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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-11-13, Page 1BGX Blyth, urit. 1\iCA 1iikr - -' bit barn �ye JS �� FIRST SECTION Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 1985 Single Copy 50c Harris is deputrreeve ANDY RODGER, president of the Wingham branch, was the first to pin a poppy on the Legion wreath at Monday's Remembrance Day service held at Legion the Legion Hall. Wants meeting with new council Commission reaction low-key to council's stand on benefits Th e Wingham Board. of declining to pass the Police Commissioners has necessary bylaw, termed the kept its reaction low-key to decision "unfortunate". town council's recent refusal "Perhaps council is not o authorize the new, early- aware this board of police retirement benefit awarded commissioners is not a to members of the town committee of council," he police department. At the same time,. the' commissioners made it clear they are not backing down and have. no doubts about their authority to award the benefit, which was included in the three-year contract signed, recently with the Wingham Police Associa- tion, and to make it stick. They suggested the problem is with some members of the outgoing council and hope to schedule a meeting with members of the newly -elected council .to clear the air. . At the commission meeting last Wednesday, Chairman Ian Moreland, who had read the newspaper report of council's action in suggested, adding he hoped the new council would ap- prove the bylaw. "If not, our only recourse is to appeal to the Ontario Police Commission:.'' Jack Kopas, one,of council's two repreen- tatives on the commission, suggested it should, meet with the new coiincillors as soon as possible and con- vince them to pass the bylaw. "I'm convinced many of my colleagues around the council table spoke from ignorance," he told the commissioners, adding later that, "This year un- fortunately there haven't been too many (on council) who wanted to listen; most H. Gaunt .selected as new fire chief Deputy Chief Harley Gaunt has been selected to be the new chief of the Wingham Fire Department, picking up the reins when long-time fire ' chief Dave Crothers retires at the end of this year. In a unanimous decision last Thursday night, members of the Wingham Area Fire Board 'voted to appoint Mr. Gaunt is chief,__ effective at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 1, 1986. - This vote came im- mediately after one on a motion stating , that Mr. Crothers would be retired at midnight on Dec. 31, 1985, and, extending the board's appreciation for his many years of dedicated service. It also passed unanimously. Deliberations on the matter had been conducted in committee -of -the -whole, in -camera, when the board received the report of the ad hoc search committee established last month. However Wingham repre- sentative Tom Miller, who- ° chaired the search commit- tee, said it had met with executive members of the fire department before pre-, paring the report — though he erriphasiied they did not know exactly what was in it. Just prior to taking its report to the fire board, the committee had met' with the Wingham Public Utilities Commission to clear the way for Mr. Gaunt to accept the position. (Mr. Gaunt is a foreman with the PUC.) That discussion also was held in committee -of -the - whole, but concluded, with the PUC agreeing to permit ,Mr. Gaunt to accept the position of fire chief on a one- year trial basis, with the additional provision that any time Mr. Gaunt takes off from his PUC duties to spend-._ on fire matters other than actual fire calls will be, deducted from his pay at the PUC. The commission explained this is necessary in order to be fair to its other employees and the fire board agreed to make up the difference. The commission also asked that the appointment be reviewed at the end of a year, or sooner if necessary, by both the PUC and fire board to make sure things are working satisfactorily. Mr. Crothers' retirement is in keeping with a fire board bylaw providing for Mandatory retirement at age 65. The chief had earlier been given a one-year ex- tension to enable him to see the building of the new fire hall through to completion. Mr. Gaunt has been a member of the fire depart- ment for more than 20 years. He had been a fire captain before being appointed as deputy chief under the new fire board. just wanted to speak." He proposed the com- mission should set up a joint meeting and bring in a representative .from the Ontario. Police Commission or the solicitor -general's office to explain to the new councillors just what they can and cannot do. "I think it's necessary to educate council on the workings of the collective bargaining process," he' said, adding he would hope to give a "very early signal" to the new council. "I hope the new council ' will decide to act in a positive mariner and not require outside in- tervention," Mr. Kopas said, - adding, "The longer council delays things, the more expensive the bill will be." Former chairman 'Jack Gillespie, who was attending his first commission meeting following an absence of several months due to ill- ness, asked whether the terms of the new police contract had ever been. explained to council, and was told they had not. He said he did not have too much trouble understanding council's concern. Coun- cillors are responsible to the people and should have the right to question. "Maybe if we were sitting on council we'd have the same reaction," he suggested, adding, "I don't mind complaining if it's legitimate. I don't like sour grapes." "The bottom line is we have-th- a -u-t-hority--(tmsigrr-a- contract)," Mr. Gillespie noted. He also said he thinks the idea of bringing in an OPC representative