News for Sunday, May 11th, 2008War medal returns homeWritten by Catherine Thompson
A medal to honour a fallen war hero from Midland is coming home.
Members of Lloyd Bowman's family along with the help of Jamie Hunter of the Huronia Museum and Dave Thomson, have won their bid on e-bay for a Memorial Cross.
Thomson has helped many families retrieve medals from collectors.
The crosses, also known as the silver cross, were given to the families of soldiers who didn't return from world war two.
Bowman served with the RCAF and went missing in 1942. His body was never recovered.
The medal was purchased from a collector in Washington for a thousand dollars US.
It's expected to arrive in Midland early next week.
Midland Mayor James Downer says it's important to have the medal return to its rightful owners.
The Huronia Museum and the Ken Snider Memorial museum at the Midland Legion will take turns displaying the medal.
Wasaga open for businessWritten by Catherine Thompson
Wasaga Beach is working diligently to spread the word that the town is still open for business.
The town has enlisted the help of Laura Snell of Georgian Bay Select to create some internet tools to make it easy for people to find out about what Wasaga still has to offer even after the main street mall fire in November.
Snell says many accomodation operators have seen a decline in bookings for this summer because of negative media reports mainly in the GTA saying the day of the fire was the day Wasaga died.
Snell has set it up so that when someone googles wasaga beach fire, an add word pops up to link to a temporary page to show what's planned for Wasaga this summer.
They've also created a new website www.wasagaopenforbusiness.com.
Snell says the site has a list of events, contests and also has a link to the town site.
The town is also putting 50 thousand dollars into tv ads.
They're putting ads in Toronto area newspapers and circulating magazines at the Go Stations.
Fire destroys Meaford houseWritten by Kevin Bernard
A huge Century old home in Meaford was severely damaged in a fire yesterday.
No final figure is in, but damage is estimated at about 400 thousand dollars.
The 2nd storey of the house is heavily damaged by fire and the roof is gone.
Deputy fire chief Dan Shaw says firefighters arrived on the scene shortly after 7 Saturday morning and smoke was pouring out of the 2nd floor of the house.
Shaw says firefighters entered the home but found part of the main floor upstairs had already collapsed, so they pulled back out of the burning building.
A hi-ho had to be brought in to peel back the tin roof so they could get water in.
Deputy fire chief Shaw says the owners had put thousands into renovations in the old home and were planning on moving in next weekend.
He says workers had been there on Friday but it is not clear what started the fire.
Injuries in Orillia home invasionWritten by Catherine Thompson
Two men from Orillia have been injured in a home invasion.
OPP say the two men in their twenties were asleep in their Laclie Street home Saturday morning when a man broke in.
Police say the suspect confronted the two and one was hit in the head with a weapon.
He's been taken to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto with non life threatening head injuries.
The other victim is being treated in Orillia's hospital for non life threatening injuries.
Police are looking for the suspect.
They believe he may have been injured in the face during the scuffle.
He's described as white, about six feet tall with a muscular build.
The victims weren't able to get a look at his face because the suspect was wearing a balaclava or ski mask.
Lock it or lose itWritten by Maggie Clegg
Nottawasaga OPP demonstrating if you don't lock it, you'll lose it.
Officers and volunteers carried out an investigation in parking lots in Alliston and Tottenham yesterday.
Of the 638 vehicles they checked - 40 per cent were unlocked, had their windows rolled down, or had valuables left in plain sight.
Police say among the items left up for grabs were purses, wallets, electronic equipment, and expensive sungalsses.
They even found a 7 year old child left alone in an unlocked car and are reminding parents that it's easy for someone to lure away a child in a situation like that.
The 60 per cent of vehicles found left secured were given a congratulations card on their windshield.
OPP say there has been a significant number of theft from vehicles across the region over the past couple of months.
Brenda Martin is releasedWritten by Jon Meyer
A story that has garnered media attention over the past two years can now finally be put to rest.
Brenda Martin, who was held in a Mexican prison for a scam run by her ex-boss, is finally a free woman.
Huron Bruce Federal Liberal Candidate Greg McClinchey says regardless of guilt or innocence it was important to bring attention to the fact a Canadian citizen was being held in a foreign country for two years without being charged.
He says citizens from across Huron-Bruce deserve credit for rallying to bring attention to that fact as says it placed a considerable amount of pressure on the Mexican Government to expedite the case.
McClinchey disagrees with the criticism that the negative media attention in Canada hindered her case.
He says if anything it brought the case to bare.
Martin was returned to a Canadian prison nine days ago after being convicted last month of fraud and sentenced to five years.
SHe was released on full parole Friday afternoon from a women's prison in Kitchener.
She has always maintained her innocence.
Hospital gets new equipmentWritten by Jody Johnson
An endowment fund is helping purchase new medical equipment for the Owen Sound hospital.
Grey Bruce Health Services recently received 218 thousand dollars from the Grey Bruce Regional Health Centre Foundation's Caring for Tomorrow Endowment.
The money helped buy a digital c-arm x-ray machine, to be used in operating rooms.
