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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-01-02, Page 1Happy. New Year Lir Serving South Huron • • - - - --- —, ••••••,-- - GC Gaiser-Kneak Insurance Call us for it Comprahonslva CampetItIve HOMEOWNERS 235-2420 North Middlesex & Lambton Since 1873 • Hay applying -#6r computer grafi HAta 'TOWNSHIP - Hay Town- ship council has decided to apply .for a grant under the Building Ac- tion Program with the Ministry of Housing which would allow them to install a computerized system in the building inspector's office. The townships main office if. currently computerized. Council has placed $30,000 ih re- serve for working, funds acid will bus theiadecision,on liow much to spernidd on the computer in accor- dance with the amount granted by the ~ministry. " Clerk -treasurer Janisse Zimmer- man said she does not expect ttf hear word back on the application until the provincial government's next fiscal year which begins in May. There is no cost estimate on the necessary equipment available at this time. Unexppllainse fire • Grand Bend firefig ters on Highway% 21 last week.: A cause f51 the unit responded to this house fire ause of fire unknown GRAND BEND - It wasn't much tume of a Christmas present for Frank home and Ludmila Kordan. They re- Gra around 10 p.m to their on Highway 21 north of Bend last Thursday to find it Hospital may benefit froti township anniversary EXETER - Usborne Township's sesquicentennial committee has made plans to shortcut any contro- versy should their anniversary pro- ceedings generate a profit. If any money is left over after the town- ship has celebrated its 150th anni- versary in 1992, it will all be donat- ed to the South Huron Hospital. The various committees which make up the sesquicentennial or- ganization are already laying the groundwork to mark the anniver- sary of when Usborne was created as a separate municipality. Town- ship council agreed on December 18 to set aside $2,500 in their bud- get for signs the committee wants to welcome visitors to Usborn's sesquicentennial. They do ' x- pect to have to. ask the, tax ayers for any further funds - other fund- raising events will take care of the rest. Chairman Bob Down said a cash draw planned for the fall of 1991 will likely raise most of the needed money. In fact, the fundraising may, in all likelihood, end up gen- erating a surplus. .The committee has dcided to avoid debate on what to do with such extra cash by .voting ahead of time to turn it over to the local hospital. • "We're hoping to abIeosst break even, and there may qsr all sur - plus," said Down. "if you end up with a surplus and then have to de- cide what to do with it - then you have .,roblem " Council's $2,500 will go toward eight signs to be installed on ~had -1 way entrances to Usborne. Most will-fcatur6 the sesquicentennial slogan "Usbome and you in '92". The anniversary celebration will gin on January 5, 1992 with a lc ee in Kirkton and will run th Ugh to a homecoming celebra- n in July. The sesquicentennial committees are inviting all of Usbome's service groups and other clubs to help join in the ariniversary celebration.) Court awards Exeter man $443,771 for 1984 LONDON - An Ontario Court juldge in London, justice Gordon Killeen. awarded a former Exeter • man $443,771 in damages caused in a 1984 accident at He nsall. His family and former' wife were awarded an additional $27,300. • Gordon Bierling, now a resident of Queensway Nursing Home in Hensall won the case against the insurers of a numbered London'JC , courieompany� for which Robert Vandeweil was driving that night. Bierling, a former production man- ager of Tuckey Beverages of Hu - "rat Patric, was nifed an incapable . person for the trial and was repre- sented by a public trustee. The c • ruled that while Bier- -1ing was 'ally responsible for the inj� ri he suffered . bet 22, 1984 alter stopping his car in the middle of Highway 4 near Hensall, the court found Vandeweil rpostly tc blame for a collision that . • caused Bierling permanent • brain . damage. - ' , . The court accepted_ evidence •proving Bierlinn h beets drinking heavily that evening and stoped his car in the middle of the high- way for no apparent reason. Al- though Blerling had said his car stalled, witnesses testified it was still running after the first collision. -Bierling tried to leave his car when its door was struck by a car driven by Larry Ryder, who then swerved offs the Quad. Bierling's leg was broken by the impact, but Ryder was cleared by the court of . any responsibility. After Ryder and other passersby atrampted to help Bierling, some 10 minutes later a delivery van driven by Vandeweil, then. 17. went to pass the cars parked on highway with their hazard flashing and struck the car wi erling still in it. . This caused Bierling a fractured ` . 11. He was rushed to Clidton Hospital and transferred to.BtrMford General Hospital. He ntv suffers. from a accident brain ' di known. as 146rsak- offs syn e. - Justice Ki seen noted in his writ- ten judgement that while .lie ,to- talled damages to Bierling at over $680,000, the award would be re- duced by 35 percent in light of Bi- erling's drunken -state .getting the scenario for the accident.. Howev- er, Killeen termed Vandeeweil's driving conduct as "hopelessly inat- tentive. as to what was in front of him". ' • • The court also ruled that Bier- ling's foar children, now aged 13 to ' 20, "sustained, a ,loss of guidance, cane and companionship as the tee suit of the accident. They still visit and love him,his injuries have effectilvejy presented him from be- ing the father be was before the sc- cident." Bierling' -wife Beverly was granted a divofoe ia.1986 and *apyygiven malady 'of the children. Tloma Aare the $27.300 &wird' ed than, $1.600 to each ofthgtwo consumed with smoke and flames. The couple watched as the Grand Bend fire department quickly got the _blaze under control, but fine chief Stan Lovie said later that the fire did a lot of damage to the home, mostly because of the in- tense heat generated, not so much "froln actual flame. Lovie said a central section of the home had been burnt out, but there is no apparent explanation of what started the fire. "Right now we're just calling it an undetermined cause," said Lo - vie. An inspection revealed that the fire did not begin in the furnace or a woodstove. - Lovie said insu- rance investigators may be able to shed a little more light on the mys tery as they also determine .whether or not the home can be feasibly re- built. s r Wednesday, January 2, 1991 Thieves hit two 'stores EXETER - A lot more went out the doors of two local ktores than should have during the Boxing week period.What police are de- scribing as a"professional style" of robbery left RSD Sports Den and Gerrards clothing store short sever- al thousand dollars worth of mer- chandise Monday morning. Police say the thieves broke into the two stores in a similar manner Sunday night and stole similar items, leaving them to conclude the two crimes are related:— Locks on the stores front doors were broken, the stores entered, and the stolen goods taken out the ' back doors. Police chief Jack Harkness said it appeared the thieves wasted little time in the stores and only stole specific items and brand names of merchandise. "That suggests a shopping list - professionals," said Harkness, add- ing that the stores were likely sur- 75 colts veyed carefully by the perpetrators in the days before the crime. "They're often in and out within five minutes, said Harkness, sug- gesting that even if the alarm had been raised the experienced thieves may have been on their way before police had a chance to respond. The chief noted that there is a ready market for items like those stolen and they can be presented in seemingly legitimate ways. The police will be comparing; these break-ins to similar crimes in Goderich and Clinton, but the chief - did not appear optimistic the perpe- trators would be easily caught. Harkness said this particular crime, when added to the recent armed robbery in town, does not bode well for the future security of small towns such as Exeter. "Just not the kind of thing we want at all," said Harkness. "I'm not having a good day." )Scnool vandalism could cost thousands HURON PARK - A break-in at J.A.D. McCurdy elementary school in Huron Park has yet to be solved, but police remain confi- dent that the culprits can be caught. - Vandals broke into the school sometime over the Christmas holi- day, causing damage to thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment. Principal Don Finkbeiner, said that the culprits broke in through a window and used seven fire extin- guishers to spray the walls and halls of the school with their grit- ty, caustic material. School custo- dians worked the day after Boxing Day to clean up the mess, but there may.pe no hope for comput- er equipment damaged by the spray. Only two of the fire extin- guishers have been recovered.' As far as he can see, very little of salue was stolen during the break-in. Televisions, computers, and microwave ovens remain un - touched. - Finkbeiner said the Christmas break-in followed one only 10 days earlier, leaving him to wonder what , kind of people are behind the de- struction. "You don't yiow how they think," said Finkbeiner. "We have no idea of the cost, but it's certainly going to cost the tax- payers of Huron County some mon- ey though," he added. The school is insured, but the principal noted that the deductible on , computer equipment is quite high. _ Exeter OPP staff sergeant Don McInnis said that whit the police have not had a lot of suet in investigating the vandalism, sajd he expects The crime is solvable. He also said the police are consid- ering the possibility that the two break-ins are related incidents. McInnis is asking the public to call the detachment or Crimestop- pers (1-800-265-1777) if they have any information that could help the police in their investigation. Investigators want to know why building collapsed HURON PARK - Investigators are still trying tcpunderstand a freak accident that caused a building to collapse, injuring three workers just before Christmas. Construction on a new farm ma- chinery storage shed for the Cen- tralia College Agronomy Research Farm has been halted since the De- cember 20 incident which saw the frame building's roof trusses col- lapse while Jialf a dozen workers were nailing"lhem in place. Three workers, Wayne Vanderwal, Mi- chael Tait, and Kevin Dunn, fell with the building and were treated at South Huron Hospital for bruises, and minor injuries. "In a blink of an eye every truss collapsed," said -Elgin Fairwell at Centralia College, explaining how the a was described to him by the contractor. "'It couldn't have happened, but it did' was his line." While the three workers who fell with the roof returned to work later that day, the ministry of labour is examining the remains of the 200x30 foot structure to determine why it 9Sllapsed.. The building's funding, plans, tendering and in- specting were all handled by the ministry of government services. Fairwell said the ministry will also have to determine w t por- tion of the building is sou and can be rebuilt and what a ount will have to be torn down before construction can resutne. "We're hoping to hear something next week," said Fairwell. Leap of faith oft • Shawn = - on of Huron. Park was practising "pulling air" at Morrison Dam last'week. A crowd Of youngsters were caking advantage of the snowfall to -get In • a little freefall down. the banks of the Ausable river. 4 Inside Photos A look back page 2 Review What we saw in 1990 page 3 Savers Crediton family saving big page 5 Overtime Hawks down,' Irish -4 -3 -- page 10 1990 Sports in- review, page 12 • Hay applying -#6r computer grafi HAta 'TOWNSHIP - Hay Town- ship council has decided to apply .for a grant under the Building Ac- tion Program with the Ministry of Housing which would allow them to install a computerized system in the building inspector's office. The townships main office if. currently computerized. Council has placed $30,000 ih re- serve for working, funds acid will bus theiadecision,on liow much to spernidd on the computer in accor- dance with the amount granted by the ~ministry. " Clerk -treasurer Janisse Zimmer- man said she does not expect ttf hear word back on the application until the provincial government's next fiscal year which begins in May. There is no cost estimate on the necessary equipment available at this time. Unexppllainse fire • Grand Bend firefig ters on Highway% 21 last week.: A cause f51 the unit responded to this house fire ause of fire unknown GRAND BEND - It wasn't much tume of a Christmas present for Frank home and Ludmila Kordan. They re- Gra around 10 p.m to their on Highway 21 north of Bend last Thursday to find it Hospital may benefit froti township anniversary EXETER - Usborne Township's sesquicentennial committee has made plans to shortcut any contro- versy should their anniversary pro- ceedings generate a profit. If any money is left over after the town- ship has celebrated its 150th anni- versary in 1992, it will all be donat- ed to the South Huron Hospital. The various committees which make up the sesquicentennial or- ganization are already laying the groundwork to mark the anniver- sary of when Usborne was created as a separate municipality. Town- ship council agreed on December 18 to set aside $2,500 in their bud- get for signs the committee wants to welcome visitors to Usborn's sesquicentennial. They do ' x- pect to have to. ask the, tax ayers for any further funds - other fund- raising events will take care of the rest. Chairman Bob Down said a cash draw planned for the fall of 1991 will likely raise most of the needed money. In fact, the fundraising may, in all likelihood, end