Loading...
The Wingham Advance Times, 1995-03-29, Page 1if you're not StibiciiblOg to The Wingham Advance -Times, you'remissing out: Use this coupon below and subscribe today! Name: Address: PrOv.: Postal Code: Subscription rates Canada within 40 miles (65km) ad- dressed to non letter carrier address - ss $27 plus 81.89 GST. Outside 40 miles (65km) or any letter carrier address $40 plus $2.80 GST. Ouside Canada $80 plus $5.60 GST USE YOUR CREDIT CARD Card No. DEEnor❑ OCIELIEEICID Expi Date• Visa i Master Card ❑ Cheque enclosed Return To; WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES P.O. Box 390, 5 Diagonal Road L Wingham, Ontario, NOG 2W0 • aha Royal Homes will present the inter- national Home Show Dream Home for the third time. Page 5. icngbam Turnberry Tow ship will enter into an aevent with Union Gas to pro- vide area service. Page 5 The Wingham Senior Women's Hawks move on to the OWHA cham- pionship on April 7. See Sports Wingham Spring Trade Show Donations from event go towards annual fireworks 750 The revitalized Wingham Trade Show will take over the Royal Canadian Legion on April 12 and 13. Michelle Kennedy, organizer of the event, said the trade'how • will feature almost every aspect of the commercial and industrial community when the doors open. "We've got a good assort- ment of local trade profiled: tradesmen, auto/recreation, gift - wares, landscaping, sporting goods; entertainment, builders, pools, sign makers...just about everybody." The show, said Kennedy, will be a vast departure from, the pre- vious trade shows will fizzled out a couple of years ago. The mid -week format will hopefully attract morepeople.. as will the new location. Kennedy said there are only a few serviced tent spots left, at a going price of $165. ' "And with the donations go- ing to the Wingham and Area Volunteer Firefighters for the annual fireworks, you can get mote bang for your buck. The money goes back into the com- munity." Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and close at 10:00 p.m. for the event. Annual Community Forum tonight The sixth annual Economic Development Committee Com- munity Forum will take place to- night in the auditorium of the Wingham Town Hall. The guest speaker for the eve- ning is Wingham and District Hospital CEO Lloyd Koch. The annual Mainstreet Improvement Awards will also be ahanded out. Things begin at 7:30 p.m. Hospital News Editorial Letters Sports Scoreboard T.V. Guide Classifieds Horoscopes Crossword Page 2 Page 4 Page 6 Page 8 Page 9 Page 13 Page 14 Page 18 Page 18 A LOOK AT. Delmore sign maker ander graphic artist Bevin Finlay took top honors In Daytona. Page 7 The Wingham Advance -Times is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and Informat,.,1i leadership Not right wing. Mike Harris defended his policies as mainstream dur- ing.his stop in Wingham. People want change Harris tells devotees ome say his policies may be leaning just a little to the radical right wing ele- ment in the province, but Progres- sive Conservative leader Mike Har- ris said his Common Sense Revolu- tion is nothing but mainstream policies. Harris brought his pre-election roadshow, to Wingham last Friday to rally the Huron and Bruce County Tories and to discuss his platform with the local media. Some 200 plus .showed up for a luncheon sponsored by the Huron and Bruce PC Associations at the Legion. His vibrance was fuelled by the fact that on the previous day, the ..Lyn McLeod led Liberals unveiled their own plan to reclaim Ontario from the directionless New Demo- crats which compared remarkably to that.of the Tories. Undaunted by that, Harris said that proves his plan is what people in the main- stream are thinking and that McLe- od's previous attacks that the To- ries were leaning to the right ming to capitalize on the popularity of the Reform Party were nothing more than political rhetoric. "Who's been paying attention to the polls? The problem with their plan is there is no job creation plan." • The PC leader reserved most of his attack for the NDP and their spending habits. While Harris was touring the region, NDP Finance Minister Floyd Laughren was quot- ed as saying the Tories belief that spending .can be cut is false and that Ontario must brace itself for tax hikes in 1996 - regardless of who wins the upcoming, as of yet, unannounced, election. Laughren and his staff had to do some • damage control over the weekend to erase the interpretation that the NDP will raise taxes if re- elected'. The minister's defense for the comments was that the NDP really meant they will have to im- pkement some serious budget cuts or face tax hikes. Before changing his tune on Sat- urday, Laughren said Thursday that the Liberals and Conservatives were not "dealing straight" with the public about the situation. Laugh- ren said the two plans "can't be clone" and kept in tune with his leader's, Bob Rae, position that Ot- l:.tawa is to blame for Ontario's hard- ships. "Tax increases and expenditure cuts will have to be done to make up for the loss of $3:6 billion in Cameron J. Wood federal transfer payments: Ontario can no longer borrow to cover those losses," Laughren told the Toronto Star's Jonathan Ferguson. Harris wasn't surprised by Laughren's comments. He said that goes to show the NDP "doesn't get it" when it comes to Ontario's fu- ture. "The Liberals and NDP believe they are the only, ones who can spend money better