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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1995-05-17, Page 11F SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 24 Video Hot-line ,235.3535 ekgle y Boo SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 gtf P.C. Lawn & Garden to!Insiders Reyort r SUBSCRIBE! t If you aren't subscribing to The' 1 Times -Advocate, you're missing out. Use the coupon below and subscribe today! 1 Name: Address City 1 Prov. Postal Code ▪ SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada Within 40 miles - (65 km) addressed to non letter carrier addresses $33.00 plus $2.31 G.S.T. ' Outside 40 miles - (65 km) or any letter carrier address $83.00 + $4.41 G.S.T. Outside Canada -$99.00 tna sea 40 1%o44a9.) ' USE YOUR CREDIT CARD OOOOOOOO 1 0000000❑ Card No. I Expiry Date 0 Visa ❑ Master Card ❑ Cheque enclosed Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE `24 Main St. Exeter, Ont. NOM 1S6ion , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Inside Kinettes and Kinsmen Donate poster to Hensall Legion See page 7 Classifieds pages 22-26 Announcements pages 27-28 Experts page 29 Fastest duck in city race LONDON - Laurie Dykstra of Exeter managed to select the fastest duck in the annual Rubber Duckie Race in London Saturday and as a result she is the happy winner of a 1995 Chrysler Neon. Dykstra's duck crossed the finish line ahead of about 15,000 other ducks. Proceeds from the duck race go to the Heart and Stroke Founda- tion. Livingstone gets appointment EXETER - PUC chairman Chan Livingstone has been appointed as a director on the Ontario Municipal Water Association, Western Sec- tion. Livingstone's tern will be for two years. Wednesday. May 17. 1995 Shunpikers soak up Exeter's hospitality Up to 11,000 people come through Exeter and take time to shop as part of Mother's Day tour Ingrid Nielsen T -A Staff EXETER - "We go to this event every year," said Cathy Carron from Melrose, just outside of Lon- don. This dedication is shared by thou- sands who take the annual Mother's Day pilgrimage known as the Shun - pikers Tour. This year, the tour went through Exeter on Sunday morning, as the first stop of the day, with over 11,000 people. The event is organized by the London Free Press, and it attracts people from all over the region. The stops on the tour are kept se- cret until Sunday morning, when participants pick up their packages. "We see stuff we don't normally see," says Carron, who always sets aside this day for the tour with her family. "We started when the kids were little, we automatically do this tour every year." This year's tour covered a huge amount of area as it began in Lon- don, travelled to Exeter, Mt. Car- mel, Grand Bend, Thedford, and onwards. Stops included the Lamb - ton Heritage Museum, T:.; dford Marsh and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church. Exeter enjoyed the benefits of possibly 11,000 people making their way through town. Many busi- nesses were open for the special Sunday shopping, and enjoyed "a very busy day," said Karen Brown, the Manager of BA (Business As- sociation) for Exeter. "A lot of the stores were just jammed with people," says Brown. "The line up for the Sugar and Spice Chocolate Factory (one of the stops on the tour) was backed up on to the highway." "It's not so much what they sell today," says Brown. "But people will remember what they saw in Exeter, and will come back." Brown also said that these might be people who haven't been through Exeter before, but now they have a reason to come back. The walking tour of Exeter filled the streets from approximately 10:30am to 2:30pm. There was also line dancing and baton twirling performances, as well as barbecues on Main Street. Exeter businesses were delighted by the great turnout for this year's Shunpikers tour, that travelled down Main Street, Exeter. John Wuerth, Wuerth's Shoes, stands outside his shop talking with some of the travelling shunpikers. From left to right: Maureen Shearing, and Chantal, Katelyn and Karen Wischniwsky. Exeter finds itself in an enviable financial position Accomplished with a decrease in government grants and investment income of over $20, 000 EXETER- Dan Daum of Kime, Mills &Dunlop presented the an- nual Financial Report for the Town of Exeter at Monday night's coun- cil meeting. The town's working capital (the excess of current assets over liabili- ties) has jumped to $950,000 in 1994 as compared to $600,000 in 1993. Exeter is in an 'enviable posi- tion' compared to most municipali- ties, according to Daum. Taxes owing are down to 3.5% or $89,000; liabilities have decreased by $57,000 ; the tax surplus at the end of 1994 has jumped to $119,000; and reserves have in- creased by $80,000. This stellar performance was ac- complished with a decrease in gov- ernment grants and investment in- come of over $20,000. "Exeter is well positioned to meet future obligations as more de- mands are placed on municipal ser- vices as provincial support is re- duced. There is significant working capital," Daum continued, "excellent debt capacity and very good reserves. Add that to virtually no tax increases in the past few years, and one can conclude that Exeter is in an excellent position for growth." Reeve Bill Mickle congratulated the office staff, and Liz Bell in par- ticular for their commitment to ful- filling the requests of council and for taking the initiative required to efforts of the previous mayor and produce such excellent results. (1* council instnaining these results). mention was made of the incredible Projects and goals studied EXETER- Chief Administrative Officer, Rick Hundry, reported to Council Monday night that the South Huron Liaison Committee met recently to study projects and goals that