HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1974-01-24, Page 4Summer hazard in Winter
We tend to think of droweiing as
summertime hazard. While it is true that
the majority of people drowned: in
Canada each year meet death in the late
spring and summer months, almost 10
per cent of drownings occur in winter.
From November 1972 through March
1973 alMost 120 people died by drowning
in Canada. Many of these fatal ac-
cidents took place on ice-covered lakes,
ponds and rivers.
Skaters ventured onto ice too thin to
bear tneir weight; hunters took im-
prudent -short cuts; snowmobilers, lured
by wide open expanses on frozen water-
ways did not stop to think of the weight
of their machines.
Last winter was a particularlyadene
,for ice safety. Cold snaps were'follqweC1
by unseasonal thaws. This type of
weather pattern creates what is called
"rotten" ice--ice which appears solid but
which is actually honeycombed with air
pockets. Ice which was safe for sports
only a few days earlier, was safe no
longer.
The Canadian Red Cross Water Safety
Service, concerned by the high toll last
winter has some tips and reminders for
winter sport fans this season.
"Ice safety starts with a check of con-
ditiona," says Al Thiessen, National
Director of the Canadian Red Cross
• Society Water Safety Service. "This
check should take place EVERY time,
before you go on the ice. Currents, tem-
perature changes, rain all affect the
solidity of an ice surface. If you're not
sure about an ice surface, stay off it."
"If, in spite of your precautions, you do
fall in, try to stay. as calm as possible.
Panic 'is your‘greatest danger,. Don't at-
tempt to clamber out of the hole. The
ice will probably keep breaking under
you. Reach your arms out over the ice
surface. Kick with your feet and legs to
get your body into a horizontal position. '
Try to slide onto the ice surface. Even if
the ice breaks, „continue this met69d.
You must distribute, ;Out-body
-
ht
oVer as" wide a area of ice surface as
possible. Once out, stay flat and wiggle
your, body away from the hole, until you
are on really solid ice again. Report
your accident to police as soon as you
can, to prevent others from falling in."
"And finally, if someone else goes
through the ice, don't rush up to help.
Stay back from the hole and extend a
pole, a branch, a ladder, or a rope to
him. You can improvise a reaching
assist by tying sweaters and wind-
breakers securely together. Tell him to
kick with his feet and to stay flat, that
you will pull him to safety."
Sugar and Spice/By Bill Smiley
The Jack Scott Column - - MO
"We're busy rigid now—could yo u come back when you're better?"
14014
Of ammo
fio ericioA.
From our early files . • • • • •
4-41,orrogNgweaocoRD, THURSDAY,, .JANUARY 24. 1974
Editorial Comment
History strikes again
common these clays to blame the
Arab nations for the economic woes now
troubling the world. But the malaise
goes much deeper than the decision of
oil rich countries to either limit the, flow
of oil, or to raise the price of this vital
commodity..
The eicploitation* of men and of riailo-ris
goes back to the mists of time. Ever
since the white, Western nations built
their industrial revolution on coal and
.steel, the world has been developing
unevenly. European countries, par-
ticularly the great powers of the last
.century. and early this century, used the
wealth of their colonies to enrich them-
selves, and thus forced other peoples to
serve their economic needs.
Cheap labor from Africa and Asia
enabled American settlers to' grow much
richer. than would have been possible
under normal circumstances. To put it
plainly, the poor nations within the
global community consider that ,the
development of the world has not
followed normal. patterns.
Today, they are trying to take
remedial action. , Those who'do not un-
derstand the poverty that exists in the
poor lands, may call it retaliatory action.
But thid is an unjust viewpoint. Already
the economic distortions the people of
affluent lands have taken for granted in
the past, have gone on for too long.
The sufferings of two billion people
living in poor lands and poor regiOna
have gone on for too long. The energy
crisis will hit them also, of course. And
yet history has struck at mankind once
again -trying to make humanity aware of
the fact that international as well as in-
dividual greed and selfishness serve_ no
one. (contributed)
Last Sunday's severe ice storm in the
district served to remind all of us how
helpless we are against nature's
vagaries.
