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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1998-07-08, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth, Ontario July 8, 1998 — $1.00 includes GST Nick Whyte is getting ready to harvest his winter wheat. He is anticipating a 20 per cent Toss in yield from the season's dry weather.. (HILGENDORFF PHOTO) More rain is needed Spotty rain making it hard to predict effects of dry weather on area corn, soybean crops It's dry enough to be discouraging for some area farmers but they're not in dire straits yet says an agricultural representative from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. • Bob Humphries said any rain that has fallen in the arca has been spotty and farmers can literally travel from one concession to another to sec the effects. "It's not the whole county that's affected," he said. Com in some fields is waste high and a good color of green while in others. the seeds didn't germinate properly in the dry conditions and the plants arc smaller and thinner in numbers. Humphries is hearing from some farmers that are comparing this year to drought -like conditions in 1988. He said they arc reporting similar conditions to that year and some, who have seen little of the sporadic showers this year are starting to get discouraged. The main crops affected right now arc hay and winter wheat. Seaforth area farmer. Bill Wallace said the first hay crop this spring had higher than normal yields. That was in an unusually warm spring that saw farmers planting their crops weeks earlier than normal. But by June. those conditions had changed to virtually dry across the region. Now. the second hay crop is coming off and Wallace said his is short. "There's not much hay there." he said. But he said there's still time for a third cut to give him enough hay to feed the livestock on his dairy farm. Humphries said that's one of thc concerns right now. Some farmers whose livestock feed in pastures. are having to buy haled hay to supplement their cattle's diet. particularly in the Seaforth and Clinton areas where he said it's been exceptionally dry compared to other parts of the county. Tuckersmith Township received 16 mm of rain in June while, with a' nine-year average. it normally receives 90 mm. About 45 km away in Dungannon. 49.75 mm of rain fell in June. Clinton received about a half-inch of rain CONTINUED on Page 2 VON nurses striking BY LEE ANN WATTERMAN Mitchell Advocate Staff Registered practical nurses (RPNs) working at the Pcrth- Huron branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) are on strike. Approximately 600 members of the Practical Nurses Federation of Ontario (PNFO) employed at 12 VON branches across the province were in a legal strike position as of midnight last Friday (July 3). RPN Cathy Thomson, president of local 19 of the PNFO whose members have been picketing at the branch office in Stratford, says that RPNs cannot agree to the new contract VON is proposing. Thomson is a striking RPN who secs patients between Goderich and Seaforth. "We feel the cuts arc too -much," says Thomson. "The cutbacks will mean you can't make a living (being an RPN with VON)." VON is asking the RPNs to give up one per cent of their vacation pay and 40 per cern of their benefits. The non-profit organization also wants to eliminate the mileage allowance for RPNs. Currently,. RPNs receive 28 - cents for every kilometre they drive for work, to cover gas and other automobile expenses. Thomson, who drives about CONTINUED on Page 2 1 Connnunity prepares for millennium bug Potential for intravenous drip to stop at hospital BY GREGOR CAMPBELL Expositor Staff He knows where he will be, and by then he will have spent a good pan of two years time preparing for a single minute. It is the minute after midnight as we all enter the year 2000 that Doug Halfpenny is worried about. He plans to be at work in the wee hours of that morning at Seaforth Community Hospital. The technical director of the lab at SCH hopes it is a quiet New Year's eve. His fondest wish, and a best - case' scenario, is that "a minute after midnight absolutely nothing happens." But they are preparing for the eventuality that intravenous drips could stop working. Halfpenny is a member of the four person committee at the local hospital working on what everyone is calling the "millennium bug." This bug is a computing problem with possibly far- reaching and unpredictable ramifications because of our society's relatively recent dependence on computers and related modern technologies. There is a growing concern that computer systems won't be able to read the date 2000 and may crash. DATE FUNCTION It is not as simple a problem as it first might appear. The bug might infect anything with date function, deputy clerk/economic development officer, Cathy Garrick has warned Seaforth Council. She and clerk/administrator Jim Crocker recently attended a zone clerk -treasurers meeting in Blyth where provincial government staff advised "that the year 2000 issue should be given high priority as it will impact on literally all of our services." "Not only will computers be affected, but radios used by 'It's almost like disaster planning' --Seaforth Community Hospital technical director, Doug Halfpenny 1. RC fl,: _RYt,t Public Works, PUC and fire departments may not function; sewer systems, water services. street lights, emergency lighting systems, telephones, fax machines, etc., could all be adversely impacted." Garrick reported to council recently. Hospitals are particularly high-tech these days. Information is their stock in trade. Simple birth dates could cause problems. Halfpenny says some patients "could conceivably not exist" if a computer glitch were to misinterpret their birth dates. For example, a person who was born in 1935 will turn 65 in 2000 but a computer that is not year 2000 compliant would subtract 35 from 1900 and determine the age to be - 35." In other words, not born yet. DISASTER PLANNING Halfpenny says in a worst- case scenario, screwy hirthdates might only he the tip of the iceberg if .the millennium bug problem were not to he addressed. An intravenous pump. for instance, has a time chip. . It could stop dripping a minute after midnight on millennium eve. "We have to be aware of a problem to get around it," the lab director says. SCH formed a four -person committee hack in March to get a grip on the millennium hug. Halfpenny is on it. "It's almost like disaster planning." he says. "We are probably behind some of the hospitals in Ontario but hopefully running with the pack." Seaforth hospital.is not so far removed from the days when records were on paper that it couldn't revert back to the old system in a pinch_ although it would he more time consuming. he says. This . also holds for other things. like administering IVs. The local hospital is doing CONTINUED on Page 5 OPP gives two estimates for county -wide policing BY BLAKE PATTERSON Signal -Star Staff The figures are in. Members of the branch of the OPP responsible for OPP costings were at county council July 2 to present a proposal for county -wide OPP policing. Two options were presented: one with 84 officers that would cost $6,186,802 per year; the other, with 80 officers, costing $5,820,592. The difference between the two options depended on whether or not the Town of Wingham was included in the estimate. The OPP already provides protection to all Huron County municipalities except Wingham. Under the proposed plan, the County of Huron OPP would have an administrative centre located at either their existing building on Highway 21 south of Goderich or at another site selected by the county. This administrative centre would be supported by four operation centres located in Exeter, Wingham, Goderich and either Clintim or Seaforth. Community policing offices would he set up in Blyth. Brussels. Bayfield. Seaforth. Vanastra, Centralia. Zurich and Howick Township. The OPP officers of the county detachment would he assigned exclusively to policing Huron County. The supervisors of the squad would include an inspector - detachment commander, one staff sergeant and eight sergeant team leaders. The detachment would also include a detective sergeant. five detective constables. 62 patrol constables. two community service constables, two constables for court case management, one firearms officer and one Crimestoppers officers, for a total of 84 uniformed officers in thc county. Without the Wingham Police Service included in the Huron County OPP Detachment. 58 rather than 62 patrol constables would be CONTINUED on Page 3 Dublin man's flag suit attracts attention of Jean Chretien BY SCOTT HILGENDORFF Expositor Editor A Dublin man, celebrating Canada Day, found himself face to face with Prime Minister Sean Chretien last week. "Tbo man is quite inspirational," said Brian Melady who was in Ottawa July 1 on an annual visit with his daughter, Debbie who has lived there for about five years. Brian was decked out in two Canadian flags sewn into a shirt by Dublin's Riki Brosens while his daughter donned a huge Canadian - flag styled, hat and were in the front row during speeches being made by Chretien from Parliament Hill. Melady said Chretien caught his eye and winked at him during the speech. When the formal presentations were over, Chretien and his wifp came right over to shake his hand before greeting the rent of the crowd, Melady said they spoke for about a minute during which Melady, a long-time Liberal supporter, took the time to tell Chretien he liked the job the prime minister is doing. Despite rumors Chretien will retire after this term, Melady said he hopes Chretien will run again and took the opportunity to tell the prime minister that. "1 would forecast he won't retire," he said. He has been attending Ottawa's Canada Day festivities every year since his daughter moved there. Each year, he said the event is a real show of pride and this year, took additional pride with commems made by Chretien about Canada's designation as the best country in which to live. He said the whole event is "a glorious tribute." Meeting Chretien made this year a definite highli ht for Melady. "This was very special to me," he said.