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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1972-01-06, Page 4Winter perspective Letter to the, Editor Before you turn the key... fasten your seat belts! A complaint was received' at the News-Record office the other day about piles of snow at the corners of streets that block the sidewalk. It appears the town snow removal crews clean the sidewalks first before plowing the streets and as a result the snow taken off the streets blocks the sidewalks. As was pointed out to us, these piles of snow on the sidewalks make it very arduous and downright dangerous for senior citizens to travel the streets and hinder many citizens who are not senior, too. Certainly something must be done about this and the situation can be remedied by simply switching the order of what gets plowed first. But this brings up the larger problem of snow removal in the town. As mayor Don Symons has pointed out from time to time, citizens seem to expect more and more from their local government. It used to be that everyone shovelled his own walk in front of his house and thus the sidewalks were all clear of snow. But soon people began to want the town to, do it for them so now there is a sidewalk plow. But every year the town received complaints that this sidewalk was not plowed or that corner was not properly cleared, And then people wonder why snow removal costs are so high. Where will it end? Well, if town council decides to follow the example of many other municipalities such as Kitchener, it may end in a bylaw that would require homeowners to have snow removed from their sidewalks by 10 a.m. every morning. If snow is not removed, the homeowner can be fined and the town can hire someone to remove the snow and have the charge added to the tax bill. Of course the last thing we need in Clinton is another law to be enforced, adding the need for more policemen, but soon something is goirig to have to be done by council. If demands by the public continue to increase the town will soon have to hire extra men to look after snow removal in the winter. Nobody wants higher taxes, but if the individual homeowner does not start to shoulder more of the responsibility, higher taxes are inevitable. So be prepared either to take out your snow shovel or your pocket book. Say goodbye to the snowmobile It seems inevitable, that in the next few years it is going to be rare to see a snowmobile in an urbab area. One by one, urban governments have been banning the use of the machines inside the municipal boundaries and the trend is continuing this year. And snowmobilers have only themselves to blame. Councils have given the machines and their owners a chance and many, such as Clinton council, have been admirably patient. They have been overlooking the behaviour of the noisy minority to help the well-behaved majority of snowmobilers, but they are beginning to realize the majority of citizens aren't snowmobile owners and are getting tired of putting up with those that are. Noise at all hours of the 'night, trespassing, damage to trees and shrubs and speeding are just some of the complaints. Faced with these continued problems, councils have no choice but to ban machines. • Part of the problem must be blamed on the manufacturers who do not provide proper muffler systems on the snowmobiles to keep them quiet enough for urban streets. But the manufacturer can not be blamed to the idiotic use of the machines by some drivers who pull stunts such as driving on sidewalks. Banning the machines in towns gets rid of the -problem for urban citizens, but what happens to the rural municipalities. They may not be bothered so much. by the noise, since there is more open sp,ace, but many farmers are 'filiding'moreand more damage being done to fences, woodlots and crops as snowmobile use increases. And banning is impossible in rural municipalities because they would not be able to enforce the ban without a huge force of police. The snowmobile may be here to stay, ,but as far as most councils are concerned, they'd much rather it would just go away. THE CLINTON NEW ERA Established 1865 Amalgamated 1924 THE HURON NEWS-RECORD Established 1881 Clinton News-Record A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) second class mail registration number — 0817 :SUBSCRIPTION (in'advance) Canada, $8.00 per year; U.S.A., $9.50 KEITH W. ROULSTON Editor HOWARD AITKEN — General Manager ,101111 111.M1111MINI11 Published every Thursday at the heart of Huron County' a Clinton, Ontario Population 3,475 THE HOME OF RADAR IN CANADA 4 Clinton News-Record, Thursday, January 6, 1972 Editorial comment Who's responsible Lights! Action! The fellow who sold me the world's cheapest home movie camera, my "big" gift this Christmas to my loved ones, assured me that the beauty of the thing was its utter simplicity. (tIt is absolutely-fool-proof," he said. He looked me square and unblinking in the eye. I took the inference like a little man. He had in mind, of course, the purely mechanical mastery of the camera. To my astonishment, he proved to be right. True, I'd a little trouble getting the camera open to insert the film. The directions in the accompanying pamphlet said, "Press on the centre spring leaf of the cover latch." These are the sort of directions that cause my lower lip to start trembling. I will perish one day, probably, because of just such directions. But when the man spoke of the camera's simplicity he was obviously not thinking of the actual filming or the artistic aspect of the operation. To be specific, he was not thinking of my loved ones whose faith in my infallibility with anything mechanical is somewhat less than touching. If it has working parts they assume that old Dad can do no right. Mostly they are correct. Thus when I assayed the role of a latter day Cecil B. DeMille, creator of epics, they reacted with jeers, ribald laughter, disgust, indignation and other responses that might be discouraging to a less dedicated director. The first two films, each 50 glorious feet in length, are being processed at this moment and I have a feeling that the men in the developing room must be perplexed by the results. Unless I'm badly mistaken they consist entirely of females of various ages looking irritably into the lens, pointing and gesticulating. This "action" is largely meaningless unless you've the kind of running commentary so familiar wherever home movies are shown. In normal homes, as you know, father takes a position near the projector and tells his captive guests what's going on. "Here is little David taking his first steps in the garden," he may say. Or, "Here," he may say, "is an account of the boat trip we took last summer." But what am I going to say? "Here," I'll have to tell them, "is a picture of my wife's right . hand. It is waving me backward and she is screaming that I am holding the camera too close to the subject, which is her." Or, "Here," I'll have to say, vilify their father." The Editor, Enclosed please find a copy of the poem, "Unto him a son is given," printed . in last weeks' News-Record. I'm sure many people agree with me that it was thoroughly disgusting. It was nothing less than pure mockery of one of the most beautiful of all our Christmas carols, and, even worse, it blasphemed the Christmas story itself. Though we were glad to hear of the birth of the Prime Ministers' son, we must in no way, substitute him for the birth of the Great Son at Christmas time. It is obvious that the writer of this poem, Mr. Bob Ryerse, does not believe the Christmas story, but this does not give him the right to make fun of it. Perhaps he' would care to communicate with me, if he feels he can justify such writings. And you,' Mr. Editor, why did you allow this poem to be printed? Did you not find it sad that a person would write such a thing? Yours Sincerely, Mrs. Irene Ott R. R. 1, Bayfield The Editor Our Police Chief has asked that the Public express their views on the snowmobile situation in our town. As a resident on a corner that is well travelled by these machines by Other men's home movies show their loved ones in the best possible light, smiling, moving about gracefully, pointing at scenic vistas. Not mine. They show them in a mass mood of dismay, a permanent record of how short-tempered they can be when I lay my hand to anything that's fool-proof. I hate to say it, but my wife has been particularly bestial about this whole thing. When I showed her what I called my "shooting script" for a short domestic documentary to be titled, "The Family Takes a Walk" she seemed to take it as a personal affront. "Look," she said, "take off your beret and put aside these illusions of grandeur. This is just a little home movie camera, not a production of Cleopatra. Call the children out on the porch, "is a group picture of my day and late night I have taken the opportunity of writing to him. I hope many more will do the same. As I mentioned there are Parks and trails available now for snowmobilers which I am sure would afford them much more pleasure and safety than on our streets and sidewalks. Why not take advantage of these? Sports and fun are to be enjoyed by all who can take advantage: There are parks for trailers, there are lakes and rivers for boats. Why should snowmobiles take over our streets? There are by-laws in many cities and towns to prohibit their use within their limits, why not ours? An interested citizen daughters. They are signalling me that I am holding the camera on a tilt. Notice the tilt. Notice, too, the cross expressions on their petulant little faces as they take their picture and get it over with." She was even less gracious when I finally had herded them to a vantage point commanding a magnificent view. I placed them just so, standing in a group gazing upon the