HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1979-11-01, Page 1110th Year
Whole No. 5425
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SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER i, 1979
24 PAGES
$1.3 in advance IPT, a yea!'
• SWOP c9py 30, Cents
Five townships in Huron County plan to.
appeal tax equalization factors, imple-
Mented, by the provincial government,
according to their representatives attending
Thursday's county council, meeting. The
townships, who must have submitted
appeals. by Nov. 1, are TikkerSmith,
McialloP, Morris, Stephen and Howick
townships. •
Reeve Ervin ,Sillery of Tuckersmith
Township told council his township has
already appealed their assessment "to be on
. the safe side," He said they can withdraw
the appeal later hot "we wanted to protect
ourselves and see what comes out of it later
on.,,
There has been, a great deal of concern
that factors for rural municipalities have
decreased to a greater extent than they have
in urban municipalities across the country.
This means costs to rural taxpayers.' are
expected to increase much more rapidly than
to urban municipalities, The proVincial
government had put a freeze on assessment
in the early 1970's, and the price of land has
increased drastically since then, particularly
in rural areas.
Reeve Allan Campbell of McKillop
Township asked on what groonds an appeal,
„could -be -made; He admitted -land -prices in,
his township had risen from $300 an acre to
$1500 an acrefor farmland in recent years.
He also said, "I'll admit the towns are. too
low (in their assetsment)." Another member
of council called out, "Sit on it!"
Bill Hanly, Huron County clerk -treasurer,
said it's very doubtful if any municipality in
the county has grounds for appeal of the
:equalization factor's:
He Said he thinks the township councils
walhave great difficulty in proving that thee
factors are wrong and '`there may be a great
many more arguments why they should be
higher."
Reeve Eileen Palmer of Goderich said she
madrecently that no municipality Will -be
subjected to an increase of more than five
per cent in their asSessment. She said both
increases and decreases will be cushioned
over a five year . period.
Reeve Roy Williamson of Grey Township
said land prices in his area have gone up
about 10 per cent and so, his council didn't
feel they could appeal' the equalization
faetors.
Jack Stafford0 deputy -reeve of Howick
Township, said in reference to the assess-
ment paying educational costs that "people
services should be paid by People 'and not
land values." The deputy reeve said he
wasn't deoying land prices have gone up;
but asked, "Why should land have to pay
education costs?"
Reeve Cal Kreuter of Brussels indicated
he wasn't sympathetic IO the plight of the
rural municipalities and said "business
taxes have been 10 to 20 mills higher than
farm taxes for some years."
• Reeve Bill Elston of Morris Township said
be knows the farm tax is lower compared to
the munkipal tax rate. But he said even for
farmers getting 50 per cent of their taxes
6ack. "it's still a hell of a big tax bill if you
oWn 200 to 300 acres (of land)."
Council says yes
A
• •
New store
The way was cleared Wednesday at a
special meeting of council for work to start
on the construction of the new IGA store to
be built on Main Street S.
Council approved the minor changes in
the amended site plan requested by Bob
McTavish, retail operations manager of M.
Loeb Limited of London. The receiving areas
for the store will be moved from the back to
the side. This will enable trucks to drive in
off the street onto the property and back into .
the unloading area.
Mr. McTavish said his company had spent
six weeks re doing the site plan to accom
modate this minor change .to help avoid
-traffic problems on Main Street.
Mr. McTavish said -the firm hopes to start
work immediately getting the footings in
before snow flies so that work can proceed
for the spring opening, hopefully for Easter.
The 9,280 square ft. building, with a. sales
area of 5,925.9 -square feet, will be primarily
decorative cement block with some steel clad
siding. There will be 51 parking spaces.
• Starsky and Hutch, that "dynamic duo'',
of television., might not agree; but much of
police work is a matter of routine.. The high
speed Chase, drug busts in dimly-lit alleys
and dramatic shoot-outs are fortunately
more the stuff of television dramas than they
are of the clay,today life of most policemen.
