The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

A subdivision proposal for the south end of Penetanguishene was approved by the planning board at a, meeting Monday night following a number of revisions to the original plan. 66 pages Wednesday, December 14, 1977 The initial plans for the Theodore Holdings Subdivision were presented to the developmment committee, a branch of the planning board, in June., At that time the committee rejected the design due to what Vol. 10, No. 50 20 cents , A Xanadu owns Hog Bay trestle The contract signed by Xanadu Farms of Penetanguishene for the demolition of. the Hog Bay railway. trestle is not, as originally was believed a contract properly to dismantle the trestle Although the tenders sent out by CPR for the trestle's demolition originally requested a contractor to undertake for a set fee the job of demolition, Xanadu has purchased the structure outright from CPR, on the con- dition that the bridge is removed within six months A spokesman for Xanadu Farms said Tuesday morning that the company plans to aismantie the structure, and sell the timbers. He said there is approximately one half million board feet of B.C. fir contained in the trestle With B.C. fir retailing new at $795 per thousand board feet, Xanadu stands to make a considerable sum of money from the sale of the wood. Although it is 70 years old, said the spokesman, the wood is remarkably well preserved. "We wouldn't have bought it if we didn't think we could make money from it," he said The spokesman said that Xanadu would "like to sell the wood to a town or community so a scale model of the bridge could be b et He added that Xanadu-wouidbe walling to undertake the construction job. Blackout shuts industrial area Industries located in the Centennial Drive industrial court in Penetanguishene were forced to halt production temporarily on Friday as the result of a power failure. Ernie Lalonde of the Public Utilities Commission in Penetanguishene said that the failure occurred at 12:45 p.m. on Friday, and lasted until 1:40 p.m. He said the failure was the result of a connector which burned out on the line feeding the industries in the Centennial Drive industrial area The connector which caused the Friday power failure was of an older type than those used presently by the Penetanguishene PUC. Of aluminum construction, the connector was susceptible to oxidization over a period of years, and as the aluminum deteriorated, the connector's resistance level decreased causing the Friday burnout. Power supply along Centennial Drive has returned to normal. Kim Pruesse is one of 34 students from Penetanguishene Secondary School brightening the town with their artistic Patient painting creations. Kim adds the final touches to the holly decorating one of the shop's windows. Staff photo they considered poor planning. Greer, Galloway and Associates, consultants in the project, submitted five revisions before the committee was satisfied. The final proposal drew compliments from planning board members, primarily because the committee had stuck to their guns and not excepted second best, despite harrassment from the consulting firm that they were dragging their feet in approving the plan. "You've done aheck of a job," commented board member Ray Baker to development committee chairman Ross Spearn as he unveiled the final plan. "It's a really sound development project." If approved by council and the Ontario Municipal Board, the development will be constructed in the vacant land west of high- ' way 27 at the entrance to the town. It will include 236 single family homes, 76 semi- detached units and 22 townhouses. two parks are also included in the plan. "The original plan," said Spearn, "'was for a grid pattern of roads, the park in a swamp and all medium to high density residences in one corner of the subdivision. There were many things we didn't like about is On the committee's insistance, the development pattern was altered so the roads didn't simply criss-cross, leaving rectangular blocks of homes, but rather eurved and winded to provide a more esthetically pleasing mix of lot sizes and locations and hopefully discourage speeding automobiles. Agreement reached Sunday night Another park was added, giving the sub- division more green space then iieeded under density requirements and the semi-detached homes were spread throughout the development rather than being isolated in one section. The committee decided to allow for the addition of townhouses after the developers agreed to provide an additonal two acre park. However, a request to set aside a block of land for possible apartment development was turned down. "You've eliminated the ghetto ment) and relocated the swamp," reacted. . An enthusiastic Spearn was obviously pleased at the result of the lengthy negotiations. "T'm amzed at how far you can negotiate (apart- Baker Subdivision plan approved after numerous changes these proposals,"' he said. The next step in the project is approval by council. Decor strike ends - three year pact signed A 19-day old strike at Midland's Decor Metal Products plants one and two is over. Ata meeting of United Auto Workers Local 1411 at the Midland Legion on Sunday