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Zurich Citizens News, 1976-01-07, Page 4Page 4 -Citizens News, Jan, 7/76 Big decision Canada is a major producer of white beans. The entire Canadian white bean crop is in Ontario. Of the five counties in Ontario producing white beans, Huron stands out as a leader both in quantity and quality. The heart of the Huron county bean production is right here in Zurich and in fact has led to the popular Zurich Bean Festival held each summer which draws much attention to the area as a tourist attraction. It is for this reason that area residents are vitally concerned in recent developments in the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board. A segment of the producers have come out in favour of bypassing the board's dealers and selling the beans directly to major foreign purchasers. There are two sides to the story, one of which is outlined in an article in the news columns of the Citi- zens News this week. Many people directly involved with the industry are worried that a departure from past procedures could upset the favourable economic conditions in the bean industry. Hopefully, if indeed it proves that some change in present methods of marketing beans is necessary, it will be done with extreme caution to insure continued agricultural stability and to avoid any serious blow to the area's economy. It is up to those involved to sooner or later make a decision on this matter. It is hoped the decision will be a wise one. Co-operation key Readers of the Zurich Citizens News will no doubt enjoy a feature included in this week's edition entitled 'The Year in Review'. In it, the events of the community are reviewed month by month giving us a quick recall of the major items which concerned us in the past twelve months. And what is ahead for 1976? Change seems to be the keynote word in the future and it is encouraging to see the village of Zurich chang- ing to accommodate the needs of the future. The instal- Iation of sanitary sewers in the village is but one example of the progress being made. In this age of centralization, it becomes increasingly difficult for smaller communities to operate as a viable unit. ' Results of this fact can be seen in area govern- ments which were instituted by the government to expedite administration. The only hope for the village of Zurich and hundreds of other small communities across the province can be summed up in one word - co-operation. Co-operation is vital, not only within the imaginary lines which form the boundaries of the legal tnunicipali- lies, but across the wide area affected each time the village takes a step in any direction. Community leaders must make extra efforts to find solutions to problems besetting their communities and at the same time be vitally aware of how those solutions will affect others including nearby neighbours. Examples of co-operation can be found readily in reviewing the events of 1975 and it is hoped that a con- tinuation of these policies will be witnessed in 1976. A decision Decision is a sharp knife that cuts clean and straight; indecision a dull one that hacks and tears and leaves ragged edges behind it. MiIPOGh RfiGwz PUBLISHED BY INDEPENDENT NEWS PUBLISHING HERB TURKHEIM, EDITOR Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Member: CNA Canadian Weeksy Newspapers Np pots gssociatian Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Subscription Rates: $6.00 per year in advan e in Canada; $8.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 20(t A • Bayfield council The first meeting of Bayfield council for 1976 was held on Monday evening with Mr. Nick Hill of Goderich presenting a proposal of a Heritage District Plan for the Village. The purpose of the presentation was to acqu- aint the village council with the recently proclaimed Ontario Heritage Act and secondly to propose the preparation of a Heritage Conservation District Plan for the Main Street. An invitation was received to attend the Good Roads Conv- ention in Toronto on Monday, February 23 which is the day of the seminar for councillors; also an invitation from TEIGA to attend a seminar on Spending Constraints to be held at F.E. Madill Secondary School in Wing - ham on Thursday, January 15 at 3 p.m. at which time the Honourable members, Mc - Keough, Wells, Mehan, McBeth, Snow and Henderson will address the gathering and answer quest- ions. A letter from Mr. Stan Fal- coner was received inviting all elected officials to attend a meet- ing regarding the closing of the Goderich Psychiatric Hospital was read with representatives of the council planning to attend. A letter from the Hon. D'Arcy McKeough vas also read sending best wishes and success during the Centennial Year. In other business council dec- ided to retain Mr. Gerald Hiltz of Clinton as the Village solic- itor; appointed councillor F.E. McFadden as their represent- ative to the Ausable-Bayfield Conservation Authority and decided, due to the recent postal strike, to extend the Village Crest Design Competition to February 27 at 4 p.m. Huronview news The McMillan Family of Goderich entertained with a musical program for 'Family Night' on December 23rd. Don and Shirley McMillan and their family Ernie, Eleanor and Eliza- beth play their instruments in harmony and solos as well as vocal trio and duet numbers. Mrs. Art Hemwood played the piano accompaniment. This annual visit by the McMillans at Christmas time is enjoyed by everyone and Mr. George Feagan expressed the appreciation of the residents. The residents were entertained with an afternoon of organ music on Wednesday with Ed Stiles of Goderich at the console. Mrs. Betty Rogers sang several solo numbers and led the singing of Christmas Carols. Mrs. Scratch thanked Betty and Ed on behalf of the residents. Mr. Dick Roorda led the Sunday eyeing song service sponsored by the Clinton Christ- ian Reformed Church and Mrs. Elsie Henderson played the piano for the singing of Christmas music. The Junior Choir provided their own guitar