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The Citizen, 1996-04-03, Page 161e +4e GST650 Vol. 12 No. 14 Wednesday, April 3, 1996 Taking his turn Kevin Hopf, a student at East Wawanosh Public School kept the turkey bingo held at the school last Thursday night, on a roll. The event, sponsored by Grade 8s is a fundraiser for a trip to Quebec. The class is planning other future fundraisers as well. Daylight Savings It's been a lung, cold winter, but there's definitely a sign of better things to come with the return of Daylight Savings Time this weekend. At 2 a.m. April 7, Easter Sunday, we will once again spring forward, turning the clocks ahead by one hour. Sports Crusaders lead playoff series against Ripley Wolves by 2 games See page 11 Community Students at Blyth PS raise funds for new playground equipment See page 21 Entertainment Madill drama group in top 3 at Sears Drama Festival See page 23 The North Huron 1t1zen no questions asked County budget passes, By Janice Becker There seems to be a need for patience on the part of the Huron County Board of Education as they wait for word from the province with regards to the amount of gen- eral legislative grams afforded them for 1996. Expecting word on March 29, the administration had not yet heard by .the Monday afternoon meeting. Preliminary estimates calculated by the business department, however, to were allow a glimpse of what type of tax hike may be on the hori- zon. "It is hoped cuts implemented by the board, will reduce the potential tax increase (as a result of provin- cial changes) by almost five points to 6.8 per cent," says HCBE Direc- tor of Education Paul Carroll. Using information from earlier indications, the hoard expects a $3. million reduction in transfer pay- ments, a ministry-determined stan- dard mill rate increase on local property taxes for education of 4.7 per cent and a reduction in per pupil funding, expected to be cov- ered by taxpayers, of 4.5 per cent on the local mill rate, says Carroll. This budget must also accommo7 date another 2.2 per cent increase in the phased-in Assessment Equal- ization Factors (20 per cent over five years). "The cumulative impact of Continued on page 19 It's official: there will be no tax increase for Huron County taxpay- ers from the county level in 1996 despite provincial grant cutbacks. County council approved the 1996 budget with a zero tax increase at its March 28 meeting. Not a single question was asked before approval. Councillors had known for weeks that the budget would meet the goal of freezing taxes. But budget-oriented questions asked during the rest of the session indicated there is still a rift between some rural and urban municipalities over budget cuts. An attempt by reeves from Clinton and Exeter failed to reverse last month's coun- cil decision to phase out a 15 per cent rebate on taxes collected in urban municipalities for county roads. Exeter Reeve Bill Micklc got the issue started when he questioned a motion to have the county pay a grant in lieu of taxes to townships that have county forests within their boundaries. Mickle said he had checked the legislation and it was optional whether or not the county made the grants. Given that it was also optional that the county OPP stop rumble The presence of several officers from the OPP curtailed what was to have been a rumble in Brussels over the weekend. According to a police spokesper- son an anonymous caller notified the detachment on March 30 that a fight was to take place at the ball park in Brussels. The spokesperson said that about half an hour after police arrived in town, at 8:30 p.m. 40-45 youths had gathered. Though a short skirmish devel- oped in the area, the youths quickly dispersed upon police arrival, the spokesperson said. Officers from the Wingham OPP arc investigating a robbery which occurred at Radford's Fuels in Blyth sometime overnight March 31. A spokesperson from the police said entry was gained through the south door of the building. Sus- pect(s) went directly to the place where the cash and cheques were kept and stole them. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Wingham OPP at 357-1331. give rebates to urban municipalities for county roads, Micklc asked for a sense of fairness. The motion to give the grants passed without fur- ther discussion. But Bob Hallam, reeve of West Wawanosh, got the pot boiling when he questioned the road bud- get, suggesting that the urban road rebate should be cancelled immedi- ately to keep more money in the budget instead of using reserves for some highway work this year. Murray Keys, chair of the Agri- culture and Public Works commit- tee suggested the decision to phase out the road rebates over four years was made "to appease urban municipalities". That brought Micklc to his feet again, upset with the choice of words. "I can remember the last appeasement which was a white paper carried by (Neville) Cham- berlain and it started a war," Mickle said in reference to an attempt by the British prime minister to pre- vent war with Adolf Hitler. He and Clinton Reeve Carol Mitchell then moved to reinstate the road rebate. But Hallam argued back: "We all Continued on page 6 Offices closed Fri. The Blyth and Brussels offices of The Citizen will be closed in recognition of Good Friday, April 5. This will have no effect on dead- lines as it will be business as usual on the following Monday. Police investigate theft Wingham OPP were called in to investigate an incident in Blyth at 8:15 Monday morning. According to a police spokesper- son there was theft from and dam- age to a black Cutlass, which was parked bchind B.J.'s Cafe on Queen St. No further details were available at press time. Robbery Ed. taxes could rise by 6.8% at Radfords