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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1971-09-02, Page 4Conflicting directions Stephen Township officials may be excused if they are presently shaking their heads in disbelief at some comments made by Ontario Municipal Board officials at last week's water hearing in the township. A year ago, the board refused a bid for a water system in the west section of the township; one of the reasons being the fact that there appeared to be little support for it. At that time, several objectors were on hand, but few people were there to speak in favor of the system. The ruling caught Stephen officials off-guard. They thought there was no need to have supporters on hand to back the cause. However, they managed to get the hearing re-opened and this time made certain there was plenty of indication of support for the system from those who were in favor. Several letters were on hand to indicate this support. But the OMB's F, G. Blake doesn't place much trust in written statements of support, despite the fact that at the last hearing the OMB members did recognize written statements of objection. The Ontario Municipal Board, in case you didn't know, is about the highest power in the province. What they say goes. Unfortunately, what they say appears contradictory from one hearing to another. Members should take time out to inform people what is required at their hearings to either support or oppose the matter before the hearing. Time will tell Farewell, old car ,00,DIAN sviektr WE SCORE AGAIN Student DESKS $1588 FURNITURE LTD. 235.1990 Exeter AS LOW AS . . . t and get this CORNING WARE for only $19.88 (plus P.S. Tax) Name Address Phone 1\-e 1"/11"i SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Editor — Bill Batten — Advertising Manager Phone 235.1331 Thoughts on crafts Well, it looks as though any more travelling I do before summer bids us farewell will be on foot. Kim passed her driving test today. It was a pretty tense morning for both of us. She was afraid she might fail her test. I was afraid she might pass it. Just to complicate matters, she turned up for her test at 9:30 a.m., only to discover that she was slated for 3:30 p.m. She claims it was their mistake, but knowing my daughter I have a good idea who made the error. However, the chaps giving the tests managed to work her in at 10 a.m., when someone else failed to show up. So that meant I had time for only about ten cigarettes as I waited, pretending to read the morning paper. But it gave me a chance to look at the people preparing for their tests. Quite a cross-section. They ranged from a skinny 16-year-old boy who wanted a driver's license for his motor-cycle, to an old chap with a hearing aid and almost blind in his left eye. Both passed, but I hope I never meet either on the highway. Then a couple of former students of mine walked in. They are the type who have probably been driving for several years without a license and have finally been nailed. They are pleasant lads, but while neither is dumber than an ox, neither is smarter. Their procedure was typical. They filled out the application cards wrong, and had to do them over again, When Mike was Mrs. Jean Aceti of Sudbury, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, must think people in Huron are rather easily duped. She came up with the profound statement this week that salaries were not at the root of the drawn-out negotiations between the Huron board of education and the secondary teachers. She would have us believe it was all caused by a lack of communication between the board and its secondary school teachers. Such nonsense! The entire battle was over salaries and fringe benefits, and the only lack of communication that arose was in the fact that the board and the teachers weren't communicating at the same wage level. However, we will endorse her hope that now the salary schedules have been approved, the board and the teachers can get down to some serious communication on the problems relating to the quality of education for the students. The precedent-setting (for Huron) two-year agreement ratified last week could help bring that about. Next year there will be no- Times Established 1873 agreement to negotiate. All the time normally spent by the board and the teachers in that area can, presumably, now be devoted to topics of education. This is an area that has been pre-empted in the past due to the time spent on salary talks and our education system has been the poorer for it. As one teacher commented last week, it will be nice to talk to board members about things other than money. Time alone will tell if the advent of the two-year agreement is a fair price to pay for improved communication between the board and its teachers. A guaranteed hike in pay for teachers for the 1972-73 term could prove a hardship for Huron ratepayers if the economy suffers a drastic setback or the new edict of U.S. President Nixon creates as much unemployment in Canada as some of our leaders are now predicting. Few of those who pay the bills have had their pay boosted to the extent of the teachers this year, and there may be fewer still when another year rolls around. A rib-tingling assignment asked by the officer where he lived, he jerked his thumb at Peter and said, "Two houses down from him", while the of- ficer rolled his yes. He wanted an address. Then the pair sat down at the long table to fill out the written test. Ten minutes later they were sitting, brows furrowed, with about three out of forty squares ticked off. I tossed them a word of encouragement, "It might be easier if you could read and write, eh?" Unfazed, they just grinned. Peter