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HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1978-11-08, Page 1KR FIRST SECTION re 7,1 • Winggam, Wednesday,.. ember 8, 197.8 Police constable gets promotion as council reverses earlier Const. John Nolan of the Wingham Police Department has been promoted to first class constable after all, as town council reversed an earlier decision to hold off on the promotion. At its meeting Monday night council decided the intent of a motion passed two years ago hiring Const. Nolan had been that he would receive the promotion to first class after 18 months on the job instead of the 42 months specified in the police contract. However council decided that since he had already -been promoted to second class con- stable after 12 months, a move not specified in the original motion, the promotion to . first class standing and its higher pay would be made retroactive to September rather than to March as requested by Police Chief Robert Wittig. Const. Nolan was first hired in September, 1976. Council first received the request from Chief Wittig for the promotion at its meeting last month. At that time police committee Chairman David `Cameron noted the police con- tract calls for 42 months service as a condition of promotion to first class and the request was turned down. Monday night Mr. Cameron read another letter from the chief, repeating the request for the promotion. Mayor William Walden read from the minutes cif the meeting at which Const. Nolan had been hired and agreed that he feels it was understood in the motion the move to first class would take place after 18 months. Council then reversed its previous stand and approved the promotion. While on the topic of police Coun. Allan Harrison brought up the point that council had decided last year if it is going to, be paying for the policemen's home telephones their numbers should be listed in the phone book. One member of the force didn't have his number listed last year, but explained at the time it was too late to get it into the book, Mr. Harrison told council. However he noted the same policeman, whom he did not identify, has his number unlisted again this year. Councillors agreed they should stick by their policy and not pay for this officer's phone. In other business at the meeting, the last regularly scheduled one before the new council takes office, ,councillors agreed to cooperate with a group hoping to open a day centre for the homebound here. Mrs. Anne St. Jean from the Day Centre for the Homebound in Clinton and Mrs. Johnston Conn of the Wingham Senior Citizens approached council to discuss opening a similar centre in the Armouries. Mrs. St. Jean told council the Clinton facilities at Huronview \`gee FOUNDRY E)S,PANSION—The massive framework of structural steel being erected at the Western Foundry is the first step in a 20,000 square foot addition to the main building. The building, one part of a majorxpansion and improvement program at the foundry this year, will be used for inventory storage as well as shipping and receiving. Western Foundry -adds building and equipment The massive steel framework being erected at the Western Foundry Company Ltd. building on Arthur Street is the latest project in a building and equipment updating program that has seen the company spend $2 million this year, spokesman Don Kennedy said last week. The 20,000 square foot addition will accommodate inventory storage and shipping areas and will also have four loading docks. This will permit part bf the present shipping area to be converted to office space. Mr. Kennedy reported the foundry's expansion program started in August with the ad- dition of a large sand mixer able to handle 100 tons per hour, four times the capacity of the old mixer: The company has also recently installed one of the latest automatic molding machines, able to produce up to Hallowe'en was a long busy night for firemen Wingham firemen were busy Hallowe'en night from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. with a total of seven fires in Wingham and Turnberry, Fire Chief Dave Crothers reported. The work started for the fire- men with a refuse fire on a Blue - vale street: While at the scene of that blaze, firemen got another call about a house fire north of Bluevale. An abandoned log house burn- ed to the ground after vandals ignited it. An abandoned barn on the same property was burned last year at Hallowe'en, Mr. Crothers said. The third call came in when leaves were noticed burning on John Street near the Bell Canada building. Firemen were then called to a fire at a tool shed in Lower Town, but were too late and the shed burned down. While at the scene firemen noticed an adjacent vacant house had been set ablaze by pranksters. The sixth fire of the night brought firemen back to the Lower Town tool shed, which had been reignited. 'In the last fire of the Hallowe'en season the firemen, who had been staying at the fire - hall on the alert, drove to the sen- ior citizen apartments on Ed- ward Street where leaves were burning at the front of the build- ing. The fire department was also called out early Saturday morn- ing to a leaf fire. At 1:25 a.m. firemen were called to extinguish a fire in a pile of leaves at the corner of Charles and Alice streets. ' Mr. Crothers reported that the Hallowe'en fires resulted in an injury to Deputy Fire Chief Jim Carr. Mr. Carr was knocked down by a fire hose and received bruised ribs and torn ligaments. 180 molds per hour. This com- pares to a production capacity of 20 to 30 molds per hour with the old hand -operated machine: Another equipment addition has doubled the size of the cleaning machine. This capital expenditure program has Made Western Foundry one of the most modern foundries in North America, the company reports. are now full to overflowing and the group is considering ex- panding into "satellite centres" such as Wingharn. Eventually this centre would - be accommodated in the proposed expansion at WEIgbam and District Hospital, Mrs. Conn said, but in the meantime they are looking for a building to*. Mrs. St. Jean said she has looked at a number of places around town and thinks the Armouries would be the best, since it offers parking and a . ramps for wheelchairs. However she, noted the 'washrooms are not suitable for use by persons in wheelchairs and would have to be renovated, possibly with a New Horizons grant. She told council the ; group's intention is to help ' persons around the Wingham area who are homebound because of.age or disability. A day centre,provides such persons with a change in x v ronment for at least one day e explained the Clinton o e is part of a pilot project 80 per cent of its support ing from the community and 40121- services ministry and the other 20 per cent being picked up through user fees and donations, "I. cam seeking your interest and -support," she told, council, adding that she doesn't foresee the project becoming a financial burden for the town. She also said the group will consult the Senior Citizens, who now have use of the Armouries, and will not go ahead without their approval: Coon. Harrison declared he thinks the day centre is an ex- cellent idea and Mayor Walden promised: "Council is behind you and will work with you in any way it can." It was left up to the property committee to work out the details 'of any arrangements for use of the building. PUC. may need special hydro meters for foundry The Wingham Public Utilities Commission may have to invest in $4,000 or $5,000 worth of elec- tricity metering equipment as a result of a Western Foundry de- cision. Time -of -day metering would cut down onthe time-consuming methods PUC Manager Ken Sax- ton temporarily uses. to , de- termine the discount the foluldry. gets for using electricity in` t11n off-peak 'ifse- -period -be vl ` p.m. and 8 a.m. The Foundry de- cided to continue With the oft - peak discount. The foundry is such a large user of electricity (it uses about one-third of the electricity con- sumed in Wingham) that use of its two large melting furnaces could produce unrealistically high power usage peaks in Wing - ham if they are operated during high power consumption periods for the rest of the town. To receive a time -of -day dis- count the foundry must use its furnaces in the 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. period and must not create a new power consumption peak at night. Western Foundry representa- tive Adrian DeBruyn told the utilities commission the foundry hydro consumption recorder isn't . government approved, but its accuracy could be checked against a PUC recorder with the proper approval. If the com- mission was satisfied with the foundry meter's accuracy, it could share the foundry facilities instead of purchasing new equip- ment. - The foundry recorder would provide graphs showing time of day power usage, he said. Mr. DeBruyn said the foundry didn't feel obligated to share the cost of new recording equipment as it had already spent about $14,000 on the recording equip- ment it has. MEMORIAL BURSARY—John Underwood of Wingharn, right, was the recipient of the Class '59A Memorial Bursary presented by Prof. N. C. Stoskopf, director of diploma courses, at the Ontario Agricultural College awards presentation October 4 at the University of Guelph. The bursary is awarded toa student entering the third semester of the Diploma in Agriculture program. Consideration Is given .to extra -curricular activities on campus and participation in claes activities. PUC WILL GET BUILDING The PUC approved the $21,250 bid of Hodgins Buildall for a steel, building to be constructed at the PUC ,property at thecorner f Minnie and Cedar. streets, ad- •A les ja; t to Wilding Crothers ho Repair: Lions pro,e c t int i1 The building will house PVC trucks,. ' machinery and equip• - Py Not Not lu ;a' f"cif sY • aj CA HA PLAQUE—The'Canadian Amateur Hockey Ass elation award for servitiet$Aminor • hockey was presented to Alf Lockridge of Wiingham during th WOAA annual Meetingg and' banquet here Saturday night.. Hugh Hodges made the presentation ment:and construction will begin rnnmiedt�3""M In o a er us iie `Co>' i= 'CI j •lortfie miision decided to purchase an automatic start-up for a diesel. water • pump. Presently, the pump must -be turned on manual- ly if the water'level in the water; tower sinks below a certain level. The automated machinery, which will fit onto the 'existing pump, will cost $2,120. , The commission expressed concern that the taste and odor of chlorine seemsto be increasing in the town water supply, though the percentage ofchlorineadded to the water remains at .2 parts per million. PUC Chairman Roy Bennett speculated that it could be a result of a cleaner water supply so that the chlorine isn't being consumed by bacteria. The utility now adds chlorine to the water supply seven days a week, while it had previously been added only five days a week, allowing bacteria to multiply in the remaining two days. The commission hopes to get ministry of the environment ap- proval for a reduction in the per- centage of chlorine being added to Wingham water. The Wingham Lions Club - will take to the streets Monday, Nov. 20, with a new fund-raising pro- ject which will provide jobs. for handicapped people. The Lions will beselling in a door-to-door blitz candies pack- aged in cane -shaped plastic tubes. The packaging has been done by a - London firm called P.R.I.D•.E. (Productive Rehabilitation and Independent Development through Employ- ment) Multicap Foundation, which has 20 employees, 15 of them handicapped. The Lions Candy Cane Caper will help provide jobs for the handicapped of the London area and replaces the Lion peanut drive of years past. P.R.I.D.E. is located at 350 Saskatoon St., Lon- don. P.R.I.D.E. founder Ed Kin- caid, himself blind, said the foundation hopes to employ only handicapped people soon. Presently all 12 members of the P.R.I.D.E. board of directors are non -handicapped, but are al- ready looking for disabled people to replace them. To date, Lions clubs have been the biggest customers of the packaged candies and have ordered about 90,000 at $1.25 each. They will be sold at two dollars. Mr. Kincaid said service clubs have been helping disabled people for many years and this is a good opportunity for the handi- capped to return the favor while helping themselves. The company is currently funded by a $131,000 Canada Works Grant, though plans are that the firm will be self-support- ing within three years. In the meantime the company plans to expand into other pro- duct lines and is awaiting patent rights to a new invention it hopes to produce. Mr. Kincaid said if the project is successful, it would be Can- ada's first commercial enter- prise operated entirely by the hapdicapped. There are work- shops for the disabled run by r Assod plans fior'; for rota r 'e' ed ndwraisi lotte�, The Wingham and District Association for the Mentally Retarded will sponsor a closed lottery with the first draw to be made in April, Bill Stephenson, chairman of the fund-raising committee, amounted at the October meet- ing of the association. With yearly expenses of more than $8,000 and with only about $3,000 being contributed to the Flowers of Hope Campign, the major fund-raising project of the association, the committee has looked at various ways to make ends meet and has come up with a trip- a=month lottery. Only 300 tickets will be sold and each month there will be a draw for a $1500 trip, plus a consolation prize of a week- end trip. Members of the association will be- gin selling the lottery tickets this month. The work of the association has grown out- standingly since it began in 1958. In addition to the Wingham area it serves the communi- ties of Teeswater, Lucknow, Blyth, Brussels, Ethel and Gorrie. President Florence Reavie told of a meeting with ministry officials who suggested Wingham might combine with Goderich and Clinton to build a central work- shop to serve the entire region. This proposal was discussed in detail, with most association membere opposing the idea. It was felt that the Jack Reavie Opportunity Workshop serves this area well and that a small setting with individual attention has many benefits. 1✓ven trainees now attend the workshop under the direction of Connie Jamieson, and as the need for a new larger workshop arises, the association hopes to con- struct one in its own district. Another objec- tion to a regional workshop is that travel time for the trainees would be excessive and win- ter travel conditions would be unpredictable, members noted: Trainees at the Workshop are now busy preparing for the craft and bake sale to be held December 9, as well as working on regular contracts and enjoying weekly out- ings for bowling and for swimming lesson at Vanastra, the meeting was told. Mrs. Reavie introduced Bevin Lindsay, principal of Golden Circle School and recrea- tion chairman for the association, who gave an outline of activities at the school. Treasurer Audrey Swatridge announced that in response to many requests the as- sociation is placing In Memoriam cards in local funeral homes so that donations may be made to the association. The next general meeting of the association will be held November 27 in St. Andrew's Presbyterian 'Church, Wingham. The guest speaker will be Dr. Syme, administrator of the Mid -Western Centre at Palmerston. Any- one interested in the work of the association is invited to attend. F. charitable organizations like Arc Industries, but there are no in- dependent commercial business- es operated solely by the handi- capped, he said. The Lions will also be selling tickets on -a huge candy -filled cane on display in Hill's Shoes. Tickets will be .50 each or three for one dollar. Post office closed Monday Normal Saturday services will be in effect this Saturday, November 11, - at the Wingham Post Office, Postmaster G. K. Sutcliffe reports. However there will be no counter service or rural delivery on Monday, November 13. Mail; posted in the street letter boxes Or in the mailbox in front of the post office will be collected at 12 noon on Monday. Wingham man buys business Long-time Wingham resident Wade Stapleton recently went into business in Walkerton, purchasing the Carpet and Colour shop there. Mr. and Mrs. Stapleton took over the shop, which specializes in carpet and draperies, from previous owners Mr. and Mrs. John Van De Weerd November 1. Mr. Stapleton noted he has lived in Wingham all his life and said he has no immediate plans to move from here. He and his wife currently live on Alice Street. He was previously employed at Hodgins Buildall. Homes adapted for handicapped "Royal Homes Limited of Wingham will adapt any of their home plans to accommodate . handicapped persons," says rep - presentative Cor Mulder. Mr. Mulder said he believes anyone building a lifetime home should do so with wheelchair accessibility in mind and noted this can be done at an additional cost of approximately $600. Mr. Mulder addressed the ALPHA (Awareness League for Physi- cally Handicapped Adults) Huron group at Clinton Public School. ^I, ai