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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-04-11, Page 1!t:*1.:,;,....,._..,, .�..... . dia1ety MIST SECTION Wingham, Ontario, Wednesday, April 11, 1944 • Talks -resume in strike at Lloyd's . :.Talks resumed yesterday in an attempt to end the three -week-old, strike at the Premium -Lloyd door factory in Wingham, with the suggestion that a settlement could be reached this week. Representatives. for the Our apologies A typographical error in a story carried by The Ad- vance -Times last week added an unfortunate twist to a quote attributed to Morris Township Reeve Bill Elston. The quote, which appeared • in the front-page story "Royal Bank leaving Brussels", should have read, "When the press is here I won't Say...." Unfortunately a "1t" slipped in in place of the fourth dot, giving the appearance that somewhat stronger language had been employed. Our heartfelt apologies to Mr. Elston and his family for any embarrassment this may have caused them, though we are confident that. anyone who knows the reeve will have realized that such expressions are not part of his vocabularly. two sides in the dispute were scheduled to meet with an Ontario Labor Relations Board mediator at the Howard Johnson hotel in London on Tuesday and Wednesday. Adam Salvona, a spokesman for Local 3054 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, said Monday he was "quite optimistic" some kind of settlement could be reached during those two days. If the strike is not settled then, he has "ab- solutely no idea what will happen," he said. A spokesman for the company could not ' be reached for comment. About 145 workers represented by Local 3054 have been on strike at the plant since March 21, when they walked out during an afternoon coffee break. Items in the dispute were identified as seniority rights, the treatment of probation- ary employees and a dental plan. The company has since announced that it has with- drawn proposed changes to seniority clauses in the con- tract. , a ig sc ool student from Brussels, was amo,9 194 •onors who registered at a Red Cross blood donor clinic held at Madill Secondary School in Wingham last week. Paula Starr of the London Red Cross unit put `potential donors through a preliminary screening process for any reasons why they should not give blood, as well as checking blood type and group: The clinic, co-sponsored by the Wingham hospital auxiliary, Kinsmen and Madill Student Council, collected 169 units of blood for the Red Cross. Ratepayers in the Town- . ship of Turnberry can expect an increase of: 5.9 per 'cent in 41ro$rty; taxes this . 3! s Clerk -Treasurer Dorothy • Kelly informed councrl members at a meeting last Tuesday evening. That is an improvement over 1983 when the taxes increased by 6.7 per cent. What this means is that a typical 100 -acre farm unit assessed at $6,000 would be taxed $1,274, an increase of $72 over last year or 5.9 per cent. A separate school sup- porter with a property of similar value would pay $5.00 more than a public school supporter, an in- crease of six per cent over last year. A typical residential property assessed at $2,200 with taxes going to the public school system would be taxed $466,• once again an 'increase of 5.9 per cent. • . The biggest mill rate in- ,. riyease hes, _ cid4sAp ; comity. This year ' arnberry Township must pay the County of Huron $88,263, up ' $10,284 over 1983 or 13 per cent. Turnberry's Huron County Board of Education levy for elementary schools is $154,234, up $12,066 or 8.48 per cent. The secondary school levy is up, $5,210 to $133,864, an increase of four per cent. Turnberry's requisition from the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic School Board actually is down $1,956 in 1984 to $11,154. But those who do support the separate school system will pay 6.7 per cent more in property taxes this year. The township must collect $167,156 for its own purposes East Wawanosh council ln�rease by in 1984, up $8,075 over last year or five per cent. As an example to cbuncil :,'��crtfll1eF tS�... money goes, Ws.' Kelly `said, that out of every tax dollar, 53 cents goes toward education; 31 cents to the township;. and 15 cents to the county. Council generally was pleased that the tax hike had been held below the six per cent mark, especially when the ratepayers off other municipalities,. are, ex- periencing higher increases. Deputy Reeve Doug Fortune noted the township mill rate has gone up 20 per cent in the past five years, while the school board and. county rates have increased by upwards of. 100 per cent. An increased township assessment helped keep taxes down