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Wingham Advance-Times, 1981-04-08, Page 144 . • t • At • See." plans no thong' iv of , In Public issIon plans manges in the .of the town owever it tep up its am in an e localized Ololems. ' ting with a of the nistry last ght, com- Cussed the and the ions the Ude, calling orine con- DAFFODIL TEA—Volunteers serving at the Daffodil Tea held Saturday at the Wingham Town Hall included Eva Carter, Jane De Vries, Marg Mann, Beth Sicinn and Nan McKlbbon;They, together -with others, helped to guarantee the success of this annual spring, event which raises money for the Canadian Cancer Society. Study c nfirms ne re seniors' apartv .• A. housing StudY ricotta* tinducted for ttie Aoant-fefi*, WI** has aonfhiad a need Wine.* senior Citizen aparbients. However it appears it will be up to the town or local service clubs to take the initiative in providing the housing, since Ontario has discontinued its building program. Two representatives from WoOds Gordon, the con- sulting firm commissioned to do the study, reported to town council Monday night on the preliminary findings. A final report should be triple* by the end of the iitiOMP.:1**00(4:4 • Ed - Atart."404 01144, MOOT demon told etifinektlieitddy. shows the town could support an additional 2045 units of rental housing for seniors, made up of a combination of market rental and assisted rental (subsidized) units. However they suggested the success of the project will depend largely on where the apartments are located, noting that most seniors prefer to live within easy walking distance of down- town. They told council that &Mee the province has thiknlltiaued .itt-prpgrainlif buildmg seniors' housing underthe Ontario Housing Corporation; • chances are Slim that OHC will put up any new housing here. Instead the province would provide grants to a non- profit corporation formed by the town or by service groups to build the housing and administer it. The province also provides grants to subsidize the rents for seniors who cannot afford to pay full market price, Mr. Starr said, though it will not • permit more than 50 per cent Lyceum has new owners The Lyceum Theatre in, Wingham has new owners this week, although the change won't be very ap- parent since the new owners already were closely in- volved with the business. • Ward and Patti Robertson • purchased the theatre last week from the previous owners, Nelson Frank and John Schedler. Mr. Robertson, who had been working at the Lyceum for the past seven years as projectionist, assistant manager and maintenance man, said they plan ' a number of changes to the opera tion. • "You know how it is, when you're an employee you see changes you would like to Big loss is suffered in barn fire James Ross, Con. 12, Side Road 30-31 of East Wawanosh Township, suf- fered a big loss Thursday afternoon when two-thirds of his barn complex was destroyed by fire. Fire Chief Dave Crothers reported that the depart- ment spent five hours Thurs- day afternoon battling the blaze on the former William Purdon property. Damage, including the loss of one pony and a small number of cattle, was estimated between $85,000 and $i00,000. - The department returned to the scene at 6 p.m. that day to wet down the debris. , About 950 feet of hose was used to fight the blaze. make," he commented. "Well, now we have the chance." He said one of their first acts has been to more stringently enforce the rule limiting smoking to the back five rows of the theatre. He hopes eventually to phase out smoking in the theatre altogether, as have many other theatres, he noted. He commented that people have got used to doing as they please while sitting at home in front of the tele- vision set, ,and it is necessary to teach them theatre -going manners, so they don't impose on others in the audience. • So far he and his wife have spent some time cleaning up the lobby and giving it a bit of a facelift, he added, and if everything goes according to plan they will spend their holidays this summer doing more extensive renovations. A brand new heating system is planned, as well as changes to the snack bar and exits. The ticket -seller's booth may again get an out- door window in order to free Post office closed Easter The Wingham Post Office will be closed Good Friday, April 17, and Easter Mon- day, April 20, Postmaster Gordon Sutcliffe reports. There will be regular service on Saturday, April 18. Mail will be collected from street letter boxes and the red mail box in front of the post office at 12:10 noon Easter Monday. space in the lobby and make the building look a little more like a theatre. Mr. Robertson also said plans are underway to set up a joint booking system with a number of other area theatres which would make it possible to get top-rated new releases sooner. A number of theatres together have more bargaining power with a film distributor, he noted. Meanwhile he has high hopes for the future. "We've wanted this for quite a while. I think we're going to do all right with it." fait Central° the adva", vithetheri, flak in: Chairina, comma He noted `toivn, neve to its wate •' • veey good health tests. The oi1y reason it started adding chlorine was as part of a program to control the iron in the water. A combination of sodium silicate and chlorine 'sequesters' the iron by, combining with it to form a stable molecule which remains in suspension Mr. Bennett explained that at one time the PUC was getting quite a few com- plaints about concentrations of iron staining people's laundry, and the additive program was intended to correct this. • John Earl, an -environment officer from the ministry's Owen Sound office, agreed that