Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-06-10, Page 1INCORPORATI' (;,-THF BI.' TF1 STANDARD -THE H 11 HELD lit IPI.F; WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1987 50 CENTS The Queen of the C1intg)m Sprtng, Fair was the a ^tl yheld fit Calton (cenke))!.Was ebo n a WOO', alts hold to ftiek vOltsi contest wag tootle Oda), Spring fair on the gross. CUMON - After 133 years of annual showings the Clinton Spring Fair is on the grow again: Attendance was up by 213 over 1986, as 4,632 attended the fair over the weekend, dor pared to 4,419 in 1988. When leaked whether., the event was a sue - use, fair president Ron McKay stated, "Very Much so. Our attendance was up a bit €mini a year ago, and the weatherman ob- vit ea rated." fie added, d, "There was good attendance at the demolition derby again this year, and bit bei attendance at the ATV (Ail Terrain Vehicle) ell a ." tlea:'est additions, the trade fest and the fon show, were extra highlights of the fair this year. On top of the successes through atten- dance and new features, Mr. McKay noted that this year, "the bottom line financially could be the best ever. " A large part of every fair are the different types of competitions that take place. Piriece awarded by the Clinton Horticultural Socie- ty were: first, May Christensen, Clinton, potted geranium; second, Lois Elliott, Clin- ton, philodendron; third, C. Norman, Clin- ton, African violet. The baby show was a big draw at the fair. The winners for under four months includ- ed: first, Lance Christopher, son of Fay Montgomery of Clinton; second, Morgan daughter of Ruth and Jinn Shrr ball of Clinton; third, Dean, son of Diane Erb of Varwstra; fourth, Noah Stackhouse, win of Leslie Glover of Clinton. In the four to eight month category the winners were: first, Meghaan, daughter of Michelle and 13111 Whitely of Goderk h; se- cond, Nathan, son of Fen Kruse of Seaforth; third Natasha, daughter of Steven and Cindy Freiman of Godei ieh; fourth, Cody, son of Hope and Burt Lobb of Clinton. The eight to 12 -year-old winners were: firiat, Heather, daughter of Bonnie and Louis Mustone of New Hampshire; second, Mat- thew, son of Barb and Dave Dalgliesh of Clinton; third, �Amber, daughter of Charlene and Fraser Abbott of Clinton. The top baby for the show was Brittany Wood, daughter of Randy and Sharon of Seaferth and the top runner-up was David Russell, son of Barbara Grosch of Clinton. The top twins were Christine and Katie Mete* daughters of Laura and Ken of Brigden. There were also many winners at the ATV ram. They included: Open Mod, 2 -stroke, Chris Barendrgt, Port Stanley; 4 -wheel 2atroke hid, Greg Irwin, Listowel; 200 Mod, Steve Brolotte, Dorchester; 3 -wheel, 250 Mod, Matt Palintcas, Brantford; 200 Stock, Itinnly Marriage, Clinton; Beginners, Al Staiekert, Woodstock; 4 -wheel, 2 -stroke Stott, Steve Baelaner, St. Thomas. Londesboro pianist B David Emslie LONDESBORO - A well known area pianist, Ron Greidanus, will be travelling to British Columbia IN summer to attend courses at a musical centre. Mr. Greidanus said he first heard of the Courtaney Musical Centre through a friend who told him that he could receive some fun- ding from the centre itself, as well as from local service groups. A Londesboro native. 18 -year-old Mr. Greidanus could be considered a natural on the piano as he has only been studying the piano for five and a half years. "It was a very late start, but I do three to four hours of practicing on an average day," he said. Later he added, "It's very easy for me." His first lessons began with Gail Lear. After studying with Mrs. Lear for approx- imately four years, he began to study privately with John Paul Bracey, an associate professor of piano at the Universi- ty of Western Ontario. Aside from studying music, Mr Greidanus has put in a number of perfor- mances in the area. He neted that he won the latest talent competition in Clinton, and has also done very well in Kiwanis competitions. On top of these performances, he plays at two local churches, Trinity Anglican in Bayfield, and Middleton Anglican. In London Mr. Greidanus has had three performances with a 19 member string ensemble, with another one planned in the near future. The trip to B.C. is just one step in the Grade 12 student's goal to become a concert pianist. At the centre, he explained, the actiinities will include, "going to concerts, taking many lessons, and playing with other students in