Times-Advocate, 1983-08-10, Page 10
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Phone 235-1964
Would add costs to ratepayers
Huron board opposes Christhin school
Loss of provincial funding
added to an already large
vacancy in Huron County
public schools, leaves the
Huron County Board of
Education opposed to the
building of a Christian high
school near Wingham.
In one of his first public
duties, newly -appointed
director of education Bob
Allan spoke for the board at
an Ontario Municipal Board
(OMB) hearing in Goderich
on August 2.
The OMB is considering an
appeal by the East Wawanosh
Township council and some of
its residents regarding the
Huron County Land Division
Committee's decision to ap-
prove a 7.9 acre severance
from 140 acres owned by
Lloyd Hutton Real Estate of
ssr
These hailstones were the average size in
Monday's storm. A few were twice as large.
It didn't take long to get a bucket full of hail to
display on a smashed bird bath
Tow truck handy
for accident work
A tow (ruck didn't have far
to go to reach an accident
scene in Crediton, Thursday.
1t was one of the vehicles in-
volved in it.
The Thursday crash. one of
six investigated by the Exeter
OPP. occurred on Crediton's
main street when a vehicle
driven by Steven 1)inney, RR
1 Crediton. struck a parked
tow truck.
The tow truck is owned by
John Pritcha rd's Crediton
Garage and total damage in
the Mishap was listed at
$1100.
It was one of three colli-
sions on Thursday, the first of
which occurred on Highway
21 south of 83 involving
vehicles driven by Glenn
Crichton, London, and
Douglas Ford, RR 1 Hay.
Crichton and a passenger,
Karen Cudmore, also of Lon-
don, sustained minor injuries
and were treated at South
Huron Hospital. Damage was
listed at $3,500.
The other Thursday crash
was on the main street in
Zurich and involved vehicles
operated by Susan Wildfong,
Zurich. and Valerie biillson.
RR 2 Seaforth. Damage was
$1,300
Two collisions were
reported in Huron Park on
Saturday. both involving
drivers with identical
surna Ines.
In the first one, a vehicle
driven by Donald Morgan.
Huron Park, collided with a
parked vehicle owned by
Teresa Wegg, RR 1 Staffa It
occurred on Saskatchewan $l.
north of Canada Ave. and
damage was listed at $450.
Then a motorcycle driven
by Arthur Morgan. RR 2
lateen, crashed into a garage
door of an Ontario Develop-
ment Corporation garage on
Canada Ave. when the throt-
tle stuck on the machine.
Morgan escaped injury and
damage was set at $800.
The final crash of the week
occurred in Hensall on Sun
day when a vehicle driven by
Richard Nixon, London, col-
Ieded with a CNR sign
Damage was $850.
Kincardine. The land is
located about a half mile
south of the intersection of
highway 4 and 86.
The board is also consider-
ing a request for a zone
change for the site from
residential and restricted
agriculture to institutional.
An agreement of purchase
between Hutton and the
Wingham and District In-
terdenominational Christian
High School Society depends
on the outcome of the OMB
hearing. If the go-ahead 'is
given, the society plans to
construct a high school for ap-
proximately 80 to 120
students. The president of the
society, Dr. John Vanderkooy
of Harriston, said students
would be drawn from the pre-
sent elementary Christian
schools in Clinton, Lucknow
and Listowel.
"The Huron County Board
of Education opposes the pro-
posed severance and zone
change application. The
board bases its opposition on
its understanding that the
purpose of the severance is to
permit the construction of a
school," Allan told the OMB.
Explaining the financial ef-
fect on the school board of the
potential loss of secondary
school students, Allan noted
that in 1983, the board receiv-
ed $2,978 per secondary school
student.
"This means that for each
secondary school student who
leaves a school operated by
Huron County Board of
Education, the board's secon-
dary school ceiling for
recognized ordinary expen-
ditures is reduced by $2,978. If
10 secondary school students
leave, the secondary ceiling is
reduced by $29,789," said the
director.
The actual provincial
dollars lost by the board
would be $17,868 for the 11)
students as the province pays
about 60 percent .of the
board's revenue. Compound-
ed to the reduction of provin-
Strang plans
retirement
Harry Strang who has serv-
ed Usborne township as clerk -
treasurer for many years will
be resigning - effective
December 31 1983.
