HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-07-14, Page 1Help for unemployed
Now what do we do?
That's the question facing some 250 civilian workers
at CFB Centralia many of whom will apparently lose their
jobs by at least September 6.
There is still much speculation about the fate of the
civilians employed at the station, as it has been indicated
some will be offered positions at other stations.
Some have reported they will make the move, as they
have valuable seniority and pension benefits at stake.
The indication that some will be offered other jobs
comes in the announcement from the department that "every
effort will be made by the department to provide alterna-
tive employment for the civilian employees concerned".
Department representatives will work closely with the
National Employment Service and local organizations on
their behalf, the report continued.
It was hinted from Centralia this morning that some
of the civilian workers will be eliminated as soon as the
units start their move. Others will probably be kept on until
September 6 and then the 35 left in the rear party will pos-
sibly be the only ones remaining,
The 35 involved in this will be construction engineer-
ing and supply people who will help close up the buildings.
Some maintenance people will be kept on to look after
the Permanent Married Quarters on the station.
-4- .4- 4-
PAAQ's not deserted
While Centralia will be closed by September 6, there
will still be some military personnel living in the PMQ
at Huron Park.
How many that will be appears to be anybody's guess
at the present time.
Included in the number who will continue to live at
Huron Park are the personnel who will be moving to Clinton.
They will probably be transported back and forth by bus.
It is also probable that personnel who presently do not
have quarters at the Clinton station will be offered resi-
dence at Centralia. Some of those going to Borden and
Toronto will also be able to live here until they find ac-
commodation in their new communities.
The length of this arrangement is also very vague.
Officials have stated, however, that the PMQ's and the
DND school at Centralia will remain in operation for at
least one year.
An encouraging word
Robert McKinley, MP, told The T-A Wednesday he
would immediately start quizzing Hon. C. M, Drury, min-
ister of labour, as to what assistance his department may
give in finding industry for the South Huron area now that
CFB Centralia is closing.
"I hope to have an opportunity to ask him in the House
today," McKinley stated.
The area MP did have some words of encouragement,
but noted he couldn't vouch for their validity.
He said that Hon. Paul Hellyer, minister of defence,
had indicated there was one industry which had held up a
decision on where to locate until the outcome of Centrana
was known.
This would indicate they were interested in the Cen-
tralia site.
McKinley said this was all he knew and didn't know
whether Hellyer was just using it to get "me off his back".
Some will benefit
Not all area businesses will experience a decline due to
the closing of CFB Centralia.
In fact, it's going to mean some extra business for some,
for awhile anyway.
Affected mainly will be moving companies.
They will be offered the task of moving some of the
equipment and furniture from the local base to the new
quarters acrosS the country.
FA, M. Pett told The T-A that some 100 freight-car
loads of equipment and fUrnitUre will have to be moved.
He indicated this was toe costly a project fOr an air-
lift and that moving companies would be busy.
CENT RA I. A CI. OS
It was the unlucky 13th and the flag was flying at
half-mast at Canadian Forces Base Centralia!
That was the setting for the announcement from
Ottawa that Centralia was to be officially closed, and
while it came as no great surprise to anyone, it was
nevertheless greeted with regret.
News of the closing broke Tuesday afternoon,
when Robert McKinley, MP, contacted local newspapers
to report he had received word of the closing from Hon.
Paul liellyer, minister of national defence.
Most of the personnel knew the news before they
drove through the gates Wednesday morning, but they
were officially informed of the announcement at 9:30 am
by G/C G. F. Ockenden, DFC, CD, Base Commander.
That time coincided with the official announcement
made from the defence headquarters at Ottawa.
The position of the flag at the base had nothing to do
with the announcement, as it was at half-mast in honour
of the late General MacNaughton. But it did provide an
ironical setting for the news that will unquestionably
affect this area for some time.
for having all units off the Centralia premises and in
operation at their new quarters by September 6.
He indicated most enlisted personnel would have
their movement orders within a.week. Thisisbeing done
to give families an opportunity to relocate before the
start of the school year. The DND announced that mar-
ried military personnel would be given top priority,
REAR PARTY ALREADY PICKED
A rear party has already been named to lock after
closing the base after the mass departure has been com-
pleted by September 6.
Squadron Leader Jack Malone will be in charge
and will have 72 personnel under his command, It was
indicated that about 35 of those would be civilians, and
this task will be administered from CFB Clinton, which
will assume control of the operation after September 6.
F/L M. Pelt, Centralia Public Relations Officer,
estimated it may take up to nine months before the base
will be completely closed.
In his address to the personnel Wednesday morning,
G/C Ockenden said that personally speaking he was
sorry to be leaving the area.
