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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1972-09-14, Page 4we get Iffisehid•s 4—clipten Nows43,acordt '7,%14rScif4Y.i. SepterONO 14, 1972 Editorial come ot Canada needs gun control Canadians look at the tragic record of political assassinations in the United States over the past decade and say "it. can't happen here, we have gun controls," In Canada all .hand. guns are supposed to be registered. But purchase of rifles and shotguns is wide open. Anyone 16 or over can buy .a rifle and convert it into a hand weapon by sawing off the barrel, Not even much cash is needed to buy death—$15 or $20 second-hand. Police feel the situation is ridiculous, They refuse a hand gun permit to a man who walks down the street .and buys A rifle. More than 2,000,000 rifles and shotguns are in the hands of Canadians. and there are an estimated .100,000 unregistered hand guns in Toronto alone. Crimes involving firearms are Increasing, In Toronto there were 336 in 1976, and 386 in 1971. Police want citizens to rid themselves of the idea that guns mean protection. More often they mean accidental death. They cite the tragedy of the bank manager who threw off a quick Shot at a fleeing robber-- blasting a teller through the head. Easily available weapons promote violence in violent times. Japan, which has tough gun laws has a rate of only two gun murders per 100,000—while Charlotte, North Carolina, where guns come easy has a rate of 25 per 100,000. Citizens must press provincial and federal governments for iron-clad gun laws on all firearms and more .public education--and work through municipal representatives for increased police - protection. Guest opinion Huron board showing bigotry The people who pay taxes to support education in Huron County must be wondering whether their school board has done the right thing in turning down a request for free transportation for 23 pupils of the Clinton ' and District Christian School Board. Both boards run buses for their pupils, but the Christian School Board, in an effort to keep costs down, asked the Huron County Board to accommodate those 23 pupils, which would enable .the Christian Board to reduce it's daily run by 60 miles without, adding any miles apparently to the distance run by the Huron County Board's buses which, the Christian school board claims, often run with some empty seats... A Vice Chairman of the Huron County Board, John Broadfoot, is quoted as saying that he doesn't think that he is interested in providing free transportation for the pupils of the other systern. But the word "free" is not fair, because the parents of children attending the 48 Christian schools in the province pay the same public school taxes that are paid by parents whose children go to the public school system. They pay those taxes, and then pay extra for their children's education in the private schools of the Christian school system, They are not objecting here to the double load, they are simply asking for a little return for their taxes. When CFPL Radio suggested to Trustee Broadfoot that these taxes paid by parents of the Christian school pupils might be considered a bonus, since the Board doesn't have to provide teaching materials teachers, or extra facilities in return, he said, "That isn't a consideration of the trustees; we're elected to provide education for those who use the system." Legally he's dead right, but morally, there would seem to be some question. The Secretary of the Christian School Board, Cecil Bruinsma, told CFPL Radio that the operation of the Christian School system actually saves dollars for the supporters of the public schootsystem as those taxpayers would ,_discover if the Christian school system, which Mr. Bruinsma says is in the red, decided to throw in the sponge and put the added cost on the taxpayers of Huron County. That's another reason why CFPL Radio believes that the Huron County rate- payers should urge the Huron County Board trustees to stop taking a dog in the manger attitude.— Hugh Bremner It's September, so long snarly! 9416$611111 low a4ariliediarair' IOW .2111111111111111111111 The ways of gulls rodmom. vammeliemilm)m,, THE CLINTON NEW ERA Amalgamated THE HURON NEWS-RECORD Established 1865 1924 Established 1881 •, • A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau. of Circulation (ABC) second clats mail registration number — 0817 !SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (in advance) 'Canada, $8,00 per year: U.S.A., $9.60 Published every Thursday it the heart Of Huron County' Clinton, Ontario Population 3,475 THE HOME. OF RADAR IN CANADA JAMES E. FITZGERALD,—Eclitot .1, HOWARD AITKEN General Manager • Clinton News-Record That great big "Who-o-o-o- sh" of air that is still reverberating across the nation, from coast to coast, is not caused by hurricane, typhoon or cyclone. It is the expulsion of breath from hundreds of thousands of mothers after their sigh of relief because school has started again. There are many emotional reactions to the annual re- opening of school, Let's look at a' few of them. First, the mothers who have had three or four