Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1983-03-02, Page 2Zt1ie Duron *744 fxpositor 4 Since 1860, Serving 141 Community first Optinfi© Incorporating Brussels Post founded 1872 12 Main St. 527-0240 Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO every Wednesday afternoon by Signal -Star Publishing Limited Jocelyn A. Shrier, Publisher Susan White, Editor H.W. (Herb)Turkheim, Advertising Manager Member Canadian -Community Newspaper Assoclatlon, Ontario Community Newspaper Assoclatlon and Audit Bureau of Circulation • A member of the Ontario Press Council Subscription rates: Canada 517.75 a year (in advance) outside Canada 550. a year (in advance) Singh Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, 'WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 1983 Second class mail registration number 0696 ' Learning the ropes ... er... steps by Ron Wassink Are concerns justified? Agriculture has been making news headlines daily as farmers grope in this recessionary period. Recent issues have dealt with concerns'of white bean growers who did not receive interim payments, milk producers are facing quota cut-backs, farm survival organizations have staged penny auctions and government opposition parties are demanding decreases in interest rates for farmers. The most recent issue of concern to many rural landowners is the 100 per cent tax rebate scheduled for 1984. It seems the main concern is the possibility of loss of control oflandowners. Landowners have voiced concern that the new rebate system may see transmission lines crossing prime agricultural land, minerals taken without landowner permission, and or urban demands for fishing, hunting and other rights to agricultural land. The reasoning is farmers will not be paying land tax, saihe public is justified to say they have rights to rural land. How much control does a farmer actually have? It would appear the agricultural community as a whole has lost some control and they are now being controlled. White bean growers must sell their beans through a bean board. The price the grower receives sometimes comes as a surprise, as was the case this year. Milk producers operate thKough the Ontario Milk Marketing Board. The producer is limited in milk production because of quotas. Farmers, who last year met production requirements, are facing quota cutbacks. The result will be overproduction on most dairy operations. Cutbacks have resulted in high quota prices. Farmers are scrambling for quota. Those who cannot purchase quota are selling dairy cows which has caused a drop in milk coat prices. It appears the rights of the agricultural community are slowly being taken away. Is the new tax rebate program taking away more rights? R.W. Go -operation is needed Can teachers cope with students on field trips? Representatives of farm organizations and banking institutions of Huron and Perth met last Thursday in an attempt to re -open lines of communication and forge new ways of co-operation between the two groups. The move came shortly after a penny auction was held in the forced auction sale of a farmer near Gowanstown in which a farm survival group staged a well organized public relations blitz attracting. media attention. The survival group presented a picture of yet another Canadian farmer having to bow tasbe'kanks who forced him into foreclosure. It painted a heart -breaking picture of a farmer trying to cope in a tough economic climate and a bank only interested in foreclosing, taking over the operation. The result was a direct clash between the two groups and a tarnished image of both farmers and banks. In a release from the Toronto Dominion Bank, one of the creditors, the bank explained its position. It stated it had worked together with the farmer for the past year in an attempt to salvage the operation. Those attempts failed when a guarantor declined to continue to guarantee •loans'for the farmer. The result was the bank and the farmer were faced with no other alternative than to realize that the operation could not be propped up financially. The farm survival group then took it upon themselves to come to the rescue. They condemned the banks for the plight of the farmer. By coupling this with well organized media attention to their cause, the survivalists managed to paint a dark picture of the bank, starting a new' round of bank bashing. Established farm organizations have been quick to respond to the ' situation. They have made it clear that they do not condone such action and in essence support the banking institutions for their work with farmers during difficult economic times. They realize the need for good lines of communication and co-operation between the farmers and banks. They also realize that the bond between the two groups has been solid in the past and should continue on that course. Farmers need bankers and bankers need farmers as their customers. That goal can only be achieved throu,9h co-operation and an understanding of the facts that involve financial arrangements to keep viable operations going. The tactics used b>/ the farm survival group near Gowanstown, laying blame with the banks, will only further harm farmer -banker relations. Hopefully continued negotiations to clear the air between organized agricultural groups and financial institutions will correct any misconcep- tions and pave the way for continued good relations. K.S. cO•h@C@c511We Women not second-class 1 I wish to comment further after reading Keith Roulston's "Contributing to society while staying honk." We see very little, if any, written from women who choose. for whatever reason, to lead their lives on the homefront. We are not second class citizens. We arc not unskilled women. Evcryhnc has a skill. Sonic just have more of it than others. We do not need to be pushed out into the work fodce. We arc perhaps doing more service for society than can he measured by staying in the home. Indeed some women feel quite guilty when they leave the home each day. If Mrs. Frola wants to spend a few days with a number of women in the home she may he surprised to find that many couldn't he happier. fulfilled. busy people quite satisfied within their own four walls. If baking. cleaning. sewing. quilting or crafts aren't sufficient many hive labours of love in volunteering services for organizations of the community or taking attention to those not able to get 001 We don -t buy the temintst movement crusade that a Nomen is worth more if she is outside the home Don't take the general assumption that all women will spend some time outside the home in the work force. at some time in their lives One only has to look at the world economically and politically to sce Inst how dangerous Mrs. Frola and her supporters' thinking is that all things should floc from government and to government. We do not need greater government assisted centralization of day care centres I have a k 1 Recently went on my last "field trip" with students. A field trip is something a teacher lines up, fields all kinds of base hits, and 1 do mean base, and trips over some little item, like six kids didn't make the bus home. and how come and what about my little girl and what kind of an educational system do we have, anyways? To some, a field trip is a day, or a week off for teachers and a waste of time for students. "Frills", snarls one parent. "Never had nonna that rundin' around in my day, seein' half-nekkid women and fools in long underwear, and 1 got a good eddication. Never outa work in my life." Says another. And they're right, of course. Field trips are frills. They cost money which would be far better spent in drilling them on how to spell "receive," even though , after five years, they still spell it "recieve." Or to put toantoo together and eventually wind up knowing what a two-by-four is. But maybe the pinch -mouthed lady who refers to "frills" would be a different person if she'd taken a page from Lady Macbeth's book and put a little guts into her old man. And maybe the other guy would not be so smug if he'd travelled to the East Coast and see what a fisherman must do to earn a living. 1 said it was my last field trip. Good reasons. 1 gave them up about ten years ago, and let the younger, idealistic teachers batter illtsciri @Ind 2pAc@ by DflD 5may their brains and bods out against the mass of paperwork, the planning, the ehdless coping with teenagers. the lower -age drinking privilege, and the soaring wage and fuel prices that make bus trips to a major centre such an odreal. A trip to the city used to be a delight, when 1 began teaching. (Always have to use that clause: 1 was never a "young teacher.") 1'd tell the principal i wanted to take all the Grade 11 's to see Richard Burton in ' "Hamlet,". He'd say, "Sure, i'll see about buses," 1'd phone and order 120 tickets at two bucks each. The bus would be another two bucks. We'd have seats in the orchestra. close enough to see the foam flying from Burton's face as he spat, "Oh, most pernicious woman." The kids would run around to the stage door for autographs. We'd head home, all present, replete with culture and inner excitement. That was all there was to it. Nowadays, the field trip has become almost as complicated as one of Rommel's campaigns in the Western Desert. it's become a microcosm of our society, in which the words. "i come. 1 see. 1 conquer." have been replaced by, "Cover -your -ass." Today, one must apply to the county school board, on a form. Then, one must get the principal's approval. usually a matter, of course, unless you're taking a group to study the latest pornographic movies, or the latest development in topless dancing. Then one ordets a block of tickets. Then one sells them to the students, along with,a formidable price for the bus. Then one fills out further forms, with the name, home rooms and individual numbers of the students. Then one tries to collect the money from the students who are away sick, or have forgotten, or have changed their minds. Then one must pay the bus company, up front. Then one must send a cheque for the tickets. Then one must fill out more forms. declaring exactly who is going to be on each bus. And so on. And on. Then one must count and recount the students, make sure they get to the theatre on time, round them up for the trip home, count them again like so many cattle, scour the nearby taverns for the stragglers. leave We need a good shot of The flews that Toronto hospitals are hoping to get government approval to sell the services of their laboratories to outside customers in competition with private labor- atories seems to open up all kinds of new ways to increase government incomes. In these days of economic restraint when people are insisting that government institu- tions should be run in a more business -like manner, the possibility of maximizing return on investment in government circles seems to be endless. For instance; there is an attempt being made in Toronto for private management companies to move up from the U.S. to manage several major hospitals rather than the normal internal management system that has run each hospital for years. I'm sure the new managers with their Yankee ingenuity will immediately sec some of these possibili- ties. CUT COSTS For instance. periodically when the provin• Tial government goes on one of its cost-cut- ting hinges. hospitals are forced to close cup anti saucer 111 which ucat the words. "God could not he everywhere, therefore. he made mothers." We are a society of "follow the leader" and peer pressure. That doesn't make it right. I find it very sad and dangerous for the world to see those women who remain in the home fast becoming a dwindling minority. Thank you. • Sincerely (C'aroll,Mrs. Ken Ryan RRl Dublin behind those who have vanished, and return to a torrent of tirades. I've had some great trips, years ago, to the O'Keefe Centre, the Royal Alex, Stratford, before the purpose of the trip became smothered in a paper snowstorm. Frances Hyland. Richard Burton,Alex Guinness. Great plays, students high on theatre. Never mind the bus breakdown on the way home. it was part of the adventure. Then the troubles began. The permissive era. Lowered age for young drinkers. Bus prices going out of sight. Creeping bureau- cracy that made it a paper horror for the dtganizing teacher.''"" " Took my last trip to Expo. Students puking beer all over the bus, after an evening in Montreal. Students acting like old -maids who had just tried their first dry martini. The hell with that, 1 said, Who needs it? This time, 1 was forced into it, by the sudden illness of the teacher who was organizing it. 1 think it was the organization that knocked him out. 1 hate to admit it, but i enjoyed the trip, after the last minute hassle over the paperwork. The kids were delightful, friendly on time. The show was pretty good. live Shakespeare , the only way to enjoy the bard. There was only one hitch, i took my wife. bubonic plague Dccond d @ Mc@w�� by a@Oth Qoalz4ow rooms, even whole wings. A sharp manager would see the potential for turning these into inexpensive hotel rooms. Rather than having those rooms stand empty, you could rent them out to visiting tourists and businessmen for S50 to $100 a day. The rooms might not be fancy but you could offer what no classy hotel can offer: a fully trained and equipped medical staff on call 24 hours a day. Smart managers might also see the possibilities in other hospital facilities. For instance. why not in the evenings when the use is light anyway, turn the hospital's physio therapy departments into health clubs? And after they've served their normal use in hospital waiting rooms. magazines could he sold to antique dealers. SELL It But this selling of services could spread through the whole government bureaucracy. For instance. for schools and organizations having courses on public relations, the post office could rent its top officials as consult- ants on how to do anything in a way to get the most people upset with you. If there is too much demand for the post office to fill in this arca. the folks at the Metric Commission could certainly help out. In the same line. Premier William Davis could give instruction to classes on meditation for insomniacs. He's guaranteed to put anybody to sleep after only five minutes of talking. But it's down in the U.S. where Ronald Reagan faces criticism for both his budget deficit and military spending that the most exciting potential lies. On a small scale, Mr. Reagan could start a rent -a -general program. He already rents generals td countries like El Salvador of course but this would be a plan to help out the poor harried party -givers of America who are looking for something to give a new charge to their parties. They could also. perhaps. work out a franchising system with peace movement groups to rent a protester. The confrontation between the two sides should guarantee no more dull parties. URBAN REMOVAL The possibilities go much farthei. You might even say they're earth shattering. Why not get rid of those old atomic warheads which aren't up to date endugh to deter the SON lets by using them to clear the centres of American cities for downtown redevelop- ment. It would be nice to tell the blacks and other poor to move out first but if they didn't, well that would cut the welfare deficit wouldn't it? And you could rent out weapons like the germ warfare, to, countries that are worried about the birth control problem. Just think. a good shot of bubonic plague will not only reduce the