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The 'system, of justice throughout
this country is often criticized by many
people, primarily because the
punishments handed out do not always
appear to bear any sensible relationship.
To form an opinion on the cases on
the basis of the limited information
supplied by the news media or street talk
adds to the problem. Without the
background information and the record
of the accused person, it is foolhardy to
attempt an expression of opinion
regarding the various penalties.
In recent court sessions, a youth
from this area was sentenced to nine
months in reformatory for the theft of
liquor from an area outlet. This penalty
appears stiff indeed in relation to the
comparatively light fines handed out to
some drivers who have been involved in
fatal accidents.
No doubt the presiding judge based
his opinion on the record of the people
involved in the various incidents and was
of the opinion the youth who
committed the thefts needed some
correctional training.
On the other hand, a driver
responsible in a fatal accident probably
was not driving any worse than the
hundreds of others involved in accidents
in which there are no fatalities.
The cause of the crash, of course,
must be considered as well as the effect.
Two persons may be charged with
careless driving. Each may have fallen
asleep at the wheel and careened into the
ditch. In one instance, no one may be
injured, and in the other a person may
be killed. But should the penalties for
the act be different.
There will be differences of opinion
on that question, and even among the
men who make the decisions in the
courts of law. As long as humans are
involved in the decisions, there will
always appear to be contradictions in the
penalties handed out.
However, one disturbing aspect of
the .court system is the prevalence of
charges being dropped or reduced,
particularly when an accused person
decides to contest his case.
Too often the Crown appears ready
to take a guilty plea on a lesser charge as
opposed to fighting the case on the more
severe charge.
An area youth appeared in Exeter
court last week, facing three counts.
They were impaired driving, driving
while over 80 mgs., and careless driving.
Through his defence lawyer, he
ended up pleading guilty to careless
driving and the two more serious charges
were withdrawn.
Another person faced five charges
arising from one incident and he pleaded
guilty, through his lawyer, to two of the
charges, Again, the most serious charge
was withdrawn.
It's difficult to argue the pros and
cons of this situation because the facts
of a case are different from any other.
Is it a matter of laying a number of
charges in the hope that the accused will
become frightened at the aspect of a
severe penalty and readily plead guilty to
one of a more minor nature?
Or, is it a situation in which the
members of the legal profession cut
down on the amount of work for each
other?
Or perhaps, our court dockets are
so filled that it's necessary to avoid
lengthy contested cases where pleas on
lesser courts can speed things up. If that
is the case, the system should be
scrutinized with the thought of adding
more staff.
In the case regarding the driving
while over 80 mgs., it appears strange
that this would not be held over until
the legality of the breathalizer tests are
known.
Unlike many charges which are laid
upon the basis of a human decision, such
a charge is based on scientific evidence
and appears most difficult to defend
against.
Why then, would the Crown not be
prepared to contest this charge rather
than accept a plea of guilty on a lesser
charge of careless driving?
Many other persons have appeared
in court on charges of driving while over
80 mgs. and to our recollection, none of
them have had the opportunity to plead
guilty to a lesser charge of careless
driving.
It may be more than coincidence
that few of them have been represented
in court by lawyers either.
This aspect of justice does not
appear fair, and it is quite prevalent in
Huron County.
Think of
all the
cool things
about a
frostfree
refrigerator
freezer.
Worth pondering
For many years winter-wearied
Canadians welcomed Empire Day on the
Queen's Birthday or May 24th. School
kids used to shout: "If they don't give us
a holiday we will all run away."
Now, Victoria Day, moved to the
third Monday in May, is observed in all
provinces except Quebec which prefers
Ascension Day earlier in the month.
Both days increasingly mark openings of
summer cottages, family outings, often
with tent trailers and the smell of bacon
cooked on open fires.
But the word Victoria has a deeper
or a victory meaning. It recalls the
quotation "Peace hath her victories no
less renowned than war." Surely this
theme in our atomic age has special
value. Positive signs multiply. Last
month the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. held
conspicuous and long-lasting
form of litter. Steel cans will
eventually rust away, although it
takes years for this devoutly
desired consummation to occur;
aluminium cans, on the other
hand,, are virtually immune to
norml oxidative corrosion and,
if left, would wink at us from
the verge for at least a
generation.
