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Times Advocate, 1993-05-26, Page 2Province -wide survey Regional 0$ire d.ss4.. wrap u p do sttrvey In Usbome 1*. Week 3 of army camp stalemate IPPERWASH - Last Saturday Stoney Point natives were served with eviction notices by the Deparment of National De- fence as the land dispute at camp Ipperwash continues. But, last Monday the tents and flags were still up as the group held their ground, it was report- ed in the Forest Standard. Stoney Point natives and de- scendents moved into the army camp May 6 and vowed to stay there until the government nego- tiates for the permanent return of the land. Local Han jaiiedfor molesting .children ETHEL - A 50 -year-old man was sentenced to a prison term of four and a half years, last Monday, after being convicted on eight charges of molesting lo- cal children. Clifford Stevens, of Ethel, was convicted in March after a trial that lasted nearly two weeks. The assaults took place between 1977-1990, and the victims ranged in age from five to 13 years old. The delay between the convic-. tion and sentencing was so a Pre -Sentence Report could be made. According to the Huron Expositor, :this report provides details :of 'the person's back- ground and .can -be used to help determine the most effective sentenceartd treatment. aver appointed, in Clinton CLINTON - Case Buffinga was appointed new mayor for Clinton during a special meeting of town council last Monday. An election for the seat was held using a show of hands. The former Deputy -Reeve received five votes, it was reported in the Clinton News -Record. Former mayor, Murray Taylor resigned on April 30. He has an outstanding wrong- ful dismissal suit pending against the town that dates back prior to 1991 when he became mayor. The suit was launched after he was fired from his, seven-year position as bylaw enforcement officer, building inspector and property standards officer for the town. Cuts in busing go ahead as planned MITCHELL - Despite protest from Listowel area parents, Perth County Board of Educa- tion trustees decided to go ahead with the originally planned cut to busing in that area. Transportation cuts will save S248,394. The plan involves extended busing or what is referred to as double busing. Secondary school students will be picked up and taken to school first. In some cases students will be picked up by 7 a.m., it was re- ported in the Mitchell Advocate. The same buses will then pick up • the elementary students be- ginning at about 8:17 am. The new pick-up times are 15 and 20 minutes earlier than current pick-up times. The school day will begin a half hour earlier for secondary students and 20 minutes earlier for elementary students. The latest drop off time for secondary students will be 3:43 p.m. and the last elementary stu- dents will arrive home by 4:38 p.m. By Advise Harte T -A Editor EXETER - A door-to-door cam- paign in Usborne Township over the next few weeks is aimed at in- creasing the use -and awareness of backyard composters. The pro- gram is part of a provincial survey to determine how the benefits of composting can be sold to Ontari- ans. • Dubbed the "Compost Crew", the • survey will be conducted door-to- door until June 25 by B.J. O'Reilly. A Bluewater truck will have on hand composters for $20 should a household want one. s Usbome is one of four municipal- ities chosen by the Bluewater Recy- cling Association to see how com- poster use can be increased. Usbome was selected because use of composters is already fairly high at about 15 percent of all house- holds. "We had to have a community that was already at that level, be- cause the whole idea of the project is to access the people above that point," explained Lynda Rotteau, one of the project's coordinators. Dave Wilson, the other coordina- tor, said that in Goderich, an addi- tional 350 households decided to -it[ogin backyard composting after :being contacted by the Compost Crew, putting composter use in that town up to nearly 50 percent. Those who sign up as being inter- ested in composting wilt be called back later in the year to review their experiences with the devices. "Our goals on this project are to get as many composters out there as possible, and have ahem used," said Wilson. Eleven recycling groups, includ- ing Bluewater, are participating in this survey and will be reporting their results to the Ministry of the Environment. The overall aim is to decide the best way to encourage province -wide acceptance and use of composters. Bluewater has already tried two methods. Goderich's Compost Crew worked with retailers selling composters, whereas Usborne homeowners will get the chance to buy one at their doorstep if they wish. One advantage to .the Goderich program is that Bluewater will be able to check the weight of garbage delivered to the landfill to see if in- creased composter use dramatically improves waste reduction. The survey for Usbome residents will be different from the one used in Goderich, Forest, or Blanshard Township. The survey will recog- nize the fact that rural areas already make use of