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LJ a 3 [3 $leo ALE 4 '|e | °| = yr 2a » |e > | eo v |e >» | eo > & |i 0 gel" bey t Bd ae NR GER ST a AN #9) A A Ae A eR DD, Reader's Viewpoint Claims "farm rip-off" letter contains errors . Dear Editor: I find it necessary to reply 'to a letter carried in your newspaper entitled, "Farm rip-off" from Mr. Burnett. Your allowing this to be questions as to the au ticity of articles ap, in your paper. The letter contains many errors. If farming receives as many grants as Mr, Burnett would have one believe, why doesn't he spend $300,000 or $400,000 and purchase a farm? The farmer, selling would derive more income from the interest than he probably is now. The grants and-or stabil- ization programs would not printed certainly ui n- ing / be necessary if consumers would pay enough to cover the cost .of production, investment, labour, etc. necessary to produce a pro- duct. "In effect these are grants to keep the cost of food lower for the consumer. I will attempt to-point out to Mr. Burnett and your readers some facts. (1) Federal Income Tax - losses against other income, -If farming is not the chief source of income, a loss sustained from the farm is allowed to reduce income of that year from all other Bill Smiley sources to the extent of the lesser of: a) your farming loss, or b) $2,500 plus the lesser of (1) one-half of the amount by which your farm- ing loss for the year exceeds $2,500 or (2) $2,500. The maximum loss in one year is 000. : (2) Property tax rebate - The farm must have grossed $2,000 in any one year that .application is made. (3) Beef Cow Stabilization Program - Any breed of cow qualifies as long as the far- mer is not a licensed milk shipper. The cow must have at least one calf before she is enrolled. Each producer is charged on enrolment fee is charged an enrolment fee of $5.00 per animal in 1975. cattle enrolled in the pro- gram were checked by the staff of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food to make sure there 'were no problems. What problems were encountered were mis- understandings and not deliberate attempts to make The producer. money. payout was $72.19 in 1975 and all this money is taxable to the producer in the year received. It should be noted that the average price for calves in -1975 was $29.12 cwt. or $116.48 for a 400 pound calf plus $72.19 gives . a return of $188.67. The costs per cow to raise this calf based on the 1974 Beef Cow Analysis was $204. Two years ago, calves were sell- ing for two and one half times as much as now. How many consumers would be satisfied if their wages were lowered this much? © (4) Capital Grants Pro- gram - A farmer grossing $3,000 per year can apply for a grant on capital improve- ments made on the farm. The rates given by Mr. Bur- net are correct but they are only available to a tarmer once, and not on every build- ing, etc. as one would be led to believe by the writer. Again, this money is either taxable as full income in the _ year received or in the case of buildings and other depreciable assets the grant is deducted from the initial capital cost before capital 'cost allowance is taken. (5) It is true that farms can be inherited without suc- cession duties being payable provided the farm remains in farming for at least 10 years. With the high price of good agricultural land in most parts of Ontario and the - consumers' unwilling- ness to pay higher food prices this is the only way that the family farm can be transferred from one gener- ation to the next. It-should also be pointed out that all estates up to $250,000 are exempt from succession duties and this means most individuals in Ontario are "not subjct to succession duties. y I would agree that "only full time farmers should qualify for these grants but because of low returns some farmers need to have off- farm. jobs. However, con- trary to what Mr. Burnett would have people believe, in almost all cases the monies received either in grants, subsidies, rebates or stabilization payments must be declared as income. The writer fails to inform the readers of the large amount of government grants received by urban dwellers. Each year cities and towns receive millions of dollars in grants from the province for sewers, water, etc. Industry receives far more grants than agricul- ture. Farmers receive no benefit from sewers or water filtration plants but indirectly they are paying (continued on page 6) PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, Apr. 14, We oA's U.F.O. centre Dear Sir, We would like to inform you and your readers that a Centre to investigate and study the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) has