The Lucknow Sentinel, 1993-02-10, Page 1II
PUBLISHEDIN
I.UCKNOW, ONTARIO
Wednesday,
February 10, 1993
50°G.S.T. Jnctudad
or
4 7 plus 3, G.S.T,
Delving into
Marian Zinn mealy reeeiveY
on inquiry from a Marrow Bay,
Caliifoirtin woman seekinginfor»
motion on her great grandfather,
R.. Clow.
Zinn:tirfitiga. found some off,
famil b lived; rr
wdttoitb olid desc ittlsutts sldl.
veiti Bl +t t. "t'Itc' followtng
inft atiott Iles forwar
back*. An Anew Claw -(1841-
)020) diod an Saskatchevian
married Mary Mint** mut had
one Sots Robert. This ;fatuity
went west irr 111?. If you have
any further inforrrtniion please
calll Mrs. Zinn at 5/8-3710.
Along with the original intluit'y
canoe ;a copy° of an invitation to
a .400 0;:. of the Fust tktntttsl
Assembly, of the; L.:B.400d
Society. February 29, `1888, to•
ke
beltplin.the Caletdon n I Ui
Lntiow. '1'he irtvitatioa WO
hand tessed to Mr. Mrs,
ICA ,CIOW and inelnded n two-
part program stating rn+sitc
Wouldby furnished by Tir•e to
ion S•it ng 004:14000.
• ,Some of the dances inclnd
ClJr�tan cele. New Detroit
Lis, Miliary Schatbsche,
+ tmdrlitic, ,lersey, Navy Island
Reil, Ripple, Cotillion amongst
past
was?
et artdly, Mrs, Ziut hercome'
up with a r rrtteresting ..
Site has tltttte often beard stunt
Weals say there is nothing to do
aratt er to r e winter tame
and Clothing every .happens. Why
aot q nine some Blas s and
learn Mese old dance steps for a
1110 DANCE to be held Febru-
ary 29, 6. Mrs. Zinn poses
the qt., "1f they cou l do
this over too years.ogo, whatis
the matt+cr with now?"
As coordinator fur two local
history books, Mrs Zinn is also
seeing interesting Old pictures
of faniiiten from anyone in its
rel are Sit aid : be
''terestett in getting her handtl tilt
sante 'old Sentinels. front the
1930s to the 191 ,
anyone on thole
Baldhead Society
Best- assets
are people
by Mike Robinson.
Wingham and District Hospital's
new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
is settling in nicely to his new job.
In a recent interview with Lloyd
Koch, who started as CEO for the
hospital January 5, he said the
hospital's best assets are the people
who work there.
The hospital has a lot of well
qualified people that can provide a
good level of service to the com-
munity, Mr.. Koch said. "I particu'
larly like the way the managers are
involved in their professional organ-
izations
and the way the hospital
participates in regional activities?'
"I believe the. medical staff are
well respected with the specialized
skills they have."
He noted that Wingham's views
"are well respected by other hospi-
tals in the area."
As to services at the hospital, Mr.
Koch pointed out the benefits' of
shared lab services and also the
shared library services. "I think it
strengthens our hospital to be part
of a bigger region:"
at WDH
says CEO
Lloyd Koch
He talked about the other major
asset of the hospital - the pride
taken by the staff in ..their duties.
Mr. Koch used as examples the
excellent work done by the house-
keeping and nutrition staff.
torn to page
Trustees wantpublic input
on how to keep budget low
CHESLEY--The Bruce Board of
Education is under pressure to keep
its budget down this year, but wants
suggestions from the public on how
to reach this goal.
Finance chair Allan Mackay said
County Home and School Associ-
ations have already voiced a few
ideas, including "firing staff".
Mackay said ideas like those have
to be balanced with the board's
goal of not cutting service to stu-
dents, and the financial realities
facing the budget.
"For example, Port Elgin is giving
us some huge whopping increases
in water rates," he said.
"Something's got to give."
Draft budgets show a lean year
coming up, with the property com-
mittee budget set at $1 million less
than in 1991. That raises fears tie
board won't be able to keep its
buildings in top repair.
Trustees suggested service clubs
could be asked to help finance
some projects, likelmaking facilities
accessible for the disabled.
They are also trying to find the
best way to "sell" their $73 million
budget to the growing number of
county taxpayers who have no
children in ,school.
The board already has a file of
letters from municipalities and
individuals demanding a low budget
increase this year, and expects more
to come iti.
Mackay said if taxpayers have
ideas on how to control education
costs, "They would be well timed if
' they come in next month."
