The Voice of Pelham

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Vol.16 No. 32 Weekend Weather Thursday High 16º

Pelham’s independent news source from the Heart of Niagara

The

VOICE www.thevoiceofpelham.ca

Pelham girl improving after dog attack

Friday High 14º

BY SARAH MURRELL

Saturday High 12º

The decision by Fire Chief Bob Lymburner to respond to a 911 call around the corner from his home likely saved the life of a little girl. The chief also says the actions of the girl’s mother were “exactly what she was supposed to do” and kept the rest of her family from being injured. At about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 12, emergency personnel received a call that a young child had been attacked by a dog at

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Inside The Voice Fire Prevention page 3

Clothing Sale page 6

Arena Repairs page 8

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

VOICE Staff

a home on Effingham Street in Pelham. Fire Chief Bob Lymburner was first on the scene, explaining that while he doesn’t usually respond to calls he knew he could be there quickly. “It was a child and right around the corner from my house,” he said on why he chose to attend the scene, adding it wasn’t until he was on scene that he realized the injured young girl was his daughter’s niece. When he got there, the mother of the child was in the driveway with her other children and the dogs were inside a barn.

Lymburner says he went inside the barn, separated the dogs, and brought the child out. Just seconds later Lymburner was joined at the home by firefighters with Station #1 in Pelham, Niagara EMS, and Niagara Regional Police. Those 30 seconds or so, said Lymburner, could have made the difference for the little girl’s life. EMS first responders treated the five year old girl on scene before she was taken by ambulance to the Welland County General Hospital. Lymburner along with two other Pelham fire fighters rode in the

ambulance to assist paramedics. Once she was stabilized the child was airlifted to Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto where she was listed in critical condition. Niagara Regional Police report the girl was playing with puppies in the barn of her rural home when she was attacked by a dog. Det. Const. Richard Gauthier says police are uncertain at this time, but it is possible the girl was attacked by up to three rottweilers. Gauthier said police do not know yet how the full-sized dogs came to be in contact with the

girl, noting there are no witnesses to the incident. Gauthier said the girl’s injuries are too numerous to list, adding she had extensive surgery the night of the incident and into the next day and she suffered bite marks all over her body. “It’s horribe, horrible,” he said of her injuries. Lymburner told The Voice he spoke with the girl’s family on Monday and subsequent surgeries have gone very well and she is “progressing”. On Monday, Gauthier told The Please see Dogs/page 2

Wondering why bylaws are issue now BY SARAH MURRELL

VOICE Staff “Bylaw enforcement is going to prove to be the trickiest and most significant subject we’re going to tackle this meeting,” said Councillor Richard Rybiak at the inaugural Policy and Priorities meeting just before councillors discussed Pelham’s bylaw system. The report suggests the nature of the question is complaint driven or proactive bylaw enforcement, said Rybiak, adding the current complaint driven system is proving to be less effective. The result of complaint driven systems, he said, is an inconsistency in the way business is done throughout the town and what has been established is an uneven playing field, unfairness built into the system, and frustration and

dissatisfaction for residents. The system, he said, doesn’t accomplish the objective council wants to accomplish with bylaw enforcement. Rybiak says there are three different ways to enforce bylaws, explaining barking dogs need to be complaint based otherwise how would the town know there was an issue; some bylaws that deal with safety and health, for instance, the town can’t wait to act on. “Then there’s another way of dealing with bylaws,” he said, explaining bylaws can be enforced on a program basis, by focusing on certain bylaws at certain times, thereby bringing in more compliance by residents. Rybiak also said it is an important, necessary first step that staff approach enforcement in a friendly and courteous way.

Councillor Peter Papp noted some bylaws are requirements of the province that the town must enforce. “If we choose not to we are subject to litigation,” he said. Papp also noted Pelham’s bylaw process and protocol should be collaborative, consistent and seen as fair and reasonable. It should not be seen as punitive or as infringing on rights. “We need to bring it back into focus,” said Papp. “Why do we pass bylaws? How do we enforce them? Are they there for right reasons? If they don’t fit then we don’t proceed.” Most of the citizens of Pelham are in compliance with town bylaws, said Councillor Durley, noting the system brushes everyone the same. It may be that different applications should be applied, for example urban and rural,

he said. “I feel enforcement is definitely an issue,” said Durley. “It could be because some of our bylaws could need some tweaking. If the bylaw is wrong let’s change the bylaw.” It would be easier to be in compliance and ensure enforcement is logical and reasonable, he added. “I find the whole discussion very frustrating,” said Mayor Dave Augustyn. “Residents are frustrated, I’m frustrated because we need an answer to a question, - our bylaws haven’t changed over the past several years but we have uproar occurring in the last year. The bylaws haven’t changed, what has changed?” “I suspect there is more than one single factor attributable to the uproar,” Please see Enforcement/page 2

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