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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1998-10-28, Page 44 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, OCTOBER 28, 1998 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 Terri -Lynn Dale - General Manoger/Ad Manager Scott Hilgendorff - Editor Gregor Campbell - Reporter Lorry Dalrymple - Soles Pat Armes - Office Manager Dianne McGrath - Subscriptions/Classifieds A Bowes Publishers Community Newspaper SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 32.50 a year, in advance, plus 2.28 G.S.T. SENIORS: - 30.00 a year, in advance, plus 2.10 G.S.T. USA & Foreign: 28.44 a year in advance, plus $78.00 postage, G.S.T. exempt SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Published weekly by Signal-Sbr Publishing at 100 Main St., Seaforth. Publicotion mail registration No. 0696 held at Seaforth, Ontario. Advertising is occepted on condition that in the event of o typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the bolance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. in the event of a typogrophical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely on offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damoge of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Changes of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliverable copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor. Wednesday, October 28, 1998 Editorial and 8ashsess Offices - 100 Main Street.,feafertls Telephone (519) 527-0200 fax (519) 527.2858 Mailing Address - P.O. sex 69, feaferth, Odarts, NOK 1 WO Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Press Council Publication Mail Registration No. 07605 Right to proclaim is too important to just give it up Making proclamations seems to be risky business these days for municipalities. The City of London has had a difficult time by choosing not to make a proclamation pertaining to the gay community and then having to rescind another after learning the organization behind the request had ties to the Nazi movement. It seems decisions to make a proclamation are being based on what is politically correct in society and not In Seaforth council exercises its right to make proclamations and posts the signed document in Town Hall The safe route would be not to make any proclamations but that means turning away from one of the basic freedoms we have as Canadians. We have free speech and can support any ideas and ideals that we want. Municipalities representing us should take proclamation making as a serious step and not just haphazardly saying "yes" to any requests that come across the council tables. There are easy requests like declaring a specific week as Alzeihmer's Awareness Week. There will be little controversy surrounding that. But when a request comes in to support a European heritage week, despite the organization behind it, there should be discussion. Is it worth recognizing European heritage? Despite the organization behind it (in London's case, one representing a Nazi movement) there must be a reason for making the proclamation beyond the fact a person or agency is asking for it. When a proclamation is made, it should be more than a routine. The freedom to do this is worth too much to just ignore the opportunities to maybe make people think, reflect or take exception to what is important in their communities and lives. STH How to access us Letters to the Editor and other submissions can be made to us by noon on Mondays at: • haronexp@ odyssey.on..cat All lams and 'submissions must be signed and accompanied by a dayititne telephone number. All st itl>;ic s 'gib subject to etliti for both length and content. Dont forget to check out our home ge at: Hunting integral to rural heritage To the Editor: A couple of weeks ago, I watched the House of Commons proceedings in dismay when the Federal Liberal Government got up and criticized a recent Ontario' Government decision. This decision was the reduction of the age that a person can hunt while under adult supervision from 15 to 12. Hunting is a very integral part of our rural heritage as well as a vita tool or managing our natural resources. By changing the age that a minor may partake in hunting with his or her parents, the Government of Ontario reaffirmed its commitment to hunters and wildlife management. The Ontario Government also showed that they respect the importance of the family unit. With this change, minors under strict supervision will learn the wonderful environment and most importantly, build an important bond with his or her mother or father that will last a lifetime. Those early teen years are probably the most impressionable and by allowing our youth to go out into nature and enjoy a lifelong pastime with their parents will definitely build a stronger family unit. By criticizing this action, the Liberal Party has once again reaffirmed their arrogance and contempt towards the rural community, hunters and most of all, the family. Yours in conservation, Mark Beaven Bluevale Poppy campaign takes place November 3 To the Editor: For many years, the people of Seaforth and area have been most generous in contributing to the annual Poppy Campaign of Branch 156 of the Royal Canadian Legion. Funds raised from the public are held in trust in a separate account and do not form any part of branch finances. The Poppy Trust Fund is a reserve from which assistance can be given to needy veterans, their dependents and the widows and children of deceased ex -service personnel. We trust that the local citizens will continue to lend their strong support to the 1998 Poppy Campaign by wearing a poppy and being receptive to the Legion members or cadet knocking on your door during the 1998 poppy drive to be held on Monday, November 3. Your donations will be appreciated. Jim McLeod Poppy Chair Legion Branch 156 World Youth had great experience in Seaforth To the Editor: On behalf of the 1998 Canada World Youth Thailand/Ontario Agricultural Exchange, we would like to extend a most sincere thank you to the families who supported our program; our host families and the wonderful people at the Seaforth Agricultural Society. They and numerous other community members have made our time here an exciting and unforgettable adventure. During our three-month stay in Huron and North/West Perth, we volunteered on a variety of farms and had the opportunity to learn a great deal about local issues, agriculture, agrifood and agritourism. Our host families taught us so much and really helped deepen our understanding of this region. They also helped us have a lot of fun. Most importantly, they welcomed us into their homes and made us feel like one of the family. The Seaforth Agricultural Society went out of its way to take care of our needs and really made us feel welcome in the community. Our program would not have been possible without its support. There are a lot of great people in this region and we feel fortunate to have met so many of them. We will be leaving for Thailand soon and happily, we will have many pictures and stories to tell about our time here. In Thailand, we will be living with families who farm rice, fruit and sugar cane. We