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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1969-07-24, Page 20NOW SERVING EXETER AND AREA Exeter Plumbing and Heating • Commercial • Residential • Industrial Phone 235-2670 EXETER FREE ESTIMATES Let us develop and print your films BLACK 8. WHITE or KODACOLOR. Guaranteed expert processing plus a new fresh film FREE, the same size and type of your original roll in sizes 127 - 126 - 120 -620 - 35mm only. ;~1ME TiI I HUNTLEY'S _DRUGS- Exeter Phone: 235-1070 • FILMS • CAMERAS •SUPPLIES MR IWO MB MI MI Nit 1.111 Mt VW MN 111111 ININ MR MIN collateral loans to our customers If you need money quickly for some short term emergency and you are a Victoria and Grey customer, see your V& G manager about a collateral loan. He's there to help you. VG The senior Trust Company devoted entirely to serving the people of Ontario. TICTORI4 and GREY TRUST COMPANY SINCE 1889 ciass cOmmionet5, newspapers Times Established 1173 Advocate Established MI exeferZimes-Alluocafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., 0.W.N.A., CLASS and ABC Publishers: J. M. Southcott, R. M. Southcott Editor — Bill Batten--- Advertising Manager Phone. 2354331 Arrielgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mall Registration Number tiX11 Paid in Advance Circulation, Septetnber 30, 1968, 4,520 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $,00 Per Year; USA $AD ovoiewe arit icir Humor is difficult to find in most of this week's pictures, and no doubt some of the persons cleaning up South Huron Hospital were slightly startled when they came upon this scene. Percy came through the entire affair in good shape and the water line on the wall behind him opens up some avenues of conjecture. Perhaps after his many years without a drink, Percy really imbibed and kept the water from rising any higher. Imagine the shrieks that would occur if some student nurse in the future shakes his head quickly and he spews out some water in her eye! Our relief after getting last week's issue to bed was shattered somewhat by the comment from Ross Haugh that he didn't know what we would do to fill this week's paper. Newsmen are often accused of creating news, but we assure everyone we had nothing at all to do with creating the storm which in fact fills this issue. There may be some who would be slightly suspicious if we reported that the editor happened to be one of the fortunate few who didn't get any water in his basement. Nor should we mention we actually benefitted from the storm. Some weeds we were trying hard to ignore in the garden were flattened and an area of the lawn we were levelling was completed with the heavy rain and hail. The only thing we suffered was some aching joints after we plodded our way through the cold waters taking pictures for five hours or so. We've added a couple of pages to this issue to illustrate the storm and the damage and we imagine those readers who did not witrie the scenes will find them most difficult to imagine. The rest of this column was written Thursday morning before the storm, so it may appear rather mundane in view of the other items. If you wish, you can read it next week while we're on holidays and after some of the excitement of the storm has subsided. Similar to most other people, we have a certain dislike for getting our knuckles rapped, but we were pleased that Councillor Helen Jermyn did some checking into the situation regarding the building permit issued recently to Milt Keller for a two-unit home on Hill St. Mrs. Jermyn has obviously been doing some home work (her students would be proud of her) and came to the conclusion that perhaps council wasn't wrong in issuing the permit on the beds of frontage on the lot. Her argument appears sound, and perhaps the planning board will give us some indication of where they came up with the statement that the frontage should have been 125 feet. The zoning bylaw indicates that 60 feet is sufficient for a semi-detached dwelling. The dispute may arise over a definition of the type of structure to be erected, and while there is no value in flogging a dead horse, it would be interesting to know who is right in the matter. As far as the building is concerned it doesn't really matter because it is well underway. However, for future considerations, council and the planning board should come to some conclusion on the situation. Our previous comments in the column which were critical of council were based on the planning board opinion, and if this is in fact incorrect as Mrs, Jerrnyn suggesta,we apologize to council for our previous statements. * One of the most interesting debates during the flight of Apollo II was regarding the possibility of the astronaut; bringing back some dangerous germs from the moon. Millions Of dollars are being spent to ensure as far as possible that this does not happen; although obviously only time will tell whether man has really the ability to completely safeguard himself against such a possibility. Art Buchwald had an interesting column last week, comparing the millions of dollars spent to see that the astronauts did not contaminate the earth as compared to the millions of dollars being spent by the U.S. defence department in .producing nerve gasses and germ Warfare ingredients. In a make-belief interview with the government microbiologist and germ warfare expert he was given the following explanation. "If we contaminate the earth with germs (from