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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-06-13, Page 11511 Serving the co.rumtitiitles, and areas of Seaforth, Brussels; Dublin; Hensalle and Walton MPP Riddell res: BY SOMA BJORKQUIST Huron MPP and former Minister of Agriculture Jack Riddell has announced that he will not stand as a candidate in the next provincial election. Riddell gave notice of his . retirement duringa press conference at his Exeter -area home Monday. After more than 17 years serving Huron, the Liberal representative is still not ready tosit back and relax. "It is time for me to make a change, time for new opportunities, time for new challenges,' ° Riddell said. Although Riddell was dropped from Ontario Premier David Peter- son's cabinet last summer without explanation, he is not bitter about the cabinet shuffle. But he did say the premier made his decision to retie "a bit easier". "I would have liked to have been able to continue with my pursuits but ,I've had a good four years as Minister of Agriculture and Food and I'm very proud of. our ac- complishments and what we've been able to do for the agricultural community, Riddell said. The ministry introduced , more than 100 programs while Riddell was agriculture minister from 1985 until last year, he added. Stepping out of the political arena after the next election does not mean Riddell will giye.eu i..his..,_.. interests in the agricultural com- munity. "II haven't made any decisions yet as to what 1 will be doing after the 'next elections but I still consider myself to be a relatively young man," he said. "I feel that there are many ways I can still make a contribution, hopefully for the betterment pf society in Ontario and more par- ticularly in rural Ontario," He predicts Peterson will call a fall election. After retiring, Riddell said he might be interested in trade talks. His attention is focused on Canada's relations with the United States' agriculture community, which have much Loom for improvement, he said. Creating a new position for an ambassador to educate Americans would help ease any tensions and foster mutual understanding, he said. Our southern counterparts are uninformed about the Ontario agriculture industry, added Riddell. "The Americans don't fully understand what our marketing boards are all about," he said. ' "The American industry is mainly getting access ' to our markets knowing that they can produce cheaper than we can. Its going to make it very difficult for • ! e farmers of Ontario and the farmers of Canada to compete." _. Riddell expressed interest in the position if it were created. Despite continued activity in the agricultural community, 'Riddell says he is ready for a change in lifestyle. Commuting to Toronto .weekly and keeping two homes can be thing, he added. Travel, reading, and spending tope writ itis familya. are among lis ,prloritics durin retirement. Daughters Debbie Thompson and;'' Donna Overholt, along` with his,',, grandchildren, were seated with him `, throughout the press conference in`' his home. Riddell says he does not know" who will run in the next election his riding, but strongs leadership is, critical at this point. He added the,: agriculture community needs extra``. attention. "We need very strong represen- tation not only in Queen's Park but also in Canada.. People who are prepared to speakup for the., agriculture and food community," he said. • Farrners must know „five yeare. down the road whirr kind of a government cotnmitmi nt there is to the industry. I'm hoping that we'll see that." "If we ignore the agriculture and food industry now, Its will come back to haunt us. And -1 don't think our children's children will thank us." Riddell entered politics in 1973, after winning a by-election. He was named Liberal agriculture critic in 1975. He served as Minister of Agriculture and Food from 1985 until he was dropped from cabinet in August 1989te.,,,,.. r, TtI`4 Y Before en tering provincial politics, Riddell was a Huron Coun- ty Board of Education trustee. ON TO GREATER THONGS - Amie Nigh solemnly accepts her diploma from teacher Joanne Holland on her graduation from Seaforth Pre -School Learning Centre on Sunday. Five classes of pre-schoolers donned their mortar boards and Sunday finest at the school's graduation exercises. Elliott photo. aacLeilan lot rezoning tabled BY PAULA ELLIOTT A zoning by-law to establish a parking lot area for; -a Brucefield business has been tabled by Tuck- ersmith Township council, the applicant claiming that a parking lot was never his intention in the first place. Heated comments by the businessman's neighbours who were present at last Tuesday's public meeting have also been forestalled un official deputations are presented to council. "I have no intention of using that land for a parking lot as long as I've got land to the north of my shop," John MacLellan told Tuck- ersmith council last week. Mr. MacLellan operates a welding shop in, Brucefield near the corner of Highway 4 and County Rd. 3, of- THEY WENT THATA WAY - LlndSay Corbett of Stella points the way to a competitor in the Apaloosa show at the Hensall Spring Fair on Saturday. She was ringside, taking in the horse show with Grandma Donna Corbett of Exeter and Lindsay's brother, Michael. Elliott photo. • ficially referred to as Lot 9. Mr. MacLellan had submitted a rezoning application to council for land directly to the east of his es- tablished business, with "parking lot" noted under the °proposed use' section of the document. Notice of the public meeting concerning the rezoning - which would have seen the land