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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1980-01-16, Page 6A.column entitled '11)ollar SehSey says that penple*. who have a dreani to Own their own farm/ should hold close to- that ideal: rite colaMtiraltits'oirtYlvfoSt-havel-7 .found it's, a lot, less faxing than urban' I h%.titleof the n colum" was', "Going bavA. it/ 'the-land has tax benefits, too', And 'some of these tax benefits were outlined. •Top of the list, perhaps, is.the fact tjtat the Ontario government refunds, one:half of the municipal taxes paid by • the' faftner if the farm is able to produce, $4,000 of gross revenue, The tax laws generally allow a deduc-, tion for all expenses incurred in tbe process of earning income on the farm, provided the• expense is reasonable in nature, and is not:of a personal or capital Por instance, wages to children are tax deductible if, they were acfuallj Va-141,-- ' they provided services • that, produced Meanie; if the, services: would' have other.. wise beefi :performed- by hired kelp. or if the .atnounts are -reasonable. • And a farmer 'can deduct farni home expenses, the cost_ of upkeep of those parts of the hoMe that are actually, used in the process of, earning ineorne: Of course, the claim must be reasonable, usually net more.than a maximum of' 25 percent of total home exPenSeS- - 'Rut there are • things the farmer can't claim, of course. For inStanee; he can't; eat the'food that he growS without •• • attributing it to personal:income. Ile .eatt • however, buy from himself at wholesale Prices. - He-Can't fill up the ,, farm gasoline, and, use it for personal reainiii.' The farmer who, for instance, drives the 'children to school, even if he does so in • the Diann 'thick, • cannot claim the gapline and, truck dePreciation as a farm expense, The• accepted division is two- thirds business use for'fulltime farmers and 50-50 if its.a htibby farm. . And he can't claim as a lb sine-gs evense any salary for the thou-sands hOuri " he works, unless . the farm is incorporated, The saine koes•for his wife, Farmers 'who read this editorial will be smiling Over the idea that some urbanites will consider a career in farming-simply because of, the tax breaks. They will feel, quite rightly in some 'insfances, that the tax -breakks clon-",t- equal the financial hardships brought on by high prices for ',.-materials and equipment, the low.priees . for farm :produce, the uncertainty be,- catise of Weather and the general uncertainty that goes with farming, or•the . risk of heavy investment. But still, farming has always been a • kind of ideal lifestyle. There ,are lots- of reasons for choosing an 'alternative US a complicgfed urhan lifestyle.,, but, if one 'more is needed, consider 'taxes,- The'ooderich•Signal:Sta:r ABC 0 • • BPsiness and Editorial Office Telephone 58-2822 Mailing Address P.O. tiox 400, Lucknow,, NOG 2HO Second class mail registration number,0847 ';SHARON J, IiIETZ -, Editor. • ANTHONY N. JOHNSTONE - Advertising and General 'ret.anager •PAT LIMIGSTON Ofneek Manager 4.0:CN A MEMBER w n E•Aefft ° • het involve4 Write a letter to the editor Sarnia, Ontario. _Registration forms and information will be sent to you l imniediatelY: YoUr's truly; E. F, McCaffrey, chairinan, Anniversary Reunion. • To the Editor: I am assembling a collection of.photos of Canadian National and Grand Trunk 'railway"'. stations, bridges, servicing fagilities, wrecks, winter operationl, '.construction -scenes, etc. for a book +Which is to be published later this year. Postcard or clear ,snapshot views of any of the above, from pre /CNR days up to the present on the rail lines • north of Hamilton and London into the Goderich, Kincardine, Southampton, bur- ham, Wiarton, and Owen Sound areas are urgently needed, as well as old GTR and CNR' thnetables. If you, have, or know anyone who has ,photos or postcards of stations etc.; I would appreciateArttaortunity to make copies of them for possible inclusion in' my book. J remain 'fonts truly, Peter Bowers. (519434-2489) Plage .--;IAteltnaw Sentkiell Wednesday, January 6 1980 Y-• A iIONAL PUSLICATION • • tfit-'fask of -fireS in the Luckir rea recently, should prompt everyone to take a, look at tire precadtion in their own homes and the planning of an escape• route in, case of fire. It may Soon be law that every bouse be equipped with at least one smoke detector. There have been c6untless stories of fire detectors still in their boxes, waking people,-and giving them the chance to escape a fire in their homes. A report just this week, tells of a smoke detector, purchased two years agO which • had;beep stored in a'linen closet still in its box. The smoke detector went eff, waking' the family who were able to escape their burning home. Parents ..'shotild teach their children how to escape their burning home. Escape routes should be Mapped out and childretr-should-be told-where-to-meet outside the house sO parents can be sure all have escaped. If people are alerted to siinple things like never opening a door to a hallway ifit is hot touch, it can save, lives and perhaps stop a fire from. spreading and trapping people inside the home. • Leading fire experts claim that people dying -in fires in public places ,such, as' clubs, dance halls or restaurants, perish through'igtiorance of the danger of fire and because they do not want 't6 look foolish. • Studies Of major fires in public places, like