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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1974-08-01, Page 1irl:. . , —. . CHARRED REMAINS — Furniture in the home of Don Scott, was completely destroyed after fire Vipped n through the house of about 4:40 a.m. Monday, The fire is believed to have bee started by a cigarette, starts half Kongskilde • million expansion buys - ,31 - acres for 'future development' announced an expansion program "in excess of half a million dollars" for their head office and plant in Exeter. President John Burke said construction on the addition would commence within a week and completion date has been set for November 1. When com- pleted, the new facilities will result in an addition of between 15 to 20 employees, bringing the total to around 50 people. A mammoth 37,500 square foot addition will be added to the plant and warehouse at the local in- dustry apd a 2,100 square foot office addition will adjoin the present office facilities at the front of the building located on Highway 83 East. Jn comparison, the present plant is 16,800 square feet and the office is 3,000 square feet. , Construction One Limited, a subsidiary of Con-Eng who constructed the original building in 1973, have been awarded the contract. The original building was erected on a lease-purchase agreement with the Ontario Development Corporation and Mr. Burke announced that Kongskilde Ltd. have exercised the contract to purchase the existing building from ODC. 9,000 square feet; Denmark, 97,000 square feet. The firm also assembles, paints and distributes the Triple OK plow, which is manufactured in Sweden, The two cultivators are produced by the firm's parent company, Kongskilde Maskin- fabrik A 5, of Soro, Denmark, Promotions During a recent meeting of the board of directors of Kongskilde Maskinfabrik A 5, Mr. Burke was named president and general manager of Kongskilde Ltd. Prior to that he had been a vice- president and general manager. He in turn has announced promotions for three local em- ployees. Gerry Smith becomes sales manager with responsibilities for marketing in Canada and the U.S.A. George Keller has been promoted to operations manager responsible for all operations in the two countries and Ross Beaver has been named senior warehouse manager. He becomes responsible for all warehousing at Exeter and the branch managers report to him. The latter will also be involved in the financing of the new building. In addition to the, giant addition now scheduled for construction, Kongskilde Ltd. recently pur- chased 31.24 acres from R. J. Keller adjoining their property and are presently in the process of having this land rezoned from agricultural use to industrial. "Within two years there will be further expansion on the Keller property," Mr. Burke advised the T-A in an interview this week, He said the land was purchased to "look after our needs" and hinted that most of it would be developed by the company for their own use within the next 10 to 20 years. The new half million dollar expansion program presently scheduled will dramatically increase the production facilities at the local industry, which serves as head office and distributing centre for the North American Market. The expansion will allow the firm to market a new row-crop cultivator which has been highly successful in North American Tests. It is the Vib-Ro-Crop cultivator and will be added to the now famous Triple K cultivator which the company has assembled in Exeter since it began operations here in 1961. companies throughout the world. Additions recently completed or due for completion in the immediate future include: Holland, 30,000 square feet; France, 52,000 square feet; Sweden, 10,000 square feet; Italy, Memphis, Tennessee and Pocatello, Idaho. About 50 per- cent of the firm's equipment is exported to the U.S.A. Mr. Burke noted that the company has expansion programs underway in most of its In addition to the local ex- iansion, Mr. Burke said Kongskilde Ltd. have recently opened a branch in Lansing, Michigan. That brings to three branch offices south of the border, the others being in Kongskilde Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of that firm. The local industry also produces accessories for equipment arriving from Europe to adapt the machinery to North American requirements. PLAN ADDITIONS — This is on artist's concept of the planned expansion at Kongskilde Ltd. in Exeter. The new office space is shown at the right front, while the huge plant ex- get underway next week. Total cost of the project is estimated at over $500,000. pansion is partially shown at the left rear. Because most of the plant addition is hidden by the present building, it does not convey the magnitude of the addition scheduled to Dashwood program lists many features One Hundred and Second Year EXETER, ONTARIO, AUGUST 1, 1974 Price Per Copy 25 Cents H uron Park site for model planes Model airplane enthusiasts from across Canada and the northern US will gather in Huron Park during the week of August 7- 11 to take part in the Canadian National Model Airplane Championships, With some 400 competitors expected to fly in the contest, it will be one of the largest events of its kind held in North America. The contest will feature vir- tually every facet of the sport of model aviation from small hand- thrown gliders which can stay aloft up to 15 minutes, through highly sophisticated radio- controlled aircraft which weigh from 4 to 12 lbs. and fly at speeds of between 70 and 120 mph. In all, there will he competition in 35 separate events in the three categories of Free-Flight, Control-Line, and Radio-Control. Sponsoring the competition is the governing body for model aviation in Canada, the 