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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-01-21, Page 1139 YEAR - 03 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1987 60 CENTS PER COPY Mine closure a precaution The Dointar Siftu Salt mine shut down production for the third time in in just over two months, as of 8 p.nr. Monday morning. This time, unlike the previous two occa- siorf5,.the shutdown is not due to arractual explosion at the mine, but as a precaution against a potential blast. Mine Manager Gaston Brousseau called the move "an extra precaution," taken, because monitoring; equipment revealled "some activity which indicated a roof fall was• imminent." Brousseau said evidence such as' broken roof bolts caused the con- cern about the saf);ey of the area. He said it is not yet know if deposits of methane gas, believed to be the cause of the Nov. 13 and Dec. 11 explosions, are building up behind the roof area. 'There were. no ,workers 'in the 'area at. the time the problem was discovered. "This section i of the mine l has been closed for some time. We simply wanted to minimize the number of people who would be underground in .case of an explosion. Until. we drill and decide if .there is gas. behind it, we can't say how' soon we can go hack in," Brousseau said. - Drilling is expected to becompleted by 'l'hdrsday. or Friday,, at,, which time Brousseau expects' to have a better idea when mining operations will rec_ommence. "If we do hit• gas ye will be closed longer, he.said.• • Miner:Dan 13izier s'uffered.severe burns. to the upper portion of his body in the Nov: 13 explosion, -: Local police help operation The Goderich Police Department will he collecting unclaimed glasses for Operation Eyesight Universal, Police Chief Patrice King told the police commission at its Mon- day afternoon meeting. Operation Eyesight Universal is a t aria - than •organization whose' -purpose is to finance sight restoration and blindness prevention programs in the Developing World. The police department. will assist the organization by collecting unclaimed, eyeglasses and then sending there to the group. "It is being done Jiu:oughout police departments. We've done it before awl we'll continue to do it again," Kiril; said. . He said the department usually has about four pairs of unclaimed eyeglasses each year. Because the Goderich Lion's Club has a similiar program of collecting eyeglasses, King said half of the unclaim- ed eyeglasses would be given to the (.ion's group while. the remaining pair's w uillrl be sent to Operation Eyesight Universal. No snowmobiles orit the -sidewalk Goderich Police have received a number • of complaints ,about traffic .violation5'by snowmobilers in town. Goderich Police.. Chief Patriek K.ings. said son1e snowmobilers have been reportedly driv- ing their machines on sidewalks and t6esspasing on private property:` • The Chief has issued a reminder to the public that town bylaws prohibit the opera- tion of snowmobiles in town, other than on • ' the streets and roads. He.also said parents -of children operating snowmobiles should "know where • they're driving them and make.sure they have the proper equipment on. Town applies for student workers, . Goderich 'Town Council is considering - participation in a provihcial .government program which would see the town employ up to two college -or 'university students during the summer of 1987.•Council has'in strutted Administrator Larry '.McCabe to proceed With initial applications,to the pro- gram, offered by the Ministry of Municipal ° Affairs and referred the matter to the Ad- ministrative Committee at the "Jan. -14 meeting of .council. • The main purpose of the program is to ' assist municipalities in developing • 'qualified future employees and allowing them to undertake projects for which they Wright otherwise lack manpower. The pro- gram also gives the students an opportuni- ' ty to gain practical municipal experience in their areas of study. Eligible students must be enrolled in and returning to an On- tario university of college course of study which includes relevant core programs such as: business or municipal ad- ministration, ec•ornonics or political science, computer'sciences or law. Each participating municipality may' employ up to two students and there will be 350., positions open in the program across the province. The government will reim- burse 75 per cent of the student's salary up to a maximum of $135 per week. The pro - grain will run for a 10 to 18 -week period. Programlinks Champion, GDCI Stepping out of his wheelchair and into his.six-wheel drive ali- terrain vehicle gives Goderich ,resident Ed Steegstra the freedom to pursue his hunting and fishing hobbies. However, g request .... Steegstra's for an amendent to the Traffic Act tBy Shelley McPhee Hoist Huron County Board of Education direr= for Bob Allan has described it as anexplora- tion in Tducat inn. as an exciting new pro- grain. as the beginning of a new line of lear- ning and teaching techniques. Board of education trustees at their January meeting. agreed to commit suffi- cient fundi -ng to support a new program the Ties to Business and industry Incentive Fund project between Goderich District Col- legiate Institute eGDCI r and Champion Machinery Ltd. for a two year approval ' period. The program is designed