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Huron Expositor, 2005-07-13, Page 3Seaforth's hydro usage has risen with the heat By Ben Forrest Expositor Staff Hydro usage in Seaforth since May has been about 14 per cent higher than it was last year, says Festival Hydro Vice President of Engineering and Operations Jack Vanderbaan. The warm weather experienced in the late spring and early summer to date is to blame, he explains. "Last year in June I don't remember ever turning my air conditioner on at all, but this year it definitely has been on for the month of June," Vanderbaan says. "I definitely attribute that to the higher weather," Vanderbaan says that although hydro usage used to be higher in the winter than the summer, the increasing popularity of air conditioners and natural gas heating has changed that. "It used to be higher in the winter because not as many people had air conditioners and there was more electric heat," he says. "But in the past 20, 25 years, more (of) the new houses have been gas heated and they tend to come with air conditioning, so instead of peaking in the winter we're moving to peaking in the summer." Marlene Holman, one of the owners of Seaforth Plumbing and Heating, can attest to the increasing demand for air conditioning. Holman says the demand for central air conditioning units from her business has been so high that the company hasn't been able to keep up. "We're so swamped that we couldn't do them all," she says. Holman estimates sales have increased by about one third, and says the recent warm weather is no doubt the reason. "We don't usually get that intense heat in June," she says, adding later that people are still calling about air conditioning installations "because it's just the first of July and they know it's going to be here for a while." The recent hot spell also caused a run on air conditioning units at Seaforth's RONA Cashway. Manager Don Siemon says the store has been selling about 25 per cent more this year than last. The demand. for one of the models the store carried during the heat spell outlasted the store's supply, he says. When he was interviewed briefly by the Expositor on July 7, however, he said the demand had subsided somewhat. Jim Sills of Sills Home Hardware says his store carries air conditioning "on occasion," but also sells fans, which were a hot item during the recent hot spell. "I don't know what the numbers are, but we certainly were busy at it," he says. Kids have evidently been keeping cool at Seaforth Lions Pool as well. Lifeguard supervisor Julie Phillips says the traffic was especially high at the start of the summer. An evening swim may have drawn about 15 kids last year, while this year there have been as many as 70 on more than one occasion. Although the heat may be difficult to bear at times, Vanderbaan says people Skateboarding bylaw bans skateboards on Seaforth's Main Street By Jason Middleton Expositor Staff A bylaw effectively banning skateboarding and scooter riding on Main Street Seaforth's sidewalks passed its third and final reading at the June 28 Huron East council meeting. But, until the Seaforth All - Wheels Park is opened at its new location in the parking lot of the Seaforth & District Community Centres, the bylaw will not be enforced, said Huron East Mayor Joe Seili. "I feel until we get the skateboard park ready we can't enforce the bylaw," Seili said. "We have to give them somewhere to go." Suzic Ryan, who along with her husband John, helped organize the Seaforth All -Wheels Park last year said that she wasn't sure if there was even going to be one this year. The bylaw states that. no person should use, ride on or operate a skateboard or non - motorized scooter on any part of Main Street from George Street East to Goderich Street. Skateboarders are also prohibited from setting up ramps on sidewalks to practice skateboarding because under the bylaw, their skateboards must not leave the ground. The bylaw also states that everyone ridingn'a skateboard should wear a CSA approved helmet with the chin strap fastened, wear a reflective material between dusk and dawn and travel as close as possible to the right-hand side of the sidewalk. In February, council closed the former Seaforth All - Wheels Park because of complaints from the public about noise in the area after dark. Since then, council has been trying to find somewhere to put the park and what is needed before it can be operational. While Seili admits that not all skateboarders are causing the problems, he said that some of them are making it difficult for the rest. "It's a select few that has brought it in," he said. Skateboarders caught breaking the bylaw by the bylaw enforcement officer could be forced to pay a fine up to $300. Ryan said that although she agrees with banning skateboarding on Main Street, she said children should be allowed to play on the sidewalk. If they are at home on the sidewalk and aren't in anyone's way they should he allowed to play, Ryan said. "I think they should be able to do that as long as they aren't interfering with anyone going by," she said. Seili and Ryan said that the skateboard park could be up and going by the end of the summer if the fence is put up in time. Ryan said that they have some ramps that need to be repaired and some other things that need to be done before the skateboard park can be put up this year. "Anybody that can help will make the work go faster," Ryan said. should "definitely be trying to conserve energy," and pointed toward ieso.ca, a Web site that offers the following conservation tips: • Air conditioners should be set to 26 degrees or higher. Every degree the temperature is raised can result in energy cost savings as high as 5 per cent, the site says. • Keep curtains or blinds closed. This keeps the room cooler. • Hang clothes to dry instead of using a dryer. • Use fans to cool down a room cool instead of air conditioning. A number of other tips can be found at the website. THE HURON EXPOSITOR ,July 13, 2006 - 3 Huron County drug raids seize $130,000' worth of street drugs From Page 1 London RCMP drug section said. During the raids, a 38 - year -old Seaforth man was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of property obtained in crime and failure to comply with conditions of release. Also, a 32 -year-old Egmondville man was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime and production of marijuana. "We are hoping that we are making a big enough dent that we can get a handle on this and prevent these drugs from getting a real foothold into the county and the problem growing worse," said Shropshall. In June, residents of Brussels and Clinton were among the 27 men and women charged in a huge drug-trafficking ring which spanned four counties - Bruce, Grey, Huron and Perth. In the June raids, police seized over $614,657 in illegal drugs, the largest quantities including crystal methamphetamine and marijuana. There are outstanding arrest warrants for one other person who could not be located in last week's raids. Anyone with information on illicit drug activity is asked to contact their local police service or Crime Stoppers. With files from the Stratford Beacon Herald. 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