The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-10-17, Page 15Vie west' ye�M!'awi
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Municipal elections in Ontario
are scheduled: for Monday, De -
comber 2, and the word in'Mount
Forest, Listowel and Vihigham
areas is that elections will take
place "if there are enough
nominations,"
The words "if there are -enough
nominations" were uttered by
practically everyone interviewed
in the three paces and they are
indicative of apathy in local elec-
tions.
In addition), those interviewed
hastened to add that apathy does
not only exist in their areas but
also in nearly all other places in
Ontario. Reasons for this indif-
ference varied but almost to a
man, each expressed the opinion
That citizens could take more in-
terest in local :elections..
"Take my ease, for example,"
Councillor . RuSsel Neal, 'Moot
Forest, said, "I've been in the
council for 25 years and I've been
through only four elections."
Mr. Neal has been a councillor,
a reeve and A mayor._Thia is his
last•year on the council, he says.
Mayor DeWitt Miller of Wing-
ham, who also does not intend to
run, claims there is a great deal
of apathy.. He has been in the
council for 24 years, 11 of them as
mayor. •
"I've won only one election,"
he said. "Nobody ran against
me:"
"There' is apathy towards mu-
nicipal elections," Mount Forest
Mayor Jack Johnson, ' who in-
tends to run for re-election,
;stated. 4,140ts Of•emen and women
****110444t14900 eaten
d
of
M^o nit put,thernselves &A." '
Mr. Johnson claimed he would
feel more comfortable if elected
by votes and not by acclamation,
which is what put him in office
'• last time since no one else.
declared himself a candidate for
the mayor's office. Mr. Johnson
has been on council for seven
years, two of them as mayor.
As one Mount Forest student of
government noted, there has
been • an increasing amount of
apathy towards seeking offices in
municipal elections.
"'Unfortunately," Councillor
Floyd McLuhan of Mount Forest
added,. "it's not only here but in
A' most other places in Ontario."
He said he can remember
times when 25 people sought one
or other office on council.
"When I was first elected in
1960, there were 20 nominations."
What, then, • is municipal
government for which so many
people seem to have lost their
appetite?
Municipal government is what
remains of the celebrated peo-
ple's democracy, It the only
forum where ordinary cities
can . confront the people who
make .' decisions affecting their
community :fay to face and,at al -
meet any time,
In Ontario, municipalities.
exist
under the Provincial 'nicipal
Act and their powers; vary ac-
cording to their individual clan d-
fications depending on their size,
primarily, Generally speaking,
'the greater the population, the
wider the range of powers.
There are other acts of provin-
' cial government that give muni-
cipal governments other. powers.
These are: Local improvement
Act, the Assessment .°Act, the
Public utilities Act.and the Pub-
lie Health Act. •
.In addition,.municipal govern -
menta do have what acre known as
extra -municipal powers which
authorise' councils to perform
such functions as in the ' field of,
welfare and administration of
justice; that are not strictly -mat-"
terst. of 'local .authority.
All these powers are given to
the municipal governments so
they can take care of the welfare
of the people. A council is,
therefore, the custodian of all
these powers in as much as a
municipalitycan • do nothing
without a c until, which • means
elected officals: ,
It is this council, acting as a
body, that paves the streets, pays
for the street lighting, taxes the
citizens, passes ' bylaws on a
variety of areas, maintains the
alavKSR3.:**Pas thit POWs deP rt'
iii ,,atirl ensure e
A• ^.'S'r .'• cx
ar a is co
ac oil ted
• � t
>�' g � and
stray dogs aren't running around.
A council acquires more signi-
ficance in that its actions do not
only have long-range effects on a
community but also that the
actions of one council can be con-
tinued by the next and even legal
liabilities against a previous
council are borne by the following
body, within the legal limits, of
course.
The council can only act if
there is the legal number of per-
sons required to conduct the busi-
ness of the municipality since all
the decisions must be voted on by
the majority of the quorum.
