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Times-Advocate, 1979-04-04, Page 24Page 24 Times-Advocate, April 4, 1979 There may be oil in Huron, but county delay giving lease By JEFFSEDDON A representative of the Shell Canada Limited hinted to county council Thursday that there maybe oil deposits under some county owned lands. But council was told that unless Shell was given mineral rights to those lands test wells to find that oil may never be drilled. David Johnson, a land man for Shell Canada Resources, told council that extensive exploration for oil and gas indicated that if there was oil in southwestern Ontario it was in Huron County. He said exploration programs started in 1976 had narrowed down potential drilling sites for oil and Huron County had the most potential. Johnson said Shell was in competition with Amoco in the search for oil and because of that competition would not specify what county owned lands the firm was interested in getting the rights for. He did say that the land was near the lake and that the test well, if it was drilled, would be drilled adjacent to county lands not on them. He told council that before an oil company drills test wells it must have a “han- MERNER'S 237-3677Dashwood Regular Cut SIDES OF BEEF 80% Lean __ GROUND BEEF o s Ib sfjg Regular Price 2.29 - ‘1.53 Del Monte TOMATO JUICE e-iooc^s *8.25 100 oz. cans each 1.49 McCain FRENCH FRIES *5.00 Sj/isorea/es IVFii AUCTION complex ONTARIO'S LARGEST FARM EQUIPMENT AUCTION COMPLEX ONTARIO'S SPECIALISTS IN DEALER INVENTORY REDUCTION & FARM AUCTION APRIL 17, 1979 at 10:00 A.M. FEATURING — 150 new & used tractors from 20 h.p. to 300 h.p. including big H.P. 2 & 4 W.D. tractors 200-300 pieces Farm Equipment, Planters, Plows, Discs, Cultivators HELD AT RATHWELL AUCTION COMPLEX (S^uth of Clinton off #4 Highway) 40 Mlles North of London 45 Miles West of Kitchener For Farmer Or Dealer Consignment Call-519-527-1336 519-527-1458 Larry McLean • General Manager SALE DATES 1979 April 1 7th May 15th June 19th July 17th Aug 21st Sept. 18th Oct. 16th Nov 20th Dec. 18th die” on mineral rights. He said Shell had leased mineral rights on acreage in the 100,000’s in Huron before it began seismic tests for oil reserves. He said the company would not drill test wells unless it had the sole rights to any oil or gas discovered. He explained to council that the county land was the only section Shell did not have mineral rights to in the area it wanted to drill, He said if the county did not grant the mineral rights the test well would not be drilled. He added that the firm plans to start test drilling in the next few months suggesting council not delay on a decision to grant or not grant the rights. Oil exploration started in southwestern Ontario four years ago when companies began leasing mineral rights to lands. Once most of the rights had been been secured two years of seismic testing began. The bulk of the sound testing took place on the side of roads in the county but Johnson said some times the testing was done on private land. He said the seismic testing enabled researchers to map subterranian levels giving them a better idea of where oil deposits could be. He said all the seismic testing does is tellthemwhere oil or gas could be. Once that is determined a test drill is dug. Council was approached earlier on granting mineral rights to county owned land but turned the request down • on the advice of the county solicitor. The advice from the solicitor indicated that council should not confuse or confine rights on publicly owned lands. Coupled with that is the refusal of the province of Ontario dividual elusive lands. Some county lands, most of which are reforestation projects, are owned in co­ operation with the province and the province demands that no mineral rights be granted. Usborne reeve Bill Morley told Johnson he should be more specific if he wanted a favorable decision from council. He said it may help i council to make a decision if it knew the potential for oil to