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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1972-02-24, Page 1Ruins. f the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank c.09Per On Highway 83 which was destroyed by fire , Wednesday evening Ninety-eighth Year Price Per Copy 20 Cents EXETER, ONTARIO, FEBRUARY 24, 1972 Fire level's: .area home, firemen halt two others Y. Fyemen were able to bring the blaze under control. Pooley said damage would be about $300. A brick fell off the chimney and struck the Pooley car parked in the laneway, smashing the windshield. The owner said the firemen did a fine job. "They took down the pipes, cleaned them and put them back up." Most of the household fur- nishings from the ground floor were saved but everything in the upstairs and in the basement were lost. Equipment for a new bathroom, including a new het water heater along with panelling for house renovations were lost in the fire. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper and two children are currently staying at the home of his parents Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Cooper in Stephen township. Mrs. Hubert Cooper told the T- A, Wednesday, total loss would be about $5,000. Drinking brings fines, suspensions lose licenses Four driver Fire departments in the area were called out three times this week and were able to control two blazes and keep damage to a minimum. In the third, the frame home of Frank. Cooper, located about three miles west of Exeter on Highway 83 was completely destroyed, early Wednesday evening. By the time the Dashwood fire department was summoned to the Cooper home, the fire was completely out of control. Also, Wednesday evening, the Exeter fire department was called to the farm of Robert Down in Usborne township to extinguish a barn fire. Friday evening, the Exeter department was off to the home of R. E, Pooley, ,John street to quell a chimney fire. Lose some belongings The fire at the Cooper home which started about 6:30 p.m. was first noticed by a passing motorist. He notified Mr. and Mrs, Cooper who had just finished supper, Mr, Cooper grabbed a pail of water and headed for the upstairs but was not able to make any headway up the steps because of dense smoke, The house was almost corn- * pletely burned out by the time the Dashwood department arrived. Dashwood fire chief Emil Becker said the exact cause of the fire was not known but suspected it started in the chimney. Tenant gives alarm The fire at the Down barn was first noticed by Mrs. Grant Westlake. The Westlake's are tenants in the farm house. The ground floor of the barn is being renovated and a small furnace was being used to keep the cement warm and overheating of the furnace is believed to be the cause of the blaze. Exeter firemen were able to douse the blaze that was confined to some hay bales on the second floor. Fire chief Gary Middleton said damage was very minor, limited to a few boards which were torn off the barn. Chimney on fire Overheated pipes caused the fire to erupt in the chimney at the R. E. Pooley residence, Ten vehicles in two storm involved crashes Consider library in new town halt The Exeter library is in need of extensive renovation* and a discussion will be held among local council members in the near future to ascertain whether to undertake the repairs or give n considerationepw Property bail. committee to building new n facilities along with the proposed members Bruce Shaw and Mery Cudmore told council this week they had looked at the library "pretty closely" and found that it required considerable work. A new floor is needed, along with more support for additional books which are to be added. The building also requires painting, plastering and the heating and plumbing need alterations. Shaw said it would probably cost around $6,000 to undertake the work and it was the intention of the committee to discuss the matter with council's committee in charge of planning a new town ball Cudmore said there should be discussion on the feasibility of making the expenditure on the present building as opposed to incorporating facilities in the new town hall. At the meeting, council learned there is no immediate possibility of getting the local post office building for municipal offices. It had earlier been indicated the department of public works planned to erect a new post office in Exeter and council decided to write and see when this would be and what chance there may be for council to obtain the present structure. A letter from the department this week announced that a survey on the local building would not be completed until August 31, 1974, The survey will be to determine whether an addition will be undertaken at the present location or whether