On, Saturday night this reporter had a
chance to learn a little more about the
policeman's lot here in Seaforth by going on
patrol with Constable Charles Akey,
community relations officers with the local.
police department. The Saturday night shift,
I'm happy to report, didn't involve any of the
dramatic incidents mentioned above, but did
:provide some insights into police work in a
small town.
Now the weekend before Halloween is
.traditiohally a night when police
departments take extra precautions, so two
patrol cars circled Seaforth steets until the
wee hours of the morning, when partyers
were safely home.
At 8 p.m. when the patrol started, the
town was quiet and ram was coming down in
torrents, a ,fact that likely helped discourage
some potential' pranksters from venturing
out.
Constable Akey started the patrol by
explaining about the jurisdictionof a
municipal police officer Officers in town
forces are sworn in as police 'officers for the •
province of Ontario, which means their '
jurisdiction is anywhere in the province. The
major difference between town constables
and OPP officers , is that the, OPP officers
are also game wardens and can enforce the
'Game and Fish Act
While Seaforth officers ,usually patrol
strictly inside the town limits, they can be
called in to assist either the OPP or other
forces around the county. On Friday night,
for example, they were called to assist the
Exeter OPP in a high speed chase which
started in the south of the county. As the car
headed north on Hwy #4, Clinton town police
were alerted, but a malfunction in the police
car hindered them. Seaforth was then called
to send in a backup unit* and the driver,
travelling at speeds of almost 150 k/ph was
finally cornered in the winding Streets of
Vanastra.
•COUNT'Y WIDE DISPATCH
With the switch to a county -wide polite
dispatch system, it's much easier for the
Cental dispatcher to co ordinate the actions
of the OPP and municipal ,forces in an
incident like the chase.
As Constable Akey explained, high speed
chases are necestary to identify whether the
car is stolen, and to get a license number, so
that even if the driver can't be stopped at
•that time, a summons can be issued later.
A
. .
AND AWAY WE GO—Sandra Lobb, daughter of Don and Allison Lobb of
R1=12 Clinton climbs up the slide as Heather Bartlett, daughter of David.
and Madeline Bartlett of RR2, Clinton aridChristopher MR'1-60. son of
John and Connie Van tooAry..out ineliesFauriqg the Tuatersthith Day
Care Centre's open house last Week. The centre now averages about 20
students a day, and employ three full-time and one part.time, staff
(Photo by Oke)
The individual, policeman has to make a
judgement pall and decide whether to pursue.
: the motorist or net, in a situation where the
lives of other motorists could be endangered.
The first hour of Saturday's patrol was a
routine cruising of Seaforth steets, watching
for anything .out of the ordinary; When
Constable Akey spotted a car parked outside
the Seaforth Vet • Clinic, "he radioed in the
car's license number on the dispatch.'
The OPP' office has a direct connection
with the Canadian Police Information Centre
(CPIC) compoter, and the license number if
run through for a check. Within .minutes, a
printout' tells whether there are any
outstanding 'Warrants against the car's
owners, and theinformation is relayed to
Constable Akey
In larger centres, tomputer technology is
assisting police forces to an . even greater
extent. Experinknts are being carried out
installing CPIC terminals in individual police
cruisers in both Vancouver and Dttawa. This
gives the officer instant access to even more
information on a suspect. Also, it' cuts out '
the base station when other cars patrolling in
the area radio this offiter, which means less
air ' traffic. This type of equipment is
something Constable Akey sees police
departments using routinely in the future.
• BULLETINS . ,
Seaforth police . department also
regularly receives computer printouts from.
the Goderich OPP. For example, if a house
is broken into. in Clinton, a detailed
description of the stolen goods is sent on a
printout to the municipal police departments
around the connty, Provincial • and
Canada -wide alerts are common for more
major crimes or descriptions of missing
persons,
Charles Akey is careful to •point out
"police work is not what you See on
television it's painstaking, slow; methodical
work' As well as patrolling the same
streets night .after night, there'S continual
paper work involved in any investigation. In
the case of a break and entry for example,
Constable Akey said an investigating officer
might go without any leads far Six months,
and then hear something on the street that
provides the first clue in solving the case,
With the CPIC Systeni, Canadian police
are also able to obtain information on
sOspects from both the FBI and Interpol
computer systems.
