The Wingham Advance-Times, 1987-08-11, Page 01■
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4
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i
Annexation issue not likely
to, reach quick settlement
Whitechurch
forced to give
It is with extreme regret that The
Advance -Times has accepted the
decision of Mrs. Victor Emerson,
our faithful Whitechurch correspon-
dent, to give up her post as the local
reporter for that village. Failing
eyesight has made the task difficult
for her and we know that many of
our readers will miss her work as
much as we will.
Mrs. Emerson has reported the
community personal items and
meetings for many years and we
know that she will be hard to re-
place. It is a job which does not pay
any vast amount of money, but she
continued her work, we believe,
correspondent o nowt a commission in c on o cpm
to use funds from its reserve account
to meet the more than $46,000 for its Bruce McCall
up her duties portion of the $184,475 project cost. is acclaimed
Provincial government grants will
cover the remaining 75 per cent. M V CA chairman
chiefly because she recognized, as
we at The Advance -Times do, that
the regular appearance of commun-
ity news in the local newspaper is
vital to the continued well-being of
such small centres. Without that
weekly information about le people
and the activities of small villages
they may easily slip into total ob-
livion.
We would like to express publicy.
our deep appreciation of her contri-
bution on the ongoing life of the com-
munity in which she and her hus-
band, Victor, have spent their lives,
as well as her efforts on our behalf to
(Please torn to Page 3A)
A lengthy discussion centred on
the philosophy of who should have
control over deciding how the PUC
should spend its reserves. While Mr.
Beecroft felt that control should rest
with council, other members were
able to convince him that council
had already given that respon-
sibility to the PUC.
Dr. McGregor objected, however,
to being asked to vote on the issue
without having been provided what
he considered essential information
by the commission. He said the PUC
should make it clear whether or not
it intends to use its reserve funds for
(Please turn to Page 3A)
HIGHWAY 4 MEETING — Ontario Highways Minister Ed Fulton, right, was in Blyth last week to meet with
representatives of the Huron County roads committee and the municipalities on Highway 4 from Blyth to
Wingham. Prior to the meeting, Mr. Fulton holds a conversation with Turnberry Township Deputy Reeve
Doug Fortune while Ontario Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell, left, and Wingham Reeve Bruce
Machan look on.
First Section
Industrial park
on hold . ......
Page 4A
Despite what appeared to be an
something of mutual benefit to both
in hospital .......
amicable discussion last Thursday
Candidates hit
pansion of Wingham will, through an
between the two municipalities
Page 5A
Second Section
Cougars win tourney
concerned, any move by Wingham
Track athletes
guesswork and state the intentions
do well . . ..... ..
Page 3B
to annex lands in Turnberry
Bill Bramah
Brian McBurney described as
visits lighthouse ...
Page 2A
Township will not go unopposed.
Page 1 B
H. Gordon Green ...
Page 7B
With the exception of Mayor Jack
Kopas, the entire Wingham Town
Page 98
any annexation attempts by the
Turnberry, Mr. McBurney said
town.
taxes are more than double in town
After an hour-long discussion with
in many cases.
Council attended the regular
If annexation were to become a
monthly Turnberry meeting, a
reality, the two property owners
meeting of Turnberry Council to
affected could end up paying "three
position was passed.
times the taxes", predicted Mr.
present the township with an outline
McBurney.
(Turnberry council) inform the
However Mr. Baker raised
of the town's plans for annexation of
another concern. "How much will it
'
approximately 100 acres of Turn-
long-term interests of the Township
willing to put out $10,000 to $15,000? "
berry land which abuts Wingham's
"How much will it cost us not to
continue to oppose any attempt by
eastern boundary.
_
BRING HOME THE MEDALS — Four young members of the Wingham Optimist Track and Field Club travelled
The one positive accomplishment
to Chicago last weekend to the International Youth Meet and all brought home medals. Anna Sakasov and
°f the meeting was rr u n aside the
many rumors surrounding the
Lynda Harkness, back, won three silver and a gold and a bronze medal respectively. Carolyn Pike, front, won
proposed annexation which have
a bronze medal and Julie Lisle won a gold and two silver. (Photo by Gary Lisle)
been circulating for the past few
Recorded
months. Instead, the two
municipalities were able to discuss
vote necessary
the issue from a factual point of view
both municipalities than any an-
as the town's representatives were
to o standpipe-
not the answer.