to establish meaningful links •between Champion and Gl)C1. as the primary. goal. This could in- clude the provision of school services to the company in exchange for access to Cham- pion facilities to introduce school students to contemporary technology in a manufact'ur- " ing envirortrrent. Mr. Allan said that Champion has a well developed maeketing system, advanced technical facilities, computer and work pro- cessing systems that could he made available as educational tools for high schcoolastudents. in turn, GI)('I for instance, • is offering a course in' blueprint reading for employees at Champion, On a broader scale, the project is designed to assist all. or the Huron County Board of Education secondary school with the im- plementation and recommendations from the 1986 Review of Technological studies. The Champion-GI)('i program is seen as' a' model to assist other schools in developing program directions that are -relevant to community and regional needs. The 'program has received Ministry of Fdk eati•on support and. a $1,5,000. grant per year has been approved. Thi'; amount is bas- ed on a rate of grant of 75 per cent and is ap- plied to thr i,raxirnum fundable budget of $20,000. The Huron County Board of Educa- tion will spend a minimum of $5,000 on the pi "elm • Local disabled whist*ould allow him to use the vehicle 6n the road was recent- ly denied by the Ministry of Transportation and Communica- tions. (photo by Patrick Raftis denied street use of six -wheeler by the government BY PATRICK RAFT'S The Ontario Ministry and Transportation and Communica- tions has turned down a disabled Goderich man's request for permission to use ..bis six -wheel -drive amphibious vehicle on public roadways. - - Ed Steegstra, of Maple Street, who lost the use of his legs in a car accident 12 years ago, doesn't want to use his six -wheeler "Argo" for trips uptown or for shopping or visiting. "It isn't the kind of thing I want to go bombing around The Square on," he said. - - Steegstra is able to drive his car, which is equipped with hand controls, for most of his transportation needs. He wants to use the Argo to give him more freedom to pursue his enthusiasm for • hunting and fishing. The six -wheeler has proved invaluable to him whether hunting in a bush or fishing in rivers and streams. "The three-wheelers and even the four wheelers can't go anywhere, compared to where 1 can go in my Argo," Steegstra said. • The problem for Steegsta is how to get the machine from his home to the bush. Amphibian vehicles are not allowed on provin- cial highways, which includes streets within a municipality; even on the shoulder of the roads or in the ditches. To legally get his vehicle to where it can be used, it must be loaded on a trailer and towed. "But I can't do that by myself," said Steegstra, so it deafeats the purpose of granting him some independence. Steegstra first conceived the idea of using the six -wheeler about a yealr after his accident. In the past ten years he has own- ed four of the vehicles. About a year ago, he contacted local MPP Jack Riddell, to inquire the possibility of using the machine, which has atop speed of about 35-40 miles -per -hour, oh the road. Riddell advised him to approach Goderich Town Coun- cil for assistance. " Last September, council passed a motion to petition the ministry for an arnendrnent to the Highway Traffic Act, that would permit the kind of limited on -road use Steegstra was seek- ing. At their ,Jan. 12 meeting, council received written replies from Ed .Fulton, Minister of Transportation and Communica- tions and Tony Ruprecht, Mi,rister Responsible for Disabled Persons. Neither provided any support for the proposal. "While we are sympathetic to the personal difficulties faced by Mr. teegstra, it is felt that the six -wheel amphibian vehicle . would present a signifigant traffic hazard to the rest of the public if it is allowed on public highways. "Additionally it is felt that an amendment to the Hig.way Traf- fic Act to allow a vehicle such as Mr. Steegstra's on public highways would establish a precedent with far reaching conse- • quences," said an excerpt from Ruprecht's letter. Safety lathe reason for prohibiting off-road vehicles from the highway, said Fulton in his letter. "These vehicles are not designed or constructed by the , manufacturers fro highway use, which could make them a potential hazard," Fulton said. "The Ontario government is concerned about the mobility of handicapped persons. A recent Cabinet deeision was that an in- terministerial committee, in which my ministry is the lead agency, be formed to seek remedies that will improve the • -ty situation for disabled persons," Fulton continues. Steegstra disagrees. He feels the six -wheelers are not only safe, but provide the perfect solution for the.mobility problems of the disabled. ' •'it's ideal for the disabled, beiause of the stability for driv- ing," he said. Unlike three or four -wheelers, the amphibians are 'less likely to overturn, leaving the disabled rider ainabl•e to put the vehicle upright. ' ' Allowing limited use of the vehicles, only to the disabled, would be the most •logical solution, Steegstra believes, but not one that seems to be forthcoming. Goderich Town Council has given Steegstra permission to use the six -wheeler on municipally -owned land, such