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Clinton News-Record, 1972-03-02, Page 1Thnrsdny, March 2, .1972 107 Year No, 9 Rain .52" Snow 2" Weather 1972 HI LO 1971 HI 1.0 Feb. 22 20 —3 39 22 23 21 —3 33 28 24 29 6 • 35 26 25 24 —2 30 23 26 25 2 44 27 27 32 4 45 34 28 33 25 34 25 Clinton, On turio 20 (THU Last servicemen say goodbye to Base the final phase out which saw the numbers of servicemen dwindle from several hundred tea handful when the Base closed in September. His crew of 27 civilians and eight military personnel took care of the removal of the final military effects in the fall, Maj. Golding stresses, however, that this base was not stripped as some other bases closed by the government have been. "You can go into the officers mess, for instance," he said, "and the furniture is gone but if you turn on the light switch, the lights come on. If you turn on the tap, the water comes out and is drained away through the sink. The refrigerator works if you plug it in." He said the base is much the same as a house which has seen one occupant move out and is awaiting another to move in. The last days of the last CO of CFB Clinton were spent in a tiny office in the old Base Transport Section which lie shared with his secretary. Mary McMillan, an employee at the Base for 26 years. Unlike the boss, Miss McMillan will not be leaving the Base. She began work on March 1 as private secretary to John Van Gastel, president of Radoma Investments, the new owners of the Base. Of the eight military personnel left when the Base closed in September, only three will be moving on to other postings. Five have settled in Clinton or the surrounding area, Maj. Golding stressed that he was not in favour of a lot of nostalgic sentiments about the Base. The military is a thing of the past, he said, but people should be looking to the future of the base. A dinner was held Friday at the Hotel Clinton in honour of Maj, Golding's departure. Invited were members of his staff, and a handful of civilians who had been connected with the Base for a long time. Host for the dinner was John Van Gastel. He presented a Bulova watch to Maj. Golding and thanked him for his co- operation in the takeover. Maj. Golding also received a.large suitcase by McBrine luggage from Fred Ginn and an attache case from some of the former associate members of the Officers Mess. Major Frank Golding the last commanding officer of Canadian Forces Base, Clinton, left the base for the final time Friday on his way to a new posting. Although the base has been closed as a military establishment since September 1, 1970, Maj. Golding has remained as commander of a caretaking staff looking after the vital services of the base for Crown Assets Disposal Corporation. On Feb. 1, this task too has been completed. It was on Feb. 1 that Radom investments officially took possession of the Base and became responsible for such services as the heating and sewerage plants arid snow removal. Maj. Golding with three military and five civilians remained at the Base following the takeover to help smooth the transition period for the new owners and to remove the final pieces of military property to CFB London. This last military property included mostly vehicles such as snow removal equipment. Although Maj. Golding left Friday, the other two military men left on Tuesday of this week. Maj. Golding will be on a special course in Ottawa for the next month and then will return to CFB London where he will be posted. He plans to retire to his home in Seaforth when he is due for retirement. Maj. Golding's father. W.H. Golding, was a native of Seaforth and represented the Huron Riding in Parliament during the period when the Base was being built in 1941. He retired from Parliament when he was appointed to the Senate, As Member of Parliament and Senator, he represented the county for nearly 30 years. The last C.O. at CFB Clinton joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941 and was commissioned as an officer in 1955. He served in Lachine, P.Q.; Chatham, N.B.; St. Hubert, P.O. and Trenton before coming to Clinton as Base Administration Officer. He took command of the Base in July 1970 from Col, E.W. Ryan and was in charge of Mary McMil lan, an employee for 26 years at the former CFB Clinton, started a new job Wednesday in the same old spot. She is now private secretary to John Van Gastel, president of Radoma Investments, which recentlyboughtthe Base from Crown Assets, ................ Major Frank Golding, the last Base Commander at Canadian Forces Base Clinton puts the finishing touches to his packing as he prepares to leave the base for the last time Friday. Maj. Golding will be in Ottawa on a special course for a month, then will be stationed at CFB London. Clinton cable TV franchise application to be heard April 11 The Canadian Radio and Television Commission will hear the application for cable television for Clinton on April 11 at a sitting at Niagara Falls. Ron McIntosh, owner of the contract with Clinton town council, told the News-Record Wednesday morning that he had been informed of the hearing date by Robert McKinley Member of Parliament for Huron. Mr, McIntosh said a decision on the application can be expected within four to six weeks after the CRTC hearing. If the application is successful, Mr. McIntosh said, work would begin im media tely. It is hoped the first homes could he hooked up by late fall. Mr. McIntosh who also operates systems in Kincardine and Strathroy, said there are 1200 potential customers in Clinton. Hepraised the work of Mr. McKinley on this matter saying it might have been another year before the application was heard if Mr: McKinley had not pushed to speed up the operation. Base subdivision plan setting record for clearing red tape It will be the responsibility of the county planning board to see that an amendment to the County Draft Official Plan be carried out and duly approved. Such an amendment would take the'form of a Secondary Plan for the Base and its surrounding "area of impact"; and that a staging program be developed for the area encompassed by the plan of subdivision. It will be the responsibility of Stanley and Tuckersmith Townships to see that a restricted area (zoning) bylaw be duly adopted for the Base and its surrounding "area of impact"; that the municipal services be brought up to the municipality's standards and dedicated to the municipality; that an occupancy bylaw be duly adopted for the industrial sector of the development; and that a "Developer's Agreement" be enacted and signed between Rodoma Investments and Development Limited and the Municipality of Tuckersmith. These six conditions were called "standard" by Davidson. Huron County Council reviews budget for 1972 BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER From reports heard by members of Huron County Council at their session Friday, it seems that the provincial government is giving John van Gastel's new project at former CFB Clinton priority treatment—and members of Huron council were urged to do the same. Planning Director for Huron, Gary Davidson, said that "some kind of a record" was made recently in the speed with which certain matters pertaining to former CFB Clinton cleared government offices and Harold Lobb, Reeve of Clinton, said that if the Huron project was getting that kind of "government support", Huron should "pull all the stops" to see that van Gastel gets his enterprize underway as soon as possible. A report by Davidson had this to say: "The developer (van Gastel) is in the process of attracting various industries and residents. However, until final approval of a registered plan of subdivision is given, legal st Column The Ontario Department of Agriculture's Clinton office is planning a short course on marketing for next week at the board room. • The course will run for a week and feature Several farm experts as speakers. Further details can be seen in an ad in this week's paper. +++ Mrs, Faye Fear, who for the last six years has been secretary for the Huron Federation of Agriculture at its Clinton office, resigned as of March 1 to accept a position with Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology's Huron Centre, Mrs. Fear will be working at the Seaforth office until the operations of the Centre are shifted to its new •Clinton campus at Adastral Park. +++ A two-day short course has been scheduled for March 14 and March 15 at Centralia College of Agricultural Technology. The theme of this course will be our Forage Crops in Ontario. All types of forage crops which may be used as livestock feed will be discussed. The major emphasis will be placed on feeding values, storage and handling, as well as production techniques. Some of the personnel who will be speaking and leading the discussion periods include Professor Bob Fulkerson and Dr. Jack Winch from the University of Guelph. Mr. M. Kellam , a beef feedlot operator. Jack Underwood, Doug Jamieson and Jim O'Toole from Centralia College. Mike Miller, Associate Agricultural Representative in Huron County and Howard Lang of the Soils and Crops Branch. Highlights from Silage Conference held in Toronto last ' fall have been recorded on video-tape and will be used for discussion periods. Registration in the course is limited to the first 50 applicants. Interested farmers are advised to file their applications immediately with their county agricultural representative in the counties of Bruce, Huron, Perth, Oxford, Middlesex, Lamhton, and Elgin. Farmers in other counties may apply directly to Short Course, Centralia College of Agricultural Technology, Huron Park, Ontario. Meals and overnight accomodation are available at the College. A college fee of $6.00 per person will be charged. Parkway Commission proposed for Goderich to Sarnia A Lake Huron Parkway Commission has been proposed from Sarnia to Goderich and Huron County Council will send representatives to a proposed meeting with representatives from Sarnia, the county of Lambton and the Towh of Goderich to discover What benefit such a Commission would be to Huron. The object of the Commission, it is understood, would be to reclaim land along the lake for recreation and parkS. Ed Oddliefson, Hayfield, said that in his Opinion, the whole of Huron should be included in the plans and not just that part from Gode r eh south. Reeve Roy Pattison, East WaWanOSII, Said that the $t, Clair Parkway Commission has done "wonders in a Short period of time" and he looked forward to a similar success in Huron and Lartibtoth title cannot be obtained, It is understandable that prospective industries and residents do not want to invest capital with no guarantee of ownership of their lands, "The developer, therefore, requires some assurance that, from the Planning Board's viewpoint, the development will proceed. Such assurance, in the form of legal draft approval, while not authorizing the sale of individual lots, will constitute a binding commitment and to some extent, outline what must be undertaken prior