Clinton News Record, 2015-02-18, Page 5letters to the editor
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015 • News Record 5
www.clintonnewsrecord.com
Reader concerned about trespassing
Dear Editor,
Who do FARMERS call
for a bio -security breach by
trespassers?
I have always wanted to
believe that our police
enforce the law in an unbi-
ased manner and with
respect for all citizens of
our province. Based on
recent experiences, I am
left wondering.
Trespassing problems
with the 1(2 Wind project
continue to occur despite
repeated complaints from
residents to police. On
November 11, a contractor
truck for the K2 Wind pro-
ject trespassed on my prop-
erty in ACW. This property
is clearly signed with Bio -
security and No Trespass-
ing warnings. The heavily
loaded vehicle ignored the
Bio -security signs and tres-
passed onto a loading scale
on my farm. (This is the
second incident of trespass
and disregard for Bio -secu-
rity signs from the K2 Wind
workers that I have had to
deal with.)
I contacted the police
about the trespassing and
the breach in my bio -secu-
rity and asked that they
attend. Their response was
"we're busy, and bio -secu-
rity issues are out of our
jurisdiction - you deal with
it as you see fit": As per their
instructions, I proceeded to
do exactly that. The vehicle
was detained while I dealt
with another pressing farm
matter at another location.
By the time I returned,
two police cars had
arrived. Their arrival was
not in response to my bio -
security and trespassing
call. The police were dis-
patched in response to a
call from K2 Wind about
the detained truck. Amaz-
ing service considering
that the police were too
busy to respond to my
prior request and had
stated that bio -security
issues were out of their
jurisdiction.
This incident was a
clear example of trespass
and breach of bio -security
measures. In an age of
PED, BSE, avian flu and
other diseases, on-farm
bio -security is a huge
issue for the security and
safety of our food supply
and the protection of farm
businesses.
When residents call for
a police response, they
should be ensured that
action will be taken to
address their concerns.
Or do the police get to
choose for whom they
enforce the law and which
calls will get a response?
Does this mean that the
police are acting as agents
for the wind company?
Does it mean that K2
Wind has the right to tres-
pass at will?
George Alton
Kenruth Farms Ltd.
R.R. #7,
Lucknow, ON
Fax: 519-529-7416
EARLY FILES
February 22, 1968
Doug Miles, agricultural representa-
tive for Huron County, presented a
slide -show narration at the annual
meeting of the Colborne Federation of
Agriculture held at Carlow Hall, Car-
low, Thursday night. Mr. Miles pro-
jected a selection from a total of over
700 colour slides taken on an 80 -day
overseas trip to such countries as Eng-
land, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark,
Sweden, Belgium and France. The trip
was sponsored by the Ontario Depart-
ment of Agriculture and Food, and the
Junior Farmers Association of Ontario.
Accompanying Mr. Miles on the trip
were Doug Lemmon, Gray County,
Charlotte Davis, Elgin, Ob Harrow,
Perth, Anne McLaughlan, Lambton.
"Agriculture is much the same," said
Mr. Miles, commenting on European
farming methods. He added that wher-
ever he went, people looked upon
Canada as the land of opportunity.
February 24, 1977
A surprise $15,000 bequest from
the late A.L. (Laurie) Colquhoun will
mean Clinton can pay off most of the
money still owing on the arena with-
out dipping into the taxpayers
pocket. Clinton council learned at
their meeting last Thursday night
that the late Mr. Colquhoun, who
died in late August of last year, left
the money in his will to cover any
outstanding debt on the arena. The
town owes only $20,377 on a ten-year
debenture on the community centre,
built in 1967 for a cost of $154,000,
with an ultimate cost of $221,062
including interest. When it comes
due in December, Mr. Colquhoun's
legacy will be used to pay off most of
the remaining debt.
February 17, 1982
Hearts were hung on a Valentine
Tree by the children at Vanastra Pub-
lic School to symbolize their efforts
to help less fortunate children
around the world. The school is join-
ing hundreds of other schools across
the county the week of February 14
in raising funds for needy children in
Canada and oversees. The funds
raised will be given to save the chil-
dren, the international development
agency, to help provide the means
for children and their families to lead
a better life. Save the Children, which
is sponsoring the national Valentine
Tree project, works with children in
more than 25 countries through
development projects which help the
whole community. The students of
Vanastra Public School are demon-
strating the true spirit of Valentine's
Day (LOVE). On February 12 Cupid's
arrows were very evident around the
Vanastra Public School. In the
afternoon, every class had their
annual Valentine's Day Party. Cards
were exchanged and great quantities
of cookies, cakes, juice and other
treats were consumed.
February 21, 1996
Local residents Fred and Alice
Jackson celebrated 62 years of mar-
riage on Feb. 3, but the story of their
life together began when the two
were just 14 -years -old. Both were
working in Radcliffe, England, at 14,
when they noticed each other as pas-
serby. "I would see him go around on
his bike," said Alice. "We would wave
to one another occasionally:' As they
saw more and more of each other,
Alice told of one time when he
started leaving notes for her under
the door of where she worked. One
morning, a woman who lived above
the place where she worked saw Fred
leaving a note and told the people
who Alice worked for. Alice was later
fired over those notes. They only saw
each other off and on for the next
couple of years until, when they were
both 18, Fred had an accident and
was unable to work. He then passed
the store where Alice worked more
often. He walked her home but "we
never kissed," stated Alice. "It
seemed as though it was meant to
be," she said of their marriage in
1934. After they were married, Fred
applied for them to come to Canada,
but after his application was
accepted, only five days after Second
World War broke out, he decided to
stay. "I wouldn't come; maybe it was
my conscience, I don't know, but I
wouldn't come." He worked in a fac-
tory during the war and in 1947, his
application was renewed. He moved
to Canada that year, with his wife and
four children coming over the follow-
ing year.
February 19, 2003
To get a better understanding of
the challenges farmers face, Liberal
leader Dalton McGuinty visited the
farm of Paul and Allen Gibbings with
Carol Mitchell, Huron -Bruce Liberal
candidate. After a tour of the Gib-
bings' operation last Thursday, the
provincial Liberal leader took time to
have a roundtable discussion with
local farmers. McGuinty told farmers
he wanted to know what the Liberal
party could do for them in Queen's
Park. The cost of business is going up,
explained Alex Westerhoust, adding,
"There's a lot more paperwork and
I'm already spending too much time
in the office:' In the long run, he said
the big challenge is the cost associ-
ated with implementing the Nutrient
Management Act (NMA). According
to McGuinty, the report from Justice
Dennis O'Connor said all Ontarians
must share the costs for clean water.
"Most reasonable people want us to
come up with a law that's
reasonable:'