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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1982-06-16, Page 1Some say they're owed $3,000:• Hugbes eni Former employees at Hughes Colombia Inc. have formed a grievance commit- tee to organize their attempts to collect what has been described as "the tremendous amount of money owing them by the firm which went into receivership last Tuesday. The committee members told MPP Jack Riddell during a Saturday meeting that some of the employees are owed as much as 83,000 for back pay, holiday pay, and severance pay. In addition, they claim that the company did not remit deductions col- lected over the past month tor have already met with an of- have been named receivers, OHIP, Canada Pension and ficial of the labour ministry, following action by the On- ' their own long-term disabili- as well as Riddell, and have tario Development Corpora- ty plan. hired a lawyer to represent tion, who own the Db building, While about 65 employees them. He is Bob Beccarea of and the Taw luxury the o n were laid off when the firm London, who has acted in Bank to .place similar cases. yacht firm into feceivership. went into receivership last "He figures ourchancesare Employees f they are en week, the committee gam," the employee group . titled to pri in the situa- m0mbers say affected as many as spokesman said, emphasizing tion, altho many still 100 may be some who were mlaidad that his groupwas remaining recall with Mime bitterness is owing who off just prior to the firm going "calm and cool" and were the fact that they ended up just trying 10 protect their without anything when the into receivership. interests. firm was operating as North "It's a fair amount of To that end, they have been Star Yacht and went into money," one committee watching activities around receivership in 1977 and the member told the Times- the Huron Park plant, employees Were owed back Advocate during a visit to our primarily at night, to ensure PaY• office on Monday. He said the that .no assets owned by the There has been a change in total owing the employees company or any suppliers are provincial legislation since may be in excess of a quarter moved without the knowledge then that provides more pro- of a million dollars. of the receiver. tection for employees, and the The committee members Yale & Partners, Toronto committee members hope it may be sufficient to protect their interests although there some nagging doubt. Ag Society opts is Members of the committee also hope to get social service :41 t4. DECORATED TRIKE — 'Te decorated tricycle in Tues parade. for five-year pact emageployeesncies to act. Mquicklostyof to help the money they are owed- from The Exeter Agricultural The facilities committee pay cheques for the past three Society has opted for the five- presented the suggested rates weeks' work that they were year rental proposal for the Exeter Hawks and unable to cash represented presented to them at a recent Please turn to page 3 funds for mortgage and rent meeting by the South Huron rec centre beard of. management. The latter had offered the fair group an annual rental of 8450 for five years, or the. same rate over a 10 -year period with the rate to be in- dexed to the consumer price index. • The rec board learned at their regular meeting, Thurs- day, that the agricultural society had decided to take the five-year plan with an an- nual rental of 8450. Much of the discussion at this Thursday's rec board meeting centred on the re- quest from the Exeter Minor Hockey Asgbciation andother local groups to have ice in- stalled earlier in the season. rrl Lynn Luther rode her Assistant facilities day's Hensall Spring Fair manager Cam Stewardson T -A photo said he had done some rough estimates and projected that the board could realize Man suffers burns revenue of about X1,200 from the installed rentalnin �mber through to th MHA, In Londinv.�Iowi�r expense for the Hawks, figure skate and An Exeter man suffered second-degree burns after a kitchen stove pilot light ig- nited contact cement fumes into an explosive fireball at a London house around 1:30 p.m., Monday. Ken Freebairn, an employee of Chatterley's Cupboards of London carried a 92 -year-old woman out of the flaming home at 176 Starlight Ave., despite his Freebairn ran and backed his burns and while not realizing out of the area. that his pants were on fire. vanThe house sustained "I had two choices - tosave con - my van or get her out," he siderable smoke damage said of the seconds after the before the fire was quelled by in the Londt� firefighters. The explosion occurred home shared by Mary homeowner indicated she and Newman and her 92 -year-old her mother would have to mother. - move out of the house until Freebairn said he thought repairs are made. 'the gas supply to the stove Freebairn's employer, Gus had been shut off before he Chatterley, said the contact started applying the volatile contactcement to the cup- , boards with a roller, "but the whole thing just went 'whoof' and blew me backwards." The local man suffered burns to his left ankle, right hand and wrist. The fire also burned off his eyebrows, eyelashes and all the hair on his arms. Freebairn tossed his burn- ing paint tray out the kitchen • the earlier ice was listed at window and st landed right around $3,200, not including beside his van and he then an anticipated cost of $4,500 had to decide whether to save for a floor covering that would the vehicle before it went up facilitate use of the ice sur in flames, or save the old face area for the fall fair. lady. a was indicated that the He ran into a back bedroom groups wanting earlier ice to rescue the woman and was may attempt to raise the halfway out of the house funds necessary for the floor before he realized his pants covering. were on fire. Board members indicated After getting the aged this would be the only way woman out of the house, they could approve earlier ice, as a floor covering was beyond their budget. However, before making any decision, they agreed to meet with the