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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-01-15, Page 1,-„ thed 138 YEAR -03 A1C GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1986 60 CENTS PER COPY Snow crew praised for fine wor The employees' of the Goderich works department were coegratulated for a job well done regarding snow plowing and removal in town this winter at a special meeting of the works committee on Mon- day. "It is my opinion that there is not a town in the province of Ontario that is better served with snowplowing and—removal than is the Town of Goderich," Ken Hunter, conunissioner of works told the committee. The special meeting was held 'in response to comments made by Deputy - Reeve John Doherty and Coun. Glen Carey Clinton woman dies in accident on Highway 8 r" A Clinton woman died last Thursday in a motor vehicle accident when blowing and drifting snow whipped by 70 kilometre winds created poor driving conditions in the area. Grace Buffinga, 64, of 128 John St., Clin- ton died when the car -in which she was a passenger, driven by,: her husband, Hen- drik, 71, collided with a" tractor -trailer e truck on Highway 8 about five kilometres east of Goderich'at 11:30 a.m. Goderich OPP said the tractor -trailer was westbound when ° art eastbound car driven by. William Whitely, 29, of R. 2, Goderich smashed head on into it. A minute later the eastbound Buffinga vehi- cle also hit the truck. The accident happened during a whiteout in which blowing snow reduced visibility to nil. Buffinga and Whitely remain in Alexan- dra Marine and General Hospital in good condition. Whitely's wife, Michelle; 26 and his son, Andrew, 1, were treated and released following the accident. Whitely's mother, Dorothy, 61; of R. 2, Goderich was admitted and has since been released. In another accident on Highway 21 north A 64 -year-old Clinton woman, Graee Buffinga died when her car; of Goderich at Sheppardton earlier the driven by her husband Hendrick, 71, collided with a tractor -trailer • Turu.to page 3 on Highway 8, five kilometres east of Goderich on Thursday at at the Jan. 6 council meeting concerning snow removal in town. - "I feel the works department employees deserve an apology. For this to be even brought, out at council is not to my liking. Councillors should go through the proper channels if they have a complaint," said Coun. Jim Searls. - Coun. Peter. McCauley said the coun- cillors whocomplained about the snow removal should feel embarrassed.. Mayor Eileen Palmer agreed adding an apology to Stan Meriam and the works' department staff. I'm all in favor of the town crew and the work , they've done. I understand there's been a lot of demoralization as a l result of the comments," she said. - Meriam, the town works' foreman, told the committee he was surprised to see the comments about snow removal deteriorating in last week's Signal Star. "I was really upset and my crew was upset. I've spent.33 years in town and I've been driving the streets at 3 o'clock in the morning • for nothing since my overtime - was taken away by council. This is the first time I've ever been criticized by council' I think Doherty and Carey are„ mistaken," he said. A salaried employee of the town, Meriam said he'd like a substantial raise from council for his work. "On Christnias Day, I was.up at 4 a.m. and on New Year's Day, I was home at 2 a.m. and out 'by 4 to check the roads. And, if I'm up at 2, there are people going within half an hour and that's without breakfast or coffee," he said. The hours worked by the 10 public works 'employees between Dec. 20 and Jan. 2 in- cluded108 regular hours and 410 overtime,. Plow operators wprtted between 54 and 68 Turn to page 2 Doctors fight BY SHARON DIETZ The major health issue in 'this province is not extra -billing by doctors but control of the health care . system, say two Goderich physicians, who with their col- leagues are determined to fight the ban on extra -billing proposed in recent legislation introduced by Health Minister Murray Elston. The politicians have found some cases of inappropriate billing and while this hap- pens less often with doctors than in other professional groups, it does exist, says Dr. Mario Cauchi. of the Bruce Street Faintly Medicine Centre. There are examples where patients who have been billed can- not afford to pay but the provincial govern- ment is going about solving this problem in 11:30 a.m. The accident was blamed on poor road conditions. ( photo by Todd Mowatt) or control of health system the wrong way, says Cauchi who is one of only two physicians in Huron County who have opted qut of OHIP and bill their pa- tients directly. The reason the government is banning extra -billing is because it sees patients in a precarious situation financially or emo- tionally•who are experiencing a decrease of accessibility to certain health care and certain doctors, says Cauchi. The govern- ment is 'further motivated by the Canada Health Act which create financial pressure: The federal government is withholding $50 million in- _transfer payments to the province until they ban extra -billing in Ontario. "The emphasis of the government is on dollars and cents and fees charged and that is not how the doctors see it," says. Dr. Cauchi who calls the term extra -billing a Misnomer. Doctors" are. not extra billing their patients. They are choosing to charge the OMA fee rather than the OHIP fee' and the patient is then responsible for paying the difference not covered by OHIP. Theright to bill for services rendered is fundamental, says Cauchi, who knows his patients and discusses billing with them. If the patient feels he is unfairly billed, Dr. Cauchi will adjust the fee. "The fee is established (by the OMA) and it's not a case of billing rich patients more. It is a case of. charging less than the fee asset by the OMA. Every other profes- sional including lawyetis and architects is permitted to set his fee.',he says:Doctors care about their patients and won't do anything to injure them, says -Dr. Cauchi. But "we do want to show our dissatisfac- tion with the legislation. We are not going. to sit here and take it;" the says. The Goderich doctor intends to fight the legislation and is prepared to go to jail to maintain his professional independence. "I want to work with the politicians to -improve the system. I'm not afraid of change but I want it to be good change.' he says. All of the doctors Dr. Cauchi knows and most in the province, . he expects, oppose the legislation. This includes opted in physicians as only 12 per cent of the physi- cians in Ontario are opted out of OHIP. • Turn to page 6. ForrnerHuron Warden, Gerry. Ginn dies BY DAVE SYKFS Former Huron County warden and township politician, Gerry Ginn, died in hospital Monday after suffering a heart at- tack on his Goderich Township farm. Ginn, who will always, be remembered for his hard work, diligence, community involvement and straightforward style of country politics was in his 59th year. ` One of six generations of Ginns to farm in Goderich Township, George G. Gerry Gini was the third generation to serve as reeve of the township. His grandfather Oswald was reeve from 1923-25 and his father , George•C.,from 1945-48. Born Sept. 5, 1927 in Goderich he was the son of George Carroll Ginn and Margaret Agnes Yuill. The Ginn family farmed on Maitland Concession for many .generations and it was in 1952 that Gerry and wife Jean pur- chased Lots 28 and 29 to start their own dairy farm with six cows and a few chikcens. In 1955 he began supplying milk to McManus Dairy in Goderich and three years"Pater he supplied rnilk'for Andrew's Dairy. As he moved up the township council ranks he slowly passed on the workload of the farm to son Jim. Revered as a fair man with an old- fashioned work ethic„Ginn gave of himself unselfishly to his community over the .years. He was an avid supporter of sports and recreation programs and his family nurtured a rich legacy of participation in municipal politics. Nevone to refuse a challenge, Ginn flourish in the face of adversity and was kno as a man who spoke his mind and simply did what had to be done. Political colleague and friend Grant Stirling, now reeve of the Township of Goderich, was reeve when Ginn was first elected to council in 1967. ° "He was a very energetic man, not just . in politics, but in all walks of life and he was an A-1 councillor,” Stirling recalls: "He was very able, put his thoughts across well and was very fair. He was a man that was never afraid to speak his mind, but, he was always very fair." With memories of the townships Ses- quicentennial still fresh in people's minds, Stirling suggests the celebrations' success was ensured when. Ginn accepted the chairmanship. "He was chairman of the 1.5.0 celebra- tions in the township and he put a lot of ef- fort into it," he said. "He liked the challenge but he was a man that ,always met the challenge." He served as a trustee on the local school board before running for township council in 1967. That same year he served on the townships Centennial Celebration Com- mittee. In 1971 he moved up to the position of deputy -reeve and in 1975 he was elected reeve of Goderich Township. In -his final year as reeve, 1978, he was elected.varden of Huron County. The list of accomplishments and credits Over his career, offers fitting testilmfny to his talents, dedication, commitment to community and willingness to tackle and subdue all challenges. b One of the biggest supporters of Goderich Township, he helped establish Lakeside Park, the Holmesville Ball Park and the Township Community Centre in. Holmesville. He served on the town's hous- ing committee, planning board and was in- strumental in initiatingoint fire boards with Colborne and Hayfield. He was a Gerry Ginn member of the council that initiated the township's official plan and also worked with a regional tourist council. Goderich Township clerk Robin Thomp- son worked with Ginn during ,,his entire political career and said his approach was direct and fair. "He was very outspoken but you