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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1987-04-08, Page 01� i Y x w.� 7, r a 74* .., r V", ' . r, ._.. 4�. Rau; centre, Dwayne Jenkins, Ross Watson, Matt King, Ed Berger, The tiny hamlet of Belmore opens citizens. Wingham made a clean sweep of the awards at last weekend's Can- Mark Hussey, Murray Pennington, Ian Huth, Grady Lamb; front, Hailey its doors to thousands this week for As a fund-raising activity, the edian-American championships held at Niagara Falls. Members of the Robertson, Sean Rathburn, Christy Hunter and Nikkie Reav/e. Absent the community's 20th annual maple festival has helped to finance many winning squad are: back, Nancy Walton, Melinda Hussey, Ria Lin- from the photograph are Charlie and Cathy Maier and Rob Weber. syrup festival. worthwhile projects in the com- ardatos, Debbie Hodgins, Kendra Pennington, Judy TenPas, Leisa since the current zoning would allow People come from miles around munity, including the arena com- public meetings, appearances uses be limited to: business office, retail uses from C1 zones, he added. Over the years changes have been Seniors' day is this Thursday and before council and meetings with the professional office, medical or At one point in Monday's meeting, made to the festival, most notably a town's planning advisory committee dental clinic, veterinary or small dr � �t �E s -r y, 4 ��,,,.� '<�j` y y, � � { b.�.� 1 �Ai'P ��.d H'til j(fIa) ,�i^,. .�� i3%4.iY'. � :,+�hR4vev el E"'Y�NE4 Y�4 t •may � _�i� �.�.a ,�. $.'. :+�.� �. '.S� � 'i�, .. ...i•i Whitechurch firm awarded library building contract What has been talked about on the streets since last Friday was made official by Wingham Town Council Monday as it approved a property committee recommendation to award the contract for construction of the town's new library building to Murray . Simpson Construction of Whitechurch. Mr. Simpson's tender of $290,800 was the lowest of four s4bmitted for the project. Tenders were opened Thursday evening at a special meeting of the town's property con mittee, but word of the forthcoming rcommendation quickly leaked from the closed session. The highest tender submitted was for =472,272 from a Seaforth firm, Smith Construction. The other two tenders were submitted by area firms, Carl Reinhardt Ltd. of Teeswater and Askes Brothers Construction Ltd. of Wingham. The successful tender is for the construction of the library building only and does not include land- scaping and paving, although Mr. Simpson's bid did include an addi- tional tender price of $5,800 for landscaping. The property committee felt that since most of the preliminary work for landscaping and paving will have to be done by the town's works department, the final stages in those areas also could be supervised by that department. The successful tender was $5,000 below architect's projected costs for Acro -Cheer Squad sweeps competition The Acro -Cheer Squad from the F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham made a clean sweep of awards at last weekend's Canadian - American championships held at Niagara Falls. The coaches and the 21 -member squad were "walking on air" over the win. The jubilant team returned home 'Sunday evening for a ride through town on the fire truck. Louanna Alexander of Wingham, one of the coaches, said the com- petition was extremely tough and included 24 teams from Canada and the United States. Since it has boys and girls on the team, the Madill squad was entered in the co- educational side of the competition. Although she said it was a nerve- wracking experience, Mrs. Alexander said the Acro -Cheer Squad members performed their hearts out and became the crowd favorites. The squad won the cheer and chant routine, the music routine, the co-ed division and the grand championship. Mrs. Alexander reported one judge said he felt there were two teams at the competition purely for the joy of cheering: one was Cayuga from North Bay and the other was the Acro -Cheer Squad. The team's hilarious mascot, Pearl the mustang, drew roars of laughter from the appreciative crowd and even got an honorable mention from the judges. The squad members were still reeling Monday from their weekend win but are buckling down to work for the biggest competition of the season, the 50 -team Ontario championship May 1 to 3 at Toronto. e team also will be competing at -Miffinada's Wonderland in late May. n addition to Mrs. Alexander, the Acro Cheer 'Squad is coached by teachers K9ren Beutler, . Beth Bodkin and library technician Beth Payne. E�e�more opens its doors to ,thousands this weekend THE ACRO CHEER SQUAD from the F. E. Madill Secondary School in Rau; centre, Dwayne Jenkins, Ross Watson, Matt King, Ed Berger, The tiny hamlet of Belmore opens citizens. Wingham made a clean sweep of the awards at last weekend's Can- Mark Hussey, Murray Pennington, Ian Huth, Grady Lamb; front, Hailey its doors to thousands this week for As a fund-raising activity, the edian-American championships held at Niagara Falls. Members of the Robertson, Sean Rathburn, Christy Hunter