Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-04-28, Page 4' Anyone riding on the Exeter Hawks bus to Stayner, Friday, may have wondered if the quiet atmosphere indicated the team members were not enthusiastic about their chances of wrapping up the Ontario cham- pionship. But the quiet prevailed for a very good reason. Two members of the Hawks — Brian Taylor and Gerald Weido — had final exams the next day at the University of Western Ontario and their team mates chatted quietly while the pair studied, Both had been doubtful starters for the game due to their exams, but they had made the big decision to play because they wanted to share in the excitement of the victory. Their team mates understood the situa- tion clearly, and their actions were in- dicative of the maturity and team spirit that prevails with Ontario's championship "D" team. The other Hawks knew the sacrifice the two were making and they gave them every consideration to prep for those ex- ams on what normally would have been a noisy, lively trip. And when they stepped on the ice, there was further indication the team wouldn't let the two make that sacrifice in vain and they played their strongest game of the series to ensure the victory. There were many other examples of the dedication the team, their coach, manager and trainer displayed to bring the honor of an Ontario championship to themselves and their community, and cer- tainly that community has to include the whole of South Huron and not just Exeter. Some had to work extra nights to make up for the time taken off jobs to be at games. There was the self-denial of joining in with their buddies for some good times. There were the extra hours of practice and conditioning needed to make champions and that was an important ingredient of their victory as evidenced by their third- period splurges. For several there was the pain of playing with injuries and bruises, and for others the spirit-lifting display of being on hand to cheer when it was evident that there was pain in so doing, Those are some of the ingredients needed to win championships, and certain- ly the Hawks deserve sincere commenda- tion for their gentlemanly display on and off 'the ice. They were a credit to themselves, their coach and manager, and their community. They are champions indeed! Consider bnplieations Exeter firemen have every right to be critical of the interference they en- countered from the public in attempting to reach two area fires last week. The problems and some of the solutions were outlined very clearly by Fire Chief Gary Middleton and Councillor Ted Wright, who is a member of the brigade. Middleton pointed out the obvious problems, such as the delay that was ex- perienced in the firemen reaching the scene, the damage that was done to hoses by thoughtless motorists and the problem that would have been encountered in back- up equipment and ambulances reaching the fires had it been necessary to call them to assist. Wright suggested that if the practice continues, the department may have to consider going to a "beeper" system. This is a small radio system that each fireman would carry with him and through which he would be signalled if a fire call is received. It is an extremely costly alternative and obviously a nuisance for the volunteers. But undoubtedly the most serious im- plication of the entire situation is that the problems encountered by the firemen could easily lead to this community being without the services of a fire brigade. It would take only one serious accident, such as a fireman smashing into a car on his way to the fire scene, or one of the department's trucks knocking a youngster off a bicycle, to prompt members of the brigade to come to the conclusion that the job isn't worth that type of risk. The problem is, that while the firemen do have certain protection in accidents in- volving vehicles which may be following them, the courts have ruled on several oc- casions that they are subject to the rules of the road and criminal and civil actions have resulted from accidents involving fire department vehicles. That risk may never be entirely eliminated, but it can certainly be minimiz- ed if people start using their heads and realize the problems they create for the firemen when they interfere to the extent which was in evidence last week. Just imagine for one moment the agony a person would suffer if he/she was in- volved in an accident which knocked the fire truck out of action on its way to a fire. Surely that type of situation in itself is reason enough to stay out of the way. v.zevawn, • .'"`• Champions, Indeed Trudeau. visits Disneyland Be generous when the canvasser calls "Joe Clark, I presume?" Whose interest is served? Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 /the eteferZimesainsocafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., 0,W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Plant Manager Jim Scott Composition Manager Harry DeVries Business Manager Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Rhistration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canatla $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00 Be content with grab-bag There are so many things demanding my attention this week that faithful readers (bless the eight of you) will have to be content with a grab-bag. Those who have no interest in sticking an eye into a grab-bag may turn over to the astrology column, or go out and buy a lottery ticket, or stick their finger in their ear, or whatever turns them on. First, let's get rid of the Quebec issue, which is fascinating the media and begin- ning to bore everybody else. Them there crazies down in Quebec City have taken their first giant step toward a dic- tatorship of sort, with the an- nouncement that Quebec is to become a unilingual province (country?). They were playing it pretty cool for a few months, but this one is a blunder of massive