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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1984-02-29, Page 1QUALITY ITYR{ WHY PAY MORE? 1,7d Wluitings Phone 235-1964 Shoplifting is gime Shoplifting is not a game of wits, or a little adventure to spice up a humdrum day. Itis a crime. If the goods stolen are valued at under $200, shoplif- ting comes under the sum- mary conviction section of the criminal code; over $200, it's an indictable offence. Either way, - anyone convicted of shoplifting will have a criminal record for the rest of his or her life. Gerry Walker, manager of the Exeter Canadian Tire Store, had thought until recently that shoplifting was a small problem, one he could live with. Though his inventory a year ago appeared to be $20,000 GETTING IT STRAIGHT -- Kindergarten teacher Joyce Preszcator checks the tilt of Dana Rowan's hat during Western Day at Zurich Public School. Tuckersmith okays .day care centre budget Tuckersmith Township council has approved a 1984 budget of $81,089 for the Tuckersmith day care centre at Vanastra, a six percent in- crease over last year with a proposed deficit of $51,089, compared to a deficit of $48,875 in, 1983. The largest budget items are $49,487 in salaries plus benefits of $4,600 for the direc- tor and three teachers at the centre, where an average of 25 children attend and rent of $11,642. Fees are expected to amount to $30,000 this year, with provincial subsidies (80 percent) of $40,871. Fees from other municipalities are ex- pected to bring in $2,000 while Tuckersmith ratepayers will pay the remaining 20 percent of $8,219. . The budget for the special ' day care centre at Vanastra was set at $43,255.34 for 1984, up from $40,840 last year. The expenses for the 10 children who attend this centre are ful- ly paid by grants from the On- tario Association for the men- tally retarded -- $37,632.15, and (ram the Goderich Association for the mentally . retarded -- $5.623.19. Rate increases were ap- proved for the chlidren atten- ding the day care centre as follows, with the 1983 rates in brackets; full day, $9.00 ($8.50); half day, $4.75 ($4.50) ; half day with lunch $5.75 ($5.50) ; two children or more from one home, $7.75 ($7.25) and half day, $4.75 ($4.50. Reporting on the Farm Safety Association which ,be attends as the township representative, Councillor George Cantelon said the Association is planning on asking students in the area schools to enter a poster con- test to design safety signs for farms, particularly in the area of dangerous gases in manure tanks, etc. Cleave Coombs township representative on the Seaford] Community Hospital Board, gave a detailed report on the hospital and plans for its future. The Ministry of Transporta- tion and Communications ad- vised council of the 1984 road and bridge allocation to the municipality in the amount of $217,600 up from $208,500 for 1983. 4. Four fines levied in Exeter JP court Fines were levied in four cases heard by Justice of the Peace Gordon Ferris in Ex- eter court, Tuesday. Two area motorists were fined $53 each for infractions of the Highway Traffic Act. They were Charles G. Jef- frey, RR 3. Zurich for an un- safe turn and Samuel .1. Taylor, Hensall for pulling on- to a highway not in safety. Jeffrey was attempting to go across Highway 21 near St. Joseph into a Janeway when his vehicle was struck by an imperial Oil tanker driven by Hugh Michael ('lark ot Sar- nia. The accident occurred December 21. 1983. Taylor attempted to enter the roadway of Highway 4 on December 17, 1983 when his vehicle was struck by a vehi- cle driven by Hazel Catt, Forest. Robert Sheldon Kloss, Clin- to will pay a fine of $253 in- cluding costs for driving a vehicle while his licence was under suspension for failing to pay fines in the past. J.P. Ferris levied fine of $153 against Dennis Denomme, Zurich on a charge of having alcohol open in his vehicle. Denomme who had a previous conviction on a similar charge was warned by Ferris to keep alcohol out of his car. short, there 'had been two break-ins, after all. Exiter police had picked up a local man last summer in posses- sion of power tools still bear- ing the store's price sticker, but Walker moved into the new store and still procrastinated. Walker received a rude awakening in January. A member of the Sebringvllle detachment of the OPP drop- ped in to tell him of a car abandoned on a side road near Sebringville during a December storm. Inside were goods stolen from nearby towns. Footprints led to a cache of more items behind some trees. Excellent police work resulted in the apprehension of the thief in a taxi headed for Toronto to sell some of the choicest items. The shoplifter had used a stolen camera to take