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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1978-08-10, Page 1 L r Whole No. No. 5761 119th Year SgAFORTH, ONTARIO, THURSDAY, •AUGUST 10, 1978 --,20 PAGES $12.00 a year in Advance Single copy 25 cents f . 250,000 damage -turnip plant fire By, Wilma Oke Loss in extimated at' $250,000,in a fire :Which destroyed a turnip wax processing plant near Hensall early Saturday morning. Fire officials said the blaze was discovered about 5:15 a.m. when a neighbour. Richard Willert of R.R.2, Kippen was awakened Eby an explosion. --Whew:the Hensall firemen arrived--at' the- scene one and . one-quarter miles west of Hensall on 2nd concession of Hay Township the roof had already fallen in and They' Were unable to save the large 120x50 foot building. A nearly storage plant and a -house trailer escaped the flames. Owner and operator, Peter Oud of R.R.3, Kippen, said the steel clad building' was built as a tire proof building two years ago. He said 'he left the building about 10 p.m. Friday night and "everything was normal": r' Mr, Oud said there were 12 persons employed at the plant which had just started . on the crop. In peak periods 14-16 perosns are employed he said. He said as well as the building and some turnips all equipment was lost such as • the waxing niaehinery,-A new' refrigeration system a lift truck, two tandem trucks and a 'brand new pick-up truck. Also lost was all the office equipment including all records and the payroll. He reported the loss, is only partially covered by insurance. As no cause had been determined, Mr. Oud said the Ontario fire Marshall's office is investigating. 4.• TURNIP PLANT DESTROYED — A turnip wax-processihg plant at R.R.2, Kippen was destoryed, by fire early Saturday morning, causing $250,000 worth of damage. (PhOto by Oke) Huron F of .A is told there'll be advance bean sales this year NOW THAT'S WHAT WE CALL A LONG JUMP — Mark Underwood of Seaforth demonstrates his long jump technique at the track and field' comptition held last weekend at Seaforth's sister ciy of West Branch, Michigan. (More pictures and story on Page 13).. (Photos by Paul Ellis) McKillop road contract 14 Alice GM' This year, the Ontario • Bean Producers Marketing'Board won't be selling any ,white beans until they have' them in hand. ' Bob Allen. a Huron County director of the board,' told members of the Huron . County • Federation of Agriculture at their monthly meeting in Crediton that the board won't be able to make any advance sales of• the 1978 bean crop. • In the past, the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board have ma de advance committinents to supply dealers with 25 per cent of the year's expected harvest of No. 1 Ontario white beans. 'Last year, heavy rains in • September created probleths for growers. trying to , harvest their beans, and much of the crop •was lost. When the poor Weather wiped out, much of Ontario's bean, crop, the board was able to supply the dealers with only about one- quarter of the 800,000 bags of No. 1 white beans they had ptomised to deliver. The dealers in turn had to till orders from European canning factories with poorer 'quality beani, beans purchased .from American .growers or had to buy back the orderi from factories with cash: . • • The two largest dealers which the Qntario Bean ProducerS Marketing Board sell to. the Ontario Bean Growers Co-operative in ..... • - Huron County health officials are re- ceiving a number of inquiries about polio vaccinations, but haven't instituted any additional vaccination clinics at this time. Edward Harrison, director of public health inspectors in the Huron County Health Unit in Goderich, said a polio booster shot clinic will he held at the Goderich courthouse on Friday afternoon from .1 :30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. A similar clinic will be held at the Clinton Office of the Health Unit on Shipley Street on Thursday afternoon from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.M. Mr. Harrison said there has been an increase in calls about polio vaccinations, but most are from parents who Want to Check that their children were vaccinated at school. Students attending Huron,County schools should receive booster shots every four years. Mr. Harrison said his office isn't really keeeping tracks of the number of calls about vaccinations. • • Marlene Price of the health unit office in Seaforth Community Hospital said she received about 10 calls regarding polio vaccinations on Tuesday morning. she Said usually the calls are from parents inquiring when their child had his last booster shot. However, the public health nurse added that adultt should alio have polio booster Shots every four years: and most end to . London and W. G. Thompson's and Sons, blame the farmers