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Times-Advocate, 1978-09-21, Page 1eauties, beasts and music highlight three days of fair Everything is in readiness for the 124th edition of the Exeter Fall Fair. Sponsored by the Exeter Agricultural Society it will be held this week end at the Exeter fairgrounds and the South Huron Rec Centre. The Rec Centre will be used for exhibit purposes and the various shows planned. GETS SPECIAL AWARD — Lila Hume, secretary-treasurer of the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority recently receiv­ ed special recognition from Ontario Conservation Authorities. The plaque reads in part, "for long and outstanding service as an outspoken advocate and a member of many com­ mittees to expedite the work of the Authority by improvement of administrative policies and procedures.” T-A photo Council set priority for sewers, roads Exeter council this week approved the necessary planning for next year’s suggested sewer and road work, but the final decision on whether the projects will be undertaken will be left to the newly elected council. Public works chairman Ted Wright outlined several areas of town that should be given priority, the major project being a storm sewer to alleviate the frequent sur­ face ponding and basement flooding that occurs in the area west of Carling St. and north of Gidley. The work includes an out­ fall sewer from Wellington St. to the Ausable River, and sewers along Wellington St. from 330' east of Carling to 300’ west of Marlborough and on Carling St. from Wellington to 400’ south of Victoria. Estimated cost of that project is $216,000. The pro­ ject also includes further Developer plans more apartments Local developer Len Veri has submitted plans for a second apartment building on his property in the block bounded by Sanders, Carling, Gidley and William St. and council this week agreed to enter into an agreement with him that calls for the demolition of both houses located on Carling St. Council had ordered previously that the house on the north side of the property would have to be removed to permit the initial apartment, and Veri has now agreed to remove the former Chester Mawhinney home to facilitate the second building. All the property in question will also be placed under one title. At Monday night’s meeting, Veri advised the T- A that the new apartment building would house 24 units, of both two and three- bedroom size. The original three-storey building houses 29 units. VISIT LIBRARY FOR RESEARCH — The Exeter Public Library is a busy spot these days Cis school students do research for various projects. Shown above are Sheri Alexander, Marilyn Hamilton, Debbie Josephson and Deb Brunzlow. T-A photo The Fair will be officially opened Friday night at 7.45 p.m. by Huron County’s newly crowned Queen of the Furrow Anne Stewart. Assisting will be a number of area dignitaries. The balance of Friday evening will be occupied by a talent show and crowning of a variety of Queens and storm sewers Marlborough Wellington to 340’ Victoria and along both Vic­ toria St. and Thomas St., but these would be delaved until 1980. In answer to a question from Councillor, Ken Ottewell on why the project could not all be completed in one year. Wright said that, would close access off to' Canadian Canners entirely for one season'and thatwould be impossible. ‘.‘Completion of this work A will instal the main trunk lines and the lateral lines can be completed in con­ junction with road construc­ tion at a later date,” the report explained. Recommendations for streets that could receive a final coat of asphalt next year include Wellington from William to the Rec Centre. Gidley from Main to William, John from Main to William and William from Anne to Victoria. It was also recommended that Wellington St. be reconstructed from William to the CNR tracks with one coat of asphalt and also that sanitary sewers be com­ pleted on William north of Highway 83 and also along Highway 83 west to the CNR tracks. Wright said this would then complete the sanitary sewer work in this par­ ticular area. After accepting the report in principle, council ap­ proved the necessary action to have the projects ready 1 for next year. One item in­ cludes surveying the ' necessary easement that would be required from Canadian Canners to permit the storm sewer work, Ap- • proval to obtain the ease­ ment was alsd given the ' committee. ; Council approved having ; B.M. Ross & Associates un- < dertake the necessary engineering for the i Wellington St. reconstruc­ tion and the sanitary sewer i work, as well as making I application to the 0MB to I Please turn to page 3 , along from south of Princesses. Honours will go to sewing and baking win­ ners in both senior and junior divisions. The highlight will be naming of Miss Exeter Fair 1978. She will be crowned by last year’s winner, Barb Wein, Local jeweler Earl Camp­ bell is providing cash prizes Squeeze on school board Rising education costs, provincial grants that don’t rise enough and falling enrolment may be com­ bining to threaten the quality of some Huron County school programs. The board of education has agreed to form a steering committee of four trustees and an administrator to study the problem, Board chairman John Elliott shid he expects the committee to try to come up with recommendations by the end of October, before the municipal election. The problems were un­ derlined recently following appeals from a technical instructor at the high school here for new equipment. In a letter to the board, W. S. Craig said some of the equipment installed at the school 15 to 23 years ago is outdated and worn out. He said enrolment is excellent in the technical courses and asked the board to spend $60,000 to update equipment. After a board meeting Monday, Elliott said many of fhe technical wings were built and equipment in­ stalled when there was more provincial money available. But, he said, the last provincial grant increase to the board amounted to less