HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-04-17, Page 1if your IOW roods April 941.7:*6sp, your sub.
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FIRST SECTION
Three
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The Wingham and District
Hospital has received "full ac-
creditation status" for the next
three years. This good news was
received by Executive Director
Norman Hayes and was present-
ed to the hospital board at its reg-
ular meeting last Wednesday.
A list of 19 recommendations
and comments was appended to
Local boy chosen
for 4-N exchange
Six "ambassadors" from
Huron County have been chosen
to represent the county 4-H club
on an exchange program with
Alberta. One of the six is Bill
Armstrong 'of RR 4,- Wingham.
Bill and the other five 4-H mem-
bers will be the guests of Alberta
0 441 members in the Brooks area
in July. The Alberta boys and
girls will be coming to the Wing -
year acci
roved for ho
the letter from the Canadian
Council on Hospital Accredita-
tion, but it contained more `com°
mendations' than recommenda-
tions. The . communication be-
tween the medical staff, the ad-
ministration and the hospital
board, the hospital consultation
service, the quality of medical
charts, the medical -nursing pa-
tient care committee and the con-
trol of the laboratory by the visit-
ing pathologist were all noted for
praise and approval.
The overall length of stay
figure of 8.9 was also noted for
approval as "a very commend-
able figure for a community hos-
pital of this size and type." The
overall occupancy reduction
from 99.8 per cent in 1971 to
cper cent in 1973 earned an a
tional citation.
The recommendations 'on:
changes and corrections for t
next three years were, also"`
worthy in that the departnlen .9er'
committees concerned reported,
they had already taken stepS, to
either review or implement
Board to review plans
for hospital expansion
The Wingham and District
Hospital Board will soon start
into a review of plans for expan-
sion of services and physical
plants. The preliminary steps
were discussed at a regular
monthly meeting of the board last
Wednesday evening.
Board Chairman DeWitt Miller
said there was no doubt about the
need for expansion. "We do need
extra room for services," he said,
buthe. cautioned "there are many
things that have to be done before
we get into it."
One requisite included in the
"many things" was explained by
Norman Hayes, executive direc-
tor of the hospital. "There's a se-
quence that has to be followed or
the Ministry will not -allow it," he
said. Ministry approval is neces-
sary if the hospital hopes to ob-
tain any grants to assist with the
expansion.
Mr. Hayes said one of the first
things is a "functional role
study" that would include the
growth potential of the area, the
philosophy of the service per-
formed by the hospital and the
distribution of medical services
in the community served by the
hospital.
"Either we do it ourselves or
have someone do it for us," Mr.
Hayes said. Costs for a consul-
tant, however, could run to about
$7,000. Mr. Hayes explained that
if the Ministry approved the
plans and granted financial as-
sistance, they would pay for two-
thirds of all the costs involved. He
added, however, "If they reject
it, that's a horse of a different
color."
You really wanted to know?
ham area for their exchange in
early August,
The other five Huron County
repfresentatives are:. George
Thompson, RR 2, Clinton; Jim
Nivins, RR 3, Auburn; Susan
Tyndall, RR 4, Clinton; Donna
Hackett, RR 7, Lucknow ; and
Joan Pym, RR 2, Centralia. They
were chosen .out of 30 applicants
from the county by a panel of
judges including Fred Uhler,
President of the 4-H Club
Leaders' Association, Mrs. Fred
Uhler, Alec MacGregor and . Len
MacGregor.
Len MacGregor 'said the
criteria for the decision were out-
lined by the applicants them-
selves at a discussion workshop.
He said the judges had a very
hard time choosing" the six "good
ambassadors" since all the appli-
cants were very good.
Huron County is one of five
counties in Ontario to participate
4 in the program. The others' are
Wellington, Perth, Oxford and
Middlesex.
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,.,A tµt the weather, that is.. Well
.: it's one heck of a lot -better
tart i �uv�is a week ago, but it has
a long way to go before you might
call it spring in these parts.
