Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-05-10, Page 1• SEIP`S vain -mart • SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 New Releases rts.t....INN OMNS1I 1 M you aren't subscribing 10 The 1 1 Times -Advocate, you're missing out. Use the coupon below and 1 subscnbe today! 1 Name: I Address City 1 Prov 1 1 1 Postal Code I SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada 1 W1thln 40 miles - (65 ion) addressed to non letter carder addresses $33.00 plus $2.31 G.S.T. Outside 40 miles - (65 ion) or any letter 1 carder address $63.00 + $4.41 G.S.T. 1 nt Outside Canada 499.00 p a see .a i:co.o.) 1 USE YOUR CREDIT Ce,RD 00000000 1 000000 Card No. 1. I Expiry Date 1 Visa ❑ Master Card 1 1 1 ❑ Cheque enclosed Retum to; TIMES ADVOCATE424 Main St. 1 me asp ass• ExeterOnt.nae ansis Inside Student consumer articles SHDHS grade 12 students raising consumer awareness See page 5 Mother's Day Dining for that special day See page 22 Classifieds pages 24-28 Announcements pages 29-30 Experts page 31 Fire chief clarifies retirement EXETER- Fire Chief Gary Mid- dleton has responded to comments that he may retire due to health rea- sons with a letter to the editor that appears on page 3 of this newspa- Ier. "If I intended to retire in October, as you have stated in your article, it won't be because of health prob- lems, it will be to prevent future work related health problems and it will be because I have earned it for working for the town of Exeter for 30 years and being on the Fire De- partment 34 years (27 of those as chief)" Middleton stated in his let- ter. The Times -Advocate report, that was based on comments made in an open council meeting Monday, May 1, quoted councillor Robert Drum- mond as saying Middleton could re- tire due to health reasons. Council- lor Roy Triebner discussed the possibility of reviewing the job of fire chief before it is filled. He felt it may be possible to reduce the job description to a part-time position if administration work is separated from the physical demands. The Times -Advocate found in a survey conducted this week that there seems to be a split among area municipalities on whether or not the position of fire chief is full-time or part-time. The town of Seaforth has had a full-time chief for many years. In Ooderich, the chief is part-time. In Clinton the chief works part-time and on an on-call basis. Wednesday, M 10, 1995 493c . (i.S.) ONE DOLLAR Hot rods return to Grand Bend The old speedway off Highway 21 wil be home again to drag racing By Chris Skalkos • T -A staff ik Grand Bend - The thunderous roar of hotrod engines and the pungent smell of burning rubber will return to Grand Bend this summer. The old Grand Bend speedway off Highway 21 has come under new ownership and will be ready for racing this weekend. Businessmen and racing en- thusiasts Doug Jennison, Allan Stubs, Don Brooks and Andy Spriete purchased the 405 acres The speedway lies on last year for a cool one million dollars and plan to make it Canada's premiere racetrack called Grand Bend Motorplex Inc. The track has remained dormant since its closure in 1969, and according to Track Manager Kris Bedard, during the 60's the speedway was Canada's number one drag strip. It was the longest track in the country and famous race car drivers such as Farmer Arnie Beswick, Don "Big Daddy" Garlits and Dyno Don Nicholson frequented the track which would draw an average of 5,000 spectators on any given weekend. "Grand Bend was better known more for its racing than as a vacation resort," said Bedard. "This the po be as wa The new owners are aiming to carry on the speedways's legacy making Grand Bend Motorplex a top rated National Hotrod Racers Association (N.H.R.A.) sanctioned track by investing half a million dollars into upgrading the facilities. By the time the project is finished it will feature a 3,350 foot reconditioned track with new pavement and staging lanes, new 20 x 200 feet concrete launch pads, an observa- tion tower, concession booths, grand stands, large washroom facilities, a microsprint oval dirt track and a high tech timing system which uses infra red lasers for accurate pin- point timing. A safari truck with a trained crew will be on site to douse the occasional fire and a classic 1971 Cadillac ambulance will be per- manently available for show and for use. A shuttle bus running all day long will also be available to carry sun worshipers to and from the beach in between races as organizers hope to give the speedway more of a family orientation. "It will be a class 'A' state of the art drag strip. No doubt about it. It will attract racers from all over North America," Bedard said At first, Motorplax will host point series races featuring track has pot to big as it s in the 60's." Super Pro 7.50-11.99 seconds 1/4 mile, Pro 11.0-13.99 sec- onds 1/4 mile, Street 13.99 seconds and motorcycle racing. Bedard said that they will be bringing in show vehicles such as jet cars and funny cars later this summer and there will also be a chance for the kids to get a taste of speed with an additional'Jr. Dragster 1/8 mile series for eight to fifteen year olds. "It's been thought out, well budgeted and well planned," said Bedard. "We're doing things right. We're not cutting any corners and it's going to be a first class track." Last year organizers held a couple of low-key races at the unfinished speedway to see if there was still an interested in bringing back racing to Grand Bend. Both races featured approximately 200 racers and drew crowds of up to 4,000 spectators. It was totally successful, I knew this track could be turned into something big," said Bedard. The speedway will be used this weekend for a "gambler's race" designed to test and tune the new track but the official opening is May 20 and 21 long weekend with races being held every weekend until closing date October 8th. "This track has the potential to be as big as it was in the 60's," said Bedard. "The magnetism is still there." • Merchants oppose new village position While business supports promoting village, they don't support new position By Heather Mir T -A staff. HENSALL - While most busi- ness owners in Hensall support promoting the village, few may be in favour of creating the posi- tion of Community Development Officer. Councillor Jeff Reaburn spoke with about 10 businesses last weekend to get some input on the concept and he was left with the distinct feeling this is not the right time to be creating new