Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1986-11-19, Page 144 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex 4%r•. - One Hundred and Fifteenth Year 4,:.5•M .$/".% t. EXETER, ONTA*IO, November 19, 1906 • 4.�".Q..�...• tF Price Per Copy 60 Cents Okay three-year past for police association Members of the Exeter police department have finally had their 1986 salaries approved by council. The delay in getting the new pay scales approved centred primarily around the fact a three-year contract has been established. While the three-year deal covers on- ly the constables' and sergeants' pay, as they are members of the Exeter Police Association, Chief Larry Har- dy and secretary Elaine Baynham also had their ' . scales in limbo un- til the new agreement was approved by council this week. Council accepted a recommenda- tion to cover the chief's salary for a two-year period. He will get a $2,500 increase for 1986 to bring his salary to $38,500 and the pay in 1987 will be ,$41,000. Committee chairman Dorothy Chapman explained that the in- creases recommended include two $500 merit increases which depend on a : ood evaluation. from $12,600 to $15,500 for the current year. A review of that salary and responsibilities will take place within the first four months of 1987. The new agreement with the Police Association calls for a 1986 salary of $32,550 for the sergeant. That in- - creases to $34,650 in 1987, $36,015 in January of 1988 and $36,750 on December 15, 1988. First class constables will go from $29:100 in 1985 to $31,000 for 1986. On December 15, 1988, their pary rate will REMOVE SMOKE — Exeter fireman Case Zeehuisen Jr. and Bob Din- ney stand beside an exhaust system used by the department to get smoke out of Dinney Furniture following a fire in an apartment unit above the store on Friday night. Thieves, fumes, PA plague rec centre Attempts to foil thieves, reduce fumes and improve the public ad- dress systems at the South Huron rec centre were. reviewed by board members at their Wednesday meeting. A new alarm system will be install- ed in the centre following a recent breakin which resulted in damage of $1,300 and another $500 in stolen items. Only $800 of that toal will be recovered from insurance. Facilities manager Cam Steward - son advised that by hooking the new alarm into the police and fire depart- ments, the board should realize a saV' ing 5 rcent on Insurance costs. Cost • alarm system was not revealed. He reported that complaints had ' been received regarding eye irrita- tion and fumes by those in attendance at hockey games and noted that the exhaust fans are now being operated as much as possible while equipment is being used. In additiuon, the staff have been warming up the tractor for a longer period before using it so it will burn cleaner and thereby reduce the fumes. The advent of cold weather should also help to alleviate the problem, he said. Permit value still climbing Construction of new homes con- tinues to push Exeter's building value close to last year's record. Permits fol- three new homes valued at $240,000 were approved by building inspector Brian Johnston in October. That helped add $366,900 worth of construction to the 1986 total. The current value of permits issued this year is now $3,075,614 compared to $3,655,749 for the same 10 -month period last year. In addition to the new homes ap- proved in October, there were 12 per- mits for residential renovations and additions at $53,300. one industrial at $20.000. two institutional at $11,200 and three commercial at $27,000. The matter was one of two subjects discussed at a seminar he recently at- tended at the Ontario Arena Associa- tion general meeting in Lambeth. During a hockey game at one arena, the facility had to be evacuated and several people were taken to hospital after being sub- jected to fumes. Repairs to the public address system are also being undertaken following "many complaints". He advised that some of the wires were located along the boards and this resulted in them shoring out when hit during games. "Hopefully," he responded when Ken Oke asked if the repairs beeg undertaken will fix the problem. The subject of ice time rentals was broached and members decided to leave that controversial issue tb the new year when committees will be set. "Maybe someone will have a great solution for it," commented Phyllis Johnston afer expressing some hope she wouldn't be put back on the com- mittee for the new season. The general government commit- tee was asked to set a policy regar- ding placement of signs on the boards in the arena in view of the fact Ken- tucky Fried Chicken will be allowed to have such a sign to note their dona- tion for the new magnetic nets they are providing. Rec director Lynne Farquhar's report contained a review of the swimming pool for the past season. Deficit for the pool is anticipated to be about $1,175. The budget had call- ed for a profit of $400. Results of the testing showed that 94 percent of the swimmers were suc- cessful in that regard. A drastic im- provement was shown in two areas, primarily because the length of courses was increased from two to three weeks. That, however, resulted in an enrolment drop of,40. She commended the efforts of the staff in all areas and noted that the summer was uneventful as far as any serious problems or complaints by the public regarding staff. APARTMENT GUTTED — One'of the units in the Gaiser Apartments above Dlnney'S Furniture was com- pletely gutted in Fridays fire. T -A photo Apartment dwellers evacuated from fire Tenants in seven apartment units above Dinney Furniture were forced to evacuate late Friday night when fire broke out in one of the units. Fire chief Gary Middleton said the fire apparently broke out in a chester- field in a unit in the southwest corner of the building occupied by Carol Stratton, a former Hanover resident who is employed at Fleck Manufac- turing in Huron Park. She was watching TV at the time, and after unsuccessful attempts to quell the blaze, ran to Shaw's Dairy Store across the street from where the alarm was relayed to the fire depart- ment around 10:45 p.m. Middleton credited the young woman with the presence of mind to close the door of her unit before leav- ing. He said that if she had failed to do that, "it could have been real serious". After arriving on the scene, the firemen evacuated tenants from the District mail couriers un appy over changes Will rural mail service improve or deteriorate when Canada Post im- plements a tendering system for all contracts expiring after April 1, 1987? Under a ruling announced recently, all rural mail routes will go to public tender after couriers' present five- year terms are completed. in the past, contracts were renewed if agreement could be reached with the courier. Tom Dalby, director of com- munications for the Iluron division of Canada Post, called the move "a business -like approach" to rural mail, predicting the new ruling would not affect mail delivery, and