The Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-10-12, Page 66 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Allan Thompson of Liberal ProjectRURAL gives perspective on conference
Allan Thompson
Guest Columnist
People who live in rural
communities don't see
enough of their own stories in
local media. And when
reporters from the city venture
out to rural communities they
often act like foreign corre-
spondents who are visiting
some unknown country.
So in the end, rural voices
just don't get the hearing
they deserve.
That was the thrust of a
provocative panel discussion
held during the recent Rural
Talks to Rural conference in
Blyth, an event hosted by the
Canadian Centre for Rural
Creativity to bring together
experts on rural issues from
across the country to share
their experiences.
I took part in the three-day
event in my capacity as chair
of the ProjectRURAL task
force set up by the federal
Liberal party to explore how
the party could engage more
effectively with rural com-
munities. Among the con-
versations that unfolded in
Blyth were discussions on
rural healthcare, the need
for better internet access and
success stories in rural inno-
vation and storytelling.
The conference was being
held for the first time but was
such a success that itis likely to
become an annual event, an
important venue for bringing
more attention to rural issues.
What stood out most for
me was the panel called "The
Rural Voice: evolving ways of
telling your story from news-
print to the electronic high-
way?' It was led by Gill Gar-
ratt, the artistic director of
the Blyth Festival, which has
championed telling stories
of rural Canada on the stage.
He was joined by local jour-
nalist Shawn Loughlin of the
Blyth Citizen, an independent
weekly newspaper recently
named as the best all-round
newspaper in Canada in its
circulation class, as well as
filmmaker Simon Brothers of
Stratford -based Powerline
Films and Bojan Furst, who
works with Memorial Univer-
sity in Newfoundland on con-
necting academics with ordi-
nary people out in the
community who are looking
for help to solve problems.
All four made compelling
points about how the rural
voice just isn't heard often
enough.
Garratt spoke about the
Blyth Festival's legendary
success in bringing rural sto-
ries to the stage by commis-
sioning plays that have often
grown out of the local com-
munity and go on to tour
across the country. "What
happens on that stage is part
of our identity," Garratt said.
But in a telling example,
he also lamented the lack of
media coverage for one of
this season's most important
new plays - Our Beautiful
Sons: Remembering Mat-
thew Dinning.
Even though the play was
about the Wingham family
that lost one son to a bomb-
ing in Afghanistan and then
faced the prospect of
another son heading off to
war, the local newspaper in
Wingham paid it no notice,
Garratt said.
Loughlin talked about the
importance of small-town
journalists telling local stories,
despite the current challenges
in a cash-strapped newspaper
industry.
"It's all about holding a
mirror up to the community
and showing people their
stories back to them," Lough-
lin said. And he said it is crit-
ical for locally -based report-
ers to be documenting their
own communities. "Who is
telling the story is just as
important as who is receiv-
ing it," he said.
It is vital for rural media to
tell their own stories because
the journalists from the city
usually can't be bothered, or
fall back on old stereotypes,
Allan Thompson, chair of
the federal Liberal Party
ProjectRURAL Task Force.
panelists said.
"You have rural as idyllic
versus rural as backwater,
rather than rural how it is
lived," said Furst. "I feel that
right now we are treating
rural, as journalists, like it's a
foreign country."
So what to do? Tell more
rural stories. "Look at who you
are and tell the stories of what
you see around you," said
Brothers, the filmmaker.
And yet, in a riding like
Huron -Bruce, most of the
community newspapers are
shrinking, struggling to
make a living and often so
short-staffed that they are
faced with impossible
choices about which story
not to cover this week.
For my part, I joined in the
discussion to say that as a for-
mer journalist who then ran for
office, Iwas struck by how most
of the local papers seemed to be
so strapped for resources,
Photo Credit: Submitted
Allan Thompson attended the Sept. 28-30, 2016 Rural 2 Rural
Conference in Blyth, which gave leaders an opportunity to voice
issues not often discussed that are pressing rural areas.
Rural 2 Rural panel is made up of, L -R: Gill Garratt of the Blyth
Festival, filmmaker Simon Brothers, Furst, Shawn Loughlin of the
Blyth Citizen
particularly by comparison
with the resources they had
when I worked at the Kincar-
dine Independent back in the
1980s.
