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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1986-02-05, Page 1INDEX Births /A17 Brussels /A8 Classified /A14, 15 Dublin /A4 ' Entertainment '/A18 Family /A17 Farm /A13 Hensall /A5 Legion /A18 Qbituaries /A17 Sports /A10,11, 12 Walton /A9 Cutters bred hearty individuals. See page A3. New business offers financialservice. See pages A6, A7. Home -built team a hockey winner. See page Alt xpositorEHuron Serving the cc'mmunitles and areas of $eaforth, Brussels, Dublin, Hensel) and Walton Emil i I SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1986 — 18 PAGES Better deal wanted for the farmers Taking what it has learned from previous negotiations, federal agriculture minister John Wise wants a "better deal" for Canadian agriculture. "W e want better access to export markets, better controls on export subsidies and contractural rules that apply equally and fairly to all countries,' he said. The federal minister was the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Huron Cattlemen's Association. He admitted the United States did better in negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), than did Canada. The European Economic Control (EEC) is allowed to import up to $23 million worth of goods to Canada, but only $11 million to the United States. "We learned from our experience," said the MP from Elgin County. He was more optimistic about those GATT talks in his speech. "At the end of our (GATT) negotiations, we had succeeded in preventing costly retaliatory action by the EEC against a wide range of agricultural exports. And, at the same time, we had 'negotiated a new EEC beef import level for 1985 - just over 10,000 tonnes. That's less than half of the 1984 level. And it's nowhere even remotely near the 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes I heard predicted in some quarters;" he said. The federal agriculture minister was questioned on free trade negotiations with the United States. Mr. Wise said all Canada has done is send a message to Washington indicating the government is interested in bilateral trade negotiations. "That's where we are," he stated. Again, he stressed, the trade deal has to be a good one for Canada. "We want a good deal, a square deal, a better deal for agriculture or there ain't going to be a deal," said Mr. Wise. He was verbally attacked by one spectator for not taking stronger action against A merican states that closed their borders last year to Canadian pork. "There is a misunderstanding of what we can do," commented Mr. Wise. He said the states that close their borders have to answer to the federal government in Washington. not Ottawa. Mso on trade negotiations with the U.S., Mr. Wise said a 40 -member advisory committee has been appointed. with the members representing a crass -section of Canada. He couldn't reveal any names. but noted that agriculture is expected to have the largest sub -committee. In his speech to the 200 cattlemen gathered in Clinton, Mr. Wise also commented on tripartite stabilization Mitch he noted the Huron group asked for last September. "The day f signed the agreements with Ontario's agriculture minister. Jack Riddell, was the day f delivered on the resolution you sent to me last September," he said ADDRESS TO THE HAGGIS — John Plrle made the traditional address to the haggis Wednesday night as Scotsmen and representatives from other ethnic groups from the area attended the first annual Nicht wi' Burns, sponsored by the Van Egmond Foundatlor.. The event commemorates Robbie Burns, a Scottish poet and folk hero. The evening consisted of a dinner, Scottish entertainment and a draw for three 'Burns -related mementoes. Winners were Dorothy Scott. a volume of Burns poems; Bob Hamilton, Burns cottage; and Thelma Broadfoot, a spoon. Ken Scott piped In the haggis, which was prepared by chef Velma Miller. Over 100 people attended the dinner - a capacity crowd. Mcllwralth photo Stay at home seniors plan positive step A move by the Ontario government to earmark more money to help elderly and disabled people to stay at home instead of being forced into institutions or nursing homes is a positive step according to Huron County groups. They say a two-pronged $71 million plan to improve community support services for the elderly and disabled is long overdue. An $11 million allocation to community support services will be introduced in two stages and immediate spending will include: 42 million to maintain and expand home support services. including programs such as meals on wheels, friendly visiting, necessary escorted transportation. telephone reassur- ance checks, and home help; -$750,000 to establish an additional 50 "Elderly Persons Centres" across the province: 4100,000 to increase the stipend to senior volunteers in service from $60 to 5100 for out of pocket expenses; -$40,000 to recruit additional senior volunteers in service; -$60,000 to help the Senior Talent Bank Association establish additional senior talent banks in key locations across the province and 4735,000 to provide for the establishment of community supper seance grog -rams for those elderly residing in remote and isolated communities in the province; Early in the next fiscal year a further $3.1 minion will be spent to further expand the variety of these community support services and initiative