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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-09-04, Page 1Sports Local skater has chance to skate with former world champ. See page 6 Crops Huron wheat crop 'disaster.' Low volume at Goderich ' Elevators. See page 2 Close-up What's so secret about the Masons? See page 3 Your•Communitu Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth, Ontario County crops are mediocre BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff "Poor to mediocre" Sums up the crop situation in Huron County ' just past Labour I)ay, according to the Clinton office of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA): - Weather is. the culprit. in particular a relatively late and. uneven spring. Thc.situation is slightly het- . ter to the north in the county beyond Highway 8. says soils and crop specialist Brian Hall. i'lan(ing'lags this sen - son were more pronounced to the south. • He says overall the county is about six days or 140 heat ' units behind our long -tern normal, hut still 140 heat units ahead of the "corn dis- aster:' Huron fat:frters had in 1992. Wheat is way down (see related fusarium story on page 2) here and elsewhere in the province. At, their recent annual meeting. producers announced that wheat yields are about half what had been expected with the majority of, the Crop destined for feed. .Future planting decisions should he made with the long-term in mind. Hall cau- tions..It would not be w iso to base next seasons planting variety decisions strictly -On this year's weather. ' • .This -spring was also "tough" for corn, says Hall. "We expect average yields, much with a highly _variable moisture content. The OMAFRA spokesman says hay re -growth is slow. many third cuts will he har- vested this week. whereas normally the third cut of hay is done by Sept:2. Soybeans are done flower ing, he says. some of this crop looks good but a lot average. with many three - bean pods. Five or six beans is the usual. "It will not he the yield we expected . and noticeably reduced," Hall says. in the 35 to 45 bushel an acre range. • Edible white and coloured beans are maturing very rapidly. the soils and crop specialist adds, with indica- tions of some moisture stress and root rot in .the crop. He anticipates "mediocre" yields in the vicinity of from 13 to 14 hags an acre. He notes a lot of weeds are growing through this crop canopy. making necessary more spraying than is usual in other years. Contract signed The Huron -Perth Roman Catholic Separate School Board and its with its approximately 189 full-time elementary teachers have rat- ified a -new contract .The board ratified the new collec- .tivc agreement last Monday and the teachers, members of the Ontario English Catholic • Teachers Association. did so Wednesday. Details haven't 'been released yet. Negotiations with the hoard's high school teachers resume this month. • September 4, 1996 — 75 Cents Plus GST Photo by Gregor CampbeN BACK ON SKATES - Former World champion and two-time Olympic figure skating bronze medalist Lloyd Eisler of Seaforth passed through •town last Tuesday. Who was he skating with? See . sports on page 6. Photo by Gre4or Campbell JUNGLE BEASTS! Bethel Bible Church's bible school averaged 130 youngsters a day last week, with more than 35 volunteers. The theme was "Kingdom of the Sun" and these four youngsters dressed for the part on Friday's last day. The three lions, from left to right, while letting out a big roar, were: Tyler Lucas, Bill Leppington and Jessica DeJong. The hippo was Jason Von Euw. Seaforth haklow crime rate Meeting solves police problems BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff Lack of communication led to recent' problems between the Goderieh detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police and Seaforth's Police Services Board (PSB) and Council, according to board Chair Bob Dinsmore. All met last Monday to get on the same wave length once again at Town Hall. "The clarification from alt sides tonight should clear any problems," minutes of the meeting state. "Chair Dinsmore wanted to make clear that the board supports the officers of our town. The clear-cut instructions issued recently, and relayed here, should assist them in doing their job effectively" "Mayor (Irwin) Johnston... indicated all issues had been addressed satisfactorily and conveyed continued co-oper- ation with the Police Services Board and the OPP." The local PSB forwarded some concerns to council after no representative of the Goderich detachment attend- ed its July meeting. Staff Sgt. Brian Baldwin, commander of the Goderich detachment, said Seaforth has one of the lowest crime rates in Huron County. The following items carne under discussion at the Aug. 26 meeting, according to the minutes. ' • "Recent lack of foot patrol can be attributed to OPP restructuring, annual leaves, training requirements and other operational commit- ments. As of Aug. 11, Seaforth has returned to a 20 hour a day coverage with four assigned officers. • "A delay from June 26 to Aug. 14 in obtaining the short form wordings resulted in few, if any, tickets being issued with regard to the town's new heavy truck bylaw,..Staff Sgt. Baldwin cautioned the town of the dangers of ticketing all offenders of all bylaws all the tifne...However he hila instructed officers that strict enforcement of the bylaw is expected all -year round." • "On the surface, 3800 kilometers in one month may seem excessive however investigation reveals the kilo- meters travelled ... include those travelled to attend criminal court, prisoner escorts to Walkerton, London and Stratford...This area is regarded as an 'operational' matter. • "Over a set period, there were in excess of 100 calls made but not recorded on Seaforth': telephone log. As a result, all Provincial offi- cers not assigned to munici- pal contracts have been issued with an alternative method of telephone usage."