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Times Advocate, 1994-7-27, Page 1SEIP'S vale -mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 Fri. & Sat. BBQ Support the Exeter Boy Scouts Serving Exeter and area since 1873 rS LIB S CRIBS F? n you aren't subscribingmissing to �'The' 1 Times-Advocate,e ctes eelo and riout. today!• 1 Name: I Address City 1 Prov. 1 Postal Code guBSCRIPTION RATE$: Canada Within 40 miles - (65 km) addressed to non letter carrier addresses $30.00 plus $2.10 0.S.T. Outside 40 miles - (65 km) or any letter canter address $60.00 + 14.20 G.S.T. 'Outside Canada -$99.00 sea sato poe.•.) 1 USE YOUR CREDRDARD 000000 1 00000000 Card No. 1 I Expiry Date ❑ Visa U Master Card 1 ❑ Cheque enclosed 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Return to; TIMES ADVOCATE `2 4 Main St. M 1S6 me mot>•tei r n_t. not, rsi nside Sidewal Days Lots to s and do at annual event ee-• 'e.. artime Zurich .; :.. parades=; highli See Comm nl parch Vegetables grown could help many See Crossroadsr Second fron Expre beats Winning strea stopped at five ee page 1 Summer theatre A look at a couple of plays See page Class • 1 Wednesday, July 27. 1994 v SEIP'S valu-mart 4 & 83 Exeter 235-0262 Monday, Aug. 1/94 Open Regular Hours 8a.m.-9p.m. (84C + 60 GST) 90 cents Bath time Shelley Grant of Critters' Corners in Exeter gave Ghost a bath on Main street Saturday as part of the Annual Sidewalk Sale Days. Ghost and 14 other dogs received special treatment. Grant donated $100 to the Huron County Humane Society from the event. Back yard fires taking more heat Now Exeter is considering a ban on bonfires in town EXETER - Sitting around a warm fire in the backyard may be a sum- mer evening tradition for some, but it may also become a thing of the past. Several communities are tak- ing a hard look at banning backyard "fire pits" in response to neighbour- hood complaints. Hensall council is planning to take a hard look at its bylaw that al- lows backyard fires, and Parkhill too is thinking about prohibiting anything larger than a barbecue in town. The issue also came up at Exeter council last week after council read a letter from a John Street resident complaining about a neighbour's frequent bonfires. The man said the smoke affected his health. "There is too much bending of the rules in the 1980 bylaw," read the letter. "Dave, is .this your re- sponsibility?" mayor Bruce Shaw asked building inspector Dave Moyer, to which Moyer replied that the fire chief is most often called about backyard fires. Even if the fire is found to be dangerously Targe, clerk Liz Bell said a fine under the fire code "is only $20 or something like that". "A lot of these bylaws were passed onto the police to do. This isn't one of them," noted Bell. "I tell you, it's most annoying," councillor Ben Hoogenboom agreed. He said his cottage neigh- bour often builds fires that smoke out his property and can sympathize with those suffering the same prob- lem here in town. An additional problem often cited over fire pits is that some owners use them to dispose of garbage or treated wood. After the meeting, councillor Ben Hoogenboom said that the best course of action in Exeter will he to contact owners of back yard fire pits and make them aware of the problem. Following that, the ex- ecutive committee may look at eliminating what Hoogenboom called "loopholes" in the bylaw. "I think the executive committee will probably take a look at it at their next meeting, which is in Au- gust," said Hoogenboom. Dozing driver crashes car show "It could have been the biggest disaster that ever happened here." EXETER - A four -car fender bender was the result of a pickup truck going out of control, its driver asleep at the wheel, slamming into a car show on Main Street last Wednesday. It was not the best way to kick off Sidewalk Sale Days in Exeter, leaving one sports car wrecked, and two others lightly damaged. The accident happened right in front of Jos Bervoets' Four Seasc ns Jewellery Store at about 6:20 p.m. Bervoets was still outside with sidewalk sale merchandise` when a red 1992 Chevrolet pickup crossed the centreline of the street, entered the roped -off area and struck a 1994 Ford Probe GT on display from Eric Campbell Motors. The Probe, which had both airbags deployed, was shunted backwards into a brand new Escort wagon, which then struck a new Mercury Cougar, all three from Campbell's. "I felt this truck behind my back, heard this massive crash, and it was all over," said Ber- voets. The driver, apparently