HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1977-03-24, Page 2Since 1860, Serving the Community First
fmositor Duran
A police force can't work
effectively when citizens doubt its
credibility. A town council 'accused of
covering things up cannot plan ahead
and _Move on iseues if Apeople lack
confidence in it.
That's why" this newspaper believes
that Seaforth Town Council was
wrong whek it took no action on a
request from former policeman Ron _
Lauzon's lawyer that it ask the
.Ontario Police Commission to conduct
a hearing -into Mr. Lauzon's case.
We have no reason to doubt Mayor '
• Betty Cardno's statement at last
week's meeting that the 1976 council
handled the Lauzon case to the best
of its' ability according to advice from
the OPC, obtained by Chief !.lohn
Cairns. •
And the mayor is correct in saying
that the first official request for a
hearing came at, Monday night's
meeting, four months after t. the
disputed resignation. '
But council, well aware that
rumour, charges and counter charges
about the resignation and the charges
Mr. Lauzon might have-faced were
common talk around town,- did
--nothing to encourage Mr. LaUzon's
defenders to bring their case to
. council and get it out in the open.
In fact,those who felt that Mr,-
Lauzon got a raw deai from the town
say .they were threatened with
prosecution under the Police Act if
they nsisted presenting -a petition-
asking fora hearing to council.
This kind of talk didn't help to
reassure people worried about a
miscarriage oLjustice, and who were
concerned that perhaps something
was being, covered
Looking back, it probably -would
have been in the best interests Of all
concerned for council to have opened
the matter up to public scrutiny back
In the fall and asked for an OPC
investigation and hearing rather than
to discourage those who sought one.
It also- would have- been in Mr.,
Lauzon's best, Interests had 'he not,
resigned.
But hindsight is easy . Mr. Latizon
resigned without taking time to think`"
over his position clearly.• Town council,
believed they were acting correctly by
discouraging dissent and attempting
to get on with new busitiais.
Both council and.Mr. Lauzon and
his supporters' are apparently sincere
and believe that their version of last
fall's, events are correct. Mr. Lauzon
has attracted- the interest of Huron
Middlesex MPP Jack RicIdelLand
Ontario Ombudsman Arthur
Maloney.
The truth may lie somewhere
between caltidil's and Mr. Lauzon's
positions or perhaps it is equally
distributed on both sides and the
problem is a lack of communication
and trust.
But the point is, no one kn,ows for
• sure what the truth about the Lauzon
case is. That's why we bell eve that a,
hearing 'before independent
objective body, the Ontario Police
ComMission is necesSary.
And if council won't ask for a
hearing , and lf:Mr. Lauzon's attorney
doesn't, the: OPC should initiate an
investigation into the matter on its
own.
That's the only way the rumours,
charges anecounter charges being
thrown about by many of those
involved- can ' be cleared up.
OtherWise Seaforth council and
police 'will continue to be handicapped
because they'll be working under a
cloud 'of clOubt.
••
Althining "results are contained..._.ni •-•ia
research report by the Ontario -Institute, far
studiesin Education. commissioned jointly by
the ministry of education and the ministry of
colleges and universities. The report revealed
that• half of the students , flunked the
mathematics achievement test. Almost half
failed the test for reading ',comprehension and'
language achievement • Tin '• English. , An;
incredible 90% of them thooted the
achieVement test in physics. •
The repot was part of a,-government effort
to identify 'Interface" problems between the
. high schools and. post secondaryinstitiltions, :-•
particularly the coftheard--e-omplaint that
students are ncit: adequately prepared in the
sescondary schpOli for university.
The students tested were ,.V a statistically
valid sample of • the graduatiOn classes in
Ontariciligh- schools last spring. The results
cited above apply to_ English speaking
students in-Grade 13, the fifth--y'ear of Ontario,
high s-chool, the great majority of whom had•
the intention _when the tests were taken . of
• going on to -university (and no doubt, did)„
.• Upgraded
Meanwhile, the physical education
specialists an Ontario have argued persistently
that school physical education needs,to be
' upgraded. A _report to the federalgovertiment -
by the Canadian - Association of Health
-Physical Education and Recreation has now
made the atgument at a national level.
