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Zurich Citizens News, 1980-11-27, Page 1L ii No. 48 / '_� FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS NOVEMBER 27, 1980 Tough winter for area unemployed Compared to a year ago the area's employment pic- ture ha deteriorated, accor- ding. to_,)ohn Gillespie of the Canada Employment Cen- tre. Gillespie said Monday the number of persons registered at the centre's Exeter office is up about 40 percent over the same period last year. In September 511 persons were registered with the centre compared with 350 a year ago. Registrations increased to 604 in. October, up 234 from a year ago. Employment prospects for • the upcoming winter months look dim with the area holding true to its seasonal employment and layoff -nature. A further indication of the state of the local economy is the few job. orders which have been placed by employers with .the centre. Only about 12 orders have been received compared to 30 orders in the August - September period when there was small flurry of ac- tivity, Gillespie said. There have been few ma- jor layoffs in area industries but this could be due in part to fewer numbers of workers in Area industries, he said. According to .Dashwood Industries spokesman Al Rankin the window and door manufacturing concern layed off 35 workers two weeks ago. The layoff will last into the new year and will not affect DIL's remain- ing 180 hourly rated employees. One of the effects of a -general down -turn in the • economy could be a slowing down in the service in- dustries such as retailing since many people who would have previously qualified for unemployment insurance benefits did" not work during the summer. As a result of their lower in- comes they will not have as much disposable income, Gillespie speculated. In terms of government employment programs there's very little happening with the 'xception of the Canada Community Works Projects. There is a good chance that a couple of pro- jects in this area could be approved. They would employ around 10 people for a one year period, Gillespie stated. The unemployed have Please turn to page 13 Stanley helps 4-H members The November meeting of Stanley council turned out to be a brief clean-up session in preparation to the - new council taking over on Monday. The township approved a grant of $4 to each member of the 4-H club residing in the township to help them complete their projects. Council gave their ap- proval to a bylaw which authorized the seeking of funds to the tune of $365,000 from the province for tile drainage loans. In a related matter, special drain tileage rates - totalling $6,700 were approved. Will open telephone office The official opening of the new quarters for the Hay Municipal Telephone System will take place tomorrow night. In conjunction with the opening which will take place at 8, an open house will be held from • 7-9:30. System manager Bill Wagner said Hay township reeve Jack 'Pinney and the building's architect Don Snider will unveil a plaque noting the occasion. The new office which has been occupied by the system for one year houses the business operation, the service manager's office and bays for the telephone trucks. The building was built at a cost of $188,000. Price per Copy 25 Cents S ATI e S --- Former world figure skating champion Donald Jackson conducted a seminar in Exeter Saturday. Above, he helps Cathy Merner, Lisa Bedard, Sonya Shantz_and Sandra Van Essen of the Zurich -Grand Bend figure skating club. Staff photo mediator Back to the bargaining table A return to the bargaining table by the Huron County board of education and their secondary school teachers proved to be short-lived and has -resulted in the ap- pointment of a mediator. At a special meeting of the board Monday it was an- nounced that Professor Geoffrey Gandz of the University of Western Ontario's school of business administration had been appointed by the Education Relations Commission to mediate the dispute between the two parties. NEW BROWNIES The Zurich Brownies initiated 14 new members recently. in the back row (Ieft•right) are Lynda Shirray, Tracy Maxwell, Amy Neilands, Melissa Galloway, Joell Beaver and Heather Consitt. Seated ore"Karen McCullough, Tammy Thiel, Kendra Fenwick, Jennifer Stark, Shannon. Keller and Dana Fischer. Kneeling are Diane Stebbins and Tricia Regier. Staff photo The appointment follows a negotiation session between the board's negotiating committee and a bargaining committee appointed by the local of the Ontario Secon- dary School's Teacher Federation. The two groups met Wednesday and Thursday and broke off negotiations early Friday. As of press time no further meetings between the board, teachers and mediator had Please turn to page 9 County tops production Huron county continues to be one of the top counties in the province of Ontario as far as farm production is concerned. According to statistics released this week by Don Pullen, Huron's Agricultural Representative Huron leads in five categories and is second in five others. Huron leads other counties in barley, white beans, rutabagas, silage corn and total corn and is second in cattle marketings, total cattle, grain corn, hog marketings and total hogs. The local county is third in poultry and fourth in dairy cattle and shipments and has the most improved farm land. Grain corn is the leader in Huron with 196,000 acres worth over $53,430,000.Silage corn is next with $17,238,000 from 68,000 acres. The most acreage 89,000 is taken up by hay with a value of over $13 million. White beans are the next most valuable deriving $8,559,000 from 33,000 acres. The total value of field crops is $116,409,000, fruits and vegetables bring in $3,726,735 while livestock production totalled $168,936,602. The total estimated value of overall production from .all farm sources was 289,072,337. An analysis of land use capability for agriculture indicates 716,440 acres of Class 1, 2, and 3 land or 86 percent of the land area as suitable for most well managed cropping systems and 16 percent of the land is in classes 4, 5, and 6 with progressively more severe limitations of crops. There is no class 7 land in the County. This class has no capability for arable culture or permanent pasture and inventory indicates 34,490 acres of organic soils. Mixed farming operations have been traditional, however, the province -wide change to fewer farms and larger acreage has affected the County. FIRMS CHANGE HANDS The business scene in Zurich has been undergoing some major changes recently including the change in ownership of two businesses. Keith Westlake of the Westlake Funeral Home of Zurich and the Bonthron Funeral Home, Hensall have become associated with Michael P. O'Connor, an employee of funeral service firms in the London and Dorchester areas for the past 10 years. The new firm Michael P. O'Connor Funeral Homes will continue to operate the two funeral homes under the names of the Bonthron Chapel in Hensall and the Westlake Chapel in Zurich. Westlake who has been involved in the funeral business for over 38 years will continue to be associated with the new business. The F.A.C.T. Shoppe formerly operated by Mrs. Hilda McAdams has been sold to Mrs. Ruth Zielman of the Dashwood area who will operate the business under the name of the Village Floral and Gift Shop. The business which is having its grand opening today, tomorrow and Saturday will feature silk flower arrangements. plants and fresh cut flowers. In the village's core, plumber Norm Koehler is making extensive ren- novations to the former Yungblut's Meat Market. Koehler will have his office in the front portion of the building with the hack half and the second storey ser- ving as living quarters.