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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-11-16, Page 1•;pa•+.; y.a...T r..J 4ii 'Cµ ; 4i,W+vYJB°`Miu1R�r1+: •rp* LAND -SEA -AIR PACKAGE TOURS Business or pleasure.- book now! ?RANK,( SERVICE Listow,l, Ontario ; 291-2111 Call Ton Free 1.800-265-6332 FIRST SECTION Wingham, Wednesday, November 16, 1977 Single Copy Not Over 30c Local youth is killed in three -car accident Robert Joseph Kinahan, 23, of RR 2, Lucknow, was killed in a three cai accident on Highway 86 west of Wingham late last Satur- day night. Five other persons were injured in the accident. John J. MOir, 21, of RR 1, Luck - now, a passenger in the Kinahan vehicle, is listed in fair condition in Victoria Hospital, London. R. Mark Vincent, 21, of Dinsley Street, Blyth, the driver of one of the vehicles, and two of his pas - PTE. FISCHER, J.D. David Fischer has suc- cessfully completed- a 12 - week Basic Training Course at Cornwallis, Nova Scotia and is now starting a five-year course as an Airo Frame Technician and will be stationed at Camp Borden till the end of March. David is the son of Mrs. June Mc- BurneyMrd Douglas Fischer, grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stokes and Mr. and Mrs. John V. Fischer both of Turnberry Township. David is a graduate of .the F. E. Madill Secondary School of Wingham. Do you have a dopy of the Sept. 14 issue? Although The Advance -Times usually has an ample supply of extra copies of each issue we find that we have a need for those of Sept. 14, 1977. If you happen to have this issue in your stack of old papers and you don't want to save it, we would appreciate taking it off your hands. For personal reasons one of our readers would like to get the extra copies. sengers, Christopher Moore, 16, and William Gibson, 15, both of RR 3, Wingham, were admitted to Wingham hospital. Mr. Gibson was discharged Monday, while Mr. Vincent and Mr. Moore are in satisfactory condition. Lynda B. Moore, 18, of RR 3, Wingham, the driver of the third vehicle, was treated at Wingham hospital and then released. Sgt. Len George of the Wing - ham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police reports the accident occurred with both the Vincent and Moore vehicles west- bound on the highway, the Vin- cent vehicle in the eastbound lane. The Vincent vehicle first struck the Moore car and then ran into the Kinahan car, which was east- bound along the highway, he said. He confirmed that alcohol was involved to -some degree and also noted that "practically nobody was wearing seatbelts". 4 Our readers asked why no report On Nov. 4, 1977, a 1976 Chevrolet driven by Constable John Nolan struck the CPR light standard on Josephine Street. Damage was estimated at approximately $2,000. - 0-0-0 After The Advance -Times appeared last week residents of this community begari to ask members of our staff why there was no account of the accident in which one of the town's police cruisers was extensively damaged. The reason was obvious - because the report which The Advance -Times regularly receives from the local police department contained no mention off the accident in which the cruiser was involved — despite the fact that the same report week after week gives us\ the details of accidents in which vehicles owned or operated by private citizens have been involved. A telephone call to Police Chief Rpbert Wittig from an Ad- vance -Times reporter elicited virtuallyanothing in the way of facts concerning the accident and the statement that never at any time would he divulge to the newspaper any information which' would be detrimental to the police department. . Chief Wittig did, however, say that he would provide The Advance -Times with information about the accident in which the. cruiser was involved. . On Monday of this week Publisher Barry Wenger discussed. the ,ratter with M,ayoa.WillWa.. Walden, in the absence of Councillor David Cameron, chairman of the ' police committee, who was in Florida at that time. Mayor Walden agreed that since the cruiser istown property and the police- men are town employees, a full disclosure of the circum- stances surrounding the accident' was reasonable and that the whole matter was one of legitimate public concern. After our conversation with the mayor Mr. Wallen volun- teered his willingness to discuss the matter with the chief of police. A short time later he telephoned the publisher with the information that the police chief was "on holidays". Mr. Walden informed the publisher on Monday evening that he had been in telephone conversation with Councillor David , Cameron in Florida and that it was agreed that the mayor should try again to reach the chief of police. Mr. Walden did so and was given the answer that the information about the accident would be in the hands of The Advance -Times' on Tuesday. You have read the information we were given and you must. judge for yourself whether or not it is adequate to satisfy your questions as a taxpayer. Mayor William Walden has made every possible effort to secure the facts of this case and has agreed that in an in- stance such as this the public has every right to know what really did occur. The Advance -Times has attempted to provide nothing more than an honest explanation of the cir- cumstances. Block parent program is set to begin soon Plans to