The Wingham Advance-Times, 1987-12-15, Page 01FIRST SECTION Wingham, Ontario, Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1987 Single Copy 50c
1988 WARDEN — Tuckersmith Township Reeve Robert M. Bell,
left, was acclaimed. 1988 Huron County Warden during ceremonies
at the inaugural session of county council last week in Goderich. Mr.
Bell received the chain of office and chairman's gavel from the 198 7
warden. Turnberry Township Reeve Brian McBurney.
Board reconsiders, chief
to continue fire inspection
The Winghom Area Fire Board
has reversed an earlier stand which
directed Fire Chief Harley Gaunt to
no longer carry out fire inspections
when they were requested.
At its regular November session,
the board rescinded the earlier
motion in order to allow Mr. Gaunt
to resume conducting the in-
spections.
The action was prompted by a
letter sent to the board by the
Wingham Day Care Centre which
had been advised by Mr. Gaunt
when requesting an inspection that
he was under orders to turn down
such requests. An up-to-date fire
inspection is required for the cen-
Open house
Saturday at
new library
An 'open house is planned for
Saturday afternoon at the new
library building on Edward Street.
A highlight of the open house will
be the special draw for the "Book
Bears" which have served as
mascots for the building fund.
The open house is from 2 to 4 p.m.
and everyone is welcome.
Town Council to review
commercial Parking bylaw
by Margaret Stapleton
Wingham Town Council appears
to be willing to revise a bylaw
prohibiting the off-street parking of
commercial vehicles.
A delegation of approximately 30
concerned citizens attended the
regular monthly meeting of town
council to protest the bylaw, which
was enacted in 1974.
Council spent one hour listening to
the concerns of the residents before
referring the bylaw to the finance
and management committee for
further consideration and possible
revision. No enforcement action on
the bylaw, which was to come into
effect Dec. 10, is to be taken until
finance and management makes a
recommendation.
Phyllis McKee and Bert Morin
acted as spokesmen for the citizens'
group. In their presentations, they
protested that, under the bylaw, off-
street parking spaces in residential
zones are to be used for vehicles
weighing under 6,000 pounds, saying
it is discriminatory.
They also protested the clause
stating no vehicle exceeding- 12,000
pounds may be housed in a private
garage.
Both Mrs. McKee and Mr. Morin
pointed to 'the valuable service
provided to the community by truck
and bus drivers, adding they enjoy
and appreciate the convenience of
being able to park their vehicles in
their driveways for clean-up and
light maintenance work.
"Canada is a nation of com-
promise," concluded Mr. Morin.
"Let's take a long, hard look at this
Bylaw."
FEW COMPLAINTS
In response to their presentation,
Wingham Mayor Jack Kopas said
the bylaw has been on the books for
13 years and there have been
relatively few complaints, adding
that most commercial vehicle
operators in the town are respon-
sible people.
Councillor Bill McGrath said he
agreed with much of what had been
said.. If handled the right way, there
should be no problem, he added and
suggested setting up an association
among the owners and operators of
commercial vehicles to monitor any
problems which may arise.
`Did council receive a signed
complaint (about a violation of the
( Please turn to Page 2A)
tre's licence renelwal, the letter.
stated.
The letter sparked considerable
discussion, at times alluding to a
decision which the board must face
before next June — whether or not to
make the fire chief a full-time
employee. It was concern for the
amount of time Mr. Gaunt is
required to devote to fire depart-
ment related duties, which resulted
in the earlier decision to put a stop to
fire inspections.
The Wingham PUC, Mr. Gaunt's
employer, has given the board an
extension to June to resolve its
dilemma.
Although, most of discussion on
this issue was held in camera,
during open discussion, Mr. Gaunt
told board members he believed the
department is required to carry out
fire inspections under the terms of
its bylaw.
Last week Exeter and Area Fire
Board hired a fire chief on an
"almost full-time basis" at an an-
nual salary of $32,500. Any work
time not needed on fire department
duties will be spent working for the
Town of Exeter. Reimbursement
will be paid to the board by the town
at the going hourly rate for the
position at which the fire chief is
working.
Ad deadline
is Thursday
The deadline for display advertis-
ing to appear in next week's issue of
The Advance -Times is Thursday,
Dec. 17 at 5 p.m.
The deadline for classified adver-
tising for Crossroads is Thursday,
Dec. 17 at noon, and classified ad-
vertising deadline for The Advance -
Times is Friday, Dec. 18 at 5 p.m.
The Christmas issue will arrive on
Dec. 22. The office will be closed
Dec. 25, 26 and 27.
GINGERBREAD HOUSES — The students in Mrs. McDonnell's class at Sacred Heart School in Wingham
have been bAV. recently, makJop.soma io eW �_ , ,bread bo�se , �l WnJ��e'rp`, with �11eir crQ4tkVA ars,
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