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The Citizen, 2001-07-25, Page 1NORTH HURON PUBLISHING COMPANY INC Inside this week Pg. 3 Pg. 7 New business opens in Blyth Area family hosts exchange student r Scouts return from Pg• i 3 Jamboree Pg. 18 Composer puts sound to music 41 Review of 'Corner Pg' Green' e Citizen Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County 1 Volume 17 No. 30 Wednesday, July 25, 2001 75 Cents (70c + 5c GST) Blyth hot spot for firefighters By Mark Nonkes Citizen staff There will be no shortage of people to put out a fire in Blyth over the August long weekend. Thousands of firefighters are scheduled to arrive in Blyth for the 2001 annual Ontario firefighter convention, August 3-6. "Once a year the firefighters from across Ontario get together for a week of training, firefighting games, memorials to remember fallen fire fighters, parades and pageantry," Blyth Fire Chief Paul Josling said. The four-day weekend is filled with many exciting activities, the most exciting when a parade of bands, firetrucks and equipment winds its way through Blyth, on the holiday Monday, Aug. 6. Anyone wishing to have an entry in the parade should contact David Sparling. Community members are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and watch the parade, which begins at 10 a.m. Blyth was chosen as this year's host for the annual convention and has been busy planning over the last year. About 400 campsites have been booked at the Blyth fairgrounds for the weekend, Josling said. "The Blyth Fire Department is planning a great weekend for all firefighters and also. is hoping the community will join in and help make the weekend a success," Josling said. Throughout the week, from July 30 to Aug. 2, training courses for volunteer firefighters will be led by the Ontario Fire Fighters College. The community is invited to join the firefighters for meals, watching the competitions and the memorial service. The festivities start on Friday when the hospitality area with a bar and food opens in the arena at 6 p.m. A pumper pull is scheduled for 8-10 p.m. On Saturday, Aug. 4, the day begins with a breakfast at 7 a.m. At 9:30 the Miss Firefighter competition begins, followed by the fire safety youth representative competition, starting at 10:30 a.m. About 2:30 p.m. the firefighter games will begin to see which team is the fastest to hook up a hydrant, filling a water barrel, or climbing a ladder. Saturday will wrap-up with fish fry sponsored by the Shriners. On Sunday the firefighters will gather in uniform and march to Memorial Hall to commemorate fallen fire fighters in a service. The Blyth Lions will be serving a pork chop dinner and a dance will follow in the evening. For tickets contact Alex or Erev Blair. Throughout the weekend many sirens will be sounding from many guest firetrucks. During the event there are many meetings scheduled, led by the Fire Fighters Association of Ontario. The fire department is also sponsoring a window decorating contest for the main street merchants to welcome the tire fighters. Contact Kevin Falconer by Aug. 1 to enter. Residents turn off as watering ban issued By Mark Nonkes Citizen staff The water levels in the Blyth reservoir became so critically low last Thursday evening that town and water officials went door to door, telling residents to turn off sprinklers. Until -Aug. 31 or further notice a lawn watering policy has been implemented for the town of Blyth. Residents on the north side of Dinsley Street are only to water the lawns on odd number days. Residents south of Dinsley are to water on even days. According to North Huron Clerk- Administrator John Stewart, the dry conditions have seen more water being used in Blyth, in particular to water grass and lawns. What the area needs is a, good rain to green things up so sprinklers won't be needed, he said. According to Bill Bromley, the Blyth roads operator, the water levels in the reservoir hit a critical level. About every third house was using a sprinkler, with some ,using up to three sprinklers at a time, he said. It was feared if a fire emergency occurred there would not be enough There was a sigh of relief in the County of Huron offices when it was learned a $2.5 million grant was approved to improve and protect the surface and groundwater of Huron County. The Healthy Futures for Ontario funding equals 50 per cent of the $5 million project costs towards developing the project with the balance of funds being provided by the County and local landow- ners. The county has been waiting for a water in the reserve. The problem does not lie in the water levels in the wells, Bromley said, but the amount of water in the reservoir. When there is a fire water is drawn from the reservoir. With all the water being used on Thursday night, the reservoir had dropped about three feet in a short time, he said. Heidi Brak - was surprised when water officials stopped by her home at 10:30 p.m. on July 19, asking her to turn her sprinklers off. Brak had no idea the water levels were in trouble but .has no problem restricting her sprinkler use. "If it's a water shortage it doesn't bother me," Brak said. In Brussels, water levels have not become a problem in the dry weather. However, Huron East Clerk- Administrator Jack McLachlan warned residents to use common sense when watering. "Refrain from watering as much as possible," McLachlan said. Blyth is the first area in Huron North to put restrictions on water use but officials are closely monitoring the Wingham system as well, Stewart said. - with notes from Bonnie Gropp response regarding the application since January. MPP Helen Johns made the announcement on behalf of the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Brian Coburn, on Monday, July 23. The project is targeted towards farms and rural residents and is designed to protect water quality and ensure a healthy agricultural industry and environment for the future, said Tom Prout of the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority. County gets $2.5 million `Citizen' closes for holiday In order to accommodate staff holidays, The Citizen will be closed on Aug. 3 and will re-open Aug 13. As there will be no newspaper published on Aug. 8, we recommend that anyone wanting to advertise an event for that week should submit it in time for the Aug. 1 issue. Deadline for that is Monday, July 30. Cleaning up After a severe summer storm raged through the area on Saturday afternoon, crews in Brussels had some hours of clean-up work ahead of them. Trees and hydro lines took a beating as high winds and heavy rain came hard and fast. (Vicky Bremner photo)