One'tif
„
the most „persuasive arguments for
improving' physical editeatiOn standards is
thatltiidetifs who feel Well-physically have a-
• healtbier. attitude tower& their academic
wait and create fewer discipline prObletias.
Physical education should mucha part of
a stuent'.s.,..,cver-all development .as the'
academic subjects. • .
30 Mlittites
A recent federal'-report suggested that
'ittidelitS should receive at least 30 minutes f' . o
• phySical ,edueatipn• each day and that each.,
school should. hAve • A :P.:t,,ipeOlitliSic this
report IS..very Impractical for More than one -
reason- barn* this report raised thelevel::of
teacher? tone*, Other reports have Paatity.
'Battier, :we mentioned a tea-Welt report
wvhich
i
hetevealed- i
inatheliiatiek Achievement test, teriding
-eompreheindini and latignage: anhieOniefit
.• •
-..•
tests plus the physics achievement test , The-
educators are confronted with the academic
concern to be folloWed quickly by the•physical
and health concern. .Their position can be
likened to the boy:Using his fingers to stop the
leaks in the dike (dam).
How toelve these current. problems that
face schools • in the midst of a tight money
policy so :that the academic gets proper
Consideration in the five hour -daily exposure,
which schedules phisical education on a thirty -
minute basis is indeed a mammoth. task.
ln,my opinion, priorities must be the order
of scheduling the schools timetables: I firmly.
agree that we must "get-back -to. the core
subjects, and give theM the :necessary time
allotment in. all' elenientary and secondary.
schools. At present,' this would not allow
•-'• expanded time required, fOr physical education
of thirty minutes each day. I' don't believe that
ankacademic subjects be dropped or Curtailed
to make room for more physical education
• during the school clay., •
Imposilble
There are 5,000 eleMentary schools in
Ontario and to hire 5,000 physical education
spedialistsis both impossible and impractical
with the financial restrictions imposed on
schook:.'86me parents suggest courses they
feel could,be safely and profitablYtiodified to
accommodate phys. pd. ClaSSeS. Others
ask if the school days 'could be.lengthened by
half an hour. I firtnlybebeve the solution can
be found with the-CoininUnity assistance,..The
early-picture of the saiools with moats built
aretind them is fast diSappearifig and today
many a draw-bridge offers an avenue of right
of way to the tax paying public.' Parents need
be called on to use the schools more often and
More profitably. 'At ter school,
and
.fittfeis .
should be ,encouraged and otganized
programs for -brOWnies, cubs, scouts. and
guides are all . available from the: Young
Olympians of Canada. The new features of
are the atitiknnd: *Miner tampers
keep -tit activities. A.'s. vitty,,`ItiotePE.time'
'can be enjoyed andat .',they.s#: l'ulamily that
PlAyS, together stays together. • ..
Wish to•teterto' Hatolddreer
'journalist tindllt-London free Press editorial
for some of the' statistics that rieSeittelied.
Al46'4hkettittilF
” Stratford.
• live in peace -- not just beside each other in,
cages and:Pens, But among one another.
. By the time I got tothe other side of the
barn,1'd passed another pig--or was it the
same one? -- two small calves and six kids
-- four of Alex's and two of my. own.
"Don't look up now," said Lloyd, "Yen,
are supposed to turn when they're jealous. may get an egg 'in your eye," But I had to
And I just know old Isaiah would envy look up. ,And there on some pipes' in the
me. He had a I dream -that's true.He :rafters perched' four chickens -- all
dreamed Of a time when men would live in feathered in black and triiiiitied- in
I saw, a vision. No, it wasn:t a, vision, It_ ,
was the real thing right before 'my eyes. It
was there -- in front of me -- in Alex
Drummond's barn.
I saw something in his barn last Sunday
that would turn the prophet Isaiah green.
say green because that's the colour people
peace'. And not only men, but animals too.
He looked forward to the time 'when the
'wolfe' would dwell with the lamb and the
shimmering colours a peacock couldn't
outdo.
