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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-08-13, Page 1dir the • dPr1C SIGN 138 YEAR - 33 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13, 198b 60 CENTS PER COPY nt jeopardizes hett ate d i ui e. a union representative for the Ontario unmanned and reducing the number.of of - Public. Service Employees Union and the ficers available to fight crime."says elected Unit Steward of Local 121' OPSEU. Pehkle. OPP officers are paid approximately "What we are saying is that highly train - $135 a day while civilian radio dispatchers ed OPP officers in criminal investigation make approximately $80 a day. Based on a and traffic patrol should be utilized in the survey of one dispatch office regarding the areas that they 'are actually trained for. use of OPP in the radio room for a one year Highly trained andwell qualified civilian period, and projecting that use over the 107 radio dispatchers should be utilized in the radio units in the province, the approx- area where they are best able to serve the imate cost to the taxpayer is $1.5 million. officers on the road and the public." As the result of a survey conducted across Pehlke raised the question of using OPP the province, the projectd cost of using officers in the radio room and the inade- OPP officers in radio rooms adds up to quate radio equipment in June of 1985 and about $2 million. • local management agreed that most OPP "When you consider they're taking officers are not qualified- to operate the highly trained police officers off -the roads Canadian Police Information Centre (on and away from criminal investigations computer) that supplies information such and traffic patrol to work in the radio as stolen cars, wanted or dangerous per - rooms, it jeopardizes the protection and sons and province -wide alerts to keep safety of the public by leaving the reads Turn to page BY SHARON DIETZ radio equipment in order to service the of - A Goderich OPP radio dispatcher says ficers out on the road." says Pehlke. "In outdated radio equipment is jeopardizing fact, there are some areas that we cover the safety of police officers and the public. that it's virtually impossible to hear the of - Linda Pehlke says the dispatchers have ficers' requests„ for information or been raising the concern of outdated radio assistance or for us to contact them in the equipment, at the OPP detachment in event of an emergency. We have been try- Goderich since the death of Constable ing for several years to get this equipment Bruce Crew of the Goderich detachment in changed, to no avail." September, 1983. Constable Crew died Another issue the dispatchers have rais- when he was crushed between two cars ed continually since 1984 is the use of OPP following a police chase of a speeding vehi- officers in the dispatch centres who are not cle through Goderich Township. A cor- qualified or trained to operate the equip- oner's inquest recommended that the town ment, says Pehlke. "We have been in- police npolice officers should be able to com- sisting that management should use municate with OPP officers directly. At qualified, trained civilian radio operaters the time of Constable Crev6's death the two . to eover all shifts in the dispatch centres." police forces could not communicate ex- • "If management would ensure the use of cent through the OPP dispatch. civilian radio dispatchers even to cover "One of the items we continually raise overtime, it would be a major saving to the with management is the lack of proper taxpayers of Ontario," says Pehlke who is Council amends • zoning At a public meeting on Aug. 5, Goderich council passed several by-laws to amend the town's official plan to allow Zilliax fur- niture store to develop on two acres of land on the east side of Bayfield Road on the southern border of town. The amendments to the official plan change the zoning of the land from in- dustrial to highway commercial and allows large space users hi highway com- mercial zones. Jack Ruppel, a property developer, told the meeting that the two acre -lot is ideal for his purposes with a good well on site andlots of room for his building. He said he could not find a lot in town large enough for his purposes including the Suncoast Mali where Zilliax is. now -located. "We want the building to be about three times the size our store is now so we can be a good , furniture store with a lot more selection. And, we'll likely employ one or two more salesmen," said manager Dan Ruppel. The store now employs two full-time and three part-time workers. Because the lot is not serviced, Jack Ruppel agreed to pay for servicing costs across the frontage of his property. County planner Scott Tousaw expressed concern about the amendments to the of- ficial plan. He was concerned about the consistency of annexing land from Goderich Township to add to the town's in- dustrial land inventory atthe same time as amending the official plan to change in- dustrial land into commercial land, But, Mayor Eileen Palmer . said there was no contradiction with the two actions. "Not only is there a shortage of in- dustrial land in Goderich but