HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-02-15, Page 1The CitizenVolume 23 No. 7 Thursday, Feb. 15, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Inside this week
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Derby returning to
Brussels
Local teams in
playoffs
Blyth Legion
donates to team
Federation
president in Blyth
Dairy chair praises
ag minister
A Grey family is homeless after
fire destroyed their Jamestown Road
house on Friday morning.
According to deputy fire chief Bill
Pearson, firefighters from the Grey
department arrived on the scene at
11:30 a.m. to find half of the house
already in flames. Stan Gulutzen and
his two sons, Mike, eight and
Ryan, three, were home at the
time.
“The father was outside fixing the
car,” said Pearson, adding that the
children “barely got out in time.”
Firefighters remained on the scene
until 10:30 p.m. that evening. The
house was brick covered in siding, a
factor which contributed to the
problem, said Pearson.
“That certainly added to the
difficulty in getting the fire out,
because of several wall layers.”
The house is a total loss, with most
of the family’s personal possessions
also destroyed. The cause of the
blaze is as yet undetermined, said
Pearson.
Gulutzen’s brother Stephen, of
Walton, said the family, which also
includes wife Cornelia and daughters
Kelsey, 10 and Nicole, six, are
staying with family at this time.
In addition to losing their home,
the Gulutzens have had to try and get
things back into their barn where
they house the milking goats. “I
think we have that up and running
now,” said Stephen in an interview on
Tuesday morning.
While Gulutzen said he
wasn’t aware of anything
specific having been set up to
help the family as of Tuesday,
he added that anyone wanting
to make donations of items
or clothing could do so by contac-
ting him at 519-887-6484.
Collision in Londesborough
Winter driving in Huron County can be perilous and even if
a road wasn’t closed as the result of last week’s relentless
snowstorms, drivers travelled them at their own risk. Just
south of Londesborough on Hwy. 4 a collision took place
early Thursday morning between a Chevy truck and a
Neon. Visibility was poor and the Neon was rear-ended.
Blyth firefighters were first on the scene with EMS and OPP
not far behind. Neither driver suffered serious injuries,
though the driver of the car was taken to Clinton hospital.
(Shawn Loughlin photo)
Blaze
leaves
family
homeless
A letter from an unimpressed
ratepayer nearly delivered a
wrecking ball to the Ball’s Bridge
agreement.
The letter, penned by Wingham
resident Robert Elliott, questioned
the wisdom of allocating $250,000
to the devolving of Ball’s Bridge.
That letter was used by county
councillor Bernie MacLellan of
Huron East, Feb. 7, to reopen debate
on the plan to pass the bridge to the
lower-tier municipalities that border
it, along with a one-time $250K
grant.
“To me, we’re not following
correct procedures here,” said
MacLellan, arguing no funds should
be allocated to the bridge because
council agreed not to spend any
money from the 2007 budget on the
bridge.
Warden Deb Shewfelt of Goderich
noted that the bridge was removed
from the roads budget to allow for
the ultimately approved solution —
money from the Ontario Municipal
Partnership Fund — to be found.
Though a resolution, put forward
by MacLellan, failed to pass in order
to debate the fate of Ball’s Bridge,
one took place when council was
faced with passing a bylaw that
officially turned the bridge over to
Central Huron and Ashfield-
Colborne-Wawanosh.
Shewfelt argued it only makes
sense for the county to devolve the
bridge and pass along the funding.
“It’s the start of things that
should’ve happened years ago,” he
said, noting he doesn't understand
MacLellan’s stand on the bridge
when Huron East has a number of
bridges that must be dealt with.
MacLellan argued it would not be
unheard of for the county to reverse
its decision on Ball’s Bridge. And,
he said, council might’ve fallen
victim to a “political ploy” because a
number of representatives of the
Friends of Ball’s Bridge were on
hand at the last meeting.
Councillor Joe Seili of Huron East
said the money attached to the deal
makes him uncomfortable since
there is nothing written to force the
lower tiers, which haven’t officially
agreed to take the bridge, to use the
grant only for the stated purpose.
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
councillor Ben Van Diepenbeek
noted that his municipality has
already agreed to take on the bridge,
and it has also applied for funding
from the province’s one-time $70-
million Infrastructure Ontario grant.
“We’re not going to squander it on
something else,” he says.
Councillor John Bezaire of
Central Huron expressed concern
about whether the final tally on how
much rehabilitating the bridge will
cost would prove too daunting to
Central Huron and A-C-W.
Bezaire also put forward a motion
to table the third reading of the
bylaw that would allow things to
move forward. It failed to pass.
Councillor Bert Dykstra of Central
Huron said the host municipalities
are “sticking their necks out” by
signing the agreement without
knowing what the rehabilitation
project is going to cost.
The warden argued it is time to
move forward with the Ball’s Bridge
project.
“I think we’ve had great
discussion on it for a year and a
half,” he says.
In a recorded vote, 12 of the 19
voting councillors agreed with
Shewfelt’s assertion.
Those opposing the bylaw’s
passage were Bezaire (Central
Huron), Neil Vincent (North Huron),
Max Demaray (Howick), MacLellan
(Huron East), Dorothy Kelly
(Morris-Turnberry), George
Robertson (South Huron), Seili
(Huron East) and Jim Dietrich
(South Huron).
Ratepayer’s letter nearly delivers
wrecking ball to bridge agreement
By Cheryl Heath
Clinton News Record
Right in the middle of a pastor
study tour, a bus full of Canadian
tourists, including Blyth resident
Dave Wood, was attacked in
Jerusalem last Saturday.
The attack occurred on the west
bank of the Jordan River and it was a
protest against ramp construction
situated around a supposed holy site.
Palestinian teenagers pelted the
bus with rocks until Israeli police
came on site, arresting 17 protesters.
No one was injured in the attack.
Wood, pastor at Huron Chapel
Evangelical Missionary Church in
Auburn, wasn’t hurt but was
understandably shook up.
“We were just driving and all of
sudden a bunch of kids started
picking up rocks and whatever they
could get their hands on and started
throwing it at the bus,” Wood said to
the Associated Press. “This is our
first day in the Holy City and it was
quite disturbing to say the least.”
In addition to being quoted in the
Associated Press, Wood was also
featured in CTV’s coverage of the
event.
Wood’s wife, Julie Wood, said that
she has not heard from her husband
since the attack, but insists this is
nothing new.
“No news is good news,” she said.
Wood left for the trip on Feb. 7 and
he is due back into Blyth on Feb. 15.
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
Palestinians target bus
carrying local pastor