,The Turnberry council members
WOr
quick to assure Turnberry its plans
did not include acquisition of the
contacting the people involved and
position_ will stop the . town Nom
scheduling a public meeting to
taking action. "They are bound and
township's prized industrial tax base
bent to go ahead," said Councillor
situated on land ,just north of
Although it required a recorded services for gepairing the town's August meeting.
Wingham.
vote, Wingham Town Council has concrete water standpipe. Unexpected opposition to the
Acting as Wingham's spokesman,
passed a bylaw which gives ap- Recommended by the Wingham document was raised by Councillors
Reeve Bruce Machan said town
proval to a recommendation that Public Utilities Commission, the James McGregor and Ron Beecroft
council considered the 100 -acre
Conestoga Rovers and Associates bylaw authorizing the town to enter who asked where the PUC planned
parcel to be the most useful to allow
Ltd. of Waterloo be awarded the into an agreement with the firm was to find its 25 per cent share of the
expansion and to satisfy the current
contract to provide engineering on the agenda of council's regular project's total cost. The two wanted
land needs of the town. The need for
t k 'f th t dad
additi al lands — f." devel ant
Whitechurch
forced to give
It is with extreme regret that The
Advance -Times has accepted the
decision of Mrs. Victor Emerson,
our faithful Whitechurch correspon-
dent, to give up her post as the local
reporter for that village. Failing
eyesight has made the task difficult
for her and we know that many of
our readers will miss her work as
much as we will.
Mrs. Emerson has reported the
community personal items and
meetings for many years and we
know that she will be hard to re-
place. It is a job which does not pay
any vast amount of money, but she
continued her work, we believe,
correspondent o nowt a commission in c on o cpm
to use funds from its reserve account
to meet the more than $46,000 for its Bruce McCall
up her duties portion of the $184,475 project cost. is acclaimed
Provincial government grants will
cover the remaining 75 per cent. M V CA chairman
chiefly because she recognized, as
we at The Advance -Times do, that
the regular appearance of commun-
ity news in the local newspaper is
vital to the continued well-being of
such small centres. Without that
weekly information about le people
and the activities of small villages
they may easily slip into total ob-
livion.
We would like to express publicy.
our deep appreciation of her contri-
bution on the ongoing life of the com-
munity in which she and her hus-
band, Victor, have spent their lives,
as well as her efforts on our behalf to
(Please torn to Page 3A)
A lengthy discussion centred on
the philosophy of who should have
control over deciding how the PUC
should spend its reserves. While Mr.
Beecroft felt that control should rest
with council, other members were
able to convince him that council
had already given that respon-
sibility to the PUC.
Dr. McGregor objected, however,
to being asked to vote on the issue
without having been provided what
he considered essential information
by the commission. He said the PUC
should make it clear whether or not
it intends to use its reserve funds for
(Please turn to Page 3A)
HIGHWAY 4 MEETING — Ontario Highways Minister Ed Fulton, right, was in Blyth last week to meet with
representatives of the Huron County roads committee and the municipalities on Highway 4 from Blyth to
Wingham. Prior to the meeting, Mr. Fulton holds a conversation with Turnberry Township Deputy Reeve
Doug Fortune while Ontario Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell, left, and Wingham Reeve Bruce
Machan look on.
First Section
Industrial park
on hold . ......
Page 4A
Accident victim
something of mutual benefit to both
in hospital .......
Page 4A
Candidates hit
pansion of Wingham will, through an
campaign trail ....
Page 5A
Second Section
Cougars win tourney
Page 2B
Track athletes
guesswork and state the intentions
do well . . ..... ..
Page 3B
inside Crossroads
Bill Bramah
Brian McBurney described as
visits lighthouse ...
Page 2A
Show Biz .. ....
Page 1 B
H. Gordon Green ...
Page 7B
Sanger and earwigs .
Page 98
Bruce McCall of Brussels was
acclaimed chairman of the Maitland
Valle
lt Conservation,. Authority at it$
summer general meeting Aug. 5 at
Wroxeter.
Mr. McCall, the former vice
chairman and 10 -\year MVCA
member, assumed the duties of
chairman in May with the
resignation of Vince Judge of ,
Listowel.
