Loading...
Zurich Citizens News, 1978-09-14, Page 1FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1978 Price Per Copy 20 Cents GIFTS PRESENTED — As a thank you for their work on the Zurich playground this summer, the two young ladies who ran the program received gifts from the Zurich and Area Chamber of Commerce, Thursday. Presenting the gifts to Janet McAllister and Barb Dietrich were Joe Risi and Ron Heimrich. Staff photo Deputy -minister speaks at Brucefield Will have development branch Ken Lantz, Ontario's deputy minister of agriculture, told members of the Huron County Federation of Agriculture that the ministry is restructuring their marketing division in the near future. Lightening hits Hensall home Lightning struck the home of Ross Dobson of RR 2, Hensall early Tuesday morning causing an as yet undetermined amount of damage: According to Hensall Fire Chief Jim Hyde his men answered the call at 1:30 Tuesday morning and ex- tinguished a small fire in the rafters of the home. Firemen remained on the scene for an hour and a half, he said. Hyde said there was evidence that the lightning had caused damage to the wiring of the home as some wall outlets had been blown ou t. Dobson could not be reached for comment, Mr. Lantz spoke to 50 members of the local federation at their regional meeting held at Huron Centennial School in Brucefield last Thursday. The deputy minister said the new farm marketing development branch will bring together all the func- tions of marketing farm products including the ex- port of Ontario produce, domestic marketing programs and the Ontario Food Council's Foodland Ontario marketing cam- paign. Also, the farm products marketing board and the Ontario Milk Commission will be merged to form one branch under a single chairmanship. The third change will be to merge the inspection branches of the two boards to eliminate the duplication of quality control services. Mr. Lantz said the changes will require new legislation, which will be passed when parliament reconvenes after the summer break. The changes in the ministry's marketing Many buildings go up in community A quick tour through the village these days will dis- prove the notion that no new buildings are constructed in this community. On the corner of Goshen and Main the new office for the Hay Township Farmer's Mutual Fire Insurance Com- pany is taking shape. Secretary -manager of the company John Consitt said the building will have a floor space of 3,000 feet and will cover the property north of the laneway to Turkheim Furniture. Consitt said the building which will be covered in brick stucco will follow the trend of new buildings in the village as set by the municipal office. At the rear of the building parking for about 12 cars will be provided. The company is acting as its own contractor for the job but has hired Garry Robinson from Mitchell tonact as building co- ordinator. Consitt said one of the benefits of the new building is that it will facilitate the entry of the company into the automobile insurance field for its existing customers. Across from the arena and community park the new home for Thiel Pro Hardware is taking shape. Howard Thiel said the building will have a total floor space of 5,000 square feet and will allow for the Please turn to Page 16 division were originally announced by Agriculture Minister William Newman at the International Plowing Match media day held on Thursday afternoon. Mr. Lantz said the revamping of the marketing division will "provide better co-ordination and more efficient administration." As well as announcing the proposed changes' in marketing, the deputy minister told federation members that agriculture is now big business. He said in 1977, nine billion dollars worth of agricultural products were produced in Canada, and three billion dollars of those were grown in Ontario. He said Ontario has traditionally produced one third of the total national agricultural products. Mr. Lantz ,said mechanization means far- mers can operate larger units, while narrower profit. margins have forced many farmers to increase the size of their operations. The deputy minister said in 1955, corn production in the province averaged 55 bushels per acre. By 1975, it was averaging 92 bushels per acre, and now some farmers are harvesting 100 bushels per acre. Mr. Lantz said 20 years ago, 100 bushel corn clubs were the objective when yields were only half that figure. He said wheat production, milk production and livestock production has also increased dramatically. The deputy minister said one of the "real vehicles by which we have been able to increase production" is drainage. Mr, Lantz said in 1961, $1.3 million in debenture money was used for drainage, by 1971 the figure was $5.8 million and in 1977, it was $20 million. The deputy minister said tile.drainage has a stablizing influence in removing the hills and valleys of production due to weather conditions. The deputy minister said another stabilizing influence was crop insurance. In 1966, Mr. Lantz said 404 policies were issued for