will be taken to make them more readily available to' native people and francophones. For Alzheimer_s_di5QPQ_victims and their families, a further $1 million has been earmarked for day care and relief services in the home, family counselling and education. A total of $60 million over the next few years will be spent in order to introduce the new integrate homemaker program. The program was developed jointly by the Ministries of Health and Community and Social Service to provide homemaker services for frail seniors and physically handicapped adults. T definitely feel its tteedecV said Jean Yoi>tig of the ITuron County Tonin dad cod*, lioniemaket's (tCH). %Thetle has certainly been a need for such expanded *evict deinoitsfi'a'ted in. Huron County. one of the six areas the government has chosen to test this project." Huron County was chosen based on the significant population of seniors in the area, the existence of a well established home care program, an ample supply of qualified homemakers and a full range of community support services. In recent years the TCH has provided homemaker services to approximately 250 senior citizens each year, with the seniors themselves paying for the service. The government plan calls for $11 million in annual spending to maintain and expand community support services for the elderly and 560 million to be spent over the next few years to introduce integrated Homemaker Programs across Ontario for' "frail" seniors and physically disabled adults. This means a great number of seniors who were previously ineligible for assistance may now be eligible to receive it. Current recipients of home- maker service must qualify through financial or health -needs tests which often deny service to those who would like to stay in their homes. - Under the new plan, there will be no Medical or financial test, and applicants need only demonstrate need and deal with one appmac7i trirougli local tie units. Removal of the needs tests could result in an increase of perhaps 50 per cent in numbers of seniors taking advantage of the service. Locally the program Will be administered through the Huron County Health Unit, and by its standards a program of this type has been wanting forsome time in Huron County. Task force to The federal liberal's agriculture task force will be in Hutton County on Thursday, January 30' for a morning session.. Headed up by MP Maurice Foster (Algoma), the federal liberal caucus spokes- man for agriculture, the task force will hear presentations from the general public from 9:30 a.m. until 12 at the legion Hall in Wmgham. ' The W Ingham stop is one of 10 places across Ontario that the task force will visit the fast week in -Januarys. The group will start in Finch Monday morning and end up in "There are a considerable number of seniors who could be maintained longer in their homes with help by the Board of Health, through the Huron County Health Unit," said Betty Cardno "There are •a considerable number of seniors who are not managing well at home, who are referred by physicians for the Homemaker services in the county, but who are not eligible," she added. "A program such as this will delay admittance of some to nursing homes." While it is beneficial to a senior's frame of mind to be able to stay at home longer, Mrs. Cardno said the delays in admittance to nursing homes, could force the nursing homes to take a look at thelype of care they are providing now and will have to provide in the future. "Now when these seniors enter the nursing homes they will require greater care, and it will be a different type of care than the nursing homes have been up to now providing," she said. But other than that Mrs. Cardno said the progrant, if it is successful, will be a good one, and one that will not only benefit the seniors but the entire economy as well. "It's going to pick up another segment of the population. The more people you keep out of the homes the greater the economic value," she said. "They (the seniors) will be better able to use the community facilities and to support the town they live in. There are certain economicbenefits to keeping people self-suf- ficient." she added. hit Huron Renfrew on the Friday night, "Our task force 'h'eld a series of very successful meetings in the four western provinces during 'November. The presenta- tions made to the task force by approximately 100 witnesses will help our caucus menibeis in the - House of Commons as well as contribute valuable irisrght„to our policy t f )din rb'tess,'r said Dr, roster, MOH- I1VE - Mare iibbinef,'ivltke Flanagan and Bobbii loath mark the outcome Of their ...g ' ' trroofitiafl borne with the high five gesture after their'tearir, the G.H. 9xp'ress, won the A.. ' Personsororganrzations tchslrmg tomake a presentationshouldeontattHrnoe'MCDon'ald Ch'ariipionship of the annual Se'aforth g'roombali Tournament. For more photos and a story Of Mildmay, sea page A10. Mclfwralth ph'otio 50c a copy No quick release seen g gas prices from hi h Local gas station operators continue to sit price reductions. with their hands tied as both the federal "They're getting over half (the price) of government and the big oil companies have refused to take any immediate action to lower gasoline prices at the pumps, despite the plummeting world prices for crude oil. Meanwhile the Canadian motorists must carry the burden of