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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-04-26, Page 76 Exeter Times -Advocate Wednesday, April 26, 2006 Opinion Forum News Seniors' perspective Continued from page 5 That's three per cent of the government's focus, said Steckle, and that level was only attained when pooled with aquaculture. That is unacceptable, said Steckle. "Agriculture was already excluded from the prime min- ister's top priorities list and now it has been relegated to less than three per cent of the total agenda. Our farmers are in dire straits and they need help. To survive, farmers need more than three per cent of the government's attention. Farmers Feed Cities: "Farmers Feed Cities." What does that mean? It means the obvious, that farmers produce the food - meat, milk, vegetables, eggs, fruit, etc. It also means farmers are producing food at less than the cost of production, thus subsidizing that food to con- sumers. Farmers get a tiny portion of the cost of the end product. If the tomato canners got their tomatoes for nothing, there would not be a change in cost to you as the can of tomatoes' costs include the can, label, labour, packing, and shipping. In a 20 - ounce can of pork & beans there is around four ounces of dried beans used. The farmer this year will be receiving around $20 for 100 pounds of beans. A 400 -gram box of Corn Flakes contains about four cents worth of corn. That box of Corn Flakes sells for $2.99 in the grocery store, but the farmer will receive about $2.55 for a whole bushel of corn. A bushel of corn weighs about 55 pounds or 121,000 grams. It costs about $4 to produce a bushel of corn. Ontario farmers are efficient. It also costs the American farmer to grow a bushel of corn, but the US government pays directly to the farmer well over $1.50 US more than the $2.55 set by the market - the Chicago Board of Trade. A similar scenario applies to other com- modities. Farmers are going broke not because they are ineffi- cient at their business, but because they do not have any control in the market place. Thus the farmers need the proposed Risk Management Program implemented. If the independent farmers can no longer farm, that leaves the multinational companies such as Tyson, Maple Leaf, Cargill, Parmalaat etc. The question is asked, "Will con- sumers have a safe, secure, affordable food supply then, or any organic producer? Remember: Don't talk about a farmer with your mouth full. Watch Out for Secret Shoppers Scam: January 12 - Consumers have lost up to $2600 to a Canadian firm. The Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers to a Canadian company that is targeting residents in Alabama and other states as part of a "secret shoppers" scam. The company, Secret Shoppers, seeks workers through advertisements. Consumers responding to the company's advertisement have reported receiving a package, which includes a check that has ranged in the amounts of $974 to $2600. The consumer is instructed to submit a probationary assignment and then take the money to Wal-Mart and through Money Gram, send funds to a made up name in a Canadian City. The con- sumer is then asked to fill out a worksheet indicating their experience with delivery through Money Gram The BBB warns to use extreme caution if a company pro- vides you with a check to cover the costs of any adminis- tration fees, taxes, etc. and asks you to cash the check and wire the money to their representative. While your bank may find initially that the check appears legiti- mate, the BBB said experience shows that weeks later, after the funds have been transferred to the consumer, the check is found to be fraudulent or written on a stolen account and the consumer is left owing the money back to the bank. If this firm has contacted you, please contact the BBB in your area. If you have sent this firm a money transfer, contact Phone Busters in Canada at (888) 495-8501. The company has been reported to do business under other names, some of which are duplicates of legitimate businesses operating in the United States. Those names include Beach Hepburn, Fifth Third Bank Co., Fifth Third Bank Kentucky Inc , Landmark Bank, Plant World and Secret Shoppers Canada Inc. Huron County Clean Water Project Renewed by Municipality: Huron County has announced it will renew a success- ful program to help property owners and community groups improve surface and ground water quality. Support for the Huron County Clean Water Project, which financially assists property owners and communi- ty groups with stewardship projects to improve surface and ground water quality. More landowners can now take advantage of this pro- gram in 2006 thanks to Huron County's commitment," said Kate Monk, Stewardship and Conservation Lands Supervisor with the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority (ABCA). The Huron Clean Water Project is similar to the suc- cessful 2001 - 03 Huron Healthy Futures Project, which funded more than 700 projects. It funds up to 50 per cent of eligible project costs for approved works such as clean water diversion, erosion control, fragile land retirement, livestock fencing, wellhead protection, well decommissioning and community stewardship and edu- cation projects. In all projects, the applicant must show the existing situation is impairing water quality and the proposed solution will improve water quality. To apply for funding, rural landowners and communi- ty groups should call the ABCA at 235-2610. STUFF: Since there is no municipal large garbage pickup, here's a great opportunity to start a small business and help seniors at the same time. Many seniors do not have any way of removing; loading and delivering unwanted STUFF to the dump. The benefit of a service like this, STUFF can be taken to the dump all year long, instead of the fall only. ETM Television: I am letting you know that I now have a spot on Channel 12 ETM Television News. You can see the news Wednesday nights at 7 and 10 p.m., Saturday nights at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. I will be giving you news and information pertinent to the over 50 crowd. In addition, coming events and inter- views. You may see it locally on Channel 12 or by Internet www.etmtelevision.com Doctors' Notes: A man comes into the ER and yells; "My wife is going to have her baby in the cab!" I grabbed my stuff, rushed to the cab, lifted the lady's dress, and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs, and I was in the wrong