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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1974-05-09, Page 1Ownership of beach land cleared up, GB gives approval to mobile home park Senior units starting soon It took a long time but the village of Grand Bend has finally learned from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources as to who owns the beach. A letter signed by D. R. Fort- ner, district manager of the Ministry which was related to a specific property said the province owns all the bank lands, It went on to say, "the original grant of the township of Bosanquet to the Canada Com- pany reserved and excepted "all navigable streams, waters and water courses with the beds and banks thereof." "It therefore follows that the Canada Company had no authority to sell or transfer lands beyond the banks on Lake Huron, and any subsequent deed that defined a limit (to the water's edge) is clearly in error." "There is no similarity bet- ween this situation and the Walker-Stockton case in the township of Bertie. In the latter case, the original crown grant read "to the water's edge" and it was these words that constituted the basis for litigation." Commenting on the letter, Reeve Bob Sharen said, "although this letter referred only to the former Lakeview Casino property now owned by Bend Holdings, I would presume the conditions would hold for all situations in Grand Bend." The 32-unit senior citizen apartment unit planned for Exeter may be ready for op- cupancy by December it was .announced this Weak. The Ontario Housing Cor- poration, which will build the facility, expects the working drawings to be completed in June,and after they are ap- proved by council, tenders will be Called. 'The apartment units, which will be rented on a geared-to- income plan, will be located in the block south-east of South Huron District High School, on land purchased from Gord McTavish. Sharen went on to say, "This decision is certainly long overdue and is more than welcome. A decision like this 10 years ago would have prevented a lot of problems." For many years, the village has paid the province $25 per yer for a licence of occupation of beach land but the boundaries of the land in question had never been clearly defined. Grand Bend council Monday night passed a bylaw to govern a new mobile home park which is planned for a 50 acre property within the boundaries of the municipality. Pine Ridge Development Limited has purchased 50 acres Hensall firm hit two times formerly owned by Ray Pat- terson and is planning a 300 mobile home development. Spence Meecham sales manager of Bendix Home Systems Limited of Hensall who represented the owners told council the mobile home park would be a continuation of a similar development now un- derway on adjoining property in Stephen township, The Stephen development on the former Hamilton farm is known as Grand Coves Estate and is expected to have 150 homes fully serviced by the end of 1974. The Grand Bend bylaw restricts the number of homes which may be placed on one acre of land to six. Village solicitor Bill Dyer said it appeared regulations of the local bylaw were tighter than those in the City of London. Dyer pointed out the bylaw in question applied only to the Grand Coves Estate property and could be used as guidelines only for any further development of the same type. The homes for the Stephen and Grand Bend development are double wide mobile homes and are manufactured by Bendix Home Systems Limited in Hensall. After the bylaw was passed Councillor Tom Webster said, "this looks like it will be a first class park and should make a model community," The annual audit report for the year 1973 for the village of Grand Bend shows a deficit in the 12 month period of $1,300. The overall deficit is now $25,054 which includes $23,754 left in arrears from 1972. Of this amount $13,047 came from 1971. Expenditures were up $53,540 from 1972 to a total of $332,843 while revenue increased by close to the same figure. BUSY PLANTING TREES — The Conservation club at South Huron District High School with the help of Girl Guides planted more than 60 trees Saturday in Riverview Park and at Exeter public and Precious Blood schools. Shown in the above picture are Mary Margaret Jeffrey of SHDHS, Guides Cindy Fisher and Barb Armstrong and Jim Rowan of the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority. The Authority supplied the trees. T-A photo One Hundred and First Year EXETER, ONTARIO, MAY 9, 1974 Price Per Copy 25 Cents Kinsmen schedule bicycle skill test Exeter council to explore need for community day care centre extending the service at this time. Mrs. Hohner also explained there was a waiting list for the school operated by Mrs. Farquhar. While some councillors were prepared to request the ministry to undertake a survey, Reeve Please turn to page 3 A Hensall farm machinery dealership was victimized by thieves on two occasions during the past week. On Satuday, a set of wheels was reported stolen from Hyde Bros. They were later recovered and three juveniles from Hensall have been charged as a result, On Monday, a break and enter was discovered. This time $250 worth of tools and an adding machine were reported missing. Two Huron Park juveniles have been charged following the theft of a bicycle in that community. The bicycle was taken from the residence of Mrs. Mary Little, 129 Kensington Cres. It was recovered. Provincial Police are also investigating two incidents where the signals on CNR crossings were activated by vandals. One incident occurred on the Crediton Road crossing and the other at the County Road 21 crossing. Also under investigation is the smashing of seven small windows at South End Service in Exeter. A shovel owned by the firm was believed used to break the win- dows. Blood was found on the tool, leading police to believe the vandals may have cut them- selves in the act. There didn't appear to be any attempt at entering the building. Suggests closing access to dump There was a