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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-08-17, Page 1• so,ss',., 1 n:i lyd Iff Sid.ewalk drive expensive Fortunately no one was injured in a Sunday afternoon accident after John Goldsworthy, 26 unintentionally went for a quick drive along the main street sidewalk in Clinton, Although no damage estimate has been set, Goldsworthy in the pickup truck was driving left on Albert Street when he ran into and broke off a no parking sign and a parking meter, and then continued on to demolish one of the wooden tree planters set on the sidewalk and came to a halt after breaking through a five by eight foot glass window at Shiral's Department store. The Clinton Police say that charges are pending. On Thursday, August 10 the, Clinton Police investigated an accident that resulted in $700 damages to two cars after they collided on Mary Street. A car driven by Mary Oleva Keys, 57 of RR 1, Varna had been parked on the south side of Mary Street facing east when an eastbound car driven by Francis Ross Postill, 37 of RR 3, Clinton also travelling down Mary Street and the Keys car collided. Damage to the Keys car was set at $400 and $300 to the Postill vehicle. Six people were uninjured in another accident on August 10 when a car driven by Gerald Ryan, 30 of London and a car driven by David Colquhoun, 20 of Huron Street, Clinton collided. The Ryan vehicle was eastbound on Ontario Street when the Colquhoun car pulled off East Street heading for Turn to page Clinton News -Record 113th year —No. 33 Thursday, August 17, 1978 30 cents 8I'J1 ? ^fl;r rc� 1,4 The Clinton office of the Huron County Health Unit was a very busy place last week, as hundreds of people lined up to get their polio booster shots after the disease was discovered in Oxford County. Now, • (News -Record photo) however, the shots will be administered only to persons 18 vears or younger at the public clinics, until the vaccine supply is replenished. Here nurse Liz McHugh registers people at the Clinton clinic. ,',Arena floor tender awarded, but work may not start The Clinton recreation committee backed by town council, awarded the tender to reconstruct the arena floor at the Clinton Community Centre, but there isstill some doubt if the job will even be done this year. In a special meeting before the regular council meeting last Monday night, council met with the rec com- mittee, the engineers on the project, and the town solicitor. After the smoke had cleared, town council accepted the tender of C.A. McDowell Ltd., of RR 2, Centralia at a cost �f $160,963, against the advice of their engineer and solicitor, and no one is sure •whether the job will even be done this year, or wind up in a court battle. The confusion all started two weeks ago when the rec committee accepted the tender of McDowell at a special meeting •on August 3. The McDowell tender at $160,963 was the lowest of three invited tenders which included John Hayman and Sons of London at $202,648, and Kelly-lyn Construction. of London at $199,860. The acceptance of the tenders was subject to checking by the engineer and approval by town council', but then engineer. Bill Knowles of the London fi. m of James F. MacLaren Ltd., Clinton's engineers, told the town that McDowell had made a mistake in his tender and forgot to include the price of the hot and cold brine system, and would lose about $40,000 on the project. Although neither the engineer, nor the town had received written con- firmation of McDowell's wish to with- draw, engineer Knowles told council that McDowell' wished t6 withdraw his bid. The engineers had estimated that the job would cost a total of $176,990, which included not only replacing the arena floor with a new, insulated floor, but also a hot brine system to prevent the frostfrom going down again and causing the floor to heave„badly. Also in the contract was a new drainageis sy,.; :m for the floor, modification to the west end lobby, construction of a new tractor room at the north end of the arena, and replacement of the protective screens at the ends of the boards with tempered glass. All the tenders were invited tenders, It'sofficial: Clinton to cover Vanastra by Wilma Oke, Fire calls at Vanastra's industrial park will be attended by the volunteer firemen from Clinton, effective Monday, August 21, Tuckersmith council learned at a meeting in Brucefield Tuesday night. Clinton fire chief Clarence Neilans informed council that the other Custodial strike threat ended The threat of Huroik5.County schools not opening this fall because of a custodial strike has ended. About 50 custodians and main- tenance worker's ratified -a two-year agreement here Sunday afternoon. The members of Local 210 of the Service Employees Union have been without a contract since May 31. Tony Borg, union international representative, said Monday an agreement was reached after four meetings with Huron County board of education representatives. He said the differences centred on wages. Although complete details of the contract are yet to be released, Borg did say the new agreement contained a 'major breakthrough” in the form of a cost of living clause in the second year of the contract. The custodians have never had a cost of living clause before, he said. The board is expected to officially approve the pact Aug. 21. first column municipalities, with a fire protection .agreement with the Clinton fire area board; had approved the revised agreements calling for Tuckersmith to pay a larger share of the costs for the increased