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Clinton News-Record, 1974-10-10, Page 1Ciinton, Ontario a25 cents Weather 1974 Hl LO OCTOBER 1973 HI LO 1 48 36 70 44 2 40 34 67 58 3 46 31 66 56 4 57 30 69 53. 5 69 40 .2 42 6 72 50 68 36 7 53 37 63 48 Rain ,95" Rain 0" Clinton News-Record Thursday, October 10, 1974 109th-Year No. 41 Only ruins left Fire last Saturday night caused an estimated $25,000 damage barn fire suffered by the Smiths in the last 14 years. A silo, when it levelled the barn on a farm owned by John W. Smith. of filled with corn, was also badly scorched. (News-Record Goderich Township. The barn, which was only three years old, photo) contained the season's crop of hay and straw. It was the third Fire levels large barn BY J.F. McKinley back in House Huron Member of Parliament, .R.E, (Bob) McKinley is back in the House of Commons in Ottawa after he was released from the .hospital after undergoing a week of tests. Mr. McKinley was admitted to hospital in Ottawa on September 29 after suffering a weak spell and he had been absent from the House since the first week of the present session of Parliament, Mr, McKinley, who underwent a series of tests while in Hospital, said on his release that he was "disgustingly healthy," Upon returning to the House, Mr, McKinley resumed his duties as party whip of the Progressive Conservative party, and last Monday he was appointed to the stan- ding committee for the • Parliamentary Restaurant, Says Gordon Hill Open season declared on farmers Fire last Saturday night completely destroyed the barn on a farm owned by John W. Smith on the 8th Concession of Goderich Township. -The fire was the third barn fire suffered by the family in the last 14 years. The fire last Saturday night was discovered at 10 p.m., but by the time the Clinton Fire Department arrived, the barn was nearly levelled. Damagewas estimated at $25,000.` Pointed gun, man charged A Clinton area man was charged with ointing a firearm after Clinton police rrested a man Sunday night who was ointing a double-barrelled shotgun at a oup of youths on Victoria Street. The gun as loaded. The man will appear in court in Novem- r. Clinton police also report that thieves at Sunday night, or early Monday mor- ing, broke into the refreshment booth at e Clinton arena and stole about $250 orth of cigarettes, a tape deck, and veral tapes. Although no one has been arrested yet, lice are continuing their investigation. here were no signs of forced entry. With the leaves falling in bucketfulls all er town, many people are wondering hat to do with them now that open bur- ng is banned. We relayed' several ggestions in this column in recent weeks, t many Clintonians seem to think the lution to the problem lies with the Town uncil, who could set up a special pick-up d haul the leaves to the dump. If enough ople approach council, then they 011 obably take action. * * * School is back in full swing at Clinton blic this week after the pupils missed eral days during the last two weeks cause there wasn't any heat on at the ool. Altogether, only _five days were stied because the teachers took 1 1 /2 days for Professional Development. Some ex- -curricular activities Will have to be can- led to make up for the missed days, but incipal Al Taylor says the students won't as any of their regular holidays to make for the lost time, . * * * ext Wednesday, October 16, the Cen- nial Committee will meet in the Town 11 11 at 8 p.m. for their regular monthly eting. Things are starting to come ether tor the event, and if you have ything to contribute, be there, * * * ours truly and spouse Lois are going to away from the News-Record for a couple weeks, so we would ask for your co- ration to help our replacement. * * * anksgiving weekend is coming up and usual with most Monday holidays, the t office will be closed and there will be rural delivery. Most stores in town will 6 be closed. The 60 by 100 foot single Storey barn contained the season's crop of hay and straw, but there were no cattle in the barn at the time of the blaze. The Smiths were depending on the feed lost in the fire to feed 40 head of young cattle this winter, and Mrs. Smith told the News-Record, "we don't know where'to get feed now." A 12 foot by 35 foot silo, which was full ,at the time, was badly scorched, but it was saved by the firemen. Mr. Smith had bought the farm in March of this year, but three years ago when the farm was owned by John De Ryder, a barn on the same farm burned to the ground. Because of the high interest rates, Stanley Township council decided at their regular meeting Monday ,to hold back payment of tile ,drainage loans to Stanley farmers until the township has received the money. In