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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-02-08, Page 1If you want to help fight ...call Gerry BY SHIRLEY J. KEIJ ER If you want to be in- formed about what's going,on at Alexandra Marie and General Hospital as far as bed cuts are concerned...and if you want to do something to help the local hospital board fight to keep the level of health care high in this com- munity...call Mrs. Gerry Zurbrigg. She's the new' chairman of the Com- munity Relations Committee of the board at AM&G. Mrs. Zurbrigg said the committee has plenty of ideas about things the community can do to help the board save hospital beds, but some off these won't be fully discussed until the committee's next meeting in two weeks. In the meantime though, there's, lots being done...arid many things Goderich and area people can do. The committee's first action is to write a letter to the Ontario Hospital Association to determine ,if that group. has any plans for a presentation to the Ontario Ministry of Health. There's no purpose to be served in duplicating efforts, says Mrs. Zurbrigg. As well, the board is sending letters to the various hospitals in Huron and Perth to ascertain if anything can be done collectively by these boards. In Huron, boards in Seaforth, Clinton and Exeter have already indicated their apathytothe. situation while the board of Wingham and District Community Hospital appears to be concerned about ,,the reduced operating budget for 1979. Mrs. Zurbrigg said the Stratford Hospital has organized a committee very similar to the one at AM&G and she feels there could be some support coming from that area. "We're going to see what can be done by Deal to close BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER Council wants to meet with John Lilholt who represents a construction firm from Oakville that erects senior citizens housing ac- commodation under certain financial and leasing arrangements with the Ontario Ministry of Housing. Lilholt will be invited to next week's meeting as will the newly named members of the Housing Action Committee - Martina Schneiker, Don Wheeler, Ray Fisher, Roy Breckenridge, two representatives from the neighboring municipalities of Colborne and Goderich Townships and Councillor Brian Knights of Goderich. Word has been received from_ D.J.Murphy, the town's solicitor, that he is satisfied the town will be able to get a title to the property at the corner of West Street and Waterloo Street that has been tied up in a legal matter since the death last fall of George Mitches, a London lawyer". It is expected the deal will close on March 1,1979, at which time the town will need the total price of $205,000 for the land. • salary agreement for -aT1 rnunrcpal em- - getting together," said Mrs. Zurbrigg, Citizens of Goderich and area should be talking to their doctors about the implications of the bed cuts at AM&G, to find out exactly what it cou-1-d mean to them as individuals,, There are also several petitions around .,town, the committee chairman added, which could be signed. "But letters are bet- ter," she said. "One hundred names on a petition are good. But 100 letters would mean much more." Those persons wanting to send letters of protest to #government officials can mail them to the following addresses: The Hon. Dennis Ti,mbrell, Minister of Health, 10th Floor, Hepburn Block, 80 Grosvenor Street, Toronto M7A 1R3. The Hon. William Davis, Premier of Ontario, 281 -Legislative Building, Queen's Park, Toronto M7A 1A2. The Leader of the Opposition, Dr. S. L. Smith, First Floor North Wing,. Queen's Park, Toronto M7A 1A2. The Leader of the New Democratic Party, Michael Cassidy, Second Floor, North Wing, Queen's Park, Toronto M7A 1A2. Jack Riddell, MPP for Huron, First Floor, North Wing, Queen's Park, Toronto M7A 1A2 or his home address, RR 1 Hay, Ont. NOM IWO. Other members of the Community Relations - Committee of AM&G are board members George Young, Bruce Potter, Jo Berry, Dr. Kenton Lambert and Dr. Bruce Thomson; the .. nursing staff representative Miss Joyce Shack ; the Ontario Nurses Association representative Mrs. Patricia Dymer; the SEIU representative Gary Chambers ; the non- unionersonnel representative Ed Giesbrecht; and hospital administrator Elmer Taylor. • Gerry Zurbrigg 1# YE Alt -6 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1979 35 CENTS PEI( COPY own employees get eight percent BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER In open session .Monday evening, Goderich Town Council gave the stamp of approval to a Council to plan its planning BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER A letter to Goderich Town Council from Bill Hanly, the county clerk -treasurer, has resulted in the town's elected officials taking a closer look at the financial authority and the policy between Huron County and the town where the planning department is concerned. Reeve