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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-03-01, Page 5n the Street By Jim Beckett MEOW Is Exeter buying land from the Co-op for the new fire hall? We'll probably all know soon as council is holding a special meeting today (Wednesday) to make this seem- ingly difficult decision. A couple of meetings ago coun- cil decided unaminously to buy property at Wellington and Brock Streets from the Co-op at a cost of $100,000. Since then, some councillors seem to be rethinking the decision and have tabled giv- ing third reading to the by-law which must be done before the town can proceed. Reeve Mickle, deputy -reeve Fuller and councilor Hall abstained from voting, Hoogenboom and Urlin were in favor while the re- maining three councillors were absent. Council did, however, put a $375,000 limit on how much they will invest in the fire hall. My guess is they will proceed with buy- ing the land from the Co-op. The only savings that could be achieved would be to find less expensive property as the building would cost the same wherever it is erected. And where are they go- ing to get an equivilant piece of property for less once they've tipped their hand by announcing the original $100,000'price tag? It's difficult to imagine why any councilor would abstain from voting when a decision has to be made. Mayor Shaw tells me coun- cil has established their policy of always regarding an abstention as a no vote. Watch next week's T -A to find out how they all voted on this one. * * * *, * * Heather Rogers gels the award this week for doing the quickest and cleanest sidewalk clearing on Main St. Monday morning. This could be coincidence, but it could also prove my contention that snow shovelling is women's work as all of the people cleaning the walks were women. Could it be that all the strong men were keep- ing warm in the coffee shop. * *. * * * * Congratulations to Don McInnes who was the undisputed winner in the OPP weight loss competition completed recently. McInnes shed an amazing 39 lbs. * * * * * * A truckload of area history has been donated to the County of Hu- ron Museum by the Times -Advocate in the form of dozens of vol- umes of back issues of the newspaper. The museum also received bound volumes of the Zurich Herald, Grand Bend Holiday and the Hensall Observer. Most years of the T -A are available for public viewing by using the micro film machine at the Exeter Library. *. * * * * * I've just checked my driver's license to make sure I'm not living in Georgia after being ambushed by OPP radar for the second time in a few weeks. It's happened twice on Sunday afternoons on the way back to Exeter from out-of-town hockey games. I know the only way to avoid tickets is to give up speeding because the radar guns can get you coming and going without giving the driver a sporting chance. (:). ub le akeby Bruce Shaw We are now looking at a situation where a second genera - tion of young people finds that drugs are normal and ac- ceptable. Those who are fighting drug abuse now have to fight the parents of some of these kids as well. In the old days,we imagined Hollywood Movie actors who had not "made it" and musicians in big bands as users (besides the "losers" and bums living in the streets); the sixties saw teenagers as the primary users, but today we're looking at professionals, white collar busi- nessmen in their forties on drugs as well as the musicians, teenag- ers, the "losers" we used to hear about. Add to that, professional and amateur athletes, the clergy and other role models we used to hold as special. . Fortunately, the number of abusers is relatively small in each group, but how can the Ministry of Education mount any kind of a campaign against drug abuse, let alone with a paltry $6,000,000? The problem is too big! The Ministry realizes that it is a major problem and so throws money at it, but isn't that what governments do? Can they really do much else? Is there a concerned effort by all ministries involved - education, social services, justice, recreation? Probably not. One government agcncy can do little even if it spent more money - there probably isn't enough. It seems to me that the time has come for all elements in each of our communities to assert a collective will which deals with the ma- jor societal ills that plague us today: alcohol and drug abuse, sexu- ally related diseases, child abuse, destruction of nature. As parents, friends, club members, teachers and decent, caring Canadians, we've "Eno got to say, .ie--I;etts-put—.resource' to hcttcL<.ariret Irin„�b' �4a• ,pt.1t,1 x-,nrr.m-,t--' a cifference._ it's going to take a lot more. than money; it's'going to take more -of us saying-"Ne,�' and it's go-•-- ing to take the courts to say "You arc responsible for your actions, not society", and it's goingto take all of us as caring members of the community to act as role models for those who arc young or im- pressionable. The Lions Club of Canada is taking a good approach. Their drug awareness programme is good; it is being directed by individuals who are not teachers or preachers. I think that with,.bc1p"and support of more of us; they will dclivcir their message ...T,, ,.uv hr_ -.�. local members. We live in a good world, despite the ugliness in it, but we really do have responsibility to make it better. Let's get started. This last weekend, 1 attended a principals' conference in Toronto where we were advised that about $6,000,000 would be transferred to local boards of educations at a rate of $20 per teacher to combat drug abuse among young people. For Huron County, we will probably receive in excess of $12,000. What can we do with $12,000? You know, it really is ironic: the good guys have decency, con- cern, a sense of fair play and a few thousand dollars on their side and the bad guys have greed, deceit and an estimated 10 billion dollars in 1988 profits to draw on. And which side is winning? One principal in Toronto said that on the same street his school is located, police have identified Three "crack" houses. We live in one of the few areas where. we don't have to have police at our dances or at final athletic championships. The 10 billion dollars, 1 mentioned is the amount of money made by the drug trade in Canada last year. (As an aside to illustrate just how much money that is, picture this! If the money were in $10 bills, and stacked one hill on top of the