4. Glass bottles (145) are
surely the most dangerous form
of litter, and, to make matters
worse, they are virtually
immortal; when they are broken
(40), the hazard is merely
increased. The fact that almost
two thirds of the bottles in our
sample were returnable bottles
indicates that a two cent deposit
is not enough.
Considering that these bottles
actually cost about eleven cents
and that the two cent deposit
has not been increased in many
years, it seems evident that,
following the example set by
almost everything else, it should
be raised to five cents. (Wishing
Well have apparently done this —
more power to them).
The swing on the part of
many supermarkets in this area
to no-deposit bottles is recent,
and we predict that our next
census will show an increased
proportion of non-returnable
bottles, unless some thing
sensible is done in the interim.
This might take the form of a
tax on non-returnables, as
suggested by Murray Gaunt,
liberal MPP for Huron-Bruce, or
the complete banning of
no-deposit beverage containers
as in the legislation recently
introduced in British Columbia
by Kenneth Kiernan, Provincial
Minister of Recreation and
Conservation.
Either of these remedies lies
in the future. What the concerned
—Pease turn to page 14
collected the sample along ONE
SIDE ONLY of a randomly
selected mile of the highway.
The students left behind
literally thousands of pieces of
wet paper, but it still took four
cars to carry the "sample" back
to the Probe office where it was
categorized.
Here is the score: 145 bottles
(94 returnable and 51
no • dep osit, including 40
broken), 127 beer and pop cans,
43 oil cans, 163 plastic cups,
104 tops for plastic cups, 71
paper cups and small juice or
milk cartons, 390 pieces of
aluminium foil from cigarette
packets, potato chip packets,
etc., 389 pieces of plastic debris
— plastic bags, styrofoam, etc.,
119 pieces of rubber including
one whole tire, 53 pieces of
metal including one car wheel,
one driving mirror, a hub-cap
and four license plates, 25 pieces
of cloth including a shirt and
one trouser leg, 10 pieces of
wood, 5 pieces of rope, 3 large
plastic containers, 1 brick and 1
broken fluorescent light tube.
Dr. Bryce Kendrick, head of
the garbage census, came up
with the following conclusions:
1. Paper is numerically the
strongest component of highway
litter. Although it decomposes
fairly quickly, (less than a year,
if kept damp) it is constantly
being renewed and is a real
source of aesthetic or visual
pollution. The packaging
industry is indicted because of
its apparently overpowering urge
to wrap everything in several
layers of paper or worse still,
aluminium foil, (390) which
decomposes very slowly.
2. Expanded styrofoam hot
drink cups (163) and tops (104)
are becoming an important form
of litter. As far as we know,
these break down very slowly.
The other plastic debris (389)
behaves similarly.
3. Metal cans (197) are a
round two of their Strategic Arms
Limitation Talks begun in Helsinki,
Finland. Recently 1700 East German
students broke police lines at Erfurt to
acclaim Willy Brandt who came there to
meet their Willie Stoph and talk about a
United Fatherland.
More significant is the world's
peoples' call for peace. The little man is
tired of "war. It does not matter of what
nation, race, creed or color, he demands
peace. Evidence that the big powers
listen is Washington's sensitiveness to
criticism of the Vietnam war or South
Africa bending from protests against its
apartheid policy.
Pope Paul calls on modern man not
to "turn means of progress into weapons
of destruction." It is an appeal we might
ponder while enjoying Victoria Day.
Is cable TV a con game?
If someone suddenly asks you
to make a television appearance,
take my advice. Don't. Not
unless you can talk with
lucidity, intelligence and wit,
and have some professional
advice.
I went on TV recently and it
was pitiful. At least, according
to my wife. I thought I was
pretty good, seeing that we had
no script s lousy equipment, nO
rehearsal, and everybody
involved, including
the technicians, was strictly an
amateur.
