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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-06-06, Page 1tr•'....•••- • • , • • • NI. thgiai .41.• • am, Ontario, Wednesday, June 6, 1984 BIKE RODEO WINNERS—John Chippa of the Wingham Optimist Club presented the winning bicyclists in last Saturday's .Optimist bicycle rodeo with their trophies and prizes Monday at the Wingham Public School. Kara Neil was first in the Junior division and she tied with Todd Harrison, Paul Edwards was first in the Senior category and Shawn Gedcke also placed highly. Absent from the photo are Brad Crawford and. Charles Trapp. Separate School hers give up salary increase Huron -Perth Separate School teachers have given up a three per cent salary in- crease to help the school board cover costs for addi- tions to three schools. The board ratified the teachers 1984-85 contract at its May 28 meeting by a nine to two recorded vote. Trus- tees Louis Maloney, of Dub- lin and Tim McDonnell, of RR 2, Gadshill voted against the agreement. Chairman Ron Murray didn't vote and vice-chairman Michael Moriarity was absent. William Kinahan, whose wife is a teacher, declared a conflict of interest and didn't vote. The teachers earlier rati- fied the contract in a 72 to 42 vote. "This agreement is uni- que, if not the first of its kind, in the province," states a joint press release from the board and teachers. In effect, 155 separate school teachers will remain at the same salary they are now receiving. Trustee Ernie Van- derschott, of RR 7, St. Marys, the chairman of the negotiating committee, ex- plained the board, because of provincial grant limits, was prepared to offer the teach- ers a salary increase of up to five per cent. The teachers held back on the salary grid (those earning $35,000 or EARNS DEGREE Kevin McKague, son of Ken and Audrey McKague, RR 2, Wingham, was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Science in Engineering, B.Sc. ( Eng.), "With Distinction" at a convocation ceremony held May 30 at the University of Guelph. Kevin was also the first recipient of die Lance - Rowan Energy and Agriculture Award. A family dinner was held at the Stone Crock, St. Jacobs, in honor of the occasion. more) last year, will now move up, he said. • Board officials explained that teachers normally move up the grid based on their • years of experience and their qualifications. "The agreement reached will restore all teachers who were held back by the Infla- tion Restraint Act in 1983 to their respective salary posi- tion. It also provides for a three per cent increase which all teachers will fore- go for 1984-85. This amount, approximately $135,000, is being directed by the teach- ers towards the board's . building projects now under - 'way," the press release states. Specifically, the $135,000 will go towards material costs of the additions and renovations at Precious Blood Separate School in Exeter, St. Joseph's Separ- ate School in Clinton and Sacred Heart Separate School in Wingham. "It's a unique situation. I don't think this kind of deci- sion is easy to make," said Terry Craig, presidenCof the Huron -Perth Unit of the On- tario ,English Catholic Teachers' Association 0...:$ezo • U. OF WATERLOO GRADUATE • Michael William Mont- gomery received a Bachelor of Mathematics Co-operative Program degree at the 48th convocation held at the University of Waterloo Saturday, May 26. Michael is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Keith Montgomery, Wingham, and has accepted a position with the Rates Dept. of Trans Canada Pipe Line Ltd., Toronto. Relatives and friends attended a reception following the ceremony. Michael is a graduate of Sadred Heart and F. E. Madill Secondary Schools, Wingham. (OECTA). "But we looked at the facts of the total situation and for the good of the teach- ers and the system over the long run, it is an important allreeMeat:2'. "It was a diffictdt,decision for teachers, giVilig up a three per cent increase — just for one year. But we're willing to make a sacrifice for the Huron -Perth system. Teachers are dedicated to the system and the kids and for one year are willing to do that," said Mr. •Craig, a teacher at St. Patrick's Sep- arate School in Dublin. Chairman Murray praised the teachers for their will - EARNS B.Sc. DEGREE Susie Powell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Powell of Turnberry, graduated with distinction from the University of Guelph on May 31, with a B.Sc. in Human Kinetics, with a minor in Biomedical Science. Susie is currently working under a National Science and Engineering Research Council scholarship at the University of Guelph. Meeting today in Lloyd strike Prospects are brighter this week for a possible set- tlement in the strike by 140 workers at the Premium - Lloyd door factory in Wingham. After not having met since late April, ,the negotiating teams for the company and the union were scheduled to resume talks today, June 6, with the possibility of a vote being held on a new contract offer later this