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A ~ fl,-,-,',wiint~, T"Jpia;ennn~r Vol 13X No.80 r~Âiu'ju "ij[UIitil y*-- - -t Vo 13 o.8 Milton's Independent Pharmacy F ree Delivery *10% Seniors Discount * DM Oî Plans Aeeepted * Wlte, Drug Infonmation Avaiab *At Zaka We Care Abot Yeur HeaWh" 8ManSE. 870-2424 40 Pages Wee,,,,kend Farm Museum closes, lay,,.s off 1staif, looks for tînancial help By STEVE LeBLANO SSpecial ta The Champion >~ The Farmn Museum has beench<atball1ed. While the board of directors hasn't abandoned the Milton facility, they've handed out pink slips and made no commitments to re-hire or reopen next year. Operations at the site are unlikely to resume until the board can find investmcent partners. "Ail 15 historical interpreters and eight staff members have been laid off and as of now, it appears we won't be offering a full public programt in 1998," said John King, who taok over as thc site's gencral manager (shartly aifter Rick Fortin resigned) earlier this month. The announicement cornes eight months after the local attrac- tion switched from thc provincially-fuided Ontario Agricultural Museum ta Uic privately owncd Farm Museum. The provincial government cut funding ties ta thc facility. Mr. King, currcntly employed on contract, could not provide figures on projcctcd losses, but said Uic muscum "didn't raise enpugh ta produce a positive bottom line." This was duc in large part ta lower than cxpccted attendance figures. Farmn Muscum management hiadt hoped for 70,000 visi- tors this ycar but attracted only 40,000 (including bath general admissions and classroom field trips). "This past ycar was a lcarning expcriencc for cvcryone, and a very difficult anc. Being the first year of private ownership, the board of directars and staff members had ta hit thc ground mun- ning," said Mr. King. 'lThe board will now be rc-evaluating Uic past ycar and devel- oping a business plan for the future." Board of directors chair Robert Mante said the group will be laoking far partncrs "who want ta feature attractions there and capitalize an the sitc's unique location and facilities." Thcy wan't howevcr, ask for lang-tcrmi cammitmcents. "We're gaing ta be talking ta people in agri-food and produc- 9lee MUSEUM on page 23 Photo by GRAH4AM PAINE Biehop Redlng Hlgh's economics students have excelled In the Green Lins Inveaiment Challenge this faau. Among a group leadlng the way are (from lt> Laura Mathewa, Adam Bonin and Mîke Shakespear. Absent from the photo 1a teammate Mlke Johnaton.I Kidgflake kiln on bershdp LM SEE LLIC ~~s ' ket, Uic Standard and Poors 500 Index in eighth place anc wcck, right aftcr Special ta The Champion~X particular. crash. Wc bet hcavily againat S&P WallStret'g oss as teir ain Thrcc wccks later their predictian came which is what's put us near the top. A Faur gradet'2 lasa was sue s ain, truc and they cashcd in - wcll, sort of. of thc upper-echelan tcams arc actu Fourgrae 1 ecnomca tudntsfra "W flgured the market was gaing ta fall bclow $500,000 because of how hard Bishop Rcding laokcd inta their proverbial and S&P 500 with it, but wc nevcr cxpect- market feil. crystal bail àt the start of thc scmcstcr and cd the crash ta bc as drastic as it was," said Participating teamns were abîc ta invce saw darkcr days ahcad for thc stock'mar- Laura Mathews. -1 As a direct result of the Octaber crash, equities tradcd an ail major Canadian Flowsr power tundraiser coming Up Mion's Army Cadet s will pairal the local mail in a;timely fundraiser the tirai weekend of December, selling the Christmnas flower. The cadets will be offering poinsettias at Milton Mail begin- ning the evIening of Friday, Dec. 5, ail day Saiurday and on Sunday aftemaon. Il marks the second year of ihe money-rais- ing acliviiy for the youth group. Ronin,- Mike Jahnstan and Mike Shaqkeâpca - shat up the ranks- in the annual Green Line Invcstmcnt Challenge. They naw sit in i 8th place among a tatal of 800 high school and univcrsity teams (front across Canada) in the fictitiaus stock market challenge, with just anc week ta go iii thc two-manth cantest. Their portfolio - which began at $500,000 - is now up ta $518.624. Said Adam, "We went from 87th ta the 500 lot ally the st in and Traditianai buying and selling as well as option trading and short scliing - which BR' s star team did with S&P 500 - are aIl pennissible. in addition ta S&P 500, the faursame went long with Uic Royal Bank af Canada, Bank af Nova Scatia, Canadian Tire, Gencral Motors and Exaîl Resources, which has nettcd them a cool $13,000 profit. Fridav. November 28, 1997 OPUBUC UDRARY 750 (GST included)