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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-11-21, Page 1Serving the communities and areas of Seatorth, Brussels, Dublin, Hensel, and Walton HIENSALL • Alli WALTON • AI$ QT'S . A1441$ BIRTHS • A1! O&TUARY • 1111111 OUeLW . A1! Site t best. See page AZ. Manor rk 5ident 102. See page A6. Get ready for winter. See pages A10 -A11. Huron xp�sit�r Seaforth, Ontario HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMUER 21, 1990 60 cents a copy CODE wants hearing BY DAVID EMSLIE HOL MES V ILLE - The Citizens Opposing Dump Expansion (CODE) want a hearing into the future of the landfill site that neighbors their community. At a November 15 meeting to discuss the closing of the landfill site, Steve Baker of CODE stated, "We would like the director to invoke a (environmental) hearing. Until a hearing is held, there should be no new waste put into the site." CODE believes that the Mid - Huron Landfill Site (MLS) Board has not met necessary landfill criteria, and Mr. Baker suggested, "We want the minister of the environment to deny the exemption." The MLS board is seeking ap- proval to legally allow eight coun- ty municipalities use of a new landfill site. CODE has opposed the request, calling for stricter enforcement of laws to allow landfill site operation in Goderich Township. As the November closure date of the present site fasthes. parties on both lidos the issue have yet to reach agreement on the future of waste disposal for some of the county's municipalities. On November 15 area residents and members of local councils, attended a meeting at the Goderich Township Hall to discuss the current status and future plans for the site. Tony Crutcher of Conestoga - Rovers and Associates, the en- gineering firm hired by the MLS Board to look into the closure of the old site, and the opening of a new one addressed the audience. He explained that the existing 15 - acre site should be closed by month's end, as work proceeds to cap the site with clay, and the area reseeded. Engineers have been working to find another suitable parcel of land adjacent to the existing site for future landfilling. Mr. Crutches stated that the site has historical approval for 55 acres of land usable for landfill, but it is not clear where these acres were. Therefore, approximately 40 wells were drilled on the site for analysis, and it was discovered that there are about 16 acres of suitable land, next to the old site. It is believed by the engineers, he continued,' that the new site is in a better position than the exis- ting one, as leachate has been able to escape from the site. "We have some leachate getting into the upper level water, it is reaching the (Bridgewater) creek," he stated, admitting that while leakage is reaching the creek and the results were not desirable, they were acceptable. This leakage, he continued, should be reduced in the relocated site, because it has a different hydrogeological environment, with a better clay base. This clay would cause the water on the site to move downwards, instead of Turn to page 9A • Town accepts no -cost option of $8,000 BY HEATHER ROBINET Seaforth Town Council has agreed to a no cost option with Ross Consulting on the industrial portion of the Westbranch property at the end of Railway Street. Sale price would be $8,000. Ross Consulting is putting together packages of industrial properties for small industries that Deadline extended BY HEATHER ROBINET Employees of General Coach in Hensall have complied with a request from the Department of Labor, and are holding off on any action until ?lovernber 22. The union was in an official shrike position at midnight : en November 15, after voting 84 per cent in favor of rejecting a Company offer that contained a 50 -cents -an -hour wage increase over Yeats. byGeneral Coach showed Eighty-three of the 93 workers employed up at a ratification and strike mandate meeting November 14. Seventy of those workers voted to reject the company's Offer and 13 voted to accept it. When a strike mandate was taken, 72 voted in favor, and 11 against. Ken Fenwick, representative of Local 3054 of the United Brotherhood >af Carpenters and Joiners of America, said the conpany's last offer of a three-year collective agreement was unacceptable. It offered nothing in year one, 20 cents an hour plus some improvement in benefits in year two, and 30 cents an hour in year three. membership was looking for at least 35 cents an hour in year one, 50 cents an hour in year two, and 55 cents an hour in year throe, but has since returned to its original request for 45 cents in year One, 55 cents in year two, and a further 55 cents in year truce. Mr. Fenwick noted that the union has promised the Department of Labor that nothing will happen before November 22, but commented that he could not say the same of General Coach management. General Coach has said it will not extend its lockout deadline, which was also midnight on November 15, but hasn't said it wtn't raced dither. To date there has been no movement towards a lockout. on the "We have no idea if the ministry is going w arrange a meeting 22nd or not, but we didn't want a long, bitter lockout like last time," said Mr. Fenwick. General Coach employees were locked out for more than two months in 1989. Andrew hrrtanse, General Manager of General Coach, refused to eonnrncnt on the staling* in negotiations, saying he'd rather "stay away from the press, rather than play this thing out in the media". EARLY VISIT - Santa Claus was in Seaforth Friday night to check up on the behaviour of area youngsters. While here, he and elf, Cathy Vida, participated in the town's official lighting of the Christmas tree. Santa Claus will be back in town for the parade in his honor, on December 7. Robinet photo. Daycare asks for more funding BY HEATHER ROBINET Seaforth Town Council has referred a request from the Seaforth Daycare Committee, for more funds, to its Finance and General Government Committee for review. The Town had originally planned to provide the committee with a grant for $6,000, and a loan for $4,(00, towards the establishment of a self- sufficient, non-profit and affordable daycare centre in Seaforth. The daycare committee, however, has been advised against taking a loan, by the Ministry of Community and Social Services, because of the uncertainty of cash flow during the first Several years the daycare would be in operation. Because of this, and because of changes in the dollar amounts needed to establish a daycare centre in Seaforth, the committee is asking the town to review its financial support of the project. "Since we started the project in February 1989 there has been an increase in request for capital fun- ding," said Mary Verberne, Secretary of the Daycare Commit- tee, adding that the total cost of the project has increased from $55,000 to $70,000 over the past year and a half. The Ministry has agreed to pay 100 per cent of the start up budget for the first month of the