The Huron Expositor, 1977-03-03, Page 17771,17r77.
terrible time getting his dad out
of the basement if he'd 'been
unconscious.,., Mrs. McKarsaid.
Mx. MeKay had •his hands and
face btfined. "All I Could think of
was that it was a miracle fhat they
Were bcith okay," Mrs. McKay
said.
'Mrs.• McKay, who was 'at wdrk
in Stratford when the fire broke
out, said the firtt she knew of it
was when she dreVelup the: road'
,and saw "her 'house in flames:-
`,Nothing except a handful: of
,clothe's was 'saved. .
..The McKays have five
childre\ but only the- youngest
tWo are tillat, home. Sandra, 13,
was coming , hare from Huron
Centennial School on the bus
when classmates pointed out the'
fire. ''
Hensall firemen were first at
the blaie and they were joined br •
other• volunteer fire-departments
from Seaforth and•Brucefield, It
-was amazing how quickly firemen
reached the house . in Friday a
aftertviairt 7''stormy weather. and
they "tried, hard" but the bla:z e
was too far advanced to save the
house, .Mrs. McKay said.
The McKay' family haven't -
decided. whether or not they will
rebuild their house. They are
(Continued on Page 3)
HOUSE 'DESTROYED- The Tuckersmith fart
home of ,Mr. and Mrs. Ken McKay and family, of
Kippen , was completely destroyed by fire
Friday 'afternoon,. inspite of, the efforts ,of Hensall,
Seaforth and Brucefield fire departments. A spark
- igniting fumes fronn an bil furnace in.the basement is
suspected as the cause. Nothing was saved and the
house and contents were only partially covered by
insurance. .Darnages are estimated at $50,000.
(Expositor Photo)
TRUCK SLIDES OFF ICY ROAD — Being a good
samaritan didn't pay off for HarOld Smith, driver of,
the Cronin Transport Ltd. truck and trailer_south iof
Dublin late Wednesday afternoon. Const. William
Kreps of the' Sebringville- ,OPP said Mr. Smith was
-driving slowly towards Dublin on the icy road when
•
Notax hike as.
•
Despite an increase of 7.5 'per
cent in Huron County budget for
1977 taxes will not be raised'
due to a surplus of almost half a
million dollars, , a .15 percent
j increasen provinaial subsidies
and -a font'• percent rise in
'municipal' payment tone county.
Huron County council :approved
the $8;321,207 budget for 1977
when it met it''''`Gdderieli last
Thursday af ternoon..
The new budget, Clerk
Treasurer Bill Hanly explains, is
7.5 per cent above the budget
struck in 1976 but it is actually 14
percent higher than expenditures
last year.
Countrofficials also explained
that higher astessinent in Huron,
dtte to a. rise in both population
and property .values, will also
,SNOWIVIORILE'W5ATHg it didn't lOok: much like anoWniolpile Weather
Sunda': morning as• if*: entrant in the StiowaratO: loci mile' ride for
children; crossedcPuntV. road • 12 north of Seaforth, But nearly. 400, enoWmPbilere
came bUt 'the sibbily snow anyway The firet srioWniobliee akrivad,at the' Seaforth
•
checkpoint at 8t30 amix after an, hbut and:20 minute ride frorn -Huily Gully and the
theCkPoint ehtit'dOWn after the fiat .rider 'peesed• 'through 4eafOrtat tt15 p.m.
tige crqwd
•
Whole No. 5686
118h Year
. .
SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, THUIRS641; ivAncti:•977
$11.00 a Year in Advance -
Single copy ZS.cents 20 PAGES
Tuesday. "We're net willing' to
go as. high as they want."
FIGHTING FIRE — Seaforth _yol.Onteer firemen,
Harry Hak.; left, and Ken Roth were two of the
firemen.from three departments who fought the fire
at the Ken McKay house in Tuckersmith Friday'. The'
fire, which started, after a baSement ex-Ploston,
Completely destroyed the house and contents.
(Expositor Photo)
Policeman leaves
An officer hired in December is
leaving the Seaforth Police
department to take a job with the
`OPP.
----'-eortstable Angus MacDonald
had applied to the OPP before be
was hired in SFATOrth, police
committee chairman Wayne Ellis
said Tuesday. , The OPP has
begun hiring after a lull and
Constable MacDonald " '''
offered a job. Mr. Ellis said_
"1 don't blanie him for going".
