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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1972-11-30, Page 44,Clintori -News-Record, Thursday, November 30, 1912. Editorial conmieit t Elections double for Clinton For most area voters, the bi-annual treck to the polls to elect municipal offi- 'cicils will soon be over for another two years. Not that there were very many elections anyway, with the majority of the civic offices in the Clinton area being filled by acclarnatiOn anyway. Last week, we asked the candidates for the various offices, whether they be for civic posts or board of education, to , submit a short resume on their feelings about the post they were seeking and why. Some sent copy in and some didn't, so if you haven't made up your mind yet then have a glance at what the candidates have to say. It appears else- where in this paper. The only heated race (that we can see anyway) appears to be for the Hu- ron County board of Education where some of the candidates are using the issues of the busing of the Christian Clouded judgments The tragedy in Uganda once agan is leading to the kind of talk one hears whenever there are major political up- heavals in Africa, Asia and Latin Ameri- ca. Conservative factions are apt to say that people get the kind of government they deserve. If they allow military dic- tators to run their countries, they must be prepared to put up with all kinds of economic and political disasters. There are dangerous over-simplifications. The most ill-informed people tend to think that most non-whites are inferior, anyhow, and that if they cut each oth- er's throats — well, that's their busi- ness. These attitudes persisted among all too many in North America • and Europe during the Nigerian civil war. All generalizations are suspect, of course. But to adopt a white racist viewpoint toward what happens in the impoverished lands of Africa and Asia is both evil and hypocritical. Indeed, it flies in the face of history. Just over a quarter of a century has passed since the world saw with horror the ghost-like skeletons that survived the Nazi concen- School children as o debating point. Some of the other candidates say that the board has become secretive and inept. We'll leave that for you to decide. Although most people will be able to bring out the champagne or the crying towels next Monday night, depending on your viewpoint, the people in Clinton will have to hold their breath for anoth- er two weeks because we are going to have another election. Because nominations failed to fill for the six council seats, the town had to reopen them and now five people, in- cluding a woman, have thrown in their names for the remaining three seats, A couple of weeks ago, it looked like nobody cared about what happened in Clinton. Now it looks like there is re- newed interest. It's a pleasant surprise. tration camps, and heard, at first with total unbelief — how 6,000,000 de- fenseless Jews had met their deaths. The killers in this greatest atrocity of recent history were white and (so it was said before 1939) highly civilized. The countless millions who slaugh- tered each other in two world wars were mostly white. Some of the most outrageous atrocities committed in Viet- nam were perpetrated not only by Viet- namese against Vietnamese, but first by the French and then by the Americans. Nobody would deny that President Idi Amin is an extremely foolish man, and that some of his actions and state- ments border on insanity. But a specific event and the stupidity of one man must not cloud our judgments. Let. us remem- ber instead that every black African who wants his continent to progress from economic backwardness to pros- perrty and enlightenment, will undoubt- edly view what is happening in Uganda with a great deal more distaste than most Canadians. Squirrels, rats, and cats - humbug! voN'r CALL Row lelf Cog' Or 1-1illicr • AND Utifinnomrror AtE 'OUT TORE — STor VREAING, • IN "It's OK—they're just slipping out to pick up their passports." t'S•4":"•••k: The great strip scene we get letters THE HURON NEWS-RECORD Established 1865 1924 Establithed 1881 THE CLINTON .NEW ERA Amalgamated Clinton News-Record A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper AsseciatiOn and the Audit Bureau. of Circulation (ABC) second class Mail registration number 0817 'SUESCRIPTIOtst RATES: (in advance) 'Canada, $8.00 per year; U.S.A., Oa JAMES E. PIT24ERALD—Editor J. HOWARD AITKEN — General Mat— ler Published every Thursday at the heart of Huron County' Clinton, Ontario Population 3,4/5 THE HOME OF RADAR IN CANADA You'd think that a man who terribly reliant on my trousers. once spent two days naked as a Although a normal man in grape among 100 nudists and a other ways, my doctor is a rabid good many hours of his Army Progressive Conservative and days in the altogether, as the we invariably begin our ritual saying goes, would have devel- with a political debate. Unhap- oped at least a modicum of pily, we'd just got going when poise in the raw, the doctor was called from the In the sun-worshippers' colo- examination room. "You can ny, of course, as it was in the take your duds off," he said as Army, there was always compa- he departed. "I'll be back in a ny and the comfort of knowing minute." that you couldn't look much sil- I then removed my clothes, Tier than the next boob. glancing nervously out of the Army doctors, for reasons I window for low-flying helicop- was never able to determine, ters, and returned to my chair insisted that their victims dis- which turned out to have a robe completely, however local- temperature just above that of. ized the,,area :tmder inSP.,e,ction.,,,An.,Arclic ice ,floe—L,,folded,,,my— A quick glance at the tongue ar arms across my chest and read- a test for color-blindness called ied .for instant flight. for a complete strip. Placed in this miserable posi- Standing there, usually in a tion, a man begins to feel as if drafty drill hail, with a dozen or he were growing smaller or, more comrades, my morale was perhaps, as if the chair were often lowered even further by growing larger. the certain conviction that we From the hall outside came couldn't possibly win the war. the sound of animated conver- My mind went back to those sation and the tread of passing experiences the other day when footsteps. The rumble of traffic I tottered to my healer for a rose from the street below. periodic check-up and found There seemed a strong possibil- that for all my training I'm still ity of a crowded downtown bus Squirrels in the attic and a cat at the door. Winter is on its way, Yep, the squirrels, after about five years of exile, have managed to chew their way back into the attic, and are hap- pily holding their regular family quarrels, wakes, weddings, bowling games and foot-races right overhead. There probably aren't more than three or four hundred of them, to judge from the com- motion. And I'm helpless. Once ihey get in, you might as well wait until spring, when they emerge and you can whack up some tin patches over their entries. I like to have black squirrels around the place, but not in the place. They're cute and pic- turesque hopping about on the lawn, picking up acorns in their dainty mitts and swivelling their little bright, beady eyes about as they chew. But when you can't see them, and all you can do is hear, they're not so cute. The only pic- ture of them I have, in winter is of a couple of young buck squirrels gnawing away on the insulation covering my wiring, and chatting: "Hey, Jack, this is better than that hole in the oak we lived in last winter, Right" "Right, George. It was kinda crowded with the eighty-four of us. And no central heating ex- cept our own. And Awn to an acorn a day by February. This is great. Lots of room for jogging to keep in shape. Lots of heat, And — mrninrnm — I love that electrician's tape," They remind me of a rat who took over nocturnally in out room in prison camp barracks in the winter of '44-45. One single, lousy rat had eighteen grown then in a state of nightly alarums and excursions. At first, he'd wake somebody up with his gnawing. It was a cross between the sound of a chain saw and that of a snowmobile. It was a welcome diversion, in the beginning. Sort of company, as though somebody cared, We named him Packy and talked about him rather fondly. For a while, But then the nerves started to wear thin, There's something nerve-wracking about a huge rat chomping away right in your ear, as it seemed. It got to the point where nobody could go to sleep. We'd lie there, nerves strumming, waiting for Packy's evening per- formance to begin, each of us clutching a weapon, a boot or a bedboard. The little devil seemed to know that he had us right where he wanted us. One night he'd start right after lights-out, and suddently stop, just when we thought we'd located him. Next night, he'd lie there chuckling - and we'd have sworn we could hear the chuckle keeping us in suspense until it was almost unbearable. Then he'd give a couple of zrooms. And stop. In a few minutes he'd start again, gnawing steadily and contemptuously. At last, somebody's nerves would break, there'd be the flare of a match and eighteen of us would leap out of our bunks, flailing at the spot we Were sure he was in. He never was, and it's a won- der somebody wasn't killed in the confusion. Because we all had a different spot. Well, that's enough about squirrels and rats. But I know exactly why people use the term "squirrelly" as a synonym for being a bit mental. The other manifestation of winter horrors I mentioned was our cat. In summer, she's lean and tawny, a tigress prowling her domain, stalking bum- blebees and butterflies and birds. And she's outside, day and night. A lovely cat. As soon as the first wind comes out of the north, she turns into Mr. Hyde. She hangs on the screen door, howling pitiably. She