coverage. Brucefield firemen have been providing fire protection at Vanastra until' ---now' a-nd-- will continue to in the residential area. Property owners in the industrial area hope to secure reductions in their fire insurance costs with the Clinton firemen responsible for their area because it is within three miles, while Brucefield is slightly over the three miles. For 1978, council has received $40,000 for the Ontario home renewal plan. To date there are four applications for a loan from 'the fund by residents wan- ting to update their homes by adding insulation, storm windows, new foundations, siding, new steps among other improvements allowed. The Bayfield Road in Egmondville has been paved with 200 tons of asphalt. Eldon O'Brien in Egmondville and Robert Lawson attended the council session to discuss, the engineer's preliminary report on the im- provements to the O'Brien drain - E section which is 1,900 feet in length. The report estimated the cost about $9,000. The next step is for the engineer, Henry Uderstadt of Orangeville to prepare a full report on the work which will be discussed at a later meeting.' The question of doing the A section of the drain was considered. Mr. Coombs' said he could see no point in putting in Incredible as it seems there are only two weeks of summer left or for everyone connected with the school system, at least, and already the days are getting noticeably shorter. But there is one consolation however, and that's all those fresh tasty vegetables from the garden. Nothing beats the taste of home grown, vine -ripened tomatoes and they make those February imports taste like cardboard. Judging too, by the large number of gardens in the Clinton area, most everyone should be enjoying good health this summer, from all the nutrients they should be getting from those home growns. The rain has been in short supply this year and the bugs in ample supply, so quantity and quality are down somewhat from a normal year. it may seem a little early to be mentioning this but again we'd dike to remind everyone and potential candidates of the ttupieipal e1ee� tions which are being held on November 11 this year, a month earlier than the traditional December date. The whole election machinery starts grinding in September and the News -Record will attempt to lay out the schedule in future elections but we'd like to remind all likely can- didates that now is the time to think' about the issues, if there are any and the possibilities of letting your name stand. +++ Before the summer is over, there are still many outdoor events yet to come in the upcoming weeks, in- cluding the annual corn roast out at Varna tonight, Thursday. The Zurich Bean Festival is also being held this weekend and 'of course, there's plenty of theatre, whether it be live or the back seat kind.• +-+ Ani • article in Safety Canada reported' that kids in South Australia are telling jokes about a driver of an 18 wheeler who drove the rig to the edge of a dirt to test the air brakes. more water in this section until it was' cleaned out farther down the drain in Stanley Township. Clerk Jack McLachlan said he would be reporting this information back to the engineer who had asked for a copy • of the report of Stanley Township's -engineer on the drain. Applications for building permits were granted to Harry Arts of lot 6, concession 1, Huron Road Survey (HRS), addition to the barn and George Romanik, lot 6, concession 4, HRS, mobile home. and each bid must be accompanied by a,bid loan or a certified cheque. The McDowell bid was accompanied by a certified cheque for $15,000 and according to the tender specifications, McDowell must either start work on the project within seven days, or if he withdraws, lose his $15,000 deposit. Both town solicitor Beecher Menzies and engineer Knowles recommended that the rec board and council let McDowell out, and award the contract to the next lowest bidder, Kelly -Lyn of London. "You don't know what kind of job you'll get if you have to wrestle him (the contractor) to the ground every time you want him to do something," Menzies said. "It's up to our engineer to see it's done right," said councillor Ron McKay, also a member 'of the rec board. "I don't think the price is too far out of line from your (the engineer's) estimate," rec member Dennis Jewitt said. So, as of press time, McDowell has been awarded the tender but when or if he will start remains unknown. Should McDowell take the job, then the rec committee would have to raise about $80,000 from donations, as town council said they won't put any tax dollars into the scheme. The Ontario government would provide $40,250 from their Community Centres Act grant, while Wintario would provide another $40,000 grant. The engineer and the rec board had ie,- k 3^,' :.`*'.