HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2001-01-10, Page 1•
January 10, 2000
Si
(includes GST)
In brief
Snow
blows
budgets
around
the area
Municipal snow
removal budgets have
already been blown,
estimates Huron East's
finance manager -
treasurer, deputy clerk,
bttt the amalgamation of
five area municipalities
into Huron East has made
it almost impossible to
figure out by how much
until all the budgets have
been harmonized.
"I think it certainly is
taking its toll," said
deputy clerk Brad
Knight. He joins the
administrative team of
Huron East after working
as Grey Township's
administrator until the
Jan. 1 amalgamation of
Grey with McKillop and
Tuckersmith Township
and Brussels and
Seaforth.
"I would think that
most municipalities will
have spent their budgets
in December," said
Knight, adding ;that Grey
Township spent more in
December than it did all
of last winter.
He said they will be
starting the 2001 budget
process this month but
that it would likely take a
couple months before
they have analyzed the
financial statements and
have a better idea what
kind of impact the near -
record snowfalls of this
winter have had on the
combined municipality.
Then, he said they'll
have to find out how to
cover the extra costs and
look at increasing the
snow removal budget for
2001.
"We may simply have
to divert money from a
project we could have
done," said Knight of a
possible way to pay for
the increased cost of
snow removal.
But he also said they
don't have a clear picture
yet on all the savings
generated by forming
Huron East and that some
of (hose savings could
offset the extra snow
removal costs.
By Scott Hilgendorff
Inside...
Students build
hockey skills..
Page 2
•;$'1•IN
Mit skating..
Page 6
Camoch n
tournament-.
Pogo It
December snow most ever
Record snows blanket
southwestern Ontario
and is taking its toll
as accidents increase
By Matt Shurrie
Goderich Signal -Star Staff
If you thought December was a rough month for weather,
you were right.
While towering snowbanks across the region stand as
gentle reminders why Canada is called the `Great White
North', statistics released by Environment Canada last week
indicate temperatures and snowfall amounts in December
made weather conditions some of the worst in history.
"This is truly an honest winter, but not something that
should surprise any Canadian older than 20," said David
Phillips, senior climatologist with Environment Canada.
According to Phillips snowfall totals in Mount Forest, the
closest recording station to Goderich, indicated 143.6 cm of
snow fell in December.
That total is not only a new record for the month but also a
new record for any other month. A snow depth of 56 cm was
also recorded on Dec. 27 and 28, the highest on record for
that site in December.
Other centres also experienced record snowfall amounts for
December including 89 cm that blanketed Windsor. The
month also produced the snowiest December in Toronto since
1944.
Not only did the area experience more snowfall in
December but the month was one of the coldest Decembers
on record as temperatures shattered previous marks.
Average temperatures in Mount Forest plunged to -9.7 C,
making December the coldest month in 67 years. When you
consider average temperatures normally hover around -5.3 C
it's easy to see why records fell.
Huron OPP Senior Constable Don Shropshall said poor
driving conditions contributed to almost twice as many
accidents in 2000 than were reported in 1999. Final numbers
revealed an increase of 67 accidents raising the monthly total
to 145 up from 78.
"The winter weather has had a drastic increase in the
number of collisions that took place," said Shropshall. "One
of the biggest contributors to that is speed.
"It's just that they're not slowing down and they're not
thinking about the effects of black ice, snow and slush."
According to Shropshall drivers also need to be concerned
about snowbanks and should take their time to avoid further
accidents.
"People are not taking enough precautions at intersections,"
said Shropshall. "They need to make sure they're only
inching out until they can see."
Shropshall said accidents across the county rose to 1,229 in
2000 up from 850 in 1999. He said speed was the main factor
but also pointed to increased traffic flow as an additional
reason for the increase.
While December delivered unpopular weather conditions,
See MILDER, Page 5
Scott Hilgendorff photo
Bob Buettenmiller clears snow off the roof of his Main Street building Friday afternoon as
temperatures warmed up to close to freezing for the first time in weeks.
Local seniors remember the storm of i94.7
By Susan Hund.rtmark
Expositor Staff
"Perhaps before it is over,
we may have some tall tales
to hand down to future
generations. One thing is
sure - we haven't had an
open winter." from the
editorial page of The Huron
Expositor, March 7, 1947.
By Susan Hundertmark
Cards slap down around
the euchre table at. the
Seaforth Community Centres
while the talk drifts back to
the winter of 1947.
"That was the worst winter
I can remember," says
Lavern Hoegy to the nodding
of heads around the table.
"The last couple of years
we've had F16rida weather
up here during the winter. It
was five (degrees) above
(freezing) up here and I was
down in Florida spending
that dear money. There's
nothing wrong with this
year's weather. This is
nothing but a real honest -to -
goodness winter," he says.
Hoegy remembers 1947 as
the winter when most of the
country roads other than the
main highways were filled in
with snow from January to
the end of March.
"Oh yes, you didn't take
the roads that year. You took
the horses through the fields
to get to town," agrees
Watson Reid.
The Huron Expositor of
1947 records the first
blizzard of the season in its
Jan. 24 edition, reporting on
80 students stranded at the
high school, remaining in
town for two nights.
Snowstorm after
snowstorm hit the area every
week thereafter until the end
of March when one last
blizzard took people off
guard after a mild weekend
with what was described as
"May -like weather." The
thaw added flooded
basements to the
complications of closed
schools and cancelled trains
during the March 28
blizzard.
Hoegy says 1947 was the
January his neighbour Henry
Beuerman died and the
hearse had to be pulled in
and out of his farm with
horses.
S.•RESIDENTS, Page It
First baby of 2001 arrives
By Scott lignndorff
Expositor Editor
Brent and Katrina Dietz of RR 4 Walton
are the proud parents of this year's first
baby of the New Year.
Born Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8:46 a.m. at
Stratford General Hospital, Rylie Dietz
weighed in at seven pounds, four ounces
and was "19 1/4 inches long.
Dietz had entered the hospital Thursday
night to have labour induced. However, it
wasn't until later on Friday that she was
actually induced into• labour which
persisted for several hours until doctors
decided a Caesarean section was necessary.
"You try to prepare for it but you're
never prepared," said Dietz on Monday
where she was recovering in a post partum
room at Stratford General Hospital.
Both she and her baby girl, the couple's
first child, are fine and Dietz said the
Caesarean experience was not bad.
"If you go with the flow and stay open-
minded, everything goes fine," she said,
adding it was important to trust the nurses •
and hospital staff and take their advice
throughout the birth.
And having her husband Brent there
throughout the experience was wonderful
for Dietz.
Although she said he didn't say much
through the experience, he was -a
supportive, caring coach.
She said it was tough for him to watch
S.. DIETZ, Page
Rylie Dietz born to.Kotrka and Brent on Jan. 6
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