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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-03-13, Page 4News and Views Eight area hospitals will lose over $2 million The eight hospitals in this district will lose about $2.28- -million in funding in 1996- 1997 and additional amounts, are expected to be ut in thc next two years, according to a press release from Huron Perth District Health Council executive director Fraser Bell. "Conducting a hospital restructuring study was clear- ly established as a priority" for the district health council this year and next "at a recent priority -setting session, Bell says. A 19 -Member steering committee has been set up to oversee this hospital and related health services study and "a start-up meeting is anticipated shortly," the press release notes.. "The planning process will he extremely consul- tive," it adds. - GIRLS BAND DONATES FOOD - The Seaforth • recently made a donation of food to the Seaforth before going to the Can -Am Festival in Myrtle Beat, PHOTO BY DAVID SCOTT Marching Band eir last practice 1 are brought to a recent fund-raising dance by the band. From left: Martha .,auNt..,ui Goderich; Carrie Lacroix, of Seaforth; Jenna Miskie of Clinton and booster club president Shirley Brugger. Tuckersmith to finish Lloyd Eisler Street CONTINUED from page 1 purchase, bridge construction_ andsome paving on William and North streets were put on hold for this year. . There were .a few things that had to he completed this year. One was the reconstruc- tion on Lloyd Eisler St. A final coat of pavement will also he applied to a section of William St. Council tried to balance the road 'budget evenly hettvicett•.rban and rural repairs. ? - Council passed a motion tentatively approving the 1996 Roads Budget. . Concerns. Over Meetings • Members of Tuckersmith. Council had concerns about recent meetings of the. Seaforth Fire Area Board and Seaforth and District Cornmunity Centres Board which involve member municipalities and decisions on annual hudgets. "I have a feeling that all the information doesn't get hack to (individual) councils." said Deputy -Reeve Larry McGrath. He was also con- cerned that the meetings are held after municipalities have decided their own budgets for the year. "Sometimes it's three or four meetings heforc things are done. It's a fairly expen- sive meeting to run," hc said referring to the lire hoard. Tuckersmith Clerk Jac.k McLachlan suggested .at the next meeting McGrath rec- ommend the fire budget he approved in two parts= capi- tal and operational. •As to coinrncnts of repre- sentatives not bringing hack inlormation to their councils, McLachlan, said, "We can't fix other councils." Court. Doug Vock said arca arena hoard members had 'hashed it out for two meet- ings" reaching their 1996 budget. "The budget was torn apart four times. it's a waste •of. ratepayer's money to have that meeting." • Information Evening Tuckersmith Council has hecn invited to set up a dis play at the ,. Vanastra Recreation Centre on April 25 from 7-9 p.m. as part of the Vanastra Community School Advisory Council's information evening on .busi- nesses and organizations in the Vanastra•corn.munity. "The theme of the evening is how we can work together for the benefit of our children and youth," stated a letter from the advisory council. it will bean open house style of evening in which the public may view displays, have a coffee and visit for awhile. • 1995 Grants Tuckersmith Council released its list cif grants to other communities and orga- nizations -Tor 1995 at its March 5 meeting. . Grants included $8,956.81 to the Seaforth and District Community Centres. $925 to Seaforth Community Hospital, $500 to Town and Country Homemakers, $3.000 to the Village of Hensall, S225 -to Seaforth -Agricultural Society, $200 to the Seaforth Lions Club, $ 100 to the, Huron Plowmen's Association and $50 to the Van- Egmond Foundation. among others. - Optimist Club Delegation Members of the Optimist Club of Vanastra and District attended Tuckersmith Council's Feh. 20 meeting to discuss the rental of the Vanastra Recreation Centre for their teen dances for the ages of 10 to 15 on the first weekend of each month. They