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grass fire blamed for blaze Fire hits Tay Township cottage Mother and child flee = smoke-filled Tay cottage According to Midland's Deputy Fire Chief Hal Belfry, damage will run into the thousands of dollars following a freak cottage fire in Tay Township early Wednesday afternoon. According to the deputy chief, whose department covers a section of Tav Township north of Midland, a grass fire got away and ignited a single-storey dwelling owned by Stanlev Przysiezniak. At the time of the fire the tennant, Harvev Kalbleisch was in Midland however his wife and child were asleen inside. The woman woke to discover smoke filling the cottage. Both she and her child managed to flee the building unharmed and later were rushed to hospital after they became sick. Firefighters managed to bring the out-of-town fire under control but not before considerable damage had occured to the inside of the cottage located at Midland Point off Robert Street East. ~ Firefighters donned air masks to enter the smoke-filled building so as to knock down flames from inside. Exact amount of damage will not be known until Midland Fire Department officials complete their investigation. Oo save money *continued from page one replv once the chief had department of this prepared his own. corporation; rather my submission. responsibility as an In his report to council elected official is to Jefferv noted, "It is not oversee the operation of my place to assume the the departments, to responsibility of the second guess, if you actual operation of the will. our "resident fire or any other experts" for the elec- ultural, recreation study step closer To date over 40 representatives from various Midland community groups and agencies have been invited to attend a meeting next Tuesday night at town hall to study the logistics involved in Midland entering into a cultural and recreational master plan study. The proposed study, which could cost about $30.000. would evaluate the existing supply of culture and recreation programs, facilities amd open space in the town. At the same time the study would also assess the present and future demand to formulate practical guidelines and establish priorities for the provision of cultural and recreation opportunities within the community. The study would be a very comprehensive one with input from virtually every group or agency in Midland involved in the delivery of a community service program. A $15,000 Wintario grant will offset the total cost of the study which would mean only $15,000 would have to come from town coffers to pay for the proiect. It is expected a committee will be formed so as to set out a frame of reference for the study and at a later date tenders will be called for con- sultants to actually carry out the study. The master plan study has been called "a visible one' since input is to come from local organizations. The meeting next Tuesday is set for 7.30 p.m. in the council chambers on Dominion West. It has also been pointed out that next week's meeting is a general "information only" session and that the real data collection of all affected organizations will commence at a later date. torate who have charged us- with the management of the town's affairs. "Given that we, as a council, are charged with the responsibility stated. I offer the following recommen- dations and note that although Chief Leth- bridge is opposed, that is no reason to assume thev are not correct, have no merit, or that he or anv other department__ head or member of council is infallible when' speaking on management issues."' The thrust of Jeffery's report was to show how the town could save monev by restructuri ng the local fire service. He said the town presently is protected by 13 full-time firefighters | supplem- ented by 20 volunteers and one reserve. "The fire depart- ment."' the alderman noted. "Has an- ex- cellent rating because of these numbers, however in sneaking with Chief Lethbridge and having personally been a member of the volun- teers under two previous chiefs, it has become apparent that flaws do exist in the operation, which if satisfied, could not only make for a more ef- . ficient department, but also save the cor- poration and its ratepayers much-ne- eded tax dollars. Shift The alderman suggested equally balancing the number of firefighters on each shift with the same number of firefighters and officers. This would require promoting two men to officer status and putting the deputy fire chief and captain on shifts. Bv doing so an officer would be on duty during each shift and that call- backs would be cut back to a minimum = as "general alarms will be reduced due to the of- ficer's appropriate reactions."' (An officer would always be there to interpret the calls, react appropriately and direct any fire ser- vices."' Jeffery's document also expresses concern over how call-backs could cost the town more than in previous years. It was suggested at a council meeting earlier this month that if the town approves a new © Omnitele t with professional firefighters here who want to be paid time and a half for a minimum of one hour per call-back that it would cost the town $48.000. Alderman Richard Platt. Chairman of the town's finance com- mittee told this newspaper yesterday the information he has received from the fire chief is that it would range from between $12.000 and $15,000. During the first three months of this year about $1.500 was spent on call-backs at actual time. times time and a half. However under a proposed new contract with the fire department in which firefighters would be paid for a minimum of one hour instead of 15 minutes at time and a half, the figure would have been $3,000. Last year a total of $9.000 was spent on paving for call-backs, Alderman Platt pointed out. However, yesterday Jeffery again defended the $48.000 figure His timing is right on Rav Mayer, custodian at Midland Public Library checks one of the faces of the tower clock for the proper time as part of his daily duties. Mayer admits the clock is getting older and therefore, has its problems but generally the clock is fairly accurate. One of the duties Mayer has to remember to do around this time of year is to set the clock ahead one hour tomorrow evening so people in Midland will be able to set their watches to the correct Daylight Saving Time. One of the most in- teresting things about his job though is how he keeps the four faces of the clock at the same time, a task always not so easy to do. Apartment proposed approval John Masionis, owner ; subiect of 16.000 square feet of in principle, to Masionis planning board with their comments. property in Midland on entering into a ihe pias received ty the south side of development contract jhe planning board Dominion Avenue agreement with the showed a two-storey between Charles Street town. apartment building with and George Street, has gained conditional approval to build a 10 unit apartment building there. The Midland Planning Board decided Tuesday evening to give its Residents who live within a 400 foot radius of the property will be informed of the in- tention to rezone the Masionis property. Thev can appear at the next meeting of the 10 three bedroom apartments, a storage room. and a laundry room on the now vacant land Friday, April 24, 1981, Page 3