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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-07-18, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, July 18, 2013 Volume 29 No. 29 CAMP - Pg. 10Kelly Gruber holdsbaseball camp in Clinton STRATFORD - Pg. 19‘Tommy’ wows audiencesat Stratford FestivalSPORTS- Pg. 8Peters invited to nationalselect hockey campPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: Parkade delays anger business owners Mock disaster tests local emergency responders Disaster! (Kind of) Firefighters from Howick and North Huron, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) from across the area, Huron County emergency service workers, among others, all gathered for a mock disaster at Pioneer Conservation Park in Bluevale last week as a mock downburst was held that looked anything but staged. Expertly acted and expertly made-up victims from the MedQuest/HealthKick teams screamed for help as local emergency workers did their best to find, help and heal victims that were tossed, tumbled and impaled when their bus was pushed over by a violent wind. Mock disasters like this are held annually to test municipalities and mandated by the province. Visit The Citizen’s website at www.northhuron.on.ca for video and a photo gallery featuring hundreds of photos from last week’s mock disaster. (Denny Scott photo) Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Huron County Emergency Medical Services and Fire Departments from North Huron and Howick all descended upon Pioneer Conservation Area in Bluevale on Thursday morning to test their mettle. Mandated by the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, every community in Ontario needs to participate in an annual training exercise and North Huron, Morris-Turnberry and Howick all participated in a simulated downburst at the park. As part of the event, emergency personnel were told they would be part of a training exercise but not where it would be or what it would entail. They arrived on the scene promptly after the call went out discovering a flipped bus, victims both alive and deceased and injuries ranging from shock to impalement. A downburst is a weather event typically created by rain-cooled air which causes a rush of cold air to be pushed down and then out, resulting in a radial push from the point of impact. The winds from such events can reach up to 130 kilometres per hour. After more than an hour of work, all the injured were accounted for and the emergency service workers all assembled at Bluevale Community Hall for a short debrief about the event. Head controller of the event and Morris-Turnberry Community Fire Safety Officer James Marshall said the event went well. “We had a great turnout for the event and it went wonderfully,” he said to the assembled group. Comments were made from township representatives from North Huron, Morris-Turnberry and Howick as well as representatives from the County of Huron, the OPP, the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority, which maintains the park where the mock disaster took place, Healthkick/MedQUEST, Huron County Victim Services, Emergency Management Ontario and Social Services. Representatives from Hydro One were also on-site at the disaster to North Huron Township Council and staff as well as Blyth Business owners met at the Emergency Services Training Centre last week to keep the lines of communication open between the two groups. The meeting, which was mandated through the North Huron Business Retention and Expansion report follow-up, was scheduled to make sure that the businesses of Blyth have a clear line of communication with their councillors. While the meeting allowed staff to present the projects they are working on including water and waste water projects in Blyth, a brochure to explain tax spending to all of North Huron, renovations at Memorial Hall, skateboard and fitness classes at the Blyth and District Community Centre and a cultural plan being worked on through Huron County staff, the hot topic for the meeting was parkades. For the past year, Blyth businesses have been pursuing parkades as a way to create more sidewalk area and allow them to expand their business onto the sidewalk. However, due to delays, it appears that the parkades won’t make an appearance, beyond their presence at the upcoming Blyth Streetfest on July 26 when Queen Street will be closed, until next year. Recently Huron County Council gave the plan to expand the sidewalk with wooden parkades the political nod, but the implementation was left Be part of it. 7.28.13 AD SPONSORED BY By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 14 Continued on page 18 By Denny Scott The Citizen