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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1993-12-01, Page 1rSallitglaffir el Is Godprich `foo far away'? if you aren't ill Mplp to The aneNtudttlt111s:weRM11t1NssYw out 1 lame: dress tty rrov. Postal Code now000sis••sioosunpaiddoesartilo ter► rler addreIN$ $801004Mis-$2.10 G.S.T. Oualdad0101•5 - (65 km) or any Mier 1 carrier a Baas =60.00 + $4.20 G.S.T. Outride01111111614 .0oww. warty•) USE YOUR -CREDIT CARD be may! aDDODDDO 1 UDUUUL IUD Card No. 1Expiry Date ❑ Visa 0 Master Card ■ ❑ Cheque enclosed ■ Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE 1 24 Main St. Exeter, Ont. NOM 1S6 ter a• — ma ma— mei 1 1 1 1 i 1 1 1 Park plans Lions unveil new gardens page 3 China .Grand Bend man shares expertise page 5 Smoking Teens targetted under law page 12 Leafs fail Mohawks beat old pros Second front er -Toyota lending a helping hand EXETER - With the holiday sea- son well underway, Exeter Toyota is busy preparing to help the less fortunate. The dealership is kicking -off its first annual Toyota Christmas Care Drive. From now until December 24, Exeter Toyota will help collect and deliver food items and new un- wrapped toys. These goods will then be distrib- uted by the local Salvation Army. 'It's a chance to give something back to the community," said Toyo- ta dealer Rick Frayne. Fifty Toyota dealers in the prov- ince are participating in the four- year-old event. Don't get involved in pyramid scam, warn police EXETER - The Exeter OPP are advising local residents not to con- tribute any money to a "pyramid" get rich scheme that may be surfac- ing in tkisarea. Police say rtlloIiiwQod tmsidont received a chain iNlitttt>rwiilrr to that, flayinpalieliallgiainallea. The letter innallitea iirlfaellistooed re- peated payoffs, and claims it is a le- gitimate business and not a pyra- mid scheme. It asks the recipient to mail $5 to four listed companies in order to re- ceive four reports on multi-level sales plans. The recipient is then instructed to name their own new company and mail out four reports to pevpte asking them to mail them $5 cash and carry on she chair► let- ter. Further instructions advise you can then mail out unlimited copies. The Exeter OPP have contacted the anti -rackets branch. and say that postal security we aware of this fraud scheme and will be investi- 9at .g the sources. "Do not become involved in this wittiness it is a pyramid scheme [lared." advises detective constable R. W. Borden. tiro:•, isw. Wednps,r1,1% i*oi vent.'a m ►r+', Ch�7dr�w's Aid fau.dtaisIng a hard sell EXETER - Fundraising efforts to help build a new $1.9 million building for the Children's Aid Society in Goderich are going well, but the Exeter committee is finding it hard go- ing in this pan of the county. White the $312,000 has nearly been reached halfway by community fundraising programs in several Huron communi- ties, the five -member Exeter committee has met some resis- tance. "Exeter, compared to all the other communities in Huron County has been most uncooperative, unresponsive..." said Heather Montgomery, a co-chair of the Exeter Community Fundraising Team for the CAS. it's been hard," she said, but acknowledged some service clubs have been sympathetic and generous. The reason for the reluctance, speculates Montgomery, is that Exeter residents perceive a stronger connection with London-based agencies and health-care facilities, and maybe don't see the need to support the construction of a building in Goderich. The fact is, she said, the Huron Children's Aid is the only agency Exeter families can turn to over child care problems. "You have to stop and thinkifthere was a problem with a child you know, or any child, they have to go to Goderich to be helped," she said, adding the agency needs to stay in close proximity to the county's court house, in Goderich. Even the Exeter PUC rejected the fundraising teams request • to put a donation flyer in with utility bilis. Other PUCs in Huron, including Goderich, Wingham, and Brussels, have agreed to mail the flyers to households, or the municipality has included them in tax notices. "Everyone else in the county did it, why didn't Exeter" asks Montgomery. Aside from approaching service clubs, the fundraising team is also asking for donations from businesees and industries in the Exeter area. "We don't want to go door-to-door," said Montgomery, who said she would rather not see that be necessary to help raise funds. A.skate-a-thon is being planned in Exeter in January, which will not only help bring in some of those dollars, but also "Exe bee uncoop unrespo raise awareness of the CAS's cause. Another obstacle to fundraising is the divided opinions to-' cal politicians hold on the new agency building. A recent de- bate at county council was a typical example of the fact that not all municipal leaders support the construction of the $1.9 million building. Some argue the building is overbuilt for the agencies needs, others say similar space could have been rented for less. While Montgomery has yet to visit the new building's site, she said an inescapable fact is that if the project can be completed debt free, county government would not have to support the cost of a mortgage. The Children's Aid Society in Huron is funded in a joint arrangement between the county and the provincial government. Montgomery agreed it is a sign of the changing times that communities are going to be asked to raise funds to assist government agencies. Hospitals, she noted, are already rely- ing on outside funding for capital projects. ter...has n most erative, nsive" Hearing closes look But who pays chief's bill? By Adrian Harte T -A Editor EXETER -.In rill likelihood, the books will close on the Ontario Civilian Commission on Police Ser- vices hearing in -Exeter without an official explana- tion of what went wrong between the town police services board and the police chief, and without re- vealing whether the board was justified in firing the chief in September 1992. The hearing wrapped up in Exeter Monday morning, and what was to have been a brief formality turned into a discussion of some as -yet unresolved issues. Hearing co-chair Douglas Drinkwal- ter pointed