Times-Advocate, 1988-01-27, Page 5n
the
Street
By Jim Beckett
y ' etc er s co umn in w --- • r• • us -by -surprise
when he suggested shopping in city malls was fun and enjoyable com-
pared with the facilities in smaller communities.
His writing appears in several area newspapers and while his remarks
could possible be true in some instances, IT DEFINITELY ISN'T
THE CASE IN EXETER. Generalizing when comparing anything al-
ways results with the good being thrown in with the bad.
Exeter merchants and the B.I.A. in particular have worked hard in
building the image of our town until we have become known as the
shopping centre of the region.
Whether Syd Fletcher agrees or not will not influence the thousands
of families who have made the choice for Exeter. Syd, try us first be-
fore connecting Exeter with any negative experiences you may have
had elsewhere.
* * * *
While Dean and Joanne McKnight of Exeter were in Ridgetown
recently for the Minor Hockey playoffs they had the opportunity to
look up friends they riaven't seen for a number of years.
In fact, Dean was responsible for introducing his friend to the girl he
would eventually marry. Now, it's 10 years later in the Ridgetown
Arena when a youngster runs up to Dean and asks "Are you responsi-
ble for introducing my dad and mom?"
Dean answered in the affirmative and the youngster firmly shook his
hand and said "Thanks for my existence." How can you top a line like
that?
* * * *
During the past few years, people have had the occasional opportuni-
ty to refer to me as a male chauvinist, a charge that's difficult to dis-
prove.
The most recent time I sounded superior in comparing males and fe-
dales was the recent decision by a judge in Toronto allowing a 15-
year-old Toronto girl to try out for a boys' competitive hockey team.
"It's a waste of time," I said. "Why doesn't she play with the rest of
the girls and leave boys' hockey to the boys?"
My other argument was that if Justine Blainey was declared by
the courts to be eligible to play in an all-male league... why couldn't
any boy try out for a female hockey or ringette team?
If the Charter of Rights works for girls, it should work for boys too.
Right?
Of course, how many boys would want to be known as the first per-
son to demand the right to try out for a girl's team?
Whether this is right or wrong is still unsettled in my mind but I
can tell you one thing, if you saw Justine play hockey you couldn't
possibly keep her off any team I've ever watched. Her skating was ex-
cellent; in fact, it was better than any youngster observed by me over
the past four years.
Even better than her skating was her attitude which was shown in
the interview to be that of a modest person who just wanted to com-
pete at the level she believed she was best qualified for. Her last words
were "I'11 play better when my timing comes back."
Fortunately, for her, the timing at this point in Canada's history was
right. How many others over the past decades have been stifled because
of society's preconceived ideas about what a person chooses to do with
his or her life?
* * * *
The fact that 1,700 people attended the Exeter Invitational Precision
Skating Competition held Sunday, January 17 at the Rec Centre is a
tribute to the organizational skills of several local parents. The com-
mittee, as listed on their program are: Chairman, Ann Baynha;
Secretary -Treasurers, Frances Kints and Janice Brock; Advert
ing, Joan Heywood; Ice Captain, Mary Jane MacDougal ;
Dressing Rooms, Gayle Sargeant; Boutique, Barbara Poole;
Registration, Janice Brock; Property and Security, Marie Tie -
man; Announcer, Ralph Wareham; Hospitality, Barb Wein;
Awards, Joanne Wareham; Music, Art Lewis; W.O.S. and Exeter
Figure Skating Club President Joan_ Heywood.
Susan Rodowa is the coach of the two divisions of Exeter skat-
ers, both known as the Exeter Entertainers.
One of the hottest movies available on video cassette these days is
Dirty Dancing. To get my copy I had to reserve it a week ahead...
an indication to me that it would be one of the best movies I've
watched in years.
As it turned out it wasn't the case. It's an enjoyable movie with ex-
cellent choreography, but, as far as the story line and acting, I'll wa-
ger it's a long way from winning any awards other than perhaps be-
ing known as a record money -earner for the producers.
However, the fact I didn't get over -excited about the movie could be
more of a reflection on me than anything else.
My boys seemed to enjoy it and they reported several students at
the public school have seen it a multitude of times, with one girl
saying she has seen it more than 10.
I can hardly wait to go to the next dance at the Rec centre to see if
this movie has had an influence on the dancing style of some of our
trendier people.
If it's true that movies influence society, I'm afraid I could be left
with the group that has difficulty in keeping up.