could be shared by all six municipalities in South Huron. Steve Burns of B. M. Ross and As- sociates informed the representa- tives that there are three major sew- er undertakings in the area: Hensall, Huron Park and Exeter. The costs are significant if dealt with individually; if shared with one major plant in Exeter, the sav- ings would be considerable. The committee will look at the entire picture of fire services and recrea- tion at future meetings. Reeve Bill Mickle suggested that a special meeting of Council be held to establish Exeter's position on these two issues. Town of Exeter expanding? EXETER- Exeter Council Mon- day night agreed to enter into a site plan agreement with Nor Vex Holdings and Veri Trucking con- cerning a property in the northwest corner of the town. The plan calls for the unusual contribution of a sum of money to the project by the Town. Rick Hundey, Exeter's C.A.O., advised Council that with this com- mitment the town would be in an excellent position to provide servic- es to an expanded Exeter. Tom Hughes insisted that each owner should be responsible for contain- ing his own water run-off and should not be allowed to pro- 's' Continued on page 2 Former mayor will cover council EXETER - Former mayor Bruce Shaw has combined his experience as a municipal politi- cian and his background as an English teacher to become a cor- respondent for the Times - Advocate covering Exeter Town Council. Shaw begins his coverage this week. General Coach management makes "final" offer A company spokesperson calls new offer fair and final HENSALL - General Coach has made a final offer to its 140 production em- ployees who went out on strike on April 21. A company spokesperson calls the offer very fair. The offer includes wage increases of .75 cents an hour, effective immediately upon ratification of the contract offer. The package also includes wage increases every six months. The offer includes improve- ments to the company dental plan, an increase in life in- surance, safety shoe al- lowance and funeral pay. A regular production work- er with 10 years seniority would earn $13.00 per hour plus 8 per cent vacation pay, with 11 paid holidays. At the end of the proposed 3 year contract, most employees would be earning wages of $13.63 per hour plus benefits. An important issue in this strike has been the proposal to hire lower paid employees. General Coach has increased its starting rate for new em- ployees, as of May 8, based on negotiations with current employees. With this in- crease, the company hopes that the Carpenters Union will promptly allow a vote by secret ballot on the new offer. The progressive starting rate is similar to other con- tracts negotiated in this arca by the Carpenters Union, said a company spokesperson, and does not affect existing pro- duction employees' wages. The spokesperson said that the recreational vehicle busi- ness has recently been sig- nificantly weakened with sev- eral U.S.- based plants being shut down or significantly cutback. The company branch in Hensall has lost some orders as a result of the ongoing strike, and stress that it is im- perative that the remainder of the seasonal orders be com- pleted immediately to satisfy its customers. See related story on page 5. Lions gain community support for MacNaughton Park project The park will come to symbolize the generosity of the people of Exeter and surrounding communities Chris Skalkos T -A staff • EXETER - With the cobble- stone sidewalk laid down and the shrubs planted the new MacNaugh- ton park is starting to take shape. The park project, which is being co-ordinated by the Exeter Lions Club is being supported by the Aus- able Bayfield Foundation and the Town of Exeter., is scheduled to be completed this fall. According to club member and project manager John Stephens, the park will come to symbolize the generosity of thc people of Exeter and surrounding communities. Absolutely no tax dollars were needed to finance construction costs as the Lions Club relied on the donations of several local busi- nesses, individuals and contractors which raised $150,000 out of the required $175,000 to build the park. The idea for thc park has been around for a long time. "It has been in the talking and planning stage since 1986," said Stephens, but it wasn't until Sep- tember of '93 that the Lions Club set in motion the different construc- tion phases that would make the park a reality. "We're trying to make it as easy as we can for people to donate..." The Lion's Club has implemented a ctreative means for the general public to contribute to the park pro- ject. Personally engraved stones bearing thc purchasers name arc available for 5100, $500 and $1,000 to be permanently set in the park. Stephens said many in- dividuals, families, small busi- nesses and large corporations have responded to this fundraiser and over 200 stones have been sold. They're accepting post-dated cheques and giving out tax receipts to encourage people to consider buying a stone for themselves or for their organization. "We're trying to make it as easy as we can for people to donate," he said. Despite thc effort by the Lions Club Stephens concedes they really wouldn't have been able to under- take a challenging project such as this if it wasn't for the positive and immediate response of the com- munity. "The support has been tre- mendous, it's really been amazing," said Stephens. "This town is really unique, when people see a good cause they go for it," he said. Uona Club member John Stephens stands In the Middle of the New MacNaughton Park under construction. Funding for the park came directly from the community. Cam Steckle from Cobble De- sign Inc. In Zurich cuts through one of the 30,000 cobblestones he laid down for the parks walkway.