Strang started as clerk in
1947 and took over the dual
role as clerk -treasurer in the
early 1960's.
• At Tuesday's regular
meeting council agreed to
advertise for a replacement
in the Municipal World and
Exeter Times Advocate as
soon as possible.
Road superintendent John.
Batten reported near comple-
tion of the road construction
program on Concession 2-3 by
Jennison Construction of
Grand Bend and good pro-
gress by Jim Diegel Construc-
tion of Mitchell on the Ether-
ington bridge.
Building inspector Herman
Van Wieren reported issuing
four building permits during
the month of July for a total
value of $59,000 ,along with
four inspections made.
Three tile drain loan ap-
plications in the amount of
$34,800 were accepted and a
tile drain loan bylaw and
debenture in the amount of
$8.600 was accepted.
Murray Christie, owner of
the north part of Lot 27, STR
Concession requested im-
provements to Drain E.
Council is supporting the
Ontario Farm Drainage
Association in its attempts to
have the 75 percent provision
restored for tile drainage
bans.
A complaint from the
township of Stephen on the
outlet of the Essery drain was
referred to the drainage com-
missioner. Regarding the
Hensall landfill Usborne has
agreed to pay its share of the
additional engineering ex-
penses engendered by the in-
clusion of all of 1;shortie
township in the plan of
operation.
Council is supporting a re-
quest from the South Huron
Recreation and Community
Centre Board to have the Li-
quor Control Board Act revis-
ed in regard to special occa-
sion permits.
Thieves take
freezer beef
One theft was reported in
the area this week, 0 involv-
ing a quantity of beef from a
freezer.
Laura Pepper, RR 2 Zurich,
reported on Sunday that
about 110 pounds of beef were
stolen from a freezer while
the family was away.
Exeter OPP report that the
two vehicles stolen last week
from F'rayne Chev-Olds in
Exeter have still not been
recovered.
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tial funding is the board's_
long -touted fixed costs such
as building maintenance.
"Many of the costs with
which the board deals are fix-
ed and the loss of the 10 sug-
gested (hypothetical)
students results in a very
significant reduction in ex-
penses. Thus the board's on-
ly option is to shift a larger
portion of its operating cost to
the local ratepayer. In a very
practical sense, then, every
ratepayer in Huron County
would end up supporting this
school. Therefore, the board
feels an obligation to all the
ratepayers of Huron County
to appear in opposition to this
application," said Allan.
a g: g
Allan also pointed out the
vacant spaces already in
Huron County schools. With
the potential to house 15,681
students in its 24 elementary
and five secondary schools,
there was, as of September
30, 1982, only 10,522 students.
The secondary schools in
Huron could hold up to 5,985
students but in September of
last year housed only 3,979
students. Enrolment is pro-
jected to decline again this
fall.
"The Board of Education is
of the opinion that the best in-
terests of all Huron County
ratepayers and, indeed, of all
residents of the province are
best served by utilizing this
existing space.
"It would be unfortunate to
allow educational facilities to
proliferate around the county
and the ratepayers be
necessitated to bear a heavy
additional tax burden without
the Board of Education being
allowed to bring this informa-
tion forward," Allan said,
thanking the OMB for the op-
portunity to speak at the
hearing. •
Dr. Vanderkooy said the
site south of Wingham is the
"nucleous" of a 50 -mile radius
from Where the students will
come from. -These students
will not only come from
Huron County, but from
Perth, Wellington and Bruce.
A HELPFUL BROTHER — Bruce Andrews dssists his brother Paul in baiting his hook
with a crayfish as he prepared to fish in the river at Riverview park, Monday morn-
ing. T -A photo.
as
Ames
dvoca
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
One Hundred and Tenth Year
& North Lambton Since 1873
VIM
EXETER, ONTARIO, August 10. 1983
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Price Per Copy 50 Cents
Storm damages area from Varna to Staffa
H
ail shreds area crops
A severe summer storm
with high winds and hail as
large as golf balls lashed a
two-mile wide area stretching
from Varna through to Staffa
around suppertime on Mon-
day. Some hail reached pro-
portions that wouldn't fit into
a drinking glass.
