HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-02-18, Page 4Page A4 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, Femuarv+e, 2009
Youth rescued Thursday after rafting mishap
Dotttlnlqus Milburn
signal -star staff
"I'd like to go white water rafting in
Ottawa," said 14 -year-old Connor
Nyman. "It didn't scare me at all."
Those may seem like big plans for a
young boy, but Connor recently got a
little taste of adventure before being
plucked from swollen water levels in
Sharpe's Creek last Thursday.
Connor was rescued by a 'human chain'
of emergency response workers just south
of Goderich on Highway 8 on Feb. 12
after he became stuck under a culvert in
an inflatable dinghy, rushed by deep, fast
water.
It all started out harmless enough—
Connor saw an opportunity to have a lit-
tle fun on day off from school when
faced with a river running through his
front yard, where the day before, there
was just a creek. Swollen water levels
from the thaw had turned the portion of
Sharpe's Creek that winds and trickles
through the property into' a rushing
ravine.
"It looked like fun to go out and try
rafting in it," Connor said Monday. "But
I started to get stuck."
While their dad was at work, Connor's
Photo by Dominique Milburn
Connor Nyman casually points to the scene of a rescue effort on Feb. 12 after
he becatte stuck under the culvert above while rafting along a swollen portion
of Sharpe's Creek. Connor was unharmmed during the incident.
13 -year-old sister, Catherine, could
only watch helplessly as her brother
was rushed under a culvert, becoming
lodged in the dark space as freezing
water brushed past him.
"She did the right thing right away,"
said OPP Const. Joanna Van Mierlo. "She
called 911."
Connor was stuck in a spot so dark,
when Huron OPP arrived they couldn't
see him but they could hear him.
They tied a 100 -foot rope to a back-
board belonging to Huron paramedics
and formed a human chain to lower it
down into the dark.
"We had officers laying down on the
culvert and laying over the edge to feed
the board," said Van Mierlo.
"While they're laying on their stom-
achs, they're holding each other's feet so
they don't slide off and the (Goderich)
fire department came and they were
holding the guy who was holding the
guy's feet."
Connor was able to grab hold of the
board offered by a team of rescuers, but
reaching for it meant a chilling dip into
the frigid water;
"I fell off my raft into the water, but I
had the board, so they could pull me out,"
Connor explained. "[Rescuers] said, 'just
kick your feet, we're pulling you in, keep
hanging on, we've got you,'." Van Mierlo
added.
The rescue took police and firefighters
about 15 minutes. Connor said that in all,
he spent a solid hour rafting the wild
Sharpe's Creek. Connor was treated at
Clinton hospital as a precaution.
-With files from Kelly Pedro, Sun Media
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Photos by Gerard Creces
MP Ben Lobb and MPP Carol Mitchell spread some good news .to the county on
Saturday when they presented the County of Huron, The Town of Goderich, and
the municipality of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh with some big cheques.
North Harbour funding
next on Goderich wish list
From -NORTH, Page 1
"There's such a deficit with infrastruc-
ture all across Canada," he said. "All
municipalities appreciate this."
Beginning the day in Port Elgin, Lobb
and Mitchell made announcements in
Kincardine, Ripley, Tiverton and more,
each time dropping off a generous por-
tion of government dollars.
'Ashfield Colborne Wawanosh re-
ceived $306,000 for much-needed
bridge repair work, and Coun. Neil
Rintoul said bridge funds are always
welcome, and always needed in the
municipality.
"We're very grateful for the funds,"
Rintoul said.
Meanwhile, Goderich has another bid
on the go for funding, this time for $30
million to redevelop North Harbour.
That funding would come from the
second part of the Build Canada Fund —
the large infrastructure component.
McCabe said with two potential indus-
tries looking at Goderich Harbour along
with frequent inquiries as to their shipping
capabilities, now is the t' me to get the funds
and get to work. The funding announce-
ments are part of 289 such projects prov-
ince -wide, totaling more than $1 billion.
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