HURON EAST – Police and firefighters were on the scene of a two-vehicle crash after a woman lost control while slowing for a snowplow on Brussels Line, just north of Brussels this morning.

Preliminary investigation has revealed the driver a Ford Escape was southbound on Brussels Line when she encountered a snowplow also travelling southbound.  The driver attempted to slow down for the plow however she lost control and entered the oncoming lane and collided with a northbound Volkswagen Jetta. The collision took place on Brussels Line 400 meters north of Brandon Road.

The driver of the Volkswagen, Lois Cafik, 83, from Wroxeter was transported to Wingham and District Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver of the Ford Escape, Rebecca De Kleer, 28, also from Wroxeter was transported to Seaforth Community Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  Two children in her vehicle, ages 4 and 2 were uninjured.

The roadway is now open for travel.

HURON EAST – The body of Doris Chambers, 90, was found near Vanastra last evening, police have confirmed.

The body was found off Front Street, near the Bayfield River, just north of Vanastra, shortly after 7 p.m., according to a press release from Huron County OPP.

A post-mortem examination has been scheduled to be completed today at London Health Sciences Centre. Foul play is not suspected.

A concerned friend reported the woman missing from her residence in Vanastra at about 4:30 p.m. yesterday.

Officers from the Huron County OPP detachment, West Region Emergency Response Team (ERT) and West Region Canine Unit searched for the woman.

Front Road between Huron Road (Highway 8) and 5^th Avenue in Vanastra has reopened today.  Huron County OPP continues to investigate.

BLUEWATER - Huron OPP officers are investigating a break, enter and theft to an unoccupied residence located on York Crescent in Hensall.

On March 14, 2013 at approximately 9 p.m., officers responded to the premise after receiving Bell telephone information of unknown trouble with the phone line.  Upon arrival, officers located a smashed out basement window.  Further investigation revealed the main water line from the water heater had also been damaged causing extensive flooding throughout the basement.  Officers then detected a carbon monoxide leak within the residence.

Hensall Fire Department personnel attended the scene to safely shut off the leak and ventilate the residence. Two OPP members were treated and released from South Huron Hospital as a precaution for carbon monoxide exposure.

Approximately $2,500 in property was stolen and the flooding caused an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 in damage to the residence.  Among the stolen items include:  15 bottles of alcohol, 2 cartons of Player’s Light cigarettes, 8 gift baskets containing alcohol and a men’s gold necklace.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

BBQ STOLEN FROM BACKYARD

SOUTH HURON - Huron OPP officers are investigating the theft of a stainless steel barbecue and attached cover stolen from the backyard of a Sanders Street West residence.  This theft took place sometime between March 11 and March 15, 2013.

The value of the BBQ is estimated at $500.  The owner was unable to provide further details on the BBQ.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

GENERATORS STOLEN FROM GARAGE

GODERICH - Huron OPP officers are investigating a break, enter and theft that occurred at a detached garage located at St. David Street.  Suspects gained entry by prying open the man door.  Once inside, they stole an older model red 1,000-watt Honda gas powered generator and heavier duty red 6,500-watt Honda gas generator.  The generators are valued at $550.

This crime took place sometime between March 3, 2013 and March 15, 2013.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

CHEVY PICKUP STOLEN

BLUEWATER - Huron County OPP officers were dispatched to a farm property located on Bannockburn Line after the property owner discovered a burnt out vehicle.  Just after 2:30 p.m. on March 17, 2013 officers arrived and located the burnt out pickup truck approximately 150 feet off the roadway.

Officers confirmed the Chevrolet S10 pickup had been stolen earlier in the week from a residence located on Winnipeg Road in Vanastra.  The fire caused extensive damage to the vehicle.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

PUDDLE JUMPER GOES FOR A SWIM

HURON EAST - A man, 46, went for an unexpected swim in the chilly Maitland River this past Saturday.

Shortly after 5 p.m. on March 16, 2013 Huron County OPP officers and Huron County paramedics were dispatched to attend the banks of the Maitland River located in Brussels at McCutcheon Drive.  Police learned a snowmobiler attempted to catch up with his fellow snowmobile friends by taking a dangerous shortcut across the Maitland River.  The driver attempted to “puddle jump” a section of open water about 50 metres wide.  His 2011 Yamaha RX1 snowmobile made it half way across the water when it began to take on water and sank.  The driver managed to swim back to shore; he was not injured.  The snow machine was to be recovered today.

