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The Huron Expositor, 1988-11-16, Page 1INDEX Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, Brussels, Dublin, .Hensall and Walton Births - A6 Sports - A11-12 Obituaries - Al 5 Graduates - A17 Hensall - B3 Walton - B5 Allegations of threats made to seniors. See page A5. rofl xposito 1 M',. See page Bt. t Seaforth, Ontario HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1988 50 cents a copy Hildebrand squeaks out mayor's race win In one of the closest election contests in Huron County; Seaforth's Deputy -reeve Hazel Hildebrand edged out Councillor Bob Dinsmore Monday night, to take the position of mayor. When the count was finished Mrs. Hildebrand had recorded 558 votes and Mr. Dinsmore 552. Mrs. Hildebrand won seven of the 11 polls, and was. leading the count by a 16 vote margin before the results of the last two polls came in. Mrs. Hildebrand trailed by eight votes after the second last poll but regained those votes, and six more, in the last poll. "I didn't think it would be that close," said Mrs. Hildebrand. "But I had one consolation. I had a little bit of an edge all along." In the race for Deputy -reeve Councillor Peg Campbell defeated Bill McLaughlin 561 to 490 to take the seat. Incumbent Garry Osborn was returned to council by a resounding 854 votes. He will be joined in the council chambers by Bill Pinder, Bill Teall, Irwin Johnston and Pat Malone. Marjorie Claus won the sixth coun- cil seat, by a narrow three vote margin over Dave Staff en. At press time there had been no requests for a recount, but both Councillor Dinsmore and Dave Staff en have that option since they lost by less than a 10 -vote margin. A recount must be requested within seven days of the official posting of the results by the Return- ing Officer. That posting will take place at noon on Thursday. VOTER TURN OUT Voter turn out at the Seaforth polls, at 61.5 per cent (1,123 of 1,826 potential voters), was higher than it was in the last municipal elec- tion when it only reached 40 per cent, but was in keeping with the average in years prior to 1985. "It was average for what it is when there's a mayoral race," said Seaforth Town Clerk and Returning Officer Jim Crocker. "And the 61.5 per cent average was in- dicative of what the turn out was like across the polls." By comparison Tuckersmith Township, who had only to elect a reeve, had 39.4 per cent of its 2,316 eligible voters turn out at the A CHIMNEY FIRE at the residence of Albert Boven of RR 4 Walton put the Seaforth Fire Department to work on Friday night. It was the second chimney fire of the year for Mr. Boven. and it happened in a chimney which was new in the spring. Firefighters used ladders to get on the roof of the two storey building and put water down the chimney. Mrs. Boven, who discovered the fire, only commented that she was grateful the fire didn't occur while her family was sleeping. Corbett photo. MAYORALITY FAMILY -Members of the Hildebrand family could hardly contain their excitement when word arrived their mother and -or wife had been elected Mayor of the Town of Seaforth. Hazel Hildebrand took the job by a slight six vote margin over Bob Dinsmore. Celebrating the moment of victory with her are; back, son Doug, daughter Joan (Wood) and son, Steve. On bended knee in the front is Hazel's husband George- Mcllwraith photo. polls. Those same voters elected George Cantelon to the position of reeve by a 27 vote margin ( 468 to 441) over Robert Broadfoot. HCBE teacher The Huron County Board of Education and its elementary school teachers are still unable to reach common ground in negotiating a collective agreement. Two attempts at mediation were held in May when it was believed the sides weren't so far apart that an early agreement couldn't be reached. Then in September a fact-finding hearing was held to clarify how each side stands on the issues at stake, but there has been no settlement. The board and the teachers have been negotiating since early last March, and their previous agree- ment expired on August 31, 1988. Both sides admit some progress has been made, but there are still outstanding major issues which remain unresolved. These