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The Huron Expositor, 1988-08-17, Page 2L Huron F .xposito SINCE 1860, SERVING TUE COMMUNIT FIRST Incorporating The Brussels Post Published In Seaforth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning • The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Arroes, Neil Corbett, Terri -Lynn ®ale, Dianne McGrath and Dob McMillan. ED RYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription Rates; Canada '20.00 a year,' in advance Senior Citizens - 97.00 a year in advance Outside Canada '60.00 a year, In advance Single Copies - .50 cents each Second class moil registration Number 0696 HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 17, 1988 Grieving for family and to The Town of Seaforth was hit hard this week. Not only did it learn that Totn SWEATSOCKS Lemon would be leaving his job as Mainstreet Coordinator to pursue a job as regional coordinator of the Mainstreet by Heather Mcllwraith Program for Heritage Canada, but it lost one of its most respected town leaders. • Andrew Y. McLean, all knowing, ever resourceful, centre of the community died Sunday, August 14 at Victoria Hospital in London. Like everyone else, I suppose, L never expected him to die. He always seemed so solid, so dependable - a rock. But he has died, and he leaves behind him a legacy that for all of us, will be hard to follow. 1 Five only been in Seaforth for four years, but during that time, as Editor of The Huron Expositor, I have found it necessary more than once to call on A.Y. for assistance. His knowledge of the com- munity, the county, politics and the newspaper business in general, and his willingness to share that knowledge, has in the years been a godsend to me. Each day Editoria0 and Business Offices - 9O Mein Street, Seaforth Telephone (319) 327-0240 MaiOing Address - P.O. 90:'69. Seaforth, Ontario, N0K IWO was made a little easier knowing that I had the wisdom and friendship of A.Y. McLean to guide me. Today, I grieve for his family, and offer them my condolences in their loss of a lov- ed one. But 1 grieve for the Town of Seaforth as well. For A.Y. McLean was more than a father to his children, he was a father to the whole town. He gave everything to Seaforth - his heart, body and soul - all in an effort to make it the best it could be, Like a father he motivated the town with his ideas and his enthusiasm. And he work- ed long, hard ,hours in an effort to make those ideas, and others, become realities. Realities that benefittecl the community as a whole. I don't pretend to have, done proper justice to A.Y. McLean in this column. He is worthy of much, much more than I can offer here. He is perhaps, the one man, the only man, who can be truly - irreplacable. And I, for one, realize that. • n, Yes,' A.Y. McLean will be sorely missed - by his family, his friends and anyone who ever heard his name. Perhaps Seaforth Public Utilities Com- mission Manager Tom Phillips said it best when he said, "He was the pillar of our community. You talk about spokes on a wheel, A.Y. was the whole damn wheel." Waste of time, U Loney If you ever want a common concensus on home decorating - don t go to Seaforth Town Council. Council deliberated for about 45 minutes last Tues- day, on what kind of window dressings should be purchased for the Town Council Chambers. Considering the fact the same issue had been discussed at one council and three committee meetings prior to this more recent meeting of council, last Tuesday's deliberation seemed ridiculous. Ridiculous because it pro- bably would have cost less to hire an interior decorator and leave the deci- sion making entirely in his?her hands, then to pay $45 per person per com- mittee meeting and a further $75 per person for the council meeting. And, it probably would have eliminated some rather hostile arguments last Tuesday. It was like an armed camp in council chambers. Certainly the new blue hue of that recently renovated room, did nothing to calm the angry decorators. Even more ridiculous perhaps was the fact that this decorating problem dominated the meeting - a meeting which certainly revealed more impac- ting problems. The resignation of Mainstreet Coordinator Tom Lemon, for instance, received little more than an acknowledgement. And the proposed increase in the taxes and metered water rate (needed to offset the cost of improvements to the sanitary sewer system), passed without a question. One member of council even remarked jokingly that anything could have passed through council last Tuesday night, so absorbed were the coun- cillors in their redecorating. Admittedly the council chamber, with its new paint and wallpaper, is much improved. But, great looks play a small role in the daily operations of the town. If time is to be wasted, surely it could be done on issues that will have a more direct impact on Town of Seaforth taxpayers. Not everyone looks at life in a cosmetic sense. -H.M. Exercise community spirit It's difficult as yet to gauge what people's reactions will be when they learn Seaforth's Mainstreet Coordinator Tom Lemon has resigned his posi- tion with the town. After all the program has not exactly been welcomed with open arms. A good portion itf the populace has been against the pro- ject from day one. Admittedly some of the initial animosity has lessened. Today, nearly two years after the Mainstreet Canada program was implemented in