to final approval of the subdivision, From discussions with the developer's planning consultants (Kleinfelt and Associates) it would appear that draft approval, even though containing' rather open- ended conditions, would be of great assistance. It would, of course, remove the possibility that the subdivision would be turned clown on a matter of principle." There are six conditions by which county approval in principle will be given to the draft plan for former CFB Clinton by van Gastel. County agrees to continue participation in MODA After a stormy period of discussion for the past two months, Huron County Council agreed to take out membership for 1972 in Midwestern Development Council (MODA) at a cost of slightly more than $6,000. But there are conditions attached to the membership for Huron County councillors want to be assured that this county will have some autonomy in the organization. The conditions are that the present composition of the Board of Directors of MDC be restructured as proposed by Walter Cowing at Friday's session; and that Huron County have direct representation on the Board of Directors. The proposal, outlined by Walter Gowing, general manager of MDC, was that there would be three members each from Huron, Perth and Wellington counties and one each from the village of Ayr, the towns of New Hamburg and St. Marys and the city of Stratford. As well, there would be a provincial appointment. The past president would also be a sitting member of the board. In addition to these 15 people, there would be five other representatives—one each from agriculture, planning, education, industry and tourism. According to Cowing, these five persons would also be voting members on the board because their effectiveness seemed threatened withotit that privilege. What is important to Huron is that Huron's three members would be appointed directly by county council and could include either elected or appointed personnel. In the past, according to Gowing, there was no guarantee that county council would have any direct representation on the board and the line of communications "broke down" making it difficult for county councillors to fully understand what county money was doing for Huron people through MODA, Gowing called the proposal a "very radical change from the present system". He said the decisions would rest with the people who put up the money for MDC's program-13 cents per capita this year from each member municipality. Charles Thomas, reeve of Grey, who had voiced some concerns about MDC's operations at last month's county council session, said he was very pleased with the Bargain World Town-wide sales continue Clinton and area merchants displaying "Bargain World" posters have joined together to make this Week the greatest selling event in the history of the Clinton area, No single merchant could, or would, undertake such a tremendous Sales Event as the Clinton area merchants displaying the "Bargain World" pages in today's edition of the News-Record, and you will find many useful items that you need and would like to have, at unbelievably low prices, ITEMS FOR ALL OCCASIONS These merchants are not attempting to dispose of distress tnerchandise. They are offering you outstanding values on Merchandise in the "Bargain World" pages for all your family needs. Shop these stores for MerChandise you want and treed, but here before thought you could not afford,. The values and the quality of the Merchandise described ..on the "Bargain World" pages woUld'excite the imagination of the most discriminate buyer. Come in and see for yourself, BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER The February session of Huron County Council was the budget session and members of council spent most of the day reviewing budgets from the various county departments and approving them for 1972, Greatest increase in a budget was shown in the Board of Health budget presented by the chairman, Derry Boyle, Reeve of Exeter, Health costs for the county in 1972 could soar as high as $316,150 if the total program receives the approval of the Ontario Department of Health. Last year's budget called for $274,812 with actual expenditures of approximately $266,000 in 1971, Reeve Boyle noted that a great part of the increase comes because of higher wages to health department staff which presently includes seven full-time public health nurses plus a supervisor; 2 part-time public health nurses; two full-time and one part-time registered nurses; three public health inspector's and one senior public health inspector; one dental assistant on a per diem basis; one clerk-technician; and four full-time and two part-time secretaries. Dr. Frank Mills, Acting Medical Officer of Health, who worked only on a part-time basis last year while Ire attended school in Toronto, will become a full-time Medical Officer of Health in the coming year. A geriatric (senior citizens) program at a. cost of $8,300 for about six months in 1972 has been included in the budget but will require the approval of the provincial authorities before it can be implemented, This 'program was approved last year by Huron County Council but was turned down by provincial authorities. There was some brief discussion concerning whether or not a geriatric program was necessary in Huron County. One councillor, Cecil Desjardine of Stephen Township, claimed the interest in geriatric clinics in Huron would be minimal. Councillor Gerry Ginn, deputy-reeve of Goderich Township, compared the proposed geriatric clinics to the Child Care Clinics which are so popular' in Huron now, "I doubt that this council had any assurance when the Child Care Clinics were begun that they would he well used," stated Ginn. "This is an age group that needs help. If we begin the program now we will save money in the long run, This age bracket is sadly neglected in Huron." "The health of the county is one of the most essential needs that we have," said Boyle in defense of the budget. "It could include all of us at some time or another. It could probably he the best spent money in the county." The budget was passed by council with little difficulty, PLANNING The budget for' the county's new planning department will be $46,392 for 1912, but this figure is lower than the original budget presented by the Planning Director' Gary Davidson to the Planning Committee. Although it is not known how much the planning committee eut from Davidson's budget, it is understood that Davidson had requested additional staff in order' to cope with the 'increased vol nne of work in his' departm ent, This increased workload is valid and is due to the Land Division consent inspections and time increased number of requests from local Municipalities for various functions to be carried out by the Planning Department relating to zoning bylaws etc. The committee agreed not to hire additional staff but to recommend to municipalities that they "wait their turn for the services of the planning department." "As well consent inspections may be delayed but will be reviewed as quickly as possible," the report concluded. MUSEUM The museum budget is up slightly from $34,550 in 1971 to $35,300 this year. This is broken clown to $31,300 for operation of the museum and $4,000 for maintenance. COUNTY DEVELOPMENT The total budget of the County Development Department is $25,900 as compared to a budget of $25,000 in 1071. Included in the budget for 1972 is a proposal with regard to the preparation of a slide presentation relative to industry, recreation, agriculture, etc. in Huron County. Spence Cummings is the county development officer with office in the Court House. CHILDREN'S AID The Children's Aid budget for 1912 was approved at a county share in the amount of $84,078. The total overall budget is $275,059, the difference paid by the province. GENERAL GOVERNMENT Costs for County Council sessions, certain' Please turn to Page 2 progress which had been made since the previous meeting. He claimed he was satisfied that MDC was striving to give more power to the people who paid the bills and noted he had only slight reservations about the resource people who had the right to vote. Anson McKinley. deputy-reeve of Stanley. saw the new system within MDC as a way to get 'regular reports" which "will do much to dispell the concerns about MDC". But Derry Boyle, reeve of Exeter, was not happy with the proposal. Boyle said he understood at the end of 1971 that the county could not afford a county development officer and membership in MDC as well. He said the council had chosen to maintain Spence Cummings as development offic'er and he thought MDC membership should be dropped for one year. Boyle estimated it was costing about $107,000 in Huron already for services similar to those provided by MDC. With MDC membership it would bring the cost to over $113,000, "I'm wondering why this change in thinking at quite an added cost to the county," mused Boyle. Goderich Reeve Paul Carroll said it was not a duplication of services, and Spence Cummings, development officer, said MDC complements county development. Cummings predicted more results from MDC in the next two years and praised Walter Cowing, saying that Gowing is a man with —a lot of good ideas and he can put them across". Reeve Hugh Flynn, Mullett, told council it was time the county body "tightened its belt" but former warden Jack Alexander, reeve of Wingham, said the county council should "be prepared to change our old thinkings when we're presented with anew, improved idea". A recorded vote showed a comfortable margin-23-12--of those who were in favor of membership in MDC under the previously mentioned conditions. Those councillors who voted against joining MDC were Boyle, Bill Elston, Morris; Lloyd Ferguson, Usborne; John Flannery, Seaforth; Flynn; Lloyd Hendrick, Hay; D. R. McGregor, Exeter; Alex McGregor, Tuckersmith; Ken McMichael, Turnberry; DOug McNeil, Colborne; Harold Robinson, Howick; and Elgin Thompson, Tuckersmith, Visit any of the participating places of business and obtain a sales slip or entry form and deposit it in any of five locations which this week are: Beattie Furniture Ltd.; Fabian Furniture Mfg, Co,; Ball & Mutch LtdE; Priceguard; Amsing's. Their ads appear in the first column of the "Bargain World" page and are designated as locations to deposit draw entry slips by the "star" in the corner of their ad. The Clinton Merchants participating in "Bargain World" are: Aiken Brothers; Archer's Sales and Service; Ball and Hutch Ltd.; Beattie Furniture; Lorne Brown Motors Ltd.; Clere-Vu Auto Wreckers; Clinton Electric Shop; Clinton Farm and Garden Centre; Clinton Knitting Centre (Amsing's ); Clinton Public Utilities Commission; Del Mac Fruit and Variety; Fabian Furniture Mfg, Co. Ltd,; P.J. Goldsworthy Motor Sales; Haugh Tire Supply; Ivan and Hickey's Gulf Service Station; Jervis Sales-Aluminum Products; Kum-In Restaurant; J,T, Murphy Ltd. Motor Sales; J.W, Peck Auto Electric; Priveguard; Scruton's Tire and Auto Service; and Clinton News-Record,