HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2013-10-24, Page 35THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2013. PAGE 35.
541 Turnberry St.
Brussels
519-887-9114
413 Queen St.
Blyth
519-523-4792 The Citizen
Stop by today and see our great selection of books!
THE BEAUTY AND BOUNTY OF
HURON COUNTY
Stunning photographs by 3 Huron
County photographers, including
Brussels’ David Bishop, show
Huron County as you’ve never
seen it with aerial shots, wildlife,
landscapes, nature. $40.00
THE BARNYARD READ-AND-
PLAY STICKER BOOK
Stories of farm animals and
activities, plus the chance for kids
to create their own stories with 80
reuseable vinyl stickers. $9.95
A BRIDGE TO REMEMBRANCE
In this DVD, Huron County native
Stewart Toll narrates a visual tour of
the battlefields of Europe where
Canadians fought. Also includes
music and singing and an interview
with Capt. George Blackburn, author
of “Guns Trilogy”. $29.99
ORGANIC BODY CARE
RECIPES
Discover the joy and fun of
crafting your own personalized
body care products using herbs
and other natural ingredients that
nourish, pamper, cleanse and
protect the skin. 175 homemade
herbal formulas. $25.95
THE GIFT OF COUNTRY LIFE
Saskatchewan writer Victor Carl
Friesen turns his memories of
growing up on a small farm in
the 1940s into poems.
Illustrated by his own photos, he
tells of a simpler time when less
was more. $18.95
US LITTLE PEOPLE
Waterloo County photographer
Carl Hiebert takes us into the
closed world of Old Order
Mennonite families with his
beautiful photographs. $19.95
Books & DVDs for yourself
or someone special!
Garniss, Black share
tales of trip to India
Those attending the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture’s annual
meeting in Holmesvile, Oct. 18, got
a unique peek into the world of
agriculture in India from two local
men who recently visited there.
Adam Garniss of Wingham and
Wayne Black, now of Chatham but
formerly from Dungannon, recent
graduates of the Advanced Agricul-
tural Leadership Program, told of
their experience while visiting India
this past spring.
Garniss pointed out that India has
2.4 per cent of the world’s land mass,
but supports 30 per cent of the
world’s population. There are 119
million farmers.
He said he went to India prepared
for the poverty “but what really
surprised me was the wealth we
saw.” He showed a slide of a house
that cost $2 billion built by a wealthy
man for his family of four. People
didn’t seem outraged because he
employed 600 people, Garniss said.
The house was only a few kilometers
from a huge slum.
Black discussed some
international programs designed to
help Indian farmers improve their
production. Monsanto operates a call
centre, working with 300,000
farmers who may own an acre or two
of land. Nearly everyone has a cell
phone so they can call the centre and
get information to improve tehri corn
and cotton crops.
Another program, Digital Green,
creates videos to show farmers how
to improve their crops, and takes
these out to local community centres
for people to see. The program
is supported by billionaire Bill
Gates.
Black showed a large dairy with
400 cows in a country where the
average herd is one or two cows.
SEMEX, a Canadian dairy genetics
company, has been helping improve
the quality of milking cows, tripling
the productivity of these cattle.
Syngenta Foundation has helped
provide shade shelters and supplied
trickle irrigation systems which have
tripled yields in vegetable plots in
model villages.
Garniss told of a visit to the New
Delhi Fruit and Vegetable Market. “I
never saw such fresh, tasty-looking
fruit and vegetables,” he said, but
unlike similar markets in Canada that
are kept spotless, vendors threw
scraps into the alleys.
A highlight of the trip for the pair
was when they ran into another
Huron County resident, George
Underwood.
In the HCFA elections, Carol
Leeming of Seaforth, was returned
for another term as HCFA president;
Joan Vincent, Wingham, as first vice-
president; and Garniss, as second
vice-president.
Great Lakes act could
harm farm operations
Continued from page 27
deals with the lakes, it gives the
Ministry of Environment authority to
go inland wherever there is water
that will end up in the Great Lakes,
which includes Ontario land
that doesn’t drain into Hudson’s
Bay.
The act requires vigilance from
farmers because “We know that there
are people who don’t want us to
spread manure and work it in, who
don’t want us to use fertilizer. This
act could give them the power to stop
that.”
The OFA has met with the Ontario
Sand, Stone and Gravel Association
to discuss competing interests for
Ontario land, Wales said.
“We believe classes 1, 2 and 3
farmland should be reserved for
agriculture ahead of aggregates,”
Wales said, instead of the way it is
now. However, the drive for
intensification of cities like Toronto
will require huge amounts of
aggregates. All the pits and quarries
serving the Greater Toronto Area
will be played out within 20 years
and more sources must be found if
the cities keep growing.
The Sand, Stone and Gravel
Association tried to convince the
OFA that quarries don’t mean land is
lost to agriculture because the pits
can be rehabilitated for farm use but
Wales said his group is still waiting
to be convinced.
HE councillor McLellan says hall’s future looks goodHuron East Councillor Alvin
McLellan says that after the second
public meeting on the subject, the
future for the Ethel Community
Centre looks good.
At the Oct. 17 meeting, McLellan
said the future for the centre took a
number of bright turns that should
help bolster its success going forward.
First and foremost, McLellan said
in an interview with The Citizen, the
centre’s kitchen was fumigated and
is now open for business.
The centre’s kitchen, it was
reported at the first meeting on the
centre on Oct. 3, was closed due to
several violations observed by the
Huron County Health Unit.
At the Oct. 17 meeting, it was
reported that the kitchen had been
professionally fumigated for under
$100 and is now ready to be used by
the public.
McLellan said the timing couldn’t
be any more perfect, as the
Christmas season is just around the
corner. He said there have already
been five or six bookings made for
the Christmas season.The bookings include the annualEthel Family Christmas, which is setfor Friday, Dec. 20.
Another need was also addressed,
McLellan said, as several people
volunteered to join the Ethel Hall
Board, including Ethel resident Sue
Brubacher, who has stepped up to
lead the board going forward.
The position had been discussed at
the Oct. 3 meeting, with McLellan
saying a volunteer to lead the board
was essential if the community was
to expect assistance from Huron East
Council at some point of the process.
“There’s been lots of interest,
which is good,” said McLellan.
Brenda Boyer will remain as the
centre’s secretary and treasurer,
McLellan said, as she will work
alongside Brubacher, the new chair
of the board.
The first fundraiser for the centre
has also been tentatively scheduled,
McLellan said, in the form of a snow
volleyball tournament sometime in
February.
There was also some preliminary
discussion about a meal in the spring
or summer of 2014, but nothing firm
has been planned.The next step, McLellan says, isfor him and fellow Councillor DianeDiehl to bring a request to council for a $1,000 loan to the centre tohelp pay its bills until early nextyear, when the fundraisers can begin.That request will be brought to a future council meeting by the twocouncillors. The next Huron EastCouncil meeting is set for Tuesday,Nov. 5.
A lot of experience
While the Fire Department of North Huron is constantly training and welcoming new recruits,
they lost nearly 120 years of fire-fighting experience as four firefighters, two from Blyth, two
from Wingham, retired during a special celebration last Thursday evening. The retirees are,
from left, Blyth’s Captain Kevin Falconer who served for 17 years, Wingham’s Peter Smith who
served for 20 years, Wingham’s Captain Steve Readman who served for 27 years and Blyth’s
Jim Howson who served for 52 years. (Denny Scott photo)
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen