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The Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-03-21, Page 44.--Useknerw Sentinel, Wednesday, March 21, 1979 Generatingfacility in Huron, agricultural tragedy The building of.any Hydro bulk generating facility in•Huron Cointy wouldbe tragic for the agricultural industry in the county said Merle Gunby„ president of the Huron County Federation, of Agriculture. Gur}by told the Porter' Commission on Electric Power Planning in Wingham, Monday night, theresulting pollutants and social upheavel would be an "agricultural trag- edy". Gunby was one of many federation members and Huron County farmers who turned out at the Porter hearings to support a Huron County Federation of Agriculture brief. to the commission • presenting their concerns about Hydro development in their county. The commission asked Tony McQuail, West Wawanosh, a member of the federa- tion panel which prepared and presented the brief, what it would take to eonvince him there was a.• need for a new generating • station in or near Huron. He answered when waste was no longer a problem. "If I went to Toronto and office buildings weren't all lit up and streets weren't almost brighter than daylight," said. McQuail, "When urban consumers really had. the ability to embrace conservation and waste was no longer a problem," then he might concede there was a need for more generating facilities. On a per capita bais said McQuail, rural customers are more energy conscious than their urban counterparts because they pay the bill themselves. Urban dwellers do not. Many rent apartments and never see ,a hydro bill which/ is paid by their landlord and municipalities pay the bill for street lights. McQuail told the commission, farmers need better information on energy conser- vation, methods that work. Support and encouragement is needed kir those willing to try energy management on the farm to help defray the risk. Proven methods and better communication of these methods will take away the experimentation for the farmer who works onhis own. McQuail said. farmers cannot understand Hydro's inadvertent price structure which penalizes the small user. Thc, mare .electric- ity one uses the cheaper if . gets. In, the farming industry if there is an oversupply of - - Give them a goad start wi#1 C4 -QP Milk Replacer or Cad# Formula ...' • - •Economical yfo :feed. 26*67 • : Efficjjerr.tIo . .use .110 y„ ntr.rne'. t® , QOP: Cal# ormula A more economical product which derives 90% of its protein;, from milk sources.. It contains i0'% fat and .a 'very low fibre • level. Calf Formula i5 meditated with Terramycin© to aid in pre: venting bacterial scours. ' 11670; i' - zs kip ill r ymicacr. ommen Perms Irmo.. en, neon mean. IMrTF U'COCKAA MS to r n"Es Oe oeWWI !•® CO -QP` Milk '.13•0010Cot.•.. A premium product which de- rives 100 yo •of its protein from milk sources. It has a very low fibre'levei and 20% fat in .a highly digestible forrn to help :rapid, efficientN growth of the young calf. Milk. Replacer or •• Calf Formula Discount •Coupon • • 1, • This coupon is redeemable at any CO•bP -, retail outlet in Ontario,. I • Maximum 1 bag of each product per coupon. • Coupon must be redeemed before . I March 30, 1979. PL1k.no1•: P,Oduet may n01 be -m Stock al ell millets and may have to be ordered 3r'iequvJ Value 1 per, 25kg. bag LUCKN'CW ,•DISTf ICT CO -o! t/z mile •soutf of Luoknowon Huron County Road)#i. PHONE 529-7963' • F . beef, the price goes down. The consumer buys more and the price does not go up again until the over -supply is used up. When Ontario Hydro hasan over -supply., the price still goes up as they said it would. when they predicted there would be a shortage, Ontarians are "over -weight" in their consumption of electricity said . McQuail. • "We are over -weight by global stand- ards". More generating facilities will lead to more over -consumption. "We're better to have a little less to encourage conserva- tion," he added. McQuail told the commission Hydr6 cannot expect Huron farmers to come to negotiations with Hydro without a memory. "We can't forget the mistakes of the past." The Bruce 'Nuclear Plant was built in the wrong •place and Hydro is saying "but fellas wegotta live with it and more significantly, you have to live with it and the lines that come out of it." A factor in negotiations will be the recognition of the past said McQuail so past mistakes will not become a pattern , for mistakes in the future. Huronfarmers and the Huron Federation are not against .export for sharing purposes said McQuail but they do protest building new facilities for export, whether it be transmission lines or generating stations. "The disruption to the economy and the agriculturalindustry in. Huron won't' be worth the few cents saved," commented McQuail. eek to hearing‘:..., CONTINUED FROM P. 1 Huron. Federation of Agriculture: It was presented . by a • panel of Tony McQuail, director of . the . Huron Federation, executive and West Wawanosh Township Federation president; Andre Duran, Hay Township Federation .president and Huron ' County director and Bill Fear, a Huron County director, iron' . Morris. Township. . The farmers feel . the :"trine: for an.. aggressive growth program is past. They are doubtfulfarm