Firefighters quick action saves babys life by Helen ll was a happy Easter for Rick and Linda Coe of Acton thanks to the quick actions of the Acton Volunteer Fire Department Last week the family was plunged into a terrify ing nightmare when their threemonthold son And rew started choking on his own vomit But because of the firefighters and their extensive rescue train ing Andrew u able to celebrate his first Easter breathing funny The children had been in bed in a shared bedroom When Linda went to check on him she found his breathing shallow and his skin turning blue She burped him but Ihere was still no re sponse When she chocked his eyes there were no pupils and she realized he was unconscious Within seconds Andrews father local public school teacher Rick Coe was applying mouth to mouth resuscitation to revive the Infant Linda call In a moment of desperation she telephoned a friend Judy Shannon knowing her husband Dave was a member of the fire department Dave wasnt home however He was at the weekly fire practice Linda and Rick were out the door In seconds heading to wards the Bower Ave hall Meanwhile Judy called the hall and three firefighters went rushing out to the Coe home on Highway just north of town The couple arrived at the fire hall at the same time as Brent Marshall who was returning another resuscitation call Marshall immediately started to work on the baby He noticed Andrews breathing passages were open and him in a semiDrone position Oxygen was applied with the respirator Several other firefighters also assisted In the rescue As soon as Andrew was stable Marshall recalls he and BUI escorted the child to General HospttaJ in an ambulance The firefighter explained be had a difficult time with the ambulance drivers wanting to go to Georgetown hospital Markup said he told them again and again there was not a pediatrician in Georgetown and they had to get to Guelph It was only after he Insisted several times that the ambul beaded west A couple tunes on the trip to Guelph Marshall says Andrews breathing became shallow and his heartbeat irregular He told his parents later he was afraid they would lose him After a threeday stay in the hospital Andrew was given a clean bill of health and was able to come home in time for the holidays Linda says she is very grateful to Marshall and the Tire department But she says she does not think enough people are aware of exactly what ser vices the department offers Marshall notes of the men on the volunteer brigade the majority of them have Pulmonary Resuscitation basic rescue and first aid training Many hours were put into each course with continuous refresher courses be ing taken The volunteers attend not only fires but drown ings accidents heart attacks resuscitations Be cause the nearest hospital is Guelph or Georgetown their rescue knowledge is extremely vital Marshall said The department also does a lot of public service work providing croud control and Tire prevention at carnivals fairs and parades Not all rescues have a happy ending Marshall stresses because some things are beyond our con trol But you do what you have to do Linda points out five minutes can be the differ ence between life and death and knowing the fire department can help is invaluable Marshal credits Andrews fathers quick actions with saving his life Rick notes be has limited first But his technique was sufficient to get his son breathing again He estimates he gave mouth to mouth for about five minutes while at home and all the way into town to the fire hall At first the couple just wanted to get Andrew out of the hospital and forget the entire incident Then Linda says she realized their misfortune might help others by making more people aware of just what a capable fire department Acton has People used to think if we had a resuscitator call Mar shall says but we can work with our hands if we have to If even one person learns by our experience Linda says Brent Marshall and Andrew Coe Adjourn hearing for Kellar The preliminary hearing for Eric Howard Kellar charged with first degree murder in the slaying of Colleen Gates last October began yesterday Tuesday and will be continued June If Judge J C Robinson feels there is enough evidence against the case v ill go to trial in September or October according the Crown Attorney Jim Trelcavcn The matter will come up at the fall assize in September he said Eleven witnesses testified yesterday at the hearing to determine if there is sufficient evidence against an accused to warrant a trial There is a ban on publication of evidence Kellar was charged October with the brutal murder of year- old Mrs Oates in the larly morning hours of October Is represented by defense lawyer Toomas Ounapuu of Toronto A Community Newspaper One Hundred and Seventh Year Issue ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY APRIL 14 Pages Thirty Cents Life prison sentence for Mercuri McCrlstall gets nearly two years Colleen Petty who played Alice In Wonderland with TeniLee who played he White Rabbit More photos on page Bl Photo by DAN by Helen Murray Michael McCrlstall protested his innocence yesterday Tuesday as Mr Justice Colter Osborne sentenced him to two years less in jail for his part in the fiery death of Howard Gibbons in the Dominion Hotel on August Thursday McCrlstall was found guilty of mans laughter with a recommendation from the jury for leniency Sentencing was held over to Tuesday Codefendant Cosimo Mercuri was found guilty of Second degreemurder at time and was immediately sentenced tfi life imprisonment with no for parole for years Mercuri had nothing to say when invited to make a statement by Mr Justice Osborne The pair will stay at the HamiltonWentworth Detention Centre for days They have days in which to appeal At the end of this period Mc- Cristall will be sent to the Ontario Correctional In in Brampton According to Crown At Paul Stunt Mercuri could be sent to either Kingston or Penitentiaries In a plea to Mr Smith counsel for McCrlstall said his client clearly has a problem an addiction of mammoth proportion to alcohol Smith pointed out the jury fell did not know the consequences of the act of arson His lawyer admitted a suspended sentence and probation were not realistic in view of the serious of the offense in his plea Smith stressed rehabilitation Mc Crlstall has children he said and is not a spiteful man Society will get better if this man gets bet ter Smith suggested his client he sent to and receive helplorhis drinking problem The defense counsel admitted he never saw the benefit of penetentiaries and recommended a sentence of two years lessaday so he can turn his life around Smith said it would not be contrary to public interest to give him a reformatory term Crown Attorney Stunt agreed with Smith Mc Cristall he said does not have a criminal record and the Crown never suggested McCnstall intended to kill anyone Stunt said to Mr Justice