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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1983-02-23, Page 1IncorpOratlnp Brussets Post 602 per copy' E Amu P!xponi}or SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1983 — 16 PAGES ONE OF THE OLDEST buildings in Seaforth was razed. Monday. when owner of the termer Hasson Haus Restaurant, Heinz Lubjenka; asked McLlwain Construction of Seaforth to tear the building down. Located next to Superior Food Market, the building was gutted by fire last summer. The, town of Seaforth has been proceeding with court action to order the owner to have the site comply with safety standards. The new addition at -the rear of the building, relatively undamaged by fire, has been left standing. No action resulted through the courts. A spokesperson for the town said no word has been received from theowner on his plans for the empty lot. (Waassii, 1 pho Tucker.smith sets budget • BY WiLMA OKE Tuckersmith Township Council proposes a road budget of $355,400 for 1983. Of this $220,800 is for roadside maintenance winter control and other work while $134,600 is for construction work. A major project proposed is a new .bridge on the Roman Line estimated to cost about $135,000 including road approaches.* The completion of the storm sewer in Egmondville at an approximate cost of $17.000 is another project council, would like to see completed. Council now will send the 'budget to thc Ministry of transportation and communication for final approval. Road superintendent Allah Nicholson said Feb. 15 the budget would not cause any increase in taxes over last year's budget for township taxpayers. He explained that this r budget could not be compared to last year's as the ministry's formula for grants is changed. He said this year no supplement- ary subsidy will be approved for mainte- nance work by the ministry but some subsidy may be available for construction work. Mr. Nicholson was given permission to attend the Anderson Road School in Guelph in May and the two grader operators Ken Miller and Jim Knight, may be sent to another road school if they wish to upgrade their skills. • Mike Meyer of Diegel, Malcolm and Hagey of Stratford presented the 1982 financial report. With revenues for 'the 'year totalling 51,846,743 and expenditures total- ling $1.884;161 there was a deficit of approximately $38,000 at the year's end. CHANGE SYSTEM Mr. Meyer recommended the township change its accounting system to a one -rite system; He said a...governmeiit grant of $5,000 is available to set up the new system. Council agreed to the new system following a discussion with clerk -treasurer Jack McLachlan. Council approved the hiring of Brenda McEwin as a teacher at the special daycare centre for handicapped children at Vanastra. She replaces Gerry Vanden Berg who resigned as assistant supervisor. Miss McEwin. one of nine applicants, three of whom were interviewed, will start Mar. 1. Council received a letter from the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority advising it that the 1982 levy assessment for the township is $8,170 while it was $7.470 in 19$2. 'Council approved the designation of the week April 17-23 as Community Justice Week as proposed by the Provincial Secretary for Justice. TURNED DOWN NDP hears farm complaints BY KRIS SVELA Farm groups, farmers and individuals had an 'opportunity to offer input and vent their ttstratlons to Ontario New Democratic arty (NDP) leader, Bob Rae, at a public Meeting held in the Kinsmen Hall, in illitchell on Saturday. Mr. Rae told the athering that his party is aware of the nancial difficulties faced by farmers over he past, several years and the tough future ey'could face. -"We've (the NDP) been arguing very strongly to the Ontario government to do more for farming," he said, referring to what he termed the terrible financial squeeze put on farmers. Paul Klopp, chairman of the energy committee of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture, told Mr. Rae that because of the complexities of the present day economy it is easy for farmers and the business of agriculture to become lost and leas regarded by governments. Reading from a prepared text, Mr. Klopp outlined several concerns facing Huron • County farmers. The energy committee feels Burners should be given the opport'mity to decide to which markets they sell their produce. The example of a farmer selling his corn to an ethadol or food producer was brought forward to explain the amount of red tape presently faced by farmers wishing to seek other markets for their products. The question of increased research to reduce the amount of non-renewable re- sources, such as fuel,chemicals and soil used in the production of foods was put forward. The issue is part of a possible program to -reduce the input costs to farmers. The committee also voiced concerns about Ontario Hydro's future power transmission actions and corridors through prime agricul- tural land. Mr. Klopp explains, "as costs pf production rise while markets for our educts are low: the farmers finds it increasingly difficult to meet his •expenses. Increasingly, the returns 'received from the amount of work and investment is less than satisfactory. If a farmer anticipates he will be producing at a loss, there is no incentive to produce. This is caused by the inelastic demand for agricultural products. The way, to change this is to find more markets fat. ducts." some of our pro Council turned down the 1983 proposed , Mr. Klopp told Mr. Rae that if the issues budget for the Sgat'orth and District presented by the • Huron Federation of Community Centres. Agriculture were acted'upon, the long range • Councillor John Brownridge was upset effect would be beneficial to the agriculture because of the large deficit anticipated. industry. The group also feels that the $36,305. He