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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-01-13, Page 1Local Conklin Lumber store.. bought by Watfo.rd company The Exeter and Goderich Conklin Lumber stores have been bought as part of the merger of Powell Bul ding Materials Inc. of Stratjooy and Moffatt and Powell Ltd. of Watford, which became effective last Monday. Keith Moffat announced the merger at a press con- ference Thursday at the Holiday Inn in London. Formerly president of Mof- fatt offatt and Powell Ltd. in partnership with Mel Powell. Moffatt is president - of the new company. Mel Powell is treasurer, and Dave Powell was named vice-president and general manager. Within two weeks a new building supply store will be r. :A.1.,. WILL SHE START NOW? - When Gary Moore couldn't start his car on Main Street, he coiled for assistance. Trying to find the problem are Carl Triebner, right, and Harold Triebner, rear. Mr. Moore had come into town to shop len his car refused to start again. 4 HELPING HIS FRIEND — Bob Forrest of Gidley Street, ownerofForrest Home Heat, took the time. Monday afternoon to clear the Main St. driveway of his friend Tom Humphreys. Mr. Humphreys works at. Northern Telecom in London. The storm kept him at home all day. AerospaC� workers okay strike action with the U,S. Army and calls for 12 specially -modified un- its for military support operations. Representatives of Bell Aerospace and local 1787 of the United Autoworkers of America have been negotiating a new contract since December 1, and both sides say they are optimistic a strike can be averted. The 54 workers at -the Grand Bend plant voted on January 5 and were 97 per- cent in' favour of going, on strike if negotiations- are fruitless, but union negotiating committee chairman Tony Jones emphasized that the union "is prepared to sit for any length of time" to reach an accord. The previous two- year contract expired at the end of December. "The progress is not too bad. but a major concern with us is the rumour that the parent company may relocate the plant. We want our members to be protected. This is a bigissue with us now," Jones said. Bell Aerospace of Canada is a division of the American firm. whose headquarters is in Buffalo. Director of- business 'perations Ted Bartlett said the men have continued to work since the contract ex- piry date, and that negotiations would continue. "We have been making some progress," he said. The strike vote, a legal requireryent, was to show "that all the members are backing us up." Jones said. "But we certainly don't want a strike. We have a good company here." The five union and three company representatives have conducted seven meetings thus far. Jones said it was too early to say what his union's contract demands are. Bell Aerospace makes hovercraft components. Their current contract is opened in London at Trafalgar Rd. and Highbury Ave., creating six new jobs. Beginning this week the Conklin stores of Exeter and Goderich opened under the name Moffatt and Powell. "We will be adding to the Exeter store's inventory to bring it up to our levels. We areuite enthusiastic about it." Moffatt told the Times - Advocate. When asked about the cost of the merger, Moffatt said it was about 821 million. Dave Powell said the move Blizzard hits area Activity throughout the area ground to a halt an Sun- day and Monday as a bili zard unleashed its fury, but there were few problems ex- perienced. Most area residents looked out their windows Sunday morning and decided to stay were still there until the storm moved out of the area early Monday evening. Some area roads were of- ficially closed, while the remainder were unofficially closed due to a total lack of visibility and heavy drifts. Several churches cancell- ed service -.on Sunday and only a handful of businesses and industries were open on Monday. Snowplow crews didn't bother tackling the impossi- ble job of opening roads until the storm subsided on Mon- day and then their efforts were hampered. by aban- doned vehicles which had been left on roads by the few motorists who failed toheed the advice to stay at home. The storm met all the crttierla for being named a blizzard. the mercury dipped to -22, wind gusts were over 85 kmh, visibility was nil at times and the storm brought severat centimetres of snow. The only "rescue" reported during the storm was that of CFPL-TV weatherman Jay Campbell, a resident of Exeter. Despite predicting the storm, Campbell became stranded in Exeter and gave the Sun- day night forecast over the telephone from . his residence. Around noon, Monday, a four-wheel drive vehicle was dispatched from London and managed to get through to Exeter with the help of some snowplows and the local weatherman was able to reach the TV station in time for the FYI news Monday evening. Travel along major highways was still difficult Monday evening but all area roads were reported passable by Tuesday mor- ning and the area returned lo normal with a few giant snowbanks the only 'reminder of the 1982 bliz- zard! Another reminder is that your copy of this newspaper is a day late this week. Several staff members were unable toreach work on Mon- day and the day was "cancelled" as it was for most other area residents. had been planned fop about six weeks. "It's probable that. some new jobs will spring from this merger, depenGclg on changes in the economy," Moffatt said$ He said be. plans to retain the employees at the two Conklin locations he has ac- quired. "There is a pent-up de- mand in our business because of the lack of bow- ing units." Moffatt said. "We don't know of a definite month when the economy is expected to recover, but perhaps it will be in mid - 1962." The new company has 14,14- . - ..