Clinton News-Record, 1979-10-18, Page 1Clinton firemen Paul Draper, left, and Mark Jenkins; were silhouetted by'
flames spewing from a shed early Saturday morning at the Bill Grigg
residence, 143 Queen Street in Clinton. Fire, which may have been started by a
heater, heavily damaged the shed causing $10,000 damage to two motorcycles
and furniture. Firemen were called out again an hoyr later to the edge of town
on Highway 8 when fire gutted a van owned by Walter Rehberg of Gadshill.
Coincidentally, last week was Fire Prevention Week. (News -Record photo)
by, Wilma. Oke
Tuckers.mith TownIship council
agreed Tuesday to call a meetingof
its. ratepayers before going ahead'
with the construction of the addition
to the Vanastra Recreation Centre.
,A large group of Tuekersmith
residents, mainly from Egm,ondyilie
and Vanastra, attended the council
session, Lloyd Eisler of Egrnondville,
the only spokesman, presented
council with a petition requesting it
consult with its ratepayers before
praceeciing with the addition.
Councillor Frank Falconer said he.
didn't think a meeting would solve
anything. ?We could be held up on 'a
$175,000 grant. (Council is awaiting
word from ministry officials in reply
to a request for community centre
and Wintario grants.)
Falconer agreed it would be a lot
easier to get the grants if the
ratepayers would go along with the
construction.
Councillor William Brown said, "I
don't think the ratepayers are op -
4
posed to the addition, but, if it could
be shown the centre would make a
profit or breo.k even...
Reeve Ervin Sillery questioned
Eisler about the need for presenting
the petition when at the last council
meeting on October 2 he had
Blood needed!!
Blood is badly needed and
members of the Red Cross are
begging ...pe,ople • to come to the
BI'ood Dc nors clinic today
(Thursday, October 18) at Central
Huron Secondary School in Clinton. i
A spokesperson from the Red
Cross office in London said on
Tuesday that they are in
"desperate need" of blood as the
bank is nearly depleted of certain
types, including '0' positive and
negative, and 'B' positive and
negative.
The clinic is open from 1:30 to 4
prn, and 5:30 to 8:30 pm.
0111
• presented a §irnil,.ar petition., Reeve
Sillery told him then that he would
a_ gree to calling a meeting. The reeve
said when he agreed to the meeting he
felt "it would be an opportunity for
council to give the people both sides."
Eisler replied that the ` reeve had
agreed to the meeting but that the rest
of council might not vote, for , it.,
Deputy Reeve Robert Bell said he
would hate to see the project held up.
Reeve Sillery asked: "If the
ratepayers have the true facts, would
we have any way to know if they had
, changed their minds?"
Councillor .Brown asked how much
a vote would cost. Township Clerk
Jack McLachlan replied that "It
would cost $5,000.
Falconer said, he thought the
project would be a complete loss and
that now the township stands first in
line for the grants, but that if the
government officials get the word the
ratepayers are against it, then some
other municipality would get priority.
Eisler replied that if council didn't
1 l4tFi Year -No. 42
Thursday, October 18, 1979
35 Cents
Blazes plague Fire
Careless smoking blamed.
in trailer fire depth
Careless smoking combined with
alcohol abuse are blamed for death of
a Goderich woman in a fire in Clinton
last Wednesday, October 10.
-Muriel Burley, 53, of West Street in
Goderich, was pronounced dead at the
scene of the fire at 4:45 pm by Huron
County Coroner Dr. R.W. Flowers of
..Clinton after she was drag.ged.from a
blazing trailer at . Morgan's Mobile
Home Park in the south end of Clin-
ton.
It was. the first fire death in Clinton
in more than 20 years,•and came right,
in the middle of Fire Prevention
Week. '
Mrs. Burley had been pulled from.
the trailer by Clinton firemen Harvey
Carter and Dean Reid, but efforts by a
Goderich nurse Irene -Brookes; who
lives in Clinton, to give mouthto
mouth resuscitation failed to revive
her.
The owner of the trailer, Hedley
Prouse, 62, escaped from the flaming
structure, and had to be restrained by
neighbors after he tried to re-enter
first
column
tre
go to the ratepayers that they would
force a vole, He' said 62 percent of the
eligible voters (there are a total of
2,300 of them) could demand it.
Brown asked for a recorded vote on
whether to agree to the petition for the
meeting and all voted yes.
Council agreed the meeting .would
be held at the Vanastra Reci'eation
Centre --possibly on November 5
providing the centre would be
available on that date.
