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Wingham Advance-Times, 1977-10-06, Page 2llg0 ee. October 6, 1977 RABIES FIGHTERS—Dave Johnston and Ian Watt, researchers with the fish and wildlife branch of the Natural Resources Ministry, are working in Huron County on a program designed to control rabies in wild animals. Belgrave Personal Notes Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Mines of Niagara Falls and Mrs. Clarence Hargrave of Harriston visited last Thursday with Mr. and Mrs. Harry McGuire. The Belgrave and District Kinsmen were busy building tables last Thursday night in pre- paration for the Fall ,Supper. Mr. and Mrs. Ross Anderson, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Grasby and Mrs. Beryl Kirton of Wingham visited in Powassan on the week- end and attended the dinner and open house on Saturday in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Kirton's 50th wedding anniversary. Mrs. Robert Grasby, Mrs. Ross Anderson, Mrs. Ada Smith of Brussels visited with Mrs. Jean Wills last Wednesday and at- tended the funeral of their aunt, Mrs. Goerge Martin in George- town. A number from this area at- tended the fall meeting of Huron - North County Lodge in Dun- gannon Wednesday evening. Bro. Clare Van Camp chaired the meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hibberd attended ladies' night of the F'ordwich United Church Men's Club in Fordwich last Monday evening. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hibberd Weatherthreatens Huron'sbean crop Another -week of rainy weather will virtually finish Huron County's $15 million white bean crop, Stanley Paquette, an asso- ciate agricultural representative with the Ministry of Agriculture in Clinton, predicted last Friday. The weather has to straighten up within a week for the ground to h ough to salvage anything, said, but noted the long range fo eca doesn't look good: It „Wotdd take three or four good drying days to allow farmers. to get on the land and harvest. The situation is already ex- tremely serious, he added. "I think a lot of the early beans have been lost." Only about 15 per cent of the crop is .off and any beans pulled and left lying have cer- tainly been lost, though there is some hope for beans still stand- ing. _ The loss will hurt quite a few farmers, he said, since not all have insurance which, in any case, only pays back expenses. He said farmers should be aware there is still a market for the beans they are able to har- vest. Because of the weather, a lower grade of bean with some discoloration ,is being accepted by dealers, he noted. In addition to the bean loss, wheat planting and the harvest of corn for silage is being delayed by thesaturated fields. This is not yet critical,. however. . Interestingly enough, rainfall for September is not alt that much above average. Dave Grummett, resources technician with the Maitland Valley Conser- vation Authority, points out that accumulation up to Sept. 28 was 5.1 inches, as measured outside the authority headquarters in Wroxeter, only marginally above last September's total of. 4.71 inches. The big ' difference this year was the rainfall in August: 10.69. inches as compared to 3.17 inches during that month last year. Nor- mally a summer will average about 3'/z inches of rain per month,, Mr. ,Grummett said, and, except for August, this summer would have been unusually dry as May, June and July were all well below average. Buy your home, life, boat, and auto insurance from c friend 1 •! #`-- IFS i u i ai l �i your credit union sponsored insurance company Co-operation erhong Co -Ops. Located in the Credit Union Building. - 8 Alfred St., [corner of Josephine St.] Winghorn, Ont. North Huron Credit Union 357-2311 The Co-operators 357-3739 a visited Mr. and Mrs. Mervin Karges or. Sunday, where they attended a gathering of the cou- sins of the Gedcke family. About 30 relatives were present from Wallace, Kurtzville, Harriston, Grand Valley, Kitchener, Blue - vale, Gorrie and Belgrave. Mr. and Mrs. George Procter attended a hog ihowyin Austin, Minnesota recently. They visited several farms in Iowa. . Mrs. Ross Higgins, Mrs. Nor- man Coultes, Mrs. Leonard James and Mrs. Ivan' Wightman attended the London 'area con- vention of the Federated Women's Institute of Ontario last week at the Sandpiper Inn at Vanastra. Mrs. Walter Scott, Mrs. Leo- nard James and Mrs. Ivan Wightman attended the Huron County Rally " on Monday at Howick Community Centre The community extends sin- cere sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Marshall and family of London, Mr: and Mrs. William Buchannan and family of Blyth and Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Cook in the loss of their loved one,. Stan-. ley Cook. Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Hamilton and family of Lucknow visited'on Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Wightman. . Huron County is test area for rabies control program By Henry Hess One phase off a research pro- gram aimed at controlling the spread of rabies through wildlife populations is nearing comple- tion in Huron County this month. A team headed by two re- searchers from the fish and wild- life branch of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources will soon be dropping 12,00Q baits over a 200 square mile area bounded by Clinton, Goderich and Bayfield. The baits, com- posed off a hamburger ball in a marked plastic pouch, are to be spread by aircraft over wooded areas. So far the baits contain only tetracycline, a common anti- bic, but eventually they will caery an oral rabies vaccine. The tetracycline is deposited in the teeth and bones of animals eating the hamburger, where it can be spotted during examination under ultraviolet light. Dave Johnston, a research biologist, and Ian Watt, a research technician, have been working on the baiting system for the past five years, trying to develop an effectife and economical, system • for getting the vaccine to wild animals. Mr. Johnston has spent 15 years working on the rabies problem: what animals transmit it, how and at what times of year. They have tried about 40 dif- ferent kinds of baits — including limburger, gorgonzola and roquefort cheeses, hot dogs, sausages, liver. eggs, fish oil and tripe—and have also experiment- ed with distribution patterns and times. They have found the ham- burger balls to be effective, cheap and easily mass produced, using the same type of equipment as McDonald's hamburger stands. • Following the baiting of an area, the -researchers appeal to local trappers to bring in fox, skunk, racoon and. coyote car- casses for testing.' By checking for the presence of the tetra- cycline, they can tell how effec- tive the baiting has been. More than 5,000 animal car- casses have been tested during the course of the•program and last year, Mr. Johnston,reported, theysucceeded in reaching 74 per cent of the foxes in a 64 . square mile testarea' in" the county. Huron "Coiirity was chosen 'for this phase of the research, lire said, because it has the highest density of 'fox trappers in. On- tario. He noted the trappers' as- sociation has worked along with them in the program, . doing everything from taking blood samples to check natural ire- munity to rabies — found to be relatively ,low — to helping. hand Council decides against dog tags Morris Township Council has decided not to buy tags for town- ship dogs. Council questioned the use•of the tags at its Oct. 3 meet- ing. Councillor Sam Pletch says several, people have asked him about the tags. He says tags are used for. identification if a dog is shot or killed on the highway. Councillor Ross Procter asked how the tags could be enforced. Reeve William Elston said he won't put one on his dog Since it runs in the bush and the tag could get caught in branches or fences. There are a little fewer than 500 dogs in the township. Mr. Pletch noted that tags were required a few years ago in the township. The discussion arose when prices for tags from two com- panies were received by council. It was decided not to buy any. Belgrave Mr. and Mrs. John Spivey of Ingersoll spent Saturday with her mother. Mrs. Harold Procter. Mr. and Mrs. James Brigham of Blyth were supper guests. ot Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Wightman. . Mr. and Mrs. Glyn Wide, Kim- berly and Jennifer of Mount Hope spent a few days last week with her, parents, Mr. and Mrs. Garner Nicholson. Mr. and Mrs. Nichol- son returned home with them on Friday and spent the weekend at Mount Hope. Mr. and Mrs. George Michie returned home last meek from a trip through the west. They visited with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert Tourigny and family al Edmon- ton. Visitors over the weekend at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Michie were Mr: and Mrs James Baker and Mark of London and Mr. and Mrs Norman Mac- Lennan and Carissa of Waterl'n Bill Prescott of Belgrave at- tended council to discuss water that is backing up in his base- ment. Mr. Prescott said the water has been coming in for the three years he has lived there but that it is worse now. .. ' Council noted that the house is hooked up to a drain that was in- tended to drain a road, not homes. They suggested that Mr.-- Prescott r.