It also demonstratively brings home
the pant that we can't live happily for
very long without our hydro. For most of
use, power was only off less than an '
hour, and meant minor inconveniences,
but for a• few, the'power was cut for up to
24 hours, and in a few cases,• it was off
nearly 30 hours.
Our collective hats have to be doffed
to the men of all the service areas for
the outstanding job they did in restoring
hydro, or telephone or the other service
so quickly.
Many of the men worked around the
clock, with no time off and few breaks.
Their devotion 9n the job goes beyond
their normal call of duty.
It's not likely ' that such devasting
ice will hit the area for many years to
come, but if it does, these dedicated
men will be there to answer the call.
Yes, you may call
Yes, you may call • me
Grampa. The kid arrived three
days too late to be any use as a
tax deduction. But we can't all
be perfect.
Aside from that, he is. Per-
fect. According to •the ladies.
He's a dandy little.fellow, with
rosy cheeks, his mother's
auburn hair, his father's eyes,
and his grandfather's sweet lit-
tle rosebud mouth. He's very
peaceful and sleeps a lot, so he
doesn't seem to have anything
of his maternal grandmother in
him.
There are certain occasions
in our lives that are peaks, even
though most of the time we
seem to be down in the valleys.
These are the times when
something special happens.
They don't have to be
milestones, like graduations
and weddings. In fact, these are
often so formalized, they can be
excruciatingly dull.
No, I mean those rare events
that are crystal clear, even with
the passing of years.
I don't remember a thing
about my birth, for example,
and that was supposed to be
something important.
But I remember vividly the
day in public school when I was
sick, sick, sick, was too proud or
too shy to ask to leave, and
vomited on the classroom floor
and all the way down the hall
to the lavatory, with my best
girl watching the whole sordid
thing. I was nine, and that was
my first affair. It died in the
bud.
I remember a baseball game,
in my teens. I was at bat. Bases
loaded, two men out, the count
0,nee and two, The next pitch
me gramps
was obviously low. I dropped
my bat and started to jog to
first base, forcing in the win-
ning run. "Stee-rike three!"
bellowed the umpire, Game
over, Instant ignominy.
I'll never forget my first real
job. Arrived at the docks about
midnight, thrilled beyond
reason. I was going to be a
sailor. Found a bunk. Couldn't
sleep, with the excitement of it
all. My heart resembled a
drumniing partridge. Had a big
breakfast and prepared to enter
manhood. I was seventeen. My
boss took me in tow, gave me
some brasso and a rag, led me
into a men's urinal, pointed at
the brass foot-plate and said,
"Clean it."
Another big day was the one
on which. I passed my wings
test. I had flunked one two
days before because the inter-
com was almost useless. The
instructor would tell me to. do a
steep bank to port and I'd do a
slow roll or a loop. He took a
dim view. It looked like
washout and back to manning
pool to wash dishes for_ the
duration, But I got a second
chance, flew like Jonathan
Livingstone Seagull and
walked on air for weeks.
Another time that is etched
in my mind is my first visit to
London. As the train neared
the great city, I was trembling
so violently I couldn't light a
cigarette. It was probably the
thought that I, a small-town,
smalltime boy, was actually
about to enter the setting of a
thousand stories, the home of
kings and queens, the fertile
spawner of a vast empire, I
didn't stop shaking until I'd
downed two pints of bitter.
You'd think a chap's first
operational flight against the
enemy would be a highlight.
Mine wasn't. I was , too busy or
ignorant to be even soared. All
those red and green things zip-
ping past the cockpit might as
well have been Christmas tree
lights, instead of tracer bullets.
But I don't suppose I'll ever
forget the day I was shot down.
One minute there was the snarl
of engines, the whack of cannon
shells, the crump 'of flak and
the dirty black spots in the sky,
as shells burst. Mates all
around me.
Next minute there was total
silence. No engine. No mates.
No flak. Just the blue sky
above, the dun earth below
coming up swiftly but dreamily
and me thinking, "Well, there
goes that date with Tita in Ant-
werp tonight."
