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Times Advocate, 1995-06-28, Page 1SEIP 'S valu-mart 4&83 Exeter 235-0262 White Squirrel Party -Fest - June 30/95 SEIP'S vale -mart 4 k 83 Exeter Comb Celebrate fidY 1/95, WIC Itttm ta>• ta>. — tttmmi SUBSCRIBE IIItyou aren't subscribing to TheI Times -Advocate, you're missing out.' Use the coupon below and subscribe today! 1 Name: 1 Address City 1 Prov 1 1 1 1 Postal Code 1 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 1 carder address *63.00 + $4.41 G.S.T. Outside Canada -199.00 c lee 40 coon.) 1 USE YOUR CREDIT CARD 1 00000000 1 00000000 Card No. 1 I Expiry Date Visa 0 Master Card 0 Cheque enclosed Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE 1 one Main -laiNOM sJ 1 1 Graduates Area school graduations See page 8 School safety Watch for children on the streets See page 12 Canada Day Fun -filled two days for the whole family See page 13 Experts page 18 Classifieds pages 19-23 Announcements pages 24-25 What's open this weekend? EXETER - It is always confusing as to wha` is open on the long weekend'rand what shuts down. Here is a rundown of some of im- portant stores and services. The post office and banks will be closed on July 3. The Beer Store will be closed on Saturday, July I but have made a request to the government for per- mission to open. For the answer, call the Beer Store towards the end of the week. The Liquor Store will be closed Saturday, July I. It will be open the Thursday and Friday before, until 9:00pm. Beer and money stolen EXETER - Beer and money were stolen from two cars on Monday, Juno 19, when a garage was broken into on Andrew Street. Damage was done to a red Trans - Am when suspect(s) attempted to hot wire the ignition on Church Street on Monday. The steering col- umn was damaged. A blue renegade 18 speed moun- tain bike was stolen from Victoria Street on Sunday, June 18. A hit and tun accident was report- ed on Tuesday, June 20 in the I.O.A. parking lot on Main Street. A suspect struck a car and left the scene after observing minor dam- age. Exeter OPP are looking for in- formation. Mischief was reported on Satur- day at the I.O.A. an Main Street af- ter pop machines were damaged. The locks were tampered with and destroyed. Aggressive drivers beware OPP campaign targets aggressive driving behaviour Ingrid Nielsen TA Staff EXETER - It's steamy outside, and without air conditioning the temperature is almost unbearable in this little car. All that matters is getting to the next air conditioned building, no matter how fast. The car races ahead. That fool infront is going too slow. Move it! Oh great, now he's stopping to make a left turn. I'll just whip around him on the shoulder. No signals. Too close. Too fast. Passing right on an unpaved shoul- der. This fictitious driver is the perfect example of who Exeter OPP will be cracking down `on in the 1995 Ag- gressive Driving Campaign, from June 18 to July 3. Sergeant Paul Holmes, Exeter OPP is responsible for publicizing this campaign and getting the mes- sage out. "It is part of a corporate strategy, province wide. Local detachments will try to come up with our own ideas, and target areas where we are experiencing traffic accident problems," said Holmes. "We want to create more driver awareness." Aggressive driving is described by the OPP as speeding, impaired driving, following too closely, failure to yield right of way, improper lane change, improper passing and disobeying traffic signs and signals. Exeter OPP are targeting certain violations that are most pressing concerns in this area. These in- clude: following too close, unsafe lane changes, passing right off an unpaved roadway and speeding. "Our officers are being encouraged to use their discretion when dealing with offenders. There are no quotas. They are to treat everyone fairly," said "I don't that schoo there no doing Holmes. "It will give our officers a chance to focus on traf- fic and take time off from other things." A strong theme in this campaign is individual re- sponsibility for safer driving. The slogan is "Have you seen (been) a bad driver today?" Driver error accounts for 85 per cent of collisions, and police want drivers to realize that there are no "bad highways" or "killer intersections", only care- less driving behaviour. "Every year 1,100 people die and another 90,000 are injured on the province's roads, creating $9 bil- lion in social costs," according to an OPP press release on the campaign. John Kryzanowski, a truck driver and driving instructor just north of Exeter, is not surprised by the high number of ac- cidents and careless driving behaviour. "I don't think that most driving schools out there now are doing their job," said Kryzanowski. "They collect the money and push them out the door. I'm a truck driver, I've seen what's out there." Kryzanowski teaches how to drive tractor trailers, buses, and first time drivers. "When I get a new student, he or she doesn't real- ly know anything at all. We start all over again." Kryzanowski is discouraged by the high rate of accidents in this province. "We need more training, more courses. There are just too many accidents." While the numbers continue to show young driv- ers as "over -represented" in motor vehicle colli- sions, Holmes insists that the campaign will not fo- cus specifically on youth and new drivers. "I wouldn't put it all on the youths," said Holmes. Seventeen per cent of 16 year old drivers were in- volved in collisions, compared to six per cent of drivers 25-34 years of age. think most driving Is out w are their job." Do constituents really back MP Paul Steckle's stand against gun control legislation and the anti -hate law Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle has the distinction of being the only Liberal to vote against his govern- ment in three instances recently, twice to express his opposition to the gun control legislation and most re- cently taking a stand against the new law which will hand out stiffer penalties for hate crimes. When Steckle voted against the government the first time he was dropped from any committees he was serving on. Since then he has bucked the party line twice more and is expected to be on the receiving end of more discipline from the party. It could even be as severe as not having his nomination papers endorsed by Prime Minister Chretien when the next election rolls around. The rookie backbencher said last week he had no choice but to deny the government my support I believed in doing what was right plus he feels he is expressing the views of his constituents. The Times -Advocate wants to know if Steckle is expressing the feelings of the people he represents. We invite you to take the time to let us know how