to speak to council is excellent. Police Chief Robert Wittig, who also, got the early- retirement benefit in his new contract, said this is becoming common in police contracts. Although he said he was not sure how many departments in Ontario have it, "by far the majority of police officers have it." He also told the com- mission this benefit was first checked.into by the town four years ago, and since that time the costs have more than doubled. "A major concern now was what it would be in another four years." Margaret Bennett, who chaired the negotiating committee, told the com- mission the early-retirement benefit, which makes it possible for police officers to retire as early as age 50, is "prevalent all through the system". If it is not awarded in contract bargaining, the police win it through ar- bitration, she said. The cost of the new benefit to the town is either$41,519 in a lump -sum payment' to the Ontario Municipal Employ- ees 'Retirement Board or $72,750 spread over 15 ;years. Last Monday, at the final regular meeting of its term, town council declined to pass a bylaw authorizing payment for the benefit, which many councillors described as a luxury the town cannot afford and'the thin edge of the wedge" opening the way for other employees to demand it too. Kopas wins slim Vict�ry in race for mayor's se':'t In one of the closest races Wingham has seen in years, Jack Kopas appears to have edged Ernest Eaton by 13 votes to become the town's stew mayor. Preliminary results, which were not all in until nearly 2:30 a.m. Wednesday, showed Mr. Kopas, an in- cumbent councillor, as the victor by a margin of 428 votes to 415 for Mr. Eaton, a first-time candidate who has not previously served on the Wingham council but has taken an active interest in municipal affairs and served on several committees. The third man in the race, Wingham businessman Tom Burrell, also polled strongly to finish with 318 votes, (These resultsare still unofficial. The official count will not be announced until Thursday morning to allow time for checking figures and possible recounts. ) In the election for deputy reeve, William Harris, who has served as mayor for the' past two terms, held off a challenge by Bernie Bailey to win handily, 625 votes- to 409. The race for council seats, which saw seven candidates seeking the six available I eo'tions, came down to a photo -finish with Dianne Grummett, the only woman candidate, edging Bill McGrath by the narrowest of margins for the final seat. With all polls reporting, Dianne Grummett !'had' 541 votes to 539 for Mr. McGrath. However this result also awaits official confirmation. Four first-time candidates topped the polls, with Ron Beecroft collecting 872 votes to finish ahead of Don Carter, who polled 813: Ward Robertson finished in third spot with 752 votes, followed by' Dr. J. K. McGregor with 672. The only incumbent on the council ballot, Douglas Switzer, polled 670 votes to stand fifth. PUC RACE CLOSE In the election for seats on the Wingham Public Utilities Commission, incumbents Roy Bennett and Rod Wraith beat back the strongest challenge they had faced in years to retain their seats. Mr. Wraith topped the polls with 682 votes to 664 for Mr. Bennett, while challenger John Currie finished a strong third. with 610 votes: HURON COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD Incumbent Art Clark was the top vote -getter in the election for public school board trustees to represent Wingham and the Townships of Turnberry, and Howick. Mr. Clark finished with 1,647 votes, with first-time candidate Brian Jeffray close behind with 1,563. Mr'. Jeffray will claim the seat which had been held by Murray Mulvey, who retired 'at the end of this term. The third man in the race, Norm Wilson, finished with' 930 votes. A final tally was not available for the separate school board. However in- cumbent Vincent McInnes appeared to have retained his seat against the challenge from Adrian Keet. TURNBERRY TOWNSHIP Incumbent Doug Fortune outpolled challei`ger Randy Scott by a two -to -one margin to retain his seat as deputy reeve of Turnberry Town- ship Council. The preliminary results Tuesday night showed Mr. Fortune with 363 votes to 188 for Mr. Scott. In the seven -person race for the three remaining council seats, newcomer Press council dismisses complaint against kT The Ontario Press Council has announced adjudications in two complaints against community newspapers, upholding one against The Alliston Herald and dismissing the other against The Wingham Advance - Times. Both complaints involved educational issues. H. K. Edward of Orillia, secretary of the Simcoe County Tax- payers' Protective Associa- tion, accused The Herald of misrepresentation in editor- ials Nov. 21, 1984, and Feb: ---20; 198-5; headljned-HBe re- sponsible" and "Don't be misled". Dan A. Webster, a Wingham secondary school teacher, complained about a May 22 Advance -Times story and editorial on an an- nouncement that Huron Huron County secondary school teachers would hold a strike vote May 28. The Alliston Herald Nov. 21 editorial commented on a Taxpayers' Association letter to the editor containing eight specific criticisms of the Simcoe County Board of Education: The editorial took issue with the letter and its "nit-picking concerns" and said that not all the criticisms were valid. Reporting that Mr. Edward had put off for a month a meeting requested by the board, the editorial said that spokesmen for critical citi- zens' groups should be pre- pared to meet targets of their criticisms without de- lay. The Feb. 20 editorial warned readers not to "get carried away by people with irresponsible associations;" and asserted that the association: doesn't realize all costs have been rising; used an erroneous