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Huron Expositor, 2005-01-05, Page 3News Rural issues top Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle's list of resolutions By Cheryl Heath Clinton News -Record Editor Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle is not making a New Year's resolution for 2005. Instead, he is making a list of them. "I seem to make resolutions every morning," he says, noting his No. 1 priority is to "be honest with myself and my constituents." Steckle, who is especially proud to be Canadian at the advent of the New Year given the amount of support shown to Tsunami survivors of ' Southeast Asia, believes the country will undergo a notable transformation in the months to come. Specifically, there will be a lot less whining. Nonetheless, there is work to be done and Steckle says there are a number of issues to be tackled on the rural front. For one, the MP wants to ensure changes are made to the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) program so that it is streamlined and effective. He is eager to see the United States borders open to domestic animals aged 30 months and under. A cash infusion of infrastructure funding, especially for rural health-care initiatives, is also important. "There is a lot that has to be done there," he says. And, from a personal perspective, Steckle is eager to see former Clinton resident Steven Truscott exonerated for the 1959 murder of then 12 -year-old Lynne Harper in Vanastra. "It's a long list," he says. Steckle is not predicting,a sunshine -and -roses kind of year, especially given that the weakening U.S. dollar is hurting Canadian exports, but he is confident the crisis in Southeast Asia will make people keep things in perspective. "Our problems are pretty insignificant compared to those around the world," he says, noting it is likely Canadians will spend the bulk of 2005 focusing on the needs of others. "It'll be a learning experience for all of us," he adds. Second BSE case shouldn't prevent U.S. border opening for beef in March By Cheryl Heath Clinton News -Record Editor Canadian beef farmers learned the United States border will reopen to cattle under 30 months of age Dec. 29 only to hear a second domestic animal tested positive for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) later that same day. Still, Huron -Bruce MP Paul Steckle is confident the border will swing open again in March as planned. "The Americans have indicated they won't change the process," says Steckle. "That is good news." In effect, the U.S. announcement means animals under 30 months of age — including dairy heifers, sheep and goats — will once again be accepted in the U.S. Meanwhile, animals over 30 months of age — most of which are used for hamburger — are still barred from entry. Even with the announcement, Steckle says it vital that Canada continues to expand on its capacity to process meat. He notes the single case of confirmed BSE in an A•Iberta cow in 2003 has "forever changed the beef industry" and that Canada has learned the importance of both being more self reliant and less dependent on the U.S. for economic survival. Though final test results will not be available for a few days on the second BSE case in Canada, Ian McKillop, vice president of the Ontario Cattlemen's Association, echoes Steckle' sentiment that the system is working. "The regulatory measures that Canada has in place are also designed to safeguard against BSE spreading within the animal population," he says. Canada's surveillance system, one of the country's BSE safeguards, resulted in more than 21,000 cattle being tested this year - with plans to test 30,000 in 2005. More than a decade ago, Canada banned all imports of cattle and beef products from countries with BSE and, in 1997, introduced a feed ban to further reduce the risk. This ban prevents farmers from feeding products to their cattle that contain ruminant proteins. Similar to the two positive BSE cases found in North America in 2003, this suspect animal was born before the feed ban was introduced. Additional enhance{nents to the system since 2003 include the removal of all Specified Risk Materials (SRMs) from cattle entering the human food supply. SRMs are the tissues that, in infected cattle, are believed to contain the BSE agent. In essence, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announcement to reopen borders is based on Canada being a minimal risk country. Local shopkeepers working hard to keep business in town From Page 1 of town, Elliott said that you should try looking in town first. "I think people go there (to the malls) before they try and find something locally, but they want the local merchants to be the main support for all the charitable organizations in town," Elliott said. "There's a number of people who don't see it as a two-way street," he said. "They just think the merchant should be giving to everything, but they don't have to support the merchants." Cardno said that the snowstorm that hit the area on Dec. 23 was a "bummer" because a lot of shoppers didn't want to go shopping in the weather. She said that would have been "a really good shopping day if the weather had cooperated." Cardno said that she's "very optimistic" about 2005 with the Bridges project coming along and this summer's Come Home to the Country festival scheduled for the end of July. Huron County's social services department moving to Clinton By Jennifer Hubbard Goderich Signal -Star Staff Huron County's social services department is on the move. With construction starting this month, the 20 -person department is going to move to the a more central location - the Jacob Memorial Building, just south of Clinton - from the courthouse in Goderich. "The courthouse is pretty much bursting at the seams because a lot of us, me included, have outgrown the space originally allocated to us," county chief administrative officer (CAO) Larry Adams said. "Thirty-three per cent of the people using our social services are from the Goderich area. However, that means approximately 70 per cent of those people are in the other ateas of the county. This new building will be more central for everyone." The decision to move to the building in the county's health and library complex was made following a lengthy review by the county's senior management team. All departments were considered for the move, but social services was found to be the best option. , Centralization of services was a