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Clinton News-Record, 1983-01-19, Page 1ar cents No. 3 Incorporann THE BLYTH STAND Wednesday, January 19, 1983 By Shelley McPhee Farmers want to know about the business of going bankrupt, Bert Saunders explained as the basis for Huron County's Farm Survival Association (HFSA) Originating in the Blyth area, and available to all farmers and small business owners in the county, the HFSA held its second meeting in Blyth on January 11. More than 50 area farmers attended the meeting to learn abut assistance available to those in finalcial difficulties, and information for those who want to keep their operation running successfully. Mr. Saunders of RR 1, Blyth is one of the executive members who brought the group together and he explained that the HFSA is first trying to determine whether there is a need for such a local organization. He said, "Farmers must determine their cash flows. We need some people to break the ice and show they need our assistance." The airn of the HFSA is to help farmers and small business people before they are forced to declare bankruptcy. The Association, he stressed, has not been organized as a vigilante group, to keep the receivers and sheriffs away. However recently in Wroexter a group of 25 local farmers went to resolve a financial dispute between the bank and a farmer in financial difficulty. A similar case occured in Rodney, where the FSA m that area guarded a local hardware store for three t days and nights from the receivers, in order to allow the small businessman an opportunity to re -negotiate his loan and keep his store in business. Incidents like these, called Farm Gate Defences, are what the local FSA want to avoid. As Mr. Saunders pointed out, "Publicity like that doesn't do us any good. Sometimes we have to go in and ask questions later, but we want to stay away from Farm Gate Defences. They're trouble, and should only be used as a last resort." Bob Henry of Blyth, another executive member said that problems should be solved privately, without publicity. "Everyone is here to help each other," he said. "If we get to the root of these problems in time, we don't need Farm Gate Defences." Future meetings At a meeting, to be scheduled in the near future, the HFSA hopes to have a lawyer as a guest speaker. Questions that will likely be raised include what a farmer can do when the bank calls a demand note, how can the farmer avoid bankruptcy, and what proposals can be worked out with the local bank, It was also suggested that accountants, financial consultants, perhaps even a bank manager, be asked to speak. In other FSA groups, in Middlesex and Grey -Bruce Counties, such information meetings have been held. Tuckersmith stacks up }ighest fire loss in Huron In Huron County there were :t . fires in 1981 with an estimated property loss of $1,907,017 and three fatalities. Ten people, four of them firefil ters, were injured as well. These statistics were published in the recently released booklet, 1981 Fire losses in Ontario, by the Office of the Fire Marshal. in the Town of Clinton there were three fires for an estimated property loss of $81,745. No fatalities or injuries resulted from the fires Tuckersmith Township had the I •ghest amount of fire damage in the county, $51,000 worth, resulting from the major fire -explosion at Huronview's Huron Day Care Centre wing. Eleven minor injuries resulted from that accident. Bayfield and Stanley Township had no fires in 1981 and Blyth had only one with a property loss of $8,000. The Town of Goderich had 16 fires for an estimated property loss of $13,876. No fatalities or injuries resulted from the fires. In neighboring Goderich Township however, there were six fires for an estimated property loss of of $270,200. There was one fatality, Phil Bissett, and one person was injured. The Village of Hensall reported two fires with a property loss $10,069. No fatalities or injuries resulted from the fires. Colborne Township had two fires for a loss of $310. Hullett Township had three fires for a property loss of $70,642. McKillop Township had one fire for an estimated loss of $25,000. East Wawanosh Township had three fires with five people injured and a property loss of $160,000. West Wawanosh fared better with only one fire and a $10,000 property loss. The total number of fires for the whole province of Ontario amounted to 25,035 for a property loss of $235,750,619 and 217 fatalities. Of these fatilities, 106 were men, 71 were women and 30 were children. In 1980 there were 26,554 fires and 267 fatalities resulting. first column People never learn, they always fall for a bit of juicy gossip or a good rumor, especially ones that slam local politicians or successful people in the community. The popular story that's been cir- culating around the Clinton area this week is that an industry from a neigh- boring town showed interest in setting up business in the former Ex -Cell -0 plant. Rumor has it had 300 jobs would be offered and the industry asked the town to help in the establishment of the plant by offering a rebate on taxes from one to five _'.ears. Now the rumor gets really good. The grapevine story said that the local town council flatly refused the proposal, and in turn the industry was going to ap- proach Seaforth for the establishment of their plant. To set the record straight Clinton Mayor Ches Archibald said this week, 'There was`'' absolutely nothing to it. The company involved in the rumor had never even heard of it." Annoyed with the situation, he added, "if anyone asked me about it I'd say, 'What the hell do you think we're crazy. How anybody could think of such a thing is idiotic. They should have the intelligence to know better.' " Many members of Clinton council said that they have been approached by private citizens enquiring about the rumor, giving criticisms and