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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1993-02-03, Page 1Friday's winter storm conditions provided adverse driving condition such as white-outs which caused Don Allen of Allboro Enterprises Ltd. In Londesboro to drive this tractor trailer with a set of B-trains right off the road and into a cornfield on County Rd. 25, just west of Walton, early Friday morning. No one was injured and the truck wasn't damaged but being loaded with tonnes of grain, it was stuck. Howson and Howson Ltd. employees came out to help the Aliens unload the trailers which were later pulled out of the field. Mr. Allen wasn't the only casualty of the storm. Just a few feet down the road from the tractor trailer was an abandoned car buried deep in the ditch and later the same afternoon, Hwy 4 between Blyth and Clinton was closed after a tractor trailer and car collided. No details on this accident were available at press time except the names of the drivers—Jeffrey Galea of Hamner was driving the tractor trailer and Renata VanLoon of RR 1, Blenheim was driving the car. Community Trust fund at CIBC for accident victim See page 2 Education Trustees say no to JK pilot project See page 6 Sports Friday last chance for Bulls to cinch second place See page 9 Farm Beef producers voice opposition to Stable Funding See page '10 itizen The North Huron Vol. 9 No. 5 Wednesday, February 3, 1993 60 cents By Lisa Boonstoppel-Pot A decision to ban smoking in the Blyth arena was rescinded Monday night after local organizations vent- ed their anger with the decision. In January, the Blyth and District Community Centre Board had decided beginning April 1, there would be no more smoking any- where in the Blyth Arena in a 5-4 vote. But the decision wasn't popular with a least two village organiza- tions. Dave Pattison of the Blyth Broomball League was emphatical- ly against the decision for monetary reasons. "The hall operates at a deficit now and it's going to be even hard- er to raise money in a non-smoking hall," he said late last week, before the arena board announced they'd changed their minds. He believes some people just won't bother going to dances if they're held at a non-smoking hall. Enforcing liquor license rules such as not taking liquor outside the hall will also be more difficult in a non-smoking facility because more people will be going in and out of the hall to have their smoke, says Mr. Pattison. The Blyth Lions group also expressed its displeasure with the board's previous decision. "We've asked that the arena board delay its decision until they check with other municipalities and see what they do with their commu- nity centres," says John Stewart, first vice-president with the Lions and a member of the Blyth Arena Board. He said the Lions were worried the arena would lose business, if its non-smoking, to other arenas which allow smoking. Another concern for the Lions was the future of their Tuesday night bingo. Due to the inception of weekly bingo in Wingham, the Lions have faced a drastic reduc- tion in their turnout and feared the non-smoking rule would drive more away. Lions secretary, Al Donaldson, says they have two tables set aside for non-smokers but these tables are rarely full. On the other hand, Continued on page 3 Arena rescinds ban on smoking Commodity Loan plan could help plant crops Cash-strapped farmers worried about where they can get money to plant this spring's crops may find the answer in the Commodity Loan Corporation, according to the head of the corporation. Speaking to the Huron Emergen- cy Assistance Response team (HEART), an organization set up to deal with the emergency situation brought about by the crop disaster of 1992, Brian Hughes said appli- cations will be available the week of Feb. 15 and if the proper appli- cations are filled in his organization can start sending out cheques as HCBE projects huge surplus The Huron County Board of Edu- cation underspent itself by over one million dollars in 1992. A summary of 1992 expenditures reveals the board may end up with a 1992 surplus of $1,317,312. The figures were presented at the board- 's Feb. 1 meeting. The 1992 cost estimate had been $60,812,185 but actual expendi- Continued on page 7 early as March 1 to help farmers order their seeding supplies and take Advantage of supplier dis- counts for early payment. The Commodity Loan Corpora- tion (CLC) was set up in July, 1992 to loan money to farmers with the crop as security. The CLC borrows money from the Bank of Montreal at prime rate and loans it to farmers at that same rate. When the crop is sold, the money goes directly to the CLC with the remainder of the money returned to the farmer. Once enough of the crop has been sold to pay off the loan, the money from the remainder of the crop goes directly to the farmer. The loan lasts only until the crop is harvested and sold. The program is financed from an administration fee of $300 for up to the first $100,000 of the loan. The maximum loan available is $400,000. To be eligible for the loan a farmer must have a track record of producing crops and must have crop insurance for the crop. He suggests farmers should also enroll in GRIP. "We work our darndest to find ways of approving the loan," Mr. Hughes said. The CLC has an advantage over banks in offering such loans because it controls the crop, getting its money directly from the buyer of the crop. Even those who have been through the farm debt review pro- cess may be eligible for loans, he said. He spoke of one farmer who he had to convince to send in an application last year because he felt he wouldn't be eligible. Once the completed application was pre- pared it took only a half day to approve the loan, he said. "Don't prejudge us," he said. "Humour me. Send in all the information." In its first abbreviated year, the CLC received 282 loan applications from July onward last year. Only two applications were declined. Some farmers last year, because of the lateness of the announcement of the program, withdrew there appli- cations because the short time they'd have the money meant the registration fee would have been too expensive. The application form is short and simple compared to many other farm programs, Mr. Hughes said. The form is approved by banks and suppliers. There should be no trouble with bankers if a fanner tells them he's planning to use the CLC to finance crop planting, Mr. Hughes said, noting the banks support the pro- gram. If a banker complains, how- ever, he suggested a fanner ask him which is harder to get these days, a loan or a depositor. "When you get A 26-year-old Brussels woman remains in critical condition in Vic- toria Hospital, London following a collision in Grey Township on Thursday, Jan. 28. Sherry Souch, of RR 4, Brussels was a passenger in a car driven by her husband Gary, 32. The couple's three-year-old son Matthew was also in the car. According to Staff Sgt McKee of the Wingham OPP the Souch vehicle was travelling east on County Road 16 near Coun- ty Road 19 at 6:45 p.m., when it was struck by a west bound vehicle which had swerved into east bound a loan from me you get a deposit in your (bank) account. That's valu- able to a banker." The loan is paid out in stages with 50 per cent being available up front for planting expenses. "Apply for the money as early as you can," he said. "If you don't need the money right away, don't cash the cheque. The interest doesn't start until you cash the cheque." lane after losing control on the snow covered road. Staff Sgt McKee said weather conditions were poor with freezing rain and drifting snow. The driver of the second car was Kathleen Falconer, 41 of Kitchener. A passenger in the car was Robbie Falconer, 16. All five people were taken to Lis- towel Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Souch was transferred from there to London. Staff Sgt McKee said charges are pending following further investi- gation. Woman's condition critical