Loading...
Clinton News-Record, 1977-02-17, Page 1o 4r - Clinton; Ontario 2.5 cents Thursday, Fe'b►ruary 17, 1977 112th Year No4 7 Mather 1917 - 1976 HI" 10 H) LO FEBRUARY 8 15 -9. 29 19 9 30 12 27 -1 , 10 34 18 ' 41 24 11 37 27 35 25' .12 3S 28 38 13 1? 35 24 40 26. 14 26 18 34 8 Rain .76 Snow 2." Snow 2" • Rain .35" Tuckersmith's own tax rate up four mills By;Wllma Oke : ' Tuckersmith Township Council will increase its municipal tax rate for 1977 by four mills. At a six -hour meeting in Brucefield Tuesday night, the farm and residential rate was set at 24 mills and commercial' rate at 28 mills. These are municipal rates and do not include water, lighting, sewage, etc. • On a total township assessment of $4,384,835 this mill rate will raise $106,896 for municipal purposes. Councillor Frank Falconer said the four -mill increase was not large in, view of the high costs of snow removal this winter and money budgeted for a new . grader to be bought this year. Council accepted the 1977-78 Vanastra sewage and water budget as presented by Mark Bell, operations officer with the' Ministry of the Environment, London. • J4. The water budget at Vanastra will be $25,500 and the sewagebudget $36,900 for a total of $62,400. This compares to last year's water budget of $21,400 and sewage of $33,600 totalling $55,006. Mr. Bell said his department was concerned .about water leaks and storm drain water leaking into the Vanastra sewage system. He said there were about 12 'leaks on privately owned properties and six or more storm drain leaks on township owned property (roadways). "We would like the township to take some action on repairing these leaks", Mr. Bell said, "as it is too much for the sewage system. If not corrected the sewage plant will need to be expanded," he stated. Mr. Bell said for eight or nine months the sewage flow averages about 160,000 gallons per day for approximately 700 Only one for mayor As of presstime Wednesday afternoon, there was only one candidate Jor mayor for the town of Clinton. Former Reeve Harold Lobb filed his nomination papers early Tuesday af- ternoon. However, Clerk -treasurer Cam • Proctor said Wednesday afternoon that five other sets of papers had been picked up from the Town Hall, and prospective candidates have until tonight, Thursday February 17 at 5 p.m. to get their papers in. . Should anyone wish to withdraw, they have until 5 p.m. tomorrow night, Friday February 18, to do so. ' A nine-year veteran of • council, Mr. Lobb ran for council in the December 6 Board gives grant municipal election, but was defeated by Donald Kay, -who died before taking office. Should more than one candidate be ,nominated, then -an election will be held on March 7. Mr. Lobb, who As 'the founder of H. Lobb and Sons Farm, Equipment, is a native of the area, and said he thinks his years on council will help him do a good job if he is elected: He said he made up his mind to run again shortly.after Mr. Kay's death, and the only rea-son he didn't have .his nomination filed first thing Monday was that he was in Florida vacationing and didn't get back until Monday night. users at Vanastra or 230 gallons per rapita per ..day He said this is high but "Ave can handle this". _._. However, he said this is much higher during certain periods and one day in March last year reached a million gallons or 1,400 gallons per person for one day. 'Council agreed to do what it can depending on funds available. Private landowners will be advised to repair their leaks, and if not done by a certain time it will be done by township and owner billed." Mr. Bell said an hydraulically operated valve costing about $2,000 will be installed to help regulate the water pressure at Vanastra. He said this automated system will give a better Clow. Mike Meier of the accounting firm of Diegel, Malcolm and Hagey of Stratford discussed the 1976 audit statement with council who accepted it gas prepared, by Mr. Meier. - The statement showed tax arrears at the end of 1976 in the township amounted to $264,112, At the end of 1975, arrears amounted to $238,963. These figures include interest charges of $20,000 up to December 1976. ' The operating loss at Vanastra recreation amounted to $30,000 in 1976. Mr. Meier noted that $13,000 was spent on the Vanastra recreation hall last year . "h"a"fid—§lid that "when you quit making capital expenditures then the deficit will go down." Reeve Ervin Sillery stated he hoped there would be no more capital ex- penditure for a long time. As well Vanastra residents are paying off over a 20 year period a $125,000 debenture for the Recreation Centre. Vanastra Recreation Centre manager Diane Durnin attended council meeting. She said she was preparing the new program for the coming season. She stated she is cutting it from 12 weeks to 10 weeks and "this will save on staff costs". Mrs. Carol Dixon was hired as part- time custodian at the Recreation Centre at $3.25 per hour. Mrs. Dixon works part- time at the swimming pool. Mrs. Durnin said she had snow removed from Day Care Roof and that there were leaks in the roof both in the Day Care Centre and recreation centre areas. Mrs, Durnin said oil fumes were a problem in the swimming pool area. Three delegates from Vanastra at- tended the council session to discuss fire protection at Vanastra. They were Russ Archer of Archer's Farm Sales and Service Limited; Wilfred Schneider bf •Huron Acoustic Industries Limited and Steve Rathwell of Central Machines. continued on page 13 Hullettgives crew overtime Hullett Township road crew.... em- ployees will get paid time•and a half for any work done over and above a 45 -hour week and double time on holidays £HSS students -to get tennis court The Huron County Board of Education supported a student project at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton Monday afternoon and then turned that support ,against a $700 grant request from students at Goderich District Collegiate Institute limiting the request to $200. The board heard an appeal from Jan Devok; president of the