service would be more cost-effective. Some local couriers are not so sure. Norma Hooper, who has been driv- ing the RR 1 Exeter route for 32 years, agrees the new ruling will give a wider range of people the opportuni- ty to hid for the contracts. hut adds that the lowest tenderer may not necessarily provide the best service. Mrs. Hooper pointed out the pay cheque is regular. but people have the impression rural couriers are paid the same wages as postal workers. This is not true, she said. The contract must cover wages and all expenses. Rural carriers wanting to take a holi- day must find a replacement, and pay that person the same money they would have received for that time period. "And if you run over a beer bottle someone has thrown at a mail box, you buy your own new tire", Mrs. Hooper added. Mrs. Hooper 'enjoys her job, especially in the summer. Iter con- tract still has three years to go, but she thinks she will likely tender to continue delivering the mail, if her health remains good. "The mail ,route gives me something to look forward to," she said. Barry Smith has Uteri delivering rural mail for three decades on the RR 1 Hensel! route. He too takes pride in his job, and receives satisfaction in serving three generations of rural residents. Smith will tender when his contract expires next year, although he is not happy with the new ruling. Smith notes there are three Rowcliffe families,on his route, two with the same Christian name, and he wonders how so4meone unfamiliar with this area vJnuld fare trying to sort everyone Nt. Ile also wonders who would be/expected, to train a newcomer to theroutes..' Merle McLellan as helped with the two Kippen rou s for the past 10 years. and i also the Kippen postmaster. She -does not think the idea of awarding future contracts to the lowest bidder will result in im- proved service in Val communities. She believes a stranger to the com- munity would need about five years to get to know everyone on a route, and gives as an example the many McGregors and Coopers on the Kip - pen routes. 'i feel the public should be up in arms, unless they don't care whose mail they get in their box. it's not up to the rural couriers but the public to do something - the public is paying for the service", 'Mrs.. McLellan said. One•Iong;time courier who insisted on aylonymity said he was dtsap- pionted the post office had decided on this measure, and felt cuts to reduce the deficit were being made in the wrong places. He maintained rural couriers are not overpaid, and said he would be ashamed to let anyone know how little he received. • The locallourier said he will sub- mit a, tender when his contract ex- pires, but refuses to do the job for any less than he is being paid at present. He envisioned a possible scenario in which someone new to the job quits after discovering that expenses in- clude such itesm as higher insurance and a road -worthy vehicle; Some couriers refused any com- ment on the situation. other units, and due to heavy smoke damage in most of them, the oc- cupants had to find alternative ac- commodation 'for the night. The apartments are owned by Art Geiser. Insurance adjusters have set damage in the blaze at about $70,000, with $30,000 of that being to contents in the gutted apartment and the stock in the furniture store and the balance to the building. ' Furniture in the store below sus- tained smoke and water damage and was closed following the fire to allow for a cleanup and a damage estimate by insurance adjusters. Fireman were at the Scene for about three hours and were called back around 6:30 a.m., Saturday, when the blaze broke out again in the Stratton unit. It was the second call of the week for the local department. Wednesday night, they were called to Cook's at Centralia where a corn dryer. had caught fire. Corn in the dryer was removed and Middleton said there was com- paratively little damage to the equipment. A GOOD WEEK No accidents were reported by the Exeter police department during the past week. There were three charges laid under the Highway Traffic Act, one under the Criminal Code and eight motorists received parking tickets. The 1986 rate for 2nd class is $29,450 and moves to $33,250 on December 15, 1988 and the corresponding rates for third class are $22,785 to $25,725 and fourth class is $18,197 to $20,545. While the police committee and the Association held lengthy discussions over inclusion of a compressed work week and physical standards to be met by Association members, neither item was included in the contract. However, they will be studied by a special committee comprising two members of the Association, two from the committee and two members of the public. Elmer D. Bell and Jim Chapman have agreed to serve in the latter capacity, having been recommended by the Association. Shift pay and service pay were removed from the contract in lieu of reasonable salary, the committee report noted. • Mrs. Chapman explained following approval of the agreement this week that few major changes were made in the contract. The work week will be based on 40 hours and members will receive 11 statutory holidays that include Easter Monday and Remembrance Day. Any members called into work on an agreed-upon holiday will be given double time and one day of holidays. In another personnel matter at Monday's session, council decided to table a recommendation that the employee - relations committee be authorized to bargain on terms and conditions of employment for all per- sons drawing a salary from the town, full-time, seasonal and casual, in- cluding those hired by autonomous boards such as the cemetery and rec centre.bo&rd. _ The recommendation was made by an ad hoc committee of Gaylen Josephson and Ben Hoogenboom. Only members of the Exeter Police Association would be excluded from the centralized negotiating. Input from the autonomous boards will be sought and the terms of employment to be handled by The 'committee will include remuneration, hours of work, overtime allowance, mileage rates, benefits, procedures applicable to the processing of grievances, dismissal, etc. The two also presented a proposed policy regarding seasonal employees. It too was tabled until the next meeting. A seasonal employee is considered a person who is employed on a project of a seasonal or recurring nature that does not exceed 32 weeks of employ- ment at 40 hours of work. It is partially in response to a debate over the hiring practice for seasonal employees at the cemetery. Following a probationary period of two consecutive years and successful completion of two performance ap- praisals, seasonal employees will be granted the status of full-time employees as it pertains to job securi- ty, the report recommends. JOSH GETS SLOAT CYCLE — Josh Watson wh• was last year's Exeter Lions Timmy recently received a Stoot Cycle from the Kirkton Woodham Optimists. He is shown here with president Don Richardson flanked by vice-presidents Brion Hardeman and John Scott. T -A photo