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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-02-03, Page 1CELEBRATE I -N 1988 LUCKNOW'S 130th CELEBRATION JUNE 30 . JULY 3, 1988 !PUBLISHED IN LUCItNOW ONTARIO Wednesday, a ruary , 40Z PER COPY The Lucknow Co-op held its annual meeting for shareholders Friday evening at the Lucknow Community Centre. Following dinner, the business meeting took place. For the first time in a number of years, about 500 shareholders received dividend cheques from the Co-op. Presenting the cheques to the shareholders at the meeting were from left, Stewart Anderson, director with the United Co-operators of Ontario; Gerry Gerdes, presi- dent of the Lucknow Co-op, presenting a cheque to Lucknow farmer and Co-op shareholder Murray Henderson; and, Bill Deyell, of United Co-operators of Ontario. Following the business meeting, a dance was held. (photo by Lou -Ann DeBruyn) Signal -Star Publishing now soybean -based Signal -Star Publishing Ltd.. (SSP) has announced plans to switch from, petroleum-based ink, to a newly -developed soybean -based ink product, for use in all SSP publications within the next few weeks.. The decision to switch to soybean -based ink.was based on environmental, conser- vation and financial considerations, said John Buchanan, SSP General Manager, Printing Division. SPP is involved in the testing procedure for the new product and Buchanan said the soybean ink appears to be an improvement over the petroleum product in all respects. "At this point, as far as we know, it's evironmentally safe," he said. The pro- duct is bio -degradable, production is not affected by petroleum shortages and it utilizes a domestically -grown agricultural product. "The great .thing about it is it's bio- degradable and it's generally good for the economy. This is a soybean -growing area," Buchanan explained. Production of ink made from soybean -oil will not have a large affect on future demand for soy- beans, but it will have some impact, .he added. "Also, we're doing something for. the energy crunch," said Buchanan. The new ink is expected to resist rubbing off on hands and clothing as well as the modern "low -rub," petroleum-based inks, which SSP began using about 18 -months ago. Also, petroleum-based inks have been under scrutiny regarding woker exposure and waste disposal. Since thenew inks are made from relatively -plentiful soybeans, they are also less-expensive to produce, making them even more attractive to the publishing in- dustry, Buchanan said. A number of printing companies and some major daily newspapers are already using the new product and SSP plans to switch over as soon as testing is complete. Huron -Bruce NDP appear divided on abortion By Keith Roulston Calling the recent supreme court deci- sion striking down the law on abortion "an issue that won't go away" Tony McQuail president of the new Huron -Bruce New Democratic Party riding association told members Saturday in Lucknow that abor- tion is going to be a challenging issue in the next election. While official NDP policy is pro -choice it was obvious at the meeting, attended by about two dozen party supporters, that there were divided feelings in the local association. Heather Klopp, of Zurich earlier elected a "member at large" of the riding executive, brought up the abortion topic reluctantly during a discussion of probable issues in the next election ex- pected some time this year. She called the party schizophrenic on the issue because although the party is pro -choice, "I don't believe in abortion." She said she was wor- ried by the supreme court decision. In preparing a riding policy she said, "the on- ly thing we should be doing is to assure people we would be doing the best we can to minimize the number of abortions." Larry Proulx, RR 1, Ethel called the decision "a bombshell" for all the parties. Although the perception is that the party supports abortion "at least one third of the NDP is not pro -abortion." He said he would be upset as a taxpayer to find his taxes were going to help for abortions at public clinics. Robin Dunbar, RR 1, Ethel reminded the meeting however, that the abortion law had been put in place to avoid women resorting to "the quack in the alley with a coat -hanger". Abortions had been legaliz- ed for a reason, he said, but agreed that "as a method of birth control it's not to be advocated." • Mr. McQuail agreed that "legislating that there will be no abortions doesn't mean there will be no abortions." Abortion is a real issue that needs real leadership not political expediency. The NDP should take a creative approach that emphasizes support for the family in the same way many of its other policies support the fami- ly, he said. The debate was part of a wide-ranging