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Zurich Citizens News, 1981-02-19, Page 1PCs nominate Brintnell Jim Britnell, Goderich, has announced his candidacy for the Progressive Con- servative nomination for the Huron -Middlesex provincial riding. Britnell, 52, was Huron County engineer for 21 years, from 1956 to 1977. His experience with the county "exposed (him) to all aspects of county and provincial life". Especially , he said, in the areas of transportation, communi- cation and the environment.. The environment "is one of the critical issues" of today, he said. Britnell is a past president of the County Engineer's Association, which involved county and municipal engineers from across Ontario, and was vice-president of the National Association,, of County Engineers, and organization of U.S.; Ontario and Alberta county engineers. He is also past president and a life member of the Good " Roads Association. His association with these organizations led to being part of advisory committees to the ministers and deputy ministers of highways. "I know my way around Queen's Park," -be said. Britnell • came to Goderich in 1986. He has been chairman of the Goderich Hospital Board and is a past president of the Goderich Lions' Club. He currently serves on the Goderich airport,committee: Britnell is a graduate of the University of Toronto and still holds his professional engineer's status in civil engineering. After 21. years with the county, Britnell felt it was time for a career change. He is currently the director of field research and testing -at Champion Road Machinery in Goderich: -- Britnell - said he was n directly involved with the PCs in the past, but felt during his years with the county he could not playhigh profile politics while a public servant. - .The Progressive Con- servative association's nomination meeting will be held Thursday evening at the South Huron Rec .Centre. The speaker for the PC nomination will be the Hon. Larry Grossman, minister of industry and "tourism. It will be his second visit to Exeter this year, having been here to open the BIA downtown project and the town hall restoration. Jim Hayter, "a former warden who operates an auto dealership In Goderich, said he was thinking about contesting the nomination, but admitted it was "way out there". The former reeve of Stephen was an unsuccessful standard; bearer for the par- ty in a previous provincial election against LiberalJaek Riddell. The Liberals will hold their nomination at the Ex- eter Legion hall; tonight (Wednesday) and Riddell is expected to get the call again • without any opposi- tion.- Murray Gaunt, who has retired after serving Huron - Bruce as Liberal member for several years' will be the guest speaker. HELPING BIG BROTHERS — A number of area municipal officials took part in Sunday's bowlathon for Big Brothers at the Towne and Country Bowling Lanes at Zurich. From the left are Grand Bend deputy -reeve Harold Green, Zurich reeve and Huron warden Fred Haberer and Stephen deputy -reeve Allan Wolper. T -A photo �tl FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS FEBRUARY 19, 1981 Zurich water increases u The water rates in Zurich are going to increase between 27 and 100 percent this year. The rate Increase was brought before the council on Thursday. The increase is the first In about five or six years. Council said that It was still not as high as it could be. The price for residents In town will be $84, up from $66 last year. The residents out of town will be paying $144. up about 27 percent from $115. The public and separate schools will beg- ing X80 compared to $960 of last year. The arena is going to be paying -100 percent more than it did last year, from $144 to X188. All the other rates are going to in- crease, except for the senfor citizen home, which will stay the same. Councillor, Bob Fisher, said that he did not like the large jump that the rates SOME TIME IN SPRING — A new greenhouse was erected at the Bluewater rest home for the use of the residents of the home and Maplewoods apartments. It will be operational by spring. , Greenhouse built The residents of the Bluewater Rest• Home and Maplewood apartments now have a new greenhouse. The- Bluewater Solar Greenhouse. Group, which has been trying to get a grant from the federal government and purchase a greenhouse for the last two and a half years, Is made up of a president and nine direc- tors. The president is Terence Lindey. Lindey said that the greenhouse would be for the use of everyone in the rest home and the apartment building. The greenhouse has been erected for about two weeks but there is no power run- ning to it yet. The 10' by 12' building is solar heated and was erected by Solcan Ltd. of London. Linde' said that the greenhouse would be operational by spring. The project was complete- ly funded by a graht from New Horizons, a federal government program offer- ing grants to groups of senior citizens. were, t king._ He said that. he thought the rates were fair, but that ah increase of this kind all at once was not a good idea. He said that the council should raise the rates a few percent each year to offset these