There are lots of other peaks.
The day I decided I was in love
with a girl, once and for all,
and took the plunge, lifter
deciding that I wouldn't marry
until I was forty and had ex-
plored every means of escape.
And the day my son was
born. Hugging the knowledge
that I was a father and had a
son, even though I 'was in
hospital a hundred and fifty
miles away when he was bir-
thed.
And the day my daughter
'was born, slipping into the
world as easily as she has slip-
ped in and out of, equally
ridiculous situations ever since,
Anyway, the birth of my
grandson was one of the peaks,
I can tell, You can't fool an old
peak than like me.
Men of ire
To tell you the truth, f'm a
pushover for those fhagazine
quiz things designed to reveal
your secret, innermost charac-
ter.
Only yesterday I got the
highest possible marks in a self-
inflicted examination
called 'How Edgy Are You?'
Boy, am I edgy!! answered yes
to every question. Yes, when,
lying in bed I often compose
rude letters to local authorities.
Yes, it irritates me when
someone in my proximity chews
gum. Yes, I know more than
two people whose very presence
makes my temperature rise.
Yes, it maddens me when the
person behind me in a theatre
keeps fidgeting. Yes, yes, yes!
DaLnIn i t alLyes!
With a chid little-sinile--for-J
don't often get 100 per cent in
anything-- I then flipped to the
rear of the magazine where I
learned that I have absolutely
no elasticity or resilience and
that I'm in grave danger of
losing my inner balance.
This is about par for these
quiz games which go on the
assumption that if your
emotional response to life is a
10 •YEARS AGO
January 23, 1964
Frank • MacDonald has
notified his parents Mr. and
Mrs. Ron MacDonald, 122 East
St., Clinton, to tell them that
he will be leaving the Panama
Canal Zone no later than
Saturday: He and his family
have been in Panama for the
last six years but since the
trouble has broken out, matters
have radically changed.
Former Detroit Red Wing
player Jack McIntyre officially
opened the new Brussels arena
and ice plant Monday night.
McIntyre is currently the coach
of the Listowel juniors and
plays for the Guelph Regals in
the Ontario Senior League.
Mr. and Mrs, Roy Scotchmer
and Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd
Makins spent a day last week
at the home of their brother-in-
law, Ernest Vodden in
Woodham.
Robert M. YOungblut, a for-
mer Auburn boy, has been
promoted to the position of In-
struction Manager in the Ot-
tawa Education Centre of the
IBM. He will be responsible for
all customer and marketing
training activities carried on in
the centre 'as well as co-
ordinating the many special
educational activities required
for the federal government.
25 YEARS AGO
January 27, 1949
Still no snow, in fact the
weather is more like summer
than ever as Mrs. J,B,
,MacMath proved when she
brought in a few heads of let-
tuce and some parsley. She
brought in some from her gar-
den in Holmesville,
Fit. Sgt. Alexander
Velleman, Clinton, was one of
12 men chosen from the entire
student body of the Signal
School, Fort Monmouth, N.J. to
receive the Honour Reward for
the month of December. He was
selected because of his superior
qualities and adeptness in his
classroom plus excellent
soldierly conduct in his com-
pany.
Mr. and Mrs. E.J. Crawford,
Concession' 13, Hullett Town-
ship, on January 18 celebrated
their 56th wedding anniver-
sary. Mr. Crawfordj'N and Mrs,
Crawford who is 76 are both in
excellent health and celebrated
the occasion with just a small
gathering of friends.
The snow finally fell in fairly
substantial quantities Tuesday
morning and Wednesday. Clin-
ton finally has a wintry look for
the 'first time this year.
Mr. and Mrs. Walter Little
and daughter Beth, returned
today after spending a few days
with their parents in Port
Colborne and Stevenson.
50 YEARS AGO
January 24, 1924
Ben Gerry,' Brussels,
celebrated his 90th birthday on
Sunday. Although the tem-
perature was around 23 below
zero, he attended Wesley-Willis
church. Then on Monday, he
carried out his usual custom of
skating on his birthday.
