The Citizen, 2003-02-12, Page 1Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County
Volume 19 No. 6 Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2003 75 Cents (70c + 5c gst)
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Inside this week
Pg-8 Local hockey teams
in playoffs
Pg. 11 Which Survivor
went first?
Pg-13 Bridal section
begins
Pg. 29 Saying goodbye to
Rambo
Pg-32
Former Brussels
man new county
engineer
Murder
in Howick
A canine team and the OPP's
Emergency Response Team were
called in Sunday to search the area
near where a 24-year-old former
Shelburne man was murdered
Thursday. Forensics has been
examining the house since Friday
Officers attended a residence at
45576 Spencetown Rd., east of
Fordwich, at approximately 9 p.m.,
after responding to a 911 call, said
Sr. Constable Don Shropshall.
When the., officers entered the
rented farmhouse, Felix Ulrich
Barufe was found deceased. Police
have learned the victim moved to
the rented residence about 18
months ago.
Police believe the victim died as a
result of an altercation. Results of a
post-mortem conducted Monday
will be released Wednesday (today).
Police are trying to trace the
movements of Barufe during the last
two weeks. They are particularly
interested in talking to anyone who
saw or had contact with the victim
between Feb. 1 and Feb. 6.
Anyone who can help is asked to
call 1-159-524-8314, 1-888-310-
1122 or Crimestoppers at 1-800-
222-8477 (TIPS).
Challenging the elements
When the Blyth Scouting leaders challenged the young men to a weekend of winter camping
in cold and bitter temperatures, the scouts rose to the test, spending two nights in the bush
and building themselves a quincy - an igloo of sorts. Friday night was spent in a tarp-covered
teepee. Nestled in the edge of a bush lot off St. Michaels Rd. in Morris, Scouts Jesse Mullin,
left, Gerrit Reinink and Derek Dolmage enjoyed breakfast around the campfire before going
snowshoeing and working on survival skills. (Janice Becker photo)
County
budget
big job
By Keith Roulston
Citizen publisher
Huron County councillors have set
aside a full-day meeting of its
committee of the whole on Feb. 21
to tackle the massive task of
trimming a budget currently up
nearly 17 per cent over last year.
The budget as it stands would
represent only a 2.4 per cent increase
in the tax rate but the effect would be
much steeper for the average
property owner because residential
assessment values have increased,
on average, 14 per cent, explained
David Carey, county treasurer during
a three-hour meeting of the
committee of the whole Thursday
afternoon.
Central Huron Councillor Carol
Mitchell estimated that to meet the
current budget a farm with average
assessment would face a tax increase
of $500 a year just to cover the
county’s portion of the tax bill.
On Thursday, councillors
struggled through a list of “red-
flagged” issues from previous
discussions and managed to cut just
$65,000 from the budget.
Goderich Councillor Deb Shewfelt
suggested council should be looking
at a budget that would result in at
most a two or three per cent increase
in taxes. To do so, councillors would
need to cut nearly $2.5 million from
the budget. Already council
approved a three per cent wage
increase for non-union employee
when the budget had indicated two
per cent. Carey said the extra could
be covered from a $750,000
contingency fund.
One large easy cut would be to
forego any road paving this year.
Carey said. Generally the county’s
highways are in good shape and
could go an extra year without
resurfacing but the move would
require extra maintenance. There
might be a net saving of
Continued on page 32
Man recalls days •when weather was worse
By Janice Becker
Citizen staff
In spite of a record number of road
closures due to poor visibility Feb.
4, we should be thankful for the
winters we have been getting in
recent years.
According to Clarence Flood of
Walton, a railroad employee from
1944 to the mid 1980s, he has
experienced some winters which a
younger generation can only
imagine.
In charge of checking both the
railroad tracks and the telegraph
lines which ran along them, Flood
remembers the winter of 1949 when
snapped lines could be spliced by
simply scaling the snowbanks. “The
lines were at our feet.”
The plows on the trains could
wing the snow that high and
sometimes the banks were so hard
they would fold the plows closed, he
said
That same year, he was stranded in
Stratford because even the railroads
were shut down.
“The first snowfall that year came
Oct. 7 and brought six to seven
inches,” said Flood.
As the years progressed and
snowmobiles became available,
Flood said they could use the
machines to check the lines.
One year, he rode from Walton to
Guelph to get the snowplow so he
could bring it down the lines to clear
the track.
The 1970s brought bad storms,
including 1971-72 and 1976, he
said.
“In 1971-72,1 didn’t get home for
eight weekends and the rail line was
shut down for four to five days one
time.”
Flood remembers the Blyth to
Monkton stretch being the worst.
“The snow would start inland
between Auburn and Blyth then thin
out the other side of Monkton,” he
said.
Flood credits better equipment
and the building up of roads for
improved conditions
For the county road crews, this has
been a “normal” winter.
Joe Steffler, shop foreman of the
county road department, whose job
is keeping those roads open said,
“We plowed throughout the day
(Tuesday). The plows just pulled off
for a while if they couldn’t see.”
Steffler and his snowplow
operators believe this was “just a
storm, with horizontal snow. It was
no big deal as we get all kinds of
storms. This is a normal winter.”
Though it may seem like there
have been an increased number of
snow days thus far, Steffler said this
has to be looked at on a five-year
average. “The last few winters have
not been normal.”
This winter, however, has seen
increased salt and sand usage.
“The salt usage is up 80 per cent
because of the temperatures and the
sand domes may have to be
refilled.”
Though the crews were on the
roads in November this year, three
years ago, Steffler said, they started
plowing in November and never
stopped.
“We try to keep them in as good a
condition as we can for the weather
we have.”
However, difficult driving
conditions this year have resulted in
numerous accidents, said Sr. OPP
Const. Don Shropshall, though not
as many as during some storms.
“There were 17 crashes with four
personal injuries on that one day,”
he said. “There was a November
storm where there were 29 crashes.”
In spite of the driving snow and
stalled transportation, Shropshall
said the road closures actually were
not too bad for Huron County.
However, he was “flabbergasted”
with the number of road closures
north of Wingham, “I have never
seen so many,” he said.
“The biggest thing.” said
Shropshall, “is that when the
weather is bad, if you don’t have to
be out, don’t be.”
However, last Tuesday created
havoc for many as the worst of the
storm blew in after students were
already in school and people were at
Continued on page 6