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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-08-10, Page 7Wednesday, August 10, 2016 • Huron Expositor 7 Photo taken by Shaun Gregory Eating some Freezies during the hot weather, some of the employees from Public works took a break with the daycare children. The Vanastra Recreation Centre should have a new paved parking lot by the end of the month. A smooth surface at Vanastra Recreational Centre Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor It's been a long road for parking patrons in a sometimes muddy and almost always messy gravel lane way at the Vanastra Recreational Centre, however those strains will soon be alleviated. Public Works of Huron East are working long days to make sure all the users of the facility have a smooth surface to park their vehicles on. Not only did the location track in dirt, it also came with a risk of "falling on an icy parking lot," Lissa Berard, facility manager for the Vanastra Recreation Centre told the Expositor last April at the chicken dinner event. The fundraiser was held to help raise money for the new paved surface. The parking lot goes hand in hand with the centre's roof project that has recently been finished, together the two projects worked out to add $80,000 to the munici- pality's 2016 budget. Busy holiday weekend for Seaforth fire crew Shaun Gregory Huron Expositor It was a continuous happening to hear the loud piercing sound of the emergency horn going off in Sea - forth this past Civic Holiday. The Huron East Fire Depart- ment of (Seaforth) tended to five calls over the holiday that's not even considered a statutory event, where most employees are entitled eight to nine compen- sated hours of pay. A paid day or not, the firefighters were out and about, at times risk- ing their lives or tending to simpler duties. Whatever the case be, the Fire Chief of Huron East, Marty Bedard regards the few days as within reason excessive, but not out of the ordinary. The same weekend of August in 2015, purple clouds filled the town's sky. Environment Canada conveyed a slew of several warn- ings last year of a severe thunder- storm, making its way to south- western Ontario. There was a significant amount of damage from tree branches and falling hydro lines. Almost exactly 12 months later on July 29, Mother Nature used her forces in the area, resulting in the need for services from the fire department of Huron East (Sea - forth). A weekend Bedard called a "coincidence" started off with a large tree catching fire on Kippen Road. "What they figure was, it was kind of dead and hollow, they fig- ure it was hit by lightning," explained Bedard about the fire staff that investigated the blaze. It's believed the tree smoldered from the atmospheric electric shock during a storm, approxi- mately a day or two earlier. It's believed with a mixture of wind, caused the tree to ignite. The fire took about an hour to extinguish. According to Bedard, a fairly busy day for the fire team was August 1, as two different emer- gency situations required a response. A wheat stubble east of Seaforth caught fire and Bedard mentioned sternly that this is why the fire ban is still in place. "It was caught fairly quickly, so there wasn't very much loss, no crop loss," stated Bedard because it had already been previously harvested. Bedard said since he was not there he's not a 100 per cent sure, but to the best of his knowledge, the second fire on Summerhill Road involved a pickup truck tow- ing another pickup truck. One of the vehicles was engulfed in flames. The exact cause has not been determined, but the gears are not out of the question Bedard told the Expositor. What he did know, was that underneath one of the vehicles, a fuel line lit and caused flames to disperse on one of the trucks with the nearby grassy ditch catching fire also. This specific fire was stubborn said Bedard, it took firefighters roughly two to three hours to subdue. There was also a call where someone reported a gasoline smell at their house, however nothing came out of the com- plaint and lastly, one person was illegally burning on their prop- erty, Bedard sent out a warning to the specific parties involved and let them know the fire ban is still active. ea ort uronex s ositor.co Tuckersmith councillor, Ray Chartrand, who is the voice of the people that live in that zone said if need be, there is about $16,000 left over from previous fundraiser events, if the project goes over budget. One woman donated $5,000 towards the cement construction. Chartrand spoke to Barry Mills, public works manager for Huron East and according to him the expenditures are cur- rently not expected to exceed the budget. "We have a lot of children and seniors that have to walk in that old parking lot, the people wanted it done, so that's what we are doing," said Chartrand. Huron East Fire Department in Seaforth tended to five calls during the Civic Holiday weekend. Some were serious and some were not. _ e'criiaj s `- CLOSED �y w ms€rr€mecv,:* ] the 1 Sissue di SEPIIMBIR 1 kT E � �gl[01' jazu R OFFICE IS CL+Our11[HURSDAY Main Seaforth fleadIiNe www.seaforthhuro expositor ndegans©postmedia.co have questions or com concerns, ue UR m no MON�D►A Seaforth please give 4163CM dike 2APM 5419-5W-0240. 1