initiate a block parent program in Wingham are moving ahead briskly, with the first signs expected to be out before the end of this month. The signs will identify -the houses of block parents, to which children can go in cases of emergency. Don Farnell, vice-chairman of the block parent committee, said the group has collected about 110 names of persons interested in participating in the program. Each prospective block parent will be required to fill out an application and will be 'screened by the police before being ac- cepted and issued with a sign. The screening is nothing to worry about, he said; it's necessary to make sure a person would be suitable to look after children. The block parent committee, set up during a public meeting Nov. 7, is chaired by Rick White- ly. Mr. Farnell is vice-chairman and Heather Shaw is secretary- ' treasurer. Other committee members are: Carol Clark, Gwen Laidlaw, Linda Smith, Carol Whitely and David Hynes. The committee will establish liaisons with police and the schools and will coordinate the program. Among other things, it will maintain a map showing the locations of all block parents in town, Mr. Farnell said. The block parent program was proposed by members of the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion earlier this year. It is pat- terned on the program which has been ; operating successfully in London since 1968. The purpose of the program is to provide chil- dren with places to go for aid in case of any type of problem or emergency arising while they are away from home. Fire damages carpentry shop A fire Nov. 12 caused an estimated $500 damage to Stan Campbell's woodworking shop on Scott Street, Wingham Fire Chief Dave Crothers reports. He said the cause of the blaze which was reported at 8 p.m., is still under investigation. The fire department also responded to a call involving the fatal accident on Highway 88 west of Wingham later that night. Mr. Crothers-explained the fire- men will often be called to an ac- cident when gas has been spilled to insure that a fire does not oc- cur. This is particularly import- ant when persons are trapped in- side the vehicles or ambulance personnel are working around them. The police are continuing their investigation and charges are pending. Bob Kinahan was born in Wing - ham on November 1, 1954, and was a son of William and Mary Kinahan of West Wawanosh Township. He received his early elementary education at St. Augustine Roman - Catholic Separate School, later attended Sacred Heart School in Wingham. Following his graduation from F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham, he was. employed by Canada Packers, Walkerton. As a teenager, he played minor hoc- key with a Belgrave team. He leaves to mourn his passing, besides his parents, one sister, Genevieve, and three brothers, Gordon, Leo and Billy, all at home. Also surviving are his . grandmothers, Mrs. Genevieve Kinahan of West Wawanosh and Mrs. Anna Kennedy of Stratford, formerly of St. Columban. The late Bob Kinahan rested at the MacKenzie Memorial Chapel, Lucknow, until Wednesday morning when removal was made to St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church for mass at 10:30 a.m. Interment followed in St. Augustine Roman Catholic Cemetery. Pallbearers were six cousins, Stephen Edwards, David Ed- wards, Mark Edwards, John Kinahan, Steven Kinahan and Paul Kennedy. , As expressions of sympathy, donations may be made to the Huron -Perth Lung Association or to one's favorite charity. Wingham OPP get new radar unit~ . :. - The Wingham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police has been issued a new mobile radar unit which can clock the speed of motorists travelling the opposite direction from the cruiser, Sgt. Len George announced this week. Theunit has already proved quite effective, he said, and may be the best device to lower the overall speed of traffic in this' area. He added that the intention is not to issue a lot of tickets just for the sake of laying charges. "Economic conditions are such that there are more important things to pay for than fines. But if motorists realize we have this sophisticated equipment, they'll adhere more to the speed limits," he said. Sgt. 'George noted his detach- ment has three major priorities in traffic enforcement: drinking drivers, seat belt usage and speeding. The emphasis will be placed on these three, he de- clared. REMEMBRANCE DAY PARADE—Scouts, Cubs, Guides, CGIT and town councillors\ joined with veterans from the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion' n a. parade ,to the cenotaph for a Remembrance Day service last Friday. The Salvation Army band led` the parade. Outlook bleakfor hospitals director telis Wingham bd. The outlook for Ontario hos- pitals during the next few years is "rather depressing", Norman Hayes, executive director of Wingham and District Hospital, told the board of governors last week. Not only is capital funding being severely curtailed by the ministry of health, but hints were dropped during the recent On- tario Hospital Association con- vention that operating budgets may be cut back below the rate of inflation. If this occurs, Mr.. Hayes warned the board, it means a cut in service at the hospital. "If they chop operating funds back below` the rate of inflation, there's no doubt we'll have to chop