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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1983-07-20, Page 3lp 6 • THE HURON E 9 $TOR. JULY 204 1983 -- A3r uIe New police sttiOfliS on - Renovations to the new Seaforth police station are on and; within the $25,004 budget. The' department hopes to move into the new quarters in eight weeks. Public- works and police departments are working together on the project. The new station, located' in the former firehalt has three times more space than the present office. Some features include a garage, two offices, reception area and main office, sound proof interview room, storage rooms and a two bunk fail cell: The present office has served the town since the early 4950s When Gord,Ferris was an OFP officer stationed in Seaforth. Mr. Ferris is now a justice of the peace. The town 'force has since grown. Jo five officers RENOVATIONS TO THE new Seaforth pollee station are on budget and on schedule. The new jail was manufactured locally at a quarter of the cost of a prefabricated style. Deputy clerk Luanne Phalr, behind bars, and Chief Hal Claus, hammed it up during an Inspectlbn of the station. (Wassink photo) including the chief, three constables and one special constable. The need for a new police station ha been discussed for five years. Office spade was very limited and certain areas did not meet Ontario' Police Commission standards. From comments made by the police tffieerst . the new station is obviously a welcomed move. "We've been here (old location) since Moby Dick was a guppy,' says constable Charles Akey. "We couldn't buy extra filing cabinets because we had no place to put them. We're looking forward to the move." "1 think it will be quite nice when completed," said Chief Hal Claus. "Being a town project, it will be a great feather in PUC plans ;8,500.,. study of waterworks system The 1983 budget for the Waterworks department of Seaforth's Public •Utilities Commission was passed by town council last week. In the next year, the commission has budgeted $8,500 for a detailed analysis of the waterworks system and a structural analysis of the water tower, $9,847 to install 522 feet of watermain, S2,500 for new hydrants and meters and $2,000 for equipment to reconstruct East William St. and one block of Centre St. Since it has reached the limit approved by Seaforth town council, the commission did everyone's cap if the project is brought off within budget.." Opening the door to the neve Jail sell, "welcome to my web said the spider to the fly," joked Constable Akey. The holding cell was tpanufactured locally, at a quarter of the cost of anew, prefabricated type. "It's a two -bunker," says Mr. Claus. "We're leaving ourselves enough room to be within budget, he adds. "It will be finished, but we may not be -able to add finishing touches, such as drapes, install the air - conditioner or install a toilet in the cell. Some work may have to be left until heat year." . Three people with carpentry experience were employed for the project. The major requirement in obtaining a $14,400 Canada - Ontario Employment Development grant was that those employed must have no remaining U.1.C. benefits. "We received six referrals from' the Goderich Manpower office," says Luanne Phair; deputy -clerk. "One was fyom Sea - forth: Employees include, James 11dcNairn of Seaforth; Steven Maxwell, James Robinson, WO of Vanastra. tWork is progressing well. There have been no major problems. 1 think it will be flnidhed ahead of schedule. If it looks like it's going to go over budget; work will have to stop or -cutbacks mad:: in certain. areas. Everything is within budgetand it looks like the major expenditures are over." Supervising work at the new station is Paul Hulley . of Seaforth. The public works department assists when iivailable and required. ' The fate of the present police station has not been decided, says Miss Phair. "We're using every trick in the book to bring it in within our budget," said Mr. Claus. not budget to transfer money into the reserve fund. During the meeting last Wednesday, the commission accepted the lowest tender of $8,295 for a new heavy duty truck from McLaughlin Chev Olds Limited. The other tender of $8,899' was from Seaforth Motors Limited. The tender of $150 was also accepted as the selling price for the commission's old truck to Charles_jteeves, a former employee_ of the PUC. Other tenders were $90 from, Seaforth Motors and $150 from Dave DeVries. Canoe accident in 1908 .means narrow escape JULY 20, 1883 Dr. Ryerson. surgeon for eye. ear and throat diseases to the Toronto General Hospital will be at the Commercial Hotel; Seaforth. July 26, when he can be consulted professionally. He will be here for one day only. Sometime early on Tuesday morning of last week, a vacant dwelling on the gravel road just out.of Wroxeter known as "Days" hotel was discovered to be on fire. It was burnt to theround. current, and into deep water. He then swam Upwards of 4000 people visited Blyth onr for shore. the 12th. From early morning till late at night His clothes were almost torn off and he was it was one uriceasing din of drums and fifes,' badly bruised and cut about the shoulders interspersed here and there with a drunken " and hips. The canoe has not been seen since and the boys say they won't worry if they never see it. It was a narrow escape. JULY 21, 1933 I he members of the Junior Women's Institute and Junior Farmers of Seaforth and Staffa united in staging a successful picnic in Bayfield on Tuesday afternoon. A very large crowd was present and fully enjoyed' the, lin 4 i yGi@eg coagwG They plunged through the opening at a splendid program. Included in the sports wag mile a minute. The frail canoe capsized .