He stated it had been a good area in which to live
and the station had always enjoyed good relations with
area residents.
The reaction among military personnel was, to
WILL ACT WITH SPEED
While the announcement has been delayed for some
time since first word of a possible closing was made,
action from here on in will be at a very fast rate.
G/C Ockenden told some 250 personnel—repre-
senting civilians, airmen and officers — that plans call
an extent, one of relief. For some time they had every
indication they were leaving, and with so much work
involved in such a move, the news did provide them with
that finality that will now enable them to plan their
future homes.
For the past few weeks they have spent consider-
able time and effort in planning in expectation of the
announcement, and they will now get down to the task
of putting those plans into operation.
Many of the personnel already know where they will
be going, as the relocation of many of the units has
been determined.
Primary Flying School and Supply Training move to
CFB Borden.
Air CreWSelection goes to Toronto, along with the
Medical Selection Unit.
Construction Engineering will find a home inChilli-
wack, B.C., and will have as neighbors the Central Of-
ficers' School which moves to the FleetSchool at Esqui-
malt in the same province.
St. Jean, Quebec, will be the home of the Language
School.
Going to CFB Clinton are the hard-core trades,
Armament, Telecom and Aero Engineering, which also
comprise the Technical Administration Course and non-
flying specialist training.
Plans for some of the other units have not been
announced as yet.
Ninety-third Year EXETER, ONTARIO, JULY 14, 1966 Price Per Copy 15 Cents
Officials regret move,
but prepare for action
Mayor Jack Delbridge was un-
available for comment, but Reeve
Derry Boyle stated there was no
doubt but what the closing would
hurt the local economy for some
time.
A civilian worker at Centralia,
`Depressed' designation
appears doubtful: Drury
Thieves take
$800 at GB
non-farm family income, cover-
ing a NUMBER OF YEARS.
What the Department of Labour
defines as "a number of years"
was not outlined, but does in-
dicate no immediate designation
of South Huron as a depressed
area is likely if CFB Centralia
closes.
One optimistic note concludes
Mr. Drury's letter as he points
out that the Ontario Department of
Economics and Development has
a number of programs designed
to assist municipalities in en-
couraging economic growth and
suggests area officials should
contact that department to obtain
assistance if the need arises.
Boyle said he couldn't see where
too many civilians could be ab-
sorbed at CFB Clinton.
"We're going to have to make
an extensive effort to find re-
placement jobs," he said.
Boyle suggested the town
should consider hiring a full-
time man to contact industries
that have indicated they are look-
ing for places in Ontario to es-
tablish,
He said the Ontario government
has indicated there are such
firms, but a selling job has to be
done to get them interested.
"Industry won't just walk in,"
he said. "They have to be ap-
proached and sold on the com-
munity. We have to prove things
to them about the area."
The Reeve noted that none of
the men on the Industrial De-
velopments Committee has time
to do this extensive work.
"It may cost us money to hire
someone, but it may be the ans-
wer," he concluded.
The amounts of the grants are
directly related to the total in-
vestment in new buildings and
equipment made by these enter-
prises.
The Act also provides for close
liaison between firms receiving
development grants, and the Na-
tional Employment Service to
ensure appropriate training fa-
cilities so that new employment
opportunities will be fully ex-
ploited.
The benefit derived by new
or existing industries is roughly
a one-third grant on the approved
capital costs.
That the government's pro-
gram does work is evidenced by
the fact seven areas previously
designated have been removed
from the list because the desired
results were attained.
Over 100 new industrial firms
have either established or have
indicated their intention to es-
tablish in these areas, and these
firms will provide about 9,000
jobs with a similar number of
additional jobs in the related
service and supply industries.
Crash cost
runs heavy
NEW OR EXISTING
In his reply to The T-A's re-
quest for information on the Area
Development Incentives Act, Mr.
Drury explained that it provides
for capital grants in respect of
new manufacturing and process-
ing facilities which are establish-
ed in designated areas, as well as
to firms already located in these
areas which undertake significant
expansions there.
A warrant has been issued for
the arrest of a 17-year-old Lind-
say youth, on a charge of break,
enter and theft, which occurred
in the village on Friday night
(or early Saturday morning).
A juvenile girl, also from Lind-
say, was apprehended on Satur-
day afternoon, and was returned
home with her father on Sunday.
She is to appear in juvenile court
in Sarnia on a similar charge
some time this month,
Constable Bill Wicklund of the
OPP detachment here carried out
the investigation, of thefts from
two business establishments. A
total of over $800 in cash was
removed from MacLaren's Phar-
macy and Max Tiedeman's bar-
bershop.