recently been established in Toronto. An independent private Canadian group, the UFO Research Centre: Ontario will seriously and scientific- ally study the complex and controversial UFO enigma. The Centre will operate as a standing committee of the Toronto Society. for Psychi- cal Research, set up in 1970 as a federally registered not-for-profit institution. The Centre aims to be a place to which individuals can report UFO sightings or experiences without fear of ridicule, and with assurance that their reports will receive serious attention and be treated in strict con- fidence. We aim to pursue a scientific study of such reports, to become a source of information and under- take public education pro- grams about UFOs, and to co-operate with other serious "groups and individuals in the field. Also, we would like to secure the voluntary ser- vices of people such as astronomers, teachers, journalists and psychologists who have special technical knowle&ke-skills or facilities relevant to UFO research. If you would like further, information about the centre please contact us by phoning. (416) 964-0244. Yours sincerely, "Iris Owen (Mrs.) Honorary Secretary not be published. We writers submitting letters to use their name, but it will be withheld upon request, and a pen name may be used. The STAR reserves the right to edit all letters received and to withhold any that do not appear to be in the best interest of the community. Letters to the Editor | The Port Perry Star welcomes letters to the editor from its readers, however, all letters received must be signed by the writer and include address and phone number to be considered for publication. Any letter we receive "unsigned" will would encourage those -- Trn-- = IIIT Voice of the turkey ' $i Well, what is your opinion of capital punishment and gun control, Uncle Elmer? Yes or no? Thank you. I thought so. *- In its ineffable wisdom, our government "has lumped the two into a new piece of legislation on which those famqus fence- sitters, our Members of Parliament, are presently and uncomfortably astride. It is perfectly obvious, even to-an M.P. what the publi¢ wants, in both cases. A large majority would like to keep the capital punishment issue on the books, and apply it widely. ) An equally large majority would like to see a much more effective form of gun coritrol, for the simple and sensible purpose of cutting down on violent crime. But, and here's the political catch, in each case the minority speaks with a stentorian - voice, and politicians, like St. Joan, pay a lot of attention, perhaps too much, to voices, stentorian or otherwise. ; Strange bedfellows. On the one hand, the humanitarians who believe that the taking of life, even officially, and even for murder, - is wrong. And in the same sack, those violently opposed™to" gun control-as some sort of interference in the sacred rights of the individual to pack a fire-iron if he so chooses. vo "50 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 15, 1926 Port Perry suffered one of the most severe losses in history, when the combined High and Public Schools $65,000 property was completely' destroyed in a spectacu- lar fire which lasted for three hours. The school was built in 1873. School will continue in the base- ments of various churches until a new school is built. Here is a quote from the STAR reporter's description of the fire: "It was a - wonderful spectacle. The roaring furnace of flame, situated as it was almost the highest point in town, lit up the countryside. The walls had been splen- didly built, and retained fire like the sides of a huge furnace. The flames would leap high above the walls, where the wind would at times catch them, and, whirl, them forward in quest of new fuel". Remember 25 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 12, 1951. Dr. M. B. Dymond was the guest speaker at a well attended Vimy banquet held in the Del's banquet hall. Members of Whitby Fish and Wild Life Club defeated Port Perry Rod and Gun Club by a score of 462 to 381 in a shoot- out. The Port Perry members were A. Brock, Aylmer Ploughman, E. Geer, H. Davey and D. Anderson. Mrs. J. A. Hardy was -elected president of Honeydale Women's In- stitute for the year 1961. ... 15 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 13, 1961 Port . Perry soloists receiving high marks at - Sunderland Music' Fes- tival were Dianne Hall, Christina Rice,Lynne Peterman, Lois Summers and Trevor Kendell. New Hamburg defeat- ed Port Perry, 8 to 3, in - burg Tuesday night. \ the opening game of the Ontario Hockey Associ- ation Junior ""D"' best of seven final in New Ham- Mrs. William Stephens was elected president for 1961-62 at the Scout Mothers annual meeting. 