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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1987-07-22, Page 1Violent storm leaves damage across area A brief but very violent wind­ storm accompanied by heavy rain swept through parts of Huron County Sunday evening, killing livestock, uprooting trees and scaring the daylights out of a great VOL. 3 NO. 29 ooiviiiy orusseis, myin, auourn, neigrave, tinei, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1987.40 CENTS Hwy. 4 complaints to be heard by Fulton Fred McClure of RR 1, Walton, right, and his father, Harvey McClure of Seaforth, survey the damage suffered at the younger McClure’s farm as a result of the violent windstorm which swept across the county on Sunday evening. Most of the barn roof was ripped off and hurled into a new steel-clad machine shed, wrecking the front and one side of the shed. The storm also tore up several trees in the McClure’s yard, narrowly missing the house where the family had grabbed up two sleeping children and made for the basement as the storm approached. Similar damage occured in a narrow swath from Auburn to Walton. Local municipalities led by the village of Blyth will get a chance to take their complaints over repav­ ing plans for Highway 4 to the top on August 5 when Ed Fulton, MinisterofTransportand Com­ munications visits the village for a meeting. Mr. Fulton along with Minister of Agriculture Jack Riddell and possibly Minister of Health, Mur­ ray Elston, will meet with repre­ sentatives of area councils at Ethel child bitten by rabid skunk A one and one half year old Ethel child is undergoing a series of anti-rabies vaccine shots as the result of an attack by a rabid skunk last Wednesday. The child was playing in his back yard at the time. According to Scott Mooney, his wife looked out the window to see the animal mauling young Clinton in the back garden of the family home. Mrs. Mooney, he said, ran into the yard, grabbed the skunk, and threw it over a fence. It was later shot by Doug Evans, owner of many people in several townships. The London weather office of Transport Canada claims it was not a tornado, but a number of people in The Citizen’s readership area say that they took one look at the jet Memorial Hall at 3:30 p.m. Invited to the meeting will be representatives of all the munici­ palities that have expressed a desire to see a complete rebuilding of Highway 4 from Blyth to Wingham, not just a widening of the pavement proposed by the Ministry. Also present will be representatives of the Huron County Road Committee led by chairman J. Russell Kernighan of Colborne township. the hamlet’s hardware store, who was alerted by Joan Smith, a neighbour of the Mooney family. “She saw what was happening and hollered,’’ Mr. Evans said. “I was pretty sure the skunk was rabid.’’ His opinion was confirmed Thursday by the Huron County Health Unit, which said that the attack is the most serious incident of rabies reported in the county this year. Mr. Mooney said that young black sky that preceded the storm at about 9 p.m., grabbed up children already in bed, and made for the basement. However, it was all over in a matter of minutes, and there was nothing to do but go out The county got involved in the push for rebuilding of the road to make it safer for winter travel after local municipalities had their complaints rejected by Gerry Browning, Regional Director for the MTC. Mr. Browning had replied that the highway did not warrant more expensive improve­ ments because of the low traffic volumes and a low accident rate. Spending more money on this section of road would only take Clinton, who had a number of scratch and bite marks as a result of the attack, was rushed to the emergency department at the Listowel Memorial Hospital, al­ though he is critical of the treatment the child received there. “They looked him over and didn’t do anything,’’ Mr. Mooney said. “They said he was all right and sent him home. They didn’t wash dr disinfect the scratches or Continued on page 14 and survey the damage. Most of the roof on Fred McClure’sbarnatRRl, Walton was blown off and into a new steel machine shed, wrecking one end andpartofthefrontofthe shed, money away from other, more pressing, construction projects in the province, he had said. He also said he felt there was little point in meeting with area municipalities. After this reply the municipali­ ties took their grievance to the county where the county took up the argument. The county road committee attempted to set up a meeting with local members of the legislature and, when Mr. Fulton became available because he will be attending Mr. Riddell’s annual barbecue later on Aug. 5, the meeting was arranged. It is unkown just how much time the ministers will be able to devote to the meeting. An agenda will be worked out later. Brussels to choose councillor Brussels village councillors will choose a new member of council at a meeting tonight (Wednesday) at 8 p.m. The councillor will be chosen to fill the vacancy created when Gordon Workman resigned as councillor to step up to the Reeve’s chair. That vacancy was created and leaving debris across the entire farmyard. As well, both doors were ripped off the shed, a corn buggy was swung several feet into a cornfield, the cap on the pickup truck parked in the yard was torn off and completely demolish­ ed, and several monstrous trees were uprooted in the front yard, missing the house by inches. At press time, the McClures had no estimate of the damage, but said most of it would likely be covered by insurance, since they had just recently increased their coverage. “Nobody was hurt, and that’s all that really matters,’’ said Mrs. McClure, cuddling her tiny daugh­ ter in the company of several neighbours who had come over to help clean up the mess. In Grey Township, a farmer who asked not to be identified lost more than 200 weaner pigs which suffocated during the night when the electricity in the area was off for more than seven hours. When contacted Monday evening, a spokesman for the farm said that six sows had also died, along with some of their litters, and that several more pigs died during the day as a result of the high temperatures in the unventilated buildings. The pig barns were connected to an emergency generator, but nobody was at the farm during the storm, and the damage was not discovered until daybreak the following morning. A good Limousin cow nursing a calf was struck and killed by lightening in a field beside the house belonging to Mr. and Mrs. John Brown of RR 3, Walton, although 18 other cows and their calves in the same field were untouched. “There was lightening all over, coming straight down,’’ said Mrs. Brown. “But at least we still have our barn and house, so I guess we were lucky.’’ Blyth volunteer firefighters were called out about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when a huge willow tree was wrenched out of the ground at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gary Blok of RR 2, Auburn, falling across the roof of the house and the main hydro line in the yard. Sparks raced across the wires, setting fire tothe shingleson the roof of the house and to several tree branches, but little damage was done due to the early arrival of the firemen, Mrs. Blok said. Trees were broken off and uprooted in both Brussels and Blyth, and across parts of Morris, Grey and East Wawanosh Town­ ships. The worst problem was in W alton, in front of the W alton Feed Mill, when another giant willow was felled across County Road 12, tearing out three transformers as well as all the power lines to local homes and to feeder stations in both Walton and Brussels. As a result, some 1,500 custom­ ers in Walton, Brussels, and in parts of both Grey and Morris Townships was off from about 9:15 p.m. to 4 a. m., with hydro crews working for 15 to 16 hours straight trying to restore service, according to Wayne Kuntz, line sub-forman out of the Clinton office of Ontario Hydro. “Everybody had service again by noon Monday,’’ Mr. Kuntz said, explaining that a Sunday night emergency is one of the worst times to get full crews mobilized and working in short order in an emergency. when former reeve Hank TenPas resigned at the July meeting of council, July 6. Applications from those inter­ ested in seeking to fill the vacancy can be made in person at the municipal office until 5 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.