germ warfare tests) everyone understands that we are only defending ourselves from the other side. But if we brought back moon germs and something happened, no one would forgive us." Mr. Buchwald may have let his imagination go too far, but perhaps his thoughts have some sobering connotations. It all boils down to the fact man has the ability to destroy life on this earth, but really he doesn't want to do it unless 50 YEARS AGO The many friends in town of Miss Dorothy White, Outlook, Sask. will be pleased to know that she has passed her Normal school examinations. Ailsa Craig ball team defeated the Exeter players in town on Tuesday evening. The score was 11 to 10. The visitors were going strong until their pitcher was forced to retire owing to injury to his ankle. The issuance of a special Canadian postage stamp commemorating the signing of the peace treaty is now under consideration of the postal department at Ottawa. Mr. George Weekes of Cincinnati, Ohio, inspector of the bridges and buildings of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, is visiting with his brother, Mr. James Weekes and his sisters. Mr. Edward Taylor, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Taylor of Exeter, saved a young lady from drowning at the Bend a week ago. 25 YEARS AGO Miss Ola Morley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Morley, having completed a commercial course at Clinton, has accepted a position with Spittal Bros. Richmond St., London. Flight Lieutenant Clifford Hicks ofCentralia, now a Flight Commander in the City of Ottawa fighter-bomber squadron in Normandy, met up with an old school mate, Corporal Andy Bierling, who is with the First Russets also in France. Mr. Samuel Jory of the 2nd concession of Stephen township, has sold his 100-acre farm to Mr. Hatold Fattier of'Creditoti. This past •Week Miss Irene Sweet attended the Summer School at Goderich for Young People .or if tIt0A and Perth counties. She acted as leader in the Missionary 'Education group. forced into it. But then, accidents do happen. While many of those who watched the moon trip were fearful that the astronauts wouldn't get back to earth safely, it is apparent that their lives were no more in jeopardy than many of those watching the thrilling historical episode on TV. Driving on earth is apparently much more dangerous than that of space. Some startling statistics were recently released by the Traffic Injury Research Foundation (TIRF) of Canada. The figures compiled by the group show that more than half of Canada's traffic fatalities involve alcohol. Of the 1,163 motor vehicle victims documented, 54.5 percent had been drinking and 43 percent had blood alcohol concentrations of 0.10 percent or greater. That latter figure is widely regarded as the point at which all human beings, regardless of their drinking habits, are considered impaired in respect to safe performance of the driving task. The report was confined to — Please turn to Page 9 15 YEARS AGO Nearly 200 housewives from as far as Windsor, Sarnia, London and from this district attended the Huron Waves Mary Hastings picnic at Grand Bend on Wednesday afternoon. Miss Jane Davis quietly celebrated her ninety-first birthday at the home of Miss Verna Coates. Messrs. William Kyle, Kippen; John Anderson, HensalI; William Lumb y, Goderich; Harry Mathers, Exeter; and. Lloyd Venner, Hensel' attended the Michigan State Shoot held at the Detroit Gun Club. The first Case 120 self-propelledcombine to be sold in this area was delivered to Lloyd Knight of Woodham, this week by Exeter Farm Equipment 10 YEARS AGO The hot summer has given Tuckey Beverages Ltd. Exeter, its "biggest season to date" according to manager Ross Tuckey. The 11 year-old firm has increased its staff to 30 to handle the demand. A new church — the town's eighth — will be built in Exeter soon. Tentative approval was given to the local congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses to erect a hall in the north-west section near No. 83 highway. Blaring of the plant whistle Saturday marked the end of the pea pack at Canadian Canners Ltd. here, The corn pack is expected to start on August 24. A land judging competition for Grade 12 students at SHDHS will be sponsored by the Ausable Authority this fall. Over 50 students are expected to take part Combined pitching efforts from Claude Tessier and Arnie Meyer has moved Zurich Lumber Kings into the lofty position of first place in the Huron.Perth Intermediate Baseball League, • 1.1" kilt:Caz „HO 07/$ IC% • Among the more fortunate Our own 'splash-down' Shortly after 1:00 p.m., Thursday, three American astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean to terminate man's greatest achievement. About two hours later, Exeter residents witnessed their own splash down, It was a two-hour rain and hail storm that dumped between four and five inches of precipitation on the area and turned a quiet residential area into a cascading stream with such force that it carried cars as much as 100 feet. For area residents, man's greatest achievement was over-shadowed by nature's power. At time of writing, estimates of the flood damage in Exeter and the crop damage in neighboring Stephen and Usborne Townships continue to mount, while at the same time a disaster relief fund has been set up to bring help to those hit by the waters and storm which completely inundated a large number of homes and businesses, stripped crops and created havoc at South