Loading...
Clinton News-Record, 1984-10-03, Page 1I T1 • 7,117,14VEITA 4.? •V • 27 KLY • 1984 J98$ 4 17 41 2 3 18 10 6 6 2 198 1,2 1 22 8 12 2239 10 -1 23 7 14 3 22 9 Rain 0 mm 1 ROM nun 50 CENTS $'WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER 3,1981 il9TH YEAR —.No. 40 are crisis brewing in Huron County Presentations show problems of parents of pre-school age children By Shelley McPhee CLINTON Day, care concerns in Huron. County were taken to,the provincial govern- ment level on September 26 when a a local group made a preenta,tion to the Standing Committee on Social Development. The commitee held hearings in Stratford to listen to concerns froin surrounding coun- ties. The Huron presentation took up a half day and was made by parents and represen- tatives of the Women Today network. Accor- ding to spokesperson Valerie Bolton, com- mittee members were impressed and sup- portive with the innovative presentation made by the group of men and women. "We broke the stereotypes of career women....I knc w we really had an impact on them," Ms. Belton noted. "We found a way for letting the irdinary people talk to them and it worked.' ' Six women and one man from Huron County went before the committee to discuss their personal problems with day care services in the county. The presenta- tion was illustrated by . a giant mural, prepared by local women who attended a Women Today workshop on child care. The mural used no graphs, statistics or figures. It was drawn in free hand, on a large sheet of newsprint and showed the real life problems, frustrations and dreams of parents in Huron County. The mural shows a sketch of Huron Coun- ty. Municipalities are marked on, the map between roads paved in dollar signs. Sento• It shows that in Huron county there are only two government funded day care cen- tres, in Wingham and Vanastra. They offer quality, full day care services, but funds from the provincial and federal government may force cuts, which will threaten the con- tinuence of these centres. The mural points out that many parents have to drive a half hour to get their child to a centre (over 25 miles) and back again, us- ing up much time and gas expense. Roads are covered in dollar signs to represent this expense as well as Huron County's preference to spend money on roads and highways rather than on children, accor- ding to the Women Today presentation. Another illustration shows a woman who must work overtime, but the day care cen- tre is closing at 5:30 p.m. The mural also shows highly skilled and educated child care workers who subsidize the child care centres with low wages. Limited choices Ms. Bolton explained with only two day care centres in the county, other towns like Goderich, Seaforth and Exeter have limited choices for child care. While most towns have nursery school facilities, these usually only offer half days programs. As well Huron County has no child care for children who aren't toilet trained. This means that working mothers with infants must find their own child care. , The Tuckersmith Day Care Centre is only One of two government The mural illustrates this, showing a pro- funded child care facilities in the county. Operating at capacity, the fessional woman who must take her baby to centre has 70 children registered and an average of 33 attend each Turn to page 2 day. A group of concerned Huron County parents are asking the government to consider day care problems in Huron County. (Shelley McPhee photo) using com lek. could .be a _reality tn three years . • • ingham. to push the project through various govern- mittees the company has aided with its corn - As a sheaf of surveys designed to deter- ment stages. bination of services including "information, e the interest in.the„developnient made Thesurvey asks several questions in- .guicilince and technical, services," have us - their way. through thelhall, Mr. Ellingham eluding the type' of current housing and its . ,ed the surveys to helOeckle tenants, • explained that the Surveys completed must cost, age of the potential occupant(s), the Queries from, the crowd were answered amount to a minimum of double the number- • preference of either a one or two bedroom with assurances that the apartments would of proposed units. unit, specialty units and a general estimate be available to anyone in Huron County and "The committee must prove many more &the monthly household income to deter- that the building would likely be one storey units • are needed than they plan 'to build," mine the need for subsidy. A ratio of about structure to preclude stairs. said the consultant. The larger the response, 30 to 40 per cent of the tenants needing sub- . The examples Mr. Ellingham showed il- the easier it will be to work through the staff • sidy is considered acceptable. lustrated the various developments in such level at CMHC. Mr. Ellingham stressed those who com- places as Toronto, Parkhill, Listowel and He estimated between 50 and 70 surveys plete the survey are not committed to oc- Stratford have features geared to the in - with a tentative occupation date two or cupancy when the units are completed. The terests of older people. Some apartment three years in the future should be sufficient government and the committee recognize doors face a bank of windows which, accor- that situations change and homes must be ding to the consultant, creates the impres- sold before tenants can move. sion of the front door of the residents' own He did mention, however, that other com- house. Extra: .parking area for' Bayfield Harbor' By James el This experience encouraged the govern- . CLINTON - Area te_sidents Tilled a rnent to withdraw from this type of low ren - meeting room SepternbeVeMnifeefikistiara - taLhousing program and.institute a Reformed Church in Clinton to listen to Ian system to private non profit organizations. Ellingham of Sheltercare Management Con- It was thought that with a community based sultants outline some of the concerns in group instigating the projects, careful atten- establishing a senior citizens housing com- tion would be given to important details like plex. Over 50 people attended the presenta- furnishings, paint and carpeting, rather tion which also consisted of slides of various than have a bureaucrat make an arbitrary facilities already developed by the firm. decision. Mr. Ellington said government housing The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Cor - programs had been imported from Britain in the early 1950s and resulted in the crea- tion of housing developments which became "undesirable