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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1988-04-13, Page 1Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, Brussels, Dublin, llensall and Walton INDEX Obituaries - B4 Births - B4 Walton - A5 Hensel) - B6 Dublin - B8 Sports - Al2,13, 17 Seaforth girl wins top sports awards. See page A13. Huronp x' sitor Seaforth, Ontario HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 1988 50 cents a copy Possible relocation of communications system studied CLINTON - At an April 7 meeting, the four remaining towns using the Goderich Police Communication System struck an agreement. A portion of that agreement called for a study to be conducted on the feasibility of relocating the dispatchers' headquarters. Representatives from the towns of Clin- ton, Goderich, Seaforth and Exeter, as well as three representatives from the On- tario Police Commission (OPC), spent four hours listening to suggestions, pro- posals and debating what they would like to see in the communication system agreement. The final result was two part: they agreed to accept a proposal drawn up by the five mayors, with' some amendments, with a report back on the cost of services as well as an examination of relocating the system; and secondly, that the mayors' agreement be adopted for 1988 only "and that a steering committee composed of one representative from each police commit- tee and commission, and the OPC as an outside advisory body, investigate and report on implications of relocating the AND AS I DIP MY PADDLE... The sun shone brightly for the Seaforth Optimist Club's 17th Annual Canoe Race, held Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. Sixty-two people took part, in 30 canoes and two kayaks. They covered an approximate 10 mile course which began at the Egmondville bridge and finished in Vanastra. The fastest time was recorded by kayaker Bill Schmitz of Michigan, who finished in 1 hour 46 minutes. For more photos of this event, see page B1. Mcllwraith photo. Canoeists hampered by low water It was a beautiful day for a walk in the park - or a paddle up river. Some 32 boaters took advantage of the weather Sunday to participate in the Optimist Club's 17th Annual Canoe Race. Thirty canoes, each carrying two pad- dlers, and two kayaks made their way up the Bayfield River, covering a 10 mile route that started at the Egmondville Bridge and ended at the Vanastra Bridge. They represented eight classes of competition. Although participation in previous years has been slightly higher, event organizers were pleased with the turnout Sunday, given the low water level - and the fact there was a canoe Poker Rally being held in Varna at the same time. "If we had known the date of the poker rally, or they had known ours, we might have been able to arrange things better. But...we couldn't have asked for a nicer day," commented Gord Phillips. "We were a bit disappointed with the water level though." He wasn't the only one disappointed by the water level. Bill Schmitz and Les Dickins, the two entries in the kayak class, found themselves dumping their kayaks at rather frequent intervals, and when they actuauy urusnea the race uiscovered significant - possibly even irreparable, damage to the bottom of their crafts. "It turned out to be quite a costly race," said Mr. Schmitz, who motored from Michigan for the event. Rick Kloss who partnered with Andy Martin and won the men's racing class, said he found the water level the lowest it has ever been on race day. There were points along the route, he said, where they had no choice but to get out and walk their canoe. Despite that Kloss and Martin were the first ones to complete the course. They finished in a time of one hour, 47 minutes to win the men's racing class. Because of the staggered starts Schmitz, riding kayak, came in behind the duo, but with a slightly better time. He finished the race in one hour, 46 minutes. Dickins, the second kayaker was the third one to finish the race. Total results of the race are as follows: MEN'S RACING 1. Andy Martin, Rick Kloss - 1 hr. 47 min. 2. Sid Strange, Steve Green. FAMILY 1. Paul and Neil Dockstader - 2 hr. 10 min. 2. Ian and Scott Craig 3. Ken and Rebecca Fowler JUNIOR RACING 1. Michael Holmes, Barb Hawkins -1 hr. 58 min. 2. Kyle Mooney, Mike Lewis 3. Mille Walsh, J. Boily KAYAK 1. Bill Schmitz - 1 hr. 46 min. 2. Les Dickins SERVICE CLUBS 1. Optimists Dave Whyte, Gerrard Ryan - 3 hr. 5 min. 2. Bob Dinsmore, Rick Dale NEED CRUISING 1. Dave Vantyghem, Angela Stoll - 2 hr. 45 min. 2. Yvonne Soulliere, Shirley Grondien 3. Val and Randy Poisson MIXED RACING 1. Dick Kloss, Kelly Rothwell - 2 hr. 5 min. MEN'S AMATURE 1. Urbe Buwalde, Gary Hawkins - 2 hr. 9 min. 2. Ted Cowan, Sonny Dickens 3. Honk VanDieten, Tony Piement Doug McGregor of Kippen was the win- ner of the draw for a canoe. Hank Van Dieters of RR 3 Brussels picked up a $25 se- cond prize and Ross MacDonald off RR 1 Varna took $15 for third. r communication system." SUGGESTIONS Although both parts of the agreement were agreed upon unanimously, the municipalities previously reached a tie on a different proposal. On the first ballot was a suggestion made by Exeter concerning strictly pur- chasing a service from the governing authority, and the mayors' proposal. Clinton's Police Committee Chairman, John Cochrane, voted for the purchase of service. " "Clinton feels that the sole purpose of this agreement is protecting the backs of the guys out there (on the street). The con- trol is in the hands of the governing authority, therefore we go with the pur- chase of service," he said. Exeter also voted for the purchase of service, but only after strongly pursuing the question of who has final authority when there is a disagreement. Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw asked if it was possible to include in the mayors' pro- posal that the advisory committee has authority concerning the communication aspects of the budget. Stan Raike, of the OPC, said the advisory committee could make recommendations, "but they can't be binding". The Town of Goderich voted for the mayors' proposal with modification of the termination clause. Seaforth also voted for the mayors' proposal. In order to break the tie, each municipality met separately after which two more proposals were brought forward. The first was made by Seaforth, stating, that the mayors' proposal, with amend- ments, be adopted as well as a report on the cost of services be made and a report on how much "teeth" the advisory com- mittee can have. The other new proposal was made by Turn to page 17 • Waste management crucial Master Plan study to begin By BILL HENRY A two-year, $270,000 study of possible waste management strategies for Huron County could be underway by June. The study will look at a variety of disposal technologies, as well as survey in detail what waste is generated in the county, where it comes from, where it goes and who looks after getting rid of it. The research will result in a Huron County Waste Management Master Plan which sets a prefered direction for dealing with the county's garbage in the future but tops - short of detailed hydrological information of any proposed fill sites. Nor does the project include land acquisi- tion for a dump. "I hope that we all understand that when we go into this master plan study we're not going to end up with a landfill site," county engineer Dennis Merrell told Huron County Council at its monthly meeting Thursday. But should the county or any of its municipalities eventually need such a site, Merral said the study would be essential to justify the need. "We'd never get through an environmen- tal hearing without this," he said. Council also heard that the study allows for repeated public participation as well as periodic county approvals as the plan unfolds. The fust of those approvals was given Thursday when coucil accepted the Waste Management Steering Committee's recom- mendation to hire the consulting firm of HCBE shelves Gore and Storrie to do the study for $227,328.00, and also to hire a public par- ticipation co-ordinator, bringing the total cost to about $270,000 over two years. Some councillors objected to hiring the co- ordinator, saying it was a cost they weren't expecting, and asking if existing county of- ficials could do the job: Merrell said hiring the local participation co-ordinator would actually reduce the overall cost. He would be contracted to the county and would be doing much of the in- itial research which the consulting firm would otherwise charge for.... He also -said the position, which would be too time consuming to be handled by ex- isting county staff, qualifies for 50 per cent provincial government funding if the county hires a co-ordinator, but not if the consultant does the work. The first "data collection" phase of the study is expected to begin in June and last until November, Merrell told council. This phase includes public meetings to learn what garbage is created in the county, how much there is of it, where it comes from and where it goes. This includes an assess- ment of existing landfill sites to determine what capacity they may still have and decide if any should be closed or expanded. Phase one will also study such disposal means as incineration, landfill and others in light of such local criteria as safety, public acceptance, affect on agriculture or other land uses, as well as looking at the question of cost. Turn to page 6A - Radwanski report At the April meeting of the Huron County Board of Education the Board dealt with the controversial "Ontario Study of Relevance of Education and the Issue of Dropouts" popularly known as the Radwanski Report. The Ministry of Education has invited written comment on the report, but the Board agreed to take no action and chose not to be part of the written response. Bob Allan, Director of Education for the HCBE, says most of the Board members felt they were just one response of thousands to what is "only a report." He said the Board's position for now is to act only upon actual actions taken by the Ministry of Education, and furthermore added he didn't think any such actions based on the report would be taking place as the government seems to have distanced itself from Mr. Radwanski's report. Those employed by the Board will still be able to publicly express their opinions on an individual basis, and in fact two individuals did speak out against the report at the April Board meeting. Bruce Shaw, principal of South Huron District High School, offered a rebuttal of the report. Radwanski accuses schools of not having sufficient programmes and strategies for helping students with per- sonal as well as educational difficulties. Mr. Shaw presented the board with a list of 29 programmes offered at SHDHS for students in each of 10 special groups of learners: trainable retarded students, gifted students, learning disabled, slow learners, emotional- ly disturbed, troubled home environment, discipline ®attendance, recent drop -ants, adult education, and potential early leavers. One of the Board members asked Mr. Shaw if having all these extra programs didn't cut into the amount of time teachers can give students in academic matters. To this he answered "you're talking to an english teacher and that comes first." Mr. Shaw went on to say there was a lot of personal involvement between students and teachers at his school and it is done on the teacher's own time and doesn't affect academic studies negatively. Art Clark said his piece about Mr. Rad- wanski as well. "For just about everybody in education the first thing they see when they look at this report is red," he began, holding up the scarlet jacketted report. His personal reaction to the report was "Mr. Radwanski, if I had wanted your editorials I would have bought your newspapers when you were still an editor..." Mr. Clark went on to say nobody has real- ly determined the goals of the educational system yet, and even the Ministry's goals and objectives are too vague to tell educators where to go. He said even the goals of the Huron County Board of Educa- tion -to educate each student to their max- imum potential- is an unrealistic goal. Radwanski assumes everyone has to get a diploma for the school system to be effec- tive, but Mr. Clark doesn't see that as necessarily being the cage. "Without someone sitting down and say- ing where we are going we are always going to have these (reports)." ANIS ADVISORY COMMITTEE A draft of recommendations from the AIDS advisory committee was received and studied by the education committee. It is an- ticipated a final draft of the recommenda- tions will be brought forward to the April meeting of the Education Committee with Turn to nage 9A ' Constable injured during duty The Seaforth Police Department was shorthanded again this week, due to the in- jury of Constable Charlie Akey. Seaforth Police Chief Hal Claus would not comment on the incident, except to say Con- stable Akey was "injured during the course of duty" but would be back to work Thurs- day. The incident which prompted his absence from work occurred Tuesday. In other police business Chief Claus noted an increase of traffic in town, particularly on the Main Street. Traffic was so heavy Friday afternoon Chief Claus was obliged to direct traffic, and a number of school buses, at the main intersection.