other, the pile would go 250 miles into the air, I estimate a round trip to downtown Toronto!) Times -Advocate, Match 1, 1989 Pages Wedge: moving five generations By Adrian Harte HENSALL - If in 1873 you wanted to move house in Hamilton there was a brand new company started by Joseph Wedge you could count on to move your possessions by horse and carriage wherever you wanted to go. It was a livery stable and, like most, it offered moving services. By 1916, Wedge the Mover had added their first motor -driven truck to their fleet and concentrated pure- ly on the moving business. In 1954 the company moved them- selves to Exeter and later to Hen- sall where great-grandson Bob Wedge continues to move people toda The business' slogan is "The Daddy of 'em All". Thursday, a new 1989 truck be- came part of the company fleet of three tractor trailers and three straight vans. Wedge finds his moving business is increasing its traffic every year, especially in local markets. But Wedge keeps a close eye on hous- ing prices and interest rates. If the escalation continues he expects a slowdown in trade. "If the interest rates- keep going up it'll slow down because every- thing will slow down and they won't .be building anything," said Wedge. Nevertheless, he points out last year was the best he has seen since 1971. Apparently, the weather is also a big criteria for people who are house shopping. Good winter weather means a higher turnover in housing and, of course, more mov- ing. Wedge has been in his family's moving business for 39 years, starting in Hamilton and making the move to South Huron to cap- ture some of the business generated by the RCAF Centralia base. "At the time, that was 70 percent of our business," said Wedge. The Hensall location came as a result of the availability of the old Continu- ation School building for ware- house space. A building which, believe it or not, now safeguards the possessions of 300 households. Furniture storage is becoming more common than ever before, says Wedge, especially among re- tirees who sometimes go on vaca- tion before deciding where they will eventually settle. Wedge moves about 700 custom- ers every year.' A large number of these moves arc to or from popular locations like Toronto or Grand Bend, but Wedge has shipped out to England, Ireland, and Zimbabwe in recent months. Basically, Wedge feels his main market is to be found anywhere in Southern Ontario, especially since he is a member. of United Van Lines, who use his shipping capaci- ty for a mutually beneficial rela- tionship. "You have a betterchance of fill- ing the truck for longer runs," ex- plained Wedge, adding that a full truck holds 30,000 lbs of furniture, but typically the contents of a house might only weigh in at 4- 5,000 lbs. Wedge keeps his three sons and daughter employed year-round and supplements his staff with part- time workers and summer help to meet the seasonal demand. Wedge the Mover places a lot of faith in word-of-mouth promotion, and its owner proudly shows a scrapbook of letters thanking his company for good service. It doesn't end with letters, says Wedge, claiming satisfied custom- ers will often tell their friends about a "good move". Breakage, however, isn't as much a problem as many people fear. "It depends a lot on the quality of moving and packing," stated Wedge, saying that while he offers customers pamphlets on how to pack breakables, his company can provide the service and insure the results. Pamphlets outlining tax tips on claiming moving expenses are also available to customers. The Hensall company offers free estimates and guarantees the price, a feature Wedge says is quite rare in the industry but a worthwhile ad- vantage for building customer con- fidence. As long as people move house, there will be a need for moving companies, and it appears Wedge the Mover, now into its fifth gener- ation, will be there to make those moves run smoothly. The latest addition - B o b stands beside his company's latest acquisition, a 1989 frac- tor-trailer to replace an older • model. Today's trucks can haul up to six houses of furniture in a single load. Daddy of them all - James Wedge, Bob's father, designed this truck specially for his mov- ing business in 1928. The truck is believed to be the first of its kind and even offered space up front for the family to travel along with their posses- sions. .a,.=, � r, Wag horr ,, Rhens & de Young Plasticene dreams - A plasticene workshop at the Exeter Library Saturday, sponsored by the Huron County Public Libraries, kept a room full of children busy creating with their fingers. Kim MacL- ean (left) and Tracy Taylor put the instruction of children's librari- -an Sharon Cox to good use. Thank To all my patients for their loyalty over the past 31 years. For foot care and D.O.T. Pilot exams please call: 235-0910, D.A.'Ecker, M.D. Barristers and Solicitors And Eric J. Grose Barrister -gid --Solicitor ------- jF"t�asedi announ-cthe metgerof theirfirms Effective March 1, 1989 Under The Firm Name Of Waghorn, Stephens, de Young & Grose Barristers and Solicitors D. H. Waghorn, LL.0(1939-1988) R.G. Stephens, B.Sc., LL.B. Henry de Young, B.A., LL.B. E. J. Grose, B.A. Sc., LL.B., P. Eng. P. O. Box 610, St. Marys, Ontario NOM 2V0 FAX 284-1631 21 Wellington St. North St. Marys, Ontario TELEPHONE 284-3640 (8-9) 496 Dr. J.L. Jadd Is pleased to announce the opening of his Family Practice at Main St., South (Formerly Dr. Ecker's office) Phone: 235-0910 .a,.=, � r, Wag horr ,, Rhens & de Young Plasticene dreams - A plasticene workshop at the Exeter Library Saturday, sponsored by the Huron County Public Libraries, kept a room full of children busy creating with their fingers. Kim MacL- ean (left) and Tracy Taylor put the instruction of children's librari- -an Sharon Cox to good use. Thank To all my patients for their loyalty over the past 31 years. For foot care and D.O.T. Pilot exams please call: 235-0910, D.A.'Ecker, M.D. Barristers and Solicitors And Eric J. Grose Barrister -gid --Solicitor ------- jF"t�asedi announ-cthe metgerof theirfirms Effective March 1, 1989 Under The Firm Name Of Waghorn, Stephens, de Young & Grose Barristers and Solicitors D. H. Waghorn, LL.0(1939-1988) R.G. Stephens, B.Sc., LL.B. Henry de Young, B.A., LL.B. E. J. Grose, B.A. Sc., LL.B., P. Eng. P. O. Box 610, St. Marys, Ontario NOM 2V0 FAX 284-1631 21 Wellington St. North St. Marys, Ontario TELEPHONE 284-3640 (8-9)