po- sitions. Reaburn shared his con- cern with council at Monday night's meeting. "I just don't think the time is right. Govern- ment at every level is down- sizing and we qap creating a poli tion which seems to me, very hard to justify fi- nancially," said Reaburn. A draft letter of intent, which has received support, has been submitted to the provincial gov- ernment for creating the position. A formal application for grant funding has not been submitted. The Economic Development Committee included contract ser- vices costs of $8,000 which would include salary and start-up costs for the position in their draft 1995 budget. Subject to approval of funding, 50 per cent of this cost would be covered by provincial grant. However, it remains to be seen if this program will exist after the elections. "After the election this pro- gram may not be in existence," said Luanne Phair, clerk - treasurer. Council discussed calling an- other BIA meeting to present their findings to the public on wages and start-up costs of the position. A survey has been sent to businesses in Hensall. How-, ever, Councillor Reaburn said his.discussion with merchants in- dicated they would not return the survey. "What I suspect is that you won't receive much feedback from them. They don't like to be put in a position of being per- ceived as making negative com- ments," said Reaburn. Reaburn said he felt the pro- cess was backwards, establishing a budget and submitting a letter of intent before input from the pub- lic had been assessed. "To me, the process is go- ing back- wards, the community should be sounded out first to see if they are interested in this kind of position," said Re- aburn. Coordinating activities were discussed at several workshops and a strategy was presented in November, 1994. No consensus was arrived at to create a new position, funded in part by tax dollars and possibly BIA money. Reeve Cecil Pepper moved on with other business on the meet- ing's agenda when no motion was made to decide the issue. The minutes of the Economic Development Committee Meet- ing were not accepted as pre- sented. He suggested that a meeting be held with the BIA, even if it was to vote against the creation of the position of Com- munity Development Officer. "I hate to see it drop after the work that went into it original- ly," sai:: Pepper. "To me, the process is going backwards, the community should be sounded out first to see if they are inter- ested in this kind of position." • Kirkton's grand old lady passes away KIRKTON - The village lost its oldest resident last week with the death of Mrs. Nellie Paul at the age of 100 at the Kingsway Nursing Home in St. Marys. Until 14 months ago she lived in 1 her own home in Kirkton and was well known for playing the piano in the early days for the vaudeville acts of her sons Leon and Gerald now entertaining as the Paul Broth- ers and Shirley. OPP officer in Grand Bend charged with sexual assault GRAND BEND - Senior Con- stable Wayne D. Silverman of Grand Bend OPP has been charged with ten counts of sexual assault following a two month in- vestigation by the Number One District OPP Crime Unit, in Lon- don. Silverman has been with the OPP 4 for 19 years. He has served at For- est and Grand Bend Detachments. The charges stem from incidents between 1987 and 1995, involving eight males between the ages of 14 to 29 years old. After appearing before the Justice of the Peace, Silverman was re- leased on a recognizance. He is scheduled to appear in court on May 29, in Sarnia. Silverman has been suspended from work with pay. Detective Inspector Wally Baker of OPP Criminal Investigation Bu- reau is . coordinating the in- vestigation. Very few attend Non -Violence Day presentation in Zurich By Ingrid Nielsen T -A Staff ZURICH - Despite a lot of prior publicity, the groups present and ready to speak on Non -Violence, in Zurich Community Centre on Saturday, were left only to speak amongst themselves. Very few people attended the well-planned event, sponsored by the Zurich and District Optimist Club. The agenda of speakers never materialized, and the few people who did arrive had to be content to browse among the booths representing the different agencies. Although the poor turnout was disappointing, most realize that non-violence is a tough issue to rally crowd support around. "We are just so pleased that the Optimist Club put on this event," says Michele Hansen, Women's Shel- ter & Counselling Services of Huron. Some of the groups represented included Phoenix Second Stage Housing, Block Parents, Dashwood Lock and Key, and Survival Thru Friendship House. The message all of the groups shared was a com- mon respect for all people, and a complete in- tolerance for violence against anyone. One of the topics represented at the event was wife assault, and the facilities which exist for women in precarious situations. Arlene Timmins, an Executive Director for Phoe- nix House, pointed to some of the recent "progress" that her group and others have made in dealing with issues such as violence against women, particularly rural women. "There has been a committee called D.A.R.T. (Do- mestic Assault Review Team) set up in Huron County that is a community response to the issue. The committee monitors the occurances of domestic violence, and deals with the police. At first, the po- lice might have felt like we were going to only keep tabs on them, but we've seen a real change in think- ing." "We're really gaining progress," says Timmins. Constable Ray Jack also attended the event to dis- cuss police issues, as well as respond to questions. He agrees with Timmins that there has been a real change in all issues of abuse. However, both agree that violence is still a very real problem in Huron County. When Jack goes into a suspected incident of do- mestic violence, "we never take a side. We stay neu- tral," says Jack. "We examine the evidence. If we determine an assault has taken place, we remove the offender from the premises. We take action that night to maintain the peace." "Recently, in the last few months police can now say that the offender cannot go hack (to the home) until the conclusion of the trial, should the Crown press charges against the arrested person," says Jack. "The onus is never on the victim to press charges, nor on the police officers. That's important." * Continued on page 2 Jamin Bell and Wesley Uttlechlld weft a pin and some advice, from Chris Bruxer and Child Find Ontario, on how to stay safe.