HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1980-09-25, Page 23,
70.
GERitY,44cfcw.Eu
JIM Anderson or Lutzen
Idedstrit s iiffered from
cleuritrinihebia,.they'd , be
going up the wails by now.
AlthOugh, they wouldn't
have far to go,the ceilings in
the basement of the
churthouse, where the two
County Archives employees
Work, are• rather low.
The first thing that strikes
visitor upon entering the
archives offices aside -from
the low ceilings, is the un-
believable clutter.
There are boxes piled
everywhere, file cabinets in..
the middle ,of the floor and
the desk in the front offieeis
_practically_butied—__ —
' Mr. Anderson puts the
space problem in perspective
when he said the archives
received 80 cartons of
material' from, ,donors last
year and that a large chunk
of the collection is stored in
the basement of the post
office, virtually inaccessible
to the public.
The shelving in the
archives section itself is ,close
together and jam packed.
The reading room, which
should be a haven of calm
_ _
and serenity, is 'almost as
cluttered as the front office.
Visitors now share table
space with the employees'
Who have no other place to
work. •
Through the clatter there
are narrow pathways a
unobstructed 'floor. If Mr.
Andersona and Mr. Riedstra
are bah .there and a visitorarrives, there's a crowd.
In the midst of such •
confusion,it's no wonder
the wooden Indian is the, only
one who always Stays calm.
(Why the archives is storing'
tin antique wooden Indian is
another question entirely)
Mr. Anderson and Mr.
tfledstra were anyttiing but
calmlast week.itftheiiike of
a decision ilpy county council
to rejept their proposal to
take ,over the old registry
office on St. Andre* St.
The old registry office has
been occupied for the past 14
, years by the Perth District
Health Unit.
• News that the health unit
would be moving out late this
year or early next must have
seemed to the Perth County
Historical Board like the
• answer to its prayers.
•N,
The building 'would have ;
fulfilled- all space needsc,
foi .the, archives and it was
also particularly suited to
storing documents since it
was originally 4eOped for
fait that purpor. ,
- Along with two other
inunty departments, the
. historical board presented a,
brief to conned two weeks
ago explaining why it should
be allowed to move into the
building.
The historical board made
a strong case, , but council'
decided instead to let the
social services department
share the building with the
provincial family benefits
office. _This in spite of the
fact tat the department's
space requirements were
already being met - by its
present quarters in the
provincial buidling on
Hibernia St.
ALMOSTUBELOUS
Reaction ' from the
historcial board stopped just
short of libelous.
"I wasn't the least bit
surprised" says Mr. Ander-
son bitterly and then goes on
to rhyme off a list of histori-
cal board grievances against
•
What
is A
Town?
A town is a group
of people.
It is schools.
It is town government.
It is churches.
It is industry and jobs. ,
It is retail businesses. ,
,They all have to work together Ail MOSE
have the support of the people
Or there is no town.
Give your local .merchaiit a chance for your
business. You shouldn't spend your hard
earned 111Oflay With him unless his selection is
adequate and his price competitive
But give him the first opportunity to make
the sale
For the local retailer pays the highest
percentage of local taxes. He most often
is the civic leader wtto dedicates his time and
talents to his town He is contacted first
for contributions to charitable proiects He
provides tobs. Without his store you have
'no tOWTI
Give the local
merchant a fair
shake
This message courtesy of
TOP liuron
(fxpositor
council. The list starts with
council's decision in April
nOt go to in with the city on
the Minnie T Thompson
Museum and ends with the
registry office deciilon.
"It's just one of a long
series of decisions against
the histo3ical board," he
concludes.
An Angry George Wicke,
Reeve of Ellice township and
• council's representative on
the histOrical board, was
quotedas saying:
"Everything that has ever
been brought in here (cdunty
council) (by the historical
board) has been turned
down. I don't know if it's my
fault or the board's in
genera, I wish I did know the
reason."
Mr. Wicke has already
announced his decision not to
seek re-election this
November and his redsons
are well known.
"I've been getting so mad
about the historical board",
he says. "This latest vote (on
the registry office) just
sickened me completely."
Council's attitude towards
the historical board and
itMrrelated-projeets.itrth
history -related projects in
the county could become an
election issue for others
though, he says.
"Whether there's enough
feeling in the county about
this to make it an issue, I'm
not sure yet. But there's an
awful lot of things that could
be said -against members of
this council.
"Making a decision
against a large expenditure
(the Minnie Thompson
Museum) is one thing, but a
decision that doesn't make
. any sense dollar -wise or any
other -wise (the registry
office), that's another
thing!"
Another board member
who is fed up with the way
things have been going is
chairman Tim Nicholson. .
He is skeptical now about
whether the board will be
reappointed after- the
Novembei elections.
• JOINT S'IUDY
. A Joint arca study cam-
inittee mule up of members
of County and city councils,,
(the city and county jointly •
• administer • the °historical
board) will, be , meeting to
discuss -the matter shortly.
