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Clinton News-Record, 1978-04-27, Page 1Splish, splash There was some frantic paddling at the start of the men's amateur class in last Sunday's Kinsmen canoe race down the Maitland River from Auburn to Holmesville. More than 120 canoeists made the run on the sunny, but cool day, raising more than $1,000 for Cystic Fibrosis research. (News -Record photo) .Kinsmen canoe race nets $1,000 Sixty-six eager entries came out on Sunday to brave the icy spring waters of the Maitland River as the Clinton Kin- smen held their second annual canoe race from Auburn to Holmesville. The 14 -mile race, which was entered by nine more competitors than last year, raised an estimated $1,000 for Cystic Fibrosis. Last spring the successful event brought in over $1,200. The canoeists emerged from the waters of the mighty Maitland to be treated to a warm-up dinner at the White Carnation in Holmesville. In the men's expert class, Rene Boogeman of Hensall and Warren Knight of Zurich canoed to a first place finish in a record time of one hour and 24 minutes. Last year Boogeman's craft placed first as well with a time of one hour and 42 minutes. In second place, this year, were Sid Strange and his partner Fritz Langpeter of Windsor. Strange also finished first in the 1977 race. In the men's advanced amateur class, Tom Burns and Mike Laing from London finished first in a time of one hour and 30 minutes. Don Verhaeghe and Dave Vanderveeken of Wallaceburg finished second. Inthe Kinsmen zone inter -club division, Mel Hohner and Tom Craig of Clinton finished first with a time of one hour ,and 44 minutes. Gerald Hiltz and Harvey Carter also of Clinton brought their craft in second. Mac and Bill Stewart of Dublin took one hour and 47 minutes to paddle their canoe to the finish line to take first in the family class. Doug and Jeff Sowerby of Goderich crossed the line next for second place. In the men's amateur class, Roger and Peter Harbocian's craft came first in a time of one hour and 32 minutes while John Calcutt and Bryan Murray finished in second place. Murray and Mari Bremner of Brussels had a'time of one hour and 33 minutes to take first in the couples' advanced amateur class. Don and Craig and Karen Harbocian of Bothwell finished in second place. With a finishing time of one hour and 39 minutes Pnh'rt Chaddick of Lon - McKinley seeks PC nod. Bob McKinley, MP for Huron -Bruce for the past 13 years, will be seeking the Progessive-Conservative nomination for the next federal election. McKinley made the announcement at the Huron -Middlesex provincial PC riding association meeting in Exeter. He told the 300 people present that the Election would likely be held in June. After the meeting, McKinley said he was well prepared for the election when it came. "Ive never gone into an election against a government that has as many things to answer to their people for," he said. McKinley predicted that national issues would overshadow local concerns in the election. "This country is in very bad shape, with the value of the dollar, inflation ... capital punishment -may even be an issue," McKinley said. The provincial riding association Ike acclaimed their executive for next year. Bill Amos of RR 8 Parkhill was chosen president and Caley.Hill of Goderich was named first vice-president. The six other vice-presidents are George Cuddy of Kerwood, • Dr. Tom Jasper of Goderich, Oliver Jaques of Hensall, Gerald Walter of Goderich, Brenda Coates of Centralia, and Fred Dobbs of Biddulph. The chief financial officer for the PC association is Lorne Kleinstiver, and Mrs. Ruth Hill of Lucan was named secretary. Bud Gregory, MPP for Mississauga East, was the keynote speaker for the meeting. . Warden Ginn brougnt greetings from the county of Huron, while Fred Dobbs brought greetings from the association from Middlesex county. The federal PC riding association has yet to set the date for the nomination meeting. First column: Old F gone By Jim Fitzgerald All good things must come to an end, and after holding out for two years, the News -Record is finally giving in to that new fangled Celcius system. Even though the rest of Canada has been living with the metric system of measurement of our temperature and precipitation, the News -Record has continued to publish up in the "flag", , the weekly records in the familiar Fahrenheit and inch system. The reason we stayed with the old system so long was because our faith- ful weather watcher, Mrs. Norman Baird out at Brucefield, whose family has been keeping weather records for the government for three generations, had only Fahrenheit thermometers and inch rain guages. But this week, the meterological boys came down to Brucefield, with new instruments and so we must bid adieu, misty eyed and bowed head, to the old F degrees. Many, many of our older readers will be disappointed with° the change, but in the long run, •conversion to the metric system is for the good of us all (or so they say.) '+++ But not all our news is bad news, in fact, we have several items of good news to report as well. First of all, don't forget to turii your clocks AHEAD one hour this coming Sunday morning (at 2 a.m. to be exact) as once again we welcome Daylight Sa/ing Time into Canada, a sure sign of summer, and after supper garden and lawn chores. This year,' the moving ,of the "hands" comes on April 30, the last Sunday in the month, and the latest date possible for the change. + + -1- More More good