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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1989-08-09, Page 5• ••. . .•e e se•. 4 4 Art class at the Town Hall W.O.W. - Just to prove that the South Huron Work Orientation Workshop isn't all hard work, the students took a break last week to hand paint t -shirts, under the supervision of workshop co- ordinator Dana Bozzato (standing) and Linda Wiebe from Gode- rich's Spud's Wear. Seated and working hard are Melissa Blue (left), Kristin Ford, and Hazel Snedden. Ten students are taking part in the special program to further their career skills. Questions, without answers Continued from page 4 Just because a criminal isn't "innocent", is he less of a per- son? Tribal warfare in Africa wipes out thousands of lives at a time, but nobody notices because they're just "savages". Even the traffic lights installed at our intersections had their costs weighed againsi the poten- tially fatal accidents they were likely to prevent. Some lives are expendable, on paper anyway. Back in time 10 years ago •People were breathing a sigh of relief now that Skylab had fallen to earth safely. •Grand Bend council promised that the village's parking problem would become their number one concern once the sewer project was completed. Meanwhile Malcolm "Archie" Gibbs was offering to sell Grand Bend's south beach to the village. Council maintained their position that the beach was publicproperty - an issue that is before the courts today. A decision is expected this fall. For years the Gibbs family sent bills to the village for the $2,500 rental of the beach. Council traditionally ignored them. 20 years ago •l luron County lost its second military base within three years as the. within two*ycars. •Total damage for the flooding and hail storm suffered by the arca rose to over half a million dollars as more crop and property damage estimates rolled in. •Controlling interest in the 1-luges Boat Works in Huron Park was bought by United States Steel. 100 ,fiats -e17,.... •Zurich: "On Saturday last, Mr. JaCob Ruby, of the Bron`sornine,' threashed four hundred bushels of fall wheat grown on 22 acres of sandy land. Any person in need of good clean seed for fall sowing, will do well to secure it from Mr. Ruby " i And so with pollution, poverty, overpopulation, -and deforestation threatening to crush our globe, we find our courts tied up with issues they are never going to solve, ever. It tastes like bad medicine. �ortrage ar NEED A MORTGAGE? 1st, 2nd, Multi Family or Com- mercial, flexible terms, fast, confidential service, Call "The Mortgage Mart" London - 433-6666 1-800-265-1508 WE GET RESULTS!. Comp -Account Computerized Accounting For small 1 medium shed busi- nesses. private corporations, manufacturers • Financial statements and projection: • Accounts reg .)triable/ payable • F ayroll 1� acc.oun boo, :c, .ervices ("WI " )v. - 262-34$1 1. •' r Hensv. • Times -Advocate, August 9, 1989 • Dollar at 85C U.S. concerns local. By Adrian Harte EXETER - In 1986 the Canadian dollar took what appeared_ to be a - beating on the currency market. It dropped to an all-time low of just over 69 cents U.S. as a result of an extraordinarily strong American dollar. However, only last week • the Canadian "loon" surged to pass the 85 cent U.S. mark and has been trading at around that level since. Economists have been warning that the 850 mark was achieved only because of the federal govern- ment's policy of using high inter- est rates to curb inflation, not be- cause of a particularly strong Canadian economy. They warn that Canadian industries may suffer from an artificially high dollar and hurt the export markets. Several industries in this area rely heavily on import and export shipping and are thus greatly affect- ed by this newfound "strength" in Canadian currency. .Andy Imanse at Hensall's General Coach said that a strong dollar was a cause for concern in Canada's mo- tor home industry. A cheaper U.S. dollar means American competitors can bring their vehicles into Cana- da and sell them for less. "As the dollar increases, it has a very negative eject on our indus- try," said Imanse, explaining that General Coach has been looking at ways to become more competitive on a cost basis, such as buying more materials in bulk, or sourcing parts from vendors instead of man- ufacturing them on the premises. "We're going to have to find ways to reduce those costs," he said. "We need a lower dollar and that can only be accomplished with lower interest rates." "We would settle with an 800 dollar," said Imanse, adding that in the two years the dollar increased from the 700 U.S. mark to its present 85¢ level, it was equivalent to watching American imports be- come 15 percent cheaper. Rick Miles, vice president of fr- nance'at Kongskilde, said that since the farm •machinery manufacturer relied on imported materials from Europe, the stronger Canadian cur- rency wasn't all bad news. "A strong dollar is always good for imports. The problem is ex- ports," said Miles. About 40 percent of Kongskilde's product ends up south of the border so that any gains on buying mate- rials for Tess are traded away at sales time. "It's not a dramatic effect on us," said Miles. "It's kind of like what you lose on the bananas you make up on the peanuts." In order to guard against currency drops, Kongskilde has "bought for- ward" on supplies for the past few years. This fixes the costs, allow- ing the rest of the manufacturing chain to operate on known values, otherwise, Miles says, trying to buy materials at current exchange rates is a little like gambling. As for the interest rates, Miles said he could sec them at least half Page 5 industry a point lower in the near future, without pushing inflation past the 5.1/2 percent mark. "It's a double -bladed sword. You can always argue lower interest rates will spur the economy," he 'said, but noted higher rates are good for encouraging foreign investment in Canada. "Lower interest rates are not a panacea. They aren't a fix -all," Miles said. John Glendinning, director of op- erations at Andex, said the exchange rates were a cause for concern for their three companies because they do export to the United States. Nevertheless, he said the 850 point passed last week was not unset- �+ty .* 44 tling. • At this point it has not affected us," said Glendinning, but he cau- tioned that the possibility of a par dollar -envisioned by some traders within the next year and a half would be a "mistake". Many econ- omists suggest the Canadian dollar exists naturally at an 85-900 U.S. mark. At Draycon, Bob McI#tosh had a more positive outlook on the present currency market. The com- pany, which builds industrial laser equipment, sells most of its prod- ucts in Canada. "It's good for us because we im- port most of our equipment," McIn- tosh said. The cheaper American buck means the company gains more tharl it loses in sales south of the border. "We're always looking for it to go up," he explained. However, like most businessmen, McIntosh said he wouldn't mind seeing interest rates deflate a bit. New coffee shop - ;brg Days wasn't the only thing Dash- wood had to celebrate 1, ;t week. The Eidelweiss Wood and Craft Shop opened Kaethe's Kaffee Haus, an 18 -seat coffee shop which also stocks home -baked pastries. Kaethe Freiter (left) is running the shop which has been added onto the gift shop operated by her and her husband Erich (right). THE ROYAL BANK OF CANADA We Would Like You to Meet Our Specialist Donna Mosurinjohn For Inquiries About: • INVESTMENT CERTIFICATES • TERM DEPOSITS • TRE.' LLES..�.� • INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS Please call 235-2111 JOr Corne In and Visit Us At, 118 Main St. N., Exeter Exeter Cemetery Decoration Day Specials - gladiola $1.00 stem - carnations $12.00/doz. - cut mums $7.50 bunch - rim ii c^rnations. - $7.50 bunch - a full selection of summer cut flowers available • - cemetery vases $15.00 up. COUNTRY - pot mums - wreaths - §tone toppers . 391 Main St., Exeter'- . 235-2350 • $9.95