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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1984-09-12, Page 1vu iL tl§ rr Ila � fix sl 4 • Mayor Eileen Palmer accepted an award on behalf of town council from the Ontario Parks Association. OPA treasurer, Dave Goser, accepted the award on behalf of the town at the group's annual convention in August and made the presentation at Monday's council ;.meeting. The award recognizes the town's work in developing a waterfront park. (photo by Dave Sykes) u Award cites towns• ,44 work on waterfront OPA presents plaque to town It has taken years of planning, preparatory work and physical labour to revitalize the waterfront at St. Christopher's Beach. And while the residents of Goderich and area have taken, full advantage of the fine facilties there; the transformation has caught the attention of a provincial body. Dave Gower, treasurer with the Ontario Parks Association, presented town council and Goderich Mayor Eileen Palmer with a framed plaque that recognizes the town's initiative in the planning and development of a waterfront park. Gower a former councillor said the award was well deserv- ed. "I had the pleasure of accepting this award at the annual meeting of the Ontario Parks Association in Toronto August 4," he said. "This award is in recognition of the town's initiative and development of the waterfront park. The town was selected over many other entries and I was proud to accept this award on behalt of the town of Goderich." Mayor Palmer accepted the award and cited the work of many citizens who have donated their time and effort over the years, in contributing to the planning and development of St, Christopher's Beach and the Main Beach. Gower explained that the OPA will select a category each year for recognition and submissions are received frpm many municipalities. This year, the &category judged was waterfront development, and the town's work was deemed superior to submissions from the city of Toronto, Hamilton and a host of other municipalities. "The selection committee reviews the submissions and makes its selection," he said. "There is only one award." The municipality must submit a detailed accoiunt of the proiect plus a pictorial display, which was produced by Mac C.mpbell of Goderich. 1 mmis 'S1Qfl nsF should have been investigated Allegations e BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The Goderich Police Association is seek- ing a public apology -from the Goderich Police Commission -tor what it calls "the incompetent handling" of a citizen's com- plaint. The complaint was made by Richard Graham who appeared before the commis- sion on August 31 with a letter in which he accused local police officers of "ignoring violations for their ownsafety" and of "hiding" instead of doing their duty. The association, which is made up of the nine officers who belong to the local force, is upset that the commission accepted these allegations and allowed them to be . made public through the newspaper without an investigation first. Commission members are Alvin McGee, Dave Gower and Mayor -Eileen Palmer; with town ad- ministrator Larry McCabe acting as secretary. A letter composed by theassociatiorr at.a special meeting Monday evening says, "The Goderich Police Commission is duty bound to initiate an investigation into core plaints when they are received. In this case, we have a citizen who is concerned enough to put his complaint in,pvriting and appear before the commissioW, he com- mission failed in its duty to initiate an in- vestigation into this complaint to deter- mine whether this complaint is founded or unfounded before making commentor ac- tin On the eom lain " p iletfie.tntitifel;c 4e �the commission acted with undue haste in dealing with this matter. Since this is not ' the first mishandling of complaints by this commission, the association feels that, in the interests of morale, a public apology is M order for the police force and the citizens of Goderich." The letter concludes by saying the association is now in the process of arrang- ing a private meeting with the commission "oto discuss their incompetent handling of this matter and their total lack of profes- sionalism." Association President, Constable Mat- thew Affleck, says the association is not upset with the citizen's complaint but the , way in which the complaint has been handled. He says police officers have to • thoroughly investigate every complaint they receive and he feels the commission should have to do the same. He also feels that the commission meeting, where the allegations against the police were made, ,should have been closed to the press, at least until the allegations could be proven true or false. Police Chief Pat King, who is neither a member of the association nor the com- mission, is also concerned about the entire. matter, saying that the round of com- plaints levelled at the police force result in a "viscious circle". • At the August 31 commission meeting, Chief King was told to "pile" extra officers on duty for the Labour Day weekend and whenever necessary but in the past, he says, he has been criticized by the com- mission for the amount of police overtime the town has had to pay. ."There is a limit to how many hours you• can, work a man, especially in police work," said the Chief in a recent inter- view. "We try to 'provide as reasonable coverage as possible with the manpower we have." The ten -man police force in Goderich means approximately one officer per 750 people. This is a bit lower than the provin- cial average says Chief King. And.he ex- plains that there aren't many weeks of the year when there are a full tenmen on duty because of vacations, sick teaV0i etc. "For a to*n our sizerwe try rto haVe . s :much • - ever gge. the evenii s as