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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-02-25, Page 1Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. VOL. 3 NO. 8 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1987.40 CENTS Bro wnies from the Bly th pack discover the great outdoors and the art of snowshoeing on a visit to the Wawanosh Vailey Outdoor Education Centre near Belgrave Wednesday afternoon. Instructors from the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority’s facility taught the girls how to use the showshoes and took them on a nature hike through the beautiful conservation area as the girls earned their snowshoeing badge. Huron gets second Hydro corridor Rabies shots mandatory March 1 As of March 1, it will be mandatory for all dogs and cats in Huron County to have up-to-date rabies shots; failure to provide pets with the shots could result in a fine of up to $5,000 for the owner, levied under provincial law. To ensure that owners have the greatest possible opportunity to comply with the new regulation, veterinary clinics across the county have agreed to hold a “Rabies Prevention Week,’’ with low cost rabies shots available to all pets at $6 per animal. Nine clinics in the county will be offering the rabies shots from 1 - 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4, and again from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 7. Owners are encouraged to make an appointment with their own veterinarian during these clinics, but Dr. Lavern Clark of Blyth Veterinary Services said that any animal will be given the rabies vaccine at his clinic regardless of whether an appointment has been made or not. Dr. Clark added that since he and his partner normally only charge $6 for a rabies shot, animals can be brought in at any time, not just during the “ Rabies Days. ’ ’ However, some county clinics normally combine the rabies shot with other shots, as well as with a routine health check, and charge accordingly. Dr. James K. McGregor, acting Medical Officer of Health for Huron County, said last week that the provincial regulation is intend­ ed to protect people from the disease in the face of a growing number of humans coming in contact with rabid animals in the county. Jack MacKinnon, senior public health inspector for the Huron County Health Unit, said Monday that ten people in each of the past three months were treated w ith anti-rabies vaccine in the county after contactwithananimal proven or suspected of having the disease. Dr. McGregor said that 50 people had been treated with the vaccine in the county in 1985. He added that most cases of human anti-rabies treatment re­ sult from contact with household pets which have been infected by a rabid wild or domestic animal. Ontario Hydro’s new power corridor to carry locked-in energy from the Bruce Nuclear Power Development to a new transformer station near London, then east to Nanticoke on Lake Erie, will slice through Huron County from north tosouth, bisecting the townships of Liberals hold nomination meeting March 5 If an Ontario election is called this year, as expected, Huron county liberals will be prepared. The Huron Provincial Liberal Riding Association has set March 5 as the date for its nomination meeting at the Clinton Legion. The riding is a new electoral district created when redistribu­ tion was approved last July. It will see the Ontario Legislature expand from 125 to 130 seats. Currently, Huron County is split into two seats, Huron-Bruce in the north, which is represented by Health Minister Murray Elston, and Huron-Middlesex in the south, which is now represented by Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell. Both old seats will disappear Ashfield, Colborne, Goderich, Stanley, Hay and Stephen. But a spokesman for a farm group that fought the route on behalf of about 1,200 landowners in Huron, Bruce and Middlesex said he was not particularly surprised by the decision which when a provincial election is called. At this time, the Liberals rule Ontario with a minority govern­ ment, with the 125 seat Legislature made up of 51 Liberals, 51 Progressive Conservatives and 23 New Democratic Party MPPs. Sofar, only Mr. Riddell has said he will seek the Huron nomination, with Mr. Elston set to run for the Liberal nomination in Bruce, and Liberal incumbent Doug Reycraft indicating he will seek the Middle sex nomination. Guest speaker at the nomination meeting will be Ed Fulton, mini­ ster of transportation and com­ munications. The meeting starts at 8 p.m. Delegatesfor the Liberal party’s annual meeting in Toronto in April will also be chosen. was announced Friday, and was at least pleased that the joint board responsible for the decision, made up of officials from both the Ontario Municipal Board and the Ministry ofthe Environment, had “address­ ed some of the concerns’ ’ put forth by his group. Stephen Thompson of Wing­ ham, treasurer of the executive committee of the Foodland Hydro Committee which has made strong representation to the joint board against the proposed power line during the hearing, said that Hydro had indicated from the beginning that the line would have to go through Huron County, and so was not surprised that the decision for this route had been made over two other choices. “We felt that the (joint) board listened to our concerns, and its mandate from the start has been to pick the ‘least worst’ of the proposed routes,” Mr. Thompson told The Citizen on Monday. To help lessen the impact of the powerlineonprimefarmland in the counties affected, the board has ordered Ontario Hydro to use more expensive narrow-based pedestal towers instead of the conventional four-legged pylons on all fence lines and in-field locations where power lines are carried across crop lands. Bill Morison, vice-president of design and construction for On­ tario Hydro said the narrow-base towers, each costing about $78,000 more than the four-legged sup­ ports, will add about $25 million to the $427 million cost of the route approved by the board. As well, a further ruling of the board will give all property owners within 75 metres (abou 1250 feet) of the hydro right-of-way the option to sell the entire property to Ontario Hydro, with a three-year period to make the decision. Mr. Thompson said he is not Continued on page 38 All quiet in elementary school teacher talks There is still no news regarding the contract talks between the Huron County Board of Education and its 350 elementary school teachers. Gino Giannandrea, personnel relations administrator at the Board office, said Monday that the parties are “trying to set up a Although vaccinating domestic animals is the only effective barrier between rabies and people. Dr. McGregor said that only 40 per cent of the dogs and 15 per cent of the cats in Ontario are currently immunized. Veterinarians will issue an immunization certificate for each animal vaccinated, plus a tag for dogs if the owner asks for it. The regulation requires the dogs and cats be re-vaccinated on a regular basis, while Dr. Mike Soots of the Agriculture Canada Health of Animals branch office in Seaforth said that if an animal bites someone, the onus will likely be on the owner to prove that the animal has been vaccinated. meeting’ tor lurther discussion in the matter, but that no date had been set as of that time. Wages are only one of 16 items on the bargaining table in the talks which include a provincial media­ tor. The three parties met for the first time on February 4, and a news blackout has been in effect since that time.