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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2004-12-01, Page 1COLOU COPIES " .89' ea PETE MARTENE DETE'S P ERC 51 Main St., Seafort 527-1681 Tony Arts ar. cm cif, c chmecvszner Didly interest Account 2.45 3.10% 45,ra % • *Waal catailard Le lily dui* tviaar. Wales a, ii Nv.3Q ZU(N Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004 $1.25 includes GST MOW 1 kaariatiaMn 15 Main St. Seaforth In brief' Fishing boat, trailer and equipment worth $36,500 stolen By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor A 16 -foot fishing boat, its trailer and fishing equipment, totalling $36,500, were stolen from a driveway on North Line in Huron East sometime between Nov. 20 and 21, reports the Huron OPP. The boat, an green and white aluminum 2002 16 -foot Bass Tracker Pro Deep 5, had been left in the driveway for winter storage. Also removed were a black 2002 Mercury 60 HP motor, a black 2002 16 -foot combo Trail Star boat trailer with Ontario licence plates A$293K, a black/green 2000 Artic Cat Model 300 four wheel ATV with Ontario licence plates TM 157, two Stihl chainsaws, a Hummingbird fish finder, Minkota electric fishing motor along with two fishing poles with reels. The residence is near the intersection of Blyth Road south of Walton. Anyone with related information is asked to call the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers. Vacant house vandalized in Huron East A vacant house on Cardiff Road in Huron East was broken into and vandalized sometime during the four days before Nov. 3, reports the Huron OPP. The door to the vacant and unfurnished home was forced open and two windows were smashed by a paint ball gun. The interior of the house was also damaged by numerous paint balls on the walls, which will require a lot of painting to cover the paint splatter. Anyone with related information is asked to call the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers. St. James students hear from local author... page 5 Vanastra hosts high school swim meet ... page 15 Hospital study group plans public meeting for Dec. 8 By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor The close to 400 responses to a community questionnaire about Seaforth Community Hospital will be presented at a public meeting next Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Seaforth Community Centre. Maureen Spittal, Ken Larone and Dr. Ken Rodney will discuss their findings from a questionnaire that was published recently in the Huron Expositor with questions about services at the hospital. "We're hopeful we'll have more than 200 at the meeting. We're expecting a good response," says Rodney. The three, recently named the hospital study group, began researching the community's feelings about its local hospital after the Huron -Perth Healthcare Alliance announced that it must find $7 million in savings to balance its budget and meet provincial expectations. The Quoted `We're hopeful we'll have more than 200 at the meeting,' - Dr. Ken Rodney local book factories, the and represen local community. "I've scanned them all (the responses) and it's amazing how upset people are (about the possibility of losing services at SCH)," says Spittal. She says that many of the questionnaires have included written testimonials about community questionnaire was the second phase of the group's research, which began with six focus groups where members of the Seaforth Business Improvement Area (BIA), recreation groups, a club, local Optimist Club tatives of the agricultural See PUBLIC, Page 2 Susan Hundertmark photo The Cat in the Hat Came Back Jared Fraser, 9, of St. Marys, throws candy from the Heartland Credit Union float in the Seaforth Santa Claus parade Friday night. Localfirefighters experience victims' point of view during extrication training By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor Wedged together in a crashed car that's propped on its side, four "victims" wait to be rescued as members of the Seaforth, Brussels, Grey and Clinton fire departments use their extrication equipment. The victims, waiting in cold discomfort as glass breaks and hydraulic metal cutters roar and rock Susan Hundertmark photo Seaforth firefighter Toby Phillips gets to experience what it's like on the Inside of a crashed vehicle during an extrication training day at Seaforth Fire Hall on Saturday. the car, are firefighters themselves. And, after they've been freed from their glass and metal cages, they have gained more awareness of what real traffic crash victims experience. "It's scary - it's a different world in there. All you want is for them to get you out of there," says Seaforth firefighter Paul Hildebrand. "You want to hear positive phrases. You sure don't want to hear things like 'Get the cutter - we're going to cut the arm off here,'" adds Seaforth firefighter Mark Melady. "When you don't know what's going on, you're more likely to freak out. You definitely want to stay in contact with the people," says Seaforth firefighter Paul Dolmage. "I imagine it would be 10 times worse if you were wounded." The four fire departments participated over the weekend in a training session on extrication with Ken Jones, a former instructor at the Ontario Fire College who developed the provincial extrication program for the Ontario Fire Marshall in the 1980s. The course was set up by Seaforth's acting fire chief Tom Phillips and all 22 of Seaforth's volunteer firefighters attended the weekend course in the yard behind the Seaforth Fire Hall. "We have a lot of new guys and while they get training from guys already on the force, I've been trying to get them to some courses," says Phillips. Extrication training is particularly Important locally, says Phillips, where half to two-thirds of the fire calls are traffic accidents. "There's no doubt how necessary it is - it's a crucial thing," he says. Extrication, or "the controlled movement of metal in a safe environment," is necessary to remove victims trapped in crashed vehicles. But, while time is of the essense when removing victims, Jones emphasizes how important is it for firefighters to remain safe and to keep the scene safe and secure. "How do you eat an elephant'? One kite at a time," says Jones of the challenge of rescuing accident victims. Using 10 vehicles donated by a local salvage yard, local firefighters spent all day Saturday and Sunday responding to various scenarios that allowed them to practice stabilizing vehicles on their sides and roofs, breaking windshields and car windows, removing doors, cutting off roofs and creating the space necessary in a crashed vehicle for paramedics to safely remove their patients. "We're trying to improve everyone's knowledge and enhance their already good service to the community," says Jones. Along with local firefighters, the course attracted a fewparamedics and police officers. "These are realistic situations where we're they're using their head muscles as much or more than their arm muscles," he says. Using tools that range from hand tools to heavy hydraulics, the firefighters discussed tools that are most effective in each situation, considering how manual tools make less noise and are therefore Tess frightening for the victims inside the car. ( )ii )1 •11 'All you want is for them to get you out of there,'- Seaforth firefighter Paul Hildebrand EXTRICATION, Page 3