HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1977-02-03, Page 1I
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Whole No; 5682
118th Year`
$11.00 a Year in Advance
single copy 25 cents • SEAPO'RTH, ONTARIO, THILMSDAY) FEBRUARY:400i .-16 PAGES •
THIS'IS A ROAD?=;.,, Y,;up i it's number 4 Highway
lookind-south about 200 yards north of Brucefield.-
This-four wheel drive•truck filted with a 250 horse
power---snowbtnwcr~ worked most of Wednesday
(Jelin Minet and Len Pizzey)
'More than five days of high"
winds and snow' have wreaked
••. havod on Huron COnnty residents
and Motorists. •All toads in . and
out oT Seaforth were blocked-from
Friday till late Tuesday except for
a few hours- on Sundai."
Twenty-eight Minor accidents
were leported in, the _Seaforth
area, all except' one On Friday.
Police 'only responded to those
that involved injury and took
details of the , others over the
phone. -
An accident Friday on' Highway
4 at Brucefield sent Harry Brook's,
27, of Kippen to Seaforth Hospital .
with minor injuries. Mr: Brooks
was -first involved in sf - minor
collision in which no injuries were,
morning to get to Brucefreld from „Clinton. It mowed sustained, but he was struck by
through drifts as deep as 12 another passing car when he got ft. •before finally out of his' vehicle. opening the road. (ExpoSitor Photo) , His,mother, and grandmother,
Were stormstayed. Brucefield
along with OPP Officer Sim
MacLeod of Seaforth •until•
Saturday.
Seaforth Police reported only
one accident since the storm hit.
The PDC dump truck which•was
working to,, remove snow Friday
slid into a• car at the main
intersection_ There were no
injuries. -
"[von Connty engineer •Jim•.
Britnell was unable to estimate
how, much the storm cleanup will
cost. Figures will not be compiled
until mid February, but it is clear,
he said, that experises.:will exceed
,those'ef,last January by a wide
margin.. County plows have
frequently been forced to stand
idle , because .' of extreme
conditions. Some plows have
been used :to open roads long
enough to allow fuel ands feed
trucks to' reach 'farmers whose
operations were jeopardized.
get 1800 loaves of bread back to
Seaferh by 3 a.m, TiteidaY.
Tuesday; local stores had' plenty
of bread.
JaAson's ' store ip Brimfield
was out of bread, milk-and bacon.
On Saturday, Skidoos were sent to
Hensall to pick up more supplies
'on. Monday.
-About,23 -people-were-billeted •
in Brucefield Friday night.
Aceording to Mr.. Jackson most
were able to get out, during •the
lull in the storm on'Sunday. - • . - •
Kippen • Met elland'4:
General Store was Out of bread
and milk by Monday, but hada , ,
"good amount" of other supPlies'
.who were with him in the car,
The, main problem -his
department has encountered, he
said, is "that people see a plow
go by and iminediateTY assume
that the roa'd'-is- open"._ _Roads
throughout the area -are reduced
to a single track or:are completely
blecked. • It will be a long' time
before things return' to normal.
"We'll be.,,,,wiping up after
one for weeks" he said
Stores in Seaforth and area
were quickly bought out of bread
and milk. The Beckers milk store
in Seaforth 'had 220 loaves 9f
bread on hand Menday but were_
sold-out by noon. Three hundred
jugs Of 'Milk were, dovhi to" 18-in
the same On hand. About 30 people were
stranded in Kippen over Friday A convoy lead by Larry Dill on
in his 4 wheel drive truck", got night.
bread truck driver Harry Mero on Humphries' store in Walton
a trip through wasthoen'teixneueepdtiOonn-apsaigt el.haclo p, lenity
Brucefield, Bayfield, Grand of milk and other supplies• avail-
Bend, Elginfield and London 'to
(t
For chicken fped
I 0
GETTING SUPPLIES Not much was :Moving in'
Seaforth Monday except snowmobiles when there
were as many snowmaChines as'cars on. Man St. For
_many people in The outlying area they were the only
Gordon . ^Hill
means of transportation to pick up food and other
necesSities. 'One snowmobiler made sure be would
be able to make the trip Worthwhile with a water
trough attached to a caboose. (Expositor Photo)
Ex -OVA head 5gets roasted
'Hullett Township farmers got
snowblowers to blow out blocked
Highway 8 from Seaforth to
Mitchell to get feed for 65,000
broiler chickens during this-,
week's storm. - .
Nick Whyte and his brothers
Bill and Tom, who among them
-have-165-.000. chickens to feed,
were twice forced to take things
,;into their own hands when• plows
were unable to keepHighway 8
clear.,
On Tuesday, a truck bringing
-thenn.20,tonsAfeed was unable'
to get beyond Dublin. Bill Whyte...;.'
aided by neighbdurs Glenn and'
Donald Nott, -Set out to „reach the
feed truck, and to•clear a Path for
a milk truck trying to reach the
Nott, farm. With three"-snow-
blowers, they hoped to open a
, track., down the highway for the
vehicles. ' -
They. got as far as St.
Columban before running into
drifts only."in excess• of ten feet" •
NickWhyte said .:they Were three
miles from, the feed truck when
they got stopped.. To ,.get the
farmers and the trucks. together it
was necessary to take a. circuitous
"route that •covered betWeerr' 70
and 8.0 mile-4. `.."
The Whytes were also helped,
in' their efforts by' Tuesday by
Gordon and' Lloyd ,Dale, Doug
Hugill and Tony :Van DerP,- who
used snowbloWers to clear a path.'
from, highway eight to the Whyte
farms;
Ott SatUrday, with their feed
storage, latilis,„,:emptY
enough feed for a few hours left in
the machinery, Bill Whyte blew a
Two 'emergencies , brought
firemen, plows, an ambulance
and neighbours out at.the height
of the storm Sunday night to fight
a fire in McKillop-Township and
take a man in Tuckersmith :to
Seaforth Commtmity •Hospital:
path from; Seaforth to Mitchell, •
Following the snowblower, two
trucks bringing.,.23; tons of, feed •
made it' to the Whyte farms.' The
journey to Mitchell atoLback took,
• eight hours. M cKillop 'Township
plow operator Frank • Htilley• „
helped out by clearing -a, path
• the Whyte fairms.frorn IfighWaY 8.
.Niek.„.W.hytestressed .lth-at-li'e
and•tt. -bralifers,. • were in' no
ithinediire.danger of lOsing their
. chickens at. any time during the
last few. ilaYs,,.„They &Mid survive
for two day„s „without -feed. before --
they Would die,' he Said. ” '
In the 'Niagara' peninsula • a
Box Ambulance attendant Bob
Watson said a call came from the
Gorden De, • Song halm in
Tuckersmith at 1:40 Monday •
morning to take, Mr. De,' Jdhg,
• who'cl'Sliddenly become severely
ill,, 'to hOspital. When he. and;`
fellow ambulance attendant Bill
Smith "got 100 feet intd 'the De
Jong sideroad near Brucefield
they were stuck. 'We couldn't go
aheacl3and we couldn't back up
There' Was' a path on the road,.
• petiliaps• big enough. -for
.a snOWinobile."
Mr. Watson walked the half
mile to the :De Jong house and -
although he had a .flashlight, he •
could, barely see its beam in the
blinding snow.' Meanwhile, -Mr.
Smith got in touch with , the
419spital• dispatchei from 'the
ambulance,cab -and • called
,,Inekersmitl road superintendent
Allan Nicholson.
,Mr. Nicholson' called.--Tucker-
. smith Reeve ErYin SilletY and he
:and Bob Broadfoot went, out on
their snowblowers and blew Out
the road behind and in front ofthe
•ambulance;and the lane into the
De Jong houae..
The • ambulance attendants,.
(continued,on .Page 16)
What
HASN'T
happened?
Everyone knows' more than
they'd like to about what has
happened because-of our weather
" in the last week, but have, you
wondered what hasn't happened?
The Expositor staff•lhai been busy
conipiling a..fist of things that
haven't Oceined, and here they
• • are: '
Thursday night it was their turn.
More than • 650 farmers and
__Members every .political ,
party converged on the Royal
York,Hotel in Toronto to honour
the " retiring president ' of the'
Ontario Federation of. Agrictil-
' hire. ',fore bus loads froth Huron
and Perth 'were unable to Mak& it'
because...Of the weather.,
The-'evening was billed as
`!roast" of Gercibn Hill and--he:
was treated to a _good natured
roasting as well as strong praise."
