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Times-Advocate, 1983-12-28, Page 1S °� PURI Whitings Phone 235-1964 The January 5 The Exeter PUC started off the year by writing off a record number of delinquent accounts. A poll of area business peo- ple indicated most were op- timistic towards the coming year. Area horsemen Larry De Caluwe and Al Kennedy were injured in a spill at Western Fair Raceway. Ciba Geigy Seeds Ltd. presented a plaque to Agripress Canada to thank the Hensall firm for its stellar performance during a marketing campaign for Funk Seeds. Exeter senior citizens join- ed others in complaining about the small print in the NEEDING A LITTLE HELP — Judy Dougall and a chair provide a little assistance as Rhonda and Josh Dougall try out their skating abilities at a recent moms and tots skating session at the South Huron Rec Centre. Osborne appoints full-time assistant At the final meeting of 1983 Usborne township council created a full time position of deputy clerk -treasurer and tax collector. Filling that post with an annual salary of $16,000 per annum will be San dra Strang. She previously was part-time deputy clerk. Added to the basic salary will be an incentive bonus of $500 upon successful comple- tion of each unit within an educational course approved by council which will to in- cluded at the first of each fiscal year. Representatives of the Huron Federation of Agriculture will be attending the January 17 meeting of council seeking financial aid for the organization. A grant of $50) was given in 1982, hut. none was made this year. Council has requested the attendance of the local public school representative on the Huron Board of Education to attend the January 17 meeting. The payment of an account to Mac Hodgert for cutting grass at the Thames Road hall park was approved A transfer of $5.001 from the Webber farm reserve was given approval. Deputy reeve Ma,•garet 'fern and councillor Ross Ballantyne members of the building committee were in- structed to make known the township's feeling concerning Area man charged on sex assault A 25 -year old man from the Exeter area has been charg- ed with sexual assault follow- ing investigation of an inci- dent in Exeter on Christmas Eve. The man was charged by Exeter police who in- vestigated the complaint laid by an 18 -year-old female resi- dent of town. Sgt. Kevin Short and ('on stable Dan Kierstead were in charge of the investigation. The suspect was taken to the Elgin -Middlesex detention centre in London and was scheduled to appear in Goderich on December 28 for a hail hearing the kitchen and library facilities in the new Usborne- Ausahle-Bayfield Authority building. in regard to the amended deed for the joint property, council will be asking the chairman of the Authority to sign same Osborne township's Bi- ('entennial fund will be used to cover costs of the official opening of the new building and also the new Huron Coun- ty Atlas. Reeve Gerald Prout made council aware that Ross Francis notified him that he has some trap lines within the boundaries of Osborne township. This is in relation to a recent request to the Wingham office of the Ministry of Natural Resources for information on trap lines. Councillors I)on Kerslake and !Irian Hardman presented a report of the December 13 meeting of the Exeter and area fire board and it was accepted with the exception of one paragraph which council felt should be referred back to the board for review of the original agree- ment signed and agreed to by all parties involved. Reeve Prout said the next meeting of the fire board will he held on January 14, 1984 at the Osborne council chambers at 4 p.m. and he said the press would be in- vited to "get the facts straight year that was. Bell Telephone directory. January 12 Exeter native Dr. Walter Johns received the Alberta Order of Excellence. Gary Birmingham was elected chairman of the South Huron rec centre board of management. Huron County council agreed to hire a health educator after learning the county's mortality rate is well above the provincial average. Grand Valley captured the sixth annual Exeter Hawks tournament. John Cochrane announced his retirement as director of the Huron board of education. The mild weather pro- mpted area youngsters to try their luck at fishing. January 19 Several businesses in Huron expressed concern over increased competition from students' fund-raising sales. Several Main St. businesses in Exeter also fell victim to thieves. Exeter tax