Clinton News-Record, 1979-10-11, Page 1•
•
This is the view that an ant has of the -new sidewalk the
Clinton Public works department has just finished laying
on Princess Street between Queen and Shipley Streets.
The 460 feet of sidewalk was poured last week, and here
public works employee Gord Tait, left and Harold Gib-
bings put the finishing touches on the job. last Tuesday.
(News -Record photo)
Separate board settles with secretaries
By Wilma Oke
The Huron -Perth County Roman
Catholic Separate School board set
the salary scale for school office
secretaries effective September 1,
1979: $4.20 per hour (unchanged from
last school' term) for no previous
experience; $4.45 per hour (up from
$4.30 last term) . for 1 -year ex-
perience; and $4.85 per hour (up from
$4.50) for 2 years' experience or more.
Approval was given for a mileage
rate for members of the ad=
ministrative staff to be set at 22 cents
per mile .retroactive to September 1,
1979, up from 20 cents per mile.
The board voted thaf the limits of
At Vanastra.
liability on non -owned automobile,
automobile fleet and school. liability
insurance policies be increased from
$4 million to $5 million for an ad-
ditional premium of $214.00.
The board approved that all policies
be renewed with Leeson -Killer
Insurance for the period October 26,
1979 to October 26, 1980 for a net
renewal premium of $25,287.00 in-
cluding the above liability limits from
$4 million to $5 million.
David O'Reilly of Stratford was
appointed to attend a meeting of
Stratford ' Recreation department on
October Ii; to represent the school
board. The meeting called the first
Swim-a-thon planned
1'he Vanastra
Recreation -Centre will be
hosting its third annual
Swimathon on Saturday,
October 20, 1979 from
1:30-3 pm.
This year, the funds
collected will assist the
program Recreation
for Special . Needs — in
obtaining specialized
equipment needed in the
pool and exercise area.
Since the middle of
March, Vanastra
Recreation Centre has
been offering, under •a
Canada Works Grant,
recreation for special
needs, specialized
programs of aquatics and
fitness to individuals who
are unable to fit into
regular aquatic and
fitness programs. The
equipment used for 'this
program has been very
limited and thus all
pledges turned <in will go
towards the purchase of
such aids as life jackets
for the pool, parallel
walking bars for the
exercise room, and a
wheelchair.
Trophies will be
awarded to thethree
participants who have
turned in the most
money. Friday, October
26, will be the due date for
all pledges.. At this time,
a presentation of the
trophies will be made by
a member of the Country
Singles, who have
generously agreed to
sponsor the event.
So Swimmers — please
come out and support this
event. Participants who
are unable to swim
lengths can swim widths
so all ages can get in-
volved Swimmers will
Welcome to six months of
worrying whether the car will
start, or whether the roads are
plugged, or if the old furnace will
hold out for just a few more
minutes. Yes dear readers and
fellow sufferers, winter has
arrived. We recorded our first
snowfall on Wednesday in many
parts of Huron County, and even
though it will go away and we'll
have a few more nice days, IT is
here.
As you can guess from the
preceding, I'm not a fanatic fan of
winter. Oh, I like to see it snow, but
really is there anything nicer than
summer, when you can get up and
just walk out the door and not
worry whether or not you make it
home again.
Winter is fun for some people,
•but ask any parent with young kids.
It seems like we spend half of our
life in the next six months or 'so
putting on and taking off snowsuits,
boots, and yes, that all-time
favorite, looking for lost mittens.
Oh, I know, people will be saying
"there ain't nothing you can do
about it Scoop," but I feel better
about getting it off my chest. And
besides, I just stepped in a
snowbank with my summer shoes
which have a hole in them, and my
snowboots are shot.
