HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-08-03, Page 1Scene of the crime
Crime Stoppers re-enacts
unsolved crimes
See page 5
Recycling begins
West Wawanosh
introduces plan
See page 11
Theatre
review
'Fires' burns
brightly
See page 22
Businesses split on worth of CN rail line
VOL. 4 NO. 31 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 1988.45 CENTS
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney was all smiles as he shook hands and
signed autographs for the happy crowd of well-wishers who turned out
to meet him during his three-hour visit to Goderich last Thursday.
Hints of a coming election were In the air as the prime minister
officially opened the town’s newly-completed $17 million deep-water
docking facility and then toured the Huron County Museum with his
family.
Mulroney visit hints of upcoming election
You could have sworn there was
a federal election in the air when
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
visited Goderich last Thursday to
officially open the new port facility
there.
Speaking to crowds of about 800
people at the Goderich airport and
again at the harbour, the prime
minister managed to fit in his
concerns for the environment,
regional development, opportuni
ties for youth, job creation and
even day care during his three-
hour visit under a sweltering sun.
However, he steered clear of the
touchy issue of free trade while he
was in farming country, except to
promise that Canada’s water is not
for sale.
“Our water is our greatest
national asset, and our water is not
for sale,’’ he said to loud applause.
“Water is not included in the Free
Trade Agreement with the United
States of America, and never has
been,’’ he reiterated in both
English and French.
Heals omanagedtoavoidany
reference to the abortion issue in
his speeches, despite the fact that
about 20 placard-waving pro-life
Good wheat yields surprise everybody
To the surprise of nearly every
one from farmers to elevator
operators both yield and quality of
Huron county’s winter wheat crop
is above average.
The wheat crop came through
the dry weather in top shape and
now the only potential problem on
demonstrators were in evidence,
although they did nothing to
disturb the proceedings until Mr.
Mulroney approached them dur
ing a waJK-about at the conclusion
of the program at the wharf. As
they swarmed around him, the
prime minister refused to answer
any of their questions or to respond
to their criticism for being absent
from the House of Commons
the horizon is too much rain, heat
and humidity that could cause
sprouting.
GlennThorpe of Twin County
Elevator east of Brussels said
Tuesday that 99 per cent of the
wheatbroughtinbefore the rain hit
Saturday was No. 1 quality. The
during Thursday’s vote on abor
tion.
“1 believe he’s wimping out on
the issue (of abortion),’’ one
demonstrator shouted, while
another woman handed the prime
minister a plastic replica of a fetus
which he quickly thrust into this
pocket.
The official reason for the visit
Continued on page 16
weight per bushel was also high.
About the only evidence of the
drought conditions that have
plagued the county through much
ofthespringandsummerwas a
smaller than normal kernel size.
Yields seem to be averaging two
Continued on page 15
BY BOB MURPHY
While one of Wingham’s largest
and oldest employers says it could
be forced out of business if rail
service is not available to bring in
raw materials, its corporate neigh
bour- alsoone of the town’s largest
employers - has notified the
National Transportation Agency
that it supports CN Rail in its
application to abandon its Kincar
dine Subdivision between Listowel
and Wingham.
In fact, it is that support from
Western Foundry - in letters from
the company’s president Richard
Le Van and its vice-president of
finance, Robert Allison - which CN
hopes will help convince the
agency to grants its application.
However, Premdor Inc. presented
a convincing argument against the
line abandonment at the hearing
lastweek in the Wingham Town
Hall.
Sol Spears, the company’s presi
dent, told hearing chairman Ed
mund O’brien that if the rail
service stays, a possible expansion
is in store for the Wingham plant
and its workforce of more than 140
employees. However, he also said
the plant could be forced out of
business without rail service to
bring in cedar from westerzi
Canada.
Premdor is Canada’s largest
manufacturer of doors with seven
plants located across Canada and
in the United States, but the
Wingham plant is the only one
making the company’s top-of-the-
line cedar door.
Mr. Spears told the hearing the
company is about to transfer a
portion of its Toronto operation to
Wingham, a move that will result
in an increase of rail cars shipped to
the plan there - as many as 80
additional cars - and from 15 to 30
new jobs at the plant.
This increased activity alone
means CN could expect a profit,
testified Thomas Morton, Premdor
vice-president. He described as
“smoke and mirrors” CN’s argu
ment that Premdor could save
money by using trucks to haul
lumber from western Canada.
WitnessesforCN estimated that
about 466 carloads per year over
the line were needed in order to
break even - more than twice
Premdor’s projected increase - but
were later perplexed with Mr.
Morton’s suggestion that by using
the railway’s own figures, he could
show that Premdor’s increased
traffic would generate a profit for
CN.
Throughout most of the hearing,
numerous disputes between CN
officials and witnesses opposed to
the application focused on who
should be encouraging new busi
ness to use the 48-kilomet re rail
line. A number of times witnesses
bristled at the CN inference that
they should be soliciting the new
rail business and not the railway.
The business agent of the union
representing Premdor’s produc
tion employees told the hearing
that closing Premdor will turn
Wingham intoa virtual ghost town.
Adam Salvona, representing
Local 3054 of the United Brother
hood of Carpenters and Joiners of
America, saidclosing the plant
would mean the loss of $3.2 million
in wages which now goes into the
local economy. In addition, many
long-time employees - some with
as much as 35 years’ service - will
Continued on Page 6