HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-07-12, Page 1, .. ..
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Wayne Doak of the- Goderich Fire Department hands a driver a ducted the toll for MD Friday and Saturday, raising over $2,000 for the
Muscular-DyStrophy Association sticker after she donated to the GFD's fire fighter's charity. (photo by Dave Sykes)
voluntary toll on Victoria Street, Saturday. Members of the GFD con -
Old Lane
won't• die
• - BY DAVE SYKES
7: - - - - 7-.M Old-Lantaster is putting up a good fight. '
• The World War II vintage aircraft has so far • , .
refused all attempts to be removed from Sky
Harbour Airport.
- - - After w-eeks of -trim -ming
'''' an acceptable weight the Canadian War- • . '
plane Heritage Fouridation•attempted to have •
her lifted by a Ca-nadian Armed Forces
' .chinook helicopter. .. .
But she bareiY_budge-d. -
Foundation president, Dennis Bradley, said
work is still being doneon the Lancaster by
....--- . members of the, heritage groun_and he hopes
' that something- will..be resolved this summer.
"There, simply wasn't enough weight taken
off it to transport it by helicopter," Bradley
explained. "The weight is too much to transport
it by air."
So the foundation hopes to finalize plans,
before the end of the summer, to have the plane BY JEFF SEDDQN
transported to Mount•Hope overland. ' . Hopes that plentiful S,upplies• of gas- and at-
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• The grail -P. -had. to _abandon plans of tran- tractive exchange rates for American money
sporting the Lanc by elf since it became im- would bring tourists across the borderin droves'
possible to farther trim the plane of excess this suit -trier have yet -to -materialize., .
' ' weight. In. fact indications are that fewer Americans
Bradley said the foundation would get the are coming north this summer than last.
plane out this summer but there was still -a --- While it is still very early to draw any con -
problem of 'timing and manpower'. elusions about what type of year the tourist
- • industry in this area is going to have there has
The show goes
• the July 4 holiday 'in the tes is a good
been no great influx of tourists and generally
yacations, Rumours of gas shortages and the
5',:t.- e
' , barometer fo'r the summer.
But ,a decline' in American visitors this
summer may be made up by an' increa•se-i-n the,
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on.... -espite ire
d number of Canadians staying home for their i
cost of American. money appears to have en -
After
a fire damaged ventilation equipment,,,. couraged. many Canadians •to take ,their
in the snack bar and cut off hydro ' to . the vacation. inCanada.
projection room at the , Mustang Drive In Thus far it appear§ as though the tcital,
----.-.-- -FI-ida-Viirglit -The- 'STOW -Went --15-ii-Ciii-S-a-trif da y. - -171.Trn ber---of - to u rts-ts - travetting--th-tough th
night. - • Goderich areahas' increased. Americans have
Bruce Lyndon, manager of the Mustang, said yet to flock to the area but increased Canadian
patrons of the outdoor theatre missed the last 15 traffic has resulted in some tourist attractions
minutes of the first film and all the second flick ' doing more business thanlast year.
• ' Friday night when the fire broke out. He said The Goderich tourist information booth has
fire men were called to the drive in about 11:00 been busier this year. Inquiries at the booth are
p.m. and spent two hours putting the fire out , up dramatically. While that, indicates more
and ensuring the snack bar was out of danger. people are in the area it, does not indicate those
Lyndon said the fire broke out in the Yen- people stayed in the area any length of time, or
tilation system over the grill and deep fryer. He more important, spent mOney•in the area.
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' said the snack bar and projIn 1978 inquiries at the boothby July 2
ection room, all in
.the same building, filled with smoke. He said numbered 2,1.54 and during the same perio-d this
hydro had to be cut off to the building , year the inquiries numher 3,291.
Employees at-the-boothask people to register
preventing staff from attempting to show the
rest of the movie. the number of ' people in their party and their
home and the results of those questions sholks
He said estimates of dam.ages in the f ire were
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$5,000 but that the figure could change once a thnumber ofAmericans down considerably.