`Prescott unhook the drain that a previous owner apparently hooked up. Mr. Pletch said the drain is taking too much water and is backing up as a result. Jack McCutcheon also at- tended council about water prob- lems. He told council water lies on his field when a neighbor drains his land. Mr. McCutcheon asked if council would be willing to install a catch basin as he intends to drain his land. Mr. McCutcheon said he would be willing to pay half of the cost of the basin if he and his neighbor -an reach an agreement council told him that it would be willing to install the harm on this basis. e m BELGRAa'E III The Belgrave III Fruit Lovers opened their fifth meeting with the 4-H pledge and motto. Each girl then answered the roll. call by naming a fruit and listing three different ways of serving it, Joanne Coultes read the secre- tary's report. Mrs. Glenn Coultes then demonstrated how to roll out pastry and Joanne Coultes made a pie from a mix while thher girls paired up and made pies from scratch. Afterward the group discussed some of the menus the girls had prepared for their last home assignment. The next meeting will be held on Oct. 10. distribute baits during the early stages. Foxes are the species hardest hit by rabies, with about 50 per cent of all cases, Mr. Johnston noted, versus about 15 per cent for skunks and one per cent for - racoons. Right now the fox population in the area is high and a rabies out- break is starting, he warned, urg- ing people to make sure their dogs are vaccinated against the disease. He said rabies seems to follow a three year cycle: the fox population is knocked way down by the disease, then grows during a number of relatively rabies - free years before another out- break hits. Even at its peak, he added, the population of foxes now is only 20- 25 per cent of its level before rabies was introduced into the area, apparently from the Arctic, in 1958-59. The disease has been present in the Arctic for more than 100 years and it is specu- lated it may have been carried there by early explorers. he said In addition to testing bait effec- tiveness, the researchers have been investigating how the disease is spread from one area to another by monitoring the movement of foxes through a 'radio -tagging program. About 25 animals in Simcoe County, near the unit's headquarters in Maple (north of Toronto),. have been equipped with collars containing transmitters. The monitoring has revealed that while most young foxes re- main within a five mile radius after leaving the den, five to 10 per cent will move up to 50 miles. One fox tagged near Barrie was found in this area, Mr. Johnston noted. He said a $75 reward is offered for any of these animals captured alive and also- asked hunters to report any seen or shot. A hunter shooting any fox or wolf this winter, can help the pro- gram by turning the carcass over to the MNR district office, he added. There is a token payment of one dollar for carcasses turned i.n. The baiting this fall will be the final test prior to introducing the vaceine, he said. "We're pretty well along in the research; almost ready for a field trial 'of the vaccine." - An effective oral vaccine has been developed at Connaught Laboratories, Toronto, but still has to pass safety tests on all ani- mals which might 'conceivably have access to the bait. The first fieldtrials of the vac- cine will probablybe carried out on islands and thn move to a test area such as Huron. Researchers will continue to monitor animals with the chemical tracer during the first period of use. - Eventually the vaccine baits will be used in selected areas across southern Ontario where rabies outbreaks are expected. A buildup in the fox population usually signals the beginning of a new disease cycle, Mr. Johnston reported. One of the ways the group monitors population levels is by doing track counts from air- craft during the winter. The idea of doral vaccine baiting originated with the World Health Organization of the United Nations, he. said. Wildlife rabies, particularly in foxes and skunks, is spread all over North America and Europe. Other groups in a number of countries are •also working on the problem, he added, but this is the only one tackling it on a large scale. Mo4eration in all things is a smile, but effective method of reducing your risk of ,heart ease. WINGHAM BODY SHOP SID ADAAAS Complete RADIATOR SERVICE for Automobiles, Light Trucks, Farm Tractors New !tad Cores Redding Cleaning & Flushing 14 North St. 357-1102 Kawasaki The Kawasaki 340 Invader. Liquid cooled. Oil injected. All new. And all Kawasaki. Just sitting still, it looks hot. And riding one proves that its looks don't lie. The liquid -cooled Kawasaki 340 Invader. Just one of the ways Kawasaki is heating up the good times. •i Kawasaki, The hottest thing on snow. BAYNE'S BODY HOP Kawasaki Snowmobile Wet& Service Phone 392-6883 Teeswater The TD Bank talks agriculture. As a producer you need planned farm credit. 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