The drifts and various shovel-
lings piled up after the Great
Storm of April 3-4 still stand there
grinning at us and a chill north
wind has kept things pretty
draughty since that paralyzing
event. Sunday, April 13 saw- a
steady fall of soft snowflakes and
temperatures at ' the • freezing
point (that's zero Celsius, in case
you are behind the times) .
But there are signs. 4 few
shivering robins are wandering
tCroutnd lh the snow and mtid ob-
viously pretty ugly at the bad ad-
vice they got from their travel
agents: Some of the weaker -
minded citizens have been wad-
ing the icy waters of the Maitland
at Goderich and Port Albert with
fishing rods in hand. And some of
us have so much faith that we are
tending our young tomato plants
on the bathroom windowsill.
Just hang in' there! Things
might improve - about the mid-
dle of June,
Damage heavy in car mishaps
One person was injured and
damages were rather high in four
separate car accidents' investi-
gated by the Wingham detach-
ment of the Ontario Provincial
Police last week. Ipjured as a
result of a Saturday mishap was
Meryl A. Krieger of Seaforth. The
collision on County Road 12, south
of Thomas St. in Brussels also
involved Douglas P. Gibson of
RR 2, Orton. Damage to both
vehicles was estimated at $3,500.
DELI HT AND ENJOYMENT were written all over the
face of four-year-old Heather as she sampled, and obviously
approved of, the pancake and sausage meal at the Belmore
Maple Syrup Festival Saturday. When asked whether she
liked the meal, Heather could only*nod her head vigorously,
but the look on her face more than made up for her lack of
On Monday, April 7, a car
driven by William J. Van Osch of
RR 2, Goderich was eastbound on
Highway 86 when it struck the
north shoulder of the road, spun
around, hit a snowbank and
rolled over on its side, sliding into
a hydro pole. Damage was esti-
mated at $1,000. A collision that
same day on the parking lot of
McGavin's Farm Equipment in
Morris Township involved Carl
Johnston of RR 2, Bluevale and
David Harrison of Priceville.
Estimated damage was $300. On
Saturday a car owned by Alfred
T. Baldwin of RR 1, Harriston,
was parked on the north shoulder
of Highway 87 when it was side-
swiped by another vehicle.
Damage was estimated at $200.
Mr. Hayes said that the expap,
sion plans were by no meansim-
minent "We have to do oor
homework ... andthis will take
about five years. We are loo dng
for approval in principle well
ahead of the game —then it's Nat
a matter of waiting for our turn.
tome."
Dr. J. C. McKim suggested that
"our turn" might be sooner t1n.
forecast by Mr. Hayes. He s ld
"We have this approval in per;
ciple for expansion of service';
and referred to a letter from the
Ministry of about five years ago.
He •suggested that the letter he
used as a starting point in the -re-
view of future plans.
Dr. B. A. Hanlon proposed that,
the ° board expand its 'horizons
with respect to the limits of eit-
pansion. "We should see what the
community will need in the nett
ten years and then see where the
hospital fits into this."
Several of the board membets
proposed that a planning corn-
mittee be established to reviV
the situation,, but it,was .dee.ci�
that the' management coinniittee
take the matter under considera-
tion 'in the preliminary stages.
The management committee
chairman, Jack Hodgins, will re-
port on the results of the review
at the next hospital board meet-
ing.
1
I
suggested changes.
A topic for extended discussion
was the recommendation tlmt the
laundry room area be considered
for improvement whenever
building conditions permit, The
laundry room is located directly
over the boiler room, resulting in
very high temperatures in this
area. Mr. Hayes explained that
this was obviously "a design
fault" and that there is a trem-
endous amount of heat generated
from the laundry machines
themselves. He said there is
nothing that can be done about
the situation at the present, since
the hospital can't even find air
conditioners capable of cooling
that section. And "to do band-aid
patching at this point is rather
difficult," he added. The issue
was finally referred to the prop-
erty committee for consideration
and review.
