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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2005-06-22, Page 1Cmt.ia"°` Joy Finlayson & Sharon Medd Mortgage Consultants "Finally, a company that starts with a discount" ISO \I.���� ' I.. ti.., .,1.,1 it (.191) 517-03.60 Slangs Maid, Asocial. Broker Appraise.M.VA. Visit mis.ca for inormation of Iig*inp in Hun &Perth .tom. - 4.:11. > lir brief Farmers asked to help Huron OPP find marijuana ednesday, June 22, 2005 $ 1 .25 includes GST Doug Mott. CFP. B.Math Friandal Fianna{ GIC rata touf AlJule 21, 30 ops ao4d dm. WI" IOW a apps Best CM. Rates 2 5% 3.5% 35ga'ff4 •DUND EEP minors aivie.M.. NSC.) a imam laws atautaaat mamas I(jIi iuIut( 26 Main St., Seaforth 527-2222 operations Huron OPP are asking farmers for their help once again to help find illegal outdoor marijuana growing operations. They received their first call of the season June 13 when a citizen found over 20 plants off of Cardiff Road in Morris-Turnberry near a river. The illegal marijuana will be ready to harvest by late August, early September. Police are asking farmers to report any suspicious activities they may see around the farm. There are several areas where the growers will plant their seedlings during the spring months. One technique that is commonly used is uprooting a corn plant and replacing it with marijuana seedlings every five to 10 feet. Growers may also remove an entire plot of corn and replace it with the seedlings. The corn gives the marijuana plant excellent cover and makes detection very difficult. Other areas where plants have been located are along fences, creek beds, streams, and rivers and in areas of bushy trees. The marijuana plant can grow to a height of six feet, requires a moist -environment, and is usually planted on the south side of the field. Once seedlings are planted they require maintenance and water on a regular basis so growers will frequently trespass on the farm property Farmers should look for footprints along the edges of crops, unattended vehicles along the , roadside, discarded seed trays or fertilizers, and hidden tools. Once the plants are stable the offender may not return until they are harvested. Huron OPP Sr. Const. Don Shropshall recommends that, "at no point should the farmer. approach the individual. Our main concern is the public's safety - then the marijuana." Anyone with related information is asked to call the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers. 11111Willi Speaker says comedy is best stress relief ...page 3 SPS athletes compete at regional track meet ...page 19 New program should help grain, oilseed producers By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor A replacement for the market revenue program, created by grain and oilseed producers "definitely looks promising" to help local farmers struggling with record low prices, says Wayne Hamilton, second vice president of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture. Local farmers are being invited to learn about the new risk management program (RMP), created by a panel of Ontario grain and oilseed farmers and endorsed by the province's seven grain and oilseed commodity organizations, at a meeting in Seaforth on July 12. "The key thing here is there has to be buy -in from both levels of government - the province and the federal government - so farmers will have to try and convince politicians we really need it," says Hamilton. While the CAIS (Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization) program did not meet farmers' needs during last year'scrisis in the grain and oilseed sector, a press release from the Ontario Corn Producers says the new RMP program should "provide farmers with support to remain competitive on the world stage." "We're very excited about this proposed plan because this price support program will provide timely payments and enable producers to protect their individual cost of production," says Peter Tuinema in the press release. Program highlights include links to CAIS, with payments counting as CAIS advance payments, growers receiving two payments a year if necessary, growers choosing their level of support to protect their individual costs and the inclusion of farm -fed grains. Hamilton says he's pleased that the new program includes farmers who grow their own feed for livestock. "Most farmers in Huron grow a lot of their own corn and put it in the silo so it's not only for grain and oilseed producers," he says. 