Seaforth, some of the doubts as to its merits, are disappearing. Although slow to start, because of the myriad of background research that had to be done, the Mainstreet Canada program is. starting to show results. Anyone who has -their eyes wide open, can feel the improved sense of community, the improved sense of pride residents have in Seaforth. That communal wellbeing can be directly tied to the Mainstreet Canada program. Unfortunately the resignation of Mainstreet Coordinator Tom Lemon comes at a bad time, just as Seaforth enters its third and final year of the Mainstreet program. It is to be expected that said resignation will be viewed as an abandonment of the town. Understandably some negative feelings will emerge. Hopefully though, we won't let those feelings negate what could happen in Seaforth in the next year. Seaforth has come a long way since the days before the Mainstreet Canada program came to town. And, it could go a lot further. There are a whole slate of improvements set for 1989 -visual improvements, and with or without Tom Lemon the town would do well to see them through. There's no need for anyone to harbor hostile feelings. The Mainstreet Program, through Tom Lemon, has brought the Town of Seaforth further than it would ever have gone on its own. With that in mind, Seaforth residents would do well to support his successor, and exercise that com- munity spirit and pride, that he revived these past two years. H.M. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Railway lines should be protected Dear Editor, I am concerned about the sudden rush to abandon railway lines across the country and especially in Ontario. I see railways as an alternative to the ever increasing pro- liferation of separate fossil fuel burning highway vehicles. It may well prove necessary and beneficial to make greater use of the fundamentally more energy effi- cient and environmentally less damaging rail network, as an alternative. The in- terests of the nation must lie in: conserving energy supplies, • reducing pollution (e.g. carbon dioxide, lead and asbestos), * slowing down the onset of the greenhouse effect which is heating the planet, and which is caused by burning fossil fuels, o increasing highway safety, by reducing the mix of heavy trucks with smaller automobiles, * reducing the costs to taxpayers of an ever heavier duty highway system, * maximizing opportunities for regional development (e.g. rail access for industrial parks, commuter and tourist trains). I feel that it is essential to develop a mechanism to assist, lean, motivated, 0 Mak ailc aux regional entrepreneurs, who would be will- ing to grow with the communities they serve in the reactivation of rail lines, which the large centralized companies wish to abandon. I recommend that interested citizens write to: or send a clipping of this letter to: The Honourable Benoit Bouchard Minister of Transport Ottawa, Canada, K1A ON5 — no postage required, and Mr. Michael Far- quhar Director General Rail Policy Transport Canada Place de Ville Ottawa, Ontario KIA ON5. Ask them to protect Canada's remaining railway lines for the reasons listed (and please add any other reasons). Ask them also to reverse recent decisions to abandon rail lines, and to deny all current and future applications to abandon rail lines, until it is possible to produce new Canada wide transportation/energy policies, which take the environmental impact of various transportation modes into serious account. Sincerely and respectfully submitted Ross Snetsinger Copies to your M.P. and M.P.P. would also help. Reporteron holidays at la Holidays. At last. Even as I sit to write this column the clock is fast approaching five o'clock on my last day of work before two weeks of ir- responsible, sleep -in -every -day bliss. At least that's what I'm hoping for, but I may have taken on a little too much to squeeze into what is supposed to be a relaxing holiday. I've been in Ontario for over a year now, but I haven't had the op- portunity to get out and see the sights or the family I have out here. So this holiday, instead of spending a mint to go out and visit with friends and family back in B.C., I'm playing tourist in Ontario. My first stop will be in Arthur, Ontario, where I'll visit with an uncle and his fami- ly whom I met for the first time about six years ago, and who also run a parachute school. I don't know what possesses people to make them want to jump out of planes, but maybe I'll find out. (It would probably make a story, but I'm on vacation). I've only been in plane once. I told a pilot I was interviewing that I'd never flown, MY TWO BITS by Neil Corbett and, before I knew it I was sitting in a little two seater. Unfortunately the battery was dead and the plane never left the ground. But if my uncle is taking anyone up to drop them, and there's room in the plane, I'll see if I can't hitch a ride: Then there's a four day trip with friends to Toronto, a city I've driven through a few times but never really seen. Downtown Toronto, Canada's Wonderland, and Marineland, are all part of this trip, and we'll hit Niagara falls on the way back, One of the wonders of the world is in my back yard so I better go and see it. Then it's off to Ottawa for an exposition and to meet an aunt who again I met for the first time several years ago and then I only talked to her for a short time. It's a long way to B.C. Then there's the Corbett