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Clinton News-Record, 1986-05-28, Page 4Pa e 4---CLINTON l'iEWSi'RE4 O D, WEDNF:./Alt, MAX 28,1986 The ;Het 4n tfeeiMdf4CIrd is Putt66iFh4d ee5b Nrite4 tett" Ilex 44. 0hi1662, Ontario. C11114144fA M L 4.6.1929-y494. 201tscpt70tt 11602; C4mt 421.20 Clibien•,A40per veer u O, A, f4red!Olf20 !22 t eelreeir At le reshiter.d 4t neeona des. moil by t6ia post rlflti;® under the Porn& nunlike, 0217. The ff.ws-Record incorporCf®d in 1929 r6i4KMrRn tpows.Socordi founded in test, 424 Th. Clinton Novo Era. founded lip 1463. TgMt.prePr.4ns 3.700. Incorporating THE BLTTH STANDARD J. HOWARp AITKEN - Publisher ANNE NARLJKO - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENBECK - Office Manager Display advertising raters available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 13 effective Cc. tober1,1944. CCN4 -^� MEMBER A A high price to pay? A town must work like a well oiled machine. If one gear is not shifting smoothly, the entire machine suffers. The same applies to the municipal system. If one element of the system is not meshing with the rest, problems will occur. Due to a misunderstanding, Clinton Council has recently been dealing with a situation that has put them in the position of hiring a new clerk. Although the present clerk -treasurer, Cam Proctor, will no longer be fulfilling his duties, the taxpayers will be paying his salary until October 1987. On top of this, a "working" clerk -treasurer will eventually be hired and will also be paid. At first, this seems like a costly disagreement - the taxpayer is forced to pay two salaries when one would suffice. However, the cost could be higher. The clerk -treasurer plays an extremely important role in the town. The position is one of great responsibility and it demands co-operation from residents, businesses, and most importantly, council. If a council and clerk -treasurer do not share a mutual respect and co- operate with one another, it is possible the residents of the town could be the losers. The instigator of this Clinton situation still remains a mystery with the mayor saying Mr. Proctor resigned and Mr. Proctor saying he was forced into early retirement. Regardless of how the situation came to be, it happened and if indeed there were "irreconcilable differences" between the two parties, the town is better off with this settlement than being known. as the town with internal problems. This type of reputation could do nothing but harm the town and, in turn, harm the residents. - by Anne Narejko. Set example Well, the hockey season has filially come to an end. There will be no more Saturday night hockey games, no more bets about who will win the Stanley Cup in 1986 and no more worrying about finishing at the top or the bottom of the hockey pool. For the first time in 19 years, the Stanley Cup final saw two Canadian teams pitted against each other. And for the 23rd time, the Montreal Canadiens have won one of the most sought after trophies in Canadian sports. I'm not a Montreal fan. I never have been and probably never will be. My team, although I hate to admit it at times, is the Toronto Maple Leafs. But because they did net make it to the finals, I had to find another team to cheer for and I chose the Calgary Flames. I predicted they would take the cup in six games - giving Montreal only two wins. Much to my surprise, this was not to be. But the biggest surprise came. after the cup was won, and it was not provided by the hockey players at all, but by the over zealous Montreal fans who decided to take in the game at their local pub while consum- ing their favorite beverage. Former clerk tells his side Dear Editor: Because of the amount of speculation and rumors about why I have not been acting as the clerk -treasurer since approximately mid-March of this year, I feel that I owe an explanation to the citizens of the Town of Clinton. Arrangements were made in September the county operations, other than by the ac- 1985 tion of our reeve at county meetings. 1985 for my wife, Marie, and I to drive a As of the March 11 council meeting, only neighbor's car to Florida and then to return , four out of 25 other county municipalities to Florida this spring to bring the car back. seemed to agree with Clinton. This allowed a brief holiday last fall and Immediately before the start of our coun- then abouttwo weeks again this spring, so cel meeting on March 17; I informed the our return airline tickets to. Florida were chairman of the general government com- scheduled for municipal .31, 1986. mittee, Mr. John Cochrane, that I hoped to As you recallll,, muelections were be going on my holidays two weeks from held on November 12 with five new members of council being elected. At post that date, March 31. This was established procedure since the general government election party the same evening, mention ommittee is the committee dirctly respon- was made on several occasions about our sible for, among other things, the operation good luck in being able to get away for a few of the clerk's and staff. days break then and again this spring. I had cplerk's office and staed to the mayor One Jan 6, 1986 councillormi RossgCarter pro- as well about my intention to be away for Posed a resolutionse• limiting thyear overall two weeks starting March 31. In addition it budget increase for Clintonpsthis year to had been posted on a calendar in my office three per cent. This perhaps sounds. good to so that staff could see it for perhaps two the average citizen but when you figure in months. the County and the Board of Education re - had heard . absolutely no adverse comment whatsoever. About 11:20 p.m. on March 17, just prior to a motion to adjourn the council meeting, Councillors Case Buffinga and floss Carter presented a resolution that said that all cor- respondence from the Town of Clinton had to be reviewed by the mayor or the chair- man of the general government committee prior to being sent out. As they were voting on it, I asked if I 'was to assume that•there had been some problem. I was emphatically informed that there had been and that they would discuss this further once the meeting was adjourned. . Criticized by ' Council Members During the . 