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Page I SECTION A THE HERALD Wednesday February a Loose dogs dine on sheep By CHRIS Herald Staff Writer Hallon Hills farmers lose thousands of dollars each year to what dog owners might call the playful nature of their animals In five minutes Steeles Avenue sheep farmer Peter Branch told The Herald a dog can do an awful lot of damage to small ma Is Last year tax money ended up paying In livestock valuers fees and farmers claims Tor sheep goats poultry and the occasi onal calf killed or injur by dogs There was another the bill but that was covered by the province for kills by coyotes Its not uncommon for the livestock claims account to end up in he red It was last year with a shortfall the HERALD Features Telltale tombstones Just as a snoop through an old suitcase in the attic reveals the dress fashions of olden days a walk through a graveyard unveils the changing fashion In tombstones over the years It may surprise you to know that gravestones are no longer what they used to be actually undergone fashion trends Local historian Barry Cannon has walked through many grave yards wife and children in tow taking notes as he crouched by the markers HISTORICAL A history teacher at Bramalea Secondary School Mr Cannon makes his students aware of the historical value of graveyards They not only mark the death of individuals they also record the history of the time Very early grave markers were field Mr Cannon said One side was smoothed off and crudely carved into it was the deceased name and sometimes birth and death dales Spelling was atrocious on a lot of the early stones with corrections made even on the stone he said Before the stone markers there were wooden markers How ever those wooden markers have rotted and disappeared with time Mr Cannon said In the early days families didnt bury their dead in a common graveyard Instead they would have a graveyard at the back of their farm in which several gene rati may have been burled This was the case until the 1850s when the government Cemetery Act was passed all burials to be in common graveyards RECORD CHANGE As farms started to change hands you started to run into trouble Mr Cannon said Most churches had already begun the practice of having a graveyard To move the remains a medical officer of health a minister and an undertaker had to be present Sometimes the remains in the family plot wouldnt have a marker until a farmer got around to It years later By then a lot of details were miss ing Many of markers in the 1830a are of marble Reasonably cheap marble was brought to Hills from the United Suites or other parts of the province Its an easy surface to carve The marble markers had more purpose to them than Just marking graveslle They often had comments on them like Bom In Lanark Coun ty Scotland or Late of Trafalgar Town ship VERSES In the and 18508 the sentimentality of the Victorian period left its mark In the graveyards ot Hills You could choose verses from a book the maker had By he time of a In the minds of farm ers municipal and ministry or agricultural officials and a town councillor Interviewed recently there Is no question that the ate villains in this expensive problem arc thoughtless dog owners LAW RESTRICTIONS According lo pa bylaws and the pro vince Dog Licensing and Livestock Poultry Act dogs must be confined to their owners properties and they have to be tagged Its my feeling thai council hasnt enough attention to this problem Coun Pom Sheldon commented While we ve ged people to license their dogs to go beyond that have to moke people they are responsible for their dogs A farmer who a dog marauding his livestock con legally shoot it under sions of the Act Killed or captured dogs wearing tags can be traced back to their Thomas Wilion Richardson died Dec In year Hi beloved wife Annie Wiley died Id They had a daughter Margaret who died In Infancy In A stone In ttie Georgetown Cemetery marks the three as Local historian Barry Cannon admires the angel relief on the grave marker Herald photo second cholera in the area in the late 1800s black humour started appearing on gravestones Mr Cann on said He told a story two Scotch Block men which never got along Ironi the two men died within a few months of each other In the same grave yard their two stones remained memorials to lifelong enemies The first stone said Here lies snug as a bug The second with a finger pointing the first man grave said Here lies a hell of a lot snugger than that other bugger Mr Cannon hasnt been able to find the stones yet although hes been through the three Presbyterian cemeteri on Third Line GRANITE POPULAR With the turn of the century tombstones be came serious again and alabaster gave way to granite A heavy costlier stone which is marc difficult carve granite has survived as the popular stone of the century Once you went to the expense of a granite marker you didnt waste the ground around it You buried everybody there Mr Cannon chuckled On the granite stones would be recorded Wife of or Hus band of birlh and death dates and he home county of the deceased if he was an Immigrant to area The trend today t for big expensive mark or shrines Its more toward simple name markers in memorial gardens cemeteries The tallest headstones stand about a foot high In the midst of lively landscaped shrubbery ATTITUDES Of course cremation Is taking over too and a lot of people have their remains reserved In mausoleums Mr Cannon said I guess its lack of faith In the afterlife these days but certain ly in the Victorian days they were keen on being remembered In a lot of the no te rys where the stones have tumbled over and started to break apart local cemetery author ties have put the stones together in one calm like in cemetery In fads Mount Pleasant cemetery touch have been done to the fading print on weathe red stones It destroys the beauty of them Mr Cannon said shaking his head It would be far more aesthetically pleasant to Just leave them History in symbols Herald SUItWriter No two grave markers are exactly the same just as the Individuals buried under them are unique A walk through a graveyard will show the variety epitaph symbols on the grave markers Each symbol has a meaning and isnt Just there as a decoration by local historian Barry Cannon Doomsday and resurrection are suggested by trumpets blowing Trumpeting angels and the deceased rising from tomb are figures of resurrection Continued on page Town Country DRY CLEANING BAT MONDAY to 8770387 HILLS SHOPPING CENTRE press In small claims court be reimbursed for claims paid out for