Loading...
Times-Advocate, 1978-09-07, Page 1Three rescued before car bursts into flaming inferno A passing motorist saved three St. Thomas residents from their car involved in an accident two miles south of Exeter a.m., Saturday. John Vanderweg, RR 2 London, who was following the vehicle which swerved sideways and rolled over RESCUER WATCHES — John Vanderweg, right, RR 2 Lon­ don, watches as police and ambulance attendants administer to four people injured in a one-car crash south of Exeter on Saturday morning. Vanderweg rescued three of the St. Thomas people from their burning car. The driver of the vehi­ cle was tossed clear. up in in in- several times before coming to rest in the west ditch, pulled the three from the wreckage before it burst into flames. The driver of the vehicle, Cheryl Williams, of St. Thomas, was thrown clear of the wreckage and ended in a field. She remains critical condition University Hospital. Also suffering major juries was Ivan Juric, one of the three passengers. The other two passengers, Barbara “ ‘ Michael treated Hospital bruises. The Exeter fire depart­ ment was called to the scene to extinguish the flames. Damage in the accident was set at $1,000 by OPP Constable Bill Osterloo, who was assisted by several other officers at the scene. It was one of seven ac­ cidents investigated over the Labor Day weekend, the first occurring on Friday night when a vehicle driven by Richard Bitterhoff, Hyde Park, struck a mailbox on Highway 21, just south of Highway 83. Constable Al Quinn set damage at $1,000. On Saturday, vehicles driven by Stratford, Edminston and Proctor, were at South Huron for cuts, and Desjardine, Grand Bend, collided on Highway 83 west of Huron Road 2. Damage amounted to only $125, but two passengers in the Bick vehicle suffered minor injuries. They were Anthony Bryant and Gregory Trott, both of Stratford. Constable Jack Straughan investigated. In another Saturday crash, Kevin Hawruluk, Moncton, N.B., received minor in­ juries when the motorcycle’ he was driving went through an intersection at County Road 6 and concession 12 in Usborne. Damage was listed at $250 by Constable Frank Giffin. There were two crashes on Sunday, one involving a vehicle driven by Reginald Finkbeiner, RR 1 Crediton. He struck a deer which bounded into his path on the Crediton Road just east of Highway 81. Damage to the vehicle was estimated at $450 by Constable Giffin. The deer took off. The other crash involved a vehicle driven by Randy Quesnel, Crediton, which veered off Victoria St. in Centralia and ran into a corn field. Constable Straughan listed damage at $500. One Hundred and Fifth Year DRIVER ASSISTED — Sheryl Williams, St. Thomas, driver of the car which hit the ditch and burned south of Exeter, Saturday, is carried on a stretcher by ambulance attendants, OPP and Exeter firemen. The woman ended up in a field and the stretcher had to be hoisted over a fence. The car is shown on the right, while to the left is an injured passenger, Ivan Juric. Staff photo ! < M < • imes - Advocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 EXETER, ONTARIO, SEPTEMBER 7, 1978 I Larry Bick, MichaelStaff photo Exeter firemen extinguish car flames oats burn at G loss set at $25,000 A fire late Tuesday night in Grand Bend completely destroyed two cabin cruisers and damaged three others with a loss estimated at $25,000. In the blaze, cabin cruisers owned by David Pratt of London and Dr. Bruick Swieger also of Lon­ don were destroyed while boats owned by Raymond Solman, London, Paul Skinner of London and Tony Relouw of RR 2 Grand Bend received minor damage. The loss for the Pratt boat is estimated at $8,000 while the Swieger boat had an es­ timated value of $12,500. The fire was believed to have started aboard the Pratt boat following an ex­ plosion. The fire then spread to the adjoining boat owned by Swieger. According to Grand Bend’s assistant fire chief Prospzr Van Bruaene, his department responded to the Bylaw infractions result in penalties call at 11:45 p.m. Van Bruaene who lives about a quarter of a mile from the Manore docks which are on Deviatke street, said that he heard the explosion but didn’t know what it was. Firemen stayed on the scene initially for two hours but were called back at 4:45 a.m. when fire broke out in one of the other boats. Investigating officer Bill Elliott of the Pinery Park OPP detachment said no irregularities in the fire was suspected. Ask Exeter homeowners to separate their garbage Exeter homeowners will be asked to separate their garbage in the future so glass and newspapers can be recycled. The program, however,will be strictly on a voluntary basis, at least at the