proportions. They can no more force unilingualism on Quebec than the federal government could force bilingualism on Canada. When will these people, who begin as fervent idealists and turn into rigid commissars when they achieve power, ever learn that you can't force free people to do anything they don't want to do? You can shoot them or burn then), as state and church have done in the past. But you can't control their minds or spirits by force or threats, Rene, Levesque and his crowd have made their first big boo- boo. The edict about "French only" will return to haunt them. They are interfering with the right of people to say "merde" in their own language, whether it be English or Greek et. Italian, and mark my words, it will boomerang. The edict, that is, not the merde. Even worse, the pronun- elainento will probably unite the rest of Canada, and all the non- French of Quebec, behind Pierre Trudeau, and well be stuck with another four or five years of in- sipid, inept and indifferent Liberal government. The only fate that could be more frighten- ing would be the prospect of four or five years of Conservative government. Fortunately there is no possibility of the NDP, that optimistic gnat straining to produce a giant, forming a federal government. Well, that settles the political situation for this week. Except for one squalid little item. As I write, there are rumours that Jack Horner, an ambitious Tory M.P. from Alberta, may bolt his party, stick his thumb in the big, fat Liberal pie, and emerge with a cabinet post on the end of it. Herewith some advice for Joe Clark. If Horner wants to go, wave goodbye and forget about him. One Paul Hellyer, once a power in the Liberal cabinet, the one who single-handedly destroyed the morale of Canada's armed forces, crossed the floor in a huff when he didn't get his own way, joined the Tories, and has been Paul Who? ever since. Churchill got away with it and went on to lead his country. But Jack Horner is no Churchill. Enough. Politics are sick-making. Another Westerner, Ole Missus Trudeau, is still keeping the gossips speculating, as I write. Nobody seems to know where she is or what the hell is going on. Maybe by the tinle this appears in print, Jack Horner will have married Pierre Trudeau, and Margaret will pop up from New York, first-class Air Canada, to take the wedding pictures. I know Margaret has said no more of those dull, official func- tions for her, like cutting the rib- bon on the brand new outdoor privies installed by Turkey Township in its fine new park. But I can't help wondering if she's going to pass up all those smashing glamour events to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee, which are undoubtedly being planned right now in Ottawa, local matrons in fighting for in- vitations. It's not fair, I know, but the comparison between Margaret and Queen Elizabeth thrusts itself at one. The Queen was crowned when she was younger than Mrs. T. She had about as many babies about as fast. But she did not then declare that she must fulfill herself, and allow herself to be pawed and pestered by smutty reporters avid to learn what was going on between her and Philip. Nope, she hung in there, through all the dreariness and calumny of what must be one of the most arduous jobs in the world, When there as a tough decision to be made, she made it and stuck to it. She did a pretty good job of raising her kids, it seems. She endured the sniping and the criticism. And she did it all with a grace and dignity that proclaimed the word "lady" at, every step. It's a hard act to follow, and nobody can blame the Sinclair girl if she couldn't match it. But, while Pierre is an arrogant man- darin, I'll bet the Duke of Edin- burgh is no bargain either. She shoulda hung in there, the way the rest of us do. It's not easy, living for years with a complete stranger. But it. goes with the territory. It doesn't get any easier, as the years go by, either. This morning I came down for breakfast at eight o'clock. At a quarter to nine I went out the door to work. During that forty-five minutes, I spoke four times, each time say- ing either, "Yes", or "You're right," That took two seconds. The rest of the time my wife talked, and her voice followed me right out the door like a swarm of bees following a florist. That's not news, but that, too, is reality. Members of Exeter council continue to play games regar- ding closed sessions, and by so doing they deny local ratepayers their -basic right to know what their elected officials are doing on their behalf. While members may feel they have the prerogative to hold special meetings or move into closed committee-of-the-whole sessions whenever they wish, they overlook one of the guiding principles for such action. That principle is, as spelled out in the Ontario Municipal Act, that closed sessions may be clos- ed "as in the opinion of the coun- cil, the PUBLIC INTEREST re- quires," Unfortunately, many public bodies move into closed sessions when they feel it is in their own interests to do so. Those oc- casions may be when they are confronted by a group of citizens who oppose a decision, and naturally members feel it would be easier to discuss the matter behind closed doors than in front of the people involved. But, that is not in the public interest by any stretch of the imagination, On other occasions, members of a public body feel that their discussion will result in con- troversy or criticism, so they es- cape behind closed doors. That is not in the public interest, but merely in the interest of the elected officials, People have a right to know and that right includes access to the entire discussion of the public's business and not just the decisions which arise from those discussions. At the last two meetings, Ex- eter council have excluded the public to debate such matters as the local PUC billing L'or fire protection and the planned renovations at the new police