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The Citizen, 2018-08-23, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2018. PAGE 9. The Citizen413 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 We have a great selection of books at... Enjoy a new book! THE ORGANIC GOURMET Over 100 delicious organic recipes for everything from appetizers to soups to salads, meats, seafood and poultry, vegetarian dishes, condiments, breads and desserts plus information on organics. $19.95 GRASS-FED CATTLE: How to Produce and Market Natural Beef With more and more consumers discovering the healthy benefits of grass- fed beef, there is a growing market for farmers. This comprehensive manual provides nearly 400 pages of management advice. $37.95 I WANT TO BE A COWBOY A child’s introduction into what it’s like to be a real-life modern cowboy. $3.99 LETTERS HOME from Willis Machan Flight Sergeant Willis Machan of Brussels served with the RCAF prior to his death in the Azores in 1943. In his letters to his parents, brother and sisters he reveals the thoughts of a young man at war. $18.00 HONEY: NATURE’S GOLDEN HEALER Scientist, lecturer and beekeeper Gloria Havenhand demonstrates that honey is essential for healthy living, boosting the immune system and preventing diseases. Honey can benefit in everything from tonics to treatments.$19.95 BARNYARD GAMES & PUZZLES For kids who like the farm this book contains 100 mazes, word games, jokes and riddles, brain teasers and fun activities illustrated with lots of cartoon barnyard animals. $14.95 RESTLESS ON HURON For many people visiting Port Elgin and Southampton in the years between 1937 and the mid-1960s, a highlight was a tour of the lakeshore on the tour boats Restless or Restless Too. This book brings back those memories in words and photos. $15.00 MUSHROOMS and Other Fungi of North America Over 1,000 full-colour photos make this the most comprehensive illustrated guide on mushrooms, and the essential resource for the amateur collector, expert mycologist and armchair naturalist. $29.95 BLYTH THROUGH THE LENS Blyth historian Brock Vodden tells Blyth’s story in photographs, many of them rarely seen – from the fairs, railways, town bands, sports teams, church activities, landmark buildings to remarkable personalities. $40.00 Seaforth buildings in dangerous condition: Cooper While some Seaforth buildings have been well maintained and kept up to their heritage benchmarks, others have been left to deteriorate or, worse, repaired incorrectly in recent decades according to Dr. Chris Cooper. Cooper was contracted by the Municipality of Huron East to author a building pathology report for the town after a wind storm earlier this year brought to the surface dangerous flaws in some Seaforth buildings. The strong winds brought to Huron County by the storm resulted in pieces of heritage buildings being dislodged and sent to the sidewalk below. That spurred Economic Development Officer Jan Hawley on to raise the issue of heritage infrastructure in Seaforth with Huron East Council, which then led to the commissioning of the building pathology report. Cooper presented his report to council at its Aug. 14 meeting, saying that while some buildings, like the Seaforth CIBC branch and the Huron East municipal building have done a great job maintaining their heritage façades, many others in the town were being left to degrade. Furthermore, Cooper said, in many cases modern methods (or at least modern for the time) of restoration and repair were being used for heritage buildings made with generations-old materials. Often, he said, modern concrete and blasting processes are not compatible with materials from the 18th, 19th and the early 20th centuries. Cooper told council that he prepared a 72-page report on the façades of main street buildings throughout Seaforth. Were he to complete a comprehensive building pathology report for all of the buildings in their entirety, he said, the report for each building would likely be 72 pages. One of the most frequent issues along Seaforth’s main street, he said, is incompatible materials. When buildings were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries, they used “soft” bricks that weren’t fired to the standard of bricks today due to the current technology, he told council. Bricks used in the construction of those buildings, he said, could have a very low PSI (pounds per square inch) rating, and repairing them with material with a PSI that’s exponentially higher causes the brick to crumble and break away. With heritage structures, Cooper said, the materials and methods used are crucial not just to keep a uniform look, but to ensure that all of the materials are compatible with one another. The other cardinal sin with generations-old building materials is any kind of blasting process to clean the outside of a building. Sand blasting, he said, or any kind of blasting can tear away at the materials that aren’t strong enough to sustain that kind of strength and pressure. This could even be true with something so seemingly benign, he said, as using a pressure washer bought at a local hardware store. He added that he observed a number of other problems that were likely a result of the design revolution of the 1980s and 1990s when aluminum was all the rage and a favourite for contractors. However, when aluminum is installed incorrectly and with incompatible material, it can create a “dew point”, Cooper said, which can lead to extensive rotting behind the aluminum. He also pointed out that several of the buildings were not compatible with sidewalk work that had been completed throughout Seaforth. There was no fault to what was happening, Cooper said, it was a process that just brought together two incompatible eras of construction methods and materials. Another problem that Cooper observed during his review of Seaforth was a lot of first-level buildings “divorcing” from their second floors. In the 1980s and 1990s, he said, when apartments were constructed on the second floor of heritage buildings, they weren’t made with their first floors in mind, which has resulted in modern structures stacked on top of heritage main street storefronts. And while he said that many of the issues with Seaforth’s main street buildings are visual and minor in nature, there are some that he has classified as being “very concerning” due to a number of factors. While it isn’t on the main street, Cooper did say that while the Seaforth Agricultural Society’s roundhouse near the Seaforth and District Community Centre has fallen into disrepair, it should be saved at all costs. The building, which is octagonal, is very rare in the world of architecture, Cooper said, and he suggested commissioning an independent report on the building in order to repair it. Cooper concluded by telling council that while there are some issues with many of the main street buildings in Seaforth, making repairs to heritage buildings is actually easier and cheaper than many building owners think. He offered to conduct a workshop in the town next month focused on heritage repairs and renovations in hopes of educating local business owners. He said that while the material costs for many heritage repairs are fairly reasonable, it’s in labour where the costs begin to rise. With the tools to do basic repairs themselves, building owners could make repairs and renovations to heritage buildings more affordably. Council accepted Cooper’s report, with Mayor Bernie MacLellan thanking Cooper, saying that the township received “a lot of information” for what it paid. By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Leaving it all on the track Saturday marked the end of the Walton TransCan and the end of the Rockstar Triple Crown MX Tour Motocross event. Four races decided the final standings for the day and the season on Saturday afternoon, prompting riders to give it their all. (Denny Scott photo) AMDSB supports using 2015 sex ed curriculum Members of the Avon Maitland District School Board support teaching the 2015 sexual education curriculum starting this fall. Following a message from the Ontario Public School Boards Association that supported the curriculum, which was rolled back last month by Minister of Education and Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, the local school board held a special meeting on Friday to show support for maintaining the existing curriculum. According to board Chair Randy Wagler, the association holds that the 2015 curriculum, which was taught through the last school year, should be maintained until a new curriculum, promised by Premier Doug Ford during his campaign, is crafted through a proposed consultation process. Trustees of the school board approved a motion confirming the group supports such a stance. Thompson announced that the 2015 curriculum, which proved controversial with some due to some topics and the ages at which they would be taught, would be scrapped and teachers would be instructed to use the former curriculum, drafted in 1998. The move generated a significant amount of negative feedback as that curriculum didn’t address issues like same-sex relationships, consent and anything to do with the internet, including cyber-bullying. With the school year fast approaching, Wagler said he anticipates direction from the government prior to the first day of school. He said the statement indicates the board hopes, for continuity’s sake, to maintain what was being taught.