Roy Jewell, well-khoWn farm
broadcaster. Gordon would
• 1111.
be remembered ,for 'smartening years and never been foOnd out."
up the Federation of Agriculture Federal ' Minister of Agricul
' at a time when it was getting fat" tore Eugene- Whelan told the...:„.
.andt -lazy." audience that Gordon had better
"He was, a poll titian's • poll-. luck than he had had in` his
titian. lie tised the gloved fist 'endeavors.' . t
when i~ was -but--not--.--2!He. -sit out -and changed the
often. He's the kind of guy who Federation of Agriculture to his
could' have been in _politics for . liking and I'm still •Working like
hell to-thange the Liberalparty."
Mr. Whelan" "referred to
Gordon's . favorite hobby ,, of
ghng, saying that GOrd9rimeyer
coficertied hiniself about-fishing'
seasons. - -
'He .had the-exact- same
attitud6 towards politicians .No
(Continued on. Page 13)
•
1 „ ,
farther lost 15,000- birds because
his feed supplies ran out, Mr.
Whyte said. " .
• , It 'vas the fitstlime that it haS•
been necessary for Mr. Whyte'
and his brothers to blow the- -
supply, trucks along the highway.
ltzas necessary he said, because •
township p lows 'Weied unable to. •
-7Colie-ti'Veith-the h-eaT3FdfiftS:'77"-77:-
Mr. Whyte, felt that-increasing•
his storage.. capacity would be., „
Come a' priority because. Of • the
events of the last' week.
H,Lalso .stressed, his gratitude,;,
to die file‘
& and neighbors who
lent . a hand'
eig ours n eip .in emergencie.
(By John Miner) t
Gordon Hill has been noted-for
roasting pOliticiatiS anti-
government , officials, but
again though" he-said-r"There's • • n '
no -Place .else they.-cati"g6":
".Oldifilietg say that there hasn't
.been. a Winter like...this
foorty years.' •
• 'Fortner 'clerk treasurer Ernie.
',..Williams-hasn't been seen on the
:street without a hat tecently„oind .
that Means it's really 'Cold„ .
• There:hasn't been a shoe made
the Genesee , ;Factory t since
• Friday... ' • ••
There 1144Tel-1:leen • a
complaint from die school
children about not being able to
get te"Claaai,..tt.
The LCB0 has ..not • been':
inundated With . ,thirsty: people.
•
looking, fora little liquid. warmth.
An employee told us that people
were. staying. 'home 'and waiting
' 'ter it to dear up. "!They'll tie back .+
ttFti#ie HALT, FIREM EN. Firem en were unable -to. .reach the .horne of , Steve•
Murray, 04,1,§), Seaforth. because Of heavy drifts on, concession 4 St Si , McKil
,ToWnship f Sunday: .eVeriing Seven neighbours' arrived 'ow snoWriloOl les- and-ssi "sin
hand-ektifiguithersi, Were' aPle to, putthe.firiti otIC 'Partner Wilfred Orager, shown
here fueling his treatoftriOWbielyverl blevipt path ahead :tit,lheiteafOrtli fire truek,
enabling It tO make the return triPIO "cdurity reia0 it tOOk likbradet More than .
an a half trip'to the highWay:And btiOki (txpoSiter Photo)
- Stray dog's running fooie,"in •
' Seaforth-- are still. a piobleni
;according' to Police Ciller-John,
Cairns, .
Al woman 'Wendt* uptown
Monday was fdliewed.hyl pack of
four dogs, Police were able to
catch three ditiitit and the owner
'picked up.tlie fourth. The three
dogs Will .be destroyed-in three
days if they are not claimed. t.
The: dogs which oi4-6 caught on
Jarvis Street had ii tags "or
collars. Pollee destroYed apt• dogs ,
..running in a pack a' woeloogq„,
001 we in in the vicinity Of
wimp before- dlitistpaso"
.r. 1111 ,
M , 'POLITICIANS IN.ATTENOANCE — Politicians frOm every, major political
PartY Were present at the Gordon Hill appreciation night in Toronto for the retiring party
of, the Ontario ' Pedertition. of. Agriculture. .Shaking hands with Mr. Hillis'
,backgtotiOd'e' 7. ..
" ith ''Bob Mti<iniey, Huron M.P.in the ,. . , , . . - ,:4Expotitor Photo) :,
' g
There histet eveibeen ait issue
of the txpositor before •Five oth r
many Octtid•i gig*, dogs Were Shot at the Seaforth murity • oaunt, NI, P. et