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Times Advocate, 1992-04-15, Page 3• ti r egional w1_a u. Onion growers charged following pesticide probe THEDFORD - Agriculture Canada has laid charges against two Thedford area onion set -growers for the alleged posses - Skirl and use of an unregistered; weed -killer following,nearly a. year ofin uestigatioa. According to the Padchill Ga- zette, Ross Hayter and Ross Hayter Onion Seed Inc., each face one charge related to the importation of an unregistered pest control product and one charge related to use of such a product after a herbicide, sold legally in the United States un- der the brand name Ramrod, was seized in a Thedford build- ing in May, 1991. David Burtch and David Burtch Farms Ltd., each face one charge relating to use of an unregistered product. Also involved in the investiga- tion were the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who were un- able to find evidence of how the product was smuggled into the country. The case is the first related to use of Ramrod to be prosecuted in Ontario. New mill opens in Seaforth SIEs6NORP:i- - 1.0tudon Agri,. culm[e ` d modit es Inc.; (LAC), is about to begin opera- tions in Seaforth. As repotted in the Huron Expositor, the compa- ny has moved into the old mill previously occupied by Top Notch and will be focussing on two types of business. LAC will ship western grains from the Prairies, via Thunder Bay, along rail lines to southern Ontario destinations. The grains will be. red wheat and their screenings for animal feed, and livestock and poultry pellets pro- duced in Thunder Bay. The company will also handle local grains, accepting winter wheat, barley, oats, soybeans and com. Art exhibit promotes homegrown talent GODERICH - Art fiends will be given the chance to peruse the work of local artists as the Huron High Art Attack opens at the Huron County Museum on April 10. As reported in the Goderich Signal Star, the show is com- prised of artwork from each Hu- ron County secondary school. About 20 pieces have been se- lected from each school by com- mittees. The exhibits will open at 7 p.m., with refreshments and free admission for opening night. The Huron High Art Attack will remain on exhibition at the museum until May 24. Study to determine need for sewage expansion Continued from front page system". Councillor Bob Spears asked, if before spending S35,000 of the town's money, there was a chance to reconsider the need for the study. Kells confirmed that the grant could be applied for without com- mitting to the study, which would nm be done unti11993,__��----__-_-- "So there would be no effect on the 1992 budget," observed mayor Bruce Shaw'. The current Lagoon treatment sys- tem is believed to be near or at ca- pacity for the population of Exeter and the future development already committed to by subdivision devel- opers. Should more sewage capaci- ty be needed by the town for more development, it is believed a multi- mijlion dollar treatment. plantMAX_ be needed to keep discharges into the Ausabte River within accepta- ble limits. Man fined for using radar dector EXETER - A guilty plea to a charge of driving with a radar warning device resulted in a fine for a Londesboro man in Justice of the Peace Court -'in Exeter last Tuesday. - .Charles R..Greidanus of Lambda= -appealed in court following an incident February 6. A police officer told the court that while parked on Main St. in Exeter, his radar warning device detector activated as the vehicle of the accused passed After stopping the vehicle, the Officer asked the accused to hand over the detector, but the driver re- fused. The officer informed him he had grounds to search the vehi- cle at which point the driver reached under the seat and produced the device. Justice of the Peace Karen Sturdy fined Greidanus S133.75 with 30 days to pay. Hensall gettinb giant composter Continued from front page A similar system exists at the University of Guelph, on a smaller scale, and there is a 17 -year old system at New Dgndee. Tests with these systems indicate the Hensall program should be_able to turn out fairly high quality compost. At the low end of the scale, Lee expects to generate soil good enough for agricultural use, gravel pit reclamation, or for road em- "bankmeats.:be.:*r, tugher hopes Abu `tile Hein 1T will even be good enough to include with potting soils for sale. A tub grinder, costing over $100,000, has been added to the Hensall project at council's request, anticipating a demand for the com- posting of materials other than the already freely ground mill waste. "They're being fairly broad with what they plan for it," said Lee. Lee also credited the cooperation of council and industry for making this project a possibility for com- pletion by late summer. "It's not very