pic- tures of some of the articles, as a convenient way to display what he was offering for sale. _ -- - The police list of what was recovered filled 13 pages, with an estimated value of $10,000. Included were jeans, shoes, camera equipment, power tools, arcade games, stereos and anything else this professional shoplifter could lay his hands on as he travell- ed from town to town. Walker recalled waiting on the. man, who had inquired about a future purchase for his daughter, and then walk- ed out of the Exeter store with $1,000 in stolen stock. That did its • Walker contacted John Doyle, head of Four Winds In- vestigations, which is repon- sible for surveillance in many 'large and small stores in On- tario and numbers most of the Zehrs chain among its clients. An investigator from the agency picked up eight shoplifters on four visits to the Canadian Tire Store. Walker is no longer compla- Stephen heads UTRCA again A St. Marys area man is entering his ninth year as head of the Upper Thames River Conservation - Authority. John Stephen of Blanshard Township was acclaimed as chairman of UTRCA at its an- nula meeting in Ilderton, Thursday. Stephen has been on the authority for 32 years.and in that time he has seen many changes. In his inaugural address, Mr. Stephen referred to the development of the authority as "filling in a mural. "We have been a leading authority across the province. There is no'argument about it," said the chairman. In filling the mural, Mr. Stephen said UTRCA has built six dams and has put in recreation areas on the lands surrounding these dams. Flood control is an ongoing concern of the authority and the problem of soil erasion is coming into the forefront of the authority's concerns, said Mr. Stephen. Hugh Munro of RR 1, Lakeside was namejd vice- chairman of the authority. The rest of the authority's executive committee is made up of members from the coun- ties of Middlesex, Oxford and Perth -Huron. From Middlesex, executive members are A.D. Cartier, F.H. Flitton, W.L. Lane, E.G. McRoberts and Jim Ryan. Oxford members are R.M. Edwards, J.K. Fleming, Jack Stares and G.B. Thornton. Perth -Huron members are K.R. Duncan, D.B. Hocking, Ellard Lange and C.F. Moses. i.,,,,,..,,,. . olf,„ SPECIAL SCOUTING AWARDS - - At Tuesdoy's Exeter celebration of Lord Baden Powell Day, three boys received the Evelyn Lebedew Citizenship award. Above, Mrs. Lebedew makes the presentat1/2n to Scout Dan Rooth, Mark McDonald and Beaver Jeffrey Bowen. T -A photo. 4 cent about shoplifters. He ar- ranged a meeting this week between his fellow businessmen a nd Doyle.Many of the retailers expressed their intention of contracting for an investigator to conduct surveillance of their stores on a random schedule for a cer- tain number hours each week. Doyle has met only one ge- nuine kleptomaniac since opening his investigative agency as a second career to counter the boredom of retire- ment after a first career as a member of the OPP. He said the largest group of shoplifters is those between 18 and 23, divided evenly bet- ween males and females. The second-largest group, surpris- ingly, is people over 65 whose wallets on the average con- tain $84.18 when stopped out- side a store and ushered back in to the manager's office. He is convinced most do it for ex- citement, and their attitude when caught is usually "You can't do anything to me - I'm a senior citizen." The majority of shoplifters are charged, and 96 percent plead guilty. . Doyle recalls otie octegenarian, smartly dress- ed in a red velvet pantsuit, who was caught with a knitted bag filled with such delicacies as shrimp and rib eye steak. (The hamburg and tuna had gone into, the stopping cart./ He took pity on her when she offered to pay for what she had not declared at the cash register. After the transaction had 4,.. • been completed, Doyle felt a tug at his sleeve. Ije turned around and was astounded to hear her say "Today is Senior Citizens Day, and you didn't give me my five percent discount!" Doyle saw the woman again a month later, in another grocery store. He smiled wry- ly as he watched her dump a full platter of cheese samples' into her faithful knitted bag. Doyle maintains a good in- vestigator can stand at the door of an establishment and by a sixth sense developed and honed on the job can pick put 75 percent of potential shoplifters. "You name the profession, and we've had them. Judge, professor, lawyer, teacher, Please turn to page 2 Ames Serving South Huron, North Middlesex One Hundred and Eleventh Year All Huron schools involved Parents invited The principals of all public, elementary, separate and secondary schools met before Christmas to discuss changes of the Ministry of Education concerning the new program being introduced to Ontario's secondary schools in September 1984. A series of articles has been prepared by SHOPLIFTING — A Group of Exeter businessmen determined to cut down on the amount of theft from local stores met this week with John Doyle, head of Four Winds Investigations, to contract for surveillance of their stores. Talking together are Gerry Walker (left), Doyle and Esmail Merani. v..tN..d.:� t�kadt F. voc & North Lambton Since 1873 3 - EXETER, ONTARIO, February 29, 1984 ;fx l:' Price Per Copy 50 Cents to query new school programs them in an attempt to explain gram would be that student. exactly what is involved.