The Rural Voice, 1995-04, Page 71RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario POW 1C0
807-486-3622
• The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
River Federation members by the RRFA.
March 12, 1995
Snow is melting, the crows are back,
calves are being born, and the kids are out
of school, for 10 whole days. Why does
spring break always come at the muddiest
and wettest time of the entire school
year?
The March 2 RRFA meeting did not
have a quorum; but those attending gave
their reports and hearty discussions went
on. Present were Linda Armstrong, Mike
Zimmerman, Shirley Morrish, Tammy
Hunsperger, Joyce Witherspoon, Stanley
Armstrong and John Angus.
John would like to see a number of
changes made with hunting season and
other gun laws. Linda will see that this
goes to the right representatives. Linda
reported that the material chosen for the
Farm Progress Building is royal blue
backing and grey side panels. The
yardage will be purchased from Mrs.
Krahn, who.recently opened her shop
north of Barwick. Volunteers are needed
to do the sewing. It will be a basic
straight stitch, so even some of the "cow-
boys" can help out in between checking
for calves. The steel frames will
hopefully be completed before the end of
March. Summer comes too quickly when
one is busy.
We all send get -well wishes to Jack
Elliott who is in the hospital. Jack
suffered a heart attack last week. He
recently celebrated his 50th birthday, so
we sure hope he gets well again to
celebrate 50 more.
Another tragedy in our District was
the fire at Gary Esselink's farm at
LaVallee. On March 1 his dairy barn
burned to the ground, taking with it 34
dairy cattle and 10 younger animals. He
lost 4,000 bales of hay and some
equipment. Gary and Betty and their
young family are RRFA members.
Linda has received 50 more of the
metal gate signs, so if you have been
missed, call your nearest director and
they will hang one up as soon as the
snow -banks melt.
Derek Emond will be attending a farm
conference in Thunder Bay around April
6, 7 & 8. We hope to see him at our
April RRFA meeting in Stratton.
Each director has tickets to sell for the
annual Spring Dinner and Dance at
Pinewood this year. It will be Saturday
evening, March 25. Highest ticket seller
will receive an OFA sweater (bright red
logo included).
OATI courses are being offered again
this year. Any suggestions can be
directed to the Needs Committee
Chairperson, Dennis Brunn or local Co-
ordinator, KimJo Bliss. Both can be
reached through OMAFRA.
The Ag in the Classroom report was
made by Shirley. Kristine Carpenter, Pat
Clysdale-Cornell and Shirley Morrish
attended a training workshop and
Northern zone meeting near Thunder Bay
in February. It was an opportunity to see
what the other districts are offering to
promote Agriculture. Displays were set
up and ideas exchanged. There is a great
variety to choose from. Our group will
be ordering some new material to present
to the local schools. To date, 15 district
schools have been visited by our Ag in
the Classroom representatives.
The Milk Producers report was made
by Mike. He said that the annual meeting
is this week and that the district has lost
one of the biggest milk producers with
the fire at Esselink's farm.
Rainy River Cattlemen's Association
is accepting tenders to lease the sales -
yard facilities at Stratton for conducting
sales. Deadline for applications is March
17, 1995.
In the Rainy River Rural Safety
Association report by Shirley, the annual
meeting brought Carol Angus back as
president, Wayne Flatt as vice-president,
Shirley Teeple as secretary and Alwine
Teeple as treasurer. The group is asking
the RRFA to sponsor one of the new
Safety Flags to be hung in downtown
Emo. It is hoped that McDonald's
Restaurant will sponsor stickers to be
handed to kids who remember to wear
their safety helmets. These stickers
would be presented by policemen or
some other person in uniform. By this
summer, helmets become mandatory
while riding a bicycle. This year, 1995,
has a theme "Rural Child Safety". The
local safety committee has donated a pair
of mugs and safety signs for the RRFA
Spring Dinner & Dance, March 25.
A 4-H leaders training workshop was
held at Stratton on March 1. This meeting
also determined the future of the Ontario
4-H program. Declining memberships,
program funding, volunteers, communi-
cation and a plan of action was set up by
4-H volunteers and leaders. Carol Angus,
4-H president, chaired this meeting,
assisted by Ellen Chojko-Bolec. We have
a locally published 4-H Newsletter now,
and the editor is Carolyn Stafford and her
daughter.
The Rainy River Bull Test Station will
be having their annual bull sale on
Saturday, March 25, 1995 at the Stratton
Sales Barn. Sale starts at 1:00 p.m.
Fifty-three bulls are being offered and 35
heifers. Tammy Hunsperger reported that
there is a 50/50 draw and proceeds go
towards the cost of shipping to the U.S.
For further information call Ken Fisher
807-482-2747.
Tickets are also on sale at 3/$25 with
proceeds to go towards the rebuilding of
the horse barn at the Emo Fairgrounds.
The draw will take place during Spring
Fever Days in Emo.
We have 150 RRFA members regist-
ered. Of these 27 have asked for refunds.
The all new OMAFRA Newsletter
with news from all the districts is out
now. Last month's Newsletter was
incomplete, as some complaints were
expressed about the blank pages, folded
pages and incomplete sentences.
Farmer's Market Ontario held a
Spring Warm-up and Community
Information session on Saturday, March 4
at the Emo Inn. Bob Chorney, networker
with Farmers' Markets and direct
marketing organizations all across North
America was the guest speaker. He took
us on a "tour" with slides of other
markets from New York State, New
Orleans, B.C. to Eastern Ontario. We
picked up ideas on how to "sell" local
products and working in a trade show
situation. Bob is an excellent speaker and
great motivator for persons operating
rural enterprises.
There are 23 Agricultural groups in
the Rainy River District. Three thousand
copies of a folder, promoting the Rainy
River Valley have been printed for
distribution. A place on the front has
' been designed to add your own personal
business card. It's all here in the Rainy
River Valley. "It's Cattle Country!"
Did you know that 10 per cent of the
people eat in their cars?
The Grand Opening of the Historic
Boundary Waterway from Atikokan to
Minaki takes place July 15, 1995 in
conjunction with Rainy River's Railroad
Daze Festival. Hope to see you all there!
"I long to accomplish a great and
noble task, but it is my chief duty to
accomplish small tasks as if they were
great and noble." Helen Keller
Next RRFA meeting is April 6, at
Stratton. Gordon Hoskins, you arc the
cookie monster.°
Shirley Morrish
APRIL 1995 67