side of the fami- ly. Half of the people I meet out here, upon hearing my last name, ask if I'm related to one of the Corbetts in the area. I always have to answer that I honestly don't know. Coming from a big family that is spread all over the country there are a lot of relatives I've never met and likely never will. But I'm going to get ahold of a family tree and see if any of the Huron Corbetts are relatives of mine. Or I could just assume so and see if there's a few free meals in it. This should make for an interesting vacation, but I hope all this isn't going to keep me too busy. I've been look forward to this time off as a chance to catch up on being a lazy burn. Problems with sewage plague Seaforth AUGUST 17, 1888 The fishing party that went up to Lake Superior a couple of weeks ago has broken up. Messrs. R.L. Sharp, Alex Slemmon, T.W. Duncan and S. Lounsbury returned home Tuesday morning. Mr. Counter re- mained at Port Arthur and Messrs. Graham, Coleman, Govenlock and McFarlane went to Winnipeg. There was considerable satisfaction ex- pressed in town on Friday evening last on its becoming known that the Beaver lacrosse club, of this town, had defeated the Bright club, in a match on the grounds of the latter, by two games to one. It was a hard tussle, but the Seaforth boys got there as usual. Farmers throughout the county are com- plaining of the depredations of sparrows. They are getting to be a nuisance and some means will have to be taken to get rid of them. As a gentleman was driving through Blyth the other day he was struck full in the forehead by a stone thrown with a catapult by a promising youth of that burg who was apparently trying to emulate David. The Echo baseball club, of Brussels, are sighing for more worlds to conquer. They have licked everything that has come their way, so far, out of shape and are thinking of playing Toronto or Syracuse just to see what it feels like to be beaten. The voter's list of the township of Hullett for the year 1 contains a total of 1399 voters, of these 927 are qualified to vote at both municipal elections and elections to the Legislative Assembly, 46 at municipal elec- tions only, and 27 only at elections to the Legislative Assembly. AUGUST 22, 1913 The first new fall wheat delivered at Pryne's Mills in Brussels weighed 61 pounds to the bushel. The Health department is urging on the council a better sewerage system for the town than we now have and sent tjteir engineer here to look over the ground. He IN THE YEARS AGONE from the Archives adviseu rust we council engage a competent engineer to make a thorough survey of the town and prepare an estimate of the cost of a complete up to date sewerage and water system covering the whole town. But nothing definite was done and the matter has not as yet engaged the attention of the council as a body. Such a system as that recommended would be very nice, but we are afraid it would cost a mint of money, and where the money is to come from we do not know, and we doubt much if any person can furnish much light on that subject. We would respectfully remind our worthy Chief of Police, or whosever's business it is to attend to such matters, that Main Street is not a fitting place on which to have boys playing football, and that the sidewalks were not made for the use of bicyclists. We might also inform the chairman of the board of works that there are several prominent corners on our streets, notably at the corner of Main and Goderich Streets, wh; made unsightly by a rank growth or ^r A day's work of a good ma wot 1 great improvement in this respec AUGUST 19, 1938 Mr. and Mrs. Conrad O. Eckert observe() their golden wedding anniversary very quietly on Saturday, August 13. Saturday morning the members of the family assisted at an anniversary High Mass of Thanksgiv- ing, elebrated by Reverend T. P. Hussey with . Frank Devereaux as organist. A definite step in the search for oil in Huron was taken Saturday when a contract was signed for the drilling of a well on the farm of Joseph and John Mann, Lot 16, Con- cession 4, Hullett township. Because of a lack of knowledge on the part of the Federal Government scores of tons of Dutch Sett onions representing some $8,000 in seed and labour value, lie rotting in bushes around here. In one case a well 25 feet deep has been filled with last year's crop and left to decay. The home market has been flooded with over 100 tons of Dutch Sett onions, the surplus crop from the U.S. onion districts. AUGUST 22, 1963 Tentative agreement was reached bet- ween the Ontario Water Resources Commis- rsion and the Seaforth Town Council whereby the operation and maintenance of the sanitary sewer will be under the wing of the commission. Decision was taken a' a special meeting Thursday night whe- 't council met B.C. Palmer, director r plant opera tions branch of the OWRC. The agreement is as ,. •rted to last for a year. - nears the manager of the Province t avings Office here, Joseph Miles in ed in Scott Memorial Hospital Wednesday afternoon. re broke ouf noon Wednesday in the up- per storey of the Krauskopf Welding and Machine Shop in Dublin, causing slight damage according to J.P. Krauskopf, proprietor. As sewer contractors this week cleaned up final contract details on the project which has been under way since last November, other contractors moved in to begin the road rebuilding program scheduled for Goderich and North Main Streets.