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The Times Advocate, 2005-02-09, Page 2LIMITED TIME OFFER 2 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, February 9, 2005 Regional wrap up Landlocked Goderich holding talks GODERICH — The landlocked Town of Goderich is looking to its neighbour to the east, Central Huron, to help out with some acreage. The Goderich Signal - Star reported last week the town is asking Central Huron to appoint two or three council members to strike a committee on the issue. Goderich Reeve Ellen Connelly said the acri- monious negotiations between the two munici- palities is ancient histo- ry. "Hopefully at the end it will be a win-win situa- tion," she said. Central Huron Reeve Bert Dykstra said his council is unsure of what direction it will take. Goderich delegates at a recent meeting were noncommittal about the amount and location of land they wanted. Any agreement would need the approval of both municipal councils as well as Huron County council. Survivor remembers SEAFORTH —As the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp was marked, a Seaforth resident remembered her time in concentration camps. Tasia Anderson, 79, spent three days in Auschwitz during the Second World War, and several months in another concentration camp, Dachau. She told the Huron Expositor recently she's not sure why she was shipped briefly from Dachau to Auschwitz and then back to Dachau. Anderson's strongest memory of the death camp was seeing the buildings that housed the gas chambers where 1.5 million, mostly Jews, were sent to their deaths. Students raise money for HIV/AIDS By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THI,. TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH — Through the co-ordination and creative instruction of a London-based collage artist, students from the Avon Maitland District School Board have raised $15,000 since late last year to help people in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. The key element of the fundraising cam- paign was an exhibition in December of 50 limited -edition prints at a gallery in Stratford. The artwork — chosen from about 300 submissions — was created by Avon Maitland secondary school students after vis- its to the schools by collage -maker Hendrikus Bervoets. Bervoets first began putting his talents towards AIDS fundraising a few years ago by inviting 25 fellow artists from around the world to donate prints. That initial cam- paign received a great boost when the London District Catholic School Board bought eight prints: one for each of its sec- ondary schools. Ever since, the London artist has made himself available as an instructor to various school boards, in return for hav- ing the students participate in the AIDS pro- ject. "We saw with the tsunami (in South Asia in December) that the world got together and raised a phenomenal amount of money," Bervoets told Avon Maitland trustees at a board meeting Jan. 25. "Every day, 14,000 people die of AIDS. Millions of children are affected, predominantly in Africa." The Avon Maitland students prints sell for $25 apiece, or $70 framed. According to Bervoets, the fundraising portion of his work is donated, although he does get paid for providing artistic instruction. And 97 per cent of funds raised go directly to African AIDS relief. Education director Geoff Williams praised Bervoets' work in the Avon Maitland schools, and the effect the project had on students. The collage project "had an excellent cur- riculum base," Williams explained. "It taught the kids real things about real art .. . and it gives us a chance to take our citizen- ship goal and have kids act not just as local citizens but as global citizens." With 50 numbered prints made from each collage — many, but not all of which have a distinctly African flavour — there is still lots of opportunity to contribute to the campaign by purchasing some artwork. For informa- tion, contact the Foundation For Enriching Education Perth Huron at 527-0111; 1-800- 592-5437, ext. 231; or lynda_mcgregor@fcmail.amdsb.ca . South Huron council undecided on water rates Continued from front page reported, the Municipality of Bluewater has decided to partner in on the pro- ject to have the new pipeline serve Hensall. Numbers provided by South Huron chief admin- istrative officer Larry Brown estimated South Huron will save $400,000 with Hensall joining. If Seaforth joins the project, South Huron's costs would drop to $8.45 million, although that project would cost Huron East Hensall plan almost ready Continued from front page mad...we're not fighting with anyone," said Wise. "We just don't think amal- gamation is good for us." With Hensall having just voted on a pipeline