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-- --contractor has viewed the -situation and quoted Norecorowhere people came from are
available from 1978 but em,ployees at the.booth' f)rices for repairs, He said. he hoped to get the
damage corrected by this weekend adding that estimate the number of American tourists to be
Was now unlikely. down 20 percent. .../'
Saturday night the mess in the -Shack bar was Thus far the number of Americans totals_122
cleaned up, the area damaged by fire par-
of the 3,291 total. Along with the United States
titioned off and business back to normal.
19 other countries have been home to tourists
Lyndon said the fire did !waking to decrease his visiting Goderich.
gate claiming he had a good Saturday night. He Staff at the Miran Historic Oiaf have also
said popcorn, potatoe chips, candy and soft noticed a decline in the number of Americans.
drinks was all that was available at the snack Harry Bosnell, curator of the jail, said Monday
bar. that the number of visitors to the jail was down
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Weekend toll nets over *2,000
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Members of the Goderich Fire Department
operated a successful toll on Victoria Street on
the weekend in aid of Muscular Dystrophy.
It is the first time the GFD has attempted a
voluntary toll which they ran from 4 to 8 p:m•
Friday evening and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday.
• Through their efforts they were able to
donate over $2,000 to the Muscular Dystrophy
fund, the largest amount they have donated
through their yearly fund-raising projects.
Fire fighters hayed always supported the MD
and members of The GFD would like 'to thank'
everyone who made their first toll such a
-success.
Champion employees settle.
Office and hourly employees at Champion
Road Machinery Ltd., of GOderich, ratified two
one year cdatracts Sunday •calling for eight
• percent increases both years.
• The contract affects about 8.00 hourly em-
ployees and 90 salaried einployees, all_meni-
bers of the Association of Machinery and
Aerospace Workers, Local 1863.
The settlement for office staff is retroactive
to June 27, 1979 while the settlemenrwith hourly
employees is effective August 13, 1979.
The new pact brings the wage for tap rated
hourly employees,to $10.49 an hour with a
minimum starting rate of $6.24 an hour. Office
employees that are members of the union now
have a ceiling of $414.06 a week with a starting
wage of $174.31 a week. •
Under the new agreement the„gymage wage
of hourly employees will be nine dollars an hour
while the average wage of office employees
belonging to the union will be $295 a week.
Negotiations on the two -contracts -Wok place
over an eight week period and the final vote by
employees was on Sunday, July 8. Of those
voting for the pact close to 90 percent were in
favor of -acceptance.
Along with the eight percent increase some
changes were made to the employee benefits.
Sowerby honored for bravery
BY DAVE SYKES
A Goderich area man who -pulled his neigh-
bour from a burning house last year has been
awarded a medatof bravery. _
Government House, Ottawa announced last
Friday that Donald Sowerby, R.R.4, Goderich
was one of 13 people awarded medals of
bravery for acts of heroism.
Sowerby learned of the honor in -a letter from
Governor-General Edward Shreyer, last
Wednesday. The medals...se:1.g to be presented by
the Governor-General -sometime in the fall'in
Ottawa,hut a final date has not been set.
Tip medalyyas awarded to Sowerby after he
pulai his. neighbour, Bert McCabe, from his
burning house July 6, 1978. Don and his son,
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Brian turned in the alarm to the Goderich Fire
Department around 7.30 p.m. after they -had
taken McCabe to safety. The house was gutted. •
McCabe was lying in the middle of the floor of
the front room on the ground floor of the house
when Sowerby entered. Don removed him from
the flaming house and turned in the alarm.
Although
pleased
withunder dif-
ferent
----friezial,Sowerby wishes "it had been bravery
circumstances. •
"I was pleased to get the medal but you don't
do it for something like this," he said. "It.was a
. night- *won't forget but I don't want to do it.
again."
McCabe,
suffered burns • to the upper
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part of his bocry—aii-d-smoke inhalation, was
rushed to hospital in London by ambulance. He
died there 10 days later.
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132.YEA R-28
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• GODER ICH SI9NAL-STAR, THURSDAY, JULY 12
ere not Americ n
between 800 • and 1,000 from last year.