„.t a softball game between Staffa and Seaforth they were thrown into the water. Richards got boys, which ended in a tie and an enthusiastic clear of the boat and with a good ducking and football game also ending in a draw. in the a few scratches landed on dry land. Strachan evening the party attended the old time dance was carried down stream, a good part of the in the pavilion. Individual prizes were won; time under the boat, until he got out of the young men -Bob Archibald, Harold Coleman; young ladies -Alice Thompson, Margaret Coleman; necktie -Jean Fotheringham, Har- old Coleman; nail ,driving -Alice Thompson, Bob Archibald; three legged race -Helen Thoinpson, Harold Coleman; Cinderella- Gertie Webster, Bob Archibald; thread and needle -Dorothy Elgie, Sandy Doig; coat race- Miss Norma Jeffery has been named Dorothy Elgie, Hugh McMillan; relay flag secretary -treasurer of the McKillop Mutual race -Staffs. Fire Insurance Company. The. appointment JULY 25, 1958 Losing out to progress, a store and egg grading station in Kippen *ill be demoli d. For 43 years a.•popular grocery bust ss on row. JULY 24, 1908 - On Monday evening, Charles Richards and Will Strachan were canoeing on the Maitland river. While near the mill dam—their craft got into the current which was racing through the open gate that had been swept away by the recent flood. Working in cemeteries a learning experience Number 4 highway, the cement block building will give way to plans made by the Department of Highways. The store has been operated for the last 27 years by D. Emmerson Kyle. By eliminating the building the Department feels it will improve the vision of motorists entering onto Highway 4 from the county road between, Seaforth and Kippen. Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Cardiff homestead at lot 3 concession 7 Grey Township, now the home of William J.D. Cardiff was held on Saturday with over 100 fancily members present to recall the history of the farm. became necessary atter the passing of the late M.A. Reid. NEW SIDEWALKS—Vlotorla St. residents are among the lucky ones getting new sidewalks thio year. Here town employee Don Dupes cleans up after cement has been poured near Victoria Park. The town has saved about $1000 from what was budgeted because of a low quote on pouring, council heard last week. (Wassink photo) Charge is laid in permit case BY RON WASSINK of information without damaging the stone," If you are one of hundreds of people who says David. "The longest 1 have spent have, or are researching family history and reading one tombstone is 15 minutes. can't find a long lost ancestor, have no fear. Working in two's, one can see something your troubles may be over. another has missed. If something cannot be An ongoing project in Ontario is the transcribed, they move to another plot. "We transcription of all cemeteries. In Huron come back and are finally able to figure out County, 120 known cemeteries will be what was missed." recorded, one tombstone at a time. Of the 47 Similarity in bible verses was soon noticed. partially completed. 15 are completely In some cases. just reading one or two words. finished, including the history of the the students can almost complete the cemeteries. transcribing without reading any further. Grey township, through a provincial grant. A common Victorian verse is: A loving has hired three students. David Dunbar. friend, a husband dear; A tender parent lieth Bonnie Evans and Kim Smith. for six weeks here. Great is the loss we here sustain; But to record all possible information in its three hope in heaven to meet again. cemeteries and three pioneer sites. "We got the idea they wee quite religious Halfway through their first cemetery. the back then," David said. "It hit us a couple of German inscription in the old lection of the days ago ktay lot of kids are buried here. We Cranbrook cemetery is the hardest to were shocked with all the children he' •, decipher says David. A combination of says Kim,1 ,}it's a bit depressing." weather and old style printing causes various 'There'were many infant deaths in 1876. letters to look similar. "We get an eye for i1 The youngest was one day old," says David. after awhile. It gets easier to pick i1 up." "I think the cause was either cholera or dyptheria. Cause of death is not included in The German and English inscriptions are the inscription. It would Make it more basically the same. The only difference being interesting. In 1919, there was an outbreak of language. Spanish influenza." Working in a cemetery is far from "We have found whole families buried depressing says David. The