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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-12-14, Page 1diVid l\�J JOHN DEERE (519)235-1115 www.hurontractor.com 1E1 I W HURON TRACTOR Exeter Exeter, Ontario, Canada Wednesday, December I4, 2005 x.25 (includes GST) Morley takes over as warden By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — South Huron Mayor Rob Morley was elected as Huron County warden Dec. 6 in an uncontested vote by Huron County councillors. Morley said one of the things he would like to look at in his term is municipali- ties sharing ser- vices such as build- ing inspectors. "There is such a shortage of them and the wages have gone skyrocketing because everyone is trying to outbid the other guy to get one." Morley said sever- al municipalities have been meeting to discuss sharing building inspectors. He added fuel costs are another item that could be shared. "Why aren't we bidding all our fuel in the county as one big contract? "If we're going to keep this thing under control, we're going to have to start bulk buy - mg„ While trying to control tax increas- es Morley said fewer services aren't an option. "We get beat up every time service slips a bit, so that doesn't seem to be the option. People aren't calling and thanking you for not picking up their garbage." Another issue Morley said the county will look at is the amount of social housing in the area. "We're going to do a study in the county as to see where we should relocate some of it." Morley said many people on social services don't have vehicles and are moving to places like Exeter and Goderich where they can access ser- vices more easily, There are long waiting lists in these communities, said Morley, but other smaller areas have vacancies. According to Morley, provincial regulations don't allow social hous- South Huron Mayor Rob Morley, with wife Ann, was elected Huron County warden Dec. 6. (photo/Pat Bolen) ing to be shut down, only relocat- ed. He said there are groups that may be willing to partner with the municipality and the province has made money avail- able for the pro- gram. "It's not some- thing we'll fix in '06 but we have to get started." Regarding future ambitions, Morley said being warden and mayor is as much as he wants on his plate . "There are enough issues that come up on a day to day basis that you don't want to have too many goals or you end up getting nothing done." New chairperson for Catholic board By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE T -A DUBLIN — Long-time trustee Vince McInnes, who represents Huron East, Perth East and North Perth, will serve as chairperson of the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board for 2005-06. McInnes, of R.R. 2 Wingham, accepted the position at the board's 2005 inaugural meeting Monday, Dec. 5. Fellow veteran trustee Ron Marcy of Stratford declined to have his name stand for the post, so McInnes was acclaimed. He replaces Perth South represen- tative Bernard Murray, the outgoing chair. Known for his critical eye when it comes to financial matters, McInnes has served several terms as chair person of the board's management committee. In his 24 years with the board, the retired farmer and furniture refm- isher has also been chairperson a few times, but not since the early 1990s. More recently, he has missed numerous meetings due to health See Catholic page 2 U.S. decorates local veteran By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF HENSALL — Sixty years after his service with a mixed Canadian -American infantry unit that was called 'the Devils Brigade' by German soldiers, a Hensall area veteran has been recognized by the American government. John McCallister was a soldier of the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion with the First Special Service Force (FSSF) that fought in Italy and France during the Second World War and was made up of 2,200 Canadians and Americans. McCallister said earlier this year American President George W. Bush announced Canadians were entitled to the Combat Infantry Badge given to American members of the unit. "He made a good statement,"said McCallister, who first saw it in the Legion magazine in August. McCallister said he doesn't know why it was decided now to award the decoration. "After 60 years, you don't worry about it much...I'm surprised they gave it to us after so long." It was July 1940 that an underage McCallister, who was only 17, lied about his age to join the Elgin regiment in London, but after doing his basic train- ing, the regiment was converted to an armoured unit. Not wanting to serve in tanks, McCallister trans- ferred to the Toronto Irish and was sent overseas with them before volunteering for the Special Service Force. "It was a tough outfit to get into...you had to be a man," said McCallister, who added the training was even tougher with five -mile cross-country runs with 50 pound packs that felt like 200 when they were done. The FSSF was a commando unit that operated in small groups of eight to 10 men doing reconnais- sance work as well as blowing up special targets such as bridges and ammunition and fuel storage areas. The term `Devils Brigade' was given to the unit by the Germans according to McCallister, because it always attacked from an unexpected direction, never doing what the enemy figured they would. As a member of the FSSF, McCallister fought his way up through Italy and took part hi the invasion of southern France. Trained in explosives, one job McCallister was assigned was to crawl alone through enemy lines in the middle of the night to remove explosives the Germans had placed in a house. 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