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The Rural Voice, 2001-07, Page 8Come and see us in Paisley A good selection of. New & Used Cars & Trucks BUD RIER CHEVROLET - OLDSMOBILE LTD. Paisley 519.353-5651 1-800-461.0505 Bruce County Heritage Association 8TH ANNUAL SHOW Featuring: International Nerve terTractors Friday, Saturday, Sunday August 17-19, 2001 New Heritage Farm 1 1/4 miles South of Paisley Friday Night Feature Tractor Pull followed by Fun Pull Saturday 12 noon Stock Antique Tractor Pull (no add on weights) - Weigh in 11 a.m. Sunday 12:30 p.m. Fun Pull - Members only Parades Saturday & Sunday 4:00 p.m. Corn Roast Friday and Saturday evening Entertainment Days & Evenings Working Exhibits Daily • Grain Threshing • Sawmill • Log Sawing • Rope Making • Shingle Making • Horse Power • Baker Fan • Gas Tractors • Gas Engines • Flea Market • Antique Car & Truck Show • Horse Power with 4 Teams • Sheep Shearing • Blacksmith. • Craft Show • Plowing • Grain Binder • Corn Cutting Box - Friday Only - Friday Night is Talent Night featuring Jim Patterson (bring your own instruments) - Saturday Only - 1:00 p.m. - Stock Antique Tractor Pull Roast Beef BBQ - 5:30.7:30 p.m. People Mover - rest while touring the show Fun for the Kids • Petting Zoo • Pony & Donkey Rides • Pedal Tractor Pull Church Service: 10:00 a.m. Sunday For more information contact Don McCullough 353-5267 after hours 353-4067 4 THE RURAL VOICE Keith Roulston Paying the price for reorganizing society Important changes are taking place in the very nature of our rural and small-town society and most people aren't even noticing. As buy-outs and franchising con- centrate decision-making in larger, distant centres. our rural v` ay of life is losing its viability. I got thinking of that atter our sister community newspaper got a nice bonus a while back. A local public organization needed to publish its financial report in a news- paper in the area. They picked ours, instead of one in a closer town, partly because it would cost less, but also on the suggestion of their accountant, who also happens to be our accountant. It seemed strange, at first, that the accountant wouldn't suggest using the newspaper in his own home town, until I realized he wasn't getting any business from that paper because it was part of a huge chain. Their accounting would be done from their Toronto office. When I was getting started in this business there were newspaper publishers in every small town in Ontario, each using local professionals like lawyers and accountants. Now, our little community -owned organization is one of about three independently owned publishers within 100 miles. The rest of the newspapers, owned by national chains, are organized in such a way that local staff is just implementing policies created in corporate headquarters in some city. No doubt some of the newspapers resulting are better than the old independent newspapers because not all of those proprietors were necess- arily great editors or managers. When it comes time for the newspaper to get on side and drive a local comm- unity project, however, I wonder how ready the local employees of a big chain are to stick their necks out. The organizing principle of the past decade has been to concentrate control farther up the line and the viability of our communities is suffering as a result. It's a "winner take all" system and the winners are seldom in rural communities. Small local companies, when their owners walit to retire. sell out to larger companies which then take all the upper and middle management jobs off to their corporate offices in some distant city. Local suppliers are replaced by the corporate supplier. seldom from some smaller centre. Our small towns have been devastated by the arrival of the "big box" department and grocery stores. These may offer greater variety to shoppers and Tots of entry-level jobs, but there's a price to be paid. Profits are funnelled to the corporate headquarters as are the higher paying jobs. When an arena needs a new roof or a hospital needs a piece of equipment. there's no longer the local store owner to pitch in with a donation or, even more important, to chair the fundraising campaign, using his or her smarts and connections to help reach the goal. Fart, co-operatives are no different. The little country cheese and butter plants that originated the United Dairy and Poultry Co- operative, have become Gay Lea Foods with all its management concentrated in Mississauga and most of its production in large urban areas. Local farm supply co-ops have become regional operations with one community getting the headquarters. I remember Elbert van Donkersgoed once talking about the impact the owner -manager aspect of farming brought to the rural mindset. Once this same mindset permeated rural towns and villages too with so many people being self-employed shop owners, professionals and trades people. With the reorganization of business by franchising and absentee ownership, however, we're becoming communities of employees, with an employee -mindset instead.0 Keith Roulston is editor and publisher of The Rural Voice. He lives near Blyth, ON.