for not meeting their tommittments and so. they are holding back the final paynient for the beans, Mr. Allen said. Since the dealCr'S haven't made the final payment to the Qntario Bean Producers Marketing Board, they can't make the payment to growers. The board is now suing the dealers for the final 5 to 7 million dollar payment and the two dealers are counter- suing the board for a pdyment for the beans they had promised, but weren't able to deliver. Mr. Allen told federation members he expects the litigation will be tied up in court for some time, which means it will likely be at least another year before growers receive their final payment for the 1977 crop. When Mr. Allen. a commercial bean seed . grower from Brucefield. said he would try to explain "why the bean board. is in the mess it is." In tracing the background of the agency, Mr. Allen ' said when his fattier started growing beans, in the early 1900's the barter system was the rule of thutnb. if his father wanted a bag of sugar, he took a bag of beans into town, rind made a trade. Only a Year Gradually marketing boards sprang up to forget about their shots once they leave school. The nurse said anyone wanting to have a vaccination can come to the child health care clinic at the hospital on Thursday morning front 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Also, anyone else wanting shots can call Mrs. Price at the office during the morning, at 527.120 and set up an appointinent int their vaccination. The nurse said more vaccine came in on Wednesday to the Seaforth clinic. Mrs. Kathy Chambers of the Seaforth Medical Clinic said the clinic has a small supply of polio vaccine but that they are advising people to get their shots at the health unit. .She added if someone had difficulty getting down to the health unit, they could ge their shots at the clinic, • The polio epidemic, which started in Oxford County, is believed to have reached Canada through Dutch visitors. Abotit 100 cases of polio have been registered in the Netherlands in a recent outbreak. Most of the 15 people quarantined for suspected polio in Oxford County are tnernbert of the Netherlands Reformed Church, religious group which discourages immunization. " The 16 people in quarantine all came in contact With Rick Van Vliet, 24, of Norwich, who is in a London hospital with a ebnfirrned case of paralytic nolin. handle beans for growers, including 'a 1935 board which.was empowered to buy and sell- all the beans -for the growers. This board,- lasted only the year. • Mr. Allen said the boards for the next 20 year period were "negotiating boards." For every bag of beans \growers delivered to the mill, the board would take 77 cents of the purchase price. Then, every few years when there was a five to 10 per cent surplus of white beans, the, board would, biv this up and dispose of it so the surplus didn't bring down prices. Bdt improved insect,sprays and the use of combines allowed bean growers .to double their acreage and the board soon faced annual surpluses. bi the late 1960's, tbe board decided` to ...build a mill in Exeter, and suggested taking 10 cents from every bag of beans brought in by growers. The growers voted down suggestion, and the government took this as a vote of non-confidence in the board,. 'Mr. Allen said somedealers wanted to be rid of the board anyway, so "trumped up false charges" against the agency which was put out of office by the government. The board member said the only other marketing board which supported the Bean Producers was the hog producers agency. In 1969, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture sent down a troublepooterfrone Toronto to investigate the situation and he decided the charges were false and alerted farmers. The directors were re-elected and the Ontario Bean Producers Board was back in business. Mr. Allen said the bOard still faced the same old problem-"what to do with the surplus beans." World Price He said the board has to sell beans when the market wants to buy them. Since 80 per cent of ,the Ontario white bean crop is exported. the agency has to accept the world price that's offered. Mr. Allen said for the three years before the agency marketed beans, the growers were averageing $1 per bag less than Michigan growers and'tliat they averaged $1 per bag more since the beans were handled by the board. ' The Ontario Bean Producers Board markets" all the beans of Ontario growers. although growers can hold their beans back after harvest. Buy Elsewhere Mr., Allen said the European buyers can buy beans every day of the year, and "if you libld your beans back, they'll buy some- where else." . He said the problem occurs when everyone tries to sell the crop at once, and the price of beans goes down. • Although dealers sell the .majority of Ontario beans to