outset. Councillor Lossy Fuller, who had been asked to check into an offer by Thames Valley Recycling to pick up glass and newspapers, said there would be no charge to the town other than the cost of an advertisement ad­ vising ratepayers of the program. Neither would there be any revenue for the town in the project, although Mrs. Fuller said it could reduce the amount of gar­ bage being picked up by the town crew and deposited at the local dump. She said the firm would probably pick up the special refuse on a once-a-month basis, possibly on the same day as special garbage pickups are held by the town. “There’ll be more work involved for the housewife,” Mrs. Fuller noted, saying that it would take a little ex­ tra time to sort the glass and newspapers for the pickup. "How about the househusband?” Councillor Derry Boyle asked. Councillor Ken Ottewell said he was happy to hear that Mrs. Fuller was imply­ ing that garbage was the task of the housewife and in­ dicated he would take that message home with him. There was some discus­ sion whether the project should be put on a voluntary or mandatory basis and councillors agreed to try it on a voluntary basis at the outset, although Mrs. Fuller wondered prompt enough people to un­ dertake the task to make the pickups worthwhile. Details of the program will be outlined when final arrangements have been made with the London area firm. While the suggestion that the project may reduce the load at the dump was not one of the major considerations in approving the idea, it may reduce the poor reports given the dump by inspec­ tors from the ministry of the environment. At Tuesday night’s ses­ sion, a report of an inspec­ tion made on August 23 was received and the inspection drew sharp criticism from ministry officials who said the facility in Hay Township was “unsatisfactory and un­ tidy”. Clerk Liz Bell read through much of the report which noted that provincial regulations were seldom met and that refuse was left uncovered for up to four weeks (it is supposed to be covered twice a week). “It goes on and on ,” Mrs. Bell advised council part way through the report. However, it failed to spur council into any corrective action. “The dump’s in wonderful shape,” Deputy-Reeve Don MacGregor advised, adding that the report was ap­ parently prepared by people “who have nothing better to do with their time”. Councillor Derry Boyle wasn’t worried about the report either. He suggested council write the ministry and ques­ tion why they have softened some of their regulations about pollution problems that are far more dangerous than the local dump. His reference was to the ministry extending a deadline for some industries to reduce the air pollution they create in areas such as Sudbury. Playhouse draws over 20,000 patrons if this would The 1978 season for the Huron Country Playhouse has proved to be a record year in terms of attendance according to artistic director James Murphy. According to Murphy over 20,000 people had attended the Playhouse by the time the curtain fell for the final time Saturday night. This compares to a final attendance figure for 1977 of 15,000 Murphy said. He stated he was very pleased Three charges laid under area municipal bylaws Were heard by Justice of the Peace Douglas Wedlake when he presided in Exeter court, Tuesday. An Exeter couple, Larry and Ruth Ann Luther, were fined a total of $103 after pleading guilty to a charge of failing to connect with the town’s sewage system as covered by a town bylaw. Works superintendent Glenn Kells was the com­ plainant on behalf of the corporation. It was the first conviction under the bylaw. A second charge of tam­ pering with the sewage system was dismissed. Two Stephen township residents paid $53 each on charges of permitting their dogs to run at large. Charged were Larry Cronyn, Cen­ tralia, and Bill Theophilopoulos, R.R. 2 Centralia. The charges had been laid by Judy Finch, employed by Stephen Township as an animal control officer. Two other charges laid by Ms. Finch were set over to October 3. A charge laid under the Exeter animal control bylaw was dismissed when it was found the charge was laid under the wrong bylaw. theAn incident related to Fleck strike resulted in a fine of $108 against Donald Mercer, Lucan, who was charged with failing to remain at the scene of an accident on March 3. Mercer told the court that he pulled to the right to avoid a carat the Mt. Carmel Road and indicated he was afraid to stop because he thought it may have been striking Fleck workers. Mercer drove the Fleck company vehicles on several occasions taking workers to the strike-bound plant. He was driving his own car at the time of the