HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2005-01-06, Page 1The Citizen
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 21 No. 1 Thursday, Jan. 6, 2005
NH
NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC. |
Inside this week
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London man wins
WIN WIN
A look at the
highlights of 2004
Local sports teams
post victories
Brussels Guiding
welcomes members
A look at the babies
of 2004 begins
Man dies
in crash
An 81-year-old Huron East man
died as the result of an two vehicle
collision a. 5:15 p.m. Dec. 31 in
Huron East.
According to police. Aaron
Kuepfer had been travelling south
on McDonald Line and entered the
intersection of Cardiff Road. His
1994 Dodge Caravan collided with a
2000 Sterling feed truck, owned by
Dauphin Feeds, and driven by a 22-
year-old male.
Local firefighters assisted with
extrication. Kuepfer was . taken to
Wingham hospital by ambulance,
then airlifted to Victoria South Street
Campus in London with critical
injuries. He died Jan. 1.
Police are still investigating.
OPP
investigate
thefts
On Jan. 1 at 11:30 a.m. a vehicle
was reported stolen from a residence
on Cranbrook Line near the Village
of Cranbrook in Huron East.
Sometime that night after 6 p.m.
and before 2 a.m. a person drove
away a blue 1992 Chev pickup truck
that had been parked in the
driveway, unlocked with the keys in
the ignition.
The truck was found a short
distance away in the ditch closer to
the village. Tracks led to another
residence in Cranbrook on McNabb
Line from where a grey 1988 Chev
full-size van was stolen. The van
belonged to a carpenter and had the
company name on the side. Later
that morning the van was located in
a parking lot of an apartment
complex in Brussels on Turnberry
Street. Nothing was stolen from the
van. Some damage was done to the
side mirrors of the vehicle.
The thefts are believed to have
been done by a person living in the
Brussels area. If you can help solve
these vehicle thefts call the
Wingham OPP or Crime Stoppers at
l-800-222-8477(TIPS).
Inspired and inspiring
Eight-year-old Kristen Pipe of Brussels was so upset by the news reports on the tsunami that
struck Asia Dec. 26, she felt she had to do something. Contacting the owner of the local
grocery store, Kristen was given permission to sit in the lobby and gather donations for the
survivors. Her action resulted in the raising of close to $600. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
Young people raise funds
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen editor
You don’t have to be big to make a
difference in this world.
Last Friday morning, Dec. 31,
eight-year-old Kristen Pipe was
distressed by television reports
regarding the devastating tsunami
that struck several Asian countries.
“I told my dad 1 wanted to do
something and he suggested 1 get in
touch with the people at the grocery
store and see if 1 could sit in the
lobby and collect donations.”
After getting approval, Kristen
spent the day sitting in the
entranceway of the store with a
bucket and sign that said, “Change
for Tsunami Survivors.”
Thanks to the many generous
people, the young girl raised
$578.70. Kristen’s eyes widen when
asked if the total came as a surprise.
“Yes. People were so nice. One girl
gave us $25.”
The money was to be delivered to
appropriate authorities early this
week by Kristen’s father, Gary. They
want to thank eveiyone for the
support. “Hopefully, the money can
make a difference in the lives of the
tsunami survivors,” said Gary.
Blyth Public School’s student
council has extended a challenge to
their peers as well to help those
suffering from the after effects of the
tragedy.
Moved by the fact that while
Canadians were enjoying the
excesses of the Christmas holidays,
millions in Asia were suffering, they
felt they had to do something. Most
disturbing was the fact that experts
kept saying the children in the hard-
hit areas were most vulnerable, and
that the death toll has risen to close
to 150,000 with entire communities
being wiped-out.
“All this while we opened gifts,
overate and slept in,” said Jessica
Sparling, council president.
In response the school’s student
council is challenging each Blyth
student to raise a minimum of $5 in
support of Operation: Kids Who
Care. “If every student participates
we will raise over $1,000,” said
Sparling.
Students are being asked to place a
donation in the envelope provided.
Student council will visit each
classroom daily and all envelopes
must be returned by Jan. 10.
All the money will be donated to
the Canadian Red Cross, one of the
leading relief agencies in the world,
to be used for water, food, shelter
and medical supplies.
Producer
expresses
cautious
optimism
By Jim Brown
Citizen staff
The decision to open the United
States border to Canadian cattle is ‘a
step in the right direction’ for beef
producers in Canada.
Brussels-area producer Ross
Procter said the recent
announcement by the Americans to
open the border to Canadian beef,
effective March 7, 2005. is the most
positive information Canadian beef
producers have received to date.
“However, it’s not time to break
open the champagne bottles,” he
cautioned. “We'll have to wait for
March 7. There have been false
starts before.”
According to Procter, the
Americans who assisted in President
George W. Bush administration's
decision to open the border are the
‘top dogs’ in the agriculture
department.
“This is quite a step,” he said.
Brussels Livestock spokesperson
Allen Colwell said it’s hard to tell at
the present time what effect the
decision to open the border to
Canadian beef will have.
He indicated they would have a
better idea how their industry is
affected after March 7.
“In theory, it should help our
industry,” he said. “If they take fat
cattle, it will keep the cattle
moving.”
He noted at present, there is only
one packer in the province.
Colwell said that at the present
time, the high Canadian dollar is
detrimental to the industry.
“Overall, it should be better,” he
said.
According to a release from the
Canadian Cattlemen’s Association,
the confirmation of another case of
BSE in Canada was not an
unexpected event.
The release stated risk assessments
in Canada and the U.S. had
concluded it was not unlikely a few
additional cases would be found on
either side of the border. Animal
Health experts believe the level of
BSE in North America is very low
and declining as a result of
appropriate mitigation measures,
including the ruminant to ruminant
feed ban introduced in 1997.
The release noted that all the
necessary precautions are in place to
ensure food safety.
The United States Department of
Agriculture stated last week that it
the case was confirmed, it would not
alter the USDA’s plan to re-open the
border to live Canadian feeder and
slaughter cattle under 30 months and
an expanded list of beef products as
of March 7.
Procter indicated it was his
understanding Canada knew about
the second BSE case in Alberta and
passed the information on to the
Continued on page 14