The Rural Voice, 1998-12, Page 63RAINY RIVER
Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
i.
R.R. 1, Devlin, Ontario F1OW 100
807-486-3622
• The Rural Voice is provided to Rainy
RAINY RIVER VALLEY River Federation members by the RRFA.
November 10, 1998
What a year it's been! By the time
you read this, we'll be preparing for
Christmas again. This fall has been
perfect for completing so many of
the farm repairs that have been put
off for so long. Tom got his 60 acres
ploughed as planned, and Alf
Redford, neighbour, got his soil
turned over as well. He took
holidays from driving the milk truck
and kept his promise to Barb.
All across the Rainy River
District the freshly turned earth is
being covered by a blanket of white.
Today is our very first blizzard of
the season. Ten inches of the wet,
heavy snow is expected by tonight.
Because of all the bad road
conditions, our meeting with a brand
new RRFA Executive has been
postponed for this evening. So, once
again, this page has to come from
my memory bank.
The Rainy River Valley Safety
Coalition, along with the District's
Municipal Associations will be
holding a gala dinner with Dr. Leif
Svanstrom of the World Health
Organization speaking. It's to be a
three-day agenda, with a potluck
supper on Monday at the Manitou
Mounds Interpretive centre.
Norlund's Band will be part of the
entertainment at La Place Rendez-
Vous on Tuesday, November 17.
The coalition has a goal for the year
2001, and that is to have a global
approach to health and safety
information exchange, and
worldwide awareness of injury
prevention programs. They are also
celebrating the District's first year as
one of 11 Safe Communities across
Canada.
"If you never need what you learn
about safety, you have lost nothing."
"If you never learn what you
need, you may lose everything .. .
Your family and your Life!"
Leadership in Action takes place
February 15 - 17, 1999 at Crieff
Hills near Guelph. Contact
OMAFRA for more details.
OMAFRA at Emo is still missing
the yellow acreage wheel, as well as
one of the forage samplers. If you
have any idea or information on
either, please let them know.
The Christian Farmers of Ontario
are having heir fall meeting on
Tuesday. November 17 at OMAFRA
office. The general business meeting
is at 7:45 p.m. and the guest speaker,
Mike Solomon from Ontario
Federation of Anglers and Hunters
will speak at 8:15 p.m.
National 4-H Week was
November 2 - 8. Our local 4-H
Association held a skating party at
the Emo/LaVallee Arena on
November 6. Over 100 members,
families and guests attended the fun
evening. Snacks were served and a
delicious birthday cake for the oldest
4-H leader, was presented by Joanne
Neilson and fellow 4-H leaders.
Did anyone remember that
Donald Duck is 60 years old this
year? We can't stop the clock, but
we can slow down long enough to
watch and help our children grow.
The annual RRFA Dinner and
Dance was held October 24 at
Pinewood Hall. We haven't yet
figured out why the attendance was
so small, and why nobody wanted
their names to stand when election
time came up. George and the
Pinewood CWL ladies served a
terrific meal, the music by Sean
Nicholson was pretty good, and the
price of $15 really wasn't too high;
so where did everybody go?
Ron Bonnett gave a great speech
and now realizes how far away our
District is from the rest of Ontario.
His wife, Cathy and I are both
baffled over the Highway
management. who close down all
roadside parks and rest stops
beginning in October and lasting
until May. Do they really think that
bladders stop working during the
winter months just because they do?
It takes five hours to travel from
Thunder Bay to Fort Frances; there
is only one restaurant which is
seasonal — so try hiking through
three feet of snow to hide behind the
biggest tree. That doesn't always
work either because there's miles of
rock -cut where you have to be a
mountain climber to skim w the
ridge. Did I mention the wildlife?
Anyway, something has to be done
to keep our travellers safe and
comfortable on the highways. If
Howard Hampton, MP hadn't
already given his talk, we could have
cornered him with this one. They're
closing schools, closing hospitals
and closing the little "outy" houses.
What is this country coming to?
Linda Armstrong is the new
RRFA president, with Dianne
Vandenbrand as Secretary, Kim
Desserre is the Treasurer again.
Other members of the board. are
Rudy Sinninghe, Kristine Carpenter,
Shirley Morrish, James Gibson,
KimJo Calder, Archie Wiersema,
and Wade Desserre. Betty Salchert is
a Member Services rep and Shirley
will continue to write the monthly
newsletter for The Rural Voice.
Congratulations to Linda
Armstrong who is once again
Regional Director' for Northwestern
Ontario. This covers a very large
area, Thunder Bay, Rainy River,
Kenora and Dryden.
"It's nice to know that when you
help someone up a hill, you're a
little nearer the top yourself."
It is now I0s00 p.m. and we have
an accumulation of 10 inches of
snow. The lights keep flickering and
we've been told to stay off the roads.
Trees are already suffering from the
weight of the heavy snow and the
cattle are remaining in their shelters.
I'm faxing this quick before the
power goes. See 'you next month.
Safe and happy shovelling.0
— by Shirley Morrish
DECEMBER 1998 59