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Times Advocate, 1995-07-19, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, July 19, 1995 Turning swords into plowshares GODERICH - Mixed oxide (MOX) fuel from unused Ameri- can nuclear weapons may be transported through Huron County to the Bruce nuclear sta- tion, reported the Goderich Sig- nal -Star. If Canadian and U.S. govern- ments give their approval for its use, the fuel would be escorted by security vehicles using three different possible routes each time. Goderich is a self -declared nu- clear -free zone and the question remains if the town will allow transportation of nuclear materi- al though its boarders. One councillor said the designation was ludicrous, according to the Signal -Star. "The designation of nuclear - free was ludicrous at the time it was made and it continues to be ludicrous," said Goderich Court. Maurice Jenkins. Zehrs store to close August 5 WINGHAM - The Zehrs store will close in Wingham on Au- gust 5, after 15 years of service in North Huron, reported the Wingham Advance -Times. Store manager Harvey Hein - miller told the Advance -Times the company felt with the open- ing of two larger stores, the Wingham operation would suf- fer. Due to the appearance of help - wanted ads over the past two weeks, it is possible another re- tailer may be looking to open at the plaza. According to A -T sources, Valu -Mart retailers have been looking at the local opportunity. Waste disposal changes may affect Huron GODERICH - The decision won't be made until the end of the summer whether or not the Ashfield site will be the location for a new County of Huron land- fill, reported the Huron Exposi- tor. In addition to continuing im- pact studies, the recent decision to lift a ban on incineration as a form of waste management in Ontario will be considered in the decision. The new provincial govern- ment recently lifted a four-year- old ban on incinerators and also opened up the option for munici- palities to ship their garbage out of town. Town offices receiving face-lift ST. MARYS - Much needed renovations have started on the main floor of the historic St. Marys town hall, reported the Journal Argus. The $223,775 project•includes many cosmetic upgrades such as new paint, wallpaper, carpeting and fixtures. Gordner Construc- tion from Kitchener submitted the lowest-bid--and--was cepted for the contract. The work is expected to complete in 14 weeks, and fo the duration all town offices are located on the ground floor. �CTHF WFWL' Community batting for Harvey Kennedy Neighbors, friends and families of burn victim participate in benefit ball game Chris Skalkoa T -A staff CENTRALIA - To some people, a neighbor is just someone who lives nearby. For Huron Park res- ident Harvey Kennedy, his neigh- bors are also his saviours and his closest friends. Last month Kennedy suffered third degree burns in a house fire that nearly claimed his life. Dave Kell Kennedy, daughter-in-law of Harvey Kennedy hits the ball during the benefit ball game. Vincent a next door neighbor is credited for saving Kennedy's life. "I rushed over and stood at the front door and yelled for him," said Vincent, explaining that he didn't know if Kennedy was in the house or not. "I heard him come around the corner so I took a deep breath, ran in, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him out," Vincent said. "I was really scared. There were flames shooting out the window," he said. "If I didn't hear him inside I never would have gone in." Kennedy's house was destroyed and he lost everything inside. Once the community heard about the near tragedy it didn't take them long to respond. Area residents Jim Merrylees, Marlene Lightfoot, Tom Lessard and Pete Glover organized a benefit slo-pitch game to raise money for Kennedy who lost everything in the fire. Kennedy's neighbors on Parkdale Ave. and the surrounding area formed a team calling themselves the Huron Park Harvey's Ball - Bangers. They sent out a friendly challenge to the local media, and they all came out in full force. DJs, reporters, broadcasters, meteor- ologists and talk show hosts from Country 92.7 FM, CFHK 103.1 The Hawk, CFPL Radio 98 - FM 96, the London Free Press, Q 97. 5 FM, BBS and the Times -Advocate showed up to play ball. They brought with them a variety of priz- es to be raffled off in support of the fundraiser. Even the giant White Squirrel showed up repre- senting the Exeter Business Associa- tion to hand out thank -you pins do- nated by the Legion Keeping score wasn't as significant as was the amount of people who at- tended the benefit game at Centralia Park on Wednes- day. Over 200 people attended to enjoy a hot-dog and hamburger bar- becue, and watch a sometimes hi- larious ball game that was more like the Blue Jays meet the Bad News Bears. Tracey Hemphill, a newscaster from 92.7 FM said her radio station was quick to respond to the invitation bringing five vol- unteers to the game. "This is a great way to raise mon- ey for Harvey and we're all having fun," she said. Mike Derbyshire from the Lon- don Free Press thought the benefit ball game was a good way to get to know the community. "It gives us an opportunity to meet our readers and listeners," said Derbyshire. "It's a small community and people that know Harvey realize he's a friendly