Eileen Palmer, Deputy -reeve Bob Allen and Clerk Larry McCabe have been in- structed by council to review this whole matter in time for the next meeting to be held in February. In his letter, Hanly requested the town to set out priorities for the work it wants done by the planning department,and supplied a list of 'those projects already on the planning department books. However, council feels - much of this work is either now out -dated or accomplished. Councillor Elsa Haydon much of the list is "really ridiculous". She claimed the only two important issues at the moment are to up.date the town's official plan and zoning bylaw. The whole matter will .be discussed next Monday evening at council's committee meeting when county representatives will be in attendance. Anyone for some rice wrapped in seaweed topped with .pickled plums? Tommy TaylOr (right) seemed .anxious to try his but Jim King„ was a little More doubtful (he had a few , problems with thchop sticks too! ). Both hoes are members of the fourth Goderich II Cub Pack who, along with the other Cub Packs, Scouts and' Venturers in town, have been studying Japan to earn their' World Religion and Life badges. (Photo by Joanne 11tichunan) ployees.Finance Chairman Eileen Palmer and her committee' were commended for' the "excellent package" presented to councillors who only had a few questions about the in- creases and the accompanying initial salary grid system,the first of its kind for Goderich. Reeve Palmer said t'r„x agreement had been viewed by the town &iiployees prior to its ' presentation at - the council table Monday evening. "Ninety-eight ' percent are happy and satisfied,” said the reeve. The package represents an overall wage increase of about eight percent for town workers and was selected as a proper increase because the forecast consumer price index is a hike of 7.5 percent in the cost of living for 1979. According to Reeve Palmer,the proposed increase represents less than one percent of the overall budget.Total wages will represent about 10.9 percent of the 1979 budget - exclusive of fringe benefits which Palmer said are worth about $2.,700 to $3,000 to each employee in the plan. "I think it is a good agreement and a fair one," commented Councillor John Doherty who seemed to sum up the general feelings of council members. No decision was reached Monday evening on the salaries for council members or for Public Utilities Commissioners, Council will think over this matter until next Monday evening when council Will- meet for its committee session. PUC members have requested an increase of $200 per annum to $1,200 from $1,000. No in- dications have been given so far as the type of increases sought by members of council. SALARY GRID A FIRST The salary grid covers all employees of the town who are classified in four main groups - executive group; general office group clerical; outside group; and Maitland Cemetery workers and casual work-ers. It shows thr--e-e.levels-- level one being the lowest level and level three the highest. • Depending on the level of responsibility each employee carries in each group, the category into Which he or she falls can range'from level one through three.The object of the grid was to look at positions and not at individuals. As an example, the salary grid showed that the clerk-treasurer,deputy-clerk-treasurer and commissioner of works in municipalities of a similar size to Goderich are receiving $27,490,$17,006.11 and $26,990 respectively at the third level. Level two for each position is $24,991.20, $15,746.40 and 324,408; level one is $22,140, $14,530 and $21,600 respectively. Currently the salaries paid for these three positions in Goderich are $20,500, $13,500 and $20,000. Thusthe three persons holding these positions now will move to level one and proceed through level three as experience is added.The only changes that will be made in the grid• will be for cost of living, if this is a factor in the years to come. In the case of the next three positions on the grid, the pollution control plant manager, the public works foreman and the chief of police, the grid calls for the following salaries at the three --levels: level one,$15,978.92,$17,082.96 and $21,826..96 respectively; level two, $17,257.24, $18,449.60 and $23,573.12 respectively; and level three,$19,225.56; $19,927,56; and $25,459.96 respectively. ' Current salaries paid for these three positions in Goderich are $17,257.24,18,449.60 and $23,573.12. Thus these three position are now paid at -level two and in 1979 will be paid at level three rates. The grid will be reviewed annually, 'Clerk Larry McCabe told council. Reeve Palmer Farmers oppose restaurant BY JEFF SEDDON The Huron Federation of Agriculture will continue to oppose a proposed waterfront restaurant in Goderich and will carry that opposition to the Ontario Municipal Board. Federation m embers voted Thursday night to' support a farm related industry that