this year as well, said Mrs. Kelly. OMB ruling discussed at an in -camera session East Wawanosh council held an in -camera session at its meeting last Tuesday to discuss the recent decision of the Ontario Municipal Board regarding the locating of a Christian high school in the township. The long-awaited OMB ruling was received at the township municipal office March 26. The board said it found no reason why a high school or institutional use could not locate behind Hutton Heights even though council and the residents of the subdivision objected. The board also said it is compelled to direct the town- ship to pass the appropriate zoning bylaw to permit the proposed development. When ,contacted later Reeve Neil Vincent said council came to no decision in the matter at last week's meeting because members still are awaiting a formal order from the OMB in- structing them how to proceed in the matter. "We are sitting in limbo," said the reeve, adding council has no choice but to take a wait-and-see ap- proach. - In other business council Will send a letter to the Electoral Boundaries Commission objecting to proposed redistribution of the electoral ridings in Southwestern Ontario. Council was responding to a letter from Huron -Bruce MPP Murray Elston stating, that the proposed changes to the electoral boundaries in the region could mean one less elected representative from the area to Queen's Park. Mr. Vincent said the proposal could have "long- term ramifications" for the residents of Grey, Bruce and Huron counties and could serve to diminish the voice of rural voters •to the Legislature. The other members of council agreed with the reeve and instructed Clerk - Treasurer Winona Thomp- son to prepare a written sub- mission for a commission hearing scheduled for April 16 in Kitchener. The matter of hiring a bylaw enforcement officer to enforce those bylaws enacted by the municipality which carry a penalty was discussed as well. Even though council members agreed it would be beneficial to have someone appointed with the power to enforce ' the township's bylaws, they decided the cost would be prohibitive for East Wawanosh to train and hire such an officer. • EMPLOYEE WAGES ' .Council went into com- mittee of the whole to discuss .®s Whet a t came °t it, council approved a wage increase of 5.85 per cent to its three roadmen, Road Superin- tendent Ross Nicholson and grader operators Len Baird and ,George Gallaway. The increase brings their hourly rate to $10, up from $9.45. Council granted Mrs. Kelly .,a salary increase of 5.82 per `cent to bring her yearly salary up to $25,000 from $23,625. OHIP and OMERS (a pension plan for municipal employees) premiums for the employees are paid for by the township also. In other business, council Finally council decided to approach the town of Clin- ton, one town which reportedly does have a bylaw enforcement officer, about the prospect of "sharing" such an official. Council instructed Mrs. Thompson to write a letter to Wingham council informing -it of conditions at and around the town dump which is located in East Wawanosh. Members said they are concerned with the amount of debris left on the township roadside and with burning operations at the site. East Wawanosh council has made an offer to pur- chase on a property owned by Anna and Gerald Van- derHeyden, Lot 33, Con. 4, for $75,000. The 25 -acre property is to be used for gravel. Gravel quotes for 5,000 cubic yards of crushed and stockpiled gravel were discussed but none of the three quotes presented was accepted. A decision will be made at the next meeting of council since Road Superintendent Ralph Campbell said he does not need the gravel im- mediately. The next regular meeting of East Wawanosh council will be held May 8 at the township shed. Construction of a new emergency and outpatient wing at the Winghant'• and District Hospital will get underway this week, following° final approval of the project k, the ithspital board during a special closedmeeting last week. The projectis scheduled to start this Thursday, with completion expected in 38 weeks which would place it in early January of 1985. The contract for the new addition was awarded ,to Refflinghaus Const etion of Goderic'li for a price of $1,492,100. • This was the lowest of 13 bids received 'on the building, the others ranging up to $1.7 million. Although the contract price is about,$240,000 more than the $1.25 million estimate given by the ar- chitect when the plans were prepared last October, this will not affect the hospital's ability to complete the pro- ject, Administrator Norman Hayes said. The hospital will compensate by committing more of its own capital