agricultural society to discuss the matter. That meeting was planned for last night. At the present time, the earliest date ice could be in- stalled after the fair would be October 4 and the ice en - cement fumes ignite in much thusiasts indicate they would the same way as throwing a like the facility ready for use match into a can of gasoline. in mid-September. payments. "A lot of people are hur- ting," the spokesman said. A few employees have been recalled on a day-to-day basis by the receiver to complete yachts in progress at the plant. One yacht was delivered from the plant last week and another was ex- pected to be on the road ear- ly this week. One employee suggested there were enough orders to keep the plant busy until September if the financial problems could be worked out. Through questions in the •Legislature and a letter to Riddell on their case Cord Walker, minister of in- dustry and trade, Huron - Middlesex MPP Jack Riddell has outlined some of the allegations made by the employees regarding the situation of back pay and payroll deductions that were said to have not been remitted. TOP CADET - ValerieMorrisonwas named the top cadet of the Huron -Middlesex corps at Thursday's graduation. Above, she receives the Don Lee trophy from Petty Officer Murphy and Captain Don Lee. T -A photo. Riddell told the T -A yester- day morning that his informa- tion is that company presi- dent Howard Hughes =the firm into receivership hiteesel( after consulting on June 7 with ODC and bank officials in Toronto. He said he was told by the employees that Yale & Part- ners, named as receivers was a former accountant of Hughes. Riddell claimed some of the employees may be owed up to 85,000 and advised Walker that "the problems are grave and I hope you may shed some light on the situation." The MPP said he has also brought the mattee1to the at- tention of Labour . Minister Russell Ramsay and his department is already looking into some of the allegations made by the employees. Riddell has suggested that ODC, which owns the houses at Huron Park being rented by several employees, be le- nient in view of the fact many won't be able to make rental payments until they receive some remuneration or assistance. Serving South Huron, North Middlesex One Hundred and Ninth Year & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, June 16,1982 Price Per Copy 50 cents Damage light in two crashes Two collisions were in- vestigated by the Exeter OPP this week, damage being comparatively minor in each. On Thursday, vehicles driven by Doug Medd, Ex- eter, and Edward Morrison, Huron Park, collided on con- cession 2-3 of Stephen north of sideroad 15. renage was set at $1,300. other crash occurred on Saturday at 157 Mill St. in Hensall and involved vehicles driven by Stephen Bedard and Peter Bedard, both of Taiga damage was listed at 81,500 in that one. Investigation is continuing into M car fire reported on X.My. The vehicle, owned 6 olcho, Stratford, was driven by Jim Bryn, II, when. it ran out of walked home and on ng, found that the vehi- had been burned out. &age was listed at $800 to 11* 1969 Ford. The fire occurred on con - tendon 3-4 of Hay north of deroad 15-16, theft is also under in - tion. John Stewart, RR reported the theft of chairs valued at $120 garage. KIDS WITH KID — Admiring Coco , a baby goat at Tuesday's Hensall Fair were Shane Pepper, Christopher Scott and Tara Pepper at the MacDonald's farm display. Exeter police department to get second in command Exeter council this week adpoted 10 recommendations pertaining to the local police department, including the ap- pointment of a sergeant or se - TO DANCE IS TO LIVE -- And showing how they live are: Kevin Johnson and Marian Pol, and Steve Moore and Lisa Brant. The pairs demonstrated their dancing at an open house presented by Barb Westmon's "Dancin" Centre. cond in command from within the ranks on a six-month trial basis. The recommendations followed lengthy study of the department by •the police committee, which involved interviews with each member of the staff. Chairman Gaylen Josephson, in his written report, said the committee also learned a great 'deal about its rights and respon- sibilities under the Police Act "and now has a very good 'feel' for the Exeter Police Department." The interviews with each staff member lasted about Special education cost $1,847,000 Special education in Huron County will cost $1,847,000 in 1982. Figures on the cost of special education and revenue from the Ministry of Education were presented to the Huron County Board of Education at its June 7 meeting. At a previous meeting, trustees asked to receive a written clarification on special education funding. The local share of the costs is $499.531. with the Ministry picking up the remaining 81,347,469. There are several different grant structures for special education funding. The board receives 8125 per elementary student and 890 per secondary student. Trustee Marion Zinn asked how much the local share would be if Bill 82 (the special education amendment to the Education Act) hadn't been introduced. Superintendent of program, Robert McCall pointed to figures showing the Ministry would have paid 8659,144 while the local share Please turn to page 3 two hours and dealt essential- ly with the same matters. Josephson said committee members were now confident they have an ,excellent understanding of the general daily routine of the office, the responsibilities of the Chief and Constables, the service provided -to the community and the need for a well-run force which is internally happy. The observations of the committee were detailed as follows: 1) the chief and officers are fully qualified for the posi- tions they hold 2) there is a real sense of commitmentby the members of the force. • 3) all individuals interview- ed were candid, frank and well-spoken 4) a genuine diversity of strengths is apparent 5) barring specific incidents still unresolved,!he rapport among the members of the department is good 6) all interviewed seem to be concerned with policing costs and appear to be mak- ing efforts to reduce expenses. 