'in camera''session; 1 was severely criticized for the letter that had been ' sent • out . to the other county municipalities about the county raises. Councillor Cochrane led the criticism, alleg- ing thay my comments did not represent council's thinking or their comments at previous meetings. This reportedly had caused . them considerable embarassment LittQrs quirements it was quite impractical to lime the overall increase to three per cent before you know what those requirements are and the county and the board of education usual- ly do not approve their budgets until sometime in April. However, at about the same time as these discussions were taking place, the County approved increases for their department heads that seemed excessive to the Clinton Council members and these, developments were reported in the Clinton News -Record the same day as the proposal of Ross Carter. Our council members were quite incensed when they found out about these increases by the county, and on January 20, approved a resolution'that I inform the county by let- ter, that Clinton was not in favour of these large increases. I did not im;nediately write to the county council feeling that if Clinton was the only one out of 26 municipalities to do so, it would probably do more harm than good. In the meantime I had been in contact with several other clerks in the county and found that their municipalities were not as concerned as Clinton.1 discussed this situation on more . and in fut7ire, any letters I sent out had to be than enc ted my with gs mayor. approved by' the mayor or himself. I reported my findings to our council on pI suggested that if ell other municipalities February 3 and members agreed with my had agreed with Clinton, I would probably suggestion to write a sharp letter of concern be a hero, but since only four others, up to ^to the other municipalities in the county that time, agreed with Clinton, and the seeking theiree discussions t. Mayor Balfour and I others were apparently telling us to mind had two or three dison the merit of our own business, someone had to be the doing even this, but finally I put a letter goat. I then informed them that I had had together and got his approval on the text and the letter approved by the mayor and he had the wording before sending it out on thought it was good and ordered me to send February 17. it out. I expressed my reservations on this simp- Mayor Balfour then asked me if he had in- ly because I felt that Clinton could be seen deed seen, it and when I assured him that he as interfering in the business of another had indeed seen it, and approved it, he had jurisdiction, and besides it was reported to admit, that I could very well •be right that our member at county council, Reeve because he• had been so busy sincethe start Bee Cooke, had actually voted for the of the year. increases. It was so very obvious that that was not Response Negative the way it had been presented, to other coun- As expected the response was ther cil members on occasions that were negative by the majority of o unknown to me until that very moment. municipalities in the county with Reeve - When. I appeared to have countered their Cooke receiving much critiriltin. letter criticism immediately that was no I understand bers were some other Clinton Council really the -problem, Councillor Cochrane members also crit�eised with the then asked erre to tell the council what the general feeling that Clinton hzld mite bed told him immediately before the start� enough to do to look after the • operation of Turn to page 5 • this municipality without dying to iuence There's nothing wrong with getting together with a couple of friends at the bar and watching your hometown team fight for the Stanley Cup, but what they did after the. battle was won is wrong. Instead of running around the streets, cheering and waking up the non -hockey fans, a large number of Montreal fans decid- ed they would turn over a few cars, jump on top of a couple others, smash the windows of some of the near by stores and set a fire in the middle of the street. Some celebration. After hearing about that I bet some Calgary residents and store owners are happy the Flames lost! On the other hand, take a look at the way the players and coaches behaved during the National Hockey League final. At the end of one game, both teams decided to clear the bench and engage in a brawl that cost a total of $42,000. Each club was assessed a $10,000 fine, each coach lost $1,000 and each of the 40 players will be short $500. To you and I that seems like a lot of money, but to the hockey players whose salaries are in the six digit range, it doesn't mean much. It's nothing more than a slap on the wrist. When the fans see their heroes throwing punches and banging their sticks against the boards in front of the television cameras, it's no wonder they decided to participate in a little bit of violence themselves. Tempers flare when people are under pressure, when something they have been working for all year, all their adult lives, is at stake, but