3500- member Model Aeronautics Association of Canada which marks its 25th anniversary this year, The contest is open to the public throughout the entire 5 days. Manhunt, thieves, vandalism, plane crash keep police busy RECEIVE BURSARIES — Two Exeter girls have been selected to receive $500 in bursaries from the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Royal Cana- dian Legion. Recipients are, (left) Debra Higgins and Kathy Simmons. Bids are called for senior units The Ontario Housing Cor- poration this week has published tender notices for the con- struction of the new 32-unit senior citizen apartments in Exeter. The building will be erected south-east of the local high school. Date for the closing of tenders has been set for August 26. Construction is expected to commence this fall. morning to find his lawn damaged by an unknown motorist who had used the lawn to complete six power turns. Constable Bob Whiteford is investigating. ESCAPE PLANE CRASH Two Exeter men escaped unhurt when the airplane in which they were flying around looped in a field oaconcession 8 of . Usborne Township, Thursday evening. The Piper J3 Cub was piloted by Don Lewis and his passenger was Ron Helm. The undercarriage, propeller and both wing tips were damaged in the incident. For the third time in recent weeks, police are investigating an incident where vandals at- tacked abandoned cars. A disabled vehicle left by owner Gary Babb, Cambridge, on concession 18, about one mile Please turn to page 3 vehicle owned by Praia. It was found upside down in four to five feet of water. Police investigation is con- tinuing into the incident. Constable Bill Lewis is in- vestigating three cases of van- dalism in Zurich over the weekend. Damage was estimated at $320 at the Zurich Co-Op hardware of ter rocks had been thrown-at the front door and windows. The Hay Township shed and the nearby Huron County works department shed were also at- tacked, with damage being in- flicted to windows and gas pumps, Damage of $385 was reported to the Flay shed and $350 to the Huron building. Also in Zurich, several sign letters were removed from the post office. Seven of the four-inch high letters were stolen. Howard Datars, concession 12, Hay Township woke up Saturday Exeter shopping mall discussed by board commercial, non-commercial and service groups. Judges for the parade are Don Finkbeiner, Marilyn Zimmer and Barbara Maclssac. Organizer Bernice Boyle said that these people were chosen as judges because they are not closely linked to the community and would be im- partial. Four Tug-of-War teams will compete for the championship on Saturday afternoon. Competing will be Lucan, Thorndale, Mt. Carmel and Guenther-Tuckey. Last' year's arm wrestling champions will be on hand to defend their titles and organizer George Tieman says that they are ready to take on any one. Registration for the arm wrestling is at 4 p.m. at the ball park and there will be four classes in the competition. The weight divisions are as follows: up to 140, 140-170, 170-200, and over 200 pounds. On Saturday evening in the ball park the Zurich All-Stars will take on the team from Lieury, Throughout the weekend there will be plenty to eat and drink as the cooks are busy now preparing the 1000 pounds of ribs, 700 pounds of sauerkraut and 400-500 pounds of sausage. Only rain could dampen the high spirit of the Friedsburg festival. Plans fOr Friedsburg Days are fairly well set and organizers are confident that the weekend should prove to be even better than past years. Eleven local girls, sponsored by area business men will vie for the title of Miss Friedsburg, The crowning of the queen will take place at the Talent show on Friday night. This years talent show promises to be a success with over 25 entries in the contest. "Everything from dancing, vocal, fiddling and groups will be represented. It's a real variety," said organizer Ann Marie Hoff- man. Most of the talent is local but some come from quite a distance to participate in the show, Mrs. Hoffman said. The three judges for this years talent competition are Robert Macintosh, Deb Wooden, and Mary Ann Desjardine. Also on hand will be Mark Laid of the CFPL open line show. There are already 25 floats registered for this years parade as well as fire engines, bicycle brigades, horses and three local bands. Entries will be accepted right up to the time of departure, 2 p.m. from the ball park. Entries for the parade will be judged under three classes, Given third sentence for impaired driving An area man was fined $300 and had his driver's licence suspended for one year when he was fotind guilty of impaired driving by Judge Glenn Hays in Exeter , court, Tuesday. Jack Vangeel, RR 1, Centralia, was charged on March 25 after police spotted his car weaving from side to side. The accused refused to take a breathalizer test 'at that time. In handing down his sentence, Judge Hays noted that it was the third such conviction for Vangeel in the past two years. An Exeter man, Donald Blair Foster, was fined a total of $134 or 13 days in jail when he appeared to face three charges. He was fined $38 for having liquor while under the age of 18, another $43 for failing to report damage to a farmer's fence which he struck with his car and an additional $53 for passing Board president, Don Webster said the area has an effective trading population of 10,000. According to Pulford, this is only a marginal number. Pulford said that locating the small mall as close to downtown as possible would help protect existing businesses. "Business draws business," he said. Board members agreed that it would probably be beneficial in the long run if the mall was centrally located. They decided to support such a development