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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1992-10-21, Page 1an - loft green new plants Cash and Carry ` -COUNTRY f LOWERS Easter inside Referendum Opinions on the big vote page 5 Super composter Hensel) unveils new facility page 18 Daylight Savings Time ends Clocks g0 back one hour, Sunday 2 a.m. tiMliMerneableti OPP seek clues in double break-in EXETER - The Exeter OPP are investigating two break-ins at the Bluewater Recycling Plant near Grand Bend. Between October 9 and 13, the Thanksgiving weekend, police say the Bluewater Recycling Plant and P.O.G. Inc. were broken into. A to- tal of $670 in cash was taken from . the offices. Police say that Bluewater was broken into once again this past weekend and more money was sto- len. The incident is still under in- vestigation. Also between October 9 and 13, a house on Concession 4 of Stephen Township received extensive dam- age by vandals. On October 13, a residence on Concession 7 of Usborne Township was broken into. A VCR and $200 in cash were stolen. If anyone has information about these crimes, the OPP are asking they contact them, or Huron County Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 265-) 777. Police also say they have recov- ered a man's 12 -speed bicycle, a grey CCM "Original" ' in Huron Park. Anyone missing a bicycle fit- ting this description is asked to con- tact the OPP. Gaiter -Kinsale lasurance Ssngae laCpAt?71eR� YaNtwe 235-2420 Norte, MVIttidlesex & Lambton Since 1871 Avoiding the $2 fee Grand Bend garbage coming to Exeter, says councillor _ EXETER - Grand Bend council's plan to cut back on the amount of garbage residents are putting out on the street may be working, al- though perhaps not in the way intended. Other municipalities may be bearing the cost instead. Earlier this month, Grand Beni' introduced a user -pay garbage col- lection system whereby residents could only have their garbage bags picked up when equipped with a S2 tag. The plan is to inspire resi- dents to reconsider what they throw out and make plans to cut back, while bringing in more revenues to support soaring garbage shipping costs. Some residents opposed the introduction of the plan, saying the system was open to abuse by people seeking to avoid the S2 per bag fee. At Exeter council Monday evening, one councillor said he already knew of instances of people trying to avoid the fee, by dumping their bags in other municipalities where collection is still free. Town council was discussing the future of its blue box system, during which time mayor Bruce Shaw suggested council might even consider a user pay collection system "like Grand Bend is doing". Councillor Dave Urlin immediately pointed out that some of Grand Bend's garbage is being disposed of in Exeter by villagers looking to avoid the $2 per bag fee. "People are bringing it to work with them, two or three bags. I know of several instances," said Urlin. "There is garbage coming to this town," he said. Other council members agreed and noted they had also heard of Grand Bend residents near the village boundaries who were drag- ging their bags across the streets to benefit from the free municipal collections in Bosanquet and Stephen Township subdivisions. i Fact-finding tour to see if signs needed GRAND BEND - It may be a bit out of the ordinary, but members of the Grand Bend Parking and Law Enforcement Committee will em- bark upon a bit of a fact-finding tour on November 7. That's when the committee, along with any interested members of council, will join -the local byjlaw sdarcement officer on a trip through the residential area known to locals as Plan 24. This is an area which has come under a lot of scrutiny by the vil- lage, not only for its numerous ren- tal couages which seem to causc problems, but the village's biggest concern of late, parking. Deputy -mayor Cam Ivey said there is enough parking and NO Parking signs in that area to build a 747 jet airplane. "We have a map of all the signs that are up. The idea is to go around and visually look at any area to see if it should have parking or not," said Ivey. Although he would not confirm whether or not the touring group would be lotting at any other as- pects of the troubled neighbour- hood, there was some concern brought up at Monday night's coun- cil meeting about decorative deter- rents and encroachments oh village road allowances especially on Park and King streets. "We've had a lot of interlocking bricks.," said Ivey of people who have encroached onto the village property. "If we go curb and gutter in Plan 24, those will have to be ripped out." He added there is also flower beds,'rocks and other obstacles on what is the village property. "We've been somewhat sympa- thetic to the encroachment while we deal with the panting problem," said Mayor Torn Lawson. Wednesday, October 21, 1992 75 cents 1 Blood donor clinie exceeds goal Kathy McBaln (left), and Barbara Newton take blood from donor Tom Rolpfh during the blood donor clinic held at South Huron District High School on Thursday. EXETER - A blood donor clinic held at South Huron District High School on Thursday exceeded its quota, say.the organizers, the Ausable River No- mads. A total of 223 pints of blood were collected by Red Cross staff at the clinic, passing the 200 -pint quota by.a good margin. The clinic was also pan of a challenge between conservation authorities to collect the most blood from their staff and supporters. Friends of the Aus- able Bayfield Conservation Authority were being asked to sign the list to make sure their donation counted in the challenge. Both the Nomads and the Red Cross were pleased with the overall turnout 11nd say the next clinic will be held in -the spring of 1993. Plpnt may double in size llur017 Park plant lands certification By Ray Lewis TA -Staff HURON PARK - One of Huron Park's major employers over the past four years has done it again. Diesel engine component manufac- turer Exeter Machine Products (EMP) has just become a certified supplier of Cummins Engines, a feat which should initiate expan- sion of 'The local plant along with the creation of more than fifty jobs. Formed as a sister company to Kendall Manufacturing in Windsor in 1988, the company has accom- plished more than expected, and in record time. Last year, EMP be- came a certified supplier to Cater- pillar, a feat which should have taken six years but was accom- plished in less than four. The re- sult; a $7 million contract. "Since 1988 we've become a very formal company," said plant man- ager David Wanless. "We would like to think we can be competitive with anyone in this market" Thursday, management and staff at the Huron Park plant took part in a ceremony, of recognition, as members of Cummins officially awarded EMP their certification. This time it was to have taken the plant seven years to have in place prescribed processes and proce- dures, prove high quality and en- sure on time delivery. They ac- complished it in only three, and of the 700 suppliers to Cummins, are now among the 10 percent who have achieved certification. Cum - Continued on page 2 $38.000 gross revenues Playhouse dinner auction brings in the bids EXETER - The fundraising dinner auction for the Huron Country Playhouse held in Exeter Friday evening brought total receipts of about $38,000. Although expenses have to be deducted from that total, organizers are calling the event a great accomplishment. 'We were really pleased with the outcome of it," said Sue McKinlay on Monday, who said that it may take a week or two to tally up the final amount of funds raised for the thea- tres renovations. "When we get a final total then we will be able to better say how we did," she said. McKinlay pointed out that the dinner which drew 400 people to the South Huron Recreation Centre to bid on do- nated items took less than three months to plan and exe- cute. "We've had a lot of people call back and say they had a great time," she said. The fundraising effort was inspired by the realization that the theatre did not meet fire regulations, explained dinner master of ceremonies Jack Riddell. But not only did the board of directors decide to undertake the upgrades to meet the fire code, but also to improve the theatre and make it more comfortable for the 55,000 patrons who attepd each season (see sidebar). Riddell pointed out that the Huron Country Playhouse is now the third largest summer theatre in Ontario, by atten- dance, surpassed only by the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. Riddell also said the dinner auction was something .of a Huron County Playhouse Foundation staff, members, and the auctioneers pressed hard for some good bids on this collection of props and memorabilia from the Wizard of Or that went up on the k F '• : :v:nin: a 'inn:ra ion. tribute to late artistic director Tony Lloyd who passed away early in the 1992 season. , "We miss Tony. We wish he was able to be with us, be- cause this auction was one of the things he stressed," said Riddell. Kate Burnett, director of development for the Huron Country Playhouse Foundation, promised that the dinner auction was only the first of many fundraising events to help pay for the rebuilding of the playhouse. Burnett also introduced campaign chairman David Crone who explained that in addition to fundraisers, the Foundation would be seeking funding from several layers of government. Huron MPP Paul Klopp who also attended the dinner of- fered his greetings on behalf of the province, acknowledg- ing that the foundation would likely be seeking funds from Queens Park as well. 'There isn't much money in the kiuy," conceded Klopp. "There is going to be some restraint-" But Klapp said some consideration would have to be trade for the role that the Huron Playhouse has in tourism and the local economy. "Theatre is good for the province," said Klopp. "It does create culture and it does create work." Of die many items up for auction, some drew very im- pressive bids. like the S1.400 paid for an evening for four at the Bilis-Don Skybox during the 1993 Blue Jays season. A wedding diet! used in the Playhouse production of The Sound of Music was auctioned off for $200, and props from The Wizard of Oz went for $125. Banners used on the set of Camelot sold for $400. A walnut table handcrafted by Ltunbton-Middlesex MP Ralph Ferguson went for S 100; and a lobster dinner to be prepared by the Grand Bend mayor and council members and to be followed by a sunset cruise sold for a final bid of S700 to the applause of the audience. The most expensive item of the evening was a diamond dinner ring, capturing a high bid of $2.,100. All items for the live auction, silent auction, draw prizes and raffles were donated by businesses, individuals, and or- ganirations. •Tbe total cost of the Huron Country Playhouse renova- tions has been estimated at about $4 million, over a four- year phased plan. •Emergency fire code upgrades evergcarded out this year, in- +dUdipg a sprinkler system, alarms, fireproof drapes, rein- forced stairs with new hand railings, improved emergency lighting, panic doors. •A $166,507 pipeline was in- stalled to meet water pressure requirements for the sprinkler system. •Upcoming improvements In - dude an insulated and dry - walled auditorium. New exte- rior barn board will preserve the country atmosphere of the theatre. •The roof will be reinforced. •A new theatre workshop will be constructed, along with a fly tower above the stage for better use of backdrops and the stage area Plans have been drawn up bylj Christopher Boreal Architects of Goderich. YOUR VOTE COUNTS - MAKE SURE YOU USE IT ON OCTOBER 26