HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-02-25, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2016.
A busy week
The Fire Department of North Huron continued a busy 2016 with several calls last week. Fire
Department of North Huron Chief David Sparling recently reported that the department has
been averaging one call every 36 hours. The FDNH responded to an alarm activation in Blyth
on Feb. 16, shown above. (Denny Scott photo)
County briefed on hoarding stats
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
David Sparling, Fire Department
of North Huron (FDNH) Chief, was
in Goderich last month to inform
Huron County Council how the
county is taking on hoarding
throughout its communities.
Sparling, who is also the chair of
the Huron County Hoarding
Coalition, spoke to council,
alongside Morris-Turnberry Fire
Prevention Officer James Marshall,
at a late January committee of the
whole meeting.
Sparling said it was important to
him to communicate what the
coalition does in cases of hoarding,
but more importantly, what it
doesn't do.
As of 2013, hoarding became a
diagnosable mental disorder,
Sparling told councillors and it has
shown to have no dividing lines.
Hoarding is not an urban or rural
problem and it's not a wealthy or a
poor problem.
He also said that hoarding can be
general, where people collect
everything, or it can be specific,
where someone collects on
particular item — Sparling used
newspapers as his example.
Animal hoarding, he said, is also
not uncommon.
According to most recent figures,
Sparling said that between two and
five per cent of the general North
American population are hoarders.
In Canada, he said, it tends to hover
around four per cent.
Further to his point regarding
what the coalition does and doesn't
do, Sparling said that hoarding
shouldn't necessarily be confused
with property standards
enforcement.
"An unkempt house is not
necessarily a hoarding situation,"
Sparling said in his report. "Some
hoarders are very neat and
organized."
As part of his presentation,
Sparling told a story about a
diagnosed hoarder in London — a
retired professor who rented 12
apartments filled with belongings
that were all very organized.
Hoarding, he said, accounts for
some sobering statistics when it
comes to fire prevention, which is
why it has become a point of focus
for fire chiefs across Huron County.
"Hoarding homes pose a life
safety risk to any agency who may
be called to provide services (police,
fire, emergency medical services,
home care) as well as the
occupants," his report read.
He also said that 24 per cent of all
preventable fire fatalities in Ontario
since 1999 can be attributed to fires
in hoarding households.
The wheels of a hoarding coalition
began to turn in 2014, Sparling said,
and the coalition was officially
formed last year. Since it was
formed, the coalition has been called
to hoarding situations in five of
Huron County's nine municipalities:
North Huron, Morris-Turnberry,
Central Huron, Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh and South Huron.
To date, Sparling says the
coalition has handled calls dealing
with animal hoarding, severe
hoarding that compromised air
quality to the point that the home
was no longer habitable,
landlord/tenant issues, hoarding that
resulted in health issues for
occupants and hoarding that
compromised the structural integrity
of the home.
The coalition membership is
comprised of emergency services,
municipal chief building officials,
social service agencies and mental
health agencies.
If someone suspects a hoarding
situation, Sparling said, they should
call 211. That call then goes to the
Fire Department of North Huron
where an e-mail is generated and
sent to Sparling, Marshall
and Howick Fire Chief Shawn
Edwards.
One of the three men will then
contact the applicable fire chief in
regard to the potential situation and
"provide them the tools to deal with
the hoarding situation" which
includes contact information for the
appropriate mental health and/or
children's/seniors' agencies.
"We are not a clean-up crew,"
Sparling said in his report. "We
address life safety issues resulting
from hoarding, health-related issues
resulting from hoarding and child
welfare issues."
He also informed council that the
coalition operates on a zero -dollar
budget, saying that all applicable
agencies cover staff costs through
their operational budgets.
Sparling's presentation didn't ask
for any funding or action on behalf
of council, it was simply presented
for councillors' information.
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Man sentenced with
driving prohibition
A man with two prior impaired
driving convictions will not be
driving for the foreseeable future
after pleading guilty to impaired
driving, stemming from a traffic stop
last April.
Jerry Ortman of Mildmay had
previously pled guilty to one charge
of impaired driving and one charge
of driving with a suspended licence
in December before Judge R.G.E.
Hunter, at which time a pre -sentence
report was ordered.
Ortman, however, was back in
Wingham court on Feb. 18 before
Judge G. Brophy who directed that
those pleas be struck from the record
and that Ortman plead guilty before
him, which he did.
According to Provincial Crown
Attorney Laura Grant, members of
the OPP were patrolling along
Gorrie Line in Howick around 9:30
p.m. on April 4, 2015 when officers
observed a van turn onto Salem
Road, and pull into the laneway of a
house police felt was unoccupied at
the time, which caused suspicion.
Officers conducted a traffic stop in
the home's driveway, speaking to the
driver, Ortman, who identified
himself and admitted to driving
while his licence was suspended.
Grant said officers detected a
distinct odour of alcohol and asked
Ortman when he had consumed his
last drink that night, to which he
responded two hours.
Ortman then failed a breathalyzer
test and submitted to two further
tests which revealed he had 203 and
204 milligrams of alcohol in 100
millilitres of blood, in excess of two
and a half times the legal limit of 80
milligrams.
Grant entered Ortman's criminal
record into evidence, noting that he
had two previous convictions for
impaired driving between 1997 and
1999, as well as two convictions for
driving while suspended in that
same time period.
Brophy acknowledged that the
pre -sentence report was very
positive, in addition to the fact that
Ortman had been out of trouble for
over 15 years. However, two
previous convictions were hard to
ignore, he said, and were important
factors.
Grant suggested a fine of $2,000
on the impaired driving charge, as
well as a two-year driving
prohibition and a one-year term of
probation. On the charge of driving
with a suspended licence, Grant said
the provincial minimum fine is
$1,000, which she was
recommending.
Duty Counsel Lynn Johnston said
that Ortman is already attending
counselling for both grief and
substance abuse, but that he felt he
didn't have a problem and could
abstain from alcohol if he so chose.
She added that Ortman is very
remorseful and was committed to
not ever appearing in court again.
Brophy felt differently, however,
telling Ortman that if his drinking is
affecting other aspects of his life, he
has a drinking problem.
"You do," Brophy said. "You
Continued on page 11
ANNUAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD BREAKFAST
1117.111
HURON
COUNTY
EDB
The Huron County Economic Development Board
Annual Economic Development Board Breakfast
Join us for an update on the Board's progress and future initiatives
since being formed in January 2015.
FEATURING GUEST SPEAKER LAURIE GUTHRIE,
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
"Building a Successful Business Ambassador Program"
Fredericton, like many communities, lacked the resources to engage in
the expensive game of investment attraction. The quandary was how
could a small city with one economic development officer and a modest
budget address this challenge? As the Knowledge-based Capital of
New Brunswick, Fredericton also had an advantage: being home to a
large number of local companies doing global business. In 2002, Laurie
Guthrie saw an opportunity to leverage and engage these corporate citizens to promote Fredericton
while abroad for meetings and travels, and so the idea of the Fredericton Business Ambassador
Program was born.
Attend to learn how the program was pioneered, and how a team of 720 people were inspired to
promote their city on the global stage!
Monday, March 7th, 2016
9:30AM-11:OOAM
Libro Community Hall
239 Bill Fleming Dr.
Clinton, ON
$15.00 per person
Includes buffet breakfast provided by Cait's Kitchen
Tickets can be purchased online at
www.huroncounty.ca or contact
Huron County Economic Development
via 519-524-8394 ex. 3242