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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-10-04, Page 1Exeter Lions CNIB • CANVASS until October 14 die Inside Growing business New flower shop in Lucan page 5 New minister Comes from west to Grand Bend page 7 Perfect weather For 138th Ilderton Fair • pages 10,11 Museum reopens Deputy Prime Minister presides page 12 Champs again Express win senior league title page 13 Victoria best for trees EXETER - Victolia Park might be the best site for memorial tree planting in town suggested admin- istrator Rick Hundey to council Monday evening. Requests have come forward to council about planting trees in memory of loved ones and Hundey pointed out the town as yet has no policy on the subject. He did, however, propose Exeter not adopt any formal policy but to simply forward all future requests to the public works committee. Hundey said Victoria Park's ma- turing aturing trees make the area a good choice for planting new growth. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom asked why townships are able to control the cutting of woodlots while towns are often powerless to stop property owners from taking down much of the municipality's foliage. Reeve Bill Mickle suggested fu- ture demolition permits could be is- sued with regards to what trees will be taken down at the time, but councillor Dave Urlin said that would infringe on the rights of the property owner. We'll be on time "I'm ready to go- out there and show them what I've got" EXETER - We will be on time. In continuation of the new holi- day policy, readers of next week's issue of the Times Advocate will receive the paper at the regular time on Wednesday, despite the Thanks- giving holiday weekend. All advertising deadlines are being moved ahead to Friday afternoon and the paper will be printed as usual Tuesday evening for Wednes- day morning delivery. Any news items may be dropped through the slot in the front door anytime during the weekend and on the Thanksgiving Day holiday it- - -self. -- - Kathy Memer was packing on Monday, ready tojoin Ice Capades. Geiser- ` Bale Insurance Exeter 235-2420 Grand Bend 238-8484 Hensall 262-2607 Clinton 482-9747 Kathy Merrier joins ice show. By Adrian Harte ZURICH - The local figure skating carnivals are going to miss one of their favorite stars this year as Kathy Merner turns professional and joins the 50th anniversary tour of Ice Capades in the United States. Memer, 18, was offered the chance to join the Ice Capades Continen- tal Corhpany after auditioning in March at Detroit. She left Tuesday for Orlando, Florida, where the company is based and already training for their tour of the central states and Canada. Meurer has always represented the Zurich Figure Skating Club at every competition she has entered, even though she has been training in London for the past two years. She even represented Zurich at the Cen- tral Canadian Championships last year when she placed fifth overall. Had she placed fourth she would have gone on to the Canadian Cham- pionships and maybe found a place on the National Team. But now she gives up heramateur status for ice shows. She said she will miss competition, but perhaps not that much. "It's time, I guess, for show skating instead of pressure skating - which I'm going to enjoy," she said. Merner was with Canada's only amateur ice show, Rhapsody on Ice, last summer when they toured Australia and New Zealand for a month, so she knows what to expect from living in hotels and dressing out of a suitcase. The main differ- ence is the Ice Capades tour is nine months long and begins later this month. "I'll be homesick. I'll be really homesick...nine months!" she said. Skating has always been something she loved. Merner left Zurich for London so she could skate in the summer months with Ice Capades' veteran Marjorie Black. During the school year, she managed to get in two hours skating every day before class. The hard work has paid off, she says. The biggest decision was to take the risk and go to London to train, she explained. From a Zurich perspective, it was hard to judge how she measured up to other skaters. Once committed, •Ice Capades was a nat- ural choice, even though she always considered the possibility of Olympic -level competition.' Show skating, Memer observes, is not all the •hard, relying more on dazzle than technique, so she has no worries abut measuring up. With 40 skaters on the "line", the Zurich native is determined to stand out enough to eventually get a performance part. "I'm ready to go out there and show them what I've got," she said, pointing out she has experience in solo skating, dance pairs, and freesk- ate pairs. Ice•Capades isn't easy though. Training is eight hours a day on non - show days, and there are 10 performances a week - two on Thursdays and Fridays, and three on each Saturday and Sunday before'moving on to the next town. There are also strict regulations for those with Ice Capades contracts. Skaters are weighed every week and penalized for any gained weight. Merner isn't too concemed. Please turn to page 2 CVe .,on EXE R --:.Councillor Morley Hall offered to* sign his job as head of 'Exeter's -waste recycling program. "I'm relinquishing my jib. Someone else can do it. I've gone as far as I can go," said Hall, who said his booth on blue boxes at the Fair garnered a strong indication of public support for recycling. "I had a lot of good responses to the question- naire," saidTa11.. Mayor flrU C Shaw, reading the questionnaire re- sults, notcd there were only two negative respons- es. "I guess we got two jackasses here: 'did not want to recycle, too much work' said Shaw. "I: can't be- lieve anyone in this day, and age would think it would be too much work to recycle." As for Hall's offer to give up his efforts, council- lor Dave Urlin didn't want Hall to drop the recy- cling issue. "I_ wouldn't want to see him `walk away from it when we are so close," said Urlin. $haw agreed and told Hall that council still had 1.0 o nsideir g ime options, evetl lh+tltfgh- they were aware Hall favor td the blue box program. Bruce Meitner will be ung with council next v eyek to present again his ply recycling meti><tl "I'd like to have O*11`000:::00.1100to;fkAt him," said Shaw. "Not one t>f tis is nein favour' of recy- cling, I think we all arc. We j it' want the best op- tion, that's all." •Works superintendent Glenn KelIs told council improvements, to the Victoria Street crosswalk have. been made. A flashing button on the post in- diratcs to pedes>,s i.. i Ei11,`; tilt! ing. Additional lights have also been installed in 1 can go." the hope they will be more visible to motorists. "Coming home tonight, for the first time, 1 saw. the lights flashing," said Shaw. .Clerk Liz Bell told council she had been told there is little good news in the federal governments proposed Goods and Services Tax of nine percent; for 1991. Bell said the government initially suggested mu- nicipalities would be no'worse off, but she pointed out the latest information suggests the recreation centre is likely to be adversely affected. lcc rentals, registration fees, and admission fees, will all have to be taxed under the new system. 13cll said the town might even have to hire some- one just to keep track of what is taxabie and what is not. A complete revamp of the town's entire account- ing and inventory systbm might also be necessary. "I don't think Bill (Mickle) was far out; a month ago when he said this was going to cost this town in excess of 5100,000, said Urlin. Reeve Bill Micklc said a letter should he sent to MP Murray Cardiff to deplore the tax, which Mick - le called a "terrible" system of taxation. *Mickle told council he was disappointed there was riot a bigger turnout for the public meeting on Exeter's future industrial strategy last week. He also noted council representation left something to he desired. -Councillor Ben Ilogenboom put forward a mo- tion asking a letter be sent to Murray Cardiff stat- ing that it was council's belief most Canadians not only wanted the current level of VIA service, but ')antil it improved and not cut hack. Walking their dogs - Exeter residents took advantage of the nice weather Sunday to take their dogs for a walk and raise money for Canine Vision Canada, which train leader dogs for the blind. The lo- cal event was sponsored by the Exeter Lions Club with 52 people walked their pets and raised $3, 750. Getting ready to walk their pets here are, from left, Bruce Shaw walking Saski, Laurie Dykstra walking Bruce Shaw, Ashley Jones walking Fluffy, Janelle Hem and Sparky, Yvonne Evans and Duffy, Laura Skinner, Suzzanne and Mag- gie Steciuk with Lady, Amanda Regier and Puppy, Sunny Dinney and Wrinkles, Sharon Steciuk with Lady, Cathy Chappelle and Maggie, Jody Truemner and Toot, Joanne and Maria Dinney, Molly Dinney and Winney, Anita Wein and Cocoa and Adam Hern and Rico. Short meeting EXETER - Only 30 minutes were needed to discuss the month's activ- ities at the regular September meet- ing of the PUC. The utility, a barometer of the town's growth, has been exception- ally busy this summer installing water services, adding transformers for both new housing and business- es, as well as some enterprises that require more power because they are expanding. New hydro customers include the office building at Huron and Main, and the relocated fire hall, plus the Gerry Glenn apartments on Victoria St. and homes in Jack Taylor's sub- division and Gregus Court. As well, a total of 43 new water servic- es have been installed since the be- ginning of the year. PUC manager Hugh Davis re- minded commissioners again that these jobs will put the 1989 hydro at Exeter PUC capital budget over the top. He as- sured them that "financially, we can handle this; we are not destitute". Davis informed the commission that the canning plant "was done" as of September 27, and would not be requiring vast amounts of water until canning starts up again next year. The London PUC has informed the local utility that they have in- creased the charge for preparing the Exeter bills from 410 to 53¢ each, effective January 1, 1990, and will discontinue the service entirely by 1993. By that time, the Exeter PUC expects to have a computer that will do the billing from the Exeter office. The PUC will meet in special session shortly to review the budget and go over the 31 applications that have come in for the linesman trainee position advertised recently. 100 pigs lost in barn fire SHIPKA - Firefighters from Grand Bend and Dashwood depart- ments were called to the farm of Tony Michielson south of Shipka Sunday afternoon and found a part of the two-level barn already bum- ing when they got there. Grand Bend Fire 'chief Stan Lo - vie said the call came into the Dashwood Dc arinent first at 12:25 p.m. and because it was on,a fringe area both departments re- sponded. Michielson was not at home when the fire started, but the fire was called to Dashwood by a. neighbor. Lovie said when they got to the scene they found the older section of the two -storied barn already en- gulfed in flames and firemen worked to save the new part, which they did by leveling the portion of the bam that was burning. The cause of the blaze was still unknown Monday but was believed to have been started by faulty elec- trical wiring. No one was hurt in the fire but 100 pigs were lost by Michiclson. The fire was still smoldering Mon- day. atternixin "bee air se—Cif-t ' tense heat of the blaze. The damage estimate of the fire _is__aid to be between S100,000- -515000. Lovic said the Grand Bend de- partment was on the scene for about seven hours. Sec photo on page 2. Area OPP check two accidents EXETER - Only two accidents .were investigated this week by offi- cers of the Exeter detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police. Sunday, September 24 a vehicle operated by Eric Campbell, Exeter was incollision with a vehicle op- erated by Elizabeth Simmons, Hen- sall. It occurred on Richmond street • at Wellington street in Hensall. Tuesday, on Huron County Road 21, a vehicle operated by Deborah Brunn, Kitchener, collided with a vehicle operated by Scott Hodgins, RR 2, Crcditon with moderate dam- age to the Brunn vehicle and severe damage to the Hodgins vehicle. Exeter OPP would like to remind everyone that October is "Seatbelt Awareness Month." if you are not wearing your seatbelt properly, you will be subjected to a 553.75 fine.' Your safety is also a considera- tion, if you arc involved in an acci- dent. Buckle up and protect yourself and your family.