HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1989-09-05, Page 124
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WHY IS THIS MAN SMILING? --Because his car doesn't use gas! George Michie shows off the
12 -horsepower electric motor that powers his 1980 Chevette. There's no radiator or carburetor to,
worry about here.
Electric car is hobby
for Belgrave resident
When George Michie of Belgrave . golf carts. They worked like a
drives his 1980 Chevette down the
street, pebple_take notice.
The Chevette iwered sit by
gate'llile l nbrieboo itilli batteries
installed in what used to be the
back seat. As it purrs past a gag sta-,
tion,where a''few years -ago the
price of fuel was jumping about
five cents a litre nearly every week,
Mr. Michie smiles and waves.
The electric car is by no means
perfect, George maintains'. The
homemade vehicle can only travel
comfortably at a speed of 60 kilo-
metres an hour, and has to be
plugged in and charged up every
4b kilometres or so. But for a retired
farmer with no engineering back-
ground; it's not bad, he points out.
"l've farmed all my life, and I've
built a lot of things," Mr. Michie
says. "But this is the first time I've
ever built a car. I think it's the only
electric -powered car in Huron and
Bruce."
About seven years ago, rising gas
prices inspired him to look into
electrically -powered vehicles, he
claims "Gasoline prices had
switched from gallons to litres, and
the pfice seemed to be jumping five
cents a litre nearly every week," he
recalls. "It made me mad. Then I
read an article in the kitchener-
Waterloo Record about an electric
car, and I thought I'd try building
one myself.
George did some research, then
began hunting for the parts he
needed. He found the Chevette, a
completely standard -equipped
vehicle, at a Wingham dealer's. He
ordered a 12 -horsepower General
Electric motor from a Florida sup-
plet3..and the motor controls from a, ` ,
fi m 1n Pennsylvania. The 72 -volt
batter ►,charger came from Lincoln,
Nebraska.
charm.
Now, the Michie car will do 80
othetres .an hour in fourth gear,
ut a •eortaid"erable drain on the
system, he says. "it runs best if you
Wolk to between 50' and 60 kilome-
tres and hour in second gear, or in
third, if you:re going downhill"
Officials et the ministry of trans-
portation didn't turn a hair when
he registered the vehicle. "The
ownership came back with an 'E'
for electricity on it under the power
category, instead of 'G' for gaso-
line;'. he says.
"If I can put a car together
out of bits and pieces and
make it run, why can't some-
one with expertise in augomo-
tive and electrical engineering
design a better one?"
During the past couple of years
George has driven the.car on short
trips into Wingham and around: the
village where he lives. He carries a
lifeline — an old tire on a short
rope to hang out of the trunk in
case he needs a push home -- and
on occasion he's had to use it. Usu-
ally, if he plansit right, the car man-
ages to get him there.
George loves a parade, and sev-
eral, local events each year keep him
busy. "I got a terrific response from
the people in Teeswater at the 'Old
Boy's Reunion parade this summer.
Then he began assembling his
toy in Greg Duck's garage. "Once
you• start converting to electricit3
there's a lot of stuff you don't
needy" Mr.=Michie explains. "We '
tiineediit die: old engine and got rid
of it Then we threw crit the
exhaust system and the radiator .--
you c'tob't ,ecd them in an electric
v'icleeither."
v� ,;new' electric motor Was
with the old transmission
a c v i r 84gi ' "e er for
People clapped and cheered as we
passed. That's never happened
before," he says.
Mn Mjhiet.",is ps y pttilid:'of s
accomplishment. "The car gener-
ates no pollution through"gas emis
sions, doesn't need, spia'rk-plugs,, is
quiet, and gets 'me around Not a . .
bad ' accoiriplishnient for' a lira€ .
farmer. And' the radio works, too!"
he adds.
'His main point, however, is not
so' !Mich the fun and challenge as
the existence of the technology
itself. "If I can put one together out
of bits and pieces, and make it run,
why can't someone with expertise
in automotive and. electrical engi-
neering design a better one? There
are lot of people who don't drive
more than 30 or 40 kilometres a day
that could use an electric car' like
this and cut down on the amount of
pollution caused by automobile
emissions," he says. 'I think there
should be a lot more of them." •
For the upcoming 1989 wateafowl
season at the HuB Provinel
Wildli A `k1, `may, goof Clinton, tl
Ontario 1iestry of Natural
Resources will be controlling
hunter participation With the same
system that Was initiated last year.
This'',systerm provides improved
management`n 'term's Of parking
control, sanitation and disposal of
litter. 'It also has enabled the min-
istry to maximize hunting opportu-
nities while, at the same time, pro-
viding a fair and equal opportunity
to all hunters.
To hunt in waterfowl unit Zone A
during the period of Sept. 25 to 30,
waterfowl hunters must:
—registerat L15, C7 parlcing lot
(across from the viewing stand) for
each day's hunt and;
—participate in a draw at 10 p.m.
each night for the following day's
hunt.
This draw determines the order
of choice for blurting stakes, not the
stake itself. The vehicles in
the parking 1E. C7 will qualify for
the draw (unoccupied vehicles will
not be eligible).. ,
In the event: that'all 52.stakes are
not taken in the draw, the remain-
ing stakes will be allocated on a
first-come, first-served basis,
• Although two people may occupy a
hunting stake,. only one draw per
vehicle will be permitted,
Total price tag for the converted
car, he claims, was 'about $10,000.
"That includes the price of a used
car suitable for conversion. If you
already have a suitable car to work
with, it could cost as little as $5,000
to convert it."
George won't be going 'into the
electric car production business.
But he and his retirement project
WILL be going into more parades.