vista. "All the way up here and he takes pictures of our backs!" my wife whined, standing on the cliff's edge. I must say I entertained the thought of giving her just a little nudge in the interests of dramatic action. Fortunately at least half of one roll is not lost. It is entirely of me (you set the camera going and then stroll casually in front of it) and I have the delicious feeling that there's been no performance quite like it since the heyday of Ramon Novarro. Between bites, the apple was sweet Looking back on 1971, I find it contains the year's usual melange of the good and evil, the sweet and bitter, the laity /worm within the luscious apple. An old friend, Don McCuaig of Renfrew, won the Best Newspaper award among Canada's weeklies. I've thought for several years that he had the best weekly in the country (sorry about that, all you other chaps who turn out first-class weeklies), but never got around to telling him. On the other side of the fence, I read an editorial in the Bowmanville Statesman, an old, ' established, many times winner of prizes, written from his hospital bed by another old friend, John James. This shook me a bit. Haven't seen Don McCuaig for some years, but we have an old pact. He was in the army and one day was being slightly harassed by Hun .88's, a fearsome gun, if ever there was. A flight of Typhoons came over and silenced the Jerry guns. We met at a newspaper convention and he promised me he'd buy me the biggest and best dinner I could eat every time we got together, because I'd been a Typhoon pilot. And he still sends an annual invitation to come trout fishing in the Ottawa Valley, the natal place of many great men, like us. Last time I 'saw John James, he and two gigantic sons were whaling golf balls at a weeklies' tournament, while I puddled along with my usual slices, hooks and various blunders of the links. Get well, John, and hit them a mile. Here's a clipping and note from Tommy Lee, former weekly editor and now PR man with Royal Trust.. He, too, was a pilot. The clipping is about the big air-crew reunion in Winiiipeg and the note chides me for not hobnobbing with the mob. I wanted to go, Tommy, but my wife wouldn't let me. She didn't want me shipped home in a casket. And here's a note from Walter Koyanagi of the Taber, Alta., Times, giving me hell for using the term `Daps" in a column. He claims that the word "Jap" is derogatory and objectionable. To me, it's just an abbreviation. He also doubts if I would call a German or Italian other than such in public print. See above, Walter, I wouldn't give a diddle if somebody called Canadians "Cans". In fact, it might be suitable. Many of us have the figure and the mental resilience of a can. Here's a huge newspaper from Oromocto, N.B., in which I learn that a dear old friend, George Cadogan, who actually got this column going, can't resist the smell of printers' ink and has got back into the scramble of running a weekly, after a letter swearing that he was going to take it easy and spend the winter in Spain. Take it easy, George. Oromocto is a long way from Majorca. But good luck, Lord Thomson of the Maritimes. And the bitter. News that a close friend of my wife's, a dedicated Catholic nun, and one of the most vibrant, cheery personalities one could meet, is seriously ill. Young in age and spirit, she resists my firm conviction that God does not "see the little sparrow fall." Bless her. Here's a buoyant letter from my Uncle Ivan, who has suffered the tragic loss of a brilliant, son, and the death of his wife in a stupid car accident, is 79, and is off ,to Florida, and thinks drive this time. And just before Christmas; friends of ours lost a little six-year-old angel of a girl, who was pitilessly smashed to rags in a stupid, unnecessary car accident, on her way home from school. And so it goes: the bitter and the sweet, the good and bad, the joyous and the tragic. Life; and it's the only one we have. I don't want to spoil a mood, or appear frivolous, but we had the whole thing distilled in our Christmas vacation with two cats. We have a fat, neutered lady called Pip, bequeathed to us by Kim when she left home. Well, Pip has established the fact that she is queen of her own domain. She chases everything from squirrels to butterflies to spiders out of her backyard in summer, and deigns to spend the winter eating and sleeping. Home from college comes Kim, sneaking, in a box with air-holes, the rauchiest, randiest young tomcat you've ever laid eyes on. For the' first few days, Pip tried to lay down the law as to whom the house belonged to. The pre-Christmas air was rent with howls and screams as they clashed. I'd put one in the cellar, the other in the back johnnie. Finally, fat old Pip got too pooped to participate. After a few days, they decided to co-exist, and now spend their time chasing each other up the drapes and over the upholstery. Maybe there's a message