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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1999-01-20, Page 1Sports Leisure News Brussels, Blyth Novices, PeeWees face off in recent hockey action See page 8 Sled dogs happiest on Ofc - the run See page 9 Blaze starts in fireplace of McKillop Twp. home It was a scary morning for a McKillop family last Thursday as fire broke out in their home around 6 a.m. According to Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling, an improperly installed fireplace caused the blaze at the RR1, Walton home of the Mike DeJong family. Josling said the fire started in the wood limber under the fireplace then burned across and up the walls. "We had to open the walls through the house and cut holes in the floor," said Josling. The esti­ mate of damage, which included smoke and water damage was $10,000-515,000. Firefighters were also battling the chilling cold. "It was -23°," said Josling. "The hose lines were freez­ ing before we could get the water to the end." Il look three tries before they got a line with waler coming from it. On Friday al 9 a.m., the firefight­ ers responded to a carbon monox­ ide call at the home of Phil Black, RR3, Blyth. Josling said the alarm activated al 60 parts per million, which means "there was a lot of carbon monox­ ide in the house." It was caused by ashes from a wood furnace which had been put into a steel tub and left in a base­ ment. "If you clean ashes from a fire­ place or furnace gel them outside," Josling reminds. Stolen snowmobile burning in Morris On Jan. 16 at approximately 4 a.m. a citizen contacted the Huron OPP detachment about a snowmobile burning on Cone. 2 of Morris Twp. near Wingham. The witness advised the officers that at 3:15 a.m. he was on his way into Wingham when he came across the snowmobile sitting on the side of the road with the hood up and no one around. He was returning home one-half hour later to find that the snowmobile was completely engulfed in flames and called the Wingham Fire Department who came and extinguished the fire. The next day the snowmobile was reported stolen from the owner's residence in Listowel. Stolen and totally destroyed in the fire was a 1991 Polaris Indy 650 black tn colour. Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Huron OPP or call Crime Stoppers. January weather a record breaker By Bonnie Gropp Citizen staff It should not come as a surprise to anyone, but this January's weaLher has broken some records. According to local weather watcher Boyd Taylor, Jan. 14's temperature of -27°C is the coldest to dale for this lime. The wind chill factor that day brought the number to -40°C. Snowfall has totalled 80 inches or 202 cm as of Jan. 17. The closest worst winter for snowfall to this was January 1994, said Taylor, when snowfall for the entire month totalled 75.5 inches or 188.5 cm locally. Also, in pulling together his statistics, Taylor noticed something "kind of odd". For the last six years, rainfall in January has been in excess of one inch. Also, the 18 months prior to January showed above average temperatures. Though precipitation seems to be heavy, Taylor points out that it is badly needed for the soil moisture in rural Ontario as the streams and ditches never filled last summer. However, he adds, "we need what we've had this January about four or five more limes." This area did miss the snowstorm that hit Toronto last week, where Mother Nature dumped 120 cm of while sluff. "When Toronto gels this they try to cope. In rural Ontario we just move forward." For the future, Taylor predicts a winter of change. "There is going to be variable weather, with a couple more cold blasts, then rain, and more snow." "But, then again, it is winter." Dave Wood, new pastor at Huron Chapel See page 13 Citizen Vol. 15 No. 3 The North Huron Wednesday, Jan. 20, 1999 70c + 5c gst750 Lightening workload With the more seasonable temperatures over the past few days, municipal workers have had a chance to get ahead of the snow removal process. Murray Siertsema of Blyth took advantage of the almost balmy weather Monday to do a little sidewalk salting. Long hours clear villages Village employees were on the job so residents could be. Constant snowfall and strong wind which seemed to be never- ending in recent weeks, had people struggling to get to work and school boards cancelling bus routes. In spite of all the bad weather, vil­ lage employees and contractors continued their vigil to keep the main streets cleaned and sidewalks passable. Numerous residents in both Brussels and Blyth have expressed their appreciation for the hard work through letters to the editor and per­ sonal comments. Blyth is the best kept village around, said one resident while another from Brussels expressed gratitude for the clear sidewalks downtown and the removal of snowbanks so no climbing was required. "The guys were often up at two or three in the morning," says Brussels Clerk-Treasurer Donna White. "They put in a lot of extra hours." Blyth employees were up early as well, getting to work no later than 5 a.m. many mornings. While most residents were still sleeping, village work crews and private operators were on the roads, cleaning the main throughways and transporting the piles of snow to out-of-the-way locations such as behind the arena or onto fairgrounds. Once the drive was made easier, the men set to work clearing fire hydrants and cutting the banks at the comers for improved visibility. Now that the weather seems to be offering a break, White says the next task will be to get excess snow off rooftops and clear catch basins. "The guys have been taking it all in stride," she says. "They are just dealing with it. I guess we are han­ dling it better than Toronto." Brussels hires a contractor to clear the streets with a grader while village employees clean sidewalks and remove banks. All the work is completed .with a front-end loader and blower attached to one tractor and the village truck. In Blyth, the men use a small tractor and blower for the sidwalks, a large tractor with a blower for the street edges and comers and a plow for the roads. Rural residents have also seen road graders on the concessions at least an hour prior to bus times, to provide safe transportation for the children.