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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1983-05-11, Page 9WEST GERMANY — Mercedes-Benz will be the first automaker to make air bags available as an option in several of their model cars later this year. Results of market studies prompted the decision. In the U.S. 53 per cent of all Mercedes owners buckle up, compared with a U.S. average of 11. PROCLA ATION May 12 Is CANADA HEALTH DAY Canada Health Day will be celebrated on May 12, 1983. The theme is "I Take Care of my Health ... Do You?" Cosponsored by the Canadian Hospital Association and the Canadian Public Health Association, the purpose of this day is to in- crease the awareness of the general public and the health sector of topics related to health. The 1983 theme relates to individual responsibilities for health. Each of us has the opportunity of caring for our personal health through nutrition, fitness, smoking cessation, safety, immunization, appropriate use of alcohol and drugs, and alertness to the signs of disease. While some factors that affect health are beyond the control of individuals, others are determined by our own actions, habits and behaviour. Canada Health Day is also an occasion for health institutions and local health organizations to communicate their programs to their com- munities, to assist the public to become more knowledgeable about health care. The Municipality of Wingham officially pro- claims May 12, 1983, as Canada Health Day. William R. Harris Mayor Town of Wingham Turnberry Township lack sb The preliminary report for the Black Municipal Drain has been referred back to Art Clark of Maitland Engineering Services, Wingham, for revisions after one landowner on the drain expressed dissatisfaction with its course. Mr. Clark presented the report to eight involved landowners at a meeting of Turnberry council held last Tuesday evening. The estimated cost of the drain is approximately $80,000. It will involve nine landowners and 650 acres of watershed land. Mr. Clark said it will follow virtually the same course as two earlier Black drains, one in 1903 and one in 1953. But Robert O'Neil, a watershed landowner, ex- pressed dissatisfaction with its positioning on his property. An assessment department mix-up iden- tified Mr. O'Neil's son as the owner of the property, so Mr. Clark held an on-site drain meeting with the son earlier this spring. At that meeting, they decided to change the course of the existing drain somewhat. Ontario Hon, William Davis, C.C. Premier Hon. Robert Welch, C.C. Minister of Energy rai....re 1 i ck ts e But Mr. O'Neil Sr., who later was identified as the true owner of the property, said he did not like the proposed change and asked that the drain be left in the same position it is now. Mr: Clark agreed that he could do that, but a crossing could be needed; thus possibly adding approximately $2,500 to the cost of the drain. According to Mr. Clark's original estimates, Mr. O'Neil would, between allowances and grant, get almost $200 back from the drain. But Mr. O'Neil's mind remained unchanged and he said he wanted the revisions made to the report. Mr. Clark agreed to investigate Mr. O'Neil's concerns and will present the revised report at the June 7 meeting of council. SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS In other business, Clerk - Treasurer Dorothy Kelly read a letter at the meeting from Allan Harrison, a teacher at the Turnberry Central School. Mr. Harrison informed council in the letter that three students from the school, Jamie Pickering, Hon. James Snow Minister of Transportation and Communications Energy Ontario Tammy- Storm and Treena Jeffray, have been selected to represent the county at the national science fair com- petition this month in Saskatoon. What M•r. Harrison requested , was that council donate some souvenirs to the children to trade with others in Saskatoon. Council granted the young people 100 Turnberry 125th anniversary souvenir mugs, valued at $1.50 each, and 24 commemorative spoons, each valued at $2.50. Road Superintendent Ross Nicholson was instructed to install reflecters at the corner of the B-line and Concession 11. He also will erect caution and dangerous curve signs. The matter was referred to council by a ratepayer, who said he thought the corner was particularly dangerous. Council agreed to ad- vertise for the job of dump caretaker after the - resignation of Lloyd Hayden, present caretaker. Council granted approval to the Bluevale Recreation Committee to hold a ball tournament and beer garden PEOP Car Pooling.Van Pooling. Public Transit The energy they save today tis energy we can all use tomorrow. Further information on all aspects of conservation is available from the Ministry of Energy, 62 Wellesley St. West, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2B7. r the weekends of June 10 and 11 and 23, 24 and 25 at the ball park. Two donations were made at the meeting: $50 to the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal and $40 to the Huron County Road Superin- tendents' Association. Now that the township's secondary plan has been granted approval, council said all building permit applications must be ap- proved by council to insure they conform with the of- ficial plan. Previously, Building Inspector Alex MacDonald issued the permits. Eleven building permit applications were approved at the meeting. WHITECHURCH Mother's Day guests with Mr. and Mrs. Dan Tiffin were daughter Joyce and friend Ida Bogataj and son Barry, all of Toronto. Hydro has been busy the last few days repairing the lines in the village. .....................::....... ..... • istommimikaWk.AvoniowarmonommoR „, The Wingham Advance -Times, May 11, 1983—Page 9 FARM -FRESH EGGS were for sale at the Mothercare bake and craft sale held last Saturday at the Wingham Town Hall. The fresh eggs were displayed by two freshly - scrubbed children, Kara Kirkland and little Sara Lee, children of two Mothercare members. Mothercare is a group especially designed for women with children from the Teeswater, Lucknow and Wingham areas. Turnberry Township Property taxes increase by 6.7 per cent this year Ratepayers in Turnberry Township can expect an approximate 6.7 per cent increase in property taxes this year, Clerk -Treasurer _ Dorothy Kelly informed council members at a meeting held last Tuesday evening. The increase is down almost three percentage points from 1982 when taxes increased almost 10 per cent. What this means is that a public school supporter in Turnberry with a farm and residential unit assessed at $6,000 would pay $1,202 in property taxes in 1983, an increase of $75 from last year or 6.2 per cent. A ratepayerwho supports the separate school system with a property assessed at the same value would pay $1,205 in 1983, up $92 from 1982 or 7.6 per cent. Turnberry's Huron County Board of Education levy for elementary schools is $142,168 for 1983, up $14,257 from last year or 10 per cent. The -secondary school levy.is - $128,654 for this year, up $8,264 from 1982 or 6.4 per cent. Turnberry's levy to the separate school board is $13,110, up $3,895 from 1982, largely as a result of in- creased separate school board assessment in the township. Turnberry's requisition to the county this year is $77,979, up $3,140 from 1982 or four per cent. As an example to council members of where the money goes, Mrs. Kelly said that out of every Turnberry tax dollar, 54 cents goes toward education; 31 cents to the township; and, 15 cents Dr. Wong, speaker at Thankoffering Whitechurch — On Wednesday evening of last week, the Thankoffering meeting was held in the United Church. Jack Whytock, violinist, ac- companied by Mrs. Garnet Farrier at the piano, played musical selections while guests from Trinity, Wing - ham, Chalmers Presbyter- ian, Bluevale, Calvin -Brick, Lucknow and Donnybrook were arriving. President Mrs. Clifford Laidlaw gave the call to worship and extended a warm welcome to all. She then read scripture from the third chapter of Paul's"letter to the Ephesians. Mrs. Walter Moore gave the meditation and led in prayer. Mrs. Ken Alton of Trinity Church, Ashfield, sang "My Tribute", accompanied by Mrs. Blake Alton. Offering was received by Mrs. Dave Gibb and Mrs. Russell Chapman, following which a duet, "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow", was sung by Mrs. Ken Wood and Miss Lavonne Ballagh of Wing - ham. Their accompanist was Mrs. Rea Grant. Mrs. Laidlaw introduced the guest speaker, Dr. Walter Wong of Wingham. He gave the history of Jamaica, showed slides and gave a very interesting commentary on this beautiful little island in the Caribbean. Mrs. Millan Moore thanked Dr. Wong. The meeting closed with the hymn, "Faith of our Fathers", and prayer. Lunch and a social hour were en- joyed in the Sunday School room. to the county. Council members general- ly were pleased the prop- erty tax increase was held below the seven per cent --mark; °but still-areconcerned- about the quarterly payments to the board of education. Mrs. Kelly said the township does not have the funds on hand to pay the March tax installment to.the board and must wait until the first payment of property taxes has been made in June. Therefore Turnberry must pay additional charges to the board for tax penalty. But members agreed there is nothing council can do about it, save going to four tax payments a year itself. But, as Reeve Brian McBurney said: "Four tax bills a, year are no good for farmers." Another concern which plagues council is the high percentage (21) of taxes in arrears in Turnberry. But, there again, members said they are at a loss over what to do about the situation. Councillor Donald Mor- rison suggested adding five per cent to the tax bills, like Ontario Hydro does, and then deducting it if it is paid on time. However, Mrs. Kelly said council cannot do that, it must comply with the Municipal Act's guidelines of tax penalties for tax arrears. Firemen douse chimney blaze Wingham firefighters were called out last Thurs- day morning to a chimney fire atLarry Lary D. Robinson residence in East Wawanosh Township. Fire Chief Dave Crothers reported the fire was in a chimney connected to a wood -burning furnace and was extinguished without damage to the home, located at RR 1, Belgrave. Hydro forecasts changes in rates for coming year Ontario Hydro is forecasting a general increase in the rate it charges for electricity of 9.7 per cent in 1984. However, changes in the way it bills power users will produce some larger fluctuations. According to information received by the Wingham Public Utilities Commission, Hydro plans to start charging more for power used during the peak consumption period from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday. The charge for power used during those periods is projected as rising to 2.33 cents per kilowatt hour ( kwh ), up by 62.9 per cent from 1.43 cents, while the cost of off-peak power will rise by just 14.6 per cent to 1.64 cents per kwh. A plan to introduce a seasonal differential in power rates has been postponed in- definitely, Hydro said. According to the report, Hydro calculates that the new method of billing will not have a major impact on most municipal electrical utilities. Of the 61 utilities in the Georgian Bay region (which includes Wingham), 57 will get a decrease and only four will in- crease, it says. PUC Manager Ken Saxton said it is too early yet to tell what the impact will be on local power rates, but noted that obviously Hydro is trying to encourage use during off- peak periods. With its report, Hydro also included calculations showing that Ontario customers are getting a good deal for their money. In real dollar terms, discounting the in- fluence of inflation, the price of electricity actually decreased by 5.1 per cent between 1980 and 1983, it claims. During the same period, the cost of heating oil increased by 61.6 per cent and natural gas increased by 25 per cent. It alsolded r v' o p a comparison of what people pay for their electricity in various centres across North America. New York, which charges a whopping $142 per 1,000 kwh on a monthly residential bill, topped the list, while the average for Ontario municipal electric utilities was $43, fifth from the bottom. Rural Ontario customers were slightly less fortunate, ranking near the middle of the list with a monthly charge of $51 for 1,000 kwh. The best deal for electricity is found in Winnipeg, which charges 831, while others include Portland, Oregon, '$36; Regina, $36, and Montreal, $37.