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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-08-16, Page 9THE WHAM ADWINCETiMES, Feeling the heat this summer? EC calls July "old-fashioned" People may be sweltering in sun,. but crops thrive If you have been feeling the heat this summer, you're not alone. But our friends at the London office of Environment Canada report this is not the hottest July on record. John Hoekstra of the weather of- fice calls this an "old-fashioned summer", made more unbearable by recent cool summers. Although no monthly record was set, two new records entered the books last month, says Hoekstra. On Friday, July 14 -- the day fol- lowing the severe wind and rain storm which devastated Goderich -- the London office registered a• tem- perature of 35 degrees Celsius, shattering the former record of 33 degrees set in 1952. As well, on July 28, there was a record pressure read for that day, 99.88 kilopascals. Precipitation has been variable throughout the area, Hoekstra adds, with some locales receiving heavy amounts of rainfall and others left parched. The month of August may set more records though with tempera- tures continuing above normal. Hoekstra said that August has seen much less sunshine than normally is recorded with only 18 hours in London as of last Friday, Aug. 11. The long-range forecast for the re- mainder—of, the month points to much of the same. But those who say "enough is enough" can take heart. According to Hoekstra, there are hints that colder air is getting more organized and our warm spell could come to an abrupt halt by the second week of September. However, that re- mains to be seen. Tom Hartman, a crop specialist with the Clinton office of the Onta- rio Ministry of Agriculture and Ru- ral Affairs, says that while people may not enjoy the heat and humidi- ty, crops love them. This year's growing season has been exceptional following a slow The long, hot summer...has produced splendid growing conditions for crops, including grain and straw. Calvin Metcalfe of Turnberry Township and Les Thompson of Wingham lend a hand baling straw at the Turnberry farm of Bill Metcalfe last week. start, says Hartman. Rainfall has been variable throughout the sum- mer, but hot temperatures have been constant. The first cut of hay was excep- tional and the second cut varied with some areas reporting higher than average yield. Wet weather ' Volunteers receive council endorsement A recommendation from Wing - ham Reeve Bruce Machan to rec- ognize the volunteer spirit of two town employees was endorsed at the August meeting of town coun- cil. Machan said that works depart- ment employee Wayne Kregar, his son Chad and facilties manager Pete Quennell accompanied him to Goderich last month to assist in clean-up from the aftermath of a se- vere wind and rain storm which Council support A suggestion from one council- lor that the town take a position by supporting the hospital, a doctor and two nurses in a charge of fail- ing to report child abuse was made at the August meeting of town council. Councillor Bill McGrath said he felt the town should back the hospi- tal in the community. The charge was laid last month and remains be - tore through the community on July 13. The town also donated its truck and tractor to the cause at Gode- rich. Along' with the PUC, Wing - ham was well -represented at Gode- rich, said Machan:, The reeve also stressed the im- portance of frequent updates of the town's emergency plan, "because you never know when you're going to.need asked to hospital fore the courts. Councillor Denise Wilkins - Treble said it is hard for small hos- pitals to attract young doctors to small towns at the best of times, let alone in the midst of controversy. However, Councillor Archie MacGowan said he thought council should wait until the case is over "before jumping to conclusions". There was no further discussion. Leaks continue to plague local pool In his report to town council at the August meeting, Deputy Reeve ,Ron Beecroft said the Wingham Centennial Pool still is leaking, but not as badly as earlier this year. Representatives of Acapulco Pools were in town earlier this sum- mer to try to find the leak and man- aged to repair four small holes us- ing underwater cement. Although the problem is not as bad, the pool continues to leak, Wingham facilities manager Pete Quennell told the meeting. Acapul- co Pools is set to return next month to do more repairs at the pool once the swimming season is over. A total of $40,000 had been al- lotted in infrastructure funding for repairs to the pool this year. How- ever, the money was transferred to road projects. has played havoc with the grain harvest with some sprouts showing and some grain down in the fields due to wind storms, but generally, says Hartman, it has been good. The corn crops look good -- they thrive in heat and humidity -- as do the soybeans and white beans. There has been some problem with root rot and white mold in the bean crops due to the wet weather. "We've got enough rainfall now to carry us for a couple of weeks," said Hartman. Now, all is needed is a dry fall to ensure a good corn and bean harvest. ersonalS WEDNESDAY', MOST 19,199: Service allows Ontariani to participate in dec;isions regarding environment Registry accessible by modem TORONTO — Ontarians who want to participate in environmental de- cision-making'can start by taking a toll-free drive on the Information Highway, Environmental Commis- sioner of Ontario Eva Ligeti says. Getting the facts and contacts you need to become involved is just a phone call away, using the prov- ince's computerized. Environmental Registry. The Registry, a Resource Centre, and province -wide toll-free access to both have been set up un- der the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR). This month marks the first anniversary of the procla- mation of the EBR Act. "Anyone can see what decisions are in the works by checking the Environmental Registry. It's an en- vironmental bulletin board that you can access using a computer mo- dem and the toll-free 800 -line from anywhere in the province. -The in- formation posted on the Registry makes it easy to participate in the decision-making process," Ligeti said. For those who don't own com- puters and modems, access to the Environmental Registry is available from remote computer terminals around the province at more than 300 public and First Nation's librar-•• ies, and at community information centres. Toll-free computer modem ac- cess to the Environmental Registry is available by dialing 1-800-667- 9979, or (416) 327-3000 from the Toronto area. The Environmental Commission- er's Office has established a Re- source Centre in Toronto which contains two public computer ter- minals which are wired into the En- vironmental Registry. "The Resource Centre was estab- lished as a convenient one-stop shop for people to get the informa- tion they need to exercise their rights under the Environmental Bill • of Rights," Ligeti said. "We're de- veloping better, less costly ways to get information to Ontarians elec- tronically. The Resource Centre is in Toronto, but everything on the Registry is immediately available from anywhere in the province," she said., The Centre also offers written aterials, and staff are on hand to help people apply for re- views and investigations under the EBR. "If you don't have access to a computer, call us or send us a fax„ and Resource Centre staff will get you the information you need," she said. You can call (416) 325-3377. Or fax inquiries to the Resource Centre at (416) 325-3370. Information in the Environmen- tal Registry includes: proposed new environmental legislation, regula- tions, policies, and permit applica- tions, as well as the contact person for seeking more details and sub- mitting your views, and deadline for comments. The information is updated several times a week. The Office of the Environmental Com- missioner of Ontario, an indepen- dent agency reporting to the Legis- lative Assembly, was established in May, 1994 to oversee implementa- tion of the EBR by 14 government ministries. The EBR was designed to in- crease public participation in envi- ronmental decision-making, and to ensure government itself complies with its responsibility to maintain a healthful and sustainable environ- ment. "The Environmental Bill of Rights shows Ontario's commit- ment to improving public participa- tion and government accountabili- ty. By making the information readily available, our Resource Centre is the empowering link to help people take action," Ligeti 'said. Ray and Jackie Gowdy recently spent three days at the Experimen� tal Aircraft Show at Oshkosh, Wis- consin. Jim and Leona Armstrong of Brussels also attended the show. Gerry and Trudy Borg recently were on a camping trip to Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton. Eileen Staddon and Florence Brown of Kitchener and Phyllis Brown of Stratford visited last Thursday with Ethel Brown. Kay Dane of Hythe, Alta., Brent Dane of Beaverlodge, Alta. and Annie Nordhagen of Hythe, Alta., are visiting at the homes of Marga- ret Dane and Nellie Taylor and oth- er relatives. Laverne and Marian Metzger vis- ited last week with Lloyd and Liz Gedcke of Magnetawan. Bob Grainger of Waterloo visit- ed Janet Grainger last Friday. Wayne and Wanda Connors' and Devon recently spent the weekend in Sarnia and attended the OASA tournament. Devon is a member of the Teeswater Bantam Team and played in the tournament. Genevieve Graham of Kitchener and her friend Jenine visited for a few days with the former's grand- mother, Donalda Graham. Jim Gra- ham of Kitchener, Tom and Patti Graham, Meaghan, Laura and Jus- tin of Listowel and Michele Gra- ham of Kitchener spent last Sunday at the same home. Peter 'and Marian Keil and Mat- thew of RR 2, Gorrie, accompanied by Alma Hetherington, visited Sun- day at the home of John and Mar- garet Harris of Niagara. Les and Pat Watkins of Chicago, USA. also visted at the same home. Norman and Edna Fairies have returned from a five-week trip to Western Canda. They