The Huron Expositor, 1998-04-08, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — $eaforth, Ontario
April 8, 1998 — $1.00 includes GST
OMHA CHAMPS - The
Seaforth midgets cap-
tured this season's
Ontario Minor Hockey
Association "CC" title on
the weekend by beating
Waterford in fifth and
final game of their play-
off. Front row from left:
Ron Kirkconnell (train-
er), Derek Nesbitt,
Jason Tunney, Dayrl
Young, Jason Hulley,
Sean Ludwig, Adam
Leonhardt, Ryan Van
Dooren. Second row,
kneeling around cup:
Mike Murray, Tim Sills,
Ryan Shelton, Craig
Sommerville, J. D.
Nolan. Craig
Sommerville. Back row,
standing: Jason Knight
(coach), Scott Van
Door en, Jared
Carnochan, Everett
Smith, Mark Vock, Mark
Glanville, Jason Papple
(head coach), Scott
Henderson.
County Council set to consider restructuring question
taken action. Now it's Huron's
BY BLAKE PATTERSON turn.
SSP News Staff
Huron County Council held
a strategic planning meeting
March 31 to discuss restruc-
turing options outlined in a
report released recently by thc
county's Strategic Planning
Committee.
The report details various
alternatives for onc-tier and
two-tier governments in the
county. At the meeting. which
was held in Goderich, council
members formed discussion
groups to "refine" the report
before it is passed on to
municipal councils for further
review and comment.
Thc provincial government
has mandated municipal gov-
ernments reshape and shrink
themselves to become more
efficient. Most municipalities
in the province have already
Politicians only
With the release of the
report, restructuring options
arc now being reviewed but
thc topic raised little discus-
sion Thursday at the regular
monthly meeting of Huron
County Council.
The only discussion con-
cerning restructuring stemmed
from a resolution by Reeve
Mason Bailey of Blyth sug-
gesting county staff be
excluded from thc restructur-
ing process.
He said thc "big losers" in
restructuring will be the coun-
ty's employees, and as such,
rules need to be put in place to
ensure decisions arc not based
on self-interest.
The resolution stated any
person (or family of that per-
son) on the county's perma-
nent payroll "shall not he
given the opportunity to
impact restructuring."
Essentially, the only role
county staff could have on
county restructuring would he
to get information from files
as requested by county coun-
ci Hors.
Bailey said the county's
politicians need to he able to
say, "We made certain this
(restructuring) was a matter
decided by the elected persons
of Huron County."
Reeve Roy Tricbncr of
Exctcr responded quickly to
'the proposal. questioned its
legality, and far from exclud-
ing the staff, invited them to
be part of the process.
He said thc county should
not limit staff input. "If we
don't have staff, you have to
have outside consultants do
thc work," said Triehner.
The council voted against
Bailey's resolution.
Bike, cell phone stolen in Seaforth
Thc Huron detachment of
thc Ontario Provincial Police
reports numerous incidents in
Scaforth and arca recently. •
A man"s 18 -speed moun-
tair: hike was reported stolen
from the rear of a residence
at 30 Main Street last
Wednesday (April 1). It is
blue/green and valued at
$250.
On Monday, March 30, at
about I p.m. a brown pickup
truck was stopped on Main
Strcct. Police say "the license
plate's validation stickerwas
expired. and with further
investigation it was found
that thc vchicic was unin-
sured. Thc driver, Richard.
Elliott, 43 of John Street in
Scaforth was charged with
the offences and is to appear
in Godcrich court on May
14."
On the same day, thc owner
at 30 Jarvis Street in Scaforth
reported a cell phone stolen
from the residence sometime
,during the night. It is a black
Motorola Microtack 650 E
model PEDPCO7A, serial
number 22414546918.
On Sunday, March 29, the
owner of a car went to a resi-
dence in Tuckcrsmith
Township where it had been
stored for the winter and
found it extensively dam-
aged.
Police, say the 1983 Grand
Prix "appeared to have been
rammed several times by
another vchicic. Two sus-
pects arc being investigated
over the damage."
On thc same day, at about
2:41 p.m.. a burnt pickup
Brucelieltl business damaged by fire
Thc exact cause of a firewhich caused substantial damage
to a Brucclicld business has not been determined. and may
not he, according 10 a source with the Brucctield Fire
Department.
