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Times-Advocate, 1996-01-24, Page 2� t Page 2 Times -Advocate, January 24, 1996 Regional wrap up Man assaulted with bat WALTON - A man was charged with aggravated assault after he hit a McKillop Town- ship man with a baseball bat on Queen Street Jan. 10, causing multiple injuries including a broken arm, reported the Huron Expositor. The victim was taken to Sea - forth Hospital, then transferred to London's Victoria Hospital for surgery. Local support for family doctors MITCHELL - Mitchell Family Doctors have received local sup- port despite their announcement to change collective procedures, reported the Mitchell Advocate. Last month the physicians an- nounced their collective status at Stratford General Hospital will change from 'active' to 'courte- sy,' meaning hospital in -patients and people using the emergency department will be seen by the hospital on-call physician only. Also, as of Feb. I, emergency on-call service will be provided Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Weekend and holiday on-call services will be available from 8 a.m. to noon. OPP take over policing CLINTON - The Ontario Pro- vincial Police took over policing of the town on Monday. According to the Clinton News -Record, the public was in- vited to watch the ceremony, which was to involve the swear- ing in of the Clinton Police as members of the OPP. Local citizens now have a new number to call for service. Those needing service from the Clinton OPP arc asked to con- tact the OPP Telecommunica- tions Centre in Mount Forest at 1-800-265-2525. Local farm dealers cash in on .4daiizzard HURON COUNTY - Record snow in the United States two weeks ago has resulted in boom- ing business for McGavin Farm Fent and Farm Supply in Walton as well as Vincent Farm E4uipmenf Tn Seaforth, reported the North Huron Citizen. Snow hlciwer sales were also up for manufacturers in Lucknow, Clif- ford, Wiarton and Auburn. The eastern United States was hit joy 24 to 38 inches of snow in a blizzard named the Storm of '96 by news media. Pipes burst in hall SEAFORTH - Damages are estimated at $4,000 following the bursting of frozen pipes at the Optimist Hall just before New Year's, reported the Huron Expositor. According to Mark Smith, of the Optimists, the building's heat was turned on when the damage was discovered the Sat- urday before New Year's. He figures someone turned the heat off before then by accident. Smith, along with club mem- bers Jack Bedard and Don Hoff- man, have been helping to fix the hall. Court house reopens GODERICH - The newly - .renovated Huron County Court House was officially re -opened Monday. Paul Steckle, MP for Hu- ron -Bruce, Helen Johns, MPP for Huron, and Bill Clifford, Warden for Huron County congratulated the community on the re -opening of this important public facility. Renovations included updating the heating and electrical systems, as well as improving accessibility for persons with disabilities. The building presently houses the county courts and administrative offices, as well . as the Huron County government. The $1.7 mil- lion project was completed under the Canada/Ottawa Infrastructure Works program, with each partner (federal, provincial and municipal) contributing one-third of the total cost. "Refurbishment of existing buildings, where feasible, makes economic sense," said Steckle. "This is a wonderful example of the joint cooperation between three levels of governments -- the residents benefit, the county bene- fits, and work on this project creat- ed the equivalent of 31 year-long jobs." "Improvements to the court house were needed to help Huron County operate more efficiently and at the same time improve ac- cessibility for residents," said Johns. "That makes sense for the community and we support this in- vestment in local infrastructure." "In 1954, it cost $565,000 to re- build the Huron County Court House after fire destroyed the orig- inal building," said Clifford. "By coincidence, the county's contribu- tion to this infrastructure renova- tion project is $567,0(X). That's good value for a modern, accessi- ble public building for the same price as paid in 1954:' Canada/Ontario Infrastructure Works is a $2.I billion shared -cost program deaiancd to improve infra- stnuptttre, rs_ expected to create - approximately 40,000 direct and indirect jobs.' -1 Council will fund ABCA at 1995 rate USBORNE TOWNSHIP - Council approved maintaining the mu- nicipal levy fob 1996 at the 1995 rate at their Jan. 9 meeting in order to allow the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority to return to its original mandate as a local grassroots conservation agency. Tom Prout, ABCA's general manager, attended the meeting to dis- cuss drainage superintendent services and establish a date for this year's Building Committee meeting. Council passed a motion to continue its present agreement with ABCA for drainage super- intendent services. The Upper Thames Conservation Area has also asked municipal- ities for support by maintaining a municipal levy for 1996 at last year's levels. A delegation from UTRCA will attend the Jan. 23 council meeting. Other Business A public meeting will be held Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. to discuss the rezoning application received by council from Norm Thomson for lands severed for sale to Huron Motor Products. The County of Huron Planning and Development Committee has granted the Bill Pincombe application. Conditions of the severance include the severed lands be rezoned AG4 and the title of the se- vered lands merge with the title of abutting lands owned by Ron Bilcke. Co -collection program Council passed a motion to advise Bluewater Recycling Associa- tion it is interested in curbside waste co -collection. A second mo- tion passed to advise the Township of Blanshard that Usborne is proceeding