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Times-Advocate, 1988-01-13, Page 5By Jim Beckett We're trimming staff at the newspaper. At least, that's what we're hoping will happen at the end of the'most ferocious weight -loss com- petition ever held by T -A staffers. Ross Haugh, Mark Bisset, Don Smith and myself have all put up S50.00 (two month's disposable income for anyone in the newspaper business) in a winner take -all battle. It was evident the competition was going to be fierce right from the weigh-in. Don Smith, possibly ,the ringer in the group. started playing hockey shortly after getting off the scales. He's waging a psychological battle trying to convince us he will win. It might have worked except 1 stayed around the arcna and watched -him make his mad dashes from one end of the ice to the oth- er. My estimation is -he only gained about a pound and a half during the game. Don's a crafty fellow though. After hockey he started hanging around people who had just had the flu...and sure enough he was lucky enough to catch i�> ow he looks thinner and rumors -are out that he's running to w Mark nisset, who has to lose the second largest amount of weight (compared to -mc) is also playing mind games with me. Have you ever seen a sports writer who actually participated in -anything? Well, Mark has done everything from skating to running along with the Olympic torch carriers last weekend. Imagine how I felt when Mark said he splurged for dessert and had one Smartie. Next he'll probably let is slip that he's putting water on his cereal and going on foot from one sporting event to another. The third threat to me winning the bet on our March 1 weigh-in is Ross Haugh. He's walking around with his belt pulled in about six inches but I believe he's starting to falter already. Ross' wife Irene must have shopped for his -Christmas present before the bet because he must face onc of the biggest tests of his willpower ever. His Christmas gift is a.machine that dispenses Smarties at the push of a button. It sits on his desk, filled with tasty little treats that could be yours so easily. I'm going out and buying Ross an extra set of batter- ies in the event the machine ever refuses Ross in his hour of need. How am I doing, you ask? So far I. haven't played hockey, have avoided the flu, stolen 48 Smarties from Haugh's machine, consumed a large salmon for New Year's, jogged as far as my car and cut down to a diet that must have been designed for Hulk Hogan. You see, I've scouted the competition and decided that with approximately seven weeks left, winning the 550 bet from each of the others will be the easiest money I've ever made. On the other hand... it's only S50.00. . Perhaps, when March 1 rolls around; we'll all be able to brag about being the biggest losers in T -A history. One night I even dreamed about -all of us being hired by Weight Watchers for their advertising photographs. The only thing 1 couldn't make out in the -dream was whether the pictures were before or after. While Miss Canada was doing some public relations work recently in Westmount Mall in Lon- don she was fortunate enough to be photo- graphed standing beside construction superinten- dent Doug Johnson of Ex- eter. - Johnson says construc- tion superintending is all work and no play but this photo shows this isn't al- ways the case. * * * * Peter McFalls of the Exeter Molting- Hawks suffered a broken col- larbone at a tournament held in Lucan on the weekend. Times -Advocate, January 13, 1988 Page 5 Dealer fights for ATV market . l he sale of three -wheel all -terrain without equivalent protection. manual still sealed in its wrapper m members. However, he said few -c'th eh;s- tray h -haste in -then•-- +is4+-the-kind-•ef-t#rieg-=that -the gg10 e -bo* . owners -take advantage -of the pro= United States and an area dealer is gives these things a bad name," Th gram_ because the machines arc so • hoping this will not affect their said Dickens: He explains that the easy to use. market for the.very popular vehicle essential, safety rules are w be found "We're very hopeful Honda will in Canada. -in every ow ers manual that comes continue to. sell ,the three-wheelers Huhy-Gully of Varna have sold with the mines; but he has seen in Canada," said Blacker, "That's. between four and five hundred of ATVs returned for service with the what the public wants." the three -wheel and four-wheel ma- Once the removal of the three- wheelers from the American market was announced, Blacker said cus- tomers, worried that the units would no longer be available in Canada, bought all the machines. in stock at both Nulty Gully stores. A 1986 brochure of Honda ATVs shows 10 different models, five three-wheelers and five four- wheelers, one. of them with four- wheel drive. The 1988 brochure highlights only three models, all with four wheels. Blacker said he didn't know if the three-wheelers would be offered this year, "but we have a -tremendous de- mand for them." "The farm community here is the main user of the machines," said Blacker. In his opinion, the added maneuverability of the three-wheeler makes it useful to farmers who have tight spaces in which to turn it around. - George Troyer, a farmer of RR2 Hensall, has used ATVs for some years. His present machine is a four -wheeler although he used to own one of the three-wheelers. - "I wouldn't want to be without onc," said Troyer. He often tows his behind his combine so he can return home on,it, leaving his ma- chinery where he left off in the field. He 'said he is careful with -his, and like everyone at Hully Gully, he has never heard of an injury in the area. "You don't want to treat them like a kiddie -car," remarked Troyer.