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Clinton News Record, 2016-09-07, Page 22 News Record • Wednesday, September 7, 2016 Bear sightings increase in Central Huron Justine Alkema Clinton News Record There was an article in the June 22 edition of the Clinton News Record which stated that in the three weeks prior, there had been fifteen bear sightings. Since then, there have been quite a few more. Animal con- trol officer Bob Trick estimates that over the summer, he received 25-30 calls about bear sightings in Huron County. Though some of these sight- ings could hypothetically be the same bear, they certainly aren't all the same bear. Some of the calls were too close together regarding bear sight- ings in totally different spots in the county. There's no way a bear could have traveled so far in short amount of time. More recently, however, most of those bear sightings have been in Central Huron. In the last few weeks, Trick has received 5-6 calls about bears towards Bayfield area near Orchard's Line. Of course, again, it is hard to say how many bears are there. However it is confirmed that two of those bears are a mother and her cub. Several other sightings have been an adult bear on its own, which Trick guesses likely isn't the mother, since she would be with her cub most of the time. Though there were more calls at the beginning of the summer, Trick thinks that now since the corn is high, maybe they are simply less visible. A black bear. "The visibility isn't the same because they have places to hide," said Trick. "You used to see a bear in a bare field." In 2014 and 2015, Huron County saw almost no bears. However they likely came down this summer because of the cold spring; there may be a lack of berries further north, which caused them to travel south in search of food. Two cubs have been killed this summer in the broader area after being hit by cars. One was hit in Strathroy and File photo one in Wellington County. As for what the bears will do for the winter, Trick said, "I would presume some will stay here:' He thinks they will find places to hibernate for the winter, meaning next year we should theoretically have a high number of bears again. Trick mentioned that a year or two ago, a mother bear and two cubs were found hibernat- ing in a straw bail. "It's an excellent place for them to sleep for the winter," he said. OFFICE HOURS The Office Hours for The Clinton News Record are as follows Mondays - 9am - 5pm Tuesdays - CLOSED Wednesdays - 9am - 5pm Thursdays - 9am - 5pm Fridays - 9am - 5pm 53 Albert St., Clinton, ON PH: 519-482-3443 • www.clintonnewsrecor"' om E Posnam Downtown Clinton fire leads to arson investigation Justine Alkema Clinton News Record An investigation by the Huron County OPP Crime Unit and the Office of the Ontario Fire Marshal into the cause of a recent fire in downtown Clinton has determined the cause of at least one of the three blazes to be arson. They came to believe this after finding an acceler- ant on the scene. This came after the Central Huron Fire Department fought three fires in down- town Clinton on August 28, 29 and 30. The fire took place in a two-story building just north of Made in Huron on Albert Street. Responders first received a call early Sunday morning on August 28 around 1:30 a.m. after two passersby saw flames and smoke coming from the buildings. Central Huron firefighters with help from the Seaforth Fire Department fought the flames until 8:30 a.m. that morning. They thought their work was done, until they received another call on the morning of the 29th around 4:30 a.m. They were then called again on the 30th at 2 a.m. "We didn't expect to be back," com- mented Chief Renner. The building has sustained significant interior damage, and the surrounding buildings have been affected as well. However the exact extent of that dam- age is not known at this point as the investigation continues. There were five second -level apart- ments affected; two or three of those were occupied at the time of the fire. Investigators would like to speak with Photos courtesy of Judy Renner Fire fighters responding to the scene. anyone that may have information about this crime. Should you have information please contact the Huron County OPP Crime Unit direct by call- ing (519) 524-8314 or 1-888-310-1122. Should you wish to remain anony- mous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1 -800 -222 -TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000. A fire truck in from Seaforth one evening to help out. In this photo, smoke can be seen coming from the top of the building.