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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-02-22, Page 4Page 4 February 22, 2006 • The Huron Expositor Opinion Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1WO Farmers feed cities' continues to be a hard sell The situation is long past urgent as Ontario farmers, including many from Huron County, boarded buses for Guelph and Ottawa during the past two weeks: Farmers were trying - once again - to make both the provincial and federal governments understand the income crunch that could soon force many out of business. Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett is urging both levels of government to provide immediate aid since he's "seeing unprecedented levels of anger, frustration and fear in the farming community." "Farm families have done everything possible to produce high -yielding, high-quality crops so_ they can pay their bills and live a respectable life. Still, the returns are inadequate," he says, adding that current government programs are doing nothing to help farmers survive in the global market. The gravity of the situation is not news to local municipal councils such as Huron East, where for the second year in a row, council is trying to give farmers a break by allowing them to delay paying their property taxes. The plight of farmers is also well-known to small town businesses who are feeling the pinch from three years of the worst net farm income ever in Canada. But, despite continuing protests and lobbying by various farm organizations, conveying the same message to provincial and federal govern- ments remains a challenge. "Farmers Feed Cities" is the latest attempt to convince the urban population of the importance of the agricultural industry. But, in an affluent and increasingly obese coun- try where groceries are just one more cheap com- modity to throw in the back of the family SUV along with the latest clothing and furniture from the discount outlet malls, the importance of healthy food, and the Canadians who grow it, continues to be a hard sell. Susan Hundertmark Latest Olympic doping scandal ruins For the past week the world's eyes have been on Turin, Italy, where ath- letes from around the world have gathered to compete in the Olympic Winter Games. It's the grandest of events, with its . heart stopping finishes, miracu- lous comebacks, and of course, disheartening scandals. The most recent scandal -comes from just this past weekend, when Italian police raided the living quarters of the Austrian athletes looking for evidence of doping amongst the team. Italian police say they are testing items seized from the rooms including syringes, glu- cose drips and what were described as unpre- scribed medicine. This is the latest doping scandal to come from the Olympics, or what is soon to become more commonly referred to as Dope-A- Palooza, after a Russian biathlete was banned for two years and stripped of her silver medal after testing positive for a banned substance last week. Now I know not all Olympic athletes take performance -enhancing drugs. In fact, probably not even one-third do, but that doesn't matter. The Olympics have a reputation to uphold, event for everyone By Jeff Heuchert find, at the risk of sound- ing like my mother, "a few bad seeds can ruin it for everyone." In this case, it is the other athletes, the viewers at home and all of the aspiring athletes around the world, who are betrayed each time an ath- lete is caught for doping. Every two years an incident such as these mar what ' should be a time to celebrate the uniting of countries. But, like the governments that run these countries, playing fair is a very rare quality when competing for international supremacy, for any country. In the 1988 Olympics, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids after winning a gold medal. In the 2002 Olympics, Canadian figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were awarded a silver medal after a deal struck between the Russian and French Federations resulted in the French judge giving unde- served high marks to the Russian team of skaters. The motto for the Olympic Games is Citius, Altius, Fortius. Or, Swifter, Higher, Stronger. An admirable motto. If only the athletes could live up to it fairly. Ron & Dave Watcha doin? What for? Writing a cheque for Mom. Remember when we were kids, I broke all of her ex ive china dishes? Yeah. That was over forty years ago. Well, in six months I'll have her all . i id off. by David Lacey wow. She's tough. It's the compound interest that's been killing rne. 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