- • Blacker. and Dickens like to stress the positive aspects of ATV owner- ship. They sec them as extremely - useful utility vehicles around the farm and cottage, but the opportuni- st!. , ty of enjoying them in recreational use is not to bc missed. However, they -caution that the safety regula- tions must always be observed. Dickens said even the government recognizes the utility of the vehi- cles, • The ministry of natural re- sources has purchased ATVs from }fully Gully. He stated that these Hully Gully and the ministry of de - same parents will not let their chit ENDANGERED SPECIES? - Randy Collins of Hully Gully sits on a fcnsc rents them, for patrolling the dren play hockey at the local arena kherre a -wheel racing ATV of the type that will be removed from the US mar- sand dunes at ipperwash. report no ro ems o ce cies on Ontarid'roads even though the use of these machines on road- ways is severely restricted. "We arc very concerned over any injuries or fatalities," said Wylie about the ministry's careful moni- toring of ATV use. He raised the possibility of many injuries going unrecorded because hospitals may not be aware of their origin. Wylie also pointed to a surpris- ing number of fatalities and inju- ries caused to off-road vehicle pas- sengers, even though -the greatest majority of these machines have no seating. for passengers. From 1983 to 1986 five passen- gers were killed and 96 injured in off-road incidents: whereas two were killed and 87 injured on road- ways as passengers on off-road vc- hicics. Sixty-eight percent of the acci- dents involved people under 25 years of age, and 40 percent were not wearing helmets. Fifty-five percent of the vehicles involved wcrc three -wheel ATVs and 17 percent wcrc four-wheel ATVs. Thc remaining 28 percent were other off-road vchicics such as dirt bikes and dune buggies. How- ever, Wylie cautioned not to make too much of these last percentages because the Ministry has registered 9,000 three-wheelers and only 3,000 four -wheelers. Meeling falls flat An opportunities tour meeting in Exeter's town hall fell flat Thurs- day evening as no one from Exet- er's business community arrived to take advantage of the attempt to pair Ontario entrepreneurs. with, American investors. • "This was an informatio...!l meeting," said Exeter reeve Bi" Micklc. The program centres on tour for American investo'c •' i will be arranged by the ntinti - industry, trade and technology in the fall. Micklc said that he understood local business people wcrc. very busy at this time of year aril, sly could not find much tit :.) .u;.: J the meeting. Two hundred and fifty surveys Welt sent out into the Exeter busi- ness communis•.• 'v the ,nc,mic Development Committee t,) sound out area businesses for ideas requir- ing foreign investment to get them off the ground, but Micklc said very few wcrc returned. This means a stop for the Oppor- tunities Tour at Exeter is probably unwarranted. Mickle citcd a tremendous amount of work involved in the or- ganization of the tour and that each m ipality in Ontario will do the c-uun tNOrk in its own business „nt,tuni:y long before the tour :nes through Huron County in ,ember. )oug Ellison of Ellison travel stopped by after the meeting was abandoned a half hour after it be- gan. Ellison noted that any entre- preneurial ideas he might have would be better addressed to the ministry of tourism rather than the ministry of industry, trade and technology. Micklc stressed that the Econom- ic Development Committee has done a lot of good for Exeter in past years, but the Opportunities Tour may not be of particular ben- efit to the community at this time. "We can't win them all," said Mickle. Heritage Continued from page 4 its homes and shops and inns and mills, and -its old farms in which man; gen^ra:ions have taken Pr -- .n ..n t tell me we're such a • .country. Many of the pi • :lar sights in Europe date '1^ 18th and _19th centuries, is when Canadian settlers t milt then: homes and public t,utldings in their own unique style. When it comes to the architecture of the past 200 years, we drn't have to take a backseat to anyone. In the 1840's a small town in southern Ontario was a very pretty sight indeed, and a bustling pioneer village in the Prairies at the turn of the century was handsome, too, with its bright churches. its general store, its blacksmith 'shop. and its wooden sidewalks. The trouble is that progress has affected us differently than others. Europeans, too, arc very modern people today. They have all the amenities that technology can Still " ey are dangerous if they are not used properly," confirmed Blacker, noting that Hully Gully does offer _a training program through Honda of Canada free of charge to ATV owners and family chines every year since they gained mass acceptance around 1982 with the introduction of Honda's 'Big Red'. The fat -tired motorized tri- cylcs have been available since the 1960s. "We would be very sorry to lose the ATV market," said sales repre- sentative Doug Blacker, adding that the two Hully Gully stores re- ceived a sales award from Honda last year for capturing 56 percent of the Canadian ATV market. An agreement between the vehi- cle manufacturers and the U.S. De- partment of Justice announced on December 30 has resulted in the re- moval of the three -wheeled vehi- cles from the American market- place. Dealers have the option of selling off remaining inventories or returning them to the manufac- turers. The four -wheeled machines will continue to be available, but under new agreements concerning free training programs and public service advertisements about the safe use of the vehicles. Lawsuits against the manufactur- ers and concerns about the safety of the three-wheelers from consumer and medical pressure groups have prompted this action, but none of these restrictions apply in Canada. Blacker confirmed the three- whcclers do handle somewhat dif- ferently than their fou( -wheeled cousins. "They