arrears increas- ed by almost 831,000 with the total outstanding at the start of the year being $86,236. The total value of building permits in 1982 was $1,015,455 according to the year end report of the building inspector. Pat Skinner retired after working 58 years at Russell Electric and the firm's predecessors. Shirley Prance was elected president of the ladies divi- sion of the Exeter Agricultural Society. The Grand Bend Legion dart team won the zone title. January 26 Exeter minor hockey graduate Dave Shaw made his NHL debut after being called up for two games by the Quebec Nordiques. Fires levelled a barn and destroyed 428 pigs on the Mary Van Den Bussche farm on Highway 83 and the Woodham area home of Robert Wegg. Gwen Coward was named new secretary of the Exeter Agricultural Society, while Bruce and Dolores Shapton were honored for long service. Zurich skater Debbie Bedard won a gold medal at the Great Lakes competition. Lt. Col. Duncan Graham Ross gave a bequest of 82,000 to the Lucan library. Grant and Gladys McGregor received a meritorious • service award from the Hensall fair board. February 3 • Exeter PUC manager Hugh Davis was honored on the oc- casion of his 25th anniver- sary with the utility. Zurich resident Johnson Kallumadyil was killed in an accident in Perth County when his car struck a tree. Grace Pym was re-elected president of the Huron -Perth Presbyterial. United Church Women. Max Hall was among the boys taking sewing classes at SL Boniface and displayed a skirt he completed as a gift for his sister. Members of Grand Bend council were chided as "pret- ty negligent" by a county planner over filing two amendments to the zoning bylaw. Stephen boys and Exeter girls won the area elementary school floor hockey titles. February 9 Elmer D. Bell turned the lights on a huge birthday cake to kick off celebrations for South Huron Hospital's 30th anniversary. Huron social aid payments increased 42 percent over the past year. A ski trip to Collingwood turned into a bus ride only as rain spoiled the planned three-day stay by a group of SI,IDIIS students. A total of 81 applied for a vacant position on the Exeter Public Works staff. Hensall atoms won the "D" title at the annual Lucan tournament. The annual meeting of the Zurich agricultural society learned that gate receipts were down but sheep ex- hibitors increased significantly. February 16 Employees at Dashwood Industries agreed to salary and wage concessions. Salaried staff took a 10 per- cent decrease and hourly - rated employees agreed to a freeze. Joey Fahey cut the ribbon to open the Huron Street Children's Residence. Bobby Hull highlighted the annual Exeter Lions Sport- smen's Banquet. Lieutenant Governor John Aird was a special guest. Joan Ulch was named Snow Queen at the Kirkton- 'Woodham Winter Carnival. Celebrity Bowling at Ex- eter and Zurich raised $6,000 for Big Brothers. Mr. and Mrs. John Carr- ington of Huron Park marked their , 60th wedding anniversary. February 23 United Plastic Components Limited of Dashwood an- nounced plans to move to Exeter. Kevin Short was promoted to the rank of Sargeant in the Exeter police department. Elias Muilwyk, Kirkton, was killed in an industrial ac- cident at the Centralia plant of Cook's dkvision of Gerbo Inc. The Hensall Bayfield Con- servation Authority approved plans for a new office at Mor- rison Dam, with the facility to be shared with Usborne Township. Kirkton area singer Jamie Westman was chosen as the only Canadian boy to tour Europe with the Americas Boychoir. Lucan ousted the Exeter Hawks in tiie first round of the Junior "D" playoffs. Kathy Mann was elected president of Hensall's new horticultural Society. March 2 A meeting on nuclear disar- mament was organized by teacher Joanne Young at SHDHS. • Warm weather prompted an early sap run. Jessie Keyes, Varna, was killed in a collision between Stratford and Sebringville. Exeter Lions were honored for supporting Boy Scouts for the past 45 years. ARC Industries embarked on a public appeal to sell over 3,000 pounds of Christmas cake. Jason Wein, David Schwindt and Chris Chapman were named as the first win- ners of the Evelyn Lebedeau award. A session on rural worr-en was told that the Women's In- stitute is a dying organization. Stefan Pertschy was nam- ed president of the Hay Mutual Fire Insurance Co. March 9 Exeter council "respectful- ly requested" that local citizens who found it necessary to trap squirrels, do so with live traps to protect the population of white squirrels. Grand Bend council ap- proved in principle a plan to locate a Mother's Restaurant in a tent on the beach. The Kirkton-Woodham Farms club reported a good profit and elected John Scott as president. The SHDHS senior Pan- thers basketball team won•the Huron -Perth championship. Lucan council joined the Ames Serving South Huron, North Middlesex One Hundred and Eleventh Year ., in review protest over the London Free Press coverage of the Inter, national Plowing Match which highlighted the muddy conditions. March 16 A drug and alcohol centre was opened at South Huron Hospital with Valerie Nairn and Peg Brown as organizers. Exeter Lion John Stephens was elected governor of District A -I5. The Zurich Has Beans won the "B" championship in the tournament they hosted for old-timers. A huge flock of white swans stopped over in the Grand Bend area. Please turn to page 2 TURKEY FOR DINNER — The Wain Scouts Wednesday night enjoyed a Medieval Feast prepared in modern cookware. From the left ready to.sample turkey legs are Rob Norton, Don Murphy, Jay Deeks and Ian Barr. T -A photo & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, December 28, 1.983 Price Per Copy 50 Cents Dream of a white Christmas becomes travellers' nightmare Christmas '83 turned out to be whiter than most area residents had bargained for. j 1411111 High winds, snow and record low temperatures cancelled travel plans for many and brought an abrupt halt to others which were in progress. • tiVr' ..Y1 A TYPICAL SCENE This picture of vehicles stranded in the ditch of Highway 4, south of Exeter is typical of many situations throughout the area over the Christmas weekend. T -A photo Multi -vehicle crashes result in minor injuries Exeter OPP are still sorting out details from some of the multi -vehicle collisions which occurred during the Christmas weekend blizzard While property damage was high in some of those crashes, injuries were all minimal as most of the drivers were travelling at low speeds (Inc to the frequent white -outs they were encountering. One major injury was reported, that coming in a crash earlier in the week on Tuesday. A pickup truck driven by Philip Dietrich, 23. • LACING UP - Paul Charrette and Jason Moore get help from Gary Moore in get- ting dressed for the Exeter tykes in Tuesday's house league tournament at the South Huron Rec Centre. T -A photo of Itlt 3 Zurich. went off sideroad 13 m Hay township. struck a tree and then tulle(' over The driver was taken to South Huron hospital and then translerred to St. Joseph's in London with ma- jor chest injuries His late model pickup was demolished and damage was listed at $1:1•II00 The first of the Christmas weekend collisions occurred around 9 30 p m. on Saturday as the storm .swept off lake Huron. That initial crash involved four vehicles al the intersec- tion of Highway 4 and the Crediton !toad. All were driven by London residents. Diane F'opp. .lulia Arm strong, Keith Roszel and San lino Lancia Damage was estimated al $6,000 Around noon. vehicles driven by Darrell Rattray. SPEEDER PAYS Only one fine was levied by Justice of the Peace Douglas Wedlake when he presided in Exeter court, Tuesday. In that one, Clayton Earl Cornish, RR 1 Woodham, was fined $213 after pleading guil- ty to a charge of driving at a speed of 150 in a n 8o km zone. He was charged on December 3 when his vehicle was clocked on a radar unit on Highway tk3. Exeter. and Joseph A. Keir, Walkerton, collided on Highway 4 just south of Ex- eter, with resulting damage of 81.100. Also on Saturday. a vehicle driven by Paul Cook, Kirkton. collided with a Huron County snowplow on the Kirkton Road just west of the village The plow had just been pull- ed from a huge drift. There was $1.000 damage to the Cook vehicle and none to the snowplow The other collision on Satur- day occurred on Highway 83 near County Road 11 east of Exeter. Drivers involved were Stanley Harrison, Sar- nia. and Donald 7.alitach, Zurich. Damage was set at $4,000. On Christmas day, one crash occurred on Highway 4 near Mooresville involving vehicles operated by Dennis P. Dehne. Toronto, and John 11 Oosterwal, Ailsa Craig. !)anlage to the two was set at $5,000. Five vehicles were involv- ed in the lone crash which was investigated on Monday, it oc- curring on Highway 83 east of Exeter. Drivers involved were Andrew Rees, Toronto; John Berendsen, RR 1 Kirkton; Stewart Steckle, Zurich; John A. Norris, Bit 1 Kirkton; and Gary ('lark. Parkhill. The chain -reaction crash caused