Charles Mayer (right), federal Minister of, Agriculture and Murray Cardiff, Huron Bruce MP,
attended the Line In the Dirt rally last Thursday evening. The bottom line was there is no more
money In,the government coffers. (Mark Cripps photo)
"We must work within our means"•
says Minister of Agriculture Mayer
When talk ceased at the Line in
the Dirt (LID) rally last Thursday
night, no major accomplishments
had been made. The bottom line is
there is no money. in the govern-
ment coffers to distribute to farmers
who, due to overall depressed 1992
commodity prices and the year's
disastrous growing and harvest
seasons, face a serious cash flow
shortage. •
Approximately 1,000 farmers and
agri-related business people listened
.for over three hours as a panel
composed of politicians, Line in the
Dirt and various other board repre-
sentatives discussed what LID's
Paul Frayne referred to as the
"imminent collapse of rural
Ontario."
Mr. Frayne said, "We believe the
only way to attempt to redress the
misfortunes of 1992 is an immedi-
ate cash infusion from government,
federally and provincially, directly
into the hands of the producer."
The group is asking for a payment
of $60 per acre which would "at
least keep the patient alive on the
operating table."
In a voice fraught with emotion,
Mr. Frayne said, "We do not ask
for a blank cheque ... However, in.
light of recent generou'sgovernment
contributions to very dubious pro-
jects, we do say that now is not the
time to turn away from us with
empty hands and even emptier
words of condolence."
Roger George, president of the
Ontario Federation of Agriculture,
skirted giving a direct answer when
asked by Art Simpson if he would
lead the farmers in the pursuit of
the $60/acre. Mr. Simpson then
'replied, "I'll take that as a no!" The
following day °a LID release said,
"Robert George defied the grass-
roots and declined the proposal:"
Charles Mayer, the federal Minis-
ter of Agriculture, and Murray
Cardiff, Huron Bruce MP, said they
were there to listen to the problems
and help as they could. But help
would not include additional funds.
Mr. Mayer said, "We must work
within our means. The real answer
must come from better returns in
the market place. In the meantime,
... we'll work with you as closely
Farmers need a Long term national
food security policy: Moore, Hogan'
as Ave can to see if we can devise
better ways to use the dollars that
are available (federal programs)."
Mr. Cardiff recognized the serious
situation in agriculture, but said,
"We must work within our con-
straints; we .only have so many
dollars."
A 'pumped -up' Paul Klopp,
Huron MPP, said, "We've gone too
far in telling farmers and telling me
that we're supposed to work more
hours; we're supposed to work for
a 15 -year -average; ladies and
gentlemen, we're frustrated!"
Mr. Klopp, as di'd. Mr. Mayer and
Mr° • Cardiff, proceeded to tell the
crowd what -his government had
done for famers, saying "We are
only a province ... and I'm not
passing the buck. I can assure you
that we are working and defending
Article 11 • in GATT where we
could, to put a human face back on
agriculture."
One farmer in the crowd was
quick, to, note, that although the
politicians kept reiterating . they
were here to "listen" they were sure
turn to page 3
by Pat Livingston
John Moore, a Goderich area crop
producer • says, "What Canadian
farmers need and want is a long
term national food security policy."
And because there isn't one,
farmers are forced to "continue to
rely on ad-hoc programs that are
grossly inadequate."
Lawrence Hogan, a Lucknow area
crop producer agrees. "I- would say
that if we had a national food
security policy in place, these lines
(of defence) would not be necess-
ary, but for, the short term we are
stuck with them."
And so, seeking their third line of
defence, Line in the Dirt members,
at the February 4 rally, asked gov-
ernments for the institution of an ad
' hoc program whereby each farmer
would receive $60 per acre to assist
them through this time of serious
cash flow shortage. Lynn Lowry, a
Kincardine farm equipment business
owner, estimates Ontario farmers.
lost $1 billion in 1992, which he
says "translates to approximately a
$10 ' billion shortfall through the
economic picture."
Lines of Defence
Mr. Hogan explained the lines of
defence, with the first being, the
farmers themselves. Over the last
20 to 30 years, he said, "Canadian
producers of agricultural commod-
ities have .improved 'productivity
and quality like never before in the
history of this' country or the
world." He believes that farmers are
as efficient as the modern technol-
ogy, known to this world, will let
them be. "In some cases, farmers
are being , driven to be too effi-
cient," said Mr. Hogan, "as we can
no longer afford some of the good
land stewardship practises." (crop
rotation etc.)
Second Line
The second line of defence is
jointly sponsored farmer - govern-
ment programs, such as Crop Insur-
ance Commission, GRIP (Gross
Revenue Insurance Plan), and NISA
(Net Income Stabilization Account).
Mr. Hogan said, • "These programs
were developed over the last decade
or soand were intended to help the
farmer through brief periods of low
commodity prices and common
localized perils of nature."
Looking at 'the crop . insurance
program, Mr. Hogan explained that
the best coverage available is 90
per cent of their five year average
yield, based on today's depressed
prices. Depending onlength of time.
in the program, past claims and
what premium a farmer is willing to
pay, he said, "The level of coverage
declines to 80 per cent coverage of
our five year average yield, based
on 80 per cent of today's depressed
commodity prices."
'In the disastrous year of 1992,
approximately 50 per cent of the
turn topage 6