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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1981-10-14, Page 11 Weafher 1981 HI LO OCTOBER 6 17 2 7 8 5 8 10 5 9 12 -2 10 10 2 11 14 4 12 14 1 Rain 41.0mm 1980 Hi, 10 10 2.5 13 1 18 6 12 r -2 16 0 11.5 4 12 3 Rain 31.6 Deflation could become collapse for farmers Federation of Agriculture hed fears economy 'BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE HENSALL - "We're all in this together", past president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture told the Huron Federation's annual meeting here recently. Peter Hannam, the guest speaker for the annual event, was talking about the cur- rent economic situation. He commended the Huron Federation as it is the most ac- tive and vocal federation in the province. But he said not to let the good production in Huron County hill the members into a false sense of security. Hannam said he had a "fear" of defla- tion, because a "collapse" as was ex- ' perienced in 1929 is determined by the rate of speed from inflation to deflation. He compared the current inflation rate to that of a steamroller, and the higher inflation goes, he wonders how soon and how severe the deflation will be. He said that as more farmers go out of business, there is more of an impact on the commodity market and more chance of a Collapse. He recommended an orderly change, with government policy slowing down the possibility of deflation. Hannam said it isn't true that the price of farm land has been going up steadily. He suggested if the farmers looked back over the past 200 years; they would find land prices have gone up and down. He again emphasized his fear of deflation and .what it would do to the price of farmland. He said the hardship would be, far greater than that being experienced now. Hannam spoke at the meeting on the grain industry, and related how appalled he was at his own lack of knowledge on the. subject when he Pained the Canadian Livestock Feed Board. Hannam is current- ly chairman of the board. He advised barley producers to not gear up production for the world market, rather he said, there is a more positive market in Canada. Hannam said the federal freight assistance program for transportation to the Maritime provinces assists Canadian producers selling to Canadian markets. He said he would hate to see French barley (from France) arrive in Canada to feed Maritime livestock A low price at harvest time because of poor weather is just a symptom, said Han- nam. The real issue is the global grain market. He explained the difference between a shortage and a surplus is about one per- cent of the global grain production and the difference between a glut on the market and a critical shortage is about three per- cent. He said there was a critical shortage of grain last year, and in anticipation of this production was increased. It was increas- ed by 20 billion tonnes. He agreed that didn't sound like much in relation to the world market, but it has created a glut on the market. Hannam said a lot of farmers have swit- ched to barley crops, because of lower in- put costs, less drying time and easier storage. He said thishas resulted in more barley being produced than could be con- sumed. Hannam compared market prices and said the main competition for Canada is Europe. In his concluding remarks, Hannam praised the works of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture and said to "keep up the good work". Harvest of Savings New town promotion starts on Thursday The first annual Harvest of Savings, a combined promotion • of the Clinton Business Improvement area and retail merchants, gets underway this Thursday,. and lasts until next week. • Mostof the downtown stores have been decorated with a harvest theme, and a special sale is being held by many mer- chants. A special booklet has also been produced by the News -Record and, distributed to Huron farmers protest give 1,000 letters to MP BY STEPHANIE LEVESQUE HFNSALL - A presentation of 1,037 let- ters stating the.feelings on the economy of the Huron County people was presented to MP Murray Cardiff (PC -Huron -Bruce) at the Huron County Federation of Agriculture's annual meeting here Oc- tober 8. Gerry Fortune, president of the Huron County Federation m ade the presentation. to Cardiff. Prior to the. presentation, For- tune said she had read the letters as they came in. She said the letters made her feel "sad, frustrated, desperate, and angry". These feelings were vented, not at the let- ter writers, but at the situation the economy is in. She related how in one of the letters, a lirst. column person who had been farming for 25 years didn't know what he was going to do. because next year henvould have no equity left. Cardiff said following the presentation that it was the largest number of letters he had ever received. He said "agriculture has been given another blow", with the an- nouncement that day that interest on government loans to farmers increased to 16.75 percent from 14 percent. In a lighter moment, Russell Bolton of McKillop Township was presented with the Huron County Award for ' • involvement in the Federation of Agricul re. Norman Alexander made the presentati n and read out a long list of B ton's ac- complishments. It was the sixth year for the award. by jim fitzgerald I can't honestly think of a greater place to be in the middle on October than Ontario, and in particular Huron County. Nothing is more soothing to the soul than our absolutly outstanding falls. When the magic ingredients get all together for a few fleeting days, the sights, sounds and smells seem to recharge the body, sort of like nature giving us a second wind before she crushes us under the burden of several feet of snow and freezing temperatures. The warm, sunny, windless days, filled with the brilliant yellows, oranges and sprinkled with the reds of the changing trees, and contrasted with the deep blue of the sky and the lush green of the grass, has inspired countless poets and authors through the centuries and it's no wonder. In the early morning, the still, frosty air is now filled with the sweet aroma of burning wood, as the wood stove and furnaces makes a comeback, and at night, a brilliant full moon bathes the scenic landscape with a pale yellow light that enhances the supressed