news. For all those out there, who like myself, have procrastinated until now, the federal government is giving us a one -day extension on the date for filing our 1977 income tax forms. We now have until midnight, Monday May the 1st to get the "simple" little form in the mail. +++ We have received a number of comments on last weeks column about cleaning up the town, and a number of readers have suggested many ways of going about it. One reader suggested that instead of the kids having bike-a-thons, walk- a-thons to raise money for a number of projects, why not have a clean-a- thon, and everyone would benefit. Now with the public school selling garbage bags as a fund raising project, the two projects go together naturally. Any ideas? + + + Speaking of clean-ups, don't forget the Londesboro Lions monthly used newspaper pick-up next Saturday, May 6. Please have your bundled newspapers out at the curb by 9 a.m. desboro and Derwin Carter of Clinton came in first in the service club class. Neil and Ike Enns of Union took second place. Tom Beedle and 'Francis Archibald took the junior class with a time of one hour and 41 minutes while Tony Gib- bings of Clinton and his partner Rick Kloss of Brucefield followed behind. In the ladies' class, Jane Pearson and Lynn Dairs came in first in one hour and 40 minutes. Susan Hotson and Lynn Drinkwalter placed second. After an exhausting battle with the Maitland and again on dry land, the competitors enjoyed their meal at the White. Carnation. In the special draw, John Gibson of Clinton won the 16 -foot canoe, the Sugar Bush Inn of Bayfield received a wrist watch and a fishing pole was won by Bob Norman of Varna. 113th year —No. 17 Thursday, April27, 1978 30 cents Teachers 'salaries 74% of budget BY JEFF SEDDON If quality of education hinges on personnel costs Huron County should rank as having one of the best education systems in the province. Just under 75 per cent of the money Huron taxpayers pay for an education system goes toward salaries for teachers, administrators, secretaries, janitors and bus drivers. Roy Dunlop, superintendent of business affairs for the board of education, said Monday *that 74.6 per cent of the total education budget is designated for salaries. The total board of education budget for 1978 is $21,381,859 and of that $15,940,760 pays the help. The wages are broken into five categories. Business administration, which includes Dunlop, some staff at the board's administrative offices and school secretaries cost $218,192 in 1978. r rinripik superintendents of education and the education director cost the taxpayers $14,529,704 this year. Employees in educational services which include audio-visual technicians and a librarian cost $60,259. Janitorial staff in the county schools cost $980,000 and bus drivers cost $152,506 in wages. The budget, less the salaries, leaves the board with $5,441,099 to operate its education system. That money is 'used for purchasing supplies for schools, paying legal costs, insurance costs, operation of buses, operation of elementary and secondary schools, debt charges and capital expenses. The cost of wages in the operation of the education systemhas always been a source of concern for trustees trying to justify annual requisitions to the county's 26 municipalities. The trustees argue that three-quarters of the budget is fixed costs like salaries and they have no power to alter that. Added to that are the fixed costs for debt charges and plant operation which means that if wages are beyond the control of the board's budget then over 90 per cent of the money spent annually is out of the hands of the board of education trustees. The high percentage paid in salaries is a shock to many business minded people. Many claim that if wages exceed 50 per cent of gross expenses a company is paying too much for staff. If that rule of thumb applied to education or many other government agencies then one' third of the board's staff would have to face early retirement or school taxes would have to be increased by 30 per cent. Vanastra plant to close doors The 25 employees of the Kaufman footwear plant in Vanastra have learned that the factory will be closing its doors on July 15. The employees, who come from Vanastra and the surrounding area, have all been offered jobs at Kaufman's main plant in Kitchener, however, ac- cording to Yugar Walters, personnel manager at the Kitchener plant, only one person has shown interest in the transfer. The satellite plant was set up four years ago in the former Ration Depot of the air force base. Operations there included sewing the tongues and upper sections onto boots and 150 pairs of boots were produced daily by the staff whose wages ranged from $3-$5 per hour. Mr. Walters explained that the reason for the closing was to consolidate the plant under one roof in Kitchener. The Vanastra division is the only branch to the 80 -year-old business. "It will be more efficient in Kit- chener," he added, "and considering the overhead, it wasn't making a profit." Mr. Walters also told the London Free Press that despite staff training sub - Craig to carry Liberal torch The nation's economy and national unity will be the two main issues in the upcoming federal election according to Graeme Craig, Walton. Craig was chosen to represent the Liberals in the Huron -Bruce riding at the Huron -Bruce Liberal Association nomination con- ''' vcntion and annual meeting in Clinton on April 19. Craig defeated Grant Chisholm, Lucknow, and