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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1965-04-22, Page 1w • a v Ahtlancoelint FIRST SECTION Win$hani, Ontario, Thursday, Apr. 22, 1$65 Single Copy Not Over Ten Cent! SEARCH ALL WEEK FOR DROWNING VICTIM EIGHT-YEAR-OLD DROWNS—Glen Leachman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Leachman, of Lower Town, toppled from one of the centre abutments of the Lower Town dam last Wednesday evening into the turbulent waters of the Mait- ' !and River. The approximate point where he is believed • • r to have fallen into the' river is marked with an X and the course he would have taken over the dam. Hundred of man-hours have been devoted to the search for the young lad but by Tuesday he was still missing. ALONG THE MAIN BRAG By The Pedestrian FENCES UP -- Town workmen have install- ed a board fence from the south handrail of the Howson bridge over to the old pump house and a string of snow fence on the other side around the old mill wheelhouse. These are areas that present quite a haz- ard at the dam. The fencing will be welcome protection. 0--0--0 THANKS BOYS! -- Town and PUC workmen have willingly put in the boards at the Lower Town dam on three occasions during the past week to assist in the search for the little Leachman boy. It is hard work and time consuming. However, we are sure their efforts have been appreciated. The same can be said for the dozens of volunteers who aided with the search along the river. While all the effort has been without success so far, at least everything possible has been done, 0--0--0 BUILDING APPROVED -- James Knox of Canadian Mitchell Associates attended a meeting of the Riverside Parks Board on Tuesday evening and discussed the picnic pavilion which his firm designed as Wingham's centennial project. Board members approved of the design and as a result of the meeting a few minor changes will be made which should cut the costs slightly. Board mem- bers indicated that they felt the building should be construc- ted in the park area just to the north of the Scout House. The structure has been approved in principle by the Ontario Cen- tennial Advisory Committee, Report on Pool Proposal Kinsmen Elect Dave urgess President for Next Term David Burgess, second vice- president of the local Kinsmen Club, was named president- elect at the election of officers for the 1965-66 season on Mon- day evening. First vice-presi- dent Jack Hodgins did not run for office. The current presi- dent, Calvin Burke, will be a member of the executive as past -president. Others elected to office were: lst vice-president, Daw son Pollock; 2nd vice-president Ed Yeoman; secretary, Ray Neil; treasurer, Ray Galbraith; registrar, Vern Readman; direc tors, Jake Jutzi, Bill Hanula and Elwood Irwin. The new officers will take over in September, the begin- ning of the Kinsmen year. PRESIDENT REPORTS President Cal Burke reported to the club on investigations which have been going on in regard to a proposal to have a swimming pool incorporated in- to the suggested gymnasium at the public school. He said that following the last meeting of the club he had attended a meeting of the pub- lic school board, where it was learned that the board would be happy to support the idea, pro- vided it did not entail school financing. As a result of this meeting he and Kin Matt Boyd travelled to Toronto with mem- bers of the school board and the public school inspector to interview Department of Educa- tion officials. 'Kin Matt gave the report of the Toronto meeting stating that they had been well receiv- ed by the department people who were interested in the pro- posal. They did learn that no direct grants are available for the project, Kin Matt said, but under certain circumstances it appeared some money would be put up. He went on to say the group toured several schools in York Township where pools are operating. He said they were on a grand scale, but were do- ing an excellent job both for the children and for adults after school hours. He said the de- partment people stated that they would approve plans incorporat- ing the pool if they are present- ed. COSTS HIGH President Cal said that he had been in contact with the architects and it appeared that the big stumbling block will be money,, as costs appeared to be higher than originally anticipa- ted due to the Ievels of the school property, which would necessitate going deeper than the sewers in the area. How- ever the architects felt further investigation is necessary be- cause there may be other aven- ues of approach. The report prompted a wide- ranging discussion in the club, some being optimistic that the financial problem can be solv- ed and others feeling that the costs appeared prohibitive, Ivan Kersell, Wingham's new recreation director, was a guest of the club and was called on for his views. He explained that the town's recreation coni - Vicki Rosenhagen Speaks in Toronto About 600 people were in the Crystal Ball Room of the King Edward Hotel on Monday for the final Ontario School Trustees and Ratepayers Associ- ation public speaking contest, sponsored by Ontario Hydro. Vicki Rosenhagen of Wing - ham was one of 14 zone con- testants, and although she did not place as one of the three winners, Principal Stewart Bea- ttie and her teacher, Mrs. Wil- son, were proud of her perfor- mance and the way she was re- ceived by the large audience. Mark Downey of Carp was the winner. He spoke on "My Farm Home", Sandra Speight, of Keewatin was second and her topic was, "True Happi- ness". The third place contes- tant, Douglas Ireland of East Linton, chose "Water and Its Conservation", All contestants and one par- ent or guardian were taken on a bus trip to Niagara Falls on Tuesday where they were shown the interesting points and had dinner, mittee is a committee of coun- cil, and has no authority for raising money. He felt, how- ever, that the committee would be very much in favor of such a project. He told the club of a number of centres where schools are successfully operat- ing pools on a community basis, He felt operating costs would have to bestudied carefully to make sure that if a pool came into being, the town would not be faced with a cost of opera- tion beyond its budgetary means President Cal said that costs seem high, but he didn't think the club should discount thepro• ject yet, Witness Asked lo Contact Police Police Chief James Miller is asking the witness to an acci- dent on the McKenzie Bridge last Saturday evening to report to his office. It is known that another driver was near the scene when the mishap occur- red