chamber groups. I will also have a chance to play with an orchestra in one of the concerts," 1 4 off the B.C. RON CREWA ;S ne three weeks of training will cost $1,200 including the return flight, but Mr. Greidanus hopes some of his costs will be defrayed from donations from local clubs and churches. He has already received $56 from the Londesboro Lions Club and $100' from Trinity Anglican Church, and he is hoping to hear from other organizations. A $500 bursary may also be coming from the musical centre. The school he attends, Central Huron Secondary School, might also be helping out. The gentleman that runs the cafeteria at school is planning a fund raiser. Listing his favorite composers as Bach and Rachmaninoff, Mr. Greidanus hopes to attend the University of Toronto for piano performance when he graduates from Gracie 13. From U of T he would like"to move on to either the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia or the Juilliard School in New York City. Following this route, Mr. Greidanus may one day reach his goal of becoming a' con- cert pianist. Fate of Sherlock Manning uncertain STRATFORD - Facing bankruptcy, piano manufacturers Sherlock Manning of Clinton have been exploring options to keep their plant open. On June 5, owner Paul Ryckman, banking officials and representatives from both the provincial and federal governments held a meeting in Stratford. At this point, all in- volved in the meeting have taken proposals back to their respective boards fdr further discussion. "In my opinion the meeting went very well," said Mr. Ryckman. "All the people involved agreed to play ball, so .to speak, with each other." At the meeting, representatives of the Federal Business Development Bank were there on behalf of the federal government while the Ontario Development Corporation (ODC) represented the provincial govern- ment. As well, the Clinton Royal Bank Manager, Steve Fraser, attended the meeting. In explaining what Sherlock Manning are looking for, Mr. Ryckman said, "We need government support for working capital, building rehabilitation and new equipment." According to Jim Fitzgerald, executive assistant to Huron MPP Jack Riddell, the company has received $100,000 from the ODC. As well, the ODC has .approved a $400,000 improvement loan but this cannot be touch- ed until matching funds have been generated. Mr. Riddell has been actively involved in trying to keep the company afloat by setting up meetings such as one between the Ministry of Trade, ODC and the owners. In summing up Mr. Riddell's feelings, Mr. Fitzgerald said, "Jack wants the plant to stay open." Sherlock Manning went into receivership in May, and according to a report in the London Free Press, has cut its work force from 30 to less than 10 in the past few months. The arti- cle noted that this cutback was made due to dwindling operating capital despite the im- proving sales picture. Background The operation has seen good times as well as bad times during its 112 year history. Carly Draper bought the business in 1936. When he died in 1968 after 56 years in the. business, he left his shares to his sons, Mur- ray and Bob. It was at this time that the Heintzman name became associated with the Clinton company as William Heintzman purchased interests in 1967. In 1970 sales were good and staff totalled 40. By 1978 the Clinton factory closed as the Heintzman Company wept into receiver- ship. Trying to save the struggling business, the Sherlock -Manning manufacturing line I which the company produces today in Clin- ton) was moved to the Heintzman factory in Hanover and 36 employees in Clinton were laid off. The Draper brothers, along with Joe Reid who was the office manager from day one until his death, did not want to be defeated so they formed a new company, Draper Brothers and Reid and bought all the Clint -on buildings and started producing parts for the Heintzman pianos. 1979 was good for business but by 1980 Heintzman was in receivership. Draper Brothers and Reid bought back all the Sherlock Manning equipment and stock and the rights to Sherlock Manning pianos. 