pposaib a 5.1re., woiirrld'like to see another officer on the force but I realize the town's cost problems with that." TWO PER CRUISER In reference to Graham's, suggestion, that two- police officers ride in each • cruiser, Chief King explained that, because of the manpower situation when there are often only two officers on duty at one time, this is not always possible. "We try to have two cruisers on patrol for twice • the coverage. If there are two officers in one cruiser,, they are only patrolling half the area they could be," he explained. He said that having two, officers per cruiser simply for back-up does not make sense because the officers have radios which they can use if they run into pro- blems. "In the past I've received complaints about two officers being seen riding in one vehicle. I've also been told I should keep one officer on foot patrol. It's a viscious circle," he said. WYATT ERP Chief King took particular exception to a comment made at the August 31 commis- sion meeting about the force needing another Mery Witter. "No one man has ever been like a one-man police force. The last person like that was Wyatt Erp. Mery was a fine policeman and did an excellent job while he served here but the statements made about him gave the im- pression that there were no problems when he was here," said the Chief. He continued, "It (the statement about Merv) was a silly statement to make. It ef- fects the morale of the force. We have of- ficers who are just as efficient as Mery was. They 'are good at enforcement. They may not be as well liked but when you're in police work, you're not in a popularity con- test." NOT AFRAID As for the, inference ,that officers are "ignoring violations for their own safety", Chief King said, "Our officers are not afraid. They have taken'their lumps and giixren a•f w• overt the years'..They have got- ten o o baX's, nnd some' • of them have been injured in the line of duty. "Riding two :officers per car isn't the • answer even if the allegation of them being afraid was true," Chief King stressed again. "I agree with Gower that if an of- ficer is heavily out -numbered in a situa- tion, he can use his radio for help. The average policeman tries to use words before muscle anyway. But if force becomes necessary, our officers are not afraid." Chief King said that his officers do "hide" but not for the reasons Graham im- plied. He said they are simply parking for "road watch" so they can catch law- breakers at intersections or around cer- tain properties. He said they would be Turn to page 2 • More facts needed before town hires tourism co-ordinator Town council wants information with respect to salary and job description before it Will endorse the hiring of a tourism and industrial promotion co- ordinator for,the town of Goderich. The organizational review committee recommended to council that the town advertise for a professional to act as in- dustrial and tourism co-ordinator but the motion met with resistance. While many councillors endorsed the concept and sug- gested there was a demonstrated need for ' such a person and department, they wanted more information. Councillor Jim Searls said the motion did not elaborate on the costs, there was no mention of the duties of the co-ordinator and added that more information was needed before council could make a deci- sion on the matter. A motion to table the matter was defeated. Claiming there was no rational reason to delay on the matter, committee chairman Glen Carey told council that it was time t� act on the creation of the new department. "There is no good reason to delay. There has been a lit of public interest, two public ' meeting were held and the cards are on the table," he said. "We don't know all the figures but we're feeling our way around but if we wait too long the opportunity will pass. Time is of the essence. "Public input suggests, well the majori- ty, felt this was the step to take. It is time to plunge in and determine what is in the marketplace. It i the motion) doesn't obligate us to hire or create a department. But we must take the first step." Mayor Eileen Palmer told council that tourism is an industry and should be treated as such. "We need to plan for 1985 and set up a budget or we could waste another year." Searls questioned council's priorities, wondering if the position was necessary or whether the town intended to hire a full- time fire chief. "We got along all year and had a good year of events. Why rush in now?" While agreeing that the toursirns- industrial promotions department was needed, Don Wheeler suggested the Human Rights Commission would come down on the town if they advertised a job and did not hire anyone. set Sept�ni The legacy of Terry. 'Fox,. the one -legged runner who captured the hearts of mioJs; in his attempted cross-country run, lives.. o each year in the Terry Fog Run. Fox, who lost a leg to cancer'and,had'to abort his dream of crossing Canadaat. he half -way point, inspired Canadians an in, an admirable act of unselfishness raised trillions of dollars for caneer research. He had to relinquish his quest, but each year, on September 23, people across the'coun- try take up the torch he passed on tows. On Sunday September 23, everyone IS urged to walk, jog, run or complete the 10 km course by whatever ineans poS,Sible. Last year 66 people participated lin ' the event and this year organizers hope that ,gorepimple Li1.Lg t n'.' ?lve ..