could argue with him and when it was over it was done," he ,said. "Hewas not a smooth politician but he was clear and there was no hesitation about he said or did. If you had a dispute with him there was no reten- tion or animosity on his part." - Leaders must have a strong belief system and must also be courageous to boldly meet the challenges of government and maintain their convictions. Gerry Ginn was such a leader and his physical, intellectual and spiritual standards enabl- ed him to apply resourceful and creative energy to problems and challenges. He sometimes challenged tradition but had a clear definition of his goals and abilities, Huron County administrator, Bill Hanly, is quick to label Ginn as one of the county's true leaders, "He was a very capable warden and a real leader," Hanly said. "He was very in- volved in everything and' when he did something he got involved. completely. He was a good debater, he was straight out and he did everything hard." George Gledhill (Gerry) Ginn is surviv- ed by his wife Jean and children Jon, Deb- bie and Laurie (Mrs. 'Phil Paquette) of Goderich; Jim and Brenda of Goderich Township and Jan and Bill Tranter of Goderich.. Funeral service will be held in North Street 'United Church, Goderich Thursday at 2 p.m. Interment will follow in Maitland Cemetery. Benmiller Forester will hold a memorial service at 9 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. , Donationsito the Heart and Stroke Foun- dation of Ontario or Canadian. Foresters Cancer lteseerra would be appreciated as expressions of syMpathy. - • Second alcohol survey co in All males 15 and over in Goderich will be asked to participate in a second survey by the Addiction Research Foundation from Feb. 10 to Mar. 8. A follow-up to the baseline survey con- ducted by the foundation in February of 1984, it will be almost identical to the first including its cogfideritiality, says Gerry Conroy, of the foundation. "No information about any individual will leak out. This second survey is to see if there have been any changes in alcohol use either spontaneously or because of our presence in the community and which way the changes are going," he says. Factors that may. indicate the survey will discover changes in the community in- clude the stiffer laws against drinking and driving, the changes in alcohol prices and the increasing emphasis on health across the country. - • Surveys will be hand delivered to each male in Goderich. About 70 per cent of those who received questionnaires answered them during the first survey. "We really appreciate the help from the people filling out the survey. They're doing themselves and their community a favor since the survey is helpful for long range planning for hospitals • and other agen- cies," he says. The, results of the survey will be made public in the fall of 1986 and will include detailed information about the data from both surveys and a comparison of thetwo. "Whatever we find out, we'll put in prac- tical form for the community to use in- cluding suggestions. It will be a fairly com- .prehesive report,which we'll send to all- the local agencies and present to town coun- cil," he says. Honey Fisher will be in charge of the survey. She can.be contacted at 524-7477 'as of Feb. 10. St owmo1ile marathon this weekend Area snowmobilers can participate in a 50 kilometre snowmobile marathon this Sunday, Jan. 19 to raise money''for cancer research and local projects. Sponsored by the Benmiller Foresters and the Colborne Snowmobile Club, the marathon goes from 10 a.m. to noon. Registration is aC the Foresters Hall, Bert- miller. First prize is' $100, second prize is $50, third prize is $25 and all drivers with $100 or more in pledges will receive a $10 gas voucher. , Participants must be licensed, insured and earry pledges to enter and to be eligi- ble for prizes. Pledge forms are available from snowmobile area_ dealers and Foresters. o The alternate date is Jan. 26. INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR Model discovered After being "discovered" in a mall, Goderich's Vickie Jones has enjoyed a very successful first year in professional modelling appearing in the Sears catologue, on a Coppertone poster and in a television beer commercial. Read about her achievements after stumbling across what is now a promising career in Susan 'Hundertmark`s feature on today's conn- munity page in section 2. 1029 triple It may not be a personal best, but Dick McLean's 1029 triple in league play Thursday may stand as the house record at Little Bowl for many years to come. Bowling in the night men's night league, McLean rolled the highest triple ever recorded at the lanes. See inside section 2 for the details on today's sports page 6A. Block Parents The Goderich Block Parent Association has announced an expansion of the local volunteer safety program to include a Fan Out Alert System, a method of co- operation between the police force and Block Parents. Learn about this new pro- gram for projecting our children on the front page of section 2.