of- fice. How members of council can justify that it was in the public interest to hold those discussions behind closed doors is beyond our comprehension. Certainly the debate over the cost of fire protection involves local ratepayers to a con- siderable extent. While the result for some ratepayers will be that they may save some money on one hand, they'll just end up pay- ing it out on the other. What money the PUC can not raise in the town budget for fire protec- tion, they'll have to pick up from the local customers through some other levy. However, the decision could mean a saving for some ratepayers, such as commercial owners who may have high assessments and low water con- sumption. At any rate, it is indeed of in- terest to all ratepayers to hear the pros and cons as they are debated by both council and the PUC and to deny them that right would be most difficult to justify. The closed discussion on the renovations to the new police of- fice is also most difficult to com- prehend. Why is it in the public interest not to know what work is required to renovate the facility? By moving behind closed doors to discuss the matter, council prompts us to think there must he a problem or an expense which they feel they would rather not disclose, in view of the fact they are already under con- siderable criticism for the deci- sion to move out of the town hail in the first place. However, if that is the basis for their decision, it is obviously only in their own interests and not the public interest to hide the facts. Two other matters were dis- cussed by council in closed ses- sion last week, and in both cases they were probably justified in not making the matters public. The one topic dealt with was with their solicitor and centred around the work done on the revised official plan and zoning bylaw by Damas & Smith, the planners fromn Toronto. There are obvious legal com- plications in the matter and as such they should be withheld from the public (which would in- clude Damas & Smith) at the present time until the matter is resolved. Then, of course, they should disclose the final outcome in detail to the ratepayers. The other topic was regarding one of the town employees and again there can be little quarrel with this discussion being held in private. However, topics of this nature arise on very few occasions and it is seldom in the public interest to discuss public business behind closed doors, either at regular or special meetings. 80 YEARS AGO Two burglars gained an en- trance to Messrs. H. Bishop & Son hardware store Friday night and stole a large number of razors, several revolvers and other small articles. The en- trance was effected by prying up a rear window with chisels that had been procured from Mr. W. Kuntz's carriage shop. They es- caped when they were frightened off by the approach of the night watch, Mr. H. Parsons. Dr. Rollins, Messrs. H. Spackman, D. Mill and W. H. Levett left Tuesday for Sylvan, the scene of the oil explorations. John T. Westcott on Thursday was appointed a county con- stable by Judge Edward Elliott. Mr. John Taylor, Deputy- Reeve of Exeter, and Councillor Rollins were in Mitchell this week inspecting the electric light and water works systems there, Exeter is going to adopt a system of fire protection and light the town with electricity. 30 YEARS AGO Crediton Evangelical church will henceforth be called Evangelical United Brethren Church. Mr. & Mrs. Lorne Kleinstiver of Bowmanville have moved their household effects into the apartment above Koehler's Bakery, Dashwood. Engineers from Armstrong & Co. are now engaged in making a survey of the drains of Exeter and compiling information in reference to the sewerage system. Twenty-seven members of Ex- eter IOOF motored to London Friday evening in a chartered bus and were initiated into the mysteries of the Samaritan Lodge, A deputation from the High School Board have an appoint- ment Saturday with the Depart- ment of Education in Toronto with reference to plans for a new high school. Mr. Donald Jolly has com- pleted his radio course in Toron- to. 20 YEARS AGO Miss Mary Van Camp has accepted a clerk's position at the Headquarters Orderly Room at RCAF Station, Centralia, The first Hobby Fair to be held in Hensall was well attended and hdd 82 displays. It Was sponsored Elected officials have enough problems and face enough criticism without adding the problem of suspicions and doubts which arise when they exclude the public for other than the rare discussions when it is in the public interest to do so. In the writer's 15 years of covering public meetings, we have only experienced about half a dozen occasions on which the public have been asked to leave one of those meetings. It becomes a little difficult therefore to understand the situation that has arisen with Ex- eter council as they have ousted the public in their last two meetings, and to maintain an average of that nature, is far from normal. by the Recreation Committee, Wednesday. Carol Fletcher, Grade XIII student, who plans a career in public health nursing, has been selected queen of South Huron District High School, She will represent the school in the Western Ontario School Queens Club, sponsored by The London Free Press and UWO. Mrs. Roylance Westcott was elected president of Hurondale Women's Institute at their an- nual meeting, Wednesday. Drama critic J. Burke Martin, adjudicated at, a one-act play festival in Exeter last week, Drama groups from Hanover and Listowel competed with the Ex- eter Drama Guild at the event. 15 YEARS AGO Rev. John C. Boyne, BA, BD., is the new minister of Caven and Cromarty Presbyterian churches. W. G. Cochrane, QC, an- nounced this week the sale of his law practice to two London barristers, Charles Mackenzie and Peter L. Raymond. The mercury rose to a high of 78 Wednesday, the hottest day so far this spring. 