HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-01-14, Page 8Page A8 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Emergency response met with many helping hands
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36854 DUNGANNON RD.,
DUNGANNON
529-3434
— -- Gerard Creoes -
signal -star staff
Assess, organize and then react. That's the
lesson the Emergency Operations Control
Group took from a 16 -hour blackout that left
Goderich withoutpower for most of Dec. 28.
Making a clear phone tree, as well as hav-
ing lists of keyholders both for the generator
and the hall would make for a more organized
response next time, the group decided.
Many of the keyholders for the Parsons
Court generator are snowbirds the group said.
Finding someone who was able to get the
power up and running was difficult, but not
impossible, as the town's emergency shelter
was up and running within the first two hours
of blackout.
However, though the shelter was open, the
town did not declare a state of emergency.
"There was no cri-
sis," said Mayor, Deb.
Shewfelt. "I want to
make that clear."
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Town Hall and local
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were flooded with calls Sunday, though there
were very few answers to be given. The power
outage had people in the dark about informa-
tion as well.
Due to flooding, the backup transmitter
at Goderich's only radio station, 104.9 The
Beach FM was down, and while this de-
layed the spread of information, CKNX out
of Wingham broadcast news about the power
outage - including the warming shelter set up
at Knights of Columbus Hall.
While the transmitter flooding was an iso-
lated incident, the EOCG said the melt, com-
bined with the power failure, may not be as
uncommon as people think.
"This is the third one we've had in less than
ten years," said Shewfelt.
Town staff, volunteers and local businesses
all pitched in to make sure people had access
to heat and a hot meal. Mayor Shewfelt re-
marked he was pleased with the young people
who stopped at the shelter tt dick up hot coffee
to bring to seniors who couldn't make the trip.
Meanwhile, Goderich Hydro workers had
to wait for the okay from Hydro One - which
came around 4 p.m. - before they were able to
lend a hand getting the power back up.
"Our crew was here within minutes," said
clerk -administrator Larry McCabe. "But our
crews can't just go out to find and fix the prob-
lem."
Emergency personnel like fire and police
were kept busy during the initial hours of the
blackout, as alarms rang out all across town.
Police responded to a total of eight false
alarms Sunday, including a medical emergen-
cy alarm at the courthouse.
The fire department had three false alarms.
Only one motor vehicle accident took place
with the traffic lights down, despite the placing
of temporary stop signs at major intersections.
In instances where the power fails and traf-
fic lights are out, those intersections are to be
treated as four-way stops.
The EOCG advises the public to keep a bat-
tery operated radio with local stations clearly
marked to stay informed in the event of an-
other prolonged power failure.
It was also recommended houses store
enough emergency provisions to last three
days.
Union urges members to reject contract
Denny Arteeti
signal -star staff
"It's an incident of the abuse of a
few ruining it, they want to'paint us
all with the same brush," explained
Steve Frayne, a probation parole
officer (PPO) in Goderich.
A coming vote for a provincial
contract for correctional officers
lumps everyone in the system to-
gether, he said, and that just won't
work.
The Ontario Public Service Em-
ployees Union (OPSEU), which
represents corrections officers and
PPOs is urging members to vote
against the contract, which they are
labelling as punitive and not a fair
deal.
The contract calls for sick time
to be `applied' for through a private
insurance carrier, which means
many employees may have their
sick time and pay rejected.
"We don't support the whole idea
of 'putting our sick time plan into
private industry," Mark Ryan, an-
other PPO explained. "[As proba-
• tion parole officers] our sick time is
quite admirable, but we're part of
the greater union. We're under the
Correction's Bargaining Unit."
With the government looking to
crack down on sick days, negotia-
tions are at a stand -still.
Frayne, Ryan and other PPOs
staged an information picket in
front of their East Street offices
Monday, providing information and
statistics regarding correctional of-
ficers, including breakdowns of age,
gender, and several startling facts
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about their short life expectancies,
suicide rates, marital status and
their likelihood to develop a chemi-
cal dependency.
Both explained how there is al-
ready a process in place that re-
quires managers to report properly
on sick time.
"They need to deal with the abus-
ers, and not penalize everyone,"
Frayne said.
Both . PPOs and correctional of-
ficers have been without a contract
since Dec. 31.
There are approximately 1,000
PPOs nation-wide, and they deal
with every kind of offender. Any-
one who has under a two-year jail
term, or has been a federal inmate
and is now a provincial inmate is
dealt with by PPOs, whether their
crimes are violent, sexual, domes-
tic, or drug related.
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Happy 13th Birthday!
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