Some rabbits ran loose in the hay mow.
Oh, theanimals have stalls and tie-ups
alright.' But they're not permanently
.grounded. Alex leaves loopholes. If one
decides, he's had enough of the four walls
of the stall, he can leave -- take a walk
down the aisle.
And in that aisle' I met the handsomest
- goat 'I ever did see. With branching horns
-that But this
was a • gentle goat. NO lowered head. -
Glowering. Backing up to bunt. ObViously
hornsriiadn't all gone to her head. And why
should they? , This goat lives in: 'Alex
Drummond's barn. They've 'all learned to
To the editor
On kindergarten admis,sion
drink milk and eat .hay. ,out of the same No compartments. No• rows of desks, only
trough-with a 'goat. rounds of 'desks.
It's free and open. The kids have their
heads 4 And they're good heads. Fine
heads. Responsible ,heads. They thrive and
grow.
of us jumped or scrambled away. We both I saw those fine animals thrive and grow
- minded our own business., Obviou the in a born-free barn -- in.Alex Drummond's
pig knew where she was going -- outside barn. They weren't just sticking with their
fora breath of fresh air. I watched her out own kind. They learned to live together --
of the corner of my eye.
•
• despite their differences. Only once did- a
-And I knew where I was going., I wanted cow nip at a goat's ear.She just wanted to,
• to go to the far, side and see the goats. move her over -- not out.
leopard would lie down with the kid and the - See, it might be easy to enforce a neat
calf and the lion and the fading live all and orderly peace. Lock everyone op.age
him. But !lot him in his stall. This fa --no
more. • ,
But Alex's barn isn't like thaf...-• His
animals are lucky. They're like kids in a
anything about us middle-aged guys. It free school --'„an open school. If they want
didn't have to. We see it like it is. And I: to get 'up from their desk and' sharpen a
saw it like is. , . .
pencil, they do it. No persmission needed. •1 I saw peace in Alex Drummond's barn. I If they need a book on the next floor up,
'saw a goat lie down with a pig. I saw.a calf they go and get it. Plenty of wide spaces.
together.
That was Isaiah's dream. And according
to the Bible, old men do dream dreams and
young men see visions.. But it doesn't say
And I saw me walking 'down- the. aisle
Way and meeting a. pig headed in the other
direction. I didn't pay any attention to her.
I just let her pass. But the point is neither
And I stood by the cows in perfect peace.
There's a few things you have to fear when
you stand at the 'rear of any animals. Tails:
Heels. Hooves. But not Alex's. For-his
,animals are a gentle lo t. They're used to
him and his kids and they're used to each
other.
And here all along I thought the pastors
in the churches were the ones to offer their
- -flocks- -a- peate--that- ,suipasseth--alf-- --- --
understanding.
But Ala- Drummond as shepherd of his
own flock does a mighty fine job' of living
out what some of us only talk and dream
' about.
ti
To the Editor':
. Before Christmas thelloard of Education
was presented with faVourable documenta-
tion-from Huron County Health Unit and
the supervisor of •Vanastra Day Care
Centre on my kn's readiness for a
kindergarten program. On advice from Mr.
,Coehrane, Direttor of Education' and •
fairness can this rule apply to"-Sorne
children and not others?
. Mr. Cochrane expressed some concern
regarding the capabilities of the Health
Unit administering • the . Denver
Developmeht Test. 'Is it possible that since
the nurses have been doing this. testing
some 4.5 years that Mr. Cochrane has not
advisor to the school board for Mixon familiarized 'himself with this reputable
•, _County_it_vvas_decidedin-mid-FebruarY,, not - test-WITCH incidently is done inthe majority
to rower , the• present ruling that of Ontario's counties by Public . Health
Nurses. •
- There are• very few children in our county
who are not tested by the Health Unit prior
to Kindergarten admission„ This testing
. deterinines , a child's personal-Social
growth language development, fine , and
gross motor control. Even though this test
is used extensively in North America it is
not •thought to be a guide 'line by'Huron
County's Education leader.
