HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1983-04-25, Page 6editorial page
Luckno% Sentinel. (Wednesday, Ma} 4, 1983 --Page 6
LUCKN ti SENTIPIEL
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Eli
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A\\ ARC)
1981
Voice your objection
to the sewage proposal
A sewage works proposal presented to any municipality is
sure to create controversy and Lueknowss proposal which is
now before the Ontario Municipal Board is no exception.
Based on interest rates of 18 per cent, the proposal could
create a significant tax burden for young families and senior
citittens in the serviced area who h►ce a fee of $750 just for
the hookup. The increase hi water rates to operate the
system and to pay off the debenture to install the system are
additional for the next 20 years,
Ratepayers who have higher assessments will also face
significant increases in their water rates and on some
assessments the increase could be as high as 54 per cent.
It is possible that lower interest rates will mean a
decrease in the cost of the system, On an average
assessment the different* between 18 per cent money and
borrow*at 11 per tent to finance the project, shows a
decline of oat -third on the mill rate or a decrease of $50,
But residents still have major ,concerns, Ratepayers who
do not live in the serviced area believe the market value for
their homes will decrease because they do not have the
service, These ratepayers are also concerned they will have
to help pay for a service they can never have, The Ministry
of the Environment does not plan to service the entire
village in the future,
Residents who wish to voice their objection to the
proposal at an Ontario Municial Board hearing, should one
be called, must write letters to the village +clerk before May
5 If significant opposition to the proposal is evident, the
OMB will call a hearing,
It is the obligation of every village ratepayer, who objects
to the proposal, to write a letter stating hisiher concerns.
This is one time the village council cannot "take care of
everything", The opposition has to come from the taxpayers
of the municipality.
Separate board drops
Remem brance holiday
shoat pike 6
recogttfre the dropping of
Remembrance day as a holi-
day and a two-week
Christmas vacation as
outlined by the Ministry of
Education, The holidays are
Labor
bor Dayon Monday, Sept.
0� ii Thanksgiving Day on
Monday, Oc, 10; Christmas
holidays from Dec. 19 to Jan.
1; mid=winter break from
March 12 to 18 (changed by
one week from previous
years); Mood Friday on
April 20; Easter Monday on
April 23 and Victoria day on
?Monday, May 21.
There is a total of 194
school days including PA
days which leaves 188 in-
structional days - the
minimum required by the
Ministry.
`Why is it set at the
minimum rather than the
maximum?" asked Seaforth
trustee Gerald Groothius.
Mr. Eckert said the com-
mittee determined there
would be 185 instructional
days plus nine PA days, but
the calendar is before the
board and changes could be
made. No changes were
made.
"It saves the buses from
running," noted Ellice
trustee Tim McDonnell poin-
ting out one of the reasons
for the minimum of in-
struction days.
Trustees also questioned
why students don't go until
the end of June in 1984 rather
than June 22, 1984 being the
last day of classes.
Superintendent of education
John McCauley said the
committee recommends the
students finish school on a
Friday instead of bringing
them back for a Monday and
Tuesday.
Board chairman Ron Mur-
ray rioted that the committee
to study the 1984-85 school
y„ar is to include ratepayers
along with trustees, teachers
and administration.
In a report from the
board's March 28 meeting,
chairman Ron Murray refer-
red to trustees' committee
pay. In fact trustees don't
receive committee pay. The
only honorarium trustees
receive is their monthly sti-
pend.
Choose a
Jamboree
project today
These pictures taken between 1925. and 1927 show several
heal children at play, In the picture on the left are Jean Whitby,
Havens, Tina Havens, Russell CBuster) Whitby and Evelyn
Whitby, The little waif In the photo on the right is Buster
letters to the editor
The Honourable Dennis Timbreil,
Minister of Agriculture and Food:
In regards to your informal visit to
l,ucknow on April 20 to attend the
North West Huron Regional Federa-
tion information meeting. Due to your
lack of sincerity and lack of a rural
agricultural background, I believe
that you did not comprehend the true
feeling of the crisis that faces
agriculture today.
I believe that living in a democracy
is a privilege and to keep earning that
privilege, an enlightened Agriculture
Minister should encourage his
farmers to participate in the various
democratic farm institutions and he
should receive his direction from the
grass roots.