Even if is is reappointed,
Mr. Nicholspn says, he won't
be there. ' •
"I wouldn't accept. I can't
frustration."
That
work with this kind of
is fairly wide-
spread ameng board
members, he notes.
Reasoning,. behind counc-
il's decision on --the , registry
office is obscure at best.
Listowel Reeve Elsie
Karges who is also chairman
of the social services
,committee says the main
attraction of the building for
her department is jts
proximity to other ceunty
offices,
"I think it's a good idea to
have all our departmetns
close together in one area,"
she says.
As it is, social service
department secretaries have
to make "at least one trip
down (to the county offices) a
day" to make copies on the
photo -copier or get cheques
signed by clerk Jim Bell.
Mrs. Karges also feels
that, as a matter 'of policy,
county departments should
get first crack at prime office
space. The historical board,
since it's jointly funded b)
the county and the city,
apparently doesn't qualify as
a county denariment.
However, under the plthe
registry
by council, e
registry office would be
shared by social services and
the provincial family benefits
departments. In fact the
provincial department would
use more of the 2,000 square
feet Of office space than the.6°
county department.
Mrs. Karges admits that
social services is not really in
need of marc space and also
concedes the urgency of the
archives' space needs.
"I don't consider (the
historical board) a - low
priority," she says. "And
I'm prepared to start looking
for a new location for the
.arcbives,"
3• SUITABILITY
• Against the social 'service
'committee's arguments, the
historical board cited- the
perfect suitability of the re-
gistry office for storing
valuable documents safely,
their urgent need -for more
space and the desirability of
the location in the centre of,
town and near the -library.
The financial implications
of the decision are not_ ent-.
irely clear. The social ser-
vices department is presently
paying $2,200 rent for its
office space on Hibernia St.
The county would save that
,,when the department moves
into the old regis_try building.
On the other hand, the
archives will ultimately have
to be relocated. -Because of
the special requirements in-
volved in safely storing old
and valuable documents, it
will be difficult to find cheap
accommodations.
If the provincial family
benefits department moves
into the old registry building
with social services it would,
of course, pay the county
rent on its share of the space.
On the other hand, if the
historical board were to take
over the building, the city
would in effect be paying
42.29 per cent of the total
rent payable on the building.
.„
,THE HURON EXP9S,ITORTSEPTENWER 25, 1930
The botforn line the whole
• controversy may be a eon-
ditiOnal -clause in council's
motion to give the building
to social services. It says that
ir the family benefits office
isn't •interested in sharing
the building, then the whole
decision is invalid and,
council will reconsider.
° •ERSECUTIONS?
As for • the historical
board's • persecution
complex, Mrs. Karges says
it's just that. $ he knows of'
, no antagonism on the part of
council members towards
members of the 'Ward and
doesn't feel any herself:-
"I feel the historical board
is reading us wrong on this," -
she says.
Meanwhile, the wooden
Indian is keeping his cool.
Just as he has for the past
120 years sine he first stood
in front of John Scott's cigal
store on Downie St. in
Stratford.
He was relegated to a
prone position beneath the
4.ealing room table for awhi e
earlier this year but now hs
sant:Icing in full dignity just
inside Thee reading rOom
door.
' And' that could be his last
resting place, Mr. Anderson
says. If he's moved now, his
old wood could crack..
1PM oprens soon
an
in Woodstock
The 1980 Match will be
held from September 30 to
October 4 at Woodstock, one
mi est of highway 59 at
the, rth edge of Wdodstock.
l'he site will be open from
9 a.m. until 6 p.m. each day.
A ladies' program begins at
10 a.m. each day.
Over 200 contestants will
be competing for over
540.000 in prize money. SOO
exhibits include the latest in
farni machinery. seed, chem-
icals, services and new tech-
nology for' agriculture.
•USE
EXPOSITOR, -
WANT -ADS
Phone 527-0249
Area
we
3A,
BEUERMAN — McGRAM
Donna McGrath, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Patrick
McGrath of Dublin and Neil Beuerman, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Harvey Beuerman of Seaforth, were married July 19
in First Presbyterian Church, Seaforth. Rev. Vanslyke
officiated at the ceremony. The bride was give in
marriage by her father. The maid of honor was Dnna
Coite11.0 of Seaforth, and the bridesmaids were Sa ra
Haynes and Mary Helen Costello of Seaforth. The
groomsman was Michael Trapnell of Seaforth and the
ushers were Robert Costello of Seaforth and Kenneth -
McGrath of Dublin. The organistwas Carol Carter, and the
soloist was Barbara McGrath. Following the ceremony, a
reception was held at Seaforth Legion Hall Guests
attended the wedding from Petawawa, ° Mactier, North
Bay, Toronteand Port Arthur. Following a wedding trip to
Collingwood and points north, - the .couple took up
residence at 58A Main Street, Seaforth.
(Photo by McKenzie)
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