Near misses, lost landmarks and neighbours who helped out

by Jim Moodie

MANITOULIN-The buzz of chainsaws and hum of generators could be heard across Manitoulin last week as Islanders regrouped from a ferocious storm that toppled hydro poles, uprooted trees, levelled barns, upended boats, and sent 500-pound hay bales bouncing across fields like ping-pong balls.

By Friday, power had been restored to most areas of Manitoulin, with the village of Sheguiandah (east of Highway 6) and Gordon township being among the communities that waited longest to be hooked back up to the grid. And while much of the debris from the brief but punishing blow had been tidied up by the end of the week, numerous reminders of the devastation were still spread across the countryside as late as Monday, with heaps of slash strewn along roadsides and scraps of roofing material (not to mention the odd trampoline) still suspended in trees.

Those, that is, that still stood.

Amazingly, no-one appears to have been seriously harmed during the extreme weather event, which many are calling the most severe storm to have ever pummelled the Island. "There were no deaths or serious injuries," said OPP Detachment Commander Bruce McCullagh with both surprise and relief.

Many homes had their roofs crumpled and windows blown out, while a number of vehicles were crushed by hefty hardwoods, including the truck of a guest who was staying at Whitehaven Cottages in Sheguiandah. And yet, miraculously enough, the owners of the homes and vehicles were not in harm's way when these potentially lethal moments occurred.

Nor does anyone appear to have been struck by flying debris, which Commander McCullagh pointed out is "where the majority of injuries occur" in a situation such as last week's vicious wind.

Other areas weren't so fortunate. In Algonquin Park, which falls under the catchment area of the North Bay OPP, an individual camping in a tent was killed by the same storm system that tore across Manitoulin, while the mother of a young child staying in a tent trailer near Peterborough is also dead as a result of the tempest.

Despite some close calls on Manitoulin, though, all were accounted for following the storm, including pets and farm animals.

That almost wasn't the case at the farm of John Skippen on the Town Line Road, where a sturdy barn (not the red one with the words "Skippen Farms, since 1870" on it, but another the farmer owns closer to Green Bay) was flattened, pinning a half dozen Charolais cows inside. "They were lying on their sides under the barn, and I thought they had been smothered," said the farmer. "But eight people came over and helped cut the timbers with chainsaws, and the cows came out one at a time. One is limping a bit, but we saved them all."

Not so the barn, which is in splinters, despite having been reinforced not long ago with thick beams and secured against wind by strong cables. "We fixed it up for heritage and tourists, but the wind just took it down," said Mr. Skippen.

At least six other barns between Green Bay and Sheguiandah were similarly squashed. Ernie and Margot Kerhls, who had lost their original wooden barn during high winds 11 years ago, lost the newer, squatter structure they'd built in its place. Both Norm Robinson and Dave Robinson lost their barns, as did Cliff Tann, who owns the old Woods farm. "That barn had been there a hundred years," remarked Mr. Skippen. Greg Pyette of Pike Lake lost half his barn and two implement sheds, while the roof was torn off a barn belonging to Ed Ferguson.

Perhaps worst off, though, is Blake Burnett, who lost two barns in one fell swoop. The farmer, located at Burnett's Side Road west of Sheguiandah, was out on his tractor baling hay when the wind blew up. "I knew something was brewing but I didn't know it was going to be that bad," he remarked.

As the storm gathered force, coming from the southwest, Mr. Burnett hopped off his tractor and hunkered beside it. "I wasn't in the direct path of it," he said. "It went by on one side of me, 30 to 40 feet away."

The farmer watched as numerous hay bales, weighing in the neighbourhood of 500 pounds each, went flying end-over-end across the field. A few skipped a fence and went into a neighbour's property. Fourteen hay bales that were in a field farther down the Town Line Road busted through a fence and landed on the road.

More worrisome than the bouncing bales, however, were the collapsing barns. The Burnett farm has-make that, had-two large barns built side by side, one a century old, the other half that age. Both came down.

Three horses had been in the barnyard when the storm hit, but all three survived the blast. Mr. Burnett noted that after the storm subsided, the spooked trio trotted back to the wrecked barns and took refuge in what remained of them.

The 20 Haflinger horses belonging to the Willis family in Sheguiandah "just stood in a line with their butts to the wind," noted Maria Willis. "There was all this stuff flying over them, branches and things, but they were fine. Horses never head for the barn or the trees; they know to go for an open field."

Areas near Kagawong and Gore Bay-which, next to Sheguiandah and Green Bay, seem to have received the brunt of the blast-also incurred several casualties of rural architecture, with barns toppled and cows left homeless.

The main concern of Gore Bay businessman Ken Blodgett, on the other hand, wasn't cattle beasts. It was charter boats.

The marina operator charters both sailing craft and power boats through his Canadian Yacht Charters enterprise, and a good portion of the fleet was out in the North Channel when the storm struck.

One, a 42-foot trawler, was in the Clapperton Channel near Harbour Island when the wind grabbed it and flipped it over. Five people were aboard at the time. "There were two adults and three kids, from Michigan," said Mr. Blodgett. "They got caught by the unexpected wind, which blew the boat on its side. Then it started to fill with water."

The family put in a mayday call and abandoned ship, while the ship itself began to sink. They were later picked up, unharmed, by the OPP marine unit from Blind River, while the boat lay on the bottom of the channel, near the old lodge on Harbour Island.

A salvage effort took place on Friday morning, involving a 113-foot barge with a 35-ton crane, a 100-foot tug and a 40-foot work boat, all brought over from Sault Ste. Marie at considerable expense. Mr. Blodgett put the price tag for that retrieval effort at $30,000.

And even though the boat is now plucked from the depths, it's "a big loss for us," Mr. Blodgett said, "because it's unsalvageable. It's a total write-off." He estimated that between the damage to the boat and the cost of fishing it out of the channel, CYC would incur a loss of "a quarter million dollars." Not to mention be without a boat to rent out for the remainder of the sailing season. "We have eight weeks of bookings we have to cancel," he said.

Nor was this the only CYC boat to get battered by the storm. "We had others out at the Benjamins and Clapperton that had their biminis (tops) blown off, and banged into other boats," Mr. Blodgett noted. "So far there are five boats that have come in with damage."

The marina itself in Gore Bay emerged unscathed, fortunately. Not so for Berry Boats near Kagawong, where a number of craft were reportedly tossed about, or Harbor Vue Marina near Little Current, which is still reeling from the destruction wrought by the storm. The wind whipping through Little Current seemed to gather force as it howled down Harbor Vue Road, making a pick-up-sticks game out of hydro poles and then smashing into the marina facility itself, shredding storage sheds and upending boats.

Down at Whitehaven Cottages on Sheguiandah Bay, the scene wasn't much prettier. Proprietor Bill Strain reckons that two storm cells converged at once on his property-one coming from the south, the other from the west. The result? "It looked like a war zone," he said.

Massive hardwoods-red oaks, white ashes and maples-came crashing down, some 36 trees in all, with one flattening a truck while simultaneously lifting a cabin off its footings, since the root system had spread below the building.

Four guests were in the recently renovated rental cottage at the time, a woman and three teens. "The lady was sleeping in the bedroom right beside the tree, so got a pretty scary awakening," Linda Strain remarked.

But while rattled, all, thankfully, were fine. So, remarkably, were the other members of the party who had gone out fishing in Sheguiandah Bay at the time. "They were in fairly big boat, but the one guy said that, at one point, the wind lifted the boat right up and then set it back down," marvelled Mr. Strain. (A similar phenomenon seems to have occurred for farmer Greg Pyette, whose tractor was physically turned around while he was attempting to drive it across a field.)

The resort owner said that the wind took a curious path, levelling massive trees, four feet in girth, but totally bypassing three little deck chairs, made of light metal and wood, that perched at the end of his breakwall. Other chairs, on the other hand, have totally disappeared, he noted, and could be floating off the coast of Heywood Island-or sitting now in somebody's yard in Killarney-for all he knows.

Similarly, while some islands in the big water near Sheguiandah, like King William, seem to have been spared, the storm wreaked utter havoc on Loon Island, near Ten Mile Point, a popular haunt of bald eagles. "They're probably not there now," said Mr. Strain. "That island got just hammered; the profile of trees you would see there is now just sticks."

Nesting birds also lost habitat on the cottage property of the Dawes family, on the Bidwell Road near Wee Point. "The heronry that we had in the back, we've lost most of that," rued Jean Dawes. "There were three occupied nests that came down, and we saw six babies that might not have a nest now."

The family experienced "devastating downfalls," Ms. Dawes said, estimating "we probably have 100 trees down." But for all the crashing trees, damage to buildings was remarkably minimal. "We had one land on the house, but the roof is basically intact, and the things that did get really hit were the dog pen, trash cans and wood shed, so we were fortunate. We can deal with the trees but it's upsetting when the birds die," the cottager remarked.

The Dawes remain awed by the force of the storm. Susan, one of 10 people staying at the cottage at the time, ran over to the main camp from a smaller cabin when the wind struck. "She had never moved so fast, and that was because the wind was pushing her and almost picking her up," said Mrs. Dawes. "It also picked up a rowboat, flipped it over and scooted it into the trees," she added.

One boat that didn't budge much, despite being in the North Channel at the time, was the Purvis, a 75-foot fishing tug operated by Purvis Bros. Fishery. "It was out by Clapperton," noted Drew Purvis, "and almost responded to the sinking (of the CYC boat), because they heard it on the radio. But other boats were closer so they didn't have to go."

Mr. Purvis himself was at the Burnt Island fishing base, but wasn't too worried about the Purvis or the Blue Fin, its older sister, which was cruising the waters near Meldrum Bay on the day of the storm. Such craft are built to withstand high winds and heavy seas, he said, and have seen worse during winter gales. "Most boats will be fine, as long as you get your nose into it," he said.

Still, he was stunned by the velocity of the wind and the angled rain that slashed against Burnt Island on that day. "I was at the dock working on a truck, and one of the fellas ran out in a small trap-net boat, but he didn't make it far. He had to weather it out in the bay," said Mr. Purvis. "He was only 40 feet from the dock, and we couldn't see him. The rain was going straight at us-sideways instead of down."

Speaking on Thursday night, Mr. Purvis noted that the power had just been restored to the remote fishing station that evening. For the previous three days, the operation had been relying on generators to power its facilities and bringing in ice (for packing fish in totes) from the North Shore, because it couldn't run both its freezers and ice-maker off the gas-powered juice.

For Purvis Bros., as well as Herbert Fisheries in Killarney, the storm caused more of a temporary inconvenience than any significant damage to their boats or docks. But for other people, both water-based and landlocked, the toll is considerable, and it will be weeks before it can be fully measured.

Ron Sheppard, of Sheppard Brothers Construction, said his crews had been busy all week, attending to damaged roofs. "We've been running around, putting on temporary patches until we can get back to them and do a more thorough job," he said. The worst areas for roof damage have been the Kagawong area, Bay of Islands, and "Sheguiandah, definitely," said Mr. Sheppard.

Some residents and visitors have complained about the lack of information following the storm and the frustrating wait for power restoration (longer in some corners of the Island than elsewhere).

A pair of City TV employees visiting from Toronto were in a grumpy mood when encountered at the Little Current waterfront on Wednesday of last week, complaining that their vacation had been disrupted and Blackberry service was spotty. They said they had decided to leave, rather than deal with the frustrations.

Mrs. Dawes, the Bidwell Road cottager, had a somewhat more reasonable concern in pointing out that it's difficult to know who to contact in times of emergency (an assertion borne out by the repeated calls made to the Expositor office over the course of the week, which tends to act as de facto switchboard in such times of confusion). "It's next to impossible to get through to Hydro, and it would be nice to have a list of names of people to call on the Island for tree removal or things of that nature," she said. "We had a phone that was working, so we were lucky in that way, but we don't know who to call."

Detachment Commander Bruce McCullagh felt, however, that the response of hydro, emergency and municipal crews was quite prompt and thorough. Police had been busy patrolling backroads to ensure people in remote places were safe and had what they needed in terms of water and sustenance to weather the blackout, he said, while fire crews and Hydro One personnel kicked into gear quickly, and in considerable numbers, to address the crisis. "The town employees were fabulous, and the hydro crews stuck it out here," he said.

Where professional help couldn't be quickly accessed, the community itself responded, as in the case of Green Acres Tent and Trailer Park in Sheguiandah, where an army of volunteers helped free crushed trailers from fallen poplars on Tuesday of last week and proprietors Wade and Barb Kearns fed all helpers for free.

At the Skippen property, where cattle were trapped beneath a barn, the owner was impressed and moved by the instant response of neighbours. "I'm 71, and I've seen everything at this age," he said. "You think people don't give a damn, but then you see all these guys rushing to help out, and it makes you think again."

Apart from the impromptu crew of chainsaw-wielding cattle rescuers (which included Harvey Drysdale, Roy Bayers, Steve Chisolm, Rick Pegolo and Greg Pyette), Mr. Skippen said a couple of "young fellas" also volunteered to free his trailer on Lake Manitou from a couple of large trees that had fallen on it.

"Matthew Bayers and young Van Horn grabbed chainsaws and went down there, and I asked them boys, 'how much do you want?'" Mr. Skippen noted. "They said they wouldn't take any money for it. It makes you realize there are good people out there."

Similar instances of neighbourly gumption have been played out across the Island. In one striking example, over 60 Sheguiandah-area do-gooders descended on the ravaged Burnett farm on Sunday to help clean up the wreckage of Mr. Burnett's barns. It was like a barn-raising, in reverse.