the recommendation for more chlorine has nothing to do with bacteria control. The town's wells are v,ery secure and there is no reason to suspect contamination, he said. He also said the ministry doesn't consider rust stains a health hazard. The recommendation to increase the chlorine dosage' is strictly for appearance, to permit a more thorough job of controlling the free iron in know what Would be; and uld stand the fice," PUC oy Bennett taft lea be f ‘: e:•'• Xlie *Sing MiraStry has determined that it is "a little more healthy sociologically" to have a mix of low income seniors with others who are able to pay full market rental, he said. It is up „ to the group building the housing to decide what types of apart- ments to build one - bedroom, two-bedrimm, bachelor, etc. — • but the province does put a ceiling on the amount to be spent per unit, he added. In response to a question about the town's possible liability, Councillor Tom Miler was assured the project • shouldn't cost the town a cent, since all the subsidy for the low rental units is picked up by the province. However Mr. Starr ad- mitted there could be a problem if not all the units are filled. In that case the group mapaging the apart- ments could be forced to raise the rent to make ends meet. Mr. Miller urged caution, saying he doesn't doubt there'S a need for housing, but he is concerned about the possible vacancy rate. The 'consultants had pointed out earlier that just because a person responded to their questionnaire by indicating an interest in new t for years the ded anything d always had aeco on was no •'''“,person would in' fact MO" • e Persons who own their' own homes are especjilly reluctantan move, Mr. ,Starr said, and the ministry uses a `discounting -factor' of 75 per cent with them, assuming that three out of every fou s who in- dicate an interest will decide not to move whep an apart- ment is offered. "Experience shows that three-quarters of the home- owners who want an apart- ment won't take it when it comes right down to it," he commented "They don't want to sell their homes." Please turn to Page 2 the water, ,and stannous OV.-iauedrA, - stop4,41*.loppog: etc.,Ikesok,.% . ;.. lie:t014'60Mittie4„. doesn't „Walt •`O all w0140: 0.0 vea et* , c1aurnig tb woo*** people be forcettfe obnoxious water." He also reported chlorine can combine /*I_ dead bacteria or °Wet organic •matter to totX.,1 4chloranines', compoull which have a much stronger odor than the chlorineitselt He suggeStedthat if the PUO is encountering loeilizect-- problems it should swab. those ,mains and see if that helps.. He rePorted that, ite;',, been -called by. people reporting- a strong odor in •their water, but upon testing could discover nething wrong With it and, coukhe, t smell anythinghimself. ;However Mr. • ,Befinett tiointedoid that many people in twit have lived here most or all of their lives and can rethember the way the Water used to• smell and We • before anything 'Wes. added to it. They know the town is • using Pie-, grie wells AS VERNA McLAUGHLIN, middle, received a certificate of recognition last week from Rev. D. L. Howlett, left, and' Rev. Ronald Baker, pastor of the Wingham Pentecostal Church, for service to the Canadian Bible Society. Rev. Howlett, dis- trict secretary, explained that the -certificate was signed by Dr. Kenneth Mc- Millan, general secretary of the society. Miss McLaughlin has been Involved in the society for 23 years. rusiees vote to k - - rapoption in schools ksy Dave Sykes If Huron County school board trustees have their way, the strap will remain in the school system. At their regular monthly meeting Monday, trustees endorsed a motion stating their opposition to the general abolition of corporal punishment in schools. A qualifying point to the motion insists the use of cor- asking teachers and prin- poral punishment should be cipals to refrain from use of left to the discretion of each physical force in disciplining board. • a pupil, except to protect himself or another pupil. But the amendment, ac- cording to Huron officials, was ambiguous and subject to interpretation. The key words in the amendment were `physical force', a term which Education Director john Cochrane said is am- biguous. Simply grabbing a child by the arm and leading him to the office could be considered using physical force, he noted. To evaluate the situation properly, Mr. ' Cochrane, asked all county principals and teachers to submit opinions on corporal punish- ment. The response was disappointing, with only 11 of 27 schools responding, but the general theme of the answers indicated a willing- ness tb retain the strap in the system, he said. Mr. Cochrane read quotes from the s'ubmissions, saying the strap "should be kept as a last resort"; "should be retained and used with discretion"; "is not being abused"; and "is a symbol of authority that deters deviant behavior". He said a major point for pressure against metric. consideration was made by Mr. Domm said con- the principal of a school for version was on a voluntary the trainable retarded, who basis, but retail grocers and said there is a time and a supermarket owners are net need in such a school to willing to go ahead without protect the pupil from • Please turn to Page 2 harming him or herself. A revision of the use of corporal punishment was prompted by a memoran- dum from Education Minister Bette Stephenson, who proposed an amend- ment to the Education Act Fresh foods weighed in metric? It might not be too long before local consumers find fresh meat, friuts and vege- tables in food stores measured in grams instead of the traditional pounds and ounces. According to Bill Domm, MP for Peterborough, the