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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1979-03-29, Page 26a The winter break this year was so perfect, area kids found it almost too good to be true, as warm sunny skies made the week seem like a summer break. Most of the kids were outside doing one thing or another, including this group of boys on Matilda Street, who were lifting weights. Here Steve Emmerton hoists 75 pounds, while watching are, left to right, John Jos, Cathy Ladd, Vince Brochu, and Bobby Ladd. (News -Record photo) 114th year -No. 13 Phones out Thursday, March 29, 1979 Hello? Hello? Londesboro there? by Shelley McPhee If you live in the Londesboro area, chances are that communication, by telephone, may come to a standstill when it rains. People in the 523 exchange in Lon- desboro and Blyth are becoming a little aggravated with this continuous weather and telephone conflict. It seems, talking to area users of the Bell Canada system that when it rains water seeps into the telephone lines. This disrupts and has at times com- pletely cut off service. Area wormgr6wershoOked by cons Three people connected with International Vermiculture Marketing Service of London have slithered out of the country leaving some 26 south- western Ontario worm growers, in- cluding three area men, holding the bag. Jim Cleave of Clinton, Bill Ferguson of R.R. -2, Hensall and Frank Roth of Hensall are among worm growers who are considering the formation of their, own co-opera+'ve to find a market for their wormE. at International Ver- miculture Marxeting left them with. Mr. Ferguson has 20 bins of worms including red, yellowtail and ringling varieties. Each bin contains about 3,000 worms. Mr. Roth has 13 bins, Mr. Cleave was unavailable for comment. The three men, along with other Ontario worm 'growers are waiting word from police on the whereabouts of three people connected with Inter- national Vermiculture, who skipped bail on charges of being in and working illegally in Canada. The three charged are Richard Taarud, 49 of Pompano Beach, Florida; Thomas D. Stiler, 25 of First woman Nashville, Tennessee and Gail Morey, 23 of Seattle, Washington. They were charged following an investigation by the federal depart- ment of consumer and corporate af- fairs. As well, International Vermiculture has been charged under the combines investigation act which deals with misleading representation of the projected market .and subsequent profits from the sale of worms: - The Consumer and Corporate Affairs department discovered that Ver- miculture's claim that $10,000 to $12,000 per year could be gathered as income, was not valid. There is also some doubt of the reproduction rates given by the company. Growers were told that up to 3,600 pounds of worms could be yielded over a 12 -month period. However ac- cording' to Alan D. Tomlun of Agriculture Canada's research in- stitute,. at the University of Western Ontario, these figures are not realistic. He also noted that there is little market for the red worm. the predominent variety provided by the firm. However, growers are hoping that the ringling may have some value as a bait worm. Mr. Taarud told growers that worms could prove promising in the recycling of garbage and that worm castings to be used as fertilizer had a good market. Experts claim that recycling may be there but it's still being developed and the cost of transporting castings is still too expensive to make it profitable. The growers, 12 of whom met last week to discuss their situation and the alternatives, discovered that the initial price to set up the worm growing system varied. In some cases the initial price was much lower than others depending on whether the grower would build his own bins. Some report that their initial investment was as low as $2,300. - COnstable Moore Stirling of the RCMP said that International Ver- miculture may have received more than $65,000 from the growers throughput southwestern Ontario. International Vermiculture was first questionned as a legal company about Varna andGoshenget minister By Mary Chessell For the past five months the Varna and Goshen United Churches have been holding their own. The two small churches which faced the threat of possible closure have overcome their prroblems and the hiring of a new minister, Rev. Willena Brown of Bluevale has been recom- mended. The Varna and Goshen churches unfortunately were left without a minister last November when Rev. Alex Taylor was forced to give his resignation because of poor health. Rev. Taylor and his wife Margaret will remai,n in the manse until the end of June and then on July 1, Rev. Brown takes the two charges. At a Monday night congregational meeting of the two churches, the members approved a motion to extend a call to Rev. Brown. Her final hiring must be approved by the presbyterial conference. In December the two congregations agreed to set up a pulpit supply com- mittee to seek a new minister. Rev. Stan McDonald of Londesboro United, a presbytery member, along with Elmer Hayter, chairman of the pastoral relations committee, Charles Reid and Anson McKinley were elected to do this. At the December meeting, presbyterial representatives held out little hope of the small churches finding a minister since