HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1970-01-29, Page 10Joon o
Problems With New Assessment Plan
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, ANDREW, X.--141CLEAN,, Editor
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SEAPORTH, ONTARIO, 4nuary 29, 1970
!got through the window self-,:
OW. 'WOW Yoe get better */
(which he liid.)
Within the last few years
a pati.enti:came to Forest and
spoke to one of the family saking
'q it had not been for Or.
Rogers, i would,,, not be, alive
today. fie set with me all' nIgliti
and cleared the membrane from
yihroat during an attack of
diphtheria."
Then, there was a little
boy at bean harvesting 'time' who
constantly put beans in his
ears where they would swell.
It was not an easy job for the
doctor to get them out.
He always said: “Not of me,
but through me."
He regularly attended church,
and 'insisted on sitting in the
front seat. But,, after late hours
he frequently slept and snored,
one Sunday morning he pulled
nut his pocket watch.
A Rev. Sawyers who was
preaching. looked down and said:
"Dr. Rogers, put your watch
away and go back to sleep. The
people who are awake can listen
to my sermon. We will wake you
- when it is time to go home and
finish your nap."
Dr. Rogers and his faithful
um?, palsy', were very lend-
of ,one,,,another. When_ she was
past 4441.30, rk he gave her t9
fA14kiner 10404 by. Such was
t-her lOpelinesSlat the loss „of 0,
her beloved friead and compan-
Ion, she-tried to get back to
him. She was caught in a barbed
wire fence, and hurt'so badly she
had to be estroyed.
In 1919 the, family moved to
Forest because of the town's
reputation for good schools,Here 0
Dr. Rogers carried on a succes-
sful practice until his sudden
death in 1929 in his 57th yearale
never lived to see his son
graduate in medicine.
During his term of office as
' Dr. Rogers with 'the
collaboration .of, the lion.Forbes 41,
Godfrey, was instrumental in
bringing waterworks to the town.
At first, many were opposed"
to this although the water In
Forest vas not pure enough from
wells,
When the waterworks project
was completed, Dr. Rogers was
heard to remark: "'Maybe my
grandchildren will thank me when
they turn the tap." But later,
a friend looking up at the water
tank exclaimed: "What 'a monu-
ment to the man!"
As Ontario begins an entirely new
approach to assessment problems with
the provinbe taking over responsibility
for what, up until now, haS been a
municipal responsibility, concern as to
What is going to happen to%the so cal-
led "little guy" is being expressed. •
, The fact that the area assessment
office serving Huron and Perth Colin-
ties is located in Goderich is disturbing
,to the people in St. Marys according to
the Journal-Argus of that town.
Is the upcoming, regional assessment
another punch aimed directly at the
, "snout" of the "little guy"? The Jour-
nal-Arg. - asks and goes on in these
words: The zeneral consensus of
thought on the' subject indicates that
this is the reaction of, the general pub-
lic toward the "new look" in assess-
ment, due to begin operations in Jan-
uary of 1970.
The Huron-Perth. assessment region
will be directed froni Goderich. Why
Goderich? Nobody has as 'yet figured
that out unless an attempt* is to be
made at enumerating the fish popula-
tion of Lake Huron. The actual reason
and the only reason possible for such
a "centre" is the aloofness of Goderich
from the majority of-the ratepayers in
the new region.
- A- man is much- less 'liable to = storm
into an office sixty miles away ,,than he
is to wander into the St. Marys town
hall to lodge a complaint or seek an ;ex-
planation. The trip to Goderich would
be a sheer waste of time for the ordin-
ary citizen as his complaint would he
evaporated in the general fogginess' of
receptionists and red tape inherent in
any type of goVernment beauracracy.
r.31
Much' of the trouble in schools and
colleges may be traceable to the fond--;
ness of parents. Many parents are un-
able not 'to spoil the child, By the, time
the child gets old enough to , go to
school, •to college, to university, to vote,
he is too Oki to punish.
Being too old to punish means that
he can, get away with almost anything
on the campuses or -elsewhere. Some-
times hesgets away, literally, with mur-
der.
These comments are not in' any way
contradictory to the statement of Roy-
al Canadian Mounted Police officials
Snow is something you like or dislike.
you can't • just , ignore it. At least net
around these parts. If you ignored it at
our house,-they'd find you In the spring,
in a high state of:decomposition.