significant factor in the decision, Adams said. Tenders for demolition, construction, mechanical, electrical and the fire alarm system were closed Nov. 12. Accepted tenders include Stratford businesses Feltz Design -Build, Melville Plumbing and Heating, Georgian Bay Fire and Goderich's Collins Electric. The current budget for phase one of the renovations is $414,113, not including contingencies and GST totalling $89,356. A total of $312,125 will go towards the actual renovation work, with an additional $64,000 budgeted for furnishing and relocation and nearly $38,000 in professional fees. Exterior lighting in the facility's parking lot budgeted at $19,775 was also determined to be a necessity. "It's a detailed project," Adams said. "The building was left the way it was when it was part of Huronview. It's an institutional design and we have to renovate it to become more of an office setup." The proposed Jacob Memorial Building design will double the social services department's current space. Renovation work is expected to be completed by the end of January and Adams said he hopes to be able to begin moving staff to the Clinton site at the end of February. The social services department is currently housed in the west side of the courthouse on the first floor. When the move is complete, the remaining space will undergo minor renovations to include county administration, the CAO and human resources. Treasury, information technology and Provincial Offences Act staff will then be spread throughout the former administrative space. "We've been spending about $100,00 each year maintaining the Jacob Memorial Building property, so we might as well use what we're already paying for," Adams'added. Corry( tion In an article about the NHL lockout in last week's newspaper, The Huron Expositor incorrectly named Marc Robinet's favourite NHL hockey team as the Chicago Blackhawks. Robinet's actual favourite team is the Boston Bruins. We regret and apologize for this error. THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Jan 5 2005-3 H. REI) ALLEN I' ['Rhyl l RL RESTORATION & REFINISHING SEAFORTH 527-2717 MASSAGE THERAPIST REIK1 PRACTITIONER Becky Campbell 527-2058 137 Market St. Seaforth • Evening Appointments • Suffering from a sore back, joints or muscles? No Family doctor? Time to try Physiotherapy Call for an assessment 527-1551 Located at the. Seaforth Medical Centre Physician referrals not required • Ilf�ti'IN PHY°THERAPY Most Services covered by WSIB, Auto Insurance' or Extended Health Benefits. When Accldents happen... Call Mark at COLLISION REPAIR • GLASS INSTALLATION INSURANCE CLAIMS WELCOME • RENTAL CARS AVAILABLE We use quality QtJ PONT performance coatings 120 Harpurhey Rd., Seaforth 522-2222 / Aviv - - pow; i e, CRA/G N/CHOLSON SNOWMOBILING BY THE NUMBERS by Craig Nicholson (02004 by Craig Nicholson. All rights reserved.) Many people are surprised to learn that snowmobiling is big business. Sure, it began over 40 years ago as seasonal recreation operated out of the garages and basements of a few local snowmobilers. But today, what's known as "organized snowmobiling" is Ontario's premier winter tourism product, with snowmobile trails that generate SI billion in economic impact annually. Because of its predominantly snowbelt loca- tion, snowmobiling primarily benefits small town and rural Ontario. So it's not surprising that organized snowmobiling posts other big numbers, too. The 43,000 km. snowmobile trail sys- tem operated by the non-profit Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Club (OFSC) is the world's largest recreational trail system. These unique winter transportation routes link most snowbelt communities and allow travel by snowmobile from Manitoba to Quebec. There are more kilometres or snowmobile trails in Ontario than there are kilometres of provincial highways, yet they are largely out of sight to the public, being located mostly in the back woods and hinter- lands. It costs OFSC clubs about $22 million to keep trails open and maintained each winter, even though revenue from the trail permit required to enter the trails tops out at about $15 million. The S7 million shortfall is made up by volunteer con- tributions and fundraising. U's.estimated that club volunteers donate over 750,000 hours annually to maintain and operate the system. Sixty per cent of OFSC trails are on private land. Over 15,000 generous property owners donate the use of a portion of their land for a snowmobile trail each winter to help their local club and contribute to the betterment and well being of their home communities. Last winter, about 170,000 family snowmobilers enjoyed this OFSC trail network, riding a total of about 150 million km. Yet with all of this activity, only eight fatalities occurred on OFSC trails. That's 0.000000053 fatalities per kilometre, a number so low as to be statistically insignificant, despite pub- lic perception about snowmobile safety. So who are these snowmobilers? They are your friends and neighbours, working family folks just like you. In fact. 75% of snowmobilers are married, a higher proportion than the general population. Their average age is 42, but 37% of riders are over 50. While all this data is interesting, what's more amazing is that snowmobiling exists primarily because snowmobilers make it happen. They formed the clubs, they volunteer to help, they buy trail permits to support the clubs and they get nut on the snow each winter to enjoy the trails. But all of this support and enthusiasm begs the question: is snowmobiling, as we know it today. sustainable? My guess is no, without some form of secure government funding and lots more community and business support. But then who would have imagined that it would even have come this far? For trail condition reports check out www.ofsc.on.ca. USE TRAIL AT YOUR OWN RISK • YOU must know and obey the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act (Ont.) • YOU must use caution at all timed • Emergency and cell Phone eervIce mly not he available EVERYBODY'S DOIN' IT ski=doo Engineered For The Way You Ride •SALES •SERVICE •ACCESSORIES 1 1/4 Miles North of Seaforth 527-0120 POLARISE The Way out. SNOWMOBILES ACCESSORIES SALES & SERVICE Mjdggaal POOLS & SPORTS 234 Main St., Seaforth 527-0104 j r Your ARCT1C CAT• Sledquarters Snowmobiles & ATV's Sales & Service Parts & Accessories AWN CAT SHARE OUR PASSION: Ultimate Performance See our selection BRIAN' SERVICE C E 130 CENTRE ST. - DASNINOOD 237-3322