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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-09-28, Page 1A rn s.e c3 5-, O .-e Fire siren, a C THE BAY FIELD BUGIAF incorporating Wednesday, September 28, 1983 Thousa s atte clinics to combat rabies virus By Wendy Somerville According to the Health of Animals organization in Seaforth, attendance at the Free Anti -Rabies Vaccination clinics is, so far, up this year. The last time the free clinics were available was in 1980. This year Gorrie had an attendance figure of 430. In 1980, 225 people showed up for the free clinic. In Wingham, 701 people arrived with their animals for shots. In 1980 the atten- dance figure was somewhat lower at 409. Clifford had a figure of 267 this year, substantially higher than the 74 figure in 1980. Clinton's figure for the free clinic rose slightly with a total of 574 people in atten- dance. In 1980, 489 people attended the clinics. Seven hundred and thirty-three people showed up at the Blyth clinic. In 1980, 581 people were in Byth for the clinic. Goderich, had an attendance figure of 815 as opposed to 720 in 1980. This year Brussels had 632 people visit its clinic. In 1980, 505 people attended the clinic. This was the first year a Free Anti - Rabies Vaccination clinic has been offered in Zurich. For a first time, they did well with a figure of 369. The clinic will be travelling to Bayfield, Hensall, Exeter, Grand Bend, Lucknow and Seaforth within the next couple of weeks. About rabies Rabies is a viral infection that attacks the nervous system of all warm-blooded anunais, including man. A ' 'record 2,400 cases of rabies . i`t ' livestock were recorded between April, 1, nd March, 1983 — a'jump of close to seven per cent from the year before. "Rabies is still around because it's such a long, difficult and costly disease to con- trol," explained David Gregory of Agriculture Canada's Food Production and Inspection Branch. "It is very important that people should know what to do when someone has been bitten by an animal that may be rabid." He says the bitten area should be scrubb- ed thoroughly with strong soap and water. If possible, the suspected animal should be isolated but not hand -led directly and a veterinarian called. `'The only way to find out if the disease is present is through a laboratory examina- tion of the animal's brain, which means it has to be destroyed," Dr. Gregory says. Dr. Gregory advises adults to teach their children to watch wild animals from a safe distance and never to pick up or play with seemingly friendly wild animals. "People should also protect their pets by not letting them run free in areas where rabies is a threat and, of course, there are rabies vaccination programs," he added. Since rabies is much more common in rural areas, farmers should be able to recognize the disease's symptoms. The typical reactions of one form, called furious rabies, include excitability, viciousness, drooling, and biting. Paralysis follows and death occurs one to seven days after the first symptoms ap- pear. With the other fc m, dumb rabies, the i;stage is short-lived, or entirely n�nfected cattle usually have a wild, sting expression due to excitement, • fO pwed by violent actions in which they shake their -heads and ':kite; viciously at "There may be an abundant flow of saliva and the cattle will not eat. They fre- quently look as if they are choking and there is a temptation for the owner to try to relieve the choke by putting a hand into the animal's mouth. After this stage, paralysis sets in and death soon follows," Dr. Gregory said. The symptoms in sheep and horses are similar to those in cattle. "Pigs react by hiding in their bedding and may, without apparent reason, rush out in terror. They too stop eating but will chew other objects," Dr. Gregory said. "They appear extremely restless and at- tack and bite savagely. Finally, they go in- to convulsions and die." Being able to recognize rabies in livestock is one thing, what to do after rabies is suspected is another. "The nearest Agriculture Canada office should be notified as quickly as possible. Or, if you cannot get through to our offices call the local veterinarian, police, or agricultural representative," stressed Dr. Gregory. "Until they arrive, the animals. should be confined and should definitely not be handled. If for some reasonthe animal must be removed, heavy gloves should be worn and contact with the animal's saliva avoided," added Dr. Gregory. According to the Clinton Public Hospital tbere have been no reports of rabies in the Clinton area. However, the Seaforth area has experienced a major outbreak. Two beef f .sio nd one dairy herd are prese a 40 day quarantine. Seven > ;"t: e at one location and one at each ,; ers have died from the disea ;;Sev A eople, six from one family haveen r ving post -rabies vaccina- tions Aecdtd'i YgT4't.o The Hur'otl 'Expositor,. Huron County has seen an increase in • positive rabies cases of almost 50 per eent. From January to August, 1982, there were 45 animals diagnosed as having the disease. The same period for 1983 was 65. New inventions aid the blind By Rod Hilts Laser canes with "beeping" radar systems, glasses that detect obstacles by beaming a warning signal into an earpiece and talking calculators that do everything