reserves. Mr. Hayes saidthe six- month delay in going to • tender, during most of which time the hospital was waiting for • approval from the Health Ministry, killed its chances to get a really good price on the project, The architect revised his estimate in February to $1,489,000, which was almost. exactly on target with the final bid, he noted. The vote to award the contract to Refflinghaus was accepted- the: bid of Farrish Construction. of; Listowel to crush,, load.. and haul ,000 •i 3vel :c �. b u 1, pereubie $1.15 per cubic -yard tows6tdckpile. Councillor Joan Wright declared a conflict of in- terest on .the gravel tenders and refrained from any discussion or the subsegment vote since her husband is employed by one of the firms bidding. ° Council went ona road, tour •of township roads earlier last Tuesday with Ross Jackson of the Strat- ford office of the Ministry of Transportation and com- munications. In general, members said they felt the township 'roads are in reasonably good shape cent although they did add several new features to their five-year plan for road -1m..grovcments. t l • fnen -ers.w1flsehd- *a#safdet.}»eraus:'nre issuodi ear.•'., e g at taken during a special meeting of the board held last week to review "all aspects" of the proposed building program, despite an earlier .agreement by the board that a final decision would not be made that night. The press *as barred from the meeting, which was to' have been for discussion purposes only. • However M. Hayes said the board changed its mind and voted to proceed im- mediately in order not to delay the project any fur- ther. Even so the contractor will be hard-pressed to have the building closed in before winter sets in, he explained. He said the final vote was not unanimous, with about. five board members voting in opposition and one ab- staining, but most of those • said afterward they were not opposed to the project but only to taking the vote that night, he added. en Fight hospital In addition to .tile higher hos construcpital:tiowill n have coststoy p, tahe y another$20,OO,p inarchiteet s fees, "which are based on.a percentage of the contract price, pushing the total price to about $1.61. million. Since the .original estimates had included a contingency fund of $48,000, however, the total is about $210,000 above the originally estimated tag of $1.4 million, Mr. Hayes said. Basically this means the hospital will have to commit more of its own resources above the $350,000 originally budgeted, he explained. But, coming off two years of exceptional surpluses, it has the money available. Just how much the hospital will have to commit also depends on the success of the planned fundraising pro- gram, which probably will kick off late this summer. The hospital had set a target of $350,000 for the public fundraising, which remains unchanged. Mr. Hayes, said concerns that, by spading all its capital reserves on the new building, -the hospital cut itself short on egment replacement are unfounded, He said the hospital has One a three-year cash 'flow projection and is satisfied it can start to rebuildits reserves within two years. • Refflinghaus, the success- ful bidder on. this ," j, is the same firm which built the new outpatient'ser'vtces: addition at the Clinton, hospital. Several .scab- contractors on the projee also come from Ilurisli County, including Exeter . Roofing and Ladder Painting of Clinton. The electrical' and mechanical subcontract went to Fluker of Owen Sound. Wingham council shorts It will cost more to hawk or peddle in Wingham this year as the result of a new bylaw in the process of being passed by the Town Council. The hawkers and peddlers bylaw, which updates one passed in 1959, will raise the licence fee to $100 for a town resident and $150 for a non- resident. Previously the fees had been $10 for a resident and $75 for a non-resident. Councillor Jack Kopas, who made the report ,oto council, said larger figures had been . tossed around in discussion at the committee level._ but .._ .