Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-10-05, Page 1135 —s0 ich IGNAL STA GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5,1 50 CENTS PER COPY Constable buried in Collingwood Over three hundred policemen, representing municipal and provincial forces from across Ontario and a few Royal Canadian Mounted Police detach- ments, formed an honour guard outside First Presbyterian Church in Collingwood Wednesday to pay last respects to Con- stable Bruce Crew. Constable Crew, 47, was killed in a bizarre accident Sunday, September 25 in Goderich Township on -Haron County Road 18, just east of Highway 21, when„ a municipal police cruiser rammed a vehicle that had- been stopped by Crew and his partner, Constablejoba4traughan. �. Constable Peter ... ason, 30, of the Goderich Police Force was in pursuit of a vehicle occupied by Allan Nicholson, 21, and Wayne McDonald, 23, both of R.R. 2 Lucknow about 3 a.m. when it was stopped by Crew and Straughan at Porter'sHill. Mason came upon the vehicle and slammed into the rear'portion killing Crew who was apparently standing beside the vehicle. The police honour guard, representing municipal forces from Sault Ste. Marie, Ottawa, Niagara Region as well as several OPP detachments from Southwestern Ontario, formed outside the First Presbyterian Church in Collingwood before and after the funeral service. The Reverend G.L. Royal officiated at the service and interment followed in Presbyterian Cemetery, Collingwood. Huron County coroner R.W. Flowers said this week that an inquest into the death of Constable Crew will take place soon. While the inquest will examine all aspects of the accident, including the chase by Goderich and Clinton Police, Flowers said of particular interest is the communication system and the method of communication between the OPP and municipal cruisers. As a result of events leading to the ac- cident, the two Lucknow area men are to appear in provincial court on charges. Nicholson,is scheduled to appear in provincial curt October 17 charged with dangerous driving and driving with more �•�'`' x °° ' -.F,.- _ •� _ ��'-��` ���'`'��" than 80 milligrams of alcohol in his blood. Both charges carry jail terms under the Criminal Code of Canada. McDonald is scheduled to appear in provincial court here Thursday, October 20 charged with using a plate not authorized for a motor vehicle. Huron County Crown Attorney Gary Hunter said that no police officers would be charged in the incident. Provincial Police Constable Bruce Crew, 47, killed in a tragic accident on Huron County Road 18 Sunday, September 25, was buried in Collingwood Wednesday. Over 300 municipal, provincial and mounted policeman from across Ontario attended the funeral and burial service. Members of the Goderich detachment of the OPP formed an honour guard outside First Presbyterian Church. ( photo by Dave Sykes) Domtar celebrates opening of third shaft Several Domtar Incorporated executives toured the Sifto Salt mine and evaporator plant in Goderich Thursday. Here a group is pictured getting ready to ascend to the surface after a brief underground tour. To mark the completion of the third shaft at Sifto, the company hosted an official opening ceremony in Goderich Thursday for employees, suppliers and their families. (photo by Dave Sykes Employees, executives, suppliers and their spouses joined in a large celebration Thursday as Domtar officially acknowledged the opening of a third shaft at the Sifto Salt Mine here. A large contingent of company executives from Montreal flew in Thur- sday morning to tour both the mine and evaporator plant facilities before being joined by employees and their spouses at a reception and dinner. The opening of the third shaft marks a significant achievement in the history of the salt industry in Goderich. Ostensibly, the $37 million dollar expansion program at Sifto increases the total annual capacity by 55 per cent, or 1.2 million tons. The expansion program has also provided 50 additional jobs. While the new shaft was officially opened Thursday, it has been in production since May, boosting the mine's capacity to over 3.1 million tons annually. Con- struction on the circular, concrete -lined shaft began m 1981 and a unique technique, in which the ground around the cir- cumference of the shaft was frozen to create a wall of ice, was used in the con- struction process. At a reception hosted by the company Thursday, W.E. Dickson, President of the Salt Institute, said that recovery in the salt industry is in full swing, as evidenced by the impressive expansion program at Sifto. "Over the last couple of years the in- dustry has slowed down but recovery is now in full swing," he said. "We just need several good winters in a row." Weather plays an important role in the salt industry as salt used in the de-icing of highways accounts for about 80 per cent of the output of the mine. Dickson intimated that water conditioning is a major area for growth in the industry and he praised Domtar for "working with vision to open a new shaft." Sifto is now the third largest salt producer in North America and vice- president Dave Hargraft expressed unrestrained enthusiasm about the potential of the Goderich facility. "It's hard not to be excited about the fantastic job being done in the Goderich mine," he said. "Goderich is ideally located to serve Eastern Canada and Ontario and has the potential to be the lowest cost producer of salt. Sifto is now set to grow and Goderich with it." Citing the Goderich mine as one of the most progressive in the industry, Domtar Chemical Group president, Jim Morgan, contended that the growth and develop- ment here was unprecedented. "This is the largest and most produ^ci""' mine on the Great Lakes. The benefits of the expansion have spread to the com- munity, the workers, suppliers and families," he said. "It is unusual today to talk of volume growth and development but $37 million was not invested to prove us wrong." Domtar boasts a labour force 15,000 strong in North America and 6,000 of those employees live and work in Ontario. Success, Chief Executive Officer of Domtar, Jim Smith explained, hinged on the company's employees. "Domtar is diversified and strong in Ontario and we have made an investment in Goderich," he said. "We are confident we will realize long-term potential. We are confident of the future. We are confident of success. And success is based on 15,000 Domtar employees"in North America." Sifto, which has become one of the major producers of salt in North America, has a second mine in Cote Blanche, Louisiana, evaporator plants in Goderich, Amherst, Nova Scotia and Unity, Saskatchewan plus processing plants in Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Dubuque and Mon- treal. The success of the Goderich mine can also be attributed to the harbour, providing a natural export route for the product. Town and company officials have been actively petitioning the federal government to create and develon a new harbour with seaway depth to accom- modate the shipping demands of local in- dustry and Thursday mayor Eileen Palmer said those efforts would continue. The opening of the new $37 million mine shaft was a major event for the employees of one of the town's most prominent in- dustries and the company rolled out the red carpet. But the salt industry has played a major role in the development of the area since it was discovered by Samuel Platt on the Maitland River flats in 1866 while drilling for oil. And with the sinking of a third shaft, it is obvious Sifto will play an even more im- portant role in the town's future. Cornish selected to fill vacant council seat After four ballots, Goderich town council selected Bob Cornish to fill the council seat left vacant following the resignation of Ed Giesbrecht. It took four ballots to declare a winner, with Cornish receiving five votes com- pared to two for Bob Allen. Reeve Harry Worsell, mayor Eileen Palmer and councillors Jim Searls, Bill Clifford, and Glen Carey cast ballots in favor of Cornish. Deputy -reeve Jim Britnell and councillor Don Wheeler cast ballots in favor of Bob Allen while John Doherty abstained on the final ballot. The council seat became vacant when Ed Giesbrecht announced his resignation from council at the September 19 meeting. He cited personal reasons for his decision. Subsequent to the resignation an- nouncement, four people, Bob Allen, Bob Cornish, John Hills and Stan Profit, were nominated as potential councillors. On the first ballot, Cornish received four votes compared to two each for Allen and Profit and none for Hills. With Hills' name dropped from the second ballot, the voting remained four for Cornish with Profit and Allen securing two votes apiece. On the third ballot, mayor Palmer switch0—allegiance from Cornish to Allen, giving them three votes apiece, and leaving Profit as the low man with two votes. On the fourth and final ballot, Cornish received the five votes required to declare a winner. Mayor Palmer congratulated the new councillor, who was in attendance, suggesting he would make a contribution to municipal politics. "I look forward to serving with you," she said. "You have proved yourself as chairman of the recreation board." Cornish, who has served as chairman of the recreation board for three years, told council he looked forward to the challenge presented by municipal government ad- ding that it would be a pleasure to serve with the wealth of experience around the council table. Prior to the voting procedure, Clifford commented that it was refreshing that four citizens volunteered their services when the council seat became vacant. "There is no apathy here. Regardless of the outcome, it is good that four people agreed to serve," he said. "Any one of them would have made a good con- tribution, it is unfortunate we have only one vote." Woman killed. in accident A Colborne Township woman died in- stantly when she fell off a tractor Thur- sday, at approxienately 4:45 p.m. Mary Lou McNeil, 33, of Colborne Township, was riding on the left fender of a tractor driven by her husband, Robert, while he was raking hay. When she fell, she was rust aver by theleft rear wheel. Mrs. McNeil was the mother of two children, Craig and Shannon. Tourist group to be studied The status of the tourist committee will be investigated icy a committee of council after it was learned that there were not. enough members for a quorum at the last two meetings. A motion introduced by Jim Searls and John Doherty and subsequently passed by council, asks that the organizational review committee of council check into the status of committee and make a recom- mendation back to council. Searls told council that at the past two monthly meetings of the tourist committee, only three members were present at one meeting and two at the other. Don Wheeler questioned the use of the word status in the motion and suggested -the committee has been invaluable to the town over the years. "They have done a yeomen service to the town," he said. "Let's find out if the members are still interested." Mayor Eileen Palmer said she saw merit in the motion considering that tourism and recreation duties were often linked under one committee at the provincial and municipal level. The organizational review committee will report to council on the matter. ICU account in good shape Although the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital currently has a $78,000 deficit which is being financed through the hospital's general operating account, it will be $23,000 in the black when all the campaign pledges are turned in. A hospital board committee is -presently looking at ways of collecting those pledges now in arrears. It was noted at a recent board meeting that an additional $734.18 for the ICU had just been received from two community groups. Board members 'felt this was important because it shows an on-going interest in the ICU project which can always use extra funds. Work has now been completed on all aspects of the project, including the new recovery room and day care surgery areas and the expanded physiotherapy depar- tment. The ultrasound fliachine is ow also i fi L tkii ir>t , resiis'cittifiaii machine 1 nowii as a'v ventilator and this is in the process of being purchased. . INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR High school sports High school sports are now in full gear, with the football teams and the basketball teams doing extremely well. Over the weekend, the GDCI junior girls' basketball team hosted a tournament, winning their first game but losing the second game to a very strong London team. For complete details, take a look in the Recreation section. Squash Club The Goderich Squash Club honored its club champions Saturday when they held their first annual club meeting. The competitions included both men's and ladies' games, and in the end, they had their winners. For the Squash Club champions, take a look at the Recreation section. Christmas Fair The 18th Annual Colborne Township Christmas Country Fair is just around the corner so the craftsmen are busily preparing for the three day event. Inside this section of the paper are stories on two exhibitors that will be taking part in the Pair.