damage caused by defendants dogs In addition owners can be charged for allowing their animals to run loose Last summer Hills employed two students to canvass the urban and rural areas selling dog licenses door todoor Those who declined were formally asked In letters to buy licences INCREASE The exercise led to between and more licenses issued town bylaw enforce ment officer Jack Lusty said adding that the town has been able to trace more damage- causing dogs and claim for reimbursement While most people co operated with the town in the licensing cam palgn not everyone was pleased with the Idea Sheldon said I had some people call and soy they were angered at height of government ence she said But I taxes to cover those farm losses that lax payers arc subsidizing people who dont buy dog licenses Dog damage frequent occurs on farms near stretches of non farm residential develop It commonly occurs when livestock arc out grazing during the spring through fall Formers and valuers stress that the dog and coyote kills ore readily distinguished Coyotes are precise thorough killers sing out week frail or slaw animals making the kill around the neck and then consuming the PACKS Instinctively even well fed dogs will form into packs like wolves But being well Ted their hunting is part of the packs playful behavior For sheep raisers especially frollicksomc degpacksposeasmuch or more of a problem than the efficient coy Barking and snapp ing dogs will scatter a sheep flock worrying maiming the others and perhaps killing the odd lamb The reimbursement farmers get from the municipality hardly re fleets the true value of the animal Mr Branch said nor does it con the mount of money the farmer has put Into raising sheep or the potential value or fetuses aborted alter the ewes have been worried by dogs Dogs will usually pack In wo or more Mr Branch said Im afraid we have to shoot on sight if they are near the flock He sold its not usual for him to be up at night or at the crack of dawn rifle in hand to protect his flock from dogs and other If reaching for fire arms to protect live stock sma of 111 old west to farm and urban residents it may be the most efficient solution to the problem one official who to be Identified suggested The town can told them that we pay pregnant Howling for Spencer By CHRIS Herald Stan Writer Farm families in Hal ton Hills know Spencer Wilson Tor his fondness of antique cars and his knack of finding water with such traditional tools as willow switches and Iron bars But he has a grimmer yet Important role to play in the rural community as one of three livestock valuers in Hills When a farmer calls to report killed or injur animals as a result or an attack by dogs or coyotes Its Mr Wil sons Job to go out and Investigate the incident Hes been doing it for years knows how to read a kill and has seen some awesome damage to a farmers livelihood The first thing youve got to determine is whether the kill has been done by dogs or coyotes Mr Wilson told The Herald Then I have to set a price for the claim on the animal or fowl GUIDELINES In doing that Mr Wilson works within the confines of the provln ces Dog Licensing and Livestock and Poultry Act which seta maxl mum limits on claims which arc paid out by the municipality For example the maximum amount of damage which can be claimed for a killed or injured sheep Is and for head of cattle There are distinct differences in damage left by wolves and dogs A wolf Mr son explained grabs Its prey by the neck and tries to break it Once the animal is down he wolf goes in for the heart liver and lungs first Dogs lend to grab their prey anywhere and once its killed begin eating the best Sir like the haunches A coyote also tends lo single out Its prey dis the rest of the flock only briefly A dog Mr Wilson said chaws every Ihing Sheep won t stand much running and dogs tend to worry ihem to death Coyotes arc really out for the kill BAD ATTACK Several years ago he spent most of the day wandering through one farmers field after a particularly bad dog attack The final tally was 28 dead sheep and while it couldnt be proven whose dogs had done killing descriptions of the animals indicated Ihey came from Milton five or six miles away While the town pays for damages caused by dogs the province pays Tor deaths and o livestock caused by wolves and coyotes Mr Wilson maintains that the areas coyote popu lation is getting really thick these days They hide In wood lots and cedar swamps he said I can remember one night lost August the window was open and we could hear Ihem howling away Its the weirdest youve ever heard They have a far sharper bark than dogs A spokesman at the ministry or natural resources office in Cambridge says thai the coyote population is probably not growing as much as It is migra ting- moving from south of Highway to the northern rural area Rarely arc animals larger than calves attacked TAKE EASY TAKE THE TRAIN For Your Authorized Agent Is Barbkr LEARN TO DRIVE THIS WINTER 4 WEEK EVENING COURSE Starting Feb 2284 Wed Thurs 630 to 930 CAB LESSONS ROAD TEST aaeavauble through authorized centos of young Of CANADA LOCATED COAST TO COAST 8770751 16M0UNTAMVEWRDS GEORGETOWN OVER 150000 GRADUATES RECOMMEND Young Drivers of Canada MP for Indian self rule Ottawa Bureau of The Herald John PC BramptonGeorgetown is putting In II hour days and has never worked harder In his life One reason for that is the increased respon sibility ho has as Indian affairs and northern development critic He is familiar with a critic role having served as immigration spokesman under Mr Clark But Indian is a more ex and controversial area In November a Com mons committee recam mended the eventual eh munition of Ihe Indian affairs ministry as part of a move toward native self government Land claims and Indian rights under the Constitution remain to be settled Mr McDcrmld sold his party supports the abolition the ministry as long as it done in the proper way And Indian self government must be defined in terms of its relation ship to other levels of govfrnment But sweeping changes would not occur in the first year of a Conser vatlve administration Mr said the Tories have some Ideas but he declined to give I details citing his own inexperience in the new post and the need for consultation with native grojps before decisions are made Mr McDcrmld Is pleasantly surprised with the superb ability of the native leaders met lie said his biggest ask is getting o know all the players department bureau provincial and native spokes The Ladies Fashion Place In Downtown Georgetown Main Street South 8770822