nightclubs show that many people just stand around doing nothing. They are reluctant to seem to be over-reacting to the danger and they don't want to look foolish. Witnesses at the Chapais club blaze in Quebec on New Year's. Eve in which 44 people died, said people carried on - dancing or stood in a semi-circle watching dry pine brandies blaOng away. This, say the experts, fits • in -with the usual behiviour pattern in club fires that have taken hundreds -of lives. People don't perceive the fire as a threat to them and by the time they do, it's too late to get out Also in nightclub fires, the euphoria of the crowd, the alcohol and the loud musk can -also generate a lack 'of response to danger. Witnesses to the Chapais fire reported that disco MUSIC continued while the fire blazed.' "The trouble is people really do not believe that tragedy can• happen here and now to them," according to Joe Scanlon, who heads the Emergency COmmunIca- tions Research gat under contract to the NatiOnal Research Council. • ,1.1hey do not respond to the first sign ofdinget, no matter how obvious it'.is," • , gstablihed 1813 Published Wednesday A he said , . . By' the, time the .CraWd tttider-, *n s th -:seriousness,o the anger, ••1. niay be • too `e.. Another problem is that people just don't understand how daegerouS fire can be. They-are used to seeing fire in the fireplace or lighting the gas stove. They have no conception of how a small flame can become a terrible danger. "It's Anne we started treating night- clubs the same way we treat airplaines and warn people about safety procedures and where the ,e are,!' says §canlon. Following the Kentucky nightclub fire in 1977 which took 165 :lives, Tennessee , passed a law requiring that befere any, entertainment takes place in a' club or theatre, the master of ceremonies Anust point out fire exits to the patroes. —Perhapi this- is---sorcrething for the organizers of public' functions held at th Lucknow School, Legion and Cornmunit Centre can consider. It helps to ma people aware of' theqtanger of fire•. Teaching children in school to have a healthy respect for fire may be the only answer according to Joe Schwartz of, the National Fire Protection Association in Boston. Schwartz is apprehensive about clubs and restaurants since investigating the Kentucky nightclub fire. The Kentucky fire occurred after club management had ignored many fire code requirements. ,Schwartz checks to see if there is a lot of flammable material and if there is_a sprinkler system when he goes out to a club or restaurant. He also watches for overcrowding when he goes out, for the evening. "If the waitresses' are having a hard time getting through to the tables, then make sure you're' near a fire ,exit. If not getout" is his •advice. Overcrowding is perhaps ahother con- sideration for those who organize events at the community centre. If people are having a difficult time getting through the tables to the dance floor, it is posSible tho fire ekits beyond 'those tables are effectively blocked to those on the dance floor, leaving only two exits near the platform. If is the type of Situation that resulted in the deaths of 44 people in Chapais vvlien the front exit was blocked by fire. A • Mani tithes the, cause of a fire cannot be anticipated. But • fire precaution and knowing how to react in case of fire could avert a tragedy. "Thn Sepoy Town" - On the Hur41(-Brue Boundary• MERLE ELLIOTT Typesetter MARY McMURRAY Ad Composition Subscription rate, S12 petyear In advance Senior Citizens rate, Sinner year in advance U.S.A. and Foreign, S21.S0 per year in advance Sr. Cit. 'U.S.A. and Foreign, SI9,50per,year in advance A healthy respect for fir etters to the e earirt al a ea Sincerely, George Mason. TO the Editor: To former residents of Sarnia, Ontario: If you .attended Central Collegiate: you are cordially invited to:attend the reunion to be held in Sarnia on, May 16, 17, and 18, ' 1980. For further information please write tot Annivertary RenniOn Committee, Sarnia Central:Collegiate; 281 East Street North,/ To the Editor: _ .00 several occasions during the past five ' years I have appealed, to your readers for discarded hearing aids. The response to my appeals has been daily rewarded as, hearing aids poured in-fiorn cities and towns from coast to coast. I have since, retired' froth the Ontario Ministry of Education but my interest in helping: hearing impaired children in The West Indies has not vvaned.„ This program, now known as the Canadian International Hearing Services is in its fOurth year under the able co-ordination of Mr. Gordon Kerr, a staff member of Humber College of Applied Ails in Toronto. Gordon, along with Dr, Donald Hood, an audiologist, art&Mrs. Nancy Hood, a teacher of the deaf, Make an annual pilgrimage .to St. Vincent, West,Indies, where hearing impairedt children and*Ultklia:ve :been fitted with' hearing aid.. 6„7:zt - The time has arrived for this program, to be extended to other West Indian countries. . . as the need to help their hearing impaired is equally great. . Once again I ask your' readers to dig out any old or discarded hearing aids and mail them to: Canadian International Hearing Services, Sir Strathburn Blvd., Weston, Ontario, M9/V1 2K7. All contributions will be acknowledged and receipts will be issued for • all cash, donations. ' Thank you, once again, fOr `hearing' out appeal made on behalf of hearing impaired children in the West Indies.