The Rural Voice, 1998-09, Page 78People
Wellington woman works with Ag Education
A Wellington County native,
Debbie Storey has been named as the
special events and education resource
co-ordinator for Ontario Agri -Food
Education Inc. (OAFE)
Storey will replace Sandra
Hawkins who left the position to
move to Pennsylvania. She comes
from a cash crop, beef and sheep
farm and has a strong background in
agriculture as an active member and
leader in 4-H, Junior Farmers and
local fair boards. Storey recently
graduated from the Bachelor of
Science in Agriculture Program at
the University of Guelph with a
major in Animal Science. She is a
trained Agri -Food Advocate and has
an agri-food education experience
planning and co-ordinating the
"Wedge of Wellington WOW" pizza
project with the Wellington Ag
Awareness Committee.
Her accomplishments have earned
her various awards including the
Farm Credit 4-H Scholarship,
Monsanto Agri -Business Scholarship
and the Canadian Society of Animal
Science Scholarship.
She worked with OAFE for the past
two summers as co-ordinator of the
Summer Ad Awareness Program.
Storey will be responsible for the
co-ordination of OAFE's resource
management and distribution centre
as well as promotion of the organ-
ization at agri-food and educational
events. One of the key events will be
the "General Store — Teachers'
Agri -Food Resource Fair" held
September 2 at the Farm Museum at
Milton. She will also help relaunch
OAFE's intemet website —
www.oafe.org which will be updated
to include most recent teachers'
activities, ideas and resources.0
Dedicated conservationist `Lobie'
Lobsinger dies in Walkerton at 91
Irwin Paul `Lobie' Lobsinger, who helped create the Saugeen Valley
Conservation Authority died Sunday, August 9 in Walkerton at age 91.
"He was quite a conservationist. He was a remarkable gentleman," said Jim
Penner, the SVCA forest management co-ordinator.
Lobsinger began monitoring flood levels in the Saugecn River in 1927 and
continued to keep records for many years. He was one of a group of
conservationists who helped found the conservation authority in 1950 and he
served as its chairman for two decades. The authority started out with 120
hectares (300 acres) of land.
"One of the first things that the authority was involved in was the acquisition
of wetlands and some special interest areas like Bells Lake ... and the Greenock
swamp," Penner told the Owen Sound Sun Times.
But Lobsinger didn't just spend public money on conservation. The owner and
operator of the Walkerton Canadian Tire Store also owned thousands of acres of
land in the Saugecn watershed and reforested much of it over the years with
hundreds of thousands of trees, Penner said.
Lobsinger built Lobie's Park in Walkerton out of scrub land and operated it for
many years before donating it, in 1964, along with all its facilities, to the town
for one dollar. He then purchased a 28 -acre tract of land midway between
Hanover and Walkerton and created a beautiful recreation area for the public to
enjoy.
In 1972 he was awarded the Julius Crandall Award from the Travel Industry
Association for being the person judged to have done the most for conservation
in Canada.
Lobsinger also helped found the South Bruce Game and Fish Protective
Association in 1940 and was a deputy game warden. He wrote a column Our
Valley in the Walkerton Herald Times. He was twice mayor of the town and
served as fire chief, risking his life in 1977 to save a boy from a burning house
Bob Robinson
named
director -at -large
on OSI board
Bob Robinson of Vista Villa
Farms Ltd. at Walton has been
appointed the director -at -large for the
Ontario Swine Improvement Inc.
Robinson was appointed for a one-
year term on the board. He is the
third person to fill the director -at -
large position following Richard
Ross of Fergus and John Lichti of
New Hamburg.
Robinson is a purebred -swine
breeder who farms with his son Scott
near Walton. They breed Durocs,
Landrace, Hampshires and sell cross-
bred gilts.
Robinson has often served as a
director of the Ontario Swine
Breeders Association and OSI and
has been active in many genetic
improvement programs for swine.0
Hanover 4 -Her
semi-finalist in
nation-wide
mascot contest
A Hanover 4-H member was a
semi-finalist in the contest that chose
a near mascot for the Canadian 4-H
Council.
Kelly Smith of Hanover, along
with Travey McKillop of
Hawkestone, and Andrea Wirag of
Essex, were Ontario semifinalists in
the competition.
The winning submission was a tie
between Elizabeth Francis of
Coboconk, Ontario and Sarah Jean
Lees of Pictou, N.S. Their two
designs were combined to create the
new mascot.
Frisco the funky 4-H fox has
become the new mascot for the
Canadian 4-H Council.
The council received more than
110 entries from 4-H members,
leaders and parents from across
Canada and the U.S. for the contest.0