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Times Advocate, 1991-10-23, Page 1Car By Appointment Exeter Collision 235-0411 ZC Gainer-Knea{e Insurance Service Experience & Yalu* 235-2420 Serving South Huron mrseesimr- Inside • .1•i%.4 f: . is W:}'• fe:h:•jirr: �Y S Town sets date for candidates' meeting EXETER - Although a date has been set for a municipal all - candidates meeting in Exeter, the subject itself was a matter of some debate at Monday evening's coun- cil meeting. When all was said and done, however, the meetintg date was set for October 30 at 7:30 pm. to be held in the board room at the new town Fire Hall. Councillor Ben Hoogenboom had been in favour of using the Old Town Hall for sentimental reasons. "I personally would prefer the Old Town Hall," said Hoogen- boom. "It brings back some mem- ories of past all -candidates meet- ings." However, other council members agreed the steps to the hall were too steep for some voters to climb. With a total of 10 candidates contesting reeve and coungillor po- sitions, candidates will' 15e limited to five minutes of opening remarks each before the floor is opened up to questions from the public. "If yc un't say what you want in five .nutes then you should have become a preacher," observed councillor Harry Klungel. Stephen candidates to debate Saturday GRAND BEND - Stephen Town- ship ratepayers are being given a chance to hear their municipal elec- tion candidates square off in a de- bate on the issues. Saturday October 26 the candi- dates and school board trustees will be gathering at the Grand Cove Es- tates Clubhouse at 10:30 a.m. The meeting is sponsored by the Grand Cove residents association, but the meeting is open to the township's public. The entrance to Grand Cove Es- tates is across from the Oakwood Inn golf course on Highway 21 just north of Grand Bend. A second all candidates meeting will be sponsored by the Dashwood Men's Club and is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Tuesday October 29 at the Dashwood Community Hall. Time to faltback BXETER - Just a friendly re- minder from the Times - Advocate that clocks go back one hour Sunday morning at 2 a.m., as we return to Eastern Standard Time from Daylight Saving. At the same time, the Exeter and Area Fire Department are urging residents to change smoke detector batteries. To help promote this stay safe cam- paign, free batteries will be giv- en out tonight (Wednesday) be- tween the hours of 6-9 p.m. at the fire hall. % North Middlesex & Lambton Report says hospital beds in Huron County could be but in half OODERICH - Representatives from tlut}Illa'Human County hospi- tals, including Exeter's South Hu- ron, will be tuned in to meetings in Goderich on Thursday which will see discussion on the possible re- duction of hospital beds, over the next 10 years. The over 200 -page Orser Report makes recommendations about health services in general, one of those could possibly see South Hu- ron having its number of beds re- duced from 44 down to 22. "I think we have to look at it and take it seriously," said South Huron Hospital administrator Don Currell. Currell said South Huron rarely has all its beds occupied and noted the average number of patients is about 29. Discovery of new medicines and extended health care services have played big rolekin the reduction of_ sign says eac the number of patients being admit- . needs as far as required. "It depends on area by area. I think our plan does look at the need for reducing the dependency on in- stitutional beds," said vanDassen. He says the cost of health servic- es in this part of Ontario is becom- ing not affordable. "Southwestern Ontario has the highest institutional services of any place in the world. It's a dependen- cy that has grown in this area and it's one of the most expensive ways of delivering health care." According to vanDassen, the hos- pitals of Huron County are quite concerned and many were in the audience when the Orser Commis- sion had its fust meeting in Strat- ford. ted to hospitals. For example, 15 years ago a pa- tient would be admitted for eight days for an appendectomy, now it's only one day. "It really depends on what hap- pens to medicine," said Currell. There are five hospitals in Huron County; Wingham, Clinton, Exeter, Goderich and Seaforth, but the Or - ser Report is about more than just reducing hospital beds. "This just doesn't take in hospi- tals, it's all aspects of health care. It's not just hospitals, it includes in- stitutional care," said Currell. The report recommends the num- ber of beds be reduced by the year 2001. Derk vanDassen, the execu- tive director of the Community Health System Planning Commis - Is Free Trade to blame? ,ti - has different number of beds 75 cents