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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-09-16, Page 3
49 Insultion companis misled Y government speaker says BY SHARON DIETZ Homeowners with urea formaldehyde foam in- sulation installed in their homes have formed a Huron group off HUFFI, an organization which•is lobbying the federal- government for compensation for homeowners who wish to remove the foam from their homes. Approximately 90 people attended the meeting at the Lucknow District Community Centre on Sep- tember 9, organized by Grant Chisholm off Lucknow. Mr. Chisholm was elected president of the Huron group and Herb Storey is vice-president. Lynn Peck volunteered to act as secretary and the group will seek someone to serve as treasurer. Guest speaker at the meeting was Bill Bremner of Mississauga, interim chairman of HUFFI, who is a former distributor of the insulation. He became in - ed with HUFFI as a matter of conscience since he was involved in recruiting dealers for the since banned insulation. Bremner told the meeting the companies selling and installing the insulation were misled by the government and manufacturers on the proper . procedure to install the product. Bremner said they should never have installed the foam in brick houses or houses with siding. The foam should only be placed in ,wood houses with empty wood studs. Urea formaldehyde foam insulation was approved by the government in 1977 despite the fact that many countries had banned use of the foam. Many homeowners took advantage of the federally funded Canadian Home Insulation Program (CHIP) to in- stall the insulation, but the •government banned its use last year. Bremner said he attended a meeting October 2,1980 when members of the insulation industry made a proposal to government Suggesting the industry be responsible for any homeowner who finds himself reacting adversely to.the foam. The proposal said the homeowner•would be relieved of this aggravation and the industry would be responsible. A proposal to establish an insurance fund to protect people from dire failure of the product was also ap- proved at the meeting. Bremner said the industries were to pay $30 per drum of resin to create this in- surance fund. "Where did this money go?" asked Bremner. 'MPs Murray Cardiff and Dr. Gary Gurbin were shown copies of the minutes of this meeting and Cardiff said, following the meeting, he would take a copy of the minutes to Ottawa to learn what in- volvement the government had in the creation of an insurance fund to protect homeowners from the tailure of the foam.. .Homeowners attending the meeting asked questions off Mr. Bremner, the members of parliament, Harold B. Stevens, a chemistry and accredited corrosion specialist, Port Hope and Ed Harrison, director off inspectors with the Huron County Health Unit. When Cardiff spoke to the meeting he said he hoped people were not becoming unduely alarmed about the bad effects of the foam. Cardiff said the government was doing testing of homes in the county and that he would prefer to wait until the results of the tests were known before making a judgement. He said he was surprised to find so many of the people attending the meeting, had insulated their homes because the CHIP program had been in- troduced by the government. Cardiff said he believes people should stop toconsider whether an incentive program is right for them before taking the gover- nment up on their offer. He used the example of the present incentive program to switch from an oil furnace to natural gas or electricity. Before someone rushes out to take advantage of this program, said Cardiff, he should consider whether it is the right move for him, after considering all the factors involved. Dr. Gurbin commented there are several questions requiring answers and he hopes the government tests will provide them. He said there is tremendous variability in how people•react to different things and the percentage risk must be determined. Gurbin said it isnecessary to determine if com- pensation is warranted and how the cost will. be borne. Perhaps a program such as CHIP could be created to help the consumer remove the foam, suggested Gurbin. One homeowner asked who would pay the cost if the health unit told , him his home was unsafe. Ed Harrison; director of •inspectors for the Huron County