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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1991-08-07, Page 1CAR RENTALS D LY • WEEKLY • MONTHLY CALL w POI nsu 4Ncs IIIEMACCAIENT At tee • Coq b,, Alb CiorrU Cobs • gmw Su 23 -3381 or 338-8839 after hours Serving South Huron Inside NDP policy Greenberg and Mathyssen hash it out page 3 On the beat With the police page 10 Elector list will be posted, EXETER - If you missed the enu- meration for the November munici- pal election, you will get a chance to put your name back on the list when it gets posted next month. The list will be up at the munici- pal office from September 3 to Oc- tober 11, which is incidentally nomination day for candidates for the election. Building rate still behind EXETER - Even though the val- ue of building permits for July out- paced those of July 1990, total building starts are still well behind those of last year. The town building department recorded building permit values of $275,450 in July, up slightly from the $261,520 recorded in July 1990. However, the year -td --bate 'fig- ures show total building activity valued at $3.2 million, well behind the $4.3 million recorded by the end of July last year. Skateboard crackdown continues EXETER = As the Times Advo- cate comes off the presses Tuesday evening, town council will be de- bating a new bylaw to further re- strict the use of skateboards in Ex- eter. The proposed bylaw, number 38 of 1991, adds two new zones to those previously prohibited to the foot -powered fiends. Council passed a bylaw two years ago mak- ing it illegal for skateboarders to terrorize pedestrians with their an- tics on Main Street sidewalks. The crackdown may now be extended to the South Huron Recreation Cen- tre parking lot and to all sidewalks adjacent to the recreation centre. Council had approved and en- couraged the opening up of the are- na floor to skateboarders, only to find that the youngsters were mak- ing a nuisance of themselves both on their way to and from the recrea- tion centre. Gr Gainer-Kneale Insurance Service Experience & value 235-2420 North Middlesex & Lambton More anger than answers Farm groups debate future of Huron farming By Adrian Harte CLINTON - What are the prob- lems facing farmers today? In what way can Huron County help secure the future of farming in its borders? Tough questions for tough times. And for the 24 representatives from various county agricultural organi- zations who attended the public meeting with a focus on farming, it was a chance to discuss those is- sues, although perhaps more with a result of venting frustrations than coming up with solutions. The focus group meeting was part of the overall Huron County Study, which is examining ways in which government services will af- fect the future of the county. Planner Gary Davidson told those present the study was different from other county studies because it is not aimed at the eventual amal- gamation of municipalities. He said the study is looking at creat- ing alternatives" mainly through the use of public input. Davidson pointed out Huron is • becoming increasingly urban, de- spite the strength of its agricultural economy. Unserviced suburban and commercial development is also becoming common in the townships, along with its environ- mental problems. "If you drew a line 1,000 feet down the shoreline, you would have the largest municipality in the county," said Davidson, noting even the Lakeshore cottagers are a community unto themselves. Because of trends like these, the percentage of Huron's population dedicated to farming is expected to drop over the years. The bulk of new jobs will not be found on the farm. "The agricultural economy as a whole economy has changed," con- tinued Don Pullen who is responsi- ble for preparing the Huron County Study's agricultural reports. With commodity prices for cash crops, grains and oilseeds still de- pressed, Pullen said some of the op- timism about the GRIP and N1SA plans when he started his study is now fading. "We produce more here in Huron than all the Maritime Provinces put together," said Pullen, but rioted most agricultural sectors are just not profitable. Pullen explained his background report was created from conversa- tions he had with county farmers as he travelled the townships on an in- fgrmal basis. "These are not my views. They Miss Frfedsburg - Becci Farquhar of Exeter (left) was proclaimed Miss Friedsburg at the celebra- tions Saturday in Dashwood. She is congratulated by Jodi Becker, last year's winner. More Friedsburg Days photos on page 9. Tax protest group formed in GranctBend By Fred Groves GRAND BEND - The residents of Grand Bend say they're sick and tired and they're not going to take it anymore. Wednesday night they banded to- gether and formed a chapter of the increasingly popular Ontario Tax- payers