gasoline prices that continue to hover just slightly below the 50 cents per -litre mark. "1 wish 1 could answer that question," said Jim Floyd, of the Seafbrth Gulf station; when asked why prices have not come down. "I hope they eventually come down," he added. Despite the extensive media coverage given the falling world oil prices, Mr. Floyd said there has been no unusual amount of complaints from motorists passing through his station. "They're just saying the price is loo expensive," he said. Mr. Floyd said it is hard to tell if business at the station is being ,affected by the high prices. "Certain people are going to buy a lot of gas because they have to have it. Some won't buy any more than they have to have to get from, point A to point B," he said. While opposition parties have been calling on the Conservative government to have government-owned Petro -Canada take the lead to bring pump prices down, Mr. Floyd said he does not feel the company should interfere with the market. "As far as I'm concerned the government shouldn't have anything to do with it (the oil industry)," he'said. However, since they are involved, Mr. Floyd said he feels they should be "just another part of the industry," Marc Robinet, owner -operator of Archie's Sunoco, Seaforth, says as a dealer, he has no advance knowledge of when prices will drop. "We just get a phone call on the day of the change," said Mr. Robinet, adding he expects it will "take quite a few months," for the effect of lower world oil prices to get to the pumps. Mr. Robinet feels the government is largely responsible for the high prices and believes they will have to play a part in any each litre. 1n order for gas to go down (part of the decrease) needs to be tax," he said. Mr. Robinet estimates government -im- posed tax accounts for 26 or 27 cents on every litre. The dealers, he said, get about three cents of the pump price, leaving 20 cents for the oil companies do a 50 cent litre. "I don't know how much they (the oil companies) have to have to make money, but they seem to have an awful lot of profit at the end of the year," Mr. Robinet said. Mr, Robinet does not expect Petro -Can- ada, or the provincially -owned Suncor, to take the lead in lowering pump prices, nor is he sure they should. "1 don't know if that's going to help our country, They bought it to make money so they can't let profits suffer," he said, Gasoline prices around 44 or 45 cents, or lower '.'would get people back on the road, doing some travelling again," said Mr, Robinet, adding he feels prices in that range would be "fair," to all concerned. Lower prices would be a general boost to the overall economy, he said. Many of the motorists who visit Mr. Robinet's station have expressed their dissatisfaction with the current prices, Mr. Robinet said. • "W a get a lot of "when is it going down," comments, said Mr. Robinet. "People feel they have been gouged the last few years and now they want some action," he said. Motorists groups like the Canadian Auto- mobile Association (CAA I have recently began campaigns urging motorists to write letters to the government, expressing their displeasure with high gas prices. While not opposed to such action, Mr. Robinet said he feels it is unnecessary. "They (the government) know what the people want. They want lower gas prices, but knowing that and doing it, are two different things, ' he said. M r. Floyd said he felt the CAA campaign is a gond idea., "1 think it helps a lot. it's sure better than just sitting back." he said. Smoking ban still question To ban or not to ban, smoking that is, has become a perennial question faced by public bodies. This month. school boards in the area are dealing with the question after the Ontario Medical Association wrote a letter recently asking for smoking by students, teachers and staff in the schools to be banned. Earlier. director of education Robert Allan Both the Huron County board of education said smoking by teachers is confined to staff and the Huron -Perth Roman Catholic sepa- rooms and custodians smoke in their lunch rate school board filed the letter at their rooms. He did add smoking by students is respective meetings on January 13. allowed in designated areas in all five And although the letter from the medical secondary schools in the county association did not point a finger at smoking in board rooms, there were more than one or two guilty faces at both board meetings. In fact, smoking is allowed at both these meetings, and that doesn't sit right with at least one trustee. Sally Rathwell of Clinton, a new trustee to the Huron County board of education, said she was told during the election campaign some people are unable to attend board meetings because of allergies to smoke. She also noted at some times during the year, students are brought into the board room for some recognition and see board members smoking, "We wouldn't allow our staff to do that," commented Ms. Rathwell. Mr Allan said the students are being educated about the hazards of smoking and this same information is being bombarded at staff. He didn't think banning smoking on school property would be beneficial. The director suggested students would find some place off of school property to smoke. However, the board's executive committee will consider the question of smoking further and report back to the Huron board of edueation, l