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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1966-02-03, Page 4"You've packed my purse.' ONE MAN'S OPINION by John C. laoyno Struggle A local problem Although we feel County Council Must accept wider jurisdiction over some matters including area planning and assessment, we agree their decision made last week to the effect that am- bulance service is a local problem. It may well be a difficult problem to solve, but the solution to this must be found at the local level. Although there are times residents of Exeter complain and feel they would like to have an ambulance stationed in town, most agree we do get good serv- ice. The cost of attempting to improve on this service would likely be pro- hibitive in regards to the amount of improvement which could be effected. We should be thankful we are not in the position residents in the north- ern portion of the county are in. They are facing the cancellation of ambu- lance service, or the alternative of pay- ing a large subsidy which will be an- other burden for the municipal home owner to pay. We are not altogether persuaded that this is the proper manner in which this should be paid for. The average home owner is groaning under his tax- load now and to add this cost to an al- ready heavy burden charged for in- creased education costs as well as ex- panding services seems a little unfair. Perhaps the time has come to as- sess what the property owner is paying for and what he gets in return. Cer- tainly in the case of an ambulance serv- ice he would be paying at an unfair rate. The idea of a poll tax has been dropped in most municipalities and yet this is, in our opinion, a fair way of raising money for needed local services of a non-permanent nature. Perhaps the best way to raise money to cover an ambulance service would be a charge of a set amount per resident rather than making the property owner carry the extra burden of this. Minor Hockey Week Voztvvt , . . By Vol Boltkalns With the editor in Kerr 's Korner The best evidence from the Bible and life experience is that there is real value in struggle— that at the heart of life there is a battle to be fought and won. They both appear to indicate that there is little development with- out struggle. Professor N. Wieman tells the story of a college roommate who desired to improve his intellec- tual life, "He procured a large comfortable chair that was thought to be good for study. He got study slippers and a lounging jacket. A book rest was fastened to the arm of the chair to hold the book at the right angle before his eyes. A special lamp was in- stalled along with an eyeshade, pencils, paper and revolving bookcase, He would come into the room after the evening meal, take off his coat and put on his jacket, take off his shoes and slip into the slippers, adjust the study lamp, put the book on the book rest, recline in the com- fortable chair with eyeshade over his eyes and when everything was perfectly adjusted he would go to sleep." That is often the case. When things go well we tend to grow complacent — we go to sleep mentally. There appears to be a real need for struggle, for some element of conflict, for some challenge, for something to drive us and motivate us. We seem to need something which enables us to respond with the woman who said, "I am like a deeply built ship, I drive best in a stormy wind." Our truly great writers, musi- cians and artists have tended to- wards tremendous inner strug- gles with themselves and their environment. Dostoievski fought T. B. and a ruinous gambling instinct. He fought the continuing battle between the influence of Christianity in his life in conflict with all the other influences, Tschaikovsky was a lawyer be- fore he finally struggled free to pursue his real talents. Gaugin was a banker for a decade be- fore he became an artist. Some truly great people have had real inner struggles. Dwight L. Moody a great evangelist of another era once Said, "I've had more trouble with p, L. Moody than with any other man Iknow." Psychologists say that the great o rat o r Demosthenes be- came great not despite his starn- mering but because of it. The ob- stacle aroused his desire to over- come it. Lincoln became a great poli- tician at least partly because he had a tragic ongoing struggle with himself. He developed in- sight, understanding, sympathy, humour and wisdom this way, So it's not surprising to see the greatest Biblical figures in this struggle. We see a Moses seeking to evade his responsibil- ity as a leader because he can't speak well, We see Jacob wrest- ling with his God. We see Jesus sweating blood to say, "Thy will be done!" We see Paul saying, "The good that I would I do not, but the evil which I would not that do I." But precisely because they struggled they can help us. Love, sympathy, and sensitivity are de- veloped in this way. As Thornton Wilder once put it, "In love's service only the wounded can serve." Those who have been of most help to alcoholics have gone that way themselves. When William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army was told that he was going blind he asked his son, "You mean that I am blind?" His son answered, "I fear that we must contemplate that." "I shall never see your face again?" "No". The old man reached out to his son and said, "I have done what I could for God and the people with my eyes. Now I shall see what I can do for God and the people without ,my eyes." To such people the struggle of life is never a shattering dis- aster, It is a battle to be faced, fought and won. And in so strug- gling they inspire us all. 