Times Advocate, 1998-03-04, Page 1We like them all. Exeter's Rachel Willsie, left, gets some help with what wedding gown is
right for her from Bianca Buchanan of Stratford's Zabian's Bridal Wear at the Exeter Bridal
Show at South Huron Rec Centre on Monday. The show, sponsored by Hensall's lceculture,
featured over 30 businesses interested in helping area couples plan and enhance their wed-
dings. Willsie plans to exchange vows with her sweetie, Paul. Smith, on Nov.: 21.
SEIP'S
valu-mart
4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262
K' It's neon!
•.`c• President's
4C d a Choice
Magazine
Serving Exeter inn' an. . since 1873
SEIP'S
valu-mart
4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262
Inside
Area churches
attend
Mardi Gras
See page 7
Exeter
figure skaters
go country
See page 8
Why F.I.S.H.
are
important
See page 12
Teach
old dogs
new tricks
See Crossroads
Second front
Jr. D Hawks
tied it
and
Irish done?
See page 14
Finkbeiner benefit
boogies March 14
HURON PARK - Help a fancily
rebuild their lives while dancing to
the top country tunes at the Credi-
ton and District Optimists fundrais-
ing dance' for the Finkhcincrs.
Darlene and Doug Finkheiner
lost their home north of Crediton
after a fire on Dec. 22. The Opti-
mists have spearheaded efforts to
help the Finkheiners who are now -
renting a home on Huron St. in Ex-
eter atter staying -at Ken Keller's
home since the tire. The Finkhein-
ers have. to clear out of Keller' s
home because he's due hack from
Florida. The Finkhemers. are plan-
ning to build their new home in the
spring.
The fundraising dance is set for
March 14 from 9 p.m. -I a.m. Tick-
ets cost 55/person and are available
at Bank of Montreal branches in
Exeter, Hensall. Zurich, Lucan and
Grand Bend and at•other area bull
nesses. Local. hand Sunrise will per-
form tup.40 country hits and a mid-
night buffet is included.
For more. information. ccintact
Crediton and District Optimists
president Brenda Morgan at 234-
•6219.
Anstett catches up
with thief
LONDON - Michael Anstctt is
not a shop keeper Ghoul to let
thieves get away without paying.
The London Free Press reported
that when a thief smashed a display
case in the Ansiett Jewellers store
in White Oaks _mall on .Thursday
night and fled. Anslell gave chase.
The 19 -year-old London ratan had
three Rolex watches valued at
$14,(Xx).
A mall employee and a passer-hy
helped Anstctt catch the suspect
and hold him until police arrived.
The suspect has been charged
with theft and assaulting police.
Spring meetings
are in the air
USBORNE TOWNSHIP - The
spring meeting for the County of
Huron Municipal Officer's Associ-
ation will he held April 3 at 9 a.m.
at the Seaforth & District Commu-
nity Centre.
The registration fee for the meet-
ing is $15 per person and $25 for
an annual membership fee per mu-
nicipality.
Usborne Council has invited dee
Huron County Municipal Officers'
Association to hold the 1999 spring
meeting in Ushrane Township. •
Wednesday, March 4, 1998
Peter
Pan
18.99
Planning her big day
Exeter residents question
council pay increases
Deputy Reeve Dave Urlin says he's only making $3
per hour for his time spent on council business
EXETER - The news of Exeter
councillors giving themselves a
substantial raise has .not been lost
.within the controversy of the water
supply.issue. : . ►,,.•
Q1ga Davis, an Exeter resident at-
tended 'council's cornrnittee of the
whole meeting last Monday night.
. She had already spoken with a few
of the councillors regarding the
raise and Councillor George Rob-
ertson asked Davis if she would
like to say anything further at the
meeting.
She said she was concerned the
raises happened when -three of the
councillors had only hecrr elected
last fall and were already giving
themselves a raise which was ef-
Icc(ive Dec. 1. 1997.
Councillor Robert 1)rununnnd
said be received phone calls from
three people regal ling the raises.
He said one person agreed with the •
raises while two disagreed hut did
not avant the joh.of councillor.
Robertson said she appreciated
hearing from Davis •and said it was
important for people to gill council
what they thought. •
s..,; Tho,aiM , tipend-was 54.449 and)
the raise will hong the new stipend
to 55.398.67. Mayor Ben Hoo:,
genhoont will receive a $500 raise
bringing his stipend to $8.406.
• Deputy. Reeve Dave - Orlin made
the motion for the raise stating the
council had not received it pay in-
crease in eight years and it was do-
ing more work lot -less money than
Comparable municipalities. He es-
timated he was making about 53 per
hour lir his time spent on council
business. -
ljrlin's basis -fin the -large Increase
was that money was being saved by
having two !ewer councillors and
the savings could he split among the
remaining councillor..
The stipend covers Iwo council
-and two committee of the whole
. meetings per month and any hoards
the councillors are appointed to
such as the tire or recreation hoard.
For additional -committee rneet-
--lois, they will receive 545: for
meetings "under (our hours in
length and 590 for meetings longer
than. tour hours. In, 1997 the per
diem fur. halt -day meetings was
535 and 570 for full-day meetings.
Clerk Treasurer Liz Bell said it's
up to the councillors to submit -in-
voices for per dicrtis and•do notal--
ssays claim the amount they're en-
titled lo.
In 1197. Group Insurance for the
council cost taxpayers $8.760.96..
Willi twit. fewer councillors. this
number should he reduced. The to-
tal lab for council was 549.206.78.
t)cpending on the per diems. con-
ference registration. meals. travel
Big '0' sold to Jenisys
By Kate Monk
T A Repprter
EXETER - Jenisys Engineered
Products has purchased Big '0'
Inc. for approximately 5 -(3 -million
--rand-has-- a;►:uatcd-about..$11L-mill'
of Big 'O's • debt. The purchase
price was paid by a combination of
cash and common shares of Jan-
• nock Limited (Jenisys is Jannock's
Metal Group).
Big 'O' is Canada's leading pro-
ducer of high-density polyethylene .
corrugated . plastic pipe for ag-
ricultural and• infrastructure mar--
kets.
- Chuck. Phillips.: the newly ap- -
pointed president of Big '0' be-
lieves the acquisition well he a pus-
itive one for Big 'O' employees.
"Wc purchased Big 'O' with the
intentions of growth." Phillips said
on Monday. -
He sees Big 'O's operations as
complementary' to. Jenisys which is
particularly interested:. in • the en-
gineering department located in Ex
eter.
- "We are looking to expand the
volume through export markets. if -
anything, we expect activity to in-.
crease:" Phillips explained_, adding •
he is encouraged by what the mar-
kets indicate so far.
Big '0' also designs and :man- -
ufactures the.equipment and tooling'
to produce high-performance cor-
rugated plastic pipe for the infra-
structure market. 1t employs 150
people and operates plants in Exet-.
er. Forest, Orangeville, Woodstock
and . Chesterville. Sales .in 1997
yon _ were approximately $30• -million. •
"We are pleased to welcome Big
'0', the Canadian market leader in
corrugated plastic pipe -and its em-
- ployees to the Jannock Group..We•
believe the combination of Big
'O's expertise • in- the manufacture
•of corrugated plastic pipe and Je-
- nisys' reputation and .distribution
capabitities.in the infrastructure and
agricultural markets throughout
North America will give rise to ex_
cellent opportunities for develop-
ment of this business,- said R.J.-.At-
-kinson. •Janno ck's president and
chief executive officer.
Jannock Ltd., with headquarters •
in Toronto, manufactures and dis-
tributes building products for North
American construction• markets.
Saks _in 1996. were• $I.2 -billion.
Jannock's business is organised
Into three groups: Metal, Vinyl and--
Brick. . .
These • groups operate 69 man-
ufacturing plants and a number of
distribution centers across North.. •
America, employing•5.700 people.
Jannock's common shares '1!e\• listed on the Toronto and Montreal
stock exchanges. - .
Usborne asks .for financial :-
assistance from- province
• USBORNE TOWNSHIP--• Rural and northern municipalities are
getting a hand from the province. 'And. Osborne Township is hold-
ing out its hands for some. of that assistance. • -
Through a fund called the "Special Circumstances :Fund." .the
province will aid small rural and- northern 'municipalities who re-
quire assistance. ' • • . .- •
• Ushorne is asking for financial- support from the province to offset
the cost of 5170.000 for the McCurdy bridge construction and deck -
• maintenance at, the Morrison Dam bridge. -
Because Ushorne is a small. rural municipality that has historically
• had a low assessment base due to extensive farmlands, council de-
cided to apply for the Fund. The towftthip has also seen.a significant -
.drop to tax revenue due to the provinces decision to tax farm lands
- 25 per cent of the residential rate. -
•Council is concerned that w.ithoul help from the province. the
township will be unable tot pay for construction and maintenance of
the bridges without seriously ,jeopardizing service levels in other ar-
eas of municipal operations. . •
The, funds were set up by the pros ince to offset extraordinary
costs. such as the. ones affecting Ushorne. They arc also associated
with program transfers. the inability to achieve savings. a significant •
drop in thea 1998 assessment and the rationalizalion'of program de-
livery. . •
Construction in Exeter
and ''''''''''''''s -':".'"Pr"'"' ■
cost more to run council in continues downward trend
1998 than in -1997. -
EXETER - The .dollar value oI construction also me m d li
construction protects and.the num-
Residents ask for change downward trend in Eseter in 1997.
' n Chief Bulking Official Dase'
her of building permit. continued a
-Moyer presen,ett the summary of
Iargegarbage tCjkthe acus icy liar the f1p -up schedule 97 to council r.:tntly but gale no
explanation for the reduction nor •
•
Exeter' residents don't want to wait until fall consequences c o t'. construction The total cunstriicuuu �;due hit a
10 -year high in 1990 with more
. By Kate Monk •
T -A Reporter
iiXE'I'LR - The last'councit took the targe garbage
pick-up issue 'around the block a few limes, trying to
maintain services and cut costs. Following comments
fron►.Lxeter residents, the issue wits returned to coun-
cil's plate on Monday night at .its regular meeting.'