Jack Graul of Ellis Township was
acclaimed vice chairman and Dave
Gower of Goderich moves up to
become member -at -large.
An election of officers will be held
again at the authority's annual
meeting in February.
of residential, highway -commercial He expressed hope that
and industrial use — arises, he said, Wingham's proposal would not be
because the areas now available in looked on by Turnberry as a com-
Wingham are being filled.
bative or adversarial position, but as
"We regret that this matter has
something of mutual benefit to both
been revealed to the council
municipalities "because an ex -
members of Turnberry Township in
pansion of Wingham will, through an
a haphazard fashion," Mr. Machan
increased population, be of benefit to
said, "and wish to now present our
the surrounding Township of Turn -
position ... to remove the rumors and
berry 'as well."
guesswork and state the intentions
Following Mr. Machan's
of the council of the Town of
presentation, Turnberry Reeve
Wingham."
Brian McBurney described as
Turnberry tells Wingham
annexation answer still no
In spite of a meeting with
Wingham are a hindrance' to
Wingham council, Turnberry
homeowners. In a tax comparison of
council members still are opposed to
several homes in the town and in
any annexation attempts by the
Turnberry, Mr. McBurney said
town.
taxes are more than double in town
After an hour-long discussion with
in many cases.
Wingham council at the first
If annexation were to become a
monthly Turnberry meeting, a
reality, the two property owners
resolution reiterating the township's
affected could end up paying "three
position was passed.
times the taxes", predicted Mr.
The resolution states: "That we
McBurney.
(Turnberry council) inform the
However Mr. Baker raised
Town of Wingham that any an-
another concern. "How much will it
nexation would be detrimental to the
cost to fight it (annexation)? Are we
long-term interests of the Township
willing to put out $10,000 to $15,000? "
of Turnberry and therefore we must
"How much will it cost us not to
continue to oppose any attempt by
stop it?" asked Deputy Reeve Doug
Wingham to annex any land in
Fortune. "We're here to represent
Turnberry.
the long-term interests of Turnberry
"Furiher, that we feel that
and we should oppose it. "
Wingham and Turnberry should
Mr. Underwood said he would be
work together to attract growth and
willing to work in conjunction with
that this would be of more benefit to
the town in attracting industry to the
both municipalities than any an-
area, but agreed that annexation is
nexation."
not the answer.
,The Turnberry council members
Finally Mr. McBurney suggested
did not appear to feel their op-
contacting the people involved and
position_ will stop the . town Nom
scheduling a public meeting to
taking action. "They are bound and
discuss the matter. The other
bent to go ahead," said Councillor
members of council were in
Nelson Underwood.
agreement.
However, Turnberry will continue
"regretful" the fact the issue was
made public in news reports before
the two councils had sat down to
discuss it.
NEED ESTABLISHED
"My first question is whether
you've really established the need
for the land," Mr. McBurney said.
Mr. Machan's reply was that the
town felt certain the need is
established. Even though it is most
likely that the flood plain in south
Wingham will be developed, it is
probable that particular develop-
ment will not take place for. years
because of the need for studies and a
(Please turn to Page 3A)
Council agrees
to completion
date of Aug. 14
Wingham Town Council has ap-
proved an extension to the com-
pletion date for the construction of a
new washroom pavilion at Riverside
Park.
At its regular August meeting,
council agreed to extend the com-
pletion date to Friday, Aug. 14, the
date recommended by the property
committee in its report to council.
Councillor Ward Robertson,
property committee chairman, said
the date had been requested by the
contractor, Askes Brothers Con-
struction Ltd.
The contract for the construction
of the pavilion was awarded in April,
but with the exception of
preliminary work, for a number of
reasons, little has been done on the
project since then.
Opposition from the Riverside
Ratepayers Association created the
(Please turn to Page 3A)
to oppose the proposed annexation of
100 aWed 6 0 years,
dary. acres east of the town's boun-
g couple marks
As far as the town needing
lands for residential
development, Councillor Mery
Baker said the town is not "ab-
solutely out" of property for homes.
Reeve Brian McBurney said he
feels high property tax levels in
Council takes `wait and see'
approach to four-way stop
"Wait and see" is the stand
Wingham Town Council will take for
the present on Councillor Ward
Robertson's request to have"a four-
way stop introduced at the in-
tersection of Victoria and Catherine
Streets.
