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Times-Advocate, 1979-09-06, Page 1TOUGH PLOWING — The hard soil at Saturday's Huron plowing match at the Hay township farm of Warden Jack Tinney provided tough competition. Above, Usborne reeve Bill Morley is shown in action behind a team of horses driven by Ken Duncan. LINING UP A FURROW — Ernie Talbot and Huron Plowmen's president Allan Campbell measure out the dis- tance between lands at Saturday's Huron plowing match at the farm of Jack Tinney of Hay township. Finally good news for PUC customers A STRAIGHT BLOW — Leone Riddell participates in the nail driving contest at Saturday's Huron plowing match while Joe Hickey and president Allan Campbell look on, Golfers add $1,570 to cancer canvass Exeter council ended up being a decision to sign an office for the site of a new having three meetings, offer of $44,000 to buy the police station. Tuesday, the end result property just west of the post In an unusual QUEENS OF THE ,FURROW — The 1979 Huron County Queen of the Furrow is Janet Shapton of Stephen Township. She was crowned at the annual Huron ploWing match held Saturday at the Hay township farm of Huron Warden Jack Tinney. From the left are runnerup Elizabeth Deters, Dashwood, Queen Janet Shapton and last year's Queen Anne Stewart of Seaforth. T-A photo Imes Serving South Huron, North Middlesex m' One hundred and Seventh Year dvoc & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, SEPTEMBER 6, 1979 Price Per Copy 25 Cents Adjourn meeting, okay office site awl Hurricane 'hits' local residents WOMAN HURT — A pregnant London woman was injured Sunday afternoon when her car went out of control, struck a' parked car and then hit the home of Wayne Tuckey on Main St., just north of Wellington. The woman is assisted by peo- ple at the scene in the top photo, while a youngster ex- amines her car in the lower photo. Staff phOtti A former Exeter girl and her family spent some anxious moments this week awaiting the onslought of Hurricane David, Joy Thomson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Garfield Thomson, Exeter is a nurse in Port Au Prince, Haiti, which was expected to be in the path of the full force of one of the worst storms of the century, Joy had attempted to reach her parents on Friday before the storm, but was unable to do so as they were in Toronto helping another daughter move. Contact was finally made through another daughter, Grace Baxter, Goderich and move a service at the Scout Hall. The move was necessary due to a new addition being put on the building. Estimated cost for the PUC was set at $100 to $150. Learned that all the Please turn to page 3 Five fined on seat belts A London man was fined $180 on 'a speeding charge, while five area residents were given penalties of $28 or three days each for failing to wear seat belts in the court cases heard by Justice of the Peace Douglas Wedlake, Tuesday. John F. Sawyer was fined the $180 or 18 days after pleading guilty to driving at a speed or 140 in an 80 km zone on July 30. He was given 60 days in which to pay. Fined for failing to wear complete seat belt assem- blies were Paul G. Bernard, RR 5 Clinton; Henry Deruellee, Huron Park; Linda McGuffin, Huron Park; Lloyd Keith Mathers, RR 2 Ailsa Craig; and Gary L. Tripp, Centralia. The golf tournament staged earlier this summer by the Exeter Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society netted $1,570,39. Local Campaign chairman Carf Cann, who just returned from a 40.4ay trip through western Canada and the Yukon, said he was pleased with the "tremendous response" from everyone involved, Cann said the success of the family members were relieved to find out that the storm had veered away from Port Au Prince, Mrs. Thomson told the T-A this week that no damage was done to the hospital where her daughter works, nor to the house in which she lives. "They didn't get the worst of it(storm) but it was a pretty anxious time," the Exeter woman said. Prior to the storm, Miss Thomson and other staff at Grace Children's Hospital Public aid is still low Despite pleas for more assistance, Exeter residents are still reluctant to get involved in notifying the police when they see unusual situations that may warrant police investigation. "I wish people would call in, but they don't seem to want to get involved," Chief Ted Day told council this week in reply to a question from Councillor Jay Camp- bell whether more assistance was being provided in view of the requests from the police. Day went on to relate that Sunday night, a local citizen watched two men whom he suspected may be stealing gasoline from a car, but he didn't notify the police until the following morning. "What good is that to us?" Day asked, noting that had the citizen called police immediately, they had a good chance of apprehending the suspects in the act. Statistics released by Day for the month of August were as follows: 14 accidents with one injury and property damage of $6,550, 1,7 charges and 12 warnings under the Highway Traffic Act, three places of business found insecure, 12 animal com- plaints with two dog owners being charged, eight bike riders cautioned, four parking tickets issued, one stolen motor vehicle recovered, three break and enters with loot of $20, two people charged with im- paired driving, one person charged with driving while under suspension, seven investigations under the Narcotics Control Act with three being charged with possession of drugs and two with possession for the purpose of trafficking, two trespass by night incidents, eight fraud investigations with two men being charged, two thefts of over $200 with loot being $655 of which $400 has been recovered, five thefts of under $200 with $520 being stolen and $250 recovered, five distur- bances, one indecent act investigation, four cases of wilful damage with property loss of $150. The officers recorded 52 hours of overtime, 20 of which were for court duty. the event has prompted him to make it an annual affair, He noted he was par- ticularly appreciative of the sponsors of the various holes, the people who donated prizes and the two local golf courses, Ironwood and the Exeter Golf Course. Of the total amount raised, $125 was from a raffle staged by the Exeter Golf Course for a golf cart. It was won by Greg Pfaff, Exeter. spent the day moving young patients from the top floor to the ground level and then kept them entertained while they waited. The building also was braced for wind and water damage. Two part-time Exeter residents are still anxiously awaiting word about their winter home in Riviera Beach, which is located near West Palm Beach. Orby and Lela Kestle, 242 Andrew St., have been unable to reach anyone in the area which was heavily damaged by Hurricane David. "The storm went right through there," Mrs. Kestle reported Tuesday and said they had been unable to contact anyone due to the communication systems being knocked out. "We have a good solid house, and we're just hoping," she said. Another Exeter couple, Doug and Cathy Robbins, found out Tuesday that their double-wide mobile home escaped any apparent damage. Robbins said he was able to make contact with a neighbor in Florida and was advised there was little damage in their area, although it is only three miles from Singer Island, one of the areas hardest hit in Florida. Highway 4 north of Exeter. Damage was estimated at $3,000 by Constable Rogers. Both drivers were injured as were passengers Margaret Pym, RR 1, Centralia; Cheryl Stewart, RR 1, Kirkton and Stephen Dent, London. On Sunday vehicles driven by Elfrieda Pastorious, London, and George Flemming, Grand Bend collided on Highway 21. Damage was only $100 but Gerald Pastorious a passenger, was injured. Constable Osterloo in- vestigated. He was also called to the scene of the only collision reported on Labor Day. It too occurred on Highway 21 and the drivers involved were Kids enjoy the risks? Many Exeter youngsters who choose to walk on the road instead of the sidewalk are endangering their lives and Councillor Marilyn Williamson this week urged parents to become more concerned about the situation. "I think if parents could see the traffic situation they would be concerned," she said, adding that "some drivers are wild", She said the situation was "terrible" on the first day of school, Tuesday. Mayor Derry Boyle said he was concerned for the elementary school students, but said the high school students who walk on the road should know better and he couldn't have too much sympathy for them if they were knocked down. Councillor Ted Wright questioned if the school shouldn't be more strict in disallowing students to drive to school when bus tran- sportation was available. It was reported by Chief Ted Day that two drivers had been charged in the vicinity of the high school on opening day, noting that both faced fines of $104. Charlene Ducharme, RR 2 Zurich, and Edward Pyette, Sarnia. Damage was listed at $550. Permit value above record The value of building permits issued to date in Exeter is running ahead of last year's record, according to Councillor Harold Pat- terson. He made the comment after submitting the August building permit report for inspector Doug Triebner. The value of the 34 permits approved last month was $290,226, of which $246,064 was for new residential construction. Residential renovations were valued at $24,512; garages and carports, $10,000; tool sheds, $650; institutional renovations, $4,0 0 ; commercial ^enovations, $5,000. look for further alternatives prior to making a decision, while Campbell was reported by the Mayor as being concerned about the financing. Boyle said the $44,000 purchase price will come from current revenue. They have received a settlement of $25,000 from the insurance company for the former police station which was gutted by fire in early July. That property will also be offered for sale. The new police station, OKAY HYDRANTS Exeter council agreed this week to have a fire hydrant installed near the entrance to the Laragh apartment buildings on Carling St. Fire Chief Gary Middleton submitted the recom- mendation, saying the run from hydrants presently located in the areas of Sanders and Gidley Streets is not satisfactory to serve the heavily populated areas. "It is of the most concern to this department that the hydrant protection need be increased," he said. The Exeter police department investigated two accidents over the weekend. On Sunday a car driven by Janet Hajik, London, struck a parked car on Main St, just north of Wellington and then struck a home owned by Wayne Tuckey at 109 Main St. The parked car was owned by Helena Golias, London. Mrs. Hajik was taken to South Huron Hospital and then transferred to London. Her 20-month-old daughter, Dana, escaped injury. Damage to the two Cars was listed at $2,000 by Constable Jim Barnes. Mayor Derry Boyle called for an adjournment of Tuesday's regular session of council and then asked members to stay around for a commmittee-of-the-whole. When it came time for a decision to be made on purchasing the property from former local ac- countant Barry Reid, a special meeting had to be called to facilitate that with the original session having been adjourned. Wednesday morning, Boyle advised the T-A that he had cast the deciding vote in favor of the site purchase. He indicated that Deputy- Reeve Don MacGregor and Councillors Ted Wright, Lossy Fuller and Harold Patterson had supported the motion, while voting in opposition were Reeve Si Simmons, Councillors Don Cameron, Jay Campbell and Marilyn Williamson, The debate lasted