On a hunch, Constable Wick-
lund and Constable George Smelt-
zer (also of the Grand Bend
detachment) visited an abandoned
cottage near the beach north
of main street, on Saturday after-
noon, and found the pair there.
Invited to the police office for
questioning, the boy and girl a-
greed to go — but then the boy
"took off".
Some of the money taken was
recovered at the cottage.
— Holiday
Community officials in Exeter
naturally expressed deep regret
upon learning of the closing of
CFB Centralia, Wednesday, but
they certainly haven't gone and
buried their heads in the sand.
In less than two hours after
the announcement was made pub-
lic, the Exeter Board of Trade
and the Exeter Industrial De-
velopments group had called an
emergency meeting for last
(Wednesday) night.
"Let's face it, we're sorry to
see it happen," Iry Armstrong,
president of the Board of Trade
stated, "but if it was going to
happen it may as well happen
now".
He indicated that the report
that some of the PMQ's would
still be occupied will "help con-
siderably".
However, Ross Tuckey, chair-
man of the Industrial Develop-
ments, noted where this could be
a handicap in attracting industry
if the houses were not available.
"I'm disturbed to hear the
housing could be tied up," he
said. "It could foul things up as
far as us attracting industry."
Tuckey also stated that he felt
the entire situation was handled
very badly by the government,
noting particularly their delay
in making their announcement.
"They left it in the air too
long and it stagnated a lot of
things," he said.
Tuckey indicated the next
course of action was "to high-
tail it to Ottawa" to see what
assistance may be received from
Hon. C. M. Drury, minister of
labour.
Both he and Armstrong indicat-
ed speedy action was necessary
and after a conversation between
the two, they called the special
meeting of the two groups.
Parting words of County MOH
The closing of Canadian Forces
Base, Centralia, would apparent-
ly not enable the South Huron
area to be immediately designat-
ed a "depressed area", accord-
ing to the Hon. C. M. Drury,
Canada's minister of industry.
This information was contain-
ed in a letter written to this
newspaper by Mr. Drury this
week, as we sought clarification
on the possibilities of the area
attracting industry through the
benefits of the government's Area
Development Program.
"While it is true that certain
areas will experience disloca-
tions in economic activity from
time to time which can cause
serious problems for those di-
rectly concerned, the Area De-
velopment Program was desig-
nated to assist areas where prob-
lems of unemployment, low in-
come and lack of employment
opportunities have persisted over
a period of years," Mr. Drury
explained.
He went on to point out that
the National Employment Ser-
vice areas which encompass Hur-
on County, namely Goderich,
Stratford and Listowel, have not
met the criteria for designation
since their unemployment rate is
well below the level required for
designation and the rate of growth
in employment has been quite
favourable in the past five years
compared to the areas which have
been designated under the pro-
gram.
In addition, he stated, all three
areas have an annual average
non-farm family Income well
above the qualifying level of $4,-
250.
While Mr. Drury explained that
the program will be reviewed
from time to time, the key to the
situation is the fact areas to be
designated are required to meet
an objective set of criteria based
on statistics of unemployment,
slow employment growth and low
Exeter in need of fluoridation
was transferred to G o d e r i c h.
Staff at the time was only half
of what it is today.
Although the Unit increased in
size, it never became an "em-
pire" under the affable Dr. Aldis.
It has always been dedicated to
serving "the little guy" who
didn't have the wherewithal to
seek help from other sources.
Dr. Aldis refuses to assume
credit for this attitude alone,
explaining that there are a great
number of people in the county
who provide valuable assistance.
One of the pleasures Dr. Aldis
has derived from his position
The Exeter OPP Detachment
investigated only five accidents
this week, but damage amounted
to a sizeable $3,350. Three pers-
ons were slightly injured in the
mishaps.
On Saturday at 4:55 pm, a car
driven by James Barrett, Lon-
don, went out of control on High-
way 81 near the Grand Bend
Dragway and resulted in damage
estimated at $600 by OPP Con-
stable H. Reid.
Barrett told police his front
wheel dropped off the pavement
during a rain storm, and whenhe
attempted to get it back onto the
highway, it shot across into the
other ditch and upset.
OPP Constable Bill Glassford
investigated the next three ac-
cidents on the weekend.
Sunday at 3:15 am a car driven
by Frederick Henry Pepper, RR 4
Seaforth, went out of control on
Highway 21 just south of Drys-
dale. Damage was estimated at
$500 and a passenger in the car,
Kenneth Robert Colclough, Sea-
forth, sustained bruises and head
cuts.
At 11:40 am two cars collided
at the intersection of Highway 4
and the Crediton Road.
