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Police are seeking information regarding two men who fled the scene of a suspicious house fire in Wellesley Village Tuesday night.
Two males emerged from a duplex at 1020 Molesworth St. at the onset of the fire, both with flames coming from their clothing. They extinguished those fires by rolling around on the ground and in the snow and then fled the scene, one suspect in a dark-coloured pickup truck, the other on foot.
Firefighters from all three township stations tackled the blaze. One woman was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. Damage to the structure was pegged at $200,000
Wellesley firefighters were called to the residence at approximately 8:30 p.m. Dec. 9. When they arrived, they were told occupants were still inside the building. They conducted two searches but found no one; they did, however, rescue two pets.
“When we first arrived there was a report of occupants still in the building so we wanted to knock it down as quickly as possible and get in there and do our search. We found a dog and a cat – they were fine,” said Wellesley district assistant chief Ted Stroh. It appears two other cats, however, perished in the blaze.
Wellesley, St. Clements and Linwood stations were all called in when the structure fire was confirmed, and battled the fire for up to five hours.
“There were a lot of flames when we first arrived.”
Fire reached into the attic, making it difficult for firefighters to extinguish it quickly.
It is believed that the fire started in the kitchen, but the exact cause is still unknown. Both police and the Fire Marshall’s Office are investigating as arson is suspected.
Police are requesting the public’s assistance in locating and identifying the men who fled from the scene to determine their physical well being and what their involvement may have been in this incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact Division #1 detective office at (519) 650-8500, ext. 4438 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

Nobody welcomes a gravel pit with open arms. With every application comes some kind of opposition – some more than others. You can put the bid for a large pit near West Montrose into the “battle brewing” category.
Concerned about the impact on the settlement’s quaint lifestyle centered on the historic covered bridge, a group calling itself the Bridge Keepers has begun rallying the community to fight. Guelph-based Capital Paving wants to extract aggregate from a 115-acre site near the intersection of Letson Drive and Kathleen Street.
The best defence is a good offence, maintains organizer Tony Dowling, who’s employed the Internet as part of an aggressive marketing strategy against the proposed operation.
“You have to work hard – the field is pretty heavily tipped in favour of the applicants,” he said in an interview, noting communities typically get short shrift when it comes to gravel pits.
The group is concentrating on the potential negative impacts on one of Woolwich Township’s major tourism draws, the kissing bridge, its 127-year history and the rural flavour exemplified by the Mennonite population.
“Lots of visitors come here to see the bridge. There’s a great panoramic view of the scene from Jigs Hollow Road that people just love. This (the pit) will ruin the whole experience.”
Bridge Keepers is working up an entire campaign to help bring officials on side.
The application process is underway with both the Ministry of Natural Resources, which licenses gravel pits, and the township, which must grant a zone change to allow the operation on what is currently farmland.
Having deemed Capital Paving’s initial application incomplete, the township is now waiting on the company to provide more information before proceeding with a review of the project. And just this week, it added a sub-watershed study to its list of requirements to determine the impact on the groundwater and surrounding geology, explained Dan Kennaley, Woolwich’s director of engineering and planning.
“This might constitute a significant delay for Capital Pavement,” as the study typically must go through four seasons.
For its part, Capital Paving expects to carry out many studies to show why the pit should be located at the West Montrose location. The company is sensitive to community concerns, and wants to minimize the impact of its operation at the site, said representative George Lourenco.
The company has seen an extraordinary amount of feedback from this proposal, much more than what he’s seen with other applications.
“With this one, there’s been quite a bit of concern – about the bridge, the tourism impact, the Mennonite [traffic].”
Although the pit would be larger than many in the area, it would still be smaller than the industry average, added Lourenco.
The company would extract a maximum of 500,000 tonnes of gravel annually, drawing down what is believed to be about 2.5 million tonnes of available resources. The pit would operate for seven to 10 years before closing down and being rehabilitated back to farmland.
The impact would be much smaller than opponents predict, he said.
“I’ve been through this process before. Perceptions change with the opening of an operation … and neighbours find out it’s not as bad as what they thought it would be.”
He points to the company’s pits of comparable size elsewhere, including one in Guelph-Eramosa Township that operates adjacent to a small settlement – “We do have operations that coexist with residential areas.”
Still, he’s not surprised there’ll be a fight over the proposal, with opponents questioning why this location must be used when there’s plenty of aggregate throughout the region. While that may be, there’s no certainty that just because gravel exists that anyone can get access to it, perhaps due to environmental concerns, impact on wetlands or other restrictions.
The area in question has already been designated by the township and Waterloo Region as suitable for aggregate extraction, he said, adding residents’ concerns will be addressed as the application process moves along.
“Any aggregate application comes with opposition. Industry is trying to change the perception of aggregate extraction – it’s not what it used to be.”
Dowling, however, remains unmoved. The location is just not suitable for dump trucks making some 260 return trips each day, with gravel being crushed and hauled at all hours of day on rural roads used by horse-and-buggy Mennonites, a parochial school nearby, he said.
“There are many other sources of aggregate. This is just about the worst place you could pick.”
There’s also the question of negative effects on the Grand River, which offers pristine conditions and great fishing in the stretch near West Montrose, Dowling added.
To make their case, members of the Bridge Keepers will attempt to win in the forum of public opinion. They expect they’re in for a long battle, one they’re willing to see though.
“We have the public support, we have the will and we have the finances to continue.”

Having worked hard and paid a lifetime’s worth of taxes, seniors deserve a bit of a break if they feel like a dip in a public pool, says an Elmira resident who brought her case to Woolwich council this week.
Georgina Steele is looking for the township to set a discounted seniors’ rate for using the facility, as well as special swim times reserved for seniors. Neither currently exists.
Councillors asked recreation department staff to look into the matter, with Mayor Bill Strauss noting this was the first such request in his 12 years on the job.
Steele has also been asking other seniors to contact the township to provide feedback on the idea of special consideration for that age group.
Suffering from arthritis, she’s been advised by her doctor to go swimming three to five times a week. At the current rate, she’d spend $675 a year if she went to the pool five times a week, far in excess of the $33 she spent when she lived in Hamilton, Steele explained – “I can’t afford that.”
On the availability of swim times, she explained seniors often have to share the pool with children, who naturally splash around as they play in the water, creating obstacles for older users swimming laps or walking in the shallow area as a form of exercise therapy.
“When you become a senior, it’s hard to share the water with kids,” she laughed.
Coun. Ruby Weber noted there would be more swim times available when the Woolwich Memorial Centre opens in September 2009. The facility will include a therapeutic pool, as well.
Staff will study Steele’s suggestions, looking at what neighbouring municipalities offer for seniors at their pools. Facilities manager Brian Detzler made arrangements to meet with Steele to move the issue along.