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Times Advocate, 1994-9-28, Page 10Page 10 Times -Advocate, September 28, 1994 IN THF NEWS Gas turned on in Grand Bend The 88 kilometre long pipeline cost $4.2 million GRAND BEND - The village of Grand Bend, and its surrounding area got a shot in the arm last Wednesday morning, a shot which hopefully will mean more development for the area. Mayor Tom Lawson, along with Union Gas senior vice-president of distribution operations Don Moore, officially turned on nat- ural gas for the area on Wednes- day morning. "Union Gas is the group to be congratulated," Lawson told a large group who gathered on the beach for the ceremony. "It en- hances the life for people in this area." Approximately 88 kilometres of natural gas piping was con- structed at a cost of about $4.2 million. This included 25 kilo- metres of steel piping to bring gas to the area and 63 kilometres of plastic piping for the distribution network. Gas was available to some areas by mid-August, with the majority having access by September 1. To date, about 500 of the ap- proximately 2,500 homes and businesses in Grand Bend as well as Stephen and Bosanquet town- ships have signed on. Moore and John van der Woerd, Vice -President of Distribution Marketing made presentations to the first customers including the Grand Bend Yacht Club, the first commercial user. "I've been bugging Union Gas for 10 years to expand the sys- tem," said Bosanquet mayor Fred Thomas. "I was a trustee in Centralia 25 years ago when it came into there. Congratulations, but don't stop here. There's a lot more to do," said Stephen reeve Tom Tomes. Union Gas has an information office set up in the village and hopes residents will convert to gas. "This is a moment in history and in investment in the future. We are pleased to give you an en- ergy alternative. Bringing you gas has been a real team venture," Grand Bend mayor Tom Lawson (left) and Don Moore from Union Gas at Wednesday's lighting ceremony. said operations manager Bob Bac- "We look forward to a long and is who thanked several people in prosperous future together," said the crowd for their efforts. Moore. Annual quilt show The Lambton Museum's annual Quilt Show and Sale fea tured a display of over 100 quilts: some newly made, other antique, even historic. Here Sheila O'Hagan (seat- ed) of Petrolia, demonstrates some quilting techniques to Mary Deitrich of Mount Carmel. The quilt show, which included several workshops, opened last weekend and closed Sunday. Breast milk can be safely frozen, says University of Guelph GUELPH - Working mothers who freeze milk for their babies don't have to worry about the pro- cess destroying an important B vi- tamin known as folate. University of Guelph studies have sown that short-term (less than a month) freezing of breast milk and the subsequent thawing and warming up of the milk do not affect folate content. Folate is important during preg- nancy and lactation and is in- volved in anabolic processes such as protein synthesis and cell divi- sion. Recent studies have shown a connection between folate defi- ciency and birth defects, especially if a deficiency existed in the first month following conception. The study examined the effect of short-term and long-term freezer storage and pasteurization on breast milk. For the study, breast milk was collected from 15 wom- en at three different times. Thefindingswere mixed. Long- term storage and pasteurization were found to affect folate, but short-term storage did not. "It was clear that freezer storage will definitely affect folate content of milk if stored longer than a month," says Deborah O'Connor, a professor of applied human nutri- tion. If stored under a month, then thawed and heated in a lukewarm water bath, the folatz in the breast milk was unaffected. Microwaving does not affect folate, although Health Canada cautions against mi- crowaving because of "hot spots" in breast milk, says O'Connor. Town wants to `borrow' future sewage capacity A developer's project is on hold, while 150 Tots sit empty - so the town wants to share the wealth EXETER - Town council is asking the Ministry of the En- vironment to bend its rules a bit to allow a 28 -unit townhome project to go ahead in' Exeter. The project, originally pro- posed to council last November by Jack Taylor, was put on hold after the town discovered it had pushed its sewage system alloca- tions to the limit. This does not mean the town's sewage lagoons are operating at maximum capacity, however. Building permits could be issued any day for some 150 empty lots in town, but with current build- ing rates running at less than 15 new homes a year, the sewage system wouldn't be overtaxed for years. Taylor, on the other hand, is prepared to start construction on his townhome project next year. After a closed -doors session of council last Monday, council agreed to make a presentation to the Ministry of the Environment to "borrow" some sewage capac- ity from undeveloped lots to support Taylor's development. If the proposal is to be ac- cepted, the