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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2004-04-29, Page 1Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, April 29, 2004 $1 (93c + 7c GST) e Citizen Volume 20 No. 17 Inside this week Pe • 8 Motocross back at u.Auburn Hills pg 10 Lakers bring home •gold from Europe 2 Sarnia writer A 8' " settles in Blyth Local Pg. 11 ambassadors take top spots Pg23 Blyth woman ' returns as Greta Once again young student film makers from across southwestern Ontario were able to express their creative talent through submitted entries to. the third annual Imago Student Film Festival. This unique student film festival is . organized entirely by students enrolled in the digital media studies course at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton under the supervision of Stephen Oliver. Imago ran for two days, starting last Friday then was highlighted by a public presentation of their. film the following night. The entries submitted by students across southwestern Ontario acre also shown. Oliver, the teacher of the digital media studies program: and teacher organizer, said this year CHSS put together a four-and-a-half minute music video entitled Ceilings by the local band itvhgrove.. Almost 70 students from Kincardine, Owen Sound, Kitchener/Waterloo, Petrol ia, Clinton and Goderich gathered at M.P. Russo building in Clinton, to watch, learn and experience the art of filmmaking. '2-- Many professionals came from Montreal, Toronto and London to share their knowledge with students including Brent Radford, formerly of Londesborough. who directed the video. Trent Richmond, formerly of the Blyth-area. shared his knowledge of audio techniques. Mike Henry, a CHSS alumni, came from his job at Much Music in Toronto to explain video editing and Nick Scott, a cameraman for the New PL in' London. worked with students Continued on page 22 By Ahdrea Hruska Special to The Citizen It's Aug. 20, You wake up, perhaps brew some coffee and flip on the radio. At 6 a.m., EnN)ironment Canada reports temperatures will reach unbearably hot, complete with choking humidity and severe thunderstorms. Seven minutes later, the radio blurts out that Environment Canada has now issued a tornado watch for the area. You move about your morning; unaware that by 7:59 a.m. tornadoes have torn apart the Waste Water Management plant in Harpurhay and destroyed major water and hydro supplies before mercilessly ravaging a subdivision in Seaforth. Several homes have been wiped out, injuring an unknown number of residents, littering the area with debris and knocking out power. Members of Huron East's Municipal Control Group (MCG) are alerted of the crisis and quickly come together. Although this situation _ is fictitious, the realistic threat of such an environmental disaster within Huron East prompted Marty Bedard, community emergency management co-ordinator, to develop his first training session for the MCG using this scenario. The training, held last Friday at the municipal office in Seaforth, put the MCG members (a task force including mayor Joe Seili, OPP, fire. ambulance, hydro, public works and municipal employees) through the motions necessary to manage the crisis, a time referred to by Gary Wood, Huron County CEMC as The Golden Hour — when all hell's breaking loose." The simulation, contained entirely within the building, consisted of groups in three locations. In one area, scripted messages from emergency crews were sent by radio to another location, at, which point the - information was confirmed, recorded and delivered to the appropriate member at the MCG location. Municipal office staff was the group responsible for confirming and delivering the urgent information. During debriefing, administrative assistant Janice Andrews explained that she "couldn't imagine that really happeriing" and reflected on one's ability "to just find strength when you need it". OPP Sgt. A. Farrow, participating as an observer, felt the exercise was -very useful. "I often think of things from an OPP perspective but it was good to hear from all of the other groups." In her experience, Sgt. Farrow said that "when stress is thrown into a situation, you rely on what you know. I was blown away by how well these (MCG) people knew their community." Bedard and the Huron East MCG were observed and evaluated throughout the two-hour exercise by Goderich CEMC Lynda Rotteau and Gary Wood. Rotteau, who held the Goderich training a week earlier, felt the group did a great job. She did remind participants. that a "real life" situation like this would last "two to three days rather than two to three hours." Bedard is planning more simulations in the future, which will include all three municipal fire departments responding to a mock disaster. Residents to look at water options By Bonnie Gropp Citizen editor A meeting will be held tonight (Thursday) in Belgrave to discuss four options for water service in the hamlet. • Representatives from Burnside .will be at an .open house beginning at 5 p.m. to show residents the proposals. Then at 7 p.m. there will be a formal presentation. At the April 19 meeting of North Huron council treasurer Donna White said that the recommendation from Burnside is for the option that would see the well which services the Humphrey subdivision abandoned. The water then would be pumped 'out of the Jane and McCrae system on the Morris side to a new pumphouse on the East Wawanosh side. From there, it would- be sent out through a distribution system. While White noted that the Ministry would only fund the cheapest option, it was felt that there would be long-term operational and maintenance costs that would not be considered. White suggested that council members look over the proposals and attend the meeting armed- with • any questions they might have. A Kitchener man is facing numerous charges after being arrested by police early Monday morning. While conducting a patrol in Brussels at 3 a.m.. April 26, an officer noticed a vehicle in the car wash on King Street. The pickup fled at a high rate of speed. After going through some intersections without stopping, the driver was finally apprehended several kilometres away. The officer noted an odour of alcohol and had the driver take a roadside test .for impaired which he failed. Inside the truck, police found coin boxes that had been stolen from the car wash. It was also determined that the truck was stolen. While breathalizer readings at the detachment determined that the driver was under the legal limit for impaired, the 36-year-old was charged with break, enter and theft, possession of stolen property, theft under $5,000, driving while disqualified, flight from police and breaching probation. He was held in custody until a bail hearing at 2 p.m. Monday. Spring cleaning Taking advantage of a rare day of warmth and sunshine, students at Hullett Central Public School commemorated Earth Day by doing a big spring clean-up around the schoolyard. Tidying up the courtyard, were, from left: Nick Salverda, Katie McClinchey, Dan Raidt and Caitlin Armstrong. (Bonnie Gropp photo) Huron East Municipal Control Group learns in emer enev training session Imago teaches film -making By Elyse DeBruyn, • Citizen staff Suspect flees from OPP