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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1995-01-04, Page 1Bundle of joy arrives Murray and Shelley Ducharme of RR3 Brussels are the proud first-time parents of Tilynn, the area's New Year's baby. Tilynn was one of three babies born on Jan. 2 at Clinton Pubic Hospital. Listowel Memorial, Seaforth Community and Alexandra Marine and General Hospitals also had babies born on Jan. 1 or 2. Tilynn is the granddaughter of Dorothea and Oscar Ducharme of RR3 Brussels and Rodney and Jacqueline Fraser of King City. Ducharmes have New Year's baby The trip to Clinton Public Hospi- tal on a blustery Jan. 1 winter night was definitely a joy ride for Murray and Shelley Ducharme of RR3 Brussels. The couple made the trip for the arrival of their first child and local- ly, the first child of the new year. Tilynn Ducharme was born at 6:24 a.m. on Jan. 2, weighing in at a very healthy 8 lbs. 13 oz. Mom Shelley says she just hung on for the journey though her hus- band didn't agree that the roads were so bad. The Ducharmes had begun to wonder if the baby would ever arrive since the due date was Dec. 22. "We thought we might get a Christmas baby, but we didn't even make New Year's Day," says Mrs. Ducharme. Proud grandparents (for the sev- enth time) are Dorothea and Oscar Ducharme of RR3 Brussels and first-time grandparents Rodney and Jacqueline Fraser of King City. Alexandra Marine and General Hospital had the first bundle of joy arrive at 3:20 p.m. on Jan. 1. The happy parents of Devin are Allan and Magdalena Meyer of Goderich. Devin weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz and is the baby brother of Jocelyn. Listowel Memorial Hospital also had a New Year's Day baby. A baby boy, weighing 8 lbs. 13 oz., was born to Mary and Ron Weiler of Wroxeter at 10:15 p.m. A Seaforth couple, Elizabeth Van Maanen and Gary Hany, welcomed a baby girl into their lives on Jan. 2 at 6:50 -a.m. She weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. The North Huron itizen [Vol. 11 No.1 Wednesday, January 4, 1995 610+4o GST 650 RIDE nabs 5 drunk drivers Smoke-filled skies Blyth firefighters battled smoke and high winds as they doused the flames eating the implement shed located on the Steven Webster farm just north of Blyth on Hwy. 4. The fire which occurred on the afternoon of Dec. 30, is suspected to have been caused by an overheated wood stove. Volunteers battle Blyth blaze Feature 3 pages takes a one more look at the way it was in the news in 1994 See page 6 News Grey Twp. celebrates completion of infrastructure program See page 9 Sports Brussels Bulls on a tear through December See page 10 Brussels insurance soars It would seem that some people still aren't getting the message. A total of five impaired charges were laid in the Wingham OPP detachment area during the annual RIDE campaign, which began Nov. 27 and ended Jan. 1. Officers checked 1,603 vehicles during the program which also resulted in nine 12-hour license suspensions and 13 liquor related charges. An OPP spokesperson reports that seven accidents were investi- gated during that time as well, none of which involved fatalities. The RIDE figures are up from the 1993 campaign when Wingham OPP checked 1,410 vehicles. There were no impaired charges and one 12-hour suspension. There were however, 19 other charges laid as a result. Const. John Marshall of the Goderich OPP said that in that detachment a total of 708 vehicles were checked. This is a decrease from the previous year due to staff reduction, he said. Though 18 roadside tests were done, there were no criminal charges laid, Const. Marshall said. Officers did issue eight 12-hour suspensions and there were three liquor seizures. The Blyth and District Fire Department was'kept very busy during the final days of 1994. The fire fighters were called to a major blaze on the -farm of Steven Webster at 1 p.m. on Dec. 30 when an implement shed became en- gulfed in flames. "We -will never be certain, but it, is suspected the fire was caused by an overheated wood stove in the shed," says Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling. The shed sustained severe fire damage, destroying the majority of the structure. Much of the stored equipment was pulled from the building without damage though some pieces which contained plas- tic components received some heat damage. A damage estimate has not been determined. The previous day, the crew was called to a combine fire on County Road 22, just north of Auburn. Tom Franken was driving the machine home in the afternoon when the lire erupted. The combine was destroyed. During the evening of Dec. 29, the men were summoned to the home of Eugene Gore on Drum- mond street in Blyth to douse a chimney fire. The home sustained no damage. The first fire-call of the week was on Dec. 27, as a four-man crew were called in as a backup for the Wingham Fire Department. All -the Wingham firefighters were occupied with a large fire at a turkey barn owned by Tendcrfresh, just west of Wingham on Hwy. 86. The Blyth team had to standby at the Wingham Fire Hall in case another call came in. They remained at the hall for five hours. High court awards in liability claims against other municipalities arc going to hit Brussels village residents in the pocket book this year. The insurance bill for all bodies covered by the village insurance (including the Brussels, Morris and Grey Recreation Committee and the Medical-Dental building) will total more than $7,600. A small amount of the increase is due to coverage of the new fire hall but overall "What's driven these premi- ums up is liabiiity,"., said Randy Fisher 6f the Frank Cowan Insur- ance Company which provides insurance coverage to 80 per cent of Ontario municipalities. In the past year his company has been hit with- three liability judgements totalling S20 million, -he said. In one case, a Windsor-area munici- pality was found negligent because a 17-year old hockey player was crippled for life after tripping on a crack in the ice_ at an arena. The settlement was $8.7 million. In another case, the City of Lon- don was found partially responsible in the injuries that left a 27-year- old man a quadriplegic for life after he and another man, while wrestling, fell through a wall and onto the ground below: Though the city's building inspector had inspected the wall 17 years earlier, the city was found 80 per cent responsible for the mishap (the wrestlers were found to have no responsibility). The award was $5 million but the eventual cost by the time appeals were completed, was $7 million. "We are convenient targets for the courts," Mr. Fisher said. In all, the Brussels bill will be up more than 30 per cent in 1995 after a small increase of one per cent last year. Mr. Fisher said the rates start- ed going up shortly after Brussels Continued on page 2