But before the snow covers
everything with its chilly blanket,
there will be a lot of leaves to rake
yet Every year about this time we
get into the ancient argument
about whether to burn or not to
. W , e.., that i not editors .
burn (;1��,ves. at
Is
>jt , •
the st
a d.
l
My
Stand tha is prettywell
known t crime to waste
thi k its
all thegri
1 fertilizer,
a
oda ural
only swim for 10 minutes
in order to accommodate
all participants. To enter
this.swimathon: (1) .pick
up' your pledge sheets at
the Vanastra Recreation
Centre, RR 5, Clinton,
482-3544; (2) get your
sponsors, and then; (3)
come and swim anytime
between, 1:30-3:00 pm.,
Saturday, October 20,
1979.
recreation and parks masterplan
public meeting will indicate available
programs and activities and available
parks and facilities. Various groups
will be given an opportunity to
identify any needs they have.
wo open meetings set
by Shelley McPhee
Clinton Council will begin the
second year of their term with some
major changes. At their regular
meeting on Tuesday night council
agreed to hold two open council
meetings a month.
Councillor Ron McKay brought the
suggestion to council's consideration
following a two month debate between
the editor of the News -Record and
council. Editor Jim Fitzgerald wrote
an editorial . opposing the monthly
closed session of council, calling it,
undemocratic and secretive.
"We had some hard feelings for
awhile over things that were put in the
paper which I didn't agree with,"
Mayor Harold Lobb explained.
A special meeting between the
mayor and the editor was organized
by some concerned citizens last week,
during which time the issue was
resolved and the Mayor decided not to
carry out his previously announced
threat of resignation from council.
"I'll finish out my term," Mayor
Lobb told council. "I was very happy
that those citizens got us together to
straighten this out."
He explained that at the meeting,
"Mr. Fitzgerald apologized for things
he wrote and I also admitted that if
there's a feeling that there's closed
meetings we should get it
straightened out. I'd like to try it
again (two open meetings) if council
is agreeable,"Mayor Lobb said.
Council agreed that beginning
December 1, 1979, the second year of
their term, two open council meetings
will be held each month, on the first
and third Mondays of the month.
It was also agreed that council
would meet in open session at 8 pm
and that the hour closed session prior
to open meetings would be
eliminated.
"I don't think you'll have to meet
before hand regularly," Mayor Lobb
suggested. "The council meetings
should now be shorter so we could
meet at 8 pm."
Two new councillors picked
Robert Parr and George Rumball
will be Clinton's newest councillors.
The men were appointed by council
Tuesday night to fill the vacancies left
from - the earlier .resignations of
Councillors Roy Wheeler and Joe
Atkinson.
Mr. Parr, Mr. Rumball, Len
Strickland, Joe Whalen and. Fred
Jackson signified that they were
willing to stand for election. Members
of council and Mayor ,Harold Lobb
voted, from the five, through an
elimination process to;:; choose Mr.
Parr to fill one seat.
In ' another vote, council voted
between the four remaining names
for the second position, which Mr.
Rumball won.
In the second position appointment
a tie was reached between Mr.
Strickland and Mr. Whalen, in which
Mr. Strickland was eliminated by lot.
The tie decision was broken by put-
ting both men's names in a hat and
drawing one out.
Mr. Parr will fill the vacant' left by
Councillor Atkinson and Mr. Rum -
ball, who previously served on council
and the PUC for five years, will fill
the position left by Councillor
Wheeler.
Included in their council duties, the
'October
2
3
4
56
7
8
Weather
1979 1978
Hi Lo Hi Lo,
18
16
15
14
13
9
7.5
12
14
8
56
5
3
Rain 60.9m.m
16
15.5
15
17
19
6
7
7.5
8.5
6.5
8
4
1
Rain 67.8 mm
County council lauded over funding
BY JEFF SEDDON
Family and Children
Services director John
Penn's success wrangling
money from a stingy
provincial government
ministry overshadowed
his criticism of the
province at Huron county
by
jim fitzgerald
which is one of my gardening
secrets by the way, but many
people have nowhere to compost
them and bagging them is far too
expensive, so. --in the interim,
burning seems to be the only an-
swer. But if you have to burn them,
please, beg the town fathers, don't
do so on the paved roads. It only
causes damage to the asphalt
surfaces, and besides, if Ernie
Brown catches you, you could face
a stiff penalty, including sitting
through , one of council's six hour
committee meetins!
+ +
In honor of the opening of
parliament on Tuesday, our Main
Street sage offers this piece of
advice: "The politician's promises
of yesterday are the taxes of
today."
.+++
Well, now that the snow's on the
ground and the NHL has' launched
their 840 game season (not in-
cluding play-offs), we have some
news of note for all those old-time
but not yet ancient hockey players
in Clinton and area whtf'have
"crossed the bar" (over 35 years of
age).
An exhibition Old -Timers hockey
club may be formed in town if
enough interest is shown at a
meeting set for the arena next
Monday night, .Qctober 15 at 8:30
pm. Contact lien Clynick or Gene
Powell for more details. .
+ + +
It's funny how a person ' is
associated with the vehicle he
Y
drives,and u
ch is the case with
yours trulyr
o�weti .er iv
e sOld
the
black Van/
the#thm
mirror
so...
or win-
dows,
,
o : See around
o town
at different dations, it ain't nae:
council's September
session
In his report to. council
Penn spoke in glowing
terms of county council
and his agency staff but
had few kind words for
the provincial govern-
ment.
His criticism stemmed
from the budget" -
restrictions placed on the
Huron agency by the
ministry of community
and social services. He
told council the ministry
continues to "increase
standards and workload"
for local agencies
"without providing the
necessary resources to
complete the task".
He told council the
budget allocation for
Huron was "more
unrealistic than in former
years".
He explained that the
ministry had made far
reaching changes in the
responsibilities-- of local
agencies. He said the
province is decen-
tralizing services and
shifting accountability
and fiscal responsibility
to agencies across the
province.
He pointed out that one
such attempt to shift
accountability lies in the
death of a child due to
child abuse. The province
has issued numerous
guidelines and standards
agencies can abide by to
prevent such tragedies
but did not back them up
with any money to make
them operational.
He said that in light of
greater demands the
ministry made on
agencies the province
gave Huron a meagre 1.5
percent increase over
1978 spending.
He said the Huron
increase is. the lowest in
southwestern
t'
Ontario
da
. t'
adding that sorri e
el h
!ti
b ring agencies'
e
s"e e
a10pccent
i
t e carne periM,
r'Progeittns, cahrlib't"' be
operated at a satisfactory
level if the resources are
not available," he
.. warned council. "Cer-
tainly a 1.5 percent
budget increase falls
short of the agency's
needs," he added.
Penn said the economic
policies used to finance
Family and Children's
Services "is a sad
commentary on this
provincial government's
response to the needs of
families and children in
1979, the International
Year of the Child".
But Penn mellowed his
criticism by telling
council he• had managed
to shuffle workers and his
own budget allocations to
get around the ministry
cuts. He said the agency
would suffer a $30,000
deficit in 1979 but ex-
plained the deficit was in
an ,area the province
would pick up.,
Penn madeto attempt
to explain to council how
he had beat the ministry
funding system saying it
was "complicated and
hard to believe".
He said he had a
guarantee in writing
from the province that it
would pick up the deficit
if it was not due to salary.
Penn said he was able to
shift workload around
within his salary
guidelines adding that his
shifting not only meant
the government would
pick up the deficit but
would give him another
worker next year.
He told council his
success at the economic
game was partially due to
success the Huron agency
has enjoyed in preventing
child abuse problems. HH
said the preventitiv:e
program here had
reduced the numb r of
'hitdren teag y enc' had
hareby0
this,ea,
.
Hedo
d that ad hat r' cunt
problems some ,agencYes
encountered in . child
abuse, cases made them
"jumpy about leaving
kids at home". He said
the exact opposite was
true in Huron.
