Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-04-21, Page 1Firemen critical of onlookers' interference at area blazes BARN LEVELLED — A tractor, two snowmobiles, tent trailer, boat and riding lawn mower were among the items destroyed by fire which levelled the barn of Gus Latulippe on Huron St. West on Sunday afternoon. Fireman Gabby Mol is shown dousing a car at the rear of the house. The vehicle also sustained damage as did the siding on the back of the house. Staff photo 111) Firemen answer four calls Loss $10,000 in barn fire EXETER, ONTARIO, APRIL 21, 1977 The Exeter and area fire department answered four calls this week, with only one of those resulting in damage. That blaze occurred at 3:00 p.m, Sunday, when a barn at the home of Gus Latulippe on Huron Street West was levelled by flames. Fire Chief Gary Middleton said Monday that no cause has been determined. Damage was set at around $10,000. In addition to the building the fire destroyed a tractor, tent trailor, two snowmobiles, a 14- foot boat and motor, riding mower, push mower, ladders, table saw and a quantity of building materials. The rear wall of the Latulippe Exeter council this week ap- I proved a $12,560 budget for the management board of the Downtown Business ImprovernentArea, The budget was presented by council's appointee to the board, Reeve Si Simmons, He said the budget will represent about 10 mills on the tax levies for the businesses included in the designated area. No funds will come out of the town's general tax levy for the board as all their funds are provided through the compulsory assessment on members. Included in the budget is $600 for general expenses, $3,600 for planning, $5,000 for sales promotion, and $2,500 for beautification and benches. Four special sales promotions If you feel your tax bill is too high this year, you could try sending the town a cheque for the saline amount as you paid last year. Members of council will probably understand your ac- tions, because that's the type of procedure they decided to take this week regarding their bill with the Exeter PUC for fire protection. Similar to all ratepayers, the town had been billed for a 35 percent increase in fire protection rates by the PUC, but they decided this week to pay the same amount as last year. They approved payment of $1499.69, while the actual bill was for $2024.44, One of the main objectors to Cotincil's action was Ted Wright, If we Oppose it (the increase), everyone else will," he said. He noted that Exeter needs water for the future and the community was more fortunate home was also badly charred by the heat from the blaze, as was a nearby car, Firemen had to PLAN WALKATHON The South Huron Recreation Centre Committee is sponsoring a walkathon to finish off the amount owed on the new arena. CJBK radio personality Joe Duchane will be on hand to give out prizes which include three 10- speed bicycles. The walkers will start out on Saturday, June 4, from South Huron District High School and walk the 11-mile perimeter of the town. Chairman Rob Grant says that forms will be available from local schools late next week. have been suggested by the board. They include the regular sidwalk sale and the Santa Claus parade, along with two new promotions "here comes, sum- mer" and "and old fashioned Christmas". Chairman Ron Cottrell told the T-A that the budget presented was a "wet finger budget" and the board did not know how many of the projects could be scheduled. He said any money left over from the current budget will be used the following year. He said a general meeting of all business owners in the designated area will be held when plans have progressed a little further. He indicated that regular open meetings would also be scheduled once the constitution is com- pleted. ses- than most in that they knew where from the water would come, Reeve Si Simmons said he felt the $1499.69 was a "a good bill", and he didn't think council would be depriving the ratepayers of fire protection. He said Exeter was already paying more for fire protection than most towns, saying the present rate was four mills and the PUC now wanted to increase that another one and a half mills, Wright argued that the money would have to come either out of the right or left pocket and said the levy for fire protection provided a more even distribution for water costs in the community, He and Councillors Barb Bell and Lossy Fuller opposed the payment of the old rate, whie Simmons, Ottewell, MacGregor and Pfaff supported it. Patterson said he wasn't sure what to do and abstained. douse the home with water to keep it from igniting as sparks were blown onto the roof. Three firemen sustained minor burns at the blaze. They included Norm Tait, Lester Heywood and Bill Musser. They were hit by burning sparks from the blaze