HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-03-07, Page 11PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2019.
Continued from page 11
disappointment will set you back,
and having goals like being able to
dance, bike, walk and paddle a
canoe, all of which Palmer has, in
the past decade, surpassed.
That wasn’t the end of the
suffering caused by the incident,
however, as shortly after, Palmer
needed his hip replaced after it
failed as a result of what had
happened.
He also found himself in a difficult
position as his off-farm job came to
an end.
He points out that, while he went
through dark times during his
recovery, it’s important to realize
that he wasn’t the only victim in the
situation.
“In fact, I left a wave of collateral
damage in my wake,” he said. “My
spouse went through hell, not to
mention the rest of my family and
friends.”
Palmer said that Donna, his wife,
is the strongest person he knows,
having been his rock, while his
father was also a powerful presence
through his recovery.
Family and neighbours also
stepped up when Palmer was injured
and in the hospital, planting and
spraying corn and soybeans that
year.
“There’s nothing like great
neighbours,” he said. “When I left
the hospital, it was time to harvest
our soybeans. I could barely walk,
but I told Donna if I can get into the
combine, we’re going.”
Thanks to a step ladder, and
Donna and a neighbour’s help,
Palmer was able to completely
harvest his fields the same year he
was in the hospital.
The incident and all the aftermath
left Palmer wanting to make sure
that no one else runs into the same
situation.
His amputation and medical
procedures were over a decade ago
and, since then, Palmer has made it
his mission to make sure his mistake
of taking shortcuts isn’t repeated. He
has spoken to farming groups, youth
groups and at his own church about
his experience.
Aside from wearing clothing that
got caught in the PTO shaft, he also
warns about the hours farmers seem
to need to work to make things
work.
He said that working a second job
and running the farm left him
exhausted, which undoubtedly
played a part in what happened.
“The excuse of needing to pull an
all-nighter because it might rain the
next day isn’t worth it,” he said.
“Fatigue kills. You will only get
away with it so long.”
He goes on to say that being
fatigued is similar to intoxication,
noting that senses become dulled
and accidents become far more
prevalent.
He also says that having a plan is
important on farms, not just for
emergencies, but for what will
happen if a partner is disabled or
killed and how the farm business
will keep operating.
While Palmer doesn’t do as much
public speaking as he did in the
years immediately following the
incident, he still feels that there is a
message to share from his
experience.
Others talk about farm accidents,
but Palmer says that incidents
like his are preventable, so calling
them an accident is a bit of a
misnomer.
“We often categorize life, but,
honestly, there are only three
options: we become old men and
women; we become disabled old
men and women or we are a
premature memory,” he said. “I
don’t want you to become an
accident statistic like me. Accidents
are preventable. Think safety and
then you will live to see another
day.”
Palmer preaches safety to avoid becoming a statistic
Neighbours, community band together to save horse
A group of Blyth neighbours came
together last week and pulled off a
daring rescue of a horse that, if they
hadn’t acted as quickly as they did,
could have not had a happy ending.
Graham Jackson, who owns a
small agricultural property at the
east end of Blyth, was out running
errands late last month, picking up a
load of firewood for a friend. They
returned mid-afternoon on Feb. 22 to
Jackson’s King Street home and
went into the field only to see one of
Jackson’s horses had fallen in the
pond on his property. Most of the
horse’s body was submerged with
only its head and some of its neck
above water.
Jackson was immediately
concerned. Aside from the clear
trauma his horse, Red, found herself
in, he knew there is quicksand at the
bottom of the pond (for years,
builders took clay from the pond to
make bricks for homes in the
village) and that he wouldn’t have
much time to rescue her.
Jackson and his friends, Roy
Beuermann and Lorne Reis, tried to
lift the horse out of the pond on their
own, but were unsuccessful. Jackson
then made his way down King Street
looking for help from his
neighbours.
A few houses down from his,
Colleen Carter was home and came
to his aid. She provided a four-
wheeler to help the rescue effort, but
she and Jackson recruited fellow
King Street resident Nathan
Shannon to help drive it.
The group placed ropes on the
horse and then attempted to pull her
out of the pond with the four-
wheeler, but she was so heavy that
the four-wheeler couldn’t gain
sufficient traction.
With the help of Steve Switzer and
some others, they were able to
anchor the four-wheeler and
eventually pull Red out of the pond.
Once out of the pond, they
immediately began treating Red with
warm buckets of water to bring up
her body temperature. They then
covered her in horse blankets to keep
her warm.
Luckily, Jackson had called local
veterinarian, Dr. Lee Siertsema for
another horse, so when he attended
with local co-op student Emily
Croft, the two were immediately put
to work.
They helped in the horse’s
recovery, administering a shot to
help the horse calm down.
In the days since the incident, Red
has fully recovered, with no injuries
to show for her time in the cold
water. Jackson said that all of those
who were involved in the rescue
have followed up in the days since.
He said it really is amazing to live
in a community like Blyth and
especially a street like King Street,
knowing that any neighbour who
was home would be willing to
help him and his horses in an
emergency.
A happy ending
Blyth farmer Graham Jackson stands with his horse Red who, thanks to quick thinking and
neighbourly assistance, is alive and well after falling into an ice-cold pond on Feb. 22. (Shawn
Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Animal in distress
Red, a horse owned by Blyth farmer Graham Jackson, had
a brush with disaster late last month when he fell into a
pond on Jackson’s property. Thanks to some aid provided
by Jackson’s neighbours and a local veterinarian and her
assistant, disaster was averted. (Photo submitted)
OAAS to host local farm tour
District 8 of the Ontario
Association of Agricultural
Societies (OAAS) will be
highlighting Blyth and Brussels
farms for the third year of its wildly-
popular Father’s Day farm tour
event.
Set for Sunday, June 16, there will
be two three-stop tour routes, one in
the Blyth area, beginning with
registration at Nature’s Nest in
Londesborough, and the second
beginning at the Four Winds Barn in
Brussels. Registration begins at
11:30 a.m. and each route will have
three stops between 12-4 p.m.
The hope of organizers is that
those attending will leave
themselves enough time to do all six
stops on both routes.
The six stops are a closely-
guarded secret, says Brian
Schlosser, secretary/treasurer of the
Brussels Agricultural Society, but all
will be revealed that day when those
who take the tour are given their
guide pamphlet.
Schlosser says that in the first two
years of the tour, they have proven to
be extremely popular, with people
coming from Toronto to attend them.
The first year, the tour was held in
the Seaforth and Bayfield areas,
followed by Listowel, Monkton and
Milverton in the second year.
Schlosser said that the
organization is preparing for
approximately 700 people for the
tour, which is no small feat.
District 8 of the OAAS is
comprised of Huron and
Perth Counties, featuring nine fall
fairs in Huron County and four in
Perth.
Past tours have really featured
every sector imaginable, Schlosser
said, and have tried to provide a full
spectrum of farms along the way.
The cost for the tour is $5 for each
adult and children under the age of
14 are free. There is no pre-
registration for the event. If you’re
interested in attending, simply show
up at either Nature’s Nest in
Londesborough or the Brussels Four
Winds Barn on Sunday, June 16
after 11:30 a.m. and get your
pamphlet.
Schlosser said he’s excited for the
communities of Blyth and Brussels
to be featured on the tour. The
communities have so much to offer,
he said, it will be great to show it off.
The top comment those who
attend the tour have responded with,
Schlosser said, is that they had no
idea what was in their own
backyard. Schlosser hopes this year
will also deliver that level of
wonderment to those who attend.
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen