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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1980-03-20, Page 1•+x • Clinton firemen were out for four .hours on. Tuesday night, fighting a stubborn fikre at a house owned by Cliff Hallam on Erie Street in town. The fire gutted the vacant house, causing an estimated $35,00.0 in damages. Cause of the blaze was not known at presstime. (News -Record photo) Careless smokingcauses fire death Careless smoking is being blamed for the fire death last week of Mrs..' Janet Anne Poswalk, 33, of Varna, - who' per ished in blaze that levelled the. family home on Tuesday, March 11. Huron County coroner Dr, R.W. tRayy'Flowers-of-Clinton-said-that the fire marshal, Robert Adams of Mount" Forest was unable to find an exact cause of the $40,000 fire that took Mrs. Poswalk's life : and coirnpletely destroyed all the family's possessions, but Mr. Adams deter- mined that the fire started in the northwest corner of the living room. Dr. Flowers said Mrs. Poswalk actually died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide ;poisoning, and not by burning. Her badly burned body was found near the back door of -the home --by. a-Brucefield -fireman,---The fire was out of control when the volunteer brigade arrived at the scene shortly before noon. Dr. Flowers said she was a heavy Smoker and may have -dropped a cigarette after falling asleep. "These smoking deaths go on and •on," Dr. Flowers said. Careless smoking is blamed in another fire death in ----Clinton last-- November amNovember that killed a :Goderich woman. - Mrs. Poswalk was born the.former Janet Anne Armstrong in Clinton on October 27, 1946, and was a daughter of Dorothy Armstrong and the late John A. Armstrong. Educated -at Stanley Township No. 3 school, she attended Central Huron Secondary. School and. Stratford Teachers College. In December of 1965, she married Howard A. Poswalk in Detroit, V i eh i gin : I -Ie s urv-i-v e-s---h-er Folllowing their marriage, the couple lived in Detroit, St. Clair Michigan', and in 1975 moved to Varna. Tuesday evening fire levels vacant Erie Street house J A fire Tuesday nignt gutted a vacant loose at 187 Erie Street, in Clinton causing an estimated $35,000 worth of damage. The house, owned by Cliff Hallam of Dunlop Street, was a ball of fire when ,the Clinton Volunteer brigade arrived around 9:30 pen, and it took firemen about four hours to quell the stubborn blaze. Mr. Hallam said he was renovating the house and had been working ort it earlier in the evening, but had went away and when he returned, the house was full of smoke. ___ The Hallam family had moved out of the house before Christmas to a first column Oh, 'tis a joyous day for all green thumbers in the land, as the sun crosses the equator, and we mark the birth of a new season with the first day of spring. Actually, for real enthusiastic gardeners like yours truly, spring actually started months ago in the basement,' in a heated, plastic covered germination tray, and_ soon there will barely be enough room in the basement for all the lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, peppers, petunias, onion, and tomato plants. . Here's hoping for Much more benign weather so we can move the surplus out into the cold frame. The coming of spring almost makes the gloom and doom of fabling farm prices, record high interest rates, and spiraling in- flation, and no matter how tough things seem to get, there is always someone who is worse off. For instance, Lady Luck has a strange way of turning against P certain people. A young man in Pretroia, South Africa was speeding when he spotted the cop with the radar out and slammed on his brakes. Too late. Not only was he fined for speeding, but he got nailed for causing a disturbance by squealing his tires. Or how about the Hartford family from Lander, Wyoming who had some really bad luck that started when 14 -year-old Brent went sleepwalking in the family's new cabin and fell through a hole cut in the floor for a stovepipe. He landed in a tub of water left heating on the stove below, scalding himself and sending a cascadeof hot water spashing across the floor. His father Rex came running - barefoot, and while he hopped and howled with blistered feet, another son - Reit Jr. - rushed from his bedroom, fell down a flight of stairs and broke his new hone they had built 50.. yards • away on Dunlop Street, and were renovsating the older home. with plans to rent it next month. Mr. 'Hallam said he ( had already done extensive repairs to the house, including a new kitchen cupboards, •but he didn't know if he had rmuch insurance— Mr. Mr. Hallam said the house was bang heated with a wood stove, but he 'thought it was out at the time. Clinton Fire Chief Clarence Neilans said the cause of the fire was unknown at presstime, and he wasn't sure if the fire marshal's office would be called in. leg in three place. Peg Hartford went for help in the family pickup, but got stuck in a snowbank. Happily, however, they finally all made it to hospital. -}- + Citizens from around here aren't immune from bouts of bad luck either. Like the poor guy (we don't have any name) who was ,drving from Clinton to London and got pinched by an OPP speed trap in ..Kippee ' Thinking he had his share of bad luck for the .day, he speeded on his way again,only to get pulled over in Exeter and given another ticket. That of course should have convinced him that Lady Luck wasn't on his side, and off he went again, 'his -lead foot heavy on . the accelerator. To make