often you see a community with the degree of cooperation and consensus those people have," he said, noting that usually waste management propo- sals generate a lot more "friction and conflict". The Hensall composting project, he said, also gives his company an "exciting opportunity" to break new ground in this area of waste man- agement technology. Dale Good at W.G. Thompson, one of the three grain elevators in- volved with the composter, con- firmed that his company expects to pay about $160,000 towards the project. He said a new solution for the village's grain screenings was needed. "The dump is filling up...it's fill- ing up fast," said Good. "I'm quite excited about [the composting pro- ject] because what's going in will be going out." 'We've got to find a place for [the grain screenings]," continued Good. "If [the landfill] was closed down we don't know where we'd go with it." Good said the environmental so- lution is now being seen as a part of the cost of doing business, but he hoped that the composting system would eventually be able to pay for itself. That, he said, may lead to an interestin 3 situation when Hensall will acts ally be soliciting wastes from otht r elevators and communi- ties to make more use of the com- poster. Earl Wagner at the Hensall Dis- trict Co -Op echoed those senti- ments. "It seems to be a problem that had to be addressed," he said. "It seems to be an expensive way to ,get .rid of mill.. screening,: but I can`t alitany'uther=way." "I guess it's part of the changing way of doing things - environmen- tally," said Wagner. Wagner also pointed out the only environmental reason why . grain screenings cannot be spread on farmland is because they contain weed seeds. Composting, he said, will kill those seeds. Exeter town administrator Rick Hundey said while the Hensall cen- tral composter may be useful as a way of dealing with organic wastes from the industrial and commercial sectors, he said it still should not be seen as an alternative to household backyard composters, but other- wise, he said Exeter's waste man- agement committee is likely to be very interested in making use of such a facility to reduce landfill waste. "That would really excite us. We would like to get in on something like that," said Huntley, but later added "It's not going to stop me from building my worm compos - ter." At Monday evening's Hensall council meeting, council members confirmed they have given approv- al to the Ministry of the Environ- ment to go ahead with the project. A final financial proposal is to be drafted and circulated to the three elevator operators and consulting engineers have been authorized to proceed with drawings and tender specifications. A meeting between the interested parties and LH Re- source Management was scheduled for Tuesday. When asked how soon he expect- ed the project to be completed, reeve Cecil Pepper was optimistic. "If everything goes well we could see the project completed by July 15," confirmed Pepper. "But reals= tically, 1 would be quite happy to sec action by August 1." N.rIAL Time April 15, 1992 - Page A new cent ' ge as been purchased by South Huron Hospital, courtesy of a $5,000 dona- tion from the Florence Nightingale Home Foundation, a division of the Order of the Eastern Star. From left are lab technologist Carin Marr, Exeter Eastern Star representatives Jack and Joyce Lavender, and Florence Nightingale Foundation vice-president Duncan McFadgen. This purchase marks the 84th donation in Ontario the foundation has made since its inception in 1982. Lucan reeve is disturbed over annexation. decision LUCAN - Reeve Tom McLaugh- lin told fellow Lucan council mem- bers Tuesday, April 7 that he was disturbed by the recent annexation decision in favour of the city of London. McLaughlin said, "I feel the en- tire hearing process was a charade and the decision insulted the people who made the presentations and the intelligence of the county. The arbi- trator asked, but then didn't listen to us. I would guess that 90 percent of those speaking at the hearings were against any large scale annexation." The Lucan reeve will be prepar- ing a resolution to be passed on to other Middlesex municipalities. He ad ; 'I• -feel that county council should make same noise. We will be discussing the matter at county council ,next Tuesday. The arbitra- tor John Brant seemed to be sympa- thetic to rural concerns at the hear- ings and then allowed London to triple in size." McLaughlin continued, "Minister of Municipal Affairs David Cooke is planning to use this annexation plan as a model for other counties. We have only been given 17 months to restructure the county. That's not enough time. We should have been given to at least the end of the present term of elected ofii- cials which is the end of 1994. Councillor Rob