Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-02-26, Page 21elteferiniesabvocate 1,1 People and events CHANGES ON MAIN STREET include a new location for Wilson's Jewellery, across the street from their former loca- tion to the old office formerly used by the town clerk. A new book store, Penny Farthing, opens Thursday in the former Wedlake barbershop. It will be operated by Penny Disney. IT'S A MATTER OF MIND OVER MATTER according to a sign hanging in the window of Russell's Electric which reads "Think Spring," Maybe they're right — the weather's im- proving. $3553.14 WILL BE DONATED to Bunny Bundle by The Pineridge Chalet following their winter weekend to help crippled children. IF YOU HAD YOUR LIGHTS ON AT 5:30 DECEMBER 18, you were drawing electricity along with other Ontarians at the highest rate. in the history of Ontario. This peak time saw 14,513,000 kilowatts in demand, or 7.2 percent over the previous high. THE EXETER PUC will again be putting up $40 in prize money for the Public Speaking Contest at Exeter Public School, although they have pulled out of the high school con- test. COMPUTER BILLING MAY NOT BE TOO FAR AWAY for the Exeter PUC. The computers ore being investigated by manager Hugh Davis to see if they are worth the 25 cents per bill. It would be done in conjunction with London and is necessary because• of the information the government wont and because the present method takes over two days, Mr. Davis said that the increasing complexity of information re- quested necessitates the move and he expects others to go the same way and wants to "avoid the rush into London." APPROXIMATELY 200 ATTENDED the third annual Lucas home and school fun night lost Friday, The fun night, staged for public school students in the Lucon area, featured games and prizes. Darts, fish pond, and o hammer and nail contest were among the games at the Lucan Biddulph school. 0:Battlelines drawn at public meeting over areina issue "It will then be up to Council to decide if its willing to make decision." up and bring the necessary compression back onto the joints of the trusses. Hach of the rods would be connected to the pinnacle of the roof by a "hanger" which would stop vibration in the others and cut down noise. danger of collapse with a load of 14 pounds or more. He also said that before the building could be deemed safe, he would want to examine the bottom of the trusses that are now resting on four to five yards of concrete, He said the t these trusses wduld probably be susceptible to substantial amounts of rot and that they too may be unsafe. Although the building hasn't deteriorated in the past four years, he did say that it could well collapse, "perhaps tonight." To bring the building back in line with the present building code standards, he suggested that there be new joists, added to those presently there and light steel reinforcement between the others, which he said are too far apart to meet the standards, The joists are 16 inches apart, the average should be only eight inches and never more then 12 inches apart. Along with the new joists, he would add steel tie rods con- nected to upper and lower parts of each truss in an "X" fashion. Each of the tie rods would have turn buckles on them that could be turned to tighten the building ferior to a new building. Maintenance of the "com- pression web" that would be used on the arena would require constant maintenance, The hardware would have to be replaced every five years at least Please turn to page 3 closed again because of further deterioration and the discovery of things that were not seen in the first inspection. Exeter "could keep patching things up" indefinitely he eald, and have a safe structure, although it would always be in- In 1973 he estimated the cost of this operation at $25,000. Now, he said, it would take between 50 and $60,000. He claimed that this was a "close, tight estimate." Mr. Ruebsam went on to say that the building could be in- spected again in two years and be "We are not trying to railroad this thing through" said John Stephens chairman of the South Huron Recreation Center Committee at the public meeting held Monday night, summing up his committee's frustration with the community's lack of in- formation and the forming of battlelines between proponents of a phased construction of a new center and rehabilitation of the old arena, The meeting attracted 75 residents from Exeter, far more than the small gallery at the Municipal Offices could hold. The gallery was full before 7:30 and the meeting was moved to the school. Mayor Bruce Shaw described the purpose of the meeting as a vehicle to "bring as many things as possible to the attention of council." He welcomed both professional information and personal opinion, and both were provided in abundance. MAYOR BRUCE SHAW, left, makes a point to George Naoum of Cambrian Facilities Consultants, the company who is preparing the first plans