HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1986-10-08, Page 1YFIE
1`rQ.:ORI ORA"t'11GTHE BLl t'H STANDARD -THE i3A
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NO. 41 121 YEARS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1986
50 CENTS
Varna farmer is hopeful
some beans will be saved
BY SHARON DIETZ
Farmers are still optimistic part of this
year's white bean crop can be harvested
but they estimate more than 50 per cent is
damaged.
Varna area farmer Bev Hill said there is
bound to be some of the crop salvaged but
the unknown is the quality of what is
harvested.
Hill said in an interview Tuesday morn-
ing, he doesn't think the crop is' physically
lost. It will be physically possible to
harvest the crop, but whether it will be
marketable is the unknown.
A minimum of 50 per cent is not
marketable, said Hill and more likely bet-
ween 50 and 75 per cent is of dubious
quality.
�At this point it is unknown whether it will
be worth trying to harvest what is
salvageable when the rain stops, but Hill
points out that all of the white bean crop in
North America is in the same situation.
The crop in Michigan is in worse shape
than the crop here.
Hill who has 225 acres of white beans and
1500 acres of soybeans, said his soybeans
appear to be alright quality wise. The big-
gest problem with them is they are ben-
din;/over and lodging which makes it is
more difficult to harvest and there is more
harvest lost.
Hill expects farmers could be on the field
in a week to 10 days if : get no rain for a
week. "It's hard to say. We have no bench
marks to work with. We've never ex-
perienced so much water at this time of
year," said Hill who has been farming for
20 years.
Previous to this, 1977 was the worst year
on record for wet bean harvest and that
time, Hill harvested his crop in October.
He salvaged all of the cop but the quality
discounts meant the value was low.
Exaggerating the wetness is the warm
temperature. "We could have lived with
the water but the warmth is causing mould
and discolour,"said Hill,
Beans are a risky crop to grow. The in-
put costs are not as high as corn, but the
weather conditions have to be just right
during the growing season and for harvest.
Adding insult to injury this year is the fact
that it was an excellentbean crop just sit-
ting in the field waiting to be harvested un-
til the rain hit.
Hill sprayed his beans by helicopter,
with a chemical to defoliate the plant and
kill weeds, just days. before the rain
started, so he has this cost invested in his
crop as well. Solid seeded beans are more
prone to uneven maturity and spraying to
defoliate enhances the quality of the
harvest.
He is optimistic he will get the crop off
because he solid seeded his beans, planting
them in 10 inch rows so they can be
straight harvested with a combine. The ad-
vantage of direct combining is that it
eliminates some risk because you don't
have the cost of scuffling and pulling.
Beans which were ready to harvest before
the rain and had been pulled are lost, said
Hill.
Hill believes his solid seeded beans will
be an advantage this year because, you
don't have to wait until the land is dry
enough to pull and then harvest, you can
proceed to combine immediately.
Ashfield Township farmer Ray Hogan is
looking at clipping his beans rather than
pulling them, if he ever gets into the field.
He believes. the plaht,5, ill be too rotten to
pull, although there won't be as much
deterioration now that the weather has
turned cold.
Hogan says Michigan farmers are worse
off than area farmers. Beans only repre-
sent a portion of our harvest here, but in
Michigan farmers have beans and sugar
beets in one-half to two-thirds of their
acreage and both are rotting in the fields.
The corn crop here is starting to mould
but Hogan says farmers will get it off one
way or. another.
The wet conditions are particularly
depressing because farmers were looking
at a bumper bean crop this year. The
wheat harvest was poor because of mould
and even though the corn is a good crop,
the price is low.
"Farmers were looking to the beans for
their profit this year," ,said • Hogan ."Now
it's gone. What a disastrous harvest will
mean to farmers over the long term, con-
cerns him.
Hogan accompanied the tour provincial
Agriculture Minister Jack Riddell made
Friday when he visited farms in Middlesex
and Huron to assess the damage. Riddell
appeared to pass the buck, said Hogan. He
told the farmers the aid they are seeking is
federal jurisdiction.
The farmers told Riddell there are
things he can do immediately like enhanc-
ing the interest rebate program instituted
last year, which will help in the short term.
This program was more successful than
its predecessors, said Hogan, because it
did not require the banks' participation.