sudden jumps. The council said that they try to set the rates so their is no need for increases every year. In other business, a delegation was heard about picking up old newspapers for recycling. Ms. Karen Horner asked councilto grant her permission to pick up old newpapers on a twice a month basis and that she would takethemtb London to be recycled. Slit told council that she we's not- part of an organiza- tion or group and that the profits " from the papers would go to her. The council said that they would get back to her after they had checked with other organizations, such as the boy scouts and girl guides, to see if they would be making any such drives in the near future. Horner said that she would be happy to not pick up the papers a week or two before any such drive. A tesollition from the regional municipality of Hamilton -Wentworth, deal- ing with the increasing at- tacks upon members of various police forces, was Price Per Copy 25 Cents to 100'3/0 -- endorsed. The resolution stated that the death penalty should be brought back for killing a police officer and that there should be stricter gun -control laws. A resolution was passed on the availability of dog tags from the municipal office. The rates are as follows: first male or spayed female is $4; the second is $8; the first female is $8 and the se- cond is $12; the third of either is $50 and if the dog tags are not picked up by May 15, the 1981 rates will be doubled to cover costs. The council decided that they would send someone to an enviromental assessment workshop in late March or early April. The workshop is to be held in London, but no date has been set. Also the council decided to forward to the committee of adjust- ment, the suggestion of sen- ding someone to a seminar for provincial committees of adjustment and land division in Peel from June 7-10. The first, second and final reading of a by-law dealing with overnight parking was passed. The regulations deal with the parking hours on the streets of Zurich, such as on Goshen Street, there will be no parking between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. for snow removal. There will be two hour parking on Main Street as well. OFA chairman says it's time farmers control their industry By Alice Gibb Huron County Federation of Agriculture members were told Thursday night in Brucefleld it's time farmers had control of their industry. The man deliviering this message was George Kloster, chairman of the On- tario Federation of Agriculture's (OFA) en- vironment committee, and an Oxford County farmer. Before Kloster started speaking on the need for safeguards for the farming industry, federation members were handed a copy of the OFA's proposed Agricultural Development and Protection Act, which the federation plans to pre- sent to the provincial government. The act, which now has the status of a work- ing paper, is currently under discussion by county federations around the province. One of the act's major proposals is provincial agricultural zoning, to be implemented in an municipality wit agricultural land and which would "in effect, result in agricultural reserves." The act recommends a reserve could be established on agricultural areas presently designated in ex- isting official plans and could include any farmland 1,000 feet outside the perimeter of urban, com- mercial or industrial zones. An agricultural zone designation would be con- sidered by, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food (OMAF) only "when a petition is filed with the ministry...containing the names of at least 20 per cent of the landowners eligible to receive the farm tax rebate." A referendum on the zon-, ing could then be held in the municipality within three months by voters receiving the farm rebate. "A majority vote would be sufficient to accept or defeat the question. A decision for or against the referendum would be binding for a period of five years at which time another referendum would be binding for a period of five years at which time another referendum would be held, if petitioned ." Under the proposed act, once an area is designated as an agricultural reserve, no severances would be allowed on the land, no land could be converted from farmland to non-agricultural uses, absentee foreign holdings of farmland exceeding 25 acres would have to be divested within three years, and con- versions to other approved uses, such as using the land to remove aggregate (gravel) would require OMAF approval. Takes precedence Also, in the case of multi- ple zone designations of the land, agriculture would take precedence over other designated uses. Other proposals outlined in the act, include the development of an agricultural development agency, "to provide technical and/or financial assistance in the areas of pollution abatement and con- servation." Also, the act calls for an agricultural promotion agency, to serve as a voice for farmers in On- tario and tcshow the public the diversity and complexity of the farming industry. Also, "problems of contact between non-farm and farm residents would be shown in the hope that the public would become aware that Please turn to page 3