a new building may be constructed elsewhere. Winter's severest storm hit the area Saturday, reducing visibility to nil throughout most of the day and late into the evening. There were only two crashes reported by the Exeter OPP detachment, hut they involved a Snowmobiles get reprieve TRYING FOR A PIN — Arnold Westelaken of South Huron won the 136 pound championship in the WOSSA wrestling meet, Saturday. Above, Arnold is trying to pin a Sarnia opponent in an early bout. No way to fill street pot holes Motorists are apparently going to be faced for some time with those pot holes on Huron St. West near the Main St. intersection. Deputy-Reeve Don MacGregor asked Monday night what could be done to rectify the situation, and found there was nothing. Works superintendent Glenn Kells advised that gravel stocks were frozen solid and couldn't be loosened with a front end loader. lie said that the wet weather has caused the gravel piles to be frozen extremely heavily this year. In answer to a question from MacGregor about the ad- visability of using crushed gravel, Kells said it would be .a waste of money and no better than adding water to the holes. "Have you ally ideas?" MacGregor then asked. "Wait for mild weather," Kells rr replied. Snowmobilers in Exeter are apparently going to get through this season without having any local restrictions placed upon them. Council's proposed bylaw was returned from the department of transportation and com- munications with suggestions for changes. Some of the regulations in the Exeter bylaw are already covered under department regulations concerning the vehicles and council members were advised to delete these from the local bylaw in addition to making some revisions. The amended bylaw has still not been completed, When it is, it will still require department sanction and it will probably be spring before that happens. Irene Foster, Exeter, was fined $15 after pleading guilty to consuming liquor while being an interdicted person. The offence took place on January 22 in Exeter, Joseph Clifton Moore, Exeter, was fined a total of $130 on charges of failing to share the roadway and also for careless driving. He was involved in an accident on November 4 and the court learned he had consumed five bottles of beer prior to the incident, Kenneth John McLeod, Lon- don, was fined $35 for having liquor in a place other than his residence on July 3. In other cases, the following fines were levied: Dimitrius Gill, Strathroy, was fined $20 for failing to obey a stop sign in Stephen Township on December 17. Anita Penner, Huron Park, was fined $20 for operating a vehicle on which there was no rear light. She said she was unaware the lights were not working, but said the dash lights were out, Bruce Wilson, Grand Bend, paid $20 for failing to obey a stop sign in Huron Park on January 15. James L. Vallace, Brussels, was fined $10 for speeding at a rate of 60 in a 50 zone on Jan. 20; Ronald J. Corriveau, Zurich, $15 for a speed of 75 in a 60 zone; Harry J. Arts, Seaforth, $15 for a speed of 75 in a 60 zone. Gerald Bechler, Zurich, was fined $30 for passing when the roadway was not clear. He was involved in an accident on Jan. 16 — Please turn to page 3 Four drivers had their licenses suspended for six months each when they were found guilty of impaired driving before Judge Glenn Hays in Exeter court, Tuesday. Gordon Schwalm, Mensal], was fined $150 in addition to his suspension for driving while over 80 mgs. on January 29. The other three were fined $100 each in addition to their suspensions, They were Kenneth Ernest Annis, Mitchell; Sam J. King= Dashwood; and Thomas W. White, Crediton, In the latter three cases, members of the Exeter OPP detachment told the court that each of the accused was driving in an erratic manner, Three other men were found guilty of causing a disturbance by fighting in area drinking establishments. Verdun George Magee, Atlanta, Georgia, formerly of Strathroy, was fined $50 for an incident at the C]ub Albatross at Huron Park on December 22 and Dimitrius Gill, Strathroy, was fined $50 on the same charge for an altercation at the same establishment on that date. Andrew Rolston Steep, Clinton, was fined $40 for an incident at the Duf feria Hotel in Centralia on December 23r. Alcohol was also a contributing factor in several other cases beard by Judge Hays. Robert W. Houston, Parkhill, was fined $50 for wilfully damaging an aerial on a car on January 7. He was also ordered to make restitution in the amount of $58.50. He told the court he was drunk at the time, Approve discount gas bar despite several objections Passengers hurt on snowmobiles A Seaforth girl suffered a broken nose in a snowmobile accident in Stephen Township Sunday afternoon. Sandra