Kim was watching, and she
Every housewife should have one.
Frost never forms. Not in the big
refrigerator section. Not in the big
freezer section. So there's no
defrosting. Ever. And you know
what that means.
No more dripping water to mop up.
No more waiting for frost to melt.
Your ice cube trays won't stick
any more. No more re-freezing
frozen foods.
You'll have more storage space,
because you'll be free of all
frost accumulation.
And your frozen foods won't
stick together.
Think about it.
Think of all the extra space you'll
have for stocking up on food bargains.
And besides all that, think how
much more attractive your kitchen
will look with a sleek new
frost-free refrigerator freezer.
NOW is the time to buy.
See your local appliance
dealer today.
thought I was the best, too,
which only goes to show you.
(She confided to my wife, in
private, that I seemed bored.
And I was.)
But my wife kept up a
running fire of comment "you
look terribly thin. You were the
grayest one there. Why didn't
you speak up? There was no
humor at all. Why did you slump
in your chair like a wet rag? You
put your hand over your mouth
once. What a dull program."
I think she expected a
combination of Fred Davis,
Pierre Berton, Walter Cronkite
and Johnny Carson.
It wasn't exactly a moon
shot, or an NHL game, though it
was just as interesting as some of
the latter we've seen this spring.
It WAS a dull program. It had
about as much zip and flair as
Ed Sullivan interviewing the
reeve of Hayfork Centre about
the bindweed problem.
It didn't help much that I'd
just come from a harrowing day,
and had had three hours sleep
the night before. Or that I didn't
—PleaSe turn to page 14
• , •
Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924
50 YEARS AGO
Kirk Bros. of Exeter have
opened a meat shop in the
Murdock Block, Hensall.
One of the oldest and most
esteemed residents died on
Wednesday in the person of Mr.
Digary Brand. The deceased for
years conducted a blacksmith
shop in Exeter North.
Mr. Leon Treble, a graduate
of the Times office, who, since
his return from overseas, has
been taking a course at the
Ontario College of Art, Toronto
has been successful in winning
two scholarships.
The resignation Of Rev. Dr.
Fletcher as pastor of Thames
Road and Kirkton Presbyterian
churches was presented to
Huron Presbytery, to take affect
in September.
Miss Verda Leavitt who has
been spending the winter at St.
Vincent, British West Indies,
spent a few days with her father
on her way to Walkerville where
she will assume duties as school
nurse.
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A., b.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC
Editor -- Bill Batten — Advertising Manager
Phone 23S-1331
' Published Each Thursday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Mail
Registration Number 0386
Paid in Advance Circulation,
September 10, 1969, 4,151
SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $6.00 Per Year; USA $8.00
A few weeks ago, we made
mention of the Defensive
Driving Course available to area
motorists through the Ontario
Safety League and the Ontario
Provincial Police.
The course is designed
primarily to instruct drivers in
how to avoid accidents with the
poor or careless drivers on our
highways, and as most readers
know, the numbers in that
category appear to be climbing
at an alarming rate.
Little interest has been
generated locally in the course,
but we were advised this week
that Ross Guenther of
Dashwood has recently
completed a course qualifying
him to become an instructor for
defensive driving lectures.
All that is required to get a
course operating in this district
is a sponsoring body, such as a
service club. There is a charge
involved in obtaining the
necessary films and lecture kits,
but most of this could be
recovered through an enrolment
charge to participants,
Any group interested in
undertaking this worthwhile
community service project could
get complete details from Ross.
As reported last week, the
accidental death rate in Huron
County is the second highest in
Ontario, so there is no doubt but
what this type of instruction is
badly needed. * *
Due to the recent illness of
the T-A sports editor, yours
truly has been filling in on the
sports banquet curcuit, a fact
clearly indicated by an
expanding waist-line.
One of the most noticeable
changes in the years since we
covered this beat is the
improvement in trophies handed
out to area bowlers.