The clerk read a prepared
statement outlining the reason for the
addition, and it revealed that in 1978,
the township applied for a Canada
Turn to page 3 •
A place for kids
p. 2
Naturally speaking p, 6
Snowy crash
Where are the trout?
At the Legion
CHSS update
P . 7
P . 8
P. 9
p. 11
Holmesville happenings p. 16
Vonastra activities p 12
Hensoll sales barn pil7
Coming events p. 18
Area news and notes p, 1A
Handmade quilt won p. 3A
The newlyweds p. 6A -7A
nlion Week
the burning structure and bring Mrs.
Burley out before firemen arrived.
The trailer, on lot 32, was heavily
damaged in the blaze, and fire Chief
Clarence- Neilans said damage may
total $10,000.
Inspector Bill Exley of the • Fire
Marshal's office, who was called in to
investigatethe;cause of the
said the fire appeared to have been
started by careless smoking, and
quickly filled the trailer with smoke
and fumes.
Coroner Dr. Flowers said that an
autopsy, conducted in Stratford,
showed that Mrs. Burley died of
carbon monoxide poisoning and
,sm-bke i.nhal'ation•
.
Dr. Flowers said no inquest was
planned.
It was the second time in three days
that Clinton firemen had quelled a
blaze in the Prouse trailer. The
Saturday night previous, they had put
out a fire in a pot of chicken on 'a
stove.
As you can see by a story
elsewhere on this page, the Red
Cross is in bad need of blood, and
are hoping as many of you as
possibe will show up at the Blood
Donors Clinic at CHSS today
(Thursday). Usually the clinic is
held on a. Tuesday, -which is a very
busy day hdre at the paper, but
because it's been, changed, yours
truly will be there dripping like
everyone else (hopefully.)
We take the gift of blood too
lightly, and many poeple say they
just don't have time to give it. Well,
I can tell you from personal ex-
perience that you'll never forget
it's life saving principles once you
been given it.
-!-++
And as you can also see by the
front page this week, the town
celebrated Fire Prevention Week
with one of the worst weeks on
record, and it serves to remind us
that most fires CAN be prevented,
as many are caused from sheer
carelessness. It certainly will be a
week the volunteer firefighters will
remember for quite some time,
having answered half a dozen
major calls in seven days.
It's one job that many of us
certainly wouldn't do, especially
when you see a couple of fellows
going into a .smoke filled building
with only their wits and training to
keep them from serious . injury or
death.
+ + +
Next week, October 21 to 27 is
National Nutrition Week, and even
though many of us are overfed,
sorne are undernourished'because
we don't eat the right food, So,
through the co-operation of the
Ministry of agriculture and food,
will ; be bringing you a column of
nutrition tips tor the next
couple of
Weeks.
+ -1-
Also in connection
.
c�lon�with � c�okin
•
by
jim fitzgerald
Sunday night barn fire
levels barn, kills 325 pigs
By Jim Fitzgerald
Clinton firemen were called out
again for the fifth time in less than a
week to a major fire when flames
raced through a barn on the farm of
Terry Taylor, two miles east of
Clinton on Highway 8. •
The barn, 325 pigs, and a quantity of
feed were °lost iri the- late 'evening
blaze that completely levelled the
large two storey barn.
Damage could run as high as $65,000 -
in the fire that had completely
engulfed , the structure when the
Clinton volunteer fire brigade arrived
shortly after lO pm.
Several pigs escaped the barn
before it collapsed in a burning heap,
but a couple had to be shot because
they were severely burned.
Mrs. Taylor discovered the fire
when she was going to bed and hap-
pened to look out the family room
window to see the structure engulfed
in flames. Mr. Taylor was on his way
back to Toronto, where he works as a
transport truck driver.
The loss was only partially covered
by insurance, and included in the loss
were 300 feeder pigs, 22 sows, and
several boars.
Clinton fire chief Clarence Neilans
said the cause of the fire was un-
determined, and Mrs. Taylor said she
didn't think any heaters were on in the
barn for the piglets.
Weather
1979 .1978
ctober Hi Lo
Hi Lo
9 10 3.5 9 0
10 7 -1 20.5 3
11 9 -1 19.5 7
12 . 9.5 4 18.5 12.5
13 8 1 13 5.5
14 7.5 1.5 9 0
15 •13 5
Rain 63.8 mm
9 -2
Rain 2.4 mm
is our own cook book which we will
be putting out shortly. We are still
looking for those favorite recipes of
yours or your club's, There's prizes
to be won, so look for the ad on
Page 17 of this week's issue.
