Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2009-01-22, Page 20PAGE 20. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2009.Huron County’s fire departmentsmay have found their new dispatchservice in the Stratford Fire Department. Huron County fire co-ordinator and Blyh fire chief Paul Josling says that while nothing is final yet, Huron’s fire chiefs are bringing recommendations to accept the Stratford Fire Department as the municipality’s new dispatch service this week. Huron County’s 12 fire departments currently use a dispatch service out of the Seaforth hospital with the Huron-Perth Healthcare Alliance. Josling says there were three issues that factored into the decision that resulted in the Seaforthhospital pulling out of dispatchduties for the fire departments in thefall.The first issue was the hospital’sdifficulties in staffing the dispatchcentre 24 hours a day. The second issue was further training Josling requested the dispatch employees undergo, although this is an issue that he insists was “surmountable.” The third issue was liability, which is something that the dispatch employees were concerned about. Josling, however, says this training would have helped with that issue and that it would have eliminated a lot of the liability. Josling says he doesn’t anticipate any problems with the recommendation for the Stratford Fire Department. The investigationhad come down to three candidates,one of which recently pulled out,leaving only two.There is, however, Josling says, asignificant cost difference betweenthe remaining two candidates that falls into favour for the Stratford Fire Department. In addition to the better cost, Josling says Huron County fire departments being dispatched by another fire department is a huge advantage and should improve efficiency. “One of the big advantages is that they are a fire department. They know what information we need for a call. All they handle are fire issues,” he says. “I’m not saying anything negative about our dispatch service here in Seaforth. They’vedone a good job for us over theyears. There were some problems,but that’s only human.”If everything goes as Joslingexpects it to and all of HuronCounty’s councils approve their chief’s recommendations, he is optimistic the new dispatch systemwill be in place by April 1.The Huron Perth HealthcareAlliance named April 1 as thedeadline for the fire departments, butdid, however, insist they wouldcontinue to dispatch for them until a new dispatch service was found. Not surprisingly, history tends to take some time; as does its chronicling. In October, the Municipality of Morris-Turnberry began the long and involving process of recording its history for publication. Jenny Versteeg was brought on to be a researcher, writer and editor, along with Jodi Jerome for the project. Basically, she says, she has been hired to get this project done. The process began in the summer, when the municipality brought on several summer students to begin researching property records as a starting point for the research. After the property owner records were fully researched, then the research of the families and people who lived on the farms throughout the municipality began. The research began this summer, investigating properties beginning in 1856, chronicling every owner of every property in the municipality to the present day. The summer students also worked on the mapping of the municipality, something Versteeg is still in the process of working on. Versteeg says the housing records should be completed by the end of January so the real research into the current and former residents can begin. A public meeting was held in November where volunteers were brought on board and interest in the project was garnered. The meeting attracted approximately 50 people including the newly-formed committee, which now includes 15 people from the area. At the meeting community representatives were appointed to represent each concession. These people will act as liaisons between property owners, both past and present and the committee. Fran Breckenridge was appointed to be responsible for collecting information on the area’s schools. There were also two representatives appointed to take care of the area’s churches. The public meeting provided guidelines to use while researching for the volunteers who will be working on the project. Other points of interest for the book were community halls, post offices, school fairs and community events, railroads, mills, farmers of note, local government, roads and bridges, beef rings, cheese factories, local businesses and industries. There are also historical events and stories Versteeg hoped to focus on like local disasters, famous residents, war stories and sports teams and clubs. Currently, families are in the process of writing their own histories and memories of living on their farms. Once this is completed, the information will return to Versteeg for editing so she can put it all together and eventually turn it into a book. Versteeg says she enjoys this kind of work and that while it can be tedious at times, it does genuinely interest her. She has worked on two previous municipal history books, the Howick history book in the 1990s and The Almanac, the history of the Municipality of Alma several years ago. Versteeg says the project, from the beginning of the researching to the book being printed will take about two years. 2011 will mark the 10th anniversary of the amalgamation of Morris-Turnberry, and it is also the target launch date for the project. “It should be ready by Christmas of next year,” Versteeg says. “In that case, it’ll be a great Christmas present next year for the people from Morris-Turnberry.” Stratford may soon supply local dispatch service Wii bit of fun It was Wii games at the Blyth Library on Saturday and Josh Hay, left, and Gordon Brigham keep their focus on the task at hand. This Saturday the fun is at the Brussels branch. (Vicky Bremner photo) 404 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 125 BEST CASSEROLE & ONE-POT MEALS Tips and recipes for hearty and tasty one-pot meals — everything from pot pies to casseroles. Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, seafood, there are recipes for whatever your taste, even vegetarian. $19.95 125 BEST INDOOR GRILL RECIPES With an indoor electric grill you can continue to cook interesting grilled meals year long. These recipes include everything from chicken and seafood to burgers, steaks and chops. Enjoy a whole new way of cooking. $19.95 THE NEW BREAD MACHINE BOOK From basic breads to whole-grain breads and fruit and vegetable breads, this book has recipes and tips for it all. $19.99 COOKING AND BAKING FOR DIABETICS 220 easy and delicious recipes for everything from breakfasts and snacks to soups and salads to meats and seafoods — even desserts and baking. Plus tips on how to maintain a balanced diet. $29.95 CORN 140 recipes for cooking with corn from roasted to creamed to cooking with cornmeal: everything from corn breads and cookies to popcorn to tacos and burritos. $20.95 THE FARMER’S WIFE COOKBOOK Contains over 400 blue-ribbon recipes from The Farmer’s Wife Magazine. Classic recipes for bread, cakes, candies, desserts, meat, fish, egg-dishes, vegetables and salads. Recipes and tips on preserving included. $16.95 THE COMPLETE HARROWSMITH COOKBOOK More than 600 pages of recipes and tips for everything from soups to preserves.$34.99 Warm up with some great recipes The Citizen AMERICA’S BEST SLOW COOKER RECIPES Slow cookers are the perfect solution for anyone who wants good, nutritious food to come home to with a minimum of effort. The book features more than 125 recipes from appetizers to desserts, plus time-saving tips. $19.95 By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen Residents gather info as work progresses on history book By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Police were notified of a scam that occurred this month in Huron East. The victim reported that he was selling an article on Kijiji for $200. He received an e-mail from a woman who said that she wanted to buy the item for her husband. The victim agreed to a price, then received an e-mail from the female asking that he accept a money order for $2,500, take $200 out for the item purchased and then wire $2,300 to a third party in Paris, France. The complainant agreed to do this and did. He received a money order from the CIBC and he stated it looked authentic. He took the money order to his bank, cashed it and then wired the $2,300 to an address in Paris, France. Citizens are reminded to be on alert for these types of scams. As soon as a potential buyer sends more money than was agreed upon, and requests some action in exchange, the deal should be off. Scam artists can make their documents appear to be quite authentic but in this day and age, people need to be a bit more suspicious, said Const. Joanna VanMierlo. For information on current scams check the OPP website at: www.opp.ca or phonebusters at: www.phonebusters.com OPP warn of e-mail scam