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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-04-10, Page 1Plyth Brunt,Z&trbry b.ox 02 Blyth, Ont. NOM VII Jein. 1 "' RETIREES HONORED—Staff members from the Wingham and District Hospital' honored three retiring members at a dinner last Tuesday evening in Belmore. The three honored were Murdene MacLeod, Robert Hickey and Mrs. Dorothy MacLeod. The two ladies have worked as registered nursing assistants at the hospital for the past 20 years'and Mr. Hickey worked with the ambulance crew for 15 years. FIRST SECTION • bain ilfl' Ittiance& Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Apr. 10, 1985 Single Copy 50e PUC meets with developer to discuss easement request The Wingham Public Utili- ties Commission met with Maitland Estates developer Hans Kuyvenhoven last Thursday evening over a re- quest for an easement under a power line in the subdivi- sion. Although Mr. Kuyvenhov- en said he had no immediate plans to develop the lot in question, he would like to be Snobelen wins PC nomination Ripley -area far Mik mer election: Snobelen edged Wingham He said Mr. Thomson has broadcaster Bill Thomson by lived in Wingham for six 26 votes last week to win years, moving here from nomination as • the Progres- Owen Sound where he had sive Conservative candidate run the family hardware for Huron -Bruce in the May 2 business and • served as an provincial election. alderman. Through his work At the"nominating meeting , at. CKNX radio and televi- held in the Teeswater sion, Mr. Thomson is well - Community Centre last known in the riding and Tuesday night, a standing- acquainted with local con - room -only crowd voted 419 cerns, he added. for Mr. Snobelen, who had I The nomination was resigned as president of the seconded by Frank Biener, PC riding association to who contented himself with throw his hat into the ring, to saying, "I was here the first 393 for Mr. Thomson, who time with Bill and I'm back had won nomination in a again." previous meeting last fall Mr. Thomson then told the but then had to decline it in crowd it has the opportunity when to return to work to make the . Huron -Bruce the expected election .was, riding, "a somebody" by postponed. electing a Tory member. He Following the vote, both' explained why he had to candidates appealed for decline the previous nomina-. party unity in theelection tion to return to work on -air campaign. at the radio station saying he has "no regrets". He said the riding needs a Declaring that "There is no glory in winning when you defeat someone you respect as much as I do Bill Thomson," Mr. Snobelen invited members of the Thomson team to join' . his organization, while Mr. Thomson, gracious in defeat despite his clear disappoint- ment, offered congratula- tions and called on the gathering to . "make this unanimous". Before voting, members of the crowd estimated at close to 1,000 people listen—to brief speeches ,by the can- didates and their nomi- nators. Speaking first, Loran Peeter ,borrowed from a popular advertising slogan to tell the gathered Tories that, "Mike Snobelen has the beef ! " He also reviewed his candidate's qualifications as a former reeve, director of the' Bruce Agri -Park and chairman of the Bruce County Board of Education. This was seconded by Alma Conn, who described. the candidate as very suc- cessful in business and human affairs, "with the ability to listen as well as hear." Mr. Snobelen then recalled that four years ago he had wished former Liberal MPP Murray Gaunt 'good health and a happy retirement, saying he now offers the same wish to Mr. Gaunt's successor, MPP Murray Elston. He also spoke of his own experience in handling public monies and dealing with the problems of agriculture. "I know what it is to meet a payroll and calm an angry banker." He vowed to do his best for the riding, commenting that a domed stadium for Toronto is fine, "but Lucknow needs an arena and Wingham (where the nomination meeting had originally been scheduled before being moved to Teeswater to ac- commodate the large crowd) needs a larger hall." Mr. Thomson's name was placed in nomination by Ken Campbell, who reminded the „crowd that his candidate had won the nomination last fall but had to resign when William Davis stepped down as premier before calling an day to tour the Bruce area. After congratulating the riding association on the turnout for the meeting and talking about the great potential for tourism in Ontario, Mr. Bennett gave the assembled Tories a pep talk and launched into some hard-core electioneering. "I think it's tinie Huron - Bruce finds its way to the government side," he said, saying it is not true that an opposition member can accomplish just as much for a riding as a member on the governing side who can sit with ministers in caucus and in their offices to discuss local concerns, "It's not enough to come out tonight and think .you have done your duty," he declared: "On election day don't sit home and `'let George do it'. 'You're no good if you're sitting at home." He also urged the local party to unite solidly behind man who is a "good listener whoever won the nomina- tion. It is possible to have disagreements within a household, he said, "but when the door opens and we go out it's us and them — and they're the enemy. He also told the crowd "in a very confidential way" that the PC party has targeted this riding as one in which it feels it has a better than average opportunity of winning. Mr. Bennett drew a chuckle and applause when he talked about a visit by former U. S. Democratic vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro to Longi don. He claimed she had been brought Liberals and said it was most appropriate that the Liberals should bring in as guest speaker the representative of a party which had just gone down to its greatest defeat in history. , goodnegotiator, good ■' fighter," and promised to Gorne farn i lyloses give the job "everything I've got". He went on to report he has met with the - new HOME, BUSINESS BURNED The Larry Bakalar family premier,. Frank 'Miller, to home and business of Gorrie lost both home and -business when fire gutted discuss local issues "and he , this building on the village's main street on the evening • knows where I'm coming The Larry Bakalar family fire started; but were able to from." of Gorrie lost its home and escape unharmed. He told the crowd this is a business in a fire last Thurs- The chief said the building b . • • very exciting riding, but day evening. suffered extensive water and needs a member inside the Firefighters from the heat damage, but minor fire 0 lice oard studies _government-caucas.- Wingham department_ _re___ damage. The loss -is sponded to the call at 6:30 estimated at $200,000 and it and joined firemen from was partially covered by and joined at the Gorrie om insurance: prOpOSed Corner Store. Mr. Crothers said he r eS B the time /aW By the Wingham blames an electrical able to do so in the future and -i needs the approval of the PUC. Currently Hydro controls a 32 -foot right-of-way for the 44,000 volt power line run- - ring along the west side of the subdivision. Mr. Kuyvenhoven had proposed obtaining an easement which ° 'would permit a home to encroach upon that right-of-way. In the original plan only the garage would encroach onto the right-of-way, coming within eight feet of the power line. The PUC commissioners and Manager Ken Saxton said they are not too eager, to have any structure built so close to the power line. Mr. Saxton said the right- of-way allows (Hydro trucks easy access to the line for repair work, but its most important function is the protection of persons and property. - If the line were to break and drop onto a builing, he continued, it could cut it in half before the power could be shut off. "The lines were there long before anything else," said Chairman Roy Bennett, "and we can't break the rules in one place and not somewhere else." An encroachment agree- ment would absolve the PUC of any responsibility if any- thing were to happen, but Mr. Saxton said Hydro gen- erally "frowns upon" grant- ing them. Commissioner Rod Wraith expressed opposition to the proposal, saying, "Nobody wants a situation where it could kill someone or cut a house in half. This is a serious thing." Mr. Saxton said he won- dered if having a power line so close to a house would make that house's insurance rates go sky high. Finally after some further discussion the commission- ers agreed to have Mr. Kuy- venhoven resubmit a plan of development, this time with the understanding that no buildings are to be any closer than 12 to 14 feet of the power line. of April 4. Firefighters from Wingham and Harriston answered the call. Damage is estimated at $200,•006. It is expected an electrical malfunction started the -fire. "Your decision must be for the man who -can win the riding." Following the voting while the ballots were being counted, the crowd heard from veteran MPP and cabinet member Claude Bennett, currently Minister of Tourism and Recreation, who had flown in from his Ottawa riding earlier in the mal - firemen in am arrived at the scene, ' function for starting the fire. the rear of the building was engulfed in flame, according to Wingham Fire Chief Dave Crothers. Mr. and Mrs. Bakalar were in the building when the PC CANDIDATE --Mike Snobelen, a Ripley -area farmer, scored a narrow victory over former CKNX broadcaster Bill Thomson at the Progressive Conser- vative nomination meeting for Huron -Bruce last Tues- day evening in Teeswater. Mr, Snobelen is shown with his wife after he won the nomination. After, spending an initial. six hours at the scene, the Wingham department was called back to Gorrie in the early hours of last Friday morning. Mr. Crothers called the department once again last Friday morning at 11:30 when he noticed flames shooting out of a crawl space in the middle of 'the building during an inspection. Wingham firemen spent two more hours at the scene extinguishing