Jean Adams, Goderich. The riding, now represented by Bob McKinley, P.C., was Huron Middlesex before redistribution. Craig, 31, is a lifelong resident of the riding and has farmed since graduating from Ridgetown College of Agricultural Technology. A technician with United Breeders for 10 years, he is a director of the Huron Cattlemen's Association, president of the Brussels Agricultural Society and assistant secretary treasurer to the Huron Plowmen's Association. Statistics concerning the nation's economy are "confusing" Craig told the 400 Liberals who attended the con- vention. While there is 1 million unemployed, there are 300,000 more working now than one year ago. The labour force has increased three percent in the past year in Canada while in the same period, -the U.S. labour force has increased only two percent and the labour force force in Germany has declined two percent. The hudt;et drought down by the Liberals two weeks ago is a "respon- sible" one said Craig. The three percent drop in sales tax will stimulate the purchasing power of Canadians. But, he added it is important that a balance in foreign and Canadian buying be kept to ensure Canadians work. He noted that the budget also brought into effect the exemption from capital gains tax, of corporated farms which are handed down from one family member to another. He told the convention that farming is the backbone of the country and that farming must be profitable to make it a viable enterprise for the farmer. He said that this is the most "crucial election" this country has faced and that the prime minister of this country will have to give solid direction to the Canadian people to keep the country together. He said that he could not see Joe Clark as having the ability to do this. He said that Pierre Trudeau however, is respected by world leaders. Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs, Hugh Falkner, MP, Peter- borough, addressed the convention considering issues which included the economy, national unity, unemployment and agriculture. Area accidents cause $6,000 in damages Six are injured in one crash Nearly $6,000 damages and numerous minor injuries were the result of two accidents on Highway 8, investigated by the Goderich OPP recently. On April 17, Claudia Hill, 19, Goderich and John Shanahan, 28, Clinton were taken to hospital in Goderich where they were treated for injuries after the two cars they were driving collided. The Hill vehicle, which received $2,000 in damages, was travelling south on Highway 8 and attempting to make a left turn when the Shanahan vehicle at- tempted to pass and the two collided. Damage to the Shanahan car was estimated at $1,500. On Friday, April 21 on Highway 8, near Holmesville three cars collided, sending two people to hospital and slightly in- juring four others. Kenneth Fagan, 31 and his passenger David Steep, 27, both of Goderich received slight injuries after they were travelling west on the highway. The car stopped behind a vehicle making a left turn and a second car driven by Diana Smith, 19, of Goderich, skidded into the rear. The Smith vehicle then swung sideways and was struck by a third car driven by David Kelly, 28, of Clinton who was travelling east. Two passengers in the Smith car, Kim Diehl, 18, of Goderich and Rosemaary McCullough, 18; of Brucefield were taken to Clinton hospital. The McCullough girl remains in hospital where she is reported to be in good condition. Two other passengers in the same vehicle, Tammy McAstocker, 19 and Theresa Begeman, 21, both of Goderich were slightly injured. Damage to the Fagan vehicle was set at $1,000 while the Smith car received $1,000 in damages and the Kelly vehicle, $900. sidies from Canada Manpower, the high cost of training was' a reason why the plant wasn't making money. He also noted that there has been a high tur- nover of staff. Some concern and consequently help was offered by the Tuckersmith Township council to Kaufmans but Clerk Jack McLachlan noted ,"Their decision is final." "It's a shame to lose 25 jobs," he said. Reeve Ervin Sillery noted that Clerk McLachlan was instructed to contact the Kitchener plant to see if the closing could be amended. "We tried to help but they (Kaufman) said there was nothing we could do." MPP supports move to take novels out The Kingsbridge Catholic Women's League plans to bring a letter writing campaign to bear on the Huron County Board of Education to have three "ob- jectionable" novels removed from the list of high school English literature books. The novels, all of which have returned to haunt the board for the past three ,years, contain language that is "filthy" and consistently refer to sexual ac- tivities according to the CWL. Exerpts from the books were sent along with about 200 letters that went out to board trustees, members of federal and provincial parliament, township Turn to page 3 /0_ Weather 1978 1977 Th HI LO HI 10 APRIL 18 5.5 0.0 62 47 19 11.5 6.0 79 49 20 7.0 0.0 74 55 21 5.5 1.0 79 57 22 9.0 0.5 61 50 23 12.0 -2.0 52 °45 24 15.0 4.0 58 39 Rain .68 Seeding started Late last week, area farmers finally got on the land, and cool, but sunny and dry weather this week has .speeded up spring grain seeding, which was two weeks behind last year, Rick Le Beau, left, and Bob Le Beau, took advantage of the dry fields last weekend to put in their malting barley on a field north of Brucefield. Weather forecasters predict the cool, but dry weather win persist another month. (News -Record photo)