than five per cent and grants are no longer keeping up with the cost of education. Money problems become worse when enrolment is on the decline because many grants are based on the number of pupils. “If you add in declining enrolment, it makes the spread (bet­ ween increasing costs and provincial grants) much wider and the taxpayer has to pick it up,” said Elliott. Despite Craig’s assertion that technical course enrolment is good, enrolment in Huron County Schools was generally down 2.8 percent this September. The board wants to be sure there will be enough demand in the future to justify heavy investment in equipment for technical courses. Elliott said that after the municipal election, the new school board will likely look into methods of fighting the effects of enrolement. newlyformed committee will start. The (present) board should be in a position to direct some ideas to the new board, so you can have an ongoing process.” declining But the steering provide a Board retains staff negotiator The Huron County board of education has agreed to continue to employ Fred Reeve of Burlington as its chief labor negotiator. Reeve was hired last year by the Ontario Public School Trustee Association. His services were shared by the Huron, Dufferin and Grey County boards of education, all members of the association, who split the cost of his $34,000 salary. Use of Reeve last year raised the ire of striking Huron secondary school teachers, who felt the board had an unfair advantage in having him as a professional negotiator. be the fairest? which three lucky Which one will One Hundred and Fifth Year EXETER, ONTARIO, SEPTEMBER 21, 1978 Price Per Copy 25 Cents HELEN MULLER MissSHDHS LIZ GIFFIN Miss Derby Dip PAULINE MASNICA Miss Four Winds JOAN SKINNER Miss Times Advocate JUDY JOHNSON Miss Royal Bank totalling $100 for persons holding the admission tickets. Saturday’s parade will start at 12.30 p.m. from Snell Bros, parking lot is expected tobea good one with two bands in attendance. Area merchants have shown good interest in entering floats. A Saturday afternoon feature will be judging of the Exeter Fair feeder calf club entries. All calves will be sold by auction starting at 3 p.m. Other special attractions at the fairgrounds Saturday afternoon will be gospel singing, a pony pull, Bert Mahaffey’s miniature threshing outfit and a tug-of- war event. During the two fair days, a ladies feature “Focus on Hobbies” will include pressing dried flowers by Sandra Runnalls-Lichty; macrame by Margaret Hern and wood carving by Bill Love of Grand Bend. Coun­ try Unlimited will supply music for Saturday evening dancing at the South Huron Rec Centre. A number of area musical groups will wind up the fair activities by appearing at the country and western jamboree Sunday afternoon beginning at 2 p.m. Still many zoning objections Plan decision is delayed Exeter’s new official plan and zoning bylaw took one more step towards final approval, Monday, but it wasn’t the giant step that council had, anticipated. It had been hoped to give the documents final reading at this week’s meeting, but after hearing several ob­ jections that still exist, Mayor Bruce Shaw recommended that council study the matter and “come hell or high water” approve it at their next meeting. “Those with a vested in­ terest should have their say,” he argued, suggesting that council members give themselves the two weeks to study the remaining ob­ jections prior to a decision. Shaw presented the planning board recom­ mendations on the 20 to 30 suggested changes- that arose from the public meeting earlier in the month. He said the property owners in question had been notified of those decisions, but it was found later in the meeting that some of the letters had apparently gone astray. Shaw said very few of the items received unanimous consesnt from planning board and noted that other items were political in nature and those decisions would be left totally in the hands of council. The main objections which still remain are from the commercial owners along Main St. between Victoria St. and the river. The board suggested they be given status zoning, whereas the owners want Cl designation. The other objections to the BRENDA BALLANTYNE , Miss Stedmans imes - Advocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 ■ ■■ ' plan were raised by developer Len Veri, who had only a couple of his items approved by the plan board. Owner George Dobbs said status zoning would put a “red-tape stranglehold on our businesses” as it would become too complicated for a prospective buyer to even consider. “To protect the core area at the cost of others is discrimination,” he charged after Shaw said the decision had been made in an effort to keep the core area more viable. The board also had to contend with a petition from residential owners in the Two area thefts are investigated Two thefts are under in­ vestigation by the Exeter OPP this week. Over the weekend, entry was gained to the Hensall Public School when a win­ dow was smashed in the girls’ washroom. The loot amounted to only $2.50 but the damage was set at $20. Constable Bill Osterloo is investigating. John Norris, RR 3 Exeter, reported the theft of a gas barbecue from his home on Sunday. It was valued at $275. About two weeks ago, he had a picnic table stolen. Constable Jim Rogers'is in charge of that investigation. Contractor gets paid On the recommendation of the South Huron Rec Centre board of management, Exeter council approved final payment to the con­ tractors on the centre project, Northside Con­ struction. In answer to a question, Mayor Bruce Shaw said the board members were happy with the construction now that several problems have been alleviated. However, final payment to Cambrian Facilities will be held back at the suggestion of the board.. Shaw said they were still waiting for some written guarantees on the furnaces and other items and suggested the final payment be delayed until these have been received from the engineering firm. Eight area girls will be competing for a large number of prizes and the honour of becoming Miss Exeter Fall Fair this Friday night. The 1977 Queen, Miss Barbara Wein of Crediton will be on hand to crown the new Queen. The girls were judged Monday night at the Burkley Restaurant. They will ap­ pear on stage Friday night at the South Huron Rec Centre area who urged that the area not be generally zoned as commercial as it would devalue their properties. Shaw said that under status zoning, the owners could get approval from the committee of adjustment for modifications in the property use, although Stew Hum­ phries of the ministry of housing said it may be better to leave the properties as legal non-conforming uses within a residential area. Councillor Derry Boyle, who urged council not to “monkey around” with the present commercial status of the businesses, suggested it be given a C5 designation (highway commercial) but it was pointed out the properties did not have enough space to make this practical. Reeve Si Simmons said spot zoning may be more advantageous than status zoning, but Humphries said this was not the case, especially for Mr. Dobbs. “The alternative is to change the official plan somewhat,” he suggested, noting that all the present uses were in fact highway commercial uses. Veri, who was turned down in a bid to have property on Highway 83 east changed from Ml to M2, again pleaded his case, noting that Ml was too restrictive. He said the intent ap­ peared to be to prevent “unsightly” industries, but noted that most of the other businesses operating along Highway 83 on both sides of Main St. were in fact those which could only be ac­ commodated in M2 areas. “Where are people going to build here?” Veri questioned. Shaw admitted that Veri had a good point and noted the town did want to attract industry and make it as easy as possible for them, par­ ticularly if they were creating new jobs. Humphries, however, said some industries would not settle in an area if the requirements were too open, fearing that their neighbors may not be in keeping with their own operations. Veri was also critical of the planning board in ap­ proving a recommendation from the parking authority that commercial owners in the core had to leave a 40- foot setback at the rear of their properties. He said this wouldn’t be satisfactory in some areas and each will present impromptu speech. The girls in alphabetical order and their sponsors are Brenda Ballantyne, Sted- mans; Tracy Campbell, Whiting’s Warehouse; Kathy Cooper, IOOF Lodge; Liz Giffin, Derby Dip; Judy Johnson, Royal Bank; Pauline Masnica, Four Winds Communications; Helen Muller, South Huron District High School; Joan Skinner,Times-Advocate. and the 40 feet would be waste space, not even suitable for parking. When asked by Ron Cot­ trell how parking space was to be made available, Veri said it should be purchased by the merchants. Cottrell said some people wouln’t sell and Veri replied that “if you pay enough money, you can get anything”. Humphries said owners could get approval from the committee of adjustment to IT WAS A MESSY CHORE — Usborne Central students attending Camp Sylvan last week tried the art of clay moulding. Shown proud of their dirty hands and arms are Barb Skinner, Greg Hern and Scott Brintnell. T-A photo r. ■'.A,. ,0 '■ j .£■11■EBT’ Al ® 'tty wSi Rain recalls '77 miseries Concern mounts for crops With unpleasant memories of the 1977 harvest still in their minds, area farmers are starting to get jittery as the weatherman pours down his daily dose of rain. Many of those who wat­ ched crops spoil in the field last year through similar circumstances grow more concerned, but losses to date have been minimal in most areas and mill operators expect the situation will correct itself with a return to dry weather. “We should be alright yet,’’ commented Archie Couper of Hensail District Co-Op. He said there wo'uld be some losses due to the wet conditions but expected average yields for the late TRACEY CAMPBELL Miss Whiting's build on the 40 feet in areas where it was impractical for other uses. Councillor Ted Wright said property had to be left open at the back for unloading zones, butVeri argued that it was a case of trying to im­ pose something on the whole core area that wasn’t fair. Doug Parker also objected to the parking authority recommendation as it pertained to his apartment building on Main St. varieties if farmers get at them by next week. A fair portion of the earlier varieties were off before the rains started, but that benefit was out-weighed by the fact they were generally running at below average yields. Couper said the corn looks reasonably good, noting that U. is a great improvement over predictions made in early August after the area experienced severe drought conditions. A relatively new crop for Huron, soyabeans, are looking real good, according to Couper, who explained that acreage in the county has gone from 400 to 500 acres last year to 5,000 to 6,000 this year. Earl Reichert, manager of KATHY COOPER Miss IOOF Lodge recom- three to have About a dozen objections raised by property owners at the public meeting were approved by planning board and passed on to council in the form of a mendation. Attempts by property owners further commercial areas opened at the north end were denied by the board, again on the basis that it would be detrimental to the core area’s growth. Cook’s at Centralia, said the main problem with the bean crop now would be hot, humid days which would lead to considerable spoilage in view of the wet conditions. “If the weather straightens away, we’ll be okay,” he predicted, adding that it would take up to four days of dry weather before farmers could get on some of the fields which are now saturated. He said some second growth was evident, but said the late beans have more stability. “We have to be op­ timistic," he said, in reference to the fact that many farmers are deeply concerned with the memories and losses of last year still vivid.