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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-02-01, Page 11Wednesday, February 1, 2006 Exeter Times–Advocate 11 25thAnnual Centralia Swine Research Update in Kirkton Dr. Gordon Allan of Belfast, Ireland, the guest speaker at the 25th Centralia Swine Research Update Jan. 25, presents research on Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome or Porcine Circovirus Disease: An Old Virus in a New Environment or a Complete Misnomer. (photo/Nina Van Lieshout) By Nina Van Lieshout TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF KIRKTON — Several guest speakers presented research at the 25th Annual Centralia Swine Research Update Jan. 25. The Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre was full with over 100 people in attendance. Several doctors shared their research findings. Some areas of discussion included Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Swine Production, Alternatives to Dietary Antibiotics: The Potential of Essential Oils and Assessing Strategies to Reduce Variation in Quality Across Ontario Farms. Highlights were guest speaker Dr. Mike Tokach from Kansas State who held two presentations called Feeding the Gestating Sow and Water -Based Growth Promotion, and guest speaker Dr. Gordon Allan from Belfast, Ireland. Allan impressed the audience for almost an hour, sharing a presentation on Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome or Porcine Circovirus Disease: An Old Virus in a New Environment or a Complete Misnomer. Tokach's first presentation on Feeding the Gestating Sow explained the need for remembering the overall goals for the nutrient program when designing a feed- ing program for gestating sows. He said it is important to prepare sows to be in prop- er body condition at farrowing, to maximize the repro- ductive performance (farrowing rate and litter size) and meet the daily nutrient requirements at the lowest cost possible (measured as cost per sow per day). In conclusion Tokach said after monitoring the feed intake pattern during the gestation of zero to 114 days that feeding levels in particular stages of gestation influenced sow productivity and performance of their offspring. A method which can assist producers in reaching the proper gestation goal is to feed sows based on backfat and weight. Tokach talked next about Water -Based Growth Promotion, explaining the challenges producers can face when using in- feed antimicrobials in nursery pig diets which have been recognized for improving the growth performance and health. Allan's discussion focused on Postweaning Multisystemic Wasting Syndrome (PMWS) and Porcine Circovirus and the clinical signs, lesions, distribution in countries, the diagnosis criteria and prevention and control of the disease. Allan says studies are continu- ing in Ireland and other countries on this topic. Impossible to determine the `greatest of all time' hockey player By Craig Skochinski SPECIAL TO TI IF TIMES -ADVOCATE (Editor's note: The author is a Grade 12 student at South Huron District High School who wrote the fol- lowing column for his Writer's Craft class.) Sidney Crosby. Some call him The Next One, others say he's over -hyped and over -confident. Regardless, one thing is certain: at age 18 Crosby is by far the most anticipated and most discussed player in hockey history. Why is the hockey world in such a frenzy over such a young player? For starters, in 2005 Crosby helped lead the Canadian junior team to its first world cham- pionship since 1997, coming in fourth in scoring on the team. This past season he tore up the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League), recording a Canadian Hockey League -leading 66 goals and 102 assists en route to carrying the Rimouski Oceanic to a Memorial Cup appearance where he scored a tourna- ment -leading six goals and five assists in only five games. Not enough for you? Recently, Sid the Kid was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, owned and captained by none other than Super Mario (Lemieux). The buzz sparked by Sidney Crosby is reminiscent of that created when Wayne Gretzky was eligible to be drafted. The general consensus, however, was that The Great One was too small to compete in the NHL. This led to some teams missing out on the opportunity to grab the future superstar. Finally, it was the Edmonton Oilers who decided to take a chance on Gretzky. Gretzky exceeded all expectations, breaking virtually all scoring records and capturing four Stanley Cups. In addition to this he collected more individual awards than anyone preceding him. Ten times he was the recipient of the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the league's highest scorer. Nine times he won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valu- able player during the regular season, twice he won the Conn Smythe Trophy (the award for the most valuable player in the playoffs), and five times he added his name to the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (given to the most gentlemanly player.) On five occa- sions he won the prestigious Lester B. Pearson Award, bestowed upon the NHL's most outstanding player as voted on by the other players. Gretzky also made 18 consecutive All-Star appearances and three times was the All-Star game MVP. In 1999, Gretzky announced his retirement and was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, becoming the tenth and last player to be exempt from the mandatory three-year waiting period. As an additional honour, his number 99 became the only number to be retired across the POLICE BRIEF Rash of break and enters in Exeter area EXETER — Between Jan. 22 and Jan. 24, twelve residents of Exeter had break and enters into their vehicles. The targets have been radios, stereos, clothing, purse's and CD's. Anyone with information that can assist police, contact the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. entire league. Will Crosby be The Next One? This question has been asked by the media, the fans and even the play- ers in the NHL. In the October 2005 issue of Reader's Digest Wayne Gretzky was asked if a player might someday break his NHL records. Gretzky replied: "Yes, Sidney Crosby." Can Crosby live up to the hype? In order for Crosby to live up to the hype, he would have to break all of Gretzky's records, collect more individual awards than The Great One, and win more Stanley Cups. As if this weren't enough, through all this he would be expected to maintain a personality that is both amiable and humble. Lofty expectations. At first glance it seems that living up to this hype, though not probable, is at least possible. However, I'm suggesting here that the expectations are too high, the hype is just hype, and Sidney Crosby will not become the greatest player of all time. Even Wayne Gretzky couldn't attain this title. Despite everything The Great One achieved, it is more accurate to view him as one of the greatest players to have played the game. The reason he cannot be called the best player of all time is the same reason Sidney will never be called the best: the game changes. When one refers to Gretzky as the greatest player of all time, one is met by a chorus of naysayers. These naysayers argue that players like Bobby Orr and Bobby Hull are the true greats, despite not having the stats to match Gretzky's. They argue that expansion of the league in 1979 diluted the talent pool, pitting Gretzky against `weaker' opponents than those Orr and Hull faced. Another reason stated is that the equipment of Gretzky's time gave him a scoring advantage. Skates had improved and a player's pro- tective gear weighed considerably less, making the game faster. Stick improvements allowed for harder shots. These Gretzky doubters even go so far as to suggest that the league gave Gretzky `special treatment.' This argument contains little, if any validity, but further demonstrates people's unwillingness to accept some- one as The Greatest. Although many arguments exist, the driving force behind every argument has remained the same: the game is constantly changing. This year the changes to the game are more drastic than ever before. The NHL has implemented new rules: the removal of the red line, restrictions on where the goalies can play the puck, limitations on goaltender equipment size, even refined defu>_itions as to what constitutes a penalty. All these changes were made with the expressed intent to increase scoring in the NHL. This drastically changes the way Crosby will be looked upon if he does break Gretzky's records. People will look at what he did and say: "He was an excellent player, but..." The simple fact is that Sidney Crosby cannot be com- pared to Wayne Gretzky, nor for that matter can any player be compared to a player from a previous gen- eration of hockey. To do so would be like comparing one farmer's crop to another farmer's crop of 10 years ago. It's absurd to do so because many conditions change. Factors like the weather, technology, knowledge, as well as many other extraneous variables have a large impact on the quality of the crop. No farmer would call himself the greatest farmer of all time, so what sense does it make to call someone the greatest hock- ey player of all time? The media has built the hype surrounding Crosby to such immense proportions that it is impossible for him to live up to it. At best, Sidney will join the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Bobby Orr as one of the greats. Never will he, or any other player for that matter, be The Greatest Of All Time. �u�n��n���n�nrr�n��n�n�n�n�,-�r�nu��n�.nrn�ncn�.ru�n�n�nu-��uu�n�nu��n�.rrr�nu�nu-rr�u�n�n�r USBORNE & HIBBERT MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY ANNUAL MEETING The 130th Annual Meeting of the Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company will be held at the Kirkton-Woodham Community Centre at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, February 27, 2006, for presentation of the Annual Report, to elect direc- tors and to transact any business that may rightly come before the meeting. Nominations will be received for the election of a director for a two year term, necessary because of the death of director, Ron Feeney. Nominations will be received for the election of two directors for a three year term. The directors whose term of office expires are Jack Hodgert and Larry Gardiner, both of whom are eligible for re- election. Article 21 - Any person wishing to seek election or re-election as a director must file his intention to stand for election in writing with the Secretary Manager of the Corporation at least ten days in advance of an Annual Meeting or Special General Meeting called for the purpose of electing direc- tors. 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