The Citizen, 1988-12-07, Page 1Doug Scrimgeo ur, Captain with the Blyth and District Fire Department walks past a wall of flame in the fire is estimated at $250,000 but most of the Siertsema’s high production milking herd was
as firemen battle a blaze that destroyed the dairy barn of Siebolt and Anne Siertsema of Auburn saved thanks to the actions of friends and neighbours who entered the barn time and again to
Sunday night. The spectacular fire drew huge crowds and could easily be seen from Blyth. Loss lead cattle out.
Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel,
Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships.
VOL. 4 NO. 49 WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1988.45 CENTS
Loss $250,000 in Auburn barn fire
Loss is estimated at at least
5250,000 in a spectacular fire
Sunday night that destroyed a
recently renovated dairy barn on the
Auburn-area farm of Siebolt and
Anne Siertsema.
Paul Josling, Blyth and District
Fire Chief said his department
answered the call to the fire at 9:40
and as he left the house he could
already see the sky toward Auburn
glowing from the fire.
Anne Siertsema said she discover
ed the fire when the dog began
barking and as she let it out, she
heard a noise at the barn and saw the
flames in the hay mow of the original
century-old barn. She ran to the
telephone but the phone didn’t work
because the extension in the bain
was already out of commission. She
raced to one neighbour but no one
was home so she headed to the farm
of John vanEedenPetersman to the
east of the Siertsema farm.
Hans Boonstoppel, who was
visiting the vanEedenPetersmans
and John vanEedenPetersman
hurried to the Siertsema farm where
they helped Mr. Siertsema and
neighbour Ralph Datema to get the
doors of a newer portion of the barn
open. The men fought their way
through the smoke time and again to
lead cows out of the barn. They
managed to get 41 milk cows out and
some heifersout, losing only five
cows, all the veal calves in the barn
and a number of heifers. Chief
Josling said he finally ordered the
men to stop going back into the barn
because he was afraid they were
endangering their own lives.
Neighbours helped put up a fence
Henschels to
in court Jan.
Klaus and Kristin Henschel,
former owners of the Brussels
Stockyards Limited will appear in
court in Wingham January 25
charged with fraud.
The couple, who had disappeared
from their Brussels home late in
October, had arrived back in Cana
da, from Germany Monday, Nov. 28
as reported in last week’s Citizen.
around a nearby field to keep the
cattle in but one distraught heifer
jumped the fence and is missing.
Continued on page 7
appear
25
They called Constable Al Hunter of
the Wingham Detachment of the
Ontario Provincial Police on Tues
day of last week and arranged to
surrender themselves at the London
O.P.P. office at 9 a.m. on Wednes
day.
The Henschels later appeared at a
bail hearing at Goderich Wednesday
Continued on page 2
Railway
closing
January 1
Operations on the Canadian Paci
fic railway line through Walton,
Blyth and Auburn will cease January
1.
The National Transportation
Agency handed down a ruling
December 1 granting CP Rail
permission to abandon the route 30
days after the ruling date.
Involved is 77.2 miles of rail line
from Guelph to Goderich. CP Rai
first appliedon March 27, 19871
abandon the route but with the
change of legislation bringing in the
National Transportation Act of 1987,
the application was held over for
dealing under the new legislation.
On July 6 of this year the NTA
announced it would be considering
the application to abandon the line.
In statements to the NTA the
railway claimed losses of $832,283 in
1984, $1,003,521 in 1985, $1,014,384
in 1986 and $919,282 in 1987.
Prior to the July 6 notice the NTA
had received 16 submissions 13 of
which were in opposition to the
closing. Among those opposed were
Howson and Howson Limited of
Blyth, a major user of the line with 60
carloads a year; Murray Cardiff
M. P. for Huron-Bruce, the County of
Huron and the Town of Goderich.
The NTA did not circulate its
notice of July 6 to anyone but those
Continued on page 8