accompaniment for several selections with a vocal duet by Ann Jonkman and Cobie Amsing. Mrs. Elsie Henderson and Norman Speir provided the old tyme music for the first part of Monday afternoon's program. The second part of the program consisted of musical numbers by the rhythm band, vocal solos by Helen Fischer and Morgan Dalton. Marie Flynn of Clinton arrang- ed a variety program for 'Family Night' with Lila Storey emcee for the evening. Mrs. Earl Ross, Nelson Howe and Harold Black played accompaniment for the program. There were dance numbers by the Centennial Steppers, duets by Jane and Laurie Bell, Dawn Flynn and Joanne Johnston; solos by Debbie Flynn, Lori Strong and mouth organ selections by Lorne Law- son. Mrs. Bell a grandmother of the Bell girls thanked all those responsible for the entertainment on behalf of the residents. The i Last tv Word by Ted Rowpliffe Nuclear power -boon or bain? It's a question that's been asked often in the past year in Huron County. Almost everywhere you go someone is talking about the possibility of a nuclear plant somewhere between Goderich and Grand Bend. The nuclear plant has been heralded as the answer to sagging economies, touted as a potential disaster for the county's white bean crop and held up as a 'boogie man' to the rural way of life as we know it. Just how real or remote is the possibility of a nuclear plant being built along the shores of Lake Huron in Huron County? Nobody seems to know for sure. Some people have told me that Ontario Hydro already owns land for the project. Others claim farms have been optioned. Ontario Hydro aren't saying much about it. So far they've only admitted that a point somewhere between Goderich and Grand Bend is one of many sites being con- sidered. Huron MPP Jack Riddell told me recently that he spoke directly with Ontario Hydro officials 'in -the -know' who stated that Hydro owns no land in the area. They didn't mention if they had any options. Mr. Riddell thinks the possibility of a nuclear plant for Huron is remote indeed. He thinks there is now ample opportunity for the area residents to let their views be known and he's confident that the ensuing testimony would be enough to scare Ontario Hydro all the way back to the Canadian Shield where, he says, the new hydro plants should be built, not on good agri- cultural land such as we have here in Huron. Farmers don't seem to be too enthusiastic about the possi- bility. The Federation of Agriculture has come out strongly against hydro plants in farm areas. Phil Durand of the Ontario Bean Producers Marketing Board has come out in opposition, urging all farmers to get on the band wagon. He claims the pollutants from the additional traffic and resulting industry will kill off Huron's top quality bean crop as it has done in Kent County as a result of the pollutants from the Sarnia chemical mess which floats over Kent on the westerly prevailing wind. * * * As many of our readers are aware, I spent more than a decade as editor of the weekly Kincardine News. I was there when Ontario Hydro and Atomic Energy of Canada drilled the first test holes for the Douglas Point station and I stayed around long enough to see Bruce No. 1, an oil fired steam plant and a heavy water plant built before I decided it was time to move on. Personally, I think Ontario Hydro killed the town of Kincardine. A lot of others would argue with me, particu- larly business people and developers who have made a killing. The average work joe has never had it so good up there really but somehow, despite all the high paying jobs and profits being made, life just doesn't seem as good as it was before the whole deal started. I guess it all depends on your own personal values. I liked living in Kincardine when I could call nine out of ten people in the grocery store by their first names. I liked the feeling of knowing I could bang on any door in town and spmebody would help me if I was in trouble. I liked the idea of leaving my door unlocked at night confident nobody was going to come into my house. I didn't have to worry about my daughter getting molested on her way home from some evening event. I didn't worry about getting involved in a donnybrook if I went out to the pub for a few beers. But the monetary effects were the biggest problems to be faced as a result of the boom brought about by Douglas Point. When I went there in 1962 there were three major factories employing about 500 people. Less than ten years later they had all closed. The owners just couldn't compete with the high wages being paid only a few miles up the road. Rents soared astronomically, as much as double, in some cases forcing persons retired on fixed incomes to move out of the town in which they had spent their entire lives. One house that rented for about $150 a month jumped to $275 in one month simply because it was being rented to an engineer working at Douglas Point who didn't give a damn how much it cost because his company was paying the shot anyway. There were a lot of benefits for some people. Business for real estate agents boomed. Developers made a big buck cut- ting up swampy farmland into subdivisions. Grocery stores gouged the consumer, charging up to ten percent or more than competitors in nearby towns such as Hanover. And as I said, the one segment of the population which benefitted almost as much as the businessmen were the semi -skilled workers who jumped from about $3 an hour to as much as $6 and $8 an hour at the plant. They were the lucky ones. Many others who weren't acceptable or couldn't make the transition from the furniture factory to the nuclear factory were left out in the cold. I probably sound a little bitter. In a way I am. There were a lot of good things about Kincardine which disappeared with Ontario Hydro's arrival. There are a lot of good things about Kincardine today which were possible only because of Ontario Hydro. It's a pretty complex question and I think it would be only fair to discuss the pros and cons in more detail in future columns.