Page 6 - May 4, 2017

Page 6 The Independent Thursday, May 4, 2017 The Rec Room centre for youth and seniors opens in Petrolia
Thera Wagner and Mayor John McCharles at the opening of The Rec
Pam Wright
with buddies... this is a place for them to meet and maybe make new friends.”
on the project for the past three months, sprucing up the interior with fresh paint and donated electronics and furnishings.
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Thera Wagner’s wish for Petrolia’s youth has come true with the of cial opening of the Rec Room.
Dave Menzies, the town’s Director of Community Services, says the centre will provide a safe, supervised place for the youth.
A number of donations and groups were recognized Monday for helping the Rec Room get off the ground, including a $10,000 donation from Mike and Maxine Fiddick of Fiddicks Nursing Home.
The youth and seniors’ centre is at the corner of Robert and Centre Streets. The blue house will now be open to young people and seniors’ for activities and ‘hanging out.’
“There will always be someone here to guide them,” Menzies explains.
Wagner, who is the program coordinator at the Oil Heritage District Community Centre, says she’s had the idea of a youth centre percolating since 2006.
Programming for the older generation is offered at the Rec Room as well.
Menzies says the town is also expecting to receive a government grant for seniors’ programming.
“Youth are hard to program for,” Wagner notes. “They want to hang
“It’s a way to help with the loneliness seniors face,” Menzies explains, “by stimulating mind and body.”
Funding is available for young people who can’t afford it.
Games, cards, crafts and classes will be available during the day.
The annual cost for Rec Room membership is $30 at the OHDCC. About 12 people have already signed up.
The town has been working
Room Monday.
Pam Wright Photo
Heritage homeowners facing high insurance premiums; told to press government for change
Pam Wright
documentation of their homes, when applying for insurance in making a claim.
assessed at $300,000.
He admits it would be like nearly
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a million to rebuild the house to its original state, but knows that’s impossible as materials and the craftsmanship in the house are irreplaceable. He’d like to insure the home for the replacement
cost of an “ordinary house” in the $300,000 range, which would cut his current premiums signi cantly.
Everyone loves the charm of historic homes, except insurance companies.
“It’s up to insurance companies who they decide to insure,” Karageorgos says.
They don’t want to insure them at reasonable rates if at all.
Bob and Laurette Gulvin are a Petrolia couple feeling the pinch. They own a gingerbread-trimmed yellow brick home on Green eld St.
About 20 homeowners came to a meeting sponsored by Petrolia Heritage which highlighted the concerns of dealing with a myriad of insurance problems.
Gulvin says the premiums for the house that dates back to the 1870’s are off the charts. So, he decided to investigate other options and approached ve other companies.
“I’m over-insured,” Gulvin told the group.
Insurance Bureau of Canada Communications Director Peter Karageorgos was at the meeting. He outlined the role the IBC plays across Canada.
Other residents told Karageorgos similar tales of woe.
Following a presentation, Karageorgos answered questions from the audience. But, aside from telling them to “keep trying” and to press the government for change, Karageorgos had no concrete answers for heritage homeowners.
Three of them refused to give
a quote, Gulvin says, and one offered to insure him at the same rate he already had. One quote was even higher.
One woman, who co-owns
a large heritage home that’s sometimes opened to the public, says she can’t even get liability insurance, let alone replacement insurance. She was given only ve days notice for the cancellation of her policy last December.
insurance conundrum may be in the wings.
He told the residents to keep extensive records and
His major bone of contention is that his company insures his house for $900,000 even though it is
But, a grassroots solution to the
In fact, Carradine-Armstrong says, 81 percent of the historic
Gulvin remains mysti ed.
Susan Carradine-Armstrong, manager of the Goderich BIA, also attended the meeting.
“I believe it is a monopoly,” Gulvin explains. “Insurance brokers all insure the same way.”
Petrolia Heritage Committee member Susan McEwan, owner of a 6,000 square foot home, echoed similar concerns.
With an abundance of heritage homes, Carradine-Armstrong says Goderich shares the same concerns as Petrolia.
Owners of historic homes like these in Crescent Park are facing high insurance premiums
homes destroyed in the tornado were rebuilt. Yet, there are major problems with the way the insurance business deals with historic buildings, she explains, adding she’s willing to work with Petrolia residents to help nd solutions. McEwen says she will bring Carradine-Armstrong’s offer for discussion to the next heritage committee meeting.
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