are sure to have a few adventures over there and we will send news to Seaforth. Wish us luck! Carol Dover, team leader and Participants of the Canada World Youth, Thailand/Ontario Agricultural Exchange Orange is colour of Halloween and exploitation M Don't get spooked this Hattoween. Renn•nitx'r these v,tfety rules • 1ook. both ways betore you (roes the street • Travel in (lump% • 1)nn t qo intoe %thinner% hom v • Don t eat treats until your Parents ( to (k thorn. unicef And (fun t 1.,(ot t •,nus UNIM frit r Orange, the colour of Halloween, is UNICEF's favourite colour. Unfortunately, it is not the favourite colour of thousands of children who labour long hours, day after day, picking oranges in South American orange groves. For these kids, orange is the colour of exploitation. In fact, millions of children around the world are exploited as agricultural workers, domestic workers, brick makers, porters and prostitutes, to name just a few. They work excessively long hours in dangerous conditions, are submitted to physical and verbal abuse and get very little, if any, pay. Needless to say, there is no time for school or play. But the news is not all bad. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, every child has the right to be protected from exploitation and there are legions of community workers, teachers and ministers of government, working with UNICEF's support, to uphold this right. Bill Abaigar, for example, is a community worker in the city of Olongapo in the Phillipines. The young market porters of the Olangapo Central Market have been able to turn their lives around, thanks to the support of Bill and UNICEF. A few years ago, these "pushcart boys" worked nightly from midnight until 8 a.m., transporting produce from trucks to vendors' stalls and around the market for early -bird shoppers. With vendors charging 20 pesos a night to rent 'the pushcarts, and the boys making only 30 pesos a night, the remaining 10 pesos (30 cents) was a measly earning for their hard labour. Following some information sessions on children's rights, which awakened in the boys a sense of being exploited by the vendors, Abaigar approached UNICEF to buy pushcarts to be rented nightly to the porters at a mere cost of four pesos. enough to cover the cost of grease and oil to keep the wheels lubricated. With more than double the earnings, and a sense of responsibility and greater control of their working conditions, many of the boys have gone on to finish their schooling and even to lobby the mayor for the creation of a local playground, designed by the children themselves. If they only knew that this initiative was supported by the very coins that millions of Canadian children collect each Halloween night in their orange UNICEF boxes, the pushcart boys of Olongapo would surely agree that orange is a nice colour. All schools will be growing organic vegetable gardens The Canada Millennium Partnership Program will provide $20,000 to Children's Aid of Huron and Rural Response for Healthy Children for the Earth Friendly Gardens Project, announced Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle and Deputy Prime Minister Herb Grey, recently. Last spring, a pilot project in Colborne, McCurdy and Mount Carmel schools was conducted to see if there would be community support for creating organic vegetable gardens in school yards. This project was funded by Canadian Living Foundation as an answer to the hunger that is experienced by children attending school. The focus was to teach children where food comes from and how to grow and preserve it. This knowledge provided a life-long lesson in self sufficiency regarding food. During this project, the need for more education regarding environmental methods of gardening became apparent, especially among the parent volunteers. It is out of this experience that the idea for Earth Friendly Gardens came. Goderich resident, Lynda Rotteau, will continue the work she began during the last school year by coordinating the various volunteers and organizing each of the schools so they can create their gardens in a manner that will ensure long-term sustainability and the overall success of the project. After the project is completed, each school will have a record of their progress in greening their school and the ability to expand and share their knowledge with the community. When thousands of families have Teamed the importance of keeping their backyards toxic free, the long-term effect will be similar to that experienced when Bluebox recycling and backyard composting were introduced. Life-long habits will be established in the children and, in turn, their families. This idea can be expanded and adapted to any school or community across Canada. Due to the consolidation of the Perth and Huron County school boards in 1998, the gardens will be developed in a two-phase plan to ensure long-term success. This program will also be available to the Huron Perth Catholic Elementary Schools. The introduction of school gardens is divided between the counties in order to be able to give them the time and attention required to ensure success. In Ontario, there is great concern that intensive farming techniques are contaminating our water table and leading to the pollution of streams, rivers and lakes. In Huron County, a group of citizens, organizations and local municipalities has formed an organization called Save Our Lakes = Valued Environment (SOLVE) which is conducting studies to determine the source of pollution in our streams, rivers and beaches. It is suspected that pesticides and fertilizers are a contributing factor to these problems in addition to nutrient management concerns regarding Targe agricultural operations. The goal of this project is to begin at • a grass roots level to eliminate some of these toxic substances at the source. At first glance, backyard gardens would seem to be of little importance as a contributor to the pollution problem but when you consider that virtually every home in our county has a garden, it does have an impact. If we can turn thee families from toxic substances such as pesticide and chemical use, to earth friendly methods of gardening, the long-term effect will be significant. During the next two years, we will create pesticide -free gardens in an Earth friendly manner in all 67 elementary schools in Huron and Perth who will influence thousands of parents, grandparents and neighbours to reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers in their gardens. This would greatly reduce the contamination of the water table and natural water courses. Organic gardening techniques will be used to produce good quality produce in an under-utilized area of the school yards. The parents will be asked to participatein the summer months to help maintain the gardens with families taking responsibility for one week, each. It is a natural progression to adapt things they have learned to any home- grown gardens and, in turn, being life- long habits of respecting the earth while harvesting healthy food. This is a project to create a more diverse environment in area school yards by developing vegetable gardens in a chemical -free manner. Huron and CONTINUED on Page 5