Mr.Elli said. "The wages are
higher and it's more
prestigious:"
"We've sorry to see him go" he
added: "We feel fie would-have
- made an excellent Officer for us:
Seaforth council will advertise
for a replacement right away, Mr
Ellis said.
In other , business, salary
negotiations With police are "at a
standstill'—' -Mt. Ellis said
Snow cost
$54;700
Snow removal costs for the
Months of January and February
cost_ _Ttickersmith Township .
$54,766; Road Superintendent
Allan Nicholson' told Tuesday'S
meeting of council that the cosi
,the two months equals the ,
total amount spent on five months
of snow removal last .winter..
Hoping to Alleviate the
financial burden of the now:
removal costs this winter, council
will • write a letter to John
McBeath,' Minister of
Transportation . , and
Communications asking for a
Meanwhile, road
superintendent Nicholson heads
:"south" for a holiday, hoping the
area has seen its last snow storm
and leaving the roads' "with
everything taliacare of," he'said.
While attempting to cope with
this winter's snow removal costs,
Tuetday night, Council has
-',platied-.1 to take- on further
(Continued on Page 20); •
• ;
A basement eXplosion touched
off a fire which completely
• destroyed a Tuckersmith
Township house on Friday
afternoon. Damages were
estimated' at $50,000, and Ken
McKay, owner of the hOuse spent
Friday night in hospital af ter
treallment for burns, and was
!released Saturday.
•Mr. M tKay of R.R.2, Kippen;
plugged in the washing machine
in the basement of his house
shortly after 3 pap: friday and it
is thought that a spark ignited
fumes coming from an oil furnace:.
in the basement.
Mrs. McKay told the Expositor
that the whole cellar went up in
flames. The McKay's on Jeffrey,
16, who has a cast on his left from
a motor' bike accident last July,
was in the kitchen watching'
television when A heard a
"terrific explosion" and went to
the top of the stairs, to call his .
dad. For a minute he didn't'•
answer, but when, he did and got
out of the basement,' Jeffrey went,•
by tractor to' the Bob Kinsman
farm, up the road, to call the fire
department.
The explosion• had knOcked out
phone service to the McKay's
ouse. Because of the cast on his
leg, Jeffrey would haVe had a
$0parote:stbopl.cost..s:
excepd 1976 budget
help to pay the bill without tax
increases. Assesstrient"Value in
the county has inreased nearly
font- per cent in' -the past 12
months.
The new -budget 'ili6Ws an
increase in spending by all county .
departments with no one division
ccintyjh nting to -,the - increases
more 'than another. Increases in
fuel and material costs had as --
much to do with the rise' 'as
anything and, for the first time in
a number of years, employee
Wage and salary increases, held
to,abotit six percent because of
anti-inflation regulations, are not
. gu'itg-seen at a major contrib utor
.14.. the increase. -
The County Roads 'Department
haft increased their ,budget from
$2481,022 in apertaitures last
year to a prOWted $2,908,000 in
1977, an increase of 22 percent.
An apportionment by4aW, to
raise the sum of $1,50,000 for
general purposes. will be
presented at Council's March
session. The suni represents
Hurott'4 share of the road-budget."
Of the tcnals, sum the Ministry of
Transportatien and,
Communication will centribilt e
$1,5/0,000.
he pulled 6Ver to let a car pap him and slid into the
ditch. Damages :Were very minor but the road
between Dublin and Slaf fa_was'clesed off ancion for
. about two hours while a Parsons Niicvers tow. truck
got the big vehtcle,upright again.- (Expositor Photo)
with estimated expenditures over
the next year of $2,420.398. An
increase of about 10-per cent, Of
that .sum. the Department of
Commithity and Social Services of
Ontario will provide $1,159,762
-however, leaving the county
share 'at $200,438'.
The 1977 budget, will alsO
peiVide an 18 percent increase in
council members" honoraria over
last year's actual •spending,
although the new figure of
$84,800 is - nearly $10,000 less
than the total allotted last year
County ' inspectibns and
environment have been given
$144,350 this year as compared to
04,000 in 19'76.
The County Health
Department budget • has 'been
increased from $920,720 last y ear
to $984,212 this year. -•
' The Recreatia and • Culture
budget, which includes 'operation.
of the • Huron. County Library
system :and the ' Museum at
Goderich, has been increased to
$449,550, from $4291'7714 1976.