Health Unit spoke to the question, saying the health unit would not order anyone from their home. Harrison said the health unit might recommend a family leave a home if testing showed a high level of• gas.being released from the foam. He said the county health unit is presently sub- mitting information to supplement the government testing but they are not advising people to stay or leave their homes. At one point Bremner remarked the estimated damage created by improper installation of the foam in -homes was $3 billion: -If we had a flood •creating this magnitude of damage," he commented, "we'd have. the govern- ment falling over themselves to give emergency aid." Policies approved by Board for staf fng and courses BY STEPHANIE . 'LEVESQUE Three policies involving a staffing formula, in- structional hours and course offerings''in secondary schools were approved in principle by the' Huron county Boa rd of Education, Thursday. At its September meeting, the board approved the policies in principle to allow a oneLmonth period to ,, gain feedback from those involved. The elementary school staffing formula will take into consideration such factors as class size, ad- ministration time, remedial withdrawal programs, specialized subject areas such as French, music. etc., library programs, Kindergarten programs and Spec ian.eaming Needs classes. • The purpose of the formula is to stabilize the pupil - teacher ratio, to distribute staff eq'hally among schools and to staff the schools according to board objectives. The formula will be used to allocate staff to schools and, if final approval is received, will be im- plerr"rated in the school year 1982-83. In an attempt to provideuniform school hours at the elementary level in the county, the board ap- proved in principle setting a minimum instructional day of five hours and 15 minutes and providing for winter dismissal 15' minutes earlier than normal Got an opinion? Let it be known in a letter to the editor PRUNE PLUMS * PEARS * APPLES * GRAPES * HONEY * FRUIT JUICES * APPLE SYRUP * APPLE BUTTER * MAPLE SYRUP OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK CALL: ROCK GLEN FRUIT FARMS LTD. d' ".3644 Arkona • where it has been approved by the director of education. The board received a letter' from ,lean Imanse of H.I't.:i, Goderich at the beginning of 1981 regarding the shortening •of lunch periods by 20 minutes. Director of Education John Cochrane said the policy would spell out at least 40 minutes for lunch periods. The last item to be approved in principle was the course offerings in secondary schools in the county. The policy states that basic course offferings for each school will be considered to be the offerings made for the 1981.82 school year and any future ad- di•tions.or deletions will require .formal board ap- proval. H.B. Allan, superintendent of education, told the . board the new policy will make the secondary school programs more "visible" to the trustees. In other business, the board approved the following novels for use in elementary schools in Huron ('aunty: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry, The Borrowers by Mary Norton, Copper Sunrise by Brian Buchan, Sword of Egypt by Bert Williams, The Dog In My t,ife by Farley Mowat, A Pony For The Winter by Ilelen Kay, Strange lake Adventure by Sharon Siamon, and Mystery of the Secret Tunnel by Wees.�l 41, a GODERIGH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,1981—PAGE 3 Is town getting fair share? Dear Editor: Is Goderich getting its fair share of economic assistance, for the amount of industry that is located here? We have a salt mine, grain elevators, and we are serviced by two railroads, plus and airport and seaway. We also have manufacture of graders and car parts, plus other small industries. The amount that these com- pans and their employees contribute annually in taxes to the provincial and federal coffers is considerable. The farmers and other small businesses are being backed up against the wall, while our • illustrious Prime Minister is throwing money around the world like it was growing on trees. It would seem that the governments do not even know we are on the rnap, but they know where to find us when it comes tax time. A couple of years ago, they wanted to deplete one 9f the most necessary facilities we have, namely the hospital. Considering