Miss McEwing, Day C Are Supervisor-at
Vanastra, very willingly approached the
Board members on my son's readiness but
tiffs wasn't thought be appropriate to
determine readiness in all children who
problems 9r in a child's best interst to send . might be mature enough to handle
• hint,
The Secondrcase Wets to a child who •
attended-a-Junior Kindergarten in an area
thatiaccepts children for Jr, Kgnt. who are
4 by ,end Of.March; so consequently When
this family' moved into Huron County this teachers. •
child is tioW enrolled, in • regular Kgrit, _I Stress that the Huron County Board of
regardless'of the fact that he will not,be S education members ate dodging their
7 . ' until this month. Mi. Cochrane interprets
the "Act assaying once a child has been too late fot my child but hopefully not for
accepted in the public school system that --the future ehildren who qualify, Perhaps
this Mutt tint be interrupted. This seems" - better edmitittnication with other services
logienl if a• Child is 6 years which is the isittaorr County might be a god: Place to
' 01'110100 age that a child must. attend a
school but I am discussing kindereatitten
which is ;not coin/Mite*. Now in R all ,
AtheMattene
.B.),Seitfotth.
must be 5 before or on December-3Ist of
the current year.
There are at present two 'exceptions , to
this rule. • Namely tWo health problems
that ' • are attending kindergarten,
premately in order to receive help in
socializing.ThiS I feel is a decidely good
step but knocks Mr. Cochrane's advice that
children should not be pushed to school' too
soon. Both of these children were referred
to the Board of Education by a Centre that
specializes with ;children-and therefore the
experts must feel some merit in suggesting
that underage children be admitted to our
Public Schools whether because of 'health
Kindergarten prematurely as how could
they be observed by qualified Early
Childhood iiersonnel? Mosts of our towns
with the exception of Seaforth do have
'"Nursery.:. Schools with experienced
responsibilities to some children, It may be-
02-
od
In the Years Agone
••••••60.-
Published at. 5BAF6RTH, ONTARIO, every Thursday morning by McLEAN BRAS. PUBLISHERS LTI5
ANDREW y, McLEAN, Publisher
SUSAN WHITE, Editor
DAVE ROBB, Advertising Manager •
Member Canadian Community NeWspaper•Association
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association
, and Audit Bureau-of Circulation
Subscription Rates:
,Canada(in adva,nce)$11.00 a Year
Outside Canada (in advance) $20.00 a Year •
SINGLE COPIES — 25 CENTS EACH
Second Class Mail Registration Number 0696
Telephone 527-0240'
SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, MARCH 24, 1977
An end to rumour s
Springs freezing
Amen by Karl Schuessler
They live' in peace MA,RCH22, 1877
The Spring show for . the Exhibition of entire horses in
connection with the Mullett Branch Agricultural Society will
be, held in Clinton.
Wm. Robb of Harpurhey left at the office an egg layed by
one of his hens which measured. 8" one way and 6% the
other.
Mr. Lusby has finished taking theca's& of Seifoith. The
--population is' 2573 An increase of 447.
MARCH 14, 1902
John McNevin of Kippen sold to James Mustard a young
•• span of horses, coming 3 years old, at a good. figure.
C.R.W atner of Zurich has disose,d of his 100 acre_farm to
G. Clausius of near Hillsgreen.
Quite a number Of persons have brought maple syrup into ..
• the village. •
A team of horses belonging to Wm-. Cameron, Mill Road,
Tuckersmith, ran away. When opposite W.N.Watson's office
the line, which .was tied-in the bottom of the box, 'were drawn
tight pulling • the team to. a standstill.
John Aitcheson of the NOrth road .McKillop, met with a
severe mishap. He fell downstairs with serious injuries,
Sam CarnoChan an employee at Richard Clark's'
met with an unfortunate:acciderit. He 'was assisting rolling
logs, when and :tiler log rolled and his right leg breaking the
bone between the knee and the ankle. , John Scarlettg,
McKillop is at Petrolia attending a meeting of the Grand .
Orange Lodge.
