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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-07-27, Page 1►_ • I ollce radio contract awar BY JOANNE WALTERS Canadian General Electric Company Limited, a London based firm, was the lowest of two bids received for the contract to supply and install the central police communications dispatch system for the towns of Goderich, Clinton, Seaforth, Exetdr and Wingham. Since the Ontario Police Commission (OPC) is providing 75 percent of the cost of equipment, which includes radios, transmitters and a tower, the contract needs OPC approval. Mike McInerney, OPC technical advisor on communications, has taken the two -bids to Toronto for perusal by ' the technical staff there. He said he doesn't think there will be any problems and the contract could possibly be com- pleted by September 15 with the new equipment being delivered in February or March and installed in June. Fre said the two bids were close to what was estimated. The Canadian General- Electric Company bid $128,361 to supply and install the system with $9,248 of this to cover one year's maintenance. The only other firm to bid on the contract, out of six firms which received tender, was Motorola Canada Limited, This company bid $141,734. After the two submissions are looked over, evaluated and approved by the OPC, a meeting of the mayors of the five towns and or their representatives will be held to review the OPC's comments and the decision of whether or not to award the contract to the Canadian General Electric Company as the lowest bidder will be taken to the various councils before a final decision is made. The five towns will be paying the remaining 25 percent of the equipment plus the operational costs. It has been agreed already that the new system's centre will be located in Goderich with all five—Municipalities sharing the responsibilities of running it, The G oderich Police Commission learned from Goderich Police Chief Pat King at its last meeting that two antennae are needed in Goderich for the system --one for receiving and one for transmitting and these two should be fairly close together to be fully ef- fective but not on the same building. There is already one antenna located at the police station for the present communications system and the Police Commission will ask Town Council's permission to put another one - on top of Town Hall. It would be relatively small, says the Chief, about the size of a filing cabinet and the only cost involved would be for the cable and hooking it up. The new common police com- munications system will mean the towns will no longer have to rely on telephone answering services or radio- phone systems for police calls outside office hours, which is now the case. A 10 to 20 mm rainfall that fell on most of Huron County ry early last Friday morning, prevented the crop situation from getting critical, but the crops are still in bad need of another 30 to 50 mm in order to keep them growing. This corn in Hullett Township exhibits the symptoms of water stress, uneven growth and curled leaves. (News -Record photo) Showers ease drought, still dry A heavy shower last week that dropped from 10 to 20 mm of rain on the area, has prevented area crops from drying up anymore, but agricultural officials and farmers say they could still use another 50 mm of an all day rain before the situation is back to normal. Clinton has only received 10.5 mm of rain since June 18, while 15.4 mm of -rain has fallen at the Goderich weather station. Normal rainfall for July is 74.2 mm, according to Goderich weather meterologist Graham Campbell. Only 61,1 mm fell in June says Campbell, compared to the average of 75.2, so it's been a dry summer so far. Don Pulled''';' agriculture rep for Huron, and also secretary for the International Plowing Match to be held in Wingham this year, says that even though .the county badly needs rain, he hopes the August and September weather this year doesn't copy last year, when nearly 300 mm (12 inches) fell on the area, turning fields into quagmires. "We're certainly not as bad off as some parts of the province," Pullen said, where farmers are losing some • $10 million a .day, and some crops will only yield 50 per cent of their normal quantity. Jim McIntosh, ' of Tuckersmith Township, and a director of the Huron Federation of agriculture said the reason the Huron crops are standing up well • in the dry weather is a com: binati.on of a good spring and heavy clay soils. "We had a slow melt this spring of a good' snow cover, and it's (the water) all down there waiting for the crops," McIntosh said. He said that inspection of his fields showed the quality and yield pf the barley crop to' be down somewhat, but "we won't know by how much until we run the combine through it." McIntosh said there was still a good chance of an excellent corn crop if a heavy rain comes before the ears fill out. Pullen said that some dairy farmers are putting oats and barley into the silo for feed because of the poor pastures, and almost no second cut, although "the first cut was certainly one of the best in many years." Associate ag rep Mike Miller has warned farmers to be on the lookout for the Mexican bean beetles which are showing up, and has advised several farmers to spray with insecticides. Crash injures two teens Two people were sent to Exeter Hospital with minor injuries after the vehicles they were driving collided at a Stanley Township intersection on July 22, Thomas Stothers, 16, of Sarnia and Jerome Cantin, 18, Detroit were treated and released from hospital after they met at the corner of Con- cession 10-11 and Sideroad 15-16. Damage to the Stothers car was set at $1,500 and the front end of the Cantin vehicle received $2,500 in damages. The Goderich detachment of the OPP also investigated an accident in