The Citizen, 2011-11-24, Page 1CitizenTh
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$1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, November 24, 2011
Volume 27 No. 46
MEETING - Pg. 13Sustainability meetingheld in Blyth, Hensall COUNTY - Pg. 18Huron County Council tolose four representativesPARADE- Pg. 6Santa Claus parade thisweekend in BrusselsPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK:
A terrible loss
John Bokhout, right, and Blake Hesselwood, left, both 22, lost their lives in a deadly house fire
on Nov. 15 in a house they shared. The pair had moved to Alberta to work for an oil drilling
company in Bonnyville, Alberta, a town northeast of Edmonton and less than an hour from the
Alberta/Saskatchewan border. (Photos submitted)
Two locals lose lives in Alberta house fire
Rutledge promises
plans by Christmas
Casing the joint for a parade
Santa Claus must have gotten his calender mixed up as he showed up in Brussels on Nov.
17, more than a week early for the Brussels Christmas Parade on Nov. 26. Fortunately, the
jolly man in red was just in time to take a glimpse in some of the stores that stayed open for
the kickoff of the Brussels Holiday Passport event and see the lighting of the tree at pavillion
park. Many local businesses stayed open late for the event and had snacks and beverages
available for those who braved the cold to come out and start working on their passport for the
Jan. 1 prize drawing. (Denny Scott photo)
The Blyth community is in
mourning as two of its own perished
in a fatal house fire just outside of
Bonnyville, Alberta early last
week.
John Bokhout and Blake
Hesselwood, both 22, died on Nov.
15 when a fire ignited in the lower
level of a rural home they lived in
and made its way upward. A smoke
alarm without a battery was found in
the residence.
A total of 33 local firefighters
were called to the scene of the blaze
that broke out shortly after 2 a.m.,
reported The Bonnyville Nouvelle.
Firefighters responded from
Bonnyville, Fort Kent and Ardmore,
but the house was engulfed in flames
when firefighters arrived.
Bonnyville Regional Fire
Authority Chief Brian McEvoy has
stated that the fire likely began with
smoking materials and a couch on
the ground floor of the two-storey
rural home several kilometres
outside of Bonnyville.
McEvoy also said that when
firefighters arrived on the scene, one
man was attempting to pull another
out of the home.
“When we arrived on scene, there
was an occupant attempting to pull
one of the other occupants through
an upstairs window,” McEvoy told
the local news outlet.
Bokhout, Hesselwood and Steve
Kinzies were all taken to the
Bonnyville Healthcare Centre where
Kinzies remained overnight with
non-life threatening injuries and the
other two men were pronounced
dead.
It was Kinzies who made the 911
call shortly after he climbed out of
the burning home and onto the roof
of an addition.
Bokhout and Hesselwood had
travelled to Alberta for work and
found it at Rockwell Drilling Oil
Services. They made the move west
in May.
Both men were frequently in
touch with their families in Blyth
and both were planning on returning
to the village for Christmas in just a
Local architect John Rutledge was
in Seaforth to discuss preliminary
plans for the Brussels Library with
Huron East Council at its Nov. 15
meeting and he’s promising a floor
plan before the end of the year.
Rutledge said that as a Brussels
native, the library project means a
lot to him.
After a recent visit to the library,
Rutledge had established that the
current roof structure on the building
is strong and won’t need to be
replaced throughout the planned
renovation and expansion. The
roofing on the building, however,
hasn’t been replaced since before
amalgamation, meaning that a
replacement could be on the
horizon, as Rutledge said the roof on
the library typically will last
between 10 and 15 years.
While the final plans could change
over the next few months, Rutledge
is currently planning for a common
area with chairs and study space that
could fit approximately 30 people,
along with a computer area that will
house four computers plus a fifth
computer for training purposes.
Between Rutledge and the
members of council, there was a
consensus that the library should be
growing in the process of the
renovation. The library will almost
be doubled in size if Rutledge’s
plans go ahead.
Rutledge said he was planning for
the future with the project, saying it
would have to be a long-term project
and that should Brussels Public
School close as planned this spring,
usage at the library will likely
increase.
Huron East Mayor Bernie
MacLellan agreed, saying that the
municipality wouldn’t want to fund
a project that will have to be altered
or added to in five years.
Since the last time Rutledge was
called in to provide some draft plans
for the library several years ago, the
number of regulations surrounding a
municipal library has increased
drastically, he said.
Rutledge said that when he was
first approached for a renovation
concept for the Brussels Library, he
had to review a one-page document
of regulations. Now, he said, that
document is between 12 and 15
pages long.
Rutledge also requested
information including some
information on a Bell easement that
sits along the property.
Rutledge assured council,
however, that barring any major
roadblocks, plans should be drawn
up and presented to council before
the end of the year.
MacLellan said that timeline is
crucial as he was hoping to have
tenders out in January to have
construction start as soon as the
ground thaws in spring of
2012.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Continued on page 18