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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1975-01-22, Page 7TODAY'S, HEALTH (Today's Health is provided to weekly newspapers by the Ontario Ministry of Health) by David Woods. THE NEW WARDEN Huron. County Judge Francis Carter talks informally with Huron's new warden, Anson McKinley, Reeve of Stanley Township. Judge Carter swore in Mr. McKinley after he defeated Clinton Reeve Harold Lobb and McKillop Reeve Allan Campbell. (Staff Photo) Anson McKinley is. new .Huron warden Huron's new warden is Anson McKinley, 49, Reeve of Stanley and older brother of Huron M.P. Robert McKinley. Mr. McKinley was elected on the second ballot last Tue,sday in Goderich, defeating Clinton Reeve Harold Lobb 34 to 22. McKillop Reeve Allan Campbell was eliminated after the first ballot when the voting tally was McKinley 21, Lobb 19, and Campbell, 16. Mr. McKinley, who was "Psst! Wanna boost the yield of your forage crop? It'll cost you a penny a pound." It sounds like a barker's come -on at a city exhibition, but research conducted by an Agri- culture Canada scientist has validated the claim. Yields from usually-unfertilized prairie grasslands have been more than doubled by a special application of fertilizer. And the cost, computed over a- five-year period, is one cent for every, additional pound of forage 'taken from the field. Don Read, a fertility manage- ment expert at the Agriculture Canada Research Station at Swift Current, launched the project in 1969. "There was already a fait stand of crested wheatgrass on the test site we selected," he says. "it was seeded about 30 years ago and had done fairly well." Mr. Read cautions that a good existing stand of grass is essential to the success of the project. "You can't work miracles when there's nothing on .the ground," he says. His research method was to apply excessively heavy amounts of nitrogen rich fertilizer on four test plots. A fifth plot was not treated and was used as a control in the project. When the project started, it looked as though wi-nter had come early to the Swift Current area. So dense was the application of fertilizer on two of the test sites at 400 pounds and 800 pounds per acre of nitrogen available to Plants -- that the ground was white, One remaining test site received an application of 100 nominated by Jack Tinney, Reeve of Hay Township, is vice president of McKinley Farms and. Hatchery. a past president of the Huron Soil and Crop Improvement Association and the Huron Federation of Agriculture. He and his wife, Evelyn have si% children, who all attended the swearing in ceremony, along with the new warden's parents, Mr. and Mrs.Elgin McKinley. • It is 60 years ago this month that Warden Kinley's pounds per acre and' the other recieved 50 pounds per acre. Mr. Read watched carefully as, the forage grew. This past summer, five years after the project began, the combined yields froin each of the test plots since 1969 was start- ling. They proved that one massive application of fertilizer on prairie grasslands lasts for at least five years. In fact, it's still working and will continue to have an effect for years to conic: --the control plot yield a total of 5,078 pounds of forage over the five years; - the plot Which received a 50-pound application of available nitrogen yielded 7,533 pounds; --the plot which received a 100-pound application yield 8,273 pounds; --the test plot which had a 400 pound application yielded 11,069 pounds; --the plot with 800 pound application yielded 11,746 pounds of forage. "We can say that the 400- pound application has more than grandfather John was elected reeve of Stanley and went to County Council for the first time. The new warden said he had "cherished the hope" that he would one day become county warden. He has been a county councillor for seven years --five as deputy reeve and the past two as reeve., he urged county councillors to set an example and said their worth would be measured by how much they contributed towards laying a foundation for the future. "Our contribution." he continued, "will be measured by later generations. We are the pioneers of today. We have to look at how our actions today will affect tomorrow." Warden McKinley was officially sworn in by Huron County court Judge Francis Carter. .' McKillop's Reeve Campbell, in his speech before the balloting, said. that he honestly didn't believe there was a need for restructuring county government. He said he did not believe that counties who refused to restructure would have their restructuring done for them. The couonty gets good representation from its two provincial members, Murray Gaunt and Jack Riddell, and that is all that's needed,Reeve Campbell said. He suggested an addition to Huronview and the establishment of area recreation boards, using the area fire boards as examples. paid for itself in returns," -says Mr. Read. "The 800-pound application hasn't yet yielded that much more than the 400-pound one,. but it should go on giving increased yields for some time.. "Under pratical, farming conditions, the 400-pound appli- cation is worthwhile. • "The icing on the- cake has been the fact that, as well as giving much bigger yields, the protein content of the forage is increased to between 10 and 12 per cent. "That's good enough for winter ing cattle," says Mr. Read. Simple arithmetic demon- strates that an application of 400 pounds per acre, costing $60, increases yields by .6,000 pounds, over five years -- or one cent per pound increase. People concerned with possible environmental damage resulting from one massive application of nitrogen-rich fertilizer should relax, Mr—Read advises. "We've tested the plots and there is absolutely no lateral or downward movement of the nitrogen, It's just staying where it is, feeding the crop." The medical officer of health (the "Moh") heads a sort of advance patrol for Ontario's army of health care workers. This team seeks out the enemy--disease-- assesses its strength and weaponry and prepares the troops for defense or attack. The medical officer of health is truly the watchdog of his com- munity's health and physician to his community. In Ontario. there Are 43 local official health agencies, each headed by a medical officer of health. Many agencies employ associate medical officers of - health as well. Approximately, there is one full-time public health physician for every 100,000 of population. In addition, there are more than 2,000 public health nurses, 500 public health inspec- tors and other . health profes- sionals, employed by Ontario health units and local health departments. Most of the protection provided by this advance guard ,of physi- cians, nurses and public health inspectors is done without fan- fare. But you'd soon notice if it stopped. For example in environmental health, they're the people who make sure that proper standards of hygiene are maintained in food processing plants and restaurants; they're involved in pest control; in checking the purity or otherwise of water used for public swimming or drinking, in improving sewage disposal facilities and, generally, in looking out for environmental risks to health such as substan- dard housing or pollution. They're really in the business of preventive medicine for the communities they serve. The medical officer of health who leads this team is a licensed physician with at least one year of posgraduate training in public health. Employed by a health board made up of local municipal council members and private citizens, in most cases the MOH gets three-quarters of his health department's budget from the provincial government, with the remainder from local govern- ment. These operating funds work out to somewhere between $5 and $9 per person per year for each community. Other than keeping things clean around town, what else does the MOH do? Well, he's involved in personal health pro- tection, too. Working to prevent the 'spread of disease, the health department members spread the word, instead. They do this by talking with teachers, school children, service clubs and other groups. About VD. about proper immunization. About exercise and diet. Which is not to say that the MOH and his team are all talk. Nurses in the health unit visit homes to provide pre- and post-natal supportive care, geriatric care and other direct health services. And the depart- ment serves as a source of health statistics -- such as the incidence of certain diseases, and the population at risk of contracting them -- for both the public, and forlocal physicians and dentists who can translate that informa- tion into appropriate action. So, although the local medical officer of health is not your personal doctor -- the one you go to see if you've got a particular health problem -- he does provide the first line of defense against disease, for you, your family and the rest of your community. Mortgages get quick action That addition to your holm or cottage — get it done now so it will be ready in the Spring. Borrow the money you rieed from Victbria and Grey the old established company that has been custom building mortgages for people like you since 1889. Start your Winter work today at Victoria and Grey. VICTORIA VG GREY TRUST COMPANY SINCE 1 aeio W.W.Cousins, Manager • Listowel, Ontario GUS' JEWELLERY GUARANTEED Watchi Clock Repairs Complete line Of Jewellery 881,900— Broggelg BERG Sales — Service Installation FREE. ESTIMATES • Barn Cleaners • Bunk Feeders • •Stabling One massive application of fertilizer improves forage crop Action Ads DIAL _DIRECT 887 6641., WATCH THE BRUSSELS POST S - JANUARY -22i 1976