with the co -collection and wishes to renegotiate the agreement for use of the Kirkton landfill site. Bluewater is offering Usborne a co -collection service of biweekly curbside waste collection at a cost of $8.28 per household each year. Blue box collection costs are an addition ($9.96 per house- hold in 1995). Municipalities will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. A motion to impose a bag tag user fee for curbside waste co - collection was lost. Conservation authorities discuss funding with council ABCA and UTRCA explain impact grant reduction will have on local authorities BIDDULPH TOWNSHIP - Delegates from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority and the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority attended the Jan. 16 council meeting to discuss funding. Don Pearson, UTRCA general manager, explained its $6.3 million 1995 budget made up of 44 per cent user fees, 24 per cent municipal levies and 32 per cent pro- vincial grants. The grant portion will be reduced by 70 per cent for 1997. He said the authority has reduced staff and will require further reductions totalling 25 per cent of staff to be laid off. Pearson requested the municipality to maintain its share of the funding to prevent any further cuts in pro- grams and has a deadline for February's budget. He asked council to make its decision known by that time. UTRCA has taken a lead roll in programs including constructed wetlands, submerged wetlands and the CURB program. The authority has also worked on erosion studies, tree planting and educating children. Bob Benner, ABCA past chairman, explained the au- thority has concentrated on developing expertise over the past few years which has proved to be an efficient way of getting the job done. Benner said the ABCA is not looking for municipalities to increase their con- tributions but would appreciate the same level of fund- ing as last year. He added programs such as water quality will suffer if funding is reduced. INN Tom Prout, ABCJ general manager, pointed out to Council under the new legislatiim there will iv a, very small levy and theibalance of the authority's funding will have to be negotiated. He explained the budget for the ABCA is only one third of the UTRCA but the percentage of cuts are the same. It was announced at the annual meeting on Thursday, staff of the ABCA will be reduced from 25 last year to 13, assuming mu- nicipalities maintain their funding. He believes it is very important to maintain a local agency to deliver services. When asked by Reeve Earl French if the UTRCA will still be approving septic waste disposal in- stallations, Pearson responded service will likely be retained but with reduced funding from the Ministry of the Environment and Energy, user fee will probably increase. Biddulph Council will attempt to notify both author- ities of its budget decisions prior to Feb. 20. Bylaws The Village of Lucan submitted a proposed Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw amendments for Part Lot 4, Concession N.L.R. (Dr.Lock). Council had no objec- tions to the proposals. New Business Council approved a motion to dircct the clerk to ad- vertise for a dog tag salesperson. Lab work for the Granton Water System has been estimated at $1,475. Council approved a motion to write off the total bill- able portion of Coldwell, Cronyn and Issac Drain in the amount of $278.41. This amount would have to be billed to 56 ratepayers. Your Views Letters tothe editor. Support for local conservation authority We all benefit from the steward- ship of our natural resources... Dear Editor: In view of the drastic budget cuts by our provin- cial government - and the precarious position of so many institutions, as a result - I'm writing to ex- press my concern and to state my support for our lo- cal conservation authority. While many people may agree that funds should be diverh:d from certain areas to strengthen the economy elsewhere, there is no doubt that the Ausa- ble-Bayfield Conservation Authority provides es- sential services of value to every resident of this wa- tershed. We all benefit from their stewardship of our natu- ral resources: clean water, a healthy agricultural economy through tree -planting and manure manage- ment programs, floodplain monitoring and shoreline protection. ,In addition, their educational programs build conservation awareness and promote cafe of the environment - worthwhile lessons for our youth, tomorrow's decision -makers. Without the efforts of a local environmental pro- tection agency, the communities within this rural area lose stature: our local population becomes less important to the government and, as a result, more money goes to urban centres. In Canada, there has been more emphasis, in re- cent years, on conservation and the environment, but we're still behind more progressive countries in northern Europe, whorJovernments continue to develop programs that safeguard their natural re- • By reducing funds to the ABCA, our government is asking: "Can we afford to pay for conservation programs and environmental services?" The teal question is: "Can we afford not tor The survival of our rural, agriculture -based communities depends on a healthy economy and a healthy environment. Daren Yavorsky Resident of Hensel!, The White Ben Capitan of Canada Teachers face cuts; in preparation time,. • Continued from front page . in my opinion, in the social con- tract," said Carroll adding, "Any- time you remove teaching staff from a school system, you impact negatively on the nature of the service." Carroll said ministry re- structuring is working to- wards u+goal of reducing the cost of administration of school system by 10 per cent. This means re- ducing administration ex- penditures at the county. level as well as cutting administration costs of individual schools. The current debate concerning Carroll's