visited at Ed- monton, Alta. and with Eric and Marjorie Shelley of Calgary. They also attended the Experimental Air- craft Show at Oshkosh in Wiscon- sin. Visitors at the home of David and Bonnie McMichael were Liese Rock, Patricia Patton and Carly of Kitchener. Bruce and Dorothy Bennett, Doug and Brenda Browne of Ford- wich have returned home from a camping trip, visiting several pro- vincial parks in.Ontario. Chad McCann of RR I, Ford- wich, visited at the home of his grandparents, Lorne and Reta Mann. Congratulations and best wishes ' • " go to newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Stewart. Andy Kaufman of Victoria, B.C., Tracy and Tammy, Kaufman. of Kitchener and Jamie Strong, Port Elgin, were among the guests at the wedding of Wendy Campbell and Ray Stewart last *Saturday and spent the weekend with Dolores Kaufman. Couple return from trap GORRIE--Heiko and Grace van der Wal have returned home from a motor trip to the far north and west. They drove the Alaska Highway from Dawson Creek, B.C. to Fair- banks, Alaska, by, way of the "Top of the World Highway" from Daw- son City into Alaska. The van der Wals visited Henry Reinink in Dawson City and Anne and Arnie van der Heiden of Smith- ers, B.C. The couple also viewed Exit Glacier near Seward, Dalune Park, Mount McKinley and a wild- life zoo near Anchorage. They say they met mart 'Vet)ple and made lots of friends while mo- toring through Canada and Alaska. They report it was a wonderful way to see God's nature and creation. Town seeks sign designers for new posts Several area sign painters have been asked to prepare a design for Wingham's new town sign. Earlier this month, weather -worn "Wingham" signs were removed from the north and south ends of town. Councillor Doug Layton said, "I would like to see something up by this fall." Councillor Denise Wil- kins -Treble agreed, saying that even though new signs are not in the budget, perhaps one can be done this year. A sign design proposal is expect- ed to be presented at the September meeting of town council. Mary Coultes, Wilma Higgins, Alice Nicholson, Jean Nethery and Ada Taylor of the Belgrave Wom- en's Institute attended the London Area Tweedsmuir History Work- shop at the Goderich Township Community Centre in Holmesville on Aug. 8. The Huron West District was host for the meeting. Speakers included Marcie Johnston of Brit- ton, provincial curator and Ron Lat- ham of the Huron County Histori- cal Society. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Bosman have returned home after a very en- joyable trip to the. Yukon and Alas- ka. They visited with their son Clayton Bosman and Debbie Wil- son of Prince George, British Co- lumbia. John, Linda and Justin Campbell spent the Civic Holiday weekend at their cottage at Grand Bend. Chad Cook spent the weekend with them. They visited with Nelson, Susan and Laura Desjardine, Lynn, Simon and Jason Desjardine of Grand Bend and Bob and Heather Maass of London. On Monday,they at- tended the drag races which includ- ed funny car races, pro -comp elimi- nations, pro -bike record breakers, plus regular -point series racing. Jeremy Campbell recently spent a few days holidaying with Mr. and Mrs. Mike Alexander and Marc at Lake Muskoka. Mary Lowe and Ethel Brewer; both of Brussels, visited last Thurs- day with Oliver and Audrey Riley. Adrien and Elaine Poirier of Mississauga visited last weekend with Eileen Marks. John and Arlene Sharp and baby Chrissy of Denver, Colorado, spent a few days recently with Hazel Griffith. Mrs. Bob Bradshaw, who had been I suffering terribly with a clogged artery to her toe, now is resting more comfortably at Victor- ia Hospital iLondon. Mrs. Brad- shaw had a balloon inserted last Thursday and all her friends and family are happy the procedure was a success. We are rooting and pray- ing for you, Patti. Peter Isabelle of Mississauga has spent the past week at his home here. Seniors enjoy visits from local youths By Laura Cardy Last Tuesday, Aug. 8, started off with a bang after an exciting long' weekend. The Outdoor Bound group from the Wingham Recrea- tion Department, entertainedthe seniors with their sweet singing. Fun was had by all. Last Wednesday, Aug. 9, the Wingham Pentecostal Youth Group performed an amusing skit entitled "Expressions" and later spoke about their wonderful learning ex- perience while traveling to the East Coast. Last Thursday, Aug. 10, was our day of "Monthly Inspirations". Les Cook came to speak about "Five Steps to a Positive Attitude". Mr. Cook is to be comended on his wonderful speaking ability and his subject matter. One quote which came out of the discussion was, "Success comes in 'cans', not 'cants'." On Friday, Aug. 11, the group traveled to Riverside Park to watch a play put on by children involved in the Wingham Recreation Depart- ment's summer programs. The play's theme was "Beauty is only skin deep." Overall, the usual five days of fun were crammed into four. The centre thanks those who took time out to entertain the different groups! We really enjoyed it!