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Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 2015-12-03, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2015. BLYTH PRINTING INC. BLYTH 523-9211 PRINTING IS OUR BUSINESS • Colour • Business Printing Forms • Posters • Brochures • Letterheads • Flyers • Envelopes • Carbonless • Business Forms Cards • Labels WE CAN DO IT ALL! Columnist’s quiz tests Christmas IQ Pockets are a temptation for robbery. In days gone by many coins had a cross imprinted on one side. The devil would never go into a pocket containing ‘holy coins’. So the only pockets he felt comfortable in were ones empty of coins. Perhaps this expression was the inspiration behind the country song - “If the devil danced in empty pockets, he’d have a ball in mine.” Let’s change gears for a time and see how you fare with this short Christmas quiz. • In The Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life”, what happens every time a bell rings? • Where did the Grinch steal Christmas? • What was true love’s gift on the second day of Christmas? • Good King Wenceslas was the king of which country? • The poinsettia originally grew in which country? • In “The Nutcracker”, who is the nutcracker’s main enemy? • Who was the author of “A Christmas Carol”? • Which popular Christmas song was actually written for Thanksgiving? Speaking of Christmas, the Sunday School of Londesborough United will present their annual White Gift Service on Sunday, Dec. 6. As usual they ask congregants to bring along a gift for the Huron County Christmas Bureau. Following the service there will be a potluck lunch and fellowship so bring along a plate of finger food to share. Later that afternoon, at 3 p.m., the Blyth Festival Singers and their guests, the Glister Children’s Choir would be pleased to help with your Christmas spirit as they present their concert “Believe” at the Memorial Hall in Blyth By the time you read this paper, Jim Johnston may be home from hospital and recuperating for the bustle of the Christmas season. He had his heart surgery last Friday and it went well. Keep him in your thought and prayers as he recovers. By BRENDA RADFORD Call 523-4296 PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO NEWS FROM LONDESBORO Have A New Addition? Call for prices and details 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Let everyone know about your new bundle of joy! The Citizen Buying a day of comfy clothes Students at Hullett Central Public School had the opportunity to wear pyjamas on Monday if they brought in a gift for the Huron County Christmas Bureau last week. Shown in their bed time apparel are, from left: Lincoln Bolinger, Ali Lammerant, Marus Heinrich, Reese deBoer, William Howson, Brooklyn Lammerant and Clara Heinrich. (Photo submitted) Fire truck requires replacement due to engine, tank problems North Huron Township Council approved a recommendation to push up the replacement of one of the department’s tanker trucks by a year due to significant problems with the truck. During its Nov. 16 meeting, Council was told by David Sparling that several recent problems have led to the department wanting to replace the vehicle, which is stationed in Wingham, before it suffers a catastrophic failure. The vehicle, labelled Tanker 4, was found to have a leak in its water tank last month and was scheduled to have the leak investigated. “As a result of this investigation, it was found that the tank is seriously compromised, requiring unreasonably expensive repairs considering the age and planned replacement of the truck,” Sparling said in his report. “Additionally, Tanker Four requires other costly repairs to the chassis.” Sparling explained that the truck is 20 years old and was set for replacement in January, 2017. He said that the leaking was caused by significant corrosion issues which appeared this October. “It’s not leaking significantly, but it is leaking constantly,” he said. “My concern is that it will fail catastrophically.” He said the vehicle is also leaking engine oil through the head gasket, which was a known condition, but it has recently worsened. The air compressor on the vehicle is also compromised, and the truck has to be run in the station to produce sufficient air pressure to release the brakes. The water tank repair is estimated at $64,000 and the repairs to the engine and other parts of the vehicle would be between $3,000 and $5,000 according to Sparling. He said that repairing it didn’t make sense to him because the market value of the truck is currently between $2,000 and $2,500 and, when taking into account depreciation for the municipality, it is currently worth nothing. Sparling suggested several options to the municipality; the vehicle could be repaired and run for as long as five years before replacing it; moving a tanker from Blyth to Wingham in the interim while a tender process for a new vehicle is ongoing or purchasing a new vehicle he had found at a reduced rate. Each option, however, had a unique set of drawbacks. Sparling explained that repairing the vehicle would be cost- prohibitive, especially considering that at the end of the five-year time, the vehicle would still be worth nothing. Moving a vehicle from Blyth would cost more money than may have initially been understood, however. “In today’s world, we can’t move trucks without training,” Sparling said. “We would need four hours of training per person.” In total, that would mean 60 hours of training time on this vehicle, and, then another 60 hours when a new truck is purchased. Given that firefighters aren’t paid for training, it would be asking them to log a lot of training time, Sparling said. “It may or may not go over well, making that request,” he said. “They would do as asked, but it wouldn’t be ideal.” Sparling also said that each vehicle has specific equipment designated to it, and, if a vehicle were moved, all that equipment would need to be redistributed to other vehicles, which may not be possible. Replacing the vehicle, whether by tender or through the vehicle that Sparling found, would run approximately $300,000. Sparling also reported that, with the dollar set to decline and truck prices set to increase six per cent in 2016, now would be an opportune time to purchase the vehicle. Council decided to have Sparling check prices, but gave him the go- ahead to purchase a 2015 model fire truck he had found through a dealer in Ayr that will be discounted because it was used for demonstrations. The truck will cost $297,788.46 according to Sparling’s report, and will need some outfitting before it is ready for use (costing approximately eight per cent of the total vehicle purchase). The capital reserve for the 2016 budget year for the Fire Department of North Huron is estimated to be $289,000, so some of the price will be deducted from the 2017 capital budget, which is when the vehicle was originally set to be purchased. Sparling said the vehicle, which is manufactured by Pierce MFG vehicle could be purchased through Darch Fire, a company in Ayr. Sparling said the Pierce name is reliable. While other fire truck companies have ceased operations, Pierce keeps approximately 70 trucks in stock on top of those custom ordered which is more than most other fire apparatus manufacturing companies make in a year. He said this indicates the company will be around to provide necessary parts and waranty service. Sparling also said that service is important and that Darch Fire had provided exemplary service on the last three vehicles the department had bought from them. Deputy-Reeve James Campbell asked why these problems were arising and asked if it were from the numerous field fires the department had to combat. Sparling stated that the issue had little to do with field fires, saying that while the tank was aluminum, not every connection was. The tank on the new vehicle is plastic in an aluminum shell so the same problem shouldn’t occur. Councillor Trevor Seip said he REPRINTS OF PHOTOS taken by Citizen photographers are available to purchase. ALL ARE IN COLOUR 4x6 - $4.00 5x7 - $5.00 8x10 - $8.00 Phone to order ~ 519-523-4792 or 519-887-9114 Continued on page 10