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Times-Advocate, 1988-03-23, Page 7n the Street By Jim Beckett Let's give credit to the several United Church ministers in the arca who so eloquently stated their opinions regarding the ordination of homosexuals. Two-thirds are on record as being opposed to a report released by the church in favor of allowing gays and lesbians to become ordained min- ister and the other third of those questioned did not offer an opinion. l,Jndoubtedly we'll be reading and hearing much more on the contro- versial topic before any decision is reached. I'll make a prediction: if most of the ministers of the United Church share the opinions expressed by those in our area, the general mtmber- ship of the church will be much more strongly opposed. Regardless of the outcome, you can't accuse the United Church lead- ers of sidestepping the issue. It won't be long before other denominations are drawn into the di- lemma of facing the same tough questions because having homosexu- als in the membership who want to move up and become more in- volved is not something that is exclusive to the United Church. How about Baptists, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, Jehovah Witnesses, Angli- cans, etc.? Larry Taylor of Exeter and Dennis Snider of Port Franks are two of the partners who will be operating. Grand Bend's newest marine business. . Grand Bend Marine Ltd. will be opening soon on Hwy. 21 just south of the Oakwood Golf Course. Larry will continue operating Gentlemen's Choice in Exeter as well. ******************************** Now that the March break has ended, motorists will be able to drive along the streets of Exeter without encountering a road hockey game every few blocks. It seems my two sons and about 400 friends started a game at the beginning of the week and ended it Friday. ********************************** It's only a few weeks until the Exeter Optimist Club presents their third annual Home and Garden Show at the South Huron Rcc Centre. This year's dates are April 8, 9 and 10. The Times - Advocate will be publishing a special section highlighting many of the participants in the show. ***************************** For those of you who have asked about Esmail Merani, he's alive and well in North Bay. Email sold his Exeter Pharmacy business to Big V and moved to North Bay where he is involved in the ownership of two Guardian Drug Stores in that fast-growing city. As.in Exeter, it didn't take him long to get involved in North Bay where he is currently chairman of the Downtown Improvement Area Board of Management. *********************************** Here is encouraging news for wives whose husbands a-ens*Cantly working extra hours..Studies on people who work extr ely long show they actually accomplish no more than people who put • a nor- mal week. This was a highlight from one of the newspaper convention semi- nars held recently in Toronto. When you continually work longer, ap- parently all you do is condition yourself to take more time to get the work done. So, ladies, if your husband is spending extra hours at the office tell him to shape up and work more efficiently. Then you can put him to work at home. ******************************** Reaction to last week's feature story on the life of a stripper making the rounds from one bar to another was interesting to say the least. Be assurcd the T -A is not trying to glamorize the young girl's life- style that could be described as pathetic at best. Our story was merely a reflection on society. One woman suggested it was not the type of family news she wanted her teenaged daughter to read. However, I believe anyone who took the time to really read the article will realize the career of a stripper is not recommended for anyone. Whether we choose to face reality or not you can be guaranteed there will always be strippers as long as there are people who will spend money for this type of entertainment. ********************************* Police Chief Larry Hardy's report last week that 73 applications were received to fill a vacancy on the force is an indication of the num- ber of people who prefer the lifestyle in a smaller community. Recreation Director Lynne Farquhar and others on the Winter Sports Council should be walking examples on the power of posi- tive thinking. While a few skeptics thought raising over $35,000 to purchase the new self-propelled ice scraper was an impossible task, they forged ahead anyway. When support from service clubs and sports groups began to falter, the appeal went out to area businesses to join in and make sure the goal would be reached,. Several companies and individuals put their dol- lars toward the project, including local builder Gus Gregus whose substantial contribution wipes out all doubt that the new machine would ever get to Exeter. The combined support of service clubs, individuals, companies and the taxpayers of Exeter shows what can be accomplished