To be a member of council one
must be 18 at enumeration time,
a Canadian citizen ior a British
citizen. If one meets all the qua-
lifications except age, but turns
18 bli the polling day, he still
qualifies by presenting himself to
the town clerk.
In addition, one must be nomi-
nated by 10 qualified voters who
sign his nomination papers.
Theseareaccepted by the clerk.
NOT gEEKING RE-ELECTION - Mayor David Kilberg of
Listowel has stated that he will not seek re-election. Mayor
Kliberg says Canadians tend to take the democratic system
and the freedom we enloy for granted.
In.,the coming.elections it will be
any time 'between, November 7
;and November 12,• at '5 p.m., at
which time nominations will be.
closed.
If nominated for two positions,
sssuchas mayor and a reeve or
duty reeve, one has th' Signify,
which position he intendst to con-
• test by 5 p.m. the followingday or
the town clerk will authorize that
he stand for the position for which
be - was first nomii ated, Should
•thare not be more nominations
ih,an• the 'offices, then there 15 No
need for an, election, and• alt those
notntnated are declared. ele cte&
Those elected either by bs
ins or -by acclamation 't*
there iS, no contesst) are required
to file with the clerk a d'airatioas
of office As a condition to takiw0
seats .on, the council, 'Without chi
they n't 'discharge functions
their office. •
Consequently the council • sear,
not. be considered organized or,
can It transact any, business W '.
a majority of those elected bad'
made, their declarations• s `
Essentially, this is the orgasms
zation that has failed to generate
COMPLETING 24 YEARS -- Mayor De Witt : Midler, of
Wingham has served on council 24 years, 11 of .them as
mayor. In all that time he has won only one election because
• nobody ran against him.
any t ►dash
One of reasons given as
why , hair+ do notseek
munrdp 'nment,afflc e s i>s
fear sof° mph montes, This iss�
,partieuIa 1t' zo ng btu .
men.. -
"There . are any people in
business, wbo.,don't get on the
council cause they feel they
will "custoaders by making
unfavora'b decisions," Mayor
Johnson said,
This is a point Councilor
Mc% uhan also o erve d.
" en you take a stannd," he
noted, "yam alto step; on a few
toes and a lot of people don't want
to do that,"
Another -;r -e ►. given was that
some people just don't want to be
involved in anything in the'com-
=unity. Someone, quoting a
Greek y:phisorsopher,. said such
people are -us elesss.
yor Jt hnsoln had another
point. There are'.a lot of other
activities •in the community that
tend to interest some people.
These people,.Mayor.Johnson
•Said, are.as valuable as council-
lors: and sometimes:even work
• harder and for^longer hours.
Onereasson advanced as to why
most people do not stand for. elec-
tions is that the'incumbents dis-
courage them" by not announcing
their intentions well ahead* of
'dime. Practically everyone inter-
viewed said' this is part of the
game, Mayor'Johnson; who said,.
"Peo le want to see who o g.
"People s. ��
h Y
is Fgo to do," he sald,
to Couacillor Stephen Carnegie of
ttoweel, who stated that he
‘doesn't intend torus and** was
norms ated, said plers 'oto
feel that the ice' is have an
advantage onewcomers.
While he doesn't feet that ant-
one should be influenced by what
incumbents do, he does think that
the outcome of ton election de-
pends on how well a person its
known and the incumbents have
an advantage ovear, moat other
people.
There is a definite relationship
between, people's attitude to-
wards a municipal government
,and their interests in seeking
offices.
Mayor ger said people seem
tothink that as long as they have
a council and.lhings are going
alright there is no need to bother
about it. ,
Mayor Johnson said that people
take an interest in the council
only when they have something to
complain about. He added, "The_
council needs m ireguidance and
approval, not just criticism."
