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The Olds Gazette 1979-01-03 - 1979-06-27
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Date
1979-02-14
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Transcript
Page 4 The Gazette flashing signs in town outlawed Complaints of flashing directional signs affecting drivers in Olds has led to the banning of such signs in town by council. The Olds Municipal Planning Commission had previously adopted a poli- cy to discourage it but council had not made a decision one way or the other until Monday. Council was made aware by Town Manager Dennis Lenihan ‘that Alberta Transportation strictly prohibits placing such signs within 1000 feet along their roadways out- side of towns. Council also agreed to purchase a new three ton gravel truck from Jim Spicer Chev-Olds. The $12,224.33 purchase was necessary because the old model was simply worn out. The price included the old truck's trade-in. The tender entered by Spicer’s was the lowest of the three received. A report by the Trans- portation Committee to council included a recom- mendation that they pur- sue the minister of trans- portation for lights at the intersection of 52 avenue and highway 27. The com- mittee feels that the many alternatives re- viewed by them were un- acceptable. Council di- rected . administration to write directly to the minis- ter and pressure him for four-way lights at that intersection. , The Transportation Committee also advised council through their re- port that Marathon,Realty is asking $100 per month and a 30-day cancellation clause for the town’s use of the land directly op- posite Lawritsen Auto Supply on the east side of the railroad tracks. The town wants the one- quarter acre plot for large truck parking. Council took no action on the matter, however, because they felt this was an excessive amount. The town has chosen Engineering Canada to supervise work done by AESL, the town’s main engineering consultant, Credit, used wisely, is a convenience and at times a necessity. But the abuse of credit cards will lead to serious financial problems. Al Park, Supervisor of Family Financial Counselling for Alberta Consumer and Corporate Affairs relates the following story to illustrate the pitfalls of credit card abuse. This is a typical case history and it does hap- pen in real life. Harold and Janet have a big problem -- a problem managing their money. Their lives together started out like a fairy tale. A beautiful wedding. A lovely apar- tment. Good jobs and a bright financial future. They really had it made. Except for one thing. Along with everything else which they brought to the marriage were their dangerous credit attitudes. Now, to be just, Harold and Janet were fairly careful people. Careful enough to use those plastics for ‘‘convenience”’ only. If some kitchen utensil was needed they put it on the account. The same with clothes and gasoline. They never put too many charges on any one charge-plate. And the largest purchase they every put on was. Harold’s stereo. Generally, though, they never charged any unusually large purchases. That way they were hoping to avoid a few really heavy monthly bills by spreading those debts around. It’s a familiar tale. So, for about three years, life carried Harold and Janet along -- or rather their - credit cards carried them along. Most of the time, Harold and Janet tried to pay off their credit accounts at the end of the month. But some months all they could manage to squeeze out of their combined monthly incomes was the minimum payment. Then one night Harold happened to be attending to a few bills when he calculated how much they owed. He was shocked to discover that he and Janet had charged $5,500 on their 8 credit cards. Both Janet and Harold were really concerned about this situation because they'd always been managing before. They talked about the problem and looked for ways out of the box they felt themselves in. Unfortunately, without considering other alternatives, the only situation they could come up with was to get a bill - consolidation loan. Other options were open to them but they didn’t pursue them. Too bad. So they went ahead and secured a consolidation loan for $5,500, agreeing to make a monthly payment of $180 over a period of three years. They began to pay for it ... and pay for it. Over the whole term of the loan, Harold and Janet had themselves paying $1000 beyond the total debt owed to the credit card companies. That's an awful lot of money. All seemed to go well for Harold and Janet for the next few months. But after a while, they began to fall back on their old credit habits. Those charge-plates began to supplement their incomes again until they had racked up another credit debt of nearly $3,700. And as before, they really had nothing to show for it. Now, five years after getting married, Harold and Janet are deeply in debt. They've got to change their poor con- sumer habits now, before they go under. - They're still paying for the con- solidation loan, plus they’re facing another monthly burden in the form of car payments of $177. Yet, payments must still be made on those eight credit accounts. Right now, they are just managing to keep “the wolf from the door’’. But it’s taking both their incomes to do it. The car insurance premium comes due next month and Harold and Janet are wondering where the money they need will come from. Harold and ‘Janet have almost no financial flexibility. Should some unex- pected expense arise they won’t be able to cover it. That makes life tough. And yet Harold and Janet are typical of many people who begin a slow slide into debt ‘by misusing their charge-plates. Unless Harold and Janet get smart about credit cards they’re headed for serious trouble. Now Harold and Janet could have avoided some of these problems. They should have realized that getting a con- solidation loan without radically changing their attitudes to credit cards wouldn't work. Although the con- solidation loan did lower their monthly payment, it allowed them to feel a false security about their money problems, that they were “off the hook’. Con- sequently, they continued to abuse their credit cards. But let’s admit it. In today’s consumer society, buying things comes pretty naturally. And unfortunately, credit car- ds make it that much easier to do some unplanned buying. Harold and Janet should have worked out a money- management plan. They didn’t. But you can and should. Before you go under. Al Park, Supervisor of the Family Financial Counselling Programs, for Consumer and Corporate Affairs ad- vises readers to remember these few simple tips: * Make sure all credit card purchases fall into your budget. * If you do use charge-plates as a con- venience be sure to pay the bill in full just as soon as possible in order to avoid interest charges. * Do a little ‘comparison shopping” for dollars. Interest rates do vary from institution to institution and there are good deals to be made. * Trim excessive spending by keeping a running tally on those credit cards over the month. * Limit the number of credit cards you use. Spreading debts over a large num- ber of “plastics” is just ignoring a major money-management problem. when they are engaged in projects other than those for the town. The purchase of twelve more Christmas light units was approved. Total cost is $2,067. An amendment to by- law 1110-77 was given all three readings and passed. The amendment provides for an additional five dollar penalty to a traffic fine which is not paid within the seven day grace period. A proposal for one-way streets in Olds’ downtown core, approved in prin- ciple by the Board of Trade, was put in the closet as information. The Board of Trade have formed a group to study the proposal and asked council if Councillor Arm- strong and Dennis Leni- han, town manager, would sit on the com- mittee. Council turned down the request by a 3 to 2count. Fund contributors The Olds Disaster Fund increased to $357,920 this week. Further contribut- ors were: Haz-Leon Farms Ltd., Olds; Wilbur E. Dudley, High River; H. Baden Powell, Calgary; Donald &/or Carol Lewis, Van- couver, B.C.; Josephburg Agricultural Society, Fort Saskatchewan; Canadian Western Natural Gas Co. Ltd., Calgary; Internation- al Marble & Stove Co. Ltd., Calgary; Style - Kraft. Sportswear Co., Toronto, Ontario; Stuart T. Gibbons, Calgary; Big 2 Body Shop Ltd., Olds. Henry C. Van Renssell- er, Calgary; Stettler Fi- gure Skating Club, Stet- tler; Union Carbide Can- ada Ltd., Calgary; Donald & Dorothy Garen, Wind- sor, Ontario; Christina Landreth, Calgary; Blatz Coin Laundry Ltd., Olds; W.J. Dunseth, Olds; Mrs. weather report From the weather sta- tion at Olds College for the week. Precipitation: actual 11.0 mm, normal 4.2 mm. Since April 1st: actual 567.6 mm, normal 433.9 mm. Temperature: maximum high -12.0 degrees C on February 5. Minimum low -28.0 degrees C on Febru- ary 8. Average tempera- ture for week -22.0 de- grees C. Normal average temperature for week Ruth Conway, Olds; W. Gordon & Dorothy Ross, Olds; T. Vance & Clara Montgomery, Morrin. Olds Pals Club, Olds; J. Everett & Jean E. Bird- sall, Olds; Parkland Oil- field Construction (1978) Ltd., Olds; Allen G. Adair, Olds; Ronald G. Shingleton, Olds; Shortt Bros., Olds; Rodney E. Finnigan, Olds; Canada Packers Foundation, Ed- monton; Olivetti Canada Limited, Calgary; Total Petroleum (North Ameri- ca) Ltd., Calgary. Sandy & Terri Loree, Olds; Meadow Lea Farms, Olds; Smokey Lake Processors Ltd., Smokey Lake; Order of the Royal Purple #21, Red Deer; A. E. & A. M. Rosehill, Olds; H. & A. Drever, Olds; Jean Flinn, Olds; Stan & Laura Stauf- fer, Tuscalausa, Alabama, U.S.A. Oilwell Pressure Sur- veys Ltd., Calgary; Far- gey’s Paint & Floor Cover- ings Ltd., Red Deer; J. H. Warne, Olds; McGregor Hosiery Mills, Toronto, Ontario; C. A. & M. H. King, Olds; David A. Watson, Olds; Ed. J. Rowell, Olds; D. M. -Baldwin, Calgary. The Mutual Life Assur- ance Co. of Canada, Waterloo, Ontario; Mrs. Elsie Edith Miller, Olds; Central Oilmen’s Bon- spiel, Olds; Wesley Hou- chin, Olds; Bentley Minor Hockey Association, Bent- ley; Alberta Wheat Pool Ltd., Brandon, Manitoba; United Grain Growers -10.00 degrees C. Ltd., Brandon, Manitoba. odds are closer It is likely that Premier Lougheed will issue the Alberta election call today (Wednesday). In that case Albertans will be going to the polls, Wednesday, March 14th, 29 days after the election machinery was put into gear. The resignation of Bill Edgar as mayor of the Town of Olds prior to the election call places him on near equal footing with incum- bent, Bob Clark. It is obvious now that Bill found the pressures we forecast would build on him as the election approached. In any other situation his resignation as mayor might not have been necessary. In the Olds - Didsbury constituency there are four active, progressive and eager communities. To be mayor of any one of these at this par- ticular time and at the same time seek a higher public office was a tremendous challenge. Bill Edgar recognized this obstacle in his bid to unseat Mr. Clark and neatly removed the stigma before the election call is issued. The challenge that the Progressive Conservative can- didate faces in Olds - Didsbury is one of changing the minds of some 2,500 voters. But now the choice is very sim- ple. The question to be answered is whether the voters will still support, in opposition, the likeable, affable Bob Clark or choose to put a member on the government side of the house in the person of Bill Edgar. Wednesday, February 14, 1979. viewpoint the billion dollar gift The billion dollar gift to municipalities announced by Premier Peter Lougheed has to be one of the most welcome bonanzas received from that level of government. Most municipal debt bearing an interest rate of 8% or greater will be retired and many of the projects for water and sewer systems funded by the Department of the Environment will be debt free. Initial indications are that Olds will ‘have about $1 million available for other projects while the County of Mountain View could have as much as $4 million. We do not pretend to know the legislative miracles that will be worked to get the funds into the hands of the municipalities shor- tly after April 1st but we believe some form of legislation will be necessary before payments can be made. The bulging reserves in the 1978 - 79 fiscal Alberta budget have made the transfer possible and by announcing the program now the Premier reduced that : surplus by one billion. : Repeated requests by the : municipalities for a share of the province’s resource revenues have also been met. The grant should lead to lowered taxes because of lower debt charges. In a way the Premier created a “Heritage Fund” for municipal borrowing because most of the debenture repayments will find their way back Into the Canada Pension plan fund from which the Alberta Finance Corporation has been borrowing for a number of years. ’ The main benefactors will be the individual taxpayers who should see a decrease in taxes. It is doubtful that renters will benefit directly because of the program. Even that may not be true as escalating taxes are no - longer a reason for rental hikes. On the surface this looks like a — good program and one of real benefit to the province. “rubber cheques”, cause for concern Many Olds business places are showing increasing concern about the number of personal cheques they are handling which are returned by banks marked “not sufficient funds.” Some display these cheques prominen- tly in their own business premises. Some have signs in- dicating a charge as high as $10.00 for handling a “bad” cheque. But there has been no universal effort to curb the prac- tice nor to alert other business places as to a possible plague of really bad cheques. Innisfail, through the Board of Trade has made a modest begin- ning. There 23 business places are using the services of a central clearing authority to. report bad cheques. The centre prepares a weekly list of cheques showing amounts which for one reason or another have not cleared a bank. Staff are alerted and in this man- ner the community hopes to cope with repeated offenders. We visited one community this summer where lists were prepared on a daily basis and posted in the window of every store. A pink list meant there were no offenders for the day - a blue list caught the attention of every passerby. If individual merchants are con- cerned about the problem, then we should institute a method. of warning each other and curbing a problem. In setting up such a system, — however, it should be realized that many cheques are returned when the writer has money in other accounts which he or the - bank may not have transferred on time. It should be remembered, too, that we are in the computer —: age when cheques are cleared :: almost as fast as they are written. -. 7. Thus those who present cheques - :- in payment of goods and ser- ::: vices must take every step necessary to protect their credit rating by ensuring that the cash Is available. We should also recognize that there are those in society who prey on the good graces of local business places. They make a habit of hitting small towns, of passing “rubber’’ cheques and disappearing. Good business practice demands that a stranger present adequate iden- tification when paying by cheque. _ However, there needs to be a combination of good credit prac- tices and a central gathering agency to provide more safeguards. Here is where the Olds Board of Trade could provide some real leadership. Ss The Gazette Published Weekly at Olds. Alberta Subscription - $7.00 per year in Canada Printed and Published by Leatherdale Publishing Ltd. P.O. Box 820, Olds, Alberta Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and - Alberta Weekly Newspaper Association Represented for National Sales by Western Regional Newspapers and Ad Reps, Vancouver, B.C. Entered as Second Class Matter at Olds, Alberta under permit number 0370 Phone 226-3351
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Image 120 (1979-02-14), from microfilm reel 120, (CU12510768). Courtesy of Early Alberta Newspapers Collection, Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.