com- plaints. They want the record set straight. Mayor Ches did note that while there is no truth to the rumor, he has con- tacted two industries who may be in- terested in setting up operation in Clinton. but they want to study the situation in private, without publicity. + + News reporting today is certainly not like it was 100 years ago. In those times nothing was sacred from the watchful eye of the local press. Upstanding citizens and low fifes alike took frequent criticisms and tongue lashings from the editor's pen. Nowadays such reports could easily wind up with a slander or libel suit. if today you think that you lack privacy and nothing escapes the newspaper columns, read the following article headlined Love Under Dif- ficulties from the January 19, 1883 Clinton New Era. It read, "An amusing thing occurred one evening lately, not far from the centre of town; four unmarried ladies residing the same house went out for a walk together; they eventually separated, each one returning to the house with a male friend, and the first couple to reach the house took the parlor: the second had to content themselves with making love at the front door; when the third came along there was no choice but to hang over the gate. and when the fourth couple got home and found all available room occupied, they gracefully accepted the situtation and did their courting in front of the house.- 4- + Now for some local chit chat that can he published. Shannon Preszcator's step dancing class, The Saucy Sailors, with i)ebbie Draper. Stacey Reid, Susan and Scott. Jewitt will be making their television debut on the Rig Top Talent Show with Oopsie the clown on (TV's Channel 13 on .January 23 at 12 pm an It was expressed at the local meeting that a main area where farmers are having difficulties is with the fluctuating interest rates at the bank. Mr. Saunders explained that farmers find it hard to establish an accurate cash flow rate when interest rates on their farm operating loans are floating, not on a fixed line of credit. As well, Mr. Saunders added, that farmers come up against difficulties in determining a yearly financial record when the cash flow varies from season to season. "Farmers should be able to go in (to the bank) and take that bank loan on a fixed rate," he stressed. Young farmers, he said, are facing the most financial hardships these days. Several years ago in order to increase their cash flow, most farmers decided to run more acreage and larger livestock operations. That meant they needed bigger and better equipment. Sharing farm machinery with the neighbors no longer seemed feasible as Mr. Saunders pointed out, "When there are heavy rain clouds coming in over your white bean crop, you don't want to wait your turn." With a turn about in the economic situation, with high interest rates, lower commodity prices higher quota prices and declining farmland values, many farmers are now facing extremely tough times. Farming today is unlike the old days of mixed operations, when you could pur- chase a farm for $5,000 and live com- fortably, Mr. Saunders said. Today it's big business, filled with financing, paperwork and accounting, and Mr. Saunders noted that many problems occur because, "A lot of farmers don't know the laws." Mr. Henry added, "Everyone signs things that shouldn't be signed witho t study or a talk with your lawyer." air Banks and bank managers took the brunt of critisicros at the meeting, but Noel Bird of RR 5, Brussel sur rested, "There's a lot going on in the ocal banks, that even the bank managers don't know anything about." Mr. Saunders agre , saying, "We need local bank managers who can do more on their own not rely on head office orders." He s t v, hat there are good local bank 11 • th year y managers, but he and many farmers feel that head office officials in the larger centres know little about agriculture, about seasonal cash flows, about bumper crops and failures. John Nesbitt suggested that the Ontario Farm Adjustment Assistance Program OFAAP) is one project where additional financial support can be obtained. It is available to farmers who have a farm income of at least $12,000, an equity between 10 per cent and 60 per cent and whose interest and principal payments during the last year amounted to at least 20 per cent of their total expenses. Mr. Nesbitt supported OFAAP but said that many farmers have been, "scared off by the amount of paperwork involved.'' Mr. Bird added that the government budgeted $60 million for OFAAP and only used $10 million. "Everyone should ap- ply," he stressed. It was noted that some banks have been opposed to OFAAP, but Barry Ireland of RR 1, Wingham said, "Phone your local MP as soon as that happens." Mr. Nesbitt said that more short term programs need to be developed by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture ( OFA ) to help the financially distressed farmer. "Farm Survival supporters are willing to go out on a limb," he said. Mr. Saunders said that the local FSA, "had received mixed emotions from the OFA. We don't know if they're for us or against us." "We're both really going for the same thing," he said, but explained that OFA programs and assistance take Lime and have too many steps involved, through the township, county and even provincial levels. "Some farmers like me think that the OFA is a pussycat acid about time they became a tiger," Mr. Bird suggested. Mr. Nesbitt noted that a large mem- bership of the OFA is made up of long standing, established farmers. He did note that the Young Farmers Committee will be sponsoring a meeting in March or April, with three Price -Waterhouse Chartered Accountants as the guest speakers. They will explain farmers' rights, particularly regarding bankruptcies. Linda Reid and Brenda MacDonald will be the Clinton Public Hospital. Open to the, February 9 and March 9. It will teach Cal on the Resusci-Annie