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background the examiner Thursday Mar 29 1979 11 Councils formulating views on cuts By RICHARD THOMAS Of The Examiner Municipal councils in Simcoe County are busy meeting to for mulate their responses to pro posal by the countys planning board which would reduce the number of councillors at the county level The municipalities have been asked to respond by March 30 but indications across the coun ty are that while the majority approve the cut in principle some still wish to take closer look at its effect on their future power and perhaps to submit proposals of their own which would soften the impact of los ing representative If approved by council the proposal would cut the number of seats from 54 to 38 and votes from 71 to 51 It also advocates that membership on council be has ed on combination of total population and equalized assessment rather than on the size of each electorate which is currently the system 16 LOSE DEPUTY The cut of 16 members will mean the loss of deputy reeve for four of the seven towns and 11 of the 18 townships These are the midSized municipalities whose electorate of more than 2500 entitle them to two representatives on coun cil but who cannot match the Are new requirements based on combination of population and equalized assessment The reeve of one such mid sized municipality has already described the cuts as too drastic Vespra Reeve George Buie told that townships council last week the cuts would put con trol of the county in the hands of the larger municipalities and reduce townships such as Vespra to the level of small village with only one represen tative Under the new propoal municipality would require population of more than 10000 or an equalized assessment of over $100 million to keep its two representatives on council FEW MEET REQUIREMENTS Of the 33 municipalities in the county only the Collingwood and Midland and Essa Tiny and lnnisfil meet those re quirements For the smaller villages towns and townships currently entitled to only one represen tative whether it be based on the size of the electorate total population or assessment the cuts willhave no effect In fact with the awarding of additional votes more closely tied to assessment rather than currently to the size of the elec torate they stand to gain more clout in voting at the county level if their assessment in creases more rapidly thaii their population Essentially we dont lose says Port McNicholl Reeve Robin Talbot But even if we did would welcome the cut back Reeve Talbot says the villages council has reviewed the proposal and will support it RATIIER IIAVE IWt He says rather than have two representatives for one municipality the one to remain on council could be given an ex tra vote However the issue is more likely to centre around representation rather than the number of votes says Siincoe County Warden Bill Gibbins The additional votes awarded to members of council are only used in cases of recorded votes which are rare he says Comments froin several of the reeves of the larger municipalities which will retain both representatives seen to confirm this We will lose one vote on county council if this goes through but ain personally willing to make the sacrifice says Essa Reeve harlcs Pridham Reeve Iridham says he is not against dropping one vote as the township will still have its deputy reeve on county council ollingwood and Midland both in the same boat as Essa also appear willing to sacrifice avotc IlllWO0DAPPROVES ollingwood Reeve Donald Spooner says the towns council fully approves the proposal and is definitely supporting it dont scc where losing vote will disturb us any he says Midland council has not dealt with the issue in deputy but Reeve Sam Aiicio says he is not opposed to seeing it iin plemcnted Reeve Ancio says the cuts would certainly make county council less cumbersome group Numbers have increased over the years because of rising population and electorate figures and if this continues we will soon be looking at about 70 members he says see no useful purpose in adding to the number we have at present For these municipalities the vote lost will be one of two cur rently held by their deputy reeves The cuts come about because under the proposal the municipalities tqllillllttl assessment is not quite high enough to put each rcprcsen tafive iii the twovote bracket INNISFII llS ltSl lnnisfil with thc highest population and equalized assessment in the county is the sole municipality to retain both representatives each with two votes It isnt surprising the larger municipalities endorse the planning boards proposal With populations and equalized assessment comfortably beyond the midsized municipalities regaining the lost vote or in the case of In nisfil gaining an additional one will probably be casicr cant say am too happy about bringing assessment into it says Alliston Recvc James Dickey If the proposal is approved the town will lose its deputy rcevc and its assessment is too low to gain an extra vote for the rccve If we go back far enough iii history it has always been one man one vote says Rccyc Dickey For the townships of Mara and Nottawasaga the proposal will mean not oiin the loss of deputy rccve but cutting of an additional vote from the lttt whocurrcntly hold two lhcrc must be some othcr way of doing it so the towtiship would ttot lose two votes says Notlawasaga Reeve Donald llciincssy IN Ith lllT Although iii favor of the cuts rccve llcnncssy says hc would like to see some systcni of you breaking the law City bylaws pose problems for unwar By SHEILA coo Examiner orrespondcnt Perfectly responsible citizens who would never dream of breaking the law may unwit tingly be violating city bylaws all the time In the past three years Bar ries rapid expansion has push ed zoning bylaws and building regulations to the forefront of councils attention What were once looselystructured shalls and shallnets have become city bylaws with sharp teeth Lloyd Pearson property standards officer city of Barrie says Bylaws are like traffic By STEPIIE pingtradition new humane trap that will not lights and sto signs Without them we woul have chaos The greatest reason for passing bylaws is for the pro tection of people For example most of the bylaws govern life health and general safety These are the primary ones Others include general housekeeping designed to govern the exterior appearance of buildings cleanliness of the yards and interiors of homes Chris Spanis chief building official says that up until three years ago the maintenance regulations or bylaws of the ci ty were not adequate to control the needs of the citizens in Outcry brings NICIIOLLS The Examiner Public outcry against cruelty to animals has resulted in major technology change in the 300yearold Canadian trap Ministry of natural resources experts have developed injure animals Milan Novak fur management supervisor said the new live trap is easter to use and cheaper than conventional steel leghold traps Two Barrie area trappers fi eld tested the new device last year to determine how its performance compared to the is steel trap QUITE SUCCESSFUL Cecil Speers of Barrie sa id he and Tom Bradley of Creemore were quite successful with the new traps During summer they trapped foxes for vaccinating and predator control In fall they used the devices for regular trapping The new trap caught the same number of coyotes and foxes as the steel traps said Novak Escape rates from both devices were about the same DIFFERENCE IN INJURIES The big difference was in injuries There were no injuries with the live traps but there was considerable number of injuries with the leghold traps said Novak An animal who triggers the traps pan is ensnared with wire loop The wire tightens around the animals leg and holds tight with metal clasp The wire snares are used only once or twice but the trap mechanism can be used many times Don Price Hudsons Bay Company Bresleau centre manager said the trap should not have an effect on the fur muskrat LIKED NEW TRAP since 1972 During field testin many refinements were made It was developed because MUll MORE IIUMANE said Toth Trappers will welcome the controversy over steel traps Cost of the new trap will be The Ontario government is trapping season this fall He said he was not very familiar with it but he suspected it would be useless for trapping small furbcarers such as Spears whos been trapper 50 years said he liked the trap because its simple light and easy to carry Novak said hes been working on building humane trap in Simcoe County last year in the trap Richard Toth Huronia District Wildlife Officer said the ministry hopes trappers across Ontario will adop He said it can be used for any landbased animal such as coyotes foxes racoons or skunks tthctrap of growing complaints about leghold steel traps injuring animals The live trap holds an animal without cutting into it shoot the species they want to keep hide he said Trappers then Thats much more humane Shooting is instant death humane traps because of the aid Speers about twothirds the price of steel trap said Novak Its much cheaper he said looking for manufacturer in this province to make the traps said Novak The govern ment is trying to get patent on the device Novak said he hopes the traps will be in production by maintaining niimnium stan dard of residential building and land upkcep in Feb ft 1976 council passed bylaw number 7616 entitled the Minimum Property Maintenance and tic cupaiicy Standards ltylxm Its formidable looking document running to pages and pages of regulations governing everything from how to set out your garbage and keep your house clean Some years ago the borough of Etobicoke iii rapid growth spurt invited the ridicule and deririson of the rest of the pro Vince through its zealous bylaws Ihc borough is iii record as ordering almost giftyirappcd garbage and the temperature of thc bath water for its citicns And while such bylaws do not exist hcrc Itairics bylaws are tight enough to stand up in court should flagrant violations and failure to observe them make prosecution necessary Just about cvcrybtxly is aware of the most obvious bylaws such as lcting dogs run at large playing radios and stereos too loudly or parking cars across city sidcwalks ltut whole host of lesser known ones can get you into trouble even if you are never found out For instance did you know that you need building permit to btiild recreation room in your basement hris Spams says people put walls and cupboards too near to furnaces inviting fircs inc of lllt most dangerous things do lirytiliistlltl can do is to iii sulatc with Styrofoam and leave ll uncovered if fire oc curs Styrofoam will tlllll enough lethal gas to kill an oc cupant within three minutes Thats just one of the reasons for the stiff regulations govern Ing recreation rooms affects fnc places may Another person decide lic allowing delegate from the township to vote in the reevcs absence This is one of the suggcs tiotis would have to make because is the rccve was away we could lose our vote cntire ly The township of 0m and the town of Wasaga Beach are two of thc midsized municipalities which have endorsed the cuts in principle Wasaga Beach Deputy Rccvc llarjoric Dycr chairman of the planning board says if is not important that she will lose her own sca feel when my term is up will have contributed anti not taken personal view she said Someone has got to give says ro Rccvc Howard Camp bell also member of the plan iiing board Ilowcvcr both municipalities are seeking some protective measures in an attempt to maintain strength at the county level URI APPROVES lllt council has approved rccommcndation of its own to the planning board to lower the assessment aiid population re quirements which would allow the township to retain its depu ty rccve And Deputy Reeve Dyer says knows how to lay bricks and dccidc to build fireplace or he may want franklin stove as hedge against an energy crisis but more fires occur because of improperly installed fireplaces and stoves than almost any other cause Were not trying to be hard on people Spams says And they dont have to be arr chitccts Just bring us rough sketch or plan outlining what you want to do and well help you and advise on the safest and most practical way to do Some of the bylaws are straight common sense others affect the acsthctics of pro pcrty For instance you really can not let your back yard grow up in weeds however much you dislike gardening and if you drive big truck for living you cant park it in your own driveway legally Similarly you cannot leave old and abandoned cars on your property or other junk iii your yard which would detract from the appearance of the ncighbourhmd ihcsc bylaws provide means of compelling owners and landlords to keep their pror perties up to minimum stan laids and tenants to do the samesayslcarson llic bylaw is to protect fhc rights of the majority of the tlllltllS to enjoy their property and not have to put up with in different and uncaring neighbours who by neglecting to kccp their own properties up to minimum standards not on ly dcvaluatc their own property but that of their neighbours as well When properties dctcrior ate the value drops aitd subsequently the asscssmcnt value Wth this happens thc tax base for the municipality drops and again It is the good old innocent taxpayers who has to compensate for this by pay ing increased taxes Icarson adds Another set of bylaws are known as the zoning bylaws llicsc conic under tltc ad ministration of Jim lowcll secretary trcasurcr of the com inittccofadjustincnt These are the bylaws which govern what you can do with your home dcpctiditig on whether it is single fatiiily dwelling semi or townhouse lhcy lcsignalc where you cati operate factory store btisiiiess or nursing home The bylaws outline iii specific terms land use con trol says lowcll For instance lets look at an R3 zone This is an area of single family detached houses with frontage of 50 feet minimum If you live in this zone you legally cannot divide up your home into multiple dwellings ltluntly it means no base ment tlpllrliliOlliS or grandma living upstairs with her own kit chen You may if you wish take in boarders btit any more than three turns the home into boarding house which is not allowed in an Rit inc Wasaga Beach should have top priority at getting addi tional votes if not another representative because it is the area which dominates the coun tys tourist industry She says the township is at disadvantage under the new proposal as most of its popula tion is seasonal and is not allow ed assessment on provincial parks If assessment is to be part of the basis of membership on county council this would cer tainly have to be looked into its eight Deputy Reeve Dyer says Deputy Reeve Dyer thinks the proposal will be approved but just which municipalities will make the sacrifice and how many changes they will suggest to protect their own interests is still undetermined Reeve Campbell says the planning board will likely receive other proposals and county council might even set tie for another basis of representation altogether Local girl designs poster Julie Gray of Barrie visited Ottawa recently as the guest of the Honourable iona Campagnolo minister of state fitness and amateur sport She is shown here receiving an autographed poster from the Minister The poster uses Julies painting entitled Fun Fitness and Friendship it is one in series of five Fair Play in Sport posters featuring work by young Cona dian artists and produced by the Fitness and Amateur Sport Branch in honour of the international Year of the Child Julie is the daughter of Mr and Mrs Edward Gray and student at Assikinack Public School Prospects dim for dropouts ByRllcilRSlI if The Examiner There is usually rtish at high school giiidaticc depart nicnts during the pressure fillcd wccksjust bcfoic exams Students want toqiiit To them it seems the logical choice The subjects they learn at school have no practical ap plication anyway May as well quit get job and start to earn money Maybe buy car get an apartment and really start living Sometimes it works out usually it doesnt say guidance counsellors at liarric high schools They say dropouts arc often doomcd to string of low paying unchallcnging jobs if they can get work at all Too often fhcy end tip in jail icorgc Forlcr head of guidance at North ollcgiate Institute says schools are often used as holding institutions IIILDRIINIiNIItEIlNi He says some children dont belong in the academic environ ment of school but legally they have to until they are 10 years old Its like skating Forlcr says If cant skate and dont want to skate there is no way should be forced to stay on the rink Some students drop out because they want immediate satisfaction and academic studies do not provide this he says The people who desiin our schools have forgotten what child is and how they think he says Adults have learned to put off gratification for future rewards but children dont think like that They want gratification right now he says RlIQIRIES IlENINII Forlcr says the law requiring students to stay in school until they are 10 should be abolished but not until alternative methods of education are available tle suggests schools partially funded by the government whcrc academic subjects are taught by practical extwricncc much like St Johns school for boys in Toronto For example students would learn about scieticc and biology on nature trips or by farming They would build houses and cabins but first they would have to learn the mathematics and geometry necessary to draw up blueprints Students can swallow the academic core when they realize the information is tied into something theyre doing now not when theyre grand fathers Forlcr says LAWSIIUUIJI IfEIIANIED John McBride head of guidance at Central Collegiate Institute agrees the law dic tating students have to stay In school should be changed But he says apprenticeship programs have to be drastically revamped before the age limit is dropped Many employers wont con sider hiring an apprentice unless they have completed trade 12 which excludes many dropouts he says Meltride says the eniral guidance department sometimes suggests students who are considering quitting take few days and try to find job before they make definite decision to quit Larry Labadie Lt principal of Eastview Sccon dary School says youths who would have been in detention centres at one time are now in public hiin schools because the government has been trying to phase out detention ccnt rcs NOT IIES TO BE For these students public hiin schools are not the place to be Lahadic says but what are they going to do if theyre not here They would probably be out on the streets causing trouble He says some courses at Eastvicw are under review to make them less theoretical and more practical Heidi Iass hand of guidance at Iiiiiisdale Secondary School says there have been very few dropouts at that school One reason is that lnnisdale only has Gradesti 10 and 11 and most of the students are less than 16 years old she says She said the low dropout rate may also be due to semester system at Innisdale Students oiily take four subjects at one titiie and then take four more when the first semester is coin pleted Mrs Iass says getting in volved in school activities such as sports and clubs is the key to enjoying high school If they just come here for the classes theyre not going to get anything out of it Students have to get involved and get nosit ivc feulback she says