the industry located here, and the elderly people, the facilities at the hospital still. leave much to be desired. If the economic statistics were known, I believe the Terry would be proud to see us continuing dream Dear Editor, The Kinsmen and Kinette Clubs would. like to thank .those people who took the time to participate' in the Terry Fox Run on Sunday. Thanks also, to those who dropped into the Suncoast Mall with donations. The weather was beautiful, which made the 10 km, course even more en- joyable to the participants. Personally, as one of the slower entrants (two hours), this town .is even more beautiful when you're not going through the streets at 30 m.p.h. Many of us' are already, looking forward. to having the opportunity to do it again next year. • • Special thanks to . Frank Pontes, manager of the Met Store, for supplying all the equipment for 'our use in the Mall and to Zehrs for . donating refreshments; also to Champion °Road .Machinery for printing the forms and materisis required. ,it is people and businesses like you, who are helping Terry's dream. become a reality. Terry _left us with the peace' of ' knowing we, as Canadians, would continue his Marathon. I'm sureif he could see us, he. would be very proud to see we are doing just that! Sincerest thank you, . The Kinsmen and AUTO RUND Main St. South Exeter 56 mpg (SOL 100km) UNDEFEATED CHAMP DIESEL PICKUP Thr Wor4rny Man s Tru' 1, I ONCE AGAIN the I RABBIT DIESEL has the 1 hest fuel economy In Canada With ., 1100 u, paylr,ad Th,s ,S ,,REAL TRUCK owe and take advantage of Billy -Joe and Larry ® they're easy! 110•110:" ...fAmimpaiLiz" ""' "a 1977 Chev •Van' Silver -maroon 55699 1980 Camaro Z28 • Dark Blue 58449 1977 Dodge Monaco , yellow 52649 1977 Monte Carlo Light Blue 53995 Open 8.8 daily AUTO RUND 1519).2351100 Kinette Clubs of Goderich, Chairmen, Dianne Armstrong and Barron Purser. Victoria And Grey Trust Company Appointment Guy B. Kelly W.H. Somerville, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vic- toria and Grey Trust Company is pleased to announce the appoin- tment of Mr. Guy B. Kelly as Manager of the Goderich Branch. amount taken out of here in income tax dollars and what we get in return, in economic assistance, would amount to a handful of bread crumbs. Old age assistance would not be a valid consideration, because they have to pay this to anyone who reaches the required age. The amount I am referring to is the amount they put back in- to this area considering the amount that is taken away, percentage -wise. Would an economic statistical report make their face turn red? It all depends on how much gall they have. Sincerely, N. J. Minaker LESSONS AVAILABLE * ACCOROI A nal *GUITAR *PIAN'""' *ORGAN Cr ,Li. 524-2711 OR 524©9576 OR 462-9669 ROBERT G. STODDART GOLDSMITH, SILVERSMITH, JEWELLERY DESIGNER • REPAIRS CANADIAN AWARD WINNING DESIGNER 133 ST. GEORGE'S CRESCENT GODERICH, ONT. 524-8433 We're Reducing Inventory With Our ANNUAL ON NURSERY STOCK 2 OjO OFF ALL SHRUBS AND TREES, SHOP IN OUR GARDEN STORE FOR GARDENING SUPPLIES GREEN HOUSES FOR A FRESH NEW HOUSE PLANT DAVID STECKLE AND FAMILY R. R. 2, Zurich 565-2122 Closed Sundays BLUE' SUPER SAVE PRICES MIANSON 3 VARIETIES 11/2 OZ. T.V. DINNERS 1 011. ALL DISHWASHER 1.4 KG. DETERGENT 3 09 STOKELY'S DARK RED KIDNEY BEANS 14 OZ. 594 SUPER SAVE SUPERMARKET 524-9411 104 SHOPPERS SQUARE, GODERICH We reserve the right to limit quantities. Prices in,effect till closing Sat., Sept. 19, 1981 or while quantities last. DELMONTE RED PITTED CHERRIES14OZ. 9 5 SANI FOAM BATHROOM 475 G.$ 69 CLEANER • BYE THE SEA LIGHT CHUNK IN TUNA 66..5 01. 34 3i KRAFT MIRACLE WHIP 994 SOO NC KRAFT PEANUT $ BUTTER... 99 NABISCO 675 G. SHREDDIES BETTY CROCKER 5 VARIETIES 510 G. CAKE MIXES CARNATION 800 G. COFFEE MATE $1 ." $1 PILLSBURY CRESCENT •59 ROLLS 235G. BURNS PRIDE OF CANADA $69 4 HAM.o. MAPLE LEAF BOGNA.$ 59 PORI : OKI- DOUSED • READY FOR T1/E ItiVIN SHOULDER. AST SCHNEIDER'S LUNCHEON IlOAF :R • WINDSOR COARSE 7 KG PICKLING SALT 99' CANADA WHITE • *199 VINEGAR4LTR. • SCHNEIDER'S 500G OKTOBERFEST 38 SAUSAGE Z. LB. NECTARINES; WESTONDIETRICH 24 OY. 100% W-HOLE4 WHEAT BREAD 07 794 KRAFT COLOURED 1 OZ. CHEEZE STICK ANo gr OLD SIRLOIN 59 LB. ,,IATEAK. ER $ 37 WESTON JAM FILLED LB. 96° . TOMATOES " 9 LB. PAPER S 2 ROLL CHOPS t� ONTARIO NO. 1 10 LB. BAG,lis �� POTATOES$1