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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1970-07-02, Page 44 Clinton News-Record, Thursday,. July 2 R 1$70. 101torial fOginent Tighter rules on taxis Town Council Monday night aPproved new rules governing the licencing of taxis and taxi drivers Monday night, then had a tough time deciding whether or not to allow a new taxi licence tp be granted at the present time. The council was divided by the fact that they thought an addition to the number of taxi operators in town might force someone, the new owner or one of the old, into bankruptcy. Several of the councillors who voted for the refusal of a new licence said they did it because they thought the applicant didn't know what he was getting into. Other councillors argued that the town didn't have the right to decide for a man whether or not he had made a good business decision. Nearly all the councillors felt present service could be improved but thought an addition would be crowding an already small market. The problem that faced council was that competition was uneconomical at present but that competition seemed the only way to ensure that the people of the town were given the best possible service. It would be hard to argue against their decision that the town can only support so many taxis right now but at the same time a high •degree of service must be upheld. Perhaps the council could achieve, both objectives by providing a tighter review of the service provided by the taxi owners before they are granted a new taxi licence each year, Drivers and owners would be more apt to be on their toes at all times if they knew that they might lose their licence for poor service. Good luck This Sunday will see the first results of one of the biggest gambles ever made by a service club in this area. When post time rolls around Sunday at 2 p.m. at Clinton Raceway members of the Clinton Kinsmen Club, who have just laid something like $20,000 on the line, will get their first peek at whether their gamble to make Clinton a horseracing town will pay off or not. The club has a lot of odds in its favour in the gamble. For one thing, Sunday races are something relatively new in this country and very few centres have them. Even Western Fair Raceway in London is closed on Sunday. This means there is little competition. Race lovers can take in the races in the nice afternoon sunshine rather than at night as at most tracks. Because other tracks are closed, there should be plenty of good horses on hand to make sure the competition on the track will be top-flight. Another advantage is that the raceway is in Community Park with its picnic facilities, swimming pool and playground for the kids which should encourage whole families to. attend. To these odds though, the• .Kinsmen have been smart enough to add a few odds of their own. They built the most modern facilities available and are using the best equipment. They brought in experienced personnel to handle the technical side of the operation rather than trying to muddle their way through themselves. The Kinsmen aren't in this just for the fun of it, of course. They hope to make money so their club can add to its own coffers. But although they have a certain self-interest in the project, the whole town owes,a debt of gratitude and a wish of good luck to the club. At a time when things don't look as bright for Clinton as we would like, the Kinsmen have made a big gamble on the future of their town. Not only have they undertaken the racing, but they have also helped to give Community Park a clean new look with their project to renovate the ball park, a project which is also just about finished. And in this case what is good for the Kinsmen is also good for. the town. Economists have proved that every dollar spent generates three more dollars in the economy, so every dollar spent at the raceway by people from outside Clinton will bring good for merchants and the town of Clinton in general. The races could become one of the biggest things to happen to Clinton in a long time so all we can say to the whole effort is Good Luck. Sweet memories of Dominion Day Memories a AG-t04' AEA+ When the going is bad E Vic SEALL R VICES" ON PN TIME Wesley-Willis — Hdlmesville United Churches REV. A. J. MOWATT, C.D., B.A., B.D., D.D., Minister MR. LORNE POTTEP,ER, Organist and Choir Director SUNDAY, JULY 5th CHRISTIAN REFORMED CI-IURCH, Clinton 263 Princess Avenue Pastor: Alvin Beukema, B.A., B.D. Services: 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. (On 2nd and 4th Sunday, 9:30 a,m.) The Church of the Back to God Hour every Sunday. 12:30 p.m., CHLO — Everyone Welcome — BAYFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH SUNDAY, JULY 5th Sunday School: 10:00 a.m. Morning Worship; 11.:00 a.m. Evening Gospel Service: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. — Prayer meeting. Clinton SUNDAY, JULY 5th TRINITY 11:30 a.m. — Matins and Sermon. \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ • \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 111 \ \ \ \ \ \ • • 1 s. \ 1 \ \ \ • \ \ \ OPTOMETRY J. E. LONGSTAFF OPTOMETRIST Mondays and Wednesdays 20 ISAAC STREET For Appointment Phone 482-7010 SEAFORTH OFFICE 527-1240 R. W. BELL OPTOMETRIST The Square, GODERICH 524-7661 INSURANCE K. W. COLQUHOUN INSURANCE & REAL ESTATE Phones: Office 482-9747 Res. 482-7804 HAL HARTLEY Phone 482-6693 LAWSON AND WISE INSURANCE — REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS Clinton Office: 482-9644 J. T. Wise, Res.: 482-7265 ALUMINUM PRODUCTS For Air-Master Aluminum Doors and Windows and AWNINGS and RAILINGS JERVIS SALES R. L. Jervis — 68 Albert St. Clinton — 482-9390 W. G. "BILL" RIEHL CalendarS & Gifts Magnetic Signs AbVERTISING SPECIALTIES For Cars & Truckt "DiSplay Showroom On Wheels" 24 NORTH ST. — CLINTON ONTARIO STREET UNITEO CHURCH "THE FR falbt-Y. R CH" Pastor: REV. H. W. WCINf OR, B-Sc,, ELCOrn., Organi#1 M1S51,01$ GRASI3Y. ,A-R•C•T• SUNRAY, JULY 6th 11:00 aan. Morning Worship and Junior Congregation (Wesley-Willis congregation will worship in Ontario St. Church until the end- of July). Sermon Subject; "WHERE ARE YOUR TREASURES?" Rev. A. 1,. Mowatt. WESLEY-WILLIS The congregation will worship at the Ontario St. United • Church until the end of July with Dr. Mowatt preaching ST., ANDREW'S PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH- The Rev, R. U. MacLean, B.A., Minister Mrs. B, Boyes, Organist and Choir Director SUNDAY, JULY 5th 9:30 a.m. — Morning Worship. 10:30 a.m. — Sunday School. J CALVARY PENTECOSTAL CHURCH 166 Victoria Street Pastor: Donald Forrest SUNDAY, JULY 5th Sunday School: 9:45 a.m. Morning Worship: 11:00 a.m. Evangelistic Service: 7:00 p.m. Business and Professional Directory DIESEL Pumps and Injectors Repaired For All Popular Makes Huron Fuel Injection Equipment Bayfield Rd., Clinton-482-7971 Price Waterhouse & Co. chartered acc8untahts ROYAL I3ANK BUILDING 383 RICHMOND STOtT LONDON 12, ONTARIO Offiee ih jsrinipai cities Acthit cola& 00630;WIWIMMIIMSSIMOI 4 THE E CLINTON NEW ERA Anialgamated THE HURON NEWS-RECORD stahed 1865 1924 Established 1801 Clinton News-Record A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, OhtariO Weekly Newspaper ASsoCiation and the Audit Bureau of Cireulatioh (ABC) second class Mail registration number — oal/ SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (IP advance} Canada, $6.06 per year; U.S.A., $7.50 KEITH W, RbIJLSTON — Editor J. HOWARD AITKEN — General Manager Published every Thursday at the heart of Huron County Clinton, Ontario Population 3,475 PR.E' HOME OF RADAR IN CANADA One of the last, and one of the few traditional Canadian holidays is under attack by the termites who want to turn every holiday into a holiday weekend. The grand old 24th of May, with scorched fingers and the pungent stink of firecrackers, has been whittled into just another Monday holiday. They're chipping away at Remembrance Day. And the only day of truly national Canadian importance, Celebrating the birth of our nation, is due to go under to the pressures of commercialism. Hardly anybody calls it Dominion Day anymore, and some industries and business firms simply ignore it. When I was an urehing, it was an impressive holiday. There were bands and baseball games, parades and panoply, and interminable speeches about our great Dominion, the Fathers of Confederation, ties with Empire, and what a great guy the Mayor was. It meant that school was really over, at last, tha'., the endless glorious summer had finally begun. It was a strong punctuation mark in the year. If you had a cottage, it meant your dad had a day off to drive the family there, get them settled, get the boat out. It was Often an all-day job for the old man, with an average of about three flat tires en route, If you didn't have a cottage, and most didn't, you went to the ball game, or swam in the river, or went fishing, or had a family picnic. If you had a car. Many didn't. Those were peaceful days in the small towns. There was no frantic scramble for the tourist dollar because there were few tourists. Summer was a time to take it easy. The days were hot and long. The evenings were full of hot smells and children's voices, and parents rocking on the front porch. Lemonade or an ice cream cone topped off the day, which seemed 66 hours of enjoying life. What a change in those (comparatively) few years. Today, with good roads, a car in every garage, and a restless populace; summer begins back around Easter, with thousands thronging the highways to get somewhere. I'm not complaining, or trying to hold up progress, whatever that is. Just feeling a bit nostalgic about the leisurely pace of those days, and wondering why we're all rushing around like nuts, today. But I can tell you one thing. The clip-clop of a horse and buggy on a soft summer evening was a lot lovelier than the squeal of tires and the bellow of motor-bikes. This summer, I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I'd half planned to go to England and Scotland, and just mosey around looking up some old pubs, old cathedrals and old girlfriends. But my wife isn't keen. She's not much for pubs, considers one old cathedral much like another, and would probably come to verbal blows with the old girlfriends. To clinch the latter, both our student offspring are among the vast army of the unemployed, At least, Hugh hasn't a job. Last report, Kim had one, as she explained when she called to borrow money on the strength of her job, but it, was handling food, and she's been knocking over glasses of milk and dropping cups since she was one, so we figure she's been fired. But there's a, beautiful alternative to the overseas trip. In a letter to weekly editors, I suggested I might hire a trailer this summer. The response was overwhelming, though I wasn't fishing for invitations, just warning them, so that they could get out of town. Alberta steaks, Nova Scoatia sea-food and rum, tuna fishing off beautiful Isle Madame, Cape Breton. And