Coalition. About 60 taxpayers attended the meeting and when it was over, many of them went away with a positive feeling they might be able to do something about the high tax- es in their community. "It's time we took control of our own lives instead of leaving it up to the elected officials," said Grand Bend resident Wayne Forbes. He along with several other peo- ple have formed an executive which are planning to hold another public meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at the Pinedale Motel. "It's up to the people of Grand Bend to form a coalition and see where it's (money) going," said vil- lage resident Lloyd Guillct who helped organize Wednesday's meet- ing. in Grand Bcnd jumped 17.19 percent in 1991, F/said he knows how to fight crease. Grand Bend 1. Woodley who attended the meeting, said of that increase, 4.96 percent was general, 10.76 for elementary schools, 18.24 to secondary schools and 67.81 percent to the county. Grand Bend council did a lot of Continued on page 8 are the views of people who gave them to me at their kitchen tables or whatever," said Pullen. When Pullen asked those present if they thought farming would re- main family -operation dominated until it became more profitable, he was told by one man in the audi- ence it made no difference whether families or corporations owned the land. "Nobody can lose money forev- er," he said. One woman agreed and noted 45 percent of Huron farmers are 65 years of age or older. The middle- aged group are highly leveraged and there are virtually no young farmers. Pullen suggested more "integrat- ed operations" might become more common - those which process their farm output to more "value- added" levels in order to get closer to the more lucrative food process- ing industry. - = - One man said his children have decided to retum to the family farm, but are prepared to support the farming with other land uses. One wants to set up a machine shop, the other is opening a golf course. "Is this what we want?" asked one woman. "Farming as a hob- by?" When one man asked if anything would result from the meeting, or if it was just a rehash of familiar problems, Pullen said he aimed to put the information together as a "base for the future". Davidson chipped in: "Is it a sit- uation where just the growing of a product is not enough...? We've gone on thinking of agriculture in a certain way. Is is time to change that thinking?" One man said he was tired of hearing how farmers can't support themselves. He said his food pro- duction supported himself and a hundred other people. The prob- lem, he said, was that government services are getting more and more expensive and the taxpayers are not getting their money's worth. Another man accused the govern- ment of deliberately suppressing food prices. "You want to make money in ag- riculture, you've got to change the 1.0-enunent's attitude," —he ` said, claiming the government gave up its price system on wheat too readi- ly. One dairy farmer agreed and said despite the government's' attempt at interference, the marketing board has been able to assure farmers a profit from the marketplace. "What that gentleman is talking about is an unstated 'cheap food' policy. Cheap food equals votes," he said, but added the fear of pay - Continued on page 2 Boundary report comes out today GRAND BEND - Although a draft of the final report on boun- dary adjustments between Grand Bend and Bosanquet Township is due out today, those directly in- volved were keeping very closed - lip on its contents. On. July, 130jetgves of both municipals s me with Vie Lambton Boundary Application Committee. They put together the draft which will be presented at a public meeting August 22 at the Grand Bend Legion at 7:30 p.m. "I think there's negotiations on all parts now. I'm not saying everyone is happy," said Grand Bend reeve Bruce Woodley. He would not elaborate on what was in the report, but did say his council had a copy of it prior it to it being officially released to the pub- lic on Wednesday: Grand Bend aims to annex lands in both Stephen and Bosanquct Townships. Woodley would not comment ei- ther on • whether he was pleased with the final report, but did say if his council was not satisfied, they would be contacting the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. In January, the committee met with Grand Bcnd, Bosanquct and Thcdford. That report stated Grand Bend could be allowed to annex 150 acres of vacant Bosanquct land. "Those were interm reports in January. This is a final report, they are different," said committee chairman Larry O'Neil. He expects the final report to be in the hands of county council by mid-September. "The interm reports were guide- lines 'for the committees. What you'll have here is the original re- port with some fine tuning done to it, said O'Neil. Boundary negotiations