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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1979-04-11, Page 1What's this stuff, snow? Yes hard as it is to believe, winter returned to Huron County again last week, as the area was blasted by two storms that left up to a foot of snow, while other areas were hit by 70 mph winds that knocked over trees and power lines. Here, Doug Smith Jr., of Huron Street in Clinton cleans up Friday after the worst storm of the winter. (News -Record photo) Detector saves Family A Goderich Township family is crediting a smoke detector for saving at „least three lives after fire. heavily damaged their home during the height of the blizzard early last Friday morning. Linda and Alvin Jones and their two young children aged seven and the just managed to escape from =lithe burning' home after fire brokeput following a severe lightning storm,;;. Mrs. Jones, "who along with heetwo children was sleeping upstairs 11:30 p.m. Thursday 'night, were awakened by the howl of the smoke detector, and Mrs. Jones went outside to summon her husband, who was working on a generator trying to restore power to the house. The two rushed back into the house, grabbed the two children in their night lothes, and fled the house. "That smoke detector saved our Ives," Mrs. Jones said in an interview everal days later. The Clinton Fire Department sponded quickly to the blaze and anaged to save the house from being veiled, despite gale force winds owing at the time. The home was heavily gutted inside d the Jones lost nearly all their longings but neighbours and friends e trying to wash some of the clothes.- Damage lothes:Damage in the blaze could run as h as $50,000 but no final estimate has en set. Mrs. Jones said the family d some insurance. A benefit dance is planned for the family on April 27 at 9:30 p.m. at the Pineridge Chalet in Hensall, and they are staying with neighbours until a trailer home arrives. "We're so thankful to the firemen who fought the fire kinder such terrible conditions and to all the neighbours who helped us," Mrs. Jones said. c 1' s r >sZ le bl an be ar hig be ha A' Winter _ Ets in one last big bust A spring storm, considered the worst of the entire 1978-79 winter, blasted the area late last week, knocking ou hydro, blowing over barns, uprooting trees, and starting at least three fires. No one was seriously injured or killed, however. The intense storm swept in off Lake Huron late‘Thursday night with winds that peaked at hurricane force of 75 miles an hour early Friday morning, with some gusts reported at 4near 80 mph. The storm began about 10 p.m. Thursday night with a ferocious thunder and lightning storm that is believed to have started three fires, including one that heavily damaged the home of Alvin Jones of RR 2 Clinton, another that completely destroyed the barn of Cal Roberts of RR 1, Bayfield, and a third that leveled the Lutheran Church at Dashwood. Those fire stories can be found elsewhere in this edition. The wind knocked over five hydro poles in Hurondale in Tuckersmith Township taking down some large voltage wires, and Clinton area hydro manager Walter Palmer said that trees had knocked down hydro lines in scattered pockets throughout a wide area of the county. Crews fought the nil -visibility bliz- zard to work on the lines, and had all the power restored by Saturday af- ternoon to the several thousand af- fected customers. • As well as uprooting hundreds of trees, the storm flattened several buildings, and ripped shingles off many others. A new barn on the farm of Brian Westbrook on Highway 8, which was under construction was competely flattened, causing several hundred dollars damage, and a roof was torn off a' barn on the John and Ed Deeves !arm on the Telephone Road. The hurricane winds also blew out the front window of Groves Appliance store in Clinton and knocked down their chimney, leaving the store without heat for several days. Owners Clayt and Jane Groves were away in Florida at the time, and missed all the fun. But other than some downed trees, no major damage occurred in Clinton, and Public utilities manager Guss Boussey said they received only one minor call. "Our preventative maintenance program (of cutting out dead and decaying trees) is sure paying off," Mr. Boussey said. The storm closed all area schools for the day, and turned the main street of Clinton into a wasteland during the storm as visibility was down to less than 50 feet. No- sooner had residents recovered Clinton News -Record 114th year -No. 15 Thursday, April 11, 1979 from Friday's` storm when another snow and freezing rain struck on Sunday night and Monday morning, dumping another four to 12 inches of snow on southern Ontario and Michigan. Fortunately, the Clinton area received only four more inches of snow, but Detroit had 3/4 of an inch of freezing rain, knocking out hydro to nearly half a million people, many of whom were still out on Wednesday. Further to the east, heavy snow fell, setting new records in Toronto (31 cm) that go back to 1840. So far there has been more snow and winter -like conditions in April this year than in the entire month of March, making it the worst April since 1922 in Clinton, and tying it for the snowiest one with 1975. The weatherman guarantees it will warm up before the end of June. Weather 1979 1978 HI LO 35 cents Rain 10.0 mm 1.37'' NI LC? April C C F F 3 5 —2 34 29 4 3.5 —1 47 34 5 5 — 2 44 31 6 - 0 —8.5 39 32 7 - —2 —7 48 34 8 - —1 —8 37 29 9 - 1.5 — 9 47 25 Snow 15.0 cm. .Rai n Parents want separate addition BY WILMA OKE The * Huron -Perth County Roman Catholic Separate School Board was asked by three members of the Catholic Parent teacher Association of St. Joseph' -s School in Clinton to provide additional a space at the school to meet the needs of 110 students enrolled there this