incident which resulted in the court appearance. In other Tuesday, Mr. handed out the following fines: Michael W. Dashwood, $54 or five days for having liquor while under the legal age. Jack Mervyn McKenzie, Hensail, $13 or two days for being intoxicated in a public place. Police investigated after receiving phone calls of a person lying on a road on July 7. McKenzie was found to be intoxicated. Ervin H. Pfaff, Crediton, $54 for having liquor in a place other than his residence. cases heard Wedlake Brannon, I I OFF TO SCHOOL — Mark and Monica Lindenfield, Elizabeth Coates and Tim Van Dam head merrily up Exeter's Main street Tuesday morning for the first day of school in the 1978-79 term, T'A photo with the overall increase as this week’s season was one week longer than last year’s. The biggest hit in terms of attendance was Oklahoma! which had over 7,000 theatre goers at its two week run. Oklahoma! also set the record for the largest at­ tendance for one week with the last week of the musical attracting 4,000. The biggest surprise of the season said Murphy was Parlour, Bedroom and Bath which attracted the second largest crowd of the season. He said the Playhouse was somewhat leery about “digging up this old play” but that popularity of the show which featured former CFPL radio and TV per­ sonality Judy Savoy was a bonus for the season. Murphy added he was pleasantly surprised with the response that Two Below, the new Canadian play by George Robertson received from the audience. A Price Per Copy 25 Cents J,..... ..VpV ... .... . gg t CEMENT FALLS — Two men received serious injuries Wednesday when the roof of a silo be­ ing constructed collapsed on the farm of Joseph Ondrejicka in Stephen township. Michael On­ drejicka is shown in front of the structure. T-A photo & Two seriously hurt in fall from area silo Man gets 30 months A 25-year-old Huron Park man, Milton Terris Park, was sentenced to 30 months in jail when he appeared in Goderich court County Court Judge F. G. Carter, Thursday. Park had previously been found guilty on a charge of wounding arising from an incident on January 12 when two Exeter OPP constables found an Exeter woman with severe lacerations to her throat and hands on a side street in Huron Park. He had originally been charged with attempted murder and rape. Park had been undergoing tests in PenetanguiShene I^rior to his Thursday ap* pearance in court. A farm construction ac­ cident Wednesday afternoon . has hospitalized two Blenheim area men. The mishap occurred on the Stephen township farm of Joseph Ondrejicka when the two men were completing the construction of a 50 foot silo. The two men Harvey Jinkerson and Harry Voets are in University Hospital, London suffering serious injuries. They were pouring a before cement roof on the silo when the wooden decking they were standing on collapsed. They fell 50 feet to the ground with the five and a half cubic yards of wet cement. Ron McClinchey of Hoff­ man’s Ambulance one of the first on the scene said the two men were tangled in the wet cement and steel. The two injured men were employees of Thomas and Dorssers Silo Limited of Blenheim. Inspectors of the Ontario Ministry of Labour have been on the scene since the accident but have refused to make any comment on the cause. Fred Thomas, part owner of the construction firm said he did not know why the decking collapsed. The Ondrejicka farm is located on Lot 16, Concession 3 of Stephen township, a mile and a quarter south of Exeter and the same distance west. Delay hall grant, solicitor decisions Two contentious items of "old business” were quickly passed over by Exeter coun­ cil this week.They included a suggestion made earlier in the summer that the town change its firm of solicitors and the other pertained to a municipal grant for the restoration of the local town hall. When the discussion started on the suggestion to change solicitors, Councillor Derry Boyle said a report was to have been received on the services provided to the town for the retainer fee they now pay. That report was to have been made by the executive committee and Mayor Bruce Shaw indicated it had not been prepared. “I suggest the executive committee make a recommendation for next year’s council,” Shaw said. “Your skates are sharp,” Boyle replied. Consideration for a town grant to the town hall pro­ ject had been tabled during the summer as well when the Ontario Heritage Foun­ dation indicated they would provide up to $15,000 more for the project if the amount was matched by council. Shaw suggested a decision be delayed on the matter un­ til a formal, written request for a grant is made to coun­ cil by the local heritage society.