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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1980-03-13, Page 4.s.4$IGNAIL•-STAR, THURSDAY, MARCH 13,1980 Goderich•` SIGNAL-STAR The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded In 1848 and published every Thursdoy of Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. Advertising rates on request: Subscriptions payable In advance. '16.00 in Coned*, '55.00 to U.S.A., '25.00 to all other countries, single copies 35'. Display advertising rotes available on request. Please ash for Rote Card No, 9 effective Sept. 1, 1979.5econd doss moil Registration Number 0716. Advertising Is accepted on the condition shat In The event of typographical error. the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Dens, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but the balance of the advortlsamont will be paid for at the applicable roto. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong Arlie. goods or service may not bo sold. Advertising Is morely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos. Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 area code 5l9 Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER — president and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER — editor bON*Lf3 Mt: ftU1'BTCK" advertising manager Mailing Address: • P.O. BOX 220, Industrial Park, Goderich Second class mail registration number — 0716 Study is essential It is something like voting against motherhood to veto any special property tax relief for senior citizens in Goderich for 1980. It's one of those troublesome decisions that can • make councillors look like heroes and villians all at the same time. Councillor Elsa Haydon and Councillor Jim Magee are right, of course. There are surely pensioners o on a guaranteed income supplement in this community who could benefit greatly by an acid of council to reduce their annual tax bill by the. proposed sum of $100. While it isn't a large amount of money on the receiving end, it is a worthy con- • sideration when it comes to paying out - from any angle. And herein liesthe prbblern. Town councillors are at work right now chopping funds for various municipal services from their budgets in order to hold the town's mill rate down to a reasonable increase for 1980. On Monday night, council managed to cut. out about $244,484 of the $330,000 members had hoped to find. If no more, money can be deleted -frkSm the 'budget, the net effect will be a. 6.5 percent increase in the general municipal rate for 1980. Add to this any requests for increases that could come from the Huron County. Board of Education " and Huron County Council, and property owners in Goderich could be facing a• sizable increase in their tax bills for 1980 without adding in a tax break for pensioners receiving the supplement. But isn't the tax increase all the more reason to • consider special property tax relief for seniors? How you answer that question will depend a good deal on what you hold as most important • in your life. And it's back to the "damned if you do, damned if you don't" quandry councillors are facing now. It has been estimated there are about 1,700 senior citizens in Goderich receiving the Old Age Pension. It would not be unreasonable then, perhapsf, to estimate that of those 1,700, one-tenth or 170' may be receiving the guaranteed income supplement from the government. In that case, it would cost the municipality $17,000 to give each of those pensioners a reduction of.$100 on his or her tax bill. Across the town, $17,000 per annum is Biota whole lot of money to raise - but added,,to the already heavy load carried by many property taxpayers here, some persons may feel it would be just the straw to break the camel's back. Town councillors then are correct, in moving ahead slowly with this proposal to give special property tax relief to some senior citizens in Goderich. The proposal does have merit. It is worth studying - and implementing, too, if at all feasible. But there needs to be more time to examine the full impact of such a plan, not only for one year but for several years. An intelligent thoughtful decision simply can't be made for the good of all until all the facts and figures are known. One thing: is certain. Once such a plan is in place, it won't be easily removed. Council must be very 'sure it can live with the proposal for many years to come, before jumping into the fray full footedand loaded with compassion for the elderly poor, - SJK Should bepiiblic. ••This week Premier William Davis made public the fact that his government spent $434,312 on public opinion polls the results of which, aided his cabinet in policy making decisions. The polls covered a winge range of subjects• in- cluding the public's fear of the state of the economy, concerns about health care or even how Ontarians wanted the government to respond to • 'Quebec. Although the polls and more specifically, the hefty price tag they commanded, are surprising it is more discomforting to note that much of the poll's results are now government policy. It would lead