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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-01-02, Page 19s an T Towering 100 feet in the air on John Street looms • Wingham's new standpipe. This is only one project which causes the PUC manager, Ken Saxton, to con- clude that it has been a hectic year for the Wingham Public Uti- lities Commission. The waterworks 'project has been its largest endeavour and has included the drilling of a new well and the construction of the standpipe: In addition to this, another enterprise is wj4erway With the' erection of new street Uglita for the town. The tithe factor has . had to be flexible as both projects cannot be worked on at once. Mr. Saxton feels that many people have been critical of the well and standpipe. It must be remembered, he urges, that the commission has put a lot of thought Into this scheme and has cut down on the original estimate considerably, from about $6001000 to less than $200,000. • Quality Ciotkin g • tig AIR • `'tx4 Friendly Service Serving Wingham and area since 1923 HANNA'S MEN'S AND BOYS' WEAR Offering you the largest selection of men's and boysir- wear in the area HANNA'S Men's and Boys' Wear WINGHAM, 357-1865. But why was .this change ne- cessary in the first. place? In 1968 the Ministry of the Environment felt that the Wingham water storage capacity was not suffici- ent for a town of its size, espe- cially in regard to fire protection: The first suggestion was a ground bevel storage tank but the com- mission decided that with thou- sands of gallons of water below the ground, the drilling of a well would be more feasible. The new well, which is located near Lloyd's Factory, was in service in November and produces 1,000 gallons a minute. The other two wells in town produce 325 gallons `per minute and 500 gallons per minute. • The contract for the standpipe went to the Canada Gunite Com- pany and construction began around the first of July. The con- crete was poured by a 'slip form continuous pour method. After setting it was pre -stressed by means of steel wires which were wrapped around the outside, half an inch apart, up the entire con- struction and gunite was sprayed on this to cover—the cables. Finally, a roof was poured, an in- novation to the former standpipe which had an open -top and a capacity of 147,000 gallons. The capacity of Wingham's new standpipe, which is located near CKNX, is 384,000 gallons. Originally the estimate on the well was $90,000 and the stand- pipe was $140,000. The contract to build the standpipe amounted to $127,000 which left $13,000 allo- cated for the valve chamber to cut into the system, the landscap- ing and the building for the pump - house. The PUC took two deben- tures, one for $90,000 for the pump and one for $100,000 for the standpipe. The balance was paid out of funds available. New Lights Another major project for the PUC has been the erection of new street: lights. This enterprise has been hindered by the amount of traffic in the town. As a result, the work can be done only three days a week because Thursdays and 1idays are too busy. Al- though it was hoped that .the job would have been completed long Life Holds A Little More Because of Electricity And it's right at the tip of your fingers, with an unobtrusive Tight pliig, or a small switch toflick APPRECIATE IT CONSERVE IT _your hydro WINGHAM PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION ction tic year ago, at least two bloats will be finished this year - from. Victoria. Street to Patrick Street. The e00 - mated frost for materials was be- tween $15,000 and WPM which included concrete poles, under- ground wiring, fixtures and aluminum davits, (arms). The projected cost for the total job was $30,000 but, says Mr. Saxton, with labor costs increasing, it is very difficult .to make estima- tions. Other Projects These new projects are only part of the PUC services. They have been busy in other areas too, due to many factors. within the town itself. New construction, new subdivisions and progressive changes from old material to new are some of the reasons for their diligent activity. In 1974, 82,500 feet of 4" watermain was re- placed with 8"; in 1973, 3,000 feet of watermain was replaced. Ad- ditionally, when hydro lines be- come old and tattered they must be restrung and changed. About 2,000 feet of 3-phase .primary have•been replaced this year and another 1,000 feet of 3-phase primary went into new construc- tian. Services 1n new homes in- clude wiring and installation of underground transformers. How- ever, it is the rebuilding that takes more time than new con- struction. The pump houses also have to be painted every couple of years. They must be checked every day and when it is muddy, washed down. "We're always painting and- scraping," says Mr. Saxton. "We, try to keep everything clean." Another 'project which re- mains to be done is the removal of the old standpipe and the PUC does its own tree -trimming in the winter., Recent changes within the PUC have also increased its effici- ency. In December of 1971 a big line truck with a radial arm dig- ger and bucket was purchased. This has made it possible to re- duce a six -hour digging job to about 15 minutes. As the manager indicated, "This has made a very real difference." ala ' !971,, another man E#wts added to the outside crew staff. These innovations have helped make it possible to also dothe public utility work for Blyth, Teeswater and Lucknow. This year 2,000 feet of watermain has been laid in Blyth and another 1,000 feet in Teeswater. Finan- cially, this makes a difference too, says Mr. Saxton. Although the annual payroll is about $50,000; contributions from the other municipalities reduce the amount the PUC pays.. Ken Saxton has been employed by the Wingham PUC since 1963 and has been its manager since February, 1971. The other two of- fice workers are Carson Snow- den, who has been there since. 