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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1965-09-30, Page 4EDITORIALS Conservation education Something new for this area in the form of conservation education was started last week as a complete class from Usborne Central school attended a three-day camp at Camp Sylvan. The idea of con- servation education is far from new, but having a complete class attending a camp such as this, def- initely is. Prior to this time, selected students from schools in the area attended camp, generally in. June of each school year. The new change was in effect an experiment, which will likely, in years to come, pave the way for most school children to benefit from a stay at a camp such as this. The benefits of having a class attend a camp such as this are many but one of the chief factors is that a class gets valuable on-the-spot information in regards to conservation at the start of the year, and teachers may then refer to this during courses as the year progresses. There can be little doubt that children will learn much more in a shorter length of time by an on-the-spot inspection of the subject at a location such as Camp Sylvan than they would through trying to visualize the subject through pictures and descriptions. • — Several people must be commended for mak- ing this experiment possible. The parents of the chil- dren, in understanding the need for this camp and giving their children permission to attend was of prime importance. The officials in charge of Us- borne Central school, in realizing the value of con- servation classes such as this, and including this as part of their curriculum is another. And of course the Ausable River Conservation authority in making a program such as this available. Camp Sylvan is owned by the Boy Scout As- sociation, London District and it is only through their cooperation that the property is made avail- able. The 240-acre site is an example of conservation in action and an excellent spot where students may be shown the need of conservation as well as the benefits. It would appear that this experiment was suc- cessful and future classes will be held. This is an- other example of the benefits of area schools where new courses can be instituted for various classes with- out disrupting the routine as would have been the case in the smaller one and two room rural schools. The success of a fair The 111th Exeter Fall fair has come and gone and reports from all officials indicate this was suc- cessful. The most difficult thing for the fair board now is to say thank you to all the people who assist- ed in making this event as interesting as it was. It takes a terrific amount of cooperation to put on an event like this each year and still make it interesting to those who attend regularly. There are always the few solid workhorses who carry out some of the main jobs but each year there are new faces to replace those who have dropped by the way- side. It must be frustrating to members of the board to count on individuals or groups for support only to find at the last minute that this will not be forthcoming. On the brighter side of the picture however there are generally new participants who volunteer to fill the gap. With the editor in Although part of the success of the fair this year can be accounted for by the weather, the ma- jority of this is due to hard work and the interest of a great many people. In some sections of Ontario there are fall fairs which are getting smaller or clos- ing each year. Because of this the accomplishment of the people of Exeter and area becomes more im- portant in that this fair is getting bigger and better. Members of the Fair Board will be issuing a public thank you to all who participated in the fair this year. We would like to give a special vote of thanks to members of the fair board for their work in giving Exeter a fall promotion which is a valuable. asset to the community. There is much which can be said about the benefits of a fall fair but only those who work at this throughout the year really know the enormous amount of work which is neces- sary to bring about the success of this. Kerr's Korner Dear Craig: During the last week I have rediscover- ed an important fact. A great many people draw a different conclusion after reading a newspaper column, and there are still a few around who will feel strongly enough about this that they will write letters to the editor. More than this, there are still a few of the old type around who will send their comments without signing their names, showing of course they have very little guts and much less brains, if they feel this will worry us. This has been a most interesting week' and rewarding in many ways. Although I have been criticized for my decision of two weeks ago, I have also had some support