The Citizen, 1995-04-05, Page 1..595,..arcroszsser66.2,9-.-oXfazozaco".4.7.640: Al,c9.r/X0100007 ,W/Agsr/AWAII
Hitting the trail
Liberals in Huron County elected their candidate for the provincial election at a meeting in
Clinton's Central Huron Secondary School on March 29. John Jewitt of RR1, Londesboro °
was the favourite winning the nomination over, from left, Sharon Wurm, Doug Garniss and
Rick Mclnroy. During his speech, Mr. Jewitt said that if he won he would begin his
campai ning the next day gettin out to meet the constituents. 4,0
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Jewitt wins Liberal nod
By Bonnie Gropp
A man with deep political roots
from which stems the wisdom of
experience, was the choice of
Huron Liberals when they went to
the polls to select their provincial
candidate at a meeting March 29 in
Central Huron Secondary School,
Clinton.
John Jewitt of RR1, Londesboro,
a former Hullett Twp. councillor,
reeve, and school board trustee and
chair, defeated three other nomi-
nees, Doug Garniss of Morris
Twp., Rick Mclnroy of the Walton
area and Sharon Wurm of Hensall.
It took just over an hour following
the speeches, for the 609 voting
members to rank their preferences
on a ballot, and the winner to be
announced.
Jewitt's nominator, Muriel Mur-
phy, declared him the best candi-
date saying he encompassed all the
qualities necessary to win. She
described Jewitt as a man who
came from deep Liberal roots and
with strong moral convictions.
"He is an outstanding candidate
who will listen and act decisively.
He will serve this riding well."
Murphy's nomination was sec-
onded by long-time Liberal Simon
Hallahan.
In his speech Jewitt said he could
recall as a child accompanying his
father, who had also been a munici-
pal councillor and reeve and served
as warden of Huron in 1959, to
local nomination meetings. He
remembered his days in a one-room
school when mini elections would
be held. "The Liberals always took
a shellacking back then," he said.
Today, he said, the Liberals must
give voters in Huron a good reason
to vote Liberal, which he believes
will happen through hard work and
listening to the constituents. "As
the eldest son in a family of 10 I
learned early about respect and
hard work," Jewitt said, adding that
fundamental rural values give
strength.
Jewitt, who has worked with
experienced Liberal leaders Murray
Gaunt, Jack Riddell and Murray
Elston, says that he is a proponent
of fiscal responsibility and lean
government. his no secret, he said,
that the electorate is concerned
about the financial condition of the
senior levels of government and
won't accept a party that puts them
further in debt.
Adding that if elected he would
be taking a leave of absence from
his job beginning the next morning,
Jewitt said he would "begin a vig-
orous campaign to win Huron
County back, to win the hearts and
mirtds of the average person in
Huron."
During their speeches the other
candidates had also expressed frus-
tration over government spending
and the 'direction in which it has
been moving. Wurm, who was
nominated by David Ratcliffe, said
the lack of money is not the ques-
tion, but rather the spending of
money at government levels. She
spoke on promoting tourism and on
building small business, as well as
addressing education. A commit-
ment to lifelong learning is needed,
she said.
"The days of throwing away
books on graduation day are long
gone."
Gamiss, who was nominated by
Niel Edgar, condemned what he
called the "flash of the other two
parties' rhetoric" regarding cutting
and spending. While the Conserva-
tives' common sense message to
reduce the deficit by reducing taxes
and spending makes little sense, he
said, the NDPs had taken a "provin-
cial debt accumulated over 125
years and doubled it in five years."
"Ontario has paid dearly to edu-
cate the NDP." The Liberals, he
said, are the solution.
Touting his slogan "come alive'in
95", Mclnroy said he was running
because he had "had it with politi-
cians". Government funding is "a
big beef" with him. "You can't
spend what you don't have," he said
adding that the 'me society' has to
change. "We are beginning to real-
ize how much personal greed is
costing us."
Money from government, he
said, is not a gift, but simply the
Continued on page 6
Blyth Legion
to host provincial
darting contest
Brussels goalie
receives award
at banquet
Achievment
Auburn youth
gets provincial
recognition
See page 11
Ont. Community
Newspaper Assoc.
honours 'Citizen' ed.
See page 23 See page
OPP bust
crime
network
No hike
it' zen mill rate
to county
An Ethel area man is one of sev-
eral charged last week after officers
from five different police forces
cracked a major crime network.
