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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-03-01, Page 22PAGE 22 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, MARCH 1 , 1979 Dispatchershiredfor BY JOANNE BUCHANAN The central dispatch system to be used by the police departments in Goderich, Clinton, Seaforth, 'Exeter and Wingham came a few stepscloser to operational reality recently when • a chief dispatcherand four other dispatchers were ap- proved and hired for the system. Chief dispatcher will be Kenneth Anderson of Goderich. He will be directly responsible to Goderich Police Chief Pat King. The two grade one dispatchers hired were Mrs. Lorna Dale of Exeter and Mrs. Phyllis Hoggart of Wingham. The two grade three dispatchers hired were Miss Lori Biggin of Clinton and Miss Barbara Tilley of Seaforth. The grade three dispatchers have less experience than the. grade one dispat- chers. They will all be responsible to th.e chief 'dispatcher. The dispatchers were chosen from 15 applicants interviewed by a com- mittee consisting of .the five police chiefs, Mayor Darry Boyle of Exeter and Reeve Royce McCauley of Clinton. It is co -incidental that one dispatcher was chosen from each of the five towns, said Chief King. The dispatchers were approved by a super- visory committee • con- sisting of Goderich mayor Harry Worsell, Exeter mayor Darry Boyle Clinton reeve Royce McCauley, Sea forth councillor Robert Dinsmore and Wingham councillor Allan Harrison. The dispatchers were further approved by the Goderich Police Commission at a meeting on February 20. The dispatchers will work shift work to man the dispatch system 24 hours a day. The Goderich Police Com- mission has agreed to the salary package for the dispatchers whichhas been put together by the interviewing- and supervisory committees but the commission has also agreed that the benefit package should be reviewed and possibly incorporated with the Town of Goderich em- ployees' benefit package. The actual starting date of work for the dispatchers will be dependent upon Canadian General Electric, the company which is in- stalling the system. The provisional date for in- stallation is between April I and April 15. LOCATION At the Goderich Police Commission meeting on February 20, Judge F.G. Carter expressed his concern over the exact location of the system which is to be housed ,in Goderich. "A certain amount of chatter will be audible over the radios and we'll want a private room for it," he said. Chief King explained that "when talking Council pays laundry share BY JEFF SEDDON Goderich town council paid its share of the new laundry receiving building at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital Thursday but not before rapping the hospital board's knuckles for the way it handled financing of the project. A.M.&G. administrator Elmer Taylor met with council in a special afternoon session to outline details of the building project and to ask council for $12,817 to help pay for the job. Taylor explained that original estimates for the job were $140,000 but when tenders were -opened the lowest bid was $168,000. He told. council 150 000 had been approved theof $ app o ed by health and that the hospital board had asked an architect to trim $30,000 from the new building before the tender was sent to the ministry for final approval. Taylor told council that the problems surrounding, the new laundry receiving area began soon after the Ontario Fire Marshal's office condemned the present laundry facility. He sai a hospital board first looked• at restoring he condemned building and based early es r tes on that basis. He said the board then was old by the ministry to close the laundry building and close the tunnel leading from the hospital to the laundry unit. He said the tunnel was used for steam and hydro lines to the hospital and the ministry wanted those lines protected and the tunnel closed to traffic. He said it was then the board began to in- vestigate construction of a laundry receiving area having its laundry processed at the. Bluewater Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped. The administrator told council the new wing housed a laundry loading and receiving area, a storage area and a