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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-04-27, Page 1CELEBRATE IN 1988 LUCKNOW'S 130th CELEBRATION JUNE 30 • JULY 3, 1988 (PUBLISHED IN LUCKNOW ONTARIO Wednesday April 27, 1988 40C PER COPYI Tire claims house in Ashfield Wilfred and Marion Austin of the Fourth Concession in Ashfield Township lost their home and all possessions in a fire last Wednesday afternoon. The Austins noticed smoke pouring from the residence upon their return home at about 3 p.m. Wednesday and were able to place a call to the Lucknow Fire Depart- ment before being forced from the home due to smoke and flame. When the department arrived, flames were already coming out of the doors and windows of the residence and little could be done to save the building. The ten fire fighters responding to the alarm were on the scene until 6:30 p.m. tending a burning oil fuel tank, which sent flames ten feet in- to the air, and watching for the spread of fire to neighbouring buildings. When the smoke had finally cleared, the entire home had been destroyed and damages are estimated by Fire Chief Bud .,Hamilton at over $35,000. The cause of the blaze has been pin pointed to the oil furnance. A benefit dance for the Austins has been planned for Friday, May 6 at the Dungan- non Agricultural Hall. In other news from the Fire Depart- ment, fire fighters had to be quick to extin- guish a grass fire on Sunday, April 17. The fire, which had gotten out of control, was being pushed by the strong winds towards Chisholm's Fuels at the south end of Lucknow and was in danger of igniting the fuel truck parked there. Quick thinking by those responding to the alarm averted a disaster in this case. Pool liner grant On behalf of the Ontario Minister of Tourism and Recreation Hugh O'Neil, Murray Elston, MPP for Bruce, announc- ed the awarding of a Wintario Capital Con- servation Grant to the Village of Lucknow in the amount of $2,466 this week. The grant will be used to offset the cost of a new vinyl pool liner for the municipal outdoor swimming pool in Lucknow. The grant represents one-third of the total cost of the liner with the remaining two-thirds being divided equally by the four municipalities in the area. Each municipality will be responsible for about $1,233. Recreation Director for Lucknow, Bill Hunter, told the Sentinel that the installa- tion of the new pool liner will begin in early June and should be in place to coincide with the opening of the facility by the mid- dle of that month. The present pool liner is "one of the oldest in captivity" according to Mr. Hunter. Normal pool liners rarely last more than eight years and the one current- ly in place in Lucknow has served the pool well for over fourteen years now. Mr. Hunter also said that some minor repairs will be undertaken at the pool after the old liner has been removed and before the new one is in place. The total cost of the project is about $7,400. Fishing season is here and no matter what the weather might do, you'll always find someone willing to wait it out for that "big one". The fish that travel upstream to spawn from the lake as far as Lucknow get a helping hand at the fish ladder located at Port Albert. (Bill Henry photo) Fish run while fishermen wait BY BILL HENRY Almost 800 spawning adult rainbow trout have been tagged, measured, examined and released this spring as they make their way up the fish ladder at Port Albert. It's the first time in five years that of- ficials with the Ontario Ministry of natural Resources have monitired the spring rain- bow run on the Nine Mile River. Each year after the ladder was opened in 1977, effectively removing a barricade and opening the Nine Mile watershed to trout production, the spawn was monitored, until 1983. The comparison information collected this spring, and every five years now, will be used to assess the impact the ladder and a variety of recent habitat rehabilitation programs is having on the trout popula- tion, says fish biologist Mike Malhiot. By Friday, 755 fish had used the ladder. Every fish was tagged. The largest weighed 11.7 pounds. Just over six per cent had been wounded by lamprey eels. Just under 10 per cent had clipped fins, indicating they had been put in the water as a result of stocking programs. Malhiot said the early spring this year got the fish moving ahead of schedule, but the run has tapered off. He said that means warm weather this week could prompt a second wave of spawning rainbows in the Nine Mile, Maitland and Bayfield Rivers and their tributaries. If that happens, it could be good news for anglers opening the 1988 trout season Saturday. In other years, the most fish to use the ladder at Port Albert was 856. Malhiot expects that to be exceeded this year. As well as giving Malhiot and fish and wildlife technician Kevin Coultes the op- portunity to tag this year's breeders, the lift is also likely to enhance the population directly this year. Members of both the Maitland Valley Anglers and the Bayfield Anglers Associa- tion are collecting 140,000 and 90,000 trout eggs respectively. They'll incubate the eggs, hatch the fish, rear the fry and return as much as 80 per cent of the hatch to the rivers later this season. The anglers also plan to transport some of the adults lifted at Port Albert directly to some of the better spawning spots in the river systems. Malhiot said that's because a high percentage of the fish spawn in the main rivers, which means the fry, which need two years in cool water, are almost certain not to survive. "There's an awful lot of spawning that goes on in the main rivers, but the fish pro- duced don't survive the lethal temperatures," Malhiot. said. "Production of the young fish really depends on the water conditions of those cold water creeks." The anglers's program of transporting the adult fish directly to the choice spots in local spring fed creeks greatly increases the chance of a productive spawn, he added. That's just one of a variety of things be- ing done to boost the trout population. Many are paid for in part by funds com- ing from the new resident angler's licence introduced in Ontario last year. Among the steps taken by the ministry, in co- operation with local anglers groups who provide the labor, include fencing livestock away from ideal spawning streams, planting shade and cover to keep streams cool for the young fish, improving spawning beds and removing (beaver dams. Along with cats and dogs, horses must be vaccinated Compulsory rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats has been law in Bruce County since October of 1986. Now, in a statement released by Dr. W.C. MacPherson, the Bruce County Medical Officer of Health, the Board of Health has voted to ammend the legislation to include riding horses. Provincial approval has now been ob- tained for this amendment, therefore, as of April 1, it is now compulsory for all riding horses to be immunized against rabies. It is also a requirement for booster shots to be administered in accordance with the vaccine manufacturer's recommendations. Riding horse owners in Bruce County should consult their local veterinarian regarding the immunization of their horses as soon as possible.