also there is a shortage of every other kind of land in- cluding commercial. Zilliax looked everywhere and in the core area of town, there was not the amount of land the store requires," she said. The fact that the property is unserviced was also a concern of Tousaw. "The land not being serviced takes away the town's advantage over the township. There is a high possibility a similar business will want to locate near the fur- niture store and if that happens, the town will have to remove further industrial land • or the business will have to locate in the township. And, I don't know how beneficial that is to the town," he said. Reeve Harry Worsell told the meeting that services are not needed since there is a good well on the property and eight sep- tic tanks..,,:;..... Other zoning amendments that were passed at the meeting will allow the Goderich Kinsmen Club to use their pro- perty at South and Raglan as a Psychiatric Out -Patient Clinic. Voting yea for the amendments were Reeve Harry Worsell, Councillors Bill Clif- ford, John Stringer and Peter McCauley and Mayor Eileen Palmer while Councillor .dim, Searls voted nay. Councillors Glen Turn to page 2 Dispatchers Baby contest features 25 contestants Gbderich's Tiger Dunlop Days Baby / Toddler Contest promises to be an exciting event with 25 contestants entered. The action gets underway Saturday, Aug. 18 at 2 p.m. on the Harbor Park Stage. You have the opportunity to help select Miss Baby Dunlop, Master Baby Dunlop, Miss Toddler Dunlop and Master Toddler Dunlop by voting for one contes- tant in each category and placing your ballot in the ballot box at either A&P or Zehrs. Pictures of the contestants are also on display at these establishments. Make sure you get out and vote prior to 8:30 p.m., Friday Aug. 15, when the ballot boxes will be collected. For more information about the Tiger Dunlop Days Baby / Toddler Contest con- tact the Goderich Visitor Centre - 524-2513 or the Goderich Tourism / Industrial Of- fice - 524-6600. Heave-ho conditions intolerable Though horse pulls and antique tractor pulls were the main attractions at Dungannon's Family Fun Day on Sunday, area children did some pulling as well when the North Huron Junior Fanners organized a tug-of-war along with other games as part of the day's ac- tivities. (photo by Susan Hundertmark) BY SHARON DIETZ Ontario Provincial Police dispatchers work under intolerable conditions that hearken back to the work conditions at the beginning of the. century. Radio dispatchers are not permitted to leave the radio unattended for an instant unless there is someone to relieve them. Since most detachments are short staffed because of, government restraint, dispat- chers must eat lunch at their radios and are not permitted to take rest periods. According' to Linda, Pehlke, a civilian radio diapat leer with•,the Gilderich p,Pp iletachit ent, diapatche are not allowed to leave the radio dur g an eight hour shift, not even to go to t bathroom. When a female dispatcher is alone in the Goderich detachment, she can only go to the bathroom if she turns up the radio, runs across the hallway to the men's washroom and leaves the washroom door open so she can still hear the radio. A unit steward of Local 121 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, Pehlke conducted a survey of OPP civilian dispat- chers in the province. Of 241 surveys sent out, 166 were returned for a response rate of 69 per cent. The survey dealt with ques- tions and comments on issues including; overtime, rest periods, distribution of shifts, the.r•adio system, vacation's and of- fice security. Dispatchers commented that in some detachments officers are regularly taken off the road to operate the radios they are not trained to operate in lieu of calling in a • dispatcher for overtime. Eighty seven percent said they were not regularly allowed time away from them radio to .eat lunch and as many ,said they 'were not allowed a rest period away from the radio during a shift. Somesaid they depended on the generosity of the officers on duty. Some ex- pect them to sit in the radio room for eight hours straight and others are more than happy to relieve dispatchers. Some even spoke of harrassment from officers in their detachment who make fun and belittle the female dispatchers"if they mention a complaint. One. comment about washroom privileges read "You take your chances, but mainly you learn to hold it." The 'present union Contract does not allow a lunch period because the 'pion was requested to have dispatchers }worknine hour shifts if they wanted lunch hour.