Paul Miniatis, Guelph, was at-
tempting to make a left turn while
northbound on Highway 4 and was
struck by another northbound car
driven by Charles Durnin, Lon-
don.
Total damage reached $750.
Two Exeter youths received
minor lacerations as a result of
a one-car crash on the 16th con-
cession of Stephen Township at
—Please turn to page 3
13 Announcements
* • Church Notices . I. 13
Coming Events . . .
* * •
13
. 4 Editorials ..
Farah News 14
Feminine FactS 'N Fancies 8, 9
... . Hensall 5
Lucan . 4 . 12,13
Sports 6,7
Want Ads . . 10,11
Business Administrator W. D.
Burton reported this week no
news had been received as yet
on the proposed addition to SH-
DHS.
As a result, the regular meet-
ing of the board scheduled for
Tuesday night was cancelled and
will be called to meet when word
has been received.
The Huron County village of
Hayfield has been chosen as the
site for the 1967 celebration of
the Southwestern Ontario Loyal
Orange Lodges.
This year's celebration of the
Battle of the Boyne was held at
IlarrIston on Saturday:
has been in watching the com-
munities in Huron add to their
medical facilities.
He points to the building of
South Huron Hospital in Exeter
as a ((tremendous thing" and
one for which many people de-
serve a lot of credit.
The hospitals in Exeter, Sea-
forth, Wingham and Clinton serve
as sub offices for the Unit and
Public Health nurses and other
staff are located at each.
In the past 16 years, the Unit
has expanded to provide care
and assistance in many fields.
The staff includes Public Health
nurses who spend considerable
time working with school child-
ren and their families and they
are now getting into the field of
elderly citizens and their prob-
lems.
The Public Health inspectors
are continually in the fight a-
gainst pollution and Huron is one
of the few areas which provides
a plumbing inspector.
Dr. Aldis explained this ser-
vice provided assurance for home
owners that the work done for
them complied with the stand-
ards. He noted it was also ap-
preciated by contractors as it
put them all on an even basis for
tendering On jobs as they had the
knowledge that the work would
— Please turn to page 2
Shortly after arriving in Huron
County 16 years ago, Dr. Aldis
was heard on CKNX Wingham,
outlining the precautions to be
taken in the face of a polio epid-
emic that was prevalent in the
county.
He recalled there were two
deaths recorded in Huron that
first week due to polio and any-
where from 12 to 24 serious
cases were reported annually.
He was one of the most re-
lieved persons in Ontario when
vaccine to prevent the disease
was introduced in 1955. "We were
so happy to get it, we started
our vaccination program three
or four weeks ahead of most
other centres," he recalls,
Ironically, Dr. Aldis appeared
On CKNX just shortly before
his departure from Huron County
to explain to the residents of
Wingham and Goderich the seri-
ousness of pollution in neighbor-
ing streams and the hazardous
bathing cOnditions that existed.
Regarding the pollution in the
two communities, he said it was
necessary to "have the shotgun
loaded" as too many p e o pl e
have the opinion that pollution
problems can't happen to them.
The Health Unit was located
in Clinton when Dr. Aidis moved
to Huron. After the county court-
house was rebuilt in 1056, the Unit
"Exeter very definitely needs
fluoridation."
That was a comment from Dr.
R. M. Aldis, who leaves his post
as Huron County's Medical Of-
ficer of Health this weekend to
assume a similar position in
Stratford.
In reviewing the progress of
the Huron County Health Unit
since he instituted it some 16
years ago, Dr. Aldis explained
that Goderich and Exeter were
two communities which would
benefit greatly from fluoride be-
ing added to the supply of drink-
ing water.
He predicted it would reduce
tooth decay by as much as two-
thirds at a cost of only 15 to 20
cents per capita per year.
Dr. Aldis was a strong cam-
paigner for fluoridation in God-
erich, but a vote on the issue
was defeated when residents in
the county town received letters
outlining the problems of fluor-
idation. The information in the
letters was classed untrue by
most dental officials.
Dr. Aldis Mcplalned that God
gave some communities in the
County an adequate supply of
fluoridation in their water and
it was instrumental in keeping
tooth decay at a reduced figure,
Two of the communities so bless-
ed are Zurich and Hensall.
Hensall project
grant approved
The Village of Hensall was
among five Ontario centres which
this week received approval to
proceed with centennial projects.
Approval of the grants was an-
nounced jointly by Hon. Judy
LaMarsh, Secretary of State, and
Hon. James Mild, Ontario Min-
ister Of Tourism and Information.
Hensell proposed to construct
a pavilion in its municipal park,
with Ontario and Ottawa each
contributing $918 toward the $2,-
800 undertaking.