?-yernight parking vtrtli be
-wilt ed only to 1115, a 7,'ross
'fF.ionohe viewing. stand
trailers will not be permitted. All
remaining parking lots will be
closed daily from 9 prm. to 3 a.m,
Upon receipt of their validation:
harvest. cards, hunters will de, ,os`it
their small-gamelicences with the
parking lot operator. Zone A park-
ing lots will be opened at 3 a.m.
each day, The card must be dis-
played in a manner so that it can be
easily seen, preferably on the dash
of the vehicle when parked in Zone
A.
Each day at the conclusion of the
hunt, the 'hunters will . return the
HV -HC to the parking lot operator
and retrievetheir small -game
licences. Bag checks and hunter
success informatio will be request-
ed at this time.
Further notice a' all hunters:
From Oct. 1 to ec. 31, overnight
parking will only be allowed in the
main parking lot across from the
viewing stand L15,. C7, Camper
trailers will notbe permitted. All
remaining parkinglots must be
vacant from 9 p.m . to 3 a.rh. To pro-
vide a fair and eqi al opportunity to
all hunters, those arriving before 3
a:.m.'must:
Line up in the main parking lot
across from the viewing stand on a
'first-come, first-served basis at one
•At 3a.m., h t`' 'a tt *p s
to the parking lot correspondings
with thestake number they have
selected..,
An n v ria'
to be maa
at barn dance
United Cooperatives of Ontario
is celebrating its 75th anniversary
this year and,, as it turns out, this
also is the 75th anniversary of the
formation Of the Belgravia:. Co-ep
Association.
The board and staff of the Bel;-
;rave-Auburn
el--;rave-Au1 urn Co-op will be hold-
Lng an anniversary, celebration this
Friday evening, Sept: 8, at the :rein.
The celebration w4l. take the form
of an old»fashioned barn dance., The
dance will commence with the
opening ceremonies at 8 p n. Food
and refreshments will be' served,
spot dance prizes and anniversary
souvenirs awarded,,' according to
Chris Palmer, board chai inan.
The board and stiff. invite every-
one to dress, .in period to help
enhance the old-fashioned barn
dance theme.
CHARGING UP THE BATTERIES—Every night George Michie of Belgrave plugs in his car to re-
charge 12 six -volt batteries It's easy, and his clothes don't smell of gasoline. Mr. Michie built the car
himsel&a few years ago, and uses it for short jogs into town.
September is named
Flu -Prevention Month
As part of its coinmitment'to pre-
ventive health care, .the Ontario
Medical Association is participating
in proclaiming 'September Flu -Pre-
vention Month.
An OMA -sponsored public infor-
mation campaign will help physi-
cians inform the public of the
importance of an annual flu vacci-
nation far,poapl`. who are in high-
risk categories of"suffering serious
health problems as a result, of con-
tract; the flu.
The ° MA` will be .distributing a
poster tit%s month which encour-
ages peal to rotect themselves
agar th R �'phe poster will be
lst t , o Ipi tisait :waiting
S * practi-
„a eirtntuni-
Ly d re 6n"cent ies, for cit-
izen 'mires and health associ-
ations;.
Primary-care physicians,, ids pi-
t'ai WO- cis 've
1'01uet a. p . `' i� lines
ti nih r'la ti ,i e ; al-
'nallon,
tided it
e boli11
04, how
tteiti>fta-
ons
eal'th
it
;14
i�l.'�Fu,l'�A iJFBIti "fir ...u+LL44erar
6rl
):i
"brin a slightly different strain of
the flit. To be effective, shots should
be given in September or October
to give''the body a.chance to build
immunity to the virus before the flu
season really sets in.."
Highly contagious, influenza
spreads rapidly throughout the
community. Persons who should
consider immunization ate those
over 65 years of age,those suffering
from heart conditions or chronic
chest, conditions such as emphy-
sema, asthma or bronchitis.
Others who should consider
immunization are those with chron-
ic conditions such as diabetes and
other metabolic diseases, cancer,
anemia, renal disease, sickle-cell
disease or other diseases of the
blood, those suffering immunodefi-
ciency, suppression or children on
long-term ASA treatment.
Junior Farmers marking
Ontario Agri -Food Week
Did you know ,that an Ontario
farmer produces enough fold to
feed 95 people or that farmers rep-
resent less than four per cent of the
population? These are some of the
interesting facts about agriculture
irk Ontario.;:
14414d
0O1 Week, Oct. 1 to 8, was
,introduced' by the ministry of agri-
ttiltini and fo'od`'iti 983 to peotttote
agriculture in the province. The
week is targeted at the urban cen-
tres to bridge the gap between the
producers and the consumers and
nform them about the corf+pllexdty
and importance of aggricult
Ontario ch .produces 27 pax
dent of Caudal als ag aultura1 ptnd-
ucts totalling$5.5 lain.
Since 1987, the Huron Cour ty
ay, ,tinnier Farmers have been celebrat^
,ing Agri -Food Week with a dinner
entitled "Hilton County: An Agri-
cultural Leader". The evening rec-
ognizes agriculture in Huron Coun-
ty and retvards local people for
their contributions and leadership
to the rural community and agricul-
ture
gricu -ture in the county.
Huron ranks among the top agri-
culture -oriented counties in the
province. It is first in the value of
agrictgtural products sold, most
improved farm land, largest num-
ber 6i census farms, largest area of
census dimes and Much more.
,Join tete Amon County Junior
Partners On -Monday, Oct. 2, at the 7
p.m. itt the Clinton Legion Hail to
eelebtate Agri-Pobd Week in
�iltY�trla,
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