suggestion this week that private citizens may be barred from having access to the Exeter dump. That suggestion was made by Councillor Ted Wright after council received a letter from the ministry of the environment outlining many "unsatisfactory" practices at the dump in Hay Township. The letter, which followed a recent inspection, outlined poor housekeeping practices, im- proper covering of refuse and the fact that burning was still being allowed. Wright said the only solution may be to close the dump to the public. "It may cost some (for extra garbage pickups) but it will cost more if the dump is closed by the government," he explained. Wright also suggested municipalities should "put the heat" on the senior levels of government to see what they were going to do about pollution and garbage. Councillor Tom MacMillan replied the Ontario government's position appeared to be that it was up to the municipalities, basing that remark on a speech by a cabinet minister last week in which it was stated municipal Please turn to page 3 County plan board vetoes senior units In answer to a question from Councillor Tom MacMillan, she said between 25 and 30 children were involved in the day care centre in Wingham. The local social worker reported talking to 15 working mothers in the community who would avail themselves of the facility if it were provided in Exeter. She explained that the nursery school now operated by Mrs. Linda Farquhar, was on a half day basis only and Mrs. Farquhar was not interested in Pressured into The Huron County planning board has recommended to Hay township council that if ap- plication is made by the Bluewater Rest Home for a senior citizens home it be denied. Hay council received the report Monday night from Nick Hill of the Huron planning department. It said the proposed development was in direct contravention of the official county, plan. Hay had given tentative approval for the home about a month ago. Directors of the Bluewater Rest Home agreed about a month ago to proceed with construction of a three phase apartment unit for senior citizens and the township had given earlier tentative approval. An application for a building permit has not yet been made by citing objection FROM THE CHARLESTON ERA — Spectators at Thursday's variety show at Usborne Central school saw three Charleston dancers in action. From the left are, Carol Allen, Lisa Westcott and Donna Stewart. A HOLE IN THE BUCKET — The old folk song, "there's a hole in the bucket"was re-enacted atThursday's variety show at Usborne Central School. Shown above with proof of the worthless bucket are Richard Neevil and Bonnie Westlake. T-A photo The "conflict" between Exeter council and John Tzavaras of the Burkley Restaurant continues. The latest is that ccuncil have filed an objection with the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario on the proposal by the Burkley to secure a liquor permit. Council's action was taken at a special meeting a week ago. The press was not invited to the meeting and little discussion was held about the objection at this week's regular council session. "I won't mention any names, but we were pushed into it", Mayor Jack Delbridge said in reference to council filing the objection. "We were forced to, whether we like it or not", Reeve Derry Boyle added. Council's objection stems from the fact that Burkley does not have the required parking under the town's zoning bylaws. One parking space must be provided for every four seats in a licenced establishment. This restriction does not apply to businesses between Sanders and Huron Street and Councillor Tom MacMillan thought this should be changed so everyone would be required to meet the same requirements, regardless of location. While members of council have filed the objection over the liquor permit application, there ap- peared to be some who would have preferred to see a licenced restaurant in Exeter. MacMillan noted that the Burkley would have been providing a good service to the community, Barn, pigs destroyed, loss hits $50,000 the directors of the home. Their proposal was to build on an eight acre property recently purchased from Robert Westlake. It is situated directly across Highway 84 from the present Bluewater Rest Home. The Huron department report concluded that agriculture is the backbone of the county's economy and infiltration of urban development as represented by the proposed plan is directly in conflict with the official county plan and its objectives. In other business, council: Rejected an application from Ivan Kalbfleisch to sever a portion of Lot 21, Con. 11 in the township. The application was submitted by Exeter solicitors Raymond and McLean. Took steps to remove a railway box car owned by David Stark located on the property of Glen Thiel on Concession 14. Instructed clerk Wayne Horner to contact the Ontario Ministry of the Environment to investigate the possibility of an improper dump site on the farm of Marten Martens at Lot 25, LRE Con- cession. Appointed the, Lucan engineering firm of C.P. Corbett to prepare a drain improvement plan as requested by Elzaar Masse and Jerome Dietrich in the areas of Lot 18, Concession 12 and 13. Instructed the clerk to call the tenders for "the supply and hauling of approximately 20,000 cubic yards of sand cushion to be applied on the road from Lot 6 to Lot 15, Concession 2 and 3. Tenders to be submitted by 12 noon June 3, 1974. Loss has been estimated at $50,000 in a Monday night fire which completely destroyed a barn on the farm of Mr. and Mrs. David Brock in Tuckersmith township. Also lost in the blaze were 127 hogs, including 75 sows, some farm machinery and six tons of corn. Some lumber which was to be used to build an adjoining barn was also damaged. The Hensall and Brucefield volunteer fire brigades answered the call but the fire was out of control when they arrived. Mr. Brock said he was wat- ching television when he heard "a pop" and the whole sky was red, "It was just a ball of fire when I looked towards the barn, I At the prompting of social worker Marilyn Hohner, Exeter council agreed this week to in- vestigate the possibility of staging a survey in town to determine the need for a day care centre. A motion was presented originally to have, the ministry of community and social services conduct such a study, but this was altered to merely finding out the cost involved in such a sur- vey. Mrs. Hohner, an Exeter resident who is a field worker for the ministry, said she felt a day care centre is an "essential service" required in Exeter. .She 4istes1„ the, following redsons to back up her con- tentions: 1. There are many working mothers who have difficulty arranging adequate day care for their children. 