Bosnell slid- that wIth'-grOup tours included,
most of .which'•were school children, the total
*--number of visitors to the jail was about 4,200.
He added-that-trased on the register guests at
the jail, are' asked to sign the number of
Americans visiting- the historic site is .down
between 15 and 20 percent.
The curator put part of the_ blame for the
decline on the July 4 American holiday falling
on a Wednesday. That holiday, comparable to
• Canada Day, is celebrated on July'4 rather than,.
the closest weekend to that'date.
Bosnell refutes the suggestion that visitbrs to
• Goderich tour the county Pioneer Museum first
and take in the jail as an added attraction. He
points out that while Huron county's pioneer
museum is the best of its kind every county has
a museum. Hepoints,outi-hat the jail is the only
attraction of its type IP NoiliAmerica.
"They're coming to see this,' he says matter
fTh.tly________ _
Museum recordscompare cloielito. the jail.
--The total 'number of visitors is greater at the'
museum. but it is open year round. While
Museum records do not indicate large number
of American visitors they do show people
hailing from 11 states. Many of those are from
'border states like Michigan and ()filo but -some
are from as far away' as Florida, Georgia, •
Texas and ..Ca.lifornia.
The Goderich marina is' having a.good year to
date. Marina staff say the number of boats in
for gas and overnight docking is up from. last
, year and that gas sales are up. Thus far, in 1979
the marina averages a dozen baats a day on.the
weekends, and three boats a day on weekdays,
The boaters are taking advantage of the
devalued Canadian dollar, the larger Canadian
gallon and the supply of gas. Marina staff,say,
when all calculations are done thei Americans
are able to buy. a gallon of gas for about 84
cents, Consider -a -131y, cheaper than they 'can- bify
it at home.
The American boaters indicate they -have
been travelling the lakes on the Canadian Side
tp, take adyantage of the gas sup
Registrations are up...at Point Farms
Provincial Park this year tiat again the in-
crease is not due to American tourists. Park -
staff say the increase is largely due to
Committee to look at sharing services
Goderich township council agreed Monday
night tO at least talk to town officials about
• installing sanitary and • storm sewers on
" -14•T township land south of Gaderich.
° • Township council appointed a. two man
• committee ,to Sit down with town represen-
tatiVeS to discuss costs and needs to extend
town services to township land.
• Goderich township reeve Grant Stirling and
former reeve Gerry' Ginn were named to the
committee and charged with the task of seeing
if town services can be extended.
Goderich officials were blunt with township
council at the council meeting telling them the
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town was •willing,16 incorporatefownship land
into town operated services at the township's
expense.
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Goderich deputy -reeve Bob Allen, chairman
of the town's works and engineering com-
mittee, told 'council the township would have to
be prepared to pay all costs to extend services
to township land. •
Reeve Eileen Palmer explained to
township council that the pollution control plant
in Goderich Was already operating at full
capacity.' i 1
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The pollution control plant was built in 1967
and designed to handle the town's needs for a 20
year period. But that planning felt short and the
town is in the process of determining What
expansion of the plant is required. ...._.,
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. Township councillors were ,hesitant to get
involved l'n the development because they felt
the town was trying to get the township to foot
the bill for the service expansion and then
annex,the land.
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The town, for its part, has avoided com-
menting on annex tion claiming it has no in-
tention of taking th area Under its wing. ..
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Canadian campers. •.•thing it ap_pears the tourist industry, an integral -
• Despite the fact, that hopes that Americans part of the economy of Goderich, WiTreTijoy
would head north to take advantage of a good • another good year 1E1.979.
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The Bitu,Bom, Boom 'clown,. trio delighted a
latge audience of children with their antics at
th GDC I auditoriuM, Friday. Akop Otuoithian,
hih , wife, Maria and son, Jan are fortner
Member of the famed Moscow °relitd
together have over 4g years experience. They
are currently on a tour of Canada under a
Canada Council, grant for InternatiOnal Year of
the child.(photo by Dave Sykes)
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