and the police are request- ing him to come forward. He apparently left before the po- lice arrived to investigate the mishap. Flood Waters Swept Glen Leachman's Body over Dam Glen Bruce Leachman, 8 - year -old son of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril Leachman, Lower Wing - ham, was drowned in the Mait- land River last Wednesday eve- ning and searchers are still pa- trolling the river in an effort to recover the boy's body. Glen was playing about the Lower Town dam with three companions, his sisters, Louise, 13, Debra, 10 and 10 -year-old Rickey Stacey. The children wandered out along the walk- way immediately above the face of the darn and were throw- ing hrowing stones into the swift water when Glen ran out onto the abutment which projects into the pond above the darn to pick up a stone, At that point it is believed that he tripped and his companions saw him fall into the water. He was imme- diately swept over the cement dam and was carried down- stream. Harry Brooks, who was stand- ing on the Victoria Street bridge a few hundred feet below the dam, saw the boy at the sur- face of the water at a point per- haps 50 feet upstream from the bridge, but the youngster ap- parently went under again at that point and Mr. Brooks could not be certain whether he was carried further downstream or not, AT SUPPER HOUR The accident occurred be- tween 6:15 and 6:30 p.m. and the alarm was immediately given. The fire brigade arrived on the scene and a call wassent out for boats to search the water. Several local boat owners re- sponded and the search wascon- tinued until darkness made it necessary for them to come ashore. During this period there was a serious mishap when a boat owned by Michael Willie was swamped at the lower edge of the darn. The four occupants of the boat, all members of the fire brigade, were thrown into the swirling waters and swept downstream. Mr. Willie managed to reach the shore and crawl to safety. Ernie Merkley was able to grasp a rope hanging from the bridge and Lynn Hickey and Dave Firemen Were Busy Three Alarms in Single Afternoon The Wingham Fire Depart- ment was really on the run Monday afternoon, three fire calls corning in during a six - hour period. Worst of the three calls, as far as damage was concerned, was that at the home of George Cameron on Shuter Street at supper time when fire broke out in his kitchen, causing damage estimated at over $2, 000. 00. The first call came just after the dinner hour when a furnace exploded at McDoug- all's Grocery in laswer Wing - ham. Fortunately there was no serious damage to the establish- ment, although the store smell- ed strongly of fuel oil and smoke. The firemen did not have to use any water, saving considerable loss. At 4:30 in the afternoon a call took the brigade to Blue - vale where a car had taken fire. However, by the time they reached the scene the fire had been put out by Ross Mann.The car was on the property of Gor- don Ross. Mrs. Ross said that she thought children had start- ed the blaze, and as the car was very close to a building she called the brigade. The Cameron blaze started when the fat in a deep fryer took fire. Doug Cameron, son of the owner, had turned on the fryer, and went outside briefly. On returning to the house he found the kitchen ablaze, The whole house suffered considerably from smoke dam- age, although the fire was con- fined to the kitchen. Lost were the electric range, and an automatic washer and dryer. The kitchen cupboards, ceiling and flooring will also have to be replaced, Two dogs in the home at the time of the out- break were safely removed, It was a close call to a ma- jor loss and it was only the prompt action of the brigade which saved the home. Crothers Jr. were swept on be- low the bridge, where Hickey was pulled ashore by Keith Johnston. Crothers managed to grasp the branches of the wil- low scrub in the shallows and got clear, Lynn Hickey and Dave Cro- thers were taken to the hospital for a check-up and later re - eased. SEARCH CONTINUES Several boats were launehed shortly after dawn on Thursday to continue the search and des- pite a downpour of icy rain the hunt was continued until late in the afternoon. High water prevented proper use of dragging equipment, for the current was so swift that it was impossible to reach the bottom in some places. Asthe day progressed the search was extended farther down river, eventually to the Zetland Bridge about two miles south- west. A stretch of fencing was placed with considerable diffi- culty across the river at the Zetland Bridge in the hope that if the body was carried that far it would be stopped there. The same operations were carried out on Good Friday and in addition other searchers walked the banks of the river as far as Zetland. On Satur- day the search was made even more difficult by a thickening storm of wet snow which re- duced visibility and made operations•more hazardous for the boat and canoe owners. Ken Crawford brought his skin diving equipment into the search and made a thorough examination of the deep waters below the darn and the pools in that area. Again on Sunday the boats were out and since the water level had dropped somewhat members of the fire brigade and other helpers waded the shallows around the juncture of the main branch of the river and the South Maitland, a few rods below the Victoria Street Bridge. THROUGH TO 10th On Sunday the search was extended farther downstream as three canoes worked through the four or five miles from the Zetland Bridge to the one on the 10th line of East Wawanosh Again the patrols stayed out until late afternoon. At mid-morning on Monday a truck driver reported seeing an object which might have been the little boy's body pass- ing under the Zetland Bridge. Provincial Police, who have been directing the search since the drowning, hastily rounded up several boat and canoe owners to search downstream from Zetland and set up a watch on the 10th bridge, but again the effort proved abortivt and it is believed that it was not the body which was sighted IN LOWI.R TOWN Mr. and Mrs. Leachman and their family live in an apart- ment above the Kingdom Hall in Lower Wingham. They moved there only a few weeks ago after operating and residing at the Bluejay Restaurant on No. 4 highway, south of tVingham. They came to this area in the summer of 14163 from the Tor- onto district. Glen, who was a student in Grade 2 at the Turnberry Cen- tral School, is survived by his parents, three sisters, Louise and Debra, and Mrs. Gordon (Carol) Hrabb of Toronto and three brothers, Robert, 18, Brian, 17 and Wayne, 15, of Wingham.