one to think that the government is ' simply aeting on the whims of the electorate forpopularity sake and paying handsomely for it with our tax dollars. It almost eliminates the need for government when a simple' poll of a cross-section of Ontarians will produce economic or health policies. All that is needed is a single man to co-ordinate the polls and insure their results are implemented as policy. One poll, costing $60,000, assessed public at- titudes on government spending and taxes one 4 month before the provincial budget was announced. The poll found, through a lengthy interview with 829, people, that taxpayers would stand for increases in property or provincial income tax but were agreeable to increases in alcohol and tobacco taxes, Ontario Treasurer Frank Miller included those policies in his budget in April 1979. The contents of the polls were only made public because opposition MPs suggested that public money was being used for partisan political pur- poses. Davis said his government had nothing to hide and the polls were only an attempt to remain close to public concerns. Does the. government need to spend close to a $500,000 to be sensitive to public concern' Admittedly the polling tool can be helpful to a government in influencing its policy but should polls be financed by public money and are they simply used as a popular -crowd ' appeasing barometer? And if the material was obtained province -wide at taxpayer expense the contents should be public and used as a tool by all parties. D.S. Remember Goderich's YCW visitors Smile and say "hello" DEAR READERS BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER I am intrigued this week by a booklet put out by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation entitled The Sensible Rehabilitation of Older_„ Houses. I wish my husband and I had had a copy of this publication when we were renovating older home's in our spare time. That seems like many long years ago Fledgling grace 75 YEAR AGO About two weeks since as an old gentleman -named McIntyre, „ who resides in Ashfield, was walking along the stoop of the house, with two kit- tens raying around—h'ls feet, a white owl swooped down and seized • one of the kittens. So far but a few. com- plaints "have b.een heard about cellars being flooded. When • the Parks committee is making arrangements for fixing seats in the parks and along the banks, it is hoped the members will not forget the"bank• near McDermott's steps,' as a few extra ones' are needed there, the best By Cath Wooden BOOKING BACK stop to view the new railway. Marbles are now fashionable with ' the boys, and the boysare wondering whether the girls will take to the game as well as they did to hockey. - 25 YEARS AGO More than 35 Goderich merchants crowded into the council chambers at the town hall on Monday evening and after discussing a number of current retailing problems, they voted unanimously to form a Goderich Retail Mer- chants' Association --the first of its kind- here in many years. The new organization will depl 'with those . problems which the Goderich Board of Trade .(non- .existant for. the past seven years) dealt with as well as new 'ones created by the changing times. Increases• of. year in the. salary schedule of Goderich Public School teachers were granted by the Public School Board at its regular meeting last week. The board in- creased the maximum salary from $2,900 to $31.200: No change --was made in --the minimum salary of $2,100. The .Goderich Figure Skating Club presented its annual. carnival last Friday night at the. Goderich ' Memorial Arena. A Detroit lady, who was a pupil of the late Miss Isobel Sharman 46 years fire Sunday night. The Goderich Trotting Association and the ago, has started ,a --.,Industrial Softball Memorial Fund to provide eventually for some eed in Goderich's $200 per proposed new hospital. Tournament Committee hammered out an agreement Monday that 5 YEARS AGO New• signs at the en- trances to Goderich on Highways ' 21 and 8 in- dicate that Goderich is growing at a, steady rate and the new figure is 7,000. The- population of Goderich has . increased at an average of 69 people a year with the largest increase occurring in the fifties. A cabin owned by John Hindmarsh in Goderich Township was gutted by Return Dear Editor, Waterloo -Oxford t2is t r i c L See c o.n...ria r37 School, Baden, Ontario, proudly announces a Victoria Day weekend of special events com- memorating the founding of the school in 1955. Cel-ebrations begin cn Friday evening, May 16 and conclude on Sunday afternoon May 18, now. Actually, it wasn't so very far hack in the annals Of time. It is only that our remodelling projects spanned three older homes since our marriage nearly 26 years ago a farm house in Stephen Township; a bungalow in Dashwood; and a two-storey white, brick here in Goderich. But all three homes had one thing in common: they needed a lot of back- breaking work and many dollars in- vested to make them comfortable. The emphasis of the booklet by CMH - C is that older homes have a beauty of their very • own which should be preserved in