`The union agreed to an eight hour shift with no lunch. hour instead. In one detachment the dispatchers were offered a lunch hour at the beginning of the shift- to- allow the- previous operator to . cover the radio for the lunch period. Another dispatcher was told if the dispatchers in the office demanded a rest Turn to page 2 a pioneer for Dunlop Days Get in the spirit of the occasion and dress like a pioneer for Goderich's Tiger Dunlop Days Aug. 15 and 16. You may even win a prize at the Tiger Dunlop Days Pioneer Dress Competition, Saturday, Aug. 16 - 2:30 p.m. on the Harbor Park stage. This competition for adults will feature a ladies', men's and couples' division. To register phone the Goderich Visitor Centre - 524-2513 by noon on Friday, Aug. 15. This is your chance to really get in the pioneer spirit. Charges laid after stop. sign stolen . The disappearance of a portable stop sign has resulted in a suspect being charg- ed with theft and possession of stolen goods, Goderich Police report. The sign was stolen from the corner of Elgin and Essex Streets on August 7. On August 8, a cooler was stolen from a property on Gloucester Terrace. Police have apprehended a suspect, carrying the .cooler while walking around the Square, and have laid charges for theft and posses- .- osses-•- sion of stolen goods. On August 10, a break and enter occur- red at a home on Tilt Street. One bottle of wine and 23 bottles 'of'beer were stolen., Police report that a set of golf clubs were stolen from a car on August 6. Haitians have reason . to hope since rebellion BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK When Mia Dalton got off the plane at Haiti with a group of four women from the Goderich area in July, she was disap- pointed. The same poverty, the same squalor, the same disease existed as did during her first trip to Haiti in March of 1985. But, as she began to notice the changed political environment and the positive mood of hope resulting from the overthrow of the country's dictator Jean Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier in February, she regained -her optimism for Haiti's future. "It was so frustrating vAhen it seemed that nothing had changed in the year bet- ween trips. But, .I realized it takes a lifetime for noticeable positive change," she says. Since she returned from her first trip to Haiti in 1985, Mia planned a return trip fol interested local people. She, along with Connie Osborn, Laurie Erb, Mary Margaret Fuller and her mother Clarice, spent two weeks in Haiti in July delivering clothes, school supplies and medical sup- plies and touring the slums of Port au Prince, schools, hospitals and orphanages. "It was so exciting to see a country have its rebirth. There were blue and white flags painted on everything — rocks, fences and houses.(The Duvaliers' flag was red and black.) There was graffiti everywhere saying `Vive le Haiti' and `Vive le democratie.' You could just feel the tempo of the country was up. They were glad to have their Country back again." One of"Min's most prized souvenirs from the trip is a t -shirt which says, "Liberation D'Haiti, operation deshouke reussi" which means that Haiti was successfully gotten rid of evil with its liberation. "This t -shirt is my symbol of hope for the future of Haiti. It's my symbol that it's get- ting better; I haven't lost that hope," she says. Mia says that during her second trip she could look beyond the emotional impact of the stark poverty and learn more about the political situation. Her group toured a factory which makes disposable hospital gowns for a company in the United States. The Haitian workers employed there make from $3 to $10 a day. "Foreign companies can. operate ins Haiti for five years taxfroe and many take advantage of that. Most American league baseballs are made in Haiti by workers making the samo sort of wages. And, how many "millions do baseball players make?" she asks. Mia says -she also, learned that much of the fertile land in the country Is owned by rich foreigners Who do not work the land. • "If that land was used for food produc- tion for Haitians to food themselves, that would be a major change for tie good," she says. During the two week trip, the par- ticipants never feared for their safety despite rumors that a student uprising was planned to finish off Duvalier's secret police, the Tonton Macoutes. Their only problems included sweltering heat (an average of 110 degrees Fahrenheit) and mechanical problems with the bus they psed to get around. One day, the bus battery died and since no one carries jumper cables in Haiti, it took four hours to go 12 miles. And, on the way to a village, it started to rain and the road turned into a river and they had to turn back. "You often see abandoned cars along the roads because there are no gas stations for miles. We learned that replacing the muf- fler on our bus would take Six' thediths," Turn to page 2 INSIDE THE SIGNAL -STAR New independence For Goderich resident Dave Tebow and Violet Keller and others with learning disabilities, the implementation of a week- ly work' routine is an accomplishment, "a genuine source of pride and happiness. Read about their achievements and pro- gression to a new found independence in today's community living feature on the front page of section A. Melville Boys "The Melville Boys" currently playing at Grand Bend's Playhouse ILuntil Aug. 16 combines witty comedy with carefully crafted drama to produce fantastic enter- tainment, says reviewer Mike Ferguson. Tourney champs Th. Goderich Elevators ladies' fastball team defeated fierce competition at the annual Port Elgin Double Knock -Out Tour- nament to emerge the champions. See details on today's sports page in section A.