here, somewhere. The gout' and the bad, the bitter and the sweet, are part of life, and we can either accept it or run away from it. THE HURON NEWS-RECORD 75 YEARS AGO Thursday, Jan, 1,1897 From Bayfield News: The popular Bayfield Brass Band played on the streets on Christmas Day and serenaded a number of the private residences. Who Drinks The Liquor? — Last Sunday evening, in the Rattenbury Street Methodist Church, Rev. Mr. Livingston preached with special reference to the question: "Do The Methodists Consume Half The Liquor Sold In Clinton?" The query arose out of a statement made by a liquor dealer on reference being made to a lot of empty liquor casks, that the Methodists had put away their share of the contents. Mr. Livingston doubted the correctness of the statement, and asked those in the congregation who did not use intoxicants to stand up which appeared to be responded to by a general uprising. Blue ribbon badges were afterward distribute I to the men until the stock was exhausted and white ribbons for the ladies. THE CLINTON NEW ERA 55 YEARS AGO Jan, 4, 1917 The town treasurer received a New Year's gift in the shape of $4,500 from the waterworks system. Mr. Tomlin is the telephone inspector for Clinton division. He has rented A. Cantelon's house on Isaac Street. Among the class at Clinton Model School who have been successful in passing their third class certificates are Helen A. Rodaway and Edna J. Wasman, both of Clinton. From Clinton News-Record, Jan. 4, 1917. Charles Tw itchell has purchased the coal and wood business for some time carried on by M. and M. Forbes. THE CLINTON NEWS-RECORD 40 YEARS AGO Jan. 7, 1932 Kingsmills, the Crockery Store, Mara's and the Metropolitan along the north side of Dundas Street, London, are badly damaged and the fire is not yet under control as we go to press this morning. 1931 went out in a gale of wind, bringing rain, ,sleet and snow from the east. Representative Ian MacLeod and his assistant, H. L. Atkinson, are at Dungannon these days conducting agricultural courses. A. Eagleson has been putting new lettering on the town clerk's office window and that of the chief of police. THE CLINTON NEWS-RECORD 25 YEARS AGO Jan. 2, 1947 Miss M. Rudd has resigned as librarian of Clinton Public Library, the resignation to take effect at the end of the present library year, Feb. 1, 1947. The action of Miss Rudd will be regretted by the patrons of the library who depend on Miss Rudd's advice in choosing the kind of book they enjoy; by the students who look to her to find the reference book that will help most in their problems; and by the children, many now grown up, who owe their pleasure in reading and their taste for good books, in a great measure, to Miss Rudd's Saturday Story Hour. More interest was shown in the Town of Clinton nomination meeting this year than for some years. The Town Hall was well filled Monday evening to hear the various nominees and the speeches were of a reasonably high order. The only thing we don't quite understand — since they constitute half the electorate — is that not one woman was in attendance! The ladies are most welcome at all times. Let's be fair to our town and ourselves by turning out on Monday in record numbers at the poll. THE CLINTON NEWS-RECORD 15 YEARS AGO Jan. 3, 1957 Fire, which destroyed the British Exchange Hotel, Goderich, last month, also destroyed the traditional living quarters of the• county councillors. For many years the reeves and deputy reeves from all over the county have travelled three times a year to the county town and they have been in the habit of putting up in the British Exchange. This time, however, Reeve Orville Taylor, East Wawanosh , chairman of the council's property committee, has arranged for rooms for them at a tourist home. Youthful Art Ball, Clinton's new postmaster, at 25 years, is probably the youngest postmaster the town has ever had. He took over from Mr, Cairns last Friday. Mr. Cairns has gone to his new job as postmaster in Tillsonburg. "Culture" on film is making itself available to the people of Clinton and the rest ,of the county, through a Huron County Film Council organized here last year. R. E. Taylor, Hanover, district representative of the Nadi:mai Film Board, attended the meeting. W. V. Roy, Clinton, was named the council's first president. R. B. Cousins, Brussels, is vice-president and the Rev. H. T. Colvin, Brussels, agreed to act as secretary-treasurer. THE CLINTON NEWS-RECORD 10 YEARS AGO Thursday, Jan. 4, 1962 The passing of Senator Golding at Seaforth is noted with regret. He was Huron's only senator. This week Mayor W. J. Miller, in his inaugural address to the council of the Town of Clinton, suggested that the town petition the Government of Canada for free mail delivery to homes in Clinton and other towns in the Dominion. This would give dwellers in town the same service as city dwellers and rural people.