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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-02-04, Page 13Wednesday, February 4, 2004 Exeter Times—Advocate 13 Fanshawe Pioneer Village looks for endorsement By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN — A delegation from Fanshawe Pioneer Village asked Lucan Biddulph council to endorse its new master plan and business plan at a council meeting Monday night. Executive Director Sheila Johnson told council the Fanshawe Pioneer Village board is looking for endorse- ments from member municipalities in Middlesex County, as well as the county and the city of London in moving forward with its master plan and business plan. Johnson gave council a brief history of the village, which was founded in 1955 and opened in 1959. It was operated by the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority until 1990. Since then the London and Middlesex Heritage Museum has taken over management. In that time development including new buildings, landscaping and an endowment has been established. Johnson said the village faces three major challenges: operational instability, deteriorating infrastructure and an unfocused mandate. She said the biggest concern is the lack of mainte- nance to the existing historical structures and the need to do repairs without the funds to undertake them. Johnson said there has not been adequate funds for maintenance in the past decade. Johnson said the City of London hired a consulting firm to assess the operational viability and options for the village in 2002. It recommended the site would either have to be closed or major investment and a new operational approach would have to be taken. Johnson said the London and Middlesex Heritage Museum presented the operational assessment and a proposed direction for the village to the City of London in January 2003 and was awarded $228,00 to operate and develop a master plan and business plan. Johnson said part of the strategy has been to figure out the village's prime audience, which has been seg- mented into four groups: educational, historical hobby- ists, general visitors and special event attendees. She said the educational component of the village is the largest heritage program in the region with students being bused in from Woodstock to Windsor and every- where in between. She said the village is also a key family destination, with families spending time at the village and then mov- ing on to other area attractions such as Storybook Gardens and Museum London. Johnson said one of the attractions of the village is its role as a living history museum and one of the goals of the master plan is to keep that tradition effective and respected. Within five years, Johnson said they would like to see annual visitations to the site increased to 60,000 entrances, $50,000 minimum per year placed in a capi- tal reserve account for on-going building conservation and a working pool of a minimum of 200 trained volun- teers. Johnson said the village celebrates a century of histo- ry, roughly representing the time between 1820 and 1920 in three interpretive clusters. She said one of the goals is to make each cluster more defined. She said people will sometimes go through the living museum backwards because there is a lack of signage and direc- tion from staff. Johnson also said a new interpretive centre is pro- posed which would house archived material and arti- facts with proper environmental controls for long term preservation. She said a partnership with the County of Middlesex has been proposed and member municipali- ties to provide Tier One and Tier Two archival services. If things go according to the plan, the work will be phased in over five years and will be finished in time for the village to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2009. Mayor Tom McLaughlin asked if there was a possibili- ty of the village working with the proposed Lucan muse- um. Johnson replied it is part of the village's mandate to partner with area museums and heritage sites and not to overlap themes. "We want to share resources and share expertise," she said. Council did not give an immediate endorsement, choosing instead to defer until further discussion had been made. LB council hears from economic development officer By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN — Lucan Biddulph council heard from Middlesex County economic development officer Jay Brown on the direc- tion that could be taken in the municipality to promote busi- ness development at a council meeting Monday night. Brown said his position is to assist community members throughout the county in their economic direction. He said a Business Retention and Expansion kit is one way to go. It is a fundamental building block in forming a strategic plan in economic development. It serves as a base for developing a strategy and a process for imple- mentation. Brown said the municipality has to decide on its assets and then figure out a way to build on them. Greg Shewfelt of the Lucan Business Association reminded council of a grant received from the Community Futures Development Corporation in the fall which could be used towards a Business Retention and Expansion study. "We've got the funding," he said. "I think it would be a good start." Mayor Tom McLaughlin said he wants the municipality's plan for economic development to be inclusive, covering all of Lucan Biddulph. Brown agreed, adding, "You've got assets all over the place. You should promote them instead of just one or two." Deputy Mayor Perry Caskanette voiced his support for moving forward with eco- nomic development and volun- teered to sit on a committee. Snow removal Conn. Paul Hodgins said he had a complaint about the lack of salt and snow removal from a citizen who lives on the Coursey Line. The citizen also said the road is highly travelled and asked if a road count had been done. Administrator Ron Reymer told council a road count had not been conducted on that road for some time and that priority was given to more frequently used roads. McLaughlin said the munici- pality only has one crew and they have been kept busy with the amount of snow that has fallen in recent weeks. "All of our guys are out there," Reymer said. "They're working as hard as they can." Growers hear about soy bean and corn yields at meeting By Mary Simmons TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF EXETER — Approximately 25 farmers gathered at the Masonic Hall in Exeter Jan. 27 to hear about soy bean and corn yields and to gather information about seed products to use when selecting next year's crop. Dave Townsend talked to the group about the 2003 soybean yields. Townsend said yield is lost because of increased plant stress during pod fill. He said the amount depends on the number and level of stresses. The variables are due to factors such as environmental impacts, plant physiol- ogy and pest impact. Townsend said there was no simple reason for decreased yield in 2003. A cool wet spring set the stage for reduced plant populations, crusting, compaction and root rots. Heat and moisture in July resulted in strong growth and expectations for high yields, but summer diseases, aphids and limited rain in August did more damage than expected. Townsend said moist conditions resulted in shallow roots on corn plants in 2003. This puts more stress on the plants. In mid-June when the corn ears were devel- oping in six to eight leaf stage, the conditions resulted in big ears. "Everything looked rosy," Townsend said. But because of the small root mass, the plants could- n't get as many nutrients as they needed. Townsend said the roots of a plant are like a stomach. They have to be fed to be healthy. Townsend said a major difference between corn and soybeans is the way they handle stress. Corn will sacri- fice the stock while soybeans sacrifice yield. Eric Richter spoke to the group about the genetics of planting. "It all starts with the seed," he said. Richter said farmers need to be aware of the soil type they're planting in as well as the rotation effect. He said it's important to match the field to the hybrid selection. Richter said there is no such thing as a perfect hybrid. "They all have their strengths and weaknesses," he said. "You have to try to find the best fit." Mervyn Erb said success boils down to genetics. He said if good genetics are given a good start it should result in good yields. The problem is too many plants don't reach their potential. Erb said farmers should be aware of the problems occurring in the U.S. with the bean leaf beetle. He said the insect looks like a beetle but has spots on its back similar to a lady bug. The insects chew holes in the leaves and will also chew up pods when they run out of leaves. Mike Ondrejicka said there has been a change in the last few years and it's looking up for farmers. "We can't grow enough corn for what we're using," he said, referring to ethanol and livestock use. Ondrejicka said with the U.S. dollar going down in value, it should bode well for higher prices in the future. Ondrejicka warned farmers against forward contrac- tors. "Ask yourself if it will go down in value," he said. 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