion which would have instructed the town police to assume those duties. The motions led to one of the most heated debates the council chambers have seen in recent years, not only because of the content but because of the way in which they were brought to council. The battle raged primarily between Councillor James A. Currie, chairman of the police committee, who in- sisted the matter should have been handled through the committee, and Deputy Reeve Patricia Bailey, also a member of that committee, who said it is her right to bring any motion to council, though other councillors also gotnvolved. Earlier in the meeting, as part of his report, Mr. Currie had proposed having the animal control officer, Owen Curtis, conduct a house-to- house census of dogs in Wingham, for which he would be paid 50 cents per dog. This would enable him ,to get acquainted with pet owners and ensure all dogs are properly registered and licenced, Mr. Currie ex- plained. At that point Mrs. Bailey and Councillor William Crump introduced a motion to do away with the position of animal control officer, which they said is not needed since there is not a major problem and police are already doing much of the work. Pointing out that this motion had not come from the police committee, Mr. Currie declared it out of order and refused to have it discussed as part of his committee report. The whole matter was then moved to the bottom of the agenda. Telling council the com- mittee had discussed the matter thoroughly before bringing its recom- mendation, Mr. Currie ac- cused Mrs. Bailey of acting in bad faith and taking "cheap shots" athim and the police. He said that although she is a member of the police committee she did not stay at the meeting where this Continued on Page 5 Surprise party held for Morrison Sharpin Over 90 members of Morrison Sharpin's family gahtered last Sunday at the Wingham Armouries for a surprise party to help him mark his 92nd birthday. He was born Feb. 26, 1891, on the fourth concession of Turnberry to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sharpin and was educated at Kirton's School. in 1918, he married the former Rosia Merkley and they lived on a farm on Turnberry's fifth concession until retiring to Minnie Street in Wjngham in 1968. Today, Mr. Sharpin is active and enjoys good health. llis favorite pastime is playing euchre at the town hall. Two of his three daughters attended the celebration. He also has 18 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and four great -great-grand- children.