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The Brussels Post, 1975-01-15, Page 1Con tract is awarded Ontario Housing Corporation has awarded a contract to Tam .Properties Inc. for the • • ;construction of a 34 unit senior ••. citizen housing project in Brussels, Huron Bruce MPP ••Murray Gaunt announced • • guesday, The project to be erected at ...John and Alexander Streets in 43russels is to be completed by June 30 of this year. Building boom in Brussels? THROUGH• WIND AND SLEET AND STORM — Longtime mail carrier of R.R.5, Brussels, Earl Somers; 'Was presented with a 45 year service medal by the canada Post Office in a ceremony here last week. -An interview with. Mr. Somers by Editor Evelyn Kennedy appears on page 1. (Photo by Pat Langlois) ESTABLISHED 1E72 russels Pos mitimonuti BRUSSELS ONTARIO 103rd Year — Issue No. 2, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1975 At first meeting Council considers committees le! AT BRUSSELS INAUGURAL —At the firSt 1975 BrUSSelt. Council meeting Monday Clerk Bill King, roar. tofti, swore 1:16eVe Jack. McCutcheon,. Councillors .Hank Ten Pas', Frank Strettono.,and George JUt21 and third from left, rear i Harold B tnbiett Alen Keffer And Oal Ktautori, Etld Le Drew, next to Mr 'Kitig t -Spoke .fPO011hoit'at the inaugural: (Staff Photo)- Short hots --,(By Evelyn Kennedy) re Ve an id he er e. is if al ;11 is d ;t y 0 6 There has been a building boom over the past year in • Brussels, it would appear from the amount of money involved in requests to the village for building permits. Village clerk Bill King said permits were issued for building and renovations in the amount of $178,793 for 1974. Clerk King said the figure is the highest yet and is up considerably from 1973. At least part of the increased total could be attributed to the fact that the village has been very strict in requiring building permits the clerk said. A committee system with many decisions being made by committees of three and brought to council for approval, along with a monthly financial statement, showing expenditures to date on various village responsibilities, should make Brussils Council operate as efficiently as possible, newly re-elected Reeve Jack McCutcheon told the inaugural The 45 years of Earl Somers as a rural mail courier was officially recognized at a ceremony at the Brussels Post Office on Wednes- day of last week. Mr. Somers, an eighty year old resident of Brussels, has con- 'tinuously carried out his duties as courier of rural route 5 of Brussels with mail delivery to 80 homes, 25 miles a day, six days of the week, with the exception of six months due to seriously ill health. For his faithful service to the residents of his route he was presented with a medallion by the Canada Post Office area manager, W. H. Wheeler. Mr. Somers should have received his 45 year award in 1973 but the post office was late. He is one of Western Ontario's oldest mail carriers and as yet has expressed no inclination to desert his friends on RR 5. In the early days he used a horse and cutter, not a car, for snow plowing was non-existent at that time. He vividly recalls the severe storm of 1947 which piled snow as high as the hydro wires with traffic halted, even rail service, for weeks, but Mr., Somers got through although it' took him eight hours instead of the usual two. In those days mail; carriers did many a favour for the people on their routes. It was not unusual for his cutter to be piled to capacity, not only with mail but bread and other essentials that folks needed but could not ,get to the stores themselves, leaving little room at times for the mailman himself. Mr. Somers salary when he first started was only $625. a year. For a number of years he was also engaged, with his father and his brother, the late Wm. Soniers, in a livery business here. At that time he also operated the bus service (a 12 passenger bus pulled by horses) to the Station. Mrs. Bonnie Wilson and family got a bad scare Sunday evening when their home filled with smoke. Fire was feared and the Brussels Fire Department responded to the call. However, He stated working conditions are now better and there has been a major change in mail sorting procedures. Earl, as he is familiary known to everyone, has outlasted four postmasters. The late W.S. Scott was postmaster when he began and was succeeded by W.H. Bell, the late Harold Kerney and the late Fred Hunter. The present postmistress is Mrs. Pearl Kokesch. There are a few of the same families still on his route, that he delivered mail to when he started. Some of the children he used to give rides to are on the same farms, now grown up with children and grandchildren of their own. He derives genuine satisfaction in serving his public and said they are "A great bunch." Mr. Somers, a widower since the death of his wife last year, lives alone. He is active and energetic, enjoys his work, his family, (who do not live in this area) and his many friends. Council can get action, reeve says The village council is not simply a rubber stamp as some critics suggest but can do as little or as much as its members want, Reeve Jack McCutcheon suggested in, his inaugural address at the village council's first meeting Monday morning. "You can make advancements or simply ride along. We could sit here and pay the bills, read the correspondence and then adjourn." The reeve said local . (Continued on Page 12) their services were not needed. The furnace motor had burned out. Fortunately no other serious damage was done to the house. * * * * * * Vandalism in the Seaforth area left, not only the surrounding communities there without hydro service for a short period of time one morning last week, but affected Brussels community as well. Some misguided idiot shot out six insulators on a hydro line north of Seafortth. Some people have a queer idea of recreation. * * * * * * The gale force winds and snow storm that blew off roofs, brought down trees, caused power cut-offs and tied up traffic all across Ontario last weekend left Brussels practically unscathed. We got the gale force winds that made one fear the crashing of trees through roofs and made one hurry and hunt up candles in case of a hydro interruption but none of these things happened here. The only evidence of , the high winds was smaltbroken branches scattered here and there in this village. * * * * * * How sad it is to read, every weekend, of the tragic traffic deaths of so many young people. Cars are a great convenience but they are , 'also potential death vehicles when drivers lose control. E. Somers honoured 80 years old and still carrying mail meeting Monday. Three new councillors, Harold Bridge, George JUtzi and Frank Stretton were sworn in by village clerk-treasurer Bill King, along with veteran councillor Hank Ten Pas, Reeve MOCutcheon and PUC Commissioners Alec Keffer and Calvin Krauter. Each committee will include a chairman, the reeve and one other member. Reeve McCutcheon outlined the membership on each committee after a luncheon which followed the formal 11 A.M. swearing in.. The roads committee, which traditionally accounts for most of the village expenditures will be chaired by Councillor Ten Pas, with Councillor Bridge as the (Continued on Page 7)