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Farmer surrenders old homestead to second Ontario Hydro corridor A farmer Is giving up his family homestead because two Ontario Hydro corridors will soon cut up his lands so much he can afford to work what left Hydro intends to build a 500k V line over 1 farms in Wellington and Grey counties through Duffer in and Hal ton to Milton The line la being built from the power source at the II nice nuclear generating station on Lake Huron I Manion already has kV line diagonally across his lands Ontario Hydro however Is discovering that Leonard Manion and neighbors are still capable of fighting a rear guard action Hydro hoped lo legally enter the Manion farms Monday The farmers applied for a court injunction to stop the public utility from coming in before Hydro gives them firm written offers wllh prices Tor the lands The court injunction is just one of many steps taken by 1 Manion and friends legally halt the newest power lines Leonard Manion is perhaps mast popular in the Conn area bccausL he dumped a load of manure on a Hydro car last A couple of weeks later a Toronto paper carried the story of the plight of a couple of dro officials who parked their cars In Leonard drive way banners circled one of the vehicles their trie tors and manure One Hydro official reported lo he felt wis at Custer a fast stand The publicity surrounding reflect the of his efforts to halt hi line and later lo make ure Ontario Hydro acts has been tertiary treasurer of Ihe power line Grey Counly Corridor Committee since it formed three years ago lies spent hours in travelling lime from his farm to attend expropriation meet at Acton and Durham lies spoken to political meetings He attended all the environmental hearings at Ihllsburgh in 1975 And he was hit by an Ontario Hydro ear All this by a man who stands no higher than five feet six Inches with his 1S5 pounds His dark hair shows fleets of gray loo soon for his years The change in color ing started three years ago he says since he started opposing Hydros plans for mother corridor Leonard lands straddle Highway He has 100 acres on the north side and an equal size farm on the south He and his wife Theresa and their three Idren Mary age years John Q and Leo 4 live in a comfortable storey and a half while frame house east of Conn which is a village about 3 miles north of Theresa who comes from a St Agatha Ontario form family and Leonard share the chares on their land Ionard roots go deep in the Grey Wellington border area He was born there His forefathers from settled the north farm in about He raises pure bred lais cattle a white colored beefy breed The anions also grow corn hay barley and mixed grains He decided lo leave His reasons are many and most of them concern s family all of Ihem stem from hydro corridors tor example the children were given kites to fly an amusement while their parents worked the fields he k line is about feet from their home The youngsters tried flying Ihe kites in front of the house but I had to direct them to north of the barn away from the Iine3 directly above they played Leonard and Theresa had to alter their routine in order work comfortably under Ihe power lines Theresa told in an interview in ihe farm kitchen last week she would gel shocks from Ihe tractor and cultivator as she drove underneath Ihe line She would also get headaches she said while working under the lines However if she works before a there arc far fewer shocks After that hour she figures Hydro use increases the day gets warm and the line sags They lived in the house for nine years and Theresa says it Is only in the last three years that they ve been getting shocks Just before the last election the government approached the Grey County Corridor Committee about a It was the first time that high Ontario Hydro officials sat down the folk in the north Leonard came down with what his doctor called nervous strain Theresa said keep anything down t know what they Hydro were up to Was it just politics or were they going to be fair to us said Leonard Following those meetings which were then secret Leonard says Ontario Hydro gave verbal assurances that it will buy his farm in Grey County for an price of The reason for the court in junction Leonard says is to make Ontario Hydro live up to its word In addition to offering to buy some farms the public utility Is looking at paying in jurious affection for case ments The appraisal on Ihe Manion Grey County land is by George Gale He values the land at 550 per acre plus some for the house barn and shed The 85 000 says too far out I year he listed the farm for sale Because people knew of the oncoming power line the offers were about half the value The Manions think they will put in Ibis winter on their farm If Hydro buys their lands they may be gone from Ihe homestead by May of next year They ve considered farms in Rainy River country near the Ontario- Manitoba border and as far iway as British Columbia Its been three years of resistance battling demon preparing reports going to courts lhat has earned the Grey County what appears be fair offers for whole farms from Ontario Hydro Us t major victory I says The people in the southern parts of the In Citizens Croup ICG of which Ihe is member may think wt sold oul 1 says Why is it victory To mt our princi pics dictate lo me that no authority including Ontario Hydro should hive power to force us to work these lines which cannot be gu inn tied saft I said Ontario Hydro appears to be living up to the ncgotia lions about buying farms in north said the beef far To me lhat removes the of coercion he said an easement mcint building fence panllel to the lowers And that not worth it farmer An casement mems I Manion Is forced under two sets of power lines I op position to Ihe jOO line drew motivt from mil motives With kV imt already 1 is Leonard felt hi didn t need a set of lied do it all over again ho said in kitchen If more people who felt fought we havi litter society Leonard Man on said And Leonard Manion and his neighbors might just have to keep fighting Although Ontario Hydro to be keeping its word Leonard feels he was given if not a snow job at by Hydro officials a sprinkling of the while stuff He struck by the con stones Hydro has given about its studies of it become known as alternate to Hydro plans lo build the line through southern Ontario from the Bruce to Milton At Hydro said it studied and dismissed BruceEssa which is favored by the ICG Later at Acton expropriation hearings Hydro said it never studied the Bruce question Since the environmental hearings at two summers ago Leonard has got support from people on the southern arm of the corridor too He mil John Schneider and Bill Mann and many who were soon to fast friends Leonard who reads mil history in is sustained by the fact that he s not quitter you start The Acton Free Press Wednesday Juh27 1977 7 you keep on going he said The surge in public reaction In contrast with the citizen to power lines over the past opposition lo the line five years possibly stem there was little concern by from a strong feeling of in to the during justice The depth of the early 60s Leonard said Hydro feeling that marked the power was for local use opposition to the Bradley but he adds We didn know Georgetown line was sum enough and we t con med up in Leonard We didn t know quote from William Jennings enough to be upset Bryan The humblest citizen of all the land when clod In The M power line will f rignteous probably go over the house and barn said Leonard hosts of Missed Your Free Press Please Let Us Know Our carriers do their best to give fast courteous service but mistakes do happen so it you do not receive your paper or have any complaints regarding delivery please call our office 8532010 CLEARANCE THE FAMILY under one Hydro corn dor across their Grey County farm A second cor is heading their way Leonard stands with wife Theresa sons Leo John and daughter Mary The line to Good Care 8532980 After hours 8532059 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