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The Citizen, 1992-06-24, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24,1992 There’s no life like it It's still too early to evaluate just how costly this week's extensive frost will be for Ontario farmers but the freak of nature underlines again why it is impossible to make farming into a nice predictable, "efficient" business like all the others. That's what modem, mostly urban, leaders can't understand. They want farming to be more "businesslike". Why can't farming be more like producing lawn chairs or hamburgers, they wonder. Bankers want nice orderly cash-flow projections. Academics argue Canadian farmers should be more "competitive" with farmers from other lands. Imagine though, if you had to go to work in a store, factory or office that didn't have a roof, where you had to depend on the weather each day to see whether you could produce something or not, where bad weather could wipe out days, even months work. A fire, a flood, or a tornado, are always dangers for urban businesses but are very rare. Imagine if that kind of catastrophe was likely to hit any day? Such is the world of the farmer. Imagine, for instance, a farmer who had to go to bed Sunday and Monday nights knowing there were predictions of widespread frost. Given there were thousands of acres of corn and beans exposed, it was impossible for the farmer to do anything except pray. He could lie awake wondering if this was to be the final straw, after a decade of poor prices and high interest rates, that would drive his family off the land. Farming is a business not like any other. High risk businesses should be rewarded with high rewards, like drilling for oil or sinking new mines, yet margins in agriculture have always been miniscule. If the weather is just right and a farmer's skills have helped bring on a bumper crop, he's likely to be faced with terrible prices because everybody else had good crops too. Tailoring production to meet the market's needs, a basic part of any other business, is an impossibility when there are so many variables. Society must find ways to reward farmers for the kind of risky business they undertake to feed us. We can't continue to treat them like second class citizens...and blame them for their own problems by saying they aren't efficient enough, or business-like.—KR Not their proudest moment Back in the 1940's, Time magazine had a wonderful time making fun of the daily newspapers for their coverage of a messy divorce hearing for Lady Astor, a prominent New York socialite. Time ridiculed the press, and took the high moral ground as if it were above such cheap coverage, yet managed to get in all the details the daily newspapers were putting on their front pages. Such seems to be the case of "serious" newspapers around the world in the coverage of the Royal Family trouble these days. The divorce of Princess Anne, the separation of Prince Andrew and his wife Sarah, the reported troubles between Prince Charles and Princess Diana in a new book that may, or may not, have been written with her approval, are all stories that have been ferreted out by the pack of "journalists" who trail the Royals everywhere, shooting pictures from trees or distant buildings through telephoto lenses and shouting questions as they open hospital wings. Few are the employees of "serious" newspapers who aren't ashamed to be in the same profession as these rather sleazy characters. Yet while they turn up their noses at the tactics of their colleagues, they manage to pick up all the juicy tidbits and run them in their own newspapers. Evening news telecasts will say things like "British tabloids report", then give all the gory details while appearing to stay safely above all that opportunism of the tabloids. It is not the finest hour for the media. One wonders after a while which came first, the marital problems or the constant pressure from the snoopers. If there wasn't an entire industry based on the latest scandal, real or imagined, of the Royals, would the pressures on their marriages be so hard? If they could go off and live on a desert island, might the Royal couples live happily? One longs for the rumours to be wrong, just this once. Unfortunately, sooner or later, the bloodhounds seem to be right....which only encourages them more. If the snoops are right this time and the marriage of Charles and Diana is failing, it will mean every Royal marriage since the Queen's has failed. How much of that is due to -the tabloids, and the more respectable media outlets that then pick up the rumours and give them greater credence. The old saying goes that "it's a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it". This is one dirty job, however, that we could get along just fine without someone doing it.—KR What's new, Miss Mew1? Looking Back Through the Years ONE YEAR AGO June 26,1991 Brett Lee of Walton won the 125C stock class at the regional Qualifier for the American Motor­ cycle Association National Ama­ teur Championship in Sugargrove, Ohio. Betty Graber, Brussels' Citizen of the Year, was honoured at a recep­ tion on the lawn of Brussels United Church following the morning ser­ vice. North Huron Publishing Compa­ ny Inc. acquired the The Rural Voice magazine from Signal-Star Publishing Company of Goderich, moving it from Goderich to the Blyth office of The Citizen. THREE YEARS AGO June 21,1989 Community Oriented Policing officially came to Blyth following the opening of the new extended services office located in the old library at Memorial Hall. Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander was unable to make his scheduled appearance at Blyth Fes­ tival's opening night due to over­ cast skies interfering with the landing of his plane. Michael Schneider of Auburn and Tyler McGregor of Clinton of the 1st Clinton Scout Troop received their Chief Scout's Award Certificates during a recognition ceremony at Wesley-Willis United Church, Clinton. FIVE YEARS AGO June 24,1987 Grey Township held a dedication ceremony to dedicate the J. Melvin Camochan Memorial Park in Ethel. The late Mr. Camochan, who lived beside the Ethel park, look a great deal of pride in maintaining the park, and generously left a sum of money to assist the future mainte­ nance and improvement of the park. The Blyth community welcomed a new minister to the village as Rev. Lorenzo Ramirez, his wife Norma and children John and Abi­ gail took up residence in the United Church Manse. Blyth architect Christopher Bor- gal was hired by the Blyth Festival to come up with practical plans for expansion of festival facilities. The North Huron itizen P.O. Box 429,P.O. Box 152, BLYTH, Ont.BRUSSELS, Ont. N0M1H0 NOG 1 HO Phone 523-4792 Phone 887-9114 FAX 523-9140 FAX 887-9021 The Citizen is published weekly in Brussels, Ontario by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. Subscriptions are payable in advance at a rate of $20.50/year ($19.16 plus $1.34 G.S.T.) for local; $31.03/year ($29.00 plus $2.03 G.S.T.) for local letter carrier in Goderich, Hanover, Listowel, etc. and out-of-area (40 miles from Brussels); $60.00/year for U.S.A, and Foreign. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, only that portion of the advertisement will be credited. Advertising Deadlines: Monday, 2 p.m. - Brussels; Monday, 4 p.m. - Blyth. We are not responsible for unsolicited newscripts or photographs. Contents of The Citizen are © Copywright. Publisher, Keith Roulston Editor, Bonnie Gropp Sales Representatives, Publications Mail Registration No. 6968 Jeannette McNeil and Merle Gunby Serving Blyth, Brussels, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel , Londesborough.Walton and the surrounding townships. | .41