Limbs and trees were fell-
ed, windows broken, cars
dented, crops shredded and
wagons over -turned in the
fierce storm which lasted
almost 15 minutes. Crop
damage was extensive on
over two dozen farms and will
run to several hundred thou-
sand dollars.
"I never.saw hail that size
before," commented Kippen
area farmer Bert Thomson
who was in the middle of the
two-mile path the storm
followed.
His neighbor, Keith. Lovell,
agreed with the record size of
the hail as he surveyed his
badly damaged garden and
soybeans and the limb -strewn
Three bale wagons flipped over at the Rowcliffe farm on Hwy. 4
north of Hensall
Greg Campbell cuts up a limb that crushed a Hensall fence
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all
and wind threshed most of th- e spring gra▪ in
front lawn.
Lovell said the wind was so
strong that a giant willow was
bent nearly in half and touch-
ed the house. The huge hail
stones bounced off the
laneway and caromed several
metres against the house,
which suffered some broken
windows.
Thomson's house had most
of the windows on the north
side shattered and there were
dents in the vinyl siding.
:'They said that would withs-
tand hail without denting," he
commented as he viewed the
damage and the lawn chairs
that had been carried several
metres down the laneway.
Just south, three large bale
wagons at John Rowcliffe's
had been flipped over and the
lawn there was covered with
broken branches as well.
Lovell and Thomson said it
would take a couple of days to
assess the full damage to the
bean crops on their farms.
Leaves were piled up between
the rows of beans and many
plants were broken and some
completely severed.
Some spring grain fields
were almost totally destroyed
as the heads were stripped
and Uwe Wisch said his
canola crop was probably lost
as the storm proceeded.east
through to the Staffa area.
John Rowcliffe said the
white beans at his farm were
' totally gone" as the pods
were knocked off.
His father, Bob, was work-
ing in the field in which the
three bale wagons were tip-
ped and was picked up by his
son in a pickup truck. The
younger Rowcliffe said the
storm scared everyone.
The Chiselhurst road east of
Ilensall was badly hit. Don
McLellan, RR 2 Staffa, said
his house looks as if someone
had taken a ballpeen hammer
to the aluminum siding. Not a
window remains on the nor-
thwest side. His car is
covered with dents, especial-
ly on the hood and trunk.
McLellan fears he has lost
75 percent of his white and soy
beans. He took a walk to his
bush to check what had been
an excellent growth of corn.
All that remains is three-foot-
sAat
high stubble, and corn stalks
littering the ground.
Uwe Wisch, two miles
south, figures the 15 -minute
storm cost him about $35,000.
His 35 acres of summer
canola are gone. The soy-
beans are stripped to bare
stalks. Wisch had expected to
get a good price for this crop,
which was selling Monday on
the Chicago grain exchange
at S9 per bushel. He doesn't
know yet whether the badly
mauled corn will make a
come -back or not.
Further south, Bob Bell is
thankful he had finished com-
bining his barley earlier in the
day. His spring grain, which
had been swathed, has now
been threshed by the hail.
leaving only about one-
quarter of the grain still in the
heads. Bell thinks the white
beans are done. and his field
of seed clover is wiped out. He
said his corn "looks tough, but
I think it will come hack and
we'll get a crop."
Bell said he had never seen
such large hailstones. Some
were so big they would not fit
into a water glass.
Grant McLean, who farms
directly west of Bell, was talk-
ing to crop insurance
assessors as this paper went
to press. He is certain his soy-
beans, barley and canning
peas are a complete loss.
McLean, like Bell, could
hardly believe the evidence of
his own eyes, and took a
hailstone inside to measure
it: its diameter was three
and one-eighth inches. The
force of the stones broke win-
dows in his house, dented the
window sills, and chipped
enough paint off his car to re-
quire a new paint job.
Vern Atderdice, owner of a
large block of land in the
storm's path, estimates
heavy damage to a couple of
hrindred acres each of his
corn and soybeans. Though he
has crop insurance, it is for
his entire acreage, and he
may not receive any compen-
sation after the insurers com-
pute the average on the total
crop. Luckily. he had already
combined all his spring grain.
Alderdice remember, be-
ing hailed out 20 years ago.
He recalled the corn stayed
green and continued to grow.
but didn't amount to
anything.
Most homes in storm's path suffered broken
windows
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Beans wore severed and the leaves piled up between the rows
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