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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-04-05, Page 1oard wants beams painted The Goderich Recreation Board has strongly urged town council to reconsider a $15,000 allocation in the 1979 budget for ,repainting of the beams in the arena. At a previous budget meeting council decided to delete the $15,000 for the beams from the recreation budget claiming the beams had held up for the past two years without attention and would likely be safe if the work was put off for an additional year. But the recreation boarddidn't agree with that appraisal and has asked council to • reconsider the request urging that the work be done this year' The new beams began rusting soon after the reconstructed arena was opened two years ago. Fans were later installed to help cure the condensation problem and although they have retarded the rusting process the moisture is still not being drawn outside the building. Recreation board chairman, Mary Donnelly, said the board•wants the beams repainted this . year and listed the work as a major priority in' their budget request. " There is still a problem with condensation and the board is absolutely in favor of correcting the problem this year," she said. Clerk, Larry McCabe said the council will review the matter at the last budget meeting. Program gets second look At the insistence of Goderich Reeve, Eileen Palmer, the Executive Committe of Huron County Council will re-examine a request for funds by the Goderich Recreation program director. Jane Netzke, program co-ordinator for the Goderich recreation department had submitted a request for county assistance for the in- tegration program for mentally handicapped adults. • The Executive committee recom- mended that no grant be made for the project before Palmer convinced council to table the request for further study. For the past two years Netzke has co- ordinated a provincially funded program helping mentally handicapped adults integrate .into existing community recreation programs. The program involved mentally handicapped people from all over the county.. But :provincial funds supporting the program ran out last year and with enthusiastic support from parents the town of Goderich decided to contipue the program. Incuding salary and expenses the cost is estimated at $15,000. Over the past two years 56 .people have participated in the program and Netzke 'estimated that one-quarter of those were out of town residents. This year 20 mentally han- --dieapped-persons-are-p.a-rt-ie-i-pating-i-a--aeti-uities. and seven are from other locations in the county. Goderich clerk, Larry McCabe, said he hoped the county would assist with the program by entering a cost sharing agreement since many of the participants were from other locations outside Goderich. Netzke will prepare a summary of integration programs offered as well as other recreation programs offered by the town and used by out of town residents. McCabe said when council sees the programs offered to the public, the expenditures involved and the number of non-Goderich residents making u' a of . these programs that the executive committee will take a longer look. These program's are funded .by town tax dollars and users must also•pay a registration fee to cover instruction costs. 1 Township sports complex g by Audrey Middleton The go .ahead button was pressed into service on Tuesday night for the $400,000 sports complex for Goderich Township at Holmesville. The decision was made at a special meeting between the Goderich Township council, 'the recreation board, Al Sinclair, representative of the Ministry of Culture and Recreation and several township tax- payers. The meeting proved stimulating with a wealth of information; questions and answers directed to and from Mr. Sinclair, who brought government approval to proceed with the new community hall. He explained.. that Wintario and Community Centres grants would be available to help pay for part of the major project. As well, the township has about $15.0,000 to put towards the complex, donated through the will of the late Pearl Woon. The will stipulated that the money, originally bequeathed by her husband John Woon, be used to build a township hall in the couple's memory. The complex's only cost to the township taxpayers will be its future operation. With regard to an of- ficial feasibility study, Mr. Sinclair said it has already been proven to him that thewre is a need for the hall and there is no need to spend another $1,200 to conduct such a study. Mr. Sinclair cleared doubts of getting a Wintario grant when he explained that the township's Wintario application was made last year and the file will be kept open temporarily until plans for the con- struction and its itemized costs are received. Once they are received, Wintario will give its financial assistance up to a year from the ac- ceptance date. With the deadline, action will now begin in earnest. It was decided that once some concrete plans and costs for construction are prepared, the executor of the Woon estate, who is in charge of the original bequest to the township, will be invited to a meeting so that he may study and hopefully approve the plans. Mr. Sinclair offered a number of helpful ideas to investigate in the planning. He suggested that other rural com- munity centres be visited ts nod from province to study and compare their project and to consider all possibilities in making a building of a kind