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The Citizen, 1990-10-24, Page 1Historical plaque Couple marks history of Moncrieff church See page 6 125th anniversary Cranbrook church marks anniverary See page 12 Bulls on top Despite loss. Bulls in first See page 13 VOL. 6 NO. 43 Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1990.50 CENTS Brussels student suffers meningitis Parents of children attending Brussels Public School were noti­ fied by letter this week that there has been a reported case of meningitis in the school. Dr. Maarten Bokhout. the Coun­ ty's Medical Officer of Health stated that parents were informed of the case to reassure them and inform them that everything has been looked after. “It is not a cause of alarm,’’ he said. “Essentially when the person gets ill, there is some risk for those with close contact, such as family members. The school needs to be reassured by us that everything is under control.’’ Early symptoms of meningitis are not unlike those of influenza, however, Dr. Bokhout says, the presentation is very dramatic. “The symptoms ?re non-specific but get steadily worse and very quickly,’’ he explained. “A person may be well one day then quite ill the next.” He said that every symptom will intensify within the period of one day. He suggests that anyone with a concern, the safest thing is to have it checked out. “A cardinal clue is a particular rash common with meningitis. Should it occur with the other symptoms, you can be fairly certain.” The infec­ tion is diagnosed by spinal tap and treated with antibiotics. Dr. Bokhout said that of the 56,000 people in Huron County there are approximately two to three cases reported yearly. The last four, he said, have been caused by this particular bug. If meningitis is caught in time it is treatable. This depends how­ ever. on the patient’s condition, and when the diagnosis is done, Dr. Bokhout said. Clocks change this weekend Relief at last comes this week­ end. You get to get back that hour of sleep you lost last spring. Clocks will be set back one hour Sunday morning as Ontario returns to Easter Standard Time from Daylight Savings Time. Clocks should be turned back one hour, before going to bed Saturday night. It means an extra hour to sleep before regular Sunday morning activities. Big ideas It looks like Dean Young expected his Mom to make a lot of purchases at the Harvest Bonanza last week in Blyth United Church. The youngster found this empty box on the floor and thought it might as well be put to use. Fire destroys Ethel area home A fire, which broke out shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, Octo­ ber 18, has left an Ethel area family homeless. Grey Deputy Fire Chief Stewart Steiss said Jim Stevenson reported the fire at the home of Howard Stratton, of RR 1, Ethel and the blaze was “well underway before it was discovered. ” No one was home at the time. The log house was completely destroyed. Mr. Steiss said. “It was a complete loss, there was nothing saved.” The large family have been billetted out with neighbours and Mr. Steiss said there has been good response from people donat­ ing clothing and furniture. Other buildings on the Stratton property were untouched by the fire, including a new home being built at the front of the property. Cause of the fire is undetermin­ ed, Mr. Steiss says, however, it is believed to have been the result of an overheated wood stove or chim­ ney. Sunny weather brightens crop prospect Sunshine early this week has brightened the spirits and pros­ pects of Huron County farmers trying to salvage crops hurt by weeks of wet weather. Spokesmen for local elevators said that if the weather stays dry much of the white bean crop which was in most danger, may be harvested this week. David Town­ send of Londesboro Co-op estima­ ted about 20-25 per cent of the white bean crop in that area is still in the fields while Dave Wheeler of Cook’s in Walton guessed five to 10 percent might remain unharvested in that district. Mr. Townsend said the variety of the beans seemed to have a lot to do with how well they held up under the prolonged wet weather. If the weather stays dry for the remainder of the week many farm­ ers will be able to get whatever is left to harvest, he said. Many farmers will turn to clipping beans rather than pulling under the soggy field conditions. Mr. Wheeler said there had been some samples of white beans submitted early this week and they were in remarkably good condition. These would be from the best, weed-free fields, he said. There had been some samples that just weren’t worth harvesting. Mr. Wheeler said he didn't know yet how good the yield on the crop would be because some beans would be lost under the conditions. Mr. Townsend said that high moisture is the problem in the beans requiring drying. But white beans also are difficult to dry because if the temperature is too high or they are dried too quickly, they’ll crack, making them too poor quality for export. “It (drying difficulties) makes beans worth the money,” he said. Conditions are much better for soybeans which stand higher on the stem, out of the water. Mr. Wheeler expected many farmers would be taking off their soybeans this week if the weather stays dry. Early results show yields up from the last few drought-plagued sea­ sons with perhaps a seven to eight bushel increase, he said. Mr. Townsend said he had talked to some farmers who were more worried about their corn than their Continued on page 15 Brussels man injured in truck crash A Brussels man and his passen­ ger sustained injuries after a truck they were driving in overturned on Region Rd. 7 east of Wellesley on Tuesday, October 16. Fred Stute of Brussels and Edgar Howatt were both listed in fair condition in Stratford General Hos­ pital. Of the 215 pigs that were being transported in the truck, 39 were killed. The estimate of damage according to a report in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record was $150,000.