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The Citizen, 2011-03-24, Page 1CitizenTh e $1.25 GST included Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, March 24, 2011 Volume 27 No. 12 PETITION - Pg. 11Auburn petition nowbeing circulated COMMITTEE - Pg. 18County forms lowfrequency noise committeeSPORTS- Pg. 8Season wraps up forBrussels Atoms, BantamsPublications Mail Agreement No. 40050141 Return Undeliverable Items to North Huron Publishing Company Inc., P.O. Box 152, BRUSSELS, ON N0G 1H0INSIDE THIS WEEK: Severance debate continues Firefighters perish in Listowel blaze Temple Grandin visits Ethel farmers Arrrr, we be spiralling out of control Jessica Johnston enjoyed pirating fun and under the sea adventure at the “Ahoy Maties” event hosted by the Huron Chapel Evangelical Missionary Church in Auburn. The event, held during March Break, saw students like Johnston learn all about sailing and undersea creatures through fun activities. Youth could be found making and testing ships, learning nautical terminology like starboard and port side in the gymnasium or making crafts in the basement of the church. (Denny Scott photo) Thursday afternoon a fire of unknown origin ripped through a downtown Listowel business and, before it could be put out, caused the death of two volunteer firefighters. Raymond Walter, age 30 and Kenneth Rea, age 56, died after the roof of the building collapsed on them. The two firefighters, according to Listowel Fire Chief Ed Smith, were part of a three-man squad sent into the building to search for victims of the blaze. Nearly 23 hours after the blaze began, an honour guard formed near the building as the men’s bodies were removed from the wreckage. The cause of the fire has not been announced, however, witnesses state that work was being done on the roof of the building prior to the fire. Locally, the deaths have served as a reminder as to what firefighters face every day according to North Huron Fire Chief John Black. “We’re incredibly shocked,” Black said. “This is a somber reminder of what can happen to firefighters.” Black said that sometimes the stark reality of what a firefighter might be facing is forgotten, and that every call can be life-threatening. “Every time we step on that truck, we’re facing danger,” he said. “[Firefighting] is inherently dangerous, and there are always risks.” Brussels Fire Chief Murray McArter echoed that statement, saying it’s hard to realize that it could have been any member of a local fire department. McArter said the death of firefighters so close really hits home for the firefighting community. “They’re like brothers to us,” he said. “It’s sad for everyone.” North Huron Reeve and Huron Renowned expert on livestock behaviour and autism, Temple Grandin discussed animal handling techniques with approximately 20 local farmers during a seminar she hosted in Ethel on Friday, March 18. Grandin, an American expert on the handling, housing, slaughtering and thought processes of livestock spoke to dairy farmers at the Ethel Community Centre about their practices and how they can overcome some of their problems. Having just spoken in Stratford, Grandin stopped in Ethel and, after her presentation, attempted to tackle the individual problems of the farmers present, giving her opinion, and fostering conversation, about a wide range of topics stretching from how to make livestock more comfortable in the parlour to the importance of a social life for dogs and other farm animals. One of the points that Grandin emphasized the most was the importance of social behaviour in development. “When you’re raising calves on a dairy farm, it’s super, super important to not isolate them,” she said. “Their learned behaviour is important, and they learn those social skills from each other.” Grandin stated that bull calves are especially affected by a presence or lack of social skills. “They have a lot of things to learn,” she said, adding that they can become problematic through violence if they’re not acclimatized to a herd. Castration was also a hot topic at the meeting, with some wondering what is the most humane, effective way of handling the task. Grandin explained that livestock will hide their pain, so it can be hard to determine what forms of castration, or other potentially painful practices, cause the least amount of stress for livestock. “Rubber bands seem worse, but you have to really watch your livestock,” she said. “Make sure the calves don’t see you, and you’ll see how they react.” Calves can, according to Grandin, go from one extreme to the other, depending on whether they’re being watched. If an animal is being observed, they will try to hide any pain they have, but, if they can be convinced they aren’t being watched, either through hiding or through video equipment, farmers will be able to see exactly how much pain they are in. Grandin said that she has run into situations where cattle have been literally rolling on the ground in pain until they realized they were being watched, at which point they stand up and pretend like nothing is wrong. “This hiding of pain is more pronounced with beef-producing herds,” she said. Regardless of the method used, castration is always better when the The controversial Vodden/ Palmer severance application out of Central Huron returned to Huron County Council on March 16 only to be promptly tabled once again by the Committee of the Whole. The severance application is not allowed by either the Central Huron or Huron County official plans, in addition to being forbidden by the Provincial Policy Statement. It has, however, scratched the surface of the larger issue of the rural economy and the future of farming, inciting hours of debate at the Huron County and lower tier levels. The application was tabled in September of 2010 when Huron County Council asked for a report from the Huron County Planning Department examining the impact of allowing a non-farm severance such as this one in the area. The report, written by department head Scott Tousaw, was presented to council earlier this year and it outlined that opening the floodgates on this issue could have severe repercussions on the business of agriculture in Huron County. The concrete issues on the application, however, and the reasons behind the planning department recommending that the application be denied are threefold. The first is that the creation of a non-farm residential lot on prime agricultural land is prohibited by both official plans and the Provincial Policy Statement. Planner Susanna Reid said that all three policies are clear on their commitment to the preservation of agricultural land. The second reason the application is recommended for denial is that there are two Minimum Distance Separation (MDS) infractions with local agricultural buildings (a livestock barn and a manure storage facility). The third infraction fall under the category of entrance permits. There are already a set number of residential entrances and field entrances in the area and another entrance permit would not be By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 20 By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen Continued on page 20 By Denny Scott The Citizen Continued on page 3