Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 20, 1997, Winnipeg, Manitoba Sunday free press. July 20, 1997 a4 editor John Douglas / 697-7230 e mail City desk free press my Ca Loca Young Farmers lining up for Loans As credit limits Rise last year the Manitoba agricultural credit corp. Had its third busiest year in terms of new client Loans for Young beginning or diversifying Farmers. General manager Gill Shaw said that a Good news because the numbers indicate Young Farmers those under 40 Are getting into the business. As Well it shows that Farmers who lost the Crow Grain transportation subsidy in 1995 Are diversifying into live Stock and value added processing to find new sources of income he said. For the 1996-97 fiscal year ending in March Macc issued 572 new client Loans the third largest number since Macc was formed in 1967. Historically 90 per cent of Loans Are to Young Farmers said Shaw adding Loans last year totalled $35-million. Agriculture minister Harry Enns credited the combination of relevant programming and Low interest rates for Macc a Success. To help Farmers even More the agricultural credit corporation has topped up the ceiling for Loans to Young beginning or diversifying Farmers. Direct Loans to individual Farmers will increase to a maximum of $325,000 from $250,000 while partnerships corporations and co operatives can Access Loans to a maximum of $650,000 from $500, previously. A these changes Are part of a deliberate strategy by Macc to anticipate and meet the demands of a changing agricultural Industry a Enns said in a press release. He noted the average net Worth of Manitoba producers has increased significantly since 1994, the last time the farm credit corporation adjusted its loan limits and net Worth Cap. As a result Macc will boost its net Worth Cap to $500,000 to ensure programs Are available to More producers in the corporations target group. A the Post Crow Era is upon us a said Enns. A producers Are modifying their operations by refinancing existing debt buying land and livestock and diversifying their operations a he said. A a Macc a comprehensive package of financial services has already assisted Many producers in the transition of their operations while continuing to offer effective support to those just entering the thousands of Homes May be raised to higher foundations Joe Bryksa Winnipeg free press Daisy Roberts and Ginter show dead Grackles near Maples apartment Complex. Grackles fall Down dead at Complex in Maples by Nona Pelletier for the free press natural resources officers Are investigating what May have been the mass poisoning of a flock of Grackles in the Maples area of the City yesterday. A a it a kind of weird a provincial natural resources officer Gary Friesen said As he surveyed about a dozen dead Birds. A even if it was disease if it was Poison. Its just funny its concentrated in one the Birds apparently started falling dead to the ground one by one outside the Entrance of the Mandalay Park Complex at Jefferson Avenue and Mandalay drive around noon. Several More sick Birds remained perched in nearby Trees unable to Fly away. Resident Cornelius Ginter said initial efforts to get official help from the Winnipeg humane society or Winnipeg police fell on deaf ears. However officials did dispatch Friesen to the scene. He arrived moments after the residents had gathered up the dead Birds wearing Latex gloves for Protection. Friesen said it Wasny to a Good idea to touch dead wildlife. A no one should touch anything they find dead a he said. A they could have a parasite or a disease or Poison is also a its not illegal to Poison the Birds but using Poison in a residential area that pets and children frequent is unwise residents said. Friesen said the Birds May have eaten toxic berries but it wont be certain until they Are tested this week. Preferred Perch manager Sherry Versluis said poisoning of Grackles is relatively common because Many people regard them As scavengers and pests. A the number of Grackles Here in Manitoba is outrageous a Versluis said. Tourists thirst for liquor quenched Northwestern Ontario outlets to open sundays by Andrew Maxwell for the free press government run liquor outlets in Northwestern Ontario plan to open sundays next month in response to tourist demand officials say. In a first for the province the liquor control Board of Ontario has won permission from the Ontario government to open 300 of its stores on sundays on a trial basis during August. That includes nine stores in Northwestern Ontario Between the Manitoba Border and Thunder Bay said Lobo District manager Wayne Biddie yesterday. A a it a been customer driven a said Liddle of the decision pointing out that in tourist areas visitors from Manitoba arid especially the United states have Long grumbled about the la boy a relatively conservative operating hours. Among the stores to be open in the Lake of the Woods area will be the Lobo and Beer store outlets in Kenora and the Redden scamp approximately 15 Kilometres East of Kenora. The Lobo in nearby Keewatin will not open sundays said Liddle but stores in Dryden and fort Frances will. A we Deal with a lot of american people used to getting liquor anytime anywhere so i think it will go Over Well Quot said Redden a owner borne Redden. Accommodating tourists Only makes sense since those in the hospitality Industry a spend so much Money in advertising getting everybody to drive the sunday openings will be restricted Between la . To 6 . The move is part of a slow trend toward loosening restrictions on the Sale of booze said Redden noting the province has also allowed openings on summer statutory holidays. That move three years ago is still officially deemed a Pilot project but has proven successful said Redden. The move will be Good but not great for his business Redden added. A i certainly done to think there a going to be a lot of new Money because people will buy the product anyway a he said. Kenora mayor Joyce Chevrier said although municipalities can opt out of the Pilot project Kenora Council will not stand in its Way. A a we be had no feedback from the Public at the general Issue of sunday shopping has a Long history in Kenora she said. The unsuccessful fight against allowing grocers to open sundays