At 9:20 p.m. Constable Akey pulls over a
tar which has obstructed' traffic, He checks
the drivers license, takes a quick look for
alcohol and gives the driver a warning*
before sending him on his way.
During a break for coffee, Constable Akey ,
explains that in Seaforth there's now almost
an even. balance betWeeti tails for ,pOlice
•
assistance and investigations initiatedby the
officers . themselves. He ,said with the
. centralized dispatch system, our response
time to calk is much quicker." While he said
there usedto be almost a"siege mentality
-
operating ill town, where people locked their '
windows and doors and didn't Call the police,
things are, ..iMproving. He Points out
occurrences have risen. steadily . since he
joined the force almost two years ago, but he
believes "there aren't mare occurrences in
town but there are More being reported,"
This, he adds, "makes it easier for us,to do
our job. -
Later in the evening, the policeman said
With manpower shortages a problem in many
police forceS, policemen are often reduced to
playing a reactive role" in ;society.
This means they're responding to crimes
that have already been cdniniitted, The role
-
they want to play is a preventative one, and
Constable Akey believes if people see us
often enough, they're not as likely to do
certain things.'"
'After the break, the patrol resumes,
driving around town, checking the car
dealership lots, and the back alleys adjacent
• to town business. A parked car on the
Rec centre deficit reduced
The Vanastra Recreation Centre operating
deficit of $124.584 which precipitated heated
debate at a Tuckersmith council meeting last
week turns out now to be less than half of
that amount.
In a statement issued Wednesday
morning and addressed to Tuckersmith
ratepayerstownship clerk treasurer John
McLachlan said municipal auditors had
discovered an "audit • mistake" in 1975
which when. corrected, will reduce the
'operating deficit to $56,880.19.
In his statement Mr, McLachlan said "In
last weeks edition of the paper it was
reported that the accumulated deficit of the
Vatiastra Recreation Centre for 1974 to 1979
was $125,584.00. At that'time the figure was
quoted that was the deficit of the centre as
recorded on the township books."
"During the past week we have had
occasion to have the municipal auditors
re-examine the • figures since the
New businesses seem to be springing up,
Seaforth as quickly as dandeliPaS en a new
lawn. ••
• In the past few weeks, three new stores
have opened on Seaforth's Main Street -
Tom, and Dawn Papple have started an
auction room and used furniture store, The
Tree Trunk, in the former Crich store and
Bill and Nancy Martin opened This That
andin
stStreet
eTheta nOdt h two.er T 0 ci n g4.1 amgelfnt s9hpeepri, eadt 7m7 aMr ya
Place at the south end of town, •
• Tom Papple, an. auctioneer, sato, ne was
,originally looking for a location to open an
auction room. Then be decided it might be a
good idea to combine that business with a
used furniture store to keep the business
•oen between sales. •
'Tom and Dawn have been collecting
furniture for the store for some time - and
. packing it away in their hoMeFortunately
they found the Crich building.. was available
and opened for business with a mixture of
antique and contemporary furOiture. The
• store has everything from antique oak dining
room tables to modern chesterfield suites.
They also stock a number of smaller items,
Includitig. housewares ansidishes.,
Mr. Papple said they hope to sell furniture
on consignment in the future. 1
Eventually the room at the, rear of the
store will beused for auctions. The upstairs,
formerly used for 'storages, is now open and
contains more furniture and some of the
smaller items far sale.
When the Papples were fixiOg up .the
interior of the store, they" started to patch a
hole in the rear wall; While they figuring
how to do the job; Mr. Papple uncovered the
old oven used in the Crich :bakeshop - an
oven which has been covered since 1927,
according to John Crich, Also, in the
upstairs, the couple found a Crich Brossign
which now hangs over the oven; giving that
corner of the store ati added tOuch of history.