- Organized by the Goderich Kinettes, :,pledge ,sheets for the Terry Fox .Run :are available at the recreation oiffice, i e',°townn hall and most convenience stores. All pro- ceeds from the run, which will begin at Suncoast Mall at 10 a.m. and continue throught to 2 p.m., will be forwarded to the Terry Fox Foundation. The Kinettes are asking people to challenge friends, neighbours and relatives and one businessman, Ernie Nesbitt of Ernie's Roadhouse has respond- ed by challenging all patrons to exceed his pledges for the September 23 run. The per- son who does will get a complimentary din- ner for two. Participate in the Terry Fox Run and let the legacy live on. "We should have this position, we've reached that stage but there's a problem," he said. "It's untidy. Before we go ahead we should have an idea of the salary range and terms of reference. " Carey told council that the salary would range between $20,000 and $30,000 but sug- gested the terms of reference might have to suit the individual. "I'm not sure there are universal terms of reference but we could spell out what we think the person would do," he said. "We're treading water a bit -it's a novel position and we may have to cut the cloth to fit the person. It's premature for rigid terms." Bob Cornish agreed the town could justify the services of the department but called for terms of reference to be brought to council. A motion to refer the matter to the organizational review committee for specifics was carried. The committee will meet later this week and the matter will be presented to council Monday. Administrator McCabe said he had sent letters to various municipalities re- questing information on the mechanics and functions of similar departments. Counsellingnow The program will provide 60 -minute in- dividual sessions with an experienced counsellor each week for a seven -week period. Both Dr. Norman Giesbrecht, a research scientist with the Foundation, and thetprogram's staff, emphasized that the sessions are conducted in strict con- fidence and are free of charge. The hours are flexible and anyone can make an ap- pointment by calling the program staff at 524-4264. Subsequent to a comprehensive survey of the drinking habits of Goderich males, the Addiction Research Foundation is following up on its educational commit- ment with the introduction of a counselling program on safe drinking practices in Goderich. The Foundation now has the staff -in place to effect the program, which will cater to both men and women who wish to curb their alcohol consumption. The program ,developed through trial sessions in the Eastern town of Perth and in the city of Toronto, has successfully reduced the participant's consumption level by as much as 56 per cent. Many people employed in Goderich will have already received pamphlets at work outlining the details of the counselling pro- gram and those pamphlets will be delivered to every home in town. The counselling service is in direct response to the survey conducted here in February which suggested that a number of men were experiencing alcohol-related problems. In a July interview, Giesbrecht explain- ed that the participant and counsellor will agree upon a drinking level that is safe and desirable, taking into account the in- T. ri Policy. manual endorsed by county council The council of the County of Huron has taken the first step in the involved process of establishing a policy and preocedure manual for its employees: A tecommendation from the executive asked that county department heads prepare and submit writteh recommenda- tions with respect to an Overall purchasing policy for the county. It was further recom- mended that the department heads prepeare a feasibility report with terms of reference for the preparation of a policy manual. Reeve Don Johnston commented that the recommendations formed only the starting point in the matter of policy and procedure. "This is just the beginning. It is not short- term," he said. "Council asked for policies and procedures that will be a guide .for employees." ' . In other executive corlttee dews, conn e . cii conourredv4ritlfil recommendation stating that the cbrinty would• not appoint represeftative t0 the Board of Directors for the Goderich Arts Foundatiani Council narrowly endorsed a motion from the executive committee which recom- mended supporting an application by any county based charter carrier to the Ontario Highway Transport Board to allow them to , pick up,passengers in any area of the county for chartered trips. The matter was raised by Sherwood Transportation of Goderich which asked for council's support, on an ap- plication to the board. dividual's lifestyle, preference and alcohol dependence. The counsellor will focus on the reasons for drinking ' and develop strategies to deal with a reduction in con- sumption and ways of dealing with drink- ing Situations. Ostensibly, the program is designed to help the average person become less ac- customed and dependent on alcohol on a regular basis. The pamphlet asks the reader to go through a checklist. If your drinking is: leading to arguments or disagreements with friends or family or cantsing problems at work, getting you in t bbble with the law, or affecting your health, or costing too much, or causing you to worry for any reason, or just plain getting out of control. A variety of reading material and video tapes will also be available through the program. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR Football season The GDCI Vikings have been practicing for the upcoming football season. Both the Junior and Senior teams are defending Huron -Perth champions and will be work- ing hard to retain their titles this year. Story and pictures in the Recreation Sec- tion. . New teachers School is in full swing again and there are some new faces at local schools. Pic- tures and information on new teachers in Goderich can be found inside this section. Playoff action Goderich Elevators defeated Ernie's Sailorettes in ladies fastball playoff action last week. The Elevators and Blyth Bain- toneers are leading the round robin playoff series. Pictures and story inside. •