Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1997-09-24, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 - Seaforth, Ontario Briefly Expositor blankets area for promotion Where did this paper come from'' Don't he alarmed if you have a copy of the Expositor and you don't subscribe. Our September 24 and October 1 issues are being delivered to your postal address as part of our annual Seaforth Fall Fair Subscription Special. These are complimentary issues. There's no obligation to buy a subscription. it there's someone you know who didn't receive a copy, stop buy the Expositor office to pick up a. free paper. Tires stolen at two locations in Seaforth Tires were stolen from two different vehicles in town on the weekend. The first incident was sometime Friday. "Suspects entered the lot of McLauglin Chev-Olds and removed four Goodyear (P245/75/R16) tires and rims from a 1998 Chevrolet pick-up truck." according to Huron County Ontario Provincial Police. The second incident was Sunday "when susp.ects removed four Michelin tires (P205/70/12.14) on Chrysler rims from a Chrysler minivan from a residence on Chalk Street in Seaforth." Anyone with any knowl- edge of these thefts is asked to call the Goderich detach- ment administration number at (519) 524-8314 or Huron County Crime Stoppers at 1- 800-222-8477. Police find .wheelchair Provincial police report a wheelchair was found on 7th Avenue in Vanastra on Saturday. They add that any- one who may know the owner can contact Clinton OPP at 482-9626. Hospital's finance officer resigns Seaforth hospital's chief financial officer has resigned, effective the middle of October. Rick Cooper has accepted the position of director of corporate services for the North Coast Community Health Council in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. "This is an exiting opportu- nity for Rick where be will be actively involved in bring- ing together a variety of health care organizations; for instance hospitals, nursing homes and home care ,agen- cies," Friday's press release from Seaforth Community Hospital states. "In his letter of resignation Rick indicated the Seaforth hospital has been the most enjoyable hospital he has ever worked in over the past 22 years and that it has been most gratifying for him to work with the board. med- ical, auxiliary and staff mem- bers associated with our organization," the statement from SCH continues. Cooper's last day of work is Oct. 10, although his resigna- tion is effective Oct. 15. September 24, 1997 - $1.00 includes GST PHOTO BY DAVID SCOTT GUNMAN ARRESTED - A barefoot Wilfred Miller, 34, of RR 4 Seatorth is placed in an OPP cruiser last Tuesday afternoon at approximately 5:30 p.m. after he tried to drive through a police blockade and was rammed by two OPP vehicles. Moro photos on pages 6 & 8. 35 OPP officers converge on Seaforth No injuries in armed standoff BY DAVID SCOTT Expositor Editor No one was injured in an armed standoff which lasted about three -and -a -half hours last Tuesday (Sept. 16) after- noon in Seaforth that involved 35 members of the OPP's western region. The incident began at approximately 2 p.m. when a police officer approached a man who had "barricaded himself" in a parked car at Lions Park on the east side of town. A .22 calibre rifle was pointed at the constable from the lone occupant of the car, Wilfred Miller, 34, of RR 4 Seaforth. No attempt at dia- logue was made at that time. "The officer recognized it was a safety issue and called in reinforcements," said pub- lic information officer Andy Burgess of the Kincardine That began a" massive " assembly of OPP personnel who set up a command centre at the Seaforth arena. Among the specialty Opera- tions called in were: hostage negotiation, tactical response unit, emergency response team, criminal investigation and a helicopter spotter in case of a chase. Burgess confirmed Miller had been under some kind of medical attention for mental health reasons. The reason for the incident stemmed from "personal issues," according to the OPP. Command Post Set Up Arena manager Graham Nesbitt said members of the OPP started arriving about 3:15 p.m. and setting up out- side. A command post was set up inside the main hall and outside the community centre. The OPP asked if they could use the arena's three phone lines and eventually separate stations were set up - one, on the east side of the hall near the kitchen door which was used to talk to the officers in the field. Another line was used in the main hall where negotiations people were set up. At approximately 4:15 prin- cipal -Bruce Eccles at SDHS was approached by two OPP officers to ask• if they could possibly use the high school for a command post and use some phone lines. They ended up setting up at the arena. That was about the same time Nesbitt said the first tactical unit and negotia- tors arrived. Highway Blockaded Meanwhile, Highway 8 was blockaded from the main intersection in Seaforth to the east side of Lions Park. An OPP cruiser blocked Local •dhUrch could collapse BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff St. Cotumban Roman Catholic Church is closed ,and in danger of collapse. The 86 -year-old church was declared unsafe last week. There were no worship ser- vices there this past weekend and there may not be for ;come time. The parish is in "shock." The future of the building looks grim and is up in the air, quite literally, according to architects at an informa- tion ;fleeting at St. Columban School Monday night. "In brief, the work required As extensive and is likely to froin the range of $650,000 00,000 depending on the auks from further recom- mended investigation," archi- tect Allan Avis of Goderich reported. "The vast majority of the work focuses on three fundamental building sys- tems: roof structure, roofing ,and exterior brick masonry." "With an imposed load such as snow, ice, or wind, it is possible that the hammer - beams could fall collapsing the roof," his report states. "They are very serious and very real problems," Rev. Tony Daniels, Vicar General of the Diocese of London told the about 126 parish- ioners in attendance. He said the diocese can relate to the frustration and anxiety the parish now feels, and stressed the crisis is "not part of some scheme to close your church." He said the building was important but the parish com- munity was more so. Fr. Daniels said the parish will determine whatever option is eventually decided upon, but the diocese has to be involved because ofthe impact that decision will have. "The community has to be what survives and flourish- es," he said. HOLDING IT UP? "The situation of those 1twsaes is extremely poor, c7insulting engineer Bob Petcrman, who concurred with Avis' findings. said. "1 really don't know what's holding it (roof) up... This is an oddity." "It's „fixable yes. but eco- nomically fixable...?" Architect Avis said the six trusses supporting the et are considerably out of whack and "unrestrained," all leaning towards the tower to the south. Bach truss weighs from 5,000 to 6,000 lbs. and architects and engineers are worried about "a domino effect." "The roof structure is the most immediate and serious concern," he reported. "The truss -arches spanning the nave have warped members which represent a significant loss in structural capacity. Left unchecked the roof structure is in jeopardy of collapse. "Due to the severity of the situation and the use of the building, corrective action must be taken immediately to avoid exposing the roof structure to severe winter storms. "We are uncertain as to the feasibility of straightening the aged hammer -beams which are constructed of five laminations of 2" x 12" lum- ber. Such a process would normally involve jacking against a solid part of ,he building or using cables for pulling. It is not readily apparent how this can he Cstt_EM oa Pslge 11 Goderich St. at New Orleans Pizza and another cruiser cut off access to the park just past the entrance to the hospi- tal. An additional cruiser blocked the road at Nixon's Hill. A four-wheel drive Suburban .and another unmarked van also took up position in between the OPP cruisers on the west side of the bridge over Silver Creek. The gunman's car was parked at the north end of the parking lot at Lions Park, with its front end pointing towards the hospital. There were no other cars in the parking lot. No Notification Seaforth Community Hospital CEO Bill Thibert received no notification from the OPP about the incident happening or the road block- ades. "I was disappointed we weren't notified," he said. At one point the OPP called the hospital and asked them make a page over their p.a. system for staff and patients not to look out of the win- dows. Hospital staff and patients with doctors' appointments had to talk to OPP officers at the blockades before being allowed to proceed to the hospital. Car Leaves Park At approximately 5:30 p.m., Miller's car left the park and began heading west, toward downtown. According to eyewitnesses he drove around the parked cruiser blocking the road just east of the hospital entrance. "He (Miller) went to go up to the hospital and ,the 'Suburban (OPP vehicle) smashed him back onto the highway. He kept going (towards downtown). Then the (OPP) van hit him onto CONTINUED on page 6 Search on for physical evidence to clear Truscott BY TRISH WILKINSON SSP News Staff The search is on at the Centre of Forensic Si.iences in Toronto to find any pieces of remaining evidence con- taining the DNA that could, if tested, could possibly prove the innocence of Steven Truscott. Dr. Joel Mayer, the centre's deputy director, stated they have obtained Truscott's file and ,are actively looking for any physical evidence that they would be able to test against the 52-year-old's DNA. "We're making every effort to come up with the informa- tion for the parties involved," Mayer stated. "This will cer- tainly take several more days. Truscott, who has hired James Lockycr, the same lawyer who represented David Milgaard and Guy Paul Morin, stated last week that he will be providing a sample of his own DNA to authorities in the hopes he can use the test to clear his name. However, in order to do that, Mayer noted that these itemshave to be found. "One has to remember this is nimost a 40 -year-old .case," Mayer said, .adding that gen- erally the centre doesn't keep evidence ' once a case - is closed. "We have the file in connection with this .case and we are reviewing it." It was reported in the Toronto Sun that the centre had identified more than 60 items that were described in old lab reports, correspon- dence and other documents that were submitted for exam- ination during the police investigation of the rape -mur- der of 12 -year-old Lynne Harper in 1959. Macon, 14 at the time, cops arrested days after Harper's body was found in the woods just outside of Vanastra. He was later convicted of the, killing and sentenced to hang. An appeal court reduced his sentence to life and he was paroled after serving 10 years in. ail. Truscott now lives in Guelph under an assumed name with his wife and three children. He has three chil- dren and a grandchild.