Councillor Carnegie stated that
there is never an ;audience at
council meetings. ' •
Councillor Carnegie, noted that'
even for councillors the •m ti :gs
.can be frustrating, in as mUch as
the town clerk "seems to run
everything. He's there all the
time."
Mount Forest Town Clerk Ross
McLellan, a veteran of: the MM-
. c,said'thatP public attendance to
or
�n
t
o ' i
t 0640.11. •,1110#:hs
0€ to t • ii tirtbVed
this to either people's satisfaction
pu'eros we `` a vaece so at
le interested in seeking
office have a chance to discuss
issues.
Councillor McLuhan, who also
intends to run for office in the
• coming elections, claimed this
shouldn't affect those interested
in running for office. "The kind of
candidate who intends to run for
office doesn't stand around
waiting to see what everyone else
•
with what the council is doing or
to a don't -care attitude.
"But I think the council is doing
a fair job," he said. •
Listowel Mayor David Kilberg
has declared he will not seek
re-election and said apathy exists
because Canadians tend to take
the democratic system, the free-
dom
we enjoy, for granted.
"Canada is a good country,"
SIGNING -Mayor Jack. Johnson of -fit ore 1; o
declared his intentions td ;ek re-election iol This -winter, fii
his nomination papers in tib :quiet Of his ir:..:
Johnson is on record saying
:• at,,iin
cum
• their intentions early before , teioitiis sl"
love ,r
interested in
public officess`r
happening. ,, r
Mayor Kilberg said; Fit, e eetx'saititute• lsf o
don't think of h is . govern , endt towar
don't think` av
gQ +nett could �' hH "f� a
ir .
oriy�.i�� tlhd at g >
a-
01--
- ,
goyerpmeot 0 z a
Sdeserve
MOWMayor Johnson expressed the government they. watt "r
feeling that there should, be a Unfortunately, )should -
good balance of youth and age in continue showing little tett
municipal' government: He noted, in municipal gov int, there'
though, that he ;realizes young may not be a government at all.
people areattracted more to Alluding to this,. Councillor
service clubs. McLuhai r said, "Then the per
Mayor Miller felt the same. He vineiar government' may come
said he is "getting stale" and that along wit!) regional government.
it's time for some new 'and They said they won't have one
younger blood• withnew ideas. around here and it's something something,1
Probably the ultimate verdict don't • want."
The changes in agriculture
during the last 25 years are truly
amazing - plant geneticists have
produced near -perfect species,
engineers have given us ma-
chines to do the work of scores of
men and horses, chemists have
controlled most weeds and in-
sects. Production statistics justi-
fy the trends!
But is agriculture perhaps
heading in the wrong direction?
Are we destroying the priceless
soil base by our "modern" tech-
niques? If so, will we be able to
repair the damage?
These are questions that a
growing number of 'producers are
asking. Alvin Filsinger of Ayton
is one such farmer. "Today's
agriculture," he says, "abuses
the precious soil. Research re-
sults disagree but these experi-
ments are conducted by vested
interests — companies with pro-
ducts to sell, universities u lth re-
search grants from industry, and
governments considering indus-
trial lobbies."
Filsinger is more than a farm-
er. He is a nutritionist, agrono-
mist, traveller, scholar and
philosopher — a brilliant man
hidden in the backwoods of Onta-
rio! He should not be written off
simply because he lacks a Ph.D.
and a university or government
post.
The basic purpose of a farmer
is to provide the food require-
ments of mankind. "If the
world's population was well nour-
ished, there would be little war-
fare, society would be more her-
moniouss, and crime would
dwindle. It all starts with the soil.
"But," says: Filsinger, "I'm
talking about quality oto food as
much as quantity. Compared to
lower animals man is a very poor
forager. In North America,
where we can afford the best, we
are overfed but undernourished.
We rarely select on the basis of
nutritional value. Packaging,
taste, appearance and the effects
of advertising are more impor-
tant. As a result we consume
literally tons of garbage each
year."
