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Times-Advocate, 1981-04-22, Page 1Education and county will increase total levy Hope to hold municipal tax portion Members of Exeter council were hopeful of holding the local mill rate to the same as last year when they prepared to give their final deliberations to the budget last night. "I expect there will be no increase," Mayor Bruce Shaw said of the municipal Hortion of the local tax bills. owever, Exeter ratepayers will be facing increases for county and educational pur- poses although the final figures in that regard have not yet been tabulated. The county rate will be up and it is expected the educa- tion portion will follow suit. Exeter council members IT'S GOOD - Kim Boersen enjoys some of the baked goodies she purchased at Friday's Exeter saddle club auction and bake sale from Jean Cann. T -A photo Charged for cats given consideration With the expenditure' side of the 1981 budget being in- creased, members of Exeter council looked at dogs and cats as one means of in- creasing revenue last week. After noting that 12,000 was expected from the sale of dog tags. Councillor Bill Mickle, finance committee chairman, questioned the need for cat tags as well. However, the discussion was moved away from that to a more serious one about the danger associated with cats who do their thing in playground sand piles. Councillor Jay Campbell said the feces of cats can be dangerous as it causes brain damage. Councillor Gaylan Josephson. a veterinarian, then gave a detailed medical explanation of the problem, citing dangers to pregnant women. Mayor Bruce Shaw summ- ed up the situation when he suggested pregnant women shouldn't play in the sand. Getting back to dogs, Shaw suggested that less than half the dog owners in town secure tags and questioned the possibility of • billing every ratepayer with a $10 dog tag and then rebating it to those who came to the office to report they did not own a canine. Clerk Liz Bell said such a practice would not only be il- egal, it would be a bookkeeper's nightmare. However, she also thought some townships did practice that method, assuming that all farmers owned dogs. Members were also of the opinion that people who use the facilities of Riverview Park for picnics should be expected to contribute more than the $62 which was realized from donations last year. This year's budget an- ticipates revenue increasing to $100. It was suggested that signs be erected letting people know that donations for use of the facilities were welcomed and could be delivered to the town of- fices. reviewed their budget at a special meeting last week and the major issue was regarding the proposed ex- penditure of 130,000 for a walkway on the east side of the Main St. bridge. Mayor Shaw said he felt the item would be dropped from this year's budget until further study can be con- ducted on the project. Expenditures are expected to increase in most departments this year, but the total should be about the same as last year when 1101,- 000 was spent on a new police station. General government costs have been budgetted at 130,- 000 for 1981, up $9,150 over last year with pay increases for council members making up most of that difference. General administration costs have been set at $115,- 150 with last year's actual costs being $97,240. The in- creases are reflected in salaries, benefits, increased utility and maintenance costs as well as for legal and audit fees and office supplies. The increase is more significant in that last year's total in - eluded $4,344 for a municipal election which, of course, will not be held in 1981. The fire department budget has been increased to $111,500 from last year's actual costs of $88,016. Wages and train- ing have been increased by over $16,000 although it was explained it is difficult to set a budget when firemen get paid for actual fires and there is no way of knowing how many times they may be called upon. Exeter' pays 50% of the budget with the exception of hydrant rental. That is billed totally to the town. At their meeting last week, council members expressed a desire to have someone from the PUC explain that billing to them. Although police depart ment wages are up almos ;19,000 over 1st year, th budget is down from the 1 total of 1301.856 to 1234.875 That is due mainly to the ne police building erected last year. Department personne benfits, mileage and cloths are up almost $6,000 to 130, 000 and cruiser maintenance has been increased by $2,000. The county communication system will be up over $2,000 at 520,000. There are also long term debt charges for the new police building of 14,725 and utilities were set at $3,- 800 which is up considerably from last year due to the fact the new office was only in use for a