was a vocal one she recalls. Emotions ran High during the debate As those opposed said families including store employees need a common Day of rest said the mayor. There will be opposition voiced during the August trial period she predicted but it will Likely be less Active since sunday shopping in the tourist reliant town has basically become entrenched. Once this years Pilot project is done its Success or failure will be reviewed a by All parties concerned Quot said Liddle. In Manitoba no similar moves toward sunday liquor outlet openings Are planned for this summer said Don Lussier vice president of purchasing and sales for the Manitoba liquor control commission. By Manfred Jager i science reporter the flood of Century has been a Boon to local companies specializing in raising houses off their foundations local contractors say. Up and Down the red River Valley Crews Are either moving existing Homes to beef up foundations or building new structures from scratch. Chris Preston sales manager of Abalon construction ltd., said con tractors from the Winnipeg area and a tier parts of Manitoba a Are extreme by Busy in and around the commune Ijjas South of the City this i 3 he civil Engineer said in some z Elises Homes Are lifted then moved aside while entirely new foundations Are constructed and built up to new flood proof elevations. Homes Are then placed Back on the new foundations and landscaping is carried out around the House creating an artificial Hill. Ernie Hall owner of Advance foundations inc., said his company is a extremely Busy in the St. Adolphe and Ste. Agathe areas this summer. In St. Adolphe Homes Are being elevated by As much As six feet to meet the new flood clearance regulations Hall said. He also said area contractors and foundation specialist companies will be Busy Well into fall and Early Winter to get All properties protected against the possibility of renewed flooding next Spring. Hall said some Ste. Agathe residents whose basements were damaged have decided to get them repaired instead of replaced and to move their Homes by Only one or two feet. A that Community is getting a proper ring Dike this year so the danger there is a Little less than it is for the Homes in the St. Adolphe area. There was a lot of damage in both University of Manitoba architecture professor Leon Feduniw said raising the houses of Rural Manito bans who live outside ring diked communities and were victimized by the flood of this Spring could end up involving literally thousands of Homes from one end of the red River Valley to the other. Feduniw who teaches Home As Well As Interior design said most of the homeowners now in the process of recovering from the flood Are mainly concerned with ridding their basements and main floors of River muck removing damaged drywall and getting their places liable again before the Snow flies. Feduniw said raising a Home off its foundation can take weeks and months if it is done properly. It Means that once the lifting beams Are installed under the Home the above Grade Structure is made to Rise Only a few centimetres per week. If this is done week after week the Home can Rise to its anticipated new level without any cracks or other damage to Interior Walls doors or windows. Family Justice program expands by Doug Nairne police reporter _ a National program designed to take first time offenders out of the formal court process is expanding in the province with the training of 29 new facilitators this month. In family group conferencing offenders meet with their victims and family members for dispute Resolution. In Exchange they Are spared jail and a criminal record. A a we re allowing the victims to have a say in the Justice system a said Rump const. Sam Anderson who is coordinating the program in Manitoba. A it allows for reconciliation in a Way that Isnit available through the Normal Justice Anderson said Manitoba is a National Leader in implementing the family Justice program. About 30 offenders have taken part in the program since it began earlier this year. Participants Are referred by police As part of their discretionary Powers As peace officers. The crimes Are usually minor and cannot carry a minimum sentence or have a legislated Zero tolerance such As cases of Domestic violence. Anderson said in a typical Case the accused and the family meet with the victim and the family in a sentencing Circle where the crime and its Impact Are discussed. The Resolution usually includes Money or payment in kind to make Good for damages done. For example in Portage la Prairie two Young offenders who stole $20 from a Cash Box in a Community Centre had to pay Back $75, agree to a curfew and do some repairs to the building where they stole the Money. A the restitution process brings out a lot of powerful emotions in people and the parents of these kids were crying through the whole meeting a Anderson said. The most serious Case in Manitoba so far involved a robbery in a Northern Community where a business owner confronted the Man who robbed her he said. Before the meeting the woman was unable to sleep As a result of anxiety caused by being robbed. But after the Man apologized the woman was Able to get on with her life Anderson said. Participants in the training program included four City police officers and two members of the ramp along with representatives from a number of first nations communities and probation services. The program has been used in several communities around the province including Winnipeg and will continue to expand As More facilitators Are trained. Flood benefits contractors flood damage has been a Boon for Manitoba contractors. Once a Home has been raised landscapers can build up soil around it and Sod it so flood Waters Are unlikely to erode the Hill on which the Home now stands. House raising is nothing particularly new in the red River Valley Feduniw said. A along red River drive South of St. Norbert you can already see v quite a few Homes that have been raised Over the and while raising a Home altering its foundations and then building a Hill around its raised position is Likely to Cost tens of thousands of dollars he said homeowners then have the Assurance that its the last time they will have to incur the silent Wrath of the red River ;