federal government plans to amend the Weights and Measures Act to read "Canadian units of measure- ment shall pot be used in the retail trade of a com- modity," which would make traditional units illegal in food stores. Mr. Domm's letter to a Kitchener newspaper stated that the government plans to amend the Act by the end of April. If successful, the Act as amended could be applied to Stores in some parts of the country as soon as December, 1982. How would this affect the Wingham area? Bill Douglas, vice president of marketing for Knechtel Foods, said the company plans to resist metric conversion in its meat and produce depart- ments. • Before enforcing such legislation he said the government should educate the consumer about the metric system through promotional campaigns. "It's the kind of thing that's been crammed down consumers' throats," he said adding that the system has come before its time and is confusing to the consumer. Mr. Douglas suggested that forced conversion is at least two years down the road and lCnechtels doesn't plan to take action for at least 11/2 years. Harold Hayne, director of public relations for Zehrs Markets, explained that Zehrs supermarkets are 144.4.44ii.i.ds • 411. -equipped to convert when- ever the government feels it wants to do it," adding that conversion would take only about two weeks. He said legislation forcing metric conversion in meat and • produce „departments "is all up in the air" and there is a tot of resistance from •the retail trade and consumers. Although a lot of Young people may have learned how the system works,, he said many 'older people are confused by it because the government has been lax on educating them. The people can't ap- preciate what they're •looking at " Bruce COMM, assistant manager of the Wingham Zehrs store, said that most manufacturers have con- verted to the metric system hut, -Most of them (con- sumers) aren't terribly fond of it. It's confusing even for some of, the younger couples." If the Act forces con- version for fresh foods, "We'll have to go along with it to stay in business." In his letter Mr. Domm wrote, "While several areas of industry and other sectors have converted with little difficulty, a great deal of resistance has. been raised by consumers to conversion in food stores. Of three test centres which converted to metric in the food stores in 1979, two of them, Peter- borough and K8M100pS, B C . have completed recon- version to imperial units in the face of strong consumer Secondary school prin- cipals suggested the use of the strap -is not a significant issue in high schools and it has not been used for many years. The use of force, a report said, is sometimes necessary, but infrequently. The elethentary school principals' association said the strap should be retained only as a last resort, adding there are several alternate methods for controlling students. In the county elementary schools, the strap has been used 14 times in the past 61/2 months, and the principals insisted its use should be the prerogative of the school board and not be a unilateral decision of the ministry. The report said the public views discipline as one of the most pressing problems in the schools, together with increasing vandalism. a direct plea to the In other words, if the PUC drops chlorination it had better make sure its errors and omissions insurance is paid up, Mr. Saxton , ob- served, noting that while a person might contract • a water -borne disease by drinking river water, it would be difficult to prove it didn't come from the town water supply. The 'commissioners and Mr. Earl went on to discuss a number of ways of sampling, the water to pinpoint any problems with localized chlorine, odors. Mr.. Bennett reported that he has as much • of a problem that way as anyone — sometimes the water at his home smells so strong it's impossible to drink it or even brew coffee with it. He said he's not worried about the quality of the water from the town wells ". It's as pure as anywhere in Ontario. I'm worried about Despite • 1 s.• number otquestioisduripg a previous, • meeting,, • was !noble to attend the Meeting last week, but PUC Manager Ken Saxton inquired Whit would happen .if the town simply stopped adding chemicals to the water so long as it passed the tests for bacteria. Mr. Earl didn't favor such an approach. He said the purpose of disinfecting the water supply is to provide a failsafe system, and while he admitted that chlorination in the case of Wingham's water is "purely precautionary", • he wanted to see the town i continue the process. According to the ministry, person runs less risk drinking a small amount of chlorine in his water than by exposing himself to the potential hazard from contaminated water. "One lawsuit against you public for opinions on the use us spoiling it." . of corporal punishment, Mr. MrEarl agreed that in Cochrane said he received most aspects the water is only one letter from a first class. It's high in iron, Goderich resident who op- but that's not a health posed abolition of corporal hazard. And while hard, it's punishment and suggested not nearly as hard as some individual boards should water from wells in the make the decisidn. Walkerton and Hanover The motion passed by tie lirells- board also requested that the Some private wells there education committee test et 1,600 parts per million develop a draft policy and an (I)Pm) hardness, while auds:molfcorsateset roaf iguipunidelinesshmenent ppm, which is not too bad. Wingham's water tests at 320 When you get up to 500 ppm a in the schools, which will reflect the concerns of lot of people start putting in board, staff and public. water softeners, he noted. 4 •4