year. Mrs. Carole Kerrigan, vice-president of C.P.T.A. at St. Joseph's, read a brief outlining why the addition is needed. Others attending with her were the president, Seamus Doherty of Clinton and member Marris Bos of R.R. 2, Seaforth, and the school principal Donald Fal?vell. The C.PYF.A. wants two additional portable c1,ssrooms set up to provide armer loses iivd4hoo-d By Shelley McPhee For most people Thursday night and early Friday morning were not the most comfortable hours. The winds howled, trees snapped and lights flickered, but most of us recovered from the worst storm of the year. Unfortunately some were not so lucky. Cal Roberts at RR 1 Bayfield is not a very happy man. Early Friday mor- ning he watched his entire livelihood burn to the ground in an uncontrollable blaze, fed by the high winds. About 5 a.m. Friday morning as Mr. Roberts attempted to check, his greenhouses, blinding clouds of smoke, and sparks filled the air when he opened the door leading inside. His 215 feet long, recently completed, barn was in flames. "There wasn't any hope for the barn, you wouldn't realize how high those You can't tell from the picture above this column, but this writer is suffering from a severe case of "foot in mouth disease" following last week's column, in which I con- fidently stated that seeing as how it was April, winter must at last be over and we could lay the whole subject to rest until next October. Well, no sooner had the paper started coming off the press last Wednesday afternoon, when someone upstairs reading my column, thought they'd play a mean trick on me. And even as this column is being written one week later, some vestiges of that mean trick are still in huge drifts all over the coun- tryside. We had the worst storm, by far, of the winter last weekend, and here's hoping it's all over. You know, it's weekends like the last one that make me wonder why we ever took this "$&?$!&?+! place away from the. Indians in the first place. + + + Well, if it's one concession, the weather can't get any worse (careful now) as we approach our first holiday since New Year's (that is, if you're a common fellow like myself and neither go to school nor have the funds to go south). All the schools will be closed both Friday and Monday for the Easter break, and all businesses will be closed for Good Friday, but reopen for Saturday and Monday. There are several exceptions, however, as the post office and the fire water stores won't be open on Monday either, as it too is a government holiday. There will be regular service, however, at the post office on Saturday, while both the banks and the liquor stores will be open later on Thursday evening. + + -I- It It seems that it's the little things in life that end up being the things that irritate us the most. In the jour- nalism profession, I've seen all kinds of people cope miraculously well with fires, accidents, and even the loss of life, and still struggle on, but some little thing can drive them off the deep end. Such is the case with yours truly. Little things like the broken wind speed indicator on our beloved Cable 12 channel drive me bonkers. Even during the hurricane last Friday, it barely registered 20 mph. Either they should fix it, or take the ! &?"! & thing off the air! -I•- -I- -I- Well, Well, now that I've got that off my chest, on to more pleasant things. The now famous Passe Muraille group who are now as well-known in North America as they are here in Huron County, are going on a tour of England, Scotland and Wales in April, May and June, where they will present two plays, "The Farm Show" based on locals in these parts, and "1837", a play about the reform movement in Ontario last century. Director Paul Thompson was in last week and pointed out that the Farm Show will open in England at a place not far from Lobbville. Well, Happy Easter, as best wishes as yours truly is taking a couple of weeks rest(?) at home with the kids., See you soon. r flames were," he coughed, his lungs still filled with smoke on Tuesday. The Bayfield Fire Department was immediately called to the scene -at lot 36, concession 1 of Goderich Township, but the barns containing over 200 pigs, and welding equipment and the greenhouse, holding 12,000 tomato plants, 3,000 pansies and marigolds, cabbage and cauliflower, burned to the ground. "It took me five years to get those barns built and an hour to go," he said. Damage and cause of the destructive blaze has not yet been established. Mr. Roberts hasn't been able to venture near the ruins. It has been said by others that damage could easily run over $100,000. Mr. Roberts noted that the greenhouse and its contents were not insured and the barn was only partially covered. "This means quite a loss to me. We'll just have to start all over again," he said wearily. Mr. Roberts did say that he and his family were fortunate enough to still have their home, "They (the fire department) did a beautiful job saving it. I wouldn't have gone in there." Knowing that it was impossible to save the barn and greenhouse, the firemen concentrated their efforts on the house, pouring thousands of gallons of water in it to protect against the sparks that flew over the house with the hurricane winds. There is some water and smoke damage to the house, but minimal compared to the rest on the farm. No more missed sleep There won't be any more sleepless nights in Clinton from now on that can be blamed on the town's fire siren. In a move started last week, the fire siren von't be wailing during the six hours from midnight to six am, and instead, the 20 -man volunteer firemen will be summoned to a fire by their pocket -sized pagers, which have been used in conjunction with the siren for several months now. However, the siren will be still turned on for a fire during any other time of the day, as firemen believe it