Neighbours from across the North Channel are also responding to the crisis. Ann Pyette said that she and husband Greg had been talking with a group of Mennonites from Desbarats, on the North Shore, who are prepared to send over as many as 50 men next weekend to assist in a barn-fixing bee.

Commander McCullagh said that additional police personnel could have been made available to the Island to deal with the post-storm situation, but that, in the end, it wasn't necessary. "You always have to take your hat off to Manitoulin residents," he said. "They take it in stride."

EDITORIAL

State of hydro lines makes clear case for crew

While the freak storm experienced across Northern Ontario and Manitoulin last week could hardly have been prevented, nor could the extent of hydro outages likely have been mitigated by any reasonable action of man, one thing has certainly been made evident during the inspection of the hydro lines across the Island in the aftermath of the storm: the lines are in a dismal shape.

Hydro crews have done a marvelous job of restoring power under difficult conditions, but what has been heard privately is that the power lines criss-crossing the Island are in terrible shape. Trees are growing up around lines in an alarming prolificy-a situation which was rarely, if ever, experienced when there was a forestry crew stationed on Manitoulin.

The withdrawal of that crew may have made sense on a corporate planner's spreadsheet, but the potential for ever-increasing power outages is growing along with the forest, and it is the customer who suffers.

The Expositor applauds the decision of the Northeast Town council to lobby those in charge of the power transmission infrastructure to restore the forestry crew to Manitoulin. There is obviously enough work to keep such a crew busy year-round in maintaining the power grid here, and those lines should not be left to the self-trimming capabilities of the lines themselves.

While Hydro One officials maintain that they have a maintenance schedule for those lines, inspections have made it clear that schedule is not living up to the expectations of the corporation's planners, nor is it in shape to adequately ensure that businesses and residents can be secure in the energy supply they need.

The cleanup efforts on Manitoulin have once again shown the incredible community spirit of Islanders, as neighbours showed up by the score with heavy equipment and elbow grease at the ready-as evidenced by the efforts at the Burnett farm last weekend and at the Batman and Green Acre campgrounds in the days immediately following the storm.

When unloading brush at the Northeast Town landfill site, those whose loads were already piled on the ever-growing heap were quick to lend a willing hand to those who came after them. Neighbours helping neighbours with a willing heart and a ready hand-it's the Island way.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Race commodore impressed by post-storm race rally

Extends personal thanks to yacht race sponsors

To the Expositor:

The Mackinac-Manitoulin Yacht Race is over for another year. Another great race and good times were had by all. The start of the race was somewhat in doubt as a severe wind storm struck Manitoulin Island two days before the race start. There was significant damage and most of the Island experienced power outages. The town of Gore Bay was without power until the night before the fleet was to arrive. Despite the problems, the towns of Gore Bay and Little Current managed to rally and welcomed the race participants with typical Island warmth and hospitality.

The fish fry and breakfast, hosted by the Gore Bay Rotary Club, was an extraordinary effort and was greatly appreciated by the racers who were warned that they may have to fend for themselves upon their arrival in Gore Bay. The Gore Bay firefighters managed to find the time to set up and run the hospitality centre, adding some spirit(s) to the evening's festivities. The steak BBQ put on by the Little Current Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion and the breakfast at the Anglican Church were equally well-received. The Little Current Yacht Club and the Race Committee extend their heartfelt thanks to these groups for their efforts.

We were able to undertake an extensive marketing campaign this year thanks to a grant from FedNor. FedNor has been a steadfast supporter of the race and the Manitoulin area and this support deserves recognition. The assistance provided by Tony Clement, Minister of Health, Mike Brown, MPP, and Brent St. Denis, MP, also contributed significantly to the success of this year's event.

The response from the participants has been overwhelmingly positive and we thank them for their collective demonstration of competitiveness and sportsmanship. Jeff Van Alstine and his crew on Stardust epitomized this spirit when they turned back to help a competitor who had run aground. After a redress was allowed by the Race Committee, they were given a time credit and Stardust won first overall in the cruising division. Good people can finish first.

The proceeds generated by the race allow the Little Current Yacht Club to provide recreational opportunities for the Island's youth. Our youth sailing program will train 48 young students between the ages of eight and 15 this summer. Twelve adults will also participate in the program which will be conducted between July 24 and August 4 at Low Island Park. This program has been enthusiastically supported by the mayor and council of the Northeast Town and we would like to thank them for use of the park facilities.

We were able to purchase six new Laser Pico training boats for the training program this year. This purchase was made possible by funding provided by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the Little Current Lions Club, the Gore Bay Rotary Club and the Sisson Fund, and the logistical support provided by Manitoulin Transport and Harbor Vue Marina.