one. At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient's anterior chest wall. "Big breaths." I instructed. "Yes, they used to be," remorsefully replied the patient. One day I had to be bearer of bad news when I told a wife that her husband had died of a massive myocardial infarct. Not more than 5 minutes later, I heard her reporting to the rest of the family that he had died of a "massive internal fart." Another vacant lot in Exeter Week after week all we read about is where the municipality is failing us. Well I am not so sure if the buck should stop here, or here at all. Take a look at our Main Street, or better yet take a look at the corner of Highway 83 and 4, where just last year hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on road expansion. This corner is getting to look like vacant parking lots. All we have left is a business that was long established before the road expansion, (Eric Campbell's) a vacant lot in serious need of repair, lent out for anyone to drop advertising signs or tent sales on, a partial building (at Subway) that cannot seem to make a go of it no matter what goes in it, and as of May where North End Auto is, another abandoned building with gas pumps, as the renter, Terry, is being forced to leave as the building is "under power of sale". Maybe the municipality can look forward to investing a few more hundred of thousands of dollars as the last ground inspection apparently did not pass envi- ronment inspection. My point being, as I assume other business that had to close within the municipality in the last six months, they made every and any approach to try to remain within the community, as most of us live in the community. But there does not seem to be the support system there. Why not work with the business to maintain them? I'm sure all would have stayed if maybe the rent were less, or maybe a good look at incoming competi- tion was considered before opening, or maybe instead of the munici- pality waiting until buildings are abandoned, deal with owners ahead of time; work with tenants to keep them operational at least until new tenants are present. We have lost so much: Health Food Store, Stedman's, Before and After, Sand Dollar, Darling's Food Market, Gossiping Goose, Mexican Restaurant, to name a few, and I do not pretend to know all the reasons why, but I do know in my case we left to relocate in another municipality. So where was the BIA, the Chamber of Commerce, and the municipality when approached for help? Volunteers enrich our communities During National Volunteer Week, April 23 to 29, all of us have a special opportuni- ty to show our appreciation to volunteers for their service and commitment. Week after week, Ontario's 2.3 million volunteers contribute the social and economic well- being of our communities. The Ontario Trillium Foundation is keenly aware and deeply appreciative of the importance of volunteers. The Foundation is itself a model of volunteerism, with its Board of Directors and 16 Grant Review Teams over 300 people in total all working as unpaid volunteers to serve communities across the province. As Chair of the Foundation, I would like to recognize our Grant Review Team members in Grey, Bruce, Huron and Perth for their commitment. These energetic volunteers, under the able leadership of Grant Review Team Chair Kathleen Pletsch, review grant applications and recommend funding. They contribute countless hours and immeasurable effort to building healthy and vibrant communities. Volunteer time is valuable time. In Grey, Bruce, Huron and Perth alone, in the last 12 months, approximately 4,000 volunteers contributed over 120,000 vol- Allh., unteer hours to support the work of OTF grant recipients. If we translate their tireless efforts into paid value, it comes to more than $2 million of giving. Last year, over 212,000 volunteers across Ontario con- tributed more than 6 1 million hours of their time to support organizations that received funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. I am grateful for their enthusiasm and their commitment to this province. With 2.3 million volunteers across Ontario, it's very likely that you or someone close to you is benefiting from their work. During Volunteer Week, I urge you to take a moment to thank them for giving generously of their time and their talent. Thanks to our vol- unteers, our communities and our province are better places to live. HELEN BURSTYN, Chair, The Ontario Trillium Foundation Letters to the ditor THE MEIKLE FAMILY No special training, just special people April is Volunteer Month and the South Huron Block Parent Committee would like to extend a huge "Thank You" to all of our 210 Block Parents in South Huron who help make our neighbourhoods safer. Their involvement in this program, along with that of the police and local educa- tors, is crucial to its effectiveness - i.e. minimizing the opportunity for harm to our children. Block Parents help children who are being bullied, lost, injured or in many other situations where they need assistance. We are thrilled to welcome 12 new members to the team. We hope you won't be called into service, but appreciate your willingness to open your door to a child in distress. The more Block Parents, the safer our children and community. Finally, "Thank You" to our committee members who give up their time to main- tain and promote the Block Parent program. Your commitment is truly appreciated. NANCY JANE FINCH, chairperson South Huron Block Parent Committee VON thanks volunteers Dear VON Volunteers: What a pleasure it is to acknowledge your gift of time and skills to VON. Through your generous commitment as a volunteer, you set a won- derful example and demonstrate the power of individuals to have a remarkable impact on the lives of others. We are appreciative of the energy, enthusiasm and dedication you bring to your role as a volunteer. Because of you, VON has been able to provide health care and social services to Canadians, day in and day out, from town to town, city to city and province to province across our country. Thank you very much for your support to the Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada, and for everything you are doing to help maintain its excellence. You are one of the most essential members of the VON family as you work daily at advancing the vision, mission and values of our organization. We are grateful and privileged that you have chosen to volunteer with VON. LYNN BESSEY, Chair, Board of Directors JUDITH SaAMIAN,President & CEO, VON Canada