Sight is a faculty: seeing is an art.
“Heavier than air flying machines are impossible.”
“Everything that can be invented has been invented.”
“Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.”
“There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.”
“Who wants to hear actors talk?”
Sign in the counselling office at a San Diego High School; If you think school is boring, wait until you sit around an unemployment office.

Very few people alive today seem to recall the evening Adam came stamping into Eve’s kitchen to complain.  “Confound it, you’ve put my pants in the salad again.”

A young bridegroom followed his gal into their shining new kitchenette.  “What is my snookums doing in here so long?” he inquired.
His worried bride explained, “I rinsed the ice cubes in this hot water and now I can’t find them.”
Of the people who become infected with West Nile virus:
* 80 per cent do not get symptoms at all;
* About 20 per cent have mild flu-like symptoms;
* One or two per cent have potentially life threatening symptoms.
At this time, there is no human vaccine available to prevent West Nile virus.  A vaccine is in development, but won’t be available for a few more years.
It makes sense to be prepared for West Nile virus, even though the vast majority of people infected won’t show symptoms.
Your best protection against West Nile virus is personal protection, and then going on with your life as normal.
Personal protection against mosquito bites includes the following:
# Wear light coloured, loose fitting clothes with long sleeves and pants when possible;
# Apply DEET-based mosquito repellent (except for children under six months of age) according to recommended applications;
# Use mosquito nets around your home, especially when mosquito populations are high;
# Repair mosquito screens on doors and windows;
# Mosquitoes only need one teaspoon of water to breed.  Empty any source of standing water (a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes) every two days.  These include pet bowls, children’s wading pools, flower pots and wheelbarrows.
# Remove old tires and cover rain barrels with netting as these can also attract mosquitoes;
# Remove dense, weedy vegetation and keep your lawn cut;
# Avoid going outside at dawn and dusk, as mosquitoes are more active during those times;
# For lagoons, dugouts and standing water on rural properties check for larvae and treat with Aquabac 500 (Bti) if present.
MORE ON THE WEST NILE AND THE MOSQUITO in the next Newsletter.

Nothing’s as hard to do as gracefully getting down off your high horse.

One of the GREAT mysteries in life is how a paperboy can pitch a no-hitter in a little league baseball game, but can’t hit a front porch with a newspaper.
There are common-sense rules that motorists should follow under certain conditions.  Rely on your judgement and assessment of the situation to tell you what to do.
PREVENTIVE TIPS.
1. Always lock your door after entering and whenever leaving your car.
2. View the interior of your car before getting in to make sure no one is hiding inside, even if the doors are locked.
3. Have your keys in hand so you do not have to linger before entering your car.
4. If you are driving at night, use well-lit streets and parking lots that are open to easy observation.
5. Be cautious of any stranger approaching your vehicle.  If you feel you are in danger, press on the horn repeatedly in short blasts,; this will attract attention.  If you think you are being followed, drive to the nearest public place and blow your horn.  Do not drive home.
6. Plan and study your route before you leave.
7. Do not pick up hitchhikers.
8. If you have car troubles, raise the hood, lock yourself in and wait for the police.  If a stranger stops to offer help, do not get out of your car.  Ask the stranger to call a service truck for you.
Two angels were enjoying an idle conversation aboard a cloud.  Finally one asked the other, “Do you believe in the heretofore?”

A wife suggested to her husband, “Let’s buy Junior a bicycle.”
“Do you think it might improve his behaviour?” asked the ever-hopeful husband.
“I do not,” admitted the wife, “but at least it will spread it over the neighbourhood.”

There’s at least one understanding wife in the Las Cruces who lets her husband go out one night every week with the boys.  He’s a scoutmaster.

There’s also a bridegroom there, however, who knew he was going to be henpecked right from the start.  As he carried her over the threshold, she warned him, “Wipe your shoes.”

