Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2008-08-21, Page 1Flying high The biggest weekend of racing this season came to Motocross Town, Walton as the Lee farm hosted the national championships. By 6 a.m. Aug. 12 traffic was backed up as trailers with riders, gear and families, started to pull in for registration. Thousands of people were on site throughout the five-day event. (Vicky Bremner photo) At their Aug. 12 meeting, Morris- Turnberry councillors discussed issuing a press release on their position regarding North Huron zoning changes to allow a Canadian Tire store in Wingham but vowed not to stir the pot further on the issue. Councillors were responding to a letter from North Huron reeve Neil Vincent sent to Morris-Turnberry mayor Dorothy Kelly and printed in The Wingham Advance-Times. Councillors were concerned about the perception that Morris-Turnberry is blocking the zoning change required for the store. “The only reason we objected was because of the drain,” said councillor Bill Thompson, speaking of the public meeting held to discuss the zoning change. Morris-Turnberry subsequently withdrew its objection after being assured that stormwater management was being properly handled and that Wingham would still have the capacity to offer services to highway commercial property next to Wingham but within Morris-Turnberry. Councillors agreed to look at a draft of the press release at a meeting later this month but indicated they would not add fuel to the fire, simply explaining their current position. “We’ll just have to have broad shoulders,” said mayor Dorothy Kelly. Councillors also authorized Kelly to send a letter to a ratepayer who had written to complain that the municipality’s “negativity . . . is counterproductive to growing our communities”. Kelly said she wanted the ratepayer to know that although a Morris-Turnberry landowner has continued to object to the zoning change, the municipality is not supporting this objection. The Maitland Valley Conservation Authority (MVCA) invited several local politicians out to one of its most promising demonstration sites last week. The MVCA was offering up its assistance to area representatives and local landowners, showing them what is possible with Murray and Wilma Scott’s demonstration project: The Scott Municipal Drain. Federal Liberal candidate and North Huron councillor Greg McClinchey was there representing both his and current Huron-Bruce MP Paul Steckle’s interests, while North Huron clerk-administrator Kriss Snell was also in attendance. The crowd also featured Goderich mayor Deb Shewfelt, Ashfield- Colborne-Wawanosh reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek, Morris-Turnberry councillor and MVCA chair Mark Beaven, Cathy Winhold, special assistant to John Wilkinson, MPP of Perth-Wellington, Perth-Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger, Conservative candidate for Huron- Bruce Ben Lobb and Sandra Gardiner, Liberal MP candidate for Perth-Wellington, among others. Several in attendance commented on the amount of activity on Scott’s farm and were glad they made the trip to a place they might not have known about otherwise. Over the last two years, Scott has worked in co-operation with the University of Waterloo and extensively with the MVCA to make all facets of the project happen. The projects vary from simple projects like windbreaks to cut down on wind and snow in the winter and increase shade and reduce temperatures in the summer to enhanced wetlands and constructed berms for proper utilization of rainwater and effective drainage. While the Scotts no longer keep livestock, he says that many of the practices he is employing on his land now can easily be worked into a livestock operation and could have significant benefits for farmers in the area. Scott compared this year’s summer to last year. In 2007, Scott said, his land experienced very dry conditions, but because of the wetlands and the underground transferal of water from areas of collection to the wetlands, he was able to preserve as much precipitation as he could and keep his land in good shape. This year, however, has seen rain falling at record levels, and while he never thought he would see the day, he said, rain had overflowed his most prominent wetland and flooded the laneway. This was short-lived however, as the land drained as it is designed to do and kept the water levels under control, even during periods of high rain. As the tour continued around Scott’s land, various points of interest were highlighted as the path of the municipal drain was detailed through the property. Since the project began, Scott has seen an influx of vegetation and wildlife to his property and specifically on the constructed wetlands. He says there are dozens of frogs and insects relying on the wetlands now and with the increased “It was a pretty horrendous sight.” David Sparling of Blyth was in Denver when the explosion at a petroleum facility in North York occurred on the morning of Aug. 10. As lead instructor and course developer for the Ontario Propane Association’s liquified petroleum gas responder gas course and the propane emergencies advance course for the province, Sparling was among those called to assist at the scene. “The closest person is always called,” said Sparling, who flew into Detroit, then met up with another local member of the OPA response team, Dave Cartwright of Blyth, before heading to Toronto. They arrived Sunday night. The men spent five hours there, helping to wrap up the incident, said Sparling. “The propane association teams stop leaks, empty containers at risk, then hand the scene back to the chief and leave.” Of special note is the fact that all but two of the Propane Association’s response team were trained at the Emergency Services Training Centre located at the south edge of Blyth. “And the two were actually not responders,” said Sparling. A total of 125 from across the province have been trained at the Centre. The local ESTC is the only centre currently that offers propane training. “We can simulate situations at the centre that you would never have wanted to deal with if you hadn’t done it here first.” The response team has to return every three years to recertify, said Sparling. “Of those 125 people, the reality is that they won’t have been to a single incident in those three years,” said Sparling, adding that even with the minimum safety requirements being met, it would be “difficult to have an event like this happen.” With the investigation ongoing, Sparling could say very little about the mishap, other than “obviously something went really wrong.” What and how wrong, will eventually be determined after what he believes will be an extensive and thorough investigation. While there have been propane explosions before, generally of small tanks, or the sabotaging of some residential tanks, what happened in Toronto is rare. “This is the first time in Canadian history that a propane truck has exploded.” An employee of Sunrise Propane and a veteran firefighter died as a result of the incident. “The last time a firefighter was killed in Canada with propane, the fire was deliberately set.” That this is a rare occurrence seems underlined by local response. Sparling said that their company, five facilities in locations across central and south-western Ontario, has received two phone calls and an e-mail since the explosion, none from Blyth residents. The company’s safety system was fully overhauled last year. “If there’s a fire it shuts down the electrical systems and all propane valves.” M-T won’t add fuel to fire CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 Volume 24 No. 33ENVIRONMENT- Pg. 7Groups partner to savebutternut trees SPORTS - Pg. 8 Baseball season windsdownWELCOME- Pg. 3New minister comes toBlyth United ChurchPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 PAP Registration No. 09244 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: Locals assist at blast site Politicians visit promising site By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 6 By Bonnie Gropp The Citizen By Keith Roulston The Citizen