there were many other vacancies also in the area, but one of congregation's members expressed the opinion that the Varna and Goshen congregations should be more op- timistic and make every effort to find a pastor. As a result of these hopeful efforts on the part of the Varna and Goshen churches, the committee, with the assistance of Rev. McDonald had eight "Spring has sprung, The grass is riz 1 wonder where the candidates is?" That question won't be long left unanswered as the candidates and their party followers will - be descending on us shortly, wooing .us for our vote in the upcoming federal election on May 22. It hardly seems like five years ago that we were last in the polling booths, "X"ing our favorite choice. We hate to spoil all the fun around here, but finless incumbent Bob McKinley dies between now and May 22 we can't foresee any possible change in Huron. + ++ It figures, as soon as Trudeau announced an election, the weather turned rotten and we were buried under four inches of new snow, following one of the best March breaks in a number of years. The kids were pleased, though, as they hada good holiday and had to return to the classrooms Monday anyway. But I knew last week it would storm again, because I washed the truck, put•away the shovel and took off my long -johns Thursday, and it is bad luck to do those things in March. • ++ However, snow or no snoW, baseball "season is here, as the majors open the season next week andthe local teams are readying for registration i and .practices which begin in the next couple of weeks or s0. The Coil., Gilt: gu►ng w try it again this year and will be looking for helpers and players at a meeting scheduled for this Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at the arena. The ladies and the minor players can find further details of their season, while the slo-pitchers just finished playing hockey last night and haven't really decided when they'll open the season. April 1st this year won't be as funny an April Fool's day as it has been in the past, mainly because of a hike in postal rates, that will see first class letters going mailed for 17 cents instead of 14 cents, or a 21 percent increase in one fell swoop. I wonder if the service will improve 21 percent too, or is the extra three cents.to cover storage? as one coffee corner wag wondered the other day. +++ Apparently, Huron County is • to make the new dictionaries, when they are revised the next time. According to the latest Books In Canada magazine a new word has been coined: "muzzlewit. - a con- cerned parent in Huron County." ++-1- At last you can get rid of all those refundable bottles you have been holding onto since Christmas as the Clinton Scouts embark on at bottle drive this Saturday from 10-3 p.m. Look for their uniform, though, before you give up any donati6ns, as apparently some of our youngsters have learned the con game early. applications to choose from.% Miss Brown is highly qualified for the job. She is a free lance writer, having articles published in The Toronto Star. She has worked a great deal with youth groups and in Christian education. As well she is helping to develop the new United Church Curriculum. The decision was made to pay 50 per cent of the health insurance costs since Miss Brown has offered to pay any pulpit supply that may be required if she is ill. The new health insurance plan is being introduced in the London Conference and by excluding the dental plan, the premiums are reasonable. A retirement party for Rev. and Mrs. Alex Taylor will be held on Sunday, April 8 with a joint service in Varna at 11 a.m. This will be followed by a lunch and an afternoon of fellowship at the church. four weeks ago when researchers from the London Free Press' Sound Off attempted to contact Mr. Taarud. A staff member of Agriculture Canada's London station then challenged the worm reproduction rate claimed by the firm. After these problems, a sales rep't-esentative for International Vermiculture telephoned Sound Off to say that he was apparently without a job since Mr. Taarud hadn't picked up any of his messages, and hadn't been seen since March 6. Days later, Mr. Taarud and his two companions were arrested by the RCMP. The caul with International Ver- micultu`rel not unique. Two weeks ago it was reported that the National Worm Growers Exchange was causing some problems in Tennessee. The company has been charged with securities fraud by Tennessee and <ere recently fined $383,000 by the state of Virginia for similar fraud schemes. The Tennessee firm has advertised in Southwestern Ontario but no con- nection between it and International Vermiculture has been established. Several other people in the Clinton area have also paid up to $3,000 for Worm Growers Franchise. Constable Stirling suspects that Mr. Taarud may have at one time been associated with the Tennessee firm. i Weather 1979 1978 HI Lo '.AHI LO March C C ° F F 20 11 - 3 36 6 21 14 0 - 38 32 22 17 -1.5 40 39 23 18.5 6 40 27 24 11.5 7 35 12 25 7 - 6 33 15 26 - 4 -9 34 26 Rain 1.41" • Rain 16.0mm Snow 3.0 cm J The problem stems from eight miles of heavy, overhead cable from south of Londesboro to Blyth that is so badly deteriorated, that it leaks like a sieve. The cable, which is scheduled to be replaced by Bell in the near