'But, it will go a long, long way addressing the crisis grain and oilseed farmers faced last year," he adds, comparing RMP to programs offered by the Quebec and U.S. governments to grain and oilseed producers. The RMP program is designed to share the responsibility for risk management between the producer and the government, says Walt Charbonneau, chair of the Seed Corn Growers of Ontario in a press release. "The provincial government's 2006 budget has been announced and our requested $300 million to fund an MRI replacement program was not in it. For this year's crop, there is no market protection for Ontario's growers," he says in the press release. Hamilton echoes Charbonneau's comments, saying RMP should "address the huge volume of need out there." "We've been promised a rept cement for market revenue and Huron -Bruce MPP Carol Mitchell said they'd be there for farmers if they needed it again. We need that commitment in a program," he says. Carissa Pertschy photo Tracy Lee, her son Caden, 4, and her father -In-law Chris Lee take part in the Relay for Life festivities over the weekend in Goderich. Tracy's Go Getters break last year's relay total Lee and team of 18 raise $6,459.11 for cancer By Ben Forrest Expositor Staff • Egmondville resident Tracy Lee has beaten cancer once. Now she's trying to make it history. Lee, who was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer at age 25, was among the top fundraisers for the local Canadian Cancer Society's Relay For Life, held from 7 a.m. on June 17 to 7 'p.m. June 18 in Goderich. Tracy's Go Getters, a collection of 18 of Lee's friends, family and supporters, raised $6,459.11 for the event, surpassing the $6,347 they raised last year. In all, the Goderich version of the event raised over $104,000, with more money still coming in. Lee herself contributed $1,482.11 in pledges. She was the third highest individual fundraiser. Lee personally raised about $900 last year, and says she always hopes to top herself each time the relay comes about. "That is my goal, each year," Lee says, "just to get as many pledges...as I can and just help find the cure." The Relay For Life, apart from being a fundraiser is "A celebration of survival and tribute to the lives of loved ones who have been touched by cancer," according to the Cancer Society's website. Participants circled the track across from Goderich District Collegiate Institute in a non-competitive relay, and Lee says there were a number of bands and DJ's providing entertainment, as well as clowns and other fun stuff for the kids. Around the track were placed bags with candles in them, placed there to honour cancer patients past and present. To see the candles lit up at night, and See BRAIN, Page 2 Doors Open welcomes 1,500 to Brussels By Susan Hundertmark Expositor Editor The 1,500 people who stopped and entered the Doors Open event in Brussels over the weekend was a great trial run for the 12,000 that could flood Seaforth's and Brussels' Doors Open events in July and August, says Huron East economic development officer Ralph Laviolette. "It was great - a really enjoyable way to meet people. Everyone rubbed shoulders and chit-chatted on Brussels' main street," ,he says. A 34 -page brochure highlighting 29 buildings in Brussels, 25 in Seaforth, five in Walton and many surrounding villages and hamlets was distributed to over 300 carloads of people over the weekend. While the majority of the visitors to Brussels consisted oftHuron County people - with a few from as far away as Waterloo and London - Laviotette points out that Sunday's event was only advertised locally. The Doors Open events in Susan Hundertmark photo Eluned McNair, of Brussels and Gall Tully, owner of Chocolates and Fudge in Brussels, look at pictures of Brussels' historic downtown during the Doors Open event Sunday. Seaforth on July 31 and Aug. 1 and in Brussels on Aug. 20 have been advertised throughout Ontario in a provincial brochure. "Last year's Doors Open event in Kincardine drew 12,000 to their town and there's no reason that can't happen here," says Laviolette. The 34 -page brochure used on the weekend is being. expanded to a larger version for July and August and Laviolette says it could still be enlarged if anyone still wants to be involved. The final version will be printed at the end of June. "We've included the Sills Hardware building, Box Furniture and Nifty Korners but more of the_ shops could benefit by highlighting the buildings they're in and their histories," he says. In Brussels, popular destinations included Logan's Mill, which received 196 visitors, the Armstrong Aerodrome, which received over 200 visitors who were also attending an ultralight airplane convention and the Flatiron building with over 100 visitors. As well, people stopped at the Brussels' Masonic Hall and the Chocolates and Fudge business ran out of ice cream. "How often do people get to visit the inside of a Masonic Hall?" says Laviolette. Gail Tully, owner of Chocolates and Fudge, says she saw steady traffic all day at her shop. She says a historic collage of pictures of Brussels' buildings, located in her shop, was a great conversation piece, "This is a real fascinating village we live in. I want to See LOCAL, Page 2