pupil - teacher ratio to buttress its argument; described the board of education and its staff as incompetent, un- productive, imprudent, un- ethical and unaccountable; and branded all teachers as lazy and no good. Mr. Edward replied: =the bi5a-fd-Cliarman -did invite him to meet, but it was to be one-on-one, and he asked for time to consult his executive; —the association knew all costs were rising, but challenged spending it considered wasteful; —the association used a personnel -pupil ratio which was bound to differ from a teacher -pupil ratio; —the association asked rhetorically when the meaning and importance of such things as competence, productivity, spending pru- dence, ethics, integrity and accountability would be- come part of the school system and certainly did not describe the staff. yin those words; — nowhere did the associa- tion brand all teachers as lazy and 'no good. Text of the adjudication: "The council finds that The Herald editorials misrepre- sented the position of the Simcoe County Taxpayers' Protective Association and Nelson Underwood topped the polls with 318 votes, followed by Mery Baker, another first-time candidate, with 263 and incumbent Joan Wright with 260 votes. Paul Elgie narrowly missed the cut-off, polling 249 votes, while John Cox, Don McKay and Rudy Hooft- man trailed with 198, 181 and 128 votes respectively. In the voting for trustees on the Huron County Board of Education, Art Clark topped the polls in Turnberry with 342 votes, followed by Brian Jeffray with 293. Norm Wilson trailed with 122 votes. For the Huron -Perth separate school board, in- cumbent Vincent McInnes polled 36 votes while Adrian Keet had 15. MORRIS TOWNSHIP With only an election for school board trustees, voter turnout in Morris Township was light. In the race for a seat on the Huron County. Board off Education, incumbent trustee John Elliott narrowly outpolled challenger John Gaunt 100 votes to 87. , For the separate school board, Incumbent Vincent McInnes got nine votes in Morris while Adrian Keet got just two. BLYTH Results of the school board election in Blyth showed Mr. Elliott, a resident of the ,village, massively outpolling Mr. Gaunt. Mr. Elliott received 277 votes to just 42 for Mr. Gaunt. For Howick and East Wawanosh election results' please turn to page 14. Sorry In order to allow room for the results of Tuesday's municipal elections, we regret that we have had to leave some other items of news and sports out of this edition. We will try to catch up on these next week. the complaint is -upheld." In the complaint against The Advance -Times, Mr. Webster said the editorial used demeaning and in- flammatory language and the story was a one-sided presentation of the issue based almost entirely on information supplied by the board of education. He said the story did not identify the source clearly enough and lacked union comment on the decision and that, taken together, the story and editorial represented as' attempt at advance in- timidation of participants in the strike vote. • The newspaper defended its editorial as fair comment on a public issue. Its story was based on available material and did say that a Wingham man, president of the area local of the teach- ers' federation, declined comment. It felt that if he wouldn't comment it would not serve any purpose to try someone else. Text of the adjudication: "The council considers it unfortunate that when the (mien president declined to comment the newspaper did not pursue the negotiating committee chairman for the union position. "Nevertheless the council regards the editorial as fair comment on an issue of public concern, and the story as a reasonably balanced account of the issues in- volved. "The complaint is dismissed." MiSS AUTUMNFEST—Ha iley Robertson of the Wingham Canadette Majorette Corps captured the title "Miss Autumnfest" in the intermediate category at a re- cent competition held in Brussels. Hailey also won awards in a number of individual competitions, including twirling and marching. Stroller burning mars a quiet Hallowe'en Hallowe'en was relatively quiet in Wingham this year, with only a few minor fires breaking the peace, Police Chief Robert Wittig reported to the Board of Police Commissioners last week. However he described one of those fires as , "really devastating". Although the fire itself was minor, the chief said that whoever set fire to a stroller along Josephine Street the evening before Hallowe'en completely ruined the celebration for a crippled child in the community. Without discussing names, he reported .that the' child's parents had taken her into the 'chiropractic clinic only to find a few minutes later that the special stroller she needed to get,aroundin was in flames on the sidewalk. As a consequence, when the girl tried to go trick -or -treating with other youngsters the following night she kept stumbling and falling down. Initially police had• con- sidered the possibility the fire might have been ac- cidental, the chief said, but while a cigarette butt might have burned a hole through the fabric it would not have caused it to go up in flames. He said he suspects the stroller was doused with an inflammable liquid and set ablaze. Both the chief and the commissioners expressed indignation at the incident. Chief Wittig also noted there were several other fires apparently connected with Hallowe'en, including some burned leaves and a dummy taken off a porch and set ablaze on the Lower Town bridge. He told the commission police are aware there were some juveniles in town from outside Wingham who "seerm,. to have a problem that way (setting fires)", but so far the police have not been able to get help for them. He also reported police had confiscated "a couple of dozen" eggs during .Hallo- we'en.