has ruined three screen doors. Does she want love, affection, admiration? No. She wants in, And once in, she wants grub, I have never kicked an animal, but when that pig of a cat lur- ches in like a hyena scenting a fresh kill and starts rubbing against my legs when I'm trying to rattle up some breakfast for myself, there's a grave temp- ' tation to turf her right into the kitchen sink. She's an unlovely cat. Fat and demanding, like some wives. And she thinks I'm her husband. Apparently my un-love affair with cats has been mentioned before, because I have here A letter to the Listowel Banner from Rita Dodkin, 11, IT quote parts. "Cats are very useful in many different ways than 'putting them on a calendar', They provide lots of company for old and lonely people who cannot have dogs because they can't give them the right exercise. They pamper and pet their cats because they enjoy it."' "I think this is far from tur- ning them into 'bloated, contem- ptuous parasites' as Mr. Smiley said. They look ao sweet when they sleep on your best chair. When they rub your legs I think they are trying to show love. Our eats always tried to show love, I used to have one but now l'nr getting one next spring." Rita, you Might get one long before next spring, 10 YEARS AGO Thurs., Nov. 29, 1962 Last night the stage was set for a door-to-door canvass of families in the town of Clinton for cash and pledges to raise $65,000 needed to complete paying for the new wing at Clin- ton Public Hospital. About 60 canvassers met for supper in St. Paul's Parish Hall. E. Beecher Menzies pointed Out that this is the first time in 50 years that a total town can- vass has been carried out in aid of the hospital. The aim is for not less than $100 per family. "Of Course," he reminded, "pledges are appreciated as much as cash." The canvass will be carried out next Wednesday night, December 5, with canvassers meeting at the town hall at 7 p,m. to begin the job. 15 YEARS AGO Thurs., Nov. 28, 1957 Setting a new record in this generation for Clinton, Mayor W, i. Miller has the distinction of heading a complete council of six men and two reeves, for the third consecutive year. Dur- ing that time, no changes have been made in the personnel, Also, this year, for the first time since the '30's there will be no election needed for municipal offices in town, The fire alarm late Saturday evening brought firemen on the run to the Clinton Bowling Al- ley. Fire Chief Grant Rath re- ports that the cause was some rubbish burning under one of the alleyways, No damage was done. However, It could have been serious if the blaze had begun when no one was around. 25 YEARS AGO Thurs., Nov. 27, 1947 Bert Lobb assumed presiden- cy of the Huron County Federa- tion of Agriculture, succeeding Russell Bolton. W, V. Roy, Lon- desboro is secretary-treasurer, Bert Irwin has been elected by acclamation for his fifth term as president of the Hullett Township Federation of agri- culture. Two additional stops added to the memorial organ in Wes- ley-Willis United Church were dedicated in a special ceremo- ny on Sunday. Clinton Lions Club and their ladies were hosts at a delight- ful party at C.D.C.I. Friday night, with Teen Twon mem- bers as guests, 40 YEARS AGO Thurs., Dec. T, 1932 Miss Lily Kennedy, who has been connected with the local office of the Bell Telephone Company for the past 20 years, is to succeed Mrs. Clara Rum- ball, whose resignation has been accepted by the company. A farewell to Mrs. Humball was held at the home of her niece, Mrs, Morley Counter. A moose shot by Fred Sloman, in the Northern Woods, has been received here by Henry Sloman, and its head has been on exhibition in the Connell and Tyndall's window, Mayor N. W. Trewartha Ares, ided for the public meeting which followed nominations for Goderich Township, Connell for 1.932 has been re-elected by ac- passing through the room at any moment. I found myself whistling tune- lessly, crossing and re-crossing my legs, closely examining my finger nails and in general showing every sign of incipient panic. Supposing the doctor had forgotten me and gone away on another trip to Hawaii? Did he mean for me to take of all my clothes or just my shirt? Would Miss Winesap, his nurse, knock first if she decided to come in for something? At this point the door knob turned-and I leaped like a star- tied gazelle to a position of modesty behind the chair. It was the doctor. I was never so glad to see anyone in my life. I resumed my position in the chair, folding my arms again like September Morn, and wait- ed for the examination to be- gin. Instead, the doctor elected to resume the political discus- sion, launching into a stirring defence of Robert Stanfield. My reputation as a good lis- clamation: Reeve W. Haake, Councillors, F. W. Powell, Er- nest Johnston, 0. J. Jervis and Harry Corey. Colin Campbell presided for the service • in St. Andrew's United Church, Bayfield, when the men of the congregation were in charge. 