town must show that it has reserves for industrial ser- vicing, is making progress on its sewage treatment expansion pro- ject, and can prove it can handle the financing of the multi- million dollar project. "I don't know what kind of luck we're going to have with this," said town building official Dave Moyer. The City of Stratford was suc- cessful in a similar appeal to the ministry to allow new develop- ment, without taking draft ap- proval from existing, unbuilt lots away. "I don't know what kind of luck we're go- ing to have with this..." Dedication ceremony held for car crash victim EXETER - Mildred Thomson, Shirley Kirk and Gerald and Elsie Willis attended a dedication cere- mony of a flower bed, at Shelburne Community Centre on September 18, in memory of Joan (Thomson) Ferris, who died in a fatal car acci- Arboretum and the Forest Institute team up to create a tree atlas GUELPH - Ontario has no de- tailed record of the vast tree popu- lations that are a vital part of its di- verse ecological systems. But a joint effort by the University of Guelph Arboretum and the Ontario Forest Research Institute is about to change that. The institute has awarded the Arboretum $250,000 over five years to create an Ontario tree at- las that will describe the abun- dance and distribution of the 85 tree species native to Ontario and possibly up to five established ex - Ball diamond donation The Exeter Lions Club donated $1,000 of the proceeds from their weekly televised bingo to the construction of a new ball diamond near the Nabisco plant in Exeter. From left are Albert VanDyken of Exeter Minor Baseball, deputy -reeve Lossy Fuller accepting the cheque for the Recreation Board, and John Norris of the Exeter Lions. VanDyken said the diamond, the second largest in town, should be ready for use next spring, but he Is still raising money for its construction. He is even selling pumpkins this fall as a fundraiser. otic species. Based on similar at- lases about birds, mammals, rep- tiles and amphibians, the tree atlas will include pictures and descrip- tions of each species, as well as maps identifying where the species grow. The award recognizes the Arbo- retum's well-established programs related to the ecological role of trees, including a gene -hank col- lection of Carolinian species and various tree -growing workshops. The project will involve hun- dreds of people across Ontario, starting with volunteers who will devote three years to data collec- tion. These volunteers will be re- cruited from horticultural socie- ties, field staff of the Ministry of Natural Resources, conservation authorities and field naturalist clubs. The volunteers will be given several 10 -square -kilometre plots of land to cover. Arboretum direc- tor Alan Watson estimates it will take five or six visits to accurately survey each plot. Through the Arboretum's exten- sive education program, regional training workshops for the volun- teers will be organized, highlight- ing surveying techniques and tree identification. Watson says the atlas will pro- vide a much greater definition of the distribution 'of iree species in Ontario, particularly at the transi- tion areas of the province's three forest regions: the Carolinian (de- ciduous) forest region, Great Lakes -St. Lawrence region and Boreal forest region. Based on ar- chival material, historical informa- tion about the abundance and dis- tribution of trees in the past may also be included. Researchers can then try to explain the changes that have occurred. Watson underlines the impor- tance of an Ontario tree atlas. "It's a snapshot in time providing a ba- sis for research in the future," he says. "Such a record may help us understand climate changes and their effects on forest regions, as well as ecological problems now and in the future." He predicts the atlas will be a valuable research tool and re- source for graduate students and government organizations, and may provide a basis for future for- est conservation policies. The fin- ished project will also include a published computer database. The $250,000 in funding will buy com- puter equipment and cover produc- tion and advertising costs and other miscellaneous expenses. It will also pay for a project co-ordinator to organize and head the project. Work on the atlas will begin later this month when a co-ordinator is hired. • • dent in Russia September 13, 1993. Many friends and relatives gath- ered to pay tribute. Joan had been an active member of the Agricultu- ral Society for many years, and had been a president of the Handcraft division at Shelburne Fair. She was a former resident of Exeter. The dedication ceremony took place on the last day of the fair and was conducted by Rev. Gwen Her- mann of Trinity United Church, Shelburne. Fd�•VW V 'Irl .-4441i$C *Ur Via 1(o•,r, C...,. Ever have some important papers you need to send RIGHT NOW? Not overnight, or later today. We're talking NOW! Ok, there's a better, and faster way! Send: $4 per first page, $1 each additional page Receive: $)per page (Up to 8-1/2x14) 424 Main St. Exeter 235-1331 Fax: 235-0766 •