Fleming, 17, was a passenger on a machine driven by Richard Dietrich, RR 3 Dash- wood. The girl apparently lost her grip when the vehicle hit a bump and her face hit against the driver's back, breaking her nose. The mishap occurred on lot 20, concession 13. An Exeter man, Rick Frayne, suffered a back injury when he was tossed from a snow machine Sunday, He was taken to hospital. Monday morning. long as the new firm met all local requirements. He said council would have to have very firm ground for not approving the permit or the owner of the proposed outlet could go over council's head to get approval. Councillor Bruce Shaw also pointed out the dangers that would exist if councils could legislate against firms wishing to move into a community and provide competition for existing outlets. An optimistic note was sounded by Councillor Tom MacMillan. He noted that when the discount drug store was opened, many people feared it would be unfair total of 10 cars and property damage was listed at over $5,000. There were no injuries, Many other motorists had to abandon their vehicles and about 30 of the wrestlers attending the WOSSA meet at SHDHS were stranded in town over night. Most of the athletes made their way home on buses after the meet concluded Saturday night. A five-car chain reaction mishap occurred during the height of Saturday's storm just south of Exeter on Highway 4. Property damage was reported at $3,300 by Constable Ed Wilcox. Drivers of the vehicles involved were: Barbara Murray, Holyrood ; Dennis Pettit, London; Kenneth Jackson, Downsview; Helen Hoggart, Clinton; and Helene Williamson, Toronto. The second multi-vehicle collision occurred on Highway 4 about one and a half miles east of County Road 2 when a car operated by Orval Duffy, Sarnia, which was pulling a trailer and two snow vehicles, was hit in the rear by a car driven by Claude BI owes, Preston, A third auto driven by Jack Drysdale, Hensall, also struck the trailer and in quick suc- cession cars driven by George Mathunia, RR 2 Zurich, and Jake Reder, RR 1 Bayfield, also became involved in the mishap. Visibility at the time was almost nil and Constable Al Quinn listed damage at $1,820. There was only one other ac- cident investigated during the week, it occurring Wednesday, when vehicles operated by Harry Dougall, Exeter, and George Milne, London, collided at High- way 4 and the Mount Carmel Road. The accident was investigated by Constable Bill Glassford and — Please turn to page 3 competition for other stores, but in fact other stores had not found it to be a catastrophe, He predicted the gasoline people won't find it to be a catastrophe when the discount gas bar opens either, despite the fact one operator told Reeve Boyle he would be out of business in six months in the face of the new competition. MacMillan said not too many regular customers would move away from their present source of supply. Warkentin, in a letter, said he objected strongly to the new gas bar beside his property. He noted there would be a traffic hazard — Please turn to page 3 Exeter mayor heads new area fire board GRADUATES OF ST. JOHN'S AMBULANCE FIRST AID COURSE: Monday night students, of the second St. John's Ambulance course conducted in the district this winter by Mrs. Jean Cann tried their examinations. Shown in the front row are Irvin Playfoot, Ed Hem, Don Charlton, Bill Prest. Second row, Mrs. Cann, instructor, George Keller, Jean Gingerich, Sharon Edward, Susan Humphreys, Olga Davis, Dorothy McAuley, Olive Edward and Examiner Cecil Moody. Third row, Dorothy Steckle, Bob Dobbs, Bryan Tuckey, Gabbie Mol, Charles Miner, John Dobbs. T-A photo Thieves get cash at district laundry Thieves made off with about $2 in change when they broke into two machines at the laundry at Huron Park this week. They also did about $3 damage to locks on the machines. Representatives from Exeter, Stephen, Flay and Usborne met Thursday for the inaugural meeting of the recently organized fire committee, The committee, to be known as the Exeter area fire board, will administer all matters pertaining to the local brigade. Exeter Mayor Jack Delbridge was named chairman of the committee and Usborne Coun- Despite several objections, Exeter council this week ap- , proved a building permit for the erection of a discount gas bar on the lot north of the bridge at Riverview Park. Four local service station representatives were on hand to urge council to find ways of stopping the new outlet and a letter was also received from the neighboring property owner Peter Warkentin, owner of Le Pines Hotel. Ron Dale and Tom Arthur, owners of local service stations, told council the new outlet would be unfair competition for them and would return few tax dollars to the community in