HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-12-06, Page 1A Blyth athlete suffered a
compound fracture of his left leg
after he was struck by a van while
staying in Windsor for a Michigan
hockey tournament according to The
Kingston Whig-Standard.
The Whig-Standard reported
Saturday that Anthony Peters, 17,
son of Jeff and Janice and a goalie
with the Kingston Frontenacs of the
OHL, was crossing a busy street in
Windsor when he, another player
and an assistant trainer were struck
by the van around 11 a.m. on Friday
as they were returning to their hotel
from a convenience store across the
street. The players were awaiting
their Friday night game in Saginaw.
The Friday night game, as well as a
game scheduled for Saturday, are set
to be rescheduled. The whole team
returned home Friday night.
Peters was run over and pushed for
a short distance, according to
eyewitnesses, while Jonathan
Sciacca, 19, of Windsor, saw the van
at the last minute, jumped, and
bounced off the windshield.
Peters sustained a compound
fracture in his left leg, while Sciacca,
a defenceman, was diagnosed with
an undetermined ankle injury.
Windsor Police say that while the
investigation is ongoing, it is
unlikely that the driver of the vehicle
will face charges.
Eyewitnesses said that while
traffic had stopped in one direction,
the three men stepped into the path
of a van traveling southbound on
Dougall Avenue, a busy, five-lane
road. The accident occurred in the
middle of the block.
Janice Peters, traveled to Windsor
to be with her son, as did the other
player’s parents.
Over the weekend, the players
were said to be sore, but doing well
according to their trainer, Craig
Belfer.
The CitizenVolume 23 No. 48 Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007 $1.25 ($1.18 + 7c GST)Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Inside this week
Pg. 3
Pg. 7
Pg. 9
Pg. 12
Pg. 15
Wireless internet
comes to libraries
Local woman
published ‘journal’
Girls team wins
silver
Book highlights
Huron County
Christmas carol
sheets begin
The county will not be hiring its
own meeting investigator.
At the Nov. 20 committee of the
whole meeting, councillors, in a
recorded vote rejected a
recommendation to hire JGM
Consulting to a one-year term.
The retainer fee is $2,500 plus
$75 per hour plus applicable
expenses for investigating
complaints.
The recommendation is a result of
the province’s new legislation
regarding the public’s right to
request investigations of closed
meetings.
The purpose is to enhance
transparency and accountability.
A municipality could appoint an
investigator or use the Ontario
Ombudsman, whose services would
be at no cost. Their role would be to
investigate and determine if the
reasons for a closed meeting were
valid and that the correct procedure
was followed.
Chief administrative officer Larry
Adams reported to the committee
that after consultations with
colleagues, AMO and potential
investigators, he recommended the
“usage of a tried and true member
of the recently retired with
extensive experience. (John
Maddox of JGM Consulting) has
significant experience in dealing
with elected and appointed officials
and is well respected by all levels of
government, the press and the
general public as an individual with
integrity and honesty.”
If the county agreed to hiring
Maddox, Adams said the
investigator would offer a reduced
annual retainer to Huron’s lower-
tier municipalities interested in a
joint agreement.
The majority of councillors,
however had a different
view. Bernie MacLellan, Bill
Siemon and Joe Seili of Huron East,
Bill Dowson, Jim Fergusson and
Dave Johnston of Bluewater, Ken
Oke, George Robertson and Jim
Dietrich of South Huron, Neil
Rintoul of Ashfield-Colborne-
Wawanosh and Max Demaray of
Howick all voted against the
recommendation.
In favour were warden Deb
Shewfelt and John Grace of
Goderich, Neil Vincent of North
Huron, Tim Collyer, Bert Dykstra
and John Bezaire of Central Huron
and Ben Van Diepenbeek of
Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh.
At the Nov. 27 meeting county
councillors voted in favour of the
motion, confirming that day that the
motion was defeated, explained
Adams.
“And clearing the way for the
Ombudsman,” said Shewfelt.
Local
athlete
struck
by car
County
not
hiring
Maddox
After some warm dry months,
winter has clearly arrived.
The weather kept the Huron
OPP busy dealing with numerous
collisions and vehicles in the
ditch. Some roads in the county had
to be closed Monday and into
Tuesday, due to either poor visibility
or officer safety while investigating
collisions.
Motorists are reminded to listen to
the local radio stations or check the
MTO website for road closure
information. It is an offence to drive
on a road that has been closed by
police order.
Slow down, keep your distance
and stay off closed roads.
The tempermental weather arrived
with December, as a snow storm
watch was in effect for most of the
area on Saturday, with freezing rain
and snow.
Temperatures warmed on Sunday
bringing rain, but through the night
things cooled off and winds picked
up often gusting to speeds of 80 kms
an hour. This caused blowing and
drifting making visibility and road
conditions poor.
Schools were closed throughout
the area, Monday and with winter
not even officially here, many
activities and events were cancelled.
The Weather Network reported
“intense snowsqualls” were
developing and were not expected to
weaken until Tuesday.
The month of November ended on
a busy note weather-wise as well.
According to Environment Canada,
on Nov. 28, a strong storm system
moved up from Minnesota over Lake
Superior and into Northeastern
Ontario. This disturbance resulted in
approximately 20 centimetres of
snow to the Thunder Bay area and 20
to 30 centimetres along both the
northern and eastern shores of Lake
Superior and locally just north of
Lake Huron.
Lesser amounts, in the range of
five to 10 centimetres, fell over
regions farther inland north of Lake
Superior and also over Central and
Northeastern Ontario. In the wake of
this system, cold arctic air moved
down over the Great Lakes region on
Nov. 29, driven by strong, gusty,
westerly winds. Snowsquall
warnings were posted for areas
along the eastern shores of Lake
Superior, as well as areas to the east
of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. In
addition to these intense bands of
snow coming in off of the Great
Lakes, wind warnings were posted
for the eastern shores of Lake Erie
and Lake Ontario, where peak winds
gusted in excess of 90 kilometres per
hour.
Areas to the north of Lake
Superior and portions of
Northeastern Ontario were the first
to get a taste of winter weather in
Ontario this year. On Nov. 5-6, a
storm system moved up from the
American Plains States to Lake
Superior, then through Northeastern
Ontario, dumping 10 to 15
centimetres of snow from Geraldton
through to the Timmins area.
In the following couple of weeks,
the lake effect snow engine fired up
a few times in the traditional snow-
belt areas to the lee of Lake Huron
and Georgian Bay. The driver for
lake effect snow is the sharp
temperature contrast between the
cold arctic air plunging down from
the north and the relatively warmer
waters of the Great Lakes. A few
localities reported accumulations
near 15 centimetres in the wake of
lake effect events on Nov. 7 and
again on Nov. 16.
Southern Ontario experienced its
first wintry blast on Nov. 21-22 as
back-to-back low pressure systems
moved up from the Texas area and
passed through the Lower Great
Lakes. Nov. 21 was a rainy one for
many communities in Southern
Ontario, with general accumulations
of 25 to 35 millimetres of rain
reported. The second system’s
arrival on Nov. 22 brought a mixed
bag of precipitation, with localities
from Windsor to Kingston receiving
a combination of freezing rain, ice
pellets and snow.
Exercise in futility?
It was shutdown time throughout most of Ontario on Monday as a winter storm moved in
dumping large amounts of snow. Winds gusting to 80 kms an hour at times reduced visibility
and helped to make it difficult for snowplows to keep the roads clear. Several highways closed
as the day progressed, with some remaining closed through Tuesday. The Weather Network
reported there had been snow in every province. (Keith Roulston photo)
Mother Nature turns ugly
By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen