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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1985-07-17, Page 1Lions Dublinfest See page B1 INDEX Births I B4 Brussels / B6 lassified / A14, 15, 16 D lin / A4, 5 Enter inment / A17, 18 Family / B4, 5 Farm / B2, 3 Grads / All Hensall / A6 Legion I A18 Obituaries / B4 Sports / Al2, 13 Walton / A7 Weddings / B4 85 years young See page A4 Serving the communities and areas of Brussels, Dublin, Hensall and Walton r Hur�n•� xpositor I SEAFORTH. ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1985 —• TWO SECTIONS — 26'PAGES ANGRY FARMERS — The signs these farmers are carrying are among the milder ones seen at last week's rally. The s iggestions on many of the other signs were considerably more explicit. (Till photo) AN OFFICIAL GREETING — Much in evidence at last week's Queen's Park Rally were members of all three provincial parties. Here Ontario Treasurer Robert Nixon, centre, shakes hands with action, Expositor columnist Larry Dillon. The rally was organized by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to press the government into (Till photo) Rally may be just the beginning, say farmers, Disappointment was the sentiment ex- pressed by many farmers following Wednes- day's rally at Queen's Park in Toronto. It took (former PC Minister of Agricul- ture) Dennis Timbrell two years to screw up farming. it only took (current liberal minister) Jack Riddell 11 days," was the way one angry farmer put it. The rally, organized by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture brought tog, ther farmers from across the province. There were two buses carrying Huron County residents - one from Brussels, the other from Clinton - with about 60 people in all. Total attendance at the rally was between 2,000 and 2,500. Speakers included Mr. Riddell, Premier David Peterson, Opposition Leader Frank Miller, Conservative Ag. Critic Ross Ste- phenson. NDP Leader Bob Rae. NDP Ag. Critic David Ramsay, OFA President Harry Pelissero and two of his vice-presidents. W UDFST OVATION The loudest ovation was reserved, some- what surprisingly, for Mr. Rae. Harshly critical of banks which do business with farmers, Mr. Rae had no trouble winning the crowd's favor. "Farmers deserve a fair shake," said Mr. Rae. He suggested Ontario follow Alberta's lead. The Alberta government has made available to farmers low interest, long-term loans. He alto tried to clear up the misconception he said farmers had about the NDP • that it was a party of socialists who wanted to take all private land away from its owners. The party actually encourages ownership, he said. "We want everybody to have property," Council approves 1985 waterworks budget Seaforth Town Council has approved the 1985 Waterworks Capital Budget as pro- posed by the local Public Utility Commission CPUC). Totalling $42,591 the budget allocates $21,210 to completion of three watermain projects in town. That coat will be subsidized somewhat by a $10,000 transfer from the reserve fund. The first of' those projects involves the proposed Jarvis Street watermain crossing at the CNR track. The crossing will mm from approximately 15 metres north of Railway Street to approximately 31 metres south of Huron Street. The second project involves George Street North and the proposed 91 metre extension of a six inch watermain east of East William Street. This extension, according to PUC Manager Tom Phillips, should be completed because the area it serves, Highway 8, is a commercial area, and may require additional water in the future. He said the PUC also wants to complete the project before further paving is uuue un we eueec w avoid tearing up the road at a later date. The third project involves the proposed extension of a ten -inch watermain on Church Street. The extension would run north of Centre Street for approximately 83 metres. Other expenditures noted in the budget include $2,000 for the purchase of a new hydrant, water meters and water meter read-o-matics, and $2,500 to complete services on Centre Street and to begin work on George/Street North and Church Street. Pipe, fittings and material would have to be purchased. A further $1,000 is designated to pay engineering fees for the Jarvis Street Watermain crossing. Based on the estimated interest on a current $15,000 reserve $1,360 will be transferred to a maintenance reserve. $13,600 will be transferred to a capital reserve based on estimated revenue for 12 months from a rate increase applied July 1, 1984. • A deficit of $921 carried over from 1984 will be funded in 1985 from General Funds. Bash marks campaign end Not everfyone throws a community party to celebrate their third birthday. But not everybody can say they owe their being to the whole community either. On :Friday. July 26, the fundraising committee of the Seaforth and District Community Centres is inviting the public to attend a birthday party to celebrate that facility's thirdbirthday. It is, according to member Marlen Vincent, a party to celebrate the windup of the fundraising for the complex. "i think the people of the community, the captains and the canvassers, have got to be commended on the way they honored their pledges. It has been just fantastic," said Mr. Vincent. When plans for the complex were being discussed, organizers decided to go with the basics and cut back on some of the extras which would ultimately cost more money. Those extras and a lot more have been added to the facility because of the generous response of the public to the fundraising campaign. } Work now has even expanded to include sodding and landscaping around the complex and gravelling of the parking lot. Service groups have contributed too by providing funding for such aesthetic touches as wainscotting and wrought iron decorative screens. "It is a building the community is proud of. And I hope the younger generation that uses the facilities are proud of it too," said Mt. Vincent. " i hope the whole community will come out and celebrate the wind up of the fundraising. They were all a part of it." The party itself will consist of a beef barbecue and dance. There will also be, as at any birthday party, balloons, cake and ice cream. Tickets for the event are being sold at a bargain price of $8. Normall-ythey would sell for $10.The speer I price is in honor of all those who contributed towards completion of the Seaforth and District Community Centres. said Mr. Rae. He cited villain banks which foreclose needlessly on farms, or which make it difficult for farmers to stay on their land. Mast of the other speakers were alternately booed, heckled and shouted down by the boisterous, placard -waving crowd. Many of the placards indicated the farmers' deep concern over their financial plight. "Whygo to Las Vegas?" read one, "Come farm in Ontario." Another read, "If the banks screw us, they won't get bread." Several speakers said the situation now confronting farmers is the worst in decades.. Mr. Riddell said, "The malaise is worse now than in the Dirty 30s." He incurred the wrath of most of the farmers by backtracking on several important promises. During the election, the liberals promised action as soon as they took power, but now Mr. Riddell said he would make his announcements before the end of the legislative session, with possible implemen- tation dates as far as six months down the road. For example, he had been expected to announce his interest subsidy program at the rally, but said his civil servants were still working out the details. INTEREST REDUCTION The minister also said he is pursuing at least three areas of concern with farmers: interest reduction, financial review, and national stabilization. He was worded, he said, about the stabilization program Ottawa is considering. it would be "watered down" in its present format, he said, because it wouldn't outlaw toploading. He also said Ontario was considering bipartite assistance, which would see the provincial government and farmers join in solving problems. Such a program might be made retroactive to January 1, he hinted. OFA Vice President John Wilkinson seemed to verbalize the crowd's feeling when he said, "The liberals better realize we're sick and tired of rhetoric." He slammed the provincial Tories, saying, "They had 40 years to do something," but only now that they're in opposition do they promise to help farmers. He also questioned politicians' sensitivity to farmers. "Nobody wants to work on a farm when they can earn $60,000 a year down here (as an MPP)," he said. • Continued on page As ASHES TO ASHES — A mid-afternoon fire Saturday at the RR I Walton property of Verner Buegler resulted in an estimated $60,000 in damages Fire officio s do not know the cause of the fire. (Mcllwraith photo) Weekend fire levels 'barn Seaforth, Brussels and Grey Fine Depart- ments were all on the scene Saturday as fine engulfed a barn at the RR 1, property of Verner Buegler. The fire, called in by a neighbor at approximately 2:30 p.m. levelled the barn and caused approximately $60,000 damage. A shed adjacent to the barn arid containing approximately $250,000 worth of farm equipment was untouched. "It's nice we were able to keep the fire away from the shed," commented John Menzie, who is overseeing the property for Mr. Buegler who is in Switzerland. Mr. Menzie said he was out in his tractor when he saw the smoke and said it looked like a pile of straw or something was on fire. He added he couldn't understand then why all the fire trucks were there, since he assumed the fire was small enough to have been extinguished by the family living on the property. "Then I got loser and saw it was the whole barn," he said. Karen Hoegy was the neighbor who called in the alarm. - ' Iwas out hoeing potatoes in my field and I saw the smoke. i didn't know whether it was the house or the barn," she said. Nettie Wall, who with her husband John. and four children, live on the Buegler property said she, was unaware of the fire until one of her children brought it to her attention. I was in the back room and the kids were watching television. One of them went to get a drink and looked out the window and saw the barn was on fire," she said. Mrs. Wall said she was unable to call the fire department because the lines were out. Another neighbor Robert Williamson was on the 14th concession when he saw the fine. "I saw the smoke starting and i knew where it was 'coming from so i came right over. The fire 'trucks were over a half hour getting here," he said. The barn measured approximately 90 by 95 feet and had two pole barns attached to it. Those measured six by six feet and 20 by 20 feet respectively. There was no equipment housed in the barn and the livestock, consisting of 55 cows, 20 heifers and 20 calves had been sold just weeks before the fire. The only other loss in addition to the barn itself was a small amount of oat hay stF,red from last year. The barn is insured. Harry Hak, Fire Chief for the Seaforth Fire Department, said cause of the fire' is undeterrmned. "It was an empty barn with hydro in it, and in all barns are rats. It could have happened because of rats chewing through the wire. But it's hard to determine now. There's nothing left but a bunch of curled up metal. It could have been caused by anything," he said, adding the cause of barn fires is rarely determined. Firefighters stayed on the scene until 5:30 p.m.