school-age kids on • their hands for two of the longest, most dreary summer months in decades. During the past summer, the sun has been as elusive as Medals are for the Canadian Olympic team. Rain, overcast, drizzle, downpour, humidity. You name it; we've had it. So, mothers.. You've had your brood underfoot most of the summer. Kids getting up at all hours; eating at all hours; whining, "There's nothing to do." You've been making peanut-butter-and' jelly sandwiches until you gag at the sight of a peanut, You've bandaged cuts and scrapes, invented games, planned picnics which had to be held at home, rained-out, and been driven to the point where the kids call you "Old Snarly." For you, school opening was euphoria. Sure, you love your children, but love, like most things, should be taken with moderation, Admit it, When you got them all off that first day, you Made coffee, sat down, put feet up, lit a cigarette, sucked in your breath and let it out'with a "Whceo.o.o-sh." YOu felt a deep love for teachers, however Momentary. You secretly thought you wouldn't care if they doubled yoUr education takes. Well, that's one reaction. What about your kids? Their obvious reaction is one of disgust and despair. "A-a-h, school! Who needs it? Back to jail," But how do they feel behind the complaining that is second nature to kids? Secretly, they're delighted and excited. They are bored to the point of depression, whether they're in elementary or high school. They are sick of "Old Snarly". They've had enough of working, if they worked, or bumming, if they just bummed, ' Despite the constant criticisms of the "unreal" life at school, in my opinion many young people have far more "real" life there than they do at home. Opening day means seeing old friends, making new ones, exchanging lies about what they did 'all summer and sizing up, with a hard, cold stare, the new teachers for the year, For high-school students, despite their attempt to be blase, it ,rneans the end of that heart- breaking summer romance. But look! There are some new chicks, and some of last year's teeny-hoppers have turned into real birds. And that greasy obnoxious Grade 10 boy of last year is now a sophisticated Grade elevener, after a summer pumping gas. And he has a motor-bike! Most of all, at School they are accepted by their peers. At home, they were children, were supposed to live and respect their parents, and had to obey orders, however grudgingly. At school., they don't have to even pretend to love or respect their teachers and disobeying orders becomes a game, as long as you're not tagged. There's another species. These are the Mothers who tearfully, with enough instructions and warnings to confound a Socrates, send off the first-born to the first day at school. Don't worry, ladies. Next fall you'll be so glad to see little Tim or Kathy off you'll think there must be something hard and cruel underneath your love of the brat, And what is the reaction of that fine, dedicated, altruistic group - the teachers? A few of them dread it. They are the realists who know what it's going to be like in February. They probably should not be teaching, But, despite the fact that they moan and groan just like the kids, from my observations, 98 per cent of them are happy to get back into harness. And I do mean harness. They've had a long holiday. Theoretically, they have "recharged their batteries." They, too, have become bored. They have spent too much money, as everyone does on holidays. They will have new students, and there might even be a few bright ones, They are going to teach better this year. They have new ideas they want to try. They've forgotten how ghastly it ,all is in February. Personally, my battery has run down during the summer, and I'll have to recharge it at school, This will be easy, Just attach your cables to 150 kids, and the sparks will Spring is supposed to be the time of rebirth, reawakening and such. But in Canada, we don't have any spring. Just some rain and mud between the misery of Mardi and lushness of June. In this country, we all seern to Come alive in September. And getting back to school is like getting back to reality after the dreatn-like quality of stirrimer holidays, Let's go, gang! THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 1957 15 YEARS -AGO Detailed plans for the Monster Fourth Annual Penny Sale to be held on Saturday, October 3 in the office of the Clinton Public Utilities Commission were made at the September meeting of the Clinton Hospital Auxiliary on Monday afternoon in the Nurses' Residence. End of the season for the Huron Football League, and winning of the "A" league cup by the Clinton team may be the result of the game on Friday night, when they meet Winthrop in the fourth game of a best-out- of-5 series. There is a good demand for little pigs in this locality right now, judging from the requests at this office, and the speed with which offers of sale are snapped up. .THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 1947 25 YEARS AGO The Clinton Community Park is expecting to receive a blueprint of an expertly planned future for the park. KXperts from OAC, Guelph have