present population but make people sick enough not to be able to do anything about increasing the population. Government should support young farmers Dedicated leaders need public support After spending an enjoyable evening and being a grandmother with grandchildren in Scouts and Brownies I would like people to,, know of the Scouting movement leaders' dedication. a They give freely of their time to work with our young people including spending week- ends away from their own families on 4. allying trips etc When an invitation goes out to parents and granaparents to attend a special meeting, the leaders must( find it encouraging when they take time to do so. With this much dedication from the leaders they must continue to get more public support to keep active in our community. It costs so little to show our support to this organisation Let's all help. • A Very Proud Grandmother Many of the problems we faced last year arc still with us. Some are even worse. The young farmer has been placed in an impossible position. The large amount of capital required to start even a modest farming unit requires that the beginning farmer borrow large amounts of money to supplement his own capital. Aside from F.C.C. there is still no longer term financing from Ontario yet. The Saskatchewan govern• ment came up with a program. whereby Saskatchewan residents with land purchases since Dec. 17. 1982 will have mortgage rates rebated down to eight per cent for the first five years and 12 per cent for the next five years on amounts up to S350.000. The program will he operated in conjunction with the Farm Credit Corporation. Although the Land Bank Act, has now been repealed, commitments on contracts made by the Land Bank will be honoured by the government. Nova Scotia recently lowered the rates on its farm loan program. For loans up to 5150,000 the interest rate dropped two points to eight per cent. For loans between 5150,000 and 5300,000 the new rate is 13 per cent. Faced with a high debt-to-equity ratio. the youngfarmer cannot withstand any continua- tion of high interest rates combined with low returns. The young farmer of Ontario has even more difficulty competing since every other province in Canada has better long term agricultural programs fot young farmers. The only assistance this province offers farmers comes from the tile drainage program. Township tile drainage loans. are very important, especially to a young farmer. Well drained land alldws him to maximize his cash flow and crop yiields on a minimal land base. We feel the Ontario government must budget more money for the program and supply a minimum of 75 per cent of the cost of tile draining. Farm Credit is unable to supply enough affordable credit to meet all that is needed. This is evidenced by the decline of F.C.C. long term financing. Farm credit mortgage rates should be two points less than bank prime, instead of two poihts above, to be of any use to farmers. We solicit your support for a speedy implementation of the Agri -bond concept. We feel this type of solution could be of great benefit to both FCC and to farmers. What is desperately needed is a source of inter- mediate financing for farmers buying machinery, expansions and livestock. This credit should have fixed rates -with five to ten years credit terms. Many of the credit problems faced by farmers today are a result of financing with short term` floating operating loans. Ontario offers little more support for farmers by allowing foreign ownership of farmland. Quebec. Saskatchewan. Alberta. Manitoba and P.E.I. all maintain protective legislation against non-resident foreign own- ership. Some provinces even restrict non - farming corporations from owning farmland. According to the Rural Development Out- reach Program study. 7,823 acres of Huron County's best land was owned by non-resi- dent foreign owners in Nov. 1980. Dennis Timbrell has acknowledged there are 150.000 acres foreign owned which amounts to one per cent of the agricultut•al land. Yet in Huron County. there are severe concentrations of foreign ownership, for example Morris Twp. has five per cent foreign owners. This absentee foreign ownership has a direct impact on young farmers by breaking the cycle of retiring farmers turning over their farms to young beginning farmers. By their aggressive purchasing of the best farmland at world prices. they are establishing the price of farms, much higher than the realistic market value for this 'area. Farmers producing a commodity support- ed by supply management are quick to point out the many advantages and the relative security of operating in such an environment. However, marketing boards must ensure that sufficient quota is available to young beginning farmers at a fair price. Since one in every five lobs in Ontario depends on agriculture it would make sound economic sense for both our provincial and federal governments to support our young farmers so that the agricultural industry can continue to 6e as strong in the future as it has been in the past. Hans Rasmussen Young Farmers Committee Huron Federation of Agriculture 511 SOG`W@t hOng 40 Soy by e $aas©B W%Dt® Susan White is .on holidays 1