-_.committee members felt the increase proposed is "sufficiently substantial'. Council was Mid that anywhere from one a liter to the Electoral Boundaries Commission stating they are opposed to any reduction in electoral representation at Queen's Park for residents of South- western Ontario. The members were responding to a letter from Huron -Bruce •MPP Murray Elston urging them to oppose proposed changes to the riding's electoral boundaries. A drainage tribunal for the Bolt Municipal Drain will be held April 19 at the municipal office. The next regular meeting of council is April 17 at 7:30 p.m. By incidence, countcil received at the same meeting a letter from the Wingham Business Associa- tion asking that it consider a "more appropriate" licens- ing fee for transient business persons. The letter said the general feeling df the associ- ation is thefee should be comparable to the business tax paid by•local merchants. Council was told the new fees will be roughly equivalent to the business tax for a similar type of business. However coun- cillors agreed with Coun- cillor James A. Currie's proposal to hold off final passage of the bylaw until the association had a chance to comment. The bylaw regulates "persons who, go from place to place or to a particular • place with goods, wares of merchandisefor sale, or who carry and expose samples, patterns or specimens of any, • goods, .. wares or mer- chandise that are to he $620,839 last year. 0-0-0 In one of her final official acts before resigning abruptly later in ` the meeting, Deputy Reeve Patricia Bailey presented the town with two Huron. County flags. • She told council; a number of people who have -come into the dairy have told her they never saw a `Enron Canty delivered in the Municipality flag, and she,'suggested..it afterwards." would be nice to fly then' at o -o -o each end of taw.'. , In, a dramatic turn -around She also poifted nit, that r. .:___ years; . the Canadian and Ontario Wingham ratepayer s_ flags yuig`"in front of the actually pay less education ' elniraffie- taxes this year than last. ' and asked. that .they be Art Clark, Wingham replaced. • �rustee on the Huz on Cou> nth •• 0-0-0 Roar of, .lr`"�daea *; a , �' from- d. b _�. r '-c 0 MP ra.' 1s un �clrr • %inelied."last week s tYle4ttng � , .. of Town COtihull to re 'iort.on agreed to voiceits opposition the budget approved: by the to changes . inelectoral board earlier the same day. boundaries which would He -told council that while leave this area with one.less the board's overall budget is. seat in the provincial up by five. per cent, there will Legislature. be a net decrease in the levy Although not all members to Wingham as a result of agreed, Councillor Jack changes in equalizedassess- Kopas noted it makes sense ment throughout the county. that if the size of a riding is The town's elementary 'increased, it becomes More school levy is up about $1,200 stituents. difficult for an MPP to serve ftom last year, but the the .interests of his con - secondary school levy is down by about $2,700. As a Deputy Reeve Patricia result, Wingham ratepayers Bailey said she already had will be asked to contribute a sent a protest on behalf of total of $619,325 to the county Sunrise Dairy and planned to 'Ward this year, down. from _ attend the public meeting scheduled for Kitchener on April I6. ' 0-0-0 Council was very pleased to receive a letter from a Texas resident, stranded in Wingham during a snow- storm in December, ex- pressing appreciation for the kindness and goodwill en- countered here. William E. Card of Citrus Mobile Park, Edinburg, Texas, explained that he and his wife were en route from Brantford to Kincardine Dec. 29 when they en= countered a heavy snow- storm and decided to stop in Wingham for lunch. When ° they tried to leave again, they found the weather was too bad and decided to turn back and spend the night. In turning around at the Zehrs plaza, their vehicle struck an unmarked con- crete divider, covered with snow, sending Mrs. Card to hospital with whiplash. Mr. Card expressed their gratitude to the thwn clerk, police officers and hospital staff for their ' assistance, which included tracing him to Kincardine to return a credit card which had been left at the Wingham hospital. He asked that his letter be read to the mayor and council, "so that a little credit may be shown as to the efficiency of our police forces and the kindness and goodwill shown by the people of Wingham." 0-0-0 The fine for overstaying one's welcome at a parking meter along Wingham's main street may increase to $4.00 from $2.00 'under a proposed amendment to the town's parking bylaw. In presenting the bylaw, Councillor Tom • Miller told Please turn to Page 3 ' GRADE 8 SCIENCE PROJECT WINNERS at the North Hurori regional science fair held at Brussels last week were, Tammy Storm of Turnberry Central School, thlyd'in the biological division; Lowell Winger of Grey Central, third in the physical division; Karen Montgomery of East Wawanosh Public School, first in the biological; Brett Martin, and Dairin Davidson of Turnberry,. first in physical; Mike Hawkins of Turnberry '(between Brett arid Darin), second in physical; Treena Jeffrey of Turnberry; second : in biological. Winnei°s advanc"ed to the H, unity County science fair at Turnberry this week.