Huron Hospital. People watched with awe and fear as the storm damage mounted, and those who e an't witness the scene will find it impossible to believe. After any such disaster, the first question that has to be answered is what steps can be taken to prevent a repeat. In this particular case, there appear to be none. It would be impossible to build drains to handle the volume of water that built up in such a short period of time, and in this case even the large storm sewer on Pryde Boulevard couldn't handle the torrential downpour. It was a freak storm, the likes of which has never hit before, and we hope never will again. The second question is what should be done if in fact a similar storm does strike again. Even one of a more minor nature can create danger for some places, and while floods have occurred before in the same area, most people were caught because of the sudden rise of the water. Town officials will have to ask themselves if a surveillance of the area during the storm could have given any indication of the events to follow. If so, future storms should prompt a closer observation so warnings can be given to those who may have time to remove personal belongings and records out of danger. This may have been impossible, but it is worth an investigation. A five-minute warning on Thursday would have reduced the damage considerably. However, the most serious aspect of Thursday's disaster was the lack of concern for danger displayed by some people. We were appalled to see youngsters wading through the swirling waters, In a telephone conversation last week with Griff Thomas, furniture store proprieter in Grand Bend, the topic was the holiday season. As a long-time resident of Ontario's foremost resort town, Mr. Thomas suggested that the government should devise some new method by which the annual vacations of workers in the province would be somewhat controlled to permit a more even flow of business for the tourist industry. The last week of July and the first week of August is the peak holiday period each year, Mr. Thomas said. During this time, many factories and businesses shut-down with the result that thousands and thoimands of Ontario people are hurled onto the vacation scene all at once. It would be nice, Mr. Thomas had mused, if this rush could be spread over the entire summer — maybe even into the other seasons — as a boost for the local tourist trade, In our opinion, the government obviously unaware of the dangers lurking there. The receding waters displayed large holes in pavement and sidewalks and a step in the wrong direction by anyone could have proven disastrous. True, most of the dangers were not made known until after the waters had receded, but we hope parents became aware of them and impressed upon their children the dangers inherent in such cases. Gasoline spilled into the water in some places, while in others there was raw sewage and even dangerous drugs from the hospital. Explosions were also possible. Children wading through the waters in their bare-feet were obviously testing fate. In such emergencies, police, firemen and other officials have too many problems on their hands to relinquish time to keep back adults and children who should know better. * Similar to most disasters,there were examples of human bravery and action that was heart-warming. Fire departments from four neighboring communities quickly arrived on the scene to assist in pumping out the basement at South Huron Hospital. Employees from stores in London, Goderich, Seaforth and St. Marys arrived to help out in the mop-up at Canadian Tire and most other businessmen were joined by friends and neighbors as they set about the task of cleaning up the debris. A number of youths walked along streets offering assistance to home owners, and people along every street made certain their neighbors were safe before they took any time to rescue what they could from their own basements. There were many cases of people working where they felt they were most needed, while at the same time realizing they could have been in their own homes salvaging belongings from the water or cleaning up the mess. With the establishment of a disaster fund, everyone in the community now has an opportunity to assist those who suffered damage in the flood. The provincial government will match each dollar contributed to the fund. Take a good look at the pictures contained in this issue. Think of the loss you would have sustained had your crop or house been in the path of the storm. Then be generous. would have a tiger by the tail if it decided to put certain restrictions of the holiday dates of workers in Ontario. While it would be helpful to the tourist industry if the vacation period could be extended over six months rather than two or three, it would be pure folly for the government to add vacation control to its long list of do's and don'ts for the laboring public. It would be as ridiculous to expect a family man to take his vacation in October next year to assist the tourist industry as it would be to order him work December 25 and take January 25 off instead! It just wouldn't be the same, Rather, the tourist industry must work to make the month of October as attractive to holidayers as the months of July and August. Imagination, promotion and the right kind of salesmanship on the part of tourist area workers is the only sensible way to derive any lasting benefits from the holidaying public. Tourist industry must attract