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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1992-06-10, Page 21 vow ainst t osquito -spray PARKH L - Expressing con- cerns over cost and potential health hazards, Parkhill Town Council voted last week against an ins recitteespray -attack- on - mosquitos, despite a petition 250 signatures strong. The Parkhill Gazette reports a made suggestion was to council ; about aircraft spraying 300 acre9 of tree and grassland around the perimeter of Parkhill including the sewage lagoon, to help extin- guish the -massive mosquito _pop- ulation. Council, however, •voted against the spraying due torts cost, estimated between 54,000= 55,000. Councillors were edict concerned that chemicals con= sidered safe by today's standards may eventually be foand-harm- ful to the health of both people and pets. Birthday party for St. C:O I umban sc a _O i .ST. -COLUMBAN —Hundreds atteadedjhe:25th,birthday party for . Ste Cotmnban school last weekend in St. Coltmthan. According to the Mitchell Ad- vocate. some 300 former stu- dents, teachers, tiptoes and their .families were on hand to partake in the celebration of Catholic education in SL C..olun - ban.andarea. The schobl .officially fwmg open itsidoors:.wiih a staff of four teacarts on,April 3.1967. at a cost of $I70,000. High speed chase. thro�h Mitchel mrrcHni. - -A foiled break and enter attempt at Staffen's Food Madcet -led police on a high speed chase in Mitchell ear- ly last Sunday morning. According to the Mitchell Ad- vocate. police noticed a car at the loading ramp of the stone around- 22:45.a.m. The vehicle pulled .avay and .after .police caught up . to it, a high speed chase ensued aiong Highway 8. When police radioed ahead for Seaforth police to set up a road- block, the vehicle stopped at Hibbert Sideroad 5 and the sus- ts fled on foot,tluough the Aside farther investigation showed ;the= to be stolen and equipped .with a,,police scanner, but not .the,aptee-or four suspects who .fed. VII oeiebration HAYFIELD -• The -Village of Bayfield will be very much.alive July 1 as residents and visitors gather to help celebrate Canada's 125th birthday. As reported by the Clinton News -Record, the village's Busi- ness Improvement Association is planning a Canada Day Fami- ly Picnic to coincide with cele- brations across the country. The picnicorill be an old fash- ioned affair held in Clan Gregor Square along with musical enter- tainment as well as displays and dernuusuations by local artisans and craftsmen. In addition. other forms of en- tertainment will take place from 1 • 7 p.m. along with organised games for children and adults such as Sick and wheelbarrow races, kite -making and bobbing for apples. Visitors to the village will also find load merchants decked put in period costume during the sidewalk sale also. taking place. A Harvard flight fisidlisbal ear to tow grin 'ey Adrian Hate T-A`dMkor -HURON PARK - If there is any one particular reason why some are Allieete,to become journalists, it's • alleatiibty because people expect Mon people to go places and do *drags denied other -mortals. -- Name tlr Anel tie slant, anywhere in die I wo is usually a /upon- eiVellitlea front row seat, partly there Idtlwlgltt4iack to the world, partly ie erlbf1tte adventure, risk, and +excitement. • Saturday was one of those such clays. A couple of weeks ago, Don Winter, one of the organizers of the RCAF Centralia reunion carne into 'it r•offnce with an interesting pop - edition. Knowing 1 grew up near ;air force bases and aircraft, would I chance to bump into a few 'of -the veanion visitors, some of maims, were proud to tell me they learned to fly in a Harvard just like Nine three on the runway. When I told them 1 would be riding in eine in just a few minutes 1 detected a note -of -envy. 1 imagine if it -had-been possible to auction off that ride in the Harvard to the former pilots, it would have raised a princely sum indeed. My pike for the day was to be Dave Hewitt from Woodstock. His lather Bob world be in the atter r!ne v Tett e'Mfto11/1 reunion. The formation leader was to be Nom Beckham, also from Woodstock. With only minutes to go, Dave 4ttereated in taking a flight ia. _ ihowed el haw_ tQ. $U p into 'first 411na of the aircraft being brought in •. ie''parachuteanihen the seat har- n air show at the old Huron isiiiiiasuccotorist 'Mark base? My mind briefly flashed to a fatal mash of two vintage airman I wit - weed at an air show a few years ago, then to the plane that crashed recently near Whalen Corners. Yes, 1 replied. 1 would be inter - Voted. `*ttrday 1 showed up forthe e - flight ' briefing at the airport. 1t Awed out I ,would• be flying=in:the -_rack seat of one of the dweec 3iar- ?needs that would be flying in!for- mation for the hundreds -of is who gathered for the re- union. While I watched with -inter- est as Lou Hill Cliefullyeezplained the safety precautions ofthe dem- onstration, . I :also realized my re- sponsibilities were few: I had but .itae •look out the .windows and _take *tures. I was not to touch.any :.las I wasn't supposed -to, and les, it was a good idea if I didn't linens, up. - The whole show -was to lake place behind an 800 foot ".safety - line" .Brom the . apa¢taoas. My view, however, would be -from alit- tle closer. • ,After Iieft the briefing. I tad lite MSS. at►i1 eiviiimeplibilavellik my mha les I iedel t=feltt la I- ly stove. A lever on the teat Id - lowed a few centimetres of molten •t+rtent, but I eleckled it was Mary worthwhile. illihetilkellgivemenie to fire up the engine Fad the headphones clamped -on, but the sound still seemed deafening. The wash from the propeller was fierce enough to whip my short hair enough to make hating my ears and neck. ' Minutes later we paraded past the diiowd down to the runway. Dave told me over the intercom to close the canopy and get ready for take- off. There aren't words enough to de- scribe the sensation sofVining `fie erAteitu sway land eoeing -into the sky, but 1 knew many of Those tion peeled apart while Beckham in on the ground remembered the sen- the lead plane rolled and looped in lotion well enough. Soon all three some aerobatics for the crowd. Harvards were in tight formation, The wheels bumped to the run - `slMitth tighter than Ithought posse way and it was all over. The spec- ial). 