compost heaps and the spreading of wastes on the fields - Summer student to address environmental issues r•xt- 1L - .In late 1990, the Times Advocate featured a series of 'articles about waste manage- ment. Since then, the town has adopted programs in waste reduc- tion : and waste management which together will. .affect how we, as citizens and :consumers conduct our -Buts. The Town Council considers !the ,t object of waste control to be of••paramount importance ;and •:in .'tern. under- stands the-nt d`forpnWic•.aware- ness.and cooperation to [Hake the program a success. To help achieve its environmental goals tit- town has hired a student to work on the implementation of the waste reduction program. It is, in fact, through the provincially - funded Environmental Youth Carps, that : Exeter has -engaged Paula *fakeer. Many readers may recognize Hohner as a cashier from Holtz- mann's IGA. As, she points out, "knowing my face is a step in the right direction and I hope over the next several weeks you will know me as a concerned resident of Ex- eter prepared to explain and an- swer any questions about the new waste management program." "I have been attending the Uni- versity of Waterloo for the past eight months studying Environ- ment and Resource Studies. One of my main aspirations is to help people discover they have an im- portant role to play concerning the environment. Working togeth- er with the town's residents is the best way to make this program worthwhile and beneficial to our .community." +lohner continued by saying, 'Urn sure there are man miscon- Paula Hohner ceptions of what this policy is all about. That is why there will be additional articles to follow that will further people's understand- ing." Referring directly to council's policy she noted that, ".there .are three main objeeuvesforfhis poli- cy: to promote :environmental preservation; to•prolongthe life of our present landfill site and to fol- low through with the most costef- fective waste management service for the town. Knowing this, it is easy to see what our job is as resi- dents of Exeter...to help meet the objectives and realize that we are not doing it because it is policy but because it is a part of making Exeter better place to live." Hohner's first article will appear in next week's Times Advocate. Duchess avenue owner asks about construction LUCAN - At a recent meeting of council, Evan Ibbitson of Duchess Avenue asked a number of ques- tions regarding the cunrent recon- struction and upgrading of that street. When Ibbitson asked if the present pedestrian bridge is to be removed and were there plans to in- stall a temporary one, works super- intendent Doug Johnston replied, " No plans at present as it would cost a considerable amount, since we cannot just put across a couple pf old telephone poles with plywood decking. It would have to conform to Ministry of Labour standards". Ibbitson asked what the cost per foot for water and sewer connec- tions would be and was told there will be no cost for water as this is just upgrading the line. The actual cost of installing the sewer main will be divided by the number of feet frontage that will eventually be hooking up to the sewer main. Property owners will also have to pay the $2.500 capital charge for sewers. Storm sewers will also be.in- statkte time as the sani- taryeTpm_McLaugh- lin told Ibbitson that it is not man- datory to hook up to the sanitary aytem. Ibbitson was assured that al- though some trees will have to be trimmed, none will be removed and that the condition of the stect for the winter will be the same as the west end is now, namely gravel. The Duchess Avenue resident was upset that council decided to go against the wishes of some of the street's residents and install the culvert and make Duchess a through street. Reeve McLaughlin explained that a lot of discussion went into that decision from a dollar point of view and maintenance point of view. 'lite difference in dollars between a proper footbridge and a concrete culvert was not very substantial. Deputy reeve Harry Wraith said he felt that once the street is com- pleted with proper curb, gutter and pavement, property values would go up. Wraith also felt that some traffic that now goes down Market and Kent streets should be going down Duchess Avenue. Ibbitson disagreed on both matters. both acceptable means of red,rcing wet wastes. "If it goes to the field, it's still composting," said O'Reilly. Usbome households using some form of composting will be given a yellow sticker to geld to their blue boxes, to proclaim "We Compost Too". The Compost Crew hopes to get the message across to those wary of adding a composter to their yard that the boxes, made of plastic or wood are an ideal way of breaking down vegetable matter into a useful soil -like substance. If meat prod- ucts are kept out of the composter, then there is little chance of attract- ing rodents or creating odour. Usbome mere Pet boon (right) holds up a Compost Crew t - shirt to kick off the door-to-door campaign to boost composter use in the township. At left is B.J. O'Reilly, an Usborne