comparison to the other gas outlets. "There are more than enough gas stations in town now," Arthur told council, urging them to find some way to keep the new outlet from establishing in town. He said the loss in sales to the new outlet would cut the profit picture for other operators and could force them to reduce their number of employees, Reeve Derry Boyle, who chaired the meeting in the ab- sence of Mayor Delbridge, said as a former service station operator he was familiar with the problems that could arise for existing outlets. However, he noted there was very little council could do as Young people seek aid, spot for drop-in By SUSAN GREER The Exeter Town Council responded with reservation Monday night to a proposal from a group of five young people who wish to establish a drop-in centre in town. Council said the first thing the group must do is find a suitable location and prepare a good factual case to present to the council, This would involve getting support from local groups such as the churches and Toc Alpha, assessing the need and desire for such a centre and making an estimation of the amount and Peter Moore. That'swhy so many kids just bang around the streets and the pool hall. He also said that there would be absolutely no drugs or alcohol —Please turn to page 3 cillor Walter McBride, vice- chairman. Eric Carscadden, Exeter clerk, will act as secretary for the group and will he paid a stipend of $10 per meeting. Each municipality will reimburse its board represen- tatives and members agreed to pay 12 cents per mile and ex- penses for any board member or members who are acting as a committee. Fire chief Gary Middleton was authorized to spend an amount up to $100 per month for minor repairs and maintenance in order to keep the department operational at all times. Expenditures exceeding this amount must be authorized by the board. Exeter will pay all bills and bill the municipalities at intervals for their share on the basis previously established. The secretary reported Hay Township did not wish to share in the purchase of a tank truck, and representative Harold Campbell explained this was due to the fact a leek truck was being proposed for Zurich and this would be used in Hay. Representatives of Usborne and Stephen felt a tank truck was desirable and Usborne representative Bill Morley was asked to investigate the possibility of acquiring one to be Used by Stephen and Usborne, Any expense incurred in this regard to be shared by the townships involved. Morley was also asked to confer with the Granton fire departinent as to facilities of —Please turn to page 3 Damage is high in town crashes Damages amounted to $1,750 in two accidents investigated this week by the Exeter police department. The first occurred near 8 a.m. Friday morning at the in- tersection of Main and Wellington streets and involved vehicles driven by Pamela Wolper, Main street and Joan C. Tinney, 189 Sanders street. Constable George Robertson estimated damages at $750. Constable Robertson was again the investigating officer Satur- day afternoon at a mishap on Main street, north of George and listed damage at $1,000. Vehicles involved were driven by Deborah Merrier, 301 Senior Street and Lynda Parkinson. 457 William street. London man gets three-year term Leslie Paul Ilse of 81 Ridout Street, London was sentenced to three years in penitentiary in Provincial Judge's court in London, Thursday. Ilse faced a number of theft charges including one at the Zip Car Wash at the north end of Exeter in which $300 was StOieti tram the coin containers, -sources of financial aid. We have to have the answers, said Councillor Ken Ottewell, before we can spend tax dollars on this type of a project. The deputation, composed of Kathy Kirk, Diane Edwards, Peter Moore, David Keating and Glen Cockwill have already spoken to and gained the support of the Anglican minister, Rev. George Anderson, and it was suggested that the United Church is also anxious to support such a project. The group also had several suggestions for a location, in- cluding the oldest house in Exeter, the Willis home on Simeoe St., but none were suitable. Ron Dale, who had been speaking earlier on the proposed cut-rate gas-bar said that "If you hang on a few months, there should be a few empty gas stations in town". The deputation stressed that they want a permanent location where they can go any evening just to sit, talk and drink coffee. There is absolutely nothing to do here on a Friday night, said TRYING HIS AIM , - Don Stroud tries his throwing arm to hit the circle and the helmeted head of Murray Stewart at Friday's winter carnival at Ushorne Cential school. hick Dougall prepares another snow ball while Rene Kirmse records the action on film. 1-A photo