Penn said the funding
problem Huron had this
year was common
amongst the 50 agencies
in the province. He said it
was a constant source of
"frustration and . "con-
cern".
But the director made
it clear the problem was
with the province only.
He said county council
funds 20 percent of the
Huron agency's work and
has always been "sup.
portive of our work".
He said in many
counties agencies not
only have to contend with
financial restraint by the
province but is also
forced into confrontation
with local politicians.
He said "despite fiscal
restrains and increasing
pressure upon the agency
I believe that the board of
directors and the staff
have done an excellent
job 'providing a wide
range of services to
families and children in
Huron county".
Speaker
asks where
money goes
"Where is the money
going?'.' was the question
posed by the Honourable
Monique Begin. at
Monday's annual
meeting of the Huron unit
and aSouthwester►,
District of the Canadian
Cancer Society.
The former federal
Minister of Health and
Welfare was talking
about the money allotted
by Ottawa to'the
provinces for o halt are:
She suggested the
e
gg
provinces were put ,ng
Turn to puke l
the *hey received f o6
two newest members will " sit on
several committees. Council ap-
pointed both men to sit on the in-
dustrial committee. Mr. Parr will sit
on `Com-ffittee 1 of council, .where he
will be in charge of bylaws and Mr.
Rumball will be on Committee 2. Mr.
Rumball will sit on the fire board,
while Mr. Parr will be the council
representative on the recreation
committee.
The new councillors will be sworn in
at the next regular council meeting on
November 12. Both will complete the
council's term until the next election
in the fall of 1980.
"Sometimes you have to look at
correspondence ahead of time so I
suggest that the committees check
with the clerk before meetings to see
what may need looking at," he added.
Council instructed Clerk Cam
Proctor to prepare a bylaw to change
the meeting procedures.
"I really like this town and the
people in it and hopefully there will be
no hard feelings over me taking the
stand that I did. I've laved in this area
for 65 years and I work under \ the
principles of friendship, love ' and
truth," Mayor Lobb told council. "I
don't have any hard feelings with
anybody and I hope nobody has any
hard feelings against me."
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII111111llllllllllll111111IIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll111111l
What'n new in town R. 2
Council applauded p. 4
Stangs lose first p. 6
Wet unveiling p. 10
Holmesville makes 100th p. 11
Bannockburn hike p. 12 ,
Londesboro news , p. 13
CHSS on the air P. 21.
Your entertainment guide p. 22
! 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
lace way betting down
It was a year of ups and downs for
the Clinton Raceway this year, and
overall, the attendance and betting
were down slighlty, figures released
this week show.
Total bet this year on 15 Sundays
was $1,034,216, down about $45,000
'from last. year, while the total at-
tendance was down slightly from
21,266 of 1978 'to 18,932 of this year.
The average daily handle this, year
was $68,947, compared to $71,268 of
last year, while the average daily
attendance was 1,262, compared to
1,332 of 1978.
Wagering and attendance ranged
from a low of $49,000 on opening day,
to a record setting $99,000 day on July
8.
Raceway chairman Paul Kerrigan
said he was happy with the race
meets, and blamed the general poorer
economic conditions for the decline in
betting and attendance.
"But we paid out more than ever in
purses, so we won't know our profit
and loss figures until later this year
when the books are audited," Mr.
Kerrigansaid.
'township
V
h
o h
av sink
hole
nearthe 1VIi
dleton .corne
sr would
theAlthbigh oUd n�t talk, to the press) this drilling r w In Goderlc
were working
for Shell )11► a company
that doesn't t e l w
t r. the men)
fro
Sha trilling E1 re
ceh e
been
t at the Site o for two wee
:a
nd the 10-1n
c
h
Well 1e�l�dto go down 1Ndeet. Natural gashaebeen foundin the vicinity
WOO.; (Nowa-Record photo)