advised council that they had three dances and made approximately $15 but had provided recreation. On an average 65 kids attended each event. They requested an extension of their present • rental agreement for a further three months. Council passed a motion to extend the agreement which includes a rental fee of $50 per event. The club will again be responsible for any dam- ages and also clean-up of the hall after the event. Liability Resolution Tuckersmith Township endorsed a resolution of the City of Thunder Bay at its . Feb. 20 meeting requesting the provincial government give statutory protection to municipalities against nui- sance and liability claims arising from municipal main- tenance of roads, sewers, water pipes and municipal property. Owner of farm fell into tank twice before CONTINUED from page 1 home and. taken a shower. Between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m., John's hrothcr, Jeff, carne to the door tote!! her there had been an accident. "I couldn't •hclicvc,it." she said. begin- ning to cry. "He'd worked on farms all his life. (John was • raised on his parents' dairy farrn.).Hc'd hauled manure a dozen times." She testified that during planting and harvesting. the . farm workers often worked from before -dawn until well after dark. • - "They'd get three or four, hours of sleep per right." she said. • OWNER TESTIFIES - O'Bricn' tcstificd he •has. owned the fart» since 1972. He has 1.400 to 1.60( hogs on the farm at any one time. O'Brien. had retired. and John Williamson, who had worked for O'Brien for five years, had. together with John Mueller, leased O'Brien's sow operation less than a month before the accident. He said the tank was installed about 10 years ago. by a Thedford company. It initially had two steel lids for the access- holes, but several years ago. he ordered cement lids made. • On Oct. 20. he helped install the pump in the south access hold. •The steel lid on the north access hole would support a person's weight -if it was placed properly. lte said. Ile said there was no elec- trical lighting in the spot. There had been, until.the barn hurtied a few years ago. an:1 the light had not been replaced when thc it was re- built. O'Brien, now working in real estate; told the inquest he'd slipped .and fallen into -the tank once or twice him- self,- and there was "no way out once you were in." In his case, both. times, there was someone around to help him out. . • He- said he has suffered from exposure to silo gas for several years. - "I know about gas," he said. "And the gas was, really high that night. It was pure pink in there." he said. refcr- ping to the colour of the, taint - cd air in the holding tank. BRUISE UNDER CHIN Crown Attorney Bob Morris asked about a bruise found under Williamson's chin. O'Brien started to speak, and then for a few minutes was unable to go on. ' I think the neighbours wcrc fishing for him." he finally said. haltingly. "We kept a pipe out there to check the depth (of the manure) when we were working at night. It may have created those marks. They were fish- ing in,both (access) holes." In answer to a question put by Mrs Williamson. O'Brien said he did not have written safety procedures set out for each employee. nor verbal safety" training sessions. "Why weren't the cement lids used''" asked John's brother. Jeff. "John. sometimes didn't lis- ten." said O'Brien. "Were they- used heforc that''" Jell asked. "Yes. My son will vouch for that." O'Brien said. • Jeff testified he used the 13.5 -foot -long rod to poke around through the access hole when he got to the hold- ing tank. • "There- was no sign whether he was thcrc or not." he said, adding that the north access hole was covered by a steel 'checker -plaited' cover that was old and rusty. The lid was 48"x46", only slightly larger than the access hole. OVERTIRED Ron Riddell, a Granton arca resident, has,owned a company since 1978 which removes liquid waste. He said most of the steel lids he's seen are "getting in had shape." and most of the wooden lids have .rusting nails. . "I don't generally see any with no. lids." he added. "Today. one of the biggest issues (in farming). is that people are overtired. An'J •when that happens. safety