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111011111111111111111111111111111111i11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 SUGAR AND SPICE Dispensed by Smiley Once again the call has gone out to parents, take, rather than send, your boy to the arena. It is Minor Hockey Week in Canada and although Exeter is observing this one week later than most municipalities across the country, we are sure the program planned will equal that of other towns and villages of comparable size or even larger. Exeter's Minor Hockey Association is a rather special one and one the town can well be proud of. The Associ- ation deals not only with local boys but also with those from neighboring town- ships and villages. It is on the ice, in friendly competition that these boys start the association and friendship which sets the stage for dealings in later life. Co-operation a n d understanding between the rural r -ddents and those in town is essential to area develop- ment. A personal association started in the ranks of minor hockey often grows into a lasting friendship. There could be no more approp- riate time than now to compliment the many adults who work year after year as coaches, managers and as members of the executive providing this service for the youth of this area. This is a long time-consuming job and their only reward is watching young boys develop into adults and knowing they have had a hand in shaping the boys' character. There is no delinquency problem in Exeter and while there may be many factors contributing to this, one of the major ones must be the strength of the minor hockey association. This group and the many other youth groups of the town serve a great need and we cannot speak too highly of the volun- teers who get out and make sure these operate properly. There is a good program planned for Saturday, February 5. A good way for parents to show their appreciation to coaches and managers as well as supporting their boys would be to stay and see them play. Besides you'll en- joy it, Guest Editorial Is anybody listening? Shift work Lions Gate Times, West Vancouver In an average week at this time of the year the flow of traffic safety lit- erature across an editor's desk becomes a landslide. Some of it is well-written; all of it well-meaning. The message is always real and important. But as drivers of cars methodically go on kill- ing and maiming themselves and oth- ers — 1,383 Canadians dead and 40,893 injured in traffic accidents in June, July and August last year — it's hard to believe that anyone is listening. Maybe we're sated with numbers and cautions and photographs of cars curled around hydro poles. Maybe a traffic accident looms too small in this era of the bomb. Somehow, though, if only because this kind of carnage is so unnecessary and wasteful, people who drive have to discover that death in a car, or from a car, is just as per- manent and much more likely than most other kinds. And somehow, peo- ple who talk about safety have to use terms that will make motorists listen. Maybe like this. Safety tip: "A 10-mile trip takes 15 minutes at about 40 miles per hour . . and 8.6 minutes at 70 miles per hour. How much time do you have to save?" Another way to say this is that once there was a man and wife and baby doing 70 on a two-lane road be- cause it was seven p.m. and the motels as opposed to $61,834 in 1964. The wisdom of having an inven- tory of this size just before the harvest seems questionable. It was stated at the public meeting that six days after harvest start- ed the facilities of this plant were filled and we wonder wheth- er this large inventory might have had a bearing on this. It could be the Board's company lacks management rather than facilities. The recent meetings held in regards to the Board's proposals have not been without some good. Alternate measures have been proposed which include tempor- ary on-the-farm storage much used in the State of Michigan and growing in favor in Kent County, both high bean produc- ing areas. The suggestion has merit and we are sure many area growers will be looking closely at this proposal. We do not argue that more storage and processing facilities are needed in Huron County. This is the largest bean producing area in Ontario and it is likely this will increase in the future as export markets are developed and beans remain at a steady price giving stability to the mar- ket. Our contention is that these facilities should be supplied by some other agency other than the Bean Marketing Board. I have listened with interest as both sides of this story have been presented to growers. I — please turn to page 5 schemes for processing and stor- ing beans and gets back to its proper job of giving good sound marketing advise to growers, the better will be the lot of all bean growers in Ontario. The Board has bumbled, bung- led and botched around in areas where it should have no juris- diction so that they have the en- tire industry in a turmoil. Feel- ings between dealers, the Board and growers have never been worse and the blame for the most of this must lay with the Board. The Ontario Bean Mar- keting Board is the only Mar- keting Board in Ontario which owns facilities which are in com- petition with free enterprise and their proposals to increase the size of their holdings is only adding fuel to the fire. If the members of the Bean Marketing Board believe the only answer to growers' problems is to build and own their own pro- cessing Plant then we suggest that they do just that. Our re- commendation would be that these men resign from their present position and form their own com- pany or co-operative andproceed with their plans. This would leave