The Elora man was charged with careless driving.

ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH – Two snowmobilers were sent to hospital after crashing into a tree south of Lucknow late Saturday night, Huron County OPP report.

Just after 11:30 p.m. Huron OPP officers, Lucknow Fire Department and Huron County paramedics were dispatched to a single snowmobile collision involving two injured people.

Emergency personnel found the injured pair near a snowmobile trail north of Hawkins Road and west of Lucknow Line. Preliminary investigation revealed a Polaris snowmobile left the trail and crashed into a tree.

The driver, Johnathan Caldwell, 23, of Goderich, was transported by air ambulance to London Health Sciences Centre in London with non-life threatening injuries. He remains in hospital this afternoon, listed in fair condition, which means his vital signs are stable and he is conscious, although he may uncomfortable.

The passenger, Terry Riddiough, 29, from R.R.7 Lucknow was transported to Alexandra & Marine General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

SPEEDER’S VEHICLE IMPOUNDED

ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH – On March 10, 2013 at approximately 6:35 p.m., a Huron County OPP officer conducting RADAR patrol on Amberley Road near Donnybrook Line observed a grey Oldsmobile sedan speeding along at a high rate of speed.

The officer locked the vehicle speed at 147 km/h in a posted 80 km/h zone.

A 23-year-old man from Waterloo has been charged with racing a motor vehicle as a result of speeding at least 50 km/h over the limit. He has a court appearance scheduled for Provincial Offences Act Court - Goderich on May 7, 2013.  His driver’s licence has been suspended for seven days and the vehicle was impounded for seven days.

DRIVER CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF DRUGS

HURON EAST – A RIDE program located on Turnberry Street at Raymond Court in Brussels yielded a criminal charge on Saturday night.

Just before 9 p.m. a green Chevrolet Blazer entered the RIDE checkpoint.  The driver produced a quantity of an illegal drug when was questioned by the officer at the checkpoint.

A South Huron man, 46, has been charged with possession of a controlled substance.  He is scheduled to appear at Ontario Court of Justice – Goderich on April 22, 2013.

VANDAL DAMAGES CRUISER

BLUEWATER - A Huron OPP cruiser was the target of a mischief this past weekend.

While OPP officers were completing foot patrols inside the Hensall arena somebody was outside tearing both antennas off the rear of the cruiser.  This crime took place between 12:30 a.m. and 1:45 a.m. on March 9.

No witnesses have come forward to assist police in the investigation.

CHEVY PICKUP STOLEN

HURON EAST - Huron County OPP officers are investigating the theft of a blue 2001 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck stolen from Winnipeg Road in Vanastra.

The owner reported his truck was stolen from his laneway sometime between 8:30 p.m. on March 9, 2013 and 9:30 a.m. on March 10, 2013.   Inscribed in the back window is ” I love my mommy” with a picture of a heart.

The truck was unlocked and the keys were left in the ignition.

BREAK & ENTER TO SHED

BLUEWATER - Huron OPP officers are investigating a break, enter and theft to a small garden shed located on Richmond Street North in Bluewater.  The suspect entered through an insecure window and left with a chainsaw and a ratchet set.

The chainsaw is an orange and white Stihl model MS230 with an orange case valued at $425.  The ratchet set is valued at $100.

Police believe this crime took place between 7 p.m. on March 7, 2013 and 6:45 a.m. on March 8, 2013.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH - Huron OPP officers are investigating the theft of a webcam stolen from the Goderich Municipal Airport.

The camera provided a live- view feed of the weather and runway conditions. The camera was stolen from an interior window. The value of the camera is estimated to be $250.

Police believe the theft happened shortly after 5:15 p.m. on March 1, 2013.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

NO INSURANCE IS EXPENSIVE FINE

HURON EAST - A traffic stop on Turnberry Street in Brussels may prove to be costly for a West Perth resident.

On March 7, 2013 at 9:41 a.m. a Huron OPP officer stopped a blue Dodge sedan to check on the insurance status of the vehicle.  The driver, who was also the owner of the vehicle, was unable to produce a valid insurance certificate.  Further investigation revealed the insurance coverage on the vehicle had been terminated.

As a result, a 52-year-old man from West Perth has been charged with operating a motor vehicle without insurance. His motor vehicle was also towed from the scene.  He has a court appearance scheduled for Provincial Court - Goderich on May 7, 2013.

If convicted of this offence, the penalty carries a minimum fine of $5,000 and a possible driver’s licence suspension of one year.