unhurt, told people at the accident scene he did not know what had happened. But he did say he had been work- ing a long time without sleep and was on his way home from Talbotville. Although police would not reveal the results of their in- vestigation, it is believed the driver fell asleep at the wheel. "He was exhausted," said Bervoets. The accident calls into question some of the sidewalk sale policies, said Bervoets. With the street roped off, but still open to traffic, there are many people crossing Main Street, with drivers often distracted by the displays. He said he shudders to think what might have happened if the cars had not been where they were. "I don't want to think about it," said Ber- voets, but noted that even though the truck missed him, there were other people on the sidewalk further up the street. "It could have been the biggest disaster that ever happened here," he said. Bervoets said he was disappointed that it took 20 minutes for police to arrive on the scene, and after the driver was questioned, was allowed to drive his damaged truck away. Why wasn't he required to at least be checked ut at the hos . ital, Bervoets asks? "That man should never have been allowed to drive home, never," he said,. Staff sergeant Don McInnes said that the OPP has no authority to require medical ex- aminations pf drivers. "It's ridiculous. It makes it really difficult for us," admitted McInnes. As for the relative safety of keeping Main Street open during sidewalk sales, McInnes said he still opposes closing the street to traf- fic. Had the street been closed, the truck might have gone through the barricade and caused even more damage or injury. Charged with careless driving in connection with the accident is Charles Brindley of RR2 Holyrood. Three �truck thatceerIP were roosssed the centrellineaofnight on Main the road and slammed into t in Exeter by a pickup Into the narked cars. Blowing sand getting worse Fences, grassy dunes not the Answer for the gritty wind blowing off Grand Bend's beach GRAND BEND - The Grand Bend Works Superintendent, Bud Markham, has asked that the vil- lage look into a long range solution to sand management. Markham says that this year has been particularly heavy for sand be- ing blown off the bcach. "They sweep the main street twice a week because of the sand," said deputy -mayor Cam Ivey. Councillor Ed Fluter said that some residents had put up fcncine to stop the drifting sand and the re- sults have been positive. He noted that the works department were in- structed to put up fencing along the beach but it was not until October. "Is there a way we can deal with it on a permanent basis?," asked Fluter. The village office is being in- structed to contact universities to pursue the possibility of doing a wind study and then having rec- ommendations made on how to control the blowing sand. In the past, the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority has told council- that while fencing was a temporary solution, dunes with dune grass would be a more perma- nent solution. But Ivey pointed out the downfall with this noting, "sand dunes and pedestrian traffic don't work well together." Swing set should be moved? A beach -front resident says the swings are becoming a late-night meeting place GRAND BEND - The new swing set on the main beach it' Grand Bend has been met with some op- position. Monday night, Julie Morris who owns beach front property , told council she is upset with where the new swings have been placed near her property. She said that at night, especially past 2 a.m. young people are con- verging at the swings, using it as a meeting place and when they're asked to leave, they leave tem- porarily and return. "Its kept me and my children awake at night. We have a problem that affects the way we live," said Morris. "The swing has become a magnet. It's a meeting place." She isn't asking the swings be eliminated but rather be re -located. "Nobody's asking to get rid of it, we use it. It's for the public but it's out of the public's view." Morris' concerns which arc shared by her neighbours, was brought to Grand Bend's Parks and Recreation committee who rec- ommended she approach council. Council in turn asked committee chairman Barry Richman to attend Monday's council meeting. He told Morris that the swing sets and any other items which in the future will enhance the beach, are assets. "We have as deep a concern as you if those assets are misused," said Richman. The problem will once again go before the rec committee.