With previous programs the bank re -
Turn to page 2 •
Provincial Agriculture Minister Jack Riddell, right, examines rain -damaged beans on the
Brucefield-area farm of Ken McCowan, left, during a tour of farms in southwestern Ontario,
last Friday, as other Huron County farmers look on. Riddell has not committed yet to any
government emergency aid programs for farmers affected by the recent heavy rainfall.
(photo by Patrick Raftis.)
See story inside - Page 2
A large number of people dropped in to the Goderich Township Hall from October 3 to Oc-
tober 5 to see crafts such as these ceramics made by Isabel MacDonald. There were four
door prizes given out at the show and Dianne McKenzie won luggage, Annie Klomps won
a turkey, Cathy Connolly won a teddy bear and Mrs. J. Kolkman won a Christmas
wreath. (David Emslie photo )
Kootstra landfill site could
prove expensive to operate
By Heather Mcll.vraith
TUCKERSMITH - The Kootstra site, the
potential new landfill site for Seaforth-
Tuckersmith was pronounced technically
viable recently after an on-site inspection by
engineers and officials of the Ministry of the
Environment involved in the landfill search.
But it. is a long way from being officially
declared the site.
"From a technical aspect it looks quite
good," said Tony Crutcher of Conestoga
Rovers and Associates.
"But there are other, non technical
aspects that still have to be addressed.
We've done extensive testing and it's look-
ing quite good."
Mr. Crutcher told a crowd of about 20 peo-
ple representing Seaforth-Tuckersmith and
other' interested parties, three levels of in-
vestigation had been conducted at the site,
all of which proved it was "quite good for
landfilling."
"We've drilled test holes and conducted a
two-phase drilling process and from our
viewpoint the geology in the northwest cor-
ner of the site makes it conducive to landfill-
ing," he said.
Based on these findings B.M. Ross and
Associates have proposed the back 15 acres
of the 150 acre Kootstra site, which is itself
located immediately past the railway tracks
on the right hand side of the Vanastra Road,
be secured to provide a landfill site with a
life expectancy of approximately 30 years.
"It's a very environmentally sound site,"
said Mr. Crutcher.
"It's ideally suited. Because it's by the
river it gives us a comfortable handle on
things because we know where the ground
water is running and we can predict what's
happening with some assuredness," he said.
"Water, as common sense says, and data
confirms, flows toward the river."
"We've dealt with a lot of landfills, and
geologically we're very pleased with this
site. It's reasonably remote, and where
there is visual intrusion we can adequately
screen," said Mr. Crutcher.
On the down side however, Mr. Crutcher,
added the site will not be a "particularly
easy one to operate and may be more expen-
sive than anticipated," since it requires
some engineering work be done to control
and dispose of the leachate which will col-
lect on the site. An attenuation zone appears
id be necessary, and Mr. Crutcher said
discharge to the river is so slow it would
never be measurable.
"We'll have to look at the economic
feasibility. But the site has a good life, ap-
proximately 30 years, so any cost will be
borne over a long period of time, not all at
once."
Ministry of the Environment officials
made little comment on the landfill site,
saying the design and proposal of the
engineers would have to be reviewed by a
ministry committee before any official com-
ment could be made.
Phil Byes, however, of the Owen Sound of-
fice of the Ministry of the Environment, ex-
pressed some concern over the mounting
protest be neighboring landowners to the
location of the landfill at the Kootstra site.
Their concerns, which primarily focus on
the operation of the site, should it locate on
the Kootstra site, were addressed by those
members of the Seaforth-Tuckersmith land-
fill site committee and the engineers and •
hydreologists and government officials at-
tending the on-site investigation'.
"The public has a right to know exactly
what we're doing and exactly how it will af-
fect them," commented Seaforth Mayor Alf
Ross.
"I would hope if they have any further
concerns they would address the commit-
tee. We're not trying to pull anything off
here," he said.
As to what happens next the ministry of
the environment expects to be able to reply
to the proposal for the kootstra site by the
second week of October.
Following that ana uepending on whether
the reply is favorable, a public meeting will
be called. After that there's still a lot of
bureaucratic red tape to get through.