mannequin as well as Watch for more on the course m next week's Ne Trio charged 1 Three Seaforth area men were remanded in Goderich Provincial Court on Monday following a beating and robbery last Friday night at a farm 2.4 kilometres northeast of Blyth. Charged with robbery with violence are Michael Joseph McLaughlin, 19, of Seaforth, Randy James Buck, 21, of RR 4, Seaforth, and Robert William Engel, 18, of Seaforth. Helmut Johann Sieber, 29, of RR 2 Blyth, and Manfred Loseriet, 39, RR 1 Auburn were admitted to Wingham and District Hospital Friday night with head injuries after being beaten and robbed by the three men. Provincial police at Wingham said Mr. Sieber was alone in a farmhouse on the eighth concession of Morris Township when a man armed with a revoly r forced his wa Mr. lie on the back and he two other men en was robbed and struck on the he hard object. Meanwhile, Mr. Loseriet was driving past the farmhouse and became suspicious of a strange car and individuals in the Sieber driveway. Police said Mr. Loseriet stopped and became involved in a fight with two men before being hit over the head with what he thought was a gun. He was robbed and further beaten. Mr. Loseriet made his way to a neighbor and called police. Early last Saturday morning, OPP arrested three men who will appear in Goderich Provincial Court on Thursday. e d with a Clinton cruiser d•amaged in Goderieh mini -riot The Clinton Fblice cruiser was damaged as the result of a "mini -riot" at the Park Theatre in Goderich last Friday night. Constable Wayne McFadden answered a Goderich town police call for assistance in Blyth on January 11 more than l0 local farmers gathered to learn more about the Huron County Farm Survival Association. The group was formed in December to assist farmers and small business operators in financial difficulties and to avoid bankruptcies. Heading the meeting were, left to right, Ram Ireland, RR 2, Wingham; Barry Mason, RR 1, Belgrave: Bert Saunders, RR 4, Brussels and Bob henry of Blyth. (Sheller McPhee photo) A building tour shows structural damage L;ounty council see museum problems By Stephanie Levesque Huron County Council came face to face with the stnictural problems at the Huron County Pioneer Museum as part of its Jan. 6 session involved a tour of the closed facility. Weak roof supports were vividly pointed out by museum staff and county coun- cillors experienced first hand the cold temperatures endured by the collection. Museum curator Ray Scotchmer said it is the first time council as a whole has toured the museum. Numerous councillors have toured the museum individually, but with 17 new county councillors. the tour frovided the opportunity for them to amiliarize themselves with the building. A Quick trip up to the attic enabled roun- cillors to see the two by four and two by six inch beams holding up the tin roof. Custo- dian i,ee Erb pointed out the section of roof which collapsed three winters ago. Researcher Pat Carter and volunteer Cin- dy Fearnall were also on hand to answer questions. In answer to one query, Mr. Scotchmer said the possibility of opening up part of the museum in the summer will be in- vestigated by council's property commit- tee Once council reconvened in its chambers there were questions regarding the Huron County Pioneer Museum reserve building fund and the standing of the museum. Mr. Scotchmer indicated that for the present the museum is closed and added if it remains dosed for the year it will lose ground as far as attendance goes. Tuckersmith Township Reeve Robert Bell asked if council is not getting ahead of itself by establishing the fund. lie was con- cerned that if council decides not to go ahead and rebuild a museum they would still have monies from this fund Mr. Scotchmer explained a hill record will be kept of who gives how much and if council decides not to go ahead with rebuilding the museum, the money would be given hack to the donors ('lerk- treasurer William Hanly said the find lc a good indicator of how much siipp' rt thi'r is in the county for a museum He noted that to date there has only been one dona- tion from a London woman. when rioting teenagers started to van- dalize the theatre. While Constable McFadden was aiding in breaking up the riot, teenagers booted in the side of Clinton cruiser. Damage to the cruiser's door was estimated at $300. Patrons were attending the midnight showing of a rock,' movie by AC -DC -Let there be rock. Before the movie started sonic members of the crowd were boisterous and the movie's low quality triggered Violence near the end of the show. About 285 attended the show but there were only about five main trouble- makers. Theatre Manager Allan Fulker said a hole had to be mended in the movie screen, which is valued at $900. He also said several chair backs were snapped off and some bathroom fixtures were ripped off the wall. Midnight screenings of the Rocky Horror Picture Show have been shown at Goderich with no problems. Mr. Fulker said he is willing to give midnight shows another try, but midnight rock shows are definitely. out. Blyth firemen unable to save Hullett garage A garage -workshop. car, tires and equipment were destroyed in a Sunday evening fire at the residence of Ray Reisinger. Hullett Township. .Inn Howson, captain of the Blyth Fire i>epartment reported that the local brigade answered the ,January 16 call to the Basinger farm. south of Blyth, one mile east Of Highway 4 When the firemen arrived the garage - workshop was burning out of control and shortly afterwards the roof caved in. With the assistance of the Clinton tanker truck, the Blyth crew battled the stubborn blaze for more than two hours. Captain Howson said that the cause is still under investigation and total amount of damage has not been estimated. Weath r 1982 1981 HI 10 H LO -R n n 1 (1 1a Q 1' 18 -20 -19 -11 ),n 19 8 -2n -lir 72 Snow 11 ( in