* * * *
Two representatives of Exeter real estate firms will be installed to-
morrow (Thursday) as officers on the Huron County Real Estate
Board. Dwayne Tinney of G -K Realty will be a vice-president of
the organization and Phyllis Johnson of Extate Realtx.Inc. will
be on the board of directors.
ii jj tt j
8'IJiNNERS
WINS VCR FROM SCRATCH - Rosanne Ryan of Lucan was the win-
ner of a VCR and camera in the Find=A-Line contest at the Exeter Valu
Mart store. Above, store manager Tom Seip makes the presentation. This
wasthe second major prize winner at the Exeter store.
Times -Advocate, January 27, 1988 Page 5
Zurich product 'supports' various industries
A Zurich manufacturer produces
an item that few consumers ever
see, but without this product the
wheels of industry would not run
nearly as well.
Zurich Wood Products is in the
business of fabricating the wooden
boxes, export crates and shipping
pallets that Ontario industries con-
sume in staggering numbers each
week.
"It's a pretty competitive indus-
try,: -says-Ray McKinnon, presi-
dent of Zurich Wood Products. He
estimates that around 300 manufac-
turers of wooden pallets operate in
Ontario today. He adds that only
about a dozen of these manufactur-
ers, Zurich Wood Products includ-
ed, are still involved in the produc-
tion of boxes and crates.
The materials -handling products
industry is able to support such a
large number of manufacturers be-
cause transportation costs for pal-
lets and crates are high. As
McKinnon points out, these items
are mostly air and take up an inor-
dinate amount of room in transit.
The pallet manufacturers, conse-
quently, are spread out around the
province to keep themselves close
to the industries which consume
the product.
The raw material for Zurich
Wood Products' pallets and crates
is hardwood from the Owen Sound
and Kincardine area. Only 10 per-
cent of production calls for the use
of softwood, which is brought in
from around Brantford.
McKinnon notes that his compa-
ny's products are intended to be re-
usable. Disposable wooden pallets
do account for a certain sector of
the market, but disposal problems
have shown the reusable item to be
the better choice in most applica-
tions. McKinnon says pallets used
for shipping groceries are expected
to Last an average of 10 trips.
The auto industry, a major cus-
tomer of Zurich Wood Products,
has also developed a plastic pallet
with a longer lifespan than its
wooden counterpart, but McKin-
non observes that disposal of
worn-out plastic is more of a prob-
lem than wood, although he does
believe new materials are destined
to capture more of the market.
"There are certain areas where
plastic is going to make further in-
roads," says McKinnon, but he
adds that wood is still considered a
renewable resource while plastic is
not.
"Everyone wants a place to dump
their waste, so long as it's not in
their back yard." - -
Zurich Wood Products makes an
average of 500 pallets each week
plus around 1,000 crates. McKin-
non estimates crate production to be
worth around 65'percent of the com-
pany's income.
Boxes for heavy machinery parts
are made with a hardwood floor and
plywood sides; but, since most
parts are shipped in cardboard, the
demand for such boxes has decreased
over the years.
The difference between Zurich
Wood Products' manufacturing and
many of the other crate and pallet
producers in Ontario is that the Zu-
rich company uses no automated
machinery. Every pallet and crate is
framed and nailed by hand.
- McKinnon observes that this-pro-
duction
hispro-duction method is slower than auto-
mation, but since a pallet -building
machine costs around 5300,000,
overhead is kept somewhat lower.
Handbuilding also allows for more
economical production of smaller
batches of specific sizes of pallets
and crates, thus making the product
more accessible to smaller indus-
tries and businesses.
Zurich Wood Products is not so
much affected by seasonal changes
as economic and industrial indica-
tors.
"If they don't ship they don't need
pallets," says McKinnon of his cus-
tomers' demand for crates and pal-
lets.
McKinnon took over the owner-
-ship of -Zurich- Wood Products in -
1971 from John Blay and Earl Flax -
bard who created the company in
1966. The building on the west
side of Zurich used to be the F.C.
Kalbfieisch and Son planing and
saw mill.
BY HAND - Zurich Wood Products employee Randy Smale fires the fastening nails into one of the several hun-
dred pallets the company manufactures each week. The Zurich factory also builds industrial strength crates and
boxes to order.
It's
Your Business
Canadians world
ranking credit users
by Harry -L. Mardon
Canadians are among the world's
heaviest users of credit, with usage
reaching a peak during ,the pre -
Christmas shopping period and the
January Sales season.
