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

24 - PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, July 23, 1991 Ontario's Farm Safety Association is promoting round bale safety during Farm Safety Week July 25-31. Grant Evans (pictured above) of Epsom knows the possible dan- gers involved with round bales. See story for details. CE NEE IEEE CRC RN EE Choose a Winner Whatever the job, Massey- Ferguson has the tractor that's right for you. Take your pick of the rugged 34 PTO hp M-F 231, > the reliable 41 PTO hp M-F 240, no the workhorse 73 PTO hp M-F 383 -w.. or the flagship of the 300 Series Oh Sw line - the six cylinder M-F 399. ) Stop by soon to see these M-F tractors and a whole lot more that will suit your farming needs. WORLD'S LARGEST TRACTOR MANUFACTURER o DON VALLANCE EQUIPMENT LTD. A 4 Brooklin, Ontario NA 655-3291 or 655-3122 LCL AAT AVEL TY "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" =----Farm Safety Week= eo = Epsom farmer injured by 800 Ib. round bale By Julia Dempsey Ross Evans knows firsthand the dangers involved in han- dling round bales. The Epsom-area farmer was hospitalized for three months after an 800-pound bale of straw rolled on top of him a year and a half ago. The Star was unable to talk to Mr. Evans about the acci- dent. He and his wife Barbara are expected home this week af- ter a three-week vacation in British Columbia and Alaska. The Star did speak with his son Grant who was with his fa- ther when he was injured. The accident happened at about 9:30 a.m. as the two men were finishing the morning chores on Christmas day, 1989. They had already moved one large bale into the barn from an outdoor mow and although it was enough to get them through the next couple of days, Mr. Evans suggested they bring in one more bale. That's when tragedy struck. Grant, with the use of a trac- tor and a front end loader, was trying to loosen a bale which was frozen into the ground while his father held up a tarp which was covering the mow. Suddenly, another round bale which was situated on an adjoining stack, rolled off the top level (about 10 feet above ground) and struck Mr. Evans. "I never saw the bale coming. Dad didn't see the bale coming," Grant recalled. "If the tarp wasn't there I'd have seen the bale moving." But the tarp is a necessity. Uncovered bales rot if they are exposed to inclement weather, he explained. "The sad part is we didn't even need it (the bale) that day," Grant said, adding that an 800-pound bale of straw will bedden the pens for at least two days. Mr. Evans was rushed to Ux- bridge Cottage Hospital. A couple of hours later, he was airlifted to Toronto General Hospital. His injuries included a se- verely separated shoulder, a broken femur bone, and a brok- en pelvicbone. That day, doctors at Toronto General Hospital operated on his shoulder. Other operations took place the next two days. Within three weeks, Mr. Evans was able to return to Ux- bridge Cottage Hospital but he stayed there until the end of March. Although he still has prob- lems -- his hip hurts every once in a while and he can't curl his toes up because of a pinched nerve -- Mr. Evans continues to work on the farm. And the family continues to harvest hay and straw in large round bales. "It's easier" than the conven- tional Sctangulaz bales, Grant said, adding less manpower is needed to harvest the crop. "The round bales are a real labor saver." The Farm Safety Association reports that much of Ontario's hay crop is now harvested in Turnto next page Forder-Parks Insurance Brokers Inc. Personal attention to all of qour general cnswraunce weeds. 34 Water Street, Port Perry, Ontario LIL 1J2 985-8471 ) DANGEROUS! load is secure SAFETY TIPS use equipment designed only for that purpose * always keep bales as low as possible for maximum stability e when using a wagon, do not overload the unit and make sure the FARM SAFETY FACTS MAKING LARGE BALES CAN BE e never eject a round bale where it could start rolling * be aware of hazardous ground conditions * never attempt to unplug, clean out or adjust a baler while operating * do not feed material into the baler by hand FARM SAFETY ASSOCIATION INC. 340 Woodlawn Road W., Suite 22-23, Guelph, Ontario NTH 7K6 (519) 823-5600 TC -- WR a i