Most of the reporters I met
while criss-crossing Huron -
Bruce were good people
working very hard, against
impossible odds and a lack
of resources to tell local
stories.
But rural stories are so
important to celebrate local
success, to empower those
who are making a difference
and to identify where more
work is needed.
And it is equally important
for those rural stories to
make their way to folks in the
city. Because without those
stories and those voices, how
will rural communities get a
fair shake with decision
makers far away in the urban
power centres of Toronto
and Ottawa?
Allan Thompson is a jour-
nalism professor at Carleton
University, was the Liberal
candidate in Huron -Bruce in
the 2015 federal election and
now chairs the ProjectRU-
RAL task force. Born and
raised on a farm in Glammis,
he started his journalism
career at the Kincardine
Independent and later
worked for 17 years with the
Toronto Star before joining
the faculty at Carleton.
Lucknow Good Food Box program on hold until coordinator comes forward
Orders for the Lucknow's
Good Foox Box program are
currently on hold until a new
coordinator is found.
Two Good Food Box sites
- Markdale and Lucknow -
are looking for volunteer site
coordinators to manage and
support a team of volunteers
to deliver the services of the
Good Food Box.
The volunteer site coordi-
nator acts as a local contact,
organizes orders and works
with volunteers to pack
boxes on pickup day.
The position requires
about 10 hours every month.
"It feels good to spend my
energy for a good cause, and
it also gives me the opportu-
nity to meet people from dif-
ferent cultures." said Walker-
ton site coordinator Marita
Hagedorn. "The Good Food
Box depends on volunteers
in order to maintain afforda-
bility and sustainability.
They are invaluable to the
growth and success of the
Iucknowsentinel.com
SA UGEEN MOBIL
and REGIONAL TRANSIT
SPECIALIZED PUBLIC TRANSIT
MENTALLY & PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED RESIDENTS
NON -EMERGENCY MEDICAL, SOCIAL Sr EMPLOYMENT
LOCAL AND LONG DISTANCE
519-881-2504
1-866-981-2504
Please visit us at saugeenmobility.ca
program."
Markdale orders will con-
tinue as usual, but Luc-
know's are currently on hold
pending a new coordinator.
Packing days occur on the
second Friday of the month
at Lucknow Christian
Reform Church and fourth
Tuesday of the month in
Markdale at Annesley United
Church. Contact Laura
Needham if you are inter-
ested in becoming a volun-
teer site coordinator
(1.needham@publichealth-
greybruce.ca).
The Good Food Box is a
volunteer powered, com-
munity based program to
improve access to good
food by making quality
fresh produce available at a
low cost.
There are 19 Good Food
Box sites across Grey Bruce.
Visit Grey Bruce Health
Unit for more information
and locations at www. publi-
chealthgreybruce. on. ca
Submitted
Marilyn Lemon of the Good Food Box program shows off the
produce available to residents. Lucknow's program is in need of a
coordinator, which has put the program on hold.
Huron County Health Unit reveals 'real cost of eating well' in region
The cost of groceries in
Huron County has risen 24%
since 2009.
The Huron County Health
Unit has released its 2016
findings in its annual The
Real Cost of Eating Well in
Huron Report.
But according to public
health dietitian Amy Mac-
Donald, the real problem is
not the cost of food.
"Families and individuals
living on limited incomes,
those who are making mini-
mum wage or on social
assistance, don't have
enough money to buy nutri-
tious foods, pay bills, and
purchase all other necessi-
ties," MacDonald said. "Fam-
ilies and individuals are cut-
ting their food budgets to
make ends meet. We know
this has a negative impact on
their health and quality of
life."
MacDonald cites research
that says the costs to the
health care system increase
by as much as 76% when
people can't afford to pur-
chase enough food. support income strategies
Every May, health units that will give all residents the
across Ontario complete a means to purchase nutri-
food costing survey in local tious food.
grocery stores to approxi- This includes askingfor liv-
m at e the weekly and ing wages, supporting federal
monthly cost of food for and provincial basic income
families and individuals. guarantee, increasing social
MacDonald says every year, assistance rates to reflect the
it says the same thing; food actual cost of living, updating
costs are increasing faster employment standards, and
than incomes. providing drug and dental
The Huron County Health health benefits for all local
Unit is asking Huron County income Ontarians.
residents to learn more For more information visit
about food poverty and to www.huronhealthunit.ca