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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2000-05-31, Page 2NOTICE For the concenuence of our clients SEAFORTH VETERINARY CLINIC will he open WEDNESDAY EVENINGS by appointment only Please call for appointments 519-527-1760 2—THE HURON EXPOSITOR, May 31, 2000 News Water tested weekly for E. Coli System checked daily to ensure chlorination working well From Pogo 1 Environment are notified. Measures are taken to add chlorination to the water or flush the system to remove the bacteria and to warn residents if there is a possible danger. Philips also said the wells and chlorination system are checked daily to be sure everything is operating correctly. With the warning systems that are supposed to be in place, finger -pointing in the Walkerton case has ranged from accusations against the Walkerton public utilities manager to the Ministry of the Environment. Phillips assures residents Seaforth water is safe. And community wells in Tuckersmith Township, serving Egmondville and Brucefield residents, have also been tested and show no signs of contamination since the May 12 flooding. Philips is recommending Seaforth's water system be checked twice a week until concern of contamination dies down. • There are two well -heads in town: one at Chalk Street behind Victoria Park and the other on Welsh Street. Phillips said both are on higher ground and doesn't think flood water from May 12 or May 13 reached that high. Phillips, watching the Walkerton system unfold daily, is hoping nothing like it ever happens again. As reports of the E. Coli outbreak have made international news and the health unit handles hundreds of calls from concerned county residents. Seaforth administrator Jack McLachlan said town hall has received only "a few calls" with concerns about the water. "I haven't been too worried," said Seaforth resident Wendy Primeau. She has a two-year-old daughter, Danielle, and five-year-old son, Tyler. Danielle became sick with flu symptoms last week, prompting a babysitter to start boiling her water, one of the recommendations that went out to Walkerton residents when the contamination became known. "I think they're on top of it," said Seaforth resident Ed Chappel of the PUC. "At least, I hope they are." He's also not worried about the water quality but believes, with intense livestock operations, it would be possible to see a water system get contaminated again. While how Walkerton's water system became contaminated is not clear, PROTECT (Presenting Recommendations on Township Environmental Concerns Together) is watching closely. The local organization of citizens•is fighting for stricter controls on intensive livestock operations and their production and use of. manure. "We sure are concerned," said Lawrence Hogan, a spokesperson for PROTECT. Their efforts have been focussed on finding ways to stop manure from reaching the Lake Huron water supply. Whether or not a direct link to manure and Walkerton's water contamination is found, Hogan hopes this situation will see PROTECT's concerns about the rapid expansion of hog farms and other intense livestock Facts operations and their affect on the local water supply, taken more seriously. Seeger said with an incubation period of between one and 10 days it will be mid-June before the effects of the contaminated water in Walkerton are fully known. He said it will take that long for secondary infections, spread most commonly from people not washing their hands after using the bathroom, to run their course. He also said Walkerton will discover how popular it is among visitors when residents see how far across at least the province, and maybe further, the bacteria is spread. Seeger said after all the flooding, it is a good idea to have private wells tested. He also said wells should be tested twice a year regardless to be sure no bacteria has contaminated the water. Separate from the Walkerton situation but likely related to the May 12 flooding rains, said Seeger, is the closure of East Wawanosh Township School on Monday. The Walkerton contamination prompted the Huron County Health Unit to inspect all water systems in rural schools using wells and E. Coli was foupd in East Wawanosh Township School's well water. While not all forms of E. Coli produce harmful effects, Seeger said it is standard to test for it because if E. Coli is present, it is likely other harmful bacteria, like salmonella, is present too. Monday's follow-up test of the water proved good but Seeger said they were waiting for the results of testing Tuesday, after deadline, before the health unit and local school board would assess }vhen the students could return to school. How to prevent E.' Coli • Wash hands after using the toilet and before preparing foods. • Clean and sanitize counter tops and utensils after contact with raw meats and poultry, especially before using these areas for preparation of ready -to -eat foods.' , • If possible, separate work areas for preparing raw and cooked foods. • Cook meats thoroughly to an internal temperature of 70 degrees celsius. • Drink only pasteurized milk. Never let youngsters sample raw milk from the animal. • Drink water from a safe (potable) supply. • Avoid preparing or handling food if ill with diarrhea. • Keep cold foods at 5 degrees celsius or less. • Keep hot foods at 60 degrees celsius or greater. Provided by The Huron County Health Unit How to take a water sample Important: Accurate results depend on following these directions carefully. How to Sample your Drinking Water: • Remove any aerators, treatment devices or hoses from drinking water faucet. If possible, do not sample from an outside tap or hand pump. • Disinfect around the inside of the faucet spout with a flame from a match or lighter. (Take precautions if faucet spout is madt from plastic). • Do not touch the inside of the faucet spout. • Turn on tap and allow water to run for two minutes. • With the water still running, remove the cap from the bottle being careful not to touch the inside of the cap or the mouth of the bottle. Fill to the indicator line on the outside of the bottle. Do not rinse or throw away powder/tablet that is present in the bottle. Replace cap immediately and refrigerate ur:'il delivered to the appropriate drop off location. • Fill the chemical sample bottle (marked with a coloured dot) from an unsoftened faucet. Note: bottles and forms for Fluoride and Nitrate samples can