a dozen others, offering everything from accommodations to libations. Can't you see me with a six-hundred-pound tuna on the other end of a line? Hope we can make some of them. It may just be the best summer yet, despite the fact that they're tinkering around with The First of July, Reading today about the strange career of a bloke named George Low, I've been wondering if there might not be golden opportunities for his kind of consultant in fields other than golf. An ex-champion who no longer plays competitively, George now 'follows the professionals on "the gold trail." He makes a comfortable living, it seems, simply by giving advice to players who have fallen into that evil condition known as "the putting slump." Gripped by the tremors and vapors, the mightiest of the par-busters are said to turn desperately to George for help. It is his simple job to demonstrate the principles of the putting stroke and to shore up their sagging confidence with cajolery, praise and lies. "The slump" is, of course, a familiar phenomenon in athletics, often an inexplicable combination of hard luck and a dulling of the fine edge of rhythm and co-ordination. In sports it is a recognized affliction that usually invites sympathy. Yet almost any other public performer — actor, concert pianist, architect, lecturer, writer, clergyman — can expect only hostile criticism I'm afraid my future in this hip, swinging world is bound to be dull, dull, dull. To listen to the "in" people these days, the turned-on world of the future will depend on mind-expanding drugs like pot, speed and LSD for inspiration and jubilation. Well it looks like I'll always just be a square — or is it square to. say square in this Modern terminology, Of course that won't be anything especially new, One of the reasons I'd never make it with marijuana is that I never even made it with good old-fashioned, clean-cut, all-Canadian cigarettes. Only once did I ever tangle with the weed, and I lost rather should he, too, fall into a transient period when he's operating below his peak. From what I've been able to observe the symptoms seem • much the ;ame in every calling. There's a sort of freezing process that temporarily chills any natural ability or experience. It can be the coldest day, week or month of the year. I know of no conscientious writer, for example, who hasn't at some time or other rolled a virgin sheet of copy paper into his machine and sat there, as if clubbed between the horns, utterly certain that he has absolutely nothing to say, ever, again. Like the professional golfer's round marred by three-putt greens or the famous slugger's hitless day at the plate, this initial, involuntary disaster may lead to a more permanent, self-induced catastrophe that comes through a loss of confidence. Confidence isn't everything, of course, but without it all other strengths or skills are helpless. You can't fake confidence. You can't command it sternly to return when it has abandoned you. You can't substitute mere insouciance or indifference for it. You have it disgracefully. That was when I was about five years old. My father, a veteran hacker from way back, was puffing away on a home-rolled cigarette while working around the farm. He handed me his cigarette so he could have both hands free for a particularly difficult bit of work. Standing there, cigarette in hand, I was unable to resit - the temptation, I put it to my lips, inhaled, choked, gasped, wheezed and got a hot ash in my eye to boot. About the closest I've come to a cigarette since was at some of those parties where smokers try to asphyxiate non-smokers. As for trying the drug taken with a needle, I develop a rash at or you don't and if you don't the putts don't go down, the ball isn't in the bleachers, the words don't line up on paper as they should. The living hell of is that it is so cumulative, Often one failure piles upon another until "the slump" has run its course and, as mysteriously as it came, leaves. What every man needs, really, is his own George Low to ease the particular dilemma of being lost in horse latitudes of his own making. The trouble is that, unlike the athelete, the average man's periods of failure.''are-seldom a matter of public concern or compassion and must be endured with patient loneliness, too proud to call for help, too hopeful that nobody will notice or care that we're temporarily in trouble. Yet how often just such consolation as that offered by George Low would be the instant solution! The calming advice of a little adjustment here, a little adjustment there, the reassuring voice of the observer, Might bring back confidence for yet another day. And, 'come to think of it, I wonder what George Low does when he-gets in His slump? Keith Roulston the mere thought of getting a booster shot. And to me hash is still something made with leftover roast beef. So you can see my future is hopeless, but then as I said earlier, that's really nothing new. The old-time elixer, demon rum, has never really been my favourite vice either. Not to say I've never taken a drink, just that if the bars depended on my patronage the Hotel Clinton wouldn't be on Cloud Nine. Thus my inspiration will have to continue to stern from the fact that without ideas wouldn't have a job and without a job I wouldn't eat. As for my jubilation, how about a nice rousing game of checkers. From our early files is not available Mostly in fun •••••••••.. CLOSED FOR VACATION JULY 7 to 13 INCLUSIVE EDITH-ANNE HAIR FASHIONS 23 GIBBINGS ST. CLINTON