down to earth kind of guy," Osborne lets road tenders EXETER - Usborne township council will support the Exeter and area fire board in their decislon to hire a full-time fire chief to replace the retiring Gary Middleton. Council came to that decision af- ter hearing a report on the matter from deputy reve Rob Morley and councillor Ken Oke, the township's representatives on . the area fire board. The township solicitor will be in- structed to prepare a release docu- ment for the old Ministry of Trans- port pit in Kirkton and have it for- warded to MTO. The contract for the supply and application of oil emulsion and to haul and apply gravel to township roads was let to Saugeen Spraying, the lowest of three bids received.. The accepted bid for the oil emul- sion was $1.31 a gallon and $8.25 per tonne for the gravel. Road superintendent Ken Parker was authorized to surface treat Concession 2 road from Highway 83 to sideroad 25, if Saugeen Spraying will do so at their quoted price.. The township office has received complaints about the burning of plasics and copper wire in Elim- ville as well as burning taking place on lands adjacent to the town of Exeter. The proper authorities have been advised. Councillors hear recommendations GRAND BEND - The Grand Bend Parks and rec- reation committee recommended council set aside $2,000 to have Goderich engineers see if a boardwalk similar to theirs is feasible. Grand Bend council dis- cussed the recomendation during a meeting on Monday afternoon. The construction of a boardwalk on the north beach in Grand Bend was outlined in the original Village of Grand Bend Long Range Plan of 1993. Barb Wheeldon liked the idea of the boardwalk and reminded council the north beach is still not accessible to wheelchairs. Bob Mann favored the boardwalk and said the Rotary Club was prepared to undertake the project in the past, however, council didn't show enough interest at the time and the project never ma- terialized. The proposal was shelved for the next meet- ing. Administrator Paul Turnbull presented council with the results from a public survey. The questionnaire asked if residents of the Southcott and Heaman sub- divisions were in favor of sanitary sewer service to the area. Out of 105 responses, 86 percent of Heaman res- idents, and 51 percent in the Southcott area were in fa- vor of the project "The numbers here certainly indicate the people have spoken and it's up to us to move on this," Phil Maguire said. Council agreed to go ahead with a "council initiative program" which will notify the residents of the two ar- eas council's intentions. The initiative doesn't commit the Village to the plan and if 50 percent of the res- idents display negative feedback council will not go ahead with the project. Also on the agenda, Kevin Walsh, Economic Development Officer for the Greater Grand Bend Area approached council about the idea of having a shared Busker Festival between the Tri - Municipalities. It would cost Grand Bend, Bosanquet and Stephen Township $4,500 plus accommodations to have the travelling entertainers here for the Labor Day long weekend. Walsh said four or five acts of musicians, stilt people, jugglers and a five piece trampoline act are available to perform that weekend. "These are not your typical street person, Buskers come from all over the world, they're professional en- tertainers," he said adding they are a non-profit or- ganization. Walsh presented a detailed summary out- lining the opportunities for having the Buskers visit the area. "It's not the mandate of my office to be an activities coordinator but this Busker Festival has in my opin- ion...significant economic benefits for the community," he said. Mann said the Buskers would give local mer- chants an economic boost and "add a different dimen- sion to the excitement of Grand Bend that is very de- sirable." Council agreed to the idea only in conjunction with the other municipalities. Walsh said he received a "luke-warm" reception front Bosanquet and hasn't yet approached Stephen Township. "We support the idea provided all three municipalities go the same way," said Turnbull. Everyone who attended made a small donation and when the day was over, $1,000 had been raised. Merrylees said the fundraiser would not have taken off if it wasn't for the support of con- tributors Jim Parker from the Al- batross, Joan and Steve Sararas from Foodtown, Lloyd Moore from Hostess, the Masse brothers from Merners, the Exeter Legion branch 167 and the Centralia Community Centre. All of them quickly vol- unteered their help when they heard about the fundraiser. Kennedy's son Ron and his wife Kelli were play- ing for the Ball -Bangers and Ron said he was pleased at the turnout. "This is fantastic. I didn't expect it to be anything like this," Ron said. Ron added that his father was grateful to hear about the neighbor- hood's effort. Kennedy is resting comfortably in South Huron hos- pital and he is expected to make a full recovery. Vincent was also at the fundraiser but he wasn't surprised at the large number of people who arrived to support Kennedy despite the short two weeks organizers had to plan the event. "It's a small community and peo- ple that know Harvey realize he's a friendly down to earth kind of guy," he said. "Getting this ball game together really shows the