retorted, "Yeah, we shouldn'ta gonna sleep in all them there English classes". Fine physical specimens both, they'll probably make excellent but dangerous drivers. I'm not implying that the driving tests are easy. They're quite tough . When I got my license, the job of testing aspirants was a political sinecure. The tester told me to arrive at his place of business at 6:00 p.m. He locked up the store, told me to drive him home, about eight blocks, I gave him two bucks, and that was it. When my wife got hers, some ten years later, it was the same procedure. The police chief had her pick him up at the office, they drove around three or four blocks and she took him home to lunch. (At his place, not ours.) Today there's a whole battery of physical tests, a written test on the rules of the road, and the actual driving test. A good many people are flunked, and I'm all Advocate Established 1881 for that. What I'd really like to see is a compulsory test for every driver about every two years, and a good stiff one. Could you pass, Jack, with your colour-blindness? Could you pass, lady, with your total inability to parallel park? Could you pass, Grandad, with your arthritis? I think a great many of us would be put out to pasture. Anyway, Kim returned. I ex- pected to see her with a face as long as a foot. She was beaming. My heart sank. There's going to be a fight here every day until she gets back to school. Dear editor,- Here are some random thoughts following the two craft fairs at Goderich and Lucknow. Both events focused attention on the communities in question and brought in people from miles around. As the Goderich show was held in the open, one could only guess at the total number of people that passed my pottery display. However, if sale of goods is an indicator there must have been as many people there as Lucknow where nearly 7,000 were reported The Census Division of Statistics Canada has released preliminary population counts compiled from the 1971 Census which was carried out with many objections earlier this year. No area municipalities are included in the first lists published, although they may give some indication of what we can expect. The places shown in the first release consist mainly of smaller towns, villages and rural municipalities and a quick glance through the figures show many have less population than in 1966 when the last census was taken. Thus, it is evident that population growth is continuing its trend toward movement away from the small centres and rural municipalities to the larger ur- banized areas. As a staunch supporter of the life in a smaller community, we feel sorry for the people who for one reason or another have pulled up roots and headed for the large, smdg-filled cities. Oddly enough, the reduction in population in some centres is only kept from falling at a faster clip because many people are moving out of the cities to the rural areas. It reminds us of a point made by someone a couple of years ago, when he noted that traffic out of the cities was heavy on the weekends with city dwellers trying to escape to the country, and the traffic into the cities was just as heavy as country dwellers were anxious to get a taste of the big city life and its many at- tractions. The grass, of course, always looks greener on the other side of the fence. It certainly must have looked greener for the residents of Stornoway, Saskatchewan, wherever that is. In 1966 they had a population of 92 and in 1971 they dropped down to 40. as going through the turnstiles by supper time of the second day, In one of the three restaurants I ate in at Goderich there was a 20 minute wait before I got even a glass of water they were so busy. Surely a good many dollars changed hands at the fairs and it is quite certain that some of this must have rubbed off on local businessmen as well as those who were catering to the inner man. I don't know who financed the Goderich show, which must be an overall success or it would not be repeated , year • after year, but it would seem that the take at Lucknow in its firstyear in this sort of venture would come very close to covering the extensive publicity that lead to such a good turnout in a town a fraction the size of Goderich and much smaller than Exeter. Surely no one could have complained about the 25c ad- mission as there was a truly fine display in the arena there. Although I did not attempt to count them,I heard someone say there were 73 exhibitors. Such a fine show as Lucknow had does not happen without plenty of planning and everywhere from the moment we arrived one could feel the presence of an unusually well planned organization. So, folks, what about Exeter? We are closer to big centres like London and Kitchener-Waterloo, We have the facilities and When • - Please turn to page 5 However, Lumsden Beach in the same province suffered a fate worse than that. The two people living there in 1966 apparently left, or at least the census taker couldn't find them and now there is no one there. + + + It may well be that the two residents of Lumsden Beach headed for Ottawa or some other centre to join the civil service. Readers may recall that two years ago Prime Minister Trudeau implemented a cam- paign to cut the civil service by 10 percent. Statistics Canada reported this weekend that employment in departments and departmental corporations increased by 12,952 in that two-year period and payrolls rose to $466.9 million from $389.3 million. Now, THAT'S performance! + + + Ever wonder why the bride is the recipient of a number of showers on her behalf, while the groom has none? So, why don't they hold showers for the groom? The answer is apparently quite simple. He's all washed up