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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1966-08-11, Page 1No. 32—FIRST WITH THE LOCAL NEWS v ZURICH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1966 7 CENTS ER COPY COTTAGE FIRE TAKES LIFE—Fire of still unde- termined origin last Wednesday night took the life of Mrs. Ronald A. Hunt, of London, when her cottage in Elmwood sub -division, along Lake Huron, burned to the ground. This photo shows the flames shooting up in the air while the fire was at its peak. A large crowd of :curious spectators were attracted by the bright glow in the sky, which was visible for many miles around. NOT MUCH LEFT—This is what the cottage looked like the next morning after the mysterious fire last Wednes- day nighty which took the life of a London woman. The main section of the building was completely destroyed, but a small cement block addition to the right in this photo is still partly standing. An investigation by the Ontario Fire Marshal's department is still under way. Higher Taxes In Store For Zurich! Hay School Ratepayers in the village of Zurich will be paying about 12 mills more on their taxes this fall, due mainly to increased costs of education. The biggest .singe increase is in the rate for the Hay Township School .Area, which shows an increase Room for Booths At Bean Festiva[ There is still room fol a number of booths or conces- sions at the big Bean Festival in Zurich on Saturday, August 27. To date there have been a number of requests for space, but officials indicate they can still handle more. What the committee is still looking for is individuals •or groups who wish to sell home- made products, such as cheese, bread, pickles, honey, summer sausage, hams, 'etc., along with any other items of produce such as potatoes, tomatoes, corn, etc. Any persons who are inter- ested in setting up such stands are asked to contact either Leroy Thiel or Mrs. 11. W. Brokenshire as soon as possible. ax' �� te J �k r of seven mills. The actual general rate for the village itself is increasing only by •one mill, and the bal- ance is school and .county rate. Members of the village coun- ell set the rate at their regular monthly meeting last Wednes- day night. The general village rate is 20 mills residential, 25 mills commercial and indus- trial, an increase of only one mill; Hay Township School Area rate is 19.2 for residential; 21.3 for commercial and industrial, an increase of about seven mills; Separate School tate re- mains the same as last year, 17 mills residential and 19 mills CO rn m e r c i a l and industrial; South Hume Ilit;h School rate is up two mills, at 14.4 for resi- dential and 16 for commercial and industrial; County of Huron rate is 17,2 mills residential and commercial and industrial, an increase of nearly two mills. Council agreed to having all taxes payable on or before De- cember 2, 1966. The village council approved a grant of $3,000 for the Blue Water Rest Home, payable over a three-year period. The money will be spent to memorialize the furnishings in the lobby mpS ills and tuck shop of the home. In other business at the meet- ing, council accepted the tender of N. J. oorriveau for new side- walks on the west side of John Street, at a price of $1.80 per lineal foot. The new sidewalk is to be four inches thick, and four feet wide. Three tenders were received for the supply of fuel oil for the village -owned premises, and all three were the same price. Council did not accept any of the tenders and in turn asked all three parties to submit an- other tender. Approval was given by the council for changes at the main intersection of the village, as recommended by the depart- ment of highways. Details of the new regulations will be found in an advertisement on page five of this issue. As soon as the new regulations have been implemented the OPP are being asked to strictly enforce them. Dr. W. B. Coxon and Charles Thiel were appointed by coun- cil as the village representa- tives to the Mid -Western Tour- ist Council, an affiliation of the Mid -Western Development As- soeiation, Building permits in the amount of $16,300 were ap- proved at the meeting. They are as follows: Frank Kane, home, $14,500; Stephen Mei- dinger, garage, $500; Edwin Gascho, verandah, $400; Garnet Leitch, roof, $400; Earn Horner, garage, $500. Accounts totalling $1,074.35 were approved for payment, with the following bread -down: street lighting, $229.58; welfare, $197.04; administration, $132.- 08; 132-08; fire department, $120.49; grant, $100; arena, $115.46; pub - Hc works, $179.70. - 0 Crop ;report The harvesting of oats and barley is progressing at full speed in Huron County. Re- ports indicate that yields are slightly below average as a re- sult of the prolonged dry spell. Most field rrops are suffer- ing for a want of moisture. Pastures continue to dry •up because of the dry weather. Many dairy fanners have had to increase supplemental feed• ing in order to maintain milk flow, Claim $3,000 Rate Too High ay Tow ship CouncilAsks urich For Lower Fir Rates The council of the Township of Hay, at their regular meet- ing last week, turned down the request by the village of Zur- ich for $3000 per year retainer fee for fire protection. Clerk H. W. Brokenshire was instruct- ed to advise the Zurich council by letter that Hay Township was giving the village ten days to come up with a more reason- able figure in their request. Following receipt of the let- ter by the Zurich council, the two groups decided to hold a meeting last night (Wednesday) to see if an agreement