the past, most townships gave the money to the farmer when he applies for it, and then the township applies to the treasurer of Ontario for payment, and in most cases it means a wait of six months, during which the township pays a high rate of interest on the money. Stanley accepted two tile drainage loans worth $11,600 and passed a by-law to loan $16,500 under ‘the Tile Drainage Act. Three delegates were present at the meeting asking about the possibilities of BY WILMA OKE The Huron County board of education at a special meeting in Clinton Monday night accepted the tender of Refflinghaus Con- struction Company of Goderich for the con- struction of the addition to Victoria Public School, Goderich. The Refflinghaus tender, lowest of four received, was $744,243 and is subject to ap- proval of ministry of education and On- tario Municipal Board. The project includes the demolition of the original two storey Victoria School building erected in 1910; a single storey ad- dition for home economics, industrial arts and music rooms; a two storey section--on lower floor, a kindergarten, and a general administrative area such as principal's, of- fice, secretary's office and staff room; and on upper floor, library resource centre and two classrooms; and a new section of three classrooms and a multipurpose room to ac- commodate the trainable retarded pupils. The latter group, numbering 26 pupils are enrolled at Queen Elizabeth School, in the former St. Peter's Separate Sdhool in Goderich, and is rented from Huron-Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board. There are 451 elementary pupils in Vic- toria School from grades 1 to 6, They will be accommodated in existing spaces in the school during the construction period. In other business, the board approved another project to be included in its capital forecast for 1975. Each sChool board is required each October to propose its prime capital expenditures fora five-year period. At the last board meeting in September ap- proval was given of a list of four suggestions for elementary schools and one Last Saturday's fire was the third such incident suffered by the Smith family, each tragedy coming seven years apart. In Sep- tember of 1967, a barn on their other farm on the 9th concession burned down, and a fire in September of 1960 levelled another barn on the same farm. Five years ago, in September of 1969, one of the Smith's sons drowned in a gravel pit • in Goderich Township. Clinton Fire Chief Clarence Neilans said there was no cause yet determined for the blaze, but it is under further investigation. The.barn was partially insured. . draining the Varna ball diamond. Council was in general agreement with the idea. Stanley council also gave permission to Tuckersmith Township to sell lottery tickets for their covered swimming pool, and Stanley endorsed a motion from the Village of Zurich asking the provincial government for more money when a stric- ter building code is enforced on smaller recreation centres. In other business, the clerk and the road. superintendent are to apply to the ministry of transportation and communication for interim payment of the road subsidy to Sept. 30. Accounts ordered paid include: general- $18,165, roads-$6,606, and Aikenhead Drain-$4.992. for secondary. The addition approved Mon- day is a capital forecast for secondary schools. It proposes the purchase in 1975 for computer or computer services, primarily as an instruction aid, at a. cost estimated to be $40,000. Robert Allan, superintendent or education, one of members of a committee studying the computer proposal said the committee is in very preliminary, stages of the study. Cancer Society names new slate Chester Archibald of Clinton was named as president of the Huron Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society at their annual meeting in Goderich. He succeeds Gordon Richardson of Clinton, who was president for the last year, Other officers elected include: vice- president, Don R. Kay of Clinton:, secretary, Helen I, Rathwell of Clinton; and treasurer, Harry Merriman of Clinton, Rev, Alvin Beukema of Clinton was named chairman of the Clinton campaign, Named to head the other committees were: memorial fund, Miss Catherine Plumtree of Clinton; education, Mrs. W, T. Harrett of Clinton; medical advisor, Dr. C. F. Doorly of Goderich; planning and development, Mrs. Ted Davies of Clinton; publicity, J. Howard Aitken of Goderich; service to public, and transportation, Mrs Walter J. Forbes of Clinton; and assistant service to public, Mrs, R. Spence Ming:4 of Clinton, Current trends in agriculture and society are threatening the, future of farmers, Gor- don Hill, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture warned Thur- sday night in Hensel!, Mr. Hill warned members of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture that a combination of rising input costs and con- sumer resentment to higher food costs are pushing farmers into a corner. He said farm input cost have been going up for some time but the past couple of years they've soared. He pointed to the cost of petroleum products and fertilizer, the fact that some farm machinery has increased 30 per cent in the past year and could go up- an equal amount in the coming year, the A work stoppage by teachers at the Clin- ton Center of Conestoga College of Applied Arts and Technology and 21 other provin- cial colleges was avoided late Monday night with a breakthrough in contract talks between the Civil Service Association of Ontario and the Ontario Government. Teachers, members of CSAO, had plan- ned a study session Tuesday in Toronto, but it was called off when the negotiators reached an agreement, on the composition of an arbitration board, according to an in- formed source. His information was confirmed by news reports from ,Toronto announcing that the government bowed to teacher demands that an arbitration board to settle the dispute be balanced. Negotiators agreed that the board would be composed of one CSAO member, a government representative and a third party to be selected by the other two. Government refusal to accept this setup before led to a breakdown in talks Septem- ber 29. Teachers then planned the study sessions. Teaching was relatively normal at the Tinto n Ceti t c ha kr n }TRIM' Bjorkquist, chief administrator there, said Tuesday. A few teachers who had planned to at- tend the study sessions, however, didn't show for work. There was speculation among some teachers and administrators at colleges that there were instructors who didn't hear about the breakthrough in contract talks Although Ontario Hydro has raised the cost of electricity 12.4 per cent, most per- sons in Clinton may not feel the increase until later next year, according to local Public Utilities officials. Hydro announced the increase, the third in as many years, recently and the new rate becomes effective on January first of next year to wholesale municipal customers like the Clinton PUC. Rural customers around Clinton will pay an additional 11.4 per cent the first of next year, and large industrial customers will see their bills go up by an average of 15.2 per cent. In a letter to Darcy McKeough, Ontario Minister of Energy, Hydro Chairman George Gathercole said that Hydro's board of directors had accepted in principle the recommendations of the Ontario Energy Board on the key factors affecting 1975 rates with one significant exception--the recovery of deficits from the industrial and rural systems. cost of credit, labour and building materials. Mr. Hill said livestock producers were in the worst position. He said that in 1970 it was estimated it cost $156 to produce a calf. Today, he said, based on the rise in in- put costs since that time, it should cost $236. He told of a farmer he knew who kept cattle all last winter and this summer and got $10 less per head when he sold them this fall. This bleak outlook, he said, is combined with a "determined onslaught" to destroy marketing legislation. Mr. Hill said the big city press is part of this onslaught by "people who don't want to see farmers well-organized and in a position to do until 'after they had left for study sessions. News that the study sessions had been called off was broadcast on several radio stations and appeared in morning daily newspapers Tuesday but a CSAO spokesrinan said it was impossible to inform every teacher about it, Now that arbitration has began, teachers, administrators and 'government officials have expressed hope that a set- tlement will be reached soon. Teachers have been without a working contract since September 1, 1973. One of their main demands is for better working conditions. Teachers claim they are overworked, having the highest class workloads of all North American college systems. Teachers also want, as one CSAO negotiator said, "reasonable assurances" of continuing employment. They have made complaints that when budget cuts are made at the province's community colleges, teachers are fired but administrators continue working. Some teachers maintain that administration costs have increased despite spending cut- .Wks' .'the ldattlew years.