maintenance area. He said the storage area for the laundry took up quite a bit of the floor space pointing out that carts used to take the clean laundry to hospital wards were set up so staff could wheel the clean linen directly to the floor without sorting it. He said those carts required quite a bit of floor space. Taylor said without the use of the present laundry building there was no place at the hospital for a loading and receiving area for laundry trucks. He said engineering studies had been completed and there was no way to convert an area into a loading dock. He said there was little the board could do but build the new wing, Council's frustrations about the project were not over the new area to be built but rather over the way the hospital board handled the matter. Several council members complained that the board was lax in keeping council informed of its problems and had waited too long to ask council for funds to help•pay for the project. Councillor Elsa Haydon said she hoped the board did not "take the town's financial par- ticipation for granted" adding the board could have sent council a letter advising it of the situation and telling council it may be asked to pick op part ofthe costs. Reeve Eileen Palmer was more critical of the. board telling Taylor several projects council had planned may have to be shelved because of the money to be spent at the hospital. Palmer said the town was considering renovating its „municipal offices and enlarging the fire station and police offices .hitt would probably have to delay those projects because of the hospital project. She said a letter to council may have allowed the town to prepare for the expense at the hospital. COME TO US FOR ALL � YOUR PLUMBING SUPPLIES SER DOMIIMIONV10E HAn•I ARE SS 11CICTORIA ST. NORTH GODERICH 324•P$$1 Originally the hospital board asked town council to help pick up A•.M,&g.'s share of the construction costs plus the eight or nine percent needed after the county and ministry of health portions were determined. The board' asked council for $11,423 and council delayed on its decision sending the matter to its finance committee for discussion. Since making that request the board discovered it was a little shy on funds and came back to council with a - request for $12,817. Palmer made it clear she was not happy with the first request from the hospital board and was even less pleased with the addition. She told Taylor "when you (the hospital board) overshot your estimate we (council) came .to the rescue again" adding that the hospital board requests for funds are beginning to put a "hardship on taxpayers". She said it appeared the ministry had opted out of paying the extra money needed for' the project and that the ,"bottom line was W go to property taxes" for the money. She said town's share of the laundry building amounted to one mill adding "this doesn't sit well with me". "We're penalizing our taxpayers," said the reeve. " "This municipality operates under restrictions and we have no choice but to cut back our own projects or go to the mill rate with higher taxes. We don't want either. Neither one is palatable." Councillor John Doherty was a little more sympathetic to the hospital board's problems. Doherty told council he felt taxpayer's would not object to, paying the money for the hospital project. Doherty said 'not all taxpayers "utilize" the hospital but "feel confident they can get care from a facility that is run com- petently". Councillor Stan Profit told council, it ap- peared the town was "caught in the horns of,a dilemna where you're damned if you do' and damned if you don't". He said his "heart said no but his head said yes" adding it was ironic the ministry of health "made you cut costs then made you spend $150,000". Reeve Palmer, chairman of the finance committee, recommended council abide with the recommendation of that committee and only give the hospital board what it originally asked for, $11,423. Doherty reminded Palmer that it "seemed inevitable" the town would be spending the money adding he would like to see the recommendation amended for the full amount. Palmer conceded and recommended the board be given the $12,817 it asked for,. Councillor Elsa Haydon made a motion asking