GBHS CEO Pat Campbell says the machine acts as the 'eyes of the surgeon'.
She says its shows whether bones are properly aligned, or whether an implant is correctly positioned during surgery.
The money was also used to install new nurse call systems, to replace 22-year-old equipment.
The new systems enable nurses to respond promptly to patient requests and deliver safer and more efficient care.
Campbell says the Caring for Tomorrow Endowment is a great initiative as it helps purchase needed equipment for the hospital.
Since its inception in 1996, the Endowment has contributed more than one million dollars to the hospital.
Garbage changes in Georgian BluffsWritten by Manny Paiva
A couple of notices for residents in Georgian Bluffs.
The township wants to remind residents about the new garbage schedule -- which begins tomorrow.
There is also a notice for users of the Oxenden water system.
There will be a water outage beginning at 9 o'clock tomorrow morning.
Officials say water service will be restored as soon as possible.
New law to protect lighthousesWritten by Jim Birchard
Its taken more than 10 years of hard work by various politicians in Ottawa, but finally a bill to protect historic lighthouses is about to become law.
Bruce Grey Owen Sound MP Larry Miller was the sponsor of the bill in the Commons and says he is thrilled that it now has been passed by the Senate.
The bill, once it receives Royal Assent will make it easier for groups to acquire and preserve lighthouses from the Federal Government.
Miller says the bill will allow communities to petition Ottawa to designate lighthouses as heritage sites that must be preserved.
It requires public consultation before any changes are made to beacons designated as heritage lighthouses and will force Ottawa to notify the public before they are transferred, sold or razed.
Miller as it now stands, its up the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to decide whether or not a lighthouse should be protected, and he says this new legislation will now make it more difficult to let historic lighthouses fall into disrepair.
He says a perfect example is the historic light house on Griffith Island in Georgian Bay where the keepers house has almost collapsed because of neglect by the Fisheries Department.
Miller says before any group gained control of a light house, they would have to present a firm action plan to the government and actually begin work on the structure.
He says he expects that money would be made available to help preserve these structures.
Kincardine donates to IPMWritten by Ken Hashizume
Kincardine is putting their money where their plow is.
Mayor Larry Kraemer and the Councillors presented a cheque for 10 thousand dollars to the 2008 International Plowing Match committee at a recent council meeting.
The money is to sponsor the Rural Lifestyles tent at the plowing match which is in Teeswater September 16th to the 20th.
Committee Chair Jack Riley says most municipalities are stepping up to the plate whether it is monetary or municipal staff volunteering to help.
He says there is work to get the snow fences up and making sure the fields are in great shape for plowing.
Riley says the committee is in negotiations with landowners on using their fields for the plowing matches.
He says there are 8 to 10 owners they are talking to and they want to make sure the owners are happy with the arrangements.
Riley says they need about a thousand acres to do the event and without the landowners they wouldn't have a show.
Riley says they are also going to talk with the Ontario Plowmen's Association on May 19th to determine who is responsible for what.
The 2008 IPM is expected to attract almost 100 thousand visitors.
United Way volunteer servicesWritten by John Divinski
A new volunteer services portal is on your computer now thanks to the efforts of four area United Way groups.
The United Way of Bruce Grey, along with the Huron United Way, the United Way of South Georgian Bay and the Perth United Way have partnered to create the site.
Executive Director of the United Way of Bruce Grey Francesca Dobbyn says the portal will allow organizations that use volunteers to literally advertise for them.
On the other side of the coin, volunteers looking for something to do, can apply for the positions on line as well simply by clicking an icon.
Dobbyn says the site has been up for a couple of weeks now and she invites volunteer-based organizations to take advantage with their needs.
She says soon, they hope to have a special section set up for high school students who are looking to complete their 40 hours of volunteer service as part of their graduation commitment.
Dobbyn says the start-up costs are covered by a recent Ontario Trillium Foundation grant and once the portal is built, maintenance costs will be minimal.
She says the partnering United Ways are budgeting about $750 each and that might increase to $1,000.
The service is free to all users.
Community Connections of Collingwood is the supervising organization for the project.
Community Connections also worked with the United Way of Bruce Grey in developing Information Bruce Grey, an online database of community service information.
The volunteer services portal can be found at www.volunteerconnection.ca
Honours for community volunteerWritten by Shannon Snoes
A Kincardine man is an invaluable volunteer at the Women's House Serving Bruce and Grey.
Barry Fuller travelled to Toronto in April to accept one of 15 June Callwood Outstanding Achievement Awards for Volunteerism in the province for his work at the Women's House.
The award was created by the Ontario Department of Citizenship and Immigration.
It recognizes individuals and groups who have made an exceptonal contribution to volunteerism in the province.
Shelter Manager Theresa Winchester says some days they don't know where they'd be without the help Fuller's help.
Winchester says on any given day, you can find him putting together a crib, or repairing a shredder, or looking for something to fix.
Fuller has been a volunteer with the Women's House for five years.
Fuller received a plaque and framed certificate at the ceremony in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum.
He will also receive a five year volunteer pin from the provincial government June 11th at a ceremony in Owen Sound.
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