and Musser had a large hole burned in the collar of his firemen's coat. On Saturday, the firemen extinguished a grass fire at the Usborne farm of Victor Knip. A caller, who spotted the smoke and phoned the department, told them the blaze appeared to be nedr Riverview Park. However, the firemen found no blaze there and then made their way to the Knip farm, after spotting the dense, black smoke. They found their way impeded by cars and bicycles, a situation that arose again on Sunday when they made their call to the Latulippe fire. The firemen answered another minor grass fire call in Usborne on Saturday and responded to a chimney fire call at the Sanders St. home of Wilson Morley on Thursday evening. There was no damage. To date this year, the firemen have - answered 18 calls, about five more than the total for the entire past year. Damage has also been extensive in many of those blazes. Questions right to question cost Exeter councillor Ken Ottewell opined this week that municipalities in Huron that are objecting to the increases in the board of education levy are dealing with a matter outside their jurisdiction. Ironically, it was Exeter council which prompted the objections by circulating a letter following their last meeting to all municipalities and the board objecting to the increase in the education budget, "I don't see why they should question what the board is doing," Ottewell said, after council had been informed on Monday that the councils of Seaforth, Hayfield and Howick had joined Exeter's protest. Deputy-Reeve Don MacGregor noted that Exeter's education levy was up $86,000 this year. "We're the representatives of the people," Councillor Steve Pfaff added. However, Ottewell said council members were not the representatives of the people as far as education is concerned. He said the school board members are elected and they are responsible to the people. Reeve Si Simmons said the increased budget couldn't be too bad, because he hadn't seen any denouncement of it on the editorial pages of the newspapers. Councillor Lossy Fuller suggested council should have the local board members explain the increases to them. "They don't have to," Ottewell suggested, although he did agree that council had such a right as taxpayers themselves, DELAY ACTION Exeter's speed limit signs will have to be converted to metric by the end of September council was informed this week. However, no action was taken, after Councillor Barb Bell said she would like to talk to her husband, Elmer, about the situation, She indicated that the Ontario Police Commission is presently involved in a hassle over the change to metric because there is some difficulty in knowing how to convert all the equipment and signs to conform to the deadline. Fire chief Gary Middleton has described as "utterly ridiculous" the actions of some Exeter residents following a couple of fire calls on the weekend. In both those calls—one to the Latulippe fire on Huron St. W. on Sunday and the other to Victor Knip's on Saturday in Usborne Township—the drivers of the four fire department vehicles had to dodge cars, trucks, bicycles and pedestrians to get to their destinations. Middleton noted that the drivers and the other members of the department had complained about the interference from the public and he said he felt those complaints were quite justified. He said that the fire depart- ment is often plagued by people who follow them to fires, but in the two weekend blazes many people appeared intent on beating the firemen to the scene. Crowds who gather at the fire hall also prevent the firemen from getting to the vehicles and then,the trucks have a difficult time getting onto the road to make their runs. The board of management of the South Huron Recreation Centre have decided to ask area ratepayers for some input on how the new centre should be operated. Mayor Bruce Shaw, chairman of the board, hinted this week that the board have had con- flicting ideas presented to them in private by some ratepayers and they'll hold a meeting to give everyone interested an op- portunity to speak their mind. He indicated some of the board's ideas have been opposed by some people with whom the matter has been dikussed. That public meeting is slated for the Exeter Public School on April 28. Shaw said it would be an op- porttinity for people to make their ideas known to the board and he added that the board would not be prepared to answer any questions at that time. Councillor Ken Ottewell suggested the board may have to be prepared to answer some questions in order to give the public an opportunity to know what is being considered. Shaw agreed that the board may be prepared to answer some "basic " questions on their plans. After council approved the public meeting, Shaw indicated the board would soon be ready