The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

lia an! "A Family Tradition for 133 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, August 4, 1999 - 13 { { al! al TH 'Farmers have until Aug. 20 Deadline for farm disaster relief is extended: minister Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Ernie Hardeman has announced an extended deadline for Ontario farms applying for income disaster assis- tance. Farmers who experi- enced drastic income loss- es in 1998 now have until August 20 to apply for financial assistance to the joint federal-provincial Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance pro- gram through the Ontario Whole Farm Relief Program. The orig- inal deadline was July 31. "Ontario was there in the early days, providing much-needed assistance to our farmers facing severe financial hard- ship," Hardeman said. "Because of the timing of federal government pro- gram applications, some farmers require this extension." The program is designed to help farmers deal with the unexpected events of 1998, including serious worldwide mar- ket fluctuations and severe, but isolated, weather-related inci- dents. It is available to all eligible producers, regardless of commodity. Since early February, $28 million has been distrib- uted to more than 2,500 farmers in need. Ontario farmers who have already applied for assistance should have received supplemental information and applica- tion forms in the mail for the federal portion. Producers making an ini- tial application may use the original application form they received in January, along with the supplemental package to apply to both the federal and provincial portions of the program simultane- _ ously. Further information regarding the program is Mr. Machete will play benefit show. Port Perry & District Skateboard Park Group has announced that 'Mr. Machete' will be head- lining a show at the Port Perry Latcham Centre, Friday, Aug. 6 at 7:00 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. ! Proceeds go to the construction of a skate- board park in Port Perry. Tickets are $10 each, and will be avail- able at Boom Box. Other acts include Drudgery and Double Standard. available by calling toll- free 1-877-838-5144, by visiting the web site at 222.gov.on.ca/omafra, or by visiting the field offices of the Ontario Ministry of Agrigulture, Food and Rural Affairs. Roulettes RESTAURANT ¢ BAR | | GREAT BLUE HERON CHARITABLE CASINO & BINGO DAILY DINNER SPECIALS THURSDAY CREAT BLUE HERON CHARITABLE CASING 8 BINGO MPP urges feds to act on gas prices An Ontario MPP is urging Ottawa to take action on what he sees as price gouging at the gas pumps. Joe Tascona, MPP for Barrie-Simcoe-Bradford and a member of the so-called Gas Buster task force appointed by the provincial government,says the fed- eral government can put a stop to the shocking increase in gasoline prices that seem to coincide with summer and long weekends. Drivers in Scugog and across the province have seen prices at the pumps jump by nearly 10 cents a litre over the past couple of week. The petroleum com- panies blame the hike on crude oil prices, but many consumers aren't buying that. "People cannot see any justification for price increases of the kind we've had in the last few weeks," said Mr. Tascona. He said the Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Relations has received more than 1,800 consumer complaints about gas prices since the end of June. Those complaints will be forwarded to the federal gov- ernment. Ottawa will also get a reminder that Ontario would like to see the feds support a Private Member's Bill by Pickering-Ajax-Uxbridge MP Dan McTeague, a Liberal, which calls for strengthening of the Competition Act to prevent unjustified price hikes. "The federal government has the means, under the Competition Act, to stop this price gouging at the gas pumps," said Mr. Tascona. «Consumers are telling us loud and clear that they want action now. The federal government must lis- ten." Consumers who want to contact the Gas-Busters hotline can call toll free at 1-800-268-1142. | | | | | dining ¢ ETTLEMENT HOUSE SHOPS [n Stock plus many more 1 store furniture ~ specials! Casual Styling - Canadian Made SOFAS... E000" many fabrics to choose from 5 Pc. Hardwood Diningroom Set... sgQQ 'SETTLEMENT HOUSE SHOPS Casual & Country Home Collections 183 Queen St., Downtown Port Perry 985-8234 Mon-Thurs & Sat: 9:30am to 5:30pm ® Fri til 9:00pm ® Sun noon to 500pm