Abducted boy returned to mother EXETER - After a one and a half year old boy was abducted from the custody of his mother at an Exeter business on Thursday morning, the town police force issued a Canada -wide warrant for the arrest of the boy's father. Dieter Joachim Boeck, 43, of RR2 Zurich was arrested by police in New York State the next day. Exeter police say the father and son were apparently destined for Germa- ny. Police aren't releasing the names of the abducted boy or his mother who contacted the police after the father failed to return the boy to her that day. Because the Canada -wide warrant was also issued to International Police and domestic agencies, the New York police were able to turn Boeck over to the FBI and U.S. Immigration officials. The child was taken into protective custody through the U.S. State De- partment and was turned over to his mother who travelled to New York State to retrieve him. Exeter Police say they will require another few days to complete their investigation of the abduction and anticipate at least a week before U.S. Immigration Officials advise them of Boeck's fate with them. Constable Dwight Monck and Chief Jack Harkness, who investigated the incident, praised the assisting agencies for their quick response to their warrant. However, the abduction is not considered an extraditable offense under U.S. law, so it not_ tom► �thether Boeck will be turned over to ru an—police.—Boeck is being treated as an "undesirable" by Immigra- tion Officials and will likely be ordered to leave the U.S. "As it was, they bent over backwards for us," said Exeter police sergeant Brad Sadler. Laidlaw building finds a buyer EXETER - The Laidlaw Transport building, which has lain empty for about a year, has finally been sold, but it is not known what plans the new own- er has for the property. John Rasenberg of JMR Elec- tric confirmed that he is in nego- tiations to buy the building, with the closing date of the sale to be in November. He said he did not yet have any plans for the former trucking terminal. "And if I did (have plans] I don't know if I'd be announcing them yet," said Rasenberg. Laidlaw Transport moved their operations, to the brand- new terminal amid much fanfare in late 1989, but only a year lat- er the company decided to close the operation on October 5, 1990 and consolidate dispatch- ing through the Woodstock and Milton terminals. The closing was blamed largely on the feder- al government's decision to al- low the deregulation of the trucking industry, making it Aar,r to,: compete with Ameri- canoperations paying less for fuel and fewer taxes. Skinners to receive telethon award tonight LONDON - Steve and Audrey Skinner, organizers of a walkathon in Exeter which raised nearly $23,000 through the efforts of 350 par- ticipants, will be receiving a Director's Award from the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario at a meeting in London Wednesday evening. For organizing the April 28 waikathon in memory of their daugh- ter Stephanie who died after a liver transplant in 1990, the Skinners are being honoured at the same level as corporations such as Petro Canada, Royal Trust, the National Bank of Canada, EMA Foods, and at the same level as the Kiwanis Club of West London. The meeting is being held in the London Regional Art Gallery at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, but is open to invitations only. More layoffs strike at region's industrial economy By Adrian Harte EXETER - If there is an uptum in the country's economy, it isn't to be seen in the immediate area, especially since layoffs in the region are on the rise yet again. Northlander Industries, a mobile home manufacturer in Exeter which employs about 70 people on the construction floor, will be shutting down for an indefinite period later this week. About 55 employees were laid off last week, with another 15 kept onto clean up the plant for the shut down. While some em- ployees hope they will be called back for in- dividual projects the plant will not return to full operation until larger contracts reappear. In fact, some sources have said that with current economic conditions, doubts have al- ready been raised as to whether the plant will re -open or relocate. Bob Hamacher, owner of Northlander In- dustries, could not be reached for comment. Helen Isaac at Exeter's Canada Employ- ment Centre said that for local job hunters the outlook is bleak. "There's very few jobs, and yes, there are a lot of layoffs," said Isaac, adding very few employers are bringing job postings into the centre. "There's nothing in here. I've never seen it quite this bad." Isaac said while many are considering re- training for careers in different fields, the pickings are still slim. A number