CHSS student's council, to permit the students to build tennis courts on board property at the secondary school. The president said the permission would not cost the board anything since the students had raised money for the courts themselves but •needed the board's approval to build the courts on school property and make them open to the public. — She said she wanted the board's backing to permit students to sponsor a fund raising drive to raise more money' for the construction of the two courts. The board explained to Miss Devok that the county policy has always been to * encourage the public to make use of By Jim Fitzgerflld If you want to see an excellent production tonight; February 17, at the Blyth Memorial Hall, you had better hurry into the News -Record as the tickets are going fast. The play, called "18 Wheels" is tailor-made for all the • truckers in the area, and judging by the advance ticket sales, it should .be a' sellout. +++ We finally had a short-lived thaw last Friday and Saturday, but old man winter returned again on Sunday with a blow, and the 30 -day forecast calls for more of the same until mid-March. But that doesn't bother us garden en- thusiasts, as already yours truly has some seeds started. +++ If you're keeping a diary, or in the case of a _Holstein, a dairy, here's a couple of interested facts to jot in it. We bet a new all-time record for most consecutive days of below freezing temperatures -- 53 since December 20, and according to the Nation Weather Service, w,o have been keeping records since 1878, o other winter has been that consistent.. We also stopped our con- • secutive days of snow -at 60 last Thur- sday; as last Friday ,was the first day Y without snow since December 13. However, it's snowed every day since. Here a little piece of wisdom for all you "lucky" people who Will be watching the Wintarlo Draw tonight, courtesy of the Clinton1hstnen Bulletin: "Hb w ,ted tor balms Fortune to knock on his door, but it was her daughter Miss " • 4 Portune, who showed up," 4 • board of education facilities during non - school hours. Director of education John Cochrane added that the board would have to give the Clinton students special. permission to sponsor a public fund raising drive. Miss Devok said the students had already raised $5;000 and were -currently working �n a chocolate bar sale that she said would net another $2,000. She said the students hoped to raise money locally but had to have the board's assurance that the courts would be public before they could,,canvass Clinton service clubs and groups. Miss Devok presented the project to the board with the help of CHSS teacher Tim Fox who outlined the construction details to the board. Mr.' Fox said the students had received two quotes on the job, one for $19,450 and one for $32,000. He said the more expensive job was the one the the students had chosen due to the added features and work that would give• the courts added life and provide some safety from damage to the asphalt from winter freezes. - He said the quote was done at cost and was a maximum price. Lavis Con- struction of Clinton will be doing the paving if the students take on the ex- pensive job and Mr. Fox said the firm had given the students a cost price and assured them that the price would not be over the quote. • The company also said any saving realized on the job would be passed on to the students meaning the cost may be less than $32,000. Miss Devok said the students had checked the work of Lavis and were satisfied of the quality of their work. She said they had done the Maitland Golf Club courts in Goderich and the promoter of those courts, Tom Jasper, told the students the work was excellent. The board then turned its attention to a request from students at Goderich District Collegiate Institute. The GDCI group asked the board for $700 to assist with a special school homecoming planned for the town's Jubilee °Three Sesquicentennial celebration. The money was to be ifsed for pro.motion and organizatioon of a homecoming for graduates and former teachers and students of the school. Goderich trustee Cayley Hill was appointed by the board to meet with the students to see what they planned and returned a recommendation to the board to support the function with the grant. In a letter to the board Mr. Hill said that the homecoming was not going to "directly advance education in the continued on page 3 following the Feb. 4th council meeting. The employees requested to be paid overtime in lieu of the fact that any earlier 14 per cent wage increase, now before the Anti -Inflation Board may' not be approved. The wage increase will put road crew wages at $5.50 per hour for road grader operators and $5.75 per hour for the road superintendent. ' Coun it also heard, from two delegations representing school bus drillers and a group of citizens seeking a landing strip. - An agreement was reached with bus operator Ralph Buffinga to revise some bus routes to bypass concession 'roads blocked with snow. Council has yet to reach a final decision on a request to close sideroad 20 and convert it to a landing strip for crop dusting. The sid'eroad extends for' an. eighth of a mile and ends at the South Maitland River. Hullett council is also reviewing the banking services offered by the Bank of Commerce in Blyth and their current banking institution, the Bank of Mon- treal, Londesboro. In other business, council extended its agreement with Seaforth Community Hospital to pay $3 per patient for capital expenditures; engaged the services of B. M, Ross to appraise its 15 bridge:; complying with a Ministry of Tran- sportation and Communication edict. B. M. Ross has also been hired to prepare plans for the building of a new township garage east of Londesboro, to replace the present building. Road superintendent George Hoggart will apply for a building subsidy for $70,000. The next council meeting is set for Feb. 18th, 1 p.m. when the Kellend, Tamblyn and Berway municipal drains will be presented for public hearing. Goderich