Wheul was a kid, I loved snow, The
more ,the better. Fighting in it, rolling
in it, making "angels", washing girls'
faces in it, throwing it at the enemy, and
coming home for..supper rosy-cheeked,
, warm' as toast, and soaked to the skin.
_•,„„ Sothewhere along . the line, our love
'affair has withered and gone stale. Oh, I
admit itiis beautiftil to look at on a bright
winter day, when there's been a fresh
fall 'of a few. inches and the whole world
is. like Adam and Eve. •
But when- it keeps coming down and
coming down; • and you have to 'get 'rid
of it; yeti remember that the above-men- •
flatted pair got kicked out of_paradise,
'and the rest of us have had to' slug it
out ever since.
Putting out the garbage,is a simple
thing. But when the snow is over the top
• of your beets, and' you have, to carry
the cans 80' yards, itts,„,a,Minor night-
Mare.
Deciding in the morning whether or
• not you can rid your way through t}"
three-foot bonus from the snowplowa roes
the 'end' of your drive is similar to ItuS-
rOulettp, I tried it once last week ).
and had to leave the car sitting there like
a Stranded whale, tail sticking ' •
the street and bc!dy straddling the sides
Walk, One hour shovelling after' work. '
We MVO, 'an excellent syStem of Show '
nieettnee in omit town, except that .the
"Operators have. a diabolic .sende Of the ,
perteet moment tarstrike.
the...'brg 'Street. clew lurks arbund the
• ,OdOnet iviii19'YotifahoVel .Yetir driveway
the. -driVer'S'iliate says; ,itY.K.kleos
ready;"tind .iiiey *maid around the .-
. Carnet','aflitr. thin*. about three tons,, of
• Wilk:. iiig,.i*Stleitr.. Sitilla,i4CAn I shovel
nett 6116*;'baCk WO the driireWaY. The.- • „ • . •
'beat them it, to fiat*, stout
••thi$0,4 away as thengh'it tves Molten video.
• the knit Oar out betkWarth1
Most people will, agree that some
form of regionalism is needed in On-
tario. The assessment region is anoth-
er case of the Ontario Government per-
sisting in placing they. Cart ahead of the
horse. .is now quite obvious that this
entire concept of regionalism has been
attacked from the rear end frontwards.
'The first step should have been gener-
al agreement in the province as to what
would constitute good working ar-
rangements for both small and large
regional units; then build school boards,
assessment— and other public services
into these agreed-upon regional units.
-The storm is just beginning to build
around regionalism as it is now being
"plunked" upon us.
. Assessment is an extremely personal
thing. Nothing is more personal as re-
gard to civic interests, than the dent
-placed in your wallet by the assess-
ment and subsequent tax bite. We con-
tend that the concept of one large re-
gional_ office and assessors working in
"flocks"- from this office is basically
wrong. One'central office and we plug
for Mitchell rather 'than Goderich,' with
a relatively small Staff and assessors
who reside in definite areas would not
only make a great deal 'of sense:* it
would also forestall what is going to
be -a -major upheaval qn the part of the
long-suffering ratepayers before the
scheme" is many months old.
"The cold, impersonal approach may
seem fine to certain lordly members of
the gbyerning class, but the' residents
of this part of rural Ontario may only
be pushed a short distance without ex-
cessive kicking." the 'St. Marys paper
concludes.
and others 'that much of the disorder is
the work of malignant interests out to
destroy goyernment and injure the na-
tion. Although, the imporNir, malefac-
tors are not necessarily the tigatora
of the trouble, they are certainly will-
ing at all times to help it aloing.
If parents exercise some discipline
the early years, if they refrain from
criticizing teachers and others' who
are trying to run a good school, it is
possible. that many school troubles .that
start out perhaps as larks may never
get beyond the lark stage. (The Print-
ed Word).
before they make it..
Then we have a sidewalk plow. If you
beat the big plow, the little one will get
you. He conies around when you're at
work and kicks out a one-foot pile on the
street-side and another on the driveway-
side. This is frozen into crusty snow-
ice by the time you get home, and you
' need an Alpenstock to break it up.
. One big help though, is the kids.
They're right on 'the job. If it snows two
inches of fluffy stuff, ;they're at the doer
your walk ', Mister?"' You could do it
yourself without strain, but figure on
assisting free enterprise, give them the
job, and over-pay them.
