The Rural Voice, 2003-05, Page 63RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
• The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River Federation members by the RRFA.
April 17, 2003
Heavy snow is falling today making
the sadness in our hearts a little deeper.
Tom's dad passed away on Palm
Sunday, and was laid to rest yesterday
at the hillside cemetery on our farm.
Like the wonders of birth, death too can
bring a sense of peace in a much
different way. Family and friends
become closer and the spirits of our
Loved ones smile down on us and rest in
peace.
The RRFA held their April 1
meeting at Morley with Bernie
Zimmerman presiding and Kristine
Carpenter, Rudy Sinninghe, James
Gibson, Reg Kaus, Angela Halvorsen,
Jason Teeple, Linda Armstrong, Betty
Salchert and Shirley Morrish attending.
The committee reported for the
annual RRFA spring dinner.
Attendance was down for various
reasons. The highlight of the evening
was the presentation of the Bill Gibson
Memorial Award for outstanding
voluntary service to agriculture in the
Rainy River District. This year it was
presented to Allen and Shirley Teeple.
A very surprised and gracious couple,
who are as busy as ever, thanked
everyone for the honour of being
chosen.
Our local Ag Rep, Gary Sliworsky,
introduced Scott Banks, merging crop
specialist for OMAF out of Kemptville.
He talked about optimizing pasture
production. It was interesting and
informative but not exactly new to our
district. It did present ideas for beef
producers who have not yet tried this
type of pasture management.
The evening was topped off with
draws organized by Betty Salchert.
Donations were made by Rainy River
Rural Safety, Rainy River Federation of
Agriculture, Teeple Electric, Willow -
Mor Farms, OFA, Larry Lamb Purity
Seeds and Ag Awareness Committee.
The annual spring clean-up for the
Rainy River District Cattlemen's
Salesyards at Stratton was held
yesterday. A huge thanks to Kristine
Carpenter and Jo Bragg who organized
the worker's lunch and scrubbed the
facilities. The first cattle sale for this
year at Stratton is Saturday, April 26 at
9:00 p.m. Russ Richards and Clayton
Teeple are the contact managers.
Bernie reported on Nutrient
Management Stage 11. Complaints have
,already been heard and changed to a
simplified version. There are a number
of practices that will have to be
changed, but it should not be the excuse
used to get out of farming. There are
too many negative attitudes floating
about and by attending the
informational meetings the air can be
cleared — in more ways than one.
Bernie also reported for the Rainy
River Milk Producers. There are now
14 in the Rainy River District.
Jason reported for the fair board.
The committee hopes to bring in a
truck rodeo for this year's fair in
August.
Kristine mentioned the 911
emergency call �n cell phones again.
For those out of range, dial STAR677.
There is a cost plus tax. This reaches
the OPP.
Ag Awareness will hold a meeting,
Tuesday April 22. New Resources are
available for teachers. There are three
new Primary Junior and Intermediate
available: From Swords to
Ploughshares — Grades 2-8; Native
Foods, The Native Way — Grades 3-6
'sponsored by the First Nations Agri -
Food Youth Program; and Eat Right —
Grade 9-10. Contact Kristine Carpenter
at 488-5510, Pat Clysdale-Cornell at
486-3477 or Shirley Morrish at 486-
3622.
Jason Teeple and Ken Fisher
organized a skating party. It was
sponsored by RRFA, Rainy River 4-H
Association, and Rainy River Rural
Safety. Around 45 people enjoyed the
potluck meal, the skating and an
afternoon of socializing.
Municipal elections take place
November 10, 2003.
The 4-H Leaders Association will
meet May 14 at Barwick. On Saturday,
May 31, 4-H will serve up a pancake
breakfast at the Walleye Tournament.
All 4-H past and present leaders and
members are invited to send recipes to
Deb for a cookbook to celebrate 90
years of 4-H in Canada.
There's a 4-H museum in Roland,
Manitoba and a giant pumpkin. Simone
LeBlanc has had the opportunity to
visit and kindly sent the 4-H
Association a postcard. On June 14
there will be a conference/workshop
from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It's also the
date of Robin LeBlanc and Tami
Mann's social. Another busy weekend.
A meeting was held at the Emo Inn
with Gary Sliworsky, Kris Carpenter,
KimJo Bliss and Peter Boon, to plan
Ag days. It was decided to leave it for
this year because of lack of volunteer
help. It was suggested that a one -day
conference may be the answer, but
more help is necessary to make it a go.
Rainy River Farm Safety would like
to remind all parents to teach their
children proper farm practises, be with
it animals or machinery. Keep children
away from harm until they can readily
participate in farm activities. Children
love to imitate and are eager to help,
but machinery is bigger now and
farmers tend to go at a quicker pace.
Rainy River is on a public
awareness campaign to try and save
lives. Ontario law requires that every
home have working smoke alarms.
There's a $200 fine for not having
them. The Municipality of LaVallee
has completed its 2003 house-to-house
checks by local volunteer firemen,
visiting approximately 340 homes.
Did you know that our eyes are
always the same size from birth, but
our nose and ears never stop growing —
scary!
When I was:
(When I was) 4 years old: "My daddy
can do anything."
5 years old: "My daddy knows a whole
lot.:
6 years old: "My dad is smarter than
your dad."
10 years old: "In the olden days, when
my dad grew up, things were sure
different."
12 years old: "Oh well, naturally, Dad
doesn't know anything about that. He's
too old to remember his childhood."
14 years old: "Don't pay any attention
to my Dad. He's so old-fashioned."
21 years old: "Him? He's hopelessly
out of date."
25 years old: "Dad knows about it, but
then he should because he's been
around so long."
30 years old: "Maybe we should ask
what Dad thinks. After all, he's had a
lot of experience."
35 years old: "I'm not doing a single
thing until I talk to Dad."
40 years old: "I wonder how Dad
would handle it. He's so wise."
50 years old: "I'd give anything if Dad
were here now, so I could talk this over
with him. Too bad I didn't appreciate
how smart he was. I could have learned
a lot."0 — Submitted by Shirley Morrish
MAY 2003 59