than the public: People in Ontario haven't had an increase in the amount they take home in seven years...Our plan will give families in Ontario a $100 in- crease in take home pay per month." So how does Harris plan to ac- complish,this feat? The Tories plan to slash government spending by Please see TORIES/3 THE HARRIS PLAN -cut provincial income tax by 30% -create more than 725,000 new jobs in five years -reduce.non-priority government spending by 20% through a 'fat - finding commission' -balanced budget in four years -cut govemment barriers to job creation, investment and eco- nomic growth -scrap Bill 40 -kill payroll health tax for small business -freeze hydro rates -5% WCB premiums cut -cut civil service by 13,000 -cut MPPs from 130 to 99 -protect funding to health care, law enforcement and education -restructure welfare to include tougher controls, mandatory re- training and community service -reform education, cut school bu- reaucracy, classroom -based bud - getting, opt -out Junior Kindergart- en, loan programs for tuition fees, cut high school years to four from five -scrap jobsOntario -reform legal aid -sell government assets, such as surplus land, LCBO and investi- gate ' Income will go direr y to paying down provincial debt. - but not in Wingham as Zehrs pulls out By CAMERON J. WOOD The Advance -Times Although it has taken several weeks to get a straight answer, the speculation has come to an end as officials with Zehrs have confirmed they will close the Wingham gro- cery store in August. Grant Heimpel, , president of Zehrs Markets, spoke with the Ad- vance -Times on Friday after three weeks of unreturned 'phone calls. Heimpel said the delay was due to the company wanting to meet with the employees first. The decision to close the 15- year-old local outlet comes in the shadow of two nearby superstore developments. Both Goderich and Listowel will open 64,000 square foot stores within the next few months, anchored 'on plazas with other major department stores. In Goderich, Wal-Mart will open a 75,Otf-"sq: footplus outlet; ListowA„ el a `et 80,000 sq. ft. Zellers store. "We felt with the opening of the two larger stores the Wingham store would decline. We felt we wouldn't be able to service the Wingham area properly," he said. Zehrs...Gone by August All employees at the Wingham outlet have been offered jobs at ei- ther of the new stores, Heimpel said.' Eight full time and twenty. - two part time- are affected by the decision. Heimpel said the company is working to arrange for a sister store to fill the vacancy in Wingham; ei- ther a Mr. Grocer or a Yake Inde- pendent Grocery Store. The lease at the plaza does not expire until 2000. In addition, the union• has a five year. successor rights agree- ment, meaning a new store must pick up the union contract And while Zehrs already has an outlet in Goderich, the new store will double the current floor space. The company expects to have the superstore open by August. In a recent interview with the Goderich Signal -Star, Heimpel said "We needed a bigger store than what we had in Goderich to put all these different departments in that we want to offer to our customers." Ironically; of the expansion in Goderich he said, "We've been at this for some time. We started in the larger centres and now we're moving out into the rural areas. I think that people in the rural .areas deserve this." The Goderich operation is ex- pected to employ 40 full-time and 125 part-time staff when it is com ', . , pleted. And while Listowel currently has a Zehrs store on Highway 23 North, the decision to build will have a major impact on the plaza in which it currently conducts busi- ness and the downtown Smith's Valu -Mart. Jm•Conners,,pxesident.of Nichol Properties told the Listowel council in November "1394 that he had a firm commitment from both Zellers and Zehrs. Heimpel said the company hoped to open Listowel by September. Report encouraging: Koch Wingham and District Hospital chief executive officer Lloyd Koch told the board last Thursday evening that he found the recently released Graham Scott report on 'emergency room medical staff Rumors end as McLellan serves notice Almost a month after walking out of council meeting, Morris Township Reeve Clem McLellan has submitted his letter of resigna- tion. The letter of resignation was ta- bled at last night's council meet- ing. Township clerk=treasurer Nancy Michie said the council has a num- ber of options, when the resigna- tion is accepted. Council could appoint Deputy - Reeve -Bert Elliott, or an. other member of council, as the Reeve. If Elliot is appointed Reeve, one of the remaining three councillors — Keith Johnston, John DuskoGy or Kevin Pletch — would be ap- pointed as Deputy Reeve. - An election would then be held to fill the council seat. McLellan had earlier resigned his seat on Huron Comity CounciL As the Reeve,'McLellan is Mor- ris Township representative on Huron County Council. MCLd'llatt is also a township representative on the Wingham Area Fire Board. A coverage to be encouraging. - He noted that the report con- tained a lot of the points made by the hospital's medical staff and the. board itself. "The important element now is swift implementation by the Min- istry of Health through negotiation with the Ontario Medical Associa- tion (OMA)," said Koch. The hospital CEO said not only Please see CEO/7 ..M+bYnOtt+ Down turn during the ham Stilurday