issues, as seen by Flo Keillor of the Huron Women Teachers' Association and Phil Par- sons of the Ontario Public School Teachers Federation for Huron County, are prepara- tion time, salary, benefits, the duration of the collective agreement and staffing. "People told me I was going to win," com- mented Mr. Cantelon, "but talk is cheap. It was a good race." "When you're in a race someone has to win and someone has to lose. It's fair, " add- ed Mr. Broadfoot. Mr. Broadfoot added he will probably try politics again in the future. negotiations at a standstill PREPARATION TIME Preparation time has been a contentious item in school boards in Ontario, and was the outstanding issue In a strike by Toronto school teachers in the recent past. Preparation time is the time a teacher is allowed to plan lessons, mark lessons, get resources, do research and generally prepare for class. Elementary teachers in Huron County schools are being given preparation time, but according to Mr. Parsons it is not guaranteed in their collective agreement with the Board, There is a letter of agree- ment stating the board will endeavor to pro- vide preparation time, but Mr. Parsons says this letter is neither binding nor part of the agreement. Gino Giannandrea, Superintendent of Per- sonnel with the HCBE, says the teachers with the HCBE already have more prepara- tion time than most teachers in the pro- vince. He adds that the letter of understan- ding which currently exists is similar to what is used by other boards and their teachers' associations. The teachers would like preparation time guaranteed in the collective agreement. "To me that issue seems a no -cost item," says Mr. Parsons. "They're turning that (prep time) into an issue even thought they're already getting it," says Mr. Giannandrea. SALARY The salary schedule is another of the teacher's primary concerns. The teachers are seeking an overall five per cent increase, which they say is equivalent to the inflation gauge and is in line with teacher's salaries in neighboring counties. Mr. Giannandrea says the elementary teachers were offered the same compensa- tion as the secondary teachers received, but they refused. (The board has already settled Turn to page 174 • Queens in for changes under new ownership The Queens hotel is under new ownership, and while the business will be basically staying the same as it has been, there are new ideas for changes. Kathy and Brian Ferguson, the new owners of the Queens, say they were at- tracted to the business when they heard it was for sale because it is a healthy business, a nice building, and in a good location. The Fergusons took ownership of the business on October 31. Mrs. Ferguson has been working at the Queens for the past few weeks, and she has been getting to know her new business and has ideas for some improvements. By spring she would like to have the win - Topnotch mill has dryer fire Fire broke out at the Topnotch mill in Seaforth on Thursday morning at about 8 a -m., but damage was minimal and only corn was lost. The fire was in the corn drier, and the Seaforth Fire Department extinguished the hot spot before it could become a danger to the rest of the mill. Once the smouldering corn had been removed to make sure the fire was out, the drier was refilled and the mill was back in operation. There was no structural damage, and the only loss was under $100 worth of corn. The cause of the fire is not known, but corn driers are prone to fire. dows in the pool room that face Goderich street open. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson were the owners of a century home in Bowman- ville where they are coming from, and know something about restoring heritage proper- ties. However, Mrs. Ferguson says she didn't know Seaforth had a heritage proper- ties program. She says she likes the ar- chitecture of her hotel, and hopes to do restoration work on the outside of the building. Another aspect of the business she would like to restore is making it back into a hotel with rooms for rent, but admits there are some wrinkles that would have to be smoothed over with the liquor control board first. The third floor will be renovated, either to make