daycare's operation (including supervisor salary and administrative supplies), plus 80 per cent of the project's capital cost. The remaining 20 per 4 must come from the community. Towards this end, the nursery school itself has raised $2,500, with another committee of volunteers raising an additional $1,000 through yardsales and draw tickets. In order to meet the 20 per cent requirement (of $16,405) the daycare committee is asking the town for an additional $6,905 grant. Local service clubs and area merchants are also being ap- proached for monetary andlor e- quipment donations, but the daycare committee is concerned about the availability of local support due to other worthwhile funding commit- ments - the hospital being one of them. "During the past year the Seaforth Town Council has been taking positive steps to assure the growth and future development of our town," said Mrs. Verberne. "Many changes, such as the new streetscape and hospital addition, are stimulating interest in our town. A licensed daycare centre in Seaforth will be an important ad- dition to the existing services. This service will be an impotant con- sideration of potential indbstries, businesses and young families plan- ning to relocate." The present nursery school has run independently for 13 years, with the exception of nine years ago, when it got financial support from the town during its move to the Market Street location. "Since dial time the centro has Ire* .i.. III VII br from 45 to 108 children, and now will be providing a diversified service of half and full time daycare. The preschool has a long standing record of excellence in childcare and being also able to offer a licensed daycare, will provide an excellent childcare alter- native for parents with careers outside the home. The town has previously been able to offer a terrific preschool and will now be able to boast of this new service," said Mrs. Verberne. "Our group is enthusiastic that our mandate to establish a daycare in Seaforth has become reality. We have spent many volunteer hours on this project and everything will soon be coming together." Known as the "Seaforth Cooperative Children's Centre Inc. , the daycare will be contained in a 24 by 58 foot portable at the present Market Street location of the Seaforth and District Preschool Learning Centre. Renovations to the present portable to install a kitchen and laundry room facilities, will be done by local contractors, and the new potable will have two playrooms, a washroom, and an office and staff room. With these changes, a children's centrf will he formed offering parents the option of preschool or daycare program within one facility. The hours of operation will be from 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily, five days a week, and the added space will allow for full day care for 24 children aged .. Minor accidents investigated BY SUSAN OXFORD Seaforth police report a quiT t and routine week, although there were minor car accidents to investigate. Three car accidents resulted in property damage and charges being laid in one. November 12 a minor car ac- cident occurred on East William Street when a student driver lost control of a car in sheer ice con- ditions. The 16 -years -old student was practising emergency stops. There was property damage and no charges were laid. Another minor accident occurred November 13 in a laneway at the rear of 14 Main Street South when a vehicle pulled out in front of another vehicle causing property damage to the vehicles. No charges were laid. Police investigated an early mor- ning assault complaint at the Con mercial Hotel parking lot on November 17 at 1:15 a.m.. A car accident resulted in proper ty damage and a charge being (aurid November 16 a pooled truck was partially Mocking a driveway on Turn to page 9A • are interested in relocating out of major cities. Alf Ross had asked council to consider a no cost option on the northerly 5.4 acres of in- dustrial land for a price it es- tablishediomavil• lead sat the, price of the parcel at $8,000 plus the cost of extending the services to the property line in the amount of $37,000. Mr. Ross said he would be interested in obtaining the option for a sale price of $8,000 for one year. The sale would be based on the developer being responsible for extending the services to the outside property line. Mr. Ross also suggested that to make the property more marketable it should be staked with large orange stakes at the four corners, further dumping of fill should cease and the proposed leaf composting operation should be kept in the southerly portion of the property. The Town has also been asked to provide a final rough grade of the property to ensure a developer would not be required to place large amounts of fill on the property. Council agreed with the no cost option,. under the following con- ditions: -• council shall have full authority to approve or disapprove of the in- dustry, • the term of the option shall be one year from the date of signing, • a full development agreement, acceptable for Seaforth Council, must be approved by Seaforth Coun- cil prior to the sale, and shall include among other things, the Turn to page 19A • Seaforth to recycle BY HEATHER ROBINET The Town of Seaforth has finally decided to join the recycling effort just in time for Recycling Week '90. At its regular meeting last week, council voted in favor of accepting a recommendation from its Recycling Committee, that the Town of Seaforth undertake a rmycling program with Bluewater Recycling. That means the blue boxes should be coining soon. Under pressure from the Mid -Huron Landfill Site Committee in Holmesville to cut down on the amount of refuse being trucked to the sitcom well as from a number of environmentally conscious Seaforth residents, the Town of Seaforth has been`debating about recycling for Some time. More recently its dilemna has been deciding between curbside, local and/or Bluewater recycling. According to Seaforth Councillor Bill Teall, the Recycling Committee felt Bluewater would best serve Seaforth': interests. In comparison, he said, a local contracinr would be more limited in the things he could collect, would be unable to provide grant money for implementation of the program, and would be unable to guaranteed continued service if he should change jobs, get in, or decide 10 move from the area. In addition to the blur hexes, Bluewater Recycling also often blue ttchels for id u r l lrrq, as well as tw►o elf composlera, Tile shale bcoctts wooled be s' a x I:+ the for approxima y $:30/ho aaelroid. The soil over would cost $ S$ and the exon. $fes, and would be 50 per cent grantable. Total Dort of implementing the program is Seaforth is expected to be wound $30. We've been trying to come to grips with the kind of' funding the town would want to do." said Mr. Teall "With the composter and cone our the town would be able to recoup some money." lurcher details on how the recycling program will be implemented in Seaforth are not yet available. a