resi- den = rself who will be doi the residential surveys. A Compost Crew display includes several kinds of composters commonly in use in Ontario. From left are 11a Hetherington, Lynne Ballard, Pete Zuzek, Lee Smithson, and B.J. O'Reilly. The display trailer will be seen this summer at many community events. Sales tax expanded budget impacts local business Continued from front page expenditures programs up while cutting trimming operating costs by 4.3 percent. "I think we're on the right track to get the expenditures down," said Klopp. When asked about criticism that Ontario families would be spending more on taxes and less on the econ- omy this year, Klopp disagreed with the estimates of the impact. David Renegar of the Taxpayer's Alliance predicted a family with an income of $60,000 would be pay- ing $1,200 more to the province this year in assorted taxes. Klopp disagreed, saying the, gov- ernment has estimated the impact as much less. He said a single - income family of four, earning $40,000 would pay $235 more this year, or only 5120 more if a two - income family. Likewise, he said a couple with a $200,000 income would be paying about $4,400 more, mainly because the income surtax kicks in above 580,000. Reaction to the budget in the lo- cal area was one of concern, mixed with uncertainty about its exact im- • pact on incomes and the economy. Perry Knee at Huron Brewmaster said he was taking a wait -and -sec attitude toward the new tax on the beer and wine made at his brew -on - premises facility in Centralia. Al- though the tax is to take effect Au- gust 1, he has no idca of how it will be carried out. "When it comes down and 1 get official notice, then I'll probably have something to .say about it," commented Knee. Les Wernham at Pints Unlimited in Exeter said that while he knew the tax is to be 260 a litre on beer and wine by. August, increasing to 310 in June 1994, and 380 in 1995, he said he still has a lot of "unan- swered questions" about how it will be levied to customers. He said he can only guess it will be a separate item on the brewer's final bill. The tax will also cat into the price difference between U -brew beer and that bought at the store. Wernham estimates the additional $2.08 per case reduces the savings to 40.percent from the 50 percent currently enjoyed. The tax on wine won't be noticed as much, said Wernham. Either way, he expects the new tax will increase the bookwork and accounting costs for his three- month old business. "You have to collect it, count it, and submit it, but we don't get paid for it," said Wernham. Don Urbshott at Urbshott- Galloway Insurance in Lucan said he was still trying to work out the impact of having to charge sales tax on insurance premiums. The eight percent sales tax now applies to homeowner's insurance, and car in- surance is being taxed at five per- cent. Urbshott said he is being asked to include the lay in all new insurance quotes, but said he hadn't been noti- fied of when it took effect. Some ministry documents suggest the tax is to be applied.as of May 20. Also new on the list for the sales tax is warranty pans and labour. According to information from the Ministry of Finance, Retail Tax Branch, tax will be charged on parts and labour that are serviced tinder warranty contracts starting May 20. This means that warranty work done for any product from cars to radios will cost the manufacturer extra as the tax is applied. At press time, many merchants were unclear about what the chang- es would mean to them directly and how they would administer the tax. Matt Clark, at Exeter Chrysler Ltd., said on Friday that Chrysler's head office told them not to make any changes until there is a clear understanding of the provincial government's formula for adminis- tering the tax.. Although these changes will not affect the consumer directly when a product is brought in for warran- ty repair, it may lead to higher prices in the future. "The consumer will probably be affected by the trickle down effect of cost," Clark said. Also of interest to rural resi- dents, the retail sales tax now ap- plies to the sale of sand, clay, soil, gravel and other fills that arc used on local farms. Magnesium heats up Smoking barrel proves challenge for Stephen firefighters HURON PARK - Stephen 'Township firefighters were able to avoid a possibly disastrous situation Saturday afternoon when a barrel of hazardous ma- terial threatened to catch fire or pxplode. A barrel containing nsagnestum, a combustible metal, began to smoke Saturday morning at Exeter Machine Products in Huron Park. Firefighters were able to move the barrel to a safe location, but were unsure of how to stabilize it. Fire chief Robert Pertschy said the exact cause of. the heat build-up in the barrel was unknown, but moisture was a possible cause. The fire deparunent sought help from several agencies, three hours later, finally got advice from ,an expert familiar with the handling of magnesium. The barrel, and others like it were in sand to cool the material down. Otey are ing inspected regularly. until it can)e$ppd what io do with them. 1