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The Huron Expositor, 1998-12-02, Page 1Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 — Seaforth. Ontario December 2, 1998 — $1.00 includes - GST Town bans snowmobiles Snow machines will have to be trailered to edge of town to use them BY SCOTT HILGENDORFF Exnositor Editor Even if the snow flies in Seaforth this winter. snowmobilers won't. Council grounded them by deciding to outlaw snowmobiling in town at last Tuesday night's meeting. The ban is to apply to driving them on both public and private property within town limits. Enthusiasts who want fuel or food here will he required to leave their snowmobiles on the outskirts of Seaforth. and owners in town will have to trailer their snowmobiles to the municipal houndary before using them Council passed the motion four votes to Parish removed to regroup St: Columban Parish- has been removed from it's clutter within the Roman Catholic church. confirmed the Diocese of London on Friday._ - "The parish is independent of the cluster for the time being." Larry Brennan. business administrator of the Diocese of London. It had been grouped with the parishes of St. Patrick's of Dublin'add St. Vincent de Paul in Mitchell until a month ago. when the diocese announced St. Columban could repair its church. St. Columban's new independence is revdse of the direr-tion'the diocese advised parishoners to take three months ago. In an Aug. 28- letter it urged St_ -Columban- parishoners to pursue their faith through clustering because of concerns that repairing then church was beyond their means. The recent remoyal "is an opportunity for them (St. Columban t to regroup and recreate.. themselves as a parish." Brennan says." an opportunity to deal with full autonomy and build community." ' Cluster policy isn't fixed and is evolving. Brennan said. and the diocese has no master blueprint for it. "Clustering is in its early .stages. the way it works today may not be the way it works tomorrow." The business administrator sums up clustering as a 'different way of organizing worship, with more lay input from parish communities. CONTINUED on Page one. with one abstention. then directed clerk/administrator Jack McLachlan to prepare a bylaw for its next meeting. Dec. 8. which is to include fines and penalties. "Every year we struggle with this question. somewhere we have to take a stand." -said Coun. Heather Rohinet. before making the motion. Reeve Lin Steffler said she seconded .it. based on past problems with an old official snowmobile route on East William Street in town. when she was on Seaforth's police services hoard (PSB). • - The move came after council heard an angry, deputation of ratepayers from along a proposed new snowmobile route down West William Street. who presented_a petition signed by 34 people on that road opposing it. "For all the money they're tsnowniobilerst sidewalk in town wit( should snowmobiles spending in town - we don't need them." said be•able to. he.wondered spokesman Gord SallowsSallows asked ,i1 one oY our kids gets hurt CALL FOR SURVEY' on a snowmobile route, down our street who ,1• , challenged councillors to do a survey. will he liable'' t and said he thought they would find any Bonnie Johnston -said she would he worried profit these snowmobilers might bring to a about her kids Fust building a snowman on - feu Seaforth businesses would -he more than their front lawn •if snowmobiles were offset by the harm the vehicles do to roads. sanctioned by the town. on West William sidewalks. lawns, trees and peace of mind. Street. She said there are no sidew•alks•on one "Do those businesses warn to pay the side of the street in front of where she lives. damage?" Sallows asked. and the walks aren't plowed on the other side. "Sometimes the snowmobiles are so noisy • Snowmobiles would roar down the street or you can't even watch TV." over private property. She suggested-' All the snowmobiles in the world aren't Sallows said the West. William Street , • . worth the safety of even one of our children;' deputation of about a dozen would have- been Doug Hildebrand said. bigger. but others who signed the petition - If a motorcycle can't drive down the CONTINUED Spirits lighted by Christmas parade's `Twelve Days of Christmas theme' There were "ten drummers drumming" on Boilersmith Ltd.'s float in Friday's Lions Club Santa Claus parade. (below, left) Kelly Clitrk of Total Image II rholds on to a goat while Les O'Neil.of Parkhill brought his "train" to win the prize for Beat Illuminated float. HILGENDORFF PHOTOS Pork producers hvehhood threatened BY AMY' NEILANDS Signal -Star Staff Falling Asian markets and too many pigs are causing pork prices to plummet. threatening the livelihood of almost every pork producer in the country. "Farms will be lost." said Gary Love. president of the Huron County Pork Producers. "people will walk away." Since August, pork prices have been plummeting causing a crisis beyond anything ever seen before by pork producers. "1 don't think anyone ever thought it would fall to pieces like this." said Pat Down, president of the Huron Federation of Agriculture. "It is unbelievable how it has fallen apart." Farmers who bought their pigs for about $56 each are now selling them for Tess than what they paid for them, said Down. "It's serious." she said. "1t is unprecedented that things should be this bad." The crisis has gotten worse in the last three weeks. but it's been on a "slow slide" since the summer, 4 "In the last few weeks (prices) have gone lower than they've ever gone before." said Doug Richards. acting agricultural and rural representative for Huron at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture. Food and Rural Affairs in Clinton. In August, farmers received 51-.39 per kilogram for a dressed hog. said Richards. Prices have since dropped considerably from $1.12 in September. to $1.07 in October. to 80 cents at the beginning of November. By the end of last week. Richards said the price had fallen even further to 60 cents per kilogram. "The cause is over supply in the global market." he said. A lot of Ontario farmers had followed expert advise and expanded to supply Asian and Russian markets with pork. It was just over a year ago that provincial pork producers were told to start producing more pork to fill those markets, said Love. He added that this advice brought new people into the pork business. "We were told we gotta fill it, we've gotta CONTINUED on Page 11 Crowds expected at farm BY SCOTT IULGENDORFF There are a number of � ��� new faces this year and 1 Ribey said the farm toy. show. the original aspect of the much expanded show. is .still a strong draw. She said other farm toy shows have begun tb fade away. "Ours has managed to maintain its appeal and we're thrilled with that," she said. It started with the faint toy show and Ribey said they wanted to add more for the ladies and children, adding crafts and dolls. Now, the show also offers a range of gift items including jewellery and framed prints. There are 20 tables of sports cards at this year's show and the Milton Farm Museum will be bringing a They've been turning away vendors for a month now in a jam-packed Farm Toys, Dolls. Gifts, Teddy Bears, Crafts and Sport Cards Show and Sale on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 with plenty of new toys. dolls and collectibles to see. "This year, in the doll part. we've added an exhibitor who has doll making supplies," said Joyce Ribey, one of the show's organizers. The event is put on by the Seaforth Agricultural Society. She's especially excited about. the woman because she and a friend refurbish old dolls. ,People can bring their Ails for the duo to look at. oy, gift show collection of Massey -Harris memorabilia for sale. . The show will also feature a display for the 1999 International Plowing Match and will be a place that donation bags; distributed in last week's newspapers across Hurotl County, can be brought with toys and items for the Christmas Bureau. "We could sure stand more room," said Ribey. The shows are held al the high school, Agri-plex and Seaforth and District Community Centres. There are more than 150 vendors this year and usually crowds exceed 3,500 people Students will be operating a food booth at the high school and food will also be available at the Agri-plex and community centre.