Loading...
The Rural Voice, 1996-07, Page 3Editor: Keith Roulston editorial advisory committee: Bev Hill, farmer, Huron County John Heard, soils and crop extension and research, northwestern Ontario Diane O'Shea, farmer, Middlesex Cty. George Penfold, associate professor, University of Guelph Gerald Poechman, farmer, Bruce Cty. contributing writers: Gisele Ireland, Cathy Laird, Wayne Kelly, Sarah Borowski, Mary Lou Weiser -Hamilton, June Flath, Ian Wylie-Toal, Susan Glover, Bob Reid, Mervyn Erb, Darene Yavorsky, Peter Baltensperger, Sandra Orr, Yvonne Reynolds, Carl L. Bedal marketing & advertising sales manager: Gerry Fortune advertising representative: Merle Gunby production co-ordinator: Joan Caldwell advertising & editorial production: Dianne Josling Anne Harrison laserset: with the Macintosh Classic printed & mailed by: Signal -Star Publishing, Goderich, Ontario subscriptions: $16.05 (12 issues) (includes 7% GST) Back copies $2.75 each For U.S. rates, add $5 per year Changes of address, orders for subscrip- tions and undeliverable copies (return postage guaranteed) are to be sent to The Rural Voice at the address listed below. Canadian Magazine Publishers Association All manuscripts submitted for consideration should be accompanied by a stamped, self- addressed envelope. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs, although both are welcome. The opinions expressed here- in are not necessarily those of the publisher. Editorial content may be reproduced only by permission of the publisher. Published monthly by The Rural Voice, Box 429, Blyth, Ontario, NOM 1H0, 519-523-4311 (fax 523-9140). Publication mail registration No. 3560 held by North Huron Publishing Co. Inc. at Goderich, Ontario. The Rural Voice makes every effort to see that advertising copy is correct. However, should an error occur, please notify The Rural Voice office within 30 days of invoicing in order to obtain a billing adjustment Behind the Scenes Dangers short term, and long term It's easy to understand the dangers of a freak of nature like the tornadoes that tore through parts of Grey and Dufferin counties this spring but some of the other dangers involved in country life are not so apparent. This month we deal with both kinds of peril. Cathy Laird talks to survivors of the tornado in the Williamsford area and weather experts who tell us how to protect ourselves from violent weather. You can't prevent a tornado but you can prevent skin cancer by taking proper protection against the harmful ultra violet rays of the sun. The problem is, there's little direct relationship in our minds between being sunburned now and developing skin cancer 20 years later. Public health nurse Joyce Castanza is one of those trying to make us aware of the danger, particularly since the thinning of the ozone layer is making the sun's rays stronger. A little common sense now can save a lot of pain and grief later. There's more than one way to make money on a farm and this month we talked to a couple of families who are taking different routes to supporting themselves. John and Gillian Crawford make their income from sheep on their Gorrie- area farm but in the last year they've added a sideline — entertaining and educating visitors with a demon- stration on running a sheep farm, including the herding of sheep by their Border Collie, Meg. The Morrison family grows berries on their Lucknow-area farm. They must bring large numbers of customers to their farm if they are to sell their product so marketing is a big part of their business. Their marketing strategy covers everything from a colouring contest for children to a Strawberry and Music Festival. As much as berries, they say, they're selling a good experience to their customers. The salute to "my town" this month is to the town of Chesley. Mary Golem provides a tribute to her community. The fruits of the season are featured in Bonnie Gropp's recipe collection this month. Everything from stawberries to cherries and peaches are used in sweet delights.0 Update Internet service growing at warp speed Since our article on agriculture on the Internet in February, local access to this world-wide computer network has continued to explode. Municipal telephone services across the region have been jumping into the "net" in the past few months. In June, for instance, BMI Internet, the Internet service provided by Bruce Municipal Telephone System (BMTS), opened its new service for thc Grey County Board of Education. It was alteady providing a similar service for the Bruce County Board of Education, linking all schools in thc system to the Internet. In Grey County, BMI Internet's "backbone" is installed at John Diefenbaker Secondary School in Hanover, and provides other high schools in the county with a Dedicated Access Service 24 hours a day. Elementary schools will have a dial-up access. In both cases the speed of the Internet service will be much faster than anything previously available. For rural families, the new service means local -call Internet access in Hanover, Chesley, Mildmay, Neustadt, Durham, Walkerton and Ayton. Regular customers of BMTS have had local dialing access since last August. It's reported that 6.3 million Canadians have access to the Internet from home, school or work, 40 per cent of the locations coming online in the past six to eight months. In business, 21,000 locations arc online, and the number is growing 14 per cent per month.°