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'Haileyburian-Cobal ESTABLISHED 1904 q C ~ t Post | Vol. 56 -- No. 45 DE CORY Haileybury Council Names Committees Members of the 1961 Haileybury Council were sworn in by Town Clerk Frank Haskett, at a meet- ing held Monday night in the Council Chambers: None of the town's ratepayers were interested enough to attend the ceremony. The only business transacted was the appointment of the chair- Man and members of the various committees, as follows, with the first named in each case being the chairman: Finance--Dr. W. C. Arnold, B. H. Budgeon, James Whelan; Fire and Police--James Whelan, J. H. Timmins, B. H. Bud- geon; Waterworks--K. M. Buffam, M. Lavigne, Dr. W. C. Arnold; Public Works--B. H. Budgeon, M. Lavigne, K. M. Buffam; Recre- ation--M. Lavigne, James Whelan, J. H. Timmins; Health and Wel- fare--J. H. Timmins, Dr. W. C. Arnold, K. M. Buffam. Mayor A. H. Cooke and the for- mer members of council welcom- .ed the two new members, K. M. Buffam and M. Lavigne. The next regular meeting of the council will be on Monday, Janu- ary--16th. Ice Fishing Ice fishing is now in prog- ress with the season opening for lake trout on January ist. There are only two lakes in the Swastika District designated as fish sanctuaries which are closed to fishing for all species" of _fish- until March Ist, 1961. These lakes are St. Anthony Lake in Skead Township, and Perry Lake in Michaud Town- ship. All other lakes in the District are open and our win- ter sportsmen may take by angling: lake trout--five per day, pickerel--six per day, pike--six per day and white- fish and perch--no limit when taken by angling. There are no size limits on- the above species. The season for bass and Kamloops, speckled and aur- ora trout is closed and lakes supporting only these species are not open to fishing. Haileybury, Ontario, Thursday, January 12, 1961 A team from Cobalt.-Canadian Legion was on-hand for -the installation of officers at the Haileybury Legion last week. At a meeting largely attended the above officers were installed: frent, left to right, Jerry Cotnam, lst vice-president; Mitch Desraiche, president; Sam Hughes, 2nd vice-president;; Harold Sadler, 3rd vice-president; standing, Walter Hurst, past oresident; Ernie Adams, secretary; Basil Treen, treasurer. : --__ Reeve Groom Still Fighting Against Bucke Assessment | Reeve Harry Groom and his township warriors are still on the warpath, out to burn the assessor and the assessments at the stake. Latest object of Mr. Groom's ora- torical arrows is the Wabi Iron Works, which the township's court of revision granted a $3,105.00 re- bate of its 1960 taxes. More than 50 angry taxpayers packed the township hall Monday night, nearly all of them mad at Arnold Todd Tries Cobalt Town Denies Arnold Todd's efforts to get the Cobalt Mining Museum located in the Ontario Hydro building, went down the municipal drain when Cobalt council held its meeting on Tuesday night. In a letter to the council, Mr. Todd said that ever since the hy- Gro office was closed, he has been working to get it for the long dis- cussed mining museum. Mr. Todd said that the project would cost the town money, but would be worth while. He said that with the coming of the Tri- Town bypass, a downtown attrac- tion would be invaluable. The museum would be the only min- ing museum in Canada and he ex- pected to get support from other mining towns, as space would be provided for their exhibits. He hoped to get grants from the federal and provincial govern- ments, but the museum would re- quire the town to exempt it from taxes and water rates and provide hydro. Mr. Todd said that at the end of a three year period, he hoped that the museum would} have enough money to buy the -uilding, and possibly be self sup- porting. fhe proposal from the Ontario hydro was that the town should exempt the building from taxes, and be responsible for mainten- ance. However, the hydro re- tained the right to gain possession on six months notice should a suitable buyer be found. Town clerk Cyril Vezina said that the taxes on the hydro build- ing amounts to about $950 a year. Mr. Desjardins said that hydro would be getting roughly $1,000 a year from the town, while waiting for a chance to sell the building, when the mining museum could be thrown out at six months notice. The town would also have to main- tain it. Mayor. Purdy said he did not want to discourage the mining museum committee, but he thought they already had a good start, with around $1200 in the bank. L Mr. Jones said that he wouldn't want to face the taxpayers if the council went along with the idea. He thought the committee should try and get more support from the mines. There was some discussion on holding a referendum on the ques- tion, and Mr. Jones suggested that recent proposals made by Arnold Todd on behalf of the library board should also be voted upon. The council eventually passed a resolution which stated that they could not accept the responsibility for the Hydro's proposals without a vote of the taxpayers. the assessment, angry at the Wabi Iron Works, dubious about the court of revision, and ready to tear the assessor limb from limb if he had shown. his head inside the door, ' Mr. Groom charged that the court of revision had been unduly generous to the Wabi, giving the company a 55 per cent rebate on their taxes. "If the Wabi can get a rebate of 55 per cent on its property, then in my opinion, every owner of jan abandoned hen house, empty shack or thistle filled lot is entitled to a rebate', he said. He charged that John McKay- Clements, Wabi president, and head of the North West Bucke rate- payers association, has appointed himself shepherd of a flock which he has already fleeced. The Reeve also claimed that Wabi-had obtained a tax concession of $10,000 when it-took over the old splint factory. '*They will soon be asking us for a subsidy", he cried. 3 ; He said that as far as the Trans- Canada Gas Line' is concerned, their assessment is too low, not too high as- frequently claimed. He estimated the cost of installing the line at $15 a foot, rather than tthe assessed rate of $4.15. "Buccaneers from Edmonton are assessed at a third of value, while we have dozens of homes sinking into the mud assessed at 100 per cent of value', he charged. Mr. Groom's contentions were challenged by Foster Rice who was chairman of the court of revision. He asked the taxpayers to force the reeve to take the Wabi case to Judge J. B. Robinson, and then repont back on the judge's deci- sion. He said that Mr. Groom is al- ways claiming to be the protector of the poor, but he has never made a. donation to a church or a ser- vice club in his life. ; Mr. Rice said that the court of revision had reached its decision on the Wabi case after a very thorough examination of the facts, and after consulting the township's solicitor. "Tt is clearly laid down in the statutes, and everything we did is according 'fo the law", he said. Mr. Rice said that the court had three affidavits from company officials that the plant was not used during the past year, and had checked with the hydro, who stated that no power had been supplied to the plant. Mr. Rice said that the court had discovered many other discrepan- cies in the assessment, but could only deal with those appealled. He said that it would .take at least three years to iron out any new assessment, or the assessment would have to be checked over at least three times in the first year. "We found a lot of mistakes, but we didn't find one instance where the assessor played favorites', he said. Bucke Committees The following is the list of committee chairmen set up when the Bucke township coun- cil held its first regular meet- ing of the year Monday even- ing. Roads and Streets, Arnold Ol- son; Welfare, Peter Carter; Finance, Chester Hopkins; Pro- tection, Ollie Shaver; Reeve Groom is a member of each committee. In addition to naming com- mittees, council, with ratepay- ers, had a long and spirited discussion. on the contentious equalized assessment. The Weather Max. Min. Wednesday. = .5 27s ck 07 00 FAS Gawaaer wee. rte oe 23 03 Fi aye cust une ere aes 30 19 Saturday sae 31 27 SUNGaW cA. toa 2 Saas a3 06 Monday ain. on uie 12 -09 Tuesday. oe. 2a 30 -01 Bucke Township Assessor Speaks to Ratepayers Northern Bucke Township Rate- payers Association met in New Liskeard without the blessing of Reeve Harry Groom, and after a period of questions and answers, agreed that assessor Louis Major had done an excellent job for the township. Mr. Major was present to ans- wer the questions, and left no doubt in anyone's mind how he regarded the blasts of the newly elected Reeve of Bucke Township. "TI was given the job of equaliz- ing the assessment of the town- ship,"" he said, '"'the time was limited to one year, although I pointed out to council that a com- plete job would take several years." "T started the work, armed with the approval manual, and the ex- pert advice of the Department of Municipal Affairs-Assessor station- ed in New Liskeard." "What I didn't have was the co- operation of a large slice of the residents' of the township,' he re- marked, "they were hostile, and in many cases refused to let me make the necessary inspection needed for the job. : Mr. Major admitted that mis- (continued on page two) rca > { ¢ '