John Dickson, 42, of RR1, Ethel
appeared in Kitchener bail court on
April 4 on 21 counts of possession
of stolen property and drug
charges.
A Seaforth man, David Jervis, 43
has been charged with 16 counts of
possession of stolen property.
The investigation began last
April with a Crime Stoppers tip
that a rural garage had been taking
in stolen vehicles, stripping them
down and then selling them for
parts.
Undercover officers recovered
nine GMC pick-up trucks worth
$250,000. These had been stolen
last fall from homes and dealer-
ships in Huron, Bruce, Wellington
and Perth Counties, as well as from
Waterloo Region.
Later, undercover officers bought
$29,500 in counterfeit $50 bills at a
home near Brussels.
Contacts further led police to an
extensive black market in explo-
sives and drugs run by the same
people. Undercover officers even-
tually purchased $136,000 worth of
methamphetaminebr speed, as well
as 15 pipe bombs which had been
made in the Niagara Falls area.
In a report in The Kitchener
Waterloo Record Supt. Jim
Hutchinson said the bombs are a
"killing device", which if placed
under the seat of a car wbuld kill
those persons in the car.
After search warrants were exe-
cuted at nine homes and businesses
across the province, police also
seized $66,000 worth of hash oil
and a number of guns, including a
12-gauge shotgun, reported stolen
in 1993 from a Niagara Falls guns
store.
The K-W Record report states
that additional arrests are expected.
Hutchinson was reported as say-
ing he didn't believe this to be a
Continued on page 2
Thief preys
on seniors
Provincial Police are investigat-
ing a number of thefts, from elderly
Females.
A male carrying a black leather
bag approaches senior citizens in
seniors complexes, and asks them if
hey want their door peep changed
ind if they have drafts around their
ioors and windows. The suspect
mill distract the senior and steal
heir purse then leave the building.
Incidents of a similar nature have
aken place in Guelph, Fergus, St.
vlarys, St. Thomas, Aylmer,
,ondon, Exeter, and Lucan OPP
Ictachment areas.
The suspect is a male, white, 25-
;0 years of age, 5'4" - 5'6", slim
Juild, short light brown hair, clean
haven, soft spoken and polite. He
arries a large black leather type
,ag that opens in the middle.
By Bonnie Gropp
For another year, the County of
Huron has approved a budget with
a zero per cent increase in the tax
levy.
County councillors passed the
budget with little discussion at the
meeting of Thursday, March 30.
The Administration, Finance and
Personnel Committee had recom-
mended that the budget be
approved after reviewing it at a
meeting March 16.
In presenting the 1995 draft bud-
get Clerk Lynn Murray said to meet
the target each department had to
come in with a budget that accom-
modated the reduction in the
unconditional grants which were
due to the combined impact of the
expenditure control program and
the Social Contract.
"In 1994 there was a reduction in
the provincial unconditional grants
by $256,353 to $759,315. The indi-
cation from the province is that
these grants will not change in
1995," Murray said.
Proposals which affected the
budget were highlighted, including
a 1994 surplus from the library
board in the amount of $7,668.14
to be used to pay the loan for the
library van, Murray said.
The health board made a recom-
mendation that the county's 25 per
cent of the cost shared health unit
programs be increased by $9,000 to
$481,000 to "recognize the
Continued on page 7
Ed. taxes
to rise
10.1 %
By Janice Becker
In a final decision which took
three different motions and record-
ed votes, the Huron County Board
of Education approved the budget
for 1995 at the April 3 meeting,
bringing in a 10.1 per cent increase
in property taxes on the average
assessment.
Cuts implemented by the trustees
to the board's budget decreased a
forecasted hike of $74, with a
stand-pat budget, to $56.10 on an
assessment of $60,000.
The remaining increase is due to
changes by the provincial govern-
ment in equalized property assess-
ment, higher Ontario standard mill
rate, board and grant specific grant
reductions, increases to benefit
costs such as CPP and UIC and
tuition fee payment losses.
The budget alterations approved
by trustees included savings in both
the elementary and secondary pan-
els to the utilities and heating costs.
The savings of an estimated
$28,000 and $15,000 respectively
will be seen due to increased ener-
gy efficiency created through
improvements made with infras-
tructure grant money, says Director
Continued on page 8
Vol. 11 No 14 Wednesday, April 5, 1995 610 + 40 GST 650