that will generate back to the township the most money. The township has already done some tentative work on the project. An architectural concept of a proposed township hall was drawn up last year and presented to the public in a meeting. It was also suggested that the hall be built in conjunction with the sports athletic field being constructed on the west side of Highway 8 behind the weigh scale station. The I township owns 12 acres of land there. "Too many arenas," Mr. Sinclair pbinte,d„.,,out, "are made with only one thing (sports) in mind. This becomes an albatross because it's not used for any other money making project. Usually it's hockey, then figure skating, perhaps curling and there's no place left for the people." He said that we must learn from the Europeans on how to make a ver- satile building. Due to lack of space, Europeans must build complexes suited to many events, from indoor track meets one night, to a concert the next and an agriculture show yet another time. Gerry Ginn, chairman of the .building com- mittee, explained that in the immediate future the township, recreation board would make an intensified study on other complexes, maintenance costs and protection to the ` Holmesville people from too much noise, garbage and traffic. The recreation board and council will decide the proper location of the playing field, what and where the building should be, and an architect and engineer be hired. Mr. Ginn assured any doubters on the proposed location of the building that surely the architects and engineers will properly test the grodfiili samples of the intended area and if it is absolutely satisfactory their ex- pertise would be trusted. Some neighboring home owners feel that the proposed site is too wet and the traffic will be too intense for the small village. "We will have to buy alternative property," Mr. Ginn told them. Mr. Sinclair strongly suggested to the township that a master plan for Turn to page 9 • the derich IGNAL- 132 YEAR -14 THURSDAY., APRIL 5, 1979 30 CENTS PER COPY Delegation BY.JOANNE BUCHANAN s, A Goderich delegation will meet with Health Minister Dennis Timbrell at Queen's Park in Toronto on Friday afternoon to discuss the hospital bed closings here and other related matters. The Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Board authorized bed cuts on April ]..There are -now-53-active beds at AM&G with plans to cut to' 40. next year and .37 the year after that. The, hospital also has authority for ten chronic care beds but is asking for more since there is an average.of about 22 chronic care patients in the hospital at most times and long waiting lists for nursing homes, explains hospital board chairman Jo Berry. , Mrs. Berry says she was surprised at the public meeting held March 26 that so many people wanted to go •the same route as the Wingham hospital and defy the government's orders. AM&G doesn't have the money to defy the government, she says. "We still have staff who have to be paid," she explains. Mrs. Berry is one of the delegates going to see Timbrell on Friday along with Gordon Crabb, chairman of the hospital finance committee, rom AM& G to meet Timbrell Gerry Zurhrigg, chairman of the hospital board's community health committee, Gerry ,Ginn,,a- new hospital board member, Dr. Ken Lambert, Dr. Bruce Thomson and the Reverend Ralph King, chairman -of -the newly formed Citizens' Action :Committee for Health Care. A lawyer will also be part of the delegation to present a brief on bed closings and hospital finances to Timbrell. The brief was drawn up by the hospital board with,input from various other groups and individuals. The meeting with Timbrell was arranged through the office of Jack Riddell, M.P.P. for Huron -Middlesex. The Citizens' Action Committee for Health Care, the newest group born out of the hospital bed cutback situatign, was o'rgan'ized on Sun- day following a public meeting held March 26. The purpose of this ,public committee, says chairman` Ralph King, is to keep the public informed about the health care situation. "If this is the people's hospital, it's time the people were better informed," says Rev. King. He says the committee will not beworking apart from the hospital board but in support of the board as a "strengthening arm". The committee is not a "one shot deal" ex- plained Rev. King. It presently has about 30 to 40 members and an executive has been formed. The executive consists of Rev. King as chairman, Nancy Nephew as vice-chairman, Marjorie Macfie as secretary, Gill Thomson as corresponding secretary, Betty Garland as treasurer, Jill Vernon., -Vern. Burton and Ruth Leonardas executive members and Jean Papernick, Ron Barker and Ann Jenkin as phone committee members. ' The committee would emphasize that there is no membership fee and new members are being sought. Anyone interested in joining the committee can contact Jean Papernick at 524- 7486. "This committee should have been formed a month ago," says member Marjorie-Macfie. Another meeting will be held after the delegation's return from Toronto. No show..:no pay Councillor Jim Searls has suggested to other members of town. council in Goderich that members should not be paid for council meetings they do notattend. He got immediate support from Reeve Eileen Palmer who agreed that absenteeism is run- ning high on this•year's council. She said in her opinion, council .is weakened when it is con- sistently operating s-hortbanded. Councillor John Doherty said that when a council member has attended several com- mittee.meetings in a week in addition to regular councilsessions, members should not be penalized for missing a meeting. • The reeve argued, however, that council meetings are important decision-making meetings, and should be attended 'unless sickness 'or other emergency interferes. She said committee meetings were of less im- portance, if there were any unimportant meetings. Councillor Elsa Haydon warned the system would be "difficult to police" and indicated she was not in favor of such action. The matter will be discussed further. at Monday evening's committee meeting. Mayor Harry Worsell and Councillor Brian Knights were absent from Monday evenings§ meeting. 