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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-04-04, Page 17• APPRECIATION—The employees of Wenger Publications held gan appreciation night for Wenger Bros. Limited on Friday in Listowel. The family firm which has been publishing newspapers since 1943 has been sold to Newfoundland Capital Corporation. Above Jean Wenger accepts a bouquet of roses, presented by Jacquie Scluldroth-Espensen, Listowel Banner reporter (left). Appiatiding Mrs. Wenger are Banner editor Marion Duke (centre back); Cathy and 'Norm MacLennan. The. MacLen- nans were also honored by employees as were Dave and Mary Wenger, Barry Wenger and Bob Wenger. Wenger Publications includes The Wingham Advance -Times, The Listowel Banner, The Mount Forest Confederate, The Milverton Sun, Crossroads, and The Listowel Shopper:. The firm also operated a press at Shelburne. Appreci. �. .. The sale of Wenger Bros. Limited to Newfoundland Capital Corpora- tion orpora .tion became effective this week. At an appreciation evening Fri- day in Listowel, employees paid tribute to family members of the newspaper publishing firm Barry. and Jean Wenger, Bob Wenger, Dave and Mary Wenger and Norm and Cathy MacLennan. Bob's wife Gladys was unable to attend. The Wengers were praised for their dedication to the newspaper t business, community involvement and consideration for staff. Marion Duke, editor of The Lis- towel Banner for more than 20 years, described the Wengers as a remarkable family". The Wengers, she noted, are `respected in the communities their newspapers serve and by the Cana- dian Community Newspaper Asso- ciation and the Ontario Community Newspaper Association. Over the years, erittployees ha come to regard the Wengers as part of their families, Ms. Duke said. "They've attended weddings a funerals, they've shared our happ occasions and our sorrows!' Ms. Duke paid tribute to Barry Wenger's editorial expertise an referred to Bob Wenger as "mechanical genius"... Day Wenger, she said, can be counted . to ease toublesome situations. And Norm MacLennan, a relative new comer to the business, has become one of the most dedicated. of news- paper people, Ms. Duke said. As for Jean Wenger, she has been the "heartbeat" of the Wenger room pany, Ms. Duke said, referring to Mrs. Wengers ability to set the pace for print production and to her extraordinary kindness. Employees expressed pleasure that Jean Wenger and Dave Wenger and hii ,wifd)May WM' 4sintiftue' •F , i 1 , , 1 • 1 4V � 0 I 1 � .. .. � their responsibilities under the ne Speaking on behalf of The Wi ham Advance-]mes, Editor B Murphy con -aril -ended ed the Wengers for their loyal support to emplo Mr. Murphy noted he took ov editorship of The Advanc Times during the same week th years ago that David Wenger and Norman MacLennan purchased th company from Barry and B ew °°a bit tough to speak coolly," said friendships with employees were Win among the rewards of his newspa- ob per career. He and Bob Wenger said it has °y- been gratifying to provide a train- ing ground for young people who ver have gone on to successful careers e- Boe� of :aniss�i�x �c found just outside A post-mortem was conducted yesterday, Monday, to determine the cause of death of a man whose body was found Sunday jutst out- side Wingham. The decomposed body of Murray David McKinley James, 30, of Lot 16, Con. 4, Morris Township, was discovered by two youths Sunday at approximately 2:30 p.m. Mr. James, who was last seen Dec. 3 at 1 a.m. • walking south on Josephine Street in Wingham, was reported missing to the Ontario Provincial Police on Dec. 15. In fact, the Wingham detachment of the OPP was preparing to ask for the assistance of the public in locating Hospita! inci� 'Herat®r project M. James. The body was �u fd at the base of an embankment at the Maitland River bridge on Highway 4, one- half kilometre south of Highway $6. According to a police spokesman. it is suspected the: body has been at° the discovery location since Mr. James was .last Seen. The body would have- been covered with ice and snow and not visible until the spring break-up, the police say. As the cause of death was unknown, Coroner Dr. James K. McGregor ordered a post-mortem be conducted. The police say foul play is not suspected. not likely to be continued Unless the Ontario Ministry of the Environment waives its demand for scrubbers, the incinera- tor project at the Wingham and Dis- trict Hospital appears headed for abandonment. - That opinion was expressed to the March meeting of the hospital's board of governors by Ross Davies, property committee chairman. House filled with smoke A pot left cooking on the stove ° resulted in approximately $500 damage to a Turnberry Township home last week. Wingham Area Fire Chief Harley Gaunt said the call came at 3:45 p.m. last Thursday, March 30, to the Jacob Clause, property at Lot 18, Con Lot.Turn According to Mr. Gaunt, a pot was left unattended on the stove and when the property owners returned home, they found the house filled with smoke. When the firemen arrived, smoke filled the house, says Mr. Gaunt. The top of the stove was damaged and the aluminum pot completely destroyed, he reports. in the newspaper business. tiospitat plan ree Bob Wenger in thanking all employees for their loyal support, luncheon for e noted that only two employees are L Wenger. The company, Mr. Murphy said, has been a good one for which to work. And paying tribute to the proof- reading