is ef- fective in warning automobile drivers that volunteer drivers are on their way to the fire hall. Under the new system, the people manning the fire phones can contact the firemen privately with the pagers and set off the fire siren, or just page the volunteers. . The new system was given its first true test early last Friday morning for a fire at the Alvin Jones' home, and it seemed to work out fine. the addition. The school now consists of three classrooms, a staff room and principal's office, as well' as two por- table classrooms. There is no basement in the school, Mrs. Kerrigan said under board direction there is a higher standard of education in the school and a large number of Catholic students have been attracted into the school from the public school system. "As interested parents, we feel that unless we can continue to grow physically, as well as academically, we cannot maintain the standards of education that have been achieved at St. Joseph's over the years. We therefore, cannot continue to increase our enrolment and further the goals of Catholic education for future students. The school community is trying to mcet the needs of the children, but our kamited space makes this -increasingly difficult," the parents said in the brief. Mrs. Kerrigan pointed out that the problem was not with the number of students as they fitted into the school nicely but with the small groups such as the French classes, the music and special education classrooms. She pointed out that Grades 6, 7 and 8 French classes have, to be held in the hall, as well as the library is located in the hallway here too it is used to view video taped programs. - She described the number of classes 'that move around such as the spelling classes which are held every day and rotate from the hall to the Kin- dergarten room to the office; special math classes are held either in the kitchen or in the hallway when the kitchen is full; the Health Nurse works in the classroom or in the hallway or staff room ; Mass is in the hall or in the Kindergarten room ; for music classes the piano gets pushed from one room to the other and sometimes this class is held in the hall. She pointed out that all the classes that' are held in the hall or in the kit- chen or in the office have no provisions for blackboards. She said the black- board is propped on top of the drinking fountain in the hall. She said the hall is constantly congested with tables and chairs blocking exits and washroom doorways and the traffic, to the washrooms and the staff room, as well as to the library continually interrupt these classes. She said audio-visual equipment is stored on the floor in the principal's small office, making it very congested and as well the secretary's desk is also in this office. She said tumbling mats and other gym equipment is stored on the floor of the washrooms, inviting accidents and is not very sanitary as a storage spot. 0,4 Turn, to page 3 • No taxi service in Clinton by Shelley McPhee Clin'ton's only public tran- sportation service has been shut down by the town. At their Monday meeting, Clinton council defeated a motion approving the renewal of the Clinton Taxi operation licence of Doug Howse. "He tells us he'll do this and that, hut he never has," Councillor Rosemary Armstrong voiced. "We need some assurances before we approve this renewal." Clerk Cam Proctor added, "He hasn't complied with the requirements of the taxi bylaw." In a letter written to Mr. and Mrs. Doug Howse, operators of the taxi service, council listed several ob- jections. They feel that Mr. Howse has been .inconsistant with the rate structure, established by the council in a bylaw. He attempted to charge rates higher than those approved by the town. "If we turn and bend on this bylaw, we're defeating our own purpose," Councillor Joe Atkinson said. "We have to stick to it." At the request of the town, Mr. Howse liad promised to move his taxi tand from his High Street home to a commercially zoned area. "He said he'd move downtown and he didn't," Councillor Ron McKay noted. "Clerk Proctor added, "As far as I know, some drivers are driving without a licence. As far as I know that's a fair statement." Each taxi driver is required to obtain a $5 licence from the town. In talking with Mr. Howse he ex- plained, "I pay the insurance, so I'm against that." "They (council) wish to control the rates and the taxi service, but they have no money in it," he added. "Other businesses can put up their rates, so why can't I." He also explained that relocating his business has been impossible. "We can't afford to move it," he said. At the council meeting, Clerk Prnrtor said. "Mr, Howse has a copy of the bylaw. Every , year he's supposed to test the road worthiness of his cars and prove that he has enough insurance." Deputy Reeve Ernie Brown suggested to council, "I wouldn't want to see the service stopped. A lot of people depend on it and the town needs it. I'd hate to see it shut down. Let's give him a little time to get the things done." Despite Deputy Reeve Brown's proposal, council agreed to im- mediately send a letter to Mr. Howse informing him of the town's decision. The letter said that he must cease and desist from operating a taxi cab in Clinton, or be subject to a fine. Mr. Howse plans to contact other taxi services in the surrounding municipalities, to see how they are run and controlled by the town. In the meantime, he'll still"offer transportation services in his own car. Rides will but be given on a charge basis, but he will accept donations. Despite snow drifts, ice in the river and a snowstorm, nearly 40 entries turned out last Sunday for the third annual Clinton Kinsmen canoe rilee down the Maitland River. Fortunately, there were no major accidents during the 14 -mile , race from Auburn to Holmesville. (News -Record photo)