1959 and is Secretary -treasurer, and \ Don MacKay, who- dates back to 1957 and works dart -time as billing clerk. The crew fore- man is Ken Simmons and he has been with the PUC since , 1959. Harley Gaunt began in 1969 and- heads nd-heads up the waterworks depart- ment. Two linemen learners, Les Thompson and Tom Robinson, started in 1971. Mr. Saxton proud- ly pointed out that both these em- ployees have done well in train- ing school and are well on their way to reaching journeymen status. All the men live in the town of Wingham, except one who lives about half a' mile out. This proximity is necessary be- cause, if something goes wrong, the men must be available im- mediately, bad weather or not. Mr. Saxton has high praise for his employees. "They're always ready to put forth that extra ef- fort when it's needed." And ob, viously, this has been one of those years. Mr. Saxton's praise is also ex- tended to the commissioners, Rod Wraith, Mayor DeWitt Miller and the chairman, Roy Bennett. He says that they're often on hand and interested to • knaw ' if there are any problems. If a policy question comes up they are always available and put a great deal of thought and effort into their decisions. He expressed re- gret that Mr. Miller would no longer b9 with them upon his re- tirement from the town council. Rates Going Up What does Mr. Saxton see in the immediate future? WeU, Ontario Uydro has increased its rates in January for the last five years and these increases will continue for the next five. The PVC is trying to keep these increases to a minimum by absorbing them until August, at which time the customers receive them. Infla- tion has alsp augmented the t of material as well as makint difficult to obtain. New wire bas to be ordered now for next March; transformers tae 55-60 weeks for delivery. However, the manager is confident that he has ordered enough material ahead so shortages will be avoided. What about the future for the town itself? As Mr. Saxton points out, "k lot of people who work here don't live here." But he feels the town has great possibilities and indicates that one of the prob- lems is not enough housing. There are no empty houses here. When people move out .the PUC has to disconnect the services but soon they are connected again. Also, many of the empty lots have been built up in the last while. In the Summit Drive area, two W three homes.have gone up in the last couple of years; - seven or eight homes have been erected in the Fred Moore sub -division. Sunset Crescent is another subdi- vision which has seen the erection of eight or nine homes in the last three years. But Mr. Sax- ton feels that it is difficult to make predictions. Sometimes people come up with ideas but they don't always go forward. Moreover, interest rates make it difficult for new construction projects. However, development would certainly aid the PUC, its mana-, ger pointed out, because the water flow from the • industrial area to the standpipe is re- stricted. The water main .from the standpipe is 12". The water flows from the high school to the field east, then turns north toe river and then westback to the in- dustrial area. If that area in be- tween were built up, part of new installation could be paid by the developer. This would, certainly reduce the costs for the commis - Fl o . J At any rate, Mr. Saxton is con- fident that the PUC could handle another 1,000 people as long as they, don't- all come at once. Leask's Tire Centre Leask's Tire Centre was opened at the south end of Wingham in June of this year. Formerly the business was operated by the Firestone com-. pany ; now it is independently owned by Bill Leask. Auto supplies, appliances and brake and front end service are provided at the tire centre. Three men and one office girl are em- ployed here. " Gary Bennett is manager of the tire centre. The'ham PUC WORKERS SET ABOUT the task ofinstalling temporary water tines for theutilities changeover from the old standpipe to the new structure. This picture was taken earner this year and when you read this the new water tank should be operating at full capacity in the town's water system. (Staff Photo) .. Becker's Milk comes to Wingham On October 16th, Lorna Mc- Minn and\her husband, Les, em- barked on a new venture. At this time Mrs. McMinn assumed re- sponsibility as store manager for the new Becker's Milk outlet which is located on main street just south of the theatre in the former Rac & Break billiards building. . Mrs. McMinn finds thle work - interesting and feels that the or- ganization of the stere makes it very . convenient. The Becker's Milk store is' open every day of the week from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., with the exception of Christmas Day. Mrs. McMinn employs three part-time helpers. "Business is doing well," says Mrs. McMinn. "I find the even- ings very busy. The store is so convenient for the people up at this .end of town." 1 . Jiv".r v tt OVER RECENT YEARS the Wingham Public Utilities "Commission has been expanding and refining its water system. Earlier in the year a new well was drilled to add additional reserves to the PUC's system. Along with the well, this building, which houses pumping equipment, was installed in the upgrading program. (Staff Photo) THE NEW AND THE OLD — Wingham's new standpipe will probably be in operation by the time you read this. The new structure cost close to $200,000 to build and will hold in the neighborhood of 300,000 gallons of water. The standpipe was" one of several projects undertaken by the PUC this year to provide improved service to the residents of Wing - ham . (Staff Photo) As electrical contractors for the, past thirty years, we've been pleased to have been part of the growth of homes, industries and farms in Wingham and area. ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS BURKE ELECTRIC WINGHAM 357-2450 HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES MOTOR SALES AND SERVICE