BRUSSELS, ONT. – The small village of Brussels nestled in rural Huron County has caught the eye of blogger Emilie M. in her latest travel column on BrusselsLife.be.

She has created a North American tour of four communities that share the same name, from Brussels, Ontario to Brussels, Wisconsin to Brussels, Illinois to Bruxelles, Manitoba.

The travel writer notes in her blog post, Brussels Around the World, that the Belgium city welcomes people from different nationalities, but its people have also gone out into the world and shared its name elsewhere.

To read her full column, please visit BrusselsLife.be

Click here to watch a two-minute video of Brussels, which promotes its place in a series called Rediscovering Canada, airing on iBroadcast Public Internet Television in spring 2013.

HEATHER BOA Bullet News BRUSSELS – About 20 workers from a door manufacturing company south of Brussels that went into receivership after a fire Jan. 23 considered their options today, during an information session hosted by the Municipality of Huron East.

They represented a total workforce of 100 employed when a fire destroyed MDL Doors’ 60,000-square-foot facility and warehouse. Two weeks later, Feb. 8, the courts appointed Deloitte & Touche Inc. as receiver to settle $1.3 million in assets and $6.8 million debt, including an unsecured debt of $548,000 owed to employees in wages and severance obligations. For the past 29 years, MDL Doors has manufactured pre-hung steel and fiberglass doors.

A new mom rocked her baby and handed him to former co-workers while others sat in rows along two tables while representatives from Service Canada and Employment Ontario, including Conestoga College and the Centres for Employment and Learning, outlined the process to collect Employment Insurance and retrain for the future. The employees asked few questions through the 1.15-hour presentation, saving most for private discussions afterward. Laughter rippled through the room when the Services Canada official outlined the benefits of checking information online rather than phoning into the call centre. She asked if anyone had tried to contact the call centre recently. “It was a fun two days,” quipped one worker. “They kept hanging up on me,” said another.

The mayor of Huron East, Bernie MacLellan, says the municipality hosted the meeting to assist local people affected by the closure.

“Any time we can assist them, we’re going to take the opportunity,” he said. “It’s a lot easier for us to bring the service groups to the employees and have them all in one location rather than have 100 employees all making the same phone call.”

His municipality has been hit especially hard as a result of the closures of MDL Doors and the Seaforth Creamery, which employs 180 people and is slated to close by the end of September 2013.

He says Huron County has also taken some hard hits, especially in the manufacturing industry.

“If you look at Huron County as a whole, I’m going to say over the course of the last approximately five years, we’ve lost about 2,500 jobs from major employers shutting down,” he said.

Despite the losses, workers heard today the unemployment rate in the four-week period ending tomorrow is 5.4 per cent in Huron and Perth counties, compared to 9.8 per cent in Niagara and 30.9 per cent in Northern Manitoba.

“I think that’s good, but I think that has to do with the actual area that we’re in. We do have a lot of small businesses and they do seem to be doing very well. It doesn’t take a lot of small businesses when each of them hire one or two employees to start to gobble up those people who have been let go from major industry,” he said.

The information session for MDL Doors employees was held at the new Brussels Business and Cultural Centre, a 17,000-square-foot former school the municipality has transformed into an incubator for small business. The vision is for a cluster of businesses to locate in former classrooms, and perhaps share resources like reception, conference or meeting rooms.

A presentation from Deloitte and Touche Inc. to MDL Doors employees is scheduled for March 18.

Click here to read the Superior Court of Justice court order issued Feb. 8 and the Notice and Statement of Receiver dated Feb. 14.

Huron County Crime Stoppers and the Huron County OPP are asking for your assistance in solving the following Break and enter in Huron East.

Huron OPP officers are investigating a break, enter and theft at a business known as Old 86 Farmer’s Market, located on Amberley Road near Molesworth.  Those responsible cut through tarps to enter the sheds on the property.  Once inside the suspects stole a light green fishing kayak valued at $400.  The suspects also forced entry into another trailer and shed on the property.  Some inexpensive miscellaneous items were also stolen.  The damage to the tarps is estimated at nearly $2,500.

Police located two sets of snowmobile tracks at the crime scene.

If you have any information regarding this crime or any other crime, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or submit a tip online at www.hc-cs.ca.  All tips are anonymous, you will never have to go to court and you may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000. We need your information, so make the call…for your community!