There is nothing fundamentally
wrong in making purchases on a
credit basis, whether through bank -
sponsored cards or those issued by
major retailers. However, you will
imperil your financial future if you
don't exercise self-discipline in
handling credit.
The very rich and the very poor
don't have a problem with credit,
the former because they don't need
it and the latter because they're too
poor to obtain credit. The vast
majority of Canadians fit between
these two extremes, and many of
those people at one time or another
will apply for credit in one form or
another.
Whether you like it or not, once
you have opened a credit account or
obtained a credit card a file will be
opened on you at a credit bureau.
From then on your performance as
a prompt or tardy repayer of credit
will be recorded by your local cred-
it bureau.
A word of explanation about
credit bureaus. They are strictly a
business. They collect informa-
tion about the payment perfor-
mance of individuals who have
used credit, and provide this infor-
mation to credit granters -for a fee.
It used to be a very secretive busi-
ness. However, most provinces
now have legislation which re-
quires credit bureaus to disclose to
users of credit what is contained in
the files compiled about them. If
there is inaccurate information in a
file, credit bureaus are required to
correct it.
You won't know whether the in-
formation about you is accurate or
false unless you ask. Credit bu-
reaus don't volunteer the informa-
tion.
Canadians move around the
country a great deal, but your credit
file will follow you wherever you
go, as soon as the credit bureau
finds out where you have moved
to.
A lot of material that goes into
your credit bureau file comes from
information you supplied when you
filled out an application for credit
from a department store, oil compa-
ny or other credit -granting organiza-
tion. A typical report will contain
such items as your occupation, in-
come, how long you have lived in
your present residence and list of all
the uses you have made of credit in
the past.
That credit history will include a
code number which will signify
your rating. The higher the num-
ber, the higher credit risk you are
considered to be.
For example, a rating of 1 indi-
cates you pay your debts within 30
days of billing, or faithfully follow
an agreed-upon repayment regime.
A rating of 2 shows you take more
than 30 days, but less than 60 days
to pay your debts, or that you don't
fall more than one payment past a
due date.
A rating with the code number 8
means there has been a reposses-
sion, and a rating of 9 indicates a
bad debt or that the account has
been turned over to a collection
agency.
Some consumer groups have criti-
cized the credit bureau system as an
invasion of privacy. However, bu-
reaus are only supposed to disclose
information from their files to legit-
imate businesses which provide
credit to the public; or a would-be
employer may consider it necessary
to make a credit -rating check on a
potential employee. Some land-
lords also may subscribe to a credit
bureau's services, to determine
whether a would-be tenant has a his-
tory of skipping out on debts.
In the final analysis, having a
credit rating system works to the
public good. As long as you have a
reasonable credit history, you
should have no difficulty in obtain-
ing further credit. A lot of people
would find it hard to get credit if
nothing was on file about them.
(Mr. Mardon is manager of corpo-
rate communication for Investors
Group Inc.)
0:VAMMilliWattaSta
Welfare policy
challenge dropped
A challenge to the county's wel-
fare policy has been dropped, mem-
bers of Huron County Council
learned at the regular January ses-
sion.
Social Services Director John
McKinnon told council that a chal-
lenge to the requirements that wel-
fare recipients be actively seeking
employment was dropped by the
client who launched it.
Mr. McKinnon first told council
of the pending challenge at its De-
cember meeting when he reported
that the social services dapartment
had cut off welfare payments to an
individual who had refused to take
part in a job search program.
Claiming the move was uncon-
stitutional, the person announced
he planned an appeal and a hearing
by the Social Assistance Review
Board was to take place in Gode-
• rich last month.
However, before the hearing took
place, the individual withdrew the
appeal and moved to Toronto, Mr.
McKinnon said.
It's time
to talk business
An FBDB representative will be in your area
soon. Come and meet him or her. There is no obli-
gation and no costs and your business can gain a
tot from it.
If you're looking for financial aid in the form of
loans, loan guarantees or even selling an equity
position in your business, come and discuss it with
us. We have experienced counsellors who can
help you plot a course for growth and success for
your business. And we can provide you with direc-
tion to get government assistance, both federal
and provincial, as well as other vital information.
For an advance appointment , call:
DAVE' SELKIRK, P.D.M.
1-800-265-4594 / (519) 271-5650
1036 Ontario Street
Stratford, Ontario N5A 6Z3
La Banque of(re ses services dans les deux
lahgues ofticielles.
BACKING INDEPENDENT BUSINESS
Federal Business Banque federate
Development Bank de developpement •
('attatiff
COO
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