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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-08-26, Page 1(Sidi a. Cary lb COUNTRY f IOWA RS Exeter - Geiser -Ks noels insurance Service Experience Value 235-2420 Serving South Huron Inside Local artist Burke display a success page 3 Champions Royals win it all Second front Grand Bend musician Jazz and the , church page 22 Tough odds million ', dollar �. contest` 1 Mike Williamson, of Grand Bend, was one of the 35 qualifiers. By Michelle -Ellison TA Staff GRAND BEND - The 8500 to one odds of getting a hole -in -one is better than the odds of winning a Lotto 649 jackpot and hundreds of people tried their luck on the week- end in the Million Dollar Hole -in - One Shootout heldat the Oakwood Inn and Resort in Grand Bend. A Grand Bend Winter Carnival major fundraiser, the event attract- ed people from as far as Waterloo, Mississauga and the United States and organizer Dave Sheppard says approximately 30.000 golf balls at one dollar a ban were bought. "We went from the red budget area to the black budget area on Saturday afternoon," said Shep- perd• The qualifying round invited people to attempt to drive their ball into a circle with a flute feet dia- metre at the Oakwood driving range. Dwayne Frampton of Lon- don and Dave MacLeod of Grand Bead both made auceessful boles - in -one in the cup in the center of the hole in the qualifying round. In total, 34 men and one woman managed to be successful at this level and moved on to attempt an actual holt-in-one at the first hole at the Oakwood golf course for Mc million dollar prize. No hole -in -one was witnessed on Sunday by the many spectators who gathered for the final round, but Bob Churly of Sarnia came closest to the pin in the finals with a distance of seven feet four inches . to win two >• ats on Northwest Air- lines to any continental U.S. desti- nation they fly. Brent Muir, an employee at the Oakwood Pro Shop was second closest to the hole at eight feet nine Continued on page 3 North Middlesex & Lampton Since 1873 Michael McArthur gets a big jump from his frog in the under three inch category of Dr. Wallace's Frog Jumping Contest Saturday at the 27th Annual Zurich Bean Festival. For ad- ditional coverage see pages 10, 11. Local fire services could be united GRAND BEND - If proven eco- nomically feasible, .many local fire departments may see themselves under one roof. The Ontario Fire Marshal's office is currently conducting a fire ser- vices review, in order to examine options for providing better ser- vice. One such option is the considera- tion for one fire chief over all de- partments in the service area, which would include the townships of Stephen, Hay, Grand Bend, Bo - Banquet and possibly Arkona. There would also be one central dispatch and a sharing of equip- ment. "But it's only one possibility; said Hay Township councillor Blaise Duchanne. "These are the early stages and if is going to cost more they won't do But according to Ducharme, even if such a proposal was rejected, it doesn't mean the service area couldn't still adopt this idea of blending to bring other advantages. Bonuses such as saving -money through volume buying. Essex, St. Clair Beach and Te- cumseh o-cumseh Windsor have adopted this type of proposal, which will put it into effect January 1, 1993. "If it were.adopted, it wouldn't af- fect Hay Township too much be- cause we only have an area of about 500 houses," added Du- charme. "It would affect the other townships a lot more." After the Fire Marshal's office considers its data, the next step will be to put forth an acceptable propo- sal. At that time, a meeting of the councils -of -the affected municipali- ties will be called to discuss the recommendations. LCBD announces cost-cutting measures forsurplus positions EXETER - Last week, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario announced the elimination of 142 surplus posi- tions and the introduction of an optional early retire- ment program. Because of a bumping provision in the Collective Agreement with the Ontario liquor Boards Employees' Union, this will lead to movement of bargaining unit staff within the organization. The end result will likely be a reduction in the number of hours worked by casu- al staff as opposed to -the layoff of large numbers of full-time employees. Chris Layton, LCBO Media Relations Co-ordinator, describes the cost-cutting measures as "positions being eliminated not people" and said no employees in the Exeter, Grand Bend, Lucan or Hensall Liquor Stores has been affected by the cutback in hours. Employees whose positions have been identified as being surplus have been given notice, in accordance with the Employment Standards Act. These steps have been taken to reduce operating ex- penses in the face of declining sales," LCBO Chair An- drew Brandt said. "The beverage alcohol industry in- dustry is not recession proof." At the same time, other eligible employees have been provided with details of the LCBO's comprehen- sive Special Retirement Opportunity Program. • This program includes retraining and special counselling and is modelled after similar Ontario Public Service early.retirement initiatives. Changing consumer tastes are another important con- sideration. Health and budget -conscious consumers are drinking less alcohol. And when they do drink, they are choosing lighter products such as wine and beer, rather than spirits. While LCBO supports such positive societal changes, it must deal with the result- ing negative impact on sales volumes and revenues. "We are assessing all aspects of our operation to identify additional cost-saving opportunities. Our fu- ture staffing needs are part of this review. Much will depend on whether sales continue to decline, and changes in the beer distribution and retailing system." The LCBO is a two billion dollar a year industry. The Board operates 618 retail stores and employs 3,734 full-time employees. Last year the LCBO trans- ferred S675 million to the Ontario Treasury. These funds support a wide range of important government social programs and services. Exeter police locate goods, ,culprit after Lion's Youth Centre break-in EXETER - A break and enter at the Exeter Lion's Youth Centre on John St. in Fanner has lead to the arrest of a 16 -year-old mole. Exeter Police arrested .the mule, whose panne is protected under the Young Offenders Act, Sunday fol- lowing the Friday break-in. The television and VCR stolen from this break-in were later recov- ered by police at a London address. The youth appears in Godcrich Youth Court on October 1, charged with break, enter and theft. On Thursday, police seized the plates from a vehicle along Main St. charging the owner with operat ing an unsafe vehicle. Police also seized two pellet guns from youths who were discharging them at other children on Pryde Blvd. Police were called to Northlandcr Industries in Exeter last Wednes- day, following the theft of a flatbed trailer and some machinery of sig- nificant value. Further investiga- tion located these items at an ad- dress in Clinton, and they wcrc returned. The investigation, how- ever, is continuing. An accident occurred at Main and George St. last Tuesday when Ha- zel Gregson of Exeter was north- bound on Main St. and attempted a left turn across the path of.a south- bound car driven by Sarah Millik ` en, Alvinston. There were no inju-' ries and Highway Traffic Act charges arc pending. As well, a youth was apprehend- ed for shoplifting at the Canadian Tire Store and the property recov- emd. The 14 -year-old mate will appear in the Godcrich Youth COurtOctober 1, 1992. Last Monday, Exeter Police cau- tioned a motorist when he almost struck a pedestrian on Waterloo St. Police also investigated a mischief complaint on Nelson St., where a window was broken and also inves- tigated a fraud cheque complaint from Valu -Mart. 4 Wednesday August 26. 1992 75 cents Rural Connections Counselling available for troubled farmers By Fred Groves T -A staff CLINTON - Poverty, depression and even suicide are not only a few of the problems urban people are facing but it seems they are very ap- parent in rural lives as well. That is the main reason Rural Connections was established. Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, this pro- gram has been designed to help farming families cope with the con- tinual troublesome business of farming. "A lot of the farm families are ex- periencing difficulties. There is a lot of pressure," said Rural Connec- tions co-ordinator Bonnie Johnson. The program is sponsored by the Canadian Mental Health Associa- tion and the funding from the OMAF is for two years. Johnson said that mtly not be long enough as it could take some time for farmers to realize this new pro- gram is available to them. I'm hoping it will either be ex- tended or something else will take over." What Rural Connections does, is provide support for farmers by means of a self-help community support network. In other words, fanners counsel fanners. "They can talk to someone who knows what they are talking about." Farming is becoming a risky business and according to Johnson, the idea of passing on the farm to the next generation is quickly be- coming a tradition'of the past and not of the future. "A lot of farmers are encouraging their families not to go into fann- ing." One of the biggest concerns the fanners have is keeping up and just being able to pay the bills. Farm income has failed to keep pace with the income of the aver- age Canadian family and many farmers are forced to take non-farm jobs in an effort to avoid increasing debt and the loss of their farms. Off -farm jobs are being used to subsidize farming operations and food production in Canada. Rural Connections provides in- creasing public awareness of agri- culture issues and problems, train- ing for volunteers to work with faun families, referalls to counsel- lors, farm consultants and others with agricultural experience. Johnson said actually getting to speak with the farmers is difficult this time of the year because they are very busy. Brochures pointing out the many services Rural Connections offers are available a banks, mills and ag- ricultural centres. Anyone wishing to volunteer or seeking counselling can call 482- 9311. Developer, village still have unresolved issues GRAND BEND - While the Aus- able Springs Mall is slowly putting on the final touches, there remains some concerns involving the devel- opment agreement between owner Bev Henry and the village of Grand Bend. Monday night, Henry attended council asking about a 55,000 se- curity deposit which she had put down as part of the agreement. "The way the security deposit was arrived at, was we took a lot of the exterior site work that bad to be done and cost it out," said Grand Bend Administrator Paul Turnbull. Two items involving outside work which council is still con- cerned about is the moving of the donut shop which used to be on the property and the erection of lights. "As each one of those items are done, it becomes council's preroga- tive to release the deposit," said Turnbull. Henry indicated the donut shop will soon be moved. "There's been so many concerns about moving the donut shop. 1 think 1 know where it is going," said Henry. In regards to work which council says has yet to be completed, both deputy -mayor Cam Ivey and coun- cillor Phil Maguire voiced their concerns on making sure it would be done according to the develop- ment agreement. "There looks like there is several major -concerns to- deal with. We don't want to be holding your mon- ey. We'd like to see the job done," said Maguire. "We want some insurance it will be done. We don't want to be left holding the bag," said Ivey. According to Ivey, there is an- other unresloved issue which in- volves a road allowance between two parcels of land owned by Hen- ry. He said it could be prohibited to use the mall entrance to get to the back portion. Man's life saved EXETER - Thanks to quick thinking by the staff and pharma- cist at the Exeter Big V drugstore, John Hooson of Grand Bend can say he is glad to be alive today. After suffering from a bee sting in the back of the nock outside the store, Hotson's airway swelled shut due to an allergy to the venom in the sting. Out of consciousness in his car, he managed to tell cashier, Terry Waikom, that he had been stung and she alma' pharmacist Dave Gleason of Hotson's condi- tion. Gleason reacted quickly, giving Gleason a shot of adrenalin from a pre -loaded syringe w bring him to consciousness. Hooson was imme- diately transported to South Huron District Hospital. "Dave Gleason deaerves a lot of credit. I wasn't breathing when he Champs CALEDONIA - The Centralia Selects returned home with a pro- vincial championship late Monday night. (See detaiko in next week's edition.) got there," says Hotaon who said although he knew be was allergic to bee stings didn't realize his allergy was potentially life threatening. Grant announcement premature EXETER - In last week's Times Advocate, a grant project through Community Living - South Huron for a hearted view- ing area at the South Huron Recreation Centre was an- nounced. The entire Inject is purely speculation at this point and was only brought up for discussion at the Recreation Board level as a possibility. No confirmation of a grant or research into this pro - jeat's eligibility has been ttndcr- iskert at this time and the report in the Times Advocate was ex tremely premature. The Tineas Advocate apologizes for any in convenience caused by this arti- cle. t