the path open for a reforming of the Bean Marketing Board and allow it to fulfill its proper func- tion and one that has not been fulfilled this year. In glancing at the financial statement of Ontario Bean Grow- ers Limited we see their inven- tory on August 31 was $145,715 were filling up, and they met a carload of teenagers cresting a hill, same speed. And one of them swerved a little, and there was that ugly inde- scribable crunch of metal on metal, and just time for the women to scream. One of them actually lived though. The prettiest teenage girl walks with a per- manent limp, but as her parents often say, she's lucky to be alive . . . Safety tip: "Remember that sum- mer holidays are here and children are at play. Motorists should exercise extra caution in residential areas." What this really means is that there was this man driving down a quiet street, not very fast, just a little, and it really wasn't his fault. The girl, maybe five or six years old, ran right out in front to grab her dog because she thought her dog was going to get killed. So now she is lying on the pave- ment, not moving, a wispy thing in a white blouse and pedal pushers. The neighbors are gathered around in hushed little knots and the ambulance is whining in, but too late. And the man stands there, sick at the stomach, not really believing it, and the child's mother is on her knees in the street, crying but not really believing it. But both of them will believe it soon enough, and never forget We could go on and on with safety tips like these. But is anybody listen- ing? 50 YEARS AGO The Exeter branch of the Huron War Auxiliary was organized in Mr. L. H. Dickson's office Fri- day evening. President is J. A, Stewart; secretary, H. J. White. Mr. Thos. Laing is offering for sale Lot 7 Hay Township London Road North, known as the old Case homestead. Mr. Wilfred Mack has taken a position as grocery clerk with J. A. Stewart. The material is on the ground for the erection of a new house on the farm of Mr. Harry Jones, London Road South, 15 YEARS AGO Harvey's Groceries, which was established in 1919, will be re- placed by a T. Eaton Order Of- fice, it was announced this week. For exposing himself to intense enemy fire to administer medical aid to a wounded comrade Pvt Everett E. Pollen, son of mr. Edward Pollen, Exeter, w a s awarded the S liver Star, the United States fourth highest award for gallantry in action. Operations at the district high school are back to normal this week after a hOwling snow storm stranded two school buses on their way home last WedneSday and forced cancellation of class- es, Times Established 1073 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 ereferZnietAnsocale SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND Member: C.W,N.A., 0.W.N.A,, CLASS A And ABC Publishers: J. M. Southcott, R. M. Southcott Editor: Kenneth Kerr Advertising Manager: Val Baltkalns Phone 235.1331 it hasn't improved much during the intervening years. This year, at our school, we're on a double shift. A combination of post-war baby boom and bu- reaucratic red tape have pro- duced a situation in which the populations of two entire schools, some 2,000 students are sharing a building intended for half that number. The school board had two al- ternatives. They could have each student hold another student on his or her knee all day, or they could run two shifts. They favored the forme, be- cause it would save on teachers, lighting and books. But some par- ents were pretty annoyed at the idea of their 88 pound daughters holding a 200 pound f o o tb all player in their laps all day. So the school board fearlessly com- promised and voted for the shift system. And that's why your faithful reporter lurches out of bed at 6.15 wildly groping for the alarm clock, has a coffeee break, if there is one, at 9 a.m., and eats lunch about 10.30 in the the morning. In theory, it's wonderful. Teachers have all afternoon to sleep, golf, curl or hunt, and the evening to prepare lessons. Good for the students, too. They have their homework all done by dinner time, and can watch TV or wash their hair, or go tothe poolroom. All we have to do is get to bed a couple of hours earlier than in the good old days. In practice, it's horrible. Wives persecute husbands in the afternoon with shopping, scrub- bing, repairing, nagging. If you sleep in the afternoon, you lie stark, staring, insomniacal, at night. If you work or play, you fall asleep in the middle of dinner, baked potato half chewed. Nobody goes to bed any earlier than they ever did. And what we wind up With is a pedantry of red- eyed teachers, frayed at the edges, facing a gaggle of yawning teenagers, some of whom were up at 5 a.m. to catch the school bus, every morning at 7.45. Ever been on shift work? Most nurses have. Many industrial workers have. Farmers, execu- tives, merchants, office workers — and until recently, teachers — have not had that delightful experience. First time I ran into it was on my first job, when I was 17 — back in the middle ages, some- times known as the Dirty Thirties. I have been a stalwart champion of the working man ever since. It was on a steamboat on the Great Lakes. Seven days a week. For a dollar a day. I worked the graveyard shift. Except that in those days it was a shift and a half, from midnight to noon. And it seemed to be rolling a little every midnight. Just enough to make you queasy. Sick at heart, sick at stomach, we groggily made our way to the galley, about 11.30 p.m., for "breakfast." The night cook was a jolly Oriental gentleman called Sing. He couldn't sing. And he couldn't cook, either. But his heart was in the right place. He knew