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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1998-12-09, Page 1Pork producers, suppliers rally in Toronto VErif-Oht mAk. tvv);• . , Vol. 14 No. 48 Wednesday, Dec. 9, 1998 (700 + 5¢ GST) 750 The North Huron itizen Schools gets temporary reprieve Tiny Selena McPherson was maybe a bit too young to understand what all the excitement was about, but like all little visitors to The Ark on Saturday following the annual Santa Claus Parade, she got to spend a moment with the jolly elf and receive a bag of goodies. Education Farm Feature See page 7 Don't wait for Santa to bring smoke detector Special presentation at Walton PS See page 18 See page 11 Near disaster It was a close call for a young man employed at Hensall District Co-op, Londesboro, when his arm got caught in an auger in the mill. The Blyth and District Fire Depart- ment responded to the call just before noon on Friday. Mike Gibbings had reached in to pickup a grain sample when the auger grabbed his overalls, pulled him in and wrapped his arm around the shaft, said Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling. Though Gibbings broke his hand, wrist and arm, Josling said he is very lucky because he was able to reach the shut off switch with his other hand. Gibbings was taken to Clinton Public Hospital and is expected to be released this week. House fire believed to have started in car There may be a temporary reprieve for many families in the Avon Maitland school board dis- trict if a motion presented to trustees at the Dec. 8 session is passed. The ongoing accommodation review has led to a drastically altered path as the board copes with eliminating provincially-deter- mined excess space. The realignment of enrollment and demolition of unrenovated space is just two of the proposals which could replace school closure suggestions, for now. Adjusted catchment areas for neighbouring .schools will be researched. The facilities involved would be Exeter and Usbome Pub- lic Schools; South Huron District Secondary School, Usbome Public School, Mitchell District High School and Upper Thames Public School; Zurich, Hensall and Huron Centennial Public Schools and Avon and Hamlet Public Schools. Portables would be eliminated at Juliet, South Perth and King Lear Public Schools. Vanastra, Milverton, Mornington Central and McCurdy Public Schools and Central Huron Sec- ondary School could have unreno- vated space demolished. Attempts would be made to lease space at Central Huron in the Learning Resources Centre and for adult education at F.E. Madill, South Huron and Central Huron Secondary Schools. The sharing of space or exchang- ing of facilities will be investigated for Goderich, St. Marys and Strat- ford. By offering Tech 21 at one Strat- ford facility for King Lear, Juliet, Upper Thames and Arthur Meighen, freed-up space could be renovated for classrooms. The motion asks community- based committees, consisting of parents, students, community lead- ers, trustees, teachers and princi- pals, to review the suggestions. The committees, formed by princi- pals in consultation with school council chairs will represent a sin- gle school or cluster of schools.• The groups will be asked to report' to the board by Feb. 16. The opportunity to alter -the changes necessary was partially due to the government's refocus on "loading" numbers for school capacity rather than square footage. The redefinition puts Avon Mait- land schools at 83 per cent capaci- ty. However, several schools are at less than 70 per cent, including Continued on page 15 Quick action on the part of neighbours averted tragedy when fire broke out in a Brussels home in the early morning hours of Dec. 3. The Church Street home, owned by Dorothy McCauley, is now resided in by her grandson Steven, and his family. They were awak- ened shortly after-2 a.m. by neigh— bours who had seen the fire. Firefighters arrived at 2:10. According to Chief Murray McArter the fire was in the detached garage and spreading into the back room of the home when firefighters arrived. Battling the blaze for two hours, they kept it from reaching the main structure. Though the siding was melted, damage inside was primarily limit- ed to smoke and water, he said. A "slight " flare-up 1•Mi firefight- ers back at the scene at 7 :35 a.m. While the cause is undetermined, it's suspected that it was electrical and probably started in the car It is time to spend with family, enjoy the fresh December air, get a little exercise and help a worthy cause. The first-ever Blyth Jingle Bell Walk, Dec. 19, follows the tradition begun by Community Active Liv- ing Lambton to promote a fun physical_ activity with friends and family. Participants are to gather in Blyth Memorial Hall courtyard between 6 p.m. and 6:15 to. register for the walk around the community to take in the pleasure of Christmas lights and decorations. Each walker is asked to donate a non-perishable which was parked in the garage, McArter said. He estimates the damage at between $30,000-$40,000. Later that morning at 11:30 the firefighters answered what fortu- nately turned out to be a false alarm at the school. According to McArter the school had a fire drill at 10:15 a.m., then 15 minutes later the alarm came in as a fire. "The school didn't even know about it," he said. Though McArter bad been told there would be a drill, he was con- cerned when his pager went off 20 minutes later than he had been told the drill would be. "That's why we responded." Saturday morning, the depart- ment got a call that there was a housefire in Walton. Trucks from Grey and Brussels headed out before learning it was the con- trolled burn for a barn being demol- ished. food item or a few coins to the North Huron Community Food Share. Donors will be given a tiny bell on a ribbon to wear during the walk. In anticipation of the 6:30 walk, local talent will provide entertain- ment in the courtyard. Warm-up refreshments will be available. Following the viewing of the lights, a carol sing is planned for 7 p.m. which will lead into the annu- al Christmas pageant at 7:30. The party'continues at the Blyth Inn after the pageant with a karaoke sing-along. - Jingle Bell Walk in Blyth