grant any in- or firm any ex­ rights to public discovery, how much land Shell wanted to lease and how much oil the firm hoped to find. He said he had leased mineral rights on lands he owned and received $100 a year. He added that he would not be interested in granting a lease for one quarter of an acre for 25 cents but may be interested in a lease worth $25,000 a year. Johnson said he was not in position to be that explicit but could say that it would net the county more than $1,000 a year but he didn’t know if it would be $30,000. He added that if oil was discovered the county would receive 12.5 percent of the price of a barrel of oil. The Shell representative said the land in Huron county was on the fringe of the Michigan basin. He said that underground land formation had enjoyed some very productive oil wells and his firm was interested in seeing if the Michigan basin ex­ tended to Huron county. He said the productivity of the wells in northern Michigan was not com­ parable to Oklahoma oil wells pointing out Huron county “does not have a mini Alberta”. Morley said council should look at the Shell proposal claiming council “had nothing to lose”. He said it appeared if any oil was under county lands council would have to give Shell mineral rights before that oil could be pumped out. He said council should not be “overly concerned” about the environment since the test well was not going to damage anything. But the Usborne reeve did say council should lease all of its land or none of it. He said it was much better to get a cheque for $30,000 than it was a cheque for $1,000. Seaforth reeve John Flannery suggested council hold out for the best deal possible. He said if there was oil there in any quantities the oil companies would be back. He suggested the development committee investigate the mineral rights for county lands and report back to council. Warden Jack Tinney agreed with Flannery pointing out that the oil companies are “quite ac­ cessible when they want lease”. for 1979-80 kindergarten classes was heldRegistrationUSBORNE KINDERGARTEN — _ __________ ...... Thursday. New students Jenny Gardiner and Tonya Riehl and Mary Gardiner watch as they are signed in by school secretary Judy Squire. Surplus helps out r Easter Celebration at the Exeter Christian Reformed Church April 10, 1979 8:00 p.m. An evening of music featuring — An Easter Cantata by the choir directed by Al DeHaan ac­ companied by Ralph Topp — Special numbers — Audience participa­ tion Refreshments will be served Come and join us r~~~ Party For DOUG REGIER HURON PARK ANNEX Saturday April 7, 1979 9-1 ______J < t • Increase 1.79 percent The province pays the lion’s share of public works. The county contributes $1,- 186,000 and had to pay just $48,000 of the $186,000 costs Budget is set for fire board A budget of $58,766 for the Exeter & Area fire depart­ ment was approved by Ex­ eter council this week. However, an additional item of $15,000 for an addi­ tion to the south bay at the fire hall was not included as the matter is under discus­ sion by all four councils in­ volved in the fire area board. The fire hall is owned by the town, and Reeve Si Sim­ mons said there was some debate whether the townships should share in the cost of the addition. He said there was no big problem arising out of the situation but the township representatives wished time to discuss the matter with their councils. About $40,000 of the $58,000 budget is for salaries, un­ iforms, insurance, benefits and liability costs. If property taxes in Huron county go up in 1979 it won’t be because costs increased at the county level. Huron county council ap­ proved its 1979 budget Thursday approving a 1.79 percent increse, a total of $48,000 on a $2,711,000 budget. The remainder of the county expenses will come from $4.4 million in provincial with fees vices. County said a $421,236 surplus from 1978 was used in the budget to hold the county levy down. He said the surplus, along with an increase in assessment of slightly