The Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-03-02, Page 1CELEBRATE IN 1988
LUCKNOW'S 130th CELEBRATION
JUNE 30 - JULY 3, 1988
18.6
PUBLISHED IN LUCKNOW ONTARIO
dnesday. Marc
40C PER COPY
Fire alarm was received but no fire found
The Lucknow Fire Department received
the alarm of a fire early Sunday morning,
but due to a complete lack of information
regarding the location of the alleged blaze,
firefighters were unable to carry out their
duties.
The call came through the ADT Alarm
Service in Hamilton at about 5 a.m. Sun-
day. The man on the line, who was simply
an employee of the alarm service, said
there was a fire at a cottage located at RR5
Port Albert. The only other information he
could provide was that the cottage was
called `Happy Days".
The caller could give no description of
the cottage...not even exactly where it was
located for there is, in fact, no such place
as RR5 Port Albert.
Not to be accused of neglecting their
duties, the entire Lucknow Fire Depart-
ment headed out in search of the fire. In
the early morning hours they travelled to
Port Albert, on to Shepperton and back to
Amberly without so much as seeing
smoke.
To this day the department has no idea if
the •Happy Days' cottage is even still
standing.
The Fire Chief and his charges returned
to Lucknow just before 7 a.m. and began a
series of calls in an effort to locate the
elusive fire. They contacted the man from
the alram service in Hamilton and, again,
he could provide no information as to the
location of the cottage other than who own-
ed it.
The men even went as far as to contact
eAshfield's Road Superintendant,Kevin
Cook, but even he couldn't help in pro-
viding any information about the problem.
Since that time, it has been determined
that the cottage owned by a M.L. Lahn of
Hamilton is located at the end of a private
road west of Huron St. in Port Albert and
that the road is impassible in winter.
Bud Hamilton is now asking that anyone
who makes use of a fire alarm service,
such as the one dealt with on the weekend,
should contact the Fire Department with
the particulars of the building they are at-
tempting to protect. This information will
be kept on record so that the confusion and
frustration of Sunday does not happen
again.
"We really have no idea who in the area
has such an alarm service installed," said
Bud. "If we had the information on record
we could respond When the alarm comes
M. As it stands now, the alarm service is
George Anderson, at left, president of the Lucknow Branch 309 of the Royal Canadian
Legion, was on hand to present Lucknow Fire Chief Bud Hamilton and Training Of-
ficer Peter Steer with a VCR machine and a cash donation to buy video tapes. The
equipment will expand the Fire Department's training program and better prepare
them to aid when disaster strikes. The training tapes available from the Ontario Fire
Marshall will also be used as educational tools in conjunction with 'local schools.
Following a public plea for funding to purchase the equipment by the Fire Depart-
ment, the community of Lucknow produced an outpouring of donations. (Pat Liv-
ingston photo)
useless to us."
Special notices warning people that they
must provide this information to the fire
department will be included in the June
tax installments sent out in Ashfield.
Remember, if you go to all the trouble of
installing an alarm service, such as the
one used by the Hamilton man, be sure the
local fire department knows about it as
well.
Sunday's events were a waste of time
and man-hours for the local firefighters
and the Chief hopes it won't happen again.
Donations appreciated
On a more positive note from the
Lucknow Fire Department, following a
plea for donations to help purchase a VCR
and television for the local fire hall which
appeared in the Sentinel two weeks ago,
donations have been pouring in.
Bud tells us that the department has now
been able to acquire the needed equipment
and is looking forward to making good use
of it.
The follwing businesses and individuals
donated to the worthy cause: May Fair
Restuarant-$50; Bill Adams -$25; West
Wawanosh Insurance -$20; Lucknow
Kinsmen -$50; Mrs. Edith Aitchison of
Wingham-$10; Albert Morton -$20;
Hamilton Fuels of Lucknow-$100; Frank
Alton -$25; Lucknow Legion Branch 309-a
VCR and $ 5 0 Lucknow
ApplianceCentre-$20; McDonagh
Insurance -$25. Another $100 was receiv' '
anonymously.
While the basic equipment is now in
place at the fire hall, there will be further
expenses incurred when video tapes are
purchased and the Lucknow Fire Depart-
ment is still gratefully accepting any fur-
ther donations that may be made.
