HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-04-27, Page 1r
PUBLISHED IN
LUCKNOW, ONTARIO
Wednesday,
April 27, 1994
55a
G.S.T. Included
Bruce County Council
Funding cuts .affect Lucknow roads
Some county councillors aren't
happy with the way the highways
committee has rearranged its
construction program.
Work in Lucknow has been
moved from third and fourth place,
for touch-ups on Stauffer and Ross
Streets, down to sixth and seventh
and total reconstruction ,on Ross
Street down to fourteenth priority
on a 15" -item list.
Committee chair Graeme Cassidy
said funding cuts are the reason.
Cassidy wants the eight kilometres
of gravel roads in the county sys-
tem replaced with hard surface
before further work is done on
existing paved roads.
The province cut the highways
budget by $500,000 last year, with
another $1.6 million in cuts .ex-
pected this year and in 1995.
He said paving the gravel roads
will reduce long-term maintenance
costs. At the same time, county
engineer Brian Knox said paved
roads will continue to get main-
tenance in spite of tight budgets.
"We would not compromise the
maintenance program", Knox said.
Cassidy could not estimate how
many years it will be before the
Lucknow road works begin, but
Knox told Brant reeve David
Thomson it could be five years
until, work starts on. the Hanover
bypass, which is fifth on the
forecast list.
How do you make a, junkasaunis? Collect ail your advertising flyers, bring them to school and
let Mrs, Clark (top left) introduce you to the process of pasting and pasting and pasting.,ThiS
group of Brookside students was the first to construct one portion of a junkasaurus as part of
Earth Day celebrations last week. (Pat. Livingston photo)
Fire destroys Point Clark landmark
by Bev Fry
If walls had ears, there would
have been plenty of stories coming
from the walls of the Lighthouse
Variety Store. •
The Point Clark landmark burned
to the ground in the early hours of
Friday, Apr. 22.
RipleyHuron Fire Department
responded to the call. Fire Chief
Doug Martyn said there is no esti-
mate of damages yet, but he
thought it would be at least
$100,000.
The fire started in the kitchen
area, Marlyn said.
It was owned by Leona MacIntyre
and her partner, Ron Edwards. No
one was in the building at the time
of the fire.
It Was the only restaurant in. the
area.
All the problems of the world
were settled in there," Edwards
said.
"Some days I just got frustrated
with the business, but now that it's
•
gone, I'in really going to miss it."
It's always been a good meeting
place," said local historian Bob
Courtney who lives across the street
. from the store.
"We've had a lot of goodlaughs
there." "
About 2 a.m. Friday, Ken Ravell
was lying in bed watching TV
when he heard the burglar alarm go
off at the Lighthouse Variety. He.
lives in one of the apartments just
behind the store.
"The Window was lighting up, but
then went dark again and the alarm
stopped, so I just thought the owner
had shut the alarm off. Then the
window lit up again and I got up
and looked out," Ravell said.
"The building was a wall of
flame."
He woke his father, Wayne, up,
who phoned the Ripley Fire Depart-
ment.
Wayne said the fire was so hot, at
60 feet away he could feel the
searing heat.
He and Ken had to vacate their
home. Headlights on four vehicles
in the parking lot had melted from
the' heat. So had the cover on, a
Jees. A tire on Ken's car popped:
"Fortunately the wind was blow-
ing the flames away from the house
and the propane tank in the back
yard," Wayne said.
Bev Hanson and Rollie Hewar,
who live across the street from the
Lighthouse Variety were sound
asleep when Courtney knocked On
their door to tell them the store was
on fire.
"It was scary,we thought all the
trees in front were on fire. It was
just a blessing there was no wind or
we would have been ' really
euchred," Hanson said.
"Those firetnen were marvelous.
They took no time in getting there.
They pumped water and hosed the
surrounding buildings and trees."
The couple will miss the store.
"It's been a landmark. I don't
•see Where, page 6
Public input wanted
on Phase II of arena
An open meeting for public input on Phase II of the Lucknow and
District Arena -is scheduled for Thursday, April 28.
All members of the public and special interest groups are urged to
attend. The meeting will be held on the arena floor at 8:15 p.m.