Britain. Mr. Allen said last year's crop• was sold hi 51 other countries as well. He said three European buyers were touring Ontario this AX•e ek , and that "they've got to have our beans and we (growers and board) have to have them." Ile said the buvets in Britain have assured the board that they would never buy their bean Srall from one country. One grower in the audience expressed concern that buyers might purchase all their beans front the United States, American growers are expecting a very good crop this year, In response ter questions from other bean 'growers in the audience, Mr. Allen said as far as the board knows, the dealers cannot put a line on future bean crops. He said dealers can't take the debt from one pool and carry it to the next. Mr. Allen also told the growers that under the federal government stabilization pro- gram for the 1977 white bean crop, pedigreed seed growers do not qualify for assistance. Payments The government stabilization payments • are expected to be made to bean growers by the end of this month. • ' In response to another question about Ethiopia's entry into the world bean market, Mr. Allen id although the country was the third • est exporter of beans for one year,' was because the government enceur- aged farmers, to go into beans to get money . to buy arms. Mr. Allen said the Ethiopian beans were sold largely ,to German canning factories since the Germans can their beans in salt brine, and sell them in glasSjars, rather than canning' them in tomato sauce. The board member said the German factories preferred the appedrance of the Ethiopian beans. In, response to another question. Mi. Allen said growers would have taken more of the 1977 crop off the land if there hadn't been crop insurance. He said if this !:ad happened, there would have been more poorer quality beans to be ,sold to the Japanese market or to be made into dog food. The Japanese buyers use -the beans to make bean jam, so don't require the highest grade of bean. Mr. Allen asked bean growers who had any questions about the board to call him or the other three Huron County directors. He said the, directors rarely 'receive calls, despite the many rumours about the board. In other business, members were asked to contact their local papers to ask why they weren't pub lishing the monthly .Farmers' Price Index prepared by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture. Peter Hannam, federation president, said in a letter to members, that while the Toronto dailies and other large national dailies were publishing the index, the small town papers didn't seem to be using it. The executive committee of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture is going to draft a 'letter to the local media , about carrying the index each mne+4- 50 New Members Bill Crawford, fieldtnan for the Huron County federation. told members a very successful canvas for new members was completed in the north of th'e county, with 50 new memberships purchased. He said since the federation coudn't get someone to donate a building for use at international rlowing Match, the federation booth will be in a tent this year. Adrian Vos reported that , there are rumours Canada Packers and its union are talking about a strike settlement. He said the only problem the Canada Packers and Swift strike is creating is that many hog producers are taking their light hogs to market early in the week. •, He said producers are lining up to ship their hogs early in the week, and the hogs are losing weight in the barns while waiting to be slaughtered. Mr. Vos advised producers to "ship hogs late in the week." By Wilma Oke Contract for the construction of 21/2 Miles of road in McKillop Township -was awarded to Machan Construction of M'Orikton by McKillop Council Tuesday afternoon. The contract for the road located between lots 15-25 inclusive on concession six, amounted to $27,300. The work involves the regrading and widening of the road. Council will buy a new mailbox for the township office as the present one is too battered to be repaired. "Very discOurP9ing". Reeve Allan Camp- ^•• bell said, "vandals just bend the devil out of them with beer bottles." The road department staff' will <bilild a special past so that the box will be safe from damage by snowplow. . road superintendent ;Pill Campbell re- ported the gravAing of township roads has been completed. Clerk Marion McClure was given authority to purchase a new table for the typewriter and photocopier machine and it was agreed Mrs. McClure and Councillor (Continued on Page 20, ,) P15 Available here Thursday People are asking about polio shots Fair Queen in CNE contest - Seaforth Competes in Sister City Huron Cattlemen's Assoc. hold Beef Barbecue Inside this week iTrte /iuron (fxpositcor P 10 " P 13 Bertha McGregor Retires P 17 -