- should know who they are, - Most parents and students at- should know their strengths tended one of three Parent and should know their Nights at South Huron in weaknesses. January, but there are many who may not be aware exact- ly what is being considered. This first article will outline, briefly the background of the new docu- ment on which secondary schools will be based - OSIS - ,.Ontario Schools: In- termediate (Grades Sand 10) and Senior (grades 11-13) In 1980, a review of the high schools was undertaken and many groups and countless individuals expressed their concerns on every topic under the sun relating to the secon- dary schools in the Province. A report was published call- ed SERP - Secondary Educa- tion Review Project. The Ministry of Education published 8-1`esponse -in 1982 and finally OSIS in 1983. Question: 1. Will OSIS have any effect upon the grade 7 and 8 Guidance Program? Answer: "It is expected that the principal and the staff shall provide a comprehen- sive guidance program in the school. They shall act in ac- cordance with ministry regulations, other pertinent legislation affecting students and families, and school board policies." Twenty lessons on topics dealingwith Educational and Careeer Planning will be available from the ministry for students in both Grades 7 and 8 in December. In short, OSIS stresses that major goals of the Grade 7, 8 Guidance Pro- 404.4440$ 0,1.6111111W71147.:3 ‘IN r 00i� t PUBLIC SPEAKING WINNERS — Ken Glavin of the Crediton social club presents trophies to winners of Wednesday's annual public speaking contest. From the left are Winner Geoff Strang, Usborne Central and runnersup Henri DeBruyn, Mt. Carmel and Piet Blaauvaer, McGillivray Central. T -A photo. Wins Camaro in HS contest How many times have you cynically speculated "Sure, but what are my chances of winning," in all those lotteries and draws. The chances seemed pretty slim big, local student; Erma Weernink came out the winner of a 1984 Camaro 1-28 in a cross - Canada draw. SHIMS grade 13 student Erma Weernink, daughter of Albert and Anny, RR 1 Kirkton, received the official phone call Wednesday. It all began when South Huron's student council decided not to sell oranges for a fund raiser this fall. instead. a .Go -For -Gold coupon book campaign was attempted. The campaign was set up nation-wide and was to help Canada's Olympic teams as well as the local sponsors. As an incentive, each per- son who sold five coupon hooks, could enter a cross - Canada draw for hundreds of prizes. Erma Weernick sold six books, entered the draw and won the top prize. The high school student council executive`commented that Erma's win was the best Two area accidents Damages totalled 16,000 in two accidents investigated this week by officers of the Exeter detachment of the On- tario Provincial Police. Friday, a vehicle driven by Michelle Aunger, Exeter went out of control when it hit a soft shoulder on Concession 4-5 of Usborne township. Suf- fering minor injuries were passengers Colleen Bedard, Ilensall and Bradley Borland, RR I, Woodham. Damages were set at $4,000. Damages were estimated at $2,000 Saturday when a vehicle driven by Erryn Shepherd, RR 1, Dashwood skidded on a patch of ice and went into the ditch on Highway 4, about one kilometre north of Exeter. The driver received only minor injuries. thing to come out of the coupon campaign. The coun- cil made little profit from the coupons. Erma had the first hint that lady luck had touched her in the Christmas holidays. A call from•the contest organizers asked her a mathematical skill -testing question but gave no inkling as to which prize Erma would receive. As a math whiz and honour student Erma had little trouble with Work project for Hensall The llonouratile Eugene F. Whelan, Minister of Agriculture, today announced on behalf of the Honourable' John Roberts, Minister of Employment and immigra- tion, two new work projects in Huron -Bruce, under the Canada Works Program The Village of Hensali has received "Canada Works" funding to restore the town hall and to provide seven new jobs, over