somethings are inexcusable. Hockey players are public figures. Many children are influenced by what these men say and do and they should keep that in mind at all times. Sure it's a great responsibility, but it is a responsibility which they are _more than adequately compensated for. Kimberly Cook Wins Clinton's Kimberly Cook competed in the Ontario Quality TEEN pageant last weekend in Toronto and came home with the volunteer service award and a trophy for be- ing one of the finalists as well as a $150 scholarship. Kimberly won her volunteer award for work she has done teaching the Clinton ',Figure Skating Club, teaching at the Wesley -Willis Sunday School, fund raising at Central Huron Secondary School and all of her volunteer work as a candy striper at Clinton Public Hospital. Kimberly did well enough in the categories in which she competed to make it to the finals. Out of over 50 competitors, Kimberly and 14 others made it to the finals. ?a,e:01 nSr!'n�`i "t" - . c- n -1+. Royalty for a night By Anne Narejko Shoreline e visual and communications aids, incon- Kwinter has said he plans to act on the Shoreline%►E'ar�•gs tinence supplies and orthoses which include recommendation to eliminate discrimina- The committee appointed to g- braces and splints, will be extended to in- tion.. in auto insurance premiums based on study Ion elude those. who are 22 years of age as of Ju- age, sex and Marital status. The report also term solutions for shoreline management along the Great Lakes will be holdingpublid lY 1. recommends basing auto insurance hearings in Goderich' on July 10 at The Costs for the addition to theprogram will premiums on a new classification system be $4 million for 1986-87. This will bring total . that takes into account an individual's driv- Livery, beginning at 7 p.m. annual costs for the expanded assistive The committee will berlvatg at the roles devices program to approximately $18 and responsibilities of private and public million. The program helps to provide sector in shoreline management, and will medical devicefor people with chronic h- examine and' make recommendations to the . !peas or physical disabilities. Ministry of Natural Resources and the Agencies such ,as the Cancer Society and Ministry ofMunicipalAffairs on.options for the March of Dimes traditionally assist peo- ple management. le in need with the remaining 25 per cent Members of the public who are directly af- portion of costs for assistive devices. fected by high water levels are invited to p For more information on the program, make their Concerns and suggestions known -268 call toll free 1-800-268-6021. to the committee, who will then prepare a slater Insurance Report Released report for submission to the Ministers in Acting to deal with t p November heproblem of costly Assistance Devices Program Expanded insuranceiesettlements and e rates, the Ontario Liberal Ontario's assistive devices program, g which now covers 75 per cent of the cost of Government nuary tot set up ne task klemforce i this pastMedical devices for young People up to the surance industry. in - age of 21, will be expanded a to cover pro- This week at Queen's Park, Consumer and stheses for people of all ages'bng July Commercial Relations Minister Monte E. myocolleague Healthnt Minister Murray. Kwinter released the report of the Slater Elston announced rdeentlyfi include artificial arms and task force on the' insurance by aI r. David Prostheses . In its legs, breast prostheses, facial. prostheses report, lat, the rttierkChairman of thEctInomic The assistive devices program will be fand prosthetic eyes. Council of Canada, has recommended the ur ther extended to cover 75 per cent of the introduction of step private no-approving tiult auto ne costs of respiratory equipment for people of surance a first all ages on Sept. 1. This will include veli- insurance s the report states Ontario ystem. tilators, suction machines, com 1 ressors and III , should not to establish theh a thiso equipment for nnoun with cystcoverage fibres, time a government insurance corporation to 1• ton also announced that bi` all g ranee services." :The s ' tive ,devices ` ' uipMent including deliver auto ensu s should have a other pais ( wheelchairs, ostomy suppliesr hearing aids, reportasaidro' private coverage. ing record, and. experience. It suggests that people with poor driving records be penaliz- ed with' higher premiums. ,{winter said members of the public and the,insurance industry have until July 31, to ' comment in writing on the recommendation of the Slater report. Written submissions may be sent to: Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, 6th Floor, 555 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario. M7A 2H6. ATTENTION: Ontario Task Force on Insurance Senior Citizens Month June has been designated Senior Citizens' Month in Ontario, marking the 26th anniver- sary of the province's annual celebration for seniors. This year's theme — `We're Getting On with Life!" — is a reflection of the deter- mination and energy of Ontario seniors to take charge of their lives and remain self- suffioient in their own communities. . For many,65 has become the age of op- portunity. any seniors find they have the time to explore new ventures and par- ticipate in more activities than before. As citi2'ensbf Ontario, we all benefit from their continuing leadership as we meet the challenges' of the future. The government is pleased to participate in activities that celebrate Senior Citizens' Month. Please join us this month as we 'honor those members of our community who have strengthenedtheprovince. the foundation of our society in