Comes a real' downfall, say ten inches
of ' that wet, slushy stuff, when every
loaded shovel weighs six pounds and is a
potential coronary, and they're a..11' home
watching television. ,
The final aid is the snowblower. When
the banks have built up to a height where
you causee only your neighbor'S roof and
a bit-of sky, when the banks'are so high
not even the Abominable Snowman would
tackle one, the blower comes around.
And throws 2 tons of snow. salt and sand
Well up onto your lawn. Great for the grass.
Well, if you can't beat them, what do
you do? I've been turning over a scheme.
No dopey snowmobile. No downhill skiing,
because of a couple of crook knees, And
If I wanted to ski, I could do it ilk my OWn
backyard, practising jumps off the plc
table.
No, I've decided to re-learn , to
Take lessons at the local airport. Sur;ly
some of the old skill, such as it wa
still there. I've done plenty o er
flying and it's 'great up there, except en
'you' rim Into a snowstorm and have to et
her doWn in a farmer's field.
- But I could sail along at a couple of
thousand feet and sneer awn at the snow,
enjoy its beauty, and maybe even get to
like the filthy stuff 'again; It would be
a lot bead' than having the snow sager
down at me, as I try to hoist a loaded
shovel onto a seven-foot bank, and wait
for • Oar sharp pain in the cheat with each
tinistt,
ReVolt in :.the' Iiin.dekgarien
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
Daisy, Provided Transportation For Dr. Rogers
By Madeleine Crawford.
My father, Dr. James Rogers,
was one of the last of the horse•and
buggy doctors. He was born in
Belmont in 1874 of middle class
fam ily.His , father, Daniel
Rogers, emigrated from England,
and died soon after his onl son,
Jaines, was born. His mothe ,
Mary (Legge) Rogers came fr
Wales in a sailing ship, bringing
with her small'mementoes - two
little plates and a tiny iron pick-
axe which are still in the'fa,mily.
The journey took three weeks.
M y 'grandmother worked very
hard to get her son through
primary and secondary school.
James, did also, and used to tell
how he pulled flax with the Indians
and other laborers for 50 cents
a day, which was high wages then.
From there he went to model
school, combined with business
school, teaching at a salary of
1250. per year. Somehow, un-
aided, he put himself throtigh
the Medical School at Western
(The following article ha' beea
forwarded to The Expositor by
Mrs. M. Crawford of Forest, a
daughter of the late Dr. James
Rogers of Brucefield)
University. From there 'he went
to the Lake of the Woods Mining
Cowany (no internship in those
days) and taught. He also attended
medically to the Indians and
whites of the community in his
log cabin.
From here the doctor went
to Brucefield in 1901, and 1902 he
married a frail little school
teacher, Mabel Cannom, who in-
vented the sand table, and was
one of the first kindergarten
teachers in London.
She was a talented young lady
=who found it difficult at 'first to
adapt herself to a small town.
ever, she learned from the.
neighbors, especially- from
"Aunty Hill" to make bread,
and to fire four stoves, although
she had never seen a stove be-
fore.
• Three healthy children were
born, two daughters and a son,
James Dudley, who followed in
his father's footsteps: to Strat-
ford Normal School, and later
to Western University. He was
a gold medalist of his class at
24. He died at 54 "with his
boots on," I became a teacher,
my daughter, later, also, and
my sister Elsie remained , at
home. , '
Life for the doctor was long
hours, worry' and hard work.
But it had its lighter side, too.
"Going to sit out the night
with a patient due for a crisis
in pneumonia, the doctor found
the poor man rolled up in
blankets, a coal stove going full
blast, and the windows nailed
shut," he recalled.
The doctor promptly ptitfils
FROM MY WINDOW:
By Shirley Kellar
0
4i144';444444 0441,44,40,44.40,404140,0 40614.....4144.404,44.4 4404.0.
4 •
e 'flu but _you,kpow, . ,,-
u have to prove ,'.••
which strain of tine jf tryOu have before '''''''.:
-you , impress anyone of: note with • your .
-complaint. .
The doctor who called 'on me' in
my hour of need accepted my diagnosis
as correct. He didn't come close enough
to the bed 'to argue, at any rate. He,
simply.. asked me .what was the matter
and I told him I thought I had the flu. He
muttered "M-m-rU-m" and ordered some
pills from the drugstore which he told me
wouldn't do much 'for .the flu. but would
prevent complications :from ,setting .in.
