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The Citizen, 2011-03-10, Page 9THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2011. PAGE 9. Winter Sports Pages Blyth B u l l d o g s A t o m — B a c k r o w , f r o m l e f t : L o r e t t a T h o m p s o n , T r e v o r R a y n a r d , Aaron P o p p , T y l e r B l a c k , J o h n L e C o m t e , J e f f P l a e t z e r , M a t t h e w P o p p , F o u r t h r o w : Coache s K i r k S t e w a r t , C h a d H a g g i t t , C o l e S t e w a r t , K a r e n P e n n i n g t o n , D o r e e n Thomps o n , L i n d a P l a e t z e r , D o u g W a l k e r , L a r r y P l a e t z e r . T h i r d r o w : C o d y D u c h a r m e , Dana Te e d , J a m i e P l a e t z e r , K e l s e y S m i t h , M a t t h e w C l a r k e , E m m a B r o h m . S e c o n d row: Ry a n P a q u i n , A l i c i a M i d d e g a a l , C a r l y W h i t f i e l d , C o d y R i c h m o n d , K i r b y C o o k , Cody K e d d y , C a l e b B r o w n . F r o n t r o w : A d a m C r o n i n , K e v i n P e n n i n g t o n , J o n a t h o n Atkinso n , K a y l a B l a c k . A b s e n t : S t e v e n E l l i s . The Citizen Coaches and parents ~ we need your team’s picture and players’ names • Hockey • Broomball 1. Please submit team photo A.S.A.P. 2. Please include players’ and coaches’ names for under the photo. Please help us get ALL the Winter Sports teams published. 404 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 March 26th, 2011 10 am - 4 pm Seaforth Agriplex ONTARIO Mons ter Whi tetai l Magazine ...has moved. WIN an Excalibur Exocet 200! www.ontariobigbuckcontests.com Ontario's Premier Buckshow Check the website for full details! 116 Chalk St. N. Seaforth, ON (Huron-Perth & Surrounding Counties) NEWS FROM LONDESBORO A kind donation Students from Hullett Central Public School engaged in a classroom challenge for the annual Penny Power campaign to benefit Easter Seals, raising a total of $203.36. Mr. Caldwell’s Grade 1/2 class, pictured, was the top contributor with a total of $48.93, presenting a cheque to Huron County Snowarama co-ordinator Adrian Salverda. (Photo submitted) Wells seeks photos of 1939 village fireI received an email this past weekfrom Douglas Wells of Guelph. He islooking for pictures of theLondesborough fire from November of 1939. This fire destroyed his father’s garage, a storage building and McCool’s General Store. I believe this was an evening/nighttime fire, so perhaps there are no pictures of the actual fire but perhaps some daytime ones of he aftermath.As this was before my time, I can only assume this garage was behind the general store and between there and the present-day feed mill. I only learned of the fire when we took over the post office for McCool’s when it was the site for mail when the fire happened. Someone out there may have stuck away in a cupboard, older pictures of the village and area. Perhaps one of them would interest Doug. If you locate one let me know or call Doug at 519-836-6253. There are two card parties happening this week at the Londesborough Community Hall. Thursday afternoon, March 10,your presence will benefit theClinton Public Hospital Auxiliary and the Happy Gang Seniors’ regular euchre night is Friday, March 11. The schools in the area will be having their March Break next week, from March 14- 18. If the weather is warmer students will be anxious to be out of doors on skateboards and bikes. Be more wary when driving in the residential areas for children get rather caught up in the moment and may not be watching for you. By BRENDA RADFORD Call 523-4296 PEOPLE AROUND LONDESBORO OFA: Who is in charge of the microFIT solar energy program? By Don McCabe, Vice President Ontario Federation of Agriculture Since it launched last year, Ontario’s vision for a microFIT energy program has generated a significant amount of attention from thousands of farm families eager to participate in Ontario’s green energy platform with 25,000 applications in to date. It was a chance for farmers to earn a sustainable income on their farm year-round and would generate much needed renewable energy to feed Ontario’s energy grid. That vision has since become a fragmented program with a lack of follow-through from those in charge. Many farmers participating in the microFIT program were recently contacted by Hydro One only to learn their approved projects could not be connected to the grid because of capacity concerns. But is that the full scope of the problem? The answer is still unclear. The Minister of Energy, the Honourable Brad Duguid, indicated in a recent article that the problems lie more with the number of applications outpacing upgrades to the system in certain areas. While the province is working diligently to address it, it’s quickly becoming a serious concern for more than 20,000 applicants with only 3,700 currently attached. The issue extends from those just starting the application process, to those receiving a site visit from the Hydro One saying “Yes, everything is in order,” only to receive an e-mail a few days later saying it isn’t. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) applauds Minister Duguid for commenting on the issue in a responsible manner and for his commitment to upgrade the electricity transmission and distribution system. But why has it taken this long to address it? One would expect the Ministry of Energy, Ontario Power Authority and Hydro One would have been aware of the available transmission capacity even before the microFIT program was launched. The thought that this wasn’t a red flag during the development stage is a major concern. It must be noted that a 10kW installation provides energy easily consumed by six average households. You can buy a generator at the local hardware store equal in power. So how can a provincial infrastructure be so overwhelmed? The OFA is committed to thoroughly investigating the root causes and will ask the tough questions needed in order to find out the real issues behind it. Once complete, we will recommend fair solutions to repairing the microFIT program for the benefit of our members and all farm families that are waiting for answers. We will also look for reassurances from the government that future programs will undergo rigorous feasibility studies and effective consultation processes to avoid this kind of poorly-planned and poorly-managed problem in the future. A clear statement of timing is needed to ensure that each farm family waiting for next steps has a better understanding of what to expect. Nobody likes staying home for a service person who never shows up while costs keep rising on an investment. Farmers are ready to get connected to an effective program that can help supply renewable power for the entire province. Doing so would invest in much needed infrastructure, reduce the incidence of power interruptions and may address some stray voltage issues in the process. We need viable, and more importantly, predictable opportunities for those farmers who want to become involved in Ontario’s power generation. An effective program that includes an upgraded transmission and distribution system is long overdue for all.