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Times Advocate, 1993-08-11, Page 2ite1 wrap up Council chops pay for everyone else GODERICH - Councillors chopped 5238,700 from the town's proposed payrolls for the next four years, but have left their own salaries and benefits intact. Council honorariums, daily payments for attending confer- ences and seminars, and salaries were untouched in cuts to reduce the payroll $39,100 this year, 384,300 in 1994, 380,900 in 1995 and $31,000 in 1996, it was reported in the Goderich Signal -Star. "We shouldn't reduce council's wages. We all make under 330,000 and we're not employ- ees of the town," said Mayor Ei- leen.Palmer, referring to one of the suggested cuts drafted by the town's department heads. The province has said any agreement must not adversely affect employees earning less than 330,000. Smith nastils from -Tuckersmith council SEAF RTB - Douglas Smith has resigned .= :c5otmcillor for the Township oTTnckesmith. Council accepted his letter of resignation at the July 19 meet- ing, it was reported in the Huron Expositor. Smith expressed regret that he could not continue his duties and cited personal reason for his de- cision to step down. Tuckeramith Township Coun- cil is looking into possible op- tions to fill the position. Town's grace parking tags now seasonal ST. MARYS - The blue grace parking tags which give drivers a 10 -minute reprieve will only be used on ,a seasonal basis, it was decided in council recently, it was reported in the Journal Argus. Councillor Bryan Shaw, who sitson the police services board, brought statistics complied by acting Chief Doug Spitzig, com- paring meter revenues last year to J993. Meter revenues were down 3200 in April and May com- pered to last ,year. The parking tags have been issued for several months on a trial basis. Centre 's roof repaired, parking lot paved BOSANQUET - The Thed- fardaossngeet Community Cesare is nearing completion of an upgrading program Neat will NO it through at least another 15 alleles. Kevin Bryson said taittlsk 5,000 in upgrading and \i int -to the roof and perking doSMagld be finished in the next creek, giving the 17 -year-old fa- cility a longer lease on life, it was reported in the Forest Stan- dard. Partial fundp4;,isr Abe work came in part fradkiffinflist frau the towoakip's estmalloal re- serves sad parklamillisad. sags COMIlpropam improvingtomistreams Continued from froatinse lake. Still, CURB funds have been spent in ti N ,`me Jy for liwsatlltli "It beettalete for the livestock too," said iittIldllg, not- ing -"that sick animals can contami- nate waters for others downstream. Livestock fencing projects are said to be one of the hardest pm- jects to get local farmers to sub- scribe to.• "Fanners bought those lands be- cause of the water," said Ethering- ton. "Older farmers are harder to Usbvme farmer Said Cairn (right) stands beside the liquid manure storage built with help from the province's CURB program. Behind Cann, Doug Hocking and Rick Etherington, is the creek into which manure runoff was leaking before the storage tank was built. Grand Bend MIRA► making a difference By Fred Groves T -A staff GRAND BEND - The 'voice of the people is being heard. In this particular case, the voice is the Grand Bend Residents' Association. Started two years ago, the group was formed out of necessity - a way in which to band together and have a common interest. It's no secret that the resort community of Grand Bend is filled with problems but through the efforts of the GBRA some of those problems .are beginning to go away. For years it was quite common to see dozens of people crowd into the council ctutmbers and complain to the local politicians. The method in which they let their concerns be known was disorganized. "No one could ever get together in an organized fashion because most of the residents are seasonal," said GBRA president Mar- ian Siren. Last year, the GBRA had 120 household members and represented nearly 400 people. Loud parties, sleeping in illegally parked cars, gar- bage - these are just a few of the problems which have surrounded Grand Bend. "Our aim is to make this a place where we want to stay," said Siren who, along with her family have been seasonal residents since 1982 and permanent residents since 1991. If you drive through Grand Bend on a long weekend, you will see it is becoming a place where someone would like to stay. The biggest problem of them all, sleeping in parked cars, is nearly a thing of the past. Following the last municipal election, the GBRA made a point of getting a member on every council committee including the newly created Parking and Law Enforcement Committee. That committee was instrumental in creating a new bylaw which meant no more sleeping in cars over- night. Obviously this was a deterrent for some people to noome to the village. Less people could mean less busi- ..aeass for the local shopkeepers. "The merchants were opposed to that bylaw but I haven't heard of any merchants complaining this year," said Siren. In the last municipal election, the` .11 of 1991, the GBRA was a newly formed group but they certainly had a lot of political clout in the village. They backed candidates Tom Lawson, Ed Fluter and Cam Ivey, all are now members of council. "Anything but the status quo would be acceptable," said Siren of the old council. The GBRA and council may not see eye -to -eye on every issue -right now but complaints are handled in a more orderly fashion. Siren says a written proposal from the GBRA is presented to council for their ac- tion. Saturday, the GBRA had a gen- eral meeting which was attended by close to 70 people. With a constitution, newsletter and a membership which is open to all those who re- side in the village boundaries, the GBRA is looking closely at some major issues. Out of the meeting, and brought up by both Siren and Fluter at Monday night's meeting was garbage, dusty and noisey trucks, a suspicious van and highway traffic problems. Council listened closely on Monday and they are looking into the GBRA's ooncems. As far as problems in the past, the bag -tag garbage system is another one which draws the attention of the GBRA and they are in favour of it. Siren said the system is morally and environmentally correct but there are a few glitches like having to pay for bagging up all those leaves. "The town just can't bury their head about leaves," said Siren. , Searching for a village where everyone can bring their family to enjoy the sun and the sand seems to be the goal of the GBRA and that day may soon be close ahead. "Ouraimis to make this.a place where we want to stay" Lucan projects approved LUCAN - At the August 5 meeting, council gave aptproval to two applications for develop- ment in the village. Council gave approval to W,H. Loyens Inc. to proceed with construction of a four -pox housing unit on Gibson Cres - cont. Application has also been made by to a 28 unit apsruaent on Beech street. 4 meed to be .11110Calielkjbe tltrtee- ment In charge M reeve Tom " This is a Gamed gave tour aeatietielaltbed wilts ora 1Nliliegglrnallta- RMR *old 4sammord Alpo yid for six ,addiiiap ' ,atuits, bur of which wgi0at qtr Qlgatc'.e stmt,-1111li et sit ,,,gat street .ai tII1Me. Terry Fox Run on September 19 this year EXETER - Sponsor sheets will soon be available for the 1993 Ter- ry Fox Run in Exeter. This year's 10 kilometre run, which can be walked, ran, roller - bladed, cycled, or whatever, will be on Sunday, September 19. Regis- tration will be from 12 noon to 3 p.m. at the starting point, once again at MacNaughton Park. Last year's Exeter run raised over 32,500 from 62 participants. Times Advocate editor Adrian Harte is orae again organizing this year's event and hopes to improve on those totals. Overall, the 1992 Terry Fox Runs raised 33.4 million in Ontario, and 38 million worldwide. More than half a million people participated in the runs in Canada and other na- tions. Every dollar raised by Terry Fox Run participants goes directly to- ward cancer research. The Terry Fox Foundation is financially sup- ported by other donations. Tbe re- cipients of the research grants are also selected by the foundation. Other local Terry Fox Runs are being held in Clinton, Goderich, and Seaforth, all on September 19. convert to fencing (livestock] out of streams." But with larger herds these days, fainters are seeing stream hanks trampled, eroded, and their drain- age channels filled with the sedi- ment. With tip to S10,000 available in grants for fencing, more are looking into access restriction pro- jects. Those larger herds are also creat- ing storage problems for manure, and CURB is offering up to $12,000 to farmers looking to build new storage for either solid or liq- uid manure. Another 35,000 is available for dairy operations looking to control milkhouse wash water disposal. Hocking and Etherington say they are fortunate to be working with a voluntary program. They are only dealing with people who have decided they want something done: people who have realized that "wet spot on the back lawn" can no longer be ignored, or real- ized their manure pile is steadily leaking into the creek. With about 25 applications com- ing to the ARCA each month, a few have to be turned down due to a tack of hinds. Hocking says the committee which reviews the appli- cations has to spend the money where it is most needed, setting other applications aside for future funds. Eventually, the CURB program will run its course, and government funding will dry up. They advise anyone interested to apply soon. Will the lake be cleaned up to the point where Grand Bend's beach will no longer be declared unsafe for swimming at least once a year? "I don't think it's going to hap- pen overnight by any means," said Etherington. "it would, if you could get everything [cleaned up], but there's no way of knowing." Hocking said estimates place the total cost of fixing every last source of bacterial contamination of the watercourse at about 340 million. The CURB funds fall far short of that mark, but as Ethering- ton and Hocking agree, they are a start in the right direction. Unbom child survives car crash in London Township near Lucan -LUCAN - A-8 W2 month pregnant woman suffered .internal injuries from her seat belt during an acci- dent in London Township last Wednesday. The woman, who asked police to withhold her name, was taken from the accident scene by medical heli- copter to Victoria Hospital in Lon- don. The unborn child was alive. Four others were injured in the accident which occurred at 5:50 p.m. Police said a pickup truck travel - southbound on Middlesex 3lseitty Road 23 was trying to mike a lefthand turn when it col- Mid*taut to car on Concession Rtoad 15,in'London Township. The driver of the car which the pregnant woman was a passenger .suffered head. chest and back utju- ;r'ies, as well as leg cuts. A three-year-old boy riding in the rlawk seat of the car suffered a brok- en arm and was taken to Children's hospital of Western Ontario, in London. The truck's driver, a Denfield res- ident, was treated for minor injuries and released Thursday. The passen- ger, a Lucan resident, was taken to University Hospital with undis- closed injuries. Police said the car appeared to have collided with the truck at an angle on the passenger side. Both vehicles were destroyed. Correction Information in last week's report on the effects of the social contract was incorrect. Contrary to information provided to the paper, the Exeter Villa does indeed have a union for some of its employees. Employees; joined Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Local 210 last November, but a contract is still being negotiated. The Times Advocate regrets the error. Court Bears seven cases of driving infractions EXETER - Driving infractions were the focus of cases heard by Justice of the Peace Kar- en Sturdy at court last Tuesday . Timothy Teeter, of Ex- eter, pleaded guilty to un - safely leaving the road- way. The court heard that on June 3, at 3:30 a.m., Teeter was driving west- bound on highway 84, Concession 9 when the vehicle left the road and entered a ditch. Hc was fiaet1190Alltkftiven 30 days to pay. Suspension O'Neil, of Exeter, pleaded guilty to driving under suspen- sion lend was fried 3750 with six months to pay. O'Neil was also given an additional six month suspension. Speeding Gary Meisel], of Stratford, pleaded guilty to a speeding charge. The court heard police observed Pletsch's vehicle speeding on July 10 in Stephen Township. Radar showed the vehicle to be travelling 144 km in a 80 km zone. He was fined $655 and given six months to pay. Failing to stop for bus Lorna Miller of Parkhill, pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to stop for a school bus. The court heard the offence occurred on June 16. Miller was found guilty and fined 3265 with 30 days to pay. Failing to yeUd Erin Lobb, of Clinton, pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to yield on a private drive. The court heard the offence occurred on May 31 at John Street. Lobb was fined 355 and given 30 days to pay. Drtviag under suspension Peter Thorp, of London, picadod trot guilty to driving while under suspension. The court heard Thorp was stopped in Hirll on April 10 and the officer found Thorp had been put on sualigglipn for un- paid fines. The SAW Was itiplie. He was found guilty and fined six math suspension. Open Uquor 06411dY Butler, of Exeter, pleaded not guilty to driving with open liquor. The court beard that a police officer pulled Butler over on March 31 south on Highway 4. The officer noted be smelled liquor and Butler's eyes were watery. She was found guilty and fined 3180 with 60 days to pay. Liquor to a minor Kevin Cook, of 7,tuich, pleaded guilty to a Marc) 19 chaise of wPPlyittil liquor aa minor. The cutlet beard friends were gathered in Cook's apartment and be knowingly served the minor alcohol. Cook was fined 3105 and giv- en 60 days to pay. 9