property damage of $11.000 to the five vehicles. The storm swept in off Lake Huron early Saturday morn- .ing. and by noon, travel on area roads was almost im- possible, although they weren't officially closed by police until late in the afternoon. The R.E. Pooley branch Legion in Exeter became a haven for 54 motorists who were enroute from points across Ontario and Michigan and close to 100 ended up spending Christmas Eve and part of Christmas at the Brucefield church. Area residents who had planned to do last-minute shopping on Saturday were out of luck, as were mer- chants anticipating the final rush of sales. Those who planned to dine out with family or friends on Christmas had to stay home and make do with some unusual Christmas menus, while on the other side of the picture, those who planned to host large gatherings were left with mountains of food and no one on hand to help them eat it. The 54 stranded guests at the Exeter Legion hall started arriving shortly after noon on Saturday and kept straggling in throughout the afternoon. Forty-three of them stayed overnight, while the others had relatives or acquain- tances in Exeter with whom they arranged visits. Reg McDonald, who co- ordinated the Legion hospitality, said the guest list included three pregnant women, about 15 children and three cats. He arranged dinner for 16 at the Burkley Restaurant and stocked the kitchen with bacon and eggs for Sunday morning's Christmas breakfast. CFPL radio announcer Barry Smith was named "head cook" for the breakfast party and shortly after McDonald started to arrange with local residents to take in some of the visitors in view of the reports that the storm was expected to continue through Christmas Day. By noon all the stranded motorists were off to local homes and many managed to resume their travels when the weather took a turn for the better in the afternoon. Hosting out-of-town guests were the homes of: Bruce Shaw (5), Kim McLean i8), Lee Webber (4), Gerald McF'alls (4), Wayne Parkin- son (2). John Bruls (3). Tom Arthur (8), Donna Pridham i4). Jerry Hartman (2) and Larry Black (2). McDonald said the visitors were all appreciative of the hospitality as they engaged in games of pool. shuffleboard and cards throughout Satur- day afternoon and evening. However, he said the novel- ty of the situation started to wear off for some of the children. but a surprise visit from Santa Clauson Saturday night helped to add some joy and excitement to the situation. Santa assured the youngsters they'd find their gifts when they reached their intended destinations. Mayor Bruce Shaw com- mended the Legion members. and in particular Reg McDonald, for their efforts in aiding the stranded motorists and putting the town's best al forward in extending their hospitality "It was super. just tremen- dous." Shaw said, adding that the storm victims were high Please turn to page 3 CHAPEL SERVICE --- Hospital chaplain Rev. Cheryl A.shick-Englert leads in carol sing- ing at the newly inaugurated church service held each Thursday morning at South Huron Hospital. Wheelchairs, pyjamas featured at chapel event They came in wheelchairs, pushing walkers, or under their own steam. Dress was casual - the majority wore housecoats over nightgowns or pyjamas. They formed a large semi -circle in the bright, spaciops sunroom and watched with interest as the lady in the centre lifted a gleaming autoharp from its black case and set the instru- ment on the chair beside her. Chaplain Cheryl Ashick- Englert was ready to begin the second weekly chapel ser- vice at South Huron Hospital. The debut had been the previous Thursday. Rev. Englert welcomed those who had come (almost one-quarter of the patients). She read the Christmes story from Luke, interrupting the narrative at intervals to lead in the singing of an ap- propriate carol while strum- ming a melodic accompani- ment on the autoharp. (She later explained the instru- ment was a gift from her parents, who had given their daughter permission to open this present early, as they knew she wanted the instru- ment as an easily portable source of music for services such as the one in the hospital. Cheryl vowed she will be playing even more skilfully after she has a look at the in- struction book promised for Decembet' 25). The chaplain concluded the service by reading a children's story whose univer- sal appealing theme of love and sacrifice is applicable to all, regardless of age. As a finale, one of the pa - Please turn to page 3