said a number of roller skates Bovernments can play an important and had been bought at $70 a pair when he was ' leading role in . the areas drentioned in able to buy a •good. - pair recently. for :his ,4parsuit of the best interest of agriculture. daughter, at 56S. He questioned why bulk Perth County Federation of Agriculture buying was not cheaper. president ROn Christie, told Mr. Rae that He also questioned the purchase of three 1983. will be a difficult year for many cash liquor dispensers for, $900. Other council crop farmers because of poor market prices. members noted that other organizations He singled out cash croppers and beef were known to have thrown out a similar producers as the sector of the farming typeecauseey b th' broke d wn too easily and industry, that could be hit hardest this year w re now u n simpler types Mr. Christ' t toe plain that poor widely discussed at the meeting Mr. Rae co-operation between local farm groups, t purchased for m c market prices op , Foam insulation plagues Seaforth area Reg and Dianne Badley arc an ordinary young couple. They've got three kids and a cat and a good-sized old house that they've worked hard at fixing up. outside and in as they could afford it. After about 11 years their Brodhagen house is about the way they want it. new wallpaper in the upstairs' bedrooms, panelling and a woodstovc that heats thc whole house twYood plus' a gas stove and hot water costs thc family about $350 a year) in the living room. But there's a problem. The house they've completely remodelled is insulated with urea formaldehyde insulation or UFFi. There's not a lot of it: the Badlcys estimated an air pocket of about an inch and a half was filled with the foam�vhen it was installed in 1977. Reg. a carpenter, explain he had no inkling that the stuff might be dangerous then. According to government standards the foam was okay (after the Badleys installed it The federal CHIP program gave grants for insulation work, including installation of UFFi) and spraying the stuff in through exterior holes was simply "the quick. easy way to get insulation into an older house." "Lots of people were using it." NO HEALTH PROBLEMS Like most people who have UFFI in their hones. the Badleys haven't had health problems. Perhaps, Dianne says. because Lucky escape from fire A Seaforth woman had a lucky escape late Wednesday afternoon. Feb. 16. when the kitchen of Bill and Jean Wilbee's George St. house was gutted by fire, The Wilbee's kitchen cupboards. made 15 years ago by Seaforth. carpenter Hugh McPherson', were being refinished. Mr. McPherson's wife, Bernice. was working in the kitchen with some steel wool when fumes from the material 'she was using suddenly caught fire. Mrs. McPherson'• son. Jeff. quickly smothered the flames on her clothes and he and Mr. Wilbee got her out of the house. Mrs. Wilbee explains. Although Mrs. McPherson was in snock tor awhile . she escaped with only singed eyebrows and hair. "It was lucky everybody was around" when the accident happened, at about 5 p.m. Mrs. Wilbee says. Her husband Shut up the house and calted the Seaforth fire depart- ment. Although the kitchen was gutted, the ground floor of the house suffered smoke. damage.,the•rncss was pretty well confined to the first floor. The Wilbees were able to move back into their home on Sunday and Mrs. Wilbee says insurance adjusters are working nbw at getting things back to normal. The damage was covered by insurance. homeowners there's so little UFFi there. "Some people, have four or five inches." High level concentrations of formaldehyde can be unhealthy, and the federal government banned the insulation in Dec. 1980. As a result houses insulated with UFFi are almost impossible to sell. We'd never be aote to get anything out of it," Keg says. and the idea that all their work on their home is worthless, bothers them. So the Badleys, like thousands of other people have concluded they'll have to take the UFF1 out. (A Blyth man, Alvin Snell, whose family has had health problems, is tearing down his UFFi insulated home and rebuilding.) That means taking off the new wall- paper, and the gyprock, removing the insulation. spraying the bare studs to neutralize any traces left, adding new insulation and putting new walls back up again. Working in his spare time, room by room and sealing off each room while he works on it, Reg thinks it'll take at least two, months. And cost about $15,000. Former Seaforth mayor. John Sinnamon, has made a different decision about his large Goderich St. W. home, which has been completely renovated and four years ago was insulated with four inches of UFFI. "If we had health problems, we would get rid of it," he says, but they've decided to live with it. That's mainly because the Sinnamons were told it would cost $20,000-530,000 to remove the foam. which they installed in the first place because "for the money it seemed the best insulation. CHiP recom- Bob Rae "As long' as we get above $3 for corn prices we're at a level we can live on," he said. Mr. Christie also explained that the PIK program is helping to stabilize grain prices, which could benefit cash croppers. Follow- ing the meeting he explained that the program will benefit some areas of the agriculture industry while it will hurt others. "it has been heartbreaking in the last decade," he said referring to the financial problems faced by beef prgducers. Mr. Rae asked if th a were figures available to indicate the nu er of farms in financial difficulty in Perth County. Mr. Christie offered a ball park figure of between two and three per cent. "Beef and cash crop would be the areas that are pinched the tightest," Mr. Christie said. THREE OBJECTIVES Mr. Rae lashed out at the lack of programs available to farmers by the provincial „government in an effort to breathe new life in the industry and