Huron Expositor, 2002-01-02, Page 1In brief
No end
insight
to strike
at
Creamery
Yesterday was the first
day back .on the picket
line for the 120 unionized
employees of the
Seaforth Creamery after a
three-day break over
New Year's.
Members of the United
Food and Commercial
Workers (UFCW) Local
175 have been on strike
since Dec. 17 when they
turned down an offer by
the company for a 25
cent per hour raise each
year during a seven-year
contract.
"We're still in good
spirits but we're
expecting this strike to be •
lengthy. We took a break
over the weekend," says
Local 175's chief
negotiator Stan
McCulligh, of Seaforth..
McCulligh says the
average ,wage of $10 to
$11 an hour for Creamery
ioycaaonly
the ct'liiuts'1
average of $14 to $15 an
hour at the end of the
seven-year contract the
company is offering.
"Nobody is going to
accept 25 cents over
seven years. The
company has got to come
back with better money
and more benefits," he
says.
Creamery general
manager Clarence
Murphy says he doesn't
know when negotiations
might begin again.
"We indicated to the
union that we put our
final offer on the table
and we're on strike," he
ys.
McCulligh says the
company offered a
pension plan in which it
ntributes 25 cents an
ur towards a pension.
"That's pretty lousy.
We'd like to see
mething that the
mployees could
contribute to as well," he
says.
The Creamery workers
have been receiving
donations from
surrounding unions, such
as Nabisco in Exeter,
'ch contributed coffee
d Westcast Industries
Wingham, which sent
43 turkeys over the
holidays.
See TURKEYS, Page 5
Hams donated
to food bank...
Pog. 2
Amazing magic...
Pawl 5
January 3, 2001
Si
(includes GST)
Local weather
Wednesday --Snow. 5 to
10 cm. Winds to 40 km.
high -3.
Thursday --Variable
cloud, flurries. High -2. Low
-10.
Friday --Periods of snow.
High -1. Low -9.
Saturday --Mainly cloudy.
flurries. High -9. Low -14.
From Environment Canada
Too much ofagood thii'
Non-stop,, light fluffy snow making it tough on groomers
trying to get trail system ready for eager snowmobilers
By Susan Hundertmark
Expositor Staff
The almost non-stop snow
during the past several weeks
has been too much of a good
thing for local snowmobilers,
says Brussels and Walton
Trailblazers president Darryl
Seigner.
"We're getting too much
snow. The groomers are
having trouble keeping up,"
he says, adding that he hasn't
seen this much snow since his
childhood in the 1970s.
Trails in the south end of the
B -W Trailblazers' region
(around Seaforth, Mitchell and
Winthrop) are in better shape
than those in the north end
because those in the south
have been groomed for three
and a half weeks.
Northern trails near
Brussels, Gorrie and Blyth are
not as well groomed because
one of the association's two
groomers was broken down
for awhile.
"But, all the snowmobile
clubs in the area are having
problems with drifting and
choppy trails," says Seigner.
He says the almost daily
snowfall of light, fluffy snow
has made it difficult to create a
solid base for the trails and
consequently, it can be
difficult for snowmobilers to
know exactly where the trail
is.
"People have to be a lot
more cautious in these
conditions. Some people are
used to slipping along at 40
and 50 miles per hour on nice
smooth trails but they can't do
that right now," he says.
"I'd like to stress safety.
Take care and go slowly."
The poor trail conditions are
not keeping snowmobilers at
home, however.
Seigner says many of the
600 B -W Trailblazers'
members are on the trails and
plenty of tourists are
snowmobiling into the area.
"I saw 40 to 50 sleds sitting
at a restaurant in Mitchell the
other day and they were from
Tillsonburg and Sarnia.
Snowmobiling brings a lot of
tourism into the area," he says.
"And, I know a lot of local
people are out there because
they're all calling me
complaining about the
grooming on the trails. It's like
being a snowplow operator -
everyone complains if you're
not out there," he says.
Seigner says he's hoping the
weather will "calm down" a
bit to create better conditions.
"If it stays cold and snows
every two or three days, that
would be perfect. Once the
snow lets off we can get the
grooming done. We're going
to have a real good year as
long as it stays cold," he says.