night, members ratified a three-year agreement that took close to 20 meetings between management and union representatives to hammer out in sessions that began on Sep- tember 8. The contract includes a 25-cent per hour increase for Decor workers over three years and cost of living increases over the life of the contract which are geared to the consumer price index. Union negotiator Wayne Latour, President of the local explained that the first cost of living allowance (COLA) is 20 cents per hour and is retreoactive from November 21. Latour said that the cost of living allowance will be adjusted twice yearly, approximately in November and May. It is impossible to say exactly what the COLA increases will amount to, the union negotiator said, but for every .45 increase in the consumer price index, union members' COLA willbe ad- justed by one cent. : While the first year of the contract calls for a meagre 5-cent an hour basic rate increase, with two COLA adjustments, the contract's second year promises a 10-cent per hour increase, two COLA adjustments and an additional paid holiday -- Easter Monday. The third year allows for another 10-cent hourly increase, two cost of living ad- justments and two floating holidays to allow for a week's paid shutdown at Christmas time. The third year also includes a $1000 in- crease in life insurance coverage to $9600 from $8,000. Minor changes in the "Janguage"' of the contract were also agreed upon, the union negotiator said. 309 approve The ratification Was approved-by 308 union members with only 59 voting against ac- ceptance of the company's offer. Latour said he was satisfied with the terms of agreement and indicated that the members were ob- viously happy when the results of the vote were announced at the Sunday night meeting. While actual basic rates are not enormous by any stretch of the imagination, the union spokesman suggested the cost of living allowance was satisfactory. "The COLA is going to generate money. With the current economic dilemma facing Canada you can understand why management would only offer a five-cent per hour increase in the basic rate in the first year -- the COLA alone is going to cost them money," Latour stated. "This contract is designed to keep us above water." Latour explained that while other union negotiating teams have only been able to acquire COLAs with a "cap" or ceiling on them, he was quite pleased that the uinion negotiating team could get a cost of living allowance that is geared to Canada's actual consumer price index. The union negotiator said that it was ob- vious during negotiations that the company Cou Penetanguishene Secondary School band conductor John Coull gestures wildly during the band's Queen's Silver jubilee concert The Penetanguishene Secondary School band is bigger than ever this year, and their fall concert last Thursday night delighted a large audience. Young artists experience new challenge in downtown window decorating project For the 34 Penetanguishene Secondary School students involved in bringing Christmas cheer to the downtown, the project has had its share of rewards...and problems. One of the rewards has been the reaction of people who walk by the store windows where the students are painting Christmas murals. "They stop and give us the okay sign,"' said Monica Kaps, the young creator of the art work on the municipal offices' front window, "and encourage us to hurry up and finish."' "They cheer us on," added Kim Pruesse as she applied the finishing strokes to an arrangement on the Citizen front window. The students have been working since Friday on a project sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and PSS. Each business paid $5 to have their windows spruced up for the holiday season. The money will go towards prizes when the finished products are judged this Saturday., The main problems have materialized due to the artists' lack of experience painting on glass. This is the first time most have at- tempted such a large scale project, and also their first shot' painting something from behind, so to speak. "J put on some of the finer details on top of what I'd already painted and then realized it didn't show up from the outside,"-explained Monica. This realization resulted in ex- tensive use of the eraser. "And the colours also seem to be different from the outside,' she added, 'maybe because of the reflection." ' Monica concluded she'd like to wipe it off and do it over. "'I know what I did wrong." The project has been one of the most in- teresting the students have tackled during art class, and the general concensus is its something that should be done more often. "It's good,"' said Monica, "going out and experimenting with new and different things." Another problem has been the physical difficulty painting on a vertical surface, especially those artists assigned to the larger store windows. A few complaints have been aired about sore arms due to stretching to add the final star or branch of holly to a decoration. However, the difficulties seem minor in comparison to the enthusiasm the project has generated with the artists and the im- provement in the appearance of downtown shops. Santa arrives Helen Marion chose the old