Filsinger's ' main concern is
with chemicals — in food and in
crops, soils and livestock. He ex-
plains, "There is a tremendous
amount of evidence that food pro-
cessing is linked to canner, heart
conditions, even mental retarda-
tion, through the use of additives
and the removal of some vital
nutrients during processing."
He concedes that some chemi-
cals are necessary on the farm.
"But we should be using the least
amounts of the least toxic
materials. Too many farmers
simply apply chemicals without
considering 'all of the alterna-
tives. Application in excessive
amounts is also a problem . "
Incidentally, Filsinger also
knows the "chemical" approach
to farming. For 10 years he grew
apples this way in Burlington.
"Even with the mask and special
clothing I didn't feel safe using
parathion and DDT. I got head-
aches after spraying and feared
for my young children.playing in
a yard surrounded by sprayed or-
chard. When l saw so many dead
birds and labels cautioning any-
one from entering the orchard for
,several days after spraying, I
was convinced these products
were not cafe for applying to our
food! There had to be a better
way."
Filsinger is not an armchair
critic today. He runs a 275 acre
mixed farm which reflects his
•own interests very clearly. When
he returned from Burlington to
'buy his family's century -old farm
in 1953 he immediately planted 20
acres of apple orchard. He has
since added another 20 acres of
apples plus a few pear and cherry
trees. Apples are by far his main
focus of interest. As he said in
early June, "I still haven't
planted my grain because I've
been too busy in the orchard."
As the young trees grew, Fil-
singer was primarily a.beef man.
He• still keeps about 35 cows and
their offspring to market weight.
Cf course their feed is all natural
—hay and grain. Processed feeds
and growth stimulants have
never had a place on this farm.
Hay and pasture play a large
part in his soil building program.
"They are easy on the land and
produce excellent feed at a rea-
sonably low. cost."
He keeps and feeds several
hundred chickens "the old way".
They are in small chicken houses
with lots of movement, some
have access to an outdoor range,
roosters run with the layers, and
all get only natural feed. Fil-
singer explains, "Egg factories
with caged hens fed medicated
feeds are unnatural. The eggs are
not as tasty and there is the possi-
bility of medication residues. No
wonder, on the average, people
today eat fewer whole eggs than
they did in previous years."
A few acres of light soil grow
,i
, �y
STORE ADDED— As his customers for naturally grown foods and health supplies grew
Mr. Filsinger decided to build a retail store at his farm. The building, completed ten years
ago, Includes facilities for cold storage and h complete line of natures food and supplies
are sold.
potatoes and other vegetables.
Beekeeping, of course, is a side-
line enterprise of the orchard.
Filsinger is constantly looking
for safer and .more effective
means of insect,fungus and weed
control .."`The natural producer
must do many of his own experi-
ments. There are few vested in-
terests to show you the natural
way."
But some companies provide
helpful equipment. His sprayer is
from Holland and produces a
finer mist and better cover-
age with less chemical than most
domestic machines. He employs
electrically charged lights in the
orchard at night to kill suscepti-
ble flying insects. Chives in the
orchard seeding mixture repel'
insects, and electronic steriliza-
tion equipment reduces the pest
population. Filsinger is using
hydroponics, the growth of plants
without soil. In a specially Con-
structed shed, he sprouts grains,
soybeans, even weed seeds and in
8 days, produces lush, green, liv-
ing feed as a poultry and cattle
supplement. The sprouted green
mass tests several times the raw
seed value for vitamins Bl; B2,
B3, C and E, and slightly higher
in protein, fat and minerals.. "The
big difference," he says, "is that
the sprouts, being living tissue,
contain enzymes and other un-
known growth factors not found
in the seeds. They consequently
let the livestock better digest and
absorb their other feeds." He
thus has a natural livestock
growth promotant.
Marketing naturally grown
produce is no problern.'� is sM
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