for two hours. Simmons remained op- posed to the site, favoring instead land the town already owns behind the town hall. Cameron followed his earlier plea that council While the Exeter Public Utilities Commission has been plagued by increasing costs similar to everyone else, there was good news for the Commissioners at their meeting, Thursday. Manager Hugh Davis reported that the grant from Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation has been received for the new Usborne well and pipeline and was more than an- ticipated. The amount received was over $71,000, about $4,000 more than Davis said he figured it would be. He also reported that the new interest rates being received from the banks for the current accounts was showing a considerable increase over the past. Previously, the Com- mission received two per- cent interest on the mimimum monthly balance, but have now negotiated a new arrangement where the rate is about nine percent on the average monthly balance. It was reported that in the past the interest total amounted to about $250 over a three-month period, while the same period now recently resulted in interest received of $2,084. In other business at Thursday's regular meeting, the Commission: Agreed to increase the annual rental rates for the Hicks and Moodie wells by the cost of living percentage each year. Decided to repair the water fountain at the park beside the office at an estimated cost of $500. The fountain had been damaged earlier this summer by vandals. Learned that the eight- inch water main on Thames Road W, had been completed with the exception of levelling and sodding. Davis noted that the fire depart- ment should find fire protection in this area considerably improved due to the project. Fire hydrant changes have been com- pleted in two locations, the corner of Albert and James and the corner of John and William. Decided to await council's decision on a letter from Fire Chief Gary Middleton in which he cited the need for a hydrant at the entrance of the new Laragh apartment buildings on Carling St. for better fire protection. Learned that utility bills will now be classed as a lien upon land, the same as property taxes. Took no action on a request from the Ontario Municipal Electrical Association to join a group dental plan at a monthly premium of $15.20, It was explained that 100 percent participation of eligible commissioners was . required and the three members locally decided to consider the matter and report back to the office on their respective decisions. Agreed to donate the time and material required to Area drivers completed their summer driving with a rather poor record this week. There were eight accidents with property damage of close to $10,000 and 11 people were injured, None of the injuries was reported as being serious. The rash of crashes started last Monday when a vehicle driven by Russell MacDonald, Huron Park, struck a bridge abutment on Stephen sideroad 20-21 at concession 4-5. Damage was listed at $500 by Constable Ed Wilcox. There were two crashes on Tuesday, one of them resulting in three injuries. Drivers involved were Anne VanBaaren, Stratford, and Heather Sweeney, Zurich. They collided on County Road 31 just north of High- way 84 in Hay with resulting damage estimated at $3,500 by Constable Jim Rogers, Injured were Janice Turner, Stratford; Julia VanBaaren, Londesboro; and Wilma Rammeloo, RR 4 Brussels. They were all passengers in the Van- baaren vehicle. The other Tuesday crash occurred on Highway 4 south of Exeter when a vehicle driven by Bradley Schenck, Seaforth, rolled over in the ditch. He sustained minor injuries and damage was listed at $1,500 by Constable Larry Christiaen. On Tuesday, a motorcycle driven by Kenneth Butler, Lucan, struck a pot hole on concession 2, Stephen, and went out of control. The driver sustained injuries and damage was listed at $500 by Constable Frank Griffin. On the same day, a vehicle driven by Philip DeHaan, Exeter, struck a parked vehicle owned by 'Victor Knip, RR 1, Centralia, in a private drive in Usborne, Damage was $100. Constable Bill (Mello() in- vestigated. Five people sustained minor injuries in an accident On Saturday, when vehicles driven by Carol Pym, RR 1, Centralia, and Jeffrey Walker, London, collided on Eleven hurt in collisions, property damage is $10,000 which has been estimated at around $50,000, will probably be financed through a debenture issue, Boyle said, adding that it would have to be approved by the Ontario Municipal Board. In another decision made at the special meeting, council agreed to call ten- ders to have the house on the Reid property removed and also authorized for the calling of tenders on the former police office property on Main St. S. Boyle said there was a possibility construction of the new building could get underway this fall, saying it would depend on how quickly approval could be received from the OMB, Named to a building committee for the new facility were MacGregor, Fuller, Campbell, Williamson and Boyle. The Mayor said interviews would be held with a couple of architects, but added that it may be possible to have a building designed without engaging an architect, although he indicated that possibility was com- paratively remote. He also investigated a crash on Saturday when a car driven by Ann Marie Bertrand, Huron Park, collided with a parked vehicle on Main St., just north of John. Total damage to the two cars was set at $550. Over the weekend, the local police made two liquor seizures, investigated one disturbance and laid charges against one man for possession of hashish and also possession of a prohibited weapon. The name of the accused is not being released at this time by the police while further investigation is pending. a Woman from London injured in collision