The Citizen, 2004-01-08, Page 6Safety on the trails
OPP Officers Tim Tatchell, right, and Ken Knoblauch were
among those seen on Huron County snowmobile trails last
winter, clocking speeders and checking for alcohol
consumption. They stopped in Blyth one afternoon. (Citizen
file photo)
Never Run Out of
Hot Water Again
Did you know Oil Fired Hot Water Heaters
heat water twice as fast as natural gas and 5 times
faster than electricity at half the cost?
Wouldn't it be great to never run out of hot water again?
This message has been brought to you by your friendly neighbourhood
fuel oil dealer, providing safer options for heating your home.
You'll find your local dealer under Oils-Fuel in the yellow pages. Call today. We're sure you'll be glad you did.-
PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2004.
Remembering 2003
A retrospective look at the people, places and names in the news
• WIRY
A local infant claimed the honour
as Stratford's first baby of the new
year. Claire Lillian, daughter of
Marie and Neil Mitchell of Grey
Twp., was born on the afternoon of
Jan. I at Stratford General Hospital.
Snowy blustery conditions swept
through the region in the middle of
the month bringing white-outs and
slippery roads.
By the end of the month,
snowmobile trails across the region
were open Riders were making up
for lost time, and OPP were on patrol
on the trails.
F2RUARY
The Huron OPP crime unit and the
Western Region crime unit were
investigating a homicide after a 24-
year-old Howick Twp. man was
found dead.
Members of the Huron Hurricane
Aquatic Club competed in the
Western Region short course B
championship, Jan 31- Feb. 2:
Jessica Sparling of Blyth swam in
eight events for 12-year-olds, over a
three-day period.
The council chamber of Huron
County council was overflowing
with delegations, combatants and
spectators, Feb. 18, whe the public
had another opportunity to voice
opinions on the smoking bylaw.
Blyth native Justin Peters was
bringing home a -medal from the
Canada Winter Games, after
winning three round-robin games
between the posts as goalie for Team
Ontario then backstopping the
bronze medal match. - •
Peters, who now plays for the
OHL's St. Mike's Majors, stepped in
to play the second game in the
tournament, against Nova Scotia,
after his team had already taken the
first against Manitoba.
Saving 22 of the 27 shots on net,
Peters helped the team to an 8-5 win.
Residents of North Perth and the
surrounding area would have access
to "enhanced primary care"
following the opening of the
Listowel Clinic Family Health
Network recently.
Perth-Middlesex MPP Bert
Johnston commended the 11 area
doctors who had created the network
which will provide 24-hour, seven-
days-a-week care for - enrolled
patients.
The advocates for exemptions to
the proposed Huron County smoking
bylaw won a small victory.
Though still in draft form, the
county health and planning
committee agreed to exclude long-
term care facilities, hospital
psychiatric units and hotel/motel
rooms from the bylaw which would
see smoking banned in all other
public spaces.
The Eves government announced
that farms using up to 250,000 kwh
would be included in the 4.3 cent
price freeze bracket given to all
users under 150,000 kwh last fall. A
rebate, retroactive to May 2002, will
also be provided.
Ryuzanji, a theatre troupe from
Japan, performed Educating Mad
Persons, as a fundraiser at Blyth
Memorial Hall. The presentation
was one of just three stops in
Canada, the others being -Toronto
and Vancouver.
Huron's draft Environmental
Tobacco Smoke (ETS) bylaw went
up in smoke Thursday as county
councillors voted nine to eight
against it.
Developed by Ontario Sustainable
'Energy Association (OSEA) with
financial support from The Ontario
Trillium Foundation, the session
dealt with large scale applications of
wind power and community projects
as well as considerations for
individuals.
Into the second week of April,
winter refused to let go. County road
crews were out spreading sand and
salt in a battle against a spring ice
storm. While the northern areas of
the county were not hard hit, the
south was.
Sand and salt usage was up
dramatically in the 2002-2003
winter with estimates of 50 per cent
more than the previous year.
The Greenway Trail _committee
and Blyth Business Association
sponsored the first-ever community
Easter egg hunt.
A bevy of brightly coloured orbs
hidden strategically along the
Greenway Trail, waiting for
discovery by eager little hands.
One defendant in the murder of a
Nile man was sentenced to prison.
At the April 7 court session, Jason
Clifford Brown, 20, of Goderich,
was given a life sentence for the
murder of Nile man. He would not
be eligible for parole until 2014,
though consideration was given for
time served since his arrest in 2001.
Co-defendant Joseph Bruce Carrick,
who faces second degree murder
charges was set to go before a judge
May 9.
Alma Conn retired from Blyth
Veterinary Service after almost 25
years.
It was an exciting day for many
Blyth Public School students when
Premier Ernie Eves and Agriculture
Minister and Huron-Bruce MPP
Helen Johns stopped by for a short
visit.
Just as the reporting of SARS
cases began to slow West Nile Virus
season was kicking into gear.
Senseless damage was caused to
several Blyth properties in the early
morning hours of April 26, and
owners have been left wondering
what can be done. The most obvious
destruction was caused along the
Blyth Greenway Trail where a
vehicle was driven off the trail and
across lawns maintained by
neighbouring residents.
Barb Mutter of Brussels received
an Excellence in Education award
for her contribution to the school
environment at Listowel District
Secondary School.
Stephanie Bokhout, a Central
Huron Secondary School student
from Blyth, was among the 47 staff,
students and community members
presented with Excellence in
Education awards recently.
Ben Millet of the- Auburn Lions
Club was recently elected vice-
governor of District 89, a region
which covers Mitchell to Lion's
Head and east to Orangeville.
With the cool, dry April and cool,
wet May, crops were generally
behind in both planting progress and
development.
As precautions against SARS
infections continued, local hospitals
continue to modify screening and
visitation restrictions.
Blyth Festival's playwright-in-
residence, Kelly McIntosh, creator
of the one-woman show The Strange
and Surprising Worlds of Bridget
Donnelly, received a K.M. Hunter
Artists Award which recognizes the
future of art.
Bill Gerth, a superintendent with
the Avon Maitland District School
Board (AMDSB), accepted the
position of director of education and
secretary/treasurer with the Waterloo
Region District School Board,
effective July 1.
The second defendant, Joseph
Bruce Carrick of Dungannon,
charged with the murder of 78-year-
old-Harold McGee of Nile, entered a
—not guilty plea to the charge of
second degree murder, but guilty to
manslaughter when he appeared in
Goderich court May 9.
A case of mad cow disease was
discovered in one cow in Alberta.
Crystal Taylor of Blyth was the
first female and first associate
member of the Blyth Royal
Canadian Legion Branch to hold the
office of deputy zone commander.
VIII WO
June 2 marked an historic day for
the Morning Star Rebekah Lodge, in
Brussels as the organization
celebrated its 70th anniversary, and
recognized Retta Hoover as the only
surviving charter member.
The fall-out from the May 20 mad
cow disease report continued to
resonate through the agricultural
industry in this area. Feedlot farmers
were beginning to struggle because
of cattle that needed to be moved
and the beef sector as well as hog
producers were finding alternatives
for the disposal of dead animals. The
deadstock industry was hit hard.
with farmers requesting removal. but
no outlet for their product.
Blyth's village welcome sign at
the north end of the community on
London Road was smashed
sometime over the weekend of May
24-25. The sign was repaired by
municipal staff.
With the provincial downloading
of ambulance services more than
three years ago, Huron County
council had to make adjustments to
its coverage. After the construction
of three new stations, trails were in
the works for a fourth to be located
in north Huron, the lone area where
previous facilities are still in use.
Members of the county
administration, and politicians from
North Huron, Howick and Morris-
Turnberry met at Huronlea in
Brussels to begin looking at options
for the location and construction of a
new ambulance station in north
Huron.
Continued on page 7
OIL
E