have on- going since July 1984 when Grand Bend passed a bylaw initiating procedures under tide Municipal Boundary Negotiations Act, 1981. • Grand Bend was seeking t� ex- pand into the the urbanized part of Bosanquet, primarily into South - colt Pines. However, Bosanquet felt at the time, both municipalities would be better served if they amalgamated the village. In 1989, the committee was set up under the Sarnia-Lambton Act which stated any applications for boundary adjustments would have to go through that committee. The Lambton Boundary Appli- cation Committee have had sever- al applications before them in the last two years, including one be- tween Bosanquet and Thedford. "Our committee has been busy with the Thcdford one and the rea- son we were waiting this long (Grand Bend-Bosanquet applica- tion) was to- get to the Thedford Offe; sa (SrNc i l . In the January report, the com- mittee recommended that Bosan- quct totally annex Thedford. Obvi- ously the residents of Thedford have shown their opposition. While Grand Bend and Bosan- quet are attempting to mop up their differences, Stephen Town- ship is also highly involved in ne- gotiations. in January, the committee did not invite Stcphcn Township to the meeting but did however in its report, recommend Grand Bcnd annex 450 acres from the town- ship. Romanian baby enters the lives of Kirktoncouple By Rhonda Vandeworp KiRKTON - Mery and Teresa Hem had been trying to adopt a child in Canada for the past seven years. Because of the long waiting period, the couple became somewhat discouraged. However, their hopes were renewed earlier this year when they were giv- Ilken the opportunity to adopt a Romanian child. Orphanages in Romania are presently overcrowded with children unable to be financially supported by their parents. Due to a ruling made by Ceaucescu's govemment, it was man- datory for all parents to have four children Many of these families were facing poverty, and thus later had to depend upon the state to care for their children, Mery explained. There are several orphanages throughout the country. In the orphanage where their son Eric lived, 700 children under the age of three were being housed. In February of this year the Hems made their first trip to Romania to cho )se a child, and then returner' home to wait for a court date. Mery ex- plained that a court appearance was necessary because although the state was in charge of the welfare of the child, the parents' consent was still needed for a legal adoption. in the border town of Resita the Heins found an eight -month-old boy they wanted to adopt. Although they were refused permission to browse through the orphanage, the poor medical and sanitary conditions were evi- dent. "We weren't allowed to see much of the orphanage. We had to wait in the hall, but across from us we saw a big sign hanging over a door with HEPATITIS written on it." Teresa continues, "There's not much medical supplies, they re -use disposable syringes, and the doctors are even now on strike. The orphanage was very dark, there were hardly any light bulbs and broken glass was all over the stairs." _= -- --- Although the boy's drivironment may not have been the healthiest or the safest, the parents were comforted when a Canadian doctor examined the child. The Hems were anxious to have Eric at home with them. Unfortunately, their spirits were continually deflated as scheduled court dates were mys- teriously cancelled. "It was tike being on an emotional roller coaster. We almost reached the point where we thought we wouldn't get him," said Teresa. The third court date was scheduled for July 2. Determined to bring home the young Romanian, the Hems flew to Resita before the court ap- pearance could be dismissed. Although the following events now seem unbelievable, and somewhat comical, the Heins were plagued with one disaster after another. Their scheduled flight to England was cancelled so in order to catch an- other airplane,. the Kirkton couple took a four -seater plane from St. Thom- as to Toronto. They missed that plane by five minutes. The couple then proceeded to meet two other Canadians planning to adopt at the Heathrow Airport, flew from there over Yugoslavia's civil war landing in Belgrade, and on to Romania where they tried renting a cheap and reliable car to take them to Resita. Driving to the border town in their $1,000 Passat, they were once stopped by the army. Shortly after their ar- rival, they received word that the court date had to be postponed for one week. After a week of waiting, the papers were finally signed by the Romanian parents, and the Hems were free to pick up their son at the orphanage. "When we picked him up, t could feel a load lifted. Of course we didn't Continued on page 8 Mery and Teresa Ham with their son 010,`tt ROM they from a Romanian orphanage. adopted •