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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-06-08, Page 13Wednesday,June 8, 2005 Exeter Times -Advocate 13 Squirrels damaging cars South Huron trade fair By Scott Nixon TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF SOUTH HURON — It turns out not everybody is a fan of Exeter's famous squirrels. South Huron council dis- cussed a letter Monday night from Jean Bennett of Saint Elizabeth Health Care of Clinton, informing council of damage squir- rels have done to Saint Elizabeth employees' cars on Carling Street. Bennett's letter indicated that on May 15, one of Saint Elizabeth's staffers had to have her car towed after the car's wires had been chewed by squirrels, who also started building a nest in the car. Since then, two other staffers have experienced damage to their cars from squirrels. Bennett said she has spoken to neigh- bours in the area, who said they hadn't had any problems, but she has since heard other vehicles have been dam- aged. She urged the municipality to do some- thing about "this very serious problem." After discussing the issue Monday night, council decided to take no action since, as Coun. Jim Dietrich said, if council starts trying to control squirrels, they'll also have to contend with other animals such as raccoons and skunks. Dietrich and councillors Ken Oke and Pete Armstrong spoke out against taking any action against the squirrels, such as trapping them. Coun. George Robertson, though, won- dered if council does have a responsibili- ty to do something about the problem, since it controls dogs. Dietrich and councillors Ken Oke and Pete Armstrong spoke out against taking any action against the squirrels, such as trapping them. Watermains, park security and new staffers By Stephanie Mandziuk TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN — Residents living east of Clandeboye are hoping Lucan Biddulph council will extend an existing water - main to their neighbourhood on St. James Drive. Jeff Nevin made the pitch to council Monday night. Nevin says there are 17 households in the area and nine home- owners have confirmed they would like to tap into the local water supply. Mayor Tom McLaughlin told Nevin, "Our course of action is to see what the costs would be and what alternatives are available. There may be some fed- eral and provicial grant money. This may take some time and you'll likely hear back from us in the fall." • Vandalism at Market Square Lion's Park is a concern after a window was broken at the Lucan Scout/Guide Hall. The township will be forwarding letters to residents in the Beech and Market Street areas, asking them to keep an eye on activity in the park. They'll be reminded that anonymous calls to police can be made to report vandalism. • There are two new faces in the town- ship office. Natalie Lingier is Lucan Biddulph's new property tax/accounting clerk while Lisa deBoer takes on the role of Ron Reymer's executive assistant. Cross-border billing solution closer By Pauline Kerr SPECIAL TO THE T -A GODERICH — What may seem to be a step backward on the part of Huron County councillors is actually the opposite, an acknowledgement that a solution is close at hand. During the June 2 meet- ing of county council, a resolution was passed to extend the deadline for legal action on money owed to Huron through cross-border billing for ambulance calls. The deadline had been June 30. The date has now been extended to Sept. 30. Chief administrative officer Larry Adams said it appears negotiations are almost finished, and CAOs (of western Ontario counties) would prefer to see "all issues dealt with internally." Huron's treasurer, David Carey, concurred, saying, "Let's have a 'made in southwestern Ontario' solution instead of one imposed by the courts." Carey said meetings are being held with the war- dens and CAOs of Bruce and Middlesex counties, and the Western Ontario Wardens Association. But while things are moving along well, he said, "We won't reach the June 30 deadline." Warden Doug Layton, reeve of North Huron, said while the county had "drawn the line in the sand," it would be benefi- cial to delay at this point. County Coun. Bernie MacLellan of Huron East noted the "line in the sand" had served its pur- pose to get the ball rolling. Among the difficulties still being sorted out are varying rates for ambu- lance calls in different counties, and the fact that the data provided by the province is not completely accurate. Carey estimated the accuracy at about 80 per cent, meaning every call has to be checked. He noted that with GPS now in every ambulance in the county, tracking is easier than it was when the county took over the responsibility for ambu- lance service from the province in 2001. "Nothing was in place," he said. In a later interview, Carey explained that when ambulance service was downloaded to the counties, Huron was told the move should bring about $700,000 annually to the county through ser- vices provided outside the county. It turned out to be more like $300,000- $400,000 annually, an amount that has been falling each year as coun- ties adjust to the new sys- tem, for example, by con- structing new ambulance stations as was the case with Middlesex. The majority of the cross-bor- der billing involves Bruce, Middlesex and Perth. Carey estimates the total amount owed to Huron at between $600,000 and $700,000 over three years, 2001, 2002 and 2003. At the South Huron Adult Trade Fair held at the Rec Centre last week, the South Huron Chamber of Commerce was represented by Linda Finkbeiner and presi- dent Kelly Maidens. (Below) On hand to provide information on emergency ser- vices were Huron County paramedic Phil Oliver, County Emergency Management Coordinator GaryWood and South Huron fire Chief John Morgan. (photos/Pat Bolen) GOING OUT Of BUSINESS eTnntwinr er" A", Clothing • Fixtures • Decorations Cvergthing cAust5o! Schaefer's - St. Mary's will be CLOSED Monday, June 6th through Wednesday, lune 8th to complete Markdowns for this Closeout! Thurs., lune 9th...10 am Fri., June 10th...10 am Sat., June 11th...10 am _ 7pm 7pm 6 pm STORE CLOSING! This closeout is applicable only to the St. Marys - Schaefer's Only. This DOES NOT have any effect on Schaefer's Ladies Wear Ltd. in Goderich. 151 Queen Street, erS St.Marys LADIES WEAR