from unexpected quarters. To lapse into the vernacular, "I opened a can of worms" and as you know it always takes a little time for the air to clear for people to think rationally and come to their final conclusion. It takes a little patience and perseverance to wait out the storm until, people get over being angry, but it is well worthwhile. When you are in the thick of the abuse, you of course, start to wonder about the original decision which only goes to prove the importance of full consideration of any matter which is going to effect the public at large. As I mentioned last week I received some immediate reactions in the form of tele- phone calls. Following this I received two letters which were signed and will appear in this issue expressing criticism of my report. One of the strange things about these letters is the fact that one indicates the publication of this report hurt the board and the other feels this publication hurt the principal. I also received a hand drawn "award" from some frightened little coward, presenting the paper with a facetious "scandal award" listing the Times-Advocate in first place, Flash in second and Hush in third. One of the letters is signed by one of the teachers at the high school speaking on behalf of the majority of the teachers. The letter will be unsigned for publica- tion at the request of the writer and I only have the one signature. I feel to be fair in the instance I must publish this without demanding a poll of teacher opin- ion. As you probably noticed in the last copy of the paper, John Boyne, our columnist also took me to task on this subject. He drew some interesting parallels to prove his point all of which 'of course are de- batable. This column was taken to heart by a staff member here, Morley Chalmers, and so we have another letter to publish. It was encouraging to pick up the tele- phone last Thursday morning and have John Boyne compliment me on the re- marks I made last week in Kerr's Korner, and also to indicate that it was just pos- sible that the decision to publish this might not have been all bad. This action of course is the mark of the thinking man who is as willing to see one side of a question, as the other. I was forced to raise my opinion of the man another notch, not just because he gave me a little support and encouragement after a long hard ses- sion, but because he was willing to reas- sess the situation after seeing and hearing the results of public opinion. I talked to the principal of the high school, Douglas Palmer last Monday andI was very pleased to have him say this was a fair and factual account of what both he and Mr. Armstrong said at the meeting. He indicated, that if there was any fault involved, it was in that he had answered these questions at a public meeting. This is true of course as a member of the board suggested this meet- ing be closed but it was decided to leave this open. The storm is now over, the crisis is passed and I think everybody has a little better taste in their mouths. I for one am very happy to see this matter closed as it could have had a damaging effect on the reader's outlook towards this paper. As you know I have always felt my sense of responsibility to the public very strongly and to have a situation such as this occur before I had been here two months could have slanted people's outlook towards me and of course, more important, the T-A. I am blessed with a good• and under- standing publisher, thank God, and. this of dourse Makes this job a little ea'sier. There are publishers in this world who will run from a public controversy and thus "ham string" their editors. Here I have full support and the policy of the paper is, "If we believe we are right, we will carry on, and there is no chance for a small minority to exert pressure. It would be hard for anyone, except a newspaper editor, to realize just how much this can mean in allowing a newspaper to do a worthwhile job for a community. There will always be times when the newspaper must make a stand. The man that makes this decision must of course be the man who is closest to the problem and who has studied both sides of this. This is the editor. This past week has been a very busy one and as a result I had my first night off Friday evening. September is normal- ly a busy month and with extra political meetings to attend it looks as though I am going to have to give up some of my free time this fall. This will balance off at a later date I expect and I will take things a little easier and attempt to do some private writing later in the winter. Right now my life is too full with my work and meeting new people to at- tempt to do anything except my job here. As ever, Ken 50 YEARS AGO Lucan, Biddulph and Parkhill are the latest on the list for local option cam- paigns. "Goldie" Cochrane, son-in-law of Wm. Leavitt, town, has enlisted with the engi- neer's corps and is now in training. Harry Beaver and Norman Boltzmann of Crediton are doing the carpenter work on the residence being erected by Mr. David Tiernan of Dashwood. The trustees of Winchelsea school have engaged two teachers and converted the school into two rooms. Fifth class work is now being taught in the school. 