and Nikkie Reav/e. Absent the community's 20th annual maple festival has helped to finance many winning squad are: back, Nancy Walton, Melinda Hussey, Ria Lin- from the photograph are Charlie and Cathy Maier and Rob Weber. syrup festival. worthwhile projects in the com- ardatos, Debbie Hodgins, Kendra Pennington, Judy TenPas, Leisa since the current zoning would allow People come from miles around munity, including the arena com- for the pancakes and sausage, the plex, built in 1977 and most recently w. ... ... �.:-._ r ...... �,. -thee . senior citizens housing for Belmore ounC e . � crafts and the entertainment. But Ir a good year, d many as• 4,000 -day e ec o most of all, they come for what people have attended the two-day Belmore is famous for: maple syrup festival Naturally organizers are and lots of it. hoping for the biggest turn -out ever The festival has grown since its this week and it appears the on controversia rezone ng inception in 1967 when a group p weatherman is going l co-operate. Belmore'and area citizens came up Aside from the delicious syrup, with the idea. They went up and pancakes and sausage, those at - It appears that with a slight change in the wording of a zoning bylaw amendment on Monday, Wingham Town Council may have at last brought an end to a con- troversial issue it has faced for nearly two years. At its regular April meeting, council passed a bylaw to rezone a piece of property north of the Josephine Street ball park from C1 to C5-2. The property is owned by Tom and Dorothy Burrell who had originally made application in 1985 for the rezoning in order to allow operation of an automobile sales business from that location. However, council felt the auto sales business was not compatible with the surrounding redesignate the property to C5-2, and tradesmen's shops, but they will down every concession, asking tendii,g the festival will be able to properties and eventually turned highway commercial with special not be allowed retail sales," Mr. farmers for the use of their maple purchase the famous syrup, browse down the application.spot zoning. In the amending bylaw, Carey said. This would be unfair trees for syrup making, 3,000 trees in through the craft displays and listen Subsequently — after a series of PAC recommended that allowable since the current zoning would allow all and a tradition was born. to local entertainers. public meetings, appearances uses be limited to: business office, retail uses from C1 zones, he added. Over the years changes have been Seniors' day is this Thursday and before council and meetings with the professional office, medical or At one point in Monday's meeting, made to the festival, most notably the doors open Saturday at 11 a.m. town's planning advisory committee dental clinic, veterinary or small it appeared the issue was headed for when it was changed to two days They will remain open until 7 o'clock (PAC) — the Burrells submitted a animal clinic, warehouse, trades- an Ontario Municipal Board hearing from one to meet the needs of senior in the evening. new application in December, 1986 man's shop, contractor's mainten- before it could be settled. which asked for a change from a Cl ante shop, printing shop and equip- Councillor James, McGregor in - retail commercial general provision ment rental store. terrupted Mr. Carey's presentation to a C5-2 highway commercial However, lawyer Glen Carey of to remind the lawyer' `the purpose of zoning, so that businesses operated Goderich, representing the Burrells, this whole exercise is to ac - by tenants on the property could be told council the proposal would commodate your client" and permitted within the terms of the inhibit tenants since it made it clear suggested that if Carey continued to new designation. that retail uses were not to be "split hairs", it would not be in the On the agenda for Monday's carried on from the property. best interest of the Burrells. meeting was a proposal from PAC to "You are allowing business of- The controversial issue was on the amend the zoning bylaw and fices, but they can't have retail uses brink of being referred again to committee, Dr. McGregor said, "if n ham PUC tot new you are going to manipulate and change and fool around with this (the amending bylaw) ." Mr. Carey, however, pointed out waterpui�ifieat�on system that Burrell had not applied for the bylaw as proposed by PAC, since his latest application was only for t' The Wingham Public Utilies Commission has decided to try a new chemical in its water purification program for at least the next 12 months at an estimated cost of $11,500. At the commission's regular April meeting on Thursday, it was decided to go ahead and try the new chemical, Aqua -Mag, based on the results of tests conducted earlier on town water samples by PUC Manager Ken Saxton, and upon receipt of an estimate of the chemical levels required to treat the Wingham water system. A letter from the manufacturer, read to the commissioners by Mr. Saxton, enstimat" 2.95 gallon" of tho chemical be added daily to the town's water supply in order to produce the required results. This