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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1977-11-23, Page 3•ri FIRST SECTION Wingham, 'Wedn) ..November 2.3, 1977 LAND -55* A,IK PACKAGE TOD,1 Business or pleasure - booKalattJ', TRAVEL WV" Listwwol, Ontario 2t1.2111 CaII Toll Fro. 1-800.265.6332 Downtown parking major concern to m The state of downtown parking is still a sore point with members of the Wingham Business As- sociation and they want town council to know it. The topic dominated discussion at the association's meeting last weekend, while no clear resolu- tion was put forward, the consensus appeared to be that a parking problem exists int the core area and the way to resolve it is to develop a number of small off-street parking lots. While members made it clear they aren't holding this council responsible for a parking short- age which they said has existed for many years, they did want to know whether council has any plans to help. Town Councillor and finance committee chairman Tom De - yell, invited to the meeting to discuss ,how the business taxes are spent, found himself on the hot -seat fielding questions about council's attitude toward down- town parking. "We would like to know coun- cil's thinking on the main street; what do they want?" Fred McGee inquired. "I think if the town's attitude is JUBILEE MEDAL—Wingham Fire Chief Dave Crothers recently received a silver medal commemorating the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A certificate accompanying the medal and signed by Governor General Jules Leger explains it is being presented on the occasion of the 25th ,anniversary of the queen's accession to the throne, but that's all Mr. Crothers knows about it. He hasn't yet been notified how he was elected to receive themedal, he said. A Walkerton man also received such a medal, he added, but he knows of no one else in the area who has. the merchants should provide their own parking they should say so and we could disband the parking authority," he added, calling the whole thing an exercise in futility if there's no co-operation. "I think the message they're sending us is: 'If you want parking, provide it yourselves.' Mr. McGee pointed out that what benefits the merchants benefits the town, either directly or indirectly. There's a pretty big payroll along the main street, he noted, not to mention the business and property taxes. He warned that if the town isn't careful the problem will 'be solved by a developer coming in and putting up a mall at the edge hist t� of town. That would take care o , bylaw (setting up the parking the parking problem, he said, but :" the meter• money?" ity) and tyou look after would create a number of other l y, the offered. thor ity problems for both the rperchants (3.th would provide the authority ,,,and the town. wth some income, he noted, allowing it to pay off debts Murray Gerrie emphasized: "We're not expecting people baek' ; n .king in setting up off-street on the back streets to pay for ' (a,The tote.. parking lots." The merchants are The meters could be turned willing to pay their own way, by a tifOver to the authority, he said, and special levy or whatever means, lie could then look after and aren't asking that the cost of `Collecting the revenue and paying providing additional parking be, the expenses. Last year the added into the general tax levy, o1eters netted about $4,100 for the he said. Mr. Deyell responded that while he can't speak for the whole council he is personally sym- pathetic to the merchants' problems. "How would it be if we change r eentei nips wig nets fie; The people who/lave taken on the task of writing the town's history for the 1979 centennial celebration have an urgent problem. They need the assistance of townspeople (and even those who have moved on during the years) to provide updated information on all phases of community life.' Originally the local Kinette Club was charged with the responsibility for writing the history, but several. of the women on the 'original committee have moved away from Wingham. Thus, Mrs. Brian Cameron (the former Mary Lou Jamieson) was asked to chair the committee. Mrs. Cameron tells The Advance -Times that a letter has. been sent out to many organizations and business firms, asking for as- sistance, but so far there has not been much response. • Although the year 1979 may seem remote, the months required to assimilate and write the material and to have it typeset, proofread and printed, make time extrer► g,Jx "iriffiortant. The committee will gladly accept information in the form of notes or fully written stories. Pictures of earlier days in the community are particularly needed. Of course all material will be returned if requested. The churches, clubs, lodges, and all other organizations are asked to submit their histories, ,as 'well as retail store owners and the industrial concerns. In addition, and extremely important will be the contributions of private citizens who can add to the total picture of Wingham as it was in years gone by. The committee has firm plans to have the books ready for Christmas, 1978, so a final deadline of June 30 has been set, by which time all the material must be in readiness for the printer. Considering the amount of preparatory work which must be completed before the end of