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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1987-03-25, Page 01ill County budget will increase by 7.38 per cent for this year At a special meeting in Goderich last week, Huron County Council gave approval to its 1987 con- solidated budget totalling more than $20.3 million. The county apportionment of that total is $4,897,547 and represents a 7.38 per cent increase over the 1986 county share of $4,560,554. At last week's meeting, council spent considerable time in an item - by -item discussion of 14 recom- mended changes. Approval of all 14 changes recommended by the executive committee would have resulted in a net decrease of $213,984 in the county apportionment. However, at the end of the session, the net decrease stood at $205,984. Although council had approved all 14 of the recommended changes, a revamped $15,000 grant for the Goderich Airport was also approved as an additional item. In previous years, council had granted $23,000 to the airport, but this year the committee had recommended the grant be removed from the budget entirely. Following lengthy discussion and a 17-14 recorded vote, council approved the recommendation for the $23,000 cut. However, toward the end of the session, Goderich Deputy Reeve John Doherty was successful in persuading all but one of his'fellow councillors to re -consider the airport grant at a lower figure of $15,000. Council was told the average assessment increase for 1987 taxation is 1.58 per cent, which results in a net increase of 5.48 per cent in the county levy. Although slight adjustments are yet to be made as the result of the $15,000 re -instated airport grant, municipal levy increases will range, from the 1.18 per cent low of West Wawanosh to the high of 16.01 per cent to the municipal levy of Bayfield. For the five towns, net levy in- creases are: Clinton, 11.35 per cent; Exeter, 11.30 per cent; Goderich, 14.77; Seaforth, 8.51 per cent; and Wingham, 13.27 percent. In addition to Bayfield, the net levy increases for villages are: Blyth, 4:40 per cent; Brussels, 7.95 per cent; Hensall, 11.05 per cent; and Zurich, 6.76 per cent. For the townships the net increase in municipal levies are: Ashfield, 4.07 per cent; Colborne, 8.50; Goderich, 5.12 per cent; Grey, 2.59 per cent; Hay, '2.13 per cent; Howick, 2.26 per. cent; Hullett, 7.77 per cent; McKillop, 8.8 per cent; Morris, 2.02 per cent; Stanley, 3.83 Turnberry family isupset over assessment changes A Turnberry Township family is year. When the report was presented upset that assessment on several of to council late last fall, members its farm properties increased' were told a two per cent increase in substantially when property values assessment had been built in to in the township were re -assessed to make up for losses under appeal and 1984 values from 1975. adjustments. George Underwood and his son However, it appears some John attended last Tuesday's properties in the township took a meeting of council to protest in- considerable hike in assessment, creases as h,gh as 45 per cent on while others dropped. "There were their properties.' A second son, bigger changes than anticipated and Nelson, is a member of Turnberry it's made this job (sitting on council) council. :."` "a Me tougher;" said Reeve'Brian Ron Moore, Ted Ingham and McBurney. Brian Allen of the assessment office After council accepted the find - also attended the meeting to discuss ings of the impact study, assessment the re -assessment with the notices were mailed out and open Underwoods and council. houses were held to discuss particu- Last year council authorized the lar questions or problems. assessment office to conduct y p on the impact of bringing t�wsie Mtp McBurney asked what kind of properties saw decreases in property values up to a 1 assessment. Mr. Moore replied built -on properties with no changes made in the past several years could expect an assessment decrease, while vacant and tiled land generally went up. Mr. Moore said the question remains, "Is the (1984) market value accurate and correct?" Councillor Underwood asked if there were large changes in the residential assessment verstistaleal. `there were ups and downs on the residential side, said Mr. Moore, who added the re -assessment has been equalized among the various classifications. "When you came in (last fall) you said there would be a change of plus or minus two per cent," said Councillor, Underwood. "That might (Please turn to Page 3) Brussels couple, hits jackpot on first Provincial ticket ever' It's just not fair! Some of us buy lottery tickets religiously each week in hope of hitting the jackpot, but Alan and Barbara Bragg of Brussels bought one ticket and won $500,000. The last week has been a whirlwind of activity for the Braggs, 28 and 24 years of age respectively. It also has been a