represents an annual cost to the PUC of $11,500, but the letter adds that once the new process Is in operation for a period of time, that cost is likely to be less. Mr. Saxton explained that as the chemical begins to clean up the system, the required dosage will not be as high. The new chemical will replace sodium silicate, which was costing the PUC $3,000 annually, but com- missioners were unanimous in their opinion that the anticipated im- provement in water purity was well worth the price. Mr. Saxton said the additional $6,500 for Aqua -Mag would average out into a 18 annual increase per customer, if the commission decided to continue using the chemical beyond the one-year trial period. He does not anticipate any increase during that time, he added. At the commission's March meeting Mr. Saxton said that in each of four cases results showed the new chemical appeared more effective than the sodium silicate process. The tests were for the removal of hydrogen sulfide, suspension of iron particles, corrosion resisting qualities and the removal of oxidized deposits. Blood clinic is over quota Last Thursday's blood donor clinic in Wingham Is being considered a success as conveners report 233 units collected from the 244 donors who registered. Noreen Gnay, convener of volun- teers for the Auxiliary to the Wingham and District Hospital, said the target for this clinic was 225 units, eight fewer than the total collected. The 11 deferrals from this clinic is considered to be quite low, she said. The clinic was held in the gymnasium at F. E. Madill Secondary School and refreshments for donors were provided by the Wingham Kinsmen Club. According to Mrs. Gnay, many of the first-time donors were high school students. Putting the new purification system into effect means no more than ordering the chemicals from the manufacturer and Mr. Saxton said he will postpone scheduled flushing of the hydrants until the system is in operation. Before any of the chemical is added to the water system, however, the PUC will invite representatives from the Ontario Ministry of Environment to inspect the in- stallation. The new chemical, Mr. Saxton told commissioners, is a phosphate and is used by a number of Quebec utilities at present. It is believed that Wingham will be the first to do so in Ontario. Commissioner Rod Wraith received unanimous support for his recommendation to use Aqua -Mag for a one year trial period. "The quality of water should be superior and that should be worth the extra money," he said. Chairman Roy Bennett agreed. "There's only one way to find out and that's to try it." Last month Mr. Saxton told the commission that according to the MOE, the new chemical poses no health risks, although the ministry also points out that it does not ew dorse the product. Although it is not known at this time if Aqua -Mag will have any effect on the quantities of chlorine now being added to the crater, Mr. Saxton indicated the possibility of requiring less chlorine could not be ruled out. r the Cl designs on with added uses. "He hasn't asked for any of these (Please turn to Page 3) GRADUATES -- Jamie Los Wait, son of BNand Linda Wall of Wingham, graduated March 26 from recruit training at Canadian Forces Bass, Comwa is, Nova Scotia. Private Wait presently la studying as a naval scoust/cs operator with the Royal Canadian Navy at CFB Ea4uNnalt, British the construction of the building which had been estimated a.110 $295,WD. The building is to be constructed on Edward Street and will involve — at least partially — restoration of the building formerly known as the old Temperance Hall. Originally, the proposed total cost of the project — including land acquisition, professional fees and other work required at the site — had been set at s400,0oo and at Monday's council session, Reeve Bruce Machan said the project is still well within budget. Up to half of the project's cost will be funded by a grant of up to $200,000 from the Ontario Ministry of CitizeneMp and Culture. What has now become a tradition on issues related to the library project, the tender award ratification also required a recorded (Please turn to Page 3) Madill student chosen to attend leaders' seminar Kira Stuckey, a Grade 10 student at the F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, will be one of over 130 future leaders attending the Ontario Leadership Seminar. The seminar will be held May 1 to 3 at the Ontario Hydro Conference and Development Centre. The young people who attend have been selected by their schools because they, have demonstrated leadership ability at the school level and within their communities as well. Peterson to visit Huron County next Thursday Premier David Peterson will meet business and municipal leaders and tour an internationally successful industry during a visit to Huron County on Thursday, April 16. In announcing the visit, Huron - Middlesex MPP and Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell sa-d ' Monday it will provide an excellent opportunity for Huron County residents to meet with the premier. Mr. Peterson will speak at a bmcheon hosted.,by