Susan Hundertmark photo
Artist Cyril Leeper
Huron County life suits artist whose work
has taken him to Buckingham Palace
By Susan Hundertmork
Expositor Staff
While he's been in Buckingham
Palace painting a portrait of Prince
Andrew and aboard corporate jets
winging to the homes of billionaire
businessmen to paint their portraits,
local artist Cyril Leeper prefers life in
Huron County.
"I could be living in•New York City
or Rome but early on my wife Anne and
I chose to bring our children up in a'
small town. This is where I feel
normal," he says.
Leeper has recently moved to
Seaforth from Clinton, where his studio
is still located. But, the portrait artist,
who has his own entry in Who's Who in
Canada, spends several months each
year in England.
"In Britain, portrait painting is a big
deal. Many people's grandmothers and
grandfathers had it done. And, they
invest in art like stocks," he says of a
recent portrait he's done of a British
accountant and his wife.
His portraits include lieutenant -
governors, supreme court judges,
military officers, corporate presidents,
university chancellors and premiers
such as Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed
and Saskatchewan Premier Grant
Devine and he's currently working on
portraits of two more supreme court
judges in Ottawa.
But, Leeper says the
biggest challenge is
painting royalty.
"They don't get to be
who they really are and
they're used to everyone
being at a distance.
They've been raised in
such a way that they
don't get a normal
childhood. So, you get
what you get," he says.
Leeper compares
portraiture to biography
writing, saying he's
always looking to
capture his subject's
character on canvas, a
challenge that can take
up to four or five sittings
to accomplish.
"It's always difficult when you meet a
stranger. They're kind of standoffish.
They've just met you and they don't
want to tell you who they really are;" he
says.
To break the ice, Leeper often
suggests meeting his subject first for an
informal lunch.
"Then they're off guard, thinking of
food and they don't think you're making
mental notes but you are," he says.
While a portrait artist is "very like a
surveyor with a plumb ball," measuring
'I could be living
in New York
City or Rome
but early on my
wife Anne and I
chose to bring
our children up
in a small
town,' --
Artist Cyril Leeper
the distances between
eyes, nose and mouth, he
is also constantly
watching facial features
for glimpses of character.
"From experience, you
can see it immediately
when someone's in the
right position. Suddenly,
you can see, hey, that's
the real person," he says.
Leeper says it takes
him one to two months to
complete an oil painting,
depending on the size
and prices range from
$5,000 to $30,000.
While Leeper was
commissioned to paint
Queen Elizabeth II close
to eight years ago, the
appointment was cancelled after several
difficulties in the life of the Royal
family, including the separation of
Charles and Diana, of Andrew and
Sarah and the fire at Windsor Castle.
The appointment to paint the Queen
was set up in 1992 over lunch at the
Royal York Hotel in Toronto with
Brigadier- General Sir Edward Burgess
but Leeper says he's not certain if the
opportunity will arise again to paint the
Queen.
"There's nothing I can do to find out.
SN CHANCE, Page t
New
council
takes
over
Huron
East
By Scott Hilgendorff
Expositor Editor
The new Huron East
council hit the ground
running last night
although the agenda was
expected to be small for
the first official meeting
of the new 12 -member
council.
"It's hard to tell
what's going ' to
happen," said recently
elected mayor, Lin
Steffler.
But there's already
lots of work to be done
including carrying on
with issues left over
from the five
municipalities (Seaforth,
Brussels and
Tuckersmith, McKillop
and Grey Townships)
that have joined to
become Huron East.
"At least in the
beginning, we'll be
meeting every Tuesday
night," Steffler of the
need for extra meetings
to handle the load of
running the larger
municipality.
But the group has
already come together,
prior to the disbandment
of any of the existing
five councils, for two
informal meetings in
December which
Steffler said were held,
"Just to rub shoulders
and get the newness
worn off."
She said she called
the meetings to give the
new councillors a
chance to get to know
each other before
having to come together
for the first time
officially last night.
"All we could do was
talk," said Steffler of the
meetings. "Any of the
discussions we had have
really had no
substance."
As the group prepares
to shape the new
municipality, carrying
on the work done by the
transition board that
formed last spring to
help define how Huron
East would operate,
Steffler said she hopes
the new group will
decide not to break into
committees, at least
right away.
"I would prefer all the
councillors know what's
going on," she said.
That way, each
councillor can answer
questions from
ratepayers in the five
wards (the former
municipalities) without
having to refer them to
other councillors.
She was reluctant to
discuss what topics
came up at the informal
See NEW, Page $
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