Loading...
The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-12-05, Page 1• A special meeting of the Wing - ham and District Hospital's Board of Governors approved a $214 million operating budget for x875 last Wednesday evening, The budget, which is up 8<1► per cent over a 'Projected 1975 budget set in 1874, will now be -passed on to. the Waist* of Health for final approval, Norm Hayes, the hospital's executive director, told the Board that some areas of the budget were only estimated to the mid, - die of next year. The administra-, tion staff had taken a "wast and see attitude" towards budget ng in,the light of what was then, the upcoming federal budget. Mr. Hayes and Business Administrat- or Gordon Baxter had proceeded with final budget calculations fol- lowing that federal announce- ment. nnouncement. In general the budget was pushed up by unforeseen settle - Mentis with the nursing staff and Vital workers, plus the added inflationm trend In the cost of material and suppllee u by the hospital. About 80 per cent of the budget goes to salaries. Kin donate $300 to: Figure Skating club Ted Johnson of l ucknow was presented with acheque for $300 at the Wingham Kinsmen Club meeting Nov. 26 for winning the Grey Cup draw. Ralph Harrison presented the cheque to Mr. Johnson. The club thanks all who contributed to the draw through the purchase of tickets. The club also decided to contri- bute $300 to the Wingham Figure Skating Club for operations in the upcoming season. flaxte . pointed inted out t growl rate changes in Bell Tele - those costs 18. per cent over last phone billi year, surgical and medical sup- plies will cost 15 per cent more and the hospital expects to pay as much as 17.7 per cent more for drugs this year. Those increases,, Which are coMpared with 1974 ex- penses, are all up over 1975 pro- jections. Costs will also escalate due to the increasing use of facilities such as • radiology examination and emergency services. Lab- oratory use isexpected to rise about 10 per cent in the next year and film costs in radiology alone will rise an estimated 15 per cent. FACED WITH CHOICE Mr. Baxter suggested that the hospital had two choices, either live with the increases or cut ser- vice to the public and reduce costs. No one on the board seem- ed prepared to SUggeat the latter, There are some areas, bow ever, in which the hospital lits to "bold the line" or presaare on fealties. Mr. Bim. commented that the average -length of stay per patient is rently lower than projected fern this year and there are hopes that it can be kept down. The adrnias:� istration isn't expecting any nificant rise in surgical or ob. statics use either. fteplacemci;' of some equipment may be delays, ed to reduce costa. . The business administrator commented that the hospital managed to come within the Min- istry's two per cent constraint guidelines by staff reductions through attrition. The -major bolstering in rev- enue projected for 1975, thongh, came in a board motion to .ap, prove a per diem ward rate .of $73.15. The 1974 projections for 1975, had indicated a rise from` - $53.10 to 561 per day would suf- fice. 'However, Mr. Baxter didn't feel that the projected increase would be sufficient to offset acs celerated expenses in salaries,, maintenance and supply costs. The board also passed a motion to raise the differential rate, the dif- ference between the 973:15 ward rate and the semi -private or pri to rate, to $7.50 per day. for Iprivate care and $12.50 tor ivate rout care. nose rte. take effect on April 1, 1975, Board Chairzn Robert Ritter, seelningtY allelOuS to head any controversy on increased. Ward caro rates, was quick to ask fir. Hayes if the'increases we ds be in line with rate increases in other area hospitals of the size. Mr. Hayes noted that moat area hospit Is were charging equally high or even higher rates for care. In fact, he added that ,'lrsome city hospitals are charging excess of $100 per day for ward are. Ward rates, however, are vered by the Provincial Health urance Plant After making a few amend- ents to specific items on the et, the board voted to aP- prove it and pass it along to the Ministry. The budget will, how- ever, go into effect on January 1, ►hether pfd by the ministry or not, pointing out the fact that wspitals in the province must Work on unapproved budgets wring the year. Mr. Hayes, in answer to Wallace Conn's conten- tion that it was strange way of Operating, commented that it was Only this past summer that the hospital's 1973 operating budget Was approved by the ministry. ANOTHER ELECTION IS HISTORY as members of the new town council and the new mayor pose for a picture in the clerk's office at town hall. Seated are re-elected Councillor Margaret Bennett and re-elected Deputy -Reeve Harold Wild. Standing are re-elected Councillor Bill Harris, new councillor Allan Harrison and Mayor Jack Reavie, extreme left. (Staff Photo) Reavie elected mayor, Mowbray, tops council In the first mayoralty election held in Wingham in years, Jack Reavie defeated Councillor John Hayes by almost 100 votes, 517 to 029, to win the two-year term. Mr. Reavie had little difficulty, winning four of the town's five polls. His largest margin in any poll was Poll 3 where he collected 120 votes, 41 more than Mr. Hayes. Mr. Reavie lost only in MPoll 2 where Mr. Hayes won, 122 votes to 112. Only seven people voted in the advance poll, four for Mr. Hayes. The election campaign, as in most municipal elections, was noted only by a lack of issues and general apathy although the It voter turn -out Monday indicated there was more interest in the election than last week's candi- dates' meeting showed. About 23 residents attended that meeting, the only chance during the elec- tion to hear and see the various f 411 candidates on the public plat- form. About 44 per cent of the 2150 eligible voters east ballots on a chilly, but dry, December day. Nine -hundred and forty-six people voted. The turn -out was judged to be very good, due to the relatively fine weather, the first mayoralty race in Wingham in years and the placement of all five polls in the town hall which seemed to be more convenient and efficient for residents. Deputy -Reeve Harold Wild fought off the challenge of Brian Elmslie, a staff announcer at .CKNX, and won re-election. Mr. Wild collected 626 votes to Mr. Elmslie's 347. Reeve Joe Kerr was acclaimed as was PUC Chairman Roy Bennett and Com- misioner Rod Wraith. All four returning councillors were re-elected along with two newcomers. Two spots on council were vacant due to Councillor Hayes' mayoralty attempt and Tim Willis' retirement from council. They were filled by Angus Mowbray, a contractor, and teacher Allan Harrison. Mr. Mowbray outpolled every- one, gathering 763 votes. He out - polled the rest of the candidates in four of the five polls, and in the other, Poll 1, he was second be- hind John Bateson with 86 votes, only two less then Mr. Bateson. The re-elected councillors were John Bateson, Margaret Bennett, Jack Gillespie and Bill Harris. Mr. Harris finished with 715 votes, followed by Mr. Bateson with 677, Mr. Gillespie with 676 and Mrs. Bennett with 625. Mr. Harrison finished sixth in the eight candidate field with 543, still with a comfortable 95 vote margin over Larry Lane, another teacher. Andrew Ritskes polled 292 votes. The new mayor was a member. of town council from 1943 to 1950 including a year as mayor. During that council tenure, Mr. Reavie was chairman of every committee. For nine years, he was the assessor for Wingham and has been the building in- spector since 1961. He was in business in Wingham for 28 years. Council will have little time to rest on their electoral laurels before being faced with a major decision next week. On Tuesday, the members of the police com- mittee, Chairman Bill Harris, Jack Gillespie and John Bateson, travelled to Kitchener to sit in on interviews conducted by the On- tario Police Commission to find a police chief for Wingham. The committee will recommend a candidate to council Monday night. Due to the tragic death of Jim Miller, the prince chief's position became open., Twenty applica- tions were received for the job and the Police Commission pro- cessed them and narrowed the field down to seven for the inter- views Tuesday. The commission will recommend two or three to the police committee members who will recommend one to council. Plant s About 70 employees will be af- fected when Electrohome Ltd. of Wingham-wvit totally 'shut down Dec. 20 to Jan. 20. The shut -down is due to the company's an- nouncement Nov. 19 that 542 pro- duction workers were to be laid off with an equal number also ex- pected tat be laid off iii January and rebruar . . The local firm has already let' .17 probationary workers go. "Everything's uncertain," Bill fianula, plant manager said, but he remained hopeful about the fu- ture. St. Nicholas comes to town As in the song, Santa Claus is coming to town. To be more precise, old St. Nicholas will be in Wingham this Saturday for his annual jaunt through the town's streets. Ac- companying Santa Claus will be about 12 floats and one band, the Brussels Pipe Band. The highlight of this year's parade, besides the jolly old man in .the red suit, will be a steam calliope from the Minnie Thom- son Memorial collection in Strat- ford. The horse drawn calliope traditionally has been part of all circus parades. The calliope is the only existing one in south- western Ontario. The cost for the calliope, about $450, is almost half of this year's parade budget of $1,000 being raised by the Wingham Business Association. Financial troubles threatened the parade this year. Two weeks ago, the association was $400 short of its $1,000 goal. At a Wing - ham Business Association meet- ing, members decided to go ahead with the parade de§pite the then present deficit and work on raising the remaining funds. Since then, according to parade chairman Don Carter, proceeds have picked up considerably and most of the money has been raised. Any deficit incurred will be covered by a number of local businesses. The parade *ill start from the high school at 1:30 p.m. sharp and go north onto Carling Terrace. The parade will turn onto Patrick Street and proceed to Centre and Alfred Streets. The parade will then turn onto Jose- phine Street and proceed down main street to the Frosty Queen where it will turn around and travel to the armories. mories. Infants baptized BELGRAVE -- A baptismal service was held in Knox United Church on Sunday morning when Rev. John G. Roberts baptized Crystal Ann, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Brian Black and Darlene Karen, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Black. "We're optimistic in saying we -think we can hold our oWn." Mr. • °IHaanula said: "I don't anticipate anything drastic happening here," he added. The lay -ifs are due to a sudden °=•op in the company's sales, caused by r_the 'current weak Market..antt they 'stavi down in. the 'r'atlto industry which surge of Electrohome's plants supply. Also, the company had built up an extensive inventory when sales suddenly dipped. The local plant, one of five Electrohorne branches that built furniture, specializes in dining -room groups. Mr. Hanula did say that other plants, notably the one in Kitch- ener, are suffering more than the Wingham branch. About 100 em- ployees from a payroll of 450 have been laid off in Kitchener. WINGHAM'S RETIRING MAYOR, DeWitt Miller was 'honored for his 24 years ot.unlf- Ish public dedication .during the Wingham town employees Christmas party" last '1`ltursi day. Mr: Miller, who has held the Office of mayor longer than any man in the .history Onto, town, was presented with a chair by the members of cquncil, e town also rs oix Mrs. Mil'ier's;contributi In su portln. her' t•e- arch. supPorting hus�l�fttd�,t'�+-Mt ��tf��';f+�'�ll;t; serif with `l '' �, ,a �Yea�l: ptalrtsettia��� a . , ; z . ., ,, *; rot Retiring mayor honored by council, town employees The man who has held the town's highest political office for more years than any other in the history of Wingham is retiring after 24 years of service, 10 as a * e 0.K �0 ' .CUR• 100 0s0•-+ .- *0'0• .0.01. wR w.A. .0.w„ •0'S .0. A. 0. COUNCILLOR TIM WILLIS will be out of public life, for a while at least, following his decision not to contest a council seat in this year's election. The town council and town's employees gave Mr. Willis a parting gift in recognition of his service to the town. The councillor expressed his grati- tude and commented that he was pleased to have been of service to the people of Wingham. (Staff Photo) public utilities commissioner and 14 as a councilor and mayor. Mayor DeWitt Miller was honored for his dedication to the town with a gift during the annual town employees' Christmas dinner Thursday evening. Councillor Jack Bateson made the presentation of a beautiful chair to the mayor. In his presentation remarks, Mr. Bate- son told the gathering that Mr. Miller had served the town as an elected ' public official and member of charitable and ser- vice organizations. The speaker said that the mayor had only two faults, first, he had never learned how to say "no", and then he jibed that Mr. Miller had never learned to swear. Mr. Bateson also congratulated Mrs. Miller, saying that behind every great man there is a woman. In accepting the gift, Mr. Miller told the audience that he had been honored to serve on council and the PUC. He added that he had always had the support of a council that wanted to do its best for the town. The mayor seemed noticeably moved as he spoke of his years of service and how much he had enjoyed them, working with dedicated people. He also predicted a bright future for the town in the coming years and hoped he could still be of Bill Henderson to Honduras A recent story in the War Cry tells of .the departure of yet an- other team of Salvation Army re- lief workers for the flood stricken Central American Country of Honduras. The team includes Ca- det William Henderson, former Wingham resident, Capt. Dzidra Pavasars, Lt. William Savage and Cadet Patricia Hill. Several other teams of Salva- tion Army personnel have pre- viously served in that unfor- tunate land, but the time they are allowed to remain is limited be- cause of health hazards. Honduras was struck some weeks ago by a disastrous hurri- cane and subsequent floods, with consequent widespread loss of life and out breaks of communic- able diseases as well as starva- tion. service. Mr. Miller asked those present to devote' one minute of silence in' memory of a good friend, Chief Jim Miller. As a tribute to Mrs: Miller's continued support of her husband during those 24 years in office; she was presented with a poin- settia. - After the presentation to the mayor the group recognized an- other member of council who will not be returning to office. Coun- cillor Tim Willis, Who had de- cided to forego political office for the next term, was presented with a° token of the town's grati- tude for his service by Mrs. Roy Bennett, a member of council and the person largely responsible for the arrangements for the eve- ning. Piano music was provided by Mrs. Morris Swanson during the early part of the evening, and prior to the presentation Mrs. Bennett introduced the Bradley Family of Clinton. The seven children, accompanied by their father on the accordion, provided enjoyable entertainment. Committee views sites for match A site inspection team from the Ontario Plowmen's Association was in Huron County last week to look at four proposed locations for the 1978 International Match. Chief purpose of the inspection was to ascertain the availability of telephone and hydro facilities. One of the sites examined was the farm of Jim Armstrong, just east of Wingham on Highway 86. A spokesman for the group said that the utilities needed are certainly acceptable at the Arm- strong farm, but added that final choice of site will rest with the executive of the OPA. The de- cision will probably be made be- fore the end of the year. Other sites inspected were the 500 -acre farm of Ken Glanville, located about seven miles north- east of Seaforth; the Bill Morley farm at RR 1, Granton and the Allan Walper farm near Grand Bend.