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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-11-25, Page 1133 YEAR -47 thederic SIGNAL --STA GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25,1981 50 COPY This. weekend, 15 east members of the Goderleh Little Theatre with stage the play In the, Court of the Emerald King, written and directed by Warren Robinson. Here, Oaka, played by Susan Murphy and Tandrll, Cindy Sully display two of seven puppets used in the play and made by Mrs. Allan Johnston. More pictures appear Inside.(Photo by Dave Sykes) Elevator sets new record The Port of Goderich is quickly becoming one of the busiest harbors on the Great Lakes shipping lanes. For the second consecutive year Goderich Elevators limited has posted record handlings, especially in Ontario grains, a direct result of recent capital expansion programs. While expansion is not always a breeding ground for growth, Goderich Elevators has spent over $1 million in the past two years to add two loading spouts. The increased loading capabilities has lead to increased salt water lhip traffic that translates into increased handling. Ostensibly, as company President George Parsons explained, the expansion was a necessity and ultimately, it has increased traffic in the harbor area. "We now have three loading spouts after adding two new ones: Otherwise the salt water ships were reluctant to come," he said. "We are now giving them service as good as other terminals and the third loading spout has cut the loading time from five to two days." While Port Colborne has the capabilities to load ships faster the 20 foot water depth does not compare favorably to the 25 -foot depth in Goderich Harbor. . This year, Goderich Elevator will handle 9,300,000 bushels of Ontario corn compared to 7,400,000 bushels a year ago. There was also record handlings in Ontario grains as 1,200,000 bushels of barley and 2,800,000 bushels of Ontario wheat passed through Goderich. Much of the Ontario corn was booked for delivery before the addition of the third loading spout other- wise, the figures would have easily been greater. "We had 15 salt water vessels through here and could have handled 25," Parsons explained. "Next year we will be more aggressive." Turn to page 2 Employees share company profits Champion workers to get profit cheques Despite an ailing and untrustworthy economy, more than 1,000 employees of the Champion group of companies will share in excess of a quarter of a million dollars in corporate profits this year. Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Champion Road Machinery Ltd., Bruce Sully, announced this week that all employees in the Champion Group of companies would participate in profit sharing for the fiscal year ending July 31, 1981. In his regular address to the Champion employees, Mr. Sully explained that in excess of a quarter of a million dollars was placed in the company profit- sharing program and individual cheques will be presented to employees in December. Under the terms of the profit sharing program, hall of the money is placed in trust to strengthen the employee's long term financial security and the remainder is paid in cash. In his remarks, Mr. Sully commented that the fact profits could be turned into the profit sharing program, during a time of extreme economic un- certainty and actively depressed markets, offered evidence of the commitment of all employees to the achievement of Champion's mission to be the "standard of excellence" in the marketplace. Mr. Sully recognized that all levels of the organization had risen to the challenge of increasing productivity while reducing costs in the period from. August 1980 to _July 1981, "The plan introduced in February 1980 has already been a success. Today's profit demonstrates howwell a trained team can overcome the problems in today's economy. When that economy improves, and it will improve, Champion people can look forward to even greater profits to be shared," Mr. Sully said. The Champion profit sWing program was laun- ched in F ebruary 1980 antlfr " 6there was immediate excitement generated among employees, there was no profit to report in the first six months. Despite the dissipation of enthusiasm, the employees and the company were able to turn a profit in the subsequent fiscal year. When profit sharing was initiated, company of- ficials envisaged a plan that would share corporate profits with the employee, add to that employee's security and stimulate an environment conducive to productivity and company growth. The plan covers 1,050 employees of the Champion group of companies and all monies generated by' the plan are in addition to wages, salaries and benefits. Once the company has met pre -determined targets, excess profits are divided between the company and