The trophies have taken on a
more functional nature in the
form of lamps, bar sets,, serving
sets, etc. Suitably engraved, they
appear to make much more
attractive presentations than the
normal dust collecting type
which make their way onto the
mantel.
* * *
People who closely observe
pictures in our issue probably
got a big chuckle last week in a
sign shown on some equipment'
at Guenther Tuckey Transports
Ltd.
It said: "Keep our town clean
.. eat a pigeon for lunch",
The promoters of such a
campaign appear to have a fair
supply of lunches available and,
having witnessed the dirty
conditions in some areas
attributed to the birds, we wish
them well in their endeavour.
* *
Raising animals and plants in
the classroom can be interesting
and educational. It can also be
hazardous to health.
The Ontario Medical
Association has advised the
Ontario government of its
concern over the trend in
elementary schools to have
biologic and scientific exhibits in
the classroom.
The OMA allergists claim that
the raising of animals, plants,
fungi, flowers, and even
naturally growing, ragweed in the
classroom can jeopardize the
health of hypersensitive
children. Also, constant
exposure to these potent
allergents may develop
sensitivities in the allergic child.
Offending chemical agents
found in the school environment
include waxes and wax
removers, lacquers, paints,
solvents, glues and "magic
markers".
* k *
Exeter clerk Erie Carscadden
recently gave us a copy of a
newsletter from Pollution Probe
at the University of Waterloo.
His son Jim, working on his
master's degree at Waterloo,
recently joined a group of
students who conducted a
"garbage census" on Highway
401 near Xitchener. They
15 YEARS AGO
An unusual record of service
to 'the community was revealed
this week when influenza
prevented Dr. M. C. Fletcher,
Exeter, from serving his patients
on Sunday and Monday.
Robert F. Merew, B.Sc.,
M.A., of London, has been
engaged as head of the
mathematics department of
South Huron District High
School for the coming term.
Local police, officials of the
Ontario Automobile Association
and Exeter Safety Council will
co-operate to stage Exeter's first
motor vehicle safety check,
Friday.
Inspection parade of SHDHS
Cadets on Friday was termed the
"best" in the 11-year history of
the corps by Chief Instructor,
Lieut, E. D. Howey, Cadet
Services.
10 YEARS AGO
Dr. James Boll, 91, native of
Hensall and benefactor of South
Huron Hospital, died in that
hospital on May 8.
Miss Alice Claypole,
superintendent of South Huron
Hospital, was elected to the
executive of District No. 2
Regional Hospital Council at its
recent annual meeting.
Exeter has been designated as
a planning area by Hon. W. M.
Mickle, QC, minister of planning
and development, it was
announced this week.
A family reunion was held at
the home of Mr. and Mrs. Clarke
Fisher for Mother's Day. There
were thirty present
Mrs. Fred Revington, Lucan,
will join the staff of Exeter
public school in September, She
was engaged by the board to fill
the vacancy left by the
resignation of Mrs. Ronald
Ileimrich last December,
25 YEARS AGO
Last Friday evening the rate
payers of SS No. 5 Usborne held
a social evening and presented
Harry Frayne, returned from
overseas, with a gift.
Mrs. R. Gillies, who is in her
90th year, accompanied her
grandson to London for his
graduation at convocation hall.
Cpl. Lloyd Noakes, son of
Mr. and Mrs, Archie Noakes,
Hensall, has arrived home having
been overseas for five years as a
transport driver.
Sidney Hudgins, 70, of
Clandeboye, internationally
known harness race horse driver,
died at Victoria Hospital front
injuries received in a two car
collision during a rainstorm,
Thursday night. . -,
VII FROM Rosy REMO
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FAMIlY AND COMMON/7Y/
NEVER HOW A LIGHTED FiREWORK
IN YOUR HAND. U5E. A SAND-
FILLED BUCKET, BOX OR A
WHEELBARROW AS A FIRING BASE
CHOOSE A CLEAR UNOBSTRUCTED
BRIE AND KEEP YOUNG CHILDREN
WELL AWAY. ONLY ADULTS —
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UNDER BURERVISION
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