„ Teachers are asking for a 25 per cent raise over two years and improved benefits for councillors and librarians. The government, which bargains through the Council of Regents, has offered no com- ment on the improved benefits but a mem- ber of the teacher negotiating team said last week that salary demands had been met. In April Hydro proposed an increase of 15.3 per cent in wholesale rates to municipalities and a 16 per cent increase to direct industrial customers. In its report to the Minister of Energy in September following a public review of the Hydro sub- mission, the OEB proposed a rate of 12.7 per cent for municipalities and 14.5 to the direct industrials. The decision to recover deficits is the ,reason the industrial rate is slightly higher (0.7 per cent) than proposed by the OEB. The 12.4 per cent increase in wholesale rates is a precise'ealculation of the effects of the OEB's recommendations. The increases announced today represent a decrease in revenue to Hydro of ap- proximately $22 million, compared with the original rate proposal. "In accepting generally the OEB recom- mendations on rates," the letter said, "the Hydro Board does is° with some concern because they will result in heavier borrowings at a time when interest rates are rising," something in the marketplace," Mr. Hill pointed to the situation over the spoilage of two and a quarter million dozen eggs and said no one had anything good to say for the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency during the uproar, No one pointed out, he said, that C.E,M,A. saved con- sumers money last fall by prohibiting ex- ports to the U.S. No one pointed out, he said, that C.E.M,A. had offered all the eggs that spoiled for sale but there was no buyer. No one pointed out that C.E.M.A. tried to get the government to buy the eggs for foreign aid but the government wouldn't buy. No one pointed out that C.E.M.A. tried to sell the eggs to the breaking trade. The press, he said, didn't try to be fair. They dealt with numbers of eggi saying 28 million, not talking in terms of dozens as eggs are usually numbered. The press pur- sued a policy of "keeping it in front of the public as long as possible" Mr. Hill said, as they worked on a little detail each day. Recent treatment of C.E.M.A. in the press which ridiculed sending of eggs from Newfoundland to British Columbia was also unfair he said. The facts, Mr. Hill said, were that the eggs had gone beyond their normal shelf life and C.E.M.A. tried to find a breaker who could handle them before they spoiled. The only breaker who could handle the eggs was in the West. One shipment took only seven days and arrived in excellent condition. Another took three weeks and was shifted from one box-car to another at least once during the -trip leading to considerable breakage and spoilage for which Canadian National Railways had accepted full responsibility. This, however, Mr. Hill said, had not been mentioned in news reports. Mr. Hill said the "Committee to Reform Egg Marketing" which has been formed by some discontented egg producers would destroy C.E.M.A. and warned that farmers are being asked to finance the destruction of their own marketing board by suppor- ting the committee. He said those against, Xnatiktilig boards want the control of far- ming to go back to those who "continue to farm farmers." He said farmers that don't support marketing legislation are digging their own graves. Mr Hill said: "We as farmers are going to have to be pretty going to have to look carefully at things put before us. Nobody's against farmers until the farmer tries to do (continued on page 1,1) The major departure from the OEB's recommendations is the recovery of deficits from rural and directcroilntdinuusetrd oial ncustomers.page1) 7 Penny sale is biggest one ever. The 1974 Penny Sale sponsored by the Women's Auxiliary to the Clinton Public Hospital culminated on Saturday with the annual prize-drawing. This year's effort proved to be the most successful in the Sale's 20 year history. Due to the generosity of the area's citizens and businesses a total of 168 gifts were offered, resulting in the purchase of over 100,000 chances. The $1,117 netted will be used to buy new hospital equipment and conveniences for its patients. To the affair's donors, workers and supporters, a very sincere and well-deserved "Thank you!" from the Auxiliary. Stanley holds back loans School tend er is awarded Conestoga strike averted Hydro rates to jump in January Will soon be gone Workmen last week started tearing down the old railroad station in Clinton and expect to have it torn down by the end of the Month. Cliff Hallam of Clinton and his brother bob of Auburn have bought the old station and intend to recover at much wood In the old building at possible, Flecehtly vandali have smashed out many of the windows. The last passenger train came through Clinton on November 5, 1070, and the station has not been used since. (News-Record photo)