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, April 14, 1966 Ratepayers in Port Perry received a sub- stantial reduction in the 1966 mill rates. Domestic rate went down 10 mills and commercial rate 12 mills. Thanks to the fine ef- forts of firemen from Port Perry and Ux- bridge, a large barn on the Lawrence Medd Farm at Epsom was saved from destruction including animals, imple- ments and crops. How the fire started is unknown and damage to the barn was very light. Lake Scugog ice "went out" on Wednesday, April 6, the earliest since 1957. - boy shot and killed his mother. BR oat vo MENTE TN The Bible tells us that on a certain occasion: "The voice of the turtle was heard in the land". This was reference to the return of spring, from the Song of Soloman. Transfer this to Canada, spring 1976, and it might be paraphrased: "And the voice of the turkey was-heard in the land." I would never, of course, suggest that everyone who favours capital punishment or "is against gun control is a turkey. That ) would eliminate most of my friends. But the gabble and gobble is unmistakeable. I'have my own clear-cut ppinions on each issue, and I herewith offer them for the guidance of puzzled politicians and the few hundred Canadians who are indecisive on these matters. Let us take a case in point. This is a true story. Just over a decade ago, a 14-year-old I don't blame him. I'd have done the same. He was a good boy, in every sense, and a good student. But his mother wanted him to be a great boy and a superb student. She nagged him ruthlessly to do better, though the kid was doing his best. One day, for some reason that is not important here, he failed a test at school. The harpy was waiting for him, and when he confessed, she lit into him like the Witch of Endor. He went and got his father's gun and shot her dead. Now, according to most of my friends, and 95 per cent of my students, he should have been hanged. Their favorite argument, in our materialistic society; "It'd cost us a hundred thousand dollars to keep him in jail for life." Co And all those who favor rigid gun control will say: "It never woulda happened if his father haddena hadda gun." And those very vocal citizens who oppose very tight restrictions on guns will say: "It woodena happened if the gun was registered and his dad belonged to a hand-gun club and it was under lockankee, like we want." Well, it wasn't and he didn't, and it did. All of which, of course, is beside the point, as most of these arguments are. The kid would have killed the-old lady with a knife, or a hammer, or her steam iron, or the nearest thing handy, if there's been no gun. Well, what did happen? The boy was tried, found guilty of homicide while of unsound mind, and incarcerated in a mental institution, possibly for life. Fair enough? While there, he showed all the symptoms . PETE ARIAT LE SRL IA of normalcy, whatever they are. He wasn't crazy, or even mentally disturbed, if you - prefer euphemisms. done. He was sorry. During the next several years, he was tutored by a wise and compassionate teacher (not me, Doc). He completed his high school courses, on his own. He was eventually released, went to university, graduated with honors, and .is now a better-than-average member of society. Perhaps he should have been hanged. That would certainly have taught hima lesson : Perhaps we should go back to the lash, and branding a capital "W" on the fore- heads of prostitutes, and cutting off the hands of shop-lifters. I dunno. These measures didn't put an end to crime in the middle ages. Perhaps we should be able to go into a drugstore and buy a gun. It's almost that easy in the States. I dunno. But I'do know that capital punishment will never stop murder. And I do know there are an awful lot of nuts, not quite certifiable, running around the country with perfectly legal guns. "Take it from there, WV. He knew what he'd arren Almand, you plucky little Solicitor-General, or Super- Lawyer, if you don't prefer euphemisms. The Argyle Syndicate Lid. ( PoRT PERRY STAR Company Limited at ey, Phone 98% 7383 Sa, ES (ou): Cartwright! Townships J. PETER HVIDSTEN, Publisher Advertising Manager John Gast, Editor Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and Ontar.o Weekly Newspaper Association Published every Wednesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Ld. Por! Perry. Ontario IS Authorized as second class mail by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage n cash Second Class Mail Registration Number 0245 Subscription Rate: In Canada $8.00 per year Elsewhere $10.00 per year Single copy 20¢ ot QT my mh ee 2h ig Ta 25 a Ss