7) the department is well- equipped and adequately staffed • 8) some problems do exist within the department to which the 'Committee must address itself 9) the officers are very con- cerned with improving themselves professionally Conclusions reached were: 1) Much of the discussions centred around the need for a sergeant as a viable part of the department, to assume responsibility when the Chief is absent, to share some of the administrative work load, and finally 'to cement' the in- ternal organization of•the department. Although there was not a consensus, most of- ficers agreed that the position Please turn to page 3 GETS 18 MONTHS IN ARMED ROBBERY A 19 -year-old Listowel man, Ernest Edward Lynne, was sentenced to 18 months in jail after being convicted of the armed robbery of the Kippen General Store on November 28. • He was found not guilty on a second charge of using a firearm while committing the offence. • Lynne ivassentencee when the case was completed in Ex- eter court, Tuesday. Mrs. Merle McLellan told the court that a young man entered the store she operated with her husband around 9:00 a.m. on November 28 and pur- chased a bottle of pop. She then went into the. house, and on hearing the store door - buzzer ring, went out to find the same young man back in the store and she could see a portion of a gun he was carrying. The man demanded the money from the till, and upon receiving it, .locked Mrs. • McLellan in the basement. She said between 8100 and $120 was turned over to the thief. Mrs. McLellan was freed immediately from the base- ment by her daughter, Robin, who had entered the store without her mother or the thief being aware of her presence. She was hiding behind some shelving. Exeter OPP Constable Bill Osterloo commenced the police investigation, which led to the arrest of Lynne the following morning. A pellet gun was later seiz- ed from the Wingham home of Lynne's in-laws and police were directed to a farm field by the accused where they located the shirt and jacket he had been wearing during the robbery. The Crown noted that the warning on the box containing the gun said it may cause, or is capable of causing, death or serious injury, but the Judge said there was not sufficient evidence to make a conviction under the definition of a firearm. The latter said he would need specific tests on the gun to be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt what the COMMAND CHANGE -Acting Lieutenant Greg Pfaff is taking over as commander of the Huron -Middlesex Cadet Corps. Above, he takes the salute with retiring Commander Captain Janice Frayne. T -A photo. Pick HS teacher • for study program Exeter teacher Bruce Ec- provinces and territories. cles leaves June 22 to join 44 The western Canada tour educators from New- this year involves nearly 6.500 foundland, Manitoba and On- kilometers of air travel and tario on FIELDTHIP 82, the 2,500 kilometers of bus routes 10th annual Canadian studies. so that teachers can expand program organized by their knowledge of such sub- ' Abitibi -Price one of Canada's ject areas as agriculture, largest forest products petroleum. history, culture: companies. law enforcement, govern - The unique program ment, careers and transpor- designed to afford teachers a greater knowledge and understanding of Canada and Canadians, will focus on Saskatchewan and nor- theastern Alberta during an intensive eight-day study program. Since 1973, more than 600 teachers have participated in this educational program which has visited 10 different gun would do. Several character witnesses testified on behalf of the accused and the Judge said he was taking into ac- count the age of the accused, his background (good) and his lack of a record; but rioted in his sentence there must be deterrants to other people who might wish to do something similar. It was explained that most. armed robbery convictions result in penitentiary terms. Cation. More than 13 subject areas directly related to education will be covered in the eight-day program. Highlights of this year's tour include studies at Prince Albert Earth Satellite Station. Hutterite Colony near' Moose Jaw: cattle auction in Regina; heavy oil exploration at Cold Lake and a Ukrainian Culture Heritage Village near Edmonton. Miller adds $75,000 cost . The recent provincial budget will cost the Huron County Board of Education at least $75,000 more than it had budgeted for 1962. Director of education John Cochrane explained the im- plications of the new budget to the board at its June 7 - meeting: OH1P, sales tax on school supplies, building material sales tax,- capital equipment and labor costs are all costs the board has to pay. A resolution .from the Haldimand-Norfolk Separate School Board protesting the seven percent salns tax on school supplies was endorsed by the Huron board. A list of the financial impacts to the board will be sent along with the resolution to the Ontario Public School Trustees' Association. Trustee John Elliott said the OPSTA had received a similar resolution from the London Board of Education, supported it and forwarded it to the Ontario Trustees' Council. There are two choices open to the board. one is to go over budget and the other is to cut the quantity of supplies and services. Superintendent Robert Allen said the board would probably end up doing both. cutting down on the pur- chase of capital equipment and'go over budget in the area of school supplies. The increase in O111P premiums will mean an ap- proximate extra cost of 830,000 during the balance of 1982. The provincial sales tax on school supplies such as paper and pencils is estimated to cost about 814.500 The building material sales tax is _expected to cost the board in excess of 820.000 for such things as roofing projects. The new tax on capital equipment is expected to reduce the board's purchas- ing power by over 87.000. Labor costs, which are now taxable in certain cases. will increase costs to the board, but no dollar value has yet, been put on this cost