but walk. Sounds like an invasion from outer space. Actually they were just some of the items presented to the public when the Bluewater Blind Club and CNIB held a visual aid display on Sept. 20. Gwen Watson, an executive member of the Bluewater Blind Club,, said this 'is the first time since 1978 that the dispray has been held in Clinton. Blind Club members came from Exeter, Hensall, Blyth, Brussels, Goderich and Seaforth to view the display. "There's been a significant advance made in aids for the blind over the last five years," said Mrs. Watson. One of the most amazing developments to aid the blind is a laser cane valued at fi6,000. Beams project out of the cane, detecting objects up to 20 feet away. Different sound pitches come out of the cane, telling the blind person where the obstacle is. According to Lori Siska Iachowsky, an orientation and mobility specialist for the CNIB, the cane was developed in the mid -1970's. She said that most people can't afford the aids and service clubs sometimes sponsor them. For those who don't care for canes, a pair of glasses have been developed to detect obstacles by use of a beam that projects out thein. A buzzer is connected to the earpiece in the glasses and goes off when the blind person is within 12 feet of an object or person. The cost of these glasses is about $4,000. A portable hand sensor is another device available to aid the blind. It detects objects and people up to 12 feet away by simply vibrating in the user's hand. This item is more moderately priced at $600. Mrs. Sika Lachowsky stressed that the term "blind" doesn't mean a person has totally lost their vision. Blind also includes people that have partially impaired vision. To be legally blind a person's sight must be 20 over 200 in both eyes. Since 50 per cent of Canada's 30,000 blind are over the age of 65, the CNIB displays especially benefit the elderly. Claudia Day, an eye service nurse for the prevention of blindness t CNIB ), said 87. per cent of blind people have vision ranging from 20 over 200 to light per- ception. Mrs. Day's display consisted of optic aids including monoscopes for distant vision and hand magnifiers. She stressed the purpose of the lenses are not to correct near and farsighted vision but to make print large for reading. "These type of displays are fairly successful as far as exposure goes. It mainly benefits older people. We tend to keep these aids away from younger people because it acts like a crutch to them," said Mrs. Day. Mrs. Day says the latest innovation to hit the market is a close circuit television that enlarges written material on a screen up to 60 times larger than normal. The cost of this machine is about $2,000. According to Mrs. Day, the popularity of this item has really taken off over the past six months. A key area of Mrs. Day's job withthe CNIB is her work with school children. She assesses their ability to function visually in the classroom. The other part of her job is to work with adults, assessing their ability to work with strong magnifing lenses. The display also featured games like Turn to page 3 Last week, the Plnewater Blind club. in conjunction v f!?t the CNiR. held a'isual aid display at Wiclev Willis (lion h in Clinton. Pie - hired is CNIB nurse Claudia Day showing Frank Washington of Goderich some of the latest developments in visual aids.(Rod Hilts photo ) y Shelley McPhee If worse comes to worse, the old fire siren, stationed on top of the Clinton Town Hall could be decorated as a star for Christmas. Clinton Councillor Ross Carter lightheartedly suggested putting the old siren to a festive use after council came up with few solutions to the future of the siren at their Sept. 19 meeting. The problem with the siren is its size and its ownership. Some say that the late Hector Kingswell and other men managed to take the siren up the town hall tower, but no one is quite sure how to get it down again. The monsterous siren has been replaced with a smaller version, located at the fire hall and to add to the problems, everyone has seemingly abandoned the old siren. Neither the town nor the fire department ristmas st - r? will claim it and no one wants the job of bringing it to the ground. Councillor Jim Hunter noted that the motor in the old siren is valuable, but someone will have to foot a costly bill to bring the siren down. A crane may need to be hired to do the job. "Whoever gets it down can sell the motor," Councillor Bee Cooke suggested. Councillor Charlie Burgess asked if it was necessary to remove the siren. He stressed, "It's just another cost." Other councillors felt that the siren should be removed because it is an eyesore and creates unnecessary weight on the town hall. Suggestions about the Christmas star, or declaring the siren as a heritage fixture were briefly considered. Council decided to contact the Fire Area Board, asking them to remove the siren. In most cases the owners were more nervous than the pets at the rabies vaccination clinic held in Bayfield on Sept. 26. Like many Ed Hughes of Bayfield looked somewhat apprehensive at the thought of a needle but his little dog had her shot in only, a few seconds time. Dr. Lawless, working out of Seaforth was on duty for the day. Similar clinics have been held throughout Huron County in an effort to protect