Brady said he read the entire report and felt there was a lot of buckpassing. He con- tinued, "It wasn't a very stimulating report for the amount of informa- tion the arbitrator had. To show how well he was informed, he called us the township of Lucan." Deputy reeve Harry Wraith agreed saying, "It was just a cover- up. We need to get a resolution go- ing to fight this and write our MPP about the annexation process. and the cost for no apparent reason." NDP member for Middlesex Irene Mathyssen has said, "Obvi- ously I'm disappointed in the size of the annexation. There are many questions I want answered. I want to ensure there is some mechanism so London lives up to its part of the deal. Ten years to freeze farmland is a wrinkle in time. Farming goes on forever." McLaughlin added, "The com- pe nsatron offered to the county is certainly not enough and his com- ment about farmland was a joke. The proposed 10 year freeze on ag- ricultural land is ridiculous. Farm- ers can't be expected to be aggres- sive and continue to grow when they know they could lose their land in 10 years. For farmers that's a very short time." In then report, Brant has ordered London to pay the county $20 mil- lion over the next 10 years in a compensation package that is a combination of operating funds to, provide any short term dislocation and capital funds to provide for a well financed infrastructure to meet the rural opportunities. The county will get $1 million for each of the next 10 years in lieu of a suburban roads contribution. Coming for the infrastructure capi- tal fund will be 52 million for each of 1994, 1995 and 1996 and the op- erating and adjustment fund will get fl2 million in 1993, decrees- biro/300,000 for the final year in 1997. Lucan clerk Ron Reymer said the county is already getting half of the total compensation for the suburban roads commission. In conclusion McLaughlin said, "I know that some restructuring is necessary, but I feel the 22 munici- palities in Middlesex could have done that with a combination of a number of services. We in Lucan are already combining with others' in fire protection, arena boards, waste management, building offi- cial and planning committees." Winter carnival wins promo awards KITCHENER - For the second chairman Dave Sheppard, who ac - year in a row, the Grand Bend cepted the awards on behalf of the Winter Carnival has walked off Grand Bend Winter Carnival. with three top prizes and two hon- The awards were for the best ourable mentions at the Prix Festi- black and white advertisement in vats Ontario Awards Ceremony. the under 600 agate lines category. The awards were part of a Festivals the best festival jingle, and the best Ontario Annual Conference, held giveaway pin. Honourable men - in Kitchener April 3-5. tions were received for the best pin The Winter Carnival entries were for sale (the winner was Ottawa's up against some stiff competition Interlude). and best television com- from other festivals with much mercial (for which the winner was larger budgets, "but we managed Sudbury's Snowflake Festival). - some top prizes," says carnival In other categories, the best newspaper supplement went to the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa; the best promo brochure was won by the Ontario Winter Carnival Bon Soo in Sault Ste. Marie; the best festival poster to the North York Winter Carnival; and the best overall media campaign to the Lea- cock Heritage Festival of Orillia. Next year's festivals conference is planned for mid April in Se Catherines and hosted by the Niag- ara Grape and Wine Festival. Devlon wins approval for revetment GRAND BEND - Former Grand Bend reeve Bruce Woodley ex- pressed disappointment last Mon- day, night as Grand Bend Council approved a motion to allow the Devlon Group to construct a stone revetment on Crown land. Devlon had asked for the revet- ment as a method of erosion con- trol, for their elevated parking lot which is located at the end of Main St. "Council fought hard to keep them from building the reveunent on Crown land and taking more beach from the public," said Wood- ley. The village and Devlon recently signed an agreement which will sec the village lease the parking lot for 515,000 and operate it as such. In addition, the village has the right to purchase the property at a later date. "It seems like a short term benefit for a long term problem," argued Woodley. The former reeve was concerned that should a building bc construct- ed on the site at a later date, it would further obstruct the view of the lake. Deputy Mayor Cam Ivey was op- timistic the village would be able to eventually purchase the parking lot, thereby solving the discrepancy. "We would hope t0 eventually purchase the property," said Ivey. "So the concept of a building is probably a moot point." 4