55 YEARS AGO Thurs, Nov. 29, 1917 The law prohibigng the ship- ment of sugar osierieas has been lifted. Mothers and friends will be particularly pleased since they have been worried about the problem of sending a Christmas box with- out a cake, Up to Wednesday night Huron County had taken in $1,- 701,000 worth of Victory Bonds, Pigs cost three dollars dressed and the same live. Orders from the food control- ler's department forbid the use tener was at stake, I realized, but it was obvious he had me at a tremendous disadvantage. I felt as if I were attending a for- um in my Maidenform -bra. My hand fumbled along my ribs, pathetically searching for a pocket. I was just about to plead with the doctor to save his argu- ments for a less captive audi- ence when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," called the doctor airily. In made a swan dive for safety, this time manag- ing to grab my pants from the back of the chair. The visitor was anext-door medico who had comer-in.-for some papers, but I was no long- er taking chances. It could be the entire cast of "Of Calcutta" next, I figured. I took to my pants. As it turned out, the examina- tion lasted no more than 10 minutes and except for a slight- ly-too-high blood pressure seemed reasonably intact. "I can't understand that blood pressure" the doctor mused. "You never had that before," of grain for the distillation of potable liquors and no one is to make or import oleomargarine without first getting a licence. The Huron Old Boys' Associa- tion of Toronto will hold their annual meeting in the Royal Cafe, Toronto on December 7. Opinions In order that. `flews—Record readers might express their opinions on any topic of public interest, Letters To The Editor are always welcome for publication. But the writers of such letters, as well as all readers, are reminded that the opinions expressed in letters published are not necessarily the opinions held by The News—Record, Dear Editor: I would like to reply to some comments made by the vice- chairman of the Huron County Board of Education, in a letter to the editor, which appeared in your paper on November 23, 1972, Mr. John Broadfoot stated: ", . it is costing the Huron County Elementary school ratepayers $28,955 because 193 students living in the county do not at- tend our schools." This statement is grossly ex- aggerated. Following are facts relative to the calculation of the grant the County Board receives from the Provincial Government for Ordinary Ex- penditures, These figures were obtained from the County Board administrative office and were available to me as a pub- lic school taxpayer. FACTS: 1. 1972 Recognized Ordinary Expenditure $4,- 294,495; 2. 1972 Ordinary Ex- penditure Grant 70.70%; 3. 1972 Equalized Assessment $315,, 869,227; 4, 1972 Equalized As- sessment per pupil $38,934; 5, 1972 Average Daily Enrolment; 8113; 6. 1972 Recognized Ex- penditure per pupil $529.335. RESULT: A, Without 193 pu- pils of the Clinton and District Chrfstian School, 8113 pupils ca $529.335 each, $4,294,495; Grant 70.70%, $3,036,208; Taxpayers' Cost, $1,258,287; Equalized Mill Rate 3.98 mills. B. With 193 pupils of the Clin- ton and District Christian School, 1. Recognized Ordinary Expenditure, $4,396,657; 2. Ordi- nary Expenditure Grant, 71.39%; 3. Equalized Assess- ment, $315,869,227; 4. Equalized assessment per pupil, $38,029; 5. Average daily enrolment, 8306; 6, Recognized Expendi- ture per pupil, $529.335. RESULT: 8306 pupils (a $529,335 each, $4,396,657; Grant 71.39%, $3,138.773; Taxpayers' Cost, $1,257,884; Equalized Mill Rate 3.98 mills. Comparison: Taxpayers' Cost without Clinton and District Christian School pupils, $1,- 258,287; Taxpayers' Cost with Clinton and District Christian School pupils, $1,257,884; Dif- ference, $403. The above comparison indi- cates Mr, Broadfoot's claim is grossly exaggerated. What he failed to recognize however, is the effect the local assessment of the parents whose children attend the Clinton and District Christian School, has to the Huron County Board taxpayers in spreading over, at a lower taxrate, the unrecognizable extraordinary expenditure of the Board, such as transporta- tion, debt charges etc. It be- comes obvious that there is an overall advantage to the Huron County taxpayers without the 193 pupils who attend the Clin- ton and District Christian School while the supporters of the Christian School receive no benefit whatever. Parents whose children at- tend the Clinton and District Christian School pay thousands of dollars each year in elemen- tary school tax to the County Board for which they receive no value. We therefore believe our request is justified to share transportation facilities and eliminate the need of running ses on the same route. Revised facts are now before the taxpayers of Huron County and it is up to these taxpayers to decide on what is right, just, and fair, Cecil Bruinsma RR 4, Goderich