“And We Shall Have Snow’

And the nursery rhyme will come true again:
"The north wind shall blow and we shall
have snow."’ And there is not much time to
get the old homestead ready for winter.
Human nature being what it is, there's a
natural temptation to take a cursory look
around the house and conclude, 'Well, she
ought to get us through another winter with-
out too much trouble". But that is really
not good enough, as many a householder has
found to his dismay when the chill blasts
of winter uncork their Sunday punches.

Four main areas of your house merit care-
ful inspection and sensible "preventive
maintenance.'"' They are:

- heating and hot water systems

- exterior walls

- roofs and chimeys

- insulation

Oil burners should be cleaned and serviced.
At the same time have the chimey flue
cleaned and clean or replace filters if
yours is a warm air system. Remove lime
deposits and dirt from humidifiers. Let

the air out of your radiators if you have

a hot water system and clean warm air regis-
ters or radiators with a vacuum cleaner.

Caulked joints in all exterior walls should
be carefully checked and loose caulking
scraped out and replaced with new. Caulk
any new cracks that have opened up. Caulk-
ing provides a defence against both wind
and water.

Inspect mortar joints in masonry walls.

Wherever cement is crumbling or cracked,
scrape it out and repoint with one part

cement and two parts sand.

On the roof, check shingles, securing any
that are loose or leaking by lifting the
shingle and spreading asphalt roofing ce-
ment beneath it. If shingles are damaged,
replace them. Check chimeys for cracks and
crumbling mortar - repoint as necessary with
one part cement and two parts sand.

Check the weatherstripping carefully. It
shrinks with age and eventually becomes in-
effective as a shield against the cold. A
temporary solution is to apply a smooth,
even bead of silicone rubber to the contact
surface. A permanent solution is to remove

and replace weatherstrip. A well maintained
heating system used fuel more efficiently
and improved insulation and weather strip-
ping keeps the heat in - and the cold out.

Fire Spreads Fast... .Prevent It

The Cassiar Fire Department was called to
the scene of a house trailer fire on Octo-
ber 5, 1973. The fire started from a wood-
en burner that overheated the ceiling. Mr.
E. Hardy was the owner of the trailer and
unfortunately the trailer was a complete
loss.

Another fire that resulted in total loss was
that of Mr. T. Skubovius, formerly of cae
siar, B.C. now residing in Dease Lake. Mr.
Skubovius' Ss trailer was burned in a fire on
October 12, 1973.

"On October 10 I received a letter from
the Minister in which he indicated to me
that while the Stewart-Watson Lake highwav
has been completed, there is still a 55
mile section north of Dease Lake which is
very much sub-standard and will have to be
re-constructed over the next several vears.
This would be the old Wade and Well section.
He stated that negotiations are presentlv
underway between officials of his denartment
and the Federal MNinistrv of Transport
regarding Federal participation in a nrogran
of re-constructing, up-grading existing
roads and also the construction of new
in the north. The Minister stated that
included in tnis proposed program of Tederal
participation, which is likelv to set under-
way in the next fiscal year, are the
reconstruction of the road between kitwanga
and the Neziadin and the Stewart--Watson Lake
highway to all-weather standard wherebv
pavement can ultimately be added. He stated
that this being the case, therefore, it is
certainly possible that greater priority can
be given in the next fiscal vear to a
commencement of a program for upgrading the
road between Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake.

Relative to the bridges along the Stewart
Watson Lake Highway, the Minister stated
that the renewal of all Bailev bridges and
temporary structures will be undertaken at
the time of up-prading of the highway under

tiie proposed Tederal program of partici-
pation.

roads

F. Calder