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VOL. 3 NO. 2 ONE CANADA NOVEMBER 16, 1979 Sad Face of Fire - Blown Battery the Cause Raymond Brisson watches in resignation as fire engulfs his car and what's left of his barn. The blaze started when a battery, which was being charged, blew up, splattering the inside of the building with flames. Two boats, trailers, a bailer and tractor were among the machinery destroyed. The building was only partly insured. The quick teamwork of Russell and Embrun firefighters kept the blaze from spreading to the nearby Brisson home, five kilometers north of Russell. (Paul Rodier photo). Twenty-five cents Osgoode to Control Woodstoves An alarming increase in house fires resulting from amateur in- stallation of woodstoves has sparked the Osgoode Township Fire Department to regulate their safe use. Under terms of a new municipal, bylaw, residents installing woodstoves improperly could be stung with hefty fines. Within weeks, Osgoode homeowners will require a $5 per- mit before putting in chimneys or By Jane Camm woodburning units. Owners will be given a safety guideline booklet with permits. Failure to comply with the guidelines could result in fines under the Ontario Building Code. If recommendations from township building inspector Ronald Ray are not followed, of- fenders may be subject to stricter penalties under the Ontario Fire Marshall Act. According to Fire Chief Peter Griffin, any installations that are fire hazards must be corrected within 10 days or offenders could be faced with stiff fines. A number of homes have been inspected by the Osgoode Fire Department, revealing mahy home-made contraptions. Some of these inventions have proved unsafe but many are more effi- cient than marketed products Chief Griffin said. All devices must be approved by the Canadian Standards Associa- tion. If they have not passed the association's standards and a fire results, insurance companies are not responsible for damages. -- "Quite a few fires have occur- red from poor instailation of these units. They are often too close to combustible materials," said Chief Griffin. The amendment to the bylaw was requested by building inspec- tor Ray and is expected to be ap- proved shortly by council. Poets of the Castor The Castor Review's call to area poets for contributions to a plann=" ed poetry booklet has met with re- sounding success. Every effort will be made to produce the special publication in time for Christmas. We've received original pieces from our regular contributors and some from poetic newcomers. Late entries will be given full consideration. A sure gauge of the economic condition is the tenure of the place which stores the money and when that place has to expand, presumably to hold more loot, one feels safe in assuming that the economic condition is healthy, nay, fit as a fiddle. So it was, while others mark- -- ed the 50th anniversary of the stock market crash with pro- phecies it would happen again, Russell residents this month Sidewalk Talk New Bank of Hope By Mark Van Dusen , cheerfully marked the opening of their new, improved Bank of Nova Scotia branch with a conviction that the future would be as bright and as solid. Farmers, merchants, clergy, politicians and prominent citizens were there to watch Russell Township Reeve Gaston Patenaude snip the rib- bon, ceremoniously reaffirm- ing the faith of all those pre- sent in the system of mutual buck-scratching that makes the capitalist world go around. Mr. Thomas Boyles, the big city country banker, was there. The Russell boy, who started in banking in the village at a time when "deposit" could just as well have meant a horse state- ment on the main street, and "Jong term" that no one had bothered to clean it up, cashed in his career as Bank of Nova Scotia president and chairman of the board. In the manner of a man who retired happy and who has not forgotten his beginnings, he praised small- town branches and little-guy support 'as the cornerstones of banking. Mr. Bill McMillan, vice- president and general manager, and Mr. Ron _ Robinson, district manager, were there from the bank's regional office to help hold the ribbon and beam like new fathers over the christening of their latest pride and joy. And, of course, Manager Roger Morin and staff were there to welcome guests as family to a house- warming. The girls were repeatedly .-- .andac- curately--called beautiful, the organ music of Mrs. Leila Twiname was melodious, refreshments toothsome, con- versation friendly, the whole affair as fresh and colorful as the lineup of potted flowers from well-wishers. The financial doomsdayers would have gone nuts had they been able to spy this simple scene from their far-away, mist-enshrouded ivory towers. . Depression is almost here? You 2. ""Are you crazy, don't you know that the next Great have built a new bank building and you won't have any money to put in it. You poor fools, can't you read the signs?" they would have shrieked. Sad, sad souls these harb- ingers of catastrophe. Even if their frantic voices had reached the little bank far away and far below, no one would have looked up. Russell people, like most, listen to only one voice from on high and it is never frantic. Besides, rather than run headlong into the Castor like so many lemmings to the sea, as the doomsdayers would have it, Russell people-again like most-would rather run to the bank. S/S Bad Water Cure Coming Residents of Russell's Heritage subdivision - should know shortly what action will be recommended to correct their bad water plague. Most suspect that the consulting firm contracted by the Ministry of Environment will suggest replace- ment of most. wells and septic" systems in the development. The ministry's Gerry McKenna ° told the Castor Review that the consultants have just about com- pleted their final report; he ex- pects their official findings any day. Residents benefitting from remedial work will be expected to pay 25 per cent of installation costs for new wells and septic systems, Mr. McKenna said. Many residents discovered after they moved into the Chantal development that their drinking water was highly contaminated. It was later determined that some wells and possibly septic systems were improperly installed. Pollutant-free water has now been drawn from two test wells, one installed at Michael and Heather Tremblays, the other at the Sheldon Box' residence. The Tremblay test well was drilled to a depth of about 300 feet, Mr. McKenna said; the Box well is down to about 150 feet and producing good water. The government spokesman said the Tremblays and Boxs were selected for new _ installations because the original wells were among the most polluted in the Heritage subdivision. Tremblay family members were afflicted by Giardia Lambia, a rare parasite which causes severe flu-like symptoms. Metcalfe's Dr. Don Merrett blamed the condition directly on contaminated water. Heather Tremblay said the symptoms now seem to have disappeared. Reed ALPHA RAID Two Local Men Charged Two Castor residents were among the many charged following sweep- ing OPP raids climaxing a six-month undercover operation centered in the area. Dana Ford, of RR 2 Russell, and Steve Griffith, of Edwards, were among some 60 people netted by Alpha--code name of the operation. The majority of those arrested and charged with everything from possession of stolen property to drug trafficking were from Ottawa. The operation was based in a rented house, five kilometers east of Embrun on County Road 17. OPP undercover agents, posing as fences, took in hundreds of thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise. It has been called the largest OPP undercover operation in the police force's history. Police officials said that public apathy was partly to blame for the wealth of stolen goods fenced during the operation. The Castor area has been plagued with breakins and thefts in recent months but a Casselman OPP spokesman said that these were isolated incidents. This explains why no more than two local men were charged in the Alpha raids, he said.