system to supply water to the vil- lage, Wise said it was another reason to leave Bluewater. "How can we lose out by leaving? If the cost burden is ours, we may as well do it for our own benefit." Wise said with Bluewater Mayor Bill Dowson on record as saying he would- n't stand in the way of Hensall leaving, she was hoping for nothing nega- tive from council. She added Dowson had come to every meeting and function Hensall had had, and "he is trying his utmost." But Wise said "it comes down to bigger isn't bet- ter...we have no identity. We're part of a conglomer- ate." $14.26 million Grant money is also being sought for the pro- ject. Other council notes: 'No' to UTRCA Council will instruct its board member to vote against the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority's 2005 budget. As reported two weeks ago, the UTRCA is asking South Huron to pay $3,357 in general levy charges, up 6.3 per cent from 2004 charges. While the dollar figure is much lower than what South Huron pays the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority in its general levy ($95,139 this year for South Huron), the municipality was con- cerned about the percent- age increase. In the past, South Huron has been tough with the ABCA in an attempt to keep yearly increases close to the inflation rate. The ABCA's increase for South Huron in 2005, for example, is 1.9 per cent. Over the past four years, the UTRCA's average annual general levy increase has been 8.08 per cent, compared with the ABCA's 5.73 per cent average. Coun. Ken Oke said South Huron can't accept the UTRCA's 2005 budget because the increase is nearly double the inflation rate. Sewage study South Huron will pay $29,943 to have its portion of Dashwood included in the Grand Bend Sewage Service Area Master Plan study. Dillon Consulting has been hired by Lambton Shores to pre- pare a plan for the long- term development of the Grand Bend Sewage Treatment Facility. The original study included lands in Lambton Shores along Highway 21 from "the cut" to Huron Road 83 and lands in South Huron along Huron Road 81 to Huron Road 10. South Huron's involve- ment regarding Dashwood is dependent on the approval of Bluewater, which would have to pay $48,229. South Huron and Bluewater share Dashwood. Villa gets a break After a request from the Exeter Villa, the munici- pality gave the nursing home a $1,700 break on charges the Villa faced after multiple false alarms in 2004. As reported Jan. 26, the Exeter fire station was called to eight false alarms at the Villa last year. As per municipal policy, the first false alarm is free; after that, the property owner faces charges for each additional false alarm to cover expenses. The Villa's bill was $3,707.50. Dennis Rowe of the Villa appeared before council Monday night requesting the municipality reduce the bill in light of the Villa's many attempts to fix its alarm problems. After the first false alarm, Rowe said there was no indication from the build- ing's alarm panel what the problem was. A couple of days later, three false alarms occurred over a weekend, after which a technician inspected the Villa's alarm system and couldn't find anything wrong. Several other attempts were made to fix the prob- lem, but false alarms kept occurring. In addition to the $3,707.50 bill from the municipality, the Villa received bills of $2,500 from companies attempt- ing to fix the problem. When asking for lenien- cy, Rowe noted the Villa's owners pay a lot of taxes and have always co-oper- ated with the municipality. South Huron fire chief John Morgan agreed the Villa tried its best to fix its problem. He said after the few first false alarms, an agreement was made that the alarm company wouldn't call the fire department immediately, but would first call the Villa to see if the alarm was legitimate. Morgan said this wasn't done and the fire department was called, something that wasn't the Villa's fault. Council eventually G.I.C.'s 3:0% for Gaiser ""er � KnIns.keale EXETER - 235-2420 GRAND BEND - 238-8484 CLINTON - 482-3401 agreed to lower the Villa's bill to $2,000. Morley said the Villa had been doing everything it could and the municipali- ty's bylaw is for those who don't do anything about their false alarm prob- lems. He joked, "It appears it's cheaper to have a fire, then it's free." Business Directory 1 REPAIRS Sewing Machine REPAIRS to all makes Free estimates 90 Day Warranty Experienced since 1952 Sew and Save Centre Ltd. 149 Downie St., Stratford Phone 271-9660 SERVICES OFFICE ASSISTANT & BOOKKEEPING SERVICES Services ranging from setting up a bookkeeping system to temporary office assistance. GIVE WENDY A CALL AT (519) 482-9789. 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