Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1972-05-11, Page 14LET 'Us MAKE YOUR OLD' FURNITURE BETTER THAN NEW! For a free estimate and 4 look at our newest of materials — CALL CLARK UPHOLSTERY Phone 523.4272 R, Cook, Prop. Myth, Ont. WE HAVE A FREE PICK-UP AND DELIVERY SERVICE THE McKILLOP MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO. OFFICE -- M.101 WOO, Seaforth Phone, 5274400 Mrs, Margaret. Sharp, Secretary-Treasurer FIRE, EXTENDED COVERAGE, WINDSTORM, THEFT, PROPERTY DAMAGE, LIAI3ILITY,ETC. — COMPLETE FARM COVERAGE, including Machin, ery and Livestock Floaters. URSAN, PROPERTY — We now offer Composite Dwelling Insurance es well as Homeowners In- surance. - SUMMERCOTTAGES, TRAILER HOMES CHURCHES, HALLS. AGENTS: JAMES KEYS, RR 1, Sealorth; V. J. LANE, RR 5, Seaforth; WM. LIMPER, RR 1, Londoehoro; SELWYN BAKER, Brussels; HAROLD SQUIRES, RR 3, Clinton; K. J, ETUE, Seaforth; DONALD G. EATON, Seaforth, APPLICATIONS FOR SWIMMING INSTRUCTORS AND LIFEGUARDS AT CLINTON SWIMMING POOL SUMMER 1972 WILL BE ACCEPTED STATE QUALIFICATIONS AND WAGES EXPECTED DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS 6:00 p.m. SATURDAY, MAY 13, 1972 FORWARD APPLICATIONS TO: DOUG ANDREWS RECREATION DIRECTOR TOWN OF CLINTON —17-19 J • The rewarding art of Self-Defence. The best protective equipment against job accidents is already yours— your eyes, your ears, your brain. Keep alert, work defensively, and you'll stay on the job. Self-defence is the secret of safety. You've got a lot to live for; work defensively, and enjoy life. The sure way to safety is Self-Defence. / t/01 IreVgAge,'/%:7' No waiting for concrete to cure. Over 100 WeS in stock. THE EASY WAY TO BUY BETTER CONCRETE STEPS Enhance the beauty and value of your home with precast steel reinforced concrete Unit Steps. Our installation crews work quickly and cleanly. Phone 527-1326 Seaforth Frank Kling Ltd. BY J. CARL HEMINGWAY - On April 27, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending the annual Drama Club presentation of the Seaforth High School. I am always amazed how well the young people adapt themselves to their parts. It would seem that each player was made for the part. This, I'm quite sure, is not the case. These Actors mold themselves to the part with amazing skill and this no doubt is a compliment to the directors as well. The play was well chosen for this age group, had an interesting story to tell and moved rapidly enough to keep the interest of the audience, throughout, It was a love story, of course, with suspence and plenty of humour. It warmed my heart, in this age of the far-out generation when everything goes without the lifting of even an eyebrow, to see girls blush appropriately with embarrassment and pleasure. In spite of all the effort put forth to show the sophistication of the younger generation it only applies to a few. The vast majority still have feelings, emotions and value standards that have changed little with the ages. Iwas disappointed with the number who were interested enough to turn out and encourage our teenagers in a worthy effort. Believe me, it was no sacrifice as it was an enjoyable evening without violence, drugs or profanity. Quite a switch from the bill of fare dished out continually on T.V. Perhaps the publicity committee should have advertised the play as "Restricted" and the gym would have been packed with 12-year- olds up. Since it was the kind of entertainment the whole family could happily attend together, only 130 some turned out With a little larger crowd the second night. Perhaps we can blame it on large school area but today miles make little difference, It would seem that too many parents have become so interested in providing "things" for their children that they have lost interest IN their children. Conversely, from the crowds of children and teenagers that I see on the streets of our towns, whenever I happen to be passing through in the evening, it would seem that the young people have lost interest in the home. Let's hope for a change of values. matter of principle deliver. The rest is up to you. Delivering a constant flow of power, dependably and safely—that's your Hydro's round-the-clock responsibility, And because electricity provides so many services so dependably, most homeowners can take it for granted, And yet, in many homes over ten years old, the quality Of service is severely restricted—simply because the wiring is outdated and inadequate. Rewiring can make a world of differenCe: In convenience, by providing ample outlets and switches where you want theM, In performance, by bringing full power to your appliances so that they can operate at peak efficiency. In safety, by eliminating the hazards of an over- burdened wiring system. Good reasons for giving top priority to your home wiring when you consider making improvements. To find out what rewiring can do for your home, call a qualified Electrical Modernization Contractor And ask him about the Hydro Finance Plan—an easy way to fit the 4A—Clinton News-RecPrd, Thursday, May 11 1972 As of April 1 this year Jerome (Pat) Shanahan took up his duties at the Huron County Children's Aid Society as a Supervisor and Senior Social Worker. Mr. Shanahan is the first to occupy the recently created post. The new Supervisor is an American by birth (now a landed immigrant to Canada) and has a wide and varied background in social work south of the border. His elementary and secondary school education was obtained in his home town of Detroit and he is a graduate of a school of social work which he attended in New York, New York. Following his graduation from that school in 1962, Mr. Shanahan was involved in many fields of practical social