places to live". poration (CMHC), the agency through which, the federal government disperses grants, must be convinced of the need for senior citizens' housing, said Mr. Ell- Ftepresentatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources' research station in Maple were in Goderich last week to effect an ex- perimental program using baited sponge. More than 14,000 of the sponges, containtlg the harmless antibiotic tetracycline, were dropped from t --:o light planes Wednesday. Dr. Charles Maclimes, project supervisor, said the team hopes to determine if the fox population will eat the liver -coated bait. If the drop is deemed successful, bait containing an anti -rabies vaccine could be dropped in limn County next year to combat the disease which is prevalent in the fox and skunk population. Members of the team are pictured loading the plane with haft and preparing for the drop while Dave Johnston of the ministry checks flight patterns with Ken Bogie. ( photos by Dave Sykes) By James Friel BAYFIELD - Council approved a tender for $2,950 from Merner Contracting to ex- tend the municipal marina parking lot 100 feet at the October 1 council meeting. The decision to expand the lot came following last year's spring thaw when yachts were parked in an area which placed them in danger of being damaged during an icejam. The marina just completed an expansion in 1983 which made the extra parking space necessary during the summer months. There was some question about the availability of funds for the work, but marina revenues were slightly higher than expected. The contract has been awarded to Merner Contracting on the condition that the expan- sion be completed before midnight October 11,one day before the crafts are taken from the water. Resolution endorsed The Village of Zurich has circulated a resolution to smaller municipalities seeking endorsement for a request of the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Com- munity Services and Housing to help fund costly waste disposal studies. The proposal, moved by Zurich Councillor Robert Fisher and seconded by Michael O'Connor, states that the current provincial policy is not fair to non -industrial, small tax base municipalities. It goes on to request funding for consulting and engineering studies up to 100 per cent of costs. Bayfield council moved to endorse the resolution. Land parcel offered Harbour Lights Developments Ltd. sent a letter to Bayfield Council offering parcel of land east of. the Highway 21 bridge at a cost estimated by the firm to be $225,000. The of- fer is open for 45 days and can be extended if the village requests. The company suggested the land, estimated to have 1,400 feet of river frontage and 1,100 feet of highway frontage, could be used for parkland. Reeve Dave Johnston suggested the let- ter, signed by company president Richard Peever, could be understood as an oppor- tunity for the village to purchase the land before development by Harbour Lights. approval to The municipYaoluittyh prreocgeriavmest hire two unemployed youths between the ages of 15 and 24 to assist in moving the village base ball diamond. The program lasts for 12 weeks and the village was given $4,992. for costs incurred by hiring the two youths. Penny Sales raises over Public meeting scheduled to $3,500 for hospital work discuss shoreline erosion control tallied, but the 30th annual Clinton Hospital Auxiliary Penny Sale is estimated to make CLINTON - Final figures are still being more than $3,500. Merchants from Clinton, Vanastra, Bayfield, Varna, Holmesville, Brucefield, Londesboro and Blyth donated more than 200 prizes for the sale. Hundreds more peo- ple took part in the event, buying thousands of draw tickets. Held at St. Paul's Anglican Church in Clin- ton, the draws were made on September 29. The Penny Sale provides ninth that the Auxiliary uses to assist in projects to enhance Clinton Public Hospital facilities. R also brings many people together, the Aux- iliary, hospital staff and volunteer help. Penny Sale Convenor Joyce Hilderiey praised the many people who helped make Shoreline and gully erosion has been a recurring problem along the Lake Huron waterfront for many years. The need to con- trol this erosion has been a more recent con- cern of local municipalities with increased cottage and retirement developments ex- posed to this threat. Property owners, municipalities, and local resource management agencies have been faced with a 'problem; the most scenic and valuable real estate is also the most vulnerable to erosion. Past work by the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority on small gully control and lake shore manage- ment has shown how costly erosion control can be. It is not uncommon to spend thousands of dollars on design work and con- struction only to find that part of the pro- blem is caused by uncontrolled erosion on a neighbor's property. Coastal engineers have been working all summer on practical erosion control solu- tions. The key to successful control is the buildup of a stable beach. By carefully plao- ing and spacing groynes into the lake, pro- perty owners can economically build up a larger beach. Groynes can take many forms but most often consist of rock filled wire baskets. A public meeting will be held this Thanksgiving Monday at Knox Presbyterian Church in Goderich from 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. the Maitland Valley Con- servation Authority will be presenting the results of their erosion control investiga- tions. Property owners will be given a Resource Kit that will enable them to select the type of erosion control devices Out will best work on their shoreline. The coastal engineers will be on hand to present details of their investigations, answer questions and explain the types of problems property owners may encounter when implementing recommended solutions. the sale a success.. "On behalf of the Auxiliary I want to ex- press my thanks for the continued support of all those involved, which helped to make our 30th annual Penny Sale a success," she said. Mrs. Hilderley expressed a'special note of thanks to the merchants, cash donors, and noted, "'Thanks also to a very hard working committee, auxiliary members and volunteer helpers who provided many hours of their time and finally the many ticket buyers who make it all possible." She added, "Again thanks to St. Paul's Anglican Church, the Board of Management and the rector Rev. Simmons for their co- operation in providing excellent facilities." For a list of the 1984 winners, please num to page 2 A •