1 Agriculture and industry can get along. BY JEFF SEDDON ' If Huron county has to have industrial expansion that expansion should be in light, non -pollutant industry that is not disruptive to the rural atmosphere of . the county.: That was the general- consensus of an economic development seminar held recently • in Goderich. The seminar was organized by county development officer Spence Cummings and brought farm organizations, politicians, businessmen and merchants together to try to determine how the county could be developed industrially. The seminar was 'designed to try to outline the economic strategy the county should be plotting to incorporate future industrial expansion into the present economic base of Huron County. Several speakers highlighted the day long, event which brought spokesmen from • a variety of economic concerns together in a workshop format to try to determine how agriculture, industry and urban growth could be hest handled.-. Cummings was looking for some direction from those invited to attend the session and asked that the ' group workshops -----attest- to formulate- _a recommendation on economic development strategies county council could ask the develop- ment officer to work on. Five workshops were organized, each with a chairman. At the end of the sessions the chairmen sat together and prepared a recom- mendation for county council that hopefully would offer Cummings the direction to promote industrial and economic growth here. The resolution prepared for county council's action outlined the concerns farmers and businessmen had for the future of the county. The resolution was very descriptive and clearly indicated what those people would like to see Workshop format succssf ul happen in Huron. The document • indicated the groups —wanted the county's development corn- mittee's budget in- creased to permit greater promotion of the county in areas •of tourism and .industry — wanted light non - pollutant industries to be encouraged to establish near urban centres in the county , —wanted o tourism ,en- couraged provided that tourism does not disrupt the ecrmrnunity- life in ;the - county - - wlanted the develop- ment office to be main- tained and the development officer to promote industry keeping in mind that the mainstay of the county economy is agriculture —wanted land use in the county closely guarded to prevent confrontations between agriculture, urban expansion and industrial development —wanted industrial expansion to be , con- centrated in areas such as Huron Park • and Goderich's Industrial Park so that present sites are taken full advantage of —wanted the develop- ment officer and other agencies promoting the county to consider that . . if prime agricultural land is very valuable and only marginal land should be developed ' —wanted • municipalities to co-operate rather than compete for expansion —wanted the county to, consider developing a land bank to determine howmuch land is being used and should be preserved for agriculture and how much is available for industrial and urban growth. • The res.o1uti•on represented as close a' .saIN f- r- as--poss03-Ie_ between inLlustvial' • concerns and agriculture. Farmers indicated right from the outset of the meeting that they were not enthused about the prospects. of industrial development. Many claimed any time in- dustry has been allowed to invade agricultural areas the invasion seems to continue unchecked until the agricultural areas are severely restricted or gone. Adrian Vos, ar farmer from Blyth, told • the group he, objected to the assumption of ' many people that farmers wanted industry in Huron County. He said he un- derstood the purpose of the session was to review what the county already had and what it wanted. He said not all the people at the meeting wanted industry. Merle'Gunby, president of the Huron Federation of Agriculture, told the group industry and agriculture can't survive side by side. He warned that the "farming community breaks down in the face of urban ex- pansion" citing the Niagara fruit belt as an example. He ' said any relationship farming and industry had when an area first began to be de -061-6 ped -,s'impTy breaks down with time". Bill Jongejan, president of the Christian Farmers , Association, told the group that the greatest natural resource Huron County had was its land. He said competition municipalities had fps, industial growth quite often created more problems • for com- munities than any ex- pansion was worth. Jongejan said municipalities in the province should co- operate to best take advantage of their resources to guard against their mis-use. He suggested that a province wide plan be developed so that agriculture is promoted in agricultural areas and industry in industrial area.