claims it will be threatened by the restaurant to be built on its doorstep: The restaurant is to be built on the Goderich waterfront adjacent to the.grain handling silos of Goderich Elevator Limited and the federation feels it has an obligation to protect an agriculturally related industry. The vote by members Thursday night medns that the federation will take the restaurant developer Bob Gibbons to the OMB to try to have the development stopped. The land Gibbons proposes to build the restaurant on was zoned industrial and thus far his attempts to have that zoning changed to commercial to permit the restaurant have resulted in a split decision. Goderich planning board denied Gibbons the designation change but town council, by an eight to one vote, reversed that decision giving Gibbons the go ahead. The federation is not the only organization opposed to the restaurant. Goderich Elevator objected strongly to the idea basing its concern on the inability of a restaurant and a grain handling operation to exist side by side. Spokesmen for Goderich Elevator said the elevator is a dusty, noisy operation that creates a great deal of truck traffic and appealed to both planning board and council to turn back the. restaurant application because the food outlet imay hamper the operation of the in- dustry in the future, The objection by the federation of agriculture was filed without the approval of its mem- bership. The federation executive had the group's land use committee check .into the matter and then agreed that to protect farmers' interests an objection would be in order. Federation president Merle Gunby explained to the members that there wasn't time to take the matter to a membership vote and the executive committee felt it was in the best interest of agriculture to object to the restaurant. Gordon Hill, chairman of the federation land use committee and author of the objection, told the membership that the federation is not "opposed to a restaurant with a very"stunning view" but felt there were other locations -near the lake better suited for a restaurant. Hill said the federation was only trying to protect the interests of its membership. He said the federation was not "carrying the torch for Goderich Elevator" but looking out Tor farmers in Huron and neighboring counties that use the facility. . Hill advised the members that further ob- jection to the restaurant would cost' money. He said the Huron federation would have to hire legal help or make use of legal staff employed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. He added that it may be possible to align the federation with Goderich Elevator making use of lawyers hired by that firm but pointed out that the federation did not want it to appear as,' though it was "carrying the Goderich Elevator bag". Torry McQuail wanted no. part of any align- ment with Goderich Elevator. He pointed Olt Turn to page I (j • commented that the grid will effectively inform the town's employees what they can expect in salary in the coming years and they will know whether they are prepared to work. for that amount or whether it will be necessary to move on to find the kind of remuneration expected in i'?nother area. Other salaries in the executive group include the arena manager, $14,040,$15,163.20 and 315,302.56; bylaw officer, $10.303.25,$10,715.38 and $11,715.38; airport co-ordinator,$13,287, $14,351 and $15,500; arena 1 assistant, $11,795,$12,736, and 31:3,270; arena 2 assistan- t,$11,795,312,736 and $13,270; recreation director, $14,675,31-5,850 and $17,500; marina supervisor, 312,295,312,795 and $13,295. The general office group - clerical runs from a low of $7,885.02 for a level one secretary to the recreation director to -a high of $13,476.42 for a level three deputy tax collector. - Salaries for outside group members range from a low of $6 per hour for a laborer to a high of $7,86 per hour for a public works mechanic. Maitland Cemetery ,workers and casual workers hourly rates range from a low $5.02 for a casual parks worker to a high of $6.06 for a Maitland Cemetery sub -foreman. Also in' this group are the MacKay Hall caretaker at $5,840.73 per annum; the library caretaker at $3,901;72 per annum; the day nursery supervisor at $8,514.72 and the day nursery assistant at $7,974.72 per annum; and traffic control guards at $15 per day. " Council determined that the salaries for all students employed by the town for four months or less,will be determined at the time of hiring. FEW QUESTIONS There were very few questions arising from the salary grid presentedto council. Only one area raised much discussion at all and that Turn to page 16 • A contented smile. With remnants of blueberry pie and whipped cream plastered over his face, Dennis Donnelly manages a smile after win- ning the pie eating contest at GDCI, Friday. Donnelly ate a pie and a half to claim the champitins•hip. More pictures inside. ( photo by- Dave SO'kes)