fall hues. The insects are all gone now, and except for the farmers rushing around trying to get the last of the crops off before the cruel winter buries them for four months, the countryside is ab- normally quiet. Many of the songbirds have already left for warmer climes, and the only early morning sounds are those of a impatient squirrel, doing his last minute chores of gatherting up his chesnuts and walnuts, and almost as quickly forgetting where he buried them. The garden's in kind of a shambles now, with only the late cabbage and brussels sprouts to come off, while a row of spinach still makes a valiant stand a: Inst the frost. Although most of the late tomatoes have succumbed to an invasion of an army of sap beetles and the exploding slug population, somehow the ° green peppers have miraculously survived both them and the frost, and are still producing their sweet tasty fruits, although now somewhat on the smaller side. The fruit celler, freezer and shelves are packed with the onions, potatoes, squash, raspberries, pears, and other produce of the garden, more than enough to last the winter. And even though sometimes it is cheaper to buy the stuf f canned or frozen from the local stores, there's a certain sense of satisfaction and independence gained from growing and putting down some of one's food. Maybe the urge stems from recent pioneering ancestors who had to scratch a living from the rich Ontario soil with only a few hand tools, all the while fighting overwhelming odds. They had to depend on their own wits or starve in the unforgiving climate. If things ever go back to those times of self sufficiency, a small voice deep inside tells you, at least you'll know what to do. So that is why many of us enjoy fall as much as spring, because soon we will be bundled up against the raging icy winds, cursing the slippery roads, spending hours dressing kids and tracking down lost mitts, scraping windshields, and swearing at the government for jacking up the price of fuel. +++ And for the sake of the Montreal Expos, we hope the fine fall weather continues for a couple of more weeks. The Expos finally won the National League's eastern pennant, and find themselves in the thick of things with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the - Natio nal League Championship. should "Les Expos" make the World Series, things could gOget very in- teresting, especially if Montreal gets one of those fall snowstorms that are sometimes known to hit this part of North America. Now wouldn't that upset the Americans to have to play ball in the snow? Why they might even take our franchise away. +++ Well at least, says the Main Street Wit, we can watch baseball while we do our Christmas shopping this year! 16,000 homes in Huron and Perth counties T' Harvest sale continues all next this week. wet ✓ith all store sale coupons expiring The event kicks of this 'Thursday I on Saturday, October 24. evening, October 15 with the official ribbon cutting ceremony of the downtown revitalization program at 7:30 iii the Tender just too high Library Park. A host of dignitaries will celebrate\ the opening of the project, with entertainment to follow by the Legion Pipe Band, the "No Name Band", while all stores will .beopen until 10 pm. On Friday, a display of snowmobiles and motorcycles will be set up by Hully Gully. of Varna, and in the evening the Central Huron Secondary School Band will, be preforming at the library Park begining at 7:30 pm, while the "No Name Band" will stroll the streets, _ 'and the BIA's popcorn•wagon will provide freshly popped delights, as it will each night during the celebration. ' As well as the map bliepoppo td,. there will be a fresh fruit and vegetable stand at the Main corner on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Their will be plenty for the children on Saturday, with a scavenger hunt at the. library park starting at 10 am, with prizes going for the best decorated basket, before thehunt begins. • 7. As well, the children are invited to enter the children's fruit and vegetable com- petition in the town hall laneway, with , prizes going to the best creators of animals. Look elswhere in this week's paperfor more details. Bill Leeming of Seaforth will be offering free horse-drawn wagon rides to children of all ages on Saturday afternoon from libray park, compliments of the BIA. A display of antique tractors by the LeBeau family of Brucefield as well as a host of modern day farm machinery by three area dealers will be held on Albert street, in the lots owned by the Com- mercial Printers and Mason Bailey. There was a large turnout of parents and teachers last Wednesday night for the annual open house at Clinton Public School. There were many interesting exhibits of students work, but the grade eight science room of Cam Addison attracted a great deal of at- tention, especially the live parrot. (James Fitzgerald photo) Seaforth boiler manufacturer loses By Stephanie Levesque The Huron County Board of Education accepted the tender of G. L. Slaught Limited of Crediton for a York -Shipley boiler at $34,611 for Seaforth District High School. The bid accepted was the. lowest of seven tenders received by the board. The recom- mendation to accept the tender was originally submitted to the board by the management committee but was reviewed by 'the executive committee after receiv- ing a complaint from Bell Industries Limited of Seaforth, a boiler manufactur- ing company. In the executive committee's report to the board it stated, "as a result of a string of objections in the past from Bell In- dustries Limited that one of its boilers was not used as the 'base bid' for tendering of boiler replacement in Huron County Schools, the project engineer was in- structed by this board's administrative staff to use a Bell Industries Limited boiler as the 'base bid'." The base bid is the item whose specifica- tions are used on the tender forms and must be equalled or exceeded by a tenderer. This practice was followed for the boiler tenders. "The lowest tenderer on the total project using both the "base bid" boiler and sug- , gested alternatives was G. L. Slaught Limited," stated the executive commit- tee's report. The Slaught company's bids were as follows, base bid boiler at $44,100, York - What are all these kids looking 'at? And why