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Huron Expositor, 1999-10-27, Page 1.zuron October 27, 1999 Si (includes GST) Local weather Wednesday --Mainly cloudy bec oming sunny near midday High 7 Thursday --Mac of sun and doud High 14 Low 3. Friday --Sunny . High 12. low 2. Saturday-kxreasing cloudiness High near 15.Low4. from Environment Canada In Brief Jarvis St. named as emergency rail crossing While a solution hasn't been found for a permanent, second rail crossing, a route for emergency vehicles is in the works. Council has been hoping to find another way to cross the tracks for more than a year now. The only way around the crossing if there is a train there is around country blocks outside of town. It has been aconcern for the Seaforth Fire Department and became an even greater concern after a train derailment last September blocked half of Main Street: the only crossing in town, for several hours. While the town would like to see a second, permanent crossing all vehicles could use, Jarvis. Street has become the solution for emergency vehicles. . In his Oct. 12 report to council. Roads Superintendent John. Forrest said a temporary detour can be set up across Jarvis Street. After a meeting between himself, Administrator Jack McLachlan and Goderich Exeter Railway staff, he said Jarvis Street was ruled out as a possible permanent crossing because train cars on the side rail lines often block that area. But Forrest said the cars can be, moved quickly in an emergency and with locked gates installed, emergency vehicle operators could open the gates and pass through if the other crossing was_ blocked. ' He said gates and posts would cost about $900 to install. "We also discussed the procedure to establish a permanent crossing at Sparling Street if future development ever requires it," Forrest said in his report. Clocks go . back one hour Saturday It's time to fall back on Saturday night and turn your clocks back one hour to make the change from daylight savings to standard time. Children's Centre general meeting. Pages Fast Eddie comes to town... Pogo 111 Ringette season starts Pogo Is Putting on the ritz local seniors were wined, dined and entertained last week during a special International Year of the Older Person banquet at the Seaforth Community Centres Seaforth'well-prepared for Y2K Brett Jewitt photo By Scott Hilgendorff Expositor Editor, Seaforth is in good shape heading into what is known as Y2K, the computer •glitch that has people worried power supplies and other services will shut •down on January I. 2000. • "What you're doing is excellent. Keep it up," said Steve Beatty. the Southwestern Ontario officer for Emergency 'Measures Ontario. the coordinating 'agency that helps the province iti emergency situations such as ice stornis'and floods. Town staff -have been•,working closely for months now with OPP, the -hospital, retirement homes and other partners to help ensure the town is prepared for a potential emergency. Work has included malting sure there are power supplies available at the community centre for shelter and at the town hall for an emergency command post, ensuring there is fuel available for emergency vehicles and a means to communicate with police, fire departments and each other should telephone lines fail to work. Retirement homes and the hospital are making sure there is extra medication and supplies available and plans are being made to care for the elderly who will require electricity for medical needs. Beatty said it is unlikely something serious will happen but stressed the importance of being prepared. He said Ontario Hydro has offered assurances the power is not going to go out when the date changes and computers potentially have trouble reading the double zero digits of the new year. ' "I don't know if anyone can say they are 100 per cent ready, but we're working toward that." he cautioned. He said Emergency Measures Ontario will have staff on-call. three days before and after Jan. 1. • He gave praise to the. _town at a recent meeting of community leaders and said even if the Y2K situation doesn't lead to any.pithlems. there will he emergencies where the planning v ill he.of benefit from a chemical accident to a severe winter storrn. See Y2K, Page 2 New Year's Eve at town hall' prepares for Y2K emergency By Scott Hilgendorff ExpositorEditor • The town's core staff, including \layer Dave Scott and Administrator Jack McLachlan.. will he ringing in the new year at Town Hall Council decided at its Oct. 12 meeting it would he hest to have at least' a few key people in place -in case any of the potential Y2K Tears come to pass when the date changes to January 1, 2000. There is fear of potential computer glitches front systems that cannot read that date, that could cause po\.er outages or other technological failures anda potential crisis. • • Council debated whether or not all to.. n staff should be on-call or on -clot\ that night in case there is an emrrgcti .. Board to try to answer questions about accommodati,ons review By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Staff . An • accommodations review questions: and. answers document:' will attempt to answer "asmany' questions from the public as possible. education director Lorne Rachlis told trustees at the Oct. 12 meeting of the Avon Maitland District School Board. ' While trustee Vickie Culbert complained that the document will not answer every question that is asked by parents; Rachlis .said answering every question will be impossible. staii`or the time. Some of the questions are quite specific about specific schools and it would be a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical question." he said. A new process implemented recently by the board asks 'members of the public to write down their questions and submit them during board • meetings. Answers are supposed to be available at the following board meeting. While the question's and answers document currently focuses on the accommodation review issue. it has a section for general questions as well. Rachlis Said the current document was compiled using two weeks of staff time, involving • every member of the senior staff. "A fair amount of effort goes into these "answers and •there's a fair amount• of •'repetition in the questions so far." he said. Student trustee Sarah Agar recommended -that the questions and answers document be posted on the board's web' site and at schools, local businesses and newspaper outlets to make sure the public has its questions answered. - "We (student trustees) were concerned about whether or not people are going to get answers to their questions. • The - written The well-dressed bear _ questions are great if they're Caitlin Russell and Tarryn Cooper walkeir f thriend little Bear— regulars at the board down the runway at the All Dolled Up fashion show held Soo BOARD, Pogo 2 • Friday night at: the Seaforth legion. See TOWN, Page 2 Stephanie Dole photo Remembrance Day 'wave of silence' to ride through town By Susan Hundortmatic Expositor Staff Far two minutes on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m., the Seaforth Legion • is asking everyone to stop what they're doing and observe a moment of silence as part of a Canada -wide wave of silence. The wave of silence means turning off machines in local factories, refraining from using cash registers at local stores. stopping your cat, bicycle or stroller if you're out and about and turning off your radio, television or vacuum cleaner if 2 ) SIILENCE you're at home. - And, use those two minutes to remember the veterans who have fought and died in wars to preserve the freedom and way of life of Canadians. The Legion's public relation's. officer Barbara Scott says- Seaforth businesses have been very cooperative in the past and she expects the wave of silence to observed throughout the community. "In Seaforth we don't have too much trouble getting people to cooperate. We're helping to get every single workplace and school to join in 'so that there's complete silence fot those two minutes." she says. ' ''Everyone I delivered letters said they always obserN a Remembrance Day." she says. Scott says many local businesses actually close up shop for an hour to attekd the Remembrance Day ceremony at the cenotaph and local Sea LEGION, Porte ' Your community newspaper since !sou L )