employees. r More than,50 per cent of each employee's share of the profits is invested in a deferred profit sharing trust fund administered by a joint board consisting of three hourly employees and three company executives. Monies designated to the trust fund cannot be used by the company in any way. The amount of an individual employee's' cheque hinges on salary and position in the company. While company • official Iain Bain said the formula for determining profits was equitable, it could be subject to change in future. While no profit was generated in the first six months of the program, Bain claimed the profit sharing cheque would foster a new employee attitude. "Employees, I think, will become more responsible and will look to increase their share of the profits next year," he said. "The program has been an evolution. There was immediate excitement when it was an- nounced then a dip. Now employees have great an- ticipation but we need a little help from the economy." Essentially, the profit sharing program is an in- vestment in the employees of the...company,„r u vestment that can pay dividends according to Don Longwell. Turn to page 2 Town gets grants for program The town of Goderich initiated Me of seven projects in Huron County that will receive Canada Community Development Project grants, Huron -Bruce Conservative MP, Murray Cardiff, announced that seven projectsin the riding, including one in' Goderich, will receive funding from the Minister of Employment and Immigration under the Canada Employment Program. The Town of Goderich will receive an $8,320 grant to employ one person for 40 weeks in the F.L.O.A.T. program. The program is an extension of the summer works,project. Last summer, the tourist committee was able to hire two people for 13 weeks on a F.L.O.A.T. project Biscayne Bay stopson goodwill mission An American Coast 'Guard icebreaking tug, Biscayne Bay, visited Goderich last Thursday on a goodwill mission and was open to the public for touring. Based in St. Ignace, Michigan, the icebreaker has a crew of three officers and 17 crew and is captained by Lt. Robert Heins Jr. The cutter's primary task is the opening and maintaining of the ice -bound shipping lanes in the Great Lakes. Because of the need for larger and stronger icebreakers, the Biscayne Bay was designed with many new innovations aimed at increasing the icebreaking capabilities. This vessel has greater horsepower, higher displacement, and wider beam than the older ones. It is 140 feet long and has a maximum beam of 371 feet. Maximum speed is 14.7 knots and it has an icebreaking capacity of 18-20 inches. It was commissioned in 1979 after being built by Tacoma Boatbuilding Co. which is to Familiarize Locals and Others About our Town. The grant will serve to pay the salary of $170 to one person plus $40 a week for capital expenditures. Initially,, the personal duties of the person hired under the program will include: working with the recreation staff to locate and map suitable cross- country ski trails in the Goderich area and produce literature with respect to the sport; complete a per- manent float promoting Goderich for use in parades; assist the recreation staff and tourist committee in the planning, organizing and • advertising of the Canada Day Parade in June; assist the tourist com- mittee with promotional and advertising work con- cerning local events; assist program director Bob Marshall to .develop, plan and initiate activities which would be beneficial to groups such as senior citizens, underprivileged, disabled or physically han- dicapped. It is also planned, that in the spring of 1982 a second person will be hired to complete miscellaneous construction work. Turn to.page 2 Board ready with data on shortages BY JOANNE BUCHANAN When Ontario's Minister of Health, Dennis Tim- brell travels to Goderich on February 5 to officially open the new psychiatric unit located on the third floor of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, the hospital board will be ready for him with data and questions on bed shortages here. At a meeting of the hospital board Monday evening, a motion was passed to have the management committee collect such data and send a brief outlining the board's concerns to Timbrell before his arrival here so that he will be prepared to answer questions. AM&G is running 135 per cent occupancy all year round in its chronic care ward because of a lack of nursing home beds available in the community. This means that while the hospital budget has allowed for 20 chronic care beds, approximately 28 are being used. It also means that the 50 active beds allowed for are reduced to 42 because of the spill over. Dr. James Rourke, president of the medical staff, told the board that the problem had to be pursued `actively and agressively'. He