up gen- erating a surplus. .The committee has dcided to avoid debate on what to do with such extra cash by .voting ahead of time to turn it over to the local hospital. • "We're hoping to abIeosst break even, and there may qsr all sur - plus," said Down. "if you end up with a surplus and then have to de- cide what to do with it - then you have .,roblem " Council's $2,500 will go toward eight signs to be installed on ~had -1 way entrances to Usborne. Most will-fcatur6 the sesquicentennial slogan "Usbome and you in '92". The anniversary celebration will gin on January 5, 1992 with a lc ee in Kirkton and will run th Ugh to a homecoming celebra- n in July. The sesquicentennial committees are inviting all of Usbome's service groups and other clubs to help join in the ariniversary celebration.) Court awards Exeter man $443,771 for 1984 LONDON - An Ontario Court juldge in London, justice Gordon Killeen. awarded a former Exeter • man $443,771 in damages caused in a 1984 accident at He nsall. His family and former' wife were awarded an additional $27,300. • Gordon Bierling, now a resident of Queensway Nursing Home in Hensall won the case against the insurers of a numbered London'JC , courieompany� for which Robert Vandeweil was driving that night. Bierling, a former production man- ager of Tuckey Beverages of Hu - "rat Patric, was nifed an incapable . person for the trial and was repre- sented by a public trustee. The c • ruled that while Bier- -1ing was 'ally responsible for the inj� ri he suffered . bet 22, 1984 alter stopping his car in the middle of Highway 4 near Hensall, the court found Vandeweil rpostly tc blame for a collision that . • caused Bierling permanent • brain . damage. - ' , . The court accepted_ evidence •proving Bierlinn h beets drinking heavily that evening and stoped his car in the middle of the high- way for no apparent reason. Al- though Blerling had said his car stalled, witnesses testified it was still running after the first collision. -Bierling tried to leave his car when its door was struck by a car driven by Larry Ryder, who then swerved offs the Quad. Bierling's leg was broken by the impact, but Ryder was cleared by the court of . any responsibility. After Ryder and other passersby atrampted to help Bierling, some 10 minutes later a delivery van driven by Vandeweil, then. 17. went to pass the cars parked on highway with their hazard flashing and struck the car wi erling still in it. . This caused Bierling a fractured ` . 11. He was rushed to Clidton Hospital and transferred to.BtrMford General Hospital. He ntv suffers. from a accident brain ' di known. as 146rsak- offs syn e. - Justice Ki seen noted in his writ- ten judgement that while .lie ,to- talled damages to Bierling at over $680,000, the award would be re- duced by 35 percent in light of Bi- erling's drunken -state .getting the scenario for the accident.. Howev- er, Killeen termed Vandeeweil's driving conduct as "hopelessly inat- tentive. as to what was in front of him". ' • • The court also ruled that Bier- ling's foar children, now aged 13 to ' 20, "sustained, a ,loss of guidance, cane and companionship as the tee suit of the accident. They still visit and love him,his injuries have effectilvejy presented him from be- ing the father be was before the sc- cident." Bierling' -wife Beverly was granted a divofoe ia.1986 and *apyygiven malady 'of the children. Tloma Aare the $27.300 &wird' ed than, $1.600 to each ofthgtwo consumed with smoke and flames. The couple watched as the Grand Bend fire department quickly got the _blaze under control, but fine chief Stan Lovie said later that the fire did a lot of damage to the home, mostly because of the in- tense heat generated, not so much "froln actual flame. Lovie said a central section of the home had been burnt out, but there is no apparent explanation of what started the fire. "Right now we're just calling it an undetermined cause," said Lo - vie. An inspection revealed that the fire did not begin in the furnace or a woodstove. - Lovie said insu- rance investigators may be able to shed a little more light on the mys tery as they also determine .whether or not the home can be feasibly re- built. s r Wednesday, January 2, 1991 Thieves hit two 'stores EXETER - A lot more went out the doors of two local ktores than should have during the Boxing week period.What police are de- scribing as a"professional style" of robbery left RSD Sports Den and Gerrards clothing store short sever- al thousand dollars worth of mer- chandise Monday morning. Police say the thieves broke into the two stores in a similar manner Sunday night and stole