'Elsie May II' crew at Grand Bend caught 42 sturgeon Satur- day, when they pulled in their nets off Port Franks. The catch dressed out a total of 819 pounds which went to a Brooklyn buyer at $1,60 per pound. Mrs, Art Clarke has been nam- ed president of Exeter .Kinettes for 1962-63. To the editor: Total frustration is what many of the parents felt at the meeting Monday evening at Clinton. A public meeting at which dept. heads of English, principals, students and trustees could present their views and ask questions. A democratic right denied to the parents. When the delegation of con- cerned parents went to the board April 4 about some of the books, all members of the board and principals were given op- portunity to defend themselves. That was not to be at Monday's meeting. We were labeled a "pressure group" but for those present it was obvious who was asserting the pressure. One principal said hehad no dirty books in his school and a grade 13 student said not only was The Diviners not a dirty book but that in fact it was "clean, wholesome literature." To those that feel this way about the books in question, I doubt there is such a thing as pornography. One argumeat that inevitably comes up in such a discussion is that this is "reality." No one would deny its existence but I would ask those who support this; do you live in this "real world" portrayed by such books as The Diviners and Of Mice and Men? Do your friends live in this so called reality? I find these literary works negative, depressing and morbid, Surely teachers don't believe realism is all negativism. How about some constructive realism? I believe using this type of literature in our schools causes a more permissive and less responsible society. Ron Heywood * * * Dear Sir: The board room of the Board of Education in Clinton was the scene of a theatrical spectacle on Monday night. The purpose of the meeting was to allow the prin- cipal and English department heads the opportunity to try and justify how certain questionable books were placed on the English courses. The charge by ' a minority "pressure group" that certain text books were obscene and filthy was treated in a "light hearted" manner by some of the teachers, while other teachers appeared threatened that they should be questioned in the first place. After hearing the teachers try to defend their cause with long speeches, I am not so sure whether it is the books they select or their attitudes toward their work, parents, and students, that should be in question. One teacher has the opinion that you "have to live life in order to know how to live it." And she felt if she could take her students through these experiences in books rather than them ex- perimenting on their own with the real thing, she was doing them a favor. I question if the experiences some of these books depict are even necessary for the abundant life about which some of the teachers spoke. There is only one way to an abundant life, and that way is through Jesus who said, "I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) Another person said that the text books were chosen by a "highly competent" group of teachers. When any person or group of persons is regarded as so "highly competent" as to be above reproach, then those people as well as those they serve, are indeed in deep trouble. The former government of the United States was thought to be "highly competent," until a "pressure group" of two people revealed some of them for what they really were. Another teacher got off the subject of books and tried to defend the sex education program of his school, He said "There are more • pregnant students in my school this year, than in the past four or five years put together," Could it be sir, in your school that there is too much time spent on the "how too" and not enough on the "Why not!"? While "pressure groups" were recognized as a normal part of the democratic process, the teachers made no secret of the fact that they did not appreciate the "pressure group" threatening their ability to function. "If one teacher can be reached" one of them said, "then the other teachers would wonder how long until they will be reached?" The day our education system is staffed with teachers who do not think they can or even should be reached, then our children and society, are in very serious trouble, After what the public heard on Monday night, we can only conclude that we are at that point in time right now, I defend the right of a "pressure group" to look into and question the educational system, or any other system, Particularly after seeing the lack of interest given to the matter by the Board of Education's elected trustees. One trustee said she had read one of the books in question 20 years ago, She went on to say, "It still brings me great pleasure when I think of it." Only one trustee seriously questioned any statement made by the teachers. I think this is rather sad. To those teachers who feel threatened by the question of a few uneducated (?) ill-informed (? ) old fashioned parents(?) how will you feel when you are questioned by Almighty God? Rev. Bruce A. Pierce * * * To The Editor: During the year 1977, the town of Goderich on beautiful Lake Huron at the mouth of the Maitland River, is celebrating its one hundred and fiftieth birth- day. As a great many special events are planned for the days from June 29th to July 10th, we would like to invite all former Goderichites to return home dur- ing those days. We have reached a good number of friends by letter but feel that there may be others who have not heard of our celebrations. We would, therefore, like to use this column of your newspaper to issue a very hearty "Welcome Home" to anyone in your community who once upon a time, lived in our town. Thank you for assisting us nn this effort. Sincerely yours, Harry Worsell P.S, If anyone wishes more infor- mation, write to me at P.O. Box 1977, Goderich, Ontario. Page 4 Times-Advocate, April 28, 1977 IJ • • • •,•(.r{.447 •