favourite himself - Santa Claus - for her mural on the window of Bellisle's Barber Shop. Staff photo had serious concerns about the competitive edge of the Midland plants, and the very survival of Decor's operations on the open market. "Our concerns are somewhat the same," Latour said. "We weren't trying to run the company out of town. Midland is where we work and live -- we want to remain here."' Latour said that it was difficult to say exactly when the two plants would be back to and PSS band in action Thursday night. The concert. featured a full operation, but that Decor employees would be called back "gradually". Latour said that the final details of the agreement were worked out in a marathon session at Victoria Harbour's Sportsman Motor Inn on Saturday. Negotiating teams sat down at the bargaining table at 9:30 a.m. and rose some 17 hours later, at 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning with the contract finally worked out. special arrangement Coull received from musical menagerie that varied from pop England. numbers to claSsical pieces, including Unfortunately. the musical sounds had to compete frequently with conversational ones, It remains a mystery why some people go to concerts to talk, rather than to listen. Since most of the offenders were young people, one wonders why a course in concert manners is not offered in some of our schools. Enough carping. The young musicians on the stage paid close attention to their con- ductor, John Coull, and provided a tuneful tribute to Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee. Basoonist Karen Hammond played a tricky set of variations in an arrangement of the folk tune Lucy Long. Pierre Lefaive soloed in Trumpet in the Night. The opening number on the program, Ceremonial Occasion, reflected a+ mood of - grandeur and Despite Commodore visit Staff photo celebration. Charles Carter's Overture for Winds was played with great vigour. A dignified and sonorous rendition of A Mighty Fortress is Our God closed the program. The band also played a number of lighter selections including songs from Fiddler on the Roof and Oklahoma! They also played medlies from Glenn Miller and Chicago. The dance orchestra played Mancini's Pink Panther and Sir Duke, by Stevie Wonder, Brian Cusson's yocal in Feelings was greeted by a standing ovation. The musical standards remain high in this school, and both conductor and students deserve congratulation for a good musical evening, which was obviously preceded by many hours of hard work and practice. Show must close: Moreau Mayor Vince Moreau was among five town representatives who visited the Commodore Hotel Thursday to get "first hand in- formation" on the nude dancing cont- roversy. Although Moreau admitted the act wasn't obscene as he had been lead to believe, the mayor remains adamant that a strip show has no place in Penetanguishene. "We went so we would know of what we speak," said Moreau, "'and to satisfy my own curiosity." Of the crowd that gathered in the council chambers last week to protest the show, Moreau said not one had seen the show, or at least admitted they'd seen it when asked by the mayor. The result of the visit surprised Moreau. Wasn't offended "From the remarks I heard I expected slut,"' he said, 'but I felt it wasn't the least bit offensive." But it's nudity and we have to stop it. It didn't offend me but it could other people and I'm worried what could happen down the road if we let this continue." Moreau met with Commodore owner Robert Monteith Monday morning in an attempt to reach a gentleman's agreement on the issue. Monteith pointed to a similar show recently opened in Port MeNicoll and suggested he'd lose business if he shut the act down now and the Port MecNicoll show was allowed to continue. Nothing was resolved, but Moreau indicated another meeting would be held shortly. "I'm hoping the proprietors will take the initiative on their own,"' Moreau said. "'If we can avoid it I don't want to get into a hassle. But if a gentleman's agreement can't be made then some other course of action will be taken." Town solicitor Paul DeVillers has received a directive from council to look into legal ways of closing the show as a result of last Monday's special council meeting. He's investigating the method Toronto im- plemented in closing down many of the shops on Yonge St. However Moreau feels action by the town may not be necessary. "T think it's just a fad,"' he said, echoing earlier remarks made by Monteith. "The first week business was good, the second it wasn't quite as packed and the third week probably won't be so good. The economics of the whole thing is going to dictate the closing." It's a ticklish situation," Moreau joked, utilizing an appropriate choice of words. The Roman Catholic Separate School teachers are on the verge of getting a new contract. At the last meeting of the Roman Catholic Separate School Board, committee chair- man, John Brennan, reported that a tentative agreement on the new contract had been reached at the November 28 meeting with the teachers' committee. Brennan will not comment on the details of the contract agreement until the ratification meeting, which is scheduled for January 18.