At its regular August meeting,
council decided to wait at least until
September before taking action on
Mr. Robertson's request.
Mr. Robertson first asked council
at its June meeting to consider a
four-way stop at the intersection as a
suggested solution to what he con-
sidered to be a problem caused by
cars speeding along Victoria Street.
Since that time, Mr. Robertson said
at the August meeting, he had
discussed the problem with
Wingham Police Chief Robert
Wittig.
"If it is solely a speeaing problem,
the chief thought that perhaps it
could be solved by putting the whole
town on a general speed limit of 40
kilometres (per hour) rather than
the present 50 kilometres," he said.
"And I honestly think speeding is
most of the problem."
However, Mr. Robertson said he is
not convinced that reducing the
speed limit would solve the problem.
"It would be perhaps unfair to
impose that speed limit.on the whole
town when just a few people are
responsible for the speeding
problem there (on Victoria Street) ."
In addition, Mr. Robertson said
the problem has not been as evident
since the school year ended in June.
"There hasn't been any little black
pickup truck speeding up and down
our street since school got out, let's
put it that way," he said.
Reeve Bruce Machan, who
chaired the meeting in the absence
of Mayor Jack Kopas, suggested
council refer the matter to the
Wingham Police Commission for
consideration when it reconvenes in
September.
In addition to asking for police
commission consideration, council
agreed to "wait and see" if the
speeding problem re-emerges when
school begins in the fall.
M inIs
isters admit highway's
winter conditions a concern
Ontario Transportation Minister
Ed Fulton has promised a quick
response to a request that the
province do something. about im-
proving the present condition of
Highway 4, north of Blyth.
Mr. Fulton made the promise to
representatives from each of the
municipalities along the highway
between Blyth and Wingham, mem-
bers of Huron County Council's
roads committee and County
Engineer Dennis Merrell during a
meeting last Wednesday in Blyth.
Agriculture and Food Minister
Jack Riddell, the Liberal candidate
for Huron In the Sept. 10 provindal
election, also attended the meeting
and accompanied Mr. Fulton on a
tour of that stretch of the highway.
Both cabinet ministers expressed
their concern over the highway's
state, with emphasis on the winter
conditions which often would include
dosing it to travel in bad weather.
In his presentation to the two
cabinet ministers, Mr. Merrall
outlined suggested engineering
improvements for the highway. The
suggestions came from a series of
meetings held by the reeves of the
municipalities served by that por:
tion of the highway and incl
pavement widening, ditching,
raising the roadway to improve the
durability of the pavement, and to
lessen the "dangerous winter
wbitsout and drifting conditions."
This particular section of road,
Mr. Merrall said, has a reputation
for being unreliable In winger and is
frequently closed to traffic. There is
a considerable amount of drifting
and there are areas along the road
where whiteouts often occur.
These problems have been much
worse between Blyth and Wingham
than between Blyth and Clinton, he
raid. South of Blyth, the highway
was built up and improved several
years ago "and has been a much
better road since then."
other existing conditions his pre-
aaetation brought to the attention of
thocabinet ministers include:
–Deterioration of the pavement
(Please turn to Nage SA)
Relatives from as far away as
Cold Lake, Alberta and Grabel,
Indiana were in Wingham Saturday
to help Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Force
celebrate their 60th wedding an-
niversary.
In addition to those centres,
family members attending the
celebration were from Fort Erie,
Toronto, Guelph, London, Hamilton,
Woodstock, Tiverton, Camp Borden,
Bluevale, Brampton, Sarnia and
Hepworth.
Mr. Force and his wife Grace were
married on Aug. 8, 1927 at Auburn,
Wingham
anniversary
New York. The couple also had lived
in England and Brantford, Ontario,
before retiring to Wingham 10 years
ago.
They have four children, Millicent
Stewart of Bluevale, Shirley Adams
of Hepworth, Richard of Toronto and
Stephen of London. Mr. and Mrs.
Force also have 11 grandchildren
and 12 great-grandchildren.
"Someone once said 60 years is a
long time to live with one person,"
Mr. Force says of his marriage. "It
would have been a longer time to
live without her."
MR. AND MRS. EUGENE FORCE of 142 Victoria Street Street East M
Wingham, celebrated BD years of married life on Saturday as relatives
travelled from as far away as Alberta and Indiana to help the couple
mark the m0estone.
1