we needed sustenance for the 12 hours ahead. Chuckling merrily, he'd pile our plates with greasy eggs, greasy ham, greasy fried pota- toes. Sometimes for a change, there'd be greasy sausages and bread fried in grease. Even a 17-year-old stomach, the human organ that most closely resembles a ceinentmixer, could not take it. We used to push the greasy gob around the plate, and settle for some greasy coffee. But the Clincher, the thing that really made our stomachs heave, that made us rush from the galley to our jobs of cleaning out the lavatories, was the dessert, Triumphantly, Sing would sing out, "You like nice Boston Cleam Pie? I got" Now, as you probably know, Boston Cream Pie is a rich nauseous concotion of custard topped with cream., Almost 30 years later, I still gag when I see it on a menu, As you may have gathered, I didn't like shift work then, And Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ont. Authorized as Second Class Mail, Post Office Dept, Ottawa, and for Payment of Postage in Cash Sometimes we are forced to get a little bit of extra education, whether we like it or not. During the past month I have been forced to read and study a great deal in regards to the white bean industry and the Bean Marketing Board, in order to present a comprehensive picture of the problems and pro- posals which growers are facing when they go to the polls next week. Although I am not a bean grow- er, and do not profess to be an expert on the bean industry, I feel this newspaper must attempt to bring some of the main points of this controversy into the open, examine them and make recom- mendations. Many readers must be as tired of this subject as I am and yet it is an important subject and so we must continue. One of the main points to con- sider in this question is is the Bean Marketing Board, and has the Bean Marketing Board, been doing the job it was supposed to do? And the answer to this is an emphatic no. The Ontario Bean Marketing Board failed the grow- ers miserably last fall whether with intent or not. In answer to this charge last week at a public meeting, chairman of the board, Robert Allan admitted, "possibly the board didn't do as good a job for the growers as it should have." This was an understate- ment. One of the main responsibili- ties of the Ontario Bean Market- ing Board is to assist the grower to get the best possible price for his beans. When they fail in this, to such an extent as they did last fall, then we must question their other proposals. It was charged that the Board's failure to properly advise the growers made it possible for dealers to make profits of $3 and $4 per cwt. It might not be clear to some growers that the Board was equally guilty and their own company, Ontario Bean Growers Limited made thes e same profits. It would seem there is a strong conflict of interest here and any expansion under the present set-up would only height- en this situation. Looking backwards it is rela- tively easy even for someone not in the bean industry to see the reasons how such profits were possible. The Ontario Bean Growers Limited as well as most dealers had sold quantities of beans under contract in advance of the harvest at a specific price. The Ontario Bean Mark e ting Board must have known this. It was necessary for dealers to pur- chase enough beans at the start of the harvest at a price which would allow them to fill these contracts. Poor harvest condi- tions in the State of Michigan automatically increased the price of Ontario beans but Ontario growers were not told of this until most of their beans had been sold at the lower price. The Board should have been in a position to advise growers of this market condition and we Understand the lack of eonfid- enee many growers have in the Bean Beard, We are not opposed to a plan whereby growers would own their own storage, processing and dis- tribution facilities, but we feel the setting up of this is not the responsibility of the Marketing Board, The sooner the Board forgets its grand plans and Paid in Advance tirculatiori, September 30, 1965, 4,208 SUBSCMOTION RATES: Canada $4.00 Per Year; USA $5.00 25 YEARS AGO Saturday, February 1, Hugh Morenz, eldest son Of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Morenz, Dashwood, was married to Annie Edith Ca- vell, eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Coleman at the Unit- ed Church manse Heneall, Practically all the roadS and concessions have been opened up with snowplows. Some of the roads have been blocked to Motor traffic Since Christmas. Mr, Les Coates, manager of the Exeter branch of Chainways, has been transferred to Listowel. In June last year he was married to Miss Margaret Ellerington of town. Exeter district will celebrate the opening of the war Savings campaign On 'F'riday night between 7;20 and 8:30 with a blackout lodger than 15 minutes, There Will be a penalty for showing a light during that time. .tee, ',Agfa= 10 YEARS AGO In a record 80 percent vote at flensali Monday veteran council- lor Norman H. Jones won a thumping victory in his first bid for reeve by scoring a double majority over his challenger. Betty Brady was elected pre- sident of "Jute-Boy Corners", Exeter's new teen-age club, at the organizational meeting in the arena this week. Reereation di- rector bouglac Smith conducted the election, Exeter branch of the Cana,w dian Legion voted Thursday night to go ahead with plans to erect a $25,000 addition to the Me. morial hall On William Street. The A u s ab 1 e Authority of.L fieielly adopted the $140.0eCt Morrison dam project iltUsborne aS Its major conservation Mea-6 sure at the annual meeting at Parkhill Wednesday afternoon,