more than two percent enabled council to give ratepayers in the county a break this year. Hanly added that the coun­ ty budget enables individual municipalities to determine their own mill rate, putting no pressure on them to pay higher county costs. The biggest chunk of the county expenses is in public works where a $186,000 in­ crease brought the total costs for roads and services to $3,335,000. grants coupled for county ser- clerk Bill Hanly for public works increased. The town of Goderich, the largest contributor to the county coffers, had its ap­ portionment increased $2,- 234 to $371,925. Exeter will pay $179,862, $13,140 more than last year. Clinton costs went up $4,295 to $141,968, Wingham will pay $6389 more for a total of $138,074 and Seaforth’s levy in­ creased $6,909 to $90,063. Most townships and villages were handed slight increases in the county levy but some actually had decreases. Brussels and Hensall both enjoyed decreased county costs, Brussels by $2,939 for a total county levy of $36,729 and Hensall by $3,160 for a 1979 levy of $51,125. The township of Ashfield, McKillop, Stanley, Stephen, Usborne and East Wawanosh had decreases in their county levy. ---------------------------1 S.H.R.S. Public Skating Sat., April 7 2-4 p.m. Sun., April 8. Cancelled due to hockey game. V ___________/ —------------------ Zurich-Grand Bend Figure Skating Club HARD TIMES DANCE ZURICH COMMUNITY CENTRE April 7, 1979 Dancing 8:30- 1:00 Music by A DISC JOCKEY Lunch Included $8.00 per couple Tickets available at the door-___J lilllllllllUlltllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllltlllll lllllllllllillltlllllllllllllllllllllllilillllllllr BINGO Thurs., April 5 EXETER LEGION HALL • 17 Regular • 1 Jackpot • 2 Share-the- Wealth JACKPOT $250 in 53 calls BONUS $225 BALL BROWNIE'S DRIVE-IN Licence No. 212181 1 admission per person No Reserve Seats Admission *1.00 for 18 Rounds Extra cards 25’ each or 5/ *1.00 Share-the-Wealth - 5 for‘l .00 11 for *2.00 . _ Sponsored By Ladies'Auxiliary No One Under 16 Years of Age Will Be Admitted .MlllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllltllllllllliillllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllilI "Special Event” EDGAR BAILLIE Main Appearances On 100 Huntley Street - PTL Club - 700 Club EXPERIENCE GOD'S POWER IN ACTION PLEASE COME AND BRING A FRIEND EXETER TOWN HALL 8:00 April 5, 6, 7 BIG CELEBRATION — The 25th wedding anniversaries of six couples from one family were celebrated Friday at St.A BIG CELEBRATION — The 25th wedding anniversaries of six couples from one family were celebrated Friday at St. Patrick's Church and the Lucan Community Centre. The six marriages were held at the same time on March 30, 1954. From the left are Rika and Frank Bertens, RR 7, London; Lucy and John Van Haaren, RR 3, Thedford; Tiny and Jos Bertens, Holland; An­ nie and Jerry Bertens, RR 1, Mitchell; Anne and Adrian Dekort, RR 2, Denfield and Jo and Piet Bertens, Holland. T-A photo THEATRE Beech Street CLINTON OBTAIN THE MAXIMUM SELL BY AUCTION Opening Thursday April 12 for the season AUCTIONEERS, LIQUIDATORS. APPRAISERS >7 MAIN ST. • SEAFORTH, ONTARIO NOK 1WO (519) 527-1458 Watch next week’s paper for the opening program NEED A PLACE t^a/Xffle/Z 2ZS^isorta/es AUCTION CALENDAR April 4th - Urbain Blockeel Farm Equipment Auc­ tion, RR #1 Seaforth April 7th-George Bedard, St. Joseph's, Farm Equipment Auction April 10th - Don Rader, Dashwood, Farm Machinery Auction. April 14th - Shouldice Property, 317 acres, Walton 10:30 a.m. April 14th - Estate of M. Laidlaw, property, fur­ niture, Egmondville 1 p.m. April 17fh - Rathwell & Associates Farm Equip­ ment, Clinton, Tractors & Farm Equipment. 