review of issues discussed by members in an attempt to help the party executive prepare a platform for the next election. Free trade dominated most of the discussion. Party members warned against letting the NDP get trapped into appearingto be against the deal without alternatives and being open to the charge of being afraid of competition. "I don't think it should be a yes or no," Mr. Dunbar said. "I think the concept is right but can we trust this guy to give us a good deal?" Len Hope of Port .Elgin suggested the party should hold a series of forums in the riding to show people what would really be effected by the deal. On the weekend when the NDP at a na- tional level was wrestling with its policy on whether or not Canada should remain in NATO, local party supporters also showed division. Mr. Dunbar wondered why, when Canadian farmers are being put out of business by German farmers, Canada is spending $1 billion a year on Canadian troops in Germany to protect them. "The NDP is being teased on this (NATO policy)," Mr. Proulx said. "Are we ad- vocating a complete pull-out?" He was in- formed there was a policy meeting going on that day to review the former policy of advocating Canada should pull out of NATO. Earlier in the meeting the riding association adopted a constitution for the newly -expanded riding and named an executive. Members of the executive are: president, Tony McQuail, Lucknow; vice- president, Norma Peterson, Kincardine; secretary, Jocelyn DeBoer, Lucknow; treasurer, Fran McQuail, Lucknow; members at large, Heather Klopp, Zurich and Len Hope, Port Elgin. Cabinet Minister speaks in Holyrood In what might be described as a "good- will mission" for the Federal P.C.'s, Charles Mayer, the Federal Cabinet Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, undertook a tour of southern Ontario this week. The tour included an afternoon stop in Holyrood, thanks to the Kinloss Township Council, to speak with local grain farmers. Murray Cardiff, MP for Huron -Bruce, was also on hand for the session and called the meeting "non-political" as he introduc- ed the guest speaker. "We are simply here to listen to your concerns," said Cardiff to the gathering of some 100 area farmers. "We will attempt to address those concerns, here, in- dividually, the best we can." Mr. Mayer, the MP foe . Portage, Manitoba and Minister of State for Grains and Oilseeds, spoke to the attentive au- dience about the kinds of problems faced by farmers worldwide, and what we, as Canadians, can do to better our present situation. "We are reliable suppliers and we have a quality product, " said Mayer. "If we can now ;get prices in line and expand our market, things will get better." Mayer stressed the fact that he harbours a sincere optimism that the grain markets will get stronger. "What's happening production -wise is animprovement and prices will follow," Mayer told the gathering. Other topics addressed at the meeting included a great deal of discussion on the ban on the use of the chemical LASSO, sub- sidies support to alternate crops, the F.C.C. and equalization payments. Ques- tions from.the floor were brisk and handl- ed expertly by Mayer, who is himself a farmer. The Minister also took the opportunity to plug his government's free trade agree- ment, although this topic seemed to be secondary in the minds of the audience behind more immediate, grassroots concerns. Calling free trade with the United States "common sense" and "a basic set of trade rules", Mayer didn't get down to specifics at the meeting. "Internationally there are very few rules with which to trade by, so it's very important for us to have the rules we've set up with our largest trading partner, the Americans," said Mayer. "This will ex- pand our market and I know Candian farmers can compete because we're just as good as the next guy. "Even though the Americans subsidize their farmers, we sell a large amount of quality grain in that market every year. Once we have the rules established by this agreement, our market should expand and develop even further." Following the meeting, which included a lunch, Mayer took the time to speak with a number of farmers individually and main- tained that he was not on an early election campaign tour. "This is nothing more than a chance to visit with an agricultural community similar to the one I live in", said Mayer while fielding questions about the possibili- ty of a Federal election in the fall. "Mur- ray (Cardiff) asked me to come and speak to these gentlemen and I'm quite happy to. I'm happy to campaign anytime, election year or not." Dave Johnston, Reeve of the Kinloss Township Council who hosted the meeting, thanked Mr. Mayer and Mr. Cardiff for there attendance and their frank answers to some difficult questions.