goes out the window." said Riddell: "But you'll never make it 100 per cent fool- proof, no matter what you do. There's no way to police it to make everything 'just so' to prevent accidents." He or his workers go into tanks "from time to time." hc said. "We don't stay very long. You take a gulp of air before going in. and -you get out quickly. "It' you treat your •work with respect. and you under- stand .the nature of it. you won't have trouble." His company docs not provide self-contained hrcathing apparatus. Mrs. Williamson said an effective SCUBA set would cost about $4.000 to buy. "lb's a good idea, hut there's a cost factor — for the pur- chase and the maintenance'," Riddell said. "It's more of a hazard if it's not maintained properly." • "What do you think about safety railings, three to four feet high, around the access holes''" Heidi Williamson asked. "All the safety features in the world won't replace cau- tion and rest," said Riddell. Most farmers would consider safety railings "a pain in the neck." he added. RESCUE TACTICS Exeter OPP Const. Dianne McGregor. who investigated the. incident, said police arc not trained in rescue tactics for situations like this. Only • the OPP scuba divers are issued with self-contained breathing apparatus, she said. Clinton Fire Chief Dean Reid said he was called in ,because Stephen Twp.'s bylaws don't allow their fire- fighters to do containment rescue. He said he put on full safety gear — a helmet, hrcathing apparatus, safety harness and lifeline — to go into thc tank, and he did not leave thc ladder. Other fire- fighters. waited at the top of the access hole. He and another firefighter. both dressed in full safety gear, went to retrieve the body, with two firefighters, also in full safety gear, wait- ing at the top. Much of the equipment was borrowed from Stephen Twp. firefight- ers. he said. adding that the township has since changed its policy. Reid indicated he saw no reason why police should be trained in containment res- cue. "They help us hest by doing crowd control," he CONTINUED on page 11 THE HURON EXPOSITOR, March 13, 199I-3 Tucker's Meat Sho 27 Main St., Seaforth 527-00 Wednesday Seniors Day 6% off '1'111~ WI.:EI('ti - I'1L:('IAt.S I" BONE STEAKS S4'99 LB. TOP SIRLOIN STEAKS S3199 LB. MONTEREY JACK CHEESE $4.49$I99 LB. of then Nlonth' AMARETTO ALMOND LB. G .ARCH BREA )SPECIALS 3M Computer Disks $13 99 3.5 in DS HD 10/Box Telefax Fax Paper 98 ft. $2.919/roll 148 ft. $4.5.7/roll Boxes $1 .99 each $1.49 each #772 Banker Liquid Paper Correction Fluid 3x5 Scratch Pads $3.49/10 SALE ENDS MARCH 22nd PETE'S PAPER CLIP 19 Main St., Seaforth - 527-1681 NOTICE To all customers in the VILLAGE OF EGMONDVILLE & THE TOWN OF SEAFORTH Effective January 15, 1996 we took over the curbside pickup of garbage from G.W. Nobel Sanitation, Seaforth, Ontario. We are pleased -to inform you that our garbage tags are now available and may be purchased at Bob and Betty's Variety, 33 Main St. South, Seaforth, Ontario. We thank you for allowing us to continue serving you. MacDonald Sanitation Services Inc. R.R.#1, Crediton, Ontario NOM IMO Telephone (519) 234-6246 ' Fax (519) 234-6070 St. Columban 1996 SOCCER REGISTRATION DATES at the SEAFORTH ARENA (KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS TOURNAMENT) SATURDAY, MARCH 23 1.00 TO 3:00 SUNDAY, MARCH 24 1:00 TO 3:00 SUNDAY, MARCH 31 12:00 TO 2:00 at St. Columban Church basement Registration after these dates will cost additional $10.00 per player. Tykes (5-7)...$15.00 per player (NOT TRAVELLING) Junior (8-10)...$35.00 per player Intermediate (11-13)...$35.00 per player Seniors (14-16)...$40.00 per player AN ADDITIONAL $5/PLAYER FOR INSURANCE Don't Miss Out Only Limited #'s on each team!!! ***NEED EXTRA CASH? REFEREES NEEDEQ. CALL ANNE AT 345-2404 You are invited to attend... BEEF BROOD COW PRODUCER MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 19th Brunch:10:00 AM Meeting: 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM Orange Hall Main St., Seaforth R.S.V.P. to 522-0608 Information on the beef cow & calf: Reproduction, Feeding, Caring and lowering your costs. EVERYONE WELCOME Sponsored By: MILTON J. DIETZ LIMITED & RALSTON PURINA CANADA INC.