Reeve Roy Trichncr .who was chairing the meeting -
raised the topic. ( Mayor Ben Nongenhoont was at a
hydro conference in Toronto.)
This year, a large garbage pickrup is scheduled fur
the fall and a yard waste pick-up n scheduled for (his
spring.
•
Some of the concerns are haled on the fact the last
large pick-up for household items was 111 the spring of
1997. Residents will need to wail I-1/2 years until the
next pick-up scheduled for this fall. -
Public Works Superintendent Glenn Kells cxplaincd
that at one time, Exeter had a large garbage pick -tip
each month. This was eliminated in the winter because
it conflicted with the need for snow removal. al. equip-
Menm. Eventually, it was reduced to every other month
in the summer and then only twice per year. The fre-
quency of large pick-ups was unique to Exeter, a ser-
vice not provided in other.nhunicipalities.
Kells found his staff were not removing any less gar-
bage; people were storing their garbage until the large
pick-up. instead of taking one or two days, the process
was taking more than a week.
Finally, when the laf'gc garbage pick-up was offered
only once per year. people began buying their 520 tug
and taking their large items such as old sofas, carpets
etc. to the landfill site themselves.
Councillor inc Hogan said the public works staff
and the equipment were already there and hcing paid
tor. Why couldn't they pick up the large garbage twice
a year'
"1'riehner replied that Town staff were taken on. other
duties to do the Targe pick-up. Reducing the number of.
large garbage pick-ups and other services allowed the
Town to eliminate one of the laborers and save tax dol-
-
. Deputy Reeve Dave -Orlin said although the water is-
sue and pay increases for councillors hast been in the
new s, people are still concerned about the 52 they pay
for garbage tags. He explained the garbage hag tag rev-
enue Is, a line itch, that pays for the landfill' site. It
doesn't pay for the large garbage pick up service
than 58? million .end has bellowed
-a downward trend .since then. Con-
struction In '97 was only worth
52,767.640.
The number of building permits
was highest in 1990 at 271 permits.
•'This trend has also continued
downward with only 91 permits is -
stud in '97. There were 136 &r-
inks in '96.
Fewer building permits and less
•
•
in thc.Town's building department
revenue. 1n- 1997. the ,department
only brought to 525.503.43 in rev -
.nuc This included $8,431.13 rc -
cet'ed from ltshorne• Township for
'`lover's building inspection ser-
vices.
Mo}•cr also does planning -acuv-
itic . tui The Town which includes
official plain amendments, toning
by-law • amendments, minor var-
iances and consent to seder applica-
tions. Actiitty was down in '97
bringing in 55,155 in revenue,
down from 57.725 in '96.
The councillors were not con-
cerned about .the decreased activity
and revenue. satisfied with Moyers
assurance Exeter is "holding its -
own" to .building.activity compared
to srnular-municipalities.
Orlin said people have told him the town Ihuuld he Positive year-end financial
providing two large pick-ups per year.
"I personally believe we should have a spring and
•
fall (large garbage pick-up)," Orlin said. picture for Avon Maitland
Councillor Peter Armstrong suggested the Town re-
turn to offering one free day at the landfill site when •
people could deliver their large household garbage to
the dump free aI charge. He also suggested the al-
ternative of hiving a large truck or dutnpsiers at the
public works shed where residents. could bring their
garbage for one weekend. .
Trichncr explained the 'Town had tried the free dump
day concept hut had problems.
"Not everyone has access to a truck," he said.
Another factor included abuse of the service with
people bringing hags of garbage rather than buying the
hug tags. Kells estimated the Town lost out on 54,001)
in garbage tag revenue from the one free day. -
Clerk -Treasurer Lit Bell said notices had' already
been sent out announcing the dates of this year's spe--
cial pick-ups. This introduced the problem of Confu-
sion resulting from changing a service mid -way
through the year. fir Continued on page 2
t: LIN ION the Avon Maitland
t)istimet School Board's 51.8 mil-
lion shortfall Was a "large looming
problem" lir trustees, said Chair-
person Ahhy Armstrong..
But now it's gone.
Final 1997 financial results of the
former Perth and Huron county
boards of education show a 51.6
million surplus from the former
Perth board and an $18,(XX) deficit
for the former Huron board, leaving
the hoard in a break-even position,
In January, the board was facing
a potential 56.2 million shortfall af-
ter short -year funding, from Janu-
ary to August, from the province
was announced.
Budget cuts -made at a special
hoard meeting in January;
$260,000 savings from the with-
drawal of teaching. -services last
fall; fewer retirements than expect-
ed' and lower salary expenditures
from not replacing staff helped con-
tributed to bringing the board to a
break-even position. • • -
Chairperson Abby Armstrong
said the break:even position didn't
come as a surprise.
"We are going to be in a break
even situation because we made the
cuts." she said.
The positive financial news elim-
inates the need to reduce operating
expenditures further.
U1U U