Fire Chief Hamilton and his team of
firefighters are grateful for the donations
and send a `thank you' to all who made
donations.
Rabies confirmed in the west Wawanosh wolf
A bit of excitement in West Wawanosh
Township on Saturday, February 20 has
left one dog dead, another in quarantine
and a number of residents shaken.
Also left after the incident, which occur-
red in the early morning, is one dead wolf
now confirmed to have had rabies.
The first contact with the rabid animal,
according to Harold Errington who even-
tually shot and killed it, was when it at-
tacked a dog on the porch of Neil and Nan-
cy Stapleton. After hearing what appeared
to be a dog fight .on the back step, Mrs.
Stapleton opened the door and was con-
fronted with the wild wolf. She grabbed a
round shovel from the porch and hit the
animal repeatedly until it fled.
A call to the Errington farm, located
next door on the Ninth Concession, with
news that a rabid animal was heading
their way brought Harold out with his rifle.
Two shots later and the animal was dead.
"The hounds in the barn were just roar-
ing," said Mr. Errington in recalling the
tale. "They knew something was up and
sure enough, this wolf came around the
corner of the house."
Following a number of phone calls to
various agencies, no small task on a
weekend, a vet from Seaforth was notified.
On Monday, Dr. Mike Soots arrived at the
Errington property and took the head of
the animal for testing.
The brain of the wolf was sent im-
mediately to the Animal Disease Clinic
near Ottawa and by Friday it was confirm-
ed that the wolf, in fact, was rabid at the
time of death.
The Stapleton dog is now in quarantine
for three months and another dog that was
also in contact with the wolf has since been
destroyed.
The carcass of the animal is still at the
Errington farm as there is, apparently, no
danger from it now.
The Huron County Health Unit is aware
of the events but say they are not becom-
ing involved at this time.
"Only if humans are directly attacked
do we enter the picture," said spokesman
Jack McKinnon of the Health Unit.
And as far as Dr. Soots is concerned, his
only involvement from now on in the mat-
ter will be to keep a close eye on the
quarantined dog.
"As far as we know," Dr. Soots told the
Sentinel, "there are no other animals
involved."
When asked about the possibility of the
wolf having infected other wild animals,
Dr. Soots said it was possible but that there
are probably many animals infected and
"we can't go around shooting every wild
animal just in case it has rabies."
Mr. Errington is of the belief that the
wolf he shot had been running with at least
two other wolves and that it stands to
reason that they too are infected.
"It is possible, I suppose," said Dr. Soots
in reply to this charge, "but until there is
another incident or an indication that there
are other animals infected with rabies,
there's little I can do."
Dr. Soots suggests that the next step is a
matter of making the public aware of the
situation and to have everyone keep an eye
out for animals, both wild and domestic,
that display the symptoms of rabies.
"There is a very noticable change of
character in an infected animal," said the
good doctor. "People should be on the look
out for any animal acting strangely for the
next little while."
Great Beard Contest
In an effort to get the Celebrate in 1988
Reunion underway, the Great Lucknow
Beard Growing Contest has been organiz-
ed and will commence on or about March
5.
In keeping with Lucknow's long history
of fair play and equality, the contest will
be open to both males and females.
Residents in and around Lucknow are
urged to enter the contest and do their part
to promote the spirit of Celebrate in 1988
by getting as hairy as possible.
Beards entered in the contest will be
judged and prizes will be awarded at the
Miss Lucknow Reunion Pageant and
Dance to be held at the Community Centre
on June 30 this summer:
Contest rules and entry forms are
available now at Lucknow Variety and Dry
Goods, McDonagh Insurance and Mon-
tgomery Motors, so let your face bristle
with pride for the good of the whole
community.
In other news this week from the Reu-
nion Committee, the next meeting will be
held Wednesday, March 9 starting at 7:30
p.m. upstairs in the Lucknow Legion.
Representatives of all the service clubs
and organizationbs are expected to attend
the meeting and discuss their participation
with the Reunion Committee. As well, any
member of the public who is interested in
attending is most welcome.
The meeting will serve to finalize an
agenda for the Reunion Weekend.
Celebrate in 1988 is fast approaching,
and while there is still much to be done,
plans are progressing nicely for one heck
of a good weekend come the end of June.
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