surveyed the park and will layout a plan for its development over a period' of years. The County Library truck has completed its first tour taking books to libraries throughout Huron County. The truck is the only one of its kind 'in Canada. lives in cities with, at most, only an occasional mad-cap weekend in the country. Often, in the past, when I've written on this subject, people have responded to tell me of city gulls, identifiable by odd markings or deformities, that appear every day at the same location for years on end, a fact which, if true, sure makes a rnonkey out of a lot of famous bird-watchers. The only supporting evidence I have found for my thesis has come in the form of„newspaper clipping , sent to, me km`, ,another ornithologist who sides with me . in this vital question. The story concerned a small harbor in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico, the home base for a Sizeable shrimping fleet. For one reason or another this harbor was closed down. The boats all moved away to another port closer to the productive shrim- ping grounds. Well, sir, the gulls who had lived for decades on the shuckings from the shrimp processing plant in the small harbor, did not follow the boats. They just stood around pathetically looking out to the gulf, first on one leg, then on the other, waiting for ships that Calls were made at Bayfield, Varna, Brucefield, Hensall and Clinton. Council granted the band $400 in a recent motion. 40 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1932 Miss Florence Cunningham is taking in the Florists'. Telegraph Delivery convention in Toronto. Accompanying her to the city were Dorothy Cantelon, Florence and Edward Rorke. Clinton girls' softball team was defeated by Strathroy's superior skill. Players on the , local team are Norma, Streets, pitcher; M. Mulholland, catcher; R. Pickett, first base; M, Lawson, second base; T. Holrnes, third base; F, Hall, right field; C. Brunsdon, centre field; D. Watts, left field and M. Smith, shortstop, 55 YEARS AGO THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1917 Miss Win O'Neil was appointed president of the Girls' Patriotic Auxiliary with Miss A. Mowson, Miss D. Cantelon and Mrs. M.D. McTaggart as vice. presidents. Miss I-I, Courtice was convener of the ways and means committee. A large gathering at the home of Mrs. John Silltnour on Concession 2, Stanley Township, honoured Miss Jean Mustard prior to her leaving for Overseas as a nurse with the American forces. It, Trench, Tetswater, the proprietor of the Clinton skating were never going to come in. When the story finally drop- ped out of the papers (we have a bad habit, I'm afraid, of leaving things unresolved) the entire population of seagulls stood at the brink of starvation. The obvious conclusion, of course, is that the effects of en- vironment were more powerful than the natural instinct. In- deed, while I do not want to labor the point, it provides an interesting parallel with human life which becomes less equipped for self-sufficienay, or survival the more it is civilized. Aggressiveness and cunning, it would seers, tend to supplant hard work and resourcefulness in the urban gull. I believe the story to be apocryphal, but I'm sure you've heard of the one-legged gull. Oh, you know that story. Swarm of city gulls arrive at a park bench where a kindly chap has a sup- ply of bread crusts. Kindly chap notices one gull handicapped by amputation. Feeds crippled gull most of the bread. Returns next day. Finds all gulls standing, waiting, on one leg. Apocryphal or not, it illustrates the adaptability that the casual observer may note in many ways when he is studying -rink, has purchased "Roy Gratton” from Thomas Tearley, Credition. Price paid for the horse was $700. TS YEARS AGO WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 11397 Our readers should remember the harvest home under the auspices of St. Peter's Church, Surarnerhill, to be held in the Orange Hall on Wednesday evening, September 15th. A good programme is being prepared. Go and have a good time. The other day the News- Record was presented with a bag of peaches from the garden of Mt, James Hearn. They were of the Crawford variety. Mr. Hearn has four heavily-laden trees. Life-like moving picture of Her Majesty the Queen as she appeared in the Great Jubilee Procession will be shown on September 20th. city gulls. It is going to be impossible to prove, I suppose, but I now believe I can distinguish city gulls from country gulls simply by appearance. There is a look about city gulls, a sort of squinty, cold- eyed, anticipative, waiting-to- seize-the-main-chance look, that is characteristic. Moreover, they reveal an almost mystic sensitivity to a hand-out. Thus, in the country, gulls very often have to be sum- monsed (I employ a high- pitched cry of "I(oo-eeee! Koo- eee!" that seems pretty sexy to gulls) but in the city I need merely reach into the bread box to have the company, from nowhere, of beady-eyed, white- winged visitors. It's the same sort of magic, really, as the results obtained from an offhand remark that you might be interested in acquiring more