portion of 1980. A new cruiser will be purchased this year. One was included in 1980 as well. The Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority levy is down to $7,278 from last year's 18,812 and animal con- trol expenses are expected to increase only marginally to $700 from last year's actual of $634. A figure of 51,200 for animal control had been put in the 1980 budget, but a con- trol officer was not found and the police undertook those duties when called upon. The budget for the building and zoning inspector has been listed at $36,750, up con- siderably from last year's 22,060. The town was without the services of an in- spector for a portion of 1980. Legal fees have been set at $3,000 this year, compared to last year's actual expen- diture of $841. The road budget, which in- cludes sidewalks, crossing guard, road maintenance, e 980 w 1 ng etc. has a budget of 567,300 this year, compared to the 1980 expenditure of $49,421. Wages have increased by about $4,000. sidewalk con- tracts will be up $2,400, Highway 4 maintenance up $650, gravel, asphalt and calcium up $2,500. Winter control is also ex- pected to take a sizeable in- crease in 1981 after a record low the previous year. Only $2,935 was spent last year in sand, salt and equipment rapairs, while $19,400 has been put in this year's budget in anticipation of a more severe winter. Some of that has already been spent in the first three months of 1981. The funds for parking will also decline this year to 111,- 000. Last year 121,538 was spent with the development of new parking lots. , Street lighting costs are ex- pected to rise with $45,700 in the current budget and only $36,011 spent last year. A sizeable budget increase._ has also been set for sanitary sewers. The figure is 1180,196 with last year's being $129,- 086. Some -;20,000 of that has been set aside for engineer- ing and extensions to in- dustrial property on Highway 83 East. Wages and benefits are up over 55,500 and long term debt charges have been increased to 5120,196 com- pared to last year's 1105,492. Storm drains budget is up to $77,762 from last year's ac- tual of $62,974. Materials, supplies, wages and benefits make up the difference. Garbage collection costs will be cut drastically from last year's when $52,414 was spent on a new packer. This year's budget is $37,000 com- pared to 581,086 last year. However, garbage disposal costs are expected to in- crease with $24,600 being set aside in the budget, corn - pared to last year's 818,145 cost. A $2,000 topographical survey of the dump site is one of the reasons for the in- crease, along with increases in wages, benefits, bulldozing and. supplies. • The' public works 'ad- ministration budget figure for 1981 has been set at $80,- 700, up from last year's $67,- 580. Wages and benefits are up 54,500 with gas, supplies, radio equipment consuming the balance of the increase. The parks budget, which in- cludes Riverview Park and the new downtown parkettes will have a budget of $29,850 this year. About $12,000 of that is for a new mower with the balance being made up of the maintenance costs for the parkettes which were not in existence last year. Another $2,500 has been set aside for repairs to the Riverview Park pavilion which is deteriorating. The cleaning and maintenance of the library is up 51,200 from last year at $6,200. The planning and zoning budget has dropped almost $3,000 to $5,250 this year. Last year $6,074 were spent on legal and OMB costs, mostly over the town's new official plan and zoningbylaws. A budget figure of 56,000 has been set aside for the in- dustrial promotion com- mittee. None was spent in this regard last year. Included in the budget is a 516,000 grant for the local cemetery board, up 82,000 from last year. The total wages and benefits included in this year's budget. excluding the rec centre and board, amounts timated $513.700. spent in 1980 was cemetery to an es - The actual $398,194. FORTUNE TELLERS - Gazing into the crystal ball to tell fortunes at Thursday's fun day at Usborne Central School were Darlene Sillery and Kelly Johns. T -A photo Serving South Huron, North Middlesex One Hundred and Eighth Year NEW LIGHTING - The Exeter PUC has installed new energy efficient lights on Main street from Huron to Gidley streets. Above, PUC employee Randy Kraul is shown during installation. T -A photo Undercut on bank blamed in fatality The ground under a crane Bruce Norman Higgs was operating beside a Dorchester area quarry pond likely was being under- mined as Higgs hauled gravel out of the pond, a cor- oner's jury was told Wednes- day. Higgs, 44, of Ailsa Craig, drowned in the submerged cab of the crane February 6 when the machine slipped into about four metres of water in the pond, about five kilometres east of