of students had to go without summer jobs this year as many traditional hirers of seasonal staff cut back in an effort to keep full time staff busy. Even though politicians are speaking of a recovery from the recession, Isaac said she doesn't have much evidence of an upturn from her point of view. "1 can't feel it's recovering. I'm not a politi- cian: 1 don't know." Ken Fenwick, business representative of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Local 3054, confirmed that the union has seen a significant drop in membership over the past few years. The trend is not en- couraging as Dashwood Industries layed off _ST plant employees on October 15. The lay- off is also likely to accompany a work - sharing agreement to cut production at the plant to a four day week. Dashwood Industries is now down to 150 employees on the production floor._ —_ Fenwick also referred to the 100 jobs lost in Wingham when Premium Doors com- pletes its shutdown of the plant. Production is moving to the United States. General Manufactured Housing in Hensell has only 33 unionized employees at the mo - mem, a far cry from the 119 who were em- ployed there before the plant went into re- ceivership last fall. Even the union is considering merging six of its locals to help consolidate its member- ship. "Everybody has lost membership," said Fenwick. While Hunt Windows in London is ex- panding its work force, most of the local's plants are presently well below capacity. "It's tough all over," said Fenwick. "There's no sense in us telling you what we think: it's Pree Trade,.and the OST too." Adam Salvona, union manager, agreed. "I put this whole thing down to Pree Trade. Our jobs are going across the border fast," said Salvona, insisting that Canadian compa- nies that were quick to merge with U.S. part- ners only became distributorships for Ameri- can products and closed domestic manufac- turing. Andy Imanse, general manager of General Coach in Hensel!, said his motor home manu- facturing plant appears to be weathering the slump. "It's somewhat better now than, say, what it was two months ago," said Imanse. General Coach is still producing its line of motor homes and fifth wheels, but with only 123 workers on the plant floor, about half of the peak a few years ago, sales have a long way to climb. Imanse noted with motor homes being a luxury purchase, consumers are holding off until their jobs are more certain. "Even those people in retirement stage...are saying 'gce I think I'll sit back and wait'," said Imanse. When sales do pick up, !manse said he is worried about losing market share to Ameri- can competitors. With a high Canadian dol- lar, and the lower taxes and labour costs as- sociated with American production, Imanse says the recession does not get all the blame. "Goodness knows why [the dollar] is as high as it is," said Imanse. Low interest rates are not enough incentive to borrow money for major purchases. "The concern is 'will I have a job'," ex- plained !manse. General Coach, owned by an American parent, has several sister plants across the border manufacturing similar products. Imanse says he expects he could make more money distributing the American product in Canada. "You can only fight that for so long," said !manse. While some have blamed Canada's higher labour costs for some of the imbalance, Imanse said higher wages are acceptable as long as productivity is comparable. Unfortu- nately, productivity is not uniform even across the nation itself, said Imanse. Les Hills, manager of Exeter's branch of the Bank of Montreal said he is getting con- flicting messages. While the recession is still causing widespread bankruptcies across the province, he hasn't seen many at his branch, even with a faltering local economy. Hills attributed the situation to the conservative borrowing habits of this area's customers. Some may be struggling, however. "Most people will try to pay the mortgage first and the rest goes to pot," said Hills. "People are very, very loath to risk any- thing." Nevertheless, with layoffs pushing the un- employment rate in the area, Hills said he could foresee some borrowers facing a crisis. He said the banks have learned lessons from the recession of the early 1980's and will be more willing to help those customers through their tough times rather than foreclose. The current low interest rates may help. "I'm sure it's pretty tough out there for eve- ryone," said Hills. On a more positive note, however, work is still progressing on the refurbishing of a han- gar in Huron Park to prepare it fora new air- craft refurbishing facility, which is said may employ upwards of 200 people once it opens. Investment in the building will total more than $2.8 million for the renovations alone.