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Times Advocate, 1999-10-27, Page 2Regional wrap up 2 Exeter Threes—Advocate Wednesday, Uctooer c i , Firefighters at stations New Year's Eve WINGHAM — The two fire stations of the Wingham Area Fire Department will be staffed on New Year's Eve, reports the Wing - ham Advance -Times. According to Fire Chief Harley Gaunt, the move is a precau- tionary one as he has concerns regarding the disruption of es- sential services when the clock strikes mid- night. Gaunt said the fire- fighters would have to receive a "decent re- muneration" for being at the stations begin- ing at 11 p.m. Dec. 31. Roder turkey slaughter operations close, jobs cut ARKONA — Blaming inconsistent interpre- tations of federal food safety requirement, Roder Turkey Farms has . shut down its Ar- kona turkey and cus- tom slaughter opera- tion, putting 13 people out of work. The Oct. 7 shutdown doesn't affect five hourly workers in- volved in Roder's live turkey operation or a few salaried people, reports The Parkhill Gazette. The closure also af- fects many local chick- en producers who had their custom slaugh- tering done at the Ar- kon Road plant. Federal regulations required substantial investment and reno- vations to the existing facilities which compa- ny president Art Roder didn't believe would provide a return on in- vestment. Murray dismisses sighting MITCHELL — Anne Murray is dismissing claims her daughter Mistie was seen last month in London, re- ports The Huron Ex- positor. Murray went to Lon- don recently to show photos of her daughter to a man who said he had seen Mistie. But when he saw the photos, the man said he couldn't guarantee the person he saw was Mistie. Education Improvement Commission won't solve board problems: director By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE SEAFORTH -- After giving trustees an upbeat analysis of an interim report from the province's Education Improvement Commission (EIC), the head of the Avon Maitland District School; Board admitted to the media he had little hope it would help solve any of the board's problems. "The EIC is an arms -length government agency and all it can do is recommend," said Lorne Rachlis, director of education of the Avon Maitland board. He was speaking to reporters following a regular board meeting on Oct. 12, in which he delivered a summary of the EIC's "second interim report on the progress review of Ontario's new district school boards." The report hit the news early this month because it recommended school -boards face regular reviews based on both financial achievements of staff and academic achievements of students and be made accountable if standards are not met. Rachlis noted, however, that there was much more to the report than that one recommendation. In his summary, the director of educa- tion pointed to statements of praise for various initiatives, suggesting Avon Mait- land was among the boards putting these initiatives in place. They included reform to student par- ticipation on school boards, reduction in administrative costs and the development of partnerships with other service pro- viders in the region. Avon Maitland was even mentioned by name at one point, receiving praise for having "consolidated its administrative headquarters." , Rachlis also pointed to a section of the interim report which acknowledged "the need to alter the provincial funding for- mula to address certain concerns." Under the current formula, the report states, upgrades such as new computer and science laboratories or libraries are built mainly as new students come into an area which is experiencing rising en- rollment, such as Toronto. Boards with declining enrollment, such as Avon Maitland, must struggle to pro- vide such upgrades. The report also acknowledged concerns about the amount of funding for special education and the stringent guidelines in which that money should be spent. "The design of the funding formuila drives programs in ways that were never intended," the report said. • • But citing the EIC's arms -length., non- decision -making nature, Rachlis held lit- tle hope more money would result from the report. "Time will tell," he told trustees after be- ing questioned about the possible effects of the report. , _ "We know that any input would have to come in the next few weeks," before the provincial cabinet goes into serious talks about the upcoming budget. "And we've also been told that the gov- ernment is not intending to spend any new money." Following the meeting Rachlis 'said his only real hope was some non -spending changes could be made to the funding for- mula for special education. "There's some hope that we would have some more flexibility in deciding how the money is spent," he said. "But I don't think. there's anything in there that would say we'd get more mon- ey." Exeter sludge staying put for now Kirton•biker charged in shooting WEST ELGIN _ An RR1 Kirkton man is among five men and one woman in custody police say are connected to the bike gang drive-by shooting on Iona Rd. near Hwy. 401 in West Elgin. David Michael McLeish, • 36, is charged with By Craig Bradford attempted murder and TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF � :breach' of re 'ognizemce. The incident hippened on Oct. 22 at 5:15 p.m. • A joint -forces probe involving the OPP, RCMP, London Police and a spe- cial