work., Among them were the Catholic Youth Organization in Detroit where he was involved in Settlement Houses, Camps, Recreation programs and Youth Groups, He also worked with a Mental Health Clinic in Toledo in the outpatients division and then in Windsor with a CoMmunity Psychiatric Hospital.' " The why's behind a move to Huron County council has appointed Mrs. Moira Couper, Hensall, as children's recreation co-ordinator of Huron County. Mrs, Couper will head a program aimed at improving and expanding summer activities for children in small communities in the county. The main focus will be the eight communities in the county with recreation committees but which have no professional staff. As co-ordinator, Mrs, Couper will assist in hiring and training summer staff in communities 'Goderich Mr, Shanahan claims were simply Goderich itself. "We have had many happy experiences around the shores of Lake Huron, although many of them were on the American side, but we just liked Goderich due to its small, clean and unpolluted location." The Shanahan's first moved to Windsor as "a threshold to Canada." From here they looked around for a place to settle down and chose Goderich. Why Canada.? "Here in Canada," the new C.A.S. staffer observes, "I can pay my taxes and know that my money is not going to buy napalm which will be used to bomb babies. I am against the war and in Canada I feel that very few of my tax dollars go toward military expenses," At the Huron County C.A.S. Mr. Shanahan will be responsible for supervising part of the staff as well as caring for some cases himself. "I hope I can add some of my previous background to the work here and make it more effective in that way," he added. The new supervisor feels that where emotional factors are where children's summer programs have been planned; work with recreation committees to develop programs; provide support and assistance to all summer programs in the county and organize inter-community activities. Mrs. Couper also hopes to arrange for travelling theatre and music groups, and arts and craft displays tobe brought into Huron so people may take advantage of these activities, many of which will be offbred 4 freeof charge. Well known for many years in notes that the Children's Aid will remain an important social agency, "The number of children in care will not decrease," he stresses, "Although the number of young children taken into Ogre is dropping, and will likely continue to drop, the overall number in care will maintain a eonstant number," he says. "More families will be breaking up since fewer and fewer people are approaching marriage now with the intention to make it a permanent thing. As a result there will he more children from about nine to 13 years up to teenagers brought into our care, often on a temporary basis," Mr. Shanahan feels that the arrangements will be "less neat," That is to say that the children will still maintain partial contact with their natural parents and the C. A,S, will have to take this into account. "These children will not come to relate to their foster parents as Morn and Dad anymore," The Supervisor also feels that there will be an increased need for more foster homes in the future. especially for teenagers, "The changing image of the C.A.S. must continue," Mr. Shanahan observes. "We must become involved in fields of family counselling. plan group meetings of those with similar problems. and keep working at, keeping the local control of the C. A .S. " Pat Shanahan also thinks the Children's Aid Society should become more politically involved, as it relates to passing on suggestions to the policy makers on matters that involve the society or on matters with which the society workers are on the "front line," "Many times our workers are more directly in contact with situations arising from unemployment, education, alcohol and drug abuse, or other social problems. As a result we could no doubt make some strong suggestions or at least, contribute some observations in these fields to government." community involvement, Mrs. Couper has, in the past, been active in Girl Guides, Brownies and several youth groups. She has had leadership training with the youth and recreation branch of the Department of Education and has run the summer playground in Hensall for the last two years. She will work out of the development office of Huron County Council at the court house in Goderirich and can be contacted at 524-2188 or 262- 2938. • There are times when owning property can be a real pain in the neck, and Huron County Council is experiencing that strange phenomenon right now, It has the former Huron County Jail in Goderich listed among its assets—and it may be a while before council is agreed upon the best way to dispose of the premises. At last Thursday's meeting of Huron County Council, the property committee chaired by Kenneth F. McMichael of Turnberry Township brought in a recommendation that the jail be converted into a museum of penology—in other words, a collection of authentic artifacts from history which would tell the story of Ontario's penal institutions from the early 19th century to present day—and onward in time ad infinitum, The recommendation was bolstered by the appearance at council of A.S. Nuttall, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister of Correctional Services for Ontario and V.14, Styrmo, Senior Museums Adviser, Ontario Department of Public Records and Archives, and Mrs. Pauline Hall, Associate Adviser. Speaking to council, Nuttall said his department could not offer money—only co-operation in the event a museum of penology was established in Huron, He said he could promise an outstanding collection of