OPS!' sus . ect arson as the cause behind the earlybarn and.ad olnln silo was set at $15 000 byBrucefield fire .pg hfarm of Judith , -chief StewartBroadfoot. (News -Record photo) mornityg fire �� oh destroyed a barn, On the Layton, RR 1 'Brucefield. Damage to the empty storage A. brief thaw last Friday and Saturday gave many area residents a chance to chip off the heavy Ice accumulations on their roofs Mini the longest cbld spell since records were kept in 1878. Here Doug Cameron of Townsend Street breaks off ice'. (News -Record photo) Three rbc. members resign By Jim Fitzgerald Clinton's Recreation Committee lost 18 years experience last" Wednesday night with the resignations of chairman Len Fawcett and Russ Archer. Fawcett, with 12 years experience and Archer with six, both cited the need for new blood and ideas and. hectic schedules for their resignations. Ross Livermore will now serve as committee chairman leaving the vice chairman's position to be filled by Doug Kennedy. Sinde last Wednesday night's meeting, Over school days the News -Record has learned that a further resignation'is pending from four- year committee member Bill Crawford next month. Pending Crawford's resignation the recreation committee will have four positions to fill, including the vacancy left., with the death of_ Don Kay last December. In other business, the committee heard from a delegation representing the Clinton soccer club, seeking greater co-operation in arranging for better field playing time. Principals decide iost time Principals of Huron County schools will be asked to work with their staff members -to develop a school year calendar for the balance of the 1976-77 school year to make up instructional time lost due to severe winter conditions that have plagued the county this w inter. Superintendent of education R.B. Allan told the county board of education Monday that the number of lost days this year combined with the difference between rural and urban school closures prompted the ,recommendation to try to make up time in the next four months. Mr. Allan suggested to the board that the executives of the Huror.•...County branch affiliates of teacher federations consider the advisability of rescheduling their county wide professional development days for April 29 to one of the four P.D. Days scheduled for the end of June when the children have already been dismissed. Another P.D. Day, March 7, will also become an instruction day for students. The request was made because, according to...Mr. Allan, the time allowed for severe winter conditions when the shool year calendar was given ministry approval has already been used and additional time lost. Combined with that is the difference in lost time between rural and urban schools. Some rural areas have lost as many as 15 -days while schools in county towns have lost few, if any, days due to bad weather. The provincial education . act which governs all school calendars requires schools to be open for a minimum of 185 instructional days and to meet this requirement the P.D. Days may have to be abandoned in favor 'of teaching classes. Hockey players barred after fees not paid About 12 midget and juvenile hockey players remain barred from the ice until they have paid the $30 minor Hockey registration fee. according , to minor hockey chairman Bryan Marriage. A motion passed by Clinton's Recreation committee last Wednesday, Feb. 9, prohibited all players who had not paid their fees from participating in play due to the fact that they were not insured. The committee is liable for any injury to a player who has not registered and has been since registration last October, Marriage said,- Since aid-Since the passing of the motion, about two dozen players have paid their fees, he said', leaving one dozen to still settle accounts. Stanley rejects request . It was Friday, " February • 4, before Stanley council was able to hold its regular. February meeting originally scheduled 'for Monday. Poor weather conditions caused the meeting to be postponed several times. At the meeting Stanley council Arson suspected in Brucefield fire Arson is suspected to be the cause behind a $15,000 fire which destroyed an 'empty storage barn on the farm of Judith Layton, RR 1 Brucefield, early last Friday morning. Goderich OPP Constable -Bill Wilson told the News -Record, Tuesday that Constables Lorne .Carters and Harold .Green of ,the Criminal -Investigation Squad are investigating the fire which completely levelled the barn and damaged an adjoining silo: The barn contained a small amount of straw and hay at the time the fire broke out. No one was in the Laytbn home when the fire broke out and Brucefield Firemen received a fire call from an adjoining neighbour at 1 a.m. Brucefield flee thief Stewart Broadfoot said the fire was , brought under control in three hours. rejected a request from Tuckersmith council that Stanley pay a portion of the costs of the Day Care Centre in Vanastra. Stanley clerk Mel Graham said while Stanley may have one or two families using the day care centre they are not sure exactly hdw many there are. . Council did pass a resolution con- cerning taxation. The resolution calls for an amendment to the provincial tax laws to allow village and town taxes on homes and property to be an expense on a person's income tax. A bylaw to borrow up to $210,000 to use as funds until the taxes are colt cted was passed. Council approved grants of $35 to the Huron Central Agricultural Society, $20 to St. John's Ambulance and $20 to the, Ontario March of Dimes. Last -year Stanley was allotted a further $40,000 for tile drainage to raise the total amount given out in tile drainage loans in the township of $126,600. This raised the percentage loarsgiven out last year from 60 percent with a $4,000 limit to 75 percent with no limit. Starting March 15, hearings will be held on Stanley's secondary plan in the Varna hail at 8 p.m. The hearings wil be held every Tuesday evening beginning Mairch 15 and running for five weeks all at the same time and place. •