Bayfield on July 22 when two cars collided on Highway 21 and County Road 3. A car driven by Cecil Bridges, 18, of Lions Head was attempting to make a left hand turn from Highway21 onto Huron Road 3 when it met in ollision with a northbound vehicle driven by Donalda Glousher, 32 of Wallaceburg. No one was injured but damages were received to the front ends of both vehicles, $900 to the Bridge car and $1,000 to the Glousher vehicle. The Clinton Police reported that a PUC pole on the corner of Clinton's main intersection received $800 damages after it was struck by a tractor trailer on Sunday morning. Neil Cook, 49, of Stratford was ap- proaching the lights at the main corner when the traffic signal changed and the driver applied the brakes, losing control on the wet road surface. The truck spun around crossing the east- bound lane and struck the. pole on the south side of Ontario Street. Damages of $200 were received to the truck. Also on July 23 at 6:30 p.m, the Clinton police investigated a two car collision on Huron Street that resulted in a total of $1,400 in damages. A car driven by Cecil Harry Logan, 56, of Thorndale was eastbound on Huron Street and slowed down for a vehicle ahead of him. As a result a car driven by Mary Core,22, of London who was following the Logan vehicle struck the rear of the car. Damage to the Logan vehicle was set at $200 and $1,200 to the Core vehicle. , The Clinton Police reported two break-ins this past week. The Clinton Legion on Kirk Street was broken into sometime between,July 23 and July 24. Entry was made by forcing a door open. Once inside the bar doorr was also forced open and two cases of beer and some cigarettes were stolen. • It was reported that on July 20 or 21 the Kinette refreshment booth and the Clinton- race track was also broken into. Some potato chips were taken from the building. Now, contrary to popular opinion, yours truly only gets two weeks holidays a year, not two months. It's just that we spread them around, and it looks like we're not working all the time, Our family had a great week away from the office, relaxing in the quiet solitude of the Haliburton Highlands of central Ontario, but we are glad to be back again, Although the lack of rainfall has many area people concerned about a possible threat of a serious drought here and possible crop losses, Huron County seems to be in better shape than just about anywhere we travelled lost week. Nearly all of central and eastern Ontario is fast turning into a desert, since many of them haven't had a good rain since May. The crops are stunted and drooping over, the pasture and hayland is white as it's so dry, and we would guess that it's already too late to save some fields, especially barley and oats. +++ We'd like to welcome to our pages this week, a new correspondent for Brucefield, Mrs. Jean Taylor, who replaces Mrs. H.F.. Berry, a longtime and devoted chronicler of events in that hamlet. Mrs, Taylor can be reached at 482-9155 if you have some news of note on that area. +++ Smile: "The only time most of us feel close to our fellow marl is when we're caught in a traffic jam." +++ Good news for those of us who frequent the Blyth Summer Festival; the air conditioning is working! There won't be anymore hot sticky nights in Blyth, when the actcira Weren't sure whether they were,. getting a standing ovation, or everyone was Just getting up quickly at the end of the'show to air them- selves. "They (the beetles) are always around," said Miller, "but because of the dryness, there's not much foliage this year so we can't afford to lose ariy." 113th year—No. 30 Thursday, July 27, 1978 30 cents • ime ruining out on arena floor by Shelley McPhee After a prolonged wait, the Clinton recreation committee is finally taking definite steps to replace thebadly cracked Clinton arena floor, In what turned out to, be a small but urgent meeting last Wednesday night, the rec committee learned that there is only $3,500 in the bank for a project that has been under consideration since at least last September. Although the committee had earlier planned to canvass for the needed funds to help install the new floor, no further action was taken, no definite cost was established and subsequently no money for the floor was set aside in the town or rec budgets. With anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000 of tax free dollars to be raised anti.,.. the deadline for tender u'ap- plications set for Thursday, Aug. 3, the committee was forced to make an immediate decision on where the needed money, would come from. Despite the fact that there weren't Over Fleck strike enough rec members nresent at the meeting to form a quorum, those present agreed that some sort .of commitment for the needed money had to be made quickly so grants, to supply additional funds could be applied for as soon as possible., If accepted, a Wintario grant would match the donated money, dollar for dollar, and a Community Centres grant would give 25 per cent of the costs. "Time's running out," offered rec member Paul Draper. "People are aware that we need a new floor, but they probably don't realize that we need it right away," added Dennis Jewitt. 