80 Years Ago
November 9, 1938
– Bath required assistance from Napanee and Kingston firefighters to battle an 11 p.m. fire at the large residence of Percy Vinton. Save for a fortunate change in the direction of the wind, it was thought the fire would threaten the entire village, where many homes were of wooden frame construction. Kingston’s fire chief and a crew of eight men brought a pumper truck, which allowed water to be pumped straight from Lake Ontario and poured onto the home and nearby buildings.
– A tragic fatal shooting occurred at a hunting camp just outside of Denbigh as a Napanee dentist had mistaken his hunting guide for a deer. Police noted the guide left the hunters on watch and returned an hour later, but instead of using the gully he was accustomed to use, he came back in a different direction. The guide had also removed his bright hunting coat due to warm weather. He died within two minutes of being wounded in his abdomen.
– An Ernestown Township farmer pled guilty to a charge of ill treatment of an animal and paid a $5 fine and $24 in court costs. An inspector had found a bay gelding standing in a stable with a harness on. Beneath the collar, the horse had a large open sore that was bleeding. The farmer admitted that no veterinary care was provided to the animal.
40 Years Ago
November 8, 1978
– Napanee car dealer George Lyons expressed his frustration with the way the Town of Napanee was dealing with his offers to buy land in its 103-acre industrial park. Lyons said he made three different offers for lots in the park, which were neither accepted nor signed back with a counter offer. Lyons said he would be writing a letter to clerk-administrator Jack McNamee asking the town to confirm the lots available and whether or not council was interested in selling any land to his company.
– After Napanee refused to sell them a parcel of land smaller than one acre, Amherstview residents Gord Carter and Ted Melburn acquired a half-acre industrial park lot in Richmond Township where they would start GT Machining and Fabricating. The men expected half of their business would come serving farmers, while they also hoped to pick up commercial and industrial contracts.
– Plans for a 36-unit motel fronting on Centre Street from Napanee’s industrial park fell by the wayside. Proponent Thomas Dickerson said he was pleased with the deal he made with the town, optioning a two-and-a-half acre lot for $40,000, but he found the interest charges on his mortgage would be too high for the project to be economically viable.