are they smacking their lips? They are the grade two pupils at Holmesville Public School who last Friday celebrated an old- fashioned thanksgiving feast, complete with pioneer dress. Why are they licking their lips? See page three. (James Fitzgerald photo) Shipley boiler at $34,611, and Syncro Com- pac boiler at $36,543 (Syncro Compac is . manufactured by Bell Industries). R. Egan, the board's consultingengineer, did not accept the Syncro Compac boiler as be- ing equal to the base bid, but did accept the York -Shipley boiler as being equal:. "We have just learned that, at the advice of Mr. R. Egan, the board's consulting engineer, the board has, awarded a con- tract for a new boiler ilii -"the Seaforth District High School to a contractor who will Supply a boiler of foreign manufac- ture," stated a letter dated Sept.' 25 from Charles Smith, vice-president of Bell In- dustries to the board. The letter adds that the school is only a half mile from the company's plant. "Robert.Bell Industries paid taxes this year into the Huron County School system in the amount of $2,457.05. If the tax paid by our employees is added to this it would easily double the amount," stated Mr. Smith's letter. The committee's report states, "the representative of Bell Industries Limited, in his letter to all members of the board, seeks preferential treatment because his company and his employees are Huron County taxpayers. We have been advised by the Ministry of Education that the only preferential treatment the Ministry will acknowledge is the: Canadian Content policy." The committee's report noted the Ministry's grant rate is approximately 80 per cent of approved costs based on the lowest bid, and in this case, adjusted bid. The adjusted bid, used for comparison putt - poses only, is computed by using a formula developed by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism. In the adjusted bids, the York - Shipley boiler remains the lowest. "The local ratepayers will have to pay not only the 20 per cent (approximately) not provided by the Province but also 100 per cent of the difference between the lowest adjusted bid and the bid the Board accepts," stated the committee report. ' Trustee J. Jewitt, representing the Townships of Hullett and McKillop and the Town of Seaforth, said in view of the large difference in cost between the boilers, the board should go with the lowest bid. Chairman of the board Donald McDonald said it is a straight "dollars and cents question".. In a question period at, the end of the meeting, Mr: Smith asked the boardif they had a written statement of the Canadian Content of the York -Shipley boiler. (The boiler is manufactured • in • the . United States.) Chairman McDonald'- said the board didlhave a°letteilisting the'Cana- dian content of the boiler. Mr. -Smith also asked if the consulting engineer gave reasons why the alternate boiler, in this case the Syncro Compac boiler, was not acceptable. Superintendent of Education R. B. Allan said no reasons were given except that the boiler was not equal to the base bid. The Bell Industries representative asked if the board was aware of the paragraph in the statement of Canadian Content which states, "If the Canadian content informa- tion is found to be incorrect, the quotation - tender will be rejected, and the bidder may be disqualified from all future bid- ding". Chairman McDonald said the board is aware of this. Mr. Smith's final question to the board , asked if the board is aware Bell Industries can move its Huron County Board of Education support to other areas. During a break in the meeting, Mr. Smith told reporters his next step would be - to ask the Ministry of Industry and Tourism for a verification of the Canadian Content of the York -Shipley boiler. He said he was "almost positive" the boiler in question would not meet Canadian Content regulations, but it could be proven through duty documents. In the committee's report to the board it says, "The Ministry of Industry and Tourism states that `everything added in Canada - labor, materials, transportation, duty, taxes and the Canadian supplier's profit - qualifies as Canadian Content. Quite simply, Canadian Content is the value of the supplier's total actual bid Minus the dutiable value of any imported goods or services'." Tuckersmith to restrict load on three bridges Tuckersmith Township will pass a bylaw to restrict the load limits of three township bridges to five tonnes. The decision was made at last. week's regular council meeting after works superintendent Allan Nicholson read an inspection report from the Ministry of Transport that revealed ei structural deterioration to the three bridges which now makes them dangerous for heavier loads. The report states the worst deterioration has occurred to the Roman Road bridge. The other two bridges where loads will be restricted are known locally as Plum's bridge and 10th concession bridge, also sometirnes called the Kinsmen bridge. Later in its meeting, council decided to immediately proceed with engineering plans, that might cost from ,000 to $10,000 for the Roman Road bridge. Coun- cil will also proceed with an engineering plan for a new work shed, that keeps get- ting put on the back burner, at an estimated cost of about $4,000. Council decided it might act on the two plans, or one of the two at a later date when its new works budget has been set. 'But at least it will have the plans. Council received two delegations at the meeting, including Ed Major. of the management consulting firm of Beaumont -Major and Associates Ltd. of Cedar Springs, who told council he might have an interim report ready by the end of this month, and a final report no later than Dec. 31. His firm is working on a provincial government contract to study the possibili- ty of luring more industry to Vanastra, which has a high unemployment rate. Council also discussed a five -lot develop- ment at Kippen with the developers, led by Ron Corriveau. Council is concerned the prospective purchasers be warned that the drainage system of the properties is the concern.of purchasers, not the township. The issue of water supply and wells on the development site was also discussed, with council and Mr. Corriveau concluding the working of various legal documents be changed to emphasize the township's con- cerns.