confusing time for their three young children, who know something important has happened, but they're not sure what, according to their mother. It's not really that the Braggs never bought lottery tickets, they just had never purchased a ticket for the Provincial lottery until two weeks ago for the March 13 draw. Mrs. Bragg said she asked her husband to pick up a Provincial' ticket at a downtown variety store $500,040 RICHER - Alan and Barbara Bragg of Brussels still are "walking on air" after winning $500, 000 M the March 13 Provincial lot- tery draw. They have treated themselves to a new vehicle, but are ta*- Ing to Investment counso furs to decide whin to do with the rest of their W*V* S. just on a whim. The small town was still bustling with excitement about the Brussels man who won a new car two weeks earlier in,a lottery and since he lives just two doors away from the Braggs, she said she hoped some good luck might rub off. The Braggs said they forgot all about the ticket until last Tuesday evening when they finally got around to checking the numbers. Lo and behold, they had all seven numbers right. Their first reaction was disbelief. They never had considered them- selves lucky and could hardly imagine t4emselves with half -a - million dollars l However, they kept level heads. That night they placed the'winning ticket in a safe in their home and set out for the lottery office in Toronto first thing Wednesday morning. Following a meeting with lottery representatives to claim their prize, they set off for home, stopping on the way to purchase a new vehicle. Late last week they had the pleasant task of giving family members gifts of cash.Mrs. Rrq* said her mother-in-law, was moved to tears when she heard about the windfall. As for the rest of the money, Mr. and Mrs, Bragg intend to be cautious. and will discuss future plans with their accountant and their lawyer. As of last Friday, the Braggs were still pinching themselves, but the events of the past week were start- ing to catch up on them. Mrs. Bragg said she was looking forward to the weekend when she could spend some time relaxing. The people of Brussels have been ,just great", say the Braggs. Mee had feared there might be am* jealousy, but their friends, neigh- bors and acquaintances all are very pleased at their good fortune and go out of their way to offer congratu- lations. Mr. Bragg quit his job with a local demolition Arm last week and will try to And something that allows him to spend more time with his family. Mrs. Bragg says she would like to is back to school and take some training in the health rare field. (Plesse turn to Pap S) per cent; Stephen, 9.86 per cent; Tuckersmith, 6.37; Turnberry, 7.16 per cent; Usborne; 3.97 per cent; East Wawanosh, 9.23 per cent. A 6.39 per cent is anticipated in the average county mill. rates, bringing the 1987 rate to 45.15 for residential and farm, and 53.12 for commercial and industrial. Again, the average approximate increase to municipal mill rates range from the West Wawanosh tow of .30 for residential and .35 for commercial to Bayfield's 6.93 for residential and 8.15 for commercial. Wingham's approximate mill rate increase is 4.39 for residential and 5.16 for commercial: For some of the other municipalitids the approxi- mate increases are anticipated at: Blyth, 1.75 residential, 2.05 commer- cial; Brussels, 2.24 residential, 2.63 commercial; Hensall. 2.69 residen- tial, 3.16 commercial; Zurich, 2.44 residential, 2.87 commercial; Turn- berry,1.26 residential, 1.49 commer- cial; Howick, .70 residential, .82 commercial; Morris, .72 residential, .85 commercial; East Wawanosh, 2.52 residential, 2.96 commercial, Among the budget adjustments recommended by the executive corpmittee were: --A $4,880 reduction in remunera- tion paid to members of council for attending committee meetings. (Please turn to Page 3) Madill student shares first in OSSTF essay contest One of the top provincial prises in a student essay competition has been awarded to Jennifer Procter, a Grade 9 student at F. E. Madill Secondary School. Jennifer, 14, and her fellow win- ners received a standing ovation from SW teacher delegates to the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation convention in Toronto last week. The competition was sponsored by the OSSTF and Ontario Education Minister Sean Conway was on hand to present each of the the winners with a cheque and a plaque in recognition of their achievement. Mr. Cashway specifically praised the Wingham student for her im- aginative essay in which two people in the next century discuss how world peace could have been preserved in the 1980s. Jennifer, the youngest of five winners, split a $300 first prize in the Advanced English category with a EDUCATION MINISTER Sean Conway had warm words of praise for ,Jennifer Procter, 14, a Grade 9 student at F. E. Madill