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Clinton News-Record, 1985-4-10, Page 150 CENTS W FJ)NESDA Y , APR11. 10, 1985 120TH YEAR NO. - 15 River Road collapses BAYFIEI,D - A section of about 100 feet of River Road in Bayfield has dropped about three and a half feet, a result of recent heavy rains and prior erosion at the foot of the bank. The collapsed section extends to the middle of the paved portion of the road. Bayfield Reeve Dave Johnston said there is a chance "a steady or hard rain" could finish washing away the bank, four feet of which has already dropped into the Bayfield River. Following a meeting with Fire Department Chief Don Warner, the municipality closed the road to traffic. "Don Warner assured us they can fight fires without inconvenience," said Reeve Johnston. He also stated that other essential services, such as ambulances, can get down River Road according to need. Local tow truck operators have assured the municipality of an immediate answer if ®called to remove the large cement blocks placed to deny access. "The only area of concern is fuel oil but right now nobody is in the position of needing any," said Reeve Johnston. Re said the road may be safe for lighter vehicles, ambulances for example, but heavier machinery may not have the necessary support for passing the narrowed section of road. At this point, the municipality is awaiting response from various provincial and federal organs. A representative from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications M'I'(') has arranged to visit Bayfield on April 10 and the Department of Oceans and Fisheries, which has responsibility for the channel to the Highway 21 bridge, was contacted on April 9. The village hopes to collect information'on funding .from federal and provincial branches to quickly correct the problem. The rupture in the road appeared the morning of April 5 and at that time a six inch drop had been created. The municipality asked County Engineer Bob Dempsey to visit and he outlined a system for monitoring the drop. which is being operated by Works Department Superintendent Rick Penhale. Ownership of the.property affected by the erosion problem had been contested by the late Andrew Turnbull and the village. Mr. Turnbull stated he wanted to place a cottage on the land while Bayfield council planned a passive park. Each party had planned to do erosion work. While the ownership was disputed, Mr. Turnbull removed some trees which may have been partially responsible for the bank's slippage, 'according to Reeve Johnston. 1)r. W.J. Warner of London has been contacted about the problem. Dr. Warner, a London dentist, has taken over the legal proceedings previously handled by the late Mr. 'Turnbull, said the village's solicitor, Peter Iiockin. Mr. Turnbull had held the river property in trust for the doctor. We notified his residence the road was slipping. We're not conceding anything, it was as a courtesy because he has an interest in the land," explained the reeve. The reeve said erosion by the Hayfield River may have also contributed to the present problem. Ile said the river current is directed from a steel wall and, with the old bridge abutment temporarily trapping the water, an eddy is formed which has been steadily eroding the base of the hill. ')'here is a possibility erosion has been taking place underneath the bank as well, accounting for the three and a half foot drop rather than a more usual sideways slip. The land, "now absolutely useless to anybody- may be the subject of more legal action if an investigation can prove carelessness caused the problem. "If reports, studies and other information indicate negligence, then we will talk to our lawyers about action," said the reeve. • A 100 foot portion of River Road in Bayfield has collapsed about three and a half feet. Municipal officials have closed the road leading to about 10 residences, but stated emergency services could still be carried out. Meetings are being arranged with various federal and provincial government branches in and attempt to quickly resolve the problem. (James Friel photo) Lake levels •on the rise bevels of Lake Huron could reach or ex- ceed maximum recorded levels as soon as this June possibly causing localized flooding, Goderich council was warned at its meeting of Apr. 1. "'The Great Lakes are approaching the same levels we had in 1973 which were record high levels for the last 100 years. They're back again and we're expecting major slumps and scours," says Ian Deslauriers, watershed planner of the Maitland Valley. Conservation Authority. The higher lake levels could cause a shorter beach and eventually a loss of one to five feet of the banks. In 1973, high lake levels resulted in millions of dollars of pro- perty damages throughout the lakeshores of the Great bakes. "This news is important and should be passed on to council and individuals who own Lakeshore property in your township...By taking this action, hopefully precautions can be taken, in order to create unnecessary damage," says a letter to council from the Authority. Resource kits containing information about ways to control erosion from gabian baskets to armor stone. hardpoints and the pros and cons of such devices have been picked up by 25 per cent of the owners of lakeshore property in the area, says Mr. Deslauriers. All