a long story short, the radar was again out in Lucan and the long arm of the OPP pulled him over in that fine Irish community., ,When the officer asked him for his identification, the Motorist handed him the previous two tickets he had picked up and said all the information he needed was on them. So if your feeling down and out sometime, clip this column and bring it out for solace when you think you have it tough. + ++ The Main Street Wit says this Week that man could retire com- fortably in his' old age if he could sell his experience for what it cost him. + -i-+ There are a couple of interesting things going on in the area during March break, among them being a ch'ance for Clinton fans to have a look at the Goderich Sailors hockey . team, which is half Clinton lads. The boys will be having a play-off game here in Clinton tonight (Thursday) at the arena at 8 pm when they battle the Lucknow Lancers. Beside her husband and mother, she is survived by one daughter, Tracy Katherine; and three sisters, Pauline (Mrs. Hans L,eppington) of Clinton, Judy (Mrs.. Allan Johnston) of RR 3, Thorndale; and Linda (Mrs.. Kenneth -Squires) of Bramalea. A private funeral and committal service was held from the Beattie Funeral Home in Clinton on March 14. Interment will be in the Bayfield Cemetery. Will cost $'5,O0O more by Audrey Middleton Goderich township recreation Council A large cloud of uncertainty hung held at the township office, over the monthly meeting of the Holmesville on Wednesday, March 12. owners want lower taxes because of messy neighbors At least two . property owners on Pugh's Terrace will be looking for a reassernent of their taxes and a reduction of 50 per cent. Council read letters from two property owners, 'Harvey Atchison and I. Haarbye, who explained that they are seeking a reduction in their taxes since an auto wrecking yard has been established on Pugh's Terrace. The letters were read at council's March 18 meeting and although the county assessment office will have to review the requests, council. did say that charges had been sent out to Harvey Carter, owner of the wrecking yard., for contravening the property standards bylaw. The problem with auto wrecking yard has been continuing for two years and Reeve Royce Macaulay said that Mr. Carter had cleaned up the area twice, but this has been the first time that charges have been laid. "I don't blames these people one bit." Councillor Chester Archibald said. I can't believe that the problem's been kicked around this long. Either the pollee chief or the town solicitor hasn't been doing their job." Reeve Macaulay agreed and said, "We can't seem to get any action on these things," Councillor Rob Parr suggested that the problem of enforcing bylaws cou:d be solved with the hiring of a bylaw officer. "Then,". he said, "the police wouldn't have ...the extra .work. They have enough to do." Reeve Macaulay rejected this idea, saying it had been. discussed before. He said that the police could take a few minutes from their ,car patrol to warn people and to enforce bylaws, _ Contractor, town agree on pool The price has gone up by $5,000 but afi agreemenrhas been reached and the contract for anew -swimming pool in Clinton will besigned. At .their March 18 meeting, Clinton' Council agreed to sign a contract with C.A. McDowell Construction. from Exeter to build a full sized pool and a training pool. While the contract price will remain at $194,700 an additionalcost of $5,000 which wAs,eyerseen,j y Mr. McDowell, in his tender application, will laid to . the contractor from a contingency fund. The contingency fund, which is used for. any unexpected costs, will be reduced from $15,000 .to $10,000 and the engineer has ensured council and the rec committee that the remaining $10,000 should be adequate if any extra costs arise. The unexpected $5,000 increase in construction costs came after the McDowell tender was accepted by council early in March. Mr. McDowell In Clinton girl informed the rec committee that he would sign the contract only if an additional $7,030 was added. He ex- plained that the mechanical costs were $1,800 more than he expected,. electrical costs were up $1,600, and labor costs of $=3,600 had been omitted from his hid. Weather-- 1980 1979 HI LO HI LO Mar. 11 .2 . 10 -8 -12 12 -8 .17 -3 •10" 13 -3 -13 9 -8 14 0 - 4.5 -2 -10 15 -2 -8 -3 -13 16 5 -10 3.5 -8 17 7 2 10 3 Snow 10 cm. Snow 2 cm Rain 20 m m J eye's Syndrome suspected A 15 year old Clinton girl is being treated in Victoria Hospital, London for Reye's Syndrome. Clinton Public . Hospital ad: ministrator Doug Coventry said the girl was brought into Clinton hospital over the weekend and was tran- sferred to hospital in London. It is the third case of Reye's Syn- 'drome being treated at Victoria Hospital. Two weeks ago a nine year old Staffa area girl was sent to London. Although no real cause for the disease has been established, doctors stress that it is not communicable. The disease is rare condition and victims usually contract it while recovering from a viral infection such as influenza or chicken. pox. The symptoms of the disease are swelling of the brain, dehydration- and severe headaches. Many cases of Reye's Syndrome Bayfield man escapes crash A 25 year old Bayfield area man escaped injury when the car he was driving smashed into a tree on March 16. The Goderich OPP reported that Clayton Stirling, 26 of RR 2, Bayfield was travelling east on the Old Bayfield Concession when his car skidded, went into the north ditch and hit a tree. Damage