We are also proud to be able to sponsor the cardboard boat race again this year. Please come out to support these budding young yacht designers on August 5 at Low Island park. It's amazing what the kids can produce with cardboard and duct tape. Alicia McCutcheon is the driving force behind this popular event and our thanks go out to her. The Manitoulin Expositor has also been generous in providing promotion for this Haweater Weekend activity.

The committee members will be taking a well-deserved break now, but we will be posting race pictures and comments on our website at www.lcyc.ca in the coming days.

I would like to extend my personal thanks to our volunteers for their support and hard work over the last year and, in particular, to Margaret Van Camp in Little Current and Chris Blodgett in Gore Bay. The contributions of the Town of Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands, the Town of Gore Bay and their staffs are also gratefully acknowledged. Sponsorships make this event possible and I thank our corporate sponsors Manitoulin Transport, Fisher-Wavy Industries, Bell's Brewery and CTV and our 24 local business sponsors.

Sincerely,

Don Gray, Commodore

Little Current Yacht Club

Tory lawyer disses Kennedy, Keith and all things Liberal

Suggests Grits take in some Holiday blues

To the Expositor:

RE: "Gerard Kennedy comes to riding," July 5.

In an op-ed piece in your July 5 issue, staff writer Michael Erskine offers up his reasons for throwing his support behind Gerard Kennedy for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party. He evidently thinks Mr. Kennedy has the ' right stuff'  to lead the Grits in the 21st century.

Truth be told, the run-up to the Liberal Party convention in December is unfolding with about the same level of excitement as the plot to that brilliant new Hollywood movie called 'Snakes on a Plane.'

I can see where your writer might be impressed with Mr. Kennedy-especially if judged in light of the dearth of talent the Liberals have otherwise been able to attract as contenders for their top job. Why, a worse lot I could not imagine. Most of the list reads like a who's who of 'also rans.'

Granted, there is the odd big name in there, I suppose. But Bob Rae, the former NDP premier of Ontario? You can't be serious. Scott Brison, a turncoat Tory? Oh, the humanity! Voting for either would be like buying a set of retreaded snow tires.

At least auto parts billion-heiress Belinda Stronach (aka "Boltin' Belinda") had the good graces to drop out of the race early. Not to digress, but Colin Senior, should you be out there and reading this, let me give you some good advice: If your car goes on the blink, don't you go buying a fuel pump from that girl. Belinda will make off with your money faster than she can cross the floor of the House of Commons wearing a pair of six-inch high heels.

Your writer laments what he calls "the shattered Liberal brand...." No doubt, the shining star of Canadian federalism has seen better days. The Liberal Party is looking about as healthy right now as that octogenarian guitarist from the Rolling Stones, Keith Richards-and I mean on a bad day. About the only thing missing is the reptile-like facial features.

Hey, wait a minute! Didn't I read somewhere just recently that Keith Richards, while vacationing in the South Pacific, fell out of a coconut tree and banged his head real hard? Then this aging rock star apparently needed emergency brain surgery to relieve pressure for a swelled head. So let me see if I have this right: Falls out of coconut tree...needs brain surgery...has a swelled head. This all sounds remarkably like the Liberal Party itself.

Unfortunately, the Liberals are in no mood for rock'n'roll. Certainly not this summer (although a stirring rendition of an oldy-goldy flashback from the 60s such as 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction' would be timely indeed).

No, my trusted spy that has infiltrated their skunkworks, informs me that the genre of music most listened to by the Liberals this summer is 'the blues.' Quite appropriate in the circumstances.

May I therefore suggest to them one of my favourite blues tunes to help them while away the hours during their stay in the political wilderness? It's an old Billie Holiday classic called, 'Baby It's Cold Outside.'

Brad Middleton

Mindemoya

Thanks to storm volunteers

And kudos to Campbell clarification

To the Expositor:

A big "thank you" to the friendly neighbours around us on Garland Street who removed felled trees and also cleaned up all the branches and remaining cut-up logs. Luckily no damage was done to our garage roof by the big storm's wind power, and consequently, none of the wood carvings left from our previous "Blue Door" residence were affected.

Living on the Island for four years now, we are still impressed by the genuine friendly helpfulness, the peace and quiet, the safety, and, of course, the incredible beauty, especially in "Prov".

Also, our kudos to Douglas Campbell of Honora Bay for his thoughtful clarifications of a previous article about the monument to Canada's unrecognized greats.

Gordon Cohen and Elizabeth Lehman

Providence Bay

Letters can also be dropped through the slot on the front door of the Expositor office.Send your Dear Dave letters to Box 369, Little Current, Ontario, P0P 1K0,