for a possible new arena and recreation center being con- sidered by council as an alternative in the arena dilemna. Between the Mayor and Mr. Naoum is councillor Lossie Fuller, one of the three council members who stayed throughout the meeting. photo by Youngs. Boyle's mind made up Although the mood of the people seemed to indicate sup- port for construction, council had • no concrete plans but Mayor Shaw said that council was "now in a position to see what has to be "Pefinitely an inferior structure" Ingo Ruebsam, from the engineering firm of Haas- Ruebsam who prepared the report that sank the arena, called the building "definitely an in- ferior structure," He described the deterioration of a building as having no fine line between erect and collapsed. The building deteriorates into a state of being unsafe over a period of years. The building code is used to "delineate" bet- ween safe and unsafe structures. In his opinion, and that of the Ministry of Labour, the arena is unsafe, He suggested that the original structure was unsafe to begin with, that the joists were too small and too far apart to support the stipulated snow load for this area. The building code requires structures in this area to support a snow load of about 40 pounds. Mr, Ruebsam estimated that the present structure could support between five and seven pounds of snow load per square foot. With a safety factor of two, that means the building would be in done. We can, see a way out." Reeve Derry Boyle, who left the meeting at 9:30 because "I have my mind made up," is the only council member with a firm position. Calling it a "nothing meeting, nothing was resolved," he said that it was "more for the public, it was good for the public but I know how I feel about it." "Nobody would like to see a nice beautiful arena more than me', he said but added "ab- solutely not, not atthis point In time"referring to the financial ability of the town to carry the project, ,While Reeve Boyle has made up his mind, most of the council is still open to suggestion. Only three members stayed throtighout the whole meeting; Mayor Shaw, Garnet Hicks and Lossie Fuller. Councillors Simpson and Patterson were attending the Good Road Con- vention and Councillors Bell, MacMillan and Wright were on vacation. Mayor Shaw said that he and those in attendance would paraphrase the arguments that were presented and inform the other members at a special in camera meeting, "Council should be in a position by the end of March to make a responsible decision," he said, Shoot out at Devil's Elbow One Hundred and Third Year EXETER, ONTARIO, FEBRUARY 26, 1976 Price Per Copy.25 Cents — A 50-minute blackout in Exeter last Wednesday af- ternoon was caused by gunfire according to Hydro area manager Don Eastwood. Apparently someone shot three insulators off power lines located at concession road 6-i two. Stephen, opposite Lot 21, an area known to some as "Devil's Elbow," Eastwood says the insulators being broken caused power lines to short out Flue to the rainy weather. Police are investigating. Services to increase at Exeter hospital Information on seat belts 0 ROSEMARY STRAW AND ILA MATHERS -- both of Exeter, looked after ticket gathering Sunday for the lucky draws which took place at the Pineridge Chalet last Sunday. photo by Bagley The Exeter police department have had a number of requests and calls from citizens requiring more information with regard to seat belts. They give the following information which they hope will help: The driver of a motor vehicle does not have to wear a seat belt While the motor vehicle is in reverse. The drivers of a motor vehicle, who holds a doctor's certificate certifying that the driver is for some medical reason unable to wear a seat belt assembly is exempt, This also includes the drivers who because of stature or size, or for some other physical characteristic are unable to wear a seat belt assembly. The driver of a vehicle who is engaged in work which requires him to alight from and re-enter a motor vehicle at frequent in- tervals, and who, while engaged in such work, does not drive or travel at a speed exceeding 25 miles per hour does not have to use the seat belt assembly, The drive of a motor vehicle is responsible for any passenger between two years old and under 16 years of age. The onus is on the driver to see that the occupants use the seat belt assembly. two alternatives, They could show him where they would be able to save $800,000 or prove that he had closed the wrong hospital, said Mr. Coventry, Mr. Coventry said that it would be impossible to save $800,000 in a $1.25 million budget and that he and his board had no intention of trying a case against South Huron Hospital. "I still think he's made a mistake" Mr. Coventry con- tinued, but "I'm optimistic" . His optimism, ,stems from the fact that lawyers are now looking for legal ways out of the closing. The hospital is a corporation and is not