10:30 a.m. April 17th - Dave Irwin, farm machinery at Rathwell Auction Complex. April 21 st - Rathwell & Associates Auction, Seaforth April 21st - Anna Redmond, furniture, glass and china, Seaforth, 10:30 a.m. April 21st - Rob Taylor (new, modern furniture) Rathwell Building. April 24th - Rathwell Complex, hotel and restaurant equipment auction. April 25th - Kintail Grocery Auction, Kintail 5 p.m. April 28th - Rathwell & Associates Auction, cars, recreation vehicles, lawn and garden equipment, Clinton 10:30 a.m. May 2nd - Fair Board Auction, Seaforth. May 5th - Seaforth Auction, antiques and furniture, Rathwell Building. May 12th - Garage equipment, tools and trucks, Ripley. May 15th - Rathwell Equipment Auctions, tractors and farm equipment. May 19th - Ethel Beattie, property, antiques, fur­ niture, etc., Seaforth. May 26th - Pearl Campbell, Rathwell Building, Seafoi th. May 30 - Kincardine Business Auction. AUCTIONEERS, LIQUIDATORS, APPRAISERS 77 MAIN ST, • SEAFORTH, ONTARIO NOK 1WO (519) S27-1458 FORA BUSINESS MEETING & LUNCHEON I Says meters only fair way to bill Exeter PUC chairman Chan Livingstone suggested this week that water meters are the only fair Fri., Apr. 6 1 p.m. — Self propelled combine, 2 tractors, 2 trucks, machinery. Len Bowman 3rd farm east of Benmiller. ****** Richard Lobb AUCTION CALENDAR Sat., Apr. 7 12 Noon — Furniture, household effects at Richard Lobb's barn, Clinton. ****** Sat., Apr. 14 10:30 a.m. — Household effects, tractor, machinery etc., for Grant Fisher, 2nd farm eat of Benmiller. Richard Lobb AUCTIONEER | Clinton 482-7898 and reasonable way on which to base water charges, but he was told that JIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIU You're invited to our greenhouses for a preview of Spring See what we have growing for you! APRIL 6-14 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 8,2-5 Good Friday 2-8 While you are here pick out your EASTER LILY from 150 plants averaging 6 blooms HURON RIDGE ACRES David Steckle & Family R.R, 2 Phone: Zurich 565-2122 1 ’4 mi. west of Zurich then 3 Vj mi. north X their cost may outweigh those advantages. Livingstone commented at Friday’s meeting that water ; billing can never be done ; fairly using a flat rate and I said that “sooner or later” I meters should be installed. i While manager Hugh Davis agreed that flat rate was not fair, he suggested that meters could result in most consumers paying higher water rates and some would increase substantial­ ly- He explained that the cost of meters would be between $200,000 and $300,000 and the only saving would be that meters may prompt some people to use water more wisely and therefore reduce the overall consumption and the operating costs. But he said that operating costs in general would go up because of the required debenture payments to finance the meters in the first place. “The widow would pay less, but the family man would pay a lot more,” he said in reference to using meters. Mayor Derry Boyle said he couldn’t see any great problem with the present system, noting that most forms of taxation were un­ fair in some regard. Livingstone agreed with Davis that the current water rates represented good value, but said “they’re very high if you don’t use much water”. r FLEA MARKET LUCAN COMMUNITY CENTRE Sun., May 6 Anyone interested in renting space please call 227.4221 NOTE — Rescheduled from May 13 J • We provide catering to groups or clubs of up to 50 people. • Guided tours of our workshop also available upon re­ quest. ARC INDUSTRIES 237-3667 DASHWOOD --------------------------- Dance To THE BLUEWATER PLAYBOYS on April 14,1979 9 p.m. - 1 a.m. AT THE KIRKTON-WOODHAM COMMUNITY CENTRE No Blue Jeans Please Sponsored By The Order Of The Eastern Star $6.00 Per Couple Proceeds will be a donation to the Cancer Society E.S.T.A.R1. j A Huron County Family Planning Project Invites You To Attend FAMILY PLANNING CLINIC Every Tuesday from 6:30 - 9 p.m. HURON COUNTY HEALTH UNIT Ann St., Exeter For Information Call 235-1014 Weekdays or Tuesday evenings Everyone welcome Gallant's Moulin Rouge Restaurant and Tnvem Open for another season Friday, April 6, 1979 We are happy to serve and satisfy all our patrons once again. Your Hosts - Inge and George Highway 21, Grand Bend One block north of traffic lights. For reservations please call 238-2901