One other attraction at the Tree Truck is a
bottle collection, consigned by local collector
John Fisher, who is helping the Papples in
the buSiness. The collection includes'. every-
thing from modern Avon perfume bottles to
coloured stove polish bottles, antique quart
sealers, old pharmaceutical battles and the
milk bottles which were once a .common
sight on our doorsteps.
• conimencemeot of the centre.- They.
discovered in 1975 an audit mistake had
been made and the deficit recorded . as
$124,469.84 when :indeed it Should have
been /66,03. Since .that time, until,
recently,. them has been no occasion to
question the prior figures. During this time
the deficit at the centre has been overstated
bv $68.703.81,
It is very unfortunate that this error
occured in the past especially due to the
controversey that exists today. We would
like to apologize for the inconvenience this ;
may have caused and would like to advise
this deficit should have been reported as
$56,880.19"
Mr, McLachlan went onto say that the
matter would be reviewed by council at a
meeting next week when the auditors Will be
present and steps will be taken to make the
adjustments that will be necessary to reflect
the actual deficit sitttatian; •
With the store now open 5 •weeks, Dawn
Papple said the drawing card seems to be
•thrF "treasures" -everything from vases to
• cheese hoards -that people find in the
upstairs of the store. She said, "mot people
are coming in just to see what's here."
Now that the Tree Trunk is officially open,
the Papples are already planning the next
step -an auction sale in the back room That
should attract even more bargain hunters,
This , That and The Other Thing,
Seaforth's new gift shop which opened in the
Rathwell building, it now in its fifth week of
business.
Bill Martin, who owns the shop with his
wife Nancy, said when travelling they were
attracted by little shops in towns like Elora
and decided to open a similar kind of shop
here. •
•
The Martins started by advertising for
local craftspeople to bring in their work for
sale. Now the store has everything from
quilts to handknit baby sets, afghans and
macrame plant hangers for sale. Combined
with work by local craftsmen, they also have
a variety of gift items from glass cannister
sets to coffee mugs and straw baskets.
Bill Martin said just as the store's name
suggests r -We have a little bit of
everything."
Nancy Martin said the handicrafts have
been popular with visitors to the store but
with items like the afghans or quilts people
have to consider these larger purchases for
awhile before buying
The most popular item in stock in the first
weeks has been the baskets, designed to
hold flower pots and the fern stands. The'
store has a variety of baskets in seagrass,
rattan; bamboo and a darker brown grass
called peel. Another popular item has been
the sandalwood soap which is imported from
China.
Both the Martins have other jobs -Bill at
Canadian Tire and Nancy at Seaforth
Medical Clinic, so they've hired ,Lenore
Southgate to staff the gift shop.
While admitting, haying their own
business in addition regular jobs is "time
consuming" but Bill Martin said it's also
''fun, different from what we're doing."
(Continued on Page 3 )
oIic.e beat
•GeoeSco lot gets a quick •check; and we
proceed.So far the night is remarkable free
of incident, and as Constable Akey said,
the night you get all charged up is the night
it doesn't happeO." ,Personally, I'm just as
relieved it isn't happening, since the ;role of
armchair observer to most 'kinds of
excitement suits me very well.
The problems faced by the Seaforth police
forcewhich can range from noise
Complaints to liquor offences, are universal,
according to Charles Akey, who worked for
ght juroixpositor
•inside this week
New county library headquarters , P. 11
Centenairea defeat Fighting Irishmen p. 13
M even dozen pair of grandparents. P, 17
Teachers hear problem Solving tips.. P. 19
the Sudbury police and the Essex
detachment of the OPP before coming to
Seaforth. The problems are more visible in
smaller centres like Seaforth. Constable
Akey said he concludes from his work that
"we have a pretty disillusioned younger
population and I feel sorry for them."
POLICE TRAINING
Training for police officers today
invovles a total of 15 weeks at the Ayl mer
Police College and
o
snevepraagle3i
weeks with a
TONY THE TIGER Dennis Beuerman of Seaforth made a pretty
fierce -looking Tony at the Seaforth Public Library's Saturday afternoon
Halloween party, (Expositor Photo)
411-4144411,1,2k • ' •