Secondary School, as he presented her with a S 150 cheque and an award as one of Ontario's top winners in an essay competition sponsored by the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation. The OSSTF essay competition recognized the UN's International Year of Peace. Turnberry portion of tax bill to increase by 4.2 per cent Spending in Turnberry for county, or $25 for every household in township purposes will increase by the township. He admitted Wingham just over four per cent this year. must put up the building, but the county will equip it and the town will Clerk -Treasurer Dorothy Kelly get back rent money. presented a preliminary budget at While he said he might be in favor It's good reason last week's meeting of council, of helping oyt with a donation if the to support grant for indoor pool Stanley Towns) l) Reeve Clarence Rau had good cause when he spoke in support of - continuing a $6,240 recreational grant for the indoor swimming pool at Vanastra. . Toward the end of a special meeting of Huron County Council last Thursday, Stephen Township Reeve Tom Tomes suggested cut- ting the grant from this year's consolidated budget. A number of councillors spoke on the issue, some supporting Mr. Tomes' suggestion for a variety of reasons, while others presented an equally varied assortment of arguments for continuing the grant. However, it was Mr. Rau who turned the tide - and brought about the collapse of his fellow councillors - when he told his tale. When he was a young lad, Mr. Rau said, he never had the opportunity, as children do now, to board a bus and travel to an indoor pool for swimming lessons. "I never did learn how to swim," he confessed. However, all that has changed as a result of recent swimming lessons he received at the Vanastra pool. "I learned how to float," Mr. Rau told the meeting. When council had regained com- ded to which passed with very little duscus- sion. Members were cautioned that the over-all property tax increase could be between five and six per cent_a ounty anli.;;c, b. wi -word, - requisitions have not yet been received. There were modest budget in- creases in most areas. One ex- ception was the gravel pit, which Mrs. Kelly doubled this year to $10,000 as council has plans to fence the area. Another project council may un- dertake this year is replacing the windows at the 20 -year-old munici- pal office, as well as installing soffit and fascia board. As much as half of the cost of improvements to the office building may be recovered through a government energy -con- servation grant. A total of $203,408 must be raised through taxation this year for township purposes, including the. $16,935 deficit from 1986. DISCUSS DONATION To WINGHAM LIBRARY The possibility of making a donation to the new Wingham town library also was discussed as a delegation representing the library's ad-hoc committee had attended the last Turnberry council meeting. posure, a 23-8 recor vu ap- proved the $6,240 grant. Morris surplus helps to keep spending down Morris Township recorded a surplus of just over $29,000 in 1986, which will be used to decrease township spending this year. In a telephone interview following the meeting, Clerk -Treasurer Nancy Michie said the light winter he'ped to keep maintenance costs down. More revenue was generated by the township waste disposal site than had been expected and borrowing costs and fire protection costs also were down. The surplus will be used to keep township spending down in 1987. In fact, Mrs. Michie has proposed a seven per cent reduction in the amount of tax money collected for township purposes this year. However, she cautioned the over-all picture will not be known until county and school board requisitions are released. In other business at last week's meeting, council gave final approval to the township's new building bylaw. Mrs. Michle said the bylaw covers all types of construction, including repairs and demolitions. The fees will be $25 for the first $1,000 and $2 for every subsequent $1,000. Demolition permits will be $100, with $90 refundable atter the site has been cleared &-A restored. Councillor Mery Baker said perhaps Turnberry should be looking at making a donation to the library, as a number of township citizens use the service. However, Councillor Nelson Un- derwood said he would Favor holding off on a donation until next year to see how the committee's fund- raising efforts are received. Reeve Brian McBurney said Turnberry already contributes "$13,000 or $14,000" every year toward library services in the B.C. Visitor traces roots A Vancouver man and his two children passed through Wingham last Wednesday on their way to Niagara Falls and took advantage of that opportunity to check out their connections with this town. Ken Sanders and Ids children, Susanne and Timothy, dropped into The Advance -Times