to make recommendations to them in about six areas under their jurisdiction . Later at Monday's meeting, a letter was received from Stephen Township council stating that municipality would be prepared to assume up to 10 percent of the ownership of the new centre, providing that does notrelate to operating costs, Prior to that announcement, Exeter had agreed to assume 60 percent of the ownership and Usborne the other 40 percent. Shaw reported that Stephen At Monday night's council meeting, fireman and Councillor Ted Wright said the matter of fire diasers is completely out of hand, "I've never seen anything so ridiculous," he said. Wright suggested that if the public doesn't cooperate more fully the firemen may have to do away with their siren and go to a beeper system, where the members wear radio gadgets at all times and can be called personally when a fire breaks out. "It would be pretty costly," he advised. Wright said one of the problems was undoubtedly with CB radios, because people find out where the fire location is very quickly. Ken Ottewell suggested people were very thoughtless. "It could be their home some day," he said. "It could be someone's life," Wright added. The chief said that one of the drivers indicated he had to stop his truck because he was afraid of hitting some youngsters on bicycles who were trying to beat had agreed to take on 1.0 percent ownership after he and Stephen representative Don Finkbeiner met with council recently. Shaw said that until then, Finkbeiner had felt like an outsider on the board because his township did not have any bested interest in the facility. While the Mayor said at one point that Stephen's decision would have no advantage to Exeter whatsoever, he later said that if the capital cost of the centre fell short of the target, the remainder would be paid by the municipalities involved on the basis of their agreed ownership percentage. This would indicate that Please turn to page 3 him. to Sunday's fire, However, perhaps even more serious on Sunday was the fact that some of the early spectators proceeded to drive their vehicles over the fire hoses. This reduces the pressure in Additions to health services were listed as the main ac- complishments at South Huron Hospital during 1976 by chairman Carf Cann at Monday's annual meeting. Cann said the additions were made mainly through its own initiative and at its own expense. The chairman continued, "Since our x-ray equipment was no longer adequate or safe to use, the Board of Directors decided to -underwrite this project alone. At a cost of about $100,000 the x-ray department was rebuilt, new equipment installed and an x-ray technician added to the staff. We now have an x-ray department second to none in any small Ontario hospital." He added, "A proposed ex- pansion program to up-date services in x-ray, operating room, emergency and ad- ministration areas at an estimated cost of one million dollars was finally accepted by health officials but the plan was shelved for future consideration on the basis that government funds are not available at this time, During the year, the Board hired a physiotherapist and converted a four-bed ward into a Physiotherapy Department. With much appreciated help from the hospital's Women's Auxiliary, new physiotherapy equipment is being purchased. Cann indicated that public response for this new service is extremely gratifying, so much so, that the department is operating at almost full capacity. In conclusion, chairman Cann told the meeting "a new emergency department should become a major consideration of the board of directors for 1977. It appears that the Ontario Health Ministry may issue permission for us to submit plans for the construction of a new emergency department and administrative area at the hospital's own ex- pense." In his report hospital ad- ministrator Elmer Taylor described 1976 as a continuation the lines and prevents the firemen from getting the required water with which to fight the blaze. Middleton said about 250 feet of hose was damaged by cars in Sunday's blaze and firemen won't of the Ministry of Health's policy of restraint. Taylor said a continuing effort was made to improve the level of patient care provided in the hospital. The dietary service to patients was upgraded through the introduction of a selective menu system. Property committee chair- man Jim Kneale said the board is now attempting to receive ap- proval for a reduced project as far as the proposed expansion prograin•was concerned. The auditor's report presented by Art Read of Banghart, Kelly and Doig showed a net income for 1976 of $869. This compared to a A Huron Park man, Randolph Joseph Quesnel, was sentenced to a total of 90 days in jail when he appeared before Judge Glenn Hays on two break, enter and theft charges, Tuesday. He