energy use will increase at the rates Hydro seems to suggest. The process of replacing human .labour.. with electric motors has been largely completed and this market is nearly saturated said their brief. Farmers are becoming more energy iconscious in their choices. They anticipate a further slowing in electrical growth as alternatives to electricity use become better known and . increasingly economical. The federation feels there should.. be no need for new bulk power facilities in this, area with, improving energy conservation and increas- ing energy efficiency. The farmers pointed out in their . brief; they insist conservation be embraced by all Ontarians,, not just rural consumers. . The Huron Federation bas serious reser- vations about Hydro's export goals. Bearing the cost.:of Hydro's. expansion plans sup,. posedly for•Ontario consumers has beenbad enough: They do not want Hydro building plants and transmission ,lines in Ontario to supply U•. -S. consumers'.• '' The farmers question whether Hydro's erratic and self-serving . behaviourin the past, has. been•. in the best interest of Ontarians and particularly rural Ontariaris said. McQuail.. „ He cited poor planning in the .location of power : plants without planning for trans- mission, lines and then forcing• linesithrough rural areas. There has been an aggressive over -building: effort, an aggressive con- sumption program (live better electrically) followed by a "Conservation message from your. Hydro". Now, pressure is exerted to Elected gree. of Ontario Junior Farmers Jim Phelan of the West Ryon Junior Farmers was elected president of the Ontario Junior Farmers: at their Provincial conference in Toronto March 16 - 18e .He has served as . Huron County provincial director. The West Huron club received the award for best Community Betterment Projects at the conference. • The therne of this year's conference was ..'Dare to be Different". Five guest speakers who: spoke to the conference included Christine Karcza who spoke about her experiences as a handicapped person . - "Never Say No to an Opportunity"; Waren Burger, • "Then and Now"; Dr. George Corth, Education and Who Needs It"; Lloyd Wilson, "Reaching Out''; William Stewart, ''Dare: to be Different". " Everyone who attended learned about the Junior Fanners' role and responsibilities to society: - allow Hydro to develop a large export' program The Huron Federation is.particularly concerned about plans which could effect Huron County. Eighty-six per cent of Huron is classed as one, _two. or three agricultural land. In 1975 the total value of crops . and livestock' was $135 million dollars. It has. been estimated by the year 2,000, 12 million acres of agricultural land will be- needed to feed Ontario's people-; There is less agricultural land than this already, stated thefarmers in their brief. . They are concerned about the: impacts of large power projects in rural areas both -because of the immediate and long term effects of associated pollutants (acid rain, ozone fallout) and ' alsdi the • influx of temporary residents putting pressure on agricultural land.. The brief did say Huron farmers recognize, Ontario Hydro will need `to complete some projects underway and various components of the Hydro system will need to be replaced over the years. The brief cautioned however, there: will be .tnuch less conflicton these issues if Hydro works with concerned persons to determine acceptable sites, sensible routes andjust compensation.. The Federation concluded by saying they were . prepared to co-operate with other groups: and individuals to ensure these criteriaare used for any future Hydro projects in this or other areas of Ontario. bunch. briefs *Lucknow District Kinsmen ;were repres- ented at council on March 13"l by, Jim iv rrison,. Lucknow, who request council's appoiral of a Kinsmen project to build playgrounil"equiprnent in Victoria .Park on Havelock Street. Council approved the project which willbe funded in total by the Kiniden Who will also build the -equipment. Council will meet with several of the Kinsmen to choose a good location for the equipment which will not, interfere with nearby houses or the Bowling Green and will be set back from the , street. • *Council placed a motion on their books to clarify a previous motion regarding ` the divisionof fire costs between the village and the three municipalities in the fire agree; ment., The previous motion read "that fire costs would bedivided among the four municipalities with Ashfield paying 32 per cent and Kinloss, West Wawanosh and Lucknow paying 26 per cent. The motion should have indicated this division referred to operating costs. Capital costs are to be shared 25 per cent byeach, municipality.._; *Councillor Ab Murray who had attended a meeting in Wingham concerning the hospit- al bed cloyyres, reported. tb `council that committees had been formed to handle " public relations and a letter writing cam- paign i>i Wingham and the surrounding areas fight to keep the provincial: govern- ment from closing beds at. Wingham and District Hospital, He instructed council to send individual letters addressed to Health Minister Timbrell. These letters should be sent to ltaye Eimslie of 'Wingham who will forward them to Mie Timbrelle