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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1988-09-21, Page 1•'m„INDEX Serving the communities and areas of Seaforth, Brussels, Dublin, Hensall and Walton Walton - A10 Weddings - A14 Graduate - A14 Births - A14 Obituary - Al 5 Hensall - A15 Sports - B1 ;sz St. Columban soccer teams winners. See page Si. Huron xpositor Seaforth, Ontario HURON EXPOSITOR, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 1988 50 cents a copy Opportunity tour brings 22 investors to Seaforth The Opportunity Tour, carrying 22 in- vestors with over $30 million, rolled through Seaforth on Wednesday. The Town of Seaforth and Tuckersmith Township had on- ly a few hours with the investors to turn their heads and get them interested in this area as a viable place to go into business, but the people who were involved in presen- ting business opportunities to the investors say their presentation was a success. Mainstreet Coordinator Tom Lemon reports there are about four investors who have ask- ed for additional information and Seaforth seems to appeal to them. The investors and their wives, 34 people in all, toured Tuckersmith in the morning and looked at the investment opportunities that township had to offer. They then came to the Seaforth District Community Centres where the red carpet was rolled out for a lunch hosted by Seaforth and Tuckersmith. A guest speaker at the Seaforth presenta- tion was David Lim of Ranger Engineering Inc. Mr. Lim has something in common with the members of the tour in that he is a businessman who was considering . an in- vestment in the Seaforth area several years ago. Mr. Lim's company now manufactures compressors at a factory in Vanastra. Ranger engineering's head office is in Pickering Ontario, but there are branches in Los Angeles, Singapore and Indonesia. This astute businessman told the in- vestors the advantages he sees in being in business in rural Ontario, namely the lower overhead for commercial or industrial space, lower cost of living meaning lower wages, etc. After Mr. Lim's speech the business op- portunities in the town of Seaforth were in- vestigated one by one in detail. Discussed were plans for the renovation of Cardno Hall, the opening of various retail stores, starting up a factory to produce plastic con- tainers, an advertising agency, and a number of other business enterprises which call for either the starting up of a new business, or investment into an existing one. The investors who heard these oppor- tunities came from a variety of backgrounds, but each had at least two things in common: all came from London, England, and all had at least $500,000 to invest. Issa Ash Tarieh lived in his homeland of Iran until the age of 17 when he left to pursue his education. He took schooling in hotel management, then went to work for a cruise line. Here he saved his money, and eventually was able to go into business on his own. He has been in business as a caterer and owned a restaurant which he recently sold. Mr. Ash Tarieh's business is founded upon the money he earned himself. Mr. Ash Tarieh would like to get back into the hotel business in Canada. His immigra- tion papers are through and he has only to decide where he will be living and starting his new business. Mr. Ash Tarieh says he chose Canada because he says he finds the people are helpful and friendly, and he has family here. Another thing he says he enjoys about Canada is the open spaces. "England is crowded, there is so little space to move, here there is so much room. Here a car is a necessity, there in a way it is a luxury.” Asking Mr. Ash Tarieh if he takes Seaforth seriously after seeing so many larger markets like London, Ontario on the tour he responds: "If you ask me where the best place to open a business is I would say on Bloor Street in Toronto, but that is a little out of my pocket. I'm looking for something a little more reasonable." Mohammed Qadir was originally from Pakistan ,but has been in business in Lon- don, England for the past year. He also says what appealed to him about Canada is the friendly welcoming attitude of the people, and the ease of immigrating here. He says immigrants seem to find it easy to adapt to life in Canada, and there Is little "red tape" involved with getting landed Immigrant status. "It is a huge country, but there is still a lot to be explored," commented Mr. Qadir. HAPPY TEARS - It was a teary-eyed An- drea. Muir who was crowned the 1988 Seaforth Fall Fair Queen at a pre -fair barbecue at the community centres Satur- day night. Andrea, who is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Muir of RR 2 Seaforth, was sponsored by the Horticultural Society, and was one of 10 girls competing for the ti- tle. She was also voted Miss Congeniality by the other contestants. Elizabeth Boven was named 2nd runner up and Ingrid Claus 1st runner up. Mcllwraith photo. McGavin is a Jeff McGavin, of RR 4 Walton, was com- peting against the top junior plowmen in Canada last week. At the 35th Annual Cana- dian National Plowing Championships in Agassiz, B.C. he was labelled the Reserve Junior Champion of Canada. Jeff claimed the title after three days of plowing against five other competitors froth British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The plowing started for the juniors on Wednesday, September 14 with the visitor's class. All provinces competed in this class except B.C., and Jeff came out on top after the day's plowing. Jeff carried his successful plowing of the first day into the competition on the second day when stubble land was plowed, and on Friday when the plowmen were breaking sod. Only one other competitor, from Quebec, was judged to be better than Jeff in the last two days of competition. "I know he had a great time and thought it was a worthwhile experience," said Jeff's mother Marie McGavin. Marie and Neil McGavin were in B.C. to watch their son top plowman compete. Mrs. McGavin said the visitors were treated royally at the competition, and the plowing conditions were ideal in the mellow soil in a levelled valley bordered closely by mountains. Jeff was not available for comment, as he is back at the University of Guelph where he is studying in his second year toward a Bachelor of Science and majoring in Agriculture Business. He won a $2,500 scholarship to an Ontario agricultural college in 1987 after winning the title of Junior Champion Plowman at the In- ternational Plowing Match. This is also where he earned the right to compete in the 1988 Canadian National Plowing Championships. Jeff will not be competing in the IPM in Stratford this year, because he doesn't want to miss another week of university. Although the senior champion plowmen will he moving on to compete at the interna- tional level in Norway next year, the suc- cessful junior champions will be content with their titles. A BUSLOAD OF INVESTORS came through Seaforth Wednes- day as the Ontario Investment Opportunity Tour '88 brought 22 in- vestors and their spouse?, representing over 30 million dollars, from England for a tour of Huron, Middlesex, Bruce and Grey. Town officials went our of their way to impress the investors and make Seaforth more than just another stop along the way. Michael Ward said he fau►d'Seaforth to be a nice town, and the opportunities which were presented are appealing. "Without exception everyone on the tour is taking Seaforth seriously, we'd be foolish not to..." he says. Mr. Ward says he does a lot of business in the United States, bilt he and his family are immigrating to Canada instead taeause he says they like the Canadian way of life. Valiollah Soroosh was also originally from Iran, where he operated a import • export business until the war made business dif- ficult. He says there is a 90 per cent chance he will immigrate to Canada, and he is look- ' ing to invest in a partnership in some line of production. Turn to page 5. Mayor will not seek re-election Seaforth Mayor Alf Ross indicated to town council Thursday night that he would not be seeking re-election in the November 19 municipal election. He is the first of the current council to declare his intentions. Mayor Ross, who joined council In 1980, and has been mayor since 1982, said his decision to "resign" from political life was not a hasty one. "I've been mulling it over for the last six months," he said. "I gave eight years to public life in Seaforth - six as mayor, two as councillor - and it was a fantastic experience. But you can't do it forever, nor do I think you should. There are other people with new ideas and new energy who should come in, who can extend what's been done," he said. It's been an interesting eight years for Public works shed to house new business A new business will be coming to Seaforth, when Sun -North Systems Limited expands its operation from Hensall to Seaforth's former public works shed, Su_n-North Systems is a two year old business which is owned by Dan Lambert of Hensall. It currently manufactures natural ventilation equipment for agricultural buildings, but the business will be expan- ding to also produce laminated panels for use in production of freezers and food storage facilities. This new aspect of the business requires a 30 foot by 10 foot press, and is the reason for the business' move to Seaforth. Mr. Lanibert says he will be moving the main business office for Sun -North to his building in Seaforth. The business will also require four or five more employees to han- dle the expanded production. Mr. Lambert explains it was just a good opportunity to obtain a building which took him to Seaforth, and town officials made him feel welcome. "I was very pleased with the people in town hall. They were up front with the infor- mation, and it appeared they would help if they could, and that was good to see." Sun -North will be in Seaforth by November 15, and will begin production almost immediately. Mr. Lambert says he has to be in and working within a couple of days of getting the building to meet demands. Mayor Ross. Not only has he seen the town move out of the red financially, but he's seen a number of other changes take place as well, both on and off the main street. One of the most memorable in his opi- nion was the construction of the Seaforth and District Community Centres. "That had to be a highlight," he said. "To see a community so devastated when the old arena was condemned - then to see the cost factors we would be faced with if we built a new one and knowing we couldn't really afford to build a new arena, but that we couldn't afford to be without one either was frightening," he said. "So, we just went ahead, and the community got behind us. So often we take it for granted, but when the need is there this community can really pull together." On the down side, Mayor Ross said one of the biggest headaches during his term as mayor, has been the ongoing debate Turn to page 9A • STRATEGIC PLANNING - A new route was used for this year's Terry Fox run, meaning paftibipants had tO get their bearings on Sunday before heading out. Here, Bill Car - 410 has reviews the route with daughter Robyn, Deanna Ford, Jared Carnochan and Katie Fold. Heavy fog did not Seem to dampen the spirits of the participants, approx- iniately Sb perrons walked, -ran, and biked the route on Sunday, helping to raise :$2;165.92 fbr Cando Research. Approximately 365 students from Seaforth Public School and St. James School walked the route on Friday and raised an additional RrTcllwraith photo.