similar items, leaving them to conclude the two crimes are related:— Locks on the stores front doors were broken, the stores entered, and the stolen goods taken out the ' back doors. Police chief Jack Harkness said it appeared the thieves wasted little time in the stores and only stole specific items and brand names of merchandise. "That suggests a shopping list - professionals," said Harkness, add- ing that the stores were likely sur- 75 colts veyed carefully by the perpetrators in the days before the crime. "They're often in and out within five minutes, said Harkness, sug- gesting that even if the alarm had been raised the experienced thieves may have been on their way before police had a chance to respond. The chief noted that there is a ready market for items like those stolen and they can be presented in seemingly legitimate ways. The police will be comparing; these break-ins to similar crimes in Goderich and Clinton, but the chief - did not appear optimistic the perpe- trators would be easily caught. Harkness said this particular crime, when added to the recent armed robbery in town, does not bode well for the future security of small towns such as Exeter. "Just not the kind of thing we want at all," said Harkness. "I'm not having a good day." )Scnool vandalism could cost thousands HURON PARK - A break-in at J.A.D. McCurdy elementary school in Huron Park has yet to be solved, but police remain confi- dent that the culprits can be caught. - Vandals broke into the school sometime over the Christmas holi- day, causing damage to thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment. Principal Don Finkbeiner, said that the culprits broke in through a window and used seven fire extin- guishers to spray the walls and halls of the school with their grit- ty, caustic material. School custo- dians worked the day after Boxing Day to clean up the mess, but there may.pe no hope for comput- er equipment damaged by the spray. Only two of the fire extin- guishers have been recovered.' As far as he can see, very little of salue was stolen during the break-in. Televisions, computers, and microwave ovens remain un - touched. - Finkbeiner said the Christmas break-in followed one only 10 days earlier, leaving him to wonder what , kind of people are behind the de- struction. "You don't yiow how they think," said Finkbeiner. "We have no idea of the cost, but it's certainly going to cost the tax- payers of Huron County some mon- ey though," he added. The school is insured, but the principal noted that the deductible on , computer equipment is quite high. _ Exeter OPP staff sergeant Don McInnis said that whit the police have not had a lot of suet in investigating the vandalism, sajd he expects The crime is solvable. He also said the police are consid- ering the possibility that the two break-ins are related incidents. McInnis is asking the public to call the detachment or Crimestop- pers (1-800-265-1777) if they have any information that could help the police in their investigation. Investigators want to know why building collapsed HURON PARK - Investigators are still trying tcpunderstand a freak accident that caused a building to collapse, injuring three workers just before Christmas. Construction on a new farm ma- chinery storage shed for the Cen- tralia College Agronomy Research Farm has been halted since the De- cember 20 incident which saw the frame building's roof trusses col- lapse while Jialf a dozen workers were nailing"lhem in place. Three workers, Wayne Vanderwal, Mi- chael Tait, and Kevin Dunn, fell with the building and were treated at South Huron Hospital for bruises, and minor injuries. "In a blink of an eye every truss collapsed," said -Elgin Fairwell at Centralia College, explaining how the a was described to him by the contractor. "'It couldn't have happened, but it did' was his line." While the three workers who fell with the roof returned to work later that day, the ministry of labour is examining the remains of the 200x30 foot structure to determine why it 9Sllapsed.. The building's funding, plans, tendering and in- specting were all handled by the ministry of government services. Fairwell said the ministry will also have to determine w t por- tion of the building is sou and can be rebuilt and what a ount will have to be torn down before construction can resutne. "We're hoping to hear something next week," said Fairwell. Leap of faith oft • Shawn = - on of Huron. Park was practising "pulling air" at Morrison Dam last'week. A crowd Of youngsters were caking advantage of the snowfall to -get In • a little freefall down. the banks of the Ausable river.