� "^IW.Ii...A. x vi " .c, •b >Y. «wi s,s�a - "a,�;sn h✓,s1s", a` a r o- OP >sk s&t s ,, ,_ , a s w sPr kis .rX0As. 4 The summer work crew of the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation authority is busy taking down the old chicken barn on property they acquired recently at the Conservation area on the edge of Clintoni About 13 students and supervisors are working on the site, which will beeotnie- a parking lot, 'and they are sah aging march of the material, Here Derma Stewart, 18, of RR 1,, Hensall, pulls, nails .in front of the barn, Once used as an auction barn. (News-Reeord photo) hoped to begin the job next Monday, and have the new floor ready for ice, by the first of next year. The engineer has said that the job couldn't be started until at least now, because of the extensive frost in the ground under the floor, estimated to be 12 feet deep in places. Test holes were scheduled to be drilled in the floor this Monday to see if all the frost was out yet. The arena staff has been running hot brine through the cooling pipes all summer to try and get the frost out. Rec chairman Poss Livermore asked that drilling ndt proceed on Monday if it's known for sure that the floor can't be replaced this year. "If it can't be done, we''ll:just have to try and put ice in and hope it goes for another winter," Livermore said, Meanwhile, the fund raising com- mittee is waiting for a final go ahead before they start canvassing the area for donations. Bitter, 161 -day strike ends at .Fleck plant The bitter 163 -day strike at Fleck Manufacturing in Huron Park finally came to a halt on Tuesday after 73 striking workers accepted a two-year contract that gives them a union security clause. Included in the new cont'racf' is an article that says the employer Fleck Manufacturing Ltd. ,recognizes the United Auto Workers (UAW) as the "sole and exclusive bargaining agent" for the 112 workers at the automotive wiring plant. A key issue in the strike that began on March 6 was the compulsory payment of union dues. The company had insisted that the staff, especially those who weren't striking, shouldn't be compelled to pay union dues although this could apply to all future employees. The 39 non -strikers who initially signed union cards, but refused to walk off the job were uneasy, according to the London Free Press, when they arrived to vote at the Huron Recreation Centre. They avoided the media but some did say they would quit before they would work beside their fellow employees who went on strike. During the strike, they faced verbal and physical harrassrnent from the striking workers when they went to work each morning in a company owned bus. OPP officers were stationed outside the plant during the strike and more than 20 strikers and their supporters are facing over 50 charges for,picket line incidents. Before the strike started, workers were paid a minimum starting rate of $2,$5 an hour, $3.22 after five years at the plant and $3.24 after 10 years of service. There were a few exceptions .with some employees being paid $3.40 an hour. The union initially sought for a new starting minimum rate of $3.20 an hour and an across-the-board increase of 75 cents an hour for present employees. The company had offered a three-year contract with a 10 -cents -an -hour wage increase each year. This was later increased to total wage increase of 33 cents an hour in a two -year -contract. The agreed contract provides for a minimum rate of $3.05 an hour and $3.44 an hour for a general laborer with two years experience in the first year of the agreement. The second year increase is 20 cents an hour. The top rate at Fleck is $5.69 an hour for a skilled maintenance worker with two years experience or a truck driver. Some of the six male workers 'didn't strike and are in these positions. Although it will take some time before the Fleck plant is back into full operation the company hopes to recall 75 striking and non -striking employees as soon as possible. Al Seymour, the UAW international representative in London told the Free Press that the company has lost some of its orders and some employee layoffs may result because of this, A tentative contract agreement reached last weekend between negotiators for the United Auto Workers union and .Fleck 1VManyfac- turing Ltd. could result.in the dropping 'Of charges currently, facing Huron- Middlesex MPP Jack Riddell. UAW lawyer Len MacLean said on Monday that° certain terms of the .tentative settlement "indicate that the parties will, to their best endeavour, try to solve the current problems before the courts." MacLean made the comment following a provincial court session on Monday morning in Goderich at which Judge W. G. Cochrane remanded until September 11 a hearing into the charges laid by the UAW, ' against Riddell, Fleck Manufacturing and Fleck vice-president Grant Turner. The charges relate to a section of the labor relations act which prohibits interference with the formation, selection or administration of a union. Also charged under the same section is Exeter OPP Constable Bill McIntyre. His case was remanded by Judge Cochrane until October 16. Fleck and Turner have also been charged under a section of the labor relations act dealing with intimidation of employees. to keep them from joining a union. Turn to page 3 .Robbery attempt fails near Hensall A robbery attempt failed near Hensall Monday when a knife -wielding hitch -hiker discovered his victim had no money. George Murray Grainger, 67, of Goderich, picked up the hitch -hiker on the edge of Exeter and drove north along Highway 4 to just outside this village when the incident occurred, provincial police in Seaforth said. Grainger stopped his car when the young hitch -hiker demanded money and handed ' over a wallet that con- tained only some identification. papers, said Constable Jim MacLeod. The youth threw the wallet back at Grainger and fled. Police said the hitch -hiker was about 17 years old, weighed about 140 pounds, had black, combed -back hair and was wearing blue cut-off jeans and a blue shirt. Police said the knife had about a five - inch blade. No one was hurt in the in- cident. Weather 1978 1977 Nl LO HI LO AUGUST C C F F 8 29 18 79 66 9 25 15 78 50 10 23.5 8f5 80 61 11 25 10 75 57 12 28 11 72 50 13 30 15 77 54 , 14 32 15 70 , 63 Rain 4.1 mm Rant .81 in.