h, r.,. .'ion :gat - such as math, >icienoe and tech- nology are headed in the same or parallel directions." Reducing or eliminating de- partment heads, said Clarke, would cause workload prob- lems." "We're looking at increased workloads on principals and vice principals..." depar., ops. syst, 11 ed subjeLi J.: an in- tegrated model shoula be adopt- ed in order "to ensure subjects We're looking at increased workloads on principals and vice principals," he explained, adding they are already overworked. Concerning re- placing teachers in junior kindergarten with early child- hood educators, Clarke replied, "Any time you take pro- fessionals and replace them with para -professionals, you're talk. ing about a decline in the quality of education." Zurich considers co -collection program ZURICH - Although accepting a proposal by Bluewater Recycling Association for a co -collection program would mean savings for the village, it could also mean loss of tipping fees that currently cover operating expenses. Assuming there will be no land- fill revenue for 1996, Zurich must budget for 40 per cent of the oper- ating costs according to the 60/40 Hay/Zurich landfill agreement. A 1996 operating cost of $39,000 has been projected by Hay Clerk - Treasurer Janisse Zimmerman. Bluewater is offering weekly curbside waste collection for Zu- rich at a cost of $25.28 per house- hold per year. Adding operating costs for the landfill site, calculated as $15,600 divided by 359 house- hold, a charge of $43.36 brings the per household cost under the co - collection proposal to $68.74. This compares with a cost of $125 per household under the current M & R Disposal Service contract. Hensall and Hay Councils are also considering the co -collection program. Bluewater's per house- hold rate for Hensall is $15.39 per household for a savings of slightly more than $2,000 yearly. New for powers manic+ alities • Continued from front page ignated for operation and maintenance of flood control structures at 50 per cent grant rates. The remaining $2 million will be in the form of tax relief for provincially significant lands at a 100 per cent grant rate. Next year, all other ABCA programs will have to be funded through user fees, donations and municipal levies. The ABCA expects a $100,000 grant this year for flood control and it will only be able to calculate the municipalities share at a rate equal to the grant. Under Bill 26 the Minister of Natural Re- sources will have the power to determine the nature and amount of the municipal levy. However, since environmental regulations have not changed and residents will demand some services, municipal- ities will face the challehge of determining what programs they will support. The benefits of programs, especially water quality, are not just received by the municipality that pays for the services. "Many municipalities have wished they had more direct control. They will no longer be obliged to contribute except to flood con- trol," said Bob Benner, past board chairman. According to a report in the Brantford Expositor, verified with the Ministry of Natural Resources, although the Tory Omnibus Bill will permit municipalities to reduce their funding of conservation au- thorities, "they can't make that decision unilaterally without agree- ment from a majority of partners along the watershed." Watershed partners must determine the level of service they desire before cal- culating the levy. They must also pay for half of the cost for flood control management in addition to any other services provided. Facing a transition year in 1996, the authority is requesting mu- nicipalities maintain their levy at the same level as 1995. With this cooperation, the ABCA will attempt to maintain as many programs and services as possible this year with the understanding transfer of responsibilities and dropping of programs will be discussed with the 32 ABCA member municipalities and other agencies. Several mu- nicipalities including Clinton, Goderich Township, Usborne Twp., Hullett Twp. and Logan Twp. have already committed to main- taining support for 1996 at 1995 levels. Municipalities will be supplied by the ABCA with a detailed list of the programs and services provided to them by the authority. From this list, member municipalities will be able to determine what areas they will continue to fund. Municipalities may decided to provide some programs for themselves or look to service clubs and other partners for funding. "As our partners find out the magnitude of the impact on con- servation authorities, they are beginning to come forward to contrib- ute either in time or in money, " said Prout. It is recommended for 1997 that municipalities maintain as mini- mum delivery of services for the following: conservation eduction programs for youth and adults, communication programs, flood monitoring and flood forecasting, maintenance and operation of flood control structures, ownership and management of environ- mentally significant properties, ownership and management of fo- restry properties, ownership and management of rental properties, Pork Franks Conservation Area, watershed planning, windbreak and hardwood program for private landowners and municipalities, rural conservation areas, legal inquiries and drainage superintende'at service for member Municipalities. Other programs will be discussed with municipalities, service clubs, other agencies, ministries and major sponsors this year to create individualized lists of programs and services to be delivered in 1997, Board lection: Tom Tomes, representing Grand Bend and Stephen Township, was acclaimed as the 1996 chairman of the board of directors and Munay Keys, representing Nay Township and Zurich, was ac- claimed as vice-chairman. In addition to funding reduclki►'with the exception of flood con- trol, there will be no provincial appointments to the board of di- tecton.