col- lective togetherness ,of the com- munity." Stolen van used in liquor robbery A vehicle taken from a Zurich res- idence was used to make off with approximately 50 cases of liquor ZURICH - Upon returning from Toronto late Thursday night, Martine MacDonald and Brian Rugier of Zurich locked their vehicle leaving their suitcases inside and headed for bed. When they woke on Friday morning, their van and its contents were gone from the driveway of their Main Street residence. After visiting Toronto, the city where they might expect something like this to happen, it was a shock for the couple. "We come back from Toronto, where the action takes place, and then this...," said MacDonald during a telephone conversation. When MacDonald spoke to the T -A on Friday morning, she said the OPP had located the belongings of their vehicle. MacDonald and Rugier's clothes, cellular phone, the seats and the window of their van were strewn about the ground outside the Zurich Liquor Store. The OPP told MacDonald the van had been the vehicle used in a liquor store robbery during the early hours of Friday morning. Ap- proximately 50 cases of assorted liquor were reported stolen. They also told the couple their 1987 Chrysler Caravan was one of the easiest models to start and to pop out a window for entry. The van was still missing at the time of MacDonald's call. "There was enough gas in it to go to Toronto again," said Mac- Donald. The police report stated that to date neither the van nor the liquor has been recovered. Health Unit amalgamation GODERICH - With the pending changes in health care legislation, there is an opportunity for discus- sions to occur between Huron and Perth regarding a potential health unit amalgamation. The climate for this discussion in- cludes the uncertainties around budget allocation and future MSA developments and the recent resig- nation of the medical officer of health in Huron County. The first meeting occurred on July 12 and the committee is work- ing to develop a draft framework for future discussions. Civic corner phase 11 in the works Second stage of town square project deals with declining state of library Heather Mir T -A staff EXETER - The second phase of the town square project dealing with the library is still in the discussion stage. How- ever, four possible options were illustrated to council at Mayday night's regular meeting. The project currently qualifies to apply to the province for a 50 per cent cost-sharing grant. "If we don't get the grant, we are looking at a three to four year plan," said Councilor Roy Triebner. At present, council has $75,000 in a reserve fund for this project. In order to apply for a grant the town has started the pro- cess to evaluate what design will best serve the needs of the community while achieving economy. To this end, council requested Dave Moyer, chief building official and Rick Hundey, town administrator prepare preliminary site plans to describe the options for establishing a library. The first option is to expand the existing police station to the north and east, adding 2,000 square feet to the 4,200 sq.ft. building. The library would serve a variety of com- munity uses. The preliminary coat of this option excluding any renovations to the old library is $426,048. Option two is the removal of the old library with expan- sion to the police station as in option one. In addition, this plan includes the creation of an open square or park for community ceremonies, events and daily use. The aesthetic, values of this option'are also part of the consideration. The preliminary cost which allows for landscaping is $436,048. The third option presented to council is an expansion of the existing library. A two-storey addition, 1,600 sq.ft. in size would be added to the building. The police station would serve as a location for a number of suggested com- munity groups. The estimated cost of this option is $542,752. A fourth site plan calls for a new library building on one - storey. The cost of this option includes the demolition of the existing library and the construction of a 4,200 sq.ft. li- brary. A considerable area of green space would be lost in this plan. The police station would again be a location for community groups. The preliminary cost estimate is $538,340. All of the above four options include the retention of ap- proximately 45 parking spaces and at least two access and/ or egress points. A fifth option was suggested by Liz Bell, clerk -treasurer which would add on the old town hall expansion. This op- tion eliminates the cost of a two-storey building which would require a separate elevator. A public meeting to present the five possible options for phase two of the civic corner project is tentatively sched- uled for early in September. The goal of the meeting will pe to gain community input and proffer the advantages and shortcomings of each prepared plan. The county librarian attended Monday's council meeting and said a one level library is preferred because it elim- inates staffing and security problems. "The county librarian brought that to our attention in terms of efficiency of staffing. When you've got a library on two floors you are limited in terms of what you can do with your staff. Basically you have to have someone there at key times on both floors." said Councilor Triebner.