rooms for rent for the hotel, or to make living quarters for the Ferguson family. Downstairs everything will be left basical- ly the same with the restaurant and bar, with continued live entertainment etc. But Mrs. Ferguson would lfke'co see the the look of the business changed and the bar will be painted and redecorated to make it look more colorful and more modern. In the restaurant the Friday buffets and seniors specials will stay, but there will be added student specials, Sunday brunch specials, and family specials. Mrs. Ferguson says she wants to attract more families to the restaurant. "I want families to feel comfortable com- ing here with their kids. I know from having my own kids that sometimes you need a break and someplace to go without a lot of hassle." Mrs. Ferguson says that down the road she will look into having a patio cafe, which she hopes will stop some of the summer's tourist traffic. Mrs. Ferguson says she didn't know the community when she came here, but finds it friendly and says she feels at home here. She says the staff at the hotel is excellent, and Larry Henry will be the bar manager. The Fergusons come from Bowmanville where Mrs. Ferguson taught nursery school and Mr. Ferguson works for Ontario Hydro. They also had a business -Weathervane An- tiques. They have three children aged 8, 12 and 15. Originally Mr. Ferguson was from Kitchener and Mrs. Ferguson was from Stratford, so they are familiar with this area. Joan Parkinson, the former owner of the Queens, had the business since June of 1973, but says lately she was finding it a little demanding. "I felt a lot of mixed emotions," she says, "I know I'm going to miss it. But I felt it needed some more effort put into it." "I've really enjoyed having the hotel and running it, and I've enjoyed the people. It's fun to have the young people around, who kind of keep you young." Mrs. Parkinson will be selling her house in McKillop Township, but will be keeping her other business - the Farmer's Dell fast food in Brucefield. She says she may look for an apartment in town. "I'm used to Seaforth and Boogie is used to Seaforth," she says (Boogie is her big black dog 1, adding that she'll be helping the Fergusons with the hotel for a while yet. 11 SEAFORTH • MAYOR One elected) Hazel Hildebrand 558 Bob Dinsmore 552 REEVE Bill. Bennett acclaimed DEPUTY -REEVE (one- elected) Peg Campbell 561 Bill McLaughlin 490 COUNCIL (six elected) Garry Osborn Bill Pinder 833 Bill Teall 811 Irwin Johnston 774 Pat Malone 748 Marjorie Claus 519 Dave Steffen 516 TUCKERSMITH REEVE (one elected) George Cantelon 468 Rbt. Broadfoot 441 DEPUTY -REEVE Bill Carnochan acclaimed COUNCIL Larry McGrath acclaimed Rowena Wallace acclaimed Bill DeJong acclaimed MCKILLOP REEVE Marie Hicknell acclaimed DEPUTY -REEVE William Sieman acclaimed COUNCIL Lome Glanville acclaimed James Ryan acclaimed Sharon McClure acclaimed HIBBERT REEVE Ivan Norris acclaimed DEPUTY -REEVE (one elected) Walter MacKenzie 554 Leo Kroonen 180 COUNCIL (three elected) Rbt. I. Norris 545 Francis Lannin 520 Tom Schoonderwoerd 473 Jim Paratchek 218 Herb Brown 217' MULLETT REEVE Tom Cunningham acclaimed DEPUTY -REEVE Joe Gibson acclaimed COUNCIL (three elected) Ken Anderson 415 Bob Szusz 380 Ron Gross 369 Don Greidanus 248 DUBLIN THUS I t_±S (three elected) Jerry Fuhr 119 Jerry Murray 86 Don MacRae 76 Graeme Leslie 70 Therese Maloney 62 Betty Kroonen 61 HENSALL REEVE (one elected) Jim Robinson 405 Janis Bisback 126 COUNCIL (tour elected) Jett Reabum 426 Cecil Pepper 407 L. Butch Hoffman 389 Peter Groat 349 John Skea 280 GREY TWP REEVE Leona Armstrong acclaimed DEPUTY -REEVE (one elected) Graeme MacDonald 324 Fred Uhler 319 COUNCIL (three elected) Helen Cullen 482 Robin Dunbar 373 Dale Newman 298 Gordon Cowman 287 Carol Boneschansker 229 854 SCHOOL BOARDS HURON -PERTH SEPARATE SCHOOL BOARD MITCHELL, LOGAN and HIBBERT TRUSTEE (one elected) Steve Murray 410 Louis Maloney 200 HURON COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION HENSALL and ZURICH TRUSTEE Sally Rathwell Acclaimed SEAFORTH and MCKILLOP TRUSTEE Graeme Craig Acclaimed BLYTH and MULLETT TRUSTEE John Jewitt Acclaimed BRUSSELS and GREY TRUSTEE Don McDonald Acclaimed 1