do turn sharper and that makes them a little more tip- py," he said, but he believes disre- gard of basic safety, rules is the main cause of the widely - publicized accidents. - Both Hully Gully and Honda in- sist operators of ATVs wear hel- mets and gloves, something which. Blacker says surprises some cus- tomers who come to test drive the vehicles. "Parents will let kids get on these things and ride them without a helmet, gloves, shoes or long pants," said Wayne Dicken., of It's Your .Business Thc three -wheel all -terrain vehi- cle is to become an endangered spe- cies in the.United States after their removal from the market because of their alleged danger to riders, but local police have no experience of problems or injuries from their use in the area. "I really can't say we've had any problems because we haven't," said Sergeant Don McInnis of the Exet- er O.P.P. 1 • .i -ay complaints have arisen - •F'trding the unauthor- ized use of the off-road vehicles on private property, but he has not hLard of any injuries resulting from the use of them in the arca. This does not mean Mclnnis be- lieves them to be safe machines. "I think they're absurd, in partic- ular the three-wheelers," Mclnnis maintained. He likened them to the older farm tractors with their front wheels spaced closely togeth- er, which caused frequent accidents by tipping over. Mclnnis believes the simple laws of physics prove thc four- wheel machines to be more stable than the more common three -wheel design. Peter Wylie of the Ministry of Transportation was able to supply statistics on off-road vchicics from the Ontario Road Safcty Annual Report. These statistics show that 356 injuries and 13 fatalities re- sulted from the use of off-road vc- hicics outside Ontario roadways from 1983 to 1986. However, he compared this to thc 323 people injured and 19 killed on the vehi- important provide. But they haven't scrapped their heritage . in the process of adapting to modem ways. Why do we have to tear down an old building every time we build a new one? Aren't we the second-largest country in the world? Can't we afford the space? And don't we have architects who know how to integrate the old with the new? Much of the blame falls on municipal councils. -,Most don't a hoot about heritage, How many small towns, villages or townships in Canada have bylaws concerned with the general appearance of their communities? I don't mean building bylaws that only ,ensure that a structure conforms to certain construction standards, I mean the pleasant appearance of individual suuctpres and communities as a whole. Municipalities spend millions of dollars every year promoting tourism. How spending some of that money on creating attractive commu-nities, on cleaning up the ramshackle tar paper and plywood shacks that litter Our landscape, on preserving and restoring our precious heritage buildings? That woul ! provide tourists with an incentive to visit, to stay and to spend money. What's the point - for example in having a spanking - new tourist office next door to a dilapidated, boarded -up service station or — worse — the town's oldest, most valued building in the process of demolition? Our councillors arc not the only ones to blame. In local government we get -what we deserve. Most of us take care to keep our own homes and properties neat and attractive. When will we begin to extend' this care to our community? © Peter Hesse!, 1988 Reminder: Keep all January Peter's Points . for the PPC (Peter's Point Contest). Rules to be announced in the first February column. Prizes! Wylie explairied that the Ontario Off -Road Vehicle Act was designed to control the use of nuisance vehi- cles on public and private property and came into effect in 1983. He said this act may have to bc revised to take into -account new develop- ments in off-road vehicles because it was mainly aimed at two -wheel dirt bikes. The main controls in the act re- quire all such vehicles to be consid- ered motor vehicles which must be registered and plated (except in Northern Ontario), and be covered by insurance. An accidents involv- ing fatalities, injuries, or property damage must be reported to police. The act also requires off-road vehi- cle riders to wear approved helmets at all times. Off -Toad vchicics are not allowed anywhere along a highway corridor from fenceline to fcnceline, except that a licensed driver may cross a highway and a farmer can use one at the side of the road for farming pur- poses. Wylie said the mind/try stays in touch with the manufacturers of the ATVs in order to prevent misunder- standings about the vchicics' uses and regulation. "The big problem is the riders. and i suppose the young riders," said Wylie, but he said the ministry is not yet ready to,follow the lead of the American agreement between the ATV manufdctnrers and the De- partment of Justice in changing the. "We have no plans -at this. time vehicles' marketing in order to avoid for any action at all," assured Wy= laws of regulation. .lie. THE NEW BREED - The four-wheel ATV has been capturing more and more of the Canadian ATV market since its introduction in 1983. Here Doug Blacker shows off one of Hully Gully's four-wheel drive models from Honda. Clinton Community Credit Union Limited WHERE THE RATES ARE HIGHER AND SERVICE IS #1 Term Deposit 4` R.R.S.P, - Escalator 1 year 2 years 3 years 4 years 5 years 9% 9 1/2% 10% 10 1/4% 10 1/2% Udder $1,000.00.... 4 1/2% $1,000.00 to $4,999.99 6% $5,000:00 to ' $19,999.99 6 1/2% $20,000.00 to $49,999.00 7 1/4% $50,000 and over... 7 1/2% Interest is paid Monthly Chequing Account - Cheques only ..20¢ each and there is no other service charge. Safety Deposit Box - only $10.00 per year. • All rates subject to change without notice* 374 Main Street 70 Ontario Street Exeter, Ontario Clinton, Ontario 235-0640 482-3466 ti