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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1989-01-04, Page 5the Street By Jim Beckett o, you're not reading last year's T -A. It just seems like that as the -heavyweights at the news- paper have once again challenged each other to our annu- . al weight -loss competition with the person who loses the largest percentage of excess baggage collecting $50 from the other contenders. Sports editor Wayne Proctor hasn't yet realized he's in with some pretty heavy competition as we ty to take the title away from Ross Haugh, last year's big loser. For those of you who have suspected I might have a secret weap- on up my sleeve (it has to be there because there's no room in my pants), you're right. I've been bulking up since about last June, try- ing to gain as much as possible, which, if my calculations are cor- rect, I'll be able to lose just as fast and snatch the coveted T -A los- ers' cup from Haugh. If any of you out there feel you could be shedding a few pounds and want to risk losing $50 to the winner please feel welcome to join the contest. The officialweigh-in is Friday morning at 10. Give me a call at 235-1331. * * * * * The Exeter Minor Hockey executive deserve congratulations for the efficient way they hosted the Swedish hockey team last week. Local hospitality will leave our visitors with good memories of Ex- eter and our youngtcrs with their first experience of international. competition. * * * * * England has Eddie the Eagle ....but Exeter refuses to be outdone in the world of skiing. We have Shaw the Seagull who unfortunately. crashed last week dislocating his right shoulder eliminating any pos- sibity of him participating in this year's World Cup. A local doctor who -knows the mayor well says he is still unconvinced the accident actually happened outdoors. Cards and get well wishes can be ad- dressed to: Bruce Shaw, P.O. Box 788, Exeter, Ontario NOM ISO. * * * * * If you're looking for good hockey action this weekend be sure to be part of the excitement during the Exeter Hawks 12th annual tour- nament this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Five Junior "D" teams and three Junior "C" teams arc participating. Check the sports sec- tion for more details. * * * *• * Well, folks, we're barely into the New Year and already most of us have broken any resolutions we promised to keep only a few days ago. How about January 1 when promises of "I'll never drink again" could barely be heard above the sounds of moming-after illnesses. A quick survey of friends show that if even half of the resolutions are kept the result will be noticeable. These are the top 10. 1) I'm going to quit smoking. 2) This year I'll lose at least 15 lbs. 3) I'm not ever going to buy beer again. 4) I'll count every golf stroke this season. 5) A good exercise program is good for the heart. 6) I'm going to quit swearing in front of the kids. 7) I'm going to read at least one good book per month. 8) I'm going to be a good listener and not talk as much:- 9) French fries will be eliminated from my diet. 10) I'll never make another resolution as long as I live. Beekeepers stung By Yvonne Reynolds HAY TWP. - Apiarist Bill Fer- guson's first daughter, Sherry, was born in 1972. That year gas was 53¢ a gallon, heating oil 19.5. A pound of butter sold for 58¢. Bread was 19¢ a loaf. And the wholesale price of honey was 32¢ a pound. Sixteen years later, Sherry is in Grade 11. Gas .prices are in the mid-40 range - per litre. Furnace oil is almost 300 - a litre. A pound of buuer leaves little change from "three dollars. . The price of bread runs from 69¢ to well over a dollar. And Canadian beekeepers are getting 32¢ a pound for honey, less than the current 400 a pougd cost of production. times -Advocate, January 4, 1989 ' Page 5 by pricing Ferguson, who operates a 1,000 - hive apiary at RR2 Hensall, points to the present North American hon- ey surplus as the main reason for the devastating price depression in Canada. At one time, Canadian honey was shipped to England, but a 28 percent duty was slapped on im- ported honey when England joined the European Economic Communi- ty. Honey is now considered a lux- ury in Europe, retailing at over $5 a kilogram. On this side of the Atlantic, the story is quite different. The North American surplus has its roots in the American price -support system introduced in the fifties. The price was tied to the inflation rate, and remained relatively stable until about six years ago, when it began to climb steeply. US beekeepers took advantage of this unexpected bonanza by selling their honey to the government at 75¢ US per pound, and buying Canadian honey at the Canadian price of 50 to 60 cents a pound to supply their retail customers. Beekeepers in western Canada, who can produce almost twice as much honey per hive as the Onta- rio