The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutThe Citizen, 1996-09-04, Page 1Vol. 12 No 35 Wednesday, Sept. 4, 1996 70e + 5e GST750 The North Huron itizen Old time fun in Blyth this weekend Apprehension The first day of school can be a trying experience for youngsters and Steven Roy Querengesser appears a little unsure what to expect as he arrives at Brussels Public School, Sept. 3 Whether modern machinery or manual, harvest continued this past weekend as farmers brought in grain crops, alfalfa and some bean fields, in what may turn out to be a very mediocre year. A damp spring and dry August have brought blight, mold, insects and drought stress to the crops. Weather decreases yields By Janice Becker ;Farmers have been knocked at every turn, by Moth- er Nature. It has been a very tough year," said Brian Hall, Soil and Crop Advisor for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs office in Clin- ton. It is expected that many-cash crop farmers may have rather mediocre yields with the variable weather throughout the growing season. Corn is looking "not too bad," said Hall, "though it is still 140 corn heat units behind (approximately six days). Some is as much as two weeks behind. A good September is needed for the corn to mature." "Corn is fired up from the bottom, showing moisture stress." The dry August hurt both the corn and bean yields. Soybeans are done flowering and the pods are fill- ing, but there are only three beans to the pod instead of five or six, said Hall. "Yields will be average, but noticeably reduced from last year." There has also been some damage to the bean crops by insects, blight and some white mold, all which will hurt the yield. The edible beans are maturing rapidly with some harvest beginning this past weekend. Thirteen to 14 bags overall are expected, he said. The third cutting of alfalfa was also affected by the dry weather, producing a light crop. News Blyth Festival explores agri-tourism partnership with local farmers _ Sports Brussels Tigers, Bulldogs still on the ball in league playoffs Feature Special section celebrates 35 years of Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion See page 3 See page 7 See inside Numbers down at area schools - -By Janice Becker Another warm summer has flown by and children are once again boarding buses or walking to school as the new year begins. All six elementary schools in the area are welcoming new staff mem- bers to the facilities as classes get underway. The largest number of new faces will be seen at Blyth Public School. With Principal Al Harrison moving to East Wawanosh Public School, Richard Maertens will be taking By Janice Becker "Change goes on everyday and we are just trying to figure out what works best," said Sharron Motycka, manager of the Blyth Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, refer- ring to a preliminary announcement to customers regarding shorter hours of operation. Beginning Nov. 1, the CIBC plans to be open from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., Monday through Thurs- day, for normal bank transactions such as cashing cheques, deposits and withdrawals. Hours on Friday will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. By appointment with the person- al banking manager, Andrew Dar- ling, assistance will be available until 5 p.m. each weekday. These hours are not unchange- able, said Motycka. They may be over those duties. Jennifer Reed will teach French; Martie Lobb, Grade 3-4; Bernice Gross, Grade 6- 7; Kim Martin, special education education assistant; Library Re- source Technician Darcy Moulton will be shared with Zurich Public School and Kindergarten Education Assistant Carol McGregor will split her time with Walton Public School. Enrolment is down slightly from 197 to 189. Brusselites will meet Crystal Whyte, Grade 6-7; Diane Dolmage, education assistant and Joanne Jewitt, library resource education assistant, when they return to class, Sept. 3. The student population at Brus- sels Public School sits at 232, pre- cisely the same number as at the • end of last year. As well as Al Harrison stepping into the role of principal at East Wawanosh Public School and teaching Grade 7, Karen Webster also moves to Belgrave to look after the library and Grade 7. Three education assistants will be work- ing at the school: Shannon Kirk, Liz O'Neil and Jan Van der Harr. Enrolment at East Wawanosh is down significantly this year, suffer- ing from a large graduating class, families moving out of the area and a small kindergarten class. Last year began with 209, dropped to 19-1 by June and 1996-97 starts with only 180. The number of students at Grey Central Public School recovered somewhat this year, after a dip last September. It rises to 258 from 245. Doris Hood will become the computer resource education assis- tant, Don Mason will teach Grade 6 and Susan (Elston) Robinson will be the Early Years teacher at Grey. Hullett Central Public School Continued on page 8 altered if customer requirements warrant it. Agricultural and commercial bor- rowing accounts may be located in Wingham, Goderich or Brussels, depending on the customers prefer- ence. The clients will be contacted regarding the changes. As for the customer who needs, to do normal banking outside regular business hours, the Blyth CIBC is next on the list for an automated banking machine, said Motycka, however, renovations need to be undertaken' to accommodate the equipment. Though banking hours are being reduced, there will be more staff on duty at any time to assist cus- tomers, she said. Blyth employees will also have the first option at positions available at other loca- tions. The 35th annual Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion and HObby Show begins in Blyth this weekend with a lot of the old and a few things new. Many of the regular exhibits have been dramatically expanded, while this year's event will also have some new exhibits and demonstra- tions. Jim Clark will be doing border colliedemonstrations on Friday and Saturday. Also featured will be the Thom- son Mighty Steam Calliope, built in 1897 and restored in 1963. It mea- sures 22 feet long, weighs 12 tonnes and has 66 whistles, which are played by a manual keyboard. A full time fireman is -needed to keep up the 100 lbs of steam pres- sure. The other new exhibit is a 1927 Ruston Engine MK4 M-500 bhp, weighing in at a massive 75 tonnes. The restoration of this took over four years to complete. In opera- tion, eight valve rods work in time and the large side shaft and fly- wheel turn with the engine running at a speed of 214 rpm. Each year the Reunion attracts tens of thousands to the village, including hundreds of overnight campers. The event starts informally on Wednesday (today) with a campers - jam session and dancing. Changes to come at Blyth CIBC branch