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

TT "A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 6, 1999 - 5 By Chris Hall Port Perry Star After more than 40 years in business, the Van Camp family has decided it's time for a change. Van Camp Contracting Ltd. a reputable business in the community since 1956, downsized its operation con- siderably last week when owners Glenn and Donna Van Camp sold off a large portion of the business to Brian Acton. He operates a similar business on Hwy. 47 called Harvey Acton Ltd. "We're restructuring," said Bill Van Camp, explaining the sale of his family's bulldozers and other large-scale heavy trucking equipment to Uxbridge's Acton family. The majority of all the Van Camp's equipment, as well as their current location at 90 Vanedward Dr. in Port Perry, is now owned by Mr. Acton, who will operate in Port Perry under the name of North Ridge Excavating. "They're buying the premises and all the excavating equipment and heavy trucking part of the operation," said Mr. Van Camp, noting that his family is not shut- ting down their business entirely. "But, we're still going to operate out of our Utica pit; tinue to offer sand and gravel, and work with the Acton's new company; to supply them with materials," said Bill Van Camp. "Dad and I kept a few trucks, two graders and three loaders, so we can do a bit of work, but were mostly going to work in the pits and we're going to keep our snowplowing service... we haven't let that go." The two companies, Van Camp Contracting Ltd. and Harvey Acton Ltd., have worked well together for the past 15 years, says Mr. Van Camp. "This was a friendly acquisition; we'vé had a great working relationship for many years now, and it's great to see them take over. There will be almost no change in this sale; they're going to use our equipment, they've promised to keep our employees and our same rates. There will be very little change," he said, noting that Mr. Acton's company will even keep the Van Camp's current telephone number. "We will compliment each other nicely. There will be no competition between us." While the sale of the equipment had originally been planned for next year, Mr. Van Camp says the July 2 swap was the right thing to do. "Dad is 65; he's been working for close to 50 years now and while he's very healthy and active, this gives him the opportunity to spend more time at the farm with his race horses and do the little things he's never really had the time to do the right way," Mr. Van Camp said. "We had planned the sale for next spring and then changed it to this fall; it just kept moving up. We had to make the time to get it done, but we did it right. You can't make a good deal unless it's good for both sides... our office and shop will be there and we're going to con- . Van Camps scale down local operation Heavy equipment is sold to Brian Acton, but they'll continue gravel pit operation here The Van Camp family officially handed over their excavating business last week, when they sold the majority of their heavy equipment to Brian Acton. both sides have to be comfortable with the deal," he said, adding that customers presently having work done by the Van Camps need not to worry about their job. "The key to this will be a smooth transition, for the employees, the customers and the community in gener- al. It's just going to be a change of name, basically." Mr. Van Camp credits long-time employees Roy Freeman, Jim Tremblay, John Vugts, Bob Bell, and Dan and Ralph Blundell with helping the company enjoy as much success as it has here over the years. Van Camp Contracting was established in 1956, when a 21-year-old Glenn Van Camp bought an old Allis- Chalmers front-end loader from his father, Harry. With the loader, the first of its kind in the area, Glenn started a business with his wife Donna taking care of the book- keeping and answering the phones from their home on Shanley St. in Port Perry. One of the fledgling company's first jobs was on a sub-. division in Toronto. Mr. Van Camp used the loader to ) . BY 4 Taking part in a special key-passing event were, from left, Bill, Joel, Donna and Glenn Van Camp, with Brian Acton. excavate with his first employee, Roy Freeman, handling the trucking. Soon after that job they came back to Port Perry, where they began landing jobs. Among the highlights in the company's history was the purchase of the gravel pit, near the intersection of Regional Roads 21 and 23. It was bought in 1980, and licensed in 1983. Mr. Acton is looking forward to carrying on with the company's operations in Port Perry. "Both my family and I are looking forward to this; we want to get out there and meet the people and let them know not much is changing here," he said. "This is a lovely town with lots of friendly people. The Van Camp family has given us a wonderful opportunity to take over some of their business; for years they have ridden on their good name and we hope we can carry that on." As of July 2, Van Camp Contracting Ltd. is located at 70 Scugog Line 6, which fronts onto Regional Rd. 21. Driver charged in fatal collision in court Wednesda Two died in accident on Hwy. 7A in 1996 By Rik Davie Special to the Star Almost three years after a horren- dous crash on Hwy. 7A took two lives and injured several others, the Port Perry man accused of causing it is fac- ing his day in court. Gordon Brooks, who was 35 at the time of the October 1996 crash, is on trial in Ontario Superior Court, charged with two counts of dangerous driving causing death,two counts of impaired causing death, two counts of dangerous driving causing bodily harm and one count of driving while exceed- ing the legal blood-alcohol limit. Crown Attorney Ken Polley is alleg- ing that Mr. Brooks was impaired when his Chevrolet pick-up struck a Jeep Cherokee driven by Brian Fensom of Pickering. The vehicles collided on a stretch of Hwy. 7A just east of the Island Road. Mr. Fensom, 45, was killed in the crash along with his 69-year-old aunt, June Humphrey of Scarborough. Also injured in the crash were Mr. Fensom's mother Ella and his father Murray Fensom. Mr. Brooks and his wife Donna, a passenger in the pick-up, were treated for minor injuries and released. One of the victims had to bé airlifted from the scene, and the highway was closed for several hours. Durham Regional Police officers who were first on the scene described the force gf impact as "horrendous". At last week's proceedings in Oshawa, the Crown and Mr. Brooks' lawyer -Marshall Sack agreed to address closing remarks to the jury Wednesday (July 7) , after which Superior Court Justice Glass will charge the jury. Mr. Sack will not emount a defense or call witnesses, which according to Mr. Polley means that he takes the position that the crown has failed to prove its case. A verdict is expected by the end of the week. The Crown's office and police are withholding comment on the length of time between the alleged offense and the trial until after a verdict is declared. : The Crown is seeking substantial jail time, while the defense is seeking acquittal for Mr. Brooks. Two people died in this accident, which October of 1996 on Hwy. 7A, east of the intersection with Island Rd. A Scugog Island man has been charged with impaired driving and several other offences in connection with the accident. Final arguments in his case will be heard Wednesday in an Oshawa court. J ! CA Pa $s 3 ¥ Aa aad 2 b Vo PACT Toll SLA BAT In 7 MRR LARIIE pada occurred on a Saturday morning in ag] Wy : P 4 ph $ sy wo, RAR LION