Of the Top 50 Non-Financial Co-operatives In Canada during the years of 2004 and 2005, your local co-op The Vanderhoof and Districts Co-operative Association (B.C.) stood 48th of the 50 during 2004 and 37th in 2005.  In 2005, our Co-op had total revenues of $83,017,608 with a total membership of 14,742 and a full time staff of 34 and a part time staff of 46, our major activities being petroleum and supermarket.
The Federated Co-operative Limited (Sask.) which we are a member of, during 2005 had total revenues of $4,799,334,000.  F.C.L. major activities of wholesaler, consumer goods, petroleum refinery, and building materials.
Bob Sylvester keeps bumping into Martians in out-of-the-way nooks and crannies.  This time they were inspecting gas pumps at a roadside filling station.  “What’s the matter with those clunks/” worried one of the Martians.  “All they do is stand around with their fingers in their ears.”
It is much more dignified to say we’re moving in cycles rather than running around in circles.
Some Highlights From The Market Research Newsletter of March 2007:
The number of grain and oilseed processing projects announced or completed in the past year will likely change the dynamics of prairie agriculture:
* The Riverstone Holdings/Carlyle Group $400 million biofuel mega project announced for an unnamed Alberta location will include an ethanol refinery producing 380 million liters of ethanol, an oilseed crushing plant also producing 380 million liters of oil and a plant producing a similar amount of biodiesel.  The plants would require an estimated 1 million tonnes each of grain and canola.
* James Richardson and Louis Dreyfus both announced $100 million crushing plants for Yorkton, each requiring 850,000 tonnes of canola.
* The Husky plant at Lloydminster will process about 350,000 tonnes of wheat into 120 million liters of ethanol.
* A similar sized plant to Husky is proposed for Minnedosa.
* NorAmerica BioEnergy at Weyburn is processing 70,000 tonnes of wheat.
* Terra Grains Fuels at Belle plain is under construction and when completed will process 410,000 tonnes of wheat.
* A number of smaller community ethanol plants are proposed.
These plants in total consuming more than 2 million tonnes of wheat and three million tonnes of canola will trigger many adjustments in crop acreage in the coming years.  The biofuel industry could produce the biggest change in prairie agriculture in a generation.  (West Prod Nov30/06).

Bob Hope on reaching 70 ­; “You still chase women, but only downhill.”
                on reaching 80 ­; “That’s the time of your life when even your birthday suit needs pressing.”

Canada’s hog and pork industry is in crisis, reeling from the impact of the high dollar, disease, declining competitiveness, falling exports, tougher export competition and declining domestic consumption, according to the president of the Canadian Pork Council. (West Prod Nov30/06).
Small niche farms producing specialized crops such as designer flax, straw and hemp, whose fibers could be made into bio-composites and used in aerospace and manufacturing as well as specialty foods with healthy or medicinal qualities is one promising opportunity presented at a conference called Food, Fuel and Farming:
Agricultural Research and the Future of rural Canada held in Saskatoon on Nov 15. (West Prod Nov30/06).

The median new worth of Canada’s 13.3 million family units was $148,350 in 2005, a 23% increase from 1999.  Debt increased nearly 1.5 times to an estimated total of $760 billion, of which 3/4 was mortgage debt.  Asset values increased more than enough to offset the debt.  Savings were almost 0.  People are spending almost all their income and relying on capital gains from their houses and stocks to replace savings.  About 1/3 of families have no private pension assets.  (FinPost Dec8/06).
British Columbia has one of the most vibrant co-operative movements in Canada.  The number of co-ops and credit unions has been growing steadily and today about one B.C. resident in three is a member of a co-op or credit union.
In B.C. there are ...
About 700 co-ops and credit unions with 1.8 million members employing 13,000 people holding $20+ billion in assets.
Upon accepting an award, the late Jack Benny once remarked, “I really don’t deserve this, but I have arthritis and I don’t deserve that either.”

Silence is never more golden than when you hold it long enough to get all the facts before you speak.

God is with you in your most barren wilderness.
Bye Bye for now until we cross paths again along life’s way,
Doug Smith, Member at Large.