offer incentives to young , farmers. He explained that his party feels there are three objectives that have to be sell their farms and gain a good return on their investments. Other farmers disagree, referring to inflated market prices as a result of foreign bidders. • Mr. Rae was told by several individuals at the meeting that there is not a consistent price throughout the county. Figures show that the range in price per acre is from 51200 to $2000 depending location, type of land and demand. • Allan Wilford, president of the Canadian Farm Survival Association told Mr. Rae the Ontario government does not realize the significance of farming in the economy. He told the gathering that for every $1 generated in farming another Si is generat- ed in other parts of the economy. He went on to say that the ripple effect of each $l adds $7 to Gross National Product (GNP). "A's farm prices go down unemployrpent goes up one to one," he said. He explained that if farmers receive a negative return on their production of, for example, 53; that figure will cause a ripple effect throughout the economy. Mr. Wilfordalso criticized Oitario Minister of Agriculture, Dennis Timbrell, who he feels has little understanding of the farm situation. Dennis Timbrell I have written off completely," he said. "If he doesn't feel there is money for young farmers' incentive programs then he is off on the wrong track," he said, referring to what he termed Mr. Timbrell's lack of understanding in realizing that a viable agricultural industry can help stimulate the rest of the economy. "The man is completely out of touch with reality," he added. INCENTIVES There was also discussion on incentive programs to farmers to find alternative markets for their products, particularly in the use of some crops for alternative fuels. "1 certainly don't object to farmers having an alternative market," Mr. Rae said, although he felt that with the current decline in the price of oil by the OPEC nations is making it increasingly difficult to continue funding for research into alternative fuels. Mr. Rae told the meeting that he will be. taking their / views and opinions back to Queen's Park and continue to press the realized to put the agricultural industry back issues expressed by the farmers and farm on its feet. groups present at the meeting.-lf there is an The first objectiye would be •to stabilize overall consensus to be reached from the prices to reflect' a profitable return on meeting, it would be that there is general production. He added that a stabilization discontent with the provincial government program could be funded through either and its present farm programs. There was a level of government or jointly. Secondly, he feeling that more should be done to help pointed to the need for lowlinterest credit to farmers...iv the,present economic climate. farmers. He 'explained' that the proviticil 1 ° `Ih an interview following he;mteeting; Mr. government must intervene ih setting Rae gold the Expositor that his Party does not long-term cost and credit guidelines. Mr. condone the actions of a group of farmers at Rae also emphasized the need to offer a penny auction held near - Milverton greater incentives to young farmers inter-„ recently, although he admits that it is a way ested in starting up new farms or taking over to dramatically publicize the problems existing ones. farmers face. The topic of foreign ownership was also He feels that there is a greater need f Or offered figures that show that one million Ontaryo Federation of Agriculture and banks acres of prime agricultural land has .been to help solve local Earth issues and financia purchased by foreign owners, and that that .programs. figure has seen its greatest growth in the 1 really feel that those people who are past five years. _ arguing here have to • have someone to The foreign owneribip question has some listen," he said. summarizing his impres- support among farmers who feel that bids by sions of the meeting. foreign owners on acreage is keeping market. "We have to deal with long range prices at a good level for farmers wishing to problems," he added. mended it," SAFE LEVEL Unlike the Badleys, who are taking part in a government program to test the level of formaldehyde in their house, the 'Sinnamons ljaven't tested. John says he's heard of houses that test above the safe level (0.1 ppm qualifies a homeowner for full scale lab tests at government expense) which haven't posed any health problems. And he wonders why the government promoted the stuff, then banned it, leaving homeowners with houses with lowered market value°. "Feathers and cats cause allergies. and they haven't banned fea- thers or cats yet. If one medical person were to say 'yes, it does cause cancer', okay ban it." But in his opinion that hasn't been proven. Presently there's a grant of up to 55.000. plus $500 to replace insulation that doesn't go for a large scale removal project. (if your house is beyond salvaging and you decide 10 rebuild from scatch you also qualify for a 53,000 new home builder's grant.) Both homeowners would like to see the govdrnment that once endorsed the insulation pay the full cost of removing it. When John Sinnamon was mayor here council circulated a resolution asking for just that. While he says the town got a lot of support from other municipalities, "the government turned a deaf ear.' STUCKSWITH IT "They were paying people to put it in to create work. Now they ban it. and here we are. stuck with it," says Reg Badley. Together with some other area UFFi Please turn to page 3 THEY'LL TAKE IT OUT—Olanne and Reg Badley, here with children Tanya. Jeff and Robbie, have decided to remove the urea formaldehyde foam insulation from their house. The young family lives in a renovated old home in Brodhagen. 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