Osborne that talis own personality made him a perfect uten for Mercuns greed and lack of concern for safety of others The Crown said he felt Smiths recommendation was appropriate and one that would be beneficial Before delivering his sentence Mr Justice Osborne asked McCnstall if he had anything to say the the hotel The defendant exclaimed No except I am still not It seems to me you had a misguided loyalty to guilty Mercuri Mr Justice Osborne observed Mr J us tic Osborne told he was Because of the Jury recommendation for lenien satisfied the part he played August 19 1979 was a Mr Justice Osborne said It was not one and that he had no direct benefit from Continued on page2 Work on new St Josephs Is set to go Excavation of the site for the new St Josephs School on Mill St West will begin by this Monday possibly earlier If the weather cooperates It was announced work Is ready to begin Tuesday morning at a meeting in a construction shack on the site At the meeting were Trustee Irene McCauley board administrator John Buret principal Fred Sponger as well as the architect Weber Con- Murder suspect again remanded Bradley James of Georgetown ap peared briefly in Guelph Provincial Court Tuesday morning and was again remanded in custody for next court appearance Tuesday April when a date for trail will be set It was third court appearance and he is being held at Wellington Detention Centre Is charged with first degree murder in connection with the recent death of Donald Joseph Berriau at a farmhouse he and his family bad rented since late last summer at RR Acton The farmhouse is located on the Sixth Line of Erin Township miles north the HillsErin boundary When Guelph OPP arrived on the scene on March 24 around lam they found dead the liv ing room from a shotgun blast officials engineers people involved with the mechanical and electrical work and staff from the trades and subcontractors involved in the pro ject lntotall6peopleattended A five month or week work schedule covering separate steps towards completing the new separate school was reviewed It was noted the project is a little behind schedule inside pea Acton Curling award winners photos on pages B2 and The D and group home wont be closed Details on page fashion show This week Thru the Lens page 3 Groups backing the town hall will be meeting to tee how they can prevent municipal her to fly because of the weather but nobody saw any pro blems in completing the work by the end of August for Septem ber occupancy Following are the steps of the project as well as the month work will be done 1 job site set up- April site preparation and layout April 3 excavation and backfilling April early May concrete footings April early May concrete piers beams fill July concrete floors May 7 concrete walks late June early July concrete curbs late June early July 9 block foundation April early May to reinforced steel early April 11 hallow metal frames April walls April May June 13 mechanical rough in April May June July electrical rough in April May June July 15 mechanical drainage and tanks April May June IS structural steel and open steel joist June 17 electrical and mechanical fixtures July early August 18 metal deck June roofing June July metal siding June July aluminum doors and win dows June 21 windows June acoustic ceil ings July and hardware July August July August painting July August resilient flooring July ceramic tile June July 29 washroom partitions and cubicles July August 30 chalkboards and lackboards July August washroom access ories July August folding partition July August 33 miscellaneous items July August caulking August landscaping July August paving August site cleanup August Reinstate shoe import quotas Jelinek Tories to tell Liberals Halton MP Otto Jellnek has pledged to push the federal government to reinstate shoe import quotas following meetings with Pres ident Peter Dunham and other company and a tour of the tannery Tuesday morning The Tory critic on the Canada United States Auto Pact said he came to Beardmore to learn first hand about the problems caused by the Lib erals lifting of shoe import quotas late last year He said he has been listening to Dunham and other top people in the Canadian shoe and leather industries for two or three months now and they have been warning that if quotas arent reinstat ed not only are many jobs in danger but firms even Bcardmore might have to close down We cant let that happen Jellnek declared He said well orchestrated efforts backed with facts must be used to persuade Ottawa to bnng back the quotas Immediately The industries had asked for the quotas for a three year period while the economy turned around and they modernized equipment Instead of Improving the Canadian economy has worsened and so efforts to modernize havent been completed Jelinek said he saw lots of evidence of modernization at during his tour however more new equipment and pro cesses are needed From talking to workers Jelinek learned there is genuine concern at the tannery for the future of Jobs jelinek says he Isnt a protectionist however he feels there should be fair trading in the world and nations like Japan which are protectionist arent trading fairly with Canada The Tory caucus will discuss the need for shoe import quotas further Jelinek said and he and his colleagues will be bringing the matter up more in the House He said they now have a lot more information to pass on to the government Tory questioning and speeches on the issue will be more effective This was first visit to Beardmore MP Otto admires the high quality of Beardmore leather during a tour of the plant Tuesday with company official Donald Rankin though his former company Canadian Skate Industries bought leather for their skate boots from the local firm back In the 60s and early 70s Lobby efforts including flooding Ottawa with letters and cards will produce results he predict ed noting when enough pressure Is brought on the government and there is a feasible plan lobbying can be effective said he wished the Industries had started lobbying sooner but noted their work in the last couple or months has been effective He says top cabinet ministers like Ed Lumly and Herb Gray have admitted Canada can t ford to lose the shoe and leather industries but they arent doing anything to save them as yet However he said hey hope to sec the govern ment take some action within the next days Over jobs have been lost in the two Indus tries so far about at Beardmore so positive action Is needed now Europe bound The okay has been received for two lyearold Acton High School to participate In the Acton Rotary Crabs yeartag exchange program Aianna will spend a year Sweden beginning Angnst Hauaad was Ant choke the as happy to be to her second choice Stephen 8jU is an Mi way to Eibjerg Stephen Is expected to arrive July and will take two week Danish Deamark was Stephens first choke of three countries to a year