June, there is no time to lose. You are asked to take or sendanything you have to any one of the following committee members: Mrs. Brian Cameron, Mrs. Leroy Jackson, Mrs. -Don Carter, Mrs. Garry Watcher, Mrs. Mac Ritchie, Mrs.' Rus Wylie or Mrs. Dan Mansel -town after expenses were paid. (To a question whether the town has set aside any money for :p'X'oviding off-street parking, Mr. • eyell answered that $5,000 was originally included in last year's budget but was cut out before the mill 1 -ate was set. "I think we need parking in the town and maybe it should be in the next budget," he. said. Nothing concrete was decided, but Mr. Deyell agreed to carry the association•'s concern to Council. He also invited associa- tion members to attend council - tineetings, though he noted the Must get on the agenda if the wish to appear as a delegation. Earlier in the meeting Mr. 0., '.Peyell told the business persons the town collected about $30,000 in taxes from businesses along 'osephine Street and Diagonal Road during 1976. After the ' school and county levies are taken off about $13,250 of .this Stayed in the town, he said. • r: "I can't stand up here and tell • you where this net of $13,250,goes. It goes into the town coffers," he said. However he pointed'out the wn spent about $11,,OQ0 in snow- plowing and snow. removal during 1976. Association mem- bers agreed Wingham does an excellent job in getting the snow off main street. In other business Gord Walter reported covers for the parking meters have been ordered and • are ready for installation. The meters will be covered for the month of December, providing shoppers with complimentary parking. The association will pay the town about $200 to cover lost parking, revenues. Mr. Walter asked merchants to keep their own cars and those of their employees off the main street during this �tl'me. He also noted town poice will still be • enforcing the two hour maximum parking bylaw. Single Copy Not Over We 90TH BIRTHDAY—Alvin Orvis turned 90 on Nov. 19. Here, he relaxes at home with his,, wife, Belle. Two youths die in Two 19 -year-old Ethel youths were killed over the weekend in separate car accidents. Gary Keffer, of Ethel, died Sunday in a car -truck collision and Douglas Earl Guy, also of Ethel, died in a single -car acci- dent Saturday night. Mr. Keffer was driving a 1972 Pontiac. Driver of the second car was Richard Karst, 19, of Gowanstown. The accident oc- curred on Grey Sideroad. ,2L and 21 about 16 miles southwest of Wingham at 1:30 a.m. Wingham OPP said the vehicles collided near the crest of a hill. A passenger in the Keffer car, Diane Stephenson, 17, of Brussels, is listed in fair condi- tion in the intensive care unit. of University Hospital in London. In damages, police said there were $2,000 to the Keffer car and $4,000 to the Karst truck. Gary M. Keffer is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Keffer, of RR 1, Ethel; six sis- ters, Mrs. Tom (Lynda) Stevens, of RR 1, Wroxeter, Mrs. Brian (Lorraine) Secrett, of Listowel; Dale, of Stratford; Wanda, of Lis- towel ; and Barbara and Donna, both of Ethel; three brothers, Danny, Robert and Murray, all of accidents Ethel • grandmothers, Nellie Smith, of Mitchell, and Mrs. Pearl Keffer, of Brussels. Funeral services for Mr. Keifer were held today (Wednesday) at the Peebles Funeral Home in At- wood with Rev. Eric L. Drew of Brussels United Church officiat- ing. Burial was at Mount Pleas- ant cemetery in Ethel. In the other accident Saturday night near Blyth, Douglas Guy ,died<after.:the.:car,.he_Was.:driving. left the road and hit two trees about 10:30 p.m. He was alone in the car. Goderich OPP said his 1967 Meteor sedan left Huron County Road 25, one mile west of Blyth and travelled 5.3 metres. The car was destroyed. Douglas E. Guy is survived by his wife, the former Cheryl Ron- ald; one son, Michael; parents Mr. and Mrs. Charles Guy, of Soytiaampton; one brother, Verne, of Shiko, Man., two sisters, Jacquie, of London; and Tracey, of Southampton; grandmother, Mrs. Merle Bowes, of Ethel; and great-grandmother Mrs. Jack Wilson of Listowel. Funeral services for Mr. Guy were held today (Wednesday) at' the Peebles Funeral Home in At- AratIkla x��.�® wood, with Rev. Rea J. Grant of Listowel Calvary United Church officiating. - Burial was in Elma Centre Cemetery. • Family honors 90th birthday of Alvin.Orvis - Ayaiiily� iniie>�' it►a°s 'h id tin Saturday evening at Turnberry Tavern in honor of Alvin Orvis who was celebrating his '90th -birthday. After dinner, the fam- ily presented their uncle with a lovely terrarium. Mr. Orvis has lived most of his • life in Wingham and is still 'ac- tive. He enjoys good health and still loves a good game of cards. Those attending were his wife; his sister -in -1 Mrs. George Orvis, Blyth; Mrs. Ross Orvis, Oil Springs; Mr. and Mrs. `Jack Orvis, Hamner; Mr. and Mrs. Bill Orvis, Waterloo; Mr. and Mrs. Vic Loughlean, St. Marys; Mr. and Mrs. Andy Scott and Stephanie, Wingham; Mr. and Mrs. Fred Howson, Blyth, and Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Tay- lor, Wiarton. OPP mobile radar unit makes speeding a poor risk Speeders beware. Ontario Pro- vincial Police in this area are - now using a new type radar unit that can get you ciming or going, with the .cruiser moving or standing still. So versatile is the new radar that in the hands of an experienced officer there's Tittle chance of outwitting it. Flashing lights won't help, since it's constantly on the move and drivers in front of it don't know it's coming. Even such early warning devices as the Fuzz Buster are reported to be of little use against`'the new unit: by the time you know it's there, it has you. Last week Constable Chuck Vessey of the Wingham OPP detachment gave an Advance - Times reporter a working de- monstration of the mobile radar. The deyice consists of two parts: a radar "gun" which is mounted on the dashboard of the patrol car and can be swiveled through 360 degrees and a read- out unit mounted above the instrument panel which shows the speed of the cruiser and of the target vehicle. As soon as the speed of a target vehicle exceeds the preset speed on this unit it beeps, signalling a violation. The officer can then press a button which "locks" the cruiser speed and the offender's speed on the readout display, preventing arguments about how fast he was "really going". The device is guaranteed to be accurate to within half a kilometerer ho and the manufacturer will, if nevessary, provide expert testimony in court as to its -accuracy and proper functioning. Just to make sure it's working properly, three tests are carried out on the unit before it is taken out on patrol. One checks that all the lights on the readout display are working, a second tests internal calibration and the third, made with a tuning fork, checks the accuracy of the radar gun. The gun is supposed to give a reading of 80 km -h when the fork is sounded in front of it. Internal calibrationais import- ant because the unit calculates the speed of an approaching vehicle using the speed of the cruiser. The radar gun throws out two beams, Constable Vessey ex- plained: a short range one that gives the speed of the cruiser by reflecting back from stationary objects and the road surface and a long range one that reflects off oncoming traffic. The unit takes the two readings and almost in- stantly figures out the s'peed'of an approaching car. In addition to its mobile use, the new radar can be used with the cruiser stationary to clock the speedf traffic approaching or going Away. The gun is 'simply pointed in the desired direction and a reading appears on the dial. It can even be taken out of the car and used by hand. Itreally works, too. Heading east along Highway 86 out of Wingham, the dial showing the cruiser's speed flickered around the 80 km -h mark. It's so sensi- tive, Constable Vessey noted, that it's next to impossible to hold it precisely at a given speed. You may not know you're speeding up or slowing down, but the radar tells you. As cars approached along the highwaythe other side of the monitor lit up, showing their speeds. Suddenly, just outside Bluevale, a car crested the hill and the beeper started. Constable Vessey hit the lock button: 106, well over the limit. A short time later the offending driver, incredulous as to how he had been caught, found himself in possession of a hefty speeding ticket. Soon afterward the unit gave some indication of its effective range by registering the speed of an approaching truck as it crest- ed a hill along County Road 12. Thedistance between the cruiser and the point at which the truck had been detected`was measured at three kilometers, about two miles. The size and speed of a vehicle have an effect on the distance at which the radar will pick it up, Constable Vessey said. The bigger the target or the higher its speed, the more quickly it will • register. However a general rule seems to be: If you can see a car coming, the radar can too. And though it may prefer large objects, it is quite capable of picking up speeding motorcycles, he added. While previously the Wingham OPP shared a conventional radar unit with several other detach- ments, they now have the mobile radar full time and it is in use 16 hours a day, seven days a week. "If there's a black and white car on the road this is usually the one," Constable Vessey said, adding that the Word seems to be getting around among drivers, "You'll see quite a few bumpers going down," as ap- proaching cars brake at the sight of the cruiser, he predicted at the beginning of the patrol, and he was right. Watching the monitor also revealed the tendency among approaching drivers to slow when they saW the police car. The younger drivers and truckers are generally aware of the new radar and its capabili- ties, he said, and the older drivers arc beginning to learn. The result is they tend to watch 'heir speeds more closely since they're never sure where the radar will be. Cutting down on speeding is the whole idea, Sgt. Len George of the Wingham detachment em- phasized. He's not so interested in issuing a lot of tickets as in making sure drivers obey the speed limits He listed impaired 'riving, speeding and seat hFt usage as the thrriorities in traffic enforcement for the de- tachmeitt wimrawant ,a+4hluu��+..yvu./G MOBILE RADAR—The Wingham detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police Is using a new type of radar unit that can get you coming or going. The radar "gun" is mounted to the right of the mirror while a readout unit in front of the driver shows the speed of the cruiser and of the target vehicle.