The Huron Expositor, 1999-01-27, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 -- Seaforth. Ontario
Empty buil
No one
hurt as
debris falls
on sidewalk
`BY SCOTT HILGENDORFF
Expositor Editor •
Weather and time of day
may: have prevented. injuries
'after. the: former EMA
Grocery Store building on
. Main Street collapsed.
partially into the sidewalk
and `street Friday morning.
."The whole front was right
across the sidewalk.- said
Gary Betties who. about 30
seconds earlier. had -passed.
• h_y the front of the store.
• He' said it was lucky no
one was hurt in the incident.
Cold rainy .weather and the
tion of day kept the number
"of people on the street to a
minimum.
Betties said if it had been a
half-hour later, when the mail
:is sorted at the- Post Oce,"
there would have been more
people walking in front of
the store. - '
$
.He had Just walked into the
CIBC and was talking with
another customer when he
heard a rumble, felt a little
.shake and Iooked.out•the
bank window in. time to see
the rout' .of the neighboring
store cave in..
Betties went back into the
street to see what 'happened.
when he first realized the
. front of the building was
amiss the sidewalk and into
the street. •
He checked along :the
debris to be sure noonewas.
trapped underneath. . •
Miu:heNe_Deighton was
working.in Stedman's at the
time when a noise uutstile`
caught her attention and she •
looked in .time to see the -
building coming down.
'It came down fairly fast."
-she said. "I was shocked."
OPP Staff Sergeant George,.
Lonsbary said weight 1rf the
snow and rain caused the'
.eiling_to collapse on -the
building. -
Police closed off a portion
of Main Street for must of
the morning to'alfow the
debris to be cleared from the
•
January 27, • 1999 - $LOO includes GST
collages downtown
r tad and sidewalk and the
•rest of the buildingaci be torn.
down.
Next dour, at Flower
Magic. Jean Dejong• said
they heard the rumble but it
sounded the Baine -as when
snow falls orf the greenhouse
root.
1 staff member saw some
fencing move in front tit the
store and: looked outside.
realizing -the building next
door had collapsed.
While she's going to watt
until spring to, he, sure there
Isn't anymore structural
damage. Deicing said There
wasn't too .niuch damage
inside the store.
:1 wrought , iron fence
between, the' two buildings
had pushed against the
Flower Magic -building,
cracking drywall and.ausing •
a'bulge in one spot. .She also.
said the front door is a little
harder to close now.
tut because the rest of the
huilding'was putting pressure
ort. the DeJong's building,:
Public Works Superintendent
John' Forrestaiecided to take
the wllole_building down.
Because of • safety
concerns, town staff called
Forrest to look at the scene.
About one-third - of the'
building was down and he
decided it would be best to
have it all fern down before
invmore collapsed on its
Hospital vice presidents named
Seaforth
will share
a new, on-site
administrator
vet' to be named.
r
BY scori' HELGENDORPF
Expositor Editor
Four of five vice presidents
have been appointed to share
in the task of leading the
recently formed Huron Perth
Hospitals Partnership.
And of those four, all have
come from positions within
Hilton and Perth County.
despite advertising nationally
for candidates to fill the,
positions.
"The process we took was
a very fair and open
process," said CEO Bonnie
Adamson. Adamson herself
was hired to lead the
partnership late last year.
The vice presidents mark
the beginning of a
streamlining within the
hospitals, replacing a system
where each of the eight
hospitals in the partnership
•
had its own
administrator.
"We , are
working' to
find a very
of•providing
health care,"
s. a i d
Adamson.
Three of the
vice presidents
will be
responsible
for Multi -site
administration
'while two
others handle
the 5100
mi•t1io.n
budget • and
h u m a n
resources.
'Andrew
Williams. who
has been sharing the tasks of,
administrating Seaforth and
Stratford's hospitals since
August, has been appointed
the multi -site administrator
for Stratford General
Hospital and St. Marys
Memorial Hospital.
Seaforth Community
Hospital has been linked with
Listowel Memorial Hospital
Andrew
wiIliams
Ba►N"
Cameron
and Wingham
•and District
Hospital and
the multi -site
administrator •
for those
iwspiUils
not been
appointed'
vet.
Adamson
said the
selection
committee,
w h' i c h
includes rep-
resentatives
from hospital
staff, hospital
board
members, the
Community
Care Access
Centre and the
Huron Perth
District Health Council, will
announce the fifth vice
president "shortly."
The committee met after
Friday's announcements to
continue with the selection
process.
Williams, said being asked
to share the leadership of
Seaforth's hospital and
Stratford's was what he
Janice
Cosgrove
John
Sutherland
described as one of his
biggest accomplishments and
believes responding that way",
. in the interview process
helped, secure the new
position.