said it was his un- derstanding that if a need for more nursing home beds could be proven, then the Ministry of Health would provide the funding. He read a letter to the board which he wrote saying, "1 continue to be concerned with the repeated bed shortages that have been occurring at our hospital over the past year. This imparts tremendous strain on our physical and staff resources at the hospital and impedes the provision of exemplary , patient ted patient ardety...Inorder 4e, maintain a safe and effective active portion of our Trrrntopage 3d The American Coast Guard icebreaking tug, Biscayne ay of Michigan docked in Goderich Harbor last Thursday Santa Claus is corning to town It will be a grand weekend for children and children at heart as the annual Santa Claus Parade winds through town on Saturday. After the parade, Santa will hold his 'Court' in the Park Theatre where kids are invited for a visit and some fruit and candy. The Santa Claus Parade forms at the corner of Elgin. Avenue and South Street and will set off at 1 p.m. It will , proceed around The Square to West Street, will turn onto Waterloo, then onto Elgin and back to South. About 40 entries are expected in the parade, in- cluding floats, bands, clowns, and of course, the grand old man hin°isel€. After Santa holds his Court, there will be a Goderich Little Theatre production for children at MacKay Centre at 4 p.m. Written and directed by Warren Robinson, 'The Court of the Emerald King' is a play involving use of songs, mime and puppets. The play, which costs $2, will be staged Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m also. (Proceeds from Sunday's performance will be donated to the AM&G ICU drive.) Four injured in car accident BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The Goderich detachment of the O.P.P. in- vestigated 13 motor vehicle accidents during the week of November 16. Four persons were injured early Saturday evening when a car and pickup truck collided head on south of County Road 1 on Highway 8. O.P.P. said all the occupants in a car driven by Chiem Mach, 31, of Toronto were taken to Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. Passengers Ke Troeung, 27, of Goderich and Lee. Lan, 20, of Malaysia, were in - satisfactory condition Sunday night. Another passenger, Phooin Tim, 40, also of Malaysia, was treated and released. The driver of the truck, Stephen Baynham, 22, of Exeter was also treated and released. O.P.P. also investigated six local damage com- plaints and six minor thefts during the week. All but two of the thefts took place in Colborne and Ashfield Townships. There were also two break and enters. One of these tock place at the Bayfield Boat Yard in Vanastra where $950 worth of tools and materials were stolen. O.P.P. laid eight liquor charges, two impaired driving charges and two narcotic control act charges during the week. Local police report two assaults, one disturbance, two thefts, two wilful damage incidents, one indecent exposure, one indecent assault and one other criminal offence during the week. They made two arrests and laid four criminal charges, two liquor charges and four Highway Traffic Act charges. They also issued 27 warnings. -Huron-considers - welfare ceilings by Stephanie Levesque , Fuel cost ceilings for those on general welfare have been implemented in Perth and await county council 'approval in Huron. Recently Minister of Community and Social Ser- vices Frank Drea, announced increases and im- provements to Ontario's social assistance programs. Part of this is to assist those on general welfare cope with the problem of increasing fuel costs: Ontario will subsidize municipalities approximate- ly 80 percent of the increased costs. In Perth County, a limit of up to $1,000 per year has' been set. Perth Social Services administrator Debbie Ballak said this will increase costs approximately 10 percent. Huron County social services committee will recommend a $75 a month limit at the Nov. 26 meeting of county council. Huron's social services administrator J. A. MacKinnon said increases would not be considerable. This is so, said Mr. MacKinnon because Huron has been meeting increased fuel costs to general welfare cases on an individual basis. Mr. MacKinnon said no major increased costs would be realized if the caseload remains at its pre- sent number. INS! EM HE SIGNAL__ iTAi Kids raise money - Nearly 150minor hockey players and figure skaters joined forces in a 10 -hour skate-a-thon on Saturday to raise money to meet expenses. The skaters hard $5.230 in pledges. See page 1 A for picture and story. Girls win title The GDCI junior girls basketball team brought home the Huron -Perth championship last week from S.tratford_Notthivestei heads thbm t d ejn a row intti it i e t W'three s- ami ,1f.- T -ge 1 A.