'The problems involved in ob-
taining a full-time physiother-
apist for the hospital were also
brought under review. The ac-
creditation council noted that
"the number of services render-
ed (by the part-time physiother-
apist) indicate that there is po-
tentially a need here for a full-
time, physiotherapist."
Mr. Hayes reported that he had
been trying to get a full-time
physiotherapist for some time
now by advertising in various
Canadian.and United States jour-
nals. The hospital has used the
services of the part-time physio-
therapist since the resignation of
the Vijay Karnik in August of last
year. Mr. Hayes said that about
$600 has been expended on adver-
tising since that time and that let-
ters have been sent to schools of
physiotherapy. The replies to
date have been unsatisfactory.
.and discouraging.
e sfestbat one of the
problems, aside from the scar-.
city of qualified physiotherapists,
might be the question of salary.
Mr. Hayes said_the hospital is of-
fering less than what. -.most
`charge' physiotherapists are
asking at present.
We live cheaper today
than fatlier did in 1936
Jack Hayes recently unearthed
a copy of The London Free Press
carrying a dateline from Jan. 16,,
1936. The news of that day is in-
teresting, not so much for its an-
tiquity, as the fact that it pro-
vides a comparison of prices and
wages in the depths of the great
depression.
One story in particular caught
attention. The Toronto board of
control considered a report that
some men in that city were work-
ing as much as 50 hours a week
for wages running from $7.50 to
$15.00. The report pointed out that
people on such low wages had to
be supported partially by relief.
The general conclusion was that
the government should pass a
minimum wage law to guarantee
at least subsistence to employed
persons.
Equally interesting was the
content of the advertisements in
the same issue of The Free Press.
Superior Stores advertised coffee
at 39 cents a pound; two half- a
pound tins of first grade fancy
pink salmon, 19 cents.
Dominion Stores offered fronts
of lamb at 15 cents a pound;
round steak 19 cents a pound;
bacon 23 cents a pound; prime rib
roast of beef 19 cents a pound.
It was Mr. Hayes observation
that today's consumers are not
really so badly off, despite high
prices. The price of beef, for ex-
ample, has escalated about nine
times in the intervening 30 years,
but most wages have climbed at a
much faster pace. In today's
world, a person earning only
minimum wages of $2.40 per
hour, who had the ambition to
work the 50 hours mentioned in
the old paper, -would earn about
$120.00, or 16 times as much per
hour as his depression counter-
part. Thus today's buying power
from an hour's labor is almost
twice as great as it was in 1936.
CONDUCTOR AL MULLIN, a music teacher at the Goderich High School, explains the
role of the various instruments played in the Gbderich Collegiate. Concert Band tb the
stu,dents of the Wingham Public School at a Monday morning performance. The band has
traveiled.to all the high schools in the area except for Seaforth and played at F. E._AAadilI
that same morning.
Police, council settle
n two-year co
Conciliation in a wage dispute
between the Wingham Town
Police and the council's .police
committee last 'Tuesday has re-
sulted in a contract agreement,
but it seems nobody's happy with
it. "They aren't happy, we aren't
happy,',' was Councillor Bill
Harris' comment as he reported
on the agreement at a special
town council meeting Monday.
Constable Ed Daer accepted
the two-year contract on behalf of
the police at the conciliation
meeting, and council ratified the
contract on behalf' of the town at
Monday's meeting. Under the
new contract, the sergeant . will
receive $13,750 for 1975, while a
first-class constable will get
$13,250. The overall increases are
about 24.6 per cent higher than
1974 figures. A 10. per cent in-
crease for 1976 was also offered
by the police committee and
accepted by the police who had
originally requested a 14 per cent
increase.
Total increase ' in salaries for
1975 is $11,590 over wages in 197
The total police budget, including
fringe benefits, car allowance
and insurance, was estimated at
$112,975 for 1975 as compared to a
1974 budget of $98,238.36.