you feel by filling out the questionnaire below and mailing it to us no later than Friday to:The Times -Advocate, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ont. NOM 1S6 or call us with a yes or know at 235-1331 YES I agree with Paul Steckle's decision to vote the way he believes even though he was elected as a member of the Liberal team. NO I believe he is a member of the government and should have voted to pass the two pieces of legislation. WE ALSO WANT TO KNOW YOUR PERSONAL OPINIONS Are you in favor of gun control legislation? Are you in favor of stronger sentences for hate crimes? Your responses will be tabulated and published next week. YES YES NO NO Food bank fenced in Chris Skalkos T -A staff EXETER - A Toronto landowner suddenly erected a fence on his property last week which will cut off access to the Exeter Food Bank. Nick Kastlunger, owner of the commercial plaza which houses Stedman's Store, a video arcade, a photo framing store and a Sears outlet began fencing off his prop- erty north of the plaza last Wednes- day. The fence will effectively cut off the only entrance way to the ad- jacent building which houses the food bank along with Noah's Ark used clothing store and Les East's lawn maintenance company. The World of Goods store, and Selah Family Books, also in the same building, will not be affected since they have a front entrance off Main Street. Kastlunger said he is planning to construct an extension to his plaza on the open property and lane way between the two buildings; how- ever, the Food Bank and other stores depend on the lane way to access their units. "I'm just trying to fence in my property and look after my own in- terests," said Kastlunger adding that erecting a fence is the first step he needs to take before he starts fu- ture developments on the site. "This is my property, why can't I fence off my own property?" he said. Don Romphf, owner of the build- ings across from Kastlunger's plaza was on hand Thursday afternoon trying to reason with Kastlunger. "We're trying to negotiate with him but he's not willing to talk to me," said Romphf. Romphf, a resident of Exeter said he bought the building four years ago, to help the community by cleaning up the site and by housing non-profit organizations such as the food bank and Noah's Ark. Both are outreach ministries affiliated with • the Exeter Pentecostal Tab- ernacle. "These are Christian or- ganizations servicing the com- munity," said Romphf. "In essence these people will have to move out r Continued on page 2 Don Romphf stands behind the fence a Toronto property own- er erected on Thursday. Noah's Ark clothing store and the food bank behind him will have their entrance ways cut off. Exeter natives join Tory victory Two former residents were successful in the recent provincial election Heather Mir T -A staff EXETER -Two former Exeter cit- izens have recently joined Huron County MPP Helen Johns in a suc- cessful Tory provincial campaign. 'Janet Ecker, 41, daughter of Don and Melva Ecker of Exeter, was elected in the riding of Durham West. This was Ecker's first victory as a PC candidate. Elizabeth Witmer, 48, daughter of Joe and Sena Oosar of Exeter was also elected to represent the PC par- ty in the province -wide election. Janet Ecker Premier Mike Harris announced Monday that Witmer would serve as the minister of labor in his new cabinet. -This is expected to be a high-profile position as the govern- ment implements many of the new Conservative policies. Ecker has been interested in pol- itics for a number of years working with several ministries in the areas of communications and public pol- icy. She has been employed with the College of Physicians and Sur- geons as director of policy for the last four and a half years. Ecker came to Exeter with her family in 1956 when her father set up a medical practice. She attended Exeter Public School and South Hu- ron District High School. Ecker graduated from the University of Western Ontario with an honors de- gree o-gree in journalism. She worked pen -time for the Times Advocate where she handled the editorial side of the 1973 Centennial edition. She is married to Derek Nelson who is a foreign affairs columnist for the Thompson News Service. Nelson has been quite supportive of Ecker's leap into the public world of politics. "He was quite prepared to be the other part of the team because when one spouse goes into politics the other is part of the team wheth- er they want to be or not. He has as much fun at this, I think, as I do," said Ecker when she spoke on the telephone with the T -A on Fri- day. Ecker made the decision to run for political office with the support of her family and many friends. What motivated her to make the move has been a growing concern over the past few years with the government's inability to solve problems. With her experience in government and private sector pol- icy making. Ecker felt she could make a valuable contribution. "There were so many examples where the system was being mis- used or abused." said Ecker. Ecker based her first election on the Common Sense Revolution but more specifically, responded to the unique growth needs in her riding. She wants to ensure that priorities kw development aro set properly. Growing up in a small town has helped Ecker to shape the prin- cipals she wants to represent in Queen's Park. "It gave me a sort of touchstone in life. The older I get the more important the values are that you get living in a small town," said Ecker. Witmer was elected in the region of Waterloo North were she moved with her husband, Cam Witmer, in 1972. She has been involved in politics since 1980 and won her first election in 1990. Witmer grew up in Exeter where she lived since she was in kin- dergarten. She attended Exeter PS and graduated from SHDHS. Wit- mer graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a bach- elors of arts degree and then at- tended teacher's college at Alt - house in London. Witmer is also an alumni of the T -A. She wrote a weekly column as a student of SIiDHS betweem 1963 and 1965. "I'm thrilled I grew up in Exeter." said Witmer during a telephone in- terview with the T -A on Thursday. She said that because of her ex- perience with a small, rural com- munity she is better able to under- stand the viewpoints and concerns of the entire province. Witmer has had the benefits of living in both urban and rural worlds. "Part of the reason I am here is because of the people who sup- ported me," said Witmer. Witmer served as a trustee for the Waterloo County Board of Educa- tion, for 10 years. Five years of her involvement with the board were in the position of chair. Ed- ucation is also of concern to Wit - or Continued on page 2 ., i