out that the commission exists to resolve problems, not to deal out punitive meaaires far .pest mis- takes. -` :fie -position the commission takes is...the Exeter Police Force no longer exists, therefore the problem no longer exists," he said, stating that the transition to OPP contract po- licing on November 1 makes any issues over the former thief of police a "moot point". However, John Caskey, lawyer for former chief Jack Harkness pressed for the commission to issue some "general statement" as a guideline to other Ontario police services boards in situation such as Exeter's. Caskey said the hearing, which stopped testimony in June after hearing from only two witnesses, had pointed out his client had had his rights violated, that the board had challenged the authority of the Ontario Civilian Commission, and that the commis- sion would have made a statement "that similar con- duct would not be tolerated." John Judson, representing the police services board, disagreed, and called Caskey's conclusion in- appropriate, given the incomplete testimony of the hearing, which did not place Harkness, . nor other members of the police on the stand, only board members Bruce Shaw and John Stephens. "I have another view of what might have been the consequence for chief Harkness," said Judson, spec- ulating it might not have been to Harkness' liking. Caskey repeated his request for a general caution from the commission in its findings. "What you can say is police services boards have no authority to terminate people without a hearing," he said, saying that conclusion would be of assis- tance to other botards, police officers, and to the po- lice chiefs association. Drinkwalter asked Caskey if such a conclusion would not imply a criticism of the Exeter:board. "I think it would have to," agreed Caskey. "You heard from the mouths] of two peo- ple...of the way in which they treated the Police Services Act and a particu- tarpetson in their employ." "What's this inquiry all about...1 think the people of Exeter deserve to know," insisted Caskey. Judson replied by suggesting if Cas - key really wanted to let the communi- ty discover all the truth behind the dis- -i m $4te" "11,-" eee agreed 'to smisjraad- kekearing. !'I'd be quintglad to pursue this hear- ing to conclusion," offered Judson, but noted it would be costly to the publiepurse. "I would urge you to leave the matter . as you found it, as unsatisfactory as that may seem to some," said Judson. Drinkwalter appeared to agree, and advised Cas - key that drawing a conclusion, even one based on incomplete evidence, would imply guilt on one par- ty or the other. John Zarudny, the lawyer represent- ing the solicitor -general's office, agreed that a con - •elusion taken from an incomplete hearing would "run the risk of subjecting the commission to at - :tack". Caskey's arguments before the commission also :dealt with the subject of Harkness' legal costs. He istated that since the commission named the chief as a party in its investigation, Harkness should not have to bear the cost of his legal expenses. Caskey referred to a previous case in which the commission referred legal costs of a named party to the solicitor - general. While Harkness could have used the hearing to stand in the way of the OPP takeover, he did not, said Caskey. "Jack Harkness as the chief...elected very deliber- ately...to allow the town of Exeter to go ahead with 4 Please see Hearing, page two. "The Exeter Police Force no ledger the refotiethe problem no km: ger Cockatoos, canaries taken ExoticrIs, worth $5000 stolen from Dashwood man EXETER - The OPP are investigating the theft of exotic birds 'from a Dashwood residence. Police say sometime Sunday morning or late Saturday night the barn be- hind the home of Frank Leishman in Dashwood was broken into. About 13 of the ret birds that Leishman raises were stolen. They are valued in excess of $5,000. Leishman said some of the bird were canaries, which may have made their way into pet stores already, with store owners unaware of their ori- gin. "A lot of them were cockatoos," said Leishman, who added that he is putting word about the theft out to other dealers in exotic birds in the hope they will be wary of people attempting to sell them. The OPP are continuing their investigation into the theft. Record -size Santa paiade piniaed for Saturday EXETER - This Saturday's Santa Claus Parade should be one of the biggest ever, according to organiz- ers. Terry Schwartzentruber, a mem- ber of the Lions Club that is co- sponsoring the event, said he had about 30 floats registered as of Monday afternoon, and more were expected. Entries will be accepted right up to the last minute, and anyone wishing to take advantage of that offer is asked to meet on Andrew Street behind Canadian Tire for registration before the parade starts at 1 pan. Prizes will be awarded for com- mercial, family, and school catego- ries. The only overall theme for the parade is, of course, Christmas. Entrants are reminded that Santa Claus appears only on the last float in the parade. Schwartzentruber said there arc at least four bands planned for the parade, to add the colour and music so popular with the crowds. Following the parade there will be free skating at the arena, and Santa will be visiting with children there until 3 p.m. Santa will then take up residence at the BIA's Santa Store on Main Street, where he will be keeping regular hours up until Christmas. The Lioness Club also has an "Angel Tree" at the Purple Turtle clothing store. People are being in- vited to choose an angel from the tree, buy a gift for the child it repre- sents, and return it to the tree. All gifts will be turned over to the Hu- ron County Christmas Buret;u. iabesse 111 441 members kept the toddlers left in their care Saturday morning at Pre- 411141010 hav -tpo ttpAgalopik all the time di$cov- cious Blood School busy with games and activities. braodi French (MO 41,10 Cecile WWI ' • • Mclean (left) and ilarri(ggaanrt. The two were Maes (right) play a game with Annick Maes. Parents were invited .to,>t oir Chll- keepftgisn eye on Michelle VanEsbroeck at Saturday's baby-sit- dren et the school for the baby-sit'thon while they went shopping, a•thon. 1