The Planning and peveldpment
budget has been struck-,4,
$24,900 for 197/ as compared to
$12.0,800f last yeat:-. 1'4
County officials'. say income
• . •
Members of the Huron Perth
Roman 'Catholic Separate:School
,Board learned -Monday; night that
expenses for 1916 exceeded the
board's budget by$77;453 leaving
board with an underlevy at
the end• ot the -year of $11,70-9,-- cost:.'ef instruction: was. $17,955 .
The actual total expenditure in 'below budget because of an Anti
1976 was $3.987,794,- compared to -inflation Board roll back , of
a budgetted figure of $3;910.341. teacher's salaries.
• Superintendent of business and ."The underlevy of $17,709 will
finarice Jacktane explained,that be reduced somewhat 'because
the• increase 'was almost entirele Y the Ministry of Education: is
caused - by extraordinary
. '
expenses. an increase _in
transportation costs of $68,196, .
and 'an interest payment on a
debenture for the gym addition at
Kinkora school of $13,569, less a
decrease in capitol needed for the
Kinkora addition ,of $6,523, for a
total of -$75`,2212, The net increa-se
in Ordinary, day to day, operating
expenses was only $24,11. Three
new buses, and an increase in bus
operators' contracts accounted for
most of the transportation cost
• Increase;
The' average daily enrolment
in the Huron Perth schoolswas
38.55 over the budgetted figure.
that almost all county agencies
and departments came in under
budget in 1976 and that .Huron's
revenue,•especially in the area of
investments, brought in ' more
, than was expected.
"There is no doubt," , he
observed, ?that the county is in a
very sound financial position."
During 197,7 it will be 'possible
to add $550,000 to county
reserves, meaning it ,will not
likely be necessary to borrow
money to get through cash, flow
problemt until the taxes .are
vollcted. That will Mean'
considerable savings in
-interest charges.
,Huron „ also boasts. .no large
outstanding debts. The largest, 'a
10 mt....debenture to expand,
facilities at Huronview, was paid
off in 1976.
1977 iepreaents the .third,,:.
congecutive yearlhat Huron has
managed to hold the line On, tax
increases , depsite the fact
Oending haS'increased frOin
$5,600,718 in ,,,19.74 to the 1977
btidget total of 18,321,207.
giving the boards more grant than
was . expected. • For pupil
expenditure in the system in 19.76
was $1,080.12, $31.11 per pupil
under the grant ceiling.
Mr. Lane told -trustees• that the
adjusting information received
from municipal auditors on
paymentt- • that Municipalities
WHAT HAVE WE HEi1E1,4, What described as
.the bleitest•dEovtd,..eyer in the- arena hall Carrie Friday
might to honour Roy" h ned" tACGonigle, who's
retired after.2g and a half years as arena Manader.
Red and hie-Wife Hazel unwrap; their igifts-fr'om' the
Towm-iri -the .1ower photo and in- the 'top one, show
Hezers giais iceboWl' set and Atirs,Ofbckladio
to the othwd., the MoOonitilet, were also bresented`
With a far de welt -Meek by the Seaforth: Befivett
%hockey Club, a'n'd A ,box full of 'contObilttanb from
those whii ,Attended, (ERpOsitbiPhOtO)
receive in lieu of taxes on' Ontarid
Housing Corporation properties.
Mr. 'Lane said he 'was able to
,point out to 'the ministry some
errors in the, municipal -figures
and thesaving-to the board might
.be...as.„.Inueh as $10,000., We
should know the amount by the
end of.-March," he said.
The rest of the underlevy
results from a mechanical mistake .
that the board made in reporting
its transporation expenditures to
, the ministry.
`.`There is nolegislatibirthaf says
(Continued on' Page20),.
u nty has half million surplus
Department has carried a surplus ,during' 1977 Should- include
of $1.14,000 'forward front its:4476_ $2,666,000 from -the municipal'', ono rs: badger •- "-- $3,893:,165 from the province • •
Although traditionally a big and Lodi Initiatives Program Stortity ;weather and difficult
*ender, the road Department grant Of $15,300,frarit the Federal traslel on rural roads"meant,
budget is not the largest. The, Government. - nothing to the'capacity-ctoWd that
"'social "services budget ,holds that - Another ;11,258,378 shdidd he .filled • the. .COMmunity centre
honor, , • . : r, raised •.r through Friday evening to indicate' O"Roy
. Operations at Harenview inVeStments:.feet an d •licences, and. 'Medonigle how much
take, Most of that budOt treak Mi tiret nty rioted(dontintied ore page,*
•