Then he left. • .
Oh yes. He did 'stipulate one mare
thing ' ' well, actually two things. He 'told
"'me • to drink about 15 pints of fluids per
day and to •stay in -.bed.' 'As Most anyone
would realize right away, it is impossible
' to do both at the same time, ' ,
Now that I,ani out and around again,
'I find that everybody has the flu but that
nobody believes it has reached epidemic
proportions. , You see, before it can be
- called an epidemic it must be judged as
such by the local medical Officer of health.
In ,our county the MOH is home in bed
with' the'. flu and Can't be called out to
proclaim a state of emergency.
A. So, as far as the officials are
concerned; there is no serious alarm over
the flu.
Had a chat last night 'with a doctor
who told me his office is full of sick
,people, his telephone is ringing off the
wall because of sick-people and 98. per
cent of 'his calls that day had been on
people 'who have all the signs,. of flu.
Still, he would not admit.there was cause
for concern. He gave the pat answer '- it
is running about normal for this time -of
year. • ,
According to' statistics, January
isn't even considered to be the time for
a'• flu problem. February is nationally
recognized as influenza month. Perhaps
that's why so many .people are' having ,.•
such hick in locating their , doetors at
home ..„ ,,,it seems to me that doctors
usually leave town in droves when the
population really needs them. But this
year, the flu arrived unexpectedly and
caught the doctors just a little off guard.
A couple of doctors I know' are
takifira fe'w days off this week or.riext.
TheY are leaving for points unknown and
are hoping, to return with renewed vigor to
take up the fight against influenza. '
And then you meet the hardy ones
who insist they have the flu now and
have had it for a week 6r -More. They
just_ haven't stopped long enough to have
it properly diagnosed, they say.
It isn't that.. I doubt, their word
entirely. Maybe they do fhb' hitserable,..
perhaps in sympathy with a wife or
husband who has given,. pp and gdne to
bed with the ailment. But 'J. wonder if
It Is much more than,,a, diseaie within
the mind because it takeea mighty strong'
personaiity to do battle ' withihe fin and
stay vertical. , ' arr 0 4* ^ ,.,?).V ,-1(,, Oai
Sa whether you have the,A1, 'A 2 or
A , 3 variety of the flu or whether you
is to stay in
o bed, advice to ' ti
at ....really know for cert W61 all that you have
the flu, my
drink plenty of liquid anti don't write any
columns until You feet much, much better.
Upon lookinrover theSe remarks I
haveltist written,, Wonder if.Vin actually
ready to be writing-again. Maybe I should
have Stayed away froth the typewriter for
yet another week. •
.•I don't know whether or not you
noticed, but there was no column last
week. I just couldn't put qne together
because I was laid low with the flu bug.
I think • it as the flu. It had, all
the symptoms
of coarse; netra.
Centre. -Don Strong; Wings - Ave Stewart.;
Ken Doig; Alternates - Neil Beattie,,Joe•
Lane, G. Wilson, Harold Knight,
At a special meeting of the Tucker-
smith Township council the decision was
reached to purchase' the most modern
power grader equipment available.
'Wm. SteetTVAIO fox' twenty-two years
was editor and manager of the Picton
Times, passed away Jan. 20th. He was
in his 82nd year.
. At the capping.ceremony of•the Bernd-
ton General Hospital, Marguerite West-
catt of Seafortli was capped., Miss West-
cott 'made •an average of 85 per' cent on
the exams. ,,
The property of BeVerley ,Beaton on
Centre Street has been sold to Carmon
Rowcliffe of town, at present serving with
the R.C, A. F. at'jarvis, Ont.
Wellington Johnston sold the well known
Dominion House property and furnishings
in Zurich to his son, -Ross' Johnston.
Mr. and Mks.. Geo. Lowry, M. ,and
Mrs. Arnold Case and Mr. and Mrs.Frank
Kling were in Godericlr atending the
Lowry-McEwen wedding.
Brucefield citizens are to be congratul-
ated on haying a very fine rink this winter.
Seaforth is getting back into its old
curling •stride at the Palace Rink this
winter. Ice conditions have been 'almost
perfect.
Only twice since 1845, the authorities
say, has the month of January ossed
without what is known 'as the January
thaw. This is the second time. The first
was in January 1918. When` for the firSt
time in 73 years the first month 'of the
year, Was not softened' with .the smiles
and redu,ced with the tears of a January
thaw.