2. Many young children of mothers at home do not have the opportunity to socialize with children of their ages, and would benefit from the many learning experiences at a day care centre. 3. Many mothers raising children alone now on welfare programs may be able to go to work if subsidized day care was available, hence making these families nearly self-sufficient. 4. Local industries would be assured of a better supply of female labor because women would be assured of excellent care for their children at a reasonable cost, 5. Unemployment may drop, since one reason many women cease work is for lack of care for their children while they work. 6. Women are an essential part of the work force; indeed, it takes two salaries to run most households. Mrs. Hohner told council that the ministry would provide 80 percent of the cost of renovating an existing building to provide a day care centre, or they would give 50 percent of the cost of a new building. She said she was "quite sure" the province also picked up 80 percent of any deficit in the operation of a day care centre. An average fee was listed at $3.50 per day per child for use of the day care centre, although Mrs. Hohner said she was under the impression that provision is made for subsidies to families not being able to afford that charge. tried to get some of the pigs out but was unable to breathe due to the extensive smoke and flames," he added. The Brock farm is located at Lot 1, Concession 14 of Tucker- smith township and is about three miles east of Hensall. The hogs destroyed were SPF stock and included York-Duroc and York-Landrace. Mr. Brock resigned his post as Associate Agricultural Representative for the County of Middlesex only a month ago to devote full time to his farming operation, The loss was only partially covered by insurance. Cause of the blaze has not been deter- mined. No decision has been made on rebuilding. Ministry change mind, could sell post office With the new post office in Exeter nearing completion, the present facility will be made available to the town if they wish it. A federal government official . is expected in Exeter this week to discuss use of the building with council members. Clerk Eric Carscadden said this week that the town could rent or purchase the present post office, adding that it would be made available at "market value". Council had previously in- dicated a desire to lease the building for 10 years, but at that time, they had been advised it could not be purchased. However, that had changed apparently. The matter has been turned Mayor side-steps skating challenge Exeter Mayor Jack Delbridge will not be among those par- ticipating in the roller skate- athon planned for the Grand Bend roller rink on May 19. Proceeds from the event go to the ARC workshop operated at Dashwood by the South Huron and District Association for the Mentally Retarded. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom issued the Mayor with a challenge to participate. "You're not on," Mr. Delbridge quickly replied. He added that if he went roller skating and bumped his head, he'd have to go to school at the workshop for retarded adults. over to the town's property committee. The committee will also in- vestigate the cost involved in installing their own gasoline storage tanks and pumps at the new works department workshop on Nelson St. At the present time, council purchases gas for all vehicles from local service stations on a revolving basis. All vehicles owned by the town would apparently be serviced from the new tank if it is acquired. "Do the savings outweigh the costs?" asked Councillor Ted Wright, noting that the discount was not as great as it once was. Reeve Derry Boyle, who had investigated the purchase of tanks and pumps, said there would be a saving over a three- year period or more. The Exeter Kinsmen area are again sponsoring a bicycle rodeo for youngsters of Exeter and area. The rodeo will be held on Saturday, May 18 at the Exeter arena. The Exeter police departmentwillbe co-operating with the service club in this venture. Persons wishing to participate are asked to be at the arena by 9 a.m. Safety Medallions and cash prizes will be awarded. All bicycles should be in a safe and roadworthy condition and be licenced for this year. Hillman, service officer Harvey Pfaff; executive Lee Webber and service officer Reg McDonald. Front, treasurer Phil Campbell, secretary Doug Sweet, past president John McAllister, president Henry Dyck, vice- pres, Doug Brintnell and Graham Mason service officer Ted Pooley. LEGION OFFICERS INSTALLED — The new slate of officers for the R.E. Pooley Exeter branch 167 of the Royal Canadian Legion was installed Friday night. Back, left, padre Rev. George Anderson; executive Gor- don McTavish, Stan Obre and Mahlon Ryckman; sot. at arms Harvey Kennedy, Dorothy Pfaff and Shari Burton. Front', secretary Barb Hearn, treasurer Norma Brintnell, past president Irene Jackson, presi- dent Bernice Shipman and vice-presidents Noel Westlake and Pauline Dyck. T,A photo INSTALL LEGION AUXILIARY' OFFICERS — Friday night the slate of officers for 1974.75 of the Ladies Auxiliary of the R.E. Pooley Exeter branch 167 of the Royal Canadian Legion was installed. Back, left, ex- ecutive Annie Lawson; sgt. of arms Marg Wragg; executive Anne " n'A.• • a