Loading...
Times Advocate, 1994-12-21, Page 2Page 2 Times -Advocate, December 21, 1994 IN THF. WFWS Fire destroys Biddulph barn CLANDEBOYE - Flames en- gulfed a Biddulph Township barn last Tuesday afternoon, completely destroying it within hours. Lucan/Biddulph firefighters were called to the farm of Doug Thompson on Concession 4-5 of Biddulph after a fire broke out around 4 p.m. The Granton tire department was called in to help prevent the blaze from spreading to surrounding buildings. Most of the cattle were res- cued from the dairy barn before the fire spread too far, but 10 cows and one calf were trapped inside. Firefighters attempted to rescue the trapped animals, but were discouraged by the intense heat and smoke in the barn, and the fact that the burning roof was holding up tons of burning hay. The firefighters eventually de- cided to put the trapped cows out of their misery by shooting them through an open door. "You hate to sec them dying like that," said Lucan fire chief John Riddell. In all, Riddell estimated the to- tal damage around $ 130- 150,000. The cause of the fire is, as yet, undetermined, but electrical failures are always suspected in situations like this, he said. "It seemed to have started in the end closest to the feed room and equipment room," Riddell said witnesses told him, which is where the most electrical sys- tems are. "It's just a hunch." The fire department was called back to the same property the next day when winds were whip- ping the embers back into flames, and sparks were threat- ening surrounding buildings. Blddulph and Granton firefighters battled this blaze at Doug Thompson's Biddulph farm last Tuesday evening. Their efforts to free a few remaining head of cattle trapped in the barn were in vain, but they were able to put a few of the suffering animals out of their misery. Town Hall plans satisfy council's concerns over renovation project Whether the building is to be the start of a new library, or a completely separate development has yet to be decided or Continued from front page. Even though the drawings showed an office floor plan, Mickle said it would be refined ,with town staff input. Garratt and Marklevitz took on 4 the project at no cost to the town, said Mickle, in the hope of getting the contract. "On the surface I guess i Tike what I see," said councillor Roy Triebner. "This does not lock this council in a fixed direction as con- cerns the library?" "Correct," replied Mickle. Triebner asked why the cost es- timates were so much lower from the new architect. Mickle said he was comfortable the estimates were realistic, and comfortable that the architect wanted to preserve the historical aspects of the building. - t11_ I , I {1 t-- ii t -J An upper floor council chamber wily be reversed from the hall's present layout, and with movable furniture will turn into a small theatre, accessible by stairs and elevator. Snowmobile complaints return EXETER - Although we may be in for a green Christmas, the snows will soon return, and with them the snowmobilers. Councillor Robert Drummond re- ported to council Monday evening that recent cold weather brought out some complaints about snowmobil- ers in town. He suggested the town advertise its present bylaw and re- I strictions on snowmobile use in town. Drummond also said council might want to review its bylaw and compare it with snowmobile bylaws in use in other municipalities. "Maybe there could be some im- provements made to ours," said Drummond. Council agreed with Drummond to advertise its snowmobile regula- tions. A new ceiling in the council chambers will improve acoustics and conceal ductwork, but will not block thc windows. The chambers can be easily converted to a concert hall with public seating, as the council tahlez, can be moved aside. "The other question is arts and culture, and i think that's been ac- commodated with the council chamber," agreed Triebner. Councillor Bob Spears said the architect "thought half a million dollars was a lot of money" and that he thought a really fine job could be done with that money. "That's what we wanted to hear....We're going to accomplish what we wanted to get done," said Spears. "i certainly appreciate the time and effort each one of you put into this," said Mickle to those members of the corner committee present at Monday's council session. He then made the motion to hire the archi- tect to take the project through to completion. The motion was carried with only one abstention. Mayor Ben Hoogenboom said he too wanted to personally thank the committee members for all their work on the project. Monday's decision puts to an end the months of debate and division over the project, and is the first step made by the new council towards moving Exeter's municipal offices to a new, more gracious, home. Does new bill take planning authority out of municipal hands? The Ontario Cattleman's Association says rural landowners have much to fear from Bill 163 •'Continued from front page. which may limit the op- portunities on privately owned land. Local municipalities arc required under the hill to des- ignate areas such as wetlands, habitat land and areas of natural and scientific interest on their official plans. This is to be done without knowledge or consent of thc land owner. The association is disturbed that municipal con- trol over local planning is being handed over to the province. The Ausahle-Bayfield Con- servation Authority is still work- ing out all of the implications of the hill. Pat Donnelly of the Au- thority said "a lot is en- compassed by the bill...we are most interested in the environ- mental policies, we want' to as- sist the municipalities where it applies." The hill incorporates existing municipal policies and raises them to the provincial level. Donnelly sees the hill as a more comprehensive organization of policy statements. Areas such as wetlands and flood plains have already been a part of mu- nicipal policies! ur.dcr Bill 163 the unchanged policy is adopted by cabinet. Donnelly said he was disappointed that some is- sues such is watershed planning were cot incorporated into the bill. Municipalities arc not yet able to predict the implications Bill 163 will have on rural land de- velopment. Some interested par- ties feel that construction will be severely restricted and as a re- sult, market values will decline. Others, like Zimmerman and Donnelly, indicated that from their understanding oo, the bill, little has changed. May your home and heart be filled with the holiday spirit Louise 's Unique Interiors (t)ivlsiun of 11150156 Ontario ltd ) 436 Main St. S., Exeter, Ontario Tel: (519) 235-4086 / Fax: (519) 235-4087 Merry Christmas 'Happy& Healthy New Year Usbome Township Council and staff Holiday Hours OFFICE CLOSED from December 23, 1994 at noon to January 3, 1995 at 8:30 a.m. Kirkton Landfill Site will be open December 31 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. McGillivray Mutual Insurance 127 John St.,AilsaCraig Phone 293-3613 Wishes aft their policy holders a Very Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year YOU'RE #1 WITH US! Here's hoping the season delivers everything on your "most wanted" list... and more! Merry Christmas Thank you for your patronage N.C. Jones and Sons Ltd. Millie, Bob, Jim, Todd + 4: Town of Exeter Holiday Collection Schedule NORMAL PICK-UP -Friday, December 23 Normal Blue Box pick-up Municipal Office Closed Monday, Dec. 26 Landfill site closed Municipal Office closed Y No Blue Box pick-up PICK-UP CHANGED TO Thursday, December 22 Tuesday, December 27 Landfill open Dec. 27 Friday Dec. 30 Normal pick-up and Blue Box pick-up Monday, Jan. 2 Tuesday, Jan. 3 Landfill site closed Landfill open Jan. 3 Municipal Office closed No Blue Box pick-up NOTE; After January 1, 1995 Blue Boxes for the complete town will be picked up on FRIDAYS ONLY. Friday, January 6 - Whole town Blue Box pick-up Christmas trees will be picked up after January 3, 1995 if placed at the curb. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Public Works and Municipal Staff .44