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Zurich Citizens News, 1977-09-28, Page 4Citizens News, September 28, 1977 Pioneer home south of Bayfield :dlllunlnnnnnllnlN tintin1u1nu1nuulnlnlnllnln11111N11NIN11111u1NUInn111nnlnlnlu111uIn11111111nullnlnlnninlnllnuntunnNnlnnl_• g. Vie point . ,-.. Aiiii11ii111111119199111111999111111111111111119911111111111I11111811111i1111991101111119911119911111111111119111111111111iii91111111111111111111111111119911199(91111119111101`5- Raising the retirement age Men and women in the United States may soon be able to continue on the job till the age of 70, instead of being forced to retire at65. On Friday the U.S. House of Represen- tatives approved raising the compulsory retirement age from 65 to 70. People could still be obliged to quit work because of in- competence or ill health. If the Senate passes the bill, those wishing to retire at 65 could still do so and start receiving Social Security cheques. The law would apply to nearly three- quarters of the labour force. It would not cover air traffic controllers, fire fighters, some law enforcement officers and foreign service employees. The reform is a move in the right direc- tion. We would prefer that obligatory retirement based solely on age be stopped completely. Compulsory retirement is an offense against the human spirit. Without pur- poseful activity, life quickly loses meaning. It's no coincidence that thousands die within a year or two of going on pension. We have rationalized the procedure by saying room must be made for the young, It should not have to be made at the expense of others who are capable, experienced and willing to continue in jobs. A system re- quiring it is dehumanizing. You can put a horse out to pasture and he won't mind. You can't deprive a human be- ing of a meaningful role in society without hurting him deeply. We hope the U.S. Senate supports this im- portant piece of social legislation and that in the near future compulsory retirement ceases. May our government follow_ suit in this, as in so much else. A re finder for drivers This fall the Ontario Police again have reminded motorists to watch for school buses. The large bright yellow buses are on the roads twice a day during the school year, first thing in the morning and again in the afternoon. Alternating red lights flash when one of these is about to stop. That is the driver's cue to slow down at once and watch for children. When a bus is stopped with those lights flashing, the law requires the motorist to stop a safe distance from the front or rear of the bus till children are aboard or safely across the rgad. • b Even in Huron County, where the pace is less hectic than in metropolitan areas, impatient motorists . exceed speed limits and take unnecessary chances in order to pass slower vehicles. The chances taken when trying to get by them can cause cars to collide or be forced off the road onto the shoulder, the OPP reminded us. Some drivers attempt passing on the right side of slower vehicles along the gravelled shoulder of the road. As the police rightly point out, if the vehicle happens to be a school bus that is loading or unloading, a child may be injured or killed. A little self-restraint may save a life. 424 FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS Published Each Wednesday lay J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. NCNA Manager — Betty O'Brien Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Editor — Margaret Rodger Second Class Mail Registration Number 1365 Subscription Rates: $7,00 per year in advance in Canada $15.00 per year outside Canada Single copies 20e 1101n1111u1111111u111nu11111111UIlIt9lILlltIllllllI11111IU111111111111111111I11111u111111111111111.11II11114 Editor's Desk By MARGARET RODGER The gamble of farming Farming has become a gamble. In order to survive, a farmer has to be right 75 per cent of the time. The odds against him have been mounting ever since agriculture ceased to be our national way of life and became an in- dustry. Today it's a complex diversified business as well, with as many different kinds of problems as operations. It's scarcely possible to get along with just 100 acres any more, Many rent or buy additional land. This is a gamble, which necessitates another — the purchase of better machinery and equipment, none of it cheap, even second-hand. As much as $150,000 can be tied up this way. Bank loans are absolute necessities for most in order to keep going. Many of these are of a size to turn town and city dwellers pale. There are government loans, too. These have to be paid back, as well. Sometimes the farmer must feel as if he were climbing a glass mountain — two steps forward and one back, or the other way around when a crop fails. Just a couple of weeks ago most of those growing white beans around here were looking forward to a bumper crop. The heavy rains have reversed those expectations. A good many have lost their beans or had them badly damaged. Crop insurance is expensive. If a man has all his land in crops, does he dare operate without it? Yet he has other premiums to pay — on house, barn and truck or automobile. Repair bills for machinery may run from $500 to $1,000. He also has to cover mortgage, taxes, heat, light and clothing like the rest of us, and at least part of his food as well. No wonder he sometimes decides to gamble and not buy crop insurance. Close to 40 per cent of Ontario's bean growers did that this year. The reckoning is going to be sad. Two weeks of rain, a drought, a five-minute hail storm, any of these can wipe out months of hard work. If the elements behave themselves, there are still the bureaucrats to consider. The more dependent town and city people have become on the farmer, the more government interference there has been. Today he is rarely well off till he sells the farm. Often as not it becomes a city man's weekend hobby or, if it's close to the city, a subdivision. Each year Canada's acreage of arable land shrinks a little more. Maybe some day we'll be importing most of our food. After all, who wants to play a game when the odds against winning keep going up? I-<.:]o�›—f, 1-c::�.,�_a�.;�:.ra>-4�� ��>"V ' v 4-�_�"J" 6t-'.:�yl.�,-+ •F -t' :'.�-•li--� Years Ago.. 75 YEARS AGO SEPT. 1902 Several went out coon hunting in this vicinity Saturday evening but they didn't get home till sun - day morning. Be careful of the fences. Raspberries are getting ripe in the big swamp (near Hillsgreen), and if the weather keeps warm there will be a good second crop. 50 YEARS AGO SEPT. 1927 The annual Fall Fair, held un- der the auspices of the Zurich Agricultural Society, was held here on Tuesday afternoon (September 27) with a very large attendance, considering the un- certain weather which threaten- ed rain practically all day. Mr. George Farwell, who has had charge of the Massey -Harris h implement repairsthe past year , has been appointed district agent for Zurich, in place of Mr. J.E. Druar who has resigned. 25 YEARS AGO SEPT. 1952 A new kind of sport for Zurich is advertised in the Arena for this Friday night, when the Lions Club are staging a boxing match. We often hear this kind of sport over the radio but here we have the opportunity to really see it in action. Mr. Louis Thiel of town has taken over the Gents' Furnishing Business, to be opened this Saturday, located opposite the Bank of Montreal. Flames whipped through the Hensall planing mill, Saturday, destroying the two-storey frame building and causing estimated damage at upwards of $70,000. 10 YEARS AGO SEPT. 1967 The float of the Blue Water Rest Home, Zurich, won first prize for the best centennial float at the Zurich Fall Fair. Some of the persons on it were, over 90 yearsold. ld. Workmen are busy on the addi- tion to St. Boniface School, Zurich, getting the project ready for the cement block walls. Rains continued to hold up the white bean harvest and made silo filling operations very difficult last week. Dry, sunny weather is required to combine the still un- harvested large acreage of white beans.