anyway. + + + On Friday, our assistant in the next office was outlining duties for the staff for the busy weekend period with top attractions planned at Lucan, Huron Park and Zurich. He suggested that yours truly handle the air show, no doubt remembering our harrowing 50 YEARS AGO • The G.T.R. are spending $40,000 in improvements on the London, Huron and Bruce line between London and Wingham. At present they are putting in culverts between Exeter and Kippen. The old culverts are being replaced by cement tile which weigh about 3,000 pounds each. Mr. R. N. Rowe and family and Mr. Arto Delve spent the past week on a motor trip to Toronto, Niagara and other points. A number from here saw the Boston vs. London baseball match in London on Tuesday. Mr. Thomas Welsh has disposed of his house and lot on the corner of Simcoe and Edward Streets to Mr. James McCurdy. Previous to her departure from Dashwood, Miss Evelyn Howard was entertained at the home of Miss Edna Pfaff. 25 YEARS AGO Mr. Norman Walper who is employed with Graham Arthur at the Red Indian Service Station has purchased the residence of Mrs. Mawhinney, William Street. The Exeter Board of Education accepted the tender of the Guenther Transport Limited for six bus routes for the new Exeter High School area. The Exeter voluntary fire brigade held a corn roast and picnic for members and their families in Riverview Park, F. W. Gladman and daughter, Mrs. Warren Sanders, have returned home after an enjoyable trip to Winnipeg and Victoria Beach where they visited with the formers son, Don and his wife, Miss Jean Grieve and girl friend, Miss Millie Lisso, of Los Angeles, spent three weeks at Crand Bend and visited with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Coates and other friends. experience last year when we went aloft in a door-less craft to get some candid photos of the crowd from the air. Rumors were flying around that the reporters on hand were to be taken aloft by an aeroba tic pilot this year, and despite the fact he is in charge of sports, he decided to let the fearless editor handle that assignment. Unfortunately, the weather forced a cancellation of our trip, although he came bouncing in Saturday morning to report that some people had gone aloft Friday afternoon, His insinuation being that we had chickened out. He left the office chuckling to himself, to handle the com- paratively sedate happenings at the Zurich Bean Festival and when we arrived at work Monday morning we were naturally awaiting to hear more ribbing about our failure to get air-borne. But alas, there was no ribbing, despite the fact Haugh showed up for work holding his ribs. Seems that during his trip to the Bean festival, he had set his fears aside and tackled a ride on a jeep. You guessed it! He fell off! His elbows were plastered with bandages and he returned from a trip to the doctor later in the day with his ribs taped up. So, if you don't happen to see him at the bucking shoots at the local rodeo this weekend you will understand the situation. He's turned the "rough stuff" over to the editor again and he's off at some flower show ... or is it a quilting! 15 YEARS AGO Jim Hayter Jr., who won a pony in Dashwood Men's Club draw last year, picked his grandmother's ticket out of the barrel Saturday nigh in another draw for a pony. With one pony in the family, the winner, Mrs. Fred Frizley of Goderich, decided to auction it off, Around 400 acres of land in the Ausable River watershed have been optioned this summer for reforestation purposes. The land, mostly in Bosanquet and West Williams townships will be purchased and reforested during the next two years. James Hodgert, who recently broke a bone in his ankle, un- derwent an operation in St. Joseph's Hospital when a bone was taken from his leg and placed in the ankle. 10 YEARS AGO The price of haircuts goes up next week. Beginning Tuesday men will pay $1.00 instead of 90 cents for an ordinary cut, and brush cuts will be $1.10. Panhandle Drilling Co, Ltd., Texas, plans to drill 10 wells in South Huron County in search of gas and oil. Drillers moved in new equipment on the farm of Corny Faber, RR 1 Hensall, this Week. The Hensall Observer has been sold to the Zurich Citizens' News, effective next week. Publisher Herb Turkheim is now the owner of both papers. The new 3 percent Ontario sales tax comes into effect September I. Mr. and Mrs. Alois Van Esbroeck and their six children were left homeless when fire gutted their farm home Tuesday morning. Thanks to neighbors and friends they're now settled in a new hoine and have had eon- Siderable clothing donated. Change to coop ° Fuel Oil Service (with CO-OP Savings Certificate) Saucepan Set contains 3 covered saucepans (32 oz., as oz. and 56 oz. sizes), detachable handle and serving cradle. Come in and see this fabulous Corning Ware Saucepan Set soon and get the whole story on using CO-OP Fuel Oil Service or fill in this savings certificate and mail it in — we'll do the rest! tValid only after 2nd Fill $10.00 SAVINGS CERTIFICATE Special Corning Ware Introductory offer from CO-OP Please accept my order for a Corning Ware Saucepan Set, which is valued at $19.88. I understand that I must pay only $9.88 (plus P.S.T.) if I )4,,," agree to use CO-OP Fuel Oil for at least one year. This introductory offer becomes Valid ,1 after the second Fuel Oil fill. CV EXETER DISTRICT (2 4:444)•••••,)nOP Phone 235-2081 Beside CNR Station ifingiftaligatefignEMMEMNPANOWS Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation, September 30, 1970, 4,675 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $4.00 Pef Year; USA $8.00 6.x012%.44063,..i.i4(4.,;!os',E7NAZONSMIMAilki4gAz.Z.miTe.Wa:oz:;:iWozaSTATO:,