had been charged with the January 5 breakin at Carl's Gas Bar in Crediton where mer- chandise valued at $850 had been taken, A total of $200 of that loot was recovered by police. The other breakin was at Cook's mill in Kirkton on November 30. There was $275 in cash taken on that occasion, Quesnel was sentenced to 60 days for the Crediton theft and 30 days on the Kirkton one. In ad- dition he was placed on probation for a period of one year and was ordered to make restitution for half the value of the stolen property in both incidents. Another person was involved in both thefts. Kenneth Joseph LaFramboise, 21, also of Huron Park, pleaded guilty to being involved in the break and enter at Carl's Gas Bar. Judge Hays reserved his decision pending a pre-sentence know until they test the hose whether any of it can be salvaged. Noting that three firemen were burned (none seriously) in Sunday's fire, he said people Please turn to page 3 Price Per Copy 25 Cents deficit of $1,215 the previous year. The integrated balance sheet showed $465,000 available for capital projects. This is up some $50,000 from 1975. Mrs. Roy Westcott presented a very impressive report on behalf of the Women's Auxiliary. During the year, the Auxiliary with 143 members spent $7,768.13 on hospital equipment. In June of 1976, 10 Auxiliary members undertook a volunteer receptionist program in, the out- patient area working' Ne'' , mor- nings a week. Mrs. Delmar Skinner spent a total of 135 hours doing hospital mending during the year. report to be provided at the court session on May 17. In a later court appearance on Tuesday, LaFramboise was fined $150 or 15 days and had his driver's licence suspended for a further six months on a charge of driving while disqualified. The court learned that on September 18, he was having a contest with another driver and his vehicle ended up in the ditch. The accused took off on foot and police brought in a tracking dog to aid in the search, LaFram- boise was tracked down by the animal. A Strathroy area driver, Ralph M, Paas, 17, was fined a total of $450 or 30 days when he appeared on two charges arising from an incident on February 21. He was fined $300 on a charge of dangerous driving and $150 on a charge of driving with an alcohol content of over 80 mgs. His licence was also suspended for three months. The charge of dangerous driving was laid after he led police on a high speed chase over icy concession roads at speeds up to 100 m.p.h. The accused went through three stop signs and finally ended up in a snow bank and the pursuing police cruiser crashed into his car, Harold Gordon Bender, 28, of RR 1 Hay, was sentenced to 14 days in jail on an impaired driving charge laid on March 25. He had been stopped by police due to his erratic driving and a breathalizer showed a reading of 200 mgs, The court learned that Bender had a previous conviction. In addition to the jail term, he had his driver's licence suspended for six months, A fine of $100 or 10 days was levied against Alan R, Bell, RR 2 Kippen, who pleaded guilty to driving while under suspension. The 17-year-old was given 15 days in which to pay his fine. Richard D. Clarke, 21, of Stephen Township, was fined $150 or 15 days on a charge of possession of marijuana. It was laid on February 17 after a conservation officer noticed occupants of a car emptying plastic bags through the windows of a vehicle. The OPP were called Please turn to page 3 Downtown project will cost 10 mills ELDER HONOURED—Harry Strang, who has been an elder at Caven Presbyterian Church for the past 31 years, was honoured Sunday mor- ning. Making the presentation at the left on behalf of the church sion is Norm Stanlake. A good idea! One Hundred and Fourth Year JUNIOR SALESLADY —Members of XI Gamna Nu Chapter of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority received assistance in Friday's sale of daffodils from a pretty young lady. Brigitte Wraight poses with a bunch of daffodils, T-A Photo Stephen to share centre ownership HONOURED ON RETIREMENT — After 24 years of service to South Huron Hospital Marj Delbridge has retired. At Monday's annual meeting Mrs. Delbridge received gifts on behalf of the board and staff from administrator Elmer Taylor and board chairman Carf Cann. Mrs. Delbridge was described as a nurse, teacher and friend to everyone connected with the hospital. T-A photo FIRE WATCHERS — Huge crowds have been attracted to two fires in the Exeter area over the weekend, and while many stayed out of the way, others drove over fire hoses, left their bikes in the way of firemen and generally impeded their efforts to battle the blaze, Parts of the crowd at Sunday's fire at Latulippe's are shown here. Staff photo Hospital's x-ray department comparable to any its size Jail terms given two district men