skills of Jean Wenger, Mr. Murphy said, "She has saved many a reporter's butt." A letter of appreciation to -the firm by Audrey Currie, the Advance -Times advertising manag- er who is on vacation, was read by Banner reporter Jacquie Schildroth- Espensen. Ivy Reeve, editor of The Milver- 1 on Sun for the past three years an Wenger employee for 12 years ncluding eight years as a reporte The Banner, spoke on behalf o The Sun. Ms. Reeve also paid tribute to th upport of staff shown by th angers and -to their consideration f employees' needs. She gave spe- al�thanks to Bob Wenger for hav g come to her "rescue" on more han one occasion while she was a - reporter at The Banner. Barry Wenger's editorials, she id, have been an inspiration to e editors of all Wenger publica- rons. Ms. Reeve in also noting how eased employees are to have ave, Mary and Jean Wenger maining in the business, told orm MacLennan he is so good he has no right getting out of business. Barry Wenger, • admitting '.it ve t a i dfanfo still with the company sin Wenger Bros. took over ownershi of The Banner in 1968. Those t employees, he said, are Mari Roberts and • Marion Duke, 'both The Banner. Norm MacLennan said the p three years have been difficult, b rewarding ones and he thanke employees for their hard work an efforts to keep the publications su David Wenger paid tribute t °the older generation" of the fam y, and said he, like other em lo es, is looking forward to provin o the new owners that "ou apers" will continue to meet evel of excellence second ,to non n the weekly newspaper field. Family members were presented th framed, engraved sketches by itchener artist Roger Witmer. aking the presentations were advertising manager Rob Durst and .°duction manager Rosemary Gal- way. Ms. Schildroth-Espensen who convened the event, presented a bouquet of red roses to Jean Wenger, to the prolonged applause of those assembled. Wenger Bros. Limited were pub- lishers of The Wingham Advance - Times, The Listowel Banner, The Mount Forest Confederate, The Milverton Sun, Crossroads and The Listowel Shopper and operated a press at Shelburne. It has been a family publishing business since .193. , .,.. , s Mr. Davies told the board that because the MOE is unlikely to waive the scrubbers, the project will likely go no further. The Wingham hospital, like a few others in the province, has had its incinerator project stalled for over a year in a snarl of bureaucratic red tape as the MOE puts off a decision on whether or not it will approve specified equipment. Oddly enough, the need for the project resulted from changing gov- ernment regulations on the disposal of pathological waste. The project had been approved by the Ontario Ministry of Health which had also committed itself to providing 100 per cent of the cost of building the incinerator. If, indeed, the project is aban- doned, Mr.Davies said, the MOH probably will go t� some type of centralized incineration for the dis- posal of pathological waste. Wingham MNR announces new office hours A change in the hours of service to the public at the Wingham dis- trict office of the Ministry of Natu- ral Resources became effective, yes- terday (Monday). ce its volunteers The office, reception area and 'p telephone answering will now be wo Wingham and District Hospital offered from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 'on will honor its volunteers with a lun- Monday through Friday of cheon at the Teeswater Community According to Orville Crawford, Centre on May 12. MNR district administration super- ast Shirley Garniss, public` relations visor, surveys have shown very few ut committee chairman, told the regu- public inquiries are made outside d lar Mardi meeting of the hospital's these hours. d board of governors that May 12 is The new hours of service, he u0. also Canada Health Day said, will allow MNR to achieve Board Chairman Mary Lou more efficient office operation o Thompson said the luncheon is including better utilization of staff i. being held in Teeswater because time at the district office. there is no facility in Wingham that As usual, the office will d e a t er evel i e e K M y Bcan accommodate such a large on all weekends and statutoryclholo�i- group of people. days. a e s d W a 0 e ci on in t sa th ti pl re N that the ,' to Restoration is committee's aim At press time, the result of last the support of the Kinsmen Club night's meeting to organize a citi- and the Lions Club as well as the zens' committee on the lower pond support of individuals. restoration was still not known. Representatives of the Maitland Included on the agenda of the. Valley Conservation Authority and meeting was the election of an exec- the Ontario Ministry of Natural utive and the organization of a Resources were also expected to detailed plan of action for the attend the meeting. group to spearhead a drive to bring Pro► ram has back the beauty of the lower pond g that was washed out several years new co-ordinator ago when a spring flood destroyed the Lower Town Dam. Wayne Moulton has been The- latest interest has been appointed co-ordinator of the sparked by the Wingham Optimist Crime Stoppers program in Huron Club, and the club's vice-president, County. Rick Whiteley, was to be chairman He replaces Jeff Sabin who has of last night's meeting at the Wing- served as co-ordinator since Crime ham Public School. Stoppers of Huron County. Inc, was The 60tiii'rist'a hate ,aiso 'drawn establish heretlast year.