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Times Advocate, 1994-10-19, Page 28Page 28 Times -Advocate, October 19, 1994 IN THE NEWS Student reps Christina Parker and Aaron Gardiner, both OAC students at South Huron District High School, have been appointed student representatives on the Huron County Board of Ed- ucation. They are two of six representatives from each high school in the county. This is the first time the board has appointed student reps and the pair should have a better un- derstanding of their role when they meet with board members again later this month. Your Views Letters to the editor Buying beach only solution "The judge drew up the map and said this is it, but the citizens of Grand Bend won't accept the ruling." Dear Editor: I found your article by Fred Groves "Bend still fighting for Gibbs Beach" interesting. Unfortunately somehow pieces of the article are missing and this distorts the whole story. However I would Tike to comment on a few things. First the province never owned the beach, it always for many years belonged to the Gibbs family A check in the registry office would have confirmed this but it took an 80 -day court hearing costing near- ly one million dollars to prove it, all because the good citizens of Grand Bend said "We own the beach and we will spend any amount of money thc province is willing to pay to prove it." Archie Gibbs is the legal owner of this beach. The only question that had to be settled at the court case was "exactly what area docs the beach cover, is it to the existing water line, the lake as it was in 1870- 1906-1915 or what?" The judge drew up the map and said this is it, but the citizens of Grand Bend won't accept the ruling. The province has already paid out over one mil- lion dollars in legal fees, witnesses, court costs. That is tax dollars paid by all the citizens of Ontario, 95 percent of whom could not find Grand Bend on a road map. if the people of Grand Bend want what they think is their beach, then they should pass the hat, raise $5 million, pay off the legal costs and buy it. It is as simple as that. L.S. Mannell Grand Bend Does Grand Bend need community policing? There is also concern about activities for youth and a teen centre By Fred Groves T -A staff GRAND BEND - It appears as though there is a need for a youth centre in Grand Bend and it looks as though the village wants the local detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police involved. At Monday night's council meeting, it was first brought up through the minutes of the Parks and Recreation Committee that there was a need to pro- vide teen and pre -teen aged youth with activities. Later in thc meeting, deputy -mayor Cam Ivey said he has been approached by the OPP about com- munity policing. When asked if a youth centre and a community policing building could be used togeth- er, it was decided the possibility was there. "If you had an ideal situation, it would be some- thing you could create as a youth centre," said Ivey. Councillor Phil Maguire asked Ivey if the two tied in together to which Ivey responded, "it all depends on the availability of a building." Grand Bend docs have its own OPP detachment as it was moved in the spring from the Pinery Park. In the summer there are as many as 25 officers but in the winter months that number dips to half a doz- en. Having community policing is basically a public relations move and it helps to make the police more visible in a community. "If we say we believe in community policing, we should support thc concept" said Ivey. "They (OPP) very much want to do this," said Ivey who agreed a police sergeant should be invited to attend the next council meeting to talk about community policing. The original idea of getting youth activities was from the Parks and Recreation Committee and council was somewhat concerned about how that committee was going about making decisions. Lack of communication between council and it's committees has been a problem in the past and this time, through thcir committee minutes, Parks and Rec wanted to contact the local youth and get their view points and also wanted to issue a press release. Council has urged that the committee work with them to help find some activities for the youth. The communication problem aside, the youth do need things to do, especially for those who Iivc year-round in Grand Bend. "There has been discussion about lack of teen and pre -teen activities in the community. The intension is a good one," said councillor Ed Fluter. As far as activities for youth in Grand Bend, there is little unless they like going outside for walks and often the intention is to keep youth off the streets. There is no arena, no youth centre (yet) and the arcades and other hangouts mean the youth have to fork out money. Grand Bend is making efforts to provide activities for them as they are looking into crcating an out- door rink for skating. in the past couple of years at least one person has come before council suggesting a mller-blading fa- cility. However, red tape prevented him from car- rying through on his plans. Hay will pay for most of fire hall renovation ZURICH - Hay Township has agreed to pay its full share of an up- grade to the Zurich fire hall. Now agreeing to pay 58 percent of the $7,000 cost, Hay has increased its share from the 33 percent it insisted on last month. Hay had insisted that the project to improve a vehicle hay with new windows and doors constituted a capital improvement - for which Zu- rich alone is responsible. Zurich and Stanley Township, the other two partners in the shared fire de- partment, termed the project mainte- nance, asking that its cost he shared according to the assessed responsi- bilities of each municipality. In agreeing to pay more, Hay has insisted that the $7,(X)0 estimate for the project also be a cost ceiling, and the township wants a clearer definition of capital and mainte- nance projects in the future. Should Zurich council meet on Mondays? ZURICH - Village council has enjoyed a more unusual monthly meeting date for years. hut reeve Bob Fisher wonders if Zurich should step in line with other local municipalities. Zurich council has traditionally met on the second Thursday of each month, but Fisher noted that the date often conflicts with other. meetings in the area. Most coun- cils, he said, are meeting on Mon- days and holding special meetings later in the week. Zurich is now becoming increas- ingly involved in inter -municipal affairs, and is beginning to attend such meetings. "Maybe we should fall in line with a more regular night," said. Fisher. Got a News Trp? Call the Times - Advocate 235-1331 Your local electric utilitv: You have a • • voice We all take the wonder of electricity for granted, confident that it will always be there at the flick of a switch. And it is — except when an event like a major storm occurs and we live without power for a short time. Electricity makes our lifestyles and activities possible; it's an essential Ingredient in our society. In Ontario, electricity is generated by Ontario Hydro. It is then purchased and distributed to you by your local utility. We are pleased to provide you with this clean and efficient source of energy, and are proud to play our part in "power- ing" the community's economy by providing energy for our homes, farms, factories, businesses, hospitals and schools. In Ontario, electrical power is public power. Municipal electric utilities are not-for-profit, community -owned and locally controlled. As a community -owned utility, we take customer service seriously. We're there to get the system up and running again as soon as possible when a power interruption occurs. And we want to help you save money on your electricity bills by teaching you how to conserve energy. Decisions about the running of your utility are made by elected commissioners. Staff of the utility then carry out the direction set by the commission. These commissioners are accountable to you and they are anxious to make the right decisions for our community. If you have a suggestion or a problem, please talk to them. Where do these commissioners come from? From you — you will elect them in this fall's municipal elections. Make your voice heard this fall. Vote in the municipal election. EXETER PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION 379 Main St. South, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 235-1350 M.A. Greene, Chairman . D.R. Triebner, Commissioner H.L. Davis, Manager B.F. Shaw, Commissioner If you would like more information on the role and responsibilities of electric utility commissioners, please contact us. Your local electric utility — working for you. Prepared for Onlano's municipal eleclrw utilities by the Municipal t lectric Association • (hunt • 'Jim jail • c.; • oiet • `i'ici4?s • `.Edwin 4S'ih dr 192 N elot s • • • • LADIES', MEN'S & CHILDREN'S FASHIONS • • • WPC • uo/pLfi—nolve, • Z�th Anniersary SALE Wednesday, Oct. 12th - Saturday, Oct. 22nd; BUY ANY ITEM AT REGULAR PRICE AND GET A SECOND ITEM* AT Choose from any reeler plead item kt any department— but hurry, this Is a 10 day sale snlyt 'Sneed Item Mew /MM. Store Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00 a m. to 5:30 p.m./ Fridays 'till 800 p m. MAIN STREET, MITCHELL "'/3+■ 3488463 .� N • • 4 t;3 a/p 7 6 AVI 'Vag; •