a period of 110 work weeks. The total budget for this project is $80,865. The sponsor will contribute $48,505. Maitland Valley Conserva- tion Authority in the District of Wingham has received "Canada Works" funding to enhance future waterfowl habitat, to survey new areas, to determine utilization by deer, to interpret air photos of the Maitland River Wastersh- ed. The project will provide fourteen new jobs, over a period of 156 work weeks. The total budget for this project is $65,925. The Government of Canada will provide $46,800 and the Government of On- tario will provide 817,244 and the sponsor will contribute 81,881. "i am pleased that the (',ounty of Huron -Bruce is par- ticipating in this program" said Mr. Whelan. "i would also tike to take this oppor- tunity to encourage other businesses and community organizations to become co - participants." the question but was left more than a little curious to discover what she had won. The car will be delivered to Frayne's within the next two or three months. Erma plans to attend university next year and doubts that she would drive the sports car to and from school. Unsure of what she will do with her prize, Er- ma has not ruled out the possibility of selling it. The 18 year old Usbornite is reluctant to talk about her winning and said she didn't really feel anything when she heard the news. She explain- ed, ','Shock, i guess, but nothing really." Students have urged Erma to buy a lottery ticket because of the superstition that luck hits in threes. Erma won the high school's draw for a ticket to the Exeter Sportsmen's dinner. Bell strike continuing The Exeter OPP detach- ment reports damages of about $20,000 in a window smashing spree at the Bell Aerospace plant near Grand Bend, Tuesday night. The vandalism occurred in the adminstrative offices and included windows, storms, sills and frames. Police in- vestigation is continuing, but, no charges have yet been laid. Meanwhile, a strike of 79 employees at the plant is in its third week. Tony Jones, Spokesperson for Local 1767 of the United Auto Workers denied strong- ly that his union had any in- volvement in the vandalism. Jones told the T -A Monday night, "We certainly do not condone such tactics. We just want a quiet, peaceful strike and don't want to cause harm for anyone. This is the first strike at the plant on the former Grand Bend RCAF site since the union was certified in 1972. The average wage is $9.66 per h,►ur. Question: 2. Will the change from several levels of difficul- ty to only three (that is, basic, general, and advanced) be too restrictive? Answer: Courses from grades 9 to 12 may be offered at one or more of the following levels of difficulty: the basic level, i.e. courses "designed to focus on the development of per- sonal skills, social understan- ding, self confidence, and preparation for the world of work : " The general level, i.e. courses "considered ap- propriate preparation for employment, careers, or fur- ther education in certain pro- grams in the colleges of ap- plied arts and technologyand other non -degree -granting post -secondary educational institutions;" The advanced level, i.e. courses to prepare students for university or for certain programs in the colleges of applied arts and technology. While only three levels of courses will be offered, a level may be changed in content to Please turn to page.2 Muskrat bites man, youth is remanded Exeter town police were Zurich and Grant Hooper, Ex - called to assist a Sanders eter collided on Gidley Street Street, Exeter man who was West. Constable Jim Barnes bitten by a muskrat, Wednes- investigated and estimated day. The muskrat was cap- damage at 8300. tured and held for observation Friday, police were called for rabies. The animal was to arrest an intoxicated per - later reported to be healthy. son on Main street. Monday February 20, Police are investigating Michael Cam eron was three incidents where persons remanded in custody for the driving vehicles have February 18 break and enter disobeyed the crossing guard at Hopper -Hockey Furniture. stop sign. This constitutes an He will appear in court offence under the Highway February 28. Traffic Act for which the Thursday vehicles driven owner of the motor vehicle by Wanda Regier, RR 3 may be found liable. POSTMASTER HONOURED — Keith Ahrens, assistant Postmaster in Exeter for a number of years is the new Postmaster in Clinton. Above, Ahrens in the centre receives going away gifts from Postmaster Ken Dobney and fellow employee Doug Sweet. T -A photo HAWKS DRAW WINNERS — Exeter junior Hawks club presidertt Gord irk presents cheques to Mary Lou Bilcke and Kate Bierling who shared the $1,000 prize in Satur- day's elimination draw. T -A photo