Members of the organizing committee, Larry Wein of the Exeter Lions Club and community volunteer Janet Clarke, presented Louise Rether-Kopp with her prize at Morrison Dam Conservation Area east of Exeter on Thursday, Feb. 28.

The Conservation Dinner committee has announced that Louise Rether-Kopp is the winner of the early bird prize, which was drawn on Feb. 25.

The Exeter long-time patron of the Conservation Dinner wins a limited-edition print by popular artist Elisabeth Tonner-Keats. The work of art is called Midday Pause and the framed print is number 168 of 475.

The Conservation Dinner is organized each year by the Exeter Lions Club, Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, and other community members on the dinner committee. The support of businesses, donors, patrons, volunteers, and artists has helped the annual event raise more than $650,000 for local projects in the event’s history which spans almost two and a half decades. The Conservation Dinner supports accessible trails for environmental health and human health, conservation education and recreation opportunities for young people and the young-at-heart, and commemorative woods that improve forest conditions and remember loved ones, among other important local conservation work that could not happen without this kind of public generosity.

The 24th Annual Conservation Dinner takes place Thursday, April 18 at South Huron Recreation Centre in Exeter.

To purchase a ticket, or to donate, phone 519-235-2610 or 1-888-286-2610 or visit online. Tickets are $60 each, with a charitable gift receipt for income tax purposes for $30. The volunteer committee welcomes donations of financial support, art, sports and entertainment memorabilia, crafts and furniture, travel packages, jewelry, and other items.

This year’s event should be very special indeed with Canadian theatre icon Peter Smith, interim artistic director of the Blyth Festival, as the special guest for 2013 and with Goderich artist Madeleine Roske, an acclaimed painter who has five works in the permanent collection of the Huron County Art Bank, creating this year’s feature piece. The gala event also features the dinner, a lively live auction, silent auction, special raffles, general raffles, a ticket for a wine tasting, great fellowship, and much more. Items available for bidding that evening include fine original art, carvings, sports and entertainment memorabilia, jewelry, travel packages, one-of-a-kind items, and much more.

BLUEWATER - Huron OPP officers are investigating a break, enter and theft at an Airport Line residence. The property owner returned home after a vacation to find someone had forced entry into the front porch.  Those responsible also tried to get into the residence however were unsuccessful.  The thieves stole an older model white Kenmore dishwasher, a large black wire dog crate, a large red dog bed and three foot by three foot water colour painting of a country scene setting. 

The owner reported this crime took place sometime between the end of August 2012 and February 26, 2013.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

LAPTOP STOLEN FROM RESIDENCE

HURON EAST – Huron County OPP officers are investigating the theft of an Acer laptop computer stolen from a Jarvis Street North residence in Huron East.  Police believe the theft took place sometime between 10 p.m. on March 1, 2013 and 3 a.m. on March 2, 2013.

The homeowner returned home and found the front door to his residence left open. Upon checking the residence the laptop was noticed missing.  The grey Acer laptop is valued at approximately $500.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

GENERATOR STOLEN FROM SNOWMOBILE SHACK

ASHFIELD-COLBORNE-WAWANOSH – Huron OPP officers are investigating a break, enter and theft at a snowmobile shack located on Glen’s Hill Road.

Those responsible cut the padlock off the door and once inside they stole a red and black Honda gas powered generator with a white gas tank.  The generator is valued at $1,500.

This crime took place sometime between February 1, 2013 and March 1, 2013.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to contact the Huron OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or (519) 524-8314.

Should you wish to remain anonymous, you may call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), where you may be eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $2,000.

DRIVER CHARGED WITH IMPAIRED AND OVER 80

BLUEWATER - A 66-year-old female driver has been arrested and charged by Huron OPP following a RIDE checkpoint stop.

On March 1, 2013 at approximately 9:40 p.m. a black Ford Explorer entered the RIDE checkpoint that was situated at the intersection of Parr Line and Mill Road.  Officers detected the driver had been drinking alcohol; further investigation revealed she was displaying signs of impairment by alcohol.  The driver was arrested for impaired driving and was transported to the Huron OPP detachment for breath tests. She provided two samples of her breath; both were over the legal limit.

As a result, the Bluewater woman has been charged with impaired driving and driving a motor vehicle with over 80 milligrams of alcohol.  She has a court appearance scheduled for April 8, 2013 at the Ontario Court of Justice – Goderich.  She received an automatic 90-day driver’s licence suspension and her motor vehicle has been impounded for seven days.