+�w.., ...V. I. . p, • - . •: .• ?R' seven sales outlets and two manufacturing plants spread over Perth, Lambton, Huron, and Middlesex coun- ties. It ha over 100 employees' and "we expect sales to be around 125 million a year," Moffatt Slid. lin Lumber had been in receivership since Oc- tPTo explain how his business could expand when others. Where closing down, Moffatt said it was just hard work, strong merchandising and sound management. He *aid that sales are not as easy to get as they used to be. A HOPEFUL MERGER — Effective last week, the operations of Moffot & Powell Ltd . and Powell Building Mnteriols were combined under the name Moffatt & Powell Ltd. The new company hos also acquired the Exeter nnri Gnderich Conklin Lumber Company stores. Shown above are, from left to right. treasurer Mel Powell, vice -pre ident David Powell, Goderich store manager Fred Ramsay, and president Keith- Moffatt. gimes Serving South Huron, North Middiesex One Hundred and Ninth Year & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, JANUARY 6, 1982 Price Per Copy 40 cents o opposition to lagoon project; farmers want seepage stopped No major concerns or ob- jections were expressed when the Ontario En- vironmental Board stageda hearing into Exeter's. proposed sewer system ex- pansion project Tuesday. However, the concern from two Stephen Township farmers regarding existing lagoon seepage and the possibility that it may in- crease with the expansion of the lagoon cells was presented to the two board members, chairman Michael Jeffery, Q.C., and G.E. Wilson. In his concluding remarks, Wilson said that correcting the seepage would probably form part- of their recommendation when they present their report to the entire board for considera- tion. Jeffery said their report • would probabl be made to the board by lrch. - Steve Burnet B.M. Ross di Associat consulting engineers, r " sewed the project for expansion and. modiftc on of the sewage w He said the undertaken at dy had been request of Exeter council because the present system is operating at capacity and the ministry of -the -environment have placed a freeze on any future Ten people injuia in road collisions Exeter OPP , report onl}n two storm -related accidents over the weekend, but 10 people sustained minor injuries in those incidents. Seven people were shaken up in a two -vehicle collision shortly after noon on Saturday on Highway 83 east of Dashwood. A westbound vehicle driven by William Wagner, RR 1 Hay, was turning left into a driveway when it was in collision with an eastbound vehicle driven by Vinzenz Krainz , RR 2 Ailsa Craig. . The collision took place during a white-out. Wagner's wife, Helen, and two children, Robbie and Cathy, were shaken up as were Krainz and his wife, Ilse, and their children, Robert and Margaret. Damage in the accident was set at $7,000. The other collision oc- curred on Highway 84 at 8:30 a.m.Sunday. Phillip Grossman, Omaha, Nebraska, struck a marooned vehicle owned by Mary Foreman, Zurich. Grossman and two passengers were shaken up in the collision and damage was listed at 83,500 by the owners as the police were unable to get to the scene due to the storm. - The' OPP did not conduct any patrols during the storm due to the total lack of visibility and Highway 83 was closed for most of Sun- day and through to about 3:00 p.m., Monday. TWISTED STEEL — Twisted metal siding is all that remained Thursday of o two storey chicken barn and 11,500 chickens. A Wednesday morning fire destroyed the barn owned by McKinley Forms Ltd. north of Zurich. Loss up to '100,000 in fife Chicken barn destroyed A Wednesday morning fire at McKinley Farm Ltd. north of Zurich, caused an estimated $75,000 to 8100,000 damage. A two-storey chicken barn and 11,500 broiler chickens, destined for market this week, were destroyed. Anson McKinley, who estimated the losses, said the building and livestock were partially insured, but he added "You can't eat them even if they're insured." McKinley said the barn, one of the older buildings on the farm, was about 15 years old. Though the barn was metal clad, portions of the flooring and siding were plywood. Wooden staircases linked the two floors. The newer structures are less susceptible to fire McKinley indicated since there is less wood in the construction and only a single level. The foundation and the lower cement floor are believed to be salvagable. McKinley plans to rebuild the barn. Though the loss was "too much to be losing" McKinley said the broilers were not a major portion of his com- pany's production. He added that broiler quotas had been cut back over the Christmas season and not as many chickens were present as could have been. Zurich fire chief Bob Merner said he believed the fire originated in the barn's heating unit. Merner said there were no problems with winter weather in fighting the fire, but that smoke blowing down the farm's laneway obscured the firemen's approach to the fire. A minor car accident, because of poor visibility, was reported in the lane during the fire fighting ef- forts. Units from the Bayfield and Brucefield fire depart- ments helped to hose down a nearby wooden barn to prevent the fl,@mes from spreading. The building, one of six on the McKinley farm, was equipped with a temperature monitoring system, used to detect overheating in the summer. An employee discovered the fire about 11 a.m. Wednesday and'. found the barn full of smoke. It is believed the chickens quickly smothered. growth. in