trio are gaining together. In one case, all have died within five an insight into the history of their pioneers months. Back then, you either made it, or and in Kim's case, finding the burial plots of didn't. Most deaths occurred from 60 years ancestors she didn't know existed. They have and up or 20 years of age and down." learned that there must have been a German A popular verse on child tombstones is: settlement in Cranbrook. Most pioneers were Take heed of this call of youth, And early seek Scottish, some English and a few were from the God of Truth. "It's a funny kind of thing Nova Scotia. to put on a stone. It's almost as if they're Information gained from reading tomb- talking to you." says David. stones is like reading a diary. Besides names Of the 236 marked graves in Cranbrook and bible verses. the stones list the birth. cemetery. David thinks there are some death, age and parish from where that person unmarked graves. "In the Ethel cemetery. immigrated from. I'm sure there are pauper graves." The older section of the cemeteries are the most difficult to work in. Stones have The group has had some problem reading weathered to the point where reading is the old. white, slab markers. "If this job was sometimes a strain. The trio use grass and left for another 10 or 20 years, i1 would almost weeds to rub over the lettering to assist in the be impossible." David said. "Good luck." laborious chore of deciphering names, In "Hopefully. we can be the definitive'word some cases, stones must be lifted several concerning cemetery records in Grey town - inches to read inscriptions. WVe get every bit ship.' Continued from page 1 under the new act, which goes into effect Aug. 1. NEW FEES. . Council also adopted a new schedule of fees for planning change applications, although councillor Paul Ross felt the charges were, ted.high„ Ar'guin$ .that minor variances necessary, perhaps just to refi- nance a mortgage, shouldn t cost $250 (the present charge is $75), the Seaforth lawyer said "I see the pain that people suffer when they're involved with these costs." The new fees accurately reflect the costs of the applications, including circulatittg details to 30 to 50 neighbours, the clerk explained. "An OMB hearing,' as we're involved in now, will cost the town more." "If you require a minor ''variance to do something, why should 1 have to subsidize you if you didn't research your property in the first place?" asked cpuncillor Martin. "The taxpayers picking up the difference is not fay." 11OW MINOR? Perhaps a lower fee could be charged for really minor, minor variances, councillor Mero suggested, but the clerk told him the ' plhnnlhg' Set dfiesn't"allost 'for'tli' .f "' "' Under the schedule council passed, amendments to the official plan or zoning bylaws,will cost $300 ($250 now): a development agreement S200 (no fee now) and a consent application for a severance 5200 ($75). The new charges are a "reasonable average of the minor variances we have handled," the clerk said. "We're not making any money, but we're not losing any." Ecole Ste. Marie to remain open Ecole Ste. Marie at St. Joseph will remain open and the Huron -Perth Separate School Board will investigate the possibility of making the school either a French Immersion or French language school. " The decision to leave the school of 51 students open came at the board's July 11 meeting when trustees defeated a motion to close the school by a vote of 9- to 2. The trustee who serves the area, Dave Durand, told the board there had been a turn of events since the previous meeting when the matter was heavily debated. A group of "concerned parents" took a Survey of the community to see if a French Immersion school would be desirable. "The results were very, very good," said Mr. Durand who indicated the survey showed a potential enrolment of 55 students if a Job idea gets nowhere RECORDING THE PAST for the future, 1s a six week pro1gct for three Grey township students. Kim Smith, left Bonnie Evans. centre and David Dunbar, are compiling Information from each tombstone in the township's six cemeteries. The Information will assist In the search for family histories and will provide a complete record of each cemetery. (Wassink photo) Trying to fill 50 year Students recording information in Grey township cemeteries received instructions and tips from Allison Lobb, chairman of the Huron County branch of the Ontario Geneology Society. All possible information is recorded from every tombstone. "Once everything is transcribed. we go back with different people and check everything over. We try and get together as comprehensive a report as possible." says Mrs. Lobb. "Reports of each cemetery. are sent to federal, provincial and county levels. They are placed in locations where researchers will come across them. We are finding a lot of call and use for the records. " Huron County was settled in the 1820's. Recoup, were not kept until i0 ' . WC are trying to fill that time gap. There were no central records concerning marriages or deaths. Tombstones have all the informa- tion, including where a person emigrated from. Ther_ is a lot of information on the stones that isn't