future, was heavily damaged by an ice and wind storm in January. ' One line, carrying five or six sub- scribers was completely without telephone service for 11 days recently. One subscriber noted that he called the Bell Canada repair office 10 times before any action was finally taken. The telephones have again gone out since the repairs were made. The problem seems to be widespread through the lines and most telephones are being affected to some degree. Some find that the lines continually crackle, especially when the wind comes up. Others find their telephones going out of order intermittently while some find their service out for days. Just over the weekend one line was out for three days. Bell Canada repairmen are con- tinually working on the lines , area people say, but the repairs don't seem permanent. They agree that this problem has been an ongoing thing for some time. Some feel that when Bell Canada took over the service from Maitland Tele Services a few years- ago the problems began. Others believe that the equipment is just too old while others claim that the equipment used in the lines is just poor quality. • All agree that something should be done and the obvious answer to them is to replace the lines. People on the 523 exchange have just about had enough of the poor service. If something isn't done to relieve the problem, they feel that public outcry will have to be the only solution. Whoops, I'm caught! That may have been the words of a teenaged Clinton youngster who got his father's truck stuckafter tearing up a half-dozen lawns in Clinton last week by driving across them and doing "donuts" on them. Police are going to charge the 16 -year-old, and they report that other vandals repeated the act again over the weekend. (News -Record photo) Area setfor election by Shelley McPhee Some are breathing a sigh of relief, others are breathing more quickly with anticipation, but the dam has broken. Monday night, Canada's Prime Minister called for a federal election on May 22. -` Along with the choosing of a new prime minister for the country, the election will have area people going to the polls to choose a new Member of Parliament, for the new riding of Huron -Bruce. For the first time, area voters will go Massed band part of fair celebrations Even though it's still two months away, the 125th anniversary of the Spring Fair is shaping up to be a major event in Clinton, especially with the scheduled appearance of the Ontario Massed Pipe Band, which has represented the province in the Rose Bowl Parade and will tour on behalf of Canada in Scotland this August. The 130 -member massed pipe and drum band, of which the Clinton Legion Band is a part, will lead the giant parade on Saturday, June 2, the second day of the fair. The three-day event, on June 1, 2, and 3, will not only give away over $22,000 in prizes to a host of entrants in a wide range of classes from livestock to baking, but will also have several new attractions, including an Old MacDonald's Farf, and bicycle races for the children. Kicking off the fair on Eriday will be a mini -tractor pull, fe-aturing the garden tractors, and as well, the Huron Holstein Show and the Ontario Jersey Association's Spring Show. As .1.r m- .-,,11 hind and a large parade already in the works for Saturday by director Eric Switzer and Dr. Ken Woods, there will be the swine, goat and sheep show, and skate -board and unicycle demonstration, helicopter rides, a beer tent, a bingo tent, and the usual midway. The evening will end with a concert by the massed band, after the heavy horse show. Sunday, the final day, will feature the western horse show, as well as the beef show, and secretary Bob Gibbings says possibly a Gospelshow to end the day. to the polls in a new riding, Huron - Bruce, formerly Huron -Middlesex. In a redistribution the new riding deletes McGillivray and Biddulph Townships in Middlesex which now fall into the Lambton-Middlesex and London -Middlesex riding respectively. In turn, four townships from Bruce County are added to the new riding: Huron, Kinloss, Culross and Carrick Townships. In Huron -Bruce, Graeme Craig of Walton will carry the Liberal torch. He was chosen to represent the Liberal party at local party's regular meeting last in April of 1978. Mr. Craig, a life-long resident of the riding, defeated two other nominees and in the upcoming election will likely face opposition from Bob McKinley supporters. Although the Conservative 15arty have not held a nomination meeting yet, Mr. McKinley said earlier that he will be re -seeking the Progressive - Conservative slot. Mr. McKinley had held the riding of Huron -Bruce for the past 13 years. The NDP party will likely be holding their nomination meeting in Clinton within the next two weeks. At least one area person has shown interest in running for the NDP slot. However, no firm convictions have been made yet. Ontario's Massed . PtipA and Drum band, shown here in a photo taken at San Francisco last epten will be one of the highlights Of the Clinton Spring Fair this year as t e Huron, Central Agricultural Society marks the event's 125th straight year. The massed band, which Included the -Clinton Legion Pipe band, has been all over North America , and this August has been invited to tour Scotland.