as local parks. However, council•does<not have the authority to permit hire to drive on the streets to get there. • "Council did everything they could for me. I appreciate what they've done," said Steegstra. At the moment, Steegstra's six -wheeler has hit a roadblock. Goderich Administrator Larry McCabe says the town has look- ed into tpe-vnatter but is planning no further action. Steegstra also say's he can't think of any recourse for making his vehicle street legal. • Champion to close for a week Local parkin, tickets ar .s up With little or • no snow, Goderich • residents are forgetting the no=parking on town streets bylaw which is in effect ani- " nually from November, 15.to'March 15 bet- ween the hours of 2 and -7 a.m.; .Police Chief Patrick King•said at the police commission meeting held Monday, ' King spoke in response to his December 1986 report which showed 169 vehicles had been ticketed by police, the bulk of' which , concerned the overnight •parking bylaw. . This 'number is up almost 100 per cent from. the December 1985- figure of 84 .tickets issued, also the' bulk of_which concerned' the overnight parking bylaw. ' ' "With no snow, they forget the by-raw:is in effect," -he said. ' • ° - ' -Over the 'Christmas holidays, King said the department relaxed -the ricking regulations somewhat and tended to issue warnings instead of tickets. '`We try not to issue ticket's to soon after 2 a.rn..,"'he said, explaining that if a ticket. is issued at 2:10 a.m. for example, the per- - sonwho receives thetieket often feels that he hasn't been given a chance. • "We try to issue them between the hours' ' of 3 and- 4 a.n9. or later in the Morning when two 'ren are on duty." • Because the bylaw officer does not work at night, Commissioner Dave (corer ques- tionned if overnight manpower was being penalized in other areas because of uf- £icers ticketing vehicles. Chief .King responded that manpower was not affected since the officers only . issued tickets during routine patrols and as long as tb,e•riight.was quiet. The cost of an overnight parking infrac- tion is $3 which, according to King, "is Hirt .out of•lineawitli other towns"",an,d curet act.. l - as a deterrent, 0 INSIDE_ i HE- 3II'iAI._ lE- TA�.� Company cutback, due to temporary order shortage Champion Road Machinery Ltd. will shut down its Goderich plant for a five-day production period from March 2-6 to meet a temporary and. seasonal downturn in new road grader orders management an- nounced Tuesday. "We see this as a temporary situation only," emphasized Mike, Sully, vice - 'president manufacturing. "Future bid ata tivity for new grader orders is high and we expect to return to a full rate of production after the stoppage. The Champion com- pany remains extremely competitive to the market place acrd we -intend to take -full advantage of that competitiveness." While the company did not announce the .extent of the`one-week'layoff, Sully said a high percentage of the Goderich workforce vt-nuld he in'vrilvpd and that it rnirld extend beyond hourly employees. A 'fuller an- nouncement will be made in the middle of February. • The company will be reducing its daily build rate but Sully said that will not affect employment at the manufacturing facility before the planned shutdown, "There are issues we have to address like a sgare parts backlog and in the Spare time -those problems will be handled," he explained. "And we expect to return to a normal build rate after the shutdown•" The announcement, offered to employees through the weekly Newsbreak program Friday, was made as early as possible A° employees would have time to plan and prepare for the shutdown, Sully said, adding that the company woulden- courage employees with sufficient vaca- tion entitlement to Use it during the shut- down period. Until the shutdown, the company hopes to stabilize"inventory and correct produc- tion related issues. "We will then be able to come back on stream ready to support a production rate that represents an 18 per cent increase over last year." While the company has announced a five-day production cutback due to a tem- porary order shortage, management is confident about the future.. "We are in bet- ter shape than we ever have been. We are in control of our resources. We are getting good market share and 'we are producing the best product we have ever made; our dealers are telling us that," Sully said. Sully said the company is confident it dill return to a high, rate' of production after the stoppage considering the bid ac- tivities it is involved in. Bluewater volunteers A group of 42 dedicated volunteers visit with; residents of the BluewaterCentre for Young Offenders in a variety of volunteer pro -i. grams ranging from friendly visiting and tutoring sessions to arts and craft programs and Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. For stories and pictures on the Alunteer pro- gram, see the front page of the Community section. Vikings un 1efeated In sports, the Goderich Sailors lost 9-4 to the Wingham ironmen in ,Junior (' hockey ac- tion last- week. The4Tcrderi-eh i,egi•ori Midgets opened their OMIIA playoffs by defeating Wallaceburg 4-2 last Wednesday. In basketball, the (:DCI Senior Vikings re- main undefeated in Huron -Perth I,ea ;tic ac- tion, For stories and photos on these topics, see the Sports section. •