if you get thc right people involved. ****************************** The Big V Bullets Sunday afternoon hockey game separated the men from the boys proving that youth and speed is indeed a match for age and experience. It was the annual father/son matchup where it was time to prove all the stories we had told our young players all season about how good we really were in our prime. Unfortunately I couldn't play because an old sporting injury flared up just before the faccoff. You'll never know how much I wanted to be out on the ice bumping with our 12 and 13 year-olds without padding or oxygen. In fact, just before the game, I had almost decided to risk my reputa- tion and enter the' battle until Tom Ellerington showcd off his scars from his father and son game the week before. He had a nasty, purple colored bruise about, a foot long on his leg which matched an- other injury just above his eye. Despite having no knowledge of CPR, the parents allowed me to coach. 1 think it's because I had the ambulance telephone number memorized that they let me stand behind the bench and replace tired bodies with fresh legs. Surprisingly enough the senior team managed to show the youngsters they still had some of thc old moves, albeit not as fast or as often as 20 or more years ago. Bill Thompson gets credit for the bravest performance. "It's been 23 years since I've had the the blades on," he said. That's amazing be- cause he still skated better than I ever did. Times -Advocate, March 23, 1988 Page 7 Hensall discovers ultimate consumer product By Adrian Harte Brad Mann of Hensall has found the ultimate consumer item. The people who buy his product either shoot it or let it break on the ground. Then they buy more. Mann has just begun the manu- facture of clay targets in the back portion of the Agripress building for distribution all over North America. He describes himself as an avid trapshooter who, in his travels for competition, found many clubs complaining about the quality of available targets. Natu- rally, Mann saw this as an oppor- tunity to combine his favorite pas- time with a successful business. "It cost quite a bit," Mann said of his purchase of the old racquet courts severed from the Agripress property and his acquisition of the assets of a British Columbia target company. Mann and his plant manager, Brad McBride, disassem- bled the equipment in B.C. and drove it to Ontario in a tractor - trailer. Once in Hensall, McBride's talents were required to make the system functional. "He refined all the equipment to what it is today," said Mann. McBride had never seen target- makinQ equipment before, but was willing to give it a try. "How did 1 learn? Just by the seat of my pants," said McBride, adding that a lot of bad targets came out of the machinery at first. However, one advantage of the product is that all trimmings and breakage can be put through a grinder and melted for re -use. In theory, there is no waste. McBride points to four factors which determine the quality of a tar- get: width, height, weight and brittleness. The first two criteria are determined by the mold, but the weight and fragility of the targets are controlled by a delicate balance of formula and temperature. The precise mixtures of petroleum pitch and limestone in the formula are so jealously guarded by each manufacturer that they are patented. McBride keeps the temperature at 325° F for injection into the liquid - cooled molds. No, there is no clay in clay tar- gets. Any small deviation in tempera- ture can cause air bubbles in the product. This can push the target outside the four percent tolerance of the 99 gram standard weight. The Ontario Research Council helped test the clays and recommended im- provements in the formula One might think an eight-hour shift watching the apparatus crank- ing out a box of 135 targets every two minutes could drive the em- ployees crazy. McBride agrees, but "somebody's got to be right here." Frequent jams cause targets to leave their conveyor and break on the floor. Mann has found customers for the Gold Dust clays not only in Onta- rio, but also in Quebec, the Mari- times, Michigan and New York State. Gun clubs are the main mar- ket, but Gold Dust also holds the contract for supplying Pro Hard- ware. The targets will be made in four colours. The most popular is the fluorescent orange for most trap shooting, but a lime green can be used in different terrain. White is for night shooting under lights, whereas basic unpainted black is used by skeet shooters who sec only the bottom cf the target against the sky. Mann has found a favorable mar- ket in the U.S. because of the present exchange rate and a free - trade situation. "There's no duty for targets going across the border," said Mann, who could not explain the duty-free stat- us, but was not about to argue with it. If all goes well with Gold Dust, Mann may have to go to two eight - hours shifts a day to keep up with the demand