pets from in• creased incidents of rabies this year. (Shelley McPhee photo) Bizarre accident Dills OPP veteran A 25 -year veteran of the Ontario Provincial Police was killed in a bizarre accident in Goderich Township early Sunday morning when a Town of Goderich cruiser smashed the car he had stopped on County Road 18. Dead is Constable Bruce Kennedy Crew, 47, of 121 Nelson Street Goderich. A member of the OPP for over 25 years, he came to the Goderich detachment in 1965 after a few years service in Kitchener. The accident is still under investigation by members of the OPP under the direction of Inspector John Deslauriers of Toronto. A statement issued by police Monday said that Crew and Constable John Straughan, 38, were assisting town of Goderich police Constable Peter Mason in the apprehension of a vehicle owned by Wayne McDonald, 23, of R.R. 2 Lucknow at approximately 3 a.m. Sunday. • The black Pontiac Trans Am was pur- sued by Const. Mason east on Highway 8 and Clinton Police responded to a call for assistance by setting up a road block on Highway 8 at Holmesville. The vehicle then proceeded west on County Road 18 towards Highway 21. Crew and Straughan, stopped the vehicle three kilometres east of Highway 21 at Porter's Hill. Crew ap- proached the. vehicle and was about to remove the keys from the ignition while Straughan returned to the cruiser to in- form dispatch that the pursued vehicle had been stopped when Mason came over a rise arid slammed into the McDonald vehicle, killing Crew, who was standing beside it. Deslauriers said Mason observed the vehicle in town and continued to pursue it outside the town limits while requesting assistance. The Inspector said that Straughan and Crew happened to be in the area on another occurrence when they responded to the request. Deslauriers and his investigating team are still trying to determine how Crew was hit. "Constable Crew was out of the cruiser and Constable Straughan was beside or getting into the cruiser," he said. "We haven't put all the pieces together." Constable Straughan was treated for minor injuries while Constable Mason an a passenger in the McDonald vehicle, Allan Nicholson, 21, of R.R. 2, Lucknow, were taken to Alexandra Marine and General Hospital for treatment and later released. Both the town and OPP cruiser and the McDonald vehicle were damaged in the accident. The vehicles were being examined by a forensic team in the OPP garage. Deslauriers said no charges were laid in connection with the incident but both McDonald and Nicholson were given breath tests following the accident. Goderich police chief Pat King said that subsequent to a meeting with OPP in- vestigators and the crown attorney Monday evening, it was determined that constable Mason was not travelling at an excessive speed and that the accident could not have been avoided. "The Clinton Police cruiser followed the vehicle on County Road 18 but Constable Mason, as agreed between them, overtook the Clinton cruiser and continued to pursue the vehicle," Chief King said. "The OPP had radioed that the vehicle had stalled and had been stopped. The dispatcher relayed that message immediately to Mason but he came on Porter's Hill in a matter -of three seconds. 'He tried to stop the vehicle and almost put his own cruiser in the ditch." Crew is survived by his wife Emily; one daughter, M s. Carson (Emily) Milley of Goderich a d three sons, Stephen of Kitchener and Peter and Stuart both of Goderich. A full police funeral was held 'at First Presbyterian Church, Collingwood, Wednesday. Members of the Goderich detachemtn of the OPP and police from across Ontario formed an honour guard for the funeral. Varna teens injured in single car crash The Goderich OPP reported two ac- cidents in the Clinton area last week, one of which, sent three Varna youths to Clinton Hospital with major injuries. On Sept. 24, at 12:30 a.m., a car driven by Peggy Van Wonderen, 16, of RR 1 Varna was eastbound on Concession 2 and 3 of Hullett Township, one km east of High- way 4, when the accident occurred. Miss Van Wonderen lost control of the car, entered the ditch and struck a tree. Passengers in the vehicle, Jay Brandon, 16, of RR 1 Varna and Lori Consitt, 14, of RR 1 Varna received major injuries in the accident. Damage to the Van Wonderen vehicle is estimated at $6,000. The Clinton Fire Department was called to the scene of the accident to help rescue the injured. On Sept. 26, an accident near Vanastra caused $900 damage. On Highway 4 at the Vanastra entrance„ a collision occurred between a vehicle driven by Meda O'Brien, 67, of RR 3 Zurich and a -vehicle driven by Thomas Cooke, 46. f Goderich. There were no injuries. Damage to the O'Brien vehicle was estimated at $100 and damage to the Cooke vehicle wac estimated at $800 The Goderich OPP reported an accident on Sept. 27 that sent a Clinton Wean to hospital with seri'lus injuries as the result of hitting a deer. Gerald Ball, 38, nt 217 Vtctorra,St.• ('hn- ton„was travelling along Count> Road 13 in Goderich Township when two deer ran onto the road. Ball struck one of the deer. Damage to his 1978 Honda motorcycle is estimated at $500. Weather 1983 198°e HI LO HI LO SEPTEMBER 20 27 17 21 19 9 22 13 6 22 13 5 24 15 1 25 17 5 26 18 10 Rain 73mm 16 7 16 4 14 9 17 9 15 8 16 11 19 8 Ram 58mm n