run by the Ministry of Health. This means, according to Mr. Coventry, the Ministry has no right to close it, It can, however, cut off funding. Both Mr. Coventry and Mr. Hoogenboom agreed that with the closing of Clinton, there would be Please turn to page 3 One reason for this is that the local hospital can only handle natural childbirth and does not have the facilities or staff to provide spinal medication. Another contributing factor to women having babies elsewhere is that many prefer to have a sterilization operation while they are hospitalized. This is considered a major operation that many people have, particularly if they already have eve or more children. The closing of the Clinton Hospital by Health Minister ;j'rank Miller will create a strain on the facilities in Exeter, but Clinton administrator Douglas S. Coventry laid to rest the rumours of Clinton trying to prove that they should stay open and Exeter be closed. Mr. Coventry said that in a conversation with Mr. Miller the day he announced the closing, Mr. Miller said that Clinton had Bus drivers receive awards for safety February 19, at the South Huron High School the local area school bus drivers, were presented, with lapel pins, by the owners of the school bus lines, Charterways, Bus Lines of Toronto, Ontario. Murray McAlpine, Traffic & Safety Supervisor, for the Charterways Bus Lines, congratulated Lloyd Hewitt manager of the Exeter School bus division for being picked out of 16 school bus divisions; as manager of the year. Mr, McAlpine also congratulated, the school bus drivers for their safe driving ability during the year of 1975. They were chosen as the best drivers of the 16 divisions owned by Charterways Bus Lines. The Exeter division was chosen because they had no serious Rodeo enthusiasts elect new officers accidents involving school buses, and the drivers were chosen, because of their driving ability. Douglas Day, area manager of the Markel Insurance Co. from Chatham gave a brief talk, to the drivers and advised them of their responsibilities for the safety and care of the children riding the school buses. Cons. John Wray, OPP Safety Officer of the Goderich Detach- ment of the OPP also spoke to the drivers and commended them for their driving abilities. David Gaze, traffic manager for Charterways Bus Lines, Toronto Div., was assisted by Chief Ted Day of the Exeter police department in giving out the safety awards to the following drivers: Ken Baker, Ron Cald- well, Don Dearing, Lloyd Guenther, Don Hooper, Shirley Kipfer, Ray ,Rader, John Gold- smith, Elmer Rowe, Harold Simpson, Grant Triebner, Norm Walper, Archie Webber, Jack Cockwell, Aldeen Skinner, Mary Weber, Lloyd Hewitt. Other drivers in attendance were Andy Anderson & Mrs. Ann Vanderweil. CHERYL HOCKEY — (with the bowling ball) draws a bead on the head pin while Colleen Waddell, coach for the Exeter Pee Wees Bowl- ing League, looks on. The Pee Wees bowl ai the 'Exeter Lanes every week, T-A photo interested isn't a good thing," Malone explains. "Maybe it took a year to shake things up," he adds. Following is a list of appointees who will work with the Rodeo executive announced in last week's paper. The first general meeting of the entire organization takes place March 17. Grounds, Crig Black; Seating, Lloyd Mousseau; Food con- cessions, Eric Finkbeiner representing the Kinsmen Club; Gate and parking, William Johns of the fair board; Little Brit- ches, Brad Mousseau; Dance and Bar, Brian Smillie, representing the Lion's Club, Advertising Ned Ryan; Tickets, Don Dearing; First Arena Director, Barry Mousseau. Water heater rentals discontinue Chairmen of 11 sub-committees directed by the Exeter Rodeo executive were appointed at a rodeo committee meeting last Wednesday. Secretary Jack Malone, says he is confident rodeo 1976 is starting to move with the ap- pointments. "We're a long way from last November," the secretary said. He was referring to enlisted support from local service clubs who will "be making the rodeo more of a community event again." Malone says the controversy that's surrounded the rodeo may have been a good thing because it made the community stop and consider. "A few people doing all the work for a community that isn't communication with the office had to be done over a customer's telephone. The radio system would alleviate the problems with remote workers. Saying that it is "not a frill" PUC manager Hugh Davis said that it would be beneficial in emergency conditions such as severe storms that cause several concurrent emergency situations, The system would not be based with Mrs. Lorna Dale, who handles police calls, but could be "taken there" if the need arose, again such as in a severe storm. The commission requested member, Mayor Bruce Shaw, to investigate with Council the possibility of the town and the commission splitting the cost of the base station. The commission also wrote Off a $3,100 debt, that it incurred