'Secretary Marie Jefferson explained to the committee that although the tenders d be opened anytime, they had to mtt. the Aug. 3 deadline. Although it had been decided that all tenders for the floor were to meet a July 27 deadline, "it was learned at presstime that this had to be extended until August 3. The committee had initially hoped to havethe new floor completed in time for the spring fair last June. Its start was then further detailed and an August 1 objective was set. "The canvass should have started in April and now many people are away or they've already spent too much money this summer," Mrs. Jefferson added. "I'm at a loss," she said. In what seemed to be a desperate situation, Mr. Jewitt stepped forward and volunteered to call an emergency meeting for the 'next evening, Thur- sday, July 21 to ask representatives from Clinton's various service clubs, -,the surrounding townships and in- terested individuals for their support in raising the funds. Although it was questionable as to how a meeting could be set on such a short notice, some 25 people from various organizations in town gathered to set up a steering committee for the UAW to prosecute after hearin BY DAVE SYKES The United Auto Workers Union has won permission to prosecute Huron - Middlesex MPP Jack Riddell, Fleck Manufacturing Company, the vice- president of the firm and an Ontario Provincial Police Constable in in- cidents arising from the strike by Fleck employees. Last week the Ontario Labor Relations Board ruled that the union could proceed on charges of violation of the Ontario Labor Relations Act. The board ruled there was a prima facie case for the courts to consider and that the evidence could be viewed by the criminal court as establishing a deliberate and concerted attempt by the' company and its vice-president, Grant Turner, to destroy the union. The board was also concerned that OPP constable Bill McIntyre may have exceeded his authority in lecturing Fleck employees in the plant before the strike began. The board ruled he may have interfered with the rights of employees. The board also ruled there was a case against Liberal MPP for Huron - Middlesex, Jack Riddell, who was accused by the union of interfering with the rights of Fleck employees through statements he made outside the Legislature. It was stated that Riddell's com- ments claimed the union had obtained certification by fraud. The board said that Riddell's statements could "arguably be viewed by the court as conveying of threats to the job security of the employees on behalf of the. company". The strike at Fleck is now in its fourth month and arose from the group's quest for a first collective agreement with the company. Most of the strikers are women and their four- month effort has been marked by police charges against UAW members, mass picketing by other UAW local Indoor farmers' market to be held in Clinton An area couple plan to open a private farmer's market in Clinton in one week, if all details are worked out and enough vendors are found. David and Lia Christie of Brucefield have leased the former Corner Rec Centre at the corner of Isaac and Mary Streets and are in the process of renovating it into an indoor farmer's market. Mr. Christie said in an interview on Tuesday that he decidedto go ahead with the market after the Clinton Business Association voted down the outside farmer's market after one year of operation on King Street. Mr. Christie plans to divide the building up into 14 booths of 10 by 10 feet each. There will be a weekly charge to rent the booths, but there won't be any admission charge to the building. The market which will be open only on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to5p.m., will feature a number of vendors selling a Wide range of quality produce. To be called the Huron Farmer's Market, Mr. and Mrs. Christie are hoping for local Market gardeners to participate, and because it's inside, "we won't have to worry about the rain." AIWuugAI Christies hadn't ap- proached the Business Association about the venture, he has talked to several merchants individually. "Those I have talked to are highly supportive," he said. Mr. Christie said that if the mer- chandise doesn't have good quality, "we'll say goodbye to the vendor". 1 -le hopes -to run the market year round, and will spend an extensive amount of money on renovations if the market is a success., The Christies still need approval from the Huron Board of Health for the Market. Weather 1978 1977 HI LC) H1 Lb July 18 30.5 9 92 64 19 31 20,5 87 70 20 32 19 95 68 21 27 17,5 81 60 22 32 20 78 55 23 26 12 82 48 24 25.5 9 82 56 Rain 10.5 No Rain members and visits by various political personalities including NDP leader Ed Broadbent and Provincial NDP lea& Michael Cassidy. The strike began March 6 and out Turn to page .1 canvass drive. "Dennis Jewitt did an exceptional job at getting the meeting together and then chairing it," Mrs, Jefferson com mented. "We were very surprised at the turnout and even had support from Hullett Township with Reeve John Jewitt there and Goderich Township with Reeve Gerry Ginn attending. We'll also ask for support from Stanley and Tuckersmith," she added. Now with a steering committee made up of Bob Campbell, Ron McKay, Dennis Jewitt, Marie Jefferson as financial advisor and Roy Wheeler, the rec committee have some guarantee of money and plan to meet next Thursday to accept a tender. Th canvass will also be underway soon,3nce a definite cost figure is given by accepted tender and a cost per person or family for the door to door canvass' is established. "We don't want this project to cost the taxpayers any more money," Mrs. Jeffers.n explained. Alon: with the canvass, proceeds from the upcoming Hell Drivers exhi.ition at the Clinton park on Au ust 1 will go towards the arena. well, the past Bantam Tour- ament proceeds and this year's bingo rofits will go to the floor. An upcoming Singles Club dance profits will also go towards the project. "If anyone wants to skate this winter and have a decent floor, then they've got to help," Mrs. Jefferson stressed. The Old Corner tee buitdh ig at the earner of Mary and Isaac Streets in Clinton is undergoing renovations as Lia Christie and het -husband David of Brueefield • are getting ready for the opening day of their indoor farmer's market Ideated • in the building. The independent market is scheduled to open on Saturday, August 5 and run every Saturday after that, year round. (flews-fZlecord photo) 1'