25 YEARS AGO Workmen during the past weeks have repaired and reinforced the .tower of Trivitt Memorial Church in which the bells are lodged and through the gener- osity of Mr. Fred Kingsmill, London, new steel cables have replaced the ropes. Mr. Kingsmill has a particular hobby for church bells. For forty years Mr. and Mrs. W, H. Dearing have been successful exhibitors at Exeter Fair. This year they won 40 or more prizes. For the first time in many years Zurich Fair was rained out. Rain started early in the morning and continued through the afternoon and everything was called off. Mr. Gordon May on the staff of the Canadian Bank of Commerce has received word of his transfer to the branch at Listowel. 15 YEARS AGO At least five boys from this district have enrolled at OAC. Grant Morgan is registered in the degree course at the college and Don Bell, Roger Vanden- bussche, Bill Mickle and Walter Creery are taking the two-year practical course. Mr. Harvey Sperling and his pupils of Winchelsea school won first prize in the parade at Exeter Fair and third at Kirkton Fair. The newly organized Lions Club of Grand Bend met at the Brenner Hotel for their first supper meeting Friday night. Seventeen members of Exeter club were present to assist the club in getting, a good start. Mr. George Walker has sold his 50- acre farm on Concession 3 Stephen Town- ship to Archie Webber of Exeter. 10 YEARS AGO Leslie Riley, 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Riley, Cromarty, entered 37 articles in Hensall School Fair Friday in a bid to become the champion exhibitor of the fair for the fifth year in a row. Keith Coates of RR 1 Centralia won reserve champion honors with his Here- ford steer in the Huron County 4-H Championship show at Seaforth, Friday. Ross Marshall of Kirkton won both the premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitors honors at the Huron County Black and White Day held September 21 in connection with Blyth Fair. The active shortage of water this sum- mer points up the need for greater con- servation effort. Ausable Authority Chair- man John A. Morrison told members at a dinner in Crediton Wednesday night. IMMOASE.f .IMMOSINNOSINWOMMAFAMIESEENSWENSMEWSEMBRENE'iNSERMVS. IDVNAMMEX:ISIMM, Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 VtetxeferZimeoUsocafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND Member: C.W.N.A.., C.C.N.R, and ABC PUBLISHERS: J, M. Southcott, R, M. Southcott EDITOR: Kenneth Kerr Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office DEO% Ottawa, and for WARVOIMSES.4;;;.....AVRLASVAMI-AN;4M3ORMW;MMARESANSWer-3;,.. Payment of Postage in Cash 111111111111111111111111111111j11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111I11111111111111111111111111111111111IIII ONE MANS OPINION by John C, Boyne Tongue control Hotson Propane Down on the form, profits grow With the use of LP gas. les the convenient, economical fuel for powering, form machines. REAP A HARVEST OF GREATER PROFIT Our society has made great strides in taming and controlling nature. Each day we learn more and more about how to control birth, health and death. The time could conceivably come when we can control everything but our- selves. We find it difficult to control even our mouths let alone other aspects of our lives. This is one reason words have become cheap. The day is nearly gone when a man's word was his bond. Our society is filled with people whose words create not harmony and mutual love but mutual hatred and mutual destruction. Strife, envy, gossip, and malicious back- biting are ever present compan- ions in our world and no one of us evades these things. As C. S. Lewis put it in one of his books, eReflections on the Psalms", "No evil is mentioned more often than this one of deceit, lying, slander, gossip and back- biting with the tongue. The Psalms mention lying lips, lies that cut like a razor — it's all through the Psalms. One almost hears the incessant whispering, tattling, lying, scolding, flattery and circulation of rumours". "No historical adjustments are required here. Here we are in a world we know. We even detect in that muttering chorus voices that are familiar one of them may be too familiar for recog- nition — our own". The Bible recognizes the ex- treme difficulty of trying to con- trol our tongues. James 3:7,8: "For every kind of beasts and of birds and of serpents and of things in the sea is tamed and hath been tamed of