Councillor Harris explained the
conciliation procedure for coun-
cil: "The conciliator was there
with us, The final offer was a
package deal. We said, 'OK. This
is the final offer.' We always say
that. We could have taken it to
4
arbitration, buf we°abbiif
one -to -two thousand to arbitrate,
so we would have been out that
miney. It .was quite an ex-
perience."
He explained, that no one was
really satisfied with the contract
agreement, but the increase ac-
cepted by the police is still below
the 45 per cent increase originally
demanded at the start of negotia-
tions. The increase is greater,
however, than the 21.5 per cent
raise offered by council prior to
conciliation talks. The conciliator
was George Markovick of the On-
tario Ministry of Labor.
Council didn't hide its dissatis-
faction'with the entire situation.
"There's gotta' be a way out of
this," Councillor Jack Bateson
stated. "These'people are just as
good as police in any town, but
they're not worth that money.
We're always going to have this
problem as long as someone `over
there' is getting more." He was
referring to the higher police
wages awarded in nearby Clin-
ton.
A direct result of the dissatis-
faction expressed by council was
a motion by Councillor Margaret
Bennett that council write to in-
quire about costs for Ontario Pro-
vincial Police policing of the town
in 1976. Mrs. Bennett said, "The
town people would really like to
keep their own police force," but
that she would like to know the
relative costs of policing by the
OPP.
Two -car collision claims four
Tragedy struck this area of
Western Ontario shortly after
midnight on Saturday when a
two -car head-on collision claimed
four lives and critically injured
two other young men. The acci-
dent occurred on Highway 4,
about five miles south of Tees -
water, near the Belmore cutoff.
Killed in the collision were
Randolph (Randy) Willie, 17, of
Teeswater, John Van Boven, 19,
of Walkerton, and Stewart Mann,
18, of Lucknow. The other three
lads, Bud Bruce Harvey Houston,
15, of Teeswater, Wayne and
Ronald Doerr, aged 18 and 16 re-
spectively and from RR 2,
Wingham, were rushed to the
Wingham and District Hospital
by ambulance and immediately
transferred to Victoria Hospital,
London. The Houston youth
passed away shortly after admis-
sion there.
Wayne Doerr was reported
Tuesday morning as being in
critical condition suffering head
and leg injuries. His brother
suffered abdominal injuries and
was listed in fair condition.
The Van Boven and Mann
youths were riding in one of the
cars which burst, into flames on
impact with the second car. Their
identification was not known until
late Monday after dental records
had been closely examined.
The other four teenagers, all
related, were riding in the second
car which was driven by the
Willie lad.
The accident was investigated
by the Walkerton detachment of
the Ontario Provincial Police.
Randy Willie was born in Wing -
ham, a son of Fred Willie and his
wife, the former Clara Doerr. He
attended Sacred Heart School,
Teeswater, and the F. E. Madill
Secondary School and was em-
ployed at the Teeswater
Creainery a6, -the time of his
death.
Surviving, besides his parents,
are three sisters, Mrs. Jim (Mar-
cella) Miller cif Tara, Mrs. Harry
(Isabelle) Miller Jr. of Sussex,
New Brunswick, and Mrs. Tom
(Eldora) Austin of Walkerton;
three brothers, bavid of Tees -
water, Clayton of Windsor and
Allister of Sussex, New Brus-
wiek. Another brother, Wilfred,
lost his life in a car accident in
March of 1974.
The late Randy Willie rested at
the MacPherson Funeral Chapel,
Teeswater, until Wednesday
morning, thence to Sacred Heart
Church for Mass at 10 a.m. Tem-
porary entombment took place in
Teeswater Cemetery Chapel with
the final resting place to be
Sacred Heart Cemetery.
Bud Houston, was born in
Wingham, a son of Harvey Hous-
ton and the former Jennie Willie.
Re attended Teeswater Public
School and at the time of his
death was a student at F. E.
Madill Secondary School.