week. The strike, which started with a walk -out by the workers on March 21, has dragged on for 11 weeks after negotiations stalled on the issue of wages. ingness to become part of the solution of the board's fund- ing problem. He noted that if the board had debentured the $135,000 it would have ended up costing the beard. abeut$300AWO. "I,catil gay enough about" our teachers. I hope we can deal with them in the future the same way we've been dealt by them," Mr. MurraL told his fellow trustees. Acting director of educa- tion John McCauley com- mended both the teachers and the trustees for the "vi- sion" shown in helping the system now for a future benefit. "We did have a choice," emphasized Mr. Craig. "The teachers did have to think about the offer. I think we,, made the right decision ,for the time and situation." The minimum salary for a separate school teacher is $16,5f6,and the maximum salary is $42,135. Van- derschot said it will cost the board $83,000 to bring the teachers back on to the grid. Also, as part of the con- tract, both parties have agreed to form a co-opera- tive action committee. This committee will be made up of trustees and teachers and will meet on a regular basis to discuss topics being considered by the board. "This committee was sug- gested by the teacher com- mittee a number of years ago," said Mr. Murray. "I see it bearing good fruit." School board agrees ti) lea e lot Single, Copy 50e Parking agreement reached, hOs ital to start construction Constructionof a new emergency ',and outpatient wing at the Wingham and District Hospital finally got underway ')7P earnest this week; atter:Abe hospital board •was S; able to put together a plan to meet the parking requirements -of the town zoningliylaw. Fhe Plan; calls for the hapital to lute the parking lot at the, F E. Madill Secondary • School on a temporary :basis, while developing its own parking in two stageSoVex the 21 months. This takeS. the place of an earlier propesal to develop temporary parking on land leased from Sacred Heart Church, which "encountered determined optiosition from residents in thearea. The new plarealso has the advantage of not requiring the hospital to pay sub- stantial lease costs, as well as the cost of developing the temporary ;parking. The agreement With. the IltOn County Boartrof Education, which permit the hospital to possible extension of 4hafitijollinit if needeelicall0fahlat Or a leken ptyent o • 00BWit--• 1160 0**004tOr NorniapTayte4idltieitlaie, morning that etrihltrfietion of the new 'Wing begin - immediately and, with coop- eration from the/weather, it hould still be =Possible to h e the building closed in before winter. He said the contractor feels he can have the exterior pretty well com- pleted by early October. He noted that the agree- ment with the school board is just temporary, to satisfy the zoning requirements and al- low the hospital to get a building permet, and the hos- use the parl rot during the sunimer* Knocked down by , pickup truck An elderly Wingham woman is in good condition at the Wingham and District Hospital after being knocked down when she walked into the side of a vehicle on Josephine Street last week. Katie Steele, 87, of Josephine Street was taken to the hospital following the accident Friday afternoon. Police reported she walked into the side of a northbound pickup truck while crossing the street. No charges were laid in the incident. pital will honor its commit- ment to meet the full parking reqpirements on its own property. Currently it has about 88 or 89 parking spaces, and this will be nearly doubled to 165 within the next tWo years, he said. The commitment, in the form of a resolution of the hospital board which was filed with Town Council, calls for the hospital to complete 50 per cent of the required additional parking by the time the new addition is completed, • with the remaining 50 per cent to be completed the following year. Representatives from the hospital as well as the town's planning advisors met with Town Council on Monday night in a last-ditch effort to reach some agreement which would allow the building to proceed without further delay. • • At first it appeared this might not be possible, as all the options proposed in- volved ether substandial delay er potential legal hurdles. However when Mr. Hayes unveiled the lease, which had just been signed by the school board earlier that same day, all sides agreed it satisfied the zoning requirements, in conjunction with the undertaking to develop permanent parking lots. As a result, council unani- mously passed a motion stet - Mg it has no objection to issu- ing a building permit for the hospital. Both Ian Moreland, chairman of the planning advisory committee, and Gary Davidson, head of the Huron County planning department, agreed that the provision of temporary parking, at the school, together with the formal undertaking to develop parking, satisfied the bylaw, and council accepted their recommendation. As a result of the agree- ment, council was not