Mr. Robt. Cole, of Milden,
Sask. who has been visiting his
mother Mrs. A. Cole, Blyth, ex-
pects to leave for his home on
Friday. It is seventeen years
since Mr. Coles last visited.
Blyth and old friends and
neighbours in' Morris Town-
ship.
Mr, George E. McTaggart,
C.N.R. agent of Blyth for the
past seventeen years, has been
removed to Watford. He had
visited Clinton many times in
those years and leaves behind
many 801detted friends', His
wife, daughter of the late Mrs.
Thompson of Albert St., and
family will remain in Blyth Un-
til spring.
The cost of maintaining dry
For a man whose threshold
of indignation is as low as
mine, this could mean a pretty
indolent life, riding around en-
dlessly on strange buses, eyes
closed, chin sagging. Sure, I
could hammer nails in the
basement, but nothing caused
me to lose my inner balance
more quickly than a sharp
crack on the thumb with a
hammer, the regular thing for
men of my elasticity.
I console myself with a
secret, innermost conviction
that, like most psychoanalyses
in popular magazines, this is
just to fill space. It. may well
be that a burst of bad temper
causes all sort of physical reac-
bons.' The endocrine gliinds,
tak`,".84, 'quit Cold:" Muscular
tension increases. Blood
pressure soars. Sugar courses
madly through the blood-
stream.
But I hold to the theory, you
see, that every motor needs
some revving now and then,
and like a whole lot of other
emotions--fear, joy, love, hate--
there's nothing quite so
therapeutic as giving them full
cbws and heifers was shown to
be $8.60 a week according to a
survey made by the Ontario
Agricultural College with dairy
cattle, They also came to the
conclusion that the best way to
handle veal calves from dairy
cattle is to market them at the
earliest age that markets will
accept the calf.
Messrs. Gordon Sutcliff and
Harold Warrener have bought
out the Bedford Hotel',
Goderich, leasing the buildings
and purchasing the fran
chisings. Mr. Bedford is
retiring from the business but
will remain a citizen of
Goderich.
75 YEARS AGO
January 26, 1899
Mr. Louis Durand spent a
few weeks visiting friends in St.
Joseph. Mr. Durand intends
opening a dry-goods store in St,
Joseph.
Mr. F.J. Ball of Base Line
left on Wednesday of last week
for Escondito, California,
where he may make but a short
THE CLINTON NEW ERA
Eslohlishottl 1865
Morami, Canadian
Cerawarnity Ntivispepar
Aneclatkon
NUB OF HURON COUNTY
throttle. Nobody will ever con-
vince me that the way to,
dissipate a good, healthy an-
noyance is to drive nails or take
a bus ride.
The way to dissipate it is to
get rid of it by leaping up and
down and beating your pudgy
fists to your temples and
shouting and generally making
a , fool of yourself.
For surely temper is man's
built-in safety valve, cunningly
designed to take the homicide
out of watching television com-
mercials, waiting for wives in
the rain, topping drives off the
first tee or any of the eight
million other commonplace
things that co'me, to rough every
man's edges,
Show me a man who.. files
away his little irritations, who
presents a false facade of
serenity when he's mentally at
the full boil, 'and you show me
a man who is storing up an
awful cache of dynamite that's
bound to detonate one day with
a terrible bang,
Better, I say, to go to pieces
like a gentleman, little by little,
tantrum by tantrum.
stay or remain for several mon-
ths. Mr. Ball has contemplated
taking this trip for some time
and has finally made it.
Mrs. Connell of Clinton is
spending a few days with her
daughter, Mrs, Wm. Carter in
Hullett.
Hullett can boast of having
the largest boy in the county for
his age. The youngest son of
Wm. Farquhar is only twelve
years old but weighs over 140
pounds.
Ruts and railroad tracks
are pitfalls of many an inex-
perienced driver, especially in
winter, says the Ontario Safety
League. When crossing them,
first slow down, then steer
across them as squarely as
possible. If caught in tracks
or ruts, decrease speed before
turning out of them.