the Seaforth Business Improveltrent Association. In addition, he will help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Champion Road Machinery Company in Goderich and meet with local mayors and county officials in Clinton. "This visit will. allow David Peterson to tour Champion. Road Machinery, one of the county's most innovative and successful business- es which is showing the way for the future of rural Ontario," Riddell said. "At the same time, it will give him the opportunity to meet many people in the county." Police board discusses using new number for calls' The Wingham Board of Police Commissioners is discussing the possibility of using a Clinton telephone number for local police calls. While the possibility was dis- cussed at some length during last Wednesday's meeting, Chairman Jack Gillespie said the board will study the matter thoroughly before making any changes, which cer- tainly will not come this year. Mr. Gillespie said the cost of maintaining long-distanee lines for the county communications system is approximately $15,000 per year. Through the use of direct dialing to Clinton, he said he is confider4 savings to the system could be as much as 50 per cent. As one of the five Huron County towns in the system, Wingham currently contributes just over 15 per cent of its operating costs. Mr. Gillespie explained the callers would be able to dial directly to Clinton using the "482" exchange, rather than the "357" used in local calls. He also said they would not be required to dial "1". Wingham Mayor Jack Kopas said he felt people in Wingham and area are quite comfortable telephoning Department responds to single call Last week was rather quiet for the Wingham Fire Department, says Chief Harley Gaunt, with firefigbt- era responding to just one call. Mr. Gaunt said the department was called out to a chimney fire last Saturday at 12:15 p.m, at the Tom MacEwen residence at Lot 5, Con. 2 of Howick Township. Firemen from the No. 2 station at Gable also responded. There was no damage in the fire, amordlug to Mr. Gaunt. their neighbors and friends in outlying communities and the new number might not be that foreign to them. It was even suggested there could be a transition period in which calls would come on both the Clinton and Wingham numbers before switching over entirely to Clinton. Board member Holly Keil said she felt many people often dial the operator first in the case of an emergency. She also asked if the "911" emergency number could be put into use locally. Mr. Kopas said he thought a community had to be served by paramedics. before 911 could be used, but it was agreed to ask Bell Canada about the criteria. Since he said he thought telephone books were printed and distributed in the spring, Mr. Gillespie said that Might "negate the plan for this year". However, Wingham Deputy Reeve William Harris said the board should study the matter thoroughly before a decision is made. In other business at last week's meeting Mr. Gillespie said the police hope to hold an auction in June to get rid of some articles they currently have in storage. While most of the items are not in pristine condition, said Mr. Gillespie, they must be disposed of through a public auction according to statute. The other members of the board had no objection to an auction being held. The board has appointed John Skinner of Stratford as its lawyer for police commission and police department matters. Mr. Skinner is the town solicitor. London firm gets contract for county museum project Huron County Council last week awarded the contract for the Huron County Pioneer Museum redevelop- ment project to a London firm. At its regular meeting last Tuesday in Goderich, council gave its approval to a museum committee recommendation to award the contract to Bach -McDougall, Engineers and Contractors at a price tag of $2.4 million. That figure, however, is more than $200,000 lower than the firm's original tender — the lowest of three submitted -- of $2,606,800. Following the opening of tenders at a meeting March 19, .the com- mittee authorized Project Director Claus Breede and Architect Christopher Borgal to meet with the lowest bidder to negotiate reduc tions in the total tender price. The $2.4 million price is the result. To meet the new price, a number of substitutions and deletions were made in the original tender, some of which could be put -back in at a later date should addlt:anal funding be confirmed prior to completion of work by the contractor. Mr. Breede, following council's approval of the recommendation, had difficulty suppressing his pleasure. "I feel this is a good day for the county," he said. "A dream appears to be on the horizon." Bayfield Reeve Dave Johnston expressed some concerns over some of the changes in construction materials from those originally specified. Both Mr. Borgal and the project director agreed with his observation that although some of the deleted items could be re- instated at a later date, some changes, however, were irrever- sible. To the question of why it was decided to negotiate the adjustments (Please turn to Page 3)