Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-07-18, Page 1Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, Brussels, Dublin, Mensal, and Walton INDEX Mins - 4A Coin - M Ciradusiss _5A Weddings - 7A Obiluades - 15A Be��uty ��nd history preserved in Sctorth e page 3A. Molson Indy driver makes a pit stop. See page 6A. Huron x osltor p Seaforth, Ontario HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 1990 60 cents a copy wanton giri Information gathering is first drowns in step for Huron County Study water trough An 18 -month-old McKillop Township girt lost her life this Friday, July 13 after falling in a water trough and drowning early in the evening. Tannic Gwen Smith, the daughter of Terry and Vera Smith, was playing with her sisters Kimberley Anne and Dana Mario while waiting for her grandfather, Mervyn Smith of Walton, to take them on a hay ride. From all indications, Tan- nis slipped on the trough and fell into the 21 and a half inches of water, drowning minutes before being found by her grandfather. The accident occurred sometime bet- ween 5:45 and 6 p.m. Efforts to revive the toddler with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation failed. A private family service was held for Tannis at the Whitney-Ribey Funeral Home, Seaforth on Monday afternoon. Storm does $10,000 plus in damages The Seaforth fuehall radio tower took a direct hit during last week's severe Sunday night storm, and a single bolt of lightning wreaked about $10,000 damage to the station's base and encoder. Fire chief George Garrick reports that two of Seaforth's firemen were at the hall last Sunday night when the tower was hit. "Everything just started smoking up," he says, and the base and encoder - used for the firemen's paging system - were basically toasted. Costs for a new base and encoder will run the fire department about $9,000, and installation fees should bring the replacement fee to ova $10,000. The damaged equipment was in- sured. "Everything is set up tem- porarily," adds Chief Garrick. Motorola was at the. station last week to set up a temporary paging and base system, and all is in working order. It will be ap- proximately six more weeks before the new equipment is installed at the firehall. County PC's are priming for election The Huron County Provincial Progressive Conservative Party is getting primed for an anticipated fall provincial election. The Conservatives will choose their candidate for the riding at a nomination meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 8. It will be held at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton at 8 p.m. Nominees can submit their names to the riding president, Ken Campbell of Seaforth, before an Aug. 6. 8 p.m. deadline. The Conservative party tests a deep* voting system to elect its candidlle. Three delegates from each peg in the county get to vote. as wet as the party executive and honorary delegates. Over the next two weeks meetings will he held in each of the munici .lities in Huron to select the three delegates from each of the town or township's polls. Over 300 delegates will vote in total. Anyone interested in becoming a delegate !should contact their Conservative municipal chairman. BY PAULA ELLIOTT A document outlining the proposed restructuring of Huron County municipal governments and services has been approved by County Council. Under the guidance of a steering committee composed of several county coun- cillors and elected officials, the initial research stages of the restruc- turing process have been taken in hand by the Huron County Planning Department. The Department is hosting a series of meetings with various department heads and administrators county -wide over the next couple of weeks in this, the first stage of what is being referred to as the Huron County Study. Jason Chu, a planner with the department, stres- ses that the study is in the infor- mation -gathering phase looking into "..the possibility of restructuring." Representatives from the planning department met with Road superin- tendents and Ministry of Transpor- tation officials on Tuesday, building inspectors on Wednesday and tourism and economic development officers on Thursday. Meetings slated until August 3 will hear comments from PUC officials, fire and police chiefs, OPP personnel, telephone company representatives, day care supervisors, Landfill Board members and recreation directors. Mr. Chu pointed out that these meetings will focus on information gathering, determining geographical scopes, job responsibilities and specific problems encountered in any areas. "The end product will be a series of overlays, identifying 'co- mmunities of interest', Mr. Chu explained to the group of three tourism and economic development officers who met at the Clinton Town Hall this past Thursday. "What we do with the overlay is see if there are any patterns from different service providers." In the second stage of the study, the compiled information will be presented at a series of public meetings. "There will be no extrapolation, just a presentation of results and a forum for discussion," said Mr. Chu. The Huron County Study third stage will take a closer look at interaction between municipal and county government levels. Staff from various County departments will be assisting the Study Commit- tee, and a liaison person from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs will be looking over all reports over the course of the study. The document for the study, or the Draft Terms of Reference, was circulated to the municipal governments earlier this spring. Gary Davidson, Planning Director with the Huron County Department, admitted that a number of the municipalities rejected the Terms of Reference for the study, indicating either that they felt the restructuring and not Provincial resources from study was unfavourable, or that the London or Toronto", as opposed to terms of reference should be► .similar restructuring studies being changed. Mr. Davidson noted that carried out in other counties such as the Terms of Reference were al- Bruce. tered, and that the study was con- tinuing despite municipal objec- tions. Jack McLachlan is the clerk of Tuckersmith Township, one of the Huron County municipalities which rejected the Terms of Reference for the study. He reported that the steering committee "..made minor, but not very substantial, changes" to the document before deciding to proceed. According to Ministry of Municipal Affairs guidelines, restructuring is being implemented in a number of counties in Ontario. The Ministry's intention is to streamline the government and municipal service processes by amalgamating smaller local government bodies serving populations of 5,000 or less. This process would see service overlap or elimination in many cases, and the dissolving of many municipal and township councils. The Huron County restructuring issue was raised last fall, and a deadline of summer 1990 was put on the process. However, Mr. Davidson indicated that County Council is aiming to have the study complete before their current term is up in November 1991. "Huron's tradition is public invol- vement," Mr. Davidson assured, adding that the county would "..do it right" "If public involvement means longer, so be it." Jason Chu also stressed the public and municipal involvement at Thursday's meeting, noting that "this is a 'made in Huron County' study, using totally local resources The six-page Draft Terms of Reference outlines the purpose and scope of the Huron County Study, along with the areas to be studied. The document states that the "review will attempt to determine best structure to deal with social, economic, environmental and physical development policy well into the 21st century." If all stays on schedule, the Huron County Study Committee hopes to have the information -gathering stage completed by the end of August, with public meetings begin- ning in early autumn. THE UNSTOPPABLE Ed Boyes, a member of the Huron Strings, entertained at his wife Alice's birthday party at the Manor on Friday and proved himself to be a bit of a Renaissance man, humming out a tune on the harmonica while hoofing with daughter Dorothy Uniac of Mitchell. Elliott photo. Liberal race rounds out to five The race for the Liberal leader- ship in Huron County is off and running with five candidates in the contest. Goderich Mayor Eileen Palmer and Clinton Lawyer Phil Cornish have thrown their hats in the ring to join other candidates Jim Fitzgerald and Fred Lobb, both of Clinton, and Dave McClure of Crediton. Mr. Cornish, a 26 -year-old lifetime Clinton resident, is familiar as a town Councillor and practising lawyer with the firm Cameron and Cornish Associates. hopefuls He has a political background with the University of Western Ontario, where he served as a mem- ber of the University senate, a student caucus leader and member of executive committees. He has been on the municipal political scene in Clinton since 1988 when he was appointed to council by acclamation. On council, Mr. Cornish is a member of the Klompen Feest committee and the Mid -Huron Landfill Site Commit- tee. Turn to page 7 - Seaforth Co -Op Grain, Fertilizer facility officially opens its doors Entertainment, a lunch and a ribbon cutting heralded the official opening of the new Seaforth Co -Op Fertilizer and Grain Receiving facility just west of Seaforth on Monday. The new facility, which was actually completed late last fall, will serve area Co -Op customers on its five acre site. Reiny Freiter, Manager of the Seaforth Co -Op, was on hand with Hensall District Co -Op Board of Directors President Al Hoggarth and Marie Hicknell, Reeve of McKillop Township, to cut the ribbon at the 7,800 square foot chemical and seed warehouse and office facility. Construction began on the 50 -acre property in June 1989, and Mr. Freiter estimates that between the land and various buildings. $800,000 has gone into the new Co -Op facility. A good crowd was on hand on Monday to inspect the new site and enjoy the festivities. One of the highlights of the new Co -Op has been the installation of Waconia fertilizer tower, the largest one presently standing in Ontario and the largest unit ever built by Waconia. The tower, with its 6 tonne blender, has a 240 tonne storage capacity and a 120 tonne per hour blending capability. Another unique feature is the chemical impregnation unit built directly onto the rear of the tower. The grain receiving tower is e- qually impressive, capable of taking in 6,000 bushels per hour and e- quipped with four -45 tonne storage bins. The grains and fertilizers will be shipped to the new cleaners and dumpers at the Hensall District Co -Op on a regular basis. With last year's expansions, and the addition of the new Seaforth facility, the Hensall District Co -Op can boast of being one the largest independent agriculture co-operatives in the province. Their latest expansions are milestones in the Co-Op's ongoing efforts to serve their customers better and more efficiently since the Co -Op took over the Seaforth Farmer's Co -Operative in 1984. THE RED RIBBON FALLS on Monday afternoon as Seaforth Co Op manager Reiny Freiter, together with Hensall District Co -Op Board of Directors president Al Hoggarth and Md(Nbp Reeve Marie Hickneli, officially opened the new Seaforth Co -Op Grain and Fertilizer receiving facility, just outside of town In the background is the new Waconia fertilizer tower, the largest of its kind in the province. Elliott photo. WITH A NEW SITE to serve their customers from. the Seaforth Go Op officially cut the ribbon on their Grain and Fertilizer receiving facility on Monday E Iliott photo 1