Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-04-07, Page 1April fools ? ? ? No, folks, this is not a traditional first-day-of-April prank. Shown is Group Captain G. F. Menden, Base Commander of Canadian Forces Base Centralia, putting the finishing touches on the new sign at CFI3 Centralia, This sign is located outside the main gate at the base, Many might have thought last Friday Morning, if they were passing by the main gate at Centralia, that the long, cold winter months had disrupted the minds of the airmen at Centralia. This is not the case. Effective April I, 1966, all Canadian Artily, Navy and Air Peirce installations will henceforth be designated "Canadian Forces eases". This, of eourse, is in keeping with the integration of the Canadian Services. (RCAF photo) Board of directors The Board of directors of Exeter Industrial Developments Ltd. was rear row left to right: Chester Mawhinney, Robett Fletcher, Richard returned to' office at the annual Meeting held last Wednesday even- Jermyn and C. V. Barrett. Front row: Murray Greene, Peter L. frig, Shown here examining the shares prior to distribution are, Raymond and R. Ross Tuckey, chairman. (T-A photo) 01,1 SHDHS "At-Home" Queen (T-A photo) Who would blame a pretty little girl if she closed her eyes in excitement when crowned Queen of the high school? That's what Brenda Dinney, 16, did when she received the title of "At-Home" Queen at the SHDHS dance Friday evening, Kathy Buxton, last year's queen was on hand to crown Brenda. Brenda was chosen by a student vote from nine candidates. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. R. C. Dinney. Re-elect directors for Indust. Developments Ltd. "Unavoidable" 8 mill increase It came as no surprise to coun- cillors and many residents as the Exeter mill rate was increased eight mills Monday evening. Four of the eight mills Increase was an uncontrollable expense caused by the increase of the county and high school requirements. The additional four mills will be used by the town to carry out their regular program of work. Council operated on a "hold the line" budget last year and most members realized the mill rate would have to be increased this year to meet rising costs. Even with the increase the budget has been cut considerably from last year. The residential rate last year was 85.3 mills and the industrial 92.8. This year residential will be 93.3 and commercial approxi- mately 101. Councillor Ross Taylor was the only member who questioned the need of the increase but voted to support the increase following the budget debate. The original budget as brought in by the fi- nance committee called for raise of seven anti a half mills, This would have meant an operat- ing surplus of only $90. Council- lor Wooden suggested the in- crease of the additional half mill for contingencies ""rather than run the risk of having a deficit budget". The only places the budget could be cut was in public works, either sewers or roads and mem- hers felt these programs must be continued. Estimated revenue from taxa- tion last year was $290,564,47 and it is expected the eight mill increase this year will bring this figure well over $300,000. Grants, subsidies, licences and permits, interest and tax penal- ties make up the balance of the income needed to run the town. Last year council budgeted for a total expenditure of $473,600.08. The cost of general govern- ment for 1966 is estimated at $30,825 which is very close to the 1965 actual cost. The cost of protection to persons and pro- perty this year is estimated at $36,793 compared to $35,967.39. The cost of public works last year was $70,996. This has been increased this year to $84,950. Projects for this year include $3,000 for sidewalk construc- tion. There was no new con- struction cost last year. Storm drain and sewer construction will account for the majority of funds in the public works budget, The public welfare budget has been lowered this year. Last year it cost the town $9,788 for nursing home care and $7,078 for relief. This year $14,000 has been budgeted for these two items. The high school estimated cost is $48,107 and the public school $60,000. Recreation and Community services are estimated at $19,- 525 this year. Debt charges fac- ing the town this year are We- 421.05, Councillor Ross. Taylor sug- gested that all departments should be cut to bring in a real- istic mill rate that people can afford to pay, "We must con- sider the people of the town" he said and added that he could cut the road budget in half. Councillor Wooden disagreed with this point of view and In- dicated most people want better roads and sidewalks. Reeve Derry Boyle told mem- bers there is no point in cutting back on these estimates. "We are suffering now because et past councils" he argued and — Please turn to page '7 Ninety-third Year EXETER, ONTARIO, APRIL 7, 1966 Price Per Copy 10 Cents SHDHS cost up 1/2 million the directors for the work they have accomplished on behalf of the town. Shares in the new company were, distributed following the meeting. Members of the directors will investigate the possibility of sell- ing additional shares in the com- pany which now has 167 units issued. The money would be used to provide facilities or to supply financial assistance to a company wishing to locate here. Shareholders ratified the ac- tions of the directors during the past year which included the pur- chase of nearly nine acres of land as a possible industrial site. The land and house will be rented if possible until such time as it is needed for industry. The T-A Choristers present- ed a program at Greenway United Church last Wednesday evening. Clifford Quance is back from the sunny south sporting a nice tan. He reports it is cheaper to buy oranges and grapefruit in local stores than it is to buy them at the citrus groves in Flor- ida. Florence Elliott, former sec- retary of the Huron County Fed- eration of Agriculture was honor- Committee will study parking A committee of council will again investigate the parking situation at the corner of Well- ington and Main following repre- sentation made by a local busi- ness proprieter Monday evening. Ken Inch, owner of the store located at that corner complained to council that since the no park- ing sign was erected in front of his store he has been left with two storesand not a place to park a car. He told members he has gone to considerable trouble to al- leviate the parking problem there by having the buses stop at the side of the building and all de- livery trucks use the rear en- trance. He told members, "I don't feel I've been given a fair order e' to get parking for s h Ina. k patrons at the side and rear of the store he will have to have the bus and trucks use the front en- trance again which will make the matter worse instead of better. Works Superintendent James Paisley explained that the loca- tion of a fire hydrant near the store made it necessary to have the sign erected 85 feet from the corner rather than 45 feet as it is on the other three corners of that intersection. A lane belong- ing to a neighbor also compounds the problem he said. Councillor Wright offered his sympathy to Mr. Inch but point- ed out that this is a dangerous corner. He added that council has been condemned strongly in the past for not taking action Mr. Inch suggested cement curbing along this section of road to help control parking. ed by the directors with a social evening held in the Carlow Com- munity Hall. Charles Thomas, president of the Federation pre- sented Mrs. Elliott with a three- piece luggage set. * * * The village of Ansa Craig cen- tennial grant was approved this week. Their project will be to erect commemorative gates with an ornamental fence at the en- trance of the recreation park. The cost is estimated at $2,500. Canvassers for the Red Cross were unable to completely cover the town during their recent blitz but an attempt will be made to do this later. Anyone who was not home or who was missed in the canvas may leave their contribu- tion at either Victoria and Grey Trust or Beavers Hardware. It costs the Town of Exeter only half as much for garbage collection as it does many other municipalities. Works superin- tendent James Paisley informed council Monday evening that the cost per capita is $2.65 while the national average cost is $4.65. He added that recently the town of Strathroy let a contract for collection at $4.22 per capita. Council will investigate the possibility of changing one of their by-laws to give themselves the final say in issuing licences. In some cases the chief of police issues these. Members appear most concerned with the tran- sient traders type of licence. No action has been taken in regards to hirin'g a part time man for checking parking in town. All applications received indicat- ed they wished this on a fulltime basis but councillors felt they couldn't afford this at this tune. Further investigation will be ear- ried out in an effort to' find a suitable part time worker to carry out these duties. Bruce Perry, agricultural teacher at the South Huron Dis- -- Pleaie turn to page 7 The lowest tender received for the construction of the addition for the South Huron District High School was over a half million dollars or 25 percent higher than estimated. The two tenders re- ceived were opened at a special meeting of the Board Thursday afternoon. The lowest tender was bid by McDougalls Ltd. at a cost of $2,098,500. Fees would be about $130,000 and equipment $340,000 for a grand total of $2,568,000. The board estimate of the cost was $2,047,000. The other bid received was from John Hayman and Sons Co. Ltd. of London at $2,208,500 for construction. The original estimate for Construc- tion only was $1,601,850. Representatives of the Archi- tect firm, M. M. Boyce told board members that letters had been sent to 35 contractors ask- ing them to bid on the project. Three of these took out plans and one later withdrew. He cited the amount of work in the area as having a serious affect on the cost of the project but added, "I didn't think it would be this high. Mr. Boyce explained that the place the costs were highest was in the mechanical and elec- Members of the South Huron High School Board decided Tues- day evening to investigate several possibilities in an effort to reduce the cost of their proposed addi- tion to below the figure previous- ly authorized by the eight par- ticipating municipalities. "The local share must not be increas- ed regardless of what must come off" appeared to be the opinion of the board as they began to drop items not considered essential to the plan. The first things to go was the running track at an estimated cost of $32,000 then the asphalt park- ing lot at $12,000 and the parking bumpers and parking lines. The board recommended these changes to the plans on an "if necessary" basis. The Board will also ask the architect to reduce the electrical and mechanical tenders as much as possible. This may mean re- tendering these two contracts. Members were disturbed because of the high cost of the estimates for this work. They were inform- ed last Thursday by the architect trical portions of the job. The mechanical was bid at $8.00 per square foot which is about double what it should have cost. There was only one bid for the electrical work and this was about two and a half times higher than it should have been. On the basis of the lowest tender the project would have to go back to Ottawa for approval (any tender over 10 percent of estimates must be resubmitted for approval). Mr. Boyce said he doubted whether there was any chance of paring costs to within 10 percent of the original esti- mate. He told members there were some items included with the understanding they could be taken out if the price was too high but what is included is little more than normal. "Even if we take these out we can't get back to the original", he said. Mr. Boyce doubted whether the board would get a better price if they re-tendered the job again. J. Divine of the Department of Public Works told members that this is common and that tenders are coming in 25 per- cent over estimates all over the area, "you are not alone" -- please turn to page 7 that these two contracts were twice as high as what they should have been. They are also asking that the roofing contract be re- tendered to see whether a lower price can be obtained for this work. The above changes were the recommendations of the Ad- visory Vocational Committee which the board approved and will pass on to the architect. The board will also investigate