council to send a letter to the hospital board requesting that any future expenses at the hospital that the town may be included in be brought to council's attention at the earliest possible time. That motion received council's unanimous support. The administrator explained that the board was in the process of sending plans for the laundry wing back to the architect asking that the project be trimmed to bring the costs to within the $150,000 alloted by the ministryof health. He said features like landscaping, sidewalks and partitions in- the new building were being removed hoping that the, board could complete that work at a later date. No substitute for hospitals BY JEFF SEDDON Huron County medical officer of health Dr. Brian Lynch told county council Friday that hospital bed cuts in Huron County could come down to a life and death situation for some people. Dr. Lynch told council that there was "no substitute" for hospital beds claiming hospitals were the "most important and most fundamental type of health care there is'f. The MOH told council that bed cuts in the five hospitals in Huron County would mean more work and expense for the county funded home care service. He said the home care, a county operated service offering some nursing care in people's homes, could be used to pick up some of the patients that' would normally be treated in hospital but added that there were many things home care could do nothing about. Dr. Lynch pointed out two major areas •of health care delivery that may be threatened by bed cuts and cannot be handled under home care. He said obstetrics and caring for people with heart problems could be difficult if there is no room in hospitals to care for them. He said winters in Huron County could make it difficult. if not impossible for people to get oitt of rural areae to hospitals in emergency situations. He said many times a doctor will put someone in hospital to avoid the risk of weather preventing them ,from getting to hospital in an emergency but he pointed out that with limited bed space those neonle cannot be admitted. olice communications system square footage", there is room for the system at the police station but "it's just ua matter of rearranging things" to provide th best room. "We can put the dispatch system where the secretary is now. We can make do" but there may be room lacking for interrpgating prisoners," he said. Town Clerk, Larry McCabe said, "There's lots of space there (in the Wilding where the police station is housed) and all kinds of options but the' thing is to pull it all together." Clerk McCabe suggested that a meeting be set up between commission members and property committee members. A motion was then passed to have Chief King, 'Mayor Harry Worsell and Earl Rawson of the commission meet with members of the property committee and the fire and recreation chairmen to discuss plans for the layout of the building in which the police -station is located'; This meeting is to take place on March 7. •OPC RULES Since the central dispatch system is being housed in Goderich, control of the system has to cdme under the Goderich Police Com- mission according to the Ontario Police Com- mission which is providing a grant of 75 per cent for the in- stallation of the system. The other 25 per cent plus the ongoing costs of the system will be shared by the five municipalities on a per capita basis. Each of the five town councils have passed motions agreeing to the cost -sharing and vesting authority in the Goderich Police Commission. Since the dngoing costs are of great concern to the. five municipalities, explained Chief Kang, a committee consisting of representatives from each of the five':towns has been officially recognized by the Goderich . Police Commission as an ad- visory committee. This gives each town a form of control over the ongoing expenses of the system. A tentative name for the dispatch system is the Huron Police Central Dispatch System. About 50 per cent ,sof the equipment is ready now for the system, says -Chief King. Before the last payments are made on the system, it must be running satisfactorily as far as the five police chiefs are concerned and overall as far as the Ontario Police Com- mission is concerned, explains Chief