be obtained from, the Clinton office only. • If using the Public Health Lab's automated telephone system. copy the bar code number on the bottle onto the blue sheet and follow instructions supplied. • Complete the appropriate forms being sure to include your name, location of the supply, street number, lot. concession, township, county, date collected and your .mailing address. When to Take Samples: • Take the sample on the same day that you plan to bring it to the drop off location. Samples may be returned to Clinton: from Monday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Health Unit. If your water supply has not been used for more than one month, flush the system for one hour by connecting a 1•.trdcn hose to an outside tap and running water onto thc surface of•the ground. Students proud of Kaufman's efforts to help cancer patients From Pogo 1 Cops for Cancer. Huron County OPP officers were taking part in the program, shaving their heads in exchange for donations toward the Canadian Cancer Society. A head shaving event was held in Goderich May 20 and Bernie surprised officers there by showing up with more hair than any of them and $503 in pledges to take it off. It was at the event that Bernie met a cancer patient for the first time and had a chance to meet someone his efforts could help. He said meeting a patient helped him understand what he did was a big deal for someone his age. "I think it's a great act of kindness and generosity on his part," said his Huron Centennial School teacher, Sonya f' 1cClinchey. "It was a big change for him. It was a sacrifice," she said, adding students at the school have shared in his excitement and are proud of him. "They're not teasing me anymore," said Kaufman, now famous in his school fotrhis bald head and willingness to lose his locks for a good cause. Bernie is now trying to find the right place to send his hair to have a wig made. Facts E. Coli found in feces O E. Coli Bacteria are commonly found in human and animal feces. They are a good indicator that sewage contamination has occurred. Like many other bacteria, they are transferred via the fecal -oral route and may cause illness in humans. O What are E. Coli 0157.H7 Bacteria? E. Coli 0157.H7 Bacteria are the most virulent strain of E. Coli Bacteria known. E. Coli 0157.H7 is sometimes present in contaminated water. O It is more commonly found on raw meats (eg. poultry. pork, ground meat) that may have been contaminated in the slaughtering process. Unpasteurized (raw) milk may be implicated in a small percentage of cases. O The bacteria grows in the intestine and produces a toxin which causes severe abdominal pain, watery diarrhea, with little or no fever. O The young and very old are more susceptible to contracting hemorrhagic colitis as a result of E. Coli p157.H7 and may also experience a reduction in red blood cells, reduction in platelets (clotting agents) and acute kidney failure. These complications may cause death. / Provided by The Huron County Health Unit EffloinSiar Call 1-87 7-99Daffodil or www cancer.ca TK) COMPUTERS Hou & Ofitt CaaplttI Prodias & Stnit DMiSLEuta 1biDonitSts� ld; 13i.19t6 !?i.1J?1 1 , SAIF SALE SASE :Best Quality Printers' my at TKO anon BJC Printer: ONLY $99 : HP Deskiet Printer ONLY $99 1 ♦ ' USB Scanner :works with WIN98, IMAC PC ONLY $99 SAtE SAIF SALE Great Service: reat Price: est Product: Have a news tip? Call The Huron Expositor UNLIMITED INTERNET NOW $20.00 FIRST MONTH IS FREE FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL LIS TODAY..- • 482-1212 E -mall: Into•Do so .on.c• • hit ://www.o0 sae .on.ea 383 RICHMOND ST SUITE 400 LONDON N6A 3C4 Beat the HEAT! Avoid breakdowns Only with an Air Conditioning Checkover $59.95 After the checkover, our technicians will tell you what your equipment needs to keep you cool in the dog days of summer. Example - 86 Series Tractors upgrade to HFC -134A 1199.41.Labour Give/Clarence a call to book your checkover today! WEULGLILif FARM EQUIPMENT LIMITED 11/4 Miles North of Seaforth 527-0120 2000 Case Corporation Visit us on the Internet at http.//vivnv.casecorp.com CASE t!/ Straight Talk From TFIE BUSINESS DocToPsc Headlines Rule What would it take to make you buy the product you are selling? What sales arguments (benefits) could an ad use to con- vince you to reach into your pocket and part with your hard-earned money? • That benefit is your ad headline. You cannot expect people to stop and read your copy if you have not given them a reason for doing so. You have a fraction of a second to make the logical and emotional connection, you must make it count. A headline pointed at the cus- tomer's self interest is always the most effective of the three headline types (self-interest, curiosity, and news). But sometimes you can combine two or more of the types. For example you can combine curiosity and self-interest to create an even more effective headline. (HOW TO MAKE A MISTAKE THAT MAKES YOU MONEY). The curiosity comes from wondering what kind of mistake and the self-inter- est comes from making you money. You can also combine the news headline with self-interest. (ANNOUNCING A NEW HOME MONEYMAKING PLAN) The word announcing defines the news element and 'home money making' the self interest. If you were to write the world's greatest headline it would be primarily self- interest,oriented (ie. the customer's self-interest), with a lesser appeal to both news and curiosity. Here is a little exercise that will help you realize why most ads don't work. The three categdrics of effec- tive headlines are: self- interest, curiosity and news appeal. When you arc going through the paper tonight try to group head- lines by category. You will be amazed at how many don't fit into any of thc three categories. Look at the headlines in your old advertising. Do they offer a specific user oriented benefit? Do your head- lines offer specific news or information or do they arouse curiosity? What reason docs the headline in your last ad give the reader to move into thc ad copy? (70% off isn't a reason! They've heard that hull before and they know it's not believable) Decide whether the headline is effective before you read the ad copy. Too many ads rely on the copy to justify the brilliance of the head- line. Too many ad creators write the ad and then cre- ate thc headline. The scan- ning reader isn't going to read the ad first to see if the headline will stop them. The headline must stand or fall on its own, •