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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1971-03-04, Page 1Mc 9—ALWAYS FIRST WITH THE LOCAL NEWS ZURICH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1971 PUBLIC SPEAKING WINNERS - The annual Public Speaking Contest sponsored each year by the Hensall Legion was staged Friday night at the Zurich Public School, with students from Hen- sall, Zurich, and St. Boniface School participating. Winners in the junior division were, first, Mary Lou Turnbull, R. R.1, Dashwood, ZPS; second, Tracey Turner, Hensall, HPS; third Karen McAllister, R. R.1, Zurich, ZPS. SENIOR DIVISION WINNERS - Winners in the senior division of the public speaking contest last Friday night were, first, Lois Doerr, Zurich, ZPS; second, Patsy Denomme, Zurich, St.B.S.; and third, Barry Hess, Zurich, ZPS. .S. Board ` eceives Grant (by Wilma Oke) At the Huron -Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board meeting in Sea - forth Monday night Trustee Michael Connolly, R. R. 3, Kip - pen, reviewed insurance cover- age for the board for 1971. All policies are to be renewed from February 26, 1971 to February 26, 1972 at a total premium cost of $9, 092.83. Trustee Ted Geoffrey, R. R. MEETING POSTPONED The regular meeting of the Hensall Council was post-poned Tuesday night, March 2, due to the death of the Clerk's moth- er, Mrs. John Campbell, Exeter. 2, Zurich, reported on two meetings he had attended -- a Midwestern Zone Ontario School Trustee Council meeting in Woodstock on February 20 and an Ontario School Trustees Council Salary Conference in Toronto on February 27. John Vintar, Superintendent of Education, in his report to the board members notified them that Ontario Education Week will commence on March 7, with opening. ceremonies to be held at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School in London on March 7 at 2:30 p.m. The theme is Schools are for People and the guest speaker will be Eton. John Robarts. Members of the board are invit- ed to attend. Mr. Vintar reported that $6, 269 had been received from the Department of Education in the form of a grant for 1970 for French language instruction which is carried on at Ecole Ste. Marie School at St. Joseph. The grant was a result of a Federal- Provincial agreement. The Department has given notification that there will be no grant in 1971, however this will be replaced by a weighting factor of the pupils receiving instruction in French in 1971. Mr. Vintar stated there appears to be no guarantee that this weighting factor will be cont- inued in subsequent years. (continued on page 8) 10 CENTS PER COPY Huron Council Debates Plan For Welfare System (by Shirley J. Keller) The subject of a Huron County Welfare system was again a topic for lengthy discussion at the February meeting of county council Friday, February 26. James L. Deneau, regional administrator for the Department of Social and Family Services were the most efficient way of dealing with welfare problems. He said that in past, county welfare services have been susp- ected of causing costs ro rise but he pointed out that in Huron County last year, under the present system whereby municip• al officials administrate the welfare requests, the costs rose by 70 percent. I -Ie said that under a county system of welfare distribution, the province would pay 50 per- cent of the administrative costs. Deneau also pointed out that his office was not in any way attempting to "squeeze" county council into a county welfare system. "If you chose not to institute county welfare our office will still continue to give you the best possible service, " pledged Deneau. Reeve Amer Hayter asked Deneau why the costs of some centralized services had "more than doubled" the original est- imates of costs. Deneau told him it depended on the type of service provided, and adequate service or a service "with the frills." "It all depends on what you want to buy." stated Deneau. Deputy -reeve Gerry Ginn was told that the local reeves and deputy -reeves as well as the clerks would still be valu- able contacts within a county welfare system, thereby maint- aining the local link in some degree. Bruce Heath, director of the Huron County Children's Aid Society, claimed that about 15 percent of the work done by his protection staff had to do with general welfare assistance. He felt this burden would be eliminated in a county welfare system. Heath also said that he thought the municipal clerks were often called upon to be- come "experts in social welfare. He felt that was unfair. As well, Heath concurred with James Deneau that the local opinions would still be sought. "Consolidation doesn't nec- essarily mean you throw out the local flavor, " Heath said. While there was no action taken on the matter at the present time, county council- lors are attempting to gather more information to help them in their decision for or against a county welfare system. Local clerks are asked to sub- mit an accurate accounting of the time spent locally on wel- fare matters, in an attempt to decide whether an estimated welfare administrative budget of $30, 000 to $35, 000 is out of line. (continued on page 6) Libeary Budget Shows Big Jump Increased wages has been blamed for the greatest increase in the Huron County Library budget in 1971, from $157, 781 in 1970 to -$171, 405 this year. The province contributes a fixed $70, 900 to the budget; Huron County ratepayers make up $93, 705; schools will cont- ribute $4, 000; fines will real- ize another $2, 400; and miscel- laneous accounts for $400. Circulation is up but the bud- get for purchasing books re- mains unchanged. The commit- tee will spend $65, 000 for this purpose. Rental fees for all the county library buildings were discussed and adjusted with Goderich and Wingham getting more; Exeter getting less; and Brussels, Sea - forth and clinton remaining the same. Several Break-ins Reported; Damages Light In District Accidents Hotson Propane offices loc- ated on Highway 21, just north of Grand Bend was the scene of a safe -cracking early Satur- day morning. Thieves made off with an undisclosed amount of money after pounding open the fire -proof cabinet. A break-in was also reported at V.L, Becker and Sons Farm Equipment at Dashwood about the same time as the Hotson occurrence. An open cash reg- ister was relieved of an unknown amount of silver and small bills. Constable Bill Glassford, the investigating offiver in both in- cidents noted entry had been gained to both buildings by smashing a window in rear doors. Three cottage breakins are being investigated by Constable Don Mason at Windy Hills, 1e miles north of Highway 83 on Highway 21. Liquor stocks were hard hit with about 20 bottles taken from the three summer residences. Faulty electrical wiring ap- pears to be the cause of a fire at the residence of Michael Fallahay, 134 Columbia Drive, Huron Park, shortly after 10;30 a. m. Saturday. ODC fire fight- ers quickly brought the blaze under control and damage was kept to a minimum. No estim- ate was immediately available. Motor vehicle collisions dur- ing the last week numbered nine, none of a serious injury nature. Poor weather conditions again was the main cause of (continued on page 6)