.JANUARY 30, 1920.
.• A father ..and son banquet under the
auspices of the sunday school was given
in First Presbyterian Church.
-Saturday was the coldest day of the
year, the thermometer reaching, it is
said, 2'7 below zero. At any rate it Iva/
,cold enough. • ,
Thq- „poUegtatO Institute was :,closed•
this week. and Will not be're-opened uhtilj
February ,9th °Wing. ,to the illness of
four of the teachers and many of the,
pup.118.
Miss Gertrude C rich 'attended the
Normal •At Horne.. and the unveiling of
a Window at Stratford.
A watet famine seems to lie with some
people In Kippen, as many of the wells
are, dry and *Ater in being draWn from
the river.
,Doig of Xlppen, Veteran farmer,
FEBRUARY 2 , 1945.
Mrs. Minnie, Sangster of liensall, has
received a full report from the R,C.A.F.
casualty officer at' Ottawa regarding her
son, Pilot Officer Douglas Sangster, pris-
oner of war in Germany since May 2,1944'. "
Seafoith -defeated Goderich by a
score. of 6 -4 .in a M.O.H.A..,,juvenile
•hockerteague ,game in the Palace -Rink.
A large crowd of sport fans witnessed. the
game. The Seaforth line-up was. Goal -
F. Siren; Defence - Eric Doig, BobStrorig;
Dr. Rogers'. Auto Wa'S Among First
In. the Years Agone
•
The summer hotel at Grand Bend has
been purchased by Mr.,,Bossenberry who
will' run it hereafter. • •
John li. Grainger of ,Hullett, has the
contract of supplying about 10,000 feet,
Of hemlock for the 'Summer hill cheese:
factory which is to be erected this spring.
Thos. Shobbrook of Hullett has let the
contract to.Thos. McKenzie of Clinton for
a new brick house.
James Rapson of coestance•hati the
, misfortune to cut a bad gash his foot,
which will keep him in for awhile.
Edward Jarmain of Constance held a
successful' wood bee and gave the young
people a party in the eveeing.
. Scarcely had the stOrm of 'last week
subsided, whelk it was followed by one
much worse. 'The wind blew a perfect
hurricaneand the roads in all directions
were packed full. It was almost a con-
tinuous holiday in tovih.
-The fancy dress carnival in the new
skating rink was a success in point,,of
Variety and" elegance.
Geollge . Haxby , of Seaforth• has
purchased a barbering business in Clinton,
and has cast in his lot witlythe people of
that town. ,
Wm. Hartry, who for several years has
been employed in the Broadfoot and Box
Furniture Factory here, has gone to Walk=
erton where he has secured a similar
establishment there.
The Forrester's Ball, held at Bruce-
field, was a very pleasant and successful
affair. There were about 30 couples
present.
Mr. Alex Mustard of Brucefield has
leased his sawmill and chopping mill to
Josiah Watson. "
M. Williams, 5th concession of Tucker-
smith has purchased the Atkinson home-
stead on the 4th concession of Hibbartt
containing 100 acres ,,,for the sum of
$4,250.00.
Mathew Scott of Tuckersrnith, who had
his two barns burned by lightning last
fall, has let the contract of building two
large barns 'On the waIlS, to Patrick
Keating of Seaforth.
!A new brick school house is to be
built in S.S.No, 2, Tuckersmith,(Broad-
foots) during tote corning Season.
Jafnes Cooper 'of Kippen has a fine
flock of yoting' lambs, sa fen in all,which
are all doing well.,..only realizing they
had come to a cord climate.
A really jolly sleigh load of the Varna
people left for Brucefield Station, there
for meet and Mrs. Thos. Fallts. Mrs.
Failis was forme'rly Miss Mary Blair,
the tpohpeuisatorrsmchtiootliatesaetcwheeer. k
blew down the
chimney of Fred yhubb'S blacksmith shop.
We are, pleased to state that' the second
prize of $25,06 given for the Second
largest yield from five bushels .sown of
the nbw Lincoln introduced by Mr.
Sdott of this town, has been securer/ 4
Robert Armstrong of the Bronze Medal
tarter, towh tine, Ilullett.
met with an accident while working at
Mr.- Fitzgerald's, when 'he slipped on some •
stair steps and, cut his jaw.
-FEBRUARY 1 , 1895..
Br ucefield
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