MARCH 18,1927
Fred Eckert who motored to Buffalo, accompanied by Mr.
and Mrs. Con Eckert and their son Joe, have returned and
report the highvia'y from Dublin to Buffalo is in good
condition. - •
The stag euchre held in winthrop Hall was well attended.
-Winning prizes' were, tie for niest games. P. 'Little, Joseph
Dolmage, James Smith-and Andrew Coulter;
E.H.Close of town is open for business in his new stand in
the Cardno Block.
G.A.Sills, J. M.Govenlock and K.M. Mclean were in
Clinton attending the. funeral of the late Thos. Fraser "for
many nyears .one Of the prominentmen in the South Riding of
Huron.
AndreW Archibald moved, this 'week into his residence on
Centre St. recently occ upied 'by E.R.Crawford.
Thos. Jackson leaves for. Battle Creek where he will spend '
several weeks..
Miss Lou Campbell of town has returned to her home after
spending •the winter in Toronto.
Lockhart Johnson formerly of Varna and Seiforth, has been
--appointed manager-of-the `Windsor•-Walkerville branch--of
,emington Typewriters Ltd.
\Mr. and Mrs. Wilford Laporte and family of Zurich left for
Windsor where they will make their future home:
Carmel Presbyterian Church at Hensel] this week
purchased from Mrs. Alex McMurtrie, her fine two storey
brick dwelli ng for a manse.
Alvin Wurm of HensalI left last week for Port Hurnii Where
- he has secured a position. •
The Shamrock tea under the auspices of the' Barbara
Kirkman Aux. of First Presb3rterianChurch held at the home
of Mrs. M. McKellar was a successful and delightful function,
Many friends' in Seaforth regret to learn of the death of Dr.
W.G.Hastie, who was 67 years old.
The death of Mrs. John H. HayS'occurred of one who was
well known and greatly respected. She was the daughter of •
the late John Sproat of Tuckersmith ,
Messrs. O'Brien and.Wilson of Staffa are unloading a car of
corn.
• Arnold Jeffrey of Staffa was able to leave the hospital after
being confined With Scarlet Fever for four Weeks.
MARCH 21, 1952
Two Seaforth ladies suffered fractured hiPs in falls which
occurred only a few hours apart. Mrs'. Thos. Sharp tripped on
a hole On GOderich St. and fractured her hip. The other was
Miss Emily Osmond, who fell as she was leaving 'a neighbor's
house. -/
Miss Dorothy Enzensberger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Henry Enzensberger, McKillop, received first class honors in
Grade 2, theory at the winter examinations with the Western
Ontario ' Conservatory of Music.
The congregation of St. Theinits' Anglican Church
presented.R.ararke with a rest-rocker, chair and a wallet at a
social gathering -as an official of the church. The presentation
was made-by Robert Archibald and T.T.Jackson.
Donald Munn, son of Dr. and Mrs. Jas, A. Munn will
interne in St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, B.C.
Some 70 friends and neighbors met at the home of Mrs. _
Wilson Campbell, McKillop to compliment Miss Joyce Pfaff ,
bride-elect , to present her with a miscellaneous presentation.
Miss Elizabeth Taylor read the addreSs and the presentation
being made by Miss ,.Dorothy Taylor and Marjorie Pfaff.
Elmer ItiverSwoti a pop-up toaster in a draw made by the
Shrine Club which was held In Stratford recently.
Win, Pepper well known Stanley Twp. farmer died in his
sleep. Death was due to a ,heart attack,
Ralph Davidson, .who is employed at the Whyte Picking
co., Stratford, was badly bittned on the artn by steam.
A pretty spring wedding was held in Victoria ("hitch,
Toronto, by the Rev. Douglas Stewart, when Bertha Lenore
Habkirk was united'In. Marriage to Douglas F, Huddles* of
Bellev ille.
Mri and Mrs. Win Wilbee have til'oivi'd Into the iotTi6 on
Georg • Si. 'which they pUrchased „froth' the Agnes-Boyd
Estate.
— V
To the editor
•
PE and ailiitv students
-
124
7_