I am theoung farmer who referred
to the 58 farm auction sales in the
weekly Western Ontario Farmer with
over 300 farm listings in one issue, on-
ly a small percentage of the total sales
and listings this spring. I stated that
these farmers are not retiring with
farm values down by 50 percent of
what they were in this area in 1981.
They are going broke, Dennis, and
selling off machinery and land assets
to stay in business. Many are barely
hanging on by their fingernails.
Editor's note: The following memo
was printed in an Ontario weekly
newspaper and is printed here for the
interest of our tenders.
The enclosed mento turned up in my
mailbox, probably due to some Post
Office foul up. See what you can make
of it.
Philip L. Monne?
R. R. 5, Warkworth
MEMO
FROM: Senior government official,
metric conversion branch
TO: Prime Minister, P.E.T.
Dear Rt. Hon. As our last 2,347
page quarterly report indicated, the
conversion (111 mince words for the
It was 1 that sold white beans for
$11. per cwt., only 50 percent of the
cost of production, last frill. It was I
who paid over $350,000 in interest in
my 12 years farming. If this is not effi-
cient, then show me the farmer with
$350,000 in his savings account.
1 talked about the dilemma of bor-
rowing money at 12 per cent on an
operating loan and not being able to
do anything but watch interest rates
soar to 24 percent which killed my
beef business and destroyed the fami-
ly farm that my wife and 1 had built
with pride and dignity. We have been
robbed of both.
This cris'.s concerns all fanners.
The 20 percent of farmers who pro-
duce 80 percent of the food were en-
couraged by government and banks
with "flood Business Decision”. Now
that interest rates and the economy
have changed, the people who made
these decisions •for sound financial
reasons are facing bankruptcy.
The unfortunate part is that if
something isn't clone to correct the
situation, the resulting loss of value in
our equity is eventually going to level
us all, even the cautious farmers.
All farriers are directly involved'
As the buttotin farther loss's his land
sake of brevity. which is, after all, the
sol of government dispatch, is it
not..") the ''Con', then. is proceeding
quietly. orderly. and without undue
disruption of our vigorous economy.
Indeed, in recent months the 'con' has
raised so few protests that 1 began to
wonder if our populace had not been
struck dumb. To ascertain the truth in
this matter I appointed a twenty-seven
member task force to go out and sound
the public. That was two years and two
and one-half million dollars ago. Their
987 page report states unequivocally;
No, Canadians aren't speechless; they
talk, wrangel, gossip, and jabber
incessantly, but not, it seems about
our little 'con'. On average, the
weather is discussed 26.5 times for
each reference to metric. There are 17
hockey comments to one metric, 8 Joe
and machinery and it comes onto the
market, as we have witnessed in some
areas, the prices decrease by 50 per-
cent. As this continues to spread it
reduces everyone's equity to the point
where more people have insufficient
equity to finance,. leading to more
farm sales.
Only 1 percent of the Provincial
:Budget is spent on agriculture and yet
agriculture is the primary industry,
all others are secondary. Each dollar
of gross farm income - 7 dollars in
gross community income.
As our farmers fail so does the rest
of society. You cannot protect the
jobs of Massey Ferguson etc., unless
the farmers can buy their products. If
interest rates and farm prices con-
tinue their devastation on the farms,
the rest of the economy will crumble.
The rest of society follows agriculture
by 6 to 12 months so our troubles are
their troubles.
This province has shortchanged
farriers on credit accessibility, rely-
ing mostly on the federal government
and private lending institutions.
Quebec provides 56 percent of its pro-
vincial budget as financial assistance
to its farmers; Alberta 45 percent;
Turn to page 7•
('larks, 10 Farrah Fawcetts, and 37
Playboy channel comments.
Why do 1 bring this up if things are
running so smoothly, rt. hon.? Well, 1
believe it is time to reveal our piece de
resistance: namely, the metric clock!
Perhaps. sire, you've forgotten how
this ingenious timekeeper works, 1'II
explain, but first let me say that it is
sheer simplicity itself and will greatly
simplify the lives of our simple
people...once they get used to it.
The metric clock (1 think it wise to
abolish the word, "clock", and intro-
duce "metock'' or "flock" - some-
thing modern and efficient), the
metock, let us say, is based on 10-s: 10
hours in a day, 100 minutes in one
hour. and 100 seconds in one minute.
Of course, all these terms will have to
Turn to page 7*