the fall wheat crop, while this year, over 27,000 insurance con: tracts will be ..signed, covering over 30 crops. Mr. Lantz also credited the influence of marketing boards as a third stablizing influence on agriculture. The deputy minister concluded by saying there's still room for further in- novation..in agriculture. He added it's encouraging to see more young people returning to the farm today. He said 25 percent of Ontario Agriculture College graduates are returning to the farm, and about 50 percent of the diploma course graduates from agriculture programs in community colleges. Mr. Lantz said this just didn't happen a few years ago. Hay to have wreck yard Hay township may have a new wrecking yard within its jurisdiction as council ap- proved an application from Donald Regier for its operation on concession eight, lot two providing that the application conforms with the township's official plan. Council approved an ap- plication of a certificate of compliance from Jerry Boersma of R.R. 3 Exeter for the construction of an ad- ditional poultry barn. The addition will bring the poultry operation up to 180,000 broiler hens yearly. A drain tileage. loan ap- plication from Rudolf Zimmer, R.R. 1, Dashwood was approved for property located at concession 16, lot number 10, west half, in the amount of $8,500. A special drain til age rate of $1,780.29 was imposed upon Walter Vermunt an- nually for ten years. Playground proves successful venture While it seems certain that a summer playground program will be held in the village next year the questions of who will operate and finance it and the length of the program are still up in the air following the first full Zurich and Area Chamber of Commerce meeting Thur- sday evening. Treasurer of the Chamber and member of the village's recreation, parks and community centre board Ray McKinnon said the Chamber should be a leader in the community but he questioned if it was the role of the Chamber to be the only sponsor of the playground in the future. He said it was the recreation, parks and community centre board's duty to provide recreation and cultural activities for the village's residents and he suggested that the board could take over the guidance of the playground. McKinnon said he was not questioning the validity of the playground program but he didn't think it was the Chamber's role to provide such a service. Several members of the Chamber said they were very pleased the way this year's program turned out with Chamber president Joe Risi paying tribute to the work of Barb Dietrich and Janet McAllister. A member of the original organizing committee Ron Heimrich said "It would be a shame if we didn't support the playground. I just wouldn't want to see it die after one year." Risi told the Chamber that the program could cost the local businessmen's organization $1,000 next year due to a reduced grant structure from the provin- cial government. Heimrich suggested that village and the Lions club could be interested in sup- porting such a program if approached. In a report to the Cham- ber, Dietrich said she took her job seriously and that the playground "was not a baby- sitting service." A total of 40 children were registered for the program with a good attendance being maintained throughout the summer, Dietrich stated. She said one of the most gratifying results that she saw evolve out of the program was that the children were made to realize that they had to work for everything which they received from the program. "I hope you see there is a benefit from having a playground," Dietrich stated, The supervisor had a few suggestions for the operation of a future playground with the addition of another staff person, possibly a leader in training, helping to alleviate the workload. Dietrich also questioned the necessity of having a seven week program as it overlaps with a few other activities in the community at the start of the summer. A five week program with two weeks at the beginning to set the program up would be better, she said. Concluding her remarks Dietrich said "I really do hope you have a playground next year." Risi thanked the girls for their work this past summer and presented them with gifts on behalf of the Chamber. Farm equipment loss is $7000 Damages were listed at $9,000 in three accidents in- vestigated this week by of- ficers of the Exeter detach- ment of the Ontario Provin- cial Police. Thursday a flat bed trailer with a farm implement on it driven by Randy Harris, RR 3, Sombra collided with a vehicle driven by Peter Lockridge, Watford. The mishap occurred on Highway 21, four kilometers north of Highway 83, Constable Al Quinn set damages at $7,000. A vehicle driven by Please turn to Page 16 WIN HOME IMPROVEMENT AWARD — Mr.. and Mrb. Larry Merner of RR'3, Zurich were the proud recipients of the most improved urban or rural dwelling award in the farmstead and home improvement competition sponsored by the Ontario Plowman's Association. The award was presented to Mrs. Merner at a banquet held Wednesday night in Brussells. Staff photo