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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2004-07-28, Page 1TER it CARTRIDGES AT EtlVflI11YFMlGi1 r'1 31 PETE'S PAPER CLIP PETE MARTENE 51 Main St., Seafort 527-1681 Wednesday, July 28, 2004 $1 .25 includes GST *GICs & Mutual Funds •RRSPs •RRIFs •RESPs *Life & Disability Insurance •Employee Benefits •Retirement & Financial Planning 16111111 t La__ s INiM 15 Main St. Seaforth 527-0794 In brief Highway 8 between Seaforth and Clinton getting facelift The stretch of Highway 8 between Seaforth and Clinton is getting a facelift and for the next four months the road will be under construction. - Starting sometime next month sections of the 12 km stretch of highway between Seaforth and Clinton will be repaved and repaired. According to Ministry of Transportation spokesperson Bob Nichols, cost of the construction is estimated at $2.8 million dollars and Lavis Contracting, of Clinton, will be doing the construction. Lavis sales manager Barry Cookson said the construction will mainly focus on rehabilitating the old asphalt by reducing cracks and places where the road is worn. During the construction, the road will be widened and a half metre of paved shoulder will be added to the highway. Construction is expected to wrap up Nov. 1. Local residents agreed it was about time the government decided to repave Highway 8. "We have to have it. I mean the roads right now are in bad condition. Highway 8 is not in good conditions," said Frances Teatero, of Egmondville. According to a road sign in Seaforth, the road could be reduced to a single lane at anytime during the day or night. Most of the construction will be done from7a.m.to5p.m. "We ask drivers to be patient as we work to improve this highway," said Nichols. He suggested that in the construction area, drivers should slow down, obey the posted speed limit and obey flag persons to make sure that construction workers stay safe. The Ministry of Transportation spent $1 billion on highway construction this year, said Nichols. By Jason Middleton Jason Middleton photo Having a ball at Moonlight Madness Zachary Snell, 4, was one of many local kids having a great time playing on the bouncy inflatable playground offered as one of the attractions for children at the 13IA Moonlight Madness Friday evening downtown. See page 12 for more photos. Skate park construction rolling along P094, 5 Dying Seaforth woman wants stolen garden fairy statue back By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor Since she learned in March that she is dying from inoperable pancreatic and liver cancer, Theresa Cooper has found comfort and hope in the fairy figurines she started collecting. She created a beautiful little garden in front of her John Street apartment in Seaforth and has sat admiring three special solar -powered statues, which she planned to pass on to her three children when she dies. But, those plans have been foiled by a theft of one of the three fairies from her garden two weeks ago, the day after her 56th birthday. "I wasn't impressed," says Cooper. "It • feels like an attack on me when you can sec when you look at me that I'm sick. It's a cheap shot." Because the fairies only cost $15 each at Giant Tiger, Cooper says she did not report the theft to the police. But, the sentimental value of the fairy garden figure caused her daughter Cheryl Taylor to post signs around Seaforth explaining her mother's circumstances and asking for the fairy to be returned. "I hope that whoever did it will realize what they've done and have a heart," says Taylor. "It's had enough stealing from a healthy person but to take it from a woman who is dying, it made me very angry," she says. Cooper has collected over WO fairies since March but the three solar -powered figures in the garden were the first and the most special to her. "It's something like an angel. They're tiny and they offer hope to mc. They Theresa Cooper, of Seaforth, holds one of the two fairy statues she has left after the third was stolen recently from her garden. She and her daughter Cheryl Taylor are asking whoever took the statue, whkh she regards as a symbol of hope as she faces inoperable pancreatic and liver cancer, to bring it back. looked like a beacon out there in the three children, Taylor, Michelle dark. The solar globes really lit up their Lindemann and Michael Cooper, have faces. I sat out there a lot and looked at ahead of them while nursing her. them," she says. "They lost their dad and now, they're Cooper lost her husband seven years losing their mom too. It's been a ago to stomach cancer and because she nursed him, she knows the challenge her Sea THEFT, Page 2 Bright Lights & Big Excitement at Slots at Clinton Raceway! 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"Obviously I never bring myself to the point that I come to expect a position when other people are in charge," Steckle said in a telephone interview from his Bluewater home on Friday. "I knew what 1 wanted and I made it clear that I would accept the position if my conditions were met and freedom of cause be given to those on cabinet." Steckle said on matters of confidence, including the throne speech and budget, all sitting Liberal MPs are expected to vote in favour of the government. However, he feels members should be able to vote any way they choose on issues directly affecting their constituents. "There are times when all of us find ourselves at odds, even within our own families and it's not very fair to the individual. We are taking away their freedom to vote and that goes counter to what I believe our entire system stands for — freedom of speech," he explained. "I make no apologies to my people, my colleagues or the prime minister for taking that stand. They may not say so, but I know there are others who feel the same way." Many believed Steckle was a front runner to assume the agriculture portfolio after Agriculture Minister Bob Speller, of Halimand-Norfolk was defeated by Conservative Diane Finley in last month's federal election. However, the July 20 ceremony in Ottawa saw Mitchell, former Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, take over the agriculture portfolio. Steckle said he "highly respects" Mitchell and is confident his experience in rural development will be beneficial to Canadian farmers. "As a rural correspondent he rarely, if ever, missed a rural caucus meeting and you can't say that about too many people," he commented. See STKKLE, Page 2