staff or beds," he said, adding, "We'll just have to wait and see." If cuts do occur, -he predicted, the hardest hit will be minority groups, such as East Indians, women and unskilled workers. The bulk of jobs cut won't be in the area of direct nursing care, he noted, since these are at the very heart of a hospital. So, while people will not be taken away from the- bedside, perhaps hos- pitals will be a little dirtier and BLOCK PARENT COMMITTEE—Comprising the block ffarent committee for Wingham are: Don Farnell, Heather haw, Linda Smith, Gwen Laldlaw, Carol Whiteley, Rick Whiteley, Carol Clark and David Hynes (not in picture). Mr. Whiteley chairs the committee, Mr. Farnell is vice chairman and Mrs. Shaw is secretary -treasurer. the meals won't be so well pre- pared as staff are cut from these areas. There is no real indication what i;es five to 10 years down the road for hospitals, he .said, but pro- vincial Treasurer Darcy Mc- Keough's announcement the government is aiming for a balanced budget by 1 r: l makes funding increases in the near future unlikely. On the same note, the board heard that its request for funds to prepare a master plan for the hospital has been turned down. A letter from the area planning co- ordinator explained capital funds are very tight just now and so the answer is "regretfully negative". "That means `no'," Mr. Hayes said. The board conducted further discussion on a master • plan in committee of the whple. In other business the board ap- proved the purchase of a 1978 'Ford LTD from Bridge'Motors to replace the present hospital vehicle, a 1974 Chrysler Newport. Bridge Motors' price of $3,400 with trade was lowest in the ha- medthte area, finance committee chairman J. R. Kaufman told the board, and it was felt the pur- chase should be made nearby to facilitate servicing. Mr. Kaufman also reported the Nixon property purchased recently by the hospital has been rented to the mental health re- source centre for $275 per month, while rent for the space used by the Huron County Health Unit has been increased to $200 per month. The rents are subject to annual review. Final approval was given to pay increases of 8.06 per cent (1976-77) and 5.61 per cent (1977- 78) for registered nurses, while management group received in- creases of slightly under eight per cent for 1976-77 and 5.33 per cent for 1977-78. MISSING CATTLE? Any area farmer who is miss- ing 10 Hereford cattlebeasts is in- vited to contact G. C. Moffatt at 357-3155. The animals wandered onto his farm Nov. 10 and to date no owner has been located. Many join in memorial service at the cenotaph Despite wind, cold and swirling snow, a large number of people gathered at the cenotaph in Wingham last Friday morning for the annual Remembrance Day service, honoring those who gave their lives in war. After the opening of the service by Chairman Don Montgomery and the civic welcome by. Mayor William Walden, everyone joined in singing the hymn, "0 God Our Help In Ages Past". Rev. John Swan of St. Paul's Anglican Church read from the scripture and Rev. A. J. Sonderup of Sacred Heart Church led in prayer. The names of the fallen were then read and, as the group stood in silence, about 15 memorial wreaths from local organizations were placed around the base of the cenotaph. Mr. Montgomery placed the final wreath, bearing poppies from the local veterans, and William Henderson Jr. played. Last Post and' Reveille. Rev. Barry Passmore of Wing - ham United Church gave the benediction. The service was preceded by a parade from the Legion Hall to the cenotaph, Scouts, Cubs, Guides, CGIT and town council- lors joined with the veterans in the parade, which was led by the Salvation Army band. Several -accidents cause injuries Several persons suffered minor injuries as a result of motor vehicle accidents in the Wingham area during the past week. Ronald McQuillan of RR 3, Holyrood, was treated at Wing - ham hospital for back injuries and then released after he ap- parently fell off a snowmobile Nov. 13. Leigh Marchment of Glen Wil- liams, Ontario, received minor injuries as a result of a single car accident on Highway 87 west of Huron Road 33 in Turnberry Township Nov. 11. In another accident the same day, Elaine Martin of Missis- sauga received h►;ad injuries -when her car struck a tree on the town line between Wingham and Teeswater. She was treated at Wingham hospital and released. An accident Nov. 8 slightly in- jured Gertrude M. Cooper of RR 2, Brussels, and a passenger in her vehicle, James Boone, also of RR 2, Brussels. The two were in- volved in a single car accident on Sideroad 30-31 at Concession 11-12 of Grey Township. Damage minor in accidents A tractor -trailer driven by Henry Deter of Guelph struck a hydro pole in front of Joe's Repair Shop on Josephine Street, Wingham, Nov. 11. The accident caused about $50 damage to the vehicle. An accident between Wilfrid Haines of RR 4, Wingham, and James R. Wilson of Bluevale caused about $145 damage Nov. 10. Mr. Haines was reversing out of the Toronto Dominion Bank parking lot when he struck Mr. Wilson's vehicle, Wingham police report. There was no damage to the Haines vehicle. In another accident Nov. 10, a vehicle driven by Mary E. Gurney of Wingham struck a car driven by Stephen A. MacDonald of Wingham. Damage was esti- mated at $130 to the MacDonald vehicle.