to the car was set at $2,500. The Clinton police reported that icy roads resulted in a three car accident on March 13. The Princess Street accident caused $800 damage to a car driven by Duane Wales, 16, of Clinton and $500 in damages to a car driven by Shelley Middleton, 16, of RR 3, Clinton. A third car driven by Brian Gerig, 19, of RR. 2, Clinton was undamaged. Police also reported that on March 15, a C13 radio was stolen from a truck belonging to goy Elliott. The truck was parked near the Clinton Hotel. have been ► L p,,i ,. __ ,.,..,ughout the northern United States. There have been three cases in Ontario so far this year and one seven-year-old Kit- chener girl has died from it. Last year in Ontario, Reye's Syndrome caused five deaths. Councillor _ Ron McKay, a rec committee -,member, told council that the committee had met with Mr. McDowell and they had worked out an agreement _ reducing his additional asking price to $5,000. Councillor McKay explained that $2,000 was taken off the labor costs. Councillor McKay pointed out to council that since the extra $5,000 will come from the contingency fund: "The Important thing is that there's no increase in the contract price." He also explained that the rec committee felt that they couldn't oppose Mr. McDowell's request since the town was ,already outside the contract rules and the 60 -day period to accept a tender had passed. Their only alternative would have been to tender the project again, for a third time. - Councillor McKay added, "Last time (when the arena floor , was rebuilt) we had. Mr:. McDowell in a difficult position: This time he could have been difficult with us.". During the 1978 tendering for the new arena floor, Mr. McDowell had omitted $40,000 from his price and ,wanted out of the contract. The rec committee said he could sign the contract to build the- floor or lose his $15,000 deposit submitted with the tender. Mr. McDowell subsequently signed the contract for the lower price and installed the floor to the town's complete satisfaction. Until sueh time word is received from Wintario (expected by the end of March) on whether or not the town- ship may receive a grant towards the building of the new Community centre, the little word "if" was used -eonstant4y—in—m-appin ,.out--th . 1980 -..-...,._. --1-- budget. Those attending the meeting in- cluded chairman Doug Yeo, secretary, Hazel McCreath, direc- tors,. Grant Stirling, Bev Orr, Marilyn Forbes, Alice Porter and Gerdy Ginn. All members having done their assigned budget homework, chair- man Doug Yeo was able to handle smoothly the plans for the expected expenses and revenue of the township recreation in the two departments of programming and parks. The third department, community centre, was the "iffy" one and was planned for in the good faith that the monies will be available. As township reeve Grant. Stirling said, "Som e- kind -of -hal 1 will be built. We're torninitted to that." Sub -committees were set up for 1980: community centre, Grant Stirling, Hazel. McCreath, Alice Porter; rec programs, Walter Mellwain, Marilyn Forbes,.. Doug Yeo; parks, Gerry Ginn, Bev Orr and a third township council member (still " to be appointed to the red` board) . �"- _Chairman Doug Yeo proposed that for the April meeting the members of the three committees make a list of their duties or priorities that they feel are: their responsibility. Gerry Ginn gave . a report on the recent township dance, March 8 -at White Carnation. Fresh 1980 maple - syrup -donated for door prizes by the Bert and Doris Schilbe sugar bush, was won by Mr. and Mrs. Gilders and Gloria Kirkconnell. It was decided to leave discussion on the location_ of the late fall dances until the April meeting. • A motion was made that the rec committee approach the 1979. ball committee to see if they will act again for 1980.and if they wish, make ad- ditions to their committees. The "township barbecue at the lakeside park was set for July 9 with a rain date July 16. Several members agreed to attend as delegates the . Lake Duron zone conference of OMRA at Mount Forest, at the end of March; Gerry Ginn, Marilyn Forbes, Alice Porter, Walter Mclllwain, Hazel McCreath. The rec committee then prepared a recommendation to the township council on the athletic field, suggesting that council complete the softball and soccer field plus tidy up the bush and creek area, in- vestigating (for the bush clean-up) the federal government's summer youth -employment program. The meeting adjourned until Wednesday, April 16. One of the oldest traditions in Canada, Maple syrup making, now enjoys the 'latest in technological ad- vancement, as the modern sugar bushes keep pace with the energy crunch. Albert Shilbe, who along with his son Eric run a 'large operation in Goderieli Township near Hayfield, have brought space-age technology to their operation with the introduction this year of an Elee- trohotne Reverse Osmosis System, which removes a great deal ofwater from the sap before it is boiled, saving large amonths of fuel, and speeding up the process considerably. Mr. Sitilbe says the machine, worth $25,000 new, takes the sap in at two' per cent and turns out syrup at 10 percent, which is then boiled down to 60 per cent sugar at a cost of 25 cents an hour. Using a cellulose fibre and aeetate membrane, the machine works on the oldest principal known to life, the selective exchange of rnolecues through a membrane. Mr. Shilbe says he could triple prodttetion with the unit and eut fuel consumption in half. (lvews.fteeord photo)