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

12 The Independent, Canadian Statesman Weekender, Bowmanville, Saturday, January 29,1994 Ministry of Agriculture and Fond Workshops to be Presented at 55 Locations Seminars Help Farmers Improve the Bottom Line Forty dollars and two days can improve improve a farmer's financial bottom line. Ontario farmers attending the Credit Management and Negotiation Skills Workshops, sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, see the benefits of small investments investments that bring returns for years to come. The workshops are part of the Agricultural Agricultural Investment Strategy, a collection collection of programs introduced over the last year and a half, designed to help farmers help themselves to become become better financial managers. "Young farmers make very major decisions early in life, often without background, experience or training," says Ralph Winslade, manager of financial financial programs, Ministry of Agriculture Agriculture and Food. "We can't provide the experience here, other than working working with case studies and examples, but we can provide the training." Winslade says that workshop par : ticipants will acquire a better understanding understanding of the security instruments they will have to sign when borrowing borrowing money. Security instruments such as mortgages, general security agreements agreements and security over personal property are explained in detail as well as liens assignments and guarantees. guarantees. Farm families also have an opportunity opportunity to review the sources and cost of agricultural credit, as well as opportunities to improve their negotiating negotiating skills when borrowing money. Optimist Club Fireworks Set For July 1 st The Optimist Club of Newcastle Village has been given permission to hold a fireworks display on Friday, July 1,1994. The display will be held at Clarke High School. There will be three licensed licensed fireworks supervisors in charge. Insurance will be purchased from Hand's Fireworks Canada, of Milton, Ontario. Clarington Council approved the fireworks at its January 24th meeting. Hospital Tag Day To be Held May 13 Memorial Hospital Bowmanville's Hospital Auxiliary has been granted permission to hold their Annual Tag Day on Friday, May 13,1994. The proceeds are designated to purchase equipment for the hospital, Mary Fletcher, president of the auxiliary, auxiliary, wrote in a letter to council. 401 Contract Creates Almost 400 New Jobs A $19.8-million contract to widen one of the busiest sections of Highway Highway 401, between Highway 2 and the Rouge River in the Scarborough area, will create the equivalent of 397 fulltime fulltime jobs for one year, Transportation Transportation Minister Gilles Pouliot announced announced today. "Over 180,000 vehicles travel this section of the 401 every day, making it a bottleneck," said Durham West MPP Jim Wiseman. "By widening it, we will alleviate traffic jams and lessen the chance of collisions." The contract, awarded to Dufferin Construction Co. is for the first phase of the project, which involves building building six bridges on Highway 401 over Highway 2, Highway 2A and the Rouge River. Three bridges will be built on either side of the highway and used as collector lanes. "This project on Highway 401 is an example of this government's commitment to improving and maintaining maintaining our existing infrastructure and to creating jobs," said Scarborough East MPP Bob Frankford. Construction is scheduled to be complete by October 1995. This project is part of the nearly $900 million the province is investing investing in the construction and development development of provincial highways during 1993/94. To bring all this together, the program program co-ordinating committee is drawing on the expertise of individuals individuals such as Murray Brownridge, a Halton area dairy farmer. "It's becoming more important all the time," he says. "Our levels of borrowing are getting higher every year, and the agreements that we are quite often asked to sign are more complicated than they used to be. I think that credit itself is becoming a much more useful tool, and it's a tool that we need to have a better understanding understanding of if we are to use it properly." properly." Commercial lawyer Ted Oldfield, whose clientele is made up of about two-thirds farmers, has also been involved involved in planning the workshops. "One of the goals I have of participating participating in the workshops is to get people who are seeing trouble on the horizon to deal with it now as opposed opposed to waiting until it's too late. I have consistently found that the successful successful debt restructures are the ones that get help early on, as opposed to the farmers who wait until the loans have been demanded and there's simply simply no room left to go out and negotiate," negotiate," he says. Those who attend the seminars will find a wealth of practical advice from their peers. For example, Kingston Kingston area workshop participants were advised by Ben Green, a dairy farmer, farmer, to always pay their term accounts within thirty days, to avoid running up an overdraft on an operating loan, to keep good financial records and to analyze their farm business at least once a year. As with much of the Agricultural Investment Strategy, these workshops workshops were developed in consultation with farmers, to ensure that the information information is not only accessible, but also that it is relevant. Fifty-five workshop locations have been chosen throughout the province and others will be added as required by local demand. For more information on workshops dates and locations, farmers can contact their local OMAF office. A-1 Eavestrough Systems "Your Eavestrough Specialists" Eavestrough Cleaning and Re-Sealing Installation of new trough for as low as $2.00 per foot Manufactured on site for home owners or contractors Don't Wait To Get Wet, Call NOW! 905-786-3059 Walk Off With Some of Your Favourite Things M SALE <7 ... During Our End-of-. Prices in effect Wed., Jan. 26 'til Sat., Jan. 29, 1994 SAVE 20% The Sparkle and Save Collection Diamond Rings and Jewellery V) SAVE 40% on all our Pinwheel Crystal In-Stock 10 Karat Gold Chains SAVE 30% 3-Pce. Fresh Water Pearl Necklace, Earring and Bracelet Set Only $29.95 Final Clearance on Fun Fashion Watches and Swatches SAVE 50% Coming January 31st Chance To Win a Romantic Dinner For Two HOOPER'S JEWELLERS 39 King St. W. 623-5747 "Your Family Jewellers Since 1945" Watchmaker and Goldsmith on Premises - Free Engraving Bowmanville