1 snapped pictures left and odors clapped and waved as the slight as the scenes presented them- two Harvards taxied back into post [Yrs• The view was incredible, tion. Even as I -unbuckled and 'reirillte the low cloud ceiling. Only clambered out, Dave was saying a few• feet away 1 could see Ted how that was the tightest and sharp - getting everything on video, he had est formetien he had ever flown. kept his canopy open. Apparently our leader had decided Down below was the airport, to keep the Harvards as much in farms, fields and a grey stripe with view of the spectators as possible yellow dailies I eventually realized Minutes later, long after 1 had was highed>t _leer when I got my said my thanks and goodbyes 10 - �btjaririgs .' _when indica- Those who hadessade my first flight for said we were 'going 100 knots in a military 'trainer a reality, I and there was sharp bumps and found myself still grinning from ear dips to the ride as Dave quickly ad- to ear. Justed the formation to match his No matter how the rest of the distance from the other planes. -----end penned out, .l.k ew noth- About 15minutes later the forma— Aeg'could match that ride. The -three Harvards had a bbd's eye view of Saturday's .RCAF Centralia lia mesion. At night, pilot Dave Hewft keeps an eye en the nett formation. Below, the pilots plan the air show. From !eft are Dave and Bob Hewitt, Nom► Beckham, and Rick Wilkins. Reunion visitors came hack to find old memories EXETER - -=The RCAF -Centralia reunion was extremely .well orga- nized and immensely entertaining for those who ewer to rub shoul- ders . with their air force comrades on the weekend, say three partici- pants who stayed a few snore days in thearea to relive old memories. Arne Laupsa canine all the way from Norway for the reunion, de - vile some paralysis.in his left side :from a 1985 stroke. j,,aupsa arrived at-RQAF Centralia,in leS41to.in the 'NATO basic .1113ling .44001 Visitors ,for ,the RCAF reunion on the weekend included Arne Laupsa (front left) and Dorothy Gordon (centre). Former flying instructor Gibby Gibson (back left) and his wife Zella (front right) invited the reunion visitors and travelling companion •Asbjorn Rotmo to their Exeter home on Monday. where he_leatnedeo-tnaster:lhe Har- vard before going on to jets brad larger aircraft. Laupsa was not only at the reun- ,ione but he was at the home of Gib- byeand Zella Gibson in Exeter on Monday . for diluter. Also joining the Gibsons were Laupsa's travel- ling companion Asbjorn Rotmo and former Centralia language instruc- tor Dorothy Gordon. Gibson was a flying instructor at RCAF Centralia at the time Leupsa went through.the training, although Laupsa flew with a different unit aliader Don .MacNaughton, whom ,,he met at the reunion. Laupsa said he was a little disap- pointed that none of the French or Italian flying students he knew at Huron Park returned for the reun- ion, but he was glad to meet many he knew nearly 40 years ago. "1 think it was a nice thing and hope there will be another one in the future," he said, pointing out he had been in touch with organizer and former base commander Jack Malone long before the reunion was plamiecf. After Laupsa left the Norwegian eenilitary he became a private flying „jastructor. douno was one of his eaidents. Gordon, who came to Huron Park , in 1958 when the NATO language school moved up from London said she had the task of teaching the stu- dents to speak English well enough to understand their flying instruc- tors - all in 24 weeks. While Gordon speaks Fre+ich,9rtd German, that didn't help much with ;the NATO trainees from Denmark, Holland, Tanzania, Nigeria, or Tur- key. "Some of .the French Canadians came with .no English at all," she said. The only common language was English, and students were bunked with other nationalities so that they had to rely on what little English they knew. Of all the scores of students Gor- don had come through her class- room and language labs, she only managed to meet up with two of them,at.the weekend reunion, t • v- tiID •t ; • r • ertheless, she -enjoyed -seeing malty of her old !'riende again. The changes to the airbase and to the surrounding communities, ettpe- cially Exeter, were not lost on these who came back to a place they last saw decades ago. Gibson explained that after the RCAF Centralia -trained air force pilots "grew up" and Jcft "be' host life of a jet pilot, some, farad their calling as 'airline pilots. Of that he bas spoken to, seven! who mid "some of the happiest days of their lives .woirept Centralia". &in* AO*lone, ex -commanding officer o ia, unveils a cairn commemorating those who served the air blase during a special service held Sunday morning, in con junction with its 50th reunion. %