Surviving, besides his parents,
are four sisters, Mrs. Keith
(Janet) Hubley of Nova Scotia,
Bonnie, Darlene and Marion all
at home; and his grandmother,
Mrs. Dave Houston of Wroxeter.
Funeral service was held at
two o'clock on Wednesday at the
MacPherson . Funeral Chapel,
conducted by Rev. Gerald
Thompson of Knox Presbyterian\
Church, Interment will follow ink
Teeswater Cemetery.
Stewart R. Mann was one of
Lucknow's star hockey players
and a Grade 12 student at F. E.
Madill. Born in Listowel on Feb-
ruary 9, 1957, he was a son of
Eldon and Aileen (Dilworth)
Mann of Lucknow, formerly of
Grey Township. Also surviving
are one sister, Mrs Terry
(Linda) Rathwell of Lucknow;
two brothers, his twin, Stephen,
and Donald both at home; and his
paternal grandfather, Alex Mann
of Port Ryerse, formerly of Mon-
crieff.
The late Stewart Mann rested
at the MacKenzie Memorial
Chapel, Lucknow, where service
was held at two o'clock Wed-
nesday, conducted by Rev. D.
Kaufman assisted by Rev. Glenn
Noble. Interment is to follow in
Greenhill Cemetery.
Donations are being accepted
for a plaque to be placed in the
Lucknow arena in his memory.
John -Van Boven is survived by
his mother, Ann Forsyth of
Walkerton, and his father, John
Van Boven of Woodstock; three
sisters, Mrs. David (Catherine)
McKinnon of Holyrood, Lynda
and Terryann at home; one
brother, Joseph at home; his
maternal grandparents, Mr. and
Mrs. John Forsyth of Riversdale,
and his paternal grandparents,
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Van Boven
of Delhi.
The late Mr. Van Boven rested
.at the Tanner and Pearson
Funeral Home in Walkerton but
at time of writing, funeral
arrangements were not yet com-
pleted.
" Conrrcilor fgtris . epia�irii'
that it would be a case of "just
changing contracts and all our
people c uld join the OPP." He
said that one cost benefit from
OPP policing would derive from
the fact that the OPP already had
a good communication system,
while the proposed change in the
town police communication
system to a central communed
tion system for the area could
cost the town about $22,500 for tho
first year plus about $10,000 to
man and maintain the establish
ment. The Ontario government
would award a subsidy of 35 per
cent for OPP policing, he said,
while the per capita grant for
town policing is eight dollars a
head.
"I think it's up to council now to
think this all out carefully,"
Councillor Harris said. The
motion to inquire into the costs of
OPP policing was passed by
council.
Farmers' Night
at Lions meeting
The Wingham Lions' Club
sponsored its annual . "Farmers'
Night" last Tuesday, with each
member hosting a farmer at the
dinner. Guest speaker for the
occasion was Harvey Davis, past
warden of Bruce County and pre-
sently vice-chairman for the 1976
International Plowing Match to
be held in Bruce.
Mr. Davis told the Lions and
their guests that' the match would
be held two miles west of Walker-
ton, with a projected attendance
of over 150,000 persons. He said
that this sort or project requires
the co-operation of everyone in
the area to make it a success. Mr.
Davis said it is not too early for
the Wingham area to start
preparations now for the 1978
match to be held just east of the
town.
The Wingham Lions' Club,
already ahead of the game, has
raised $30 for the plowing match
through a Chinese auction
organized by Lee Vance and Al
Watson.
In other business president
Russell Zurbrigg reported on the
convention in Stratford that was
attended by over 800 Lions and
their wives. Elected at the con-
vention were new zone Chairman,
Alan McLean of Ripley, and new
deputy district governor, Jack
Graham of Atwood. It was also
reported that Mary Edith Gar-
niss of F. E. Madill won the Lions
effective speaking contest for
Region 3 at Lucknow and will go
on to the district finals in. Atwood
on April 19.