The Citizen, 1997-07-09, Page 1Feature ■ Education ■ Sports_____■_____Review
Local kids get
opportunity
through Festival
See page 3
Madill, Listowel,
GDCI name
scholars
See page 6
Brussels Tigers
on a tear with 2
more wins
See page 8
Avon’s ‘Death of a
Salesman’ boasts
stellar cast
See page 19
Man hurt in crash
The Blyth and District Fire
Department responded to an early
morning call, July 1, when a single
vehicle accident occurred on
McKillop Twp. Cone. 12/13, east
of Cty. Rd. 12.I
John Janmaat, 39, of Tucker
smith Twp., RR4, Seaforth, was
driving a 1992 GMC pickup when
he collided with a concrete bridge.
The vehicle came to rest on the
road, on the driver's side, said an
OPP report.
Janmaat was taken to Seaforth
Community Hospital with serious
injuries.
The truck was severely damaged.
County, council
Province downloads Hwys. 4,86 to county
There will be only one provincial
highway (Hwy. 21) serving the
northern half of Huron County after
Jan. 1, county councillors were told
at their July 3 meeting in Goderich.
The province has announced it
will turn over Hwy. 4, north of
Clinton, Hwy: 86 from Amberley
to the Perth County border as well
as Hwy. 81 east of Grand Bend.
Questioned by Tumberry Reeve
Brian McBumey if the provincial
officials had given any kind of
rationalization for the move, Coun
ty Engineer Sandra Lawson said
none had been given.
“People in Howick and Tumber
ry have 20 miles to get a look at a
provincial highway,” McBumey
said. He had earlier suggested the
county should urge the government
not to turn over Hwy. 4 because of
the implications for tourism in
Grey-Bruce and for the Blyth Festi
val of not having a provincial high
way serve the region.*At its June 10
meeting the Agriculture and Public
Works Committee had voted to
contact the minister of transporta
tion, Helen Johns, MPP for Huron,
the premier and two cabinet minis
ters with ties to Huron but before
the month was out the decision had
already been announced.
As well as a name change, the
downloading will mean higher
costs for county taxpayers. The
county will have an additional 94.4
Health care framework
brings sense of optimism
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
For the first time in months,
health care workers have a sense of
optimism thanks to the ministry's
rural health care framework.
"We are very positive about the
policy," said Seaforth Community
Hospital Chief Executive Officer
Bill Thibert. "It is excellent that the
government recognized the differ
Shed burns in Morris
Firefighters from Blyth and Brus
sels were unable to save a burning
shed, which caught fire in the early
morning hours of July 4.
Brussels Fire Chief Murray
McArter said the building, which is
owned by Dave Rapson, and locat
ed on Lol 18, Cone. 6 in Morris
Twp., was fully engulfed by the
km of roads to maintain. It will
receive a one-time grant of $5,000
for maintenance plus a grant of
$2.5 million to cover two-thirds of
the capital improvements the Min
istry of Transportation (MTO) says
the roads need. This means, Bill
Mickle, reeve of Exeter pointed
out, that local taxpayers will have
to come up with $1.2 million for
the repairs to bring the roads up to
standard.
“It’s another gift from the
province to the great people of
Huron County,” Mickle said bitter
ly-
When Hwys. 83, 84 and 87 were
turned over to the county, Lawson
said, an outside consultant was
hired to estimate the repairs needed
to the roads but this time MTO did
the assessment itself.
County councillors voted to send
a letter to MTO asking that the
transfer be delayed at least until
April 1. The current date of Jan. 1,
Lawson pointed out, is in the mid
dle of the winter snow-clearing sea
son ana will make the transfer more
difficult.
Tom Cunningham, reeve of Hul-
lett, urged Lawson to try to per
suade MTO to turn over its
Wingham maintenance yard at a
nominal cost. The use of the sand
storage shed there would make
winter maintenance routes more
efficient, he said. Lawson agreed.
ences between rural and urban
health care needs and the policy
supports that."
In the long-awaited Rural and
Northern Health Care Framework,
Health Minister Jim Wilson differ
entiated between the needs of rural
and urban communities, in an
announcement made June 27, in
Goderich.
Recommendations from the poli-
Continued on page 20
time the firefighters arrived.
The cause of the blaze, which
was discovered at 2:45 a.m., was
not known at press time. McArter
did not have an estimate of dam
age, but presumed it would be high
as there was machinery and equip
ment lost in the fire.
Blown away
For most it was an adventure, fun
for some, for others not so much.
Power outs, felled trees, downed
cable lines and smashed cars,
were the end result of a major
windstorm that hit the Brussels
area last Wednesday evening
around 7 p.m. While other
neighbouring communities
reported high winds and some
damage, Brussels seemed
hardest hit with a large number of
its old, big trees snapping like
twigs, and taking out anything in
their path on their way down.
Despite black skies, there was
very little rain or other storm
activity accompanying the winds.
Firefighters assisted the village
employees and residents with
clean up that evening. Village
Road Superintendent Hugh
Nichol said for town staff there
was seven days labour, with
three days of contract labour. A
total of seven full-size trees were
taken down in the storm, in
addition to a number of small
limbs and branches. The sounds
of chainsaws can still be heard
as many residents continued
clean-up into this week.