owners had been con- tacted by the Authority last year. "You can't protect your bank alone. The key is to get a numbe'r.of.property owners organized regardless of any damages done or not," he says. Technical assistance can be obtained by calling the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. The Authority has completed a study of bluff stabilization of 18 kilometers of shoreline from Ashfield Township to Goderich Township south of the town of Goderich. As a result of the study, the town has entered into a co-operative project with the MVCA and the Ministry of. Natural Resources that calls for the creation of 26 acres of reclaimed land in the area south Turn to page 3 • Rivers bulged at the seams last week as heavy rains came down and creeks and streams overflowed. Alec and Leda McAlister of Bayfield came across an Easter flood at Ball's Bridge. They stopped to take a photo and puddle in the spring run-off. (Alec McAlister photo) CHSS may house separate high school An unused portion of Central Huron Secondary School (CHSS) in Clinton may house the proposed Huron -Perth separate secondary school. John McCauley, Superintendent of Educa- tion for the Huron -Perth Separate School Board said that combining the public and separate education systems at CHSS would be a "school within a school" approach, a method that has worked successfully in western Canada. The Clinton proposal was discussed at public meetings held in Dublin and Goderich recently. Separate school supporters met with the separate school planning commit= tee to hear proposals on the Roman Catholic separate schools, set to open in Huron and Perth Counties in September, 1986. Plans call for the separate high school program to be phased into the education system at CHSS. The first year, the new school would accommodate Grade 9 students and add one grade each year until the school had Grades 9 to 13. Mr. McCauley said that renovations would be needed before the separate school could open in Clinton. Renovation costs have not been determined. Mr. McCauley said that by the middle of May, the planning committee will have completed its investigations and will submit a plan of proposals to the Separate Board. After that, the proposal will be forwarded to the Huron and Perth Boards of Education. They will draft an impact report on the ef- fects of a separate secondary school in this area. Both the planning committee's report and the impact•statement will be studied by the provincial government's Planning and Im- plementation Commission. If the proposal gets provincial approval, Mr. McCauley said that the Separate School Board could begin to work on opening its school by September, 1986. The Separate Board planning committee has been working for the past six months, on the proposal. They have devised programs, toured separate secondary schools throughout the province and made ar- rangements to staff the proposed schools. Huron and Perth Counties are the only two areas in Ontario where separate secondary education is not available. Plans to change that include the• Huron facility to be located in Clinton. Perth Coun- ty students would attend St. Michael's School in Stratford, a Roman Catholic in- stitution that was closed in the late 1960s. Mr. McCauley said that the Stratford facili- ty was "fully equipped, ready to go." The planning committee is seeking input from taxpayers and separate school sup- porters in Huron and Perth through a survey which was mailed out on April 4. The survey provides information on the proposed high school and presents 11 ques- tions. The questions are aimed at determin- ing if the respondents are taxpayers, if they have children in school, what transportation they expect for their children if the school is launched and whether they are willing to sit on an advisory committee. "It's a fair range of questions," Mr. Mc- Cauley noted. We are giving people an op- portunity to voice their concerns and com- ments." The Separate School Board expects the survey to be completed by April 20. The fin- dings will form part of the planning commit- tee's recommendations to the separate school board. Ratepayers and parents had their own questions for planning committee members at the Dublin meeting. Mr. McCauley said the subjects which raised the most curiosity were those of transportation, financing for the school and curriculum. While the planning committee has worked' out the curriculum in some detail, the issues of finance and transportation are less cer- tain. Mr. McCauley said that after looking at a number of separate secondary schools in the province, the planning committee had decided that the 'school will place particular importance on arts Imusic, theatre, fine art) and athletics. Joan Cronin, a member of the planning committee, outlined the religious cur- riculum. The program is to cover aspects of the Bible, ethics based on religious teaching and other ways that religion can be applied in the student's daily life. The proposed pro- gram is based on religious curriculum cur- rently being used in separate secondary schools elsewhere in the province. The area of finance cannot be determined with much accuracy, but Mr. McCauley said the brunt of the cost is covered by secondary school grants from the provincial govern- ment. Even after the grants have been paid, there is still an outstanding cost of about $300 per student per year. Mr. McCauley said he did not expect that figure to change substantially between now and September 1986. "But it's a new experience for us," he said of planning school costs, "we just don't know." County Council opposes Hydro route proposals BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE Huron County Council is opposed to On- tario Hydro transmission lines going throe tllg„cptnyty and jriUas1 the.pravin- cial utility to . consider strongly ilii 'M3 Bruce to Essa - route for the lines. Council is now "on record” • as being op- posed to the possible transmission lines go- ing through the county in a unanimous recorded vote at its Mar. 28 meeting. "Huron is the leader in agriculture pro- duction in the province," states the approv- ed motion which was prepared by several reeves and presented by Turnberry Reeve Brian McBurney. County council would like hydro to choose the. M3 route, one of Six transmission cor- ridors initially proposed by Ontario Hydro. Council maintains that M3 is less disruptive to agriculture as a whole in the province. Ontario Hydro had prepared a detailed study of a modified M3 route, including a line along the 401 to London, but last year that was thrown out ,of court. Hydro then decided that along with M3 details, it would prepare details of M1. It has proposed three routes which have been presented at public meetings across Huron County. County planner Dr. Gary Davidson said he will be meeting with Ontario Hydro representatives on Apr. 3, when he suspects he'll learn which of the three routes through Huron is favored by the utility. The planning director said in mid-May Ontario Hydro will choose which of the two routes - M1 or M3 - it prefers. In earlier pro- ceedings Ontario Hydro favored M1, but after hearings in Stratford, the consolidated hearings board chose a modified version of M3 as presented by the agriculture sector of the province. -.During early discussion of the transmission lines at county council, Tuckersmith Reeve Bob Bell said people in the county "are upset that we have not taken a stand". Dr. Davidson said the planning depart- ment couldn't recommend one of the three routes through Huron because it didn't know the impact on the land. That information will be coming from the Apr. 3 meeting, said Dr. Davidson. "What are we willing to accept?" asked Reeve Bell, then answering his own ques- tioon, he replied, "none." "No one in Southewestern Ontario wants it," said Dr. Davidson, "If everybody has that position - not in my backyard ... it negates the participation process." "The reason we got this back is because • county council went on record in support of Ml," said Reeve Bell explaining what he has heard from the public. "We (the. planning department) think it should go through Essa, not through Huron," said the planner, "although•I can't say which has more land. Hydro will tell us that on the third." Every reeve present voted in favor of the resolution. Those absent were Wingham Reeve Joe Kerr, Howick Reeve Jack Staf- ford and Hay Township Reeve Lionel Wilder. NSP candidate named EXETER - Paul Klopp, R.R. 2, Zurich, will be the New Democratic Party can- didate in Huron -Middlesex. Klopp was acclaimed on April 5 in Exeter after being nominated by Paul Carroll of Seaforth. Klopp is a 28 -year-old farmer, a graduate of South Huron and District Secon- dary School and of Centralia College. He's worked for the United Co-operatives of On- tario in Chatham, and been very active in farm organizations such as the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Huron County Federation of Agriculture. Klopp is newly married and has no children. In his speech after winning the nomina- tion, Klopp said his priorities are a fair tax system, better tax rates for farmers, and "once we get those other two areas under control", more jobs. "The NDP has some real good ideas," Klopp said. "I've seen the Lberals and Conservatives listen to what we want, but they don't carry through. The NDP puts our ideas down in their policy papers." FASTER CELEBRATION A celebration of Easter was held in Goderich Township on April 7. More than 550 people attended this special community service, held in conjunction with the township's 150th anniversary celebrations. The impressive service featured music and readings. Pete Postill was soloist. For more photos please see page 12. "I'm not going to call them promises, I'm going to call them commitments," Klopp said. "I decided maybe I should stand up and be counted, and I'm going to give it my best shot." The evening's guest speaker was Donald C. MacDonald, the former Ontario leader and agriculture critic of the NDP. Mac- Donald was introduced by Tony Quail, the provincial council alternate, who said he's found a lot of support and interest in Huron - Middlesex for the NDP. MacDonald said "this may be a surpris- ingly volatile election. There's a good chance we'll be the official opposition this time." He added that Frank Miller's vote - gathering capacity is far less certain than that of Bill Davis. "Davis was stronger than the party; Miller is weaker than the party." "The Tory strength is two miles wide and one centimetre deep — it's mushy," Mac- Donald ao-Donald told the audience. "We've done some polls and one of the interesting things Turn to page 3 •