the renovations. Perhaps the most striking example of how art older home can be devastated by modernization,•was on page one of the manual. Pictured there were twin houses. One of them had been renovated. The difference was astounding. And sickening. The remodelled home was without the beautiful bay windows, the sloping. roof, the stained glass windows, the wide wooden stair steps, the wooden handrail. In its place was a stark, straight shell. stipulates which, group controls the 'use of Agricultural Park on the Labor Day weekend. In a letter to the town signed by both parties, thea ball tournament committee reliquished use of the park this year in return for future rights. ' • The Goderich recreation complex corn mittee was suc- cessful Monday night in its bid to gain council's support in planning the $1,3 million pcomplex project. DEAR EDITOR Return to your roots in Wilmot! Meet Mr. I. W. McNaughton and other first generation ktaff members. Bill Weic1 l is still coaching -t-he basketball Crusaders and Ron, Evans continues to hold forth in the 'tech wing. • All former students and staff, and other friends of W•O, are invited to contact the 25th Anniversary Committee, Waterloo -Oxford District Secondary School, R. R.2 Baden, Ontario NOB 1GO, for specific program information ' and registration data.. Respectful l y, -- Lewis Weber, Publicity. One Godhead i1or- Jehovah's Witnesses teach that Jesus Christ is a created being, then according to their theology, Jesus Christ (since heawould then be a part of every crature in heaven)' must worship himself. Also, if Jesus Christ is not God then a mere creature also receives the same adoration as the Father. If Jesus Christ •is not God, and .does not deserve to be worshipped as God, then he is not as good a man as Peter, Paul or John who refused to be worshipped (Acts 10:25,26. Mr, Barney believes, as he staters the Watchtower SooLety has a1way s af- firmed, that Jesus Christ is a god but not the Almighty god (God). Perhaps Mr. Barney may then explain the following quotation from the (April 15, 1893 Wat- chtower p. 1515 in Wat- Turn to page 5 • As the booklet so aptly pointed out: "Every feature that gave the house its character - the variety of shapes and surfaces, the shingles, the windows, the 'trim`- was removed. It is no longer an old house with charm, but neither is it a modern house," For what purpose was the house renovated in this fashion? Who knows for sure? But one thing is made clear in the booklet. There was no extra space added when the changes were made. The booklet was apparently prepared by CMHC for its Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) which is not unknown to Goderich residents. Things like repairing. walls, roofs, windows and mechanical systems - perhaps the addition of insulation or the double - glazing of windows or the installation of new eaVestroughs or drain tiles or a better heating system - may be eligible for rehabilitation assistance. But the crux of the matter is to teach the homeowner to carry out these improvements to an 09Ider home without destroying the original charm of thep1ac,.e.. • The hook puts it this way: "The owner should learn to•recognize which parts of the house have attractive old features such as wood panelling or a fine staircase that should be retained for their special character, and which parts do not havethese qualities and could be easily adapted to suit new styles of living.'' It is important when renovating an older home, says the booklet, to work 'with' rather than 'against' the character of the home's exterior; to consider how the renovated home will fit into the neighborhood once it is updated; to heed any special 'heritage' features your home might have, such as 'gingerbread' trim or curved balconies. The book advises "getting to know your house the period in which it was built and the way it was intended to look.. Lt. -also -doesn't hurt to know the form and the construction of the homes of the era. Then follows a host of examples of the diffeyen,t,,kistds of architecture. in Canada - many of these homes in living structure right here in Goderich and the surrounding area. Next comes this conclusion: "Most 'older houses across Canada will fall into one of the four basic types described here. Knowing and ap- preciating one's own house and one's own neighborhood is the first step towards making improvements in a sensitive manner," From page 19 through page 62 there are specifics regarding renovations for older homes. I found it fascinating. Sympathetic rehabilitation of older homes is certainly encouraged • in Goderich. There's much that is lovely about the older homes on the land- scape, and it is so important to preserve as much of that unique beauty as possible, despite renovations. The booklet is Available at $2 per copy from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, If you want a copy, send a cheque or money order payable to the Corporation to: The Cashier, Financial Services, National Office, Canada Mortgage and Housing. Corporation, Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, KI A OP7. Do it.