with a new way of handling street light installation. The commission had signed a Contract with Riverview Estates to put up street lights in both its subdivisions at $4.50 a running foot, In the past the commission has submitted a' time and material bill to council to be paid. They also charged a small percentage for maintenance and supervision. Under the contract, they were working under a set price and they exceeded this by $3,100. This came about because of heavy rainfall during the in. stallation, creating ruts tha t. were waist deep said Mr. Davis, making for very slow work, In the future the commission will revert to the tittle and material method, If you are planning to rent a water heater from the Exeter PUC, you had better do it before March 31, when they will cut off rental following a restraint policy set down by Ontario Hydro. Ontario Hydro is discontinuing the rental because of the money that it ties up in capital ex- penditures. The Exeter PUC is following suit, like many other commissions, in order to maintain uniformity. Ontario Hydro will discontinue rental on March 1, but the recommendation came from Compact Huron, which Exeter belongs to, and they were allowed to reject the recommendation or choose their own arbitrary date. The commission expects that local plumbers will step into the gap created by their leaving, The commission will honor their present commitments to rental and continue to service heaters that are under warranty. They will not replace tanks that are faulty after the warranty period and will not repair tanks that have become faulty because of plumbing. They will continue to service faulty heaters if it is just work on the element that is required, a task they view as relatively simple. Tank rental can continue for the life of the unit but there will be no replacement tanks, In other business, the com- mission reviewed a proposal for the two way 'radio system bet- ween the PUC building and its trucks. In the past, it has been difficult to find the trucks to'inform them of equipment breakdowns. Often EXETER FIREMEN puf out a fire in the interior of Bob Mueller's car that caught fire in the Conklin park- ing lot last week, Above, Ray Jory, Exeter fire department examines the interior of the cor with o Conklin employee while Bob Forresf, Exeter looks on. .1-A photo The Times Advocate has learned that additional medical facilities will be provided by South Huron Hospital in Exeter. Public Relations chairman Ben Hoogenboom said that beginning this month a specialist in internal medicine will be visiting the hospital on a monthly basis. "If there is sufficient requirement for service of this, type the frequency of the visits will be increased," he stated. In-patients at the hospital will be able to take advantage of the services of a physio therapist ii. March. Hoogenboom said the visits to the hospital will be three times a month and that the necessary new equipment for this department will be purchased by the hospital's Women's Auxiliary, South Huron Hospital could see an increase in the number of patients being treated due to the announced closing of Clinton's Hospital. The following statement was released by the Huron County Medical Society. "Closure of the Clinton Public Hospital will mean the loss of essential emergency, x-ray, laboratory, physio therapy, obstetrical, medical and surgical services in the Clinton area and it will place intolerable pressure on the facilities of the hospitals in Wingham, Seaforth, Goderich and Exeter." The Times-Advocate has not been able to get any official comments on what effect the closing of the Clinton hospital will have on the facilities in Exeter. Hoogenboom has released January statistics on the ac- tivities at SHH, which include 67 heart tracings, eight major operations, 230 visits to emergency, 420 x-rays, three births and 17,066 units of laboratory work. Most women in this area give birth in London hospitals because of the limited facilities available at SIIH. • Police report three mishaps Exeter police report three incidents this week, the first taking place Wednesday when a truck driven by Bruce Wayne O'Brien, of Livonia, Michigan, was involved in a collision with a vehicle owned by Sherwood, and parked in from of Sherwood, Exeter on Wellington Street. Estimated damage was $280.00. The accident was investigated by Constable McMeekin. February 19, Mark Chandler, Dashwood, reported to the Exeter police that two hub caps were stolen from his motor vehicle. The caps were removed While his car was parked in the SHDHS parking lot in 'the evening. Constable Pico in- vestigated, About 12:30 p.m. Saturday, a motor vehicle driven by Daniel Heywood, RR 3, Exeter was involved in a collision with a car driven by Darlene Passmort also of RR 3, Exeter. The accident occurred oh Main Street., north of Sanders Street. Constable FiCe was the investigating officer and the damage was estimated at $1,600.