* * *
When pulling a trailer on
slippery pavement, be sure to
have chains on the trailer.
The Ontario Safety League says
that thi8 will help prevent
sideslips.
Amalgamated
I924
we get
letters
Request
Dear Editor:
Throughout the year there
are happy days and sad days —
days when you're up and days
when you're down, But around
Christmas time we make 'an ef-
fort to create 'happy days, and
we're helped in this process by
everyone around us. .
Sometimes it's a very tough
job to make people happy, even
at Christmas time -- and "I'm
talking about the children who
are afflicted by muscular
dystrophy. Christmas to them
certainly brings many little
pleasures, but in the back of
their minds it is another year
ticked off on a, calendar that
may only contain, nineteen
years.
It's going to' take a major ef-
fort to make Christmas a happy'
time 'for these children. Toys
and other gifts are only a tem-
porary diversion. The only
thing that will lift the cloud
from their minds is hope. That
hope lies in the success of
medical research.
We realize that the new year
means the arrival of .Christmas
bills as well as the usual crop
that come at the end of any
month. For us to add another
account may cause you a
mOment's 'concern, but it is not
, a demand -- just a request. The
amount is unspecified and can
be measured only by the size of
your heart -- it's a donation to
help the many children with
MD .who cannot ask for them-
selves. That's why we don't
hesitate to put their case. We
know that you will help them if
you can.
Yours truly,
Mary Ann Wickham,
Registered Nurse
MDAC
National Director
P.O. Box 392,
Station F
Toronto 5, Ont.
Tenders
Dear,, Editor:
84Oti;;Inight,'be;:.'intereSted to
include' in your next edition the
news that tenders are now
being called for renovations to
Building 71 and a greenhouse
addition at Centralia College of
Agricultural Technology,
Huron Park for the ministry of
agriculture and food.
The renovations, covering
approxiinately 5;000 sq. ft,, con-
sist, of converting an abandoned
prefabricated metal barrack
into areas for laboratory,
mechanics, implement and
other storage; office space,
lunch and wash rooms. A new
prefabricated greenhouse, 18' x
30', will be added to the
building as well.
Specifications call for struc-
tural alterations to relocate
windows and install overhead
doors, new interior stud par-
titions, resilient floor tile,
washrooms, and painting the
building inside and out. New
mechanical and electrical ser-
vices are also included, as well
as an asphalt paved driveway
in the sitework.
Approximate construction
time for the contract is
estimated at four months by
ministry of government services
staff who designed the , project,
Yours truly,
Jack Riddell, M,P.P.
. , Huron.
'News-Record readers are en-
.couraged to express their
opinions in letter to the editor,
however, such opinions do not
necessarily represent the
opinions of the News-Record.
Pseudonyms may be used by
letter writers, but no letter will
be published unless it can be
verified by phone.
THE HURON NEWS-RECORD
Established 1181
°Mob WNW
Thank—gou
whit more varied than that of a
head ,of cabbage you're in bad
trouble.
My own, scores have proven
that I am a failure at marriage-
-though I've been married more
than 30 years --and that I'm
miscast in my job---more than
30 years at that, too--and
maybe I shouldn't have been
born in the first place.
Take temper. The average
man, it seems, loses his temper
twice as often as women or
about six times a week, usually
in the hour preceding a meal,
and this is regarded by several
leading psychologists as 'an
abdication of manhood.'
Instead of flying off in all
directions, the victim is urged
girPaiisie 'and take several deep
7 breaths or to run down to the,
basement and hammer nails for
awhile. Another alternative is
to collapse physically ("close
the eyes, allow the chin to sag
and the body to go limp,' it
says) or, if it's a severe case,,
''take a bus ride on some not
too familiar route.' I didn't
make this up. That's what it
says.
Published every Thursday
at Clinton, Ontario
Editor AMINO IL illiasereld
General Manareiri
, J. Hoorah! Aitken
Second Clain Male
repletrallosi Se. 061T
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