The nine -member committee appointed by the co-operating
municipalities and service clubs will provide information on their
investigation into available funds from jobsOntario, and the criteria that
must be met to be eligible.
Presently the 'total sum. of $640,000 has been committed towards the
project by the municipalities of Lucknow, Ashfield, Kinloss, West
Wawanosh, the Kinsmen, the Lions, the Craft Festival and the Legion.
Wal -Mart's not problem,
merchants are: Mouser
by Heather Boa
and Mona Irwin
GODERICH - Existing merchants
are the problem - not Wal-Mart,
says marketing consultant, Charlie
Mouser,
"Forget about Wal-Mart," he said.
"Wal -mart's not the problem. You
are.
"Wal-Mart would never have
come to this town if you merchants
were doing your job."
Merchants should cater to cus-
tomers, said Mouser, who had 30
years marketing experience. Stores
should operate from 11 a.m. to 8
p.m .(Wal-Mart remains open until
10 p.m.), he said. 1
"Between 80 and. 83 per cetit of
business is done after 3 p.m. each
day, but most of you are not open
when working people do business,"
Mouser said.
"If you're not open to take care
of the 5-6,000 people (Wal-Mart)
brings in every week' hen you're
going to lose."
About 110 people came - some
from as far away as Kincardine,
Wingham and London - for the
seminar at The Candlelight last
Thursday.
Wal-Mart is not an insurmoun-
table obstacle, and it's not immune
to the problems that beset other
businesses, said Mouser. Its en-
thusiasm is waning. In recent years
it has .dropped the staff pledge and
cheer.
Within six years, he predicted,
Wal-Mart will reach an un-
manageable size.
Mouser cautioned merchants it
usually takes customers two years
to realize the store hours have
changed.
He said •one of the reasons ex-
tended Christmas hours rarely work
for merchants is "because the other
11 months, you've said 'Sucker,
don't you • dare .come downtown
after 5 p.m:'"
And while most customers say
they 'buy according to price, that's
not strictly true, he added.
Seven per cent .of shoppers buy
based on price, compared to 93 per
cent who buy where they feel they -
will get the best value, he told the
crowd.
"Value is not always price,"
Mouser said. To make his point,
Mouser asked a man whether he
bought his jacket at Wal-Mart. The
jacket displayed a camera brand
logo.
"No," the man said.. -
"Why not? You could have got it
cheaper there," Mouser said.
Mouser said part of the mer-
chant's job is to convince customers
to buy, their shopping list items at
the merchant's store . rather than
continuing on to other stores. But
many shop owners are reluctant to '
do that. .
-See. We, page 11
Values must be caught,
not simply taught
A "Generation at Risk" and lear-
ning how to discern underlying
messages in music, advertising and
films was the theme of Bert Sjaar-
da's presentation last Friday
evening at the Lucknow Christian
Reformed Church.
Using material produced by 'the ,
"Focus on the Family" organization;
Sjaarda presented the problems that
youth face in today's culture. As an
example, he pointed to some adver-
tisements that portray an unat-
tainable standard of physical beauty
and give a warped version of
human sexuality.
Sjaarda says that slasher and
:horror films rate high among the
top 10 favorites of Grade 4,5 and 6
children. He said these movies
desensitize children to violence and
human suffering. Studies show that
exposure to this material increases
violent behavior. Millions of dollars
are made on these films, and it is
children that are exploited. '
The themes of certain kinds of
music were also discussed. Suicide,
the occult, violence,' sex and
"comedy" arc vocalized, with
explicit lyrics. The musicians and
the, music validate these ideas as
acceptable. Children may say they
don't hear the words, but the mes-
sage sinks into their minds.
Sjaarda presented the group with
some solutions to these issues.
From a Christian perspective, he
said parents must learn to discern,
Ind be more critical of what is seen
and heard. What are those ads
really trying to sell, and what are
the lies they use to do' it? Parental
values have to be caught, not. just
taught. Parents must set a family
standard of what is, or is not, per-
missible in their own homes, and
decide that everyone will live by it.
•see Sjaarda, page 2