insurance. Certainly city gulls are meaner, more ferocious and un- dignified, more hateful to each other in their competitive world of private enterprise, than the proud country gulls with whom I normally associate. That the same goes for people, is, of course, axiomatic, Camp Canbay successful Camp Canbay, a day camp operated jointly by the Calvary Baptist Church, Goderich, and the Bayfield Baptist Church, held a highly successful week from August 28 to September 1st. Total attendance for the five days was 357 with an average daily attendance of 71.2. Mrs. Bert McSpadden of Richmond Hill, Ont gave the Bible lessons while the missionary story was handled by Mrs. Mina Talbot, all under direction of Pastors Brubacker and Bigelow. Part of the camp life was a sports and swimming program, the latter conducted by Miss Julie Howse of Clinton who holds her bronze certificate. The week, which was favoured with excellent weather, closed on Friday, Sept. 1st with an Open House for parents, Deft theE Huronditor; County Boar of Education meeting on Augus 21st, a delegation from the Clin ton and District Christie School was in attendance with request to share transportatio s. t o stated op facilities,hroavirtiaat: "freeb e John ist ran st pBionrrt e°t aar sfoo' ot for our children. However, th possibility was left open to shar on a pro-rated basis, In othe words, we pay for the bus spac we use, This is not sharing. Th transportation we ask for i already well being paid for sine our education tax money goes the Huron County Board o Education while we operate ou own school with the assistant of private supporters, Th operation of our school is savin the County Board aroun $100,000 annually. This perhaps appealing to the tax payers, but is it just? We have the freedoms and, th right to establish and maintai Christian Schools which we fee ' necessary and beneficial to th community; this freedom w fully appreciate. However, w are still forced to pay our publi school tax while value for th' tax has been denied up unti now. This is discrimination. Provincial educatio authorities have advised us approach our local board an ask to share facilities. Th County Board therefore ha authority to act on this matter We left the board rneetin with the assurance from chair man John Broadfoot that th matter would be thoroughl discussed and the decision mad known to us. We hope that th final decision will not be decision which hinges o customs and traditions. C. Bruinsrna, Secretary, Clinton and Distric Christian School Dear Editor; The late Arthur R. For commented in one of hi memorable editorials o Bayfield, "It is seldom tha there is not some issue whit creates a lively controversy i Bayfield. The most exciting i modern times was the fight ove hydro It was not so man • years ago that a battle roya was waged over the question permitting the cows of villager to roam the streets „. we doubt there was a place in Canad where Church Union was mom bitterly contested The !no recent controversy has been ove playing ball on Sunday in Clai Gregor Park," Like so many of us, Mr. For loved Bayfield the magnificen sunsets, the hospitality of R people in services to the touris and traveller, its clean and tid streets and old world charm Since his time, there has bee the advent of a splendid fleet d sailboats on the lake, a fin marina offering them haven an trailer parks offering relaxatioi • and recreation for large nurnbers of tourists Things have not really change too much in Bayfield though and there is presently anothe controversy. We are unwittingl, involved in the present one an can attest that they are bitte contests. When my wife and I forme Blue Anchor to purchase th Jowett Grove from Mr. Garon we did so with high hopes an enthusiasm engendered by nu many happy years of associatio with the area as surnme residents. It was our wish to b part of the harmony of th setting, to enjoy our part-tits interests of sailing and paintin and to work in co-operatioi with the business community ii advancing the tourist attractior without detracting in any way from what we like most abou Please turn to Page 11 Because of the circurnstances of being half a city boy and half a country boy, I'm naturally fascinated by the effect of en- vironmental influences. In fact, am even now preparing a monumental thesis on what this means to seagulls. My study of gulls, which began at a very early age when I realized that ornithology was the one honorable hobby that could be pursued from a ham- mock, has caused me to read millions of words about gulls. So far ,as nothing at all has been 'written - until this 4 very moment! - on the different • ces between city gulls and coun- try gulls. One intriguing probability, for example, is that gulls, like people, elect which life they will lead. We know, for starters, that they are birds with a compulsive wanderlust. Studies of their migratory habits are invariably made from nesting areas, usually remote, and clearly demonstrate that country gulls roam far and wide. On the other hand, I have seen no study made of city gulls' movenaents. The indications are strong, though circumstantial that they remain all of their