King. "It is the first time five different towns have gone together right from the word go to form a central dispatch system and other areas are now contemplating following this pattern," he -said, He said that once the system is in operation, a press release and diagram drawn up in conjunction with the other chiefs will be released to the public to help them ' better un- derstand the system which he calls a "sophisticated answering service". OTHER BUSINESS In the other business at the Goderich Police Commission, accounts totalling $21,148.04 for the month of January were approved. Over $4,000 of this total was for a new cruiser; over $500 was for gas; and over $6,000 was for police payroll. • The commission also approved Chief King's activity report for January.- The report showed that thefts and wilful damagewere much lower so far this year than last. Overall, the month of January was a fairly quiet one for police. There were 11 frauds reported due to a credit card theft which had not yet been solved. Three motor vehicle thefts were •reported but all had been cleared by the police department: Overnight parking was responsible for the majority of 48 parking tags issued in the month of January. •• • •••••••••••••••.••••••••••••e•• •••••••••••••.•••e••••.• •_ l�n(fi ^. • • •• • • • • 3� ° —.fir_ ins to ill ��'��� • • •. l�,.i r�!;;F:,r�i'"; r< ; FROM EVERY DEPARTMENT, EACH WEEK AT • • @` 1 Es�� �h'J �'. h 14.x', rrr%il:.. ' ., IrM, a�1'��+1,ft�p� pR wt.\Vj•�.Ir,rl��nr/a'I,j"ktf', i 0 ,,,o,‘„ No 1 N^ ri►''YrLi inf°�7�� n'"1r1 �;�ry'�• J.M. CUTT • • ;► • • 4,,,::"..,...; .f+Y ', ,��ii�,' _+ r'l Yui Jif C. r!U�; • ,,,v•":�f �"it , � ��+ .ill J i : , , - LIMITED RED & WHITE FOODMASTER • •• • •• • 91 VICTORIA ST. GODERICH Below prices in effect Monday, February 26 until Opelrated • • or while quantities last. • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••• closing time, 10:00 p.m., Saturday, March 3, 1979 LEAVER MUSHROOMS `.SILVERWOOD'S DELUXE •Y0 I -CE CREAM DARE'S MAPLE LEAF CREAM • /7Z�'�. /.•z�li';•?�'" .,. t�'�"�r*,n:r3;� F:b .. S�fsr,.�"„/ ..-.r;.,o:� ,. • ..• • 2COCA' •�, 0 LI A At 750 • ML. PLUS 99. • FOR • DEPOSIT • • •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •e•••••e•p • - FRESH PRODUCE • BRAVO PLAIN 14 FLUID OZ. 1 • PRODUCE OF ONTARIO NO. 1 GRADE • SPAGHETTI COOKIES PIECES 10 OZ7 9.• AND STEMS TIN C • • • • 340 GRAM69 •••••••••••.••••••• •••••••••••••i • HOSTESS 7.9 OZ. • POTATO • • POTATOES .. 9.1.2 9 `SAUCE 2F0R1 .0 0 CHIPS 794: • • CLARK'S • FLORIDA TEMPLE :CRISCO ORANGES 99!L.gsco BEANS With PORI( • • IL „.....$1.49 IN YOMATO SAUCE 9 4 e• • FANCY GRADE • 14 OZ. 3 • PRODUCE OF ONTARIO • HABITANT PEA and• ROYALE BATHROOM • TISSUE 594: 2 ROLL PKG. • • SPARTAN •VEGETABLE 14 OZ. TIN :APPLE -S 994:.SOUP 28794 • • •PRODUCE OF U.S.A. NO. 1 GRADE :NESTLES A A I :QUICK7GM. 2 ••CELERY STALKS69E• •A. • FLORIDA PINK 8 WHITE • SUNLIGHT LIQUID DISH ROYALE 2 ROLL PACK • •• GRAPEFRUIT 6(F2.919C ;'DETERGENT 2402.79 TOWELS 991 ••••••••••••••••••••• SKIPPY 2 LBS. PEANUT BUTTER -:--- $1.891 ST. WILLIAM'S 9OZ. JAR • JAM 594; • LIPTO • e• SHREDDED WHEAT •• • • •• • CUP-A—SOUP 4's NABISCO 450 GM. OLD SOUTH FROZEN ORANGE JUICE 59° 69' ,2.501.89 4 FLEISCHMANN'S SOFT MARGARINE 1LB.TWIN 1.09: ••••••• •••••• • • • VALLEY FARM 2 LB. BAGS FRENCH FRIES 4FOR$ 1.00 Z O N D TASTER'S CHOICE INSTANT • COFFEE • • •••• e•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• • YOU SAVE TWICE WITH TRIM AND PRICE WITH 8 OZ. JAR - • & • RED AND WHITE MEAT SPECIALS 5,49 • CANADA PACKER'S DEVON VAC PAKA• M •I�®����®•�• • BLUE BONNET SLICED IDE BACON • FULLY COOKED STORE CUT5 • ' MARGARINE • HAM STEAKS 1099 LB. $ 3 LB. PKG. CUT FROM CANADA GRADE "A" BEEF a a ® - • 89 1 • RIB STEAKS • LB.•••i••••••e•e•• • ----.....1—.--•t ® BICK'S ASSORTED • �: $ READY TO SERVE BONELESS .DINNER HAM ® PICKLES • o 72 OZ. • MAPLE LEAF ' S. P. $ • • :COTTAGE ROLLS • LB. • $1• • r•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• •••••••••• 0000 • • SHOPSY'S 2 OZ. PACK BUY 3 GET A BONUS OF 1 PER DEAL $ • GREEN GIANT • • NIBLETS •':CORNB-ElF • ._Up CORN 12 OZ. a SHOPSY'S SALADS 24 OZ. GET A' BONUS 00 1 PER DEAL5 1 • 2 t 9 POTATO OR COLE SLAW TINS FOR • •••r'••••••••••••••-•••••••0••••••• • •••ie•••••••••• 0 •