the fire. The Gorrie churches collected money and clothing for the Bakalars and their two school-age children. All -candidates meetings scheduled The Huron County Federation of Agriculture is sponsoring two all - candidates meetings next Tuesday, April 16, at 8:30 "p.m. Huron -Middlesex New Democratic Party candidate Paul Klop, Liberal in- cumbent Jack Riddeil and Bryan Smith, - Progressive Conservative candidate, will be - answering questions in the Lucan Community Centre. . The Wingham Town Hall will be the meeting site for the Huroh-Bruce all - candidates meeting when Liberal incumbent Murray Elston, NDP Norma Peterson and 'PC Mike Snobelen will field questions. Membersof the Wingham -Board of Police Com missioners sat dowry at special meeting last Wed nesday evening to discus the board's proposed rules and regulationsbylaw which will establish guide- lines for the town police. Robert Wittig told board - members this is one area a where "common sense" must be applied. s The Wingham police district does not stop at the , outskirts of town, he said, and Wingham officers often run routine patrols outside s the town limits to places such as the town dump, which is in East Wawanosh Township. • Even the Wingham Cemetery is not located within the town boundaries and yet the police patrol it as part of their service to the community. "We all have a sense of community," said Board Chairman Jack Gillespie, and the other board mem- A sample bylaw wa presented for the board's consideration, drawn from the rules and regulations bylaws of• several other towns and cities. Currently police officers in Wingham are governed by the rules set out in the Police Act. Board members changed little of the 25 -page bylaw at last week's meeting, labeling it a "straightforward" document. There were several so-called "gray areas" where members said they wanted a word changed or deleted, but said they will seek legal advice. The proposed bylaw outlines the • responsibilities of all members of the local force: the chief, the sergeant and the first-class con- stables. However it does not have a separate section governing auxiliary police officers, something board members intend to ask the solicitor about. A lengthy discussion arose over the definition of the Wingham police district. The sample bylaw required that "no member of the Force shall leave the municipality without the permission of a Superior Officer, but this rule shall not apply where it is necessary for a member of the Force to pursue wanted persons or automobiles,". Wingham Police Chief bers agreed the police must have some leeway in executing their duties. Board. member Ian Moreland said he finds it very "small-minded" of people to complain every' time they see a Wingham. cruiser outside the town limits. Under the duties of the chief section, Mr. Wittig suggested deleting the section which would require the chief to conduct discipline trials for the of- ficers on the force. The chief said he does not feel such trials are necessary on such a small force. He also suggested deleting a section on inspections of police officers at irregular hours, saying "I'm not sneaking around in the night." Mr. Wittig objected to the wording a section requiring a constable to observe "everything that takes place within his sight and hearing" while on patrol. Mr. Wittig said he feels it is impossible •for'anyone to observe everything and add- ed such a stipulation could "create morale , problems when you set standards peo- ple cannot live up to." The board approved in principle the changes to the bylaw and forwarded the document to its solicitor for comments. Wingham hosp, receives praise for prompt action An anonymous reader forwarded the following letter which recently appeared in The Creemore Star: "The Creeinore Midget hockey team were playing in a tournamentat_,Wingham.._this_ past weekend. They played three 'games, one each day and while attending the third and final game on Sunday for the cham- pionship, one of our players, Chris Noonan, was severely injured. We rushed him to the Wingham and District Hospitai where he was treated. I must say this is the 'first time that I have ever had such good service for an emergency situation with quick response and action by the Wingham hospital staff. We haven't experienced service like that in our area. I recall an incident when a boy from Trout Creek, who was playing in a playoff game at Creemore, had suffered a broken leg and his parents were not in attendance, so we took him to Collingwood Hospital at 4 p.m. and --that boy was not to led at until 6:30. Why is our service so poor that we have to wait long hours before receiving attention? Also, the Wingham doctor who looked after Chris had the courtesy and thought- fulness to phone Mrs. Noonan at 9 p.m. to find out how her son was and what his condition was. That's what I call a "dedicated doctor". Thank you Wingham Hospital for your excellent care and service." The letter was written by Verna Coker of Creemore, 1