average of 88 pounds, stepped up production to meet demand south of the border. Altogether, Canadian beekeepers produced 78 million pounds of the sweet stuff in 1988, but consumed only 50 million pounds domesti- cally, adding to a 20 million pound carryover from the previous year. Normally, a large portion of this CONCERNED - Apiarist Bill Ferguson, shown with the Ontario Beekeepers Association trophy and rib- bon for best creamed honey in the 1988 competition, is worried about current low wholesale prices for honey. would be exported to the US, but the American government has low- ered its buy-back figure to approxi- mately 45¢ US a pound. In the last two years, the US government no longer takes actual delivery of the honey, and is also whittling away at the stocks in storage by giving honey away to prisons, low income groups and other recip- ients. These policies have drastically re- duced honey imports from Canada, resulting in a surplus in this coun- try. The laws of supply and .de - mad have meant lower returns to Canadian producers. According to Ferguson, competi- tion in Canada has increased to the point that individual beekeepers who pack their own honey are no longer competitive. As part of his own survival plan, he is augment- ing his income by selling breeding stock, and has begun making bces- Letters: book stores, Dear S ir. I would like to make a statement about two unsung and largely over looked people in Exeter two peo- ple who deserve a great deal of praise. I am speaking of Don and Susan Romphf, the .owners of the Selah book store. I'm sure that raises more than a few eyebrows, but I am quite seri- ous. You see, the Romphfs could have invested their money in quite a number of ventures that would have produced quite a return mostly for themselves. But instead, they brought us a Christian book store, mostly as a service to us. At this point many who are read- ing this are not only raising their eyebrows, they either think people like the Romphfs are a bit off the beam, or :they just for! sorry fnr them. That's because they think religion is a kind of dead issue. What a mistake! Jesus Christ is the one and only hope for our soci- ety and the whole world. That's what all the Christmas carols have ,been saying for the last month or more. And they're right! And so here, tight under our nos- es is a charming little outlet run by two beautiful, thoughtful, car- ing people, a store crammed with some of the most attractive, help- ful Christian writings you could find anywhere. I know, for I have been greatly helped by what I have found there. So I would just like to say a big Thank You to Don and Susan. Thank you for caring for Exeter and our other communities, bring- ing us so many helpful things that can lead us into God's truth and ways. May the Lotd wonderfully prosper you in 1989, because when that happens we'll all benefit. Yours sincerely, Eugene Fox * -Ir Lament for a nation "The times they are a'changing." The election is over and Brian kept the boys hard at it until they passed his Free Trade hill. Now Canada is headed down that path leading to- ward our new status as the 51st state on the flag of the USA. (If you look closely, you'll sec that it is a tiny rcd maple leaf instead of a white star - surely they'll let us keep that.) The winners smirk and make snide comments about "sour grapes," Perhap. When the govern- ment invoked closure to force the bill through, a Tory MP remarked c_ioln the lack of protest or outrage - o irate letters or rioting in the streets. No, it's too soon - some are still stunned. Canadians are immersing them- selves in the Holiday season, but that doesn't mean they've forgotten, or accepted the inevitable without some bitterness. Too many invested their time, their money, their pass- ing and commitment to a cause, to let the whole issue fade away into apathetic indifference the day after the vote. Canadians don't easily commit themselves to hot-blooded nationalism, so for many it was a new experience, for others, a last chance. Continentalism is now the order of the day. International corporations are al- Ie.i iy cuunlinb di it hrofits, and PI tory workers are nervously watch- ing the lists of plant closures. The winners are planning expansions and relocations; the losers are pre- paring for "adjustments in the mar- ket place." What an innocuous, deceptive word, "adjustments:. It doesn't be- gin to describe the dislocation in a worker's life engendered by the loss of his job, resulting in a loss of status, of control of his -life. Family farms will be under more pressure than ever before. Imagine the economic impact of economic adjustments on an entire town, city or region? Only time can tell what lies down that road for Canada. Who knows? It may bring a great improvement in the living standard for Canadians, and the Tories may be proved right