office while in Wingham to share their ties with the municipality. Mr. Sanders' mother is the former Evelyn Garrett of Wingham, a sister of Clifford Garrett of Wingham. The late Elate Bowden o( Wingham was also his cousin, Mr. Sanders said. Evelyn Garrett married George Sanders and the couple at one time lived in Atlas Craig, where Kon remembers spending some childhood years. Evelyn , 91, and George, 89, new belh It" with Ken M Vancouver. fund -raisin ' efforts go poorly, Deputy Reeve Doug Fortune said he felt the committee should have gone to the municipal councils before pians were made. "*,T"YllthLi"e trhymy`d!'e;:y4 t, out to lunch at $22,000 (the amount the committee suggested Turnberry contribute to the library project)," said Mr. Baker. "But if we did have a couple of grand kicking around, our people and school kids do use it." However, council finally decided to wait until next near to make a decision on the library. Gorrie home is lost to fire A Gorrie man lost his home to fire in an early -morning blaze Sunday. A spokesman for the Wingham and Area Fire Department said the call came at 4:35 a.m. to a fire at the Lloyd Griffith residence. Fire- fighters from Wingham and the department's Number 2 station at Gorrie were at the scene for four hours, but were unable to save the structure. The damage has been estimated at $40,000. Mr. Griffith was alerted to the fire by his grandson and they escaped unharmed. Careless smoking is being blamed as the cause of the fire. Grade 11 student from Barrie Central Collegiate, Tracy Bohan. In addition, Jennifer carried home a plaque and a certificate recording her accomplishment. The essay competition, which invited all public high school students in Ontario to write on "PAY Blueprint for Peace", was OSSTF's way of recognizing the United Nations' International Year of Ponce. Rod Albert, OSSTF president, said the warm response to the essay competition means a similar competition may be held in the canting school year. Meanwhile, the winning essays will be published shortly in a special booklet for dis- tribution to schools, community groups and other interested organizations. Requests have already been received from Queen's Park, Parliament Hill and from several embassies in Ottawa. Following is a reprint of Jennifer Procter's winning essay: WE CAN WORK IT OUT By Jennifer Procter It was a bright, sunny July day. I was on a very expensive passenger ship. I had just finished breakfast, and I was walking on the deck. I glanced.out at the water. I saw a tiny dot on the horizon. I looked through'. the binoculars at it. It was a very big ship. All of a sudden, a.torpedo hit our ship. I started to panic. Everyone else was calm, as if this happened every day. I looked around and decided that tiny speck of a boat must have been the cause for this. I put on my life jacket and I jumped into a rowboat. I couldn't believe this was hap- pening to me. "Why would that ship hit us with its torpedo?" I asked a man sitting next to me. "No reason. This thing happens all the time. I guess they don't have anything better to do," he answered. . Nothing better to do, I thought. Something strange had really happened. "Does this sort of thing happen a lot?" I asked. "Oh yes, all the time," he replied. "Oh," I said. "Did you know," he said, "that there are at least 10 airplanes or (Please turn to Page 3) Woman and child last Saturday A Brussels woman and her 11 - year -old daughter received minimal injuries in an accident last Saturday afternoon near Blyth. An Ontario Provincial Police spokesman at Wingham said Sharon Blake, 32, of RR 2, Blyth, was south- bound on County Road No. 12 near Blyth last Saturday at 3:15 p.m. _ Hendrik Versteeg, 46, of RR 2, Wingham, was northbound on the county road and making a left turn. The police report Mr. Versteeg was approximately 1.5 metres west of the centre line. Mrs. Blake pulled to the right of the Versteeg vehicle and struck a hydro pole, according to the OPP. Mrs. Blake and her daughter, Melissa, were taken to the Seaforth hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Neither Mr. Versteeg nor the passenger in his car, 16 -year-old Henry Versteeg, were injured. Damage to the Blake vehicle, a 1983 Oldsmobile, has been estimated at $2,500, while there was no damage to the Versteeg vehicle, a 1979 Chevrolet. CELEBRATE 63RD ANNIVERSARY - AIM and Catherine Moffat, Kk- chener and formerly of Wingham, win be marking their Bard wedding anniversary tomorrow, March 26, at a quiet family celebration. Mrs. Moffat was the former Catherine Cathers and they were married March 26, 1924, at the home of her parents In Gorr* They have four chll- dren: Mrs. Graham Work, Brussels, Calvin Moffat, Milton, Mrs. George SesgmWer, Kitchener and Mrs. Milo Janacek, Kitchener. There are 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandoWren.