Times-Advocate, 1986-09-17, Page 14
A FAMILIAR SCENE — Hundreds of area residents had to resort to
to take care of basement flooding pumps Problems caused by
recent heavy rains. Mark Laye of King street north in Crediton is
shown getting rid of water which caused thousands of dollars of
damage in his basement. T -A photo
Home owners know their Toss
Rain fills
Whether it was measured in metric
(176.2 millimeters) or imperial (6.94
inches) the rainfall of the past week
created major headaches and losses
for many area residents.
Many homeowners who had flood-
ed basements have already been able
to assess their loss, while area
farmers can only guess at the present
time until they can get back on the
land to harvest some of their en-
dangered crops.
However, there is little doubt that
crop damage tuts occurred and the
hardest hit may be the area vegetable
and white bean producers.
Bert Visscher of Visscher Farms
just west of Exeter reported this week
that he had lost 40 acres of cauliflower
and 20 of broccoli and estimates his
loss at $150,000.
"We're hoping the bank will look
favorably on us," he said, adding that
otherwise "we're finished".
The vegetable producer said he
hadn't been particularly worried
about the floods inundating his fields
until he did aninspection on Sunday
and found much of the produce was
rotten.
He managed to harvest about eight
dozen cauliflower on Monday, noting
that normally there would have been
from 800 to 900 dozen to send to his
retail outlets.
All but four of the farm's 19
employees have been laid off and
won't be recalled until late produce is
ready for harvesting next month, as
long as it withstands the wet
conditions.
"It's unreal" he exclaimed in
reference to the amount of rainfall
that hit his area. He said he carried
no crop insurance because "it is hard
to imagine you can lose this much all
at one time" and also because the
crop insurance program does not ade-
quately meet his particular needs for
protection.
Len Veri of Exeter Produce and
Storage Company reports there will
be losses in his specialty crops as well
but won't know how serious until the
A PUMPKIN PEEKER - Marilou Hern peeks out between a pair of
Targe pumpkins at the 1986 Kirkton Fall Fair. T -A photo
Three area residents
handed 5500 penalties
Three $500 fines were levied by
Judge Gary Hunter when he presid-
ed in Exeter court, Tuesday.
Jody Jean Dayman, 103 Thames
Road W., Exeter, and Murray J. Har-
burn, RR 2 Zurich, were given a $500
penalty for drinking and driving of-
fences. while a Crediton man.
Thomas E. Mallett, paid that amount
on a charge of cultivating a narcotic.
Dayman and Harburn both plead-
ed guilty to driving motor vehicles
while their blood alcohol content was
over the legal limit. Each was also
given a three month license
suspension.
The Exeter woman was charged on
August 17 after her vehicle,was notic-
ed being driven in an erratic manner
around 12:30 a.m. A hreathalizer test
showed a reading of 30 mgs. She was
given 60 days in which to pay the fine,
or an alternative of 25 days in jail.
The Zurich area man was charged
on July 6 after his erratic driving forc-
ed another driver to take evasive ac-
tion on a Hay Township sideroad
around 8:00 p.m. After failing an
Alert test, llarhurn was taken to
Goderich for a hreathaliier test and
the reading was 160 mgs. He too was
given 60 days in which to pay or the
alternative of 5 days in jail.
• Mallet, of 6 Victoria St., was charg-
ed with cultivating marijuana on
August 23 after OPP received a com-
plaint about a marijuana plant being
growr,.in the yard of the accused.
Police found a four -foot plant and
two smaller plants and a search of the
residence located 15 grams of
marijuana.
The street value of the seized mari-
juana was estimated at $200.
The 24 -year-old unemployed man
was given the $500 fine or 25 days in
jail and was also placed on probation
for 12 months. He was given 90 days
in which to pay.
In the only other case on Tuesday's
docket, Glenn Roy Kenney, 184 Main
St., Exeter, was fined $3.50 dr 30 days
and placed on probation for six
months on a charge of mischief aris-
ing from wilful damage to a car park-
ed at the Albatross in Huron Park.
The incident occurred on July 13
and the Albatross manager testified
he had been advised of an occurrence
in the parkinglot and on investigation
saw the accused kicking a car park-
ed near the establishment.
The manager went into the club to -
find the car's owner and when they
returned to the scene, the accused and
two people in his company had
departed.
In addition to (he fine, Kenney was
ordered to make restitution of $101.65
for the damage caused to the vehicle
within three months. Ice was given 60
days to pay the fine.
asked for special preference, and
none has been given. One moment she
is clambering up and down a ladder
to the station roof, and the next she
is simulating rescue procedures by
,, S,
The Ausable Bayfield Cotservatioa
Authority executive learned at their
recent meeting that the projected cost
of a couple of proposed projects has
escalated coadderably.
The preliminary engineering on the
Nairn cemetery erasion control pro-
ject has determined that errosion was
much more serious than originally
thought and the cast estimate has in-
creased to $240,000 for corrective
measures.
Originally It had been thought that
the measures would cost about
$60,000.
Water resources co-ordinator Alec
Scott advised the executive commit-
tee that discussions are currently
underway with the ministry of natural
Maumee and the Township of East
)Williams as to the availability of
funds to complete this urgent project.
The preliminary engineering study
on the protection of two homes south
of the Clinton Conservation area has
also been completed and the
estimated costs are higher than an-
ticipated. The protection work ranges
from 860,000 to $140,000, up from the
original estimate of $40,000.
The landowners in consultation
with the consultants, are reviewing
the methods of protection and accep-
tance of the increased costs before
tot
•
•
Pets' costs �suil.te
proceeding with the project.
The ministry of natural resources
has provided the Authority with
130,000, that being a 100 percent grant,
towards the preliminary engineering
study for the Long Hill Road erosion
control project in Bayfield. The
ministry of transportation and com-
munications and the ministry of
municipal affairs are to share in the
_...� .�.
total estimated construction costs of
$275,000.
In other business, the executive:
Accepted the resignation of
secretary -receptionist Trish
Menheere and authorized that steps
be taken to fill the vacancy.
Received requests from Grand
Bend to include several erosion con-
trol projects in the 1967 capital project
funding requests to the ministry of
natural resources along with a study
of the Ausable River from Highway
21 bridge upstream to the village
limits.
A request was also received from
Exeter that proposed repairs and
upgrading of the town dam and the
Morrtsion dam be included in the 1987
capital project funding requests.
,_ s :-;s
-SOAKED BEANS — This is a typical white bean field in the area during the heavy rains which deluged
the area late in the week.
4�i
Ames
Li
sFS
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
One Hundred and Fifteenth Year
4,0
T -A photo
VOC
& North Lambton Since 1873
EXETER, ONTARIO, September 17, 1986
Price Per Copy 60 cents
Crop Toss still a guess
basements, fields
fields dry up and harvesting can begin
again.
Produce that was ready for harvest
has shown some spoilage.
Area white bean growers have also
suffered from the wet conditions.
"It will certainly hurt the quality
and yields," commented OMAF crop
specialist Brian Hall in Clinton, Mon-
day. He said fields closest to harvest
will suffer the most as they wilt be
susceptible to sprouting lodging.
While only a few area farmers were
caught with b(A1fis already pu2M8 and
not combined, Hall said it would
"make a mess of those".
Soybeans, particularly those ready
for harvest this week, are also ex-
pected to be affected, but not as much
as the white beans.
It is estimated that only 10 to 25 per-
cent of the white beans have been
harvested to date and Hall noted that
it would take several days of dry
weather to enable producers to get
back onto the land.
He added that the rain will delay
the harvesting of other crops as well
and will back up fall work to a con-
siderable extent.
Tim Beard of Hensall Co -Op said
the damage to the white beans will be
less if the weather remains on the cool
side until the land dries.
"There are reasons to he concern-
ed," he explained, predicting there
could be fairly substantial damage if
the wet weather continues.
Packaging of sweet corn sloshed to
a halt at Canadian Canner when the
'rain htt on Wednesday and the pro-
duction lines were down for five days.
Manager Joe Ryder said the equip-
ment went back into the fields on
Monday morning after the five-day
hiatus, but he didn't know how much
success they would have as the rain
started coming down again.
He said he still hopes to get all the
crop off and the task probably won't
be completed until October 8 or 10. He
said there was evidence of corn lodg-
ing and that would make harvesting
more difficult along with the mud.
Driver escapes
as car submerged
An area man escaped unhurt after
his car submerged in a water -filled
ditch this week, while four people
were injured in the seven accidents
investigated by the Exeter OPP.
Damage in the collisions was
almost $15,000.
The only mishap resulting from the
week's heavy rainfall occurred on
Thursday on sideroad 20 east of con-
cession 16-17 Hay Township, when a
vehicle driven by Todd Harris, RR 1
Exeter, ran into water across the road
and went out of control. The west-
bound vehicle went into a deep ditch
and was submerged in water. The
driver managed to escape unhurt.
Damage to the vehicle was set at 8800.
The first of the week's crashes was
last Sunday at 1:40 a.m., when a vehi-
cle driven by Randy Parker, Hensall,
went out of control on Highway 84
near Huron Road 31 and hit a culvert
and fence.
Parker sustained minor injuries
and damage to the vehicle was listed
at $3,000.
On Monday, vehicles driven by
Russell Martin, RR 3 Dorchester, and
Danny Oliver, RR 2 Kippen, collided
on King St. in Ilensall just west of
Highway 4. Oliver suffered minor in-
juries and total damage was set at
$2,000.
There was one collision on Tuesday,
it occurring at the private drive at
Dashwood Industries, involving
vehicles operated by Daniel Dawe,
RR 2 Crediton, and John Stever, Ex-
eter. Damage was estimated at
$1,800.
One person was injured in a
Wednesday collision on Highway 84
near Highway 4 at Hensall. Vehicles
involved were driven by Glenn Stade,
Grand Bend, and Carlene Hay, Hen-
sall. The latter suffered minor in-
juries and damage was set at $5,000.
On Friday, vehicles driven by Deric
J. McCann, RR 2 Crediton, and Ricky
Wein, RR 1 Cred'tWn, collided on the
Crediton Road eaAtof concession 4-5
in Stephen. Wein suffered minor in-
juries and damage to the vehicles was
estimated at $1,500.
On Saturday at 6:45 p.m., vehicles
operated by Mark Kirk, Zurich, and
Jeffery Dalrymple, Exeter, collided
on Highway 84 near the Zurich west
limits. Damage was set at $5,000.
During the week, the local detach-
ment officers investigated 41 occur-
rences and laid 90 charges under the
Highway Traffic Act. There were 11
charges under the Liquor License
Act,
Two people were charged with im-
paired driving and another two were
charged with failing to remain at the
scene of collisions.
Rec pact
still coming
Mayor Bruce Shaw didn't have a
new agreement over recreation fun-
ding to present to council this week as
he had anticipated, but said that he
hoped it would be forthcoming at a
meeting to be held among four area
municipalities on October 9.
Describing himself as an "eternal
optimist" Shaw said the meeting to
discuss recreation funding in the
South Huron area would be held in
Crediton.
The full councils from Usborne,
Stephen, flay and Exeter have been
invited to attend and the Mayor said
that it appears that the township
councils are looking at a "con-
siderably more equitable" basis for
recreation cost sharing for programs
and facilities offered in Exeter.
Building takes
a sharp drop
The value of building permits
issued in August dropped substantial-
ly from the same month in 1985, but
the current annual total still runs well
above last year.
August permits issued by building
inspector Brian .Johnston amounted to
$176,454, compared to $491,189 for the
same month last year.
The total for 1986 is now at
$2,406,114, compared to $1,621,848 in
1985 for the first eight months.
The August permits included one
new residence valued at $85,000.
There were 15 permits for residen-
tial renovations and additions at
$31,854, three institutional at $31,800,
two commercial at 825,000 and three
tool sheds, sundeckk, carports and
garages at $1,800.
Five temporary and two permanent
sign permits were also approved.
Many urban residents also ex-
perienced considerable losses as
flooded basements were evident in
most municipalities, with Exeter,
Zurich and Crediton being hardest hit,
-Hope it
catches on
Exeter residents may soon be able
to donate to local groups and get an
income tax deduction where such
donations do not presently provide
that tax write-off.
The subject was broached by a
local resident who recently called the
municipal office to ask whether he
could donate money through the town
to minor ice groups.
At the present time, donations to
those groups are not deductible for in-
come tax purposes, while the
municipality can issue tax receipts
for donations it receives,
Council asked Liz Bell to draft a
resolution of the matter for the next
meeting witn Mayor Bruce Shaw say-
ing that "off the top of my head, it
sounds like a great idea".
Reeve Bill Mickle questioned
whether he couldn't have his proper-
ty tax handled in the same manner so
it could be subject to a receipt for in-
come tax purposes.
"If it catches on (donations to the
town) there may not be any property
taxes," Mrs. Bell quipped.
Exeter works superintendent Glenn
Kells said he had about 100 calls from
homeowners with flooded basements
and added "a lot didn't even bother
calling."
Sewer systems were unable to cope
with the incessant rain as some blocks
were turned into miniature lakes. The
water not only backed up in sewers,
but flowed through cellar windows.
Some Exeter residents, many of
whom had finished basements fully
furnished, had as much as four feet
of water in them. After readying that
level, it started to flow out the
windows:
Kells said the area south of Well-
ington St. was inundated throughout
several sections of town. The new nur-
sing home was among the victims and
there was flood damage in the boiler
room at South Huron Hospital.
One homeowner on Sanders St. E.
who had only moved into his new
abode a couple of weeks ago, had four
sump pumps running and still wasn't
able to keep up with the flood.
Losses in some homes is expected
to run in the $5,000 range and many
owners do not have insurance to cover
the situation.
The majority of Exeter
homeowners had raw sewage in their
flooded basements as did several in
Zurich.
While explaining that the sewer
systems were not designed to handle
such a deluge, Kells indicated that
some home owners could have saved
themselves some damage by having
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44.
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STRANDED IN WATER Bob Poulin of Goderich abandoned his car
on a water covered road on Concession 6.7, just south of Highway
83 Saturday afternoon. He is shown here heading for help in his bore
feet. r T -A photo
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