Also new this week is a district
news page to try and pick up the
slack left by the withdrawal of the
Free Press. It will be a brief
summary of events in Huron,
Perth, and Bruce Counties, and
sort of takes off where the old
"Through the Weeklies" left off.
We won't guarantee it will be in
every week, what with the
newsprintshortage, but we hope
you find it worth reading.
The Main Street wit says this
week; "We give advice by the
bucket, but take it by the grain."
Arena manager Clarence
Neilans wishes to remind everyone
that there is public skating at the
arena every Sunday afternoon,
ho ever, the first hour from 1 pm
to kJ pm, is for beginners only, or
those out on' the' ice assisting
beginners. People who can skate
half decently, (I guess I'm in that
catergory) skate from 2 to 3: 30 pm.
Despite the snow last week and
the three inches of rain, we are still
getting reports of roses blooming
and raspberries fruiting, but I just
spotted a woolly banded caterpiller
on Tuesday, and going by his
stripes, we're in for a mean winter
at the start, a mild spell in
February and a dirty March. So
there!
+ +
In recognition of the Year Of The
Child, our main street wit also
offers this piece of sage advice to
all't
tnonss and 'dadsof ,`
s young'ins:
.
"Thehandwriting on the walls tells
you, you Shouldn't y
thavebo
rht
crayons for the kids,, +'
(head bend over)from the Fire Marshal's o
Investigator Bill Exley, office looks
for clues in to the cause of a fire that swept through a trailer at Morgan's
Mobile Home Park last week, killing a Goderich woman, Muriel Burley, whose
body was found on the couch to the right of Mr. Exley. Helping Mr. Exley are
Clinton Constable Don Armstrong, kneeling, and Fire Chief Clarence Nellans,
and Deputy Chief Fred Lobb. (News -Record photo)
BIA gets go ah ea d
from CiinwncouncilClinton
.
With only two objections, Clinton
Council gave three readings and
passed a bylaw at their October 9
meeting designating the a portion of
Clinton as a Business Improvement
Area. (BIA).
One objection came from Ray
Dupuis, owner of Ray's Shoe Repair,
who noted that (his project would cost
money thus raising th€business and
property tax bill. He suggested that a
secret ballot, for the businesses in-
volved, be held to show a democratic
response of what merchants sup-
ported the MA.
The second objection came from the
Brewer's Retail on Mill Street, who
said that since their business was not
in the core area of Clinton, they felt
that the BIA would not benefit them.
Council learned that two •objections
were not sufficient petition to hold
against the ,BIA concept, In order to
hold any ground, objections must
co'rine from at least kone4hird of the
total number of businesses in the area
involved. In this case there are over
00 businesses involy' ,d ' and two ob-
ee i this ,. '., , ,..,d
t ons did not of i�iee o d
trl hir
et
requirement.
Although
'
has'Pp
rcued' the
.Prograhfinal author atlon twist
,iotfie
frbtn the *tun flonicipal
Board (OMB), who will review the
bylaw and may consider the ob-
jections- to the •proposal, However,
OMB approval is expected shortly.
At that time, the bylaw will come
into force and then further action and
actual improvements to Clinton's
business area can begin. At that time
specific areas and businesses for
possible improvement will be con=
sidered.
The BIA will then submit to council
an annual budget estimate and
request the necessary money to carry
out the plans. -14 council approves this,
then they will levy a special charge
upon all businessess in the BIA to
provide funds needed. The levy on'the
'businesses will be based on each one's
asse :fiment.
In Clinton's case, a BIA fact finding
committee found that the total
business assessment was about
$135,0.00 and that to assess each
business ,it 7.92 per cent of the total
could produce approximately $10,000
per year foia''ihe BTA.
BIA Chairman David Anstett told
cou c1l , Our. group h
bas done a lot 6f
work to put this together,.and Y think
fi�,
,p
we've
don'..,ee
a�bad Ob
. t
think
that
speaks for itself with the
number of
chic `iirdfS W» rr'weiVed,»
Terry T or + f„ 4smouldering a ,
T nyt l2 , ciinton Looks over the iretn tr► of his
., . :. , .. . � sl �barn
that Twos ,everted iri a Su'nd iyln ght fire at his farm on Hi
.. �` , g hive, 8, two ilex
S
east of. Clinton. The blaze, whic could be seen 10 miles away, killed
and 'caused -05,068 in. d m g... , The to was
325 digs
age. _ e� oril� parti�ll� covered
surance.,(l ew's+ e'oord p oto) 1