forced to deal with a petition sigrfeil by 25 residents objecting to a proposal to create a parking lot in a vacant lot at the Sa- • Please turn to Page 5 DeWitt Miller nominated for bicentennial medal DeWitt Miller, a native of Wingham who has spent most of his life serving the town and community both through public office and in -private life, is the town's nominee to receive an Ontario bicentennial medal. , Town Council madeits nomination Monday night, after -discussing the merits of the various nominations received. A total of four persons had been suggested for con- sideration for the medals, which are being awarded by the province this year in recognition of "volunteerism and com- munity service". Each municipal council was invited to send in one nomination of a local citizen to receive one of the 1,984 medals to be .�rjyyears. agotoday, awarded. Mr. Miller served the town in local politics for 25 years, both as a councillor and as mayor. He also served both as w member and as chairman of the local hospital board, playing a part in two fundraising campaigns for additions at the hospital. He is a past president of the Wingham Business Association, the Wingham Lions Club and the Wingham Legion, and served ,for riineyears as campaign chairman for the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal and 10 years as campaign chairman for the local Cancer Society. The names of the other persons con- sidered for the medal were not made public. Veterans return to Normandy to mark anniversary of D -Day The beaches of Normandy, France, will be alive with activity again toda,y, Wednesday, as thousands of veterans of the June 6, 1944, Allied invasion go back commemorate that dy. Several Wingham and area veterans will be along with them„ Mr. and Mrs. George Tervit Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Morley Bushell and Lloyd Elliott all departed last 1 riday from the local Legion, accompanied by D - Day veterans from Luck - now, Gorrie and Palmerston. Some have been back since the war but for others, like Mr. Elliott, it will be the first time in 40 years they have set foot on those famous beaches. r D -Day, or. operation "Overlord" as it was known to the fighting men, was the largest invasion in the history of mankind. The Allied commanders had been planning it for two years and when dawn broke on. June 6, 1944, 5,000 ships /Were waiting off the coast of France loaded with 157,000 Canadian; Ainerican and British soldiers ready to storm the German -held beaches. ' Like every other -termer soldier who will stand on the beaches of Normandy this week, Mr. Tervit has his own memories of that day. He was part of the 19th Canadian Army Field Regiment and had trained in Canada for almost two years nefore being sent to England in the summer of 1943. Once there, all his Canadian army training was thrown by the wayside as the Allied troops were drilled and groomed in amphibious training for the invasion of France. The time and place of the invasion was top secret, even to the army brass, but tne soldiers all knew it was coming soon and the mood in camp was very tense. About one week before the actual invasion date, the men were called out from camp and sent to a concentration area where they stayed confined to quarters. There had been storms in the English channel earlier that week, but as soon as it was reported there would be a lull in the channel condi- tions, the invasion operation was on. Mr. Tervit said it was mind boggling the amount of men, arms and supplies that had to be loaded onto the barges, but finally everything was ready and flotillas were formed for the rough trip across the EhgliSh Channel. After sailing on choppy waters all night, the invasion forces caught site of the French coast. Mr. Tervit said they ttreu a oarrage ammunition from the barges before disembarking for the beaches, which today are known by names like Juno and Omaha. Mr. Tervit was part of a tank division, but for those who had to wade off the barges with their guns over their heads dodging bullets all the way, it was all they could do to make it to the beach. Mr. Tervit said it was slow • going, but the Allied troops managed to capture more and more ground each day until finally they crossed the Rhine River into Germany, which was the highlight of the war to him. The veterans will take part in commemorative services all this week and will trace the steps'of their progress 40 years ago by touring France and other parts of Europe. They will return home June 17. e • , , .., . .4.0A444460A4c&es.*..ii444444r.40.44.,A41%140 SECOND D-DAY INVASION—Approximately 20 Wingham and Lucknow veterans of the Allied invasion df France, or D -Day, left last Friday evening for Europe to take part in commemorative services to mark the 40th anniversary of the greatest invasion of all time. Veterans from Canada, the United States and Great Britain will descend on the beaches of Normandy today, June 6, just like they dld 40 years ago, but this time the invasion will be of a friendly nature.