The Citizen, 1996-05-22, Page 1Vo I. 12 No. 21 Wednesday, May 22 1996
70Q+s¢GST 750
Explosive
It took but a single strike of
lightening to blow apart this
mature pine tree at the home
of Herb Van Amersfoort in
Blyth, when a severe
thunderstorm assaulted the
area in the early morning
hours of May 20. Van
Amersfoort says not only was
the tree destroyed, but four
windows in his home, just
yards away, were broken,
some blown in by the force of
the strike, others sucked out
by the changing pressure.
The electrical system in the
home also needs to be
checked because the fuses
appear good while oulets
don't work, he says. Luckily,
no one in the home was hurt
though one child was
sleeping in a room where a
window shattered. Steven
and Kerissa (left) Van
Amersfoort stand with friend
Lauren Bouman next to the
ry devastated tree.
Area gets dousin
Community
Blyth Legion Branch
celebrates 50 years of
community service
See page 6
Business
Blyth's main street
business gets new look,
new owners
See page 8
Entertainment
Company arrives in Blyth
to begin rehearsals for
Festival's season opener
See page 23
C • • Tragedy claims The North Huron
ifizen Blyth man's life
You don't need to be a weather
person to know there has been
some serious rainfall this spring,
but to get some perspective on just
how wet talk to someone who
keeps a close eye" on the skies
above.
Boyd Taylor, a local weather
observer says that in the 30 hour
period from midnight Sunday
through May 20, a total of 74.5 mm
of water fell in the area. Taylor also
notes that a lot of widespread
flooding has been reported.
Despite this, Taylor, who is him-
self in the agricultural industry says
that thanks to better seasonal
weather last week, local farmers
have been able to get on the fields
to plant spring crops, though, he
adds .the soil has been slow to dry
up and warm up.
Failure to stop at a stop sign
proved deadly, May 20, when two
vehicles passed through an inter-
section at the same moment.
A large truck, driven by Mervyn
Schneider, 58, of Brussels was
travelling west on County Road 17
at Winthrop, when it appears he
failed to stop at the County Road
12 intersection, says a press release
from the OPP.
The Schneider truck struck the
vehicle driven by James Hubbard,
A spokesperson from the Wing-
ham OPP reports a fairly quiet
beginning to summer in the detach-
ment area. Over the long weekend,
only two accidents were investigat-
ed locally, while police reported
- few offenses.
The most serious accident
occurred when an 11-year-old girl
sustained major injuries as the
result of an ATV accident in Morris
Twp. on Monday, May 20.
A press release from the OPP
states that at 2:45 p.m. Lindsay
Warwick was operating a 1995
Suzuki ATV in the driveway of her
Conc. 1 residence when she clipped
A Brussels teen is off to England
this December to compete, along
with five other youths, as a Canadi-
an representative at the World
Youth Darting championships.
Anita Little, 15, won the right to
play on the Canadian Team this
past weekend at the national con-
test in Burlington, after being the
top qualifier in her group of 12. She
Clinton fairgrounds will once
again be inundated with Canadian
authors, storytellers, musicians and
dramatic art performers as the com-
munity ushers in the third annual
Family Literacy Festival, June 4-6.
In celebration of literacy and the
family, more than 3,500 children,
teachers and families will have the
opportunity to watch performances
and participate in workshops.
Though daytime sessions are
mainly populated by school chil-
dren who have pre-registered, fami-
lies are welcome to attend.
Thursday, June 6, is family night
when illustrator/storyteller Paul
Morin, author/storyteller Rob
33, of Blyth, which was north-
bound on County Road 12.
Hubbard, a life-long resident of
Blyth, died of injuries sustained in
the accident.
The eldest son of George and the
late Marion Hubbard, he worked
with his father at G.L. Hubbard
Ltd., Blyth.
He leaves companion Cheryl
Beane, his children, as well three
sisters, Cathy, Susan and Selina,
and a brother, Philip.
the rear bumper of a parked pick-up
truck. Lindsay was thrown from the
ATV.
She was taken to Wingham Hos-
pital by ambulance.
There was a single vehicle acci-
dent on Saturday, May 18 at 2:30
a.m. on County Road 25, just east
of County Road 12 in Morris.
Police say a 1991 Chev driven by
John Crawford of Goderich was
travelling west when it touched the
right edge of the roadway. Police
say the car began to skid when
Crawford began to brake, then hit a
tree.
Crawford was not injured.
was one of four youths from
Ontario to earn a spot. The two
other members of the national team
are from Nova Scotia and New-
foundland.
Anita, who is the oldest child of
Ted and Marlene of Brussels, says
the win is ''kind of neat." She
leaves Dec. 6 to spend one week in
England.
Neves, musical storyteller Dennis
Siren and collaborative musical sto-
rytellers Kim Souch, Arlene Darn-
brough and Duncan MacGregor
will entertain in the arena.
Other presenters will be Ted
Staunton, Sonja Dunn, Mark Thur-
man, Camilla Gryski and Judy Ann
Sadler.
Though the festival is fun for all,
the underlying message is the
importance of literacy for every-
one. Families must be involved in
the learning process as children
work to develop critical skills.
For more information, contact
Darlene Williams or Pat Senn at
482-5428 or 1-800-265-1778.
Girl hospitalized
after ATV accident
Teen off to England
Literacy Fest. June 4-6