the municipality. He also explained that the present system does not meet' the effluent handling guidelines of the ministry and that there --is over- flowing' of raw sewage into the river during flood periods or' when there are power failures affecting the main pumping station. Burnes further noted that to limit growth in Exeter would be undesirable. because the community has been expanding and he said it was also impossible to reduce the existing flows of sewage as they were com- patible with a community of this nature. A. mechanical treatment plant, one alternative con- sidered, would cost $2.5 •to' $3.5 million and have an an - nal ni+et atirtednet-of'11* 000 and this was considered excessive, as was the $4. million estimated cost of taking the sewage to Lake Huron via a pipline. The engineer said this latter suggestion would also only be a matter of moving an en- vironment problem, not cor- recting one. Another consideration was spraying the effluent onto land and he said this was turned down because of the high cost ($1.5 million) as well as the waste of good farm land. Burnes also ex- plained there was no great need for irrigation in the area due to the nature of crops grown and the amount of rainfall normally ex- perienced. He said the decision to deepen two of the existing four cells at the lagoon was the most practical from all standpoints. He said the proposed 81.1 million project included deepening cells number three and four and adding. aeration equipment to them to supply oxygen and keep the. ponds from stagnating. He said this would also eliminate ice forming over the ponds in the winter. Some chemical treatment would also take place to remove phosphorous . The ptgmps at the pumping station would be increased in 'size to prevent raw sewage from getting into the river during flood periods and a diesel generator would also be installed to handle flow during power failures. Burnes told the board members that with the proposed expansion program. Exeter's needs would be handled until the year 2005 or until the popula- tion reached 4.700. He said Canadian Canners have an agreement to use up to 250.000 cubic meters of the storage capacity of the lagoons and they did not ex- press any interest in having that amount increased. The present capacity of the lagoons is 475.000 cubic meters and the expansion will add another 290.000. an increase of 60 percent He said. that to his knowledge. there were no odor or other problems with the present lagoon system. However. neighboring property owner Gerald Dearing said he had ex- perienced some seepage onto his'property and this made a portion of a nearby field "sour" and it did not produce good crops. Burnes termed this a "minor" problem and said it could be corrected by spen- ding an additional 11,500 to which the problem was be- deepening the two other $2,000 to put drainage around ing experienced. cells would increase the the two original cells from He said he didn't think that Please turn topage 3 4. MAIN STREET BUZZARD — This view of Exeter's Main Street wos about all shot could bp seen during Monday's blizzard. A few well bundled Exeter residents ventured out into the storm. Stephen to close Stephen township council has received final provincial approval for closing a por- tion of Gill road, near Grand Bend. The affected area consists of Lots 2.3.4 and 5 Ausable Concession and -is adjacent to Grand Bend. The engineering firm of Gamsby and Mannerow was named to prepare 'a survey. plan and report for a new petition for the Gill municipal drain at Lots 2,3,4 and 5. Concessions 22 and Ausable. An agreement has been approved to pay Grand Coves Estates 8100 for snow plowing the township sidewalks fronting the Grand Bend area subdivision for the 1981 -82 season. Cindy Fisher of the Huron planning department will be Disaster averted A disaster was averted at the. Exeter library Monday evening when librarian Elizabeth Schroeder decided - to make an in- spection of the facility during the blizzard. She discovered that the hirnace had gone out and a radiator had broken. While water had started to flow from the broken unit, it had not caused any particular damage. However, had it been left unattended through the -night, a major flood could have resulted with con- siderable damage. .agiven pproval p�rt of Gill Road meeting with council from the township of St. to review the township's Vincents regarding provin- secondary plan on January cial sales tax and from the 26 township of Glanbrook con - Two resolutions from On- cerning high interest rates tario municipalities were affecting loans a n d not supported. They were mortgages Usborne permits down At the January meeting of Usborne township council. building inspector Herman Van Wieren reported issuing 31 building permits in 1981 for a total estimated value of $380.000 which includes eight demolition permits: • In 1980 the value of building permits issued in Usborne township was 8731.•. 500 Tax collector Harry Strang reported that 97.21 percent of the 1981 tax roll had been collected. Total tax arrears for all years now stands at 528.618.34. Council approved applica- tion to the Ontario :Ministry of Transportation and Com- munications foi• the balance of subsidies clue on a total 1981 -road expenditure of $2ri.3ti9 06 A _bylaw was passed authorizing the borrowing of $300.000 'for operating- pur- : poses during 1982. UONESSES AiD PARK , The Exeter Lioness club mode o re- cent donotion of 5500 to the Community Pork redevelopment ' fund Above. lioness 1i7,134 r,o4es tare o,pern'ot,or, to bon Corneronchairman of the redevelopment prolect.t A photo • \' 1