Dick lsrael.said the fire caused equipment. roof and struc-
tural damage to Jamco Trailer Sales Ltd. and appears to have
started when a wall between the paint booth and a storage
arca ignited. That wall is so badly burnt investigators may
never be able to tell why it ignited in the first place. "
The firc was called in at 6 p.m. Friday, by neighbours
across Highway #4. The Brumfield Fire Department, assisted
by the Clinton Fire Department with their tank truck, were on
the scene for more than two hours. On Saturday morning a
minor flare up required firefighters to rctum to the scene for
an additional 30 minutes.
truck was discovered in the
Hullett swamp. A check of
thc 1985 Wrangler. "com-
pletely by tire." determined it
had been stolen from
Stratford.
Also on that Sunday, a
vchicic was stopped on East
Wilfiam Street in Scaforth at
about 1:46 a.m. Thc driver,
Andreas Kustermans, 32, of
the Parkhill arca was found
with alcohol on his breath.
Police say a warn was regis-
tered after a breath sample
was taken and his driver's
license was suspended for 12
hours.
On Saturday. March 28,
alcohol was found in a car
stopped on William Strcct in
Scaforth at 11:46 p.m.
Charged undcr the liquor
license act was Wayne
Schoondcrwocrd, 21, of RR 1
Dublin.
On the same day, a blue van
was left parked in the lot at
122 Duke Street in Seaforth.
Police say an unknown vehi-
cle struck it in the left rear
corner and failed to remain at
the scene.
The day before, on Friday,
March 27, the caretaker at
Egmondvillc United Church
reported that sometime dur-
ing the past two months
thieves stole a 30 -inch piano
keyboard and a VCR.
Police say the value of the
items is $400, and their
investigation continues:
The county hopes to have a
restructuring option ready to
initiate .a triple majority
process by Jan. 1 of next year.
Three part question
The county is considering
the restructuring question in
three parts: services, gover-
nance and transition. •
The 'services' portion looks.
at who will provide services
such as road maintenance
undcr onc- and two-tier gov-
ernments, 'governance' torus-
es on municipal boundaries
and electoral representation,
and 'transition' takes a look at
staff issues which will arise
from whatever form • of
restructuring is undertaken.
Service second to none
Under the services category
of the Strategic Planning
Committee's report, thc ques-
tion centres on who will pro-
vide services such as adminis-
tration, utilities and recreation
under a onc-tier or two-tier
system of government.
Under the onc-tier option, it
says there would he one gov-
ernment structure for all
municipal services. Under a
two-tier option. two levels of
service delivery (county and
local) would remain.
The committee recommends
the one -tier option as offering
the "greatest opportunity for
saving" because it would
eliminate service duplication
and optimize "economics of
scale" in local services.
The committee does admit
the provision of services by a
onc-tier government in a -
widespread rural county like
Huron would require special
arrangements. but suggested
"service access centres" as a
CONTINUED on Page 3.
Separate school board in top five list,
treasurer still wary of funding figures
BY GREGOR CAMPBELL
Expositor Staff -
According to provincial
-government figures. the
Huron -Perth Catholic -District
School Board is one of the
top five "winners" of all
Ontario school 'boards in the
-new funding model it recent-
ly released.
But treasurer and superin-
tendent of business, Gerald
Thuss, remained cautious in
his optimism when relaying
the pile of paper that con-
tained those figures to the
hoard at its meeting in
Dublin last Monday (March
30).
Those government figures
show an 8.4 per cent increase
10 527.070,255 in operating
revenue for the arca separate
school hoard this fiscal year,
a six per cent increase in
1999-200(1 and a 5.9 per cent
increase in 2000-2001 (to
$30.390.18).
Last fiscal year's operating
revenue .is listed at
$24,973,581.
"We have general numbers
and parameters but we arc
lacking -in technical Back-
ground (in all but onc catego-
ry) which 1 understand we
will receive sometime this
week," Thuss reported.
"Thcy look favourable but
arc preliminary numbers with.
a lot of unknowns. and it is
difficult to make clear judge-
ments."
He added it appears the fact'
that the board was the lowest
spending hoard in the
province is reflected in the.
new funding model.
The business superinten-
dent said local education tax
mill rates are now set by the
province and ratepayers prob-
ably won't know what they
arc paying in education tax
this year until the rolls close
and Ontario announces it,
probably in April or May.
HIS LOOKS INTERESTING...The Seaforth Agricultural Society's Annual Home and
arden Show, held last Wednesday and Thursday nights, appealed to both young and
Id. In this photograph, two-year-old Anna Staffen is intrigued with the book in front of her,
r is itthe balloon....? Dale photo.
•