"There has to be one more public meeting
Turn to page 5 •
Marie Jefferson is sworn in Monday as new clerk treasurer
A. recommendation for landi severance.:
was requested by Homer Andrews for Lot 34
on George Street in Clinton. Council agreed
to recommend to the Committe of Adjust-
ment that the title for the 80 foot by 90 foot
piece of land be merged with land abutting
to the south.
A request was received from the
Township of Oxford -on -Rideau asking for
Clinton Council's support in a petition to the
Minister of Municipal Affairs concerning
putting a ,ceiling on liability insurance
claims.
Clinton Councillor Gord Gerrits noted that
CLINTON - Many well wishers attended the
Clinton Town Council meeting on October 6
to witness the swearing in of Marie Jeffer-
son as the new Clerk -Treasurer.
`_`This is a very special evening, as, you all
know, as tonight we swear in our new Clerk -
Treasurer," Clinton Mayor John Balfour
said. "The lady on my right beat out all
competitors; Marie can take pride."
To obtain the job, Mrs. Jefferson was in
competition with 28 other applicants.
Mayor Balfour had another job announce-
ment to make. "On my left is the new
Justice of the Peace, Leonard Theedom. We
have been without a J.P. since the last one
retired about a year ago," he said, and add-
ed that it was a pleasure to make the
announcement.
Mr. Theedom's first official duty was to
swear in Mrs. Jefferson, and he stated, "I
hope all the duties I have to perform will be
as pleasurable as this one. •
Following the announcements a short
congratulate Mrss was taken . Jefferson on order to n heowrvict people
The deadline for the Program for
Renewal, Improvement, Development and
Ecoii'ornic revitilization of municipally s the
ed property (PRIDE) app
first order of business after the recess. The
due date is October 21 for this grant that is
an expanded' Ontario Neighborhood Im-
provelnent Plan (ONIP) program, and will
snake financial assistance available in the
fain of a grant covering 50 per cent of the
• coat- of an eligible community 'improve-
tilent project.
For the record
CLINTON - In last week's edition of the
News -Record, a story carrying the headline
of Proctor Settlement will end October 9,
1987, had two misleading sentences in it.
The first error concerned Mr. Proctor's
1986 salary. For a full 12 months, Mr. Pro-
ctor was payed $35,292. However, Mr. Pro-
ctor was working until March, therefore,
three months of his salary were not part of
the settlement.
The second error was in the wording of a
sentence explaining the lawyers' fees.
Last week's story said, "Both the town
and Mr. Proctor acquired lawyers with the
town paying both bills which totalled $4,510 -
$500 for Mr. Proctor's,lawyer and $4,010 for
the town's."
Although the figures are correct, the
sentence should have said the town paid a
portion of Mr. Proctor's lawyer's fee.
_aithough..such.,support . may not be able to
change anything, perhaps it 'sti uid—be"
given. "We should support this just to let.the
ministry know we're not satisfied with the
way things are."
Council voted in favor of giving their
support.
A bylaw regarding the setting of sanitary
sewer rates was passed by council. With this
bylaw, those with water consumption of one
to 1,500 cubic feet of water used will pay a
flat rate of $16; 1,500 to 2,000 cubic feet $27;
2,000 to 3,000 cubic feet $35; 3,000 to 10,000
cubic feet $55; 10,000 to 20,000 cubic feet $80;
20,000 and over cubic feet $100.
Council passed the resolution that when
Maple Street is paved during the 1987 street
construction, a sidewalk should be installed
on one side of the street as well as adequate
lighting.
The matter of a deadline for agenda infor-
mation fell under lengthy discussion at the
meeting.
"Almost a year ago. we requested that we
get information for council meetings prior
to the meetings, so we don't get hit cold,"
Councillor John Cochrane said. He said it is
necessary to get the information early so it
may be studied, but not all of it has been
coming in on time.
"1 would like to propose a cutoff date for
agenda material," he stated.
The motion was put before council that all
correspondence for the council agenda will
be received no later than 5 p.m. on the
Wednesday prior to the meeting.
"It seems pretty strict in my mind,"
Turn to page 3 •
During the Clinton Town Council meeting on October 6 Mayor John Balfour (left) au-
nouneed the hiring of Marie Jefferson as clerk -treasurer and Leonard Theedom as the
new Justice of the Peace. (David Etnslie photo)