Dorchester just off Hamilton Road. Allin Brady, a provincial labor ministry inspector, BROWNIES SILL COOKIE - Members of the Exeter Brownies will be conducting the annual Brownie Cookie sale Satur- day throughout the town of Exeter. Shown above with a poster are Christine Chappel, Melissa Van Belle, Lisa Hendrick, Becky Morgan and Lynette Kramer. T -A photo said Higgs probably would have been unaware of such erosion because of heavy frost in the soil. Brady said a section about four metres wide at the edge of the quarry collapsed, causing the crane to slide into the water as Higgs dumped gravel from the pond onto the shoreline. He speculated that as Higgs hauled gravel from the pond ' • there was a gradual slipping motion un- der the frost line that under- mined the land he was on." A heavy steel ball, which was at the site, could have been attached to the machine to test for any weak areas and to indicate if the ground was being eroded, he said. Brady said Higgs probably would have found it difficult to escape through the door of the cab because of water pressure caused by the way the crane landed in the pond. He escaped through one of the two windows or through a hatch directly above the operator's seat. Evidence was that Higgs was alone at the site. Witnesses testified escape routes from the cab were latched from the inside. Constable Russ Donaldson said Higgs was hauled from the cab about 30 minutes after the crane was spotted in the pond The three-man, two - woman jury. in making suggestions that could pre- vent similar accidents, recommended: • More controlled supervi- sion of persons Working near water. • A log should he maintained for use of the steel ball. • Work sites should have emergency alert systems, such as twoway radios. • There should be emergen- cy doors in the cabs of cranes which could be operated with such devices as crash bars. VOC & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, APRIL 22, 1981 Price per copy 40 Cents Toronto man gets jail term, two drivers lose licences A Toronto man was sentenced to three months in jail when he appeared in Ex- eter court, Tuesday, on two theft charges. two counts of failing to appear for court hearings and a wilful damage incident. The sentence on Andre Joseph Mann was imposed by Judge W. G. Cochrane. Mann pleaded guilty to all five charges. He was given one month on the first theft count, two months on the se- cond, 15 daysconsecutive on the two charges of failing to appear and 15 days con- current for the wilful damage incident which in- volved damage to a police cruiser. The theft charges arose from incidents in Clinton where stamps, coins. liquor and cigarettes were stolen. He had been ordered to appear in Wingham this week for sentencing, but told Judge Cochrane he wanted to get it over with during his appearance in Exeter last week. Three people who appeared on charges were remanded out of custody for pre -sentence reports. Michael McQuiggan. Ex- eter. pleaded guilty to the possession of stolen proper- ty. On February 22 he had a ring valued at under $200 which he sold for $35 and on March 9 he was charged with possession of stolen stamps. some of which he had also sold. Both charges were for possession of stolen prop ro property valued at less than 8Tomothy McQuiggan, Ex- eter. pleaded guilty to the theft of approximately 8800 worth of jewellery that belonged to his mother. Some of the items were recovered and the court was told other items were sold. He was remanded out of custody for sentencing on May 12 Another Exeter man, Paul Thomas Pridham, was also remanded out of custody for sentencing on May 12 on a charge of theft and of taking a motor vehicle without the owner's consent. Ile was charged with the March 1 theft of stamps from his mother and for tak- ing a vehicle owned by her on March 14 without her con- sent The vehicle was rolled over and damage of 82,500 was reported. Edward J. Neeb, Zurich, was remanded out of custody after pleading guilty to the theft of a lady's hand- bag in Exeter on December 29. The accused ran up behind a 69 -year-old Exeter woman and grabbed her purse The purse was later found in a creek and $22 in LOSE AN HOUR Area residents will lose an hour's sleep this weekend. Daylight Saving Time commences on Sunday mor- ning. The official start is 2:00 a.m. cash was missing. He was remanded out of custody for sentencing on May 12. Rodney Masnica, Cen- tralia, was given a suspend- ed sentence and placed on probation for six months after pleading guilty to two counts of theft on January 24. He was charged with the theft of some stereo equip- ment from Hughes Boat Works and of two large decorative dice from a boat. Total value of the goods was $180 and all was recovered. Two drivers appeared in court on charges of driving