Loading...
The Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-04-01, Page 1139 YEAR - 13 GODERICH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1987 Meriam honore 30 years on local fire department BY PATRICK RAFTIS All things considered, the demanding job of fighting fires is "tougher now than it was 30 years ago," says Goderich Fire Department Chief Jack Meriam. If. anyone should have a good perspec- tive on the challenges facing firefighters then and now, it would be Meriam, who recently received a plaque from the Town ' of Goderich, in honor of his 30 -years of ser- vice to the local department: Meriam joined the department in February, 1957, in response to an advertis- ment far the position of firefighter. At that' time, the department consisted of 15 firefighters (it now boasts 21), and two trucks (circa 1928 and 1949) located in a fire station on East Street which is now the site of the Goderich Post Office. During his tenure on the department, Meriam has servedas a lieutenant for four years, a captain for five and deputy chief for two years, before succeeding the former chief, Bill Beacom, about two years ago. He is.a. life-long resident of Goderich and has been employed •by ion Road Machinery Ltd. for the ast 30 years.-"` QUICKER RESPONSE Meriam has seen many changes in in - ovations in fire fighting since he first began. The biggest changes, he says, are the number of hours now spent fighting the average blaze and "the way you get started so fast." In the days when firefighters were called to a a fire by way of a siren on top of the town hall, it took as long as five or 10 minutes before any trucks,could be dispat- ched. Some firefighters, who did not live or work within ear shot of the siren had to be tele 'honed individuall -b the diseatcher. u§' "iVI.'Slg,�r'i4IHe Now, with each firefighter carrying a beeper device, "Some of the guys can get here and get a truck on the road in two minutes," said Meriam. The quicker response time, results in time saved battling the actual fires. •Meriam remembers some big blazes in his time, such as fires many years ago at the Purity Flour Mill •, and O'Brien's Meat. Market, that "took all night and all the next day," to put out. "Now, you go to a fire and you're back in two to four hours," he said:" HAZARDOUS MATERIAL Despite improved equiment, quicker responses and shorter hours, fighting fires is '`tougher," today, mainly because of the increased dangers caused by hazardous materials, Meriam says. "Being on the fire department now, means youhave to deal with so much hazardous material. Now;••when you go in- to a building, you never know what's there, you, have to wear breathing apparatus„ every time. ' • Although firefighting always has and always`wilI be adangerous and demanding. task, Jvleriam feels it is a good way to per- form "a service to the community," and is not without its rewards. "There's the friendship among the other firemen.. We're just like one big happy family. The guys really look after one another at a fire," he said. Belonging to • th'e fire department is seldom' a short-term committment, says Meriam, noting that members are "on-call night and day, seven days a week," when in town. Still, he has no plans to end his.in- volvement in the near future. • "Once you become a fireman, the only wa ou'ever •uit is if ou'retire."' ik 60 CENTS PER COPY Goderich Fire Chief Jack Meriam peers out from behind the wheel of of the fire depart- ment's is trucks. Meriam, who became chief two years ago, was recently honored by the Town of Goderich far his 30 years of service to the Goderich Fire Department. (photo by Patrick Raftis I ;tigOnfe ...::§,AMtWfa'&'sfilo: `L�+.�a�+^:.a�iMgatiVaaezi afrS4ti;+ti( '-r'ZiaMO* Federal money expected for new runway. BY PATRICK RAFTIS Mayor Eileen Palmer was optimistic about securing federal. contributions for a new 5,000 -foot runwayat the Go,lerich Air- port, following a meeting in Ottawa last week with two -senior representatives of Transport Canada. "We were very encouraged., It was a very positive meeting," said Palmer, who' along with Administrator Larry McCabe, Public Works Commissioner Ken Hunter and Airport Committee representative Richard Wright, attended the meeting on March 24. The delegation's purpose, was to present a detailed brief to the federal ministry outlining the need for and' feasibility of, construction of a new runway, and to solicit financial support for the project. MEETS CRITERIA • "There's . no doubt the airport meets their criteria ( for financial assistance )," said Palmer. The new runway is needed for safety reasons, as the existing runway was not built to current specifications. It is basical- ly a strip of asphalt, laid over gravel. "It was never excavated and built pro- perly," said Palmer. Also, although the actual length of the existing runway (Runway 1028) is 5,000 feet„ "the usable portion is getting shorter and shorter," due to the increasing height 'of trees at the end of the runway. The town has been unable to purchase cutting rights to the trees on properties approaching the runway and would have to, purchase the properties outright (at a cost of• $904,0001 and demolish the cottages and 'clear the trees on the thirteen properties, in order to lengthen the approach. The recently -approved Bruce -London Hydro line., 'which Will pass near the ap-, proach to runway 28, also poses a hazard to incoming aircraft.' RECENT ACCIDENT ' • Cross winds are another, perhaps even more serious; safety threat to aircraft