provincial . motorcycle gang unit laid the charges that stem from a dispute between current and for- EXETER — A perceived sludge problem at Exeter's sewage treatment facilities is just that — a perception. Town council learned that the massive amount of unforeseen sludge from sewage lagoon cell four isn't a big problem after all in a report by consulting engineer Steve Burns of Goderich's B.M. Ross & Associates at a recent committee of the whole meeting. The engineer's original estimate of sludge in cell four was 5,000 cubic metres but it turned out there was 35,400 cubic metres of sludge in the cell. Cells one and two had 7,700 cubic metres more sludge than original- ly estimated while cell three had exactly the 14,000 cubic metres estimated. Burns said he and his associates "still do not really understand completely why cell four had so much sludge." The massive amount of unexpected sludge was dis- covered while the sewage treatment facility upgrade/expansion was underway. Sludge handling wasn't anticipated to be a big item worthy of a sepa- rate line item in the original grant application, Burns said, adding he expects the total project costs will be "substantially less than original estimates? The Ministry of the Environment has granted $1.8 million towards the $4.8 million project with Exeter picking up $1.6 million of the tab (through reserves and sewer rates) and Stephen Township contributing about $900,000. Nabisco has agreed to a 20 -year repayment schedule to pay for its part of the project. Burns said sludge management should be fully grantable from the MOE and that he and the MOE are reviewing the matter. He added it's best to leave the material on site and it is being handled safely. Coun. Peter Armstrong had "a problem" with leaving the sludge on site. He said Exeter shouldn't inherit all of the sludge since the town has two other "partners" (meaning Stephen Township and Nabisco) that gener- ate sludge. He added he had heard of a "water prob- lem" due to the sludge. Chief administrative officer and service delivery manager Dave Moyer were quick to point out there has never been a water quality problem shown to be caused by sludge at the sewage treatment facility. Council received and accepted the information Burns submitted. In a later interview, Armstrong elaborated on his concerns. He said it makes more sense to him to get rid of the sludge now while grants are available than to find out later the sludge could pose problems. mer members of the Loners Motorcycle Clubs of the London area and Toronto, Elgin County OPP Const:,. Dennis Harwood said. Harwood said occupants of a red vehicle were shot at by occupants of a white • vehicle as they travelled on Iona' Rd. near the 401 southwest of London. The • other • people' charged in the shooting are from Iona Station, London, Quebec and Of no fixed address. Two more men, both of London, are sought by the police. ' McLeish was charged in late July with several weapon offences after a joint police raid. Police seized • a military style assault rifle and ammuni- tion from the Kirkton area home. At the time McLeish was identified • as a • meihber of • the Loners Motorcycle Club.,. formerly . the Annihilators Motorcycle Club, located'in the St. • Thomas area. . McLeish ,was also fin- gered •as the 'Sergeant at Arms' • within the club, meaning he was responsi- _ ble for "discipline issues" within the club.. Rock with the Fireflys Oct. 30 By Craig Bradford TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF ZURICH — If you're up for a heaping helpful of classic hard rock and want to help the Zurich Arena get its new floor, you're cordially invited by the Fireflys to the Halloween Mad Bash The Bash is set for Oct. 30 at the Zurich Community Centre with the fun starting at 9 p.m. Tickets cost $5 either advance or at the door. The Fireflys are ft local band made up of Dave Morlock on lead guitar and lead vocals, Chris Brown on rhythm guitar, Chad Brown on bass and lead vocals and Wes Brown on drums. Chris is Chad's and Wes's dad. All have grown up or lived for a long time in the South Huron area. • . The band formed in '92 when the jam.. ming family heard Morlock play at a South Huron District High School assem- bly and later asked him to join. They've played together off and on ever since. Morlock, speaking for the band, said. the Fireflys sound is "intense hard rock" reminiscent of their influences -= the Beatles, Kiss, Aerosmith, AC/DC, Van Haien and Deep Purple. The band has opened up at Clinton's Johnny Mores for Sass Jordan and Trooper. • The Fireflys were a regular band at Johnny Mores and have gigged at the Zurich Bean Festival and Dashwood Friedsburg Days. The band is writing original songs for a full-length CD Morlock said should be • ,The Fireflys. Clockwise from top left :-are band Members Dave Morlock, Chris Brown, Chad Brown and Wes Brown.The: band.is performing at the Zurich 'Community Centre on. Oct. 30. (photo/contributed) ready this summer. The Fireflys have what Morlock called a five'song "demo". CD featuring these songs: Steppenwolf's Born To Be. Wild, Alice Cooper's, Eighteen, Buckcherry's Lit Up and Deep Purple's Nighrua/ Star. The CD features one Fireflys original: 7, 2,3. Although their goal is to put out albums, Morlock said the band enjoys performing for a crowd best. "We love playing in front of people and writing music," he said.