about that. One thing we DO' know, Canada will have changed, for better or worse, depending upon your point of view. Perhaps Canada was never meant to be an independent, sovereign na- tion, dependent for so long as a British colony, it now leans toward she political sun of the U.S., ever drawn into its orbit. Look around you in this new year of 1989 and store up lots of memories, so in 1999 you can tell your children how things used of be in the Canada of old. Now we arc headed for the new statehood of free enterprise, to worship in the winner's circle at the high altar of profit. Losers need 'not apply here. It will be more difficult to enforce environmental controls or institpte trade and carollers new social programs to help the wcak, with Big Business accorded the place of honor at the Round Table of this new Camelot. Those who valued the slower pace of Canada and its gentler ways will have to look elsewhere. So bang the drum slowly, boys and sound the bagpipes in a mournful cry; Canada of old is passing by. Take a moment to sigh and remember, perchance to shed a tear... Robe, to Walker G rand Bend * * * Dear Sir. We eight carollers would like to thank all of the people who donat- ed an amount of money to help support a young girl in Ethiopia. Your money will help the child learn to communicate, receive med- icine, and lead a much healthier and happier life. Have a great 1989 from your singers: Jenny Ellison, Jenny McLean, Melanie Phillips, Melis- sa Brock, Nicole Eccles, Erin Workmen, Brcnyn Baynham and Kristie Sargeant. wax candles on an ingenious sprocket and chain dipping machine he built himself. Ferguson•is worried about the fu- ture of commercial apiarists in On- tario. He is past president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association, representing the 185 commercial apiarists who account for 80 perccnt of the more than 100,000 bec colo— nies in Ontario. (Ontario boasts a total of 5,500 beekeepers, but the majority are hobbyists.) "A lot are going broke on the prairies, and if the situation is not corrected, there will be a good num- ber of commercial operations for sale in Ontario", Ferguson predict- ed Ferguson offers two solutions - incrcased consumption, and govcm- ment assistance. Canadians now cat two pounds of honey per person per year, and con- sume 100 pounds of sugar in that same period. The beekeeping in- dustry would be strengthened con- siderably\if each Canadian would cat just one ore pound of honey an- nually. Fcrguso has no qualms about stating he thinks Ontario should do more for its beekeepers. Aside from honey production, bee colo- nies supply a vital pollination ser- vice. Figures from the Ontario ministry of agriculture and food es- timate that pollination added over $53 million dollars to the value of Ontario farm commodities in 1988. "Ontario is the only province that has done nothing for beekeepers in the 25 years I've been in the busi- ness", he said. • Assistance in other provinces ranges from a yearly 51 1,500 sub- sidy for"chemicals in Nova Scotia to S2,000,000 in Alberta in 1988 to compensate for border closure and price declines. Ferguson will be among those arguing for provin- cial help when representatives from the beekeepers' association meet in Toronto on January 5 with the "rural caucus", a group of MPPs representing rural ridings. Ferguson predicts a number of factors will adversely affect Ameri- can honey production in the next few years. Thc problem with vcrroa and tracheal mites is growing in the US, and the African bee, now in Mexico, is moving closer and closer to the American border. Hc main- tains that a healthy beekeeping in- dustry in Canada is in this country's best interests. J. Chris Little and Randy Evans. of Little & Evans are pleased to announce .the admission of D. James Grant into the partnership of Little, Evans & Grant 71 Main St. N Suite 201 Exeter, Ont. Standard 235-0670 Trust Bldg. Goderich 524-5311 to the advertisers of Exeter and surrounding communities We are now into 1989 and want to say 'Thank You". It is only fitting that we advertise our appreciation to the people who make it possible for us to publish one of the best community newspapers in the area. In 1988 hundreds of advertisers, retailers, classified and national advertisers used frequent and consistent space in the Times -Advocate, stimulating our economy and promoting employment. You, our readers re- sponded by buying food, clothing, shoes, TVs, sound equip- ment, paint, lumber, microwaves, books, houses, farm ma- chinery, sports equipment, jewellery, yard goods... the list is • endless. We enter 1989 with great confidence that this area• will enjoy greater prosperity and we look forward to the role our newspaper and its advertisers play in the economic growth. Once again "Thank You". We believe 1988 was a prosperous and good year... '235-1331