con- sidered for 'D-1' (Development Special) zoning from 'D' (Develo- pment) - was issued to Mr. MacLel Lan and neighbours bounding the property some three weeks ago, Mr. MacLellan conceded. However, upon appearing at the meeting, he noted that he had contacted Tuck- ersmith clerk Jack McLachlan con- cerning the land and stated that he McKillop sets rates Mill rates for McKillop Township were announced at the McKillop council meeting June 5. For general municipal purposes, the residential and farm mill rate is 4.218. Commercial and business mill rate is 4.962. This is an increase of 2 per cent over last year. The total mill rate for taxpayers, including county and school boards, for public school supporters is 18.814, and for separate school supporters 19.418. This is an increase of 9.2 per cent over last year. Commercial and business mill rate for public school supporters is 22.133, and for separate school supporters is 22.844. The actual amount raised for general municipal purposes will be $332,342 and for county purposes $259,616. For public elementary school purposes $338,738, and for public secondary school anoses $265,441. For separate elementary school purposes $169,525, and for separate secondary school purposes $132,014. The total of these expen- ses is $1,497,676. McKillop council endorsed a resolution received from the Township of Morris petitioning the government of Ontario to increase recreational grants to correspond with increasing needs. A resolution was endorsed from the Town of Richmond Hill petitioning the Province of Ontario to make available to muhicipalities one per cent of the total tax received from the sale of fuel in the Province of Ontario for municipal road improvement programs. Reeve Marie Hicknel will be attending a Barrier -Free Design workshop at Huronview, Clinton, June 15. The goal of the workshop is to make the built environment accessible to everyone. The workshop will introduce participants to the philosophy of Barrier -Free design, outline principals as they apply to homes, buildings and communities, and assist participants in finding solutions to architectural problems through adaptations or a knowledge of resources and services available. The road superintendent's voucher totaled $158,926.59 and included the payment for restirfacing gravel totaling $113,283.15. Council authorized the road superintendent to advertise for tenders for reconsuvcdon of Concession Roads 2 and 3, lots 11 to 13. McKillop Council supported the Ontario Good Roads Association's position on the need to retain conditional road grants. A tender` was accepted from Cope Construction Co. for the sum of t $54,825 for restoration of the bridge deck at lot 22, Concession 6 and t , 7. This abeeptance is subject to ' the approval of the Ministry of Transportation and B.M. Ross and Associates Ltd. The'Ministry ofAgticultass and Food has allocated $113,700 for tile drainage lo,ars, Th, S money is available to farmers to install private tile drainage systems. Council approved applications for loans totaling A &ndet'.Was t4epted from Ven Vree Drainage and Bulldozing Ltd. for consf n tion of the open Work for Kennedy branch of the Downie rrnl6ioi att for the sato Of $3,235.' 16 .,..,.�+..3u.,A.•�,��d���raas..,:.�..ar.0+.....�,d..rr �t�i:.',.,�,,,�.KrK,r�ri...6ti+�tdAtw435via�ia arid; N tro::er.�:LL.. tF had "no intention" of using the land as a parking lot. "What's the use of having it D-1? I may as well leave it as farmland," Mr. MacLellan commented on the lot, which is currently planted in corn. Asked by council if he had any other uses in mind for the land in future, Mr. MacLellan noted that he did. "Build another building...build more trailers." Neighbours present at the public meeting came armed with their own lists of concerns about the MacLel- lan welding shop and the proposed expansion of the business in any way, shape or form. One stipulation of the zoning change, presented by Huron County senior planner Wayne Caldwell, would have seen the requirement of a 10 metre buf- fer zone between the parking lot and the property , lines. A planting strip would also have had to be established to provide some sort of barrier between the land and the neighbours. Past problems with the planting strips and the buffer zone on the current shop lands were raised, in spite of the clerk's protests that these issues would have to be dealt with at another time under a specific deputation to council. It was commented that the tree idea is a good idea "if it's Mone correctly", with the present planting strip on the MacLellan property bluntly referred to as "a joke" "You ever tried growing a tree on top of another tree? They don't grow," one neighbour noted. It was also added that the 10 metre buffer zone is an "excellent idea". "Excellent to the guy who's not owning the property - 10 metres, 30 feet, is ridiculous," noted John MacLellan. I'd be happier if it was 3000 feet," a neighbour shot back. The application for rezoning was tabled, and Mr. MacLellan was told that a re-application would have to be made if other plans for the land were considered. A number of other concerns, including the safety of the grounds and the dangers present to children, were raised. Clerk Jack McLachlan quelled the discussion, urging those present to make official deputations to council if they wished to discuss their grievances with the property. He added that council can not inter- vene until official complaints are lodged. The next Tuckersmith coun- cil meeting is slated for Monday, June 18, and neighbours present expressed interest in speaking to council at that time.