THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2017
THE PICTON
Gazette
3
Volume 187, Week 39
Canada’s oldest non-daily newspaper
12
show off creativity Picton Terminals allows at annual studio tour SHIPPING glimpse of its activities SHARING Artists
County firefighters battle three blazes Monday
Councillors give some leeway in schedule after community groups request more preparation time
Electrical fire causes $250,000 damage, claims three pets’ lives
Public to be given six months to make Town Hall proposals
JASON PARKS STAFF WRITER
Prince Edward County Fire Crews were kept busy Sunday and Monday, battling three blazes in a little over 24 hours. On Monday afternoon, firefighters from Station One (Picton) were alerted via 911 calls of a fire at 32 Talbot Street, at the corner of Ackerman Crescent. Prince Edward County fire chief Scott Manlow confirmed that the rear of the home was well involved by the time crews arrived on scene just before 1 p.m. In addition to quelling a blaze at the two-storey home, fire crews had to battle the blazing heat with day time temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius after the humidex is factored. “We had EMS on scene to monitor the firefighters’ conditions and it was determined by them that one of the guys was suffering from heat exhaustion and it was recommended that he go to Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital to be examined by doctors. He was later released,” Manlow said. In total, the home suffered approximately $250,000 in damages. Manlow explained the fire crew was able to keep the fire at bay and to the rear of the home however there was excessive smoke and heat damage throughout the rest of the house.
tique condo hotel for a few wealthy tourists, a centre of gathering where many and all could be included and involved,” she said. She said she's discussed the town hall with a lot of locals who have used it for many different purposes. Rochon asked councillors to envision the hall as a hub featuring live music, vendors, food, and meeting spaces. “We feel we could turn this historic building of ours into a financially responsible community centre — a true market square for all of your citizens,” she said. She said in order to accomplish that vision, the public need more time to establish volunteer groups, meet with residents, and confirm known uses and potential interests. She also asked for time to access the hall's financial information and physical needs. “We're asking for that time to be, ideally, 18–24 months with a progress report in six months,” she said. Former councillor Bev Campbell said she's been a resident of Picton for 22 years and in that time there hasn't been a month where she has not been in the town hall.
CHAD IBBOTSON STAFF WRITER
FIRE CALL Fire crews battle a house fire on the corner of Talbot and Ackerman streets on Monday afternoon. While no occupants were injured, three pets were lost in the blaze. (Jason Parks/Gazette staff)
“There's some places at the front of the house where there are some materials that could be recovered but the majority of the house is pretty well satu-
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rated,” chief added. While there home owners were away at the time of the fire no one was injured, a dog and two cats perished in the blaze.
Manlow said the fire was electrical in nature and not suspicious.
See FIRES, page 32
As council sat to discuss the process that could decide the future of Picton Town Hall Tuesday evening, there was a common request from the public: More time. Councillors heard similar requests from more than half a dozen residents during the meeting. In the end, council voted to list the town hall and former fire hall for potential sale through a request for proposal (RFP) process while inviting alternative proposals for the use of the building. There was one change over the motion approved at the special committee-of-the-whole meeting of Sept. 19. Both sale proposals and alternative use proposals would have a common deadline of six months following the issuance of the RFP. A similar motion had been proposed at the special committee meeting, but received little support. It was another meeting that featured compelling arguments and plenty of passion. Lynne Rochon said while there were some excellent emotional arguments made to the committee, she felt residents didn't fully convey what the hall could become. “Imagine instead of a bou-
See HALL, page 13
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