mankind. But the tongue can no man tame". James 3:3-5: "Behold we put bits in the horses mouths that they may obey and we turn about the whole body. Behold also ships which though they be so great and are driven of fierce winds yet they are turned about with a very small helm. Even so the tongue is a little member yet it defileth the whole body". The tongue may be small but it shows us up for what we are. It expresses our inner health or sickness. When we lash out at others we show a breach, a gap, a break in our spiritual health. This is again clearly expressed by James 1:26: "If any man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue . . . this man's religion is vain". But what can put a bridle on our tongues? What can lead to self control? Well it would help I think for more of us to remember Psalm 139:4: "There is not a word in To the editor, Because I believe that to keep silent at times is a greater wrong than to speak out, I am writing this letter. I disagree with the Editor of this paper on a certain issue and I want to state my case. The issue specifically is whether or not the press should be allowed to be present at all High School Board meetings. This same issue involves a wider and deeper issue of much more importance which I hope to illus- trate in the following letter. The Editor says that the press should and must have the privilege of attending all board meetings. His reasons are I understand, that he is protecting a basic freedom that of "Freedom of the press", and that he and his newspaper have a community responsibility to report fully in this area. Now please make no mistake, Sir; I am more than happy and thank God that I live in a country where one of our cherished "Freedoms" is "Freedom of the Press". 1,too lcherish "Free- dom of the Press". But surely, Mr. Editor, you must concede that with each "Freedom" we have an accompanying respon- sibility. Just as we grant a per- son License or Freedom to drive an automobile and expect this person to drive with respon- sibility, knowing what a danger- ous freedom driving a car is and that other people can be seriously injured by irrespon- sible use of the freedom, so people can be seriously a n d NEEDLESSLY hurt by irrespon- sible use of this wonderful right "Freedom of the Press". The right of the local School Board to meet at times without the press being present must be allowed. The right of any com- munity board to do so must be allowed and this is why. Over the years the Times Advocate's pol- icy hae not always been a respon- sible one in reporting in these areas. Before our good Editor reads further let this be under- stood. Often I have thought this same newspaper has done a very wonderful and praiseworthy "job" for its community. Many times it has excelled in corn ,. reunity service. Let this be understood before I go on. Yet Please turn to page 5 my tongue: but lo 0 Lord thou knowest it altogether". When we are constantly aware and conscious of God's nearness, God's concern it is difficult to hurt other people by what we say. Psalm 15 asks, "Lord who shall abide in thy tabernacle?" One of the factors given in reply is 15:3, ; He that backbiteth not with his tongue". God does not call us to watch our tongues, to hold them, to bridle them, to control them without at the same time pro- viding us with the power to do so. So may our words be an ex- pression of our spiritual health rather than an expression of our spritual sickness. I realize how idealistic this sounds in today's world. I realize full well that this plea leaves me open to a charge of not being realistic. But are we not living in a time when this sort of idealism must become the new realism? In the political field for ex- ample is it not time our poli- ticians raised issues instead of concentrating on personalities? Is it not time we left off the dramatics and dealt honestly with where we stand on any given issue? On the international level there is almost a total lack of trust between nations. This is so be- cause for years relationships have been soured by lies and de- ceit so that no one can possibly trust the other countries' word. But trust is built on confidence — and there can be no confidence where there is no honesty. When our word ceases to mean anything our relationships crumble — that is true in a home, a nation, and a world. I am still naive and idealistic enough to believe that this type of honesty, self-control, tongue control and the confidence they inspire are all the result of the Presence of God's Spirit. Since He is the last person we consult in most practical matters it is perhaps no surprise that this control seems to be sadly lacking at all levels of our society. For this reason perhaps the following from Beth Day's Three Gates of Gold seems so hope- lessly idealistic: Make it pass before you speak three gates of gold: these nar- row gates. First is it true? Then is it needful? Give truthful answer. And the next is last and narrow- est. Is it kind? And if it reach your lips at last it passes through these gate- ways three. Then you may tell the tale Nor fear what the result maybe". To the editor, The September 16 issue of the Times-Advocate carried what was, in the opinion of most of the teachers of the high school, a most distressing example of mis- guided reporting. It seems questionable to us whether rumour should ever be given space in print. The Exeter Times-Advocate is widely read, has received awards for excel- lence as a weekly newspaper and has even frequently been quoted in larger daily papers. Reporting of this sort of gossip could quite possibly cast reflections on the integrity of the town. Furthermore, the rumour that the "teacher relationship is strained" is grossly exagger- ated, as most rumours are. The majority of the teachers in the high school realize that problems arising out of the first week in a school of over 850 pupils, the many new courses, the limita- tions of space, and also the additional new staff, require pa- tience and the utmost co-opera- tion if the school is to function efficiently. That it is already doing so after barely two weeks, is testimony to the skilful ad- ministration of those in whom the school board has placed its confidence, as well as to the co-operation of the teaching and office staff. This letter has been written in an attempt to reassure the school board and the public in this matter. (Names on request) To the editor: It is perhaps unusual for a staff member to write a Letter to the Editor to his own newspaper for publication. But as a citizen and a newspaper reader there are a few things that must be said about Rev. Boyne's column, One Man's Opinion. At the very least, it's got to be said the column is generally excellent. But not last week. Mr. Boyne usually makes good sense both in his comments On things not usually associated with religion and with things that are. The column is not a lot of piping of pious sanctity. It means something, It communicates. It's -- Please turn to page 5 238-2005 GRAND BEND tie#44.41A 't• • ‘i••,,, • •• PAID ON GUARANTEED TRUST CERTIFICATES • issued in amounts from $100 upwards for 3, 4 or 5 •years. • earn the above indicated interest, payable half-yearly by cheque. • authorized investment for all Canadian Insurance Companies and trust funds. STERLING TRUSTS THE 372 Bay St., 35 Dunlop St., 73 Mississaga E., Toronto Barrie Orillia The Clinton District Collegiate Institute Board and its advisory Vocational Committee offer the following NIGHT COURSES for adults at Central Huron Secondary School. Clinton. GENERAL Courses will Commence 18 October 1965 and held if a sufficient number of candidates register course and providing instructors are available. Refunds will be made only under these circumstances. No classes will be held between 13 December 1965 and 10 January 1966. Courses will be conducted from 8 to 10 p.m. each Mon- day and Wednesday except that the technical and academic courses will be held from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. The nights on which courses will be conducted are shown for each subject. In addition to fees mentioned hereunder all candidates are required to be protected by the Board's liability insur- ance program. On enrollment $1.00 will be collected for this purpose. If you wish any courses not offered please indicate your interest in writing to Mr. R. Homuth, Principal or Phone 482-3471 before 4 October. will be for the REGISTRATION Registration will be held in the Auditorium Monday 4 October and Wednesday 6 October from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. BUSINESS COURSES All material provided. Fee $5.00 per subject. Candidates may choose 2 of: TYPEWRITING (Monday) BOOKKEEPING (Wednesday) SHORTHAND (Monday) BUSINESS MACHINES (Wednesday) BUSINESS ORGANIZATION and FINANCE (Monday) TECHNICAL COURSES All material provided. Fee $15.00 per subject. Candidates may choose 2 of: DRAFTING (Monday) WELDING (Wednesday) MACHINE SHOP PRACTISE (Monday) AUTO MECHANICS (Wednesday) ELECTRICITY (Monday) BUILDING CONSTRUCTION and HOME REPAIR (Wednesday) ACADEMIC COURSES Textbooks not provided. Fee $5.00 per subject. Candidates may choose 2 subjects if enrollment warrants classes 2 nights a week, GRADES 10 - 13 GRADE 11 NEW MATHEMATICS (Book 1) NEW CANADIAN COURSES Requires minimum 8 candidates. No textbooks provided. No fee. BASIC ENGLISH and CITIZENSHIP (Monday) RECREATIONAL COURSES Material not provided. Fee $5.00 per subject. Monday only. BASIC SEWING ADVANCED SEWING MILLINERY ART and OIL PAINTING NEEDLEPOINT DEPT. of AGRICULTURE Fee $10.00. First Class 25 October. FARM MANAGEMENT PROFITABLE FINANCE (Monday)