and encourage a feasibility study. Webster said that if a govern- ment survey of Huron County is correct,• there will be an overall 11 percent drop in population in the next ten years. The survey said there would only be two major towns. One is Goderich, said Webster and Exeter could be the other one with careful planning. A mall would be an added drawing card. A Shopping Mall in Exeter? Don't hold your breath. Even if it's economically practical, and that's a big if right now, actual building is still several years in the future. At a meeting last Thursday, Board of Trade was told by Charles Pulford of Con-Eng. Contractors Ltd. in London that a developer would come in if he was sure he could make money here. But Pulford cautioned that it was just an idea. "That's all it is. A number of factors must fall into place before a study is done," he said. If the idea looks good and there is land available a developer will do a feasibility study, said Pullford. The main problems in Exeter would be available land and whether there are enough people in the area. another vehicle on the roadway. A $60 fine was levied against Frederick Neil Campbell, Exeter, who pleaded guilty to consuming liquor while under the legal age in Hensall on June 22. He was in charge of a car at the time and the court learned it was his second offence. Two charges were read against Richard Funston, Huron Park. Please turn to page 3 It's been a busy week for members of the Exeter OPP detachment. They've been involved in a three-day manhunt in a Stephen Township bush area, in- vestigating several cases of vandalism with substantial losses involved, and looking for thieves who „took two area cars and snigSbed them into a bridge. In addition, the officers in- vestigated one airplane crash and were busy with radar and the OPP air patrol in charging 80 people under the Highway Traffic Act. Thirty-three warnings were issued. They handled a total of 57 in- vestigations during the week. The manhunt started Sunday when a man knocked on the door of a home on Highway 83 near the lake and demanded a drink from the lady who answered. When she refused, the man made threats and then took off across a nearby field and headed for the bush area. OPP Constable Glen O'Rourke of the Mt. Forest headquarters detachment arrived Sunday with the tracking dog, but the suspect was not found, However, police later found a shoe and some personal papers and continued their search. Wednesday morning, OPP Cpl. Ray Brooks and Constables Bob Whiteford, Don Mason and Jim Rogers tracked through the bush again and located a suspect. Police report he was in a depressed state of mind. He gave his address as Corunna. His car had been found earlier near the home which. he had approached. It had crashed and sustained damage of around $1,000. Saturday Constables Don Mason and Al Quinn investigated two reports of stolen cars which were found extensively damaged a short time later on Highway 83, west of Dashwood. Larry St. Antoine, Dashwood, reported his vehicle taken while it was a short distance away and one owned by Doug Prout, Exeter had been reported stolen from the Dashwood ball park area. Both cars were found later near a bridge on Iiighway 83 where they were smashed. Damage to the St. Antoine car was listed at $800 and $4,500 to the late model Owner escapes unharmed Loss set at $15,000 EARLY MORNING ARE — Exeter Piremen remove burning debris from the home of Don Scott, Main St. after controlling the blaze which caused $15,000 damage, Court report was incorrect Blaze guts Exeter home The Exeter Times-Advocate apologizes to Paul McInnis, Dashwood, due to an error which appeared in last week's court report. McInhis pleaded guilty to common assault after he was involved in a fight with another youth at South Huron District High School. The story stated the fight erupted after the accused had hit a girl in the mouth and the other youth came to her aid. This was incorrect as McInnis did not hit the girl, he merely shoved her. The T-A regrets the error and any embarrassment it may have caused. department said, but the contents were not, Fire Chief Middleton said. Later in the morning a mat- tress in the front bedroom caught fire and Don and a friend dragged it outside and doused it with a garden hose. Exeter fire department was also called to fight a grass fire on the Thames Road, Sunday at about 4 p.,m. Vire Chief Gary Middleton said the fire was "not too serious". The fire department arrived shortly afterwards and tried to control the blaze which had practically gutted the house. The front rooms were destroyed by the fire, smoke and water. The only parts of the house relatively undamaged were the back two rooms and the basement, Scott said. All of the contents were destroyed, The fire department estimated the total damage at $15,000.The house itself was insured, fire and went to open the window, that's when I discovered the smoke". He made his way from the front bedroom, near the source of the fire, to the kitchen where he phoned his mother. "That's the only number I could remember", he said. "The smoke was so bad by that time that I had to crawl outside," Scott said he lay down on the grass at the side of the house to recover and then went next door to call the fire department. An early morning fire Monday at the home of Don Scott, Main Street, Exeter caused $12,000 damage to the house and $3,000 damage to the content's', The fire which started near the front door by the couch was presumed by Exeter firemen to be caused by a cigarette. bonnie Scott, the only person in the house at the time of the fire, woke up at about 4:30 and discovered smoke throughout the house. "I couldn't breathe," he said, "I thought it was just humid