1983 saw the company produce its 1,000th piano but this did not mean the future was bright for the company. However, this did not deter the owners. A Toronto company offered to purchase the Clinton operation but the Draper brothers and Joe Reid turned them down. Another offer was made in 1984 and the business was sold with Mr. Reid and Murray and Bob Draper operating the business for the company. However, Mr. Reid died in January of 1985 and the Draper brothers retired in November, 1985. And as the story continues, Mr. Ryckmaii, the present owner, waits to hear from those involved in the meeting. In order to meet his deadline, Mr. Ryckman hopes to hear by "Wednesday or Thursday whether they will participate or not. I don't need the money by then, but I need to know if they'll participate." You're reading an award winning paper Each year, papers across Canada sub- mit some of their best work, as well as compulsory editions, to the Canadian Com- munity Newspaper Association (CCNA) in the hopes of being judged as the top in their classification. In the 1987 competition, the Clinton News -Record was awarded a Blue Ribbon and our 1987 Christmas edition placed third. The Blue Ribbon is awarded to papers HCBE contract agreement is reached The Huron County Board of Education ( HCBE 1 negotiating team has been given a round of praise from fellow trustees for their work in contract talks with secondary school teachers. HCBE. Director of Education Bob Allan commended the negotiators in reaching the earliest ever agreement in the history of contract talks. It took until last December to finalize con- tracts for the 1986-87 term. However, the 1987-88 agreement has been reached after only a few months of negotiations. A press release issued to the news media noted, "The Huron County Board of Educa- tion and its Secondary School Teachers represented by Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, District 45 are pleas- ed to announce that they have reached a Tentative Agreement in the current con- tract talks. "Details will be released once the agree- ment is ratified by both parties." Over $9O,OOO raised in CPH canvass -The fiinding campaign is on target CLINTON - Well over $90,000 has been raised in the recent door-to-door canvass for the Clinton Public Hospital i CPH i Building Fund. The money will be put towards the fund to build the new obstetrical wing at the hospital. The project is expected to cost over $850,000. Some $400,000 of the bill will be paid by the Ministry of Health, while the re- maining money must be raised through local donations. The fund raising committee for the hospital held the major door-to-door can- vass last month. Organized by Al .Jewson of the hospital committee, the drive was car- ried out by more than 200 volunteers. They called on households in Clinton, Bayfield, Blyth, Hullett, Goderich, Stanley, Tuckersmith and outlying townships. The fund raising effort brings the cam- paign closer to its goal. It is anticipated that the committee will have raised more than $400,000 by the first of October, 1987. Committee chairman Don Symons reported "The funding campaign is on target and we are hopeful that our objective will be reached on time." The fund raising campaign will wind-up on Saturday, October 3 when a Casino Night and Car Draw is held. Last year a similar event raised 111,000 for the campaign. The obstetrical addition for the hospital is expected to begin construction by late sum- mer. Tenders are now being called for the project. Hospital board chairman Bill Hearn is speaking at the CPH annual meeting on June 8 reported, "Tenders close on June 25 for the construction of the Obstetrical Wing. The funding for this project comes partially from the Ministry of Health of Ontario and the County of Huron. But this does not cover the total cost by any means. Generous dona- tions are always being received by the hospital." Further donations may be made at the hospital or at the Fund Raising Office, 69 Victoria Street, Clinton between 10 a.m. and Monday to Friday. Mr. ,Jewson further noted that Clinton and area businesses have not been officially can- vassed for donations. He said that businesses were contacted by letter in the winter. "Many owners and/or managers have contributed at home. Others are asked to make their contributions to the hospital at the fund raising office." A5 who are one of the top third highest scoring papers for general excellence in their class across the country. In order to know which papers have achieved this standard, a CCNA ribbon in- dicating the year is placed in the masthead of the paper ( found on page 4 I . Thanks to the efforts of our cor- respondents and all who contribute, the News -Record is one of the best community newspapers in Canada. CLINTON PUBLIC HOSPITAL BUILDING FUND 4