genuine penal "restraints" such as old and modern handcuffs, irons, lashes and an authentic gallows complete with hangman's trap. He pledged the department's continuing support to this venture since it would be the only one of its size, scope and authenticity in the province. In fact, Nuttall said Huron's museum of penology would be designated the province's "official jail museum". Nuttall further stated that certain prisoners from Ontario's jails could be brought to Goderich to restore the jail to its original state. For instance, the modern- day pale green paint would he covered with "drab grey". An interesting feature of the museum, Nuttall concluded, would be to include the arts and crafts made by prisoners in the province's present jails, thereby rounding out the full story of penal punishment in Ontario, The second speaker to address council on the project was V. N. Styrmo. He pulled no punches, telling the members that while the former Huron County Jail was an ideal site at which to contain a museum on the theme of penology, it would be an expensive undertaking, "When 'you start a museum, it has no foreseeable end," Styrmo advised the members of council who perhaps understood better than many what he meant because they have seen the bills for Huron County's Pioneer Museum on North Street in Goderich. Styrmo said that while "preserving an imposing structure with historical significance" was a noble ambition, alterations would be necessary to make it serviceable as a public building and operational costs would be considerable, "The cost could be phenomenal," Styrmo told council. "You have a 10Q-year head start on deterioration. But with a five-year plan for the development of the museum, you would have a pretty fantastic museum which would leave visitors to Huron County saying thatif you are ever up that way to stop off to see the museum of penology." A maximum grant of $1,000 would be available to the museum each year, Styrmo said. Museums don't make a lot of money, either, Styrmo reminded council. He said that 116 out of 120 museums in Ontario record a loss each year, The average income for museums is only about 40 to 60 percent of the gross cost of operation, The only profitable museums in Ontario are at Niagara Falls—and are privately owned, "But you would keep visitors to Huron County longer, they would spend more money in the community, it would be an educational facility and, just maybe, it would deter some potential law breakers of the future," Styrmo concluded. Reeve Allan Campbell of McKillop, last year's chairman of the property committee, warned council he planned to speak plainly. "If we keep the jail as a museum, the rope is around our neck and all they have to do is pull the trap," argued Campbell. He stated that Huron County's Pioneer Museum has a $36,000 annual budget and a $1,000 grant plus an intake of about $12,000 to offset the costs. "That's about $23,000 for the people of Huron to make up each year," insisted Campbell. "Can the people afford to keep another museum? Good Lord, how much more can we stand?" Wingharn Reeve Jack Alexander suggested that the building be sold to the Town of Goderich for $1. "Let them provide us with some parking," Alexander recommended, obviously referring to the parking bind in which the county finds itself at the nearby Children's Aid offices and the assessment offices. "I'm disappointed in the attitude .of this council," said Reeve Harold Lobb of Clinton, "I thought this county was supposed to be a tourist area. If it is going to be a tourist area, you have to have something for the people to see. If we don't want it that way, we'd be better to Make her into an industrial complex." "Mr. Campbell wants to speak plainly," Challenged Anson McKinley, deputy-reeve of Stanley Township. "I'd like to know how much Mr, Campbell would want for the jail if we sold it," "I'd like to ask Mr. McKinley a question," retaliated Campbell, "How many more museums can the county stand?" "I'd have to know what the one we have is worth to the County of Huron before I would answer that question," retorted McKinley. Harold Robinson, the reeve of Howick, was not in favor of the plan to make the jail into a museum. He talked about the new health and welfare services the county now has, and added that in his opinion, the county' should spend money on "preventative medicine rather than on dead stone". The Goderich jail has two distinct claims to fame—although both may be considered dubious honors by many, many folk. The Huron County Jail was the scene of the very last public hanging in Ontario and is also the place where the now famous Steven Truscott, then 14 years of age, spent eight months in a cell waiting for the death sentence to be carried out. A third interesting fact about the history of the jail was brought forth by county clerk-treasurer John Berry. He said records show that the first meeting of Huron County Council was held on the third floor of the jail. "But they retired to the hotel uptown for the next meeting," reported Berry. "The records do not indicate why." The matter of the establishment of a Huron County Museum of Penology was referred back to committee for further study, especially in the area of proposed costs for the project. The next meeting of Huron County Council is May 26. It is likely the whole matter will be re- opened for discussion at that time. \Tew supervisor at CAS May establish Museum involved in C,A,e. cases some of of Pe no logy _ • in his experience will be beneficial. Observing present trends in C.A.S. activities Mr. Shanahan former jail Moira Couper gets county appointment Your Workmen's Conrii3ensation Board and The Safety Associations,. Ontario