another possibility which could lower costs and has apparently been overlooked up until this time. The board could receive a 100 percent grant based on the number of RCAF students at- tending the school taking a vo- cational course. These grants are given to boards who are supplying education for non-re- sident students and the board feels the RCAF students could fall into this category as they purchase education from the board at a fixed price. If this application is allowed it could mean a substantial sav- ings to the board. R. Ross Tuckey was again elected to head up the Exeter Industrial Developments—Trus- tees and Exeter Industrial De- velopments Limited at the annual meeting of shareholders held at the Legion Hall last Wednesday evening. The board of directors was also re-elected for another term following their report on the work and changes during the past year. The Board of Directors con- sists of Charles V. Barrett, Peter L. Raymond, Chester Mawhinney, Richard D. Jermyn, Robert M. Fletcher and Murray A. Greene. The meeting Wednesday even- ing was the first annual for the new Exeter Industrial Develop- ments Limited, a share company incorporated recently. Exeter Industrial Develop- ments—Trustees will continue to operate as in the past and will use the grant received by the town under the terms of reference under which it was set up. Chairman Ross Tuckey told shareholders he wished he could say the Trustees had been able to bring many more new indust- ries to Exeter but it has been impossible. He added the trus- tees have not been resting on their laurels during the past year and described attempting to get new industry as, "a heartbreak- ing job". Speaking of the Midwestern On- tario Development Association he indicated he hoped this is a step in the right direction. He pointed out that Huron County has now joined this making it stronger than it has been in the past. The Trustees have also joined the Lake Erie Development Associa- tion because Exeter is on the fringe of both areas. He described the race for in- dustry as phenomenal" and pointed out that all towns, cities, villages and townships, regard- less of size are trying to get industry to locate in their area. He added it will take a lot of hours of work if the Trustees are to be successful. Bill Smith, president of Cus- tom Trailers, an industry which was originally sponsored by Ex- eter Industrial Developments, outlined the progress which has occurred since starting in busi- ness less than two years ago. He stated the company has done well because all those working there believe in what they are doing. He said the new addition to the building would allow the company to take advantage of extra production during the peak selling season. This will require additional help during this period at least. Mr. Smith told members of some of the work accomplished at the plant and told them of a single unit 30 feet by 50 feet re- cently completed which will serve as a church in Brampton until a new church can be constructed. Mayor Jack Delbridge thanked WM& Subscription cost up The subscription price of The Exeter Times-Advo- cate to those who receive the paper by mail will be in- creased effective May 21, 1966 to $5.00 per year. Price of the paper at the news stands will go to 15 cents per week. Present prices are $4.00 per year and 10 cents per week at the stands. Price per year to mailing points outside Canada will be $7.00. There is little need for explanation of the increased price. It has been forced upon publishers by a series of sharply increased costs which make it imperative if the quality of the publication is to be maintained at its p esent high level. Unlike retail merchants who are able to increase the price of goods a few cents at a time, any increase in the price of a newspaper must be made in a very noticeable jump. As we sell our paper on a yearly basis it would be impossible to maintain the steady upward trend which is common to most other goods and services. Subscriptions will be accepted until May 21 at the prevailing rate of $4.00 per year but will be limited to not more than two years in advance. Pay raise for pilots is not well received The recently announced pay raise for RCAF pilots may have meant rejoicing in a few homes but it did little to contribute to the morale of other personnel. A few pilots with long term service received pay raises in excess of $3,000 while some skilled trades- men living on the station have a take-home pay of less than what the raise was for pilots. In some quarters the announce- ment of the revised pay schedule for pilots has been classed as a desperation move on the part of the government and most service personnel are highly critical of the move. Informed sources predict an even greater volume of resigna- tions despite the recent a n- nouncement of a bonus for re- enlistment. Increases for pilots will range from $300 to $3,060 a year, ef- fective Feb. 1, according to rank and length of service. The largest increase will go to flight lieutenants or equiv- alent navy lieutenant or army captain — with 16 years' service. Total monthly pay and allowances for a married flight lieutenant with 16 years' service now will be $1,088 instead of $833. Desk pilots, those wearing wings but doing ground jobs, are going to lose flying proficiency pay and aircrew allowance. They can take a refresher course before returning to active flying duties, but, if they fail, or lose aircrew medical category, their pilot pay will be chopped. Aircrew allowances r a ng in g from $75 to $150 a month will be cancelled for pilots but re- tained for navigators, radio of- ficers and other members of aircrew. The pay increases are design- ed to counter the "raids" for pilots on the RCAF and, to a much lesser extent, on the navy and army, being conducted by commercial airlines throughout the world. Recently, 110 flight lieuten- ants about to retire were offered two-year extensions. Informed sources said the in- creases mean that, in future, armed forces pay will be based more on skills than on rank and be more closely aligned with pay scales on civvy street. The defence department will change the long-time practice of pilots taking regular turns at ground jobs. Around the town . . . Board will attempt cut in addition cost