with a blood alcohol level of over 80 mgs. Jeffery Andrew McKin- non, Zurich. was fined 8300 or 30 days and had his licence suspended for three months for a charge laid on January 13. He had a blood alcohol level which was recorded at 200. mgs on a breathalizer. He was stdck in the snow when ap- prehended by police. Donald Emery Claus, Huron Park. was fined 8300 or 30 days and also had his licence suspended for three months for a charge laid on March 13. A breathalizer test showed a reading of 140 mgs. Two men appeared on charges of making false claims under the Unemploy- ment Act. Newton Dalton, Seaforth, was fined 850 on each of three counts which involved an overpayment of $300 to him. The amount was paid back. William Heron. Toronto, formerly of RR 5 Mitchell, was also fined $50on each of EASTER BONNETS - Posing with their Easter bonnets at Crediton United Church Sunday morning were Barb and Tracy Rat,. T -A photo Get early hope for Huron County farmers are on the land with one of the earliest planting starts in a number of years. Huron Ag Rep Don Pullen said Tuesday mprning. "MI in all we seem Co be off to a good start What we need now is some warmth There has been some anxiety about the frost hurting fruit trees. but, in Huron 1 don't think the buds were out enough to cause much damage." Pullen added. 'Maybe we could have used a little more spring rain. but. in Huron we are lucky most years to be able to fall hack on moisture from winter snows " At the Exeter branch of Canadian Canners. manager Jack Urquhart relx)rts about 200 acres of peas have already been planted Ur- quhart indicated acreages for peas and corn were both up slightly. With normal weather con- ditions in the next two months Urquhart expects pea harvesting to begin start, warmth about June 22 If ' said the t0 year average is June 27 for the start of pea harvesting In 1980 the season was later with the first peas hitting the factory July 6 Pullen said the greatest concern with some farmers was the conversion to the metric system with the On- tario Guide to Chemical Weed Control Puhlrcahon 75 being completely in metric. The Ag Reg suggested three simple rules of thumb which should take care of most of the necessary con- versions for spraying chemicals. To convert acres to hec- tares multiply by .4; to change pounds per acre to kilograms per hectare the multiplication future is 1 12 and in changing pints per acre to litres per hectare multiply by 1 4. For containers of spray in Imperial gallons multiply by 4.55 to obtain litres and an American gallon contains 3 79 litres three counts for a total of 5150. The amount involved was 8801 and has been repaid by the accused in full. In other cases heard, the following fines were levied: John Michael Hiscocks, RR 3 Lakeside, was fined 1100 or 10 days after pleading guilty to a charge of possession of marijuana on March 4. It was the first offence for the 18 -year-old student at Centralia College. He had about 20 gr. when stopped by police. Michael Robert Hawkins, RR 3 Goderich. was fined 8250 or 25 days for mischief, arising out of a February 14 incident in which he reported his vehicle had been stolen when in fact it had not. He was fined a further 825 or three days on each of two charges of wilful damage. arising out of Please turn to page 3 Damage hits $12,000 in collision A Crediton man escaped with minor injuries after striking two parked cars and a telephone pole in Crediton late last Monday night. Damage in the accident amounted to over 812,000. It was one of three ac- cidents investigated by the Exeter OPP this week. None of the collisions occurred over the Easter holiday weekend period. In the Monday night colli- sion in Crediton, an east- bound vehicle driven by Mark Gibson. Crediton. went out of control on the main street and collided with a parked truck owned by Nor- man Lewis The Lewis vehi- cle was pushed ahead several metres into another parked vehicle owned by Kenneth McCann. while the Gipson vehicle went across the road and snapped off a telephone pole Constable Bill Osterloo in- vestigated and listed damage to the Gibson vehi- cle at $3.000. another 87.000 to the Lewis pickup and 82.- 000 to the McCann vehicle. Damage to the telephone pole was set at 8350 On Wednesday. vehicles operated by Ronald Dawe. Exeter. and William Logue. Blyth, collided on the .-&K Service Centre lot at the in- tersection of Highway 4 and the Crediton Road. Total damage was less than $400 The other collision oc- curred on Thursday on Highway 84 west of Hensall. A vehicle driven by Clarence Waddle. Hensall. was proceeding from a private Janeway and collided with a vehicle being driven along Highway 84 by Gordon Kenney. RR 1 Exeter. Constable [ion Mason in- vestigated and listed damage at 8400 to each vehi- cle