-fie-said--worki ng-tit--4botih-
huspitals since Seaforth's
administrator, Bill Thibert
left last sum -her -has given
him an advantage for the new
•position • of helping
administer more than one
hospital.
"You have to change how
you work," he said, adding
staff also have to adapt by
getting used. to working
without an administrator on
site all the time:
"1t was: a great
opportunity," he said of the
arrangement between
Stratford and Seaforth.
"I'M excited about being
part of the new leadership
team," said Williams.
" He joins Janice Cosgrove,
former administrator of
Clinton Public Hospital. She
is now a multi -site
administrator for Clinton
Public Hospital. South Nitron
Hospital and Alexandra
Marine and General Hospital.
(.ONTINUBa on Page 2
Owner
expected
in town
this week
•
rown Hall is 4i11 waiting_"
'o meet with- the owner of
the former EMA Grocery
Storebuilding that collapsed
Friday morning to begin
ortifl out the situation.
lie owner. Tomo Kalaba
•rom the Toronto area,: was
reached by Town Hall staff "•
In -Friday and indicated' he
would 'meet 'with Clerk
Administrator Jack -
McLachlan on Monday..
Staff did notsee him but.
•he ,was reached by The `•
Expositor, Tuesday: ..by
and'indicated he was heli up
:with business: and:would be.
here Thursday or Friday to
lookat the situation.
Public . • • Works
'r Superintendent John Forrest
• arranged for the rest of•the
building to: be torn down for
public'\afety.
Building. now it cost about S500 and will
he':idded to Kalaba's tax hill:
a; pile .• r :>, pile of debris refrains
1 fenced. in on the property'
t)1 I'll>b�l(' • and Kalaba said it will he
The former EMA Grocery cleared away as soon as the
Store building, vacant for 'weather. clears .h_y either
about 1. seven years. himself or the town..
collapsed • under • the He has no_,Lurrent plans
.weight of snow and rain for .the property ,Ind >aid ;t
Friday morning. No one- • will likely' he vacant :or
was hurt as, debris fell awhile or:become a parking
onto the sidewalk and. lot. • '
Main Street. ,Thertown "lt' , • stn unpie.asant
decided to tear the rest of situation he
• the, building down' for Prior to reaching .Kalaba.
public safety. The owner town staff had a';truggle•
is expected to meet with reaching' anyone nnecied
town staff tater this week with..o►wnership of the
to discuss. the situation. building: .
DALEIHILGEWOORFF. •" Deputy Clerk
PHOTOS- ,.\dmintstrator__Cathy Garnet(awn. r • said there had been .otne
;'it's -up to me to protect • interestin the•building when
the grocery store first closed
.people from getting injured,but said there has. -only. been.
• Ire said: tin¢ing himself` in intermittent interest in the
. charge:ot the scene. following }ears.
He was cuttcerned any The building • hass :been
:further-coitapse would do /empty ler.about `even vicars
damage to other huildings_, 01 now and :i s . t .ore •spot ser
injure someone. the downtown -business
cothinunity..
While the .Business
improvement area has taken
- .:. (t NTINUED un Page :..
• Aside from minor barrage
at Flower Magic, Forrest '.aid
there was little else affected:.
`There were` no cars
CONTINUED onPage-3.-
Eisler in hall of fame
Seaforth's Lloyd Eisler Bev Eisler of Seaforth,
and his figure skating Lloyd's mother, attempted to
partner, Isabelle Brasseur of contact her son Tuesday for
St -lean -sur -Richelieu, more information about the
Quebec, will be inducted in announcement.
the Canadian Figure Skating Eisler and Brasseur, 1993
Hall of Fame. World Champions and two-
AAcordiing to The Toronto time Olympic bronze medal
Sun, Gisler and Brasseur will winners, are currently on
join Kurt Browning, Tom tour in the United States.
Collins and Gordon Garden Eisler's agent could not he,
as new inductees to the hall reached by press time.
of fame.
Optimist Club brings
country copies to town
Country greats, Garth Brooks, Shania Twain and Reba
McIntire will be in Seaforth this weekend --or at least
reasonable facsimiles thereof.
They're part of the Hits Tribute Tour being broxtght to the
Seaforth and District Community Centres on Saturday by
the Seaforth Optimist Club.
"They're doing tributes to these stars." said Danica
McNichol. secretary treasurer of the club.
"They sound exactly lie them. They dress like them.
They're physically built like diem." sbe said.
There will alto be performances by Alan Jackson, George
Strait and Roy Orbison.
"A couple come off stage and mingle with the group,"
said McNichol.
"Rhe Outrageous Rusty Ryan" is host of the event who
lightens the evening with comedy and gets the audience
MUMMA on Page 5