could be reached on the matter. (Last month the Zurich coun- cil had notified the Hay council that the new rate for fire pro- tection in the township would be $3000 per year. This figure was based •on the operating costs of the village -owned fire brigade, along with deprecia- tion allowances. The council of Hay Township, in turn, claimed this figure was unreasonable.) At the same time, the Hay council was in receipt of .a let- ter from the town of Exeter, asking their approval for •a county mutual aid fire system. Since members of council are not too well informed :on the whole matter, they felt more information should be made available by Exeter, and they instructed the clerk to write asking for this. In other business at the meet- ing, council accepted the tender of Lee Jennison, Grand Bend, for the supply and application of sand cushion for 180 rods of road on the Babylon Line, con- cessions 8 and 9. The, price of the contract is 82 cent per cubic yard and $7.50 per thousand gallons of water used. Having received a petition from four ratepayers asking for a clean-out of the McDonald municipal drain, council in- structed their engineer to look at the drain and bring in a re- port as soon as possible. Council gave their approval Hensall Tax Rate Shows Higher Costs Hensall council met in coun- cil :chambers on August 9, with reeve Noakes, councillors Bak- er, Knight, Jacques and clerk Earl Campbell present. The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved on mo. tion of John Baker and Harold Knight. The clerk reported 41 dog licences issued. On motion of Baker and Knight the tax collector was given authority for collection of 1966 taxes. The tax rates for 1966 are: County rate 16.2 16.2 Village 18.3 23.3 Library 1.0 1.0 Public school .._ 19.1 21 High school 13.5 14,5 Park _ 1 Ice debenture . 2.1 2.1 Waterworks 3.8 3.8 Hydro . 2,1 2,1 77 85 A total of 77 and 85 for lull.:y school supporters. Separate school rate is 17 mills residential anti 1.9 t•:>tn menial, snaking a total .of 75 and 83 mills. Taxes must Inn paid by October 15. After that elate a penalty will he imposed. Taxes may he paid in install -1 meats. This by-law was given its third and final reading Au- gust 9, and passed on motion of Jaques and Baker. Ernie Davis gave his report: • paving of portions of south B.ichmoncl Street and Mill Street •completed; the shoulders of the roads finished; drain on Queen Street cleared of tree roots; catch basin on Elizabeth Street. He further reported that feed had been taken off lots and a (Continued on page 8) of the plan of the department of highways for the erection of road identification signs, and this work will be carried out in the near future. Since there was no appeal an the decision of the Court of Re- vision on the Van Steeg branch of the Aldworth drain by-law number 10, the by-law was given a third reading and passed. In other business the council agreed to contact Dobson Roof- ing in Exeter concerning nec- essary repairs to the roof on the township shed, located on the Blind Line. They also gave instructions to clerk Broken - shire to obtain assistance from the auditor in setting the 1966 tax rate. The clerk was also instructed to notify the Huron County en- gineer that Hay Township in. tends to pass a by-law regulat- ing the installation of entrace ways, in the same form as the model by-law forwarded by the County of Huron. The next regular meeting of the council will be held on Tuesday night, September 6, at 8 p.m. Cottee Fire Takes Life of ,k radon Woman Lost Wednesday Night An investigation by an of- ficial of the Ontario Fire Mar- shal's office into the fire at a cottage last Wednesday night, which took the life of a London woman, is still continuing. Burned to death in her cottage at Elmwood sub -division in Hay Township was Mrs. Ronald A. Hunt, of London. The fire was well advanced by the time firemen from Grand Bend and Dashwood arrived at the scene, and nothing could be done in the way of saving the building. However, they did manage to protect a neighbor- ing cottage from the intense heat. According to Dr. E. A. Mc- Master, Grand Bend coroner, no inquest into the death of the lady will be held. The blaze was first noticed by neighbors at about 10:30 p.m., and at 12 p.in. the charred ruins had cooled down enough to allow firemen to reach the body inside. Hoffman ambu- lance, Dashwood, removed the body from one of the bedrooms in the frame cottage, It wa later identified by her only sur- vivor, a son, Ronald, of Toronto. Hundreds of interested spec- tators lined the roads and sur- rounding properties in an at- tempt to watch the spectacular blaze. OPP Constable fa n Wright, of the Exeter deta< `-- ment, is in charge of the in- vestigation, and he along with the official from the fire mar- shal's office, worked right through the night in an attempt to determine the cause of the fire. The Elmwood sub -division located in the southwest corner of Hay Township, about two and a hall miles north of Grand Bend. Funeral service for the lady - was held last Saturday in St. John's Auglican Church, Area.. with burial in the churh ea;;me- tery. OFFICIAL INSIGNIA—This ,rined, v..th en 1non kettle hanging on it, is the most popular method bei,:• ct to advise all motorists travelling I h+.•uu,;h Zurich tint'. e is a big Bean Festival planned for August 27. Lot's,:': ,:n the main street in the village, the entire set-up attt a, , lx• attention of everyone who passes by. All arrangemen i car the big event are now completed, and everyone atte,,tling is assured of an interesting day.