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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1975-12-10, Page 24Page 4 - Citizens News, Dec, 17175 Mfg Ete p Fire is something that is naturally dreaded by most people. However, there is an indication that fire protection deliberations must reach almost the same plateau with members of Hay township council. In recent years they've had a great deal of difficulty reaching satisfactory accord with municipalities which provide them with fire protection and they're currently in a delicate situation with regard to the prot- ection they receive from Dashwood. It's a rather complex platter with Hay and one that most municipalities would not want to share with them. The township The credibility of the Anti -Inflationary Board was seriously undermined in the view of many Canadians when they were over -ruled by the federal cabinet last week in the matter of the raise given inside postal workers. Cabinet, of course, was caught in a position where to do otherwise would have seriously affected their credibility. They had backed Postmaster -General Bryce Mackasey in his position on the amount of pay the postal workers could receive, and to have retreated from that position would have created a considerable amount of bad faith in its bargaining position and set the stage for the possibili':y of another mail strike. However, the fact remains that most i6 is basically a large, sprawling rural area that is required to rely on several brigades for protection. They currently have four different municipalities with which to negotiate and as costs climb for those municipal brigades, they naturally look to Hay to help offset those costs and the township is caught in another squeeze. They end up paying more on a per person basis than most municipalities and that no doubt is the concern of council members. However, they must realize that fire protection should be available to residents from the closest possible source and in the case of many Hay residents, that source is Dashwood. Canadians now question just how effective the Anti -Inflation Board can be in future decisions when cabinet has agreed to "an exception to the rule" so early in the Board's work of enforcing the government's price and wage guidelines. Many people doubted the effectiveness of the program at the outset and if any further exceptions are allowed it is obvious that their doubts will be warranted. It is most unfortunate, because this nation is on a collision course with disaster unless some restraint in prices and wages is forth- coming and it is equally obvious in most cases that restraint must be mandatory because people are too greedy to have it accomplished on a voluntary basis. XMAS ,cts •r Now There's Just Your Mother, Aunt Emily, Cousin Doris, Grandpa .4(K1746(gh ,Hc;wz Clowns perform PUBLISHED BY INDEPENDENT NEWS PUBLISHING HERB TURKHEIM, EDITOR Second C1^ss Mail Registration Number 1385 Member: eNA Cmnediare Weekly. Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Subscription Rates: $6.00 per year in advance in Canada; $8.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 20 Residents of the Bluewater Rest Home at Zurich and Huronview at Clinton will have some special visitors Sunday afternoon to liven up the Christ- mas season, The Dashwood Industries clowns who have participated in a number of area Santa Claus parades will be going through their antics and singing Christ- mas carols to bring some extra joy to the elderly residents of the two homes. by Ted Rowcliffe When one municipality buys services from another, difficulties seem to arise from time to time. Those doing the selling think the price is a little low. Those on the purchasing end of the stick think it's a little high. Usually somewhere in the middle a fair price is set- tled on. And so it seems with the village of Dashwood and the township of Hay, After a year of negotiation, the muni- cipalities have failed to come up with an agreement whereby the Dashwood Fire Department will continue its fire protection of a portion of the township. Although Dashwood is officially notifying Hay resi- dents that coverage will cease with the coming of 1976, Hay council seems hopeful that a solution will be reached before that action is taken. Over the past year, various proposals and counter proposals have been made by the two municipalities. In May of this year, Hay suggested that Dashwood pay 34% of the costs of operating the department with Stephen and Hay townships picking up 33% each. The proposal also suggested a four man board with two members from Dashwood and one from each of the townships. In June, Dashwood replied with a proposal that Hay and Stephen pay a three mill levy on the assessment of buildings in the area to be covered plus $90 an hour for the first hour and $75 an hour for each ensuing hour that firemen were fighting a fire. In July, Hay agreed to an increase to a $1,500 retain- er plus the hourly rates, up from the present $1,200 annual retainer. There are two sides to every story and the same can be said of this situation. The fee requested by the Dashwood fire department may well be a legitimate share for Hay to pay for fire protection. Hopefully the two municipalities will settle the question before a serious loss of property, and per- haps human lives, takes place. It's funny how we go through life listening to those who make the most noise and very seldom pay much at- tention to those with the most wisdom. On Saturday, I attended the funeral of a man who, by today's standards, would not be considered important or successful. He farmed for many years, raised a family, attended church and left no other marks. Or so I thought until he passed away. Only then did I stop to realize the wisdom, kindness and generosity he had to offer anyone who wanted it. It seems that as we rush through life, we end up listening to all sorts of supposedly important and wise people most of whom manage to botch up the lives of many others along with their own sometime during their life, either through greed or vanity. Perhaps we should take time to stop and listen to those who, while not rich or famous, have somehow managed to achieve happiness for themselves and their families through a simple honest way of life. BITS AND PIECES...Not to be outdone by their Exeter friends, the people of Grand Bend staged one of the biggest Santa Claus parades the village ha§ ever seen on Saturday. There were a total of 31 floats according to parade chairman Dennis Mathers It was a busy weekend at the Bend as a variety show Sunday was well attended along with an open house at the Village Inn Retreat Santa also put in an appearance at Zurich, Hensall and Lucan on Saturday (a busy boy, that Mr. Claus) And also on the busy side on the week- end was Jack Armstrong, manager of the Zurich branch of the Hensall and District Co-op who welcomed almost 400 visitors during the open house held Friday and Saturday. Snowmobiles are heavy! Keep them on land surfaces!