for targets. With Mann on the road to promote sales, as many as 10 employees may be re- quired to operate the machinery. He also points out that this is not seasonal work. The plant will run 12 months of the year to ensure a good stock of clays for the begin- ning of the shooting season in May. With the huge amount of space still vacant in the factory, Mann is also investigating the possibility of becoming a warehouse and retail store for guns and ammunition to round out the business. When asked how he was going to maintain his enthusiasm for his sport and business while immers- ing himself in it seven days a wzek, Mann said he was willing to give it a try. "I'll know better this summer when I'm shooting on the weekends and making targets during the week." GOLD DUST - Brad Mann (left) and Jodi Mosurinjohn stack and box clay targets fresh from the molds. The paint on the targets is still wet as they enter the box. Partnership builds marine supply A four-way partnership will result in a new marine supply dealership opening in Grand Bend this spring. Larry Taylor and Dennis Snider are the two active businessmen who are starting up Grand Bend Marine Limited from scratch ata property Located just outside the village lim- its near the Oakwood Inn. Two additional silent partners from London, John Kennedy and Ken Roberts, are providing finan- cial support for the project. The partners are purchasing the property, complete with a storage warehouse, which will house both the showroom and the servicing fa- cilities. The building is only five years old and will require only mi- nor renovations to create an attrac- tive entranceway. The idea for a new boating store originated from a project Taylor completed for a Business 257 course at Western. The course, which makes or breaks potential business students, has been the in- spiration for many entrepreneurial concepts. Grand Bend Marine will be one more. A feasibility study for the project showed that Grand Bcnd could ac- commodate another marine dealer, and that a need existed for conven- ient service of residents' and vaca- tioners' boats. The 1,000 -square -foot showroom will display equipment and accesso- ries for family power boaters. Grand Bend Marine docs not intend to enter the sailboat market. Taylor said that the exact brands and types of power boats he will be selling have not yet been deter- mined, but he did hope to carry boats under 25 feet from Brokerage and Boston Whalers. Johnson out- boards and OMC stern drives should also be in stock. "We got into it late," said Dennis Snider. "We've got to get rolling." He noted that the season for larger boat sales is already under way and that Grand Bend Marine must work fast to ensure adequate sales in the market for smaller boats. "It's going to bc a higher quality marine product. We're not going to be selling junk," said Sr,idcr, ad- ding that Grand Bend is noted for its quality marine dealers and that his business will not tarnish that reputation. If the store can secure exclusive dealership rights to cer- tain brands of boats, then Snider and Taylor also plan to make fre- quent exhibits at the annual boat shows. A full range of accessories will bc available to customers, from wa- ter skiing equipment to a complete line of clothing. Although boating is a very seasonal trade, Taylor and Snider hope the store can remain open year-round. "We hope to make money in thc first year, or at least break even," said Taylor. He admits this goal is formidable, considering the large in- vestment required to get thc busi- ness under way. But he says thc real benefit will be in what Grand Bcnd has to offer in coming years. "Over the next three or four years in Grand Bend they're expecting S60-70 million to be injected into the economy," said Taylor of the booming future growth projections for the village. "We're hoping to cash in on that new business coming to town," Snider added. Taylor also wants it made perfect- ly clear that he intends to keep his Exeter clothing store, Gentleman's Choice, in operation. "There's a lot of rumors around that we're closing, but we're not," he said. Taylor hopes to juggle his days to be in Grand Bend for the mornings and return to Gentleman's Choice for the afternoons. MIdd.g..l i oI COME SEE OUR SHOWROOM •SPAS•POOLS•PATIO FURNITURE 234 MAIN .T. N. $EAFORTH 5270104 NEW SAAN MANAGER Matthew Heron comes to Exeter from B.C. Our Choice for faiebt London Fog, Comfort & Colour is Style, Comf coste Y Gant, Lac Jackets ASI Spring O0hIo0ff 4411)-20 4' ARROW All remaining Long Sleeve Dress Fall Sweaters SHIRTS and Sport Shirts Buy one get one 6O°ff FREE GENII 911E9IMPEARY CHUICE9 4444 383 Main Street, Exeter 235-2590 VISA • Tiatia w or ed••• "Its• -• Ono( till uG. h ' he morning 1 Me -46:40r ke one riptio u pecict bouQue by MDoerveA u p �n a ceran,it rhicM, goup bawl e ref a cite o42 cheer -fu( wi�he' .• • 14e. e mike ham Calle, . COUNTRy• F-LoWE R )1 r7 main e,-firee • exe'er