registered." It will take approximately five years to complete the recording process in Huron. "The records have to be completed because a lot of stones are weathering very badly." Working in a cemetery isn't as bad as it sounds says Mrs. Lobb. "It's a chance to rlout in the fresh air. The work isn't diffcult. It's a pleasant day out and is quite rewarding. It't; quite amazing at the record ga number of young children buried in cemeteries." Although she can't remember every detail of each cemetery, "1 can often pick an area a person is buried just by their name. it is easy to date a tombstone just by baking at it." Records at the Cranbrook cemetery, are imcomplete say Grey township reeve. Leona Armstrong. "Wt hope to have all records updated and filed on a -card system. Information will then be readily available for anyone wishing it." "At first 1 thought we could do the job with volunteer help. But it was always put off. i went to the cemetery to count the, Tombstones and thought, this is an impossibility. After we got some tips from Mrs. Lobb, it looked kind of fun. Funded through a federal culture and recreation grant, "we had a lot of good students apply for the jobs. I wish we had twice as many jobs as we do." Pleased that the project received funding and with the work being done, "i don't think 1 could get overly enthused doing the job myself," says Mrs.'' Armstrong. "1 have a hard enough time keeping straight people who are alive, let alone the ones who are gone." "Cranbrook is our old_st cemetery. 1 think it's great the job is getting done." A councillor's attempt to create summer jobs for students didn't get far.at council July 13. The environment committee wanted to hire a man with grass cutting equipment to cut weeds on vacant property. and pay him 535 an hour. Property owners will be charged S35 an hour by the town, plus a 55 administration fee. " Previously the cost, with the town doing the cutting, was 520 an hour. This wasn't working, explained committee head Bill Bennett, because owners "think the town's a grass cutting service" and town equipment gets flat tires etc. from these lots. Why not hire 7 students at 55 an hour, "do it by hand and create some work" suggested councillor Bill Martin. The lots are rough and too Targe, said clerk Jim Crocker. "It would take two or three days" to cut some tots by hand, added Mr. Bennett. The committee recommended council authorize the town superintendent to hire Verne Scott to do the cutting, because "he's the one in town who has the mower to do that sort of work," Mr. Bennett said. If there is a buffefbuilt into the 535 an hour figure for repairs. "we should be cutting it (vacant property) ourselves, We have the machinery and staff to do it," said councillor Henry Mero. Repair costs were high previously, Mr. Bennett repeated. The committee recommendation, to charge 535 an hour, plus 55, and to pay Mr. Scott $35 an hour was accepted by council, but not unanimously. . French Immersion program is begun this September. Currently 75 minutes of French per day is taught in Grades 1 to 8 in the school which is located in a predominantly French communi- ty. Mr. Durand said a French language school would not be desired because the students would finish Grade 8 speaking only French. Rather a 50-50 split of French and English is wanted, indicated the trustee. There was some discussion on whether to close the school then turn around and consider French Immersion for the school. it was suggested the board put off the matter and consider it at a later date. "It's been delayed too long," said Mr. Durand noting how he is being questioned by the ratepayers about ,the school's future. "1 believe we have lost one family already and if we don't make a decision right now, more of that is going to be happening." Board chairman Ron Murray said that under education regulations, the board will have a choice if French immersion is considered, whereas if a French language school is requested the board will have no choice. Stratford trustee Ron Marcy suggested the community be given a choice: to choose to leave the school as it is with 75 minutes of French per day, or to have the school either French language or French immersion. The question of twinning the school with St. Boniface in Zurich was also turned down by the board by a vote of 8 to 3. Wanted: n beautiful town Continued from page 1 St do belong to the horticultural society, Mrs. Reuttenmiller's research shows. They were bought in 1974. They'll be stored now, on the third floor of the town hall. But they could be fixed and hung again some time in the future, she says hopefully. As well as taking responsibility for the flower beds at Dublin's main corner, the society planted at Seaforth Public School, at Brucefield United Church in honor of longtime member, the tate Mary Haugh, and until this year at the local lawn bowling greens. The Society spends "well over 51,000 a year" to beautify Seaforth with trees and shrubs sold to members, and to the town, at cut rates, Mrs. Beuttenmitler explained to council. The homes in town are beautiful," Mrs. Doig says. Now the Society feels It's time to concentrate on public places.