us- ing the current ruway. As recently as March 7, an accident occurred at the air- port. An Exeter -based plane attempted to land in a 90 -degree cross -wind. The plane. veered to the right and came to rest over 150 feet north of the runway, near an old gravel pit. There were no injuries, but substantial damage to • the airplane occurred. • The existing runway is in a cross -wind position with the prevailing winds, while the proposed new runway 1 designated 13-31) will be oriented to the prevailing, winds. The other criteria for federal funding in- clude: eligibility for licencing (the airport OPR Serge BY LOU -ANN HOPE After 37 years, of police work', Goderich OPP Sergeant John Dorigtis has retired from active police duty in favor of a more quiet and restful life. , "I have no hobbies. I'm not under my wife's (Theresa) feet yet although she would r3ther.see me at work somewhere. I'll probably find a part-time job or do some work in the church (St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church ). I'll find something to keep me busy." Donatis, .62, retired January 1 after 11 years with the Goderich OPP detachment: Prior to coming to Goderich as Sergeant in 1976; he worked in various police duties throughout the province, "I've done my 37 years of work. I stayed on two years longer than I needed to," ex- plaining that the government pays full pension after 35 years of service. Donatis, born and raised in Port Col- borne, joined the army in 1943. At that time he was working at International Nickel in Port Colborne. His'first posting with the army was with"the Signal Corps but when he went overseas, he was transferred into an infantry division. In 1946 he was discharged from the army at which point he returned home and con- tinued to work at International Nickel until 1949. On Nov. 1, 1949, he joined the Toronto police force. "Whey had their own college and at that time it was in Ajax. I received six weeks training before being posted, to Niagara Falls where I stayed for 10 months." Donatis) noted a difference from his training to that of today's modern police t retires John Donatis "When I went to school, they taught us what we *ere to enforce which was traffic, federal statutes, the criminal code and li- quor laws. There was no way they were going to teach us too much. In those days, you learnt by trial and error. If you made a mistake you got hell and you just didn't do that again. Today's police officer is one-half lawyer when he starts to work. He knows the law." After 10 months at Niagara Falls, he was transferred to Thorold Township, then Welland and finally Font Dill. He notaL that Thorold Township and Font Hill OPP detachments were run as municipal detachments. Turn to 'a:e 3. • is already lie'bnsed; distance from other airports (the closest is in London); an ac- ceptable cost-sharing formula (municipal, provincial and federal contributions are expected); and whether the project is con- sidered an expansion, or upgrading pro- ject (funds -are more readily -available for upgrading). Municipalities also must be prepared to finance any costs in excess of the original estimates, without .returning to Transport Canada for funding. ' LOWER ESTIMATE Although an earlier Transport Canada study estimated the cost of a new runway at $2.5 millian, • the airport committee presented the federal representatives with an estimate of $1.5. million. The commit- tee's estimate was lower, explained Mc- Cabe, because the Transport Canada figures.were based on a 150 -foot wide run- way, while the new proposal is for a 100 -foot wide strip. The current runway is only 75 feet wide. Palmer said she believes the project could 'be accomplished without 'any signifigant cost over run, as the $1.5 million estimate is "a fair ball park figure." Under the proposed financing plan, the town's share of the total cost could he a relatively small percentage. The provin- cial Ministry of Transportation and Com- munications has informed the town that 80 per cent funding could be made -available " for Phase I of the project, the construction of the first .3,500 feet of ,the runway. With $800,000 from the province and an addi- tional $100,000 in money from Ontario Hydro, awarded to the town as'compensa- tion for the new power corridor's en- croachment on the runway, the town need only come up with $100,000 to complete Phase I. CONSIDERING REQUEST The committee has requeste a sport Canada consider funding the •econd phase — the final 1,500'feet — at a cos of $500,000. The ministry has taken the request under advisement and will make. a deci- sion in consultation :with their regional office. The town has included $40,000 for engineering on the runway in their ,recently -passed 1987 budget and will pro- ceed with that, as well as some clearing of land, this year. They have already spent $120,00 over the past 10 years aquiring pro perty to provide an approach for the new strip. "If, all the funding falls into place, it could be completed by 1988," said the Mayor, "certainly by 1989." Emergency services in Huron and Perth are under a review CLINTON - Since early July, a committee consisting of doctors, operating supervisors, a medical officer, firemen, a police officer and a hospital administrator have been working on a comprehensive review of the emergency health services within Huron and Perth Counties. And now, in the final stages of their study, they would like input from the public sector. According to co-ordinator Barbara Wor- thington, the study was put implace when the Ministry of Health listed emergency health services as a top priority. "They strongly encouraged the district health councils to study the services," said Ms. Worthington. Huron and Perth do not have health coun- cils, but the -administrators working group felt this study was too important to not be in- cluded in, ka. the Huron -Perth Etnergency Health Serces Study Committee was set up in February of 1985. Those sitting on the committee include Clinton Public Hospital Administrator Dan Steyn as chairman; operating room supervisors Ferne Schwart- zentruber and .Joan Chesney; Constable Roger Dumas of Sebringville; doctors M. Leser and James O'Rourke; ambulance supervisor Reg O'Hagan; Ministry of Health representatives Deanne Zerbecki and James' Bain: Stratford Fire Chief Keith Orchard and Deputy Fire Chief Sid Creek; Medical Officer ip . Stratford, Susan Tamblyn; and Bev Skinner, 'a public representative. Areas which have been studied thus far in- clude what training those who respond to emergencies have received. "One of these questions would be do they know CPR? Ambulance attendants would have to know CPR but what about the volunteer firemen?" Those surveyed within the health system were also asked if they thought the 911 emergency communication systems would be beneficial 'or if a paramedic system would be of benefit in the area. They were also asked if they felt there was a need for an air ambulance service which would see the plane located in. London buf service this area. ' "We want to know how the system is working. We want to know if there are any ?problems getting a hold of someone," said Ms. Worthington. "Or we want to hear praise. We want to know if someone is over- whelmed with the system. "The public are the ones who are most aware . of how the emergency system ' works." In defining the term emergency, Ms. Wor- thington said, "What is an emergency to one person may not be an emergency to another person. What I'm looking for isn't someone who was brought in with a cold, but people who have had a fracture, or someone Who brought their husband in with a heart attack." ti However, she did say she was willing to read anything that was sent her way. "If it is a valid complaint, maybe something can be done about it," said Ms. Worthington. - Turn to page 20 Daylight Saving time approaches Daylight Savings Time is set to begin three weeks early this year. You are reminded to turn .your clacks ahead one hour either Saturday night ( April 4) when you go to bed or when you arise on Sunday morning, April 5. Daylight Savings Time begins early this year due to the passage of a private member's bill which sought the earlier date for a variety of reasons, one of which was an effort to save energy. Clocks will be turned back one hour in the fall. Blood Clinic on Wednesday Goderich residents are asked to give the gift of life next Wednesday at a Blood Donor Clinic being held at Goderich District Collegiate Institute. The clinic, sponsored by the Canadian Red Cross Society with help from the local Kinsmen and Lions clubs, volunteers and high school students, will be held Wednes- day, April 8 in the GDCI auditorium from 2-5 p.m. and again from 5:30-8:30 p.m. Free babysitting will be provided during the afternoon session. The quota for this -clinic is 290 units of blood. At the last, clinic, held in October of 1986, there were 285 registered donors with 263 units of blood collected. PUC members get 3.5 per cent Goderich Town Council has approved an increase of 3.5 per cent,, in the remunera- tion given to Goderich Public Utilities Commissioners. Council approved the increase, the same as that given members of council for 1987, at their March 23 meeting. "Won't see how I'could vote against this increase, since this council has already ap- proved the same amount for themselves," noted Deputy Reeve John Doherty, prior to the vote on the motion. Goderich beach may be nightlit The Goderich Lions Club has offered to install flood lights at St. -Christopher's Beach, "to make it more attractive in the evenings". The club notified Goderich Town Council in a letter, that theclub has approved an expense of $3,485 in their 1987 budgetfor the project. Council has referred the offer to the Parks and Waterfront Committee for .consideration. " Rotary t ° st tak e- o e meal The Rotary Club of Goderich, has receiv- ed permission from Town Council to hold a catered take-home barbeque meal in Court House Park, in the area between South and Kensington Streets:. Council concurred, at their March 23 ses-• sion, with the request to hold the event on May 22, between 4 p.rn. and 8 p.m., and also to grant the -club use of a number of picnic ' tables and access to electrical facilities. INSIDE- THE • SIGNAL -STAR Curling bonspiel The Maitland Curling Club was alive with action Saturday as the 1987 Industrial Curling Bc nspiel came to a close. The two- day event, which began Thursday evening, was highlighted by the appearance of clowns, men in short skirts and boisterous crowds. The bonspiel brought to an end the 12th season of industrial curling in Goderich. For story and pictures, see the Sports front. Primary education • A meeting concerning primary educa- tion will he held in Clinton on April 6. Fran Poleschuk, a director with the Early Primary Education Project, will be,speak- ing on the changes being advocated for the way in which' children in primary grades are educated. For more information, see the story and pictures of the front page of the Community section.