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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-05-05, Page 4Fire Chief Gary Middleton made a sen- sible suggestion last week when he noted that residents of Woodham and Kirkton should perhaps consider purchasing some type of fire equipment. His idea was not to provide expensive fire trucks for the communities, but rather a tank truck with a portable pump that could be manned by two or three men to contain a fire until help arrived from either Exeter or St. Marys fire brigades, The problem in the two communities is rather obvious. It takes the brigades from Exeter or St. Marys at least 20 minutes to respond to a call, and it is a proven fact that fires not contained in at least half that time result in almost total loss. The experience with total losses in Kirkton and Woodharn fires bears that out, Middleton's suggestion may not be practical, but it is obviously worthy of some investigation and consideration by the people involved. Fire insurance com- panies basically rate their present fire protection as non-existent because of the travel and time factor and the population of the area would seem to warrant more than that type of designation unless it is too cost- ly or unmanageable, Certainly, every home in that area should be equipped with one or two fire ex- tinguishers, although there is a suggestion that not all residents have taken that precaution, Missed opportunity The Huron County board of education, may feel they served their purpose last week by having department heads, prin- cipals and students from the five secondary schools air their views on English books be- ing questioned by some parents, but they obviously pulled a major public relations faux pas by not allowing the interested parents to join in the discussion. As a result, the board merely muddied the waters to a greater extent than they already were, and regardless of what deci- sion they reach on the books, that decision will still be questioned and those in dis- favor with it will continue to say they have not been allowed to have their say. The board have apparently assumed that the original delegation of parents who expressed their views was representative of those concerned. That assumption is in- correct. It basically boiled down to one man's opinion only, and there are hundreds of parents who do not share that opinion, and who wanted an opportunity to air their views before the board. The applause and groans generated at last week's meeting in- dicated clearly that there were those who wanted to speak both pro and con on the issue. But more important, perhaps, was the fact that many wanted to challenge some of the remarks made by the principals and department heads or to ask specific questions which possibly could have been answered to their satisfaction. By denying them that opportunity, the board left those opinions and questions un- aired although they no doubt would have been beneficial for the board members as well in deliberating their decision. It was rather obvious that some of the comments by the school staff should have been challenged or explained further,and the lack of interrogation by the board members also indicated they could have used some help from the balance of the audience in that regard. Certainly, a public debate would have prolonged the meeting, but the board's denial of public participation in effect prolongs the debate, not for hours - - but probably forever. • ••••;:afirW4 A matter of tradition Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 liteexelerlimes-iimorafe 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 EERY, 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 +CNA Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 6386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11,00 Per Year; USA $22.00 CCNA OlUI RI flON AWARD 104 I E 16-2 RTV MCDF AZV ONIX td-I5 • Kole Frotuvet Syndic... Int I . 191K. lidtid nth. "Cut down on your reading — especially menus." Page 4 Times-Advocate, May 5, 1977 Worth considering "I'm trying to decide between an offer from the unemployment insurance commission and one from the welfare department." A matter of plumbing Some perspicacious readers of this column, I'm sure, have detected from time to time, a whiff, a mere essence, of what the Women's Lib movement, in its love for inaccurate epithets, has termed male chauvinism. There is usually a pig thrown in there too, for added effect, although what a pig has to do with either maleness or chauvinism is a mystery to me. Maleness is a matter of plum- bing. Chauvinism, in its true meaning, is supernationalism to the point of idiocy. Pigs can also be female, and I've met some lady pigs. Therefore, as people say when they're trying to stall for time, the slam "male, chauvinist pig" leaves me completely unmoved, even a little scornful. If you look carefully you can see a definite possibility that if I wasn't careful my lip would curl, ever so slightly. Perhaps you're thinking "Oh, here we go again; one of those looks into the murky depths of Smiley's mind. And just when we think he's committed himself to something, he'll slide out from under, and tell us he really loves women, and thinks the Libera- tion movement is the greatest forward step for humanity in 10 zillion years." Well, you're wrong. I've just spent a weekend with my daughter, who has read about 800 books on Women's Lib, and com- es out with such unadulterated and misinformed garbage about men and women that I have to fight back, in the interests of truth and objectivity. I emerge from these sessions sore and raw and bleeding, but by George, I still have my heels dug in as she tries to drag me into the 21st century. To put it very bluntly and brief- ly, she makes me sick. She blurts out all sorts of hairy and half- formed generalizations, which I'm supposed to accept as gospel. For example. She says, airily, "Women have been oppressed all through history." This is just after I've fed one of her kids, and got the other one off to sleep by reading him six books of fairy tales. She is lying on the couch watching television, and she and her mother are drinking tea and eating cherry cake and cheese, prepared and brought to them by guess who. Her mother, who is about as oppressed as Attila the Hun, nods sagely. I blow up. "Crap!" I get so mad that I'm reduced to this kind of language. Poor show. "Come on, Dad. You know perfectly well that women have never been allowed to make the crucial decisions, that they've never had control of the purse strings." "Now just a minute there, you rotten kid. Just hold it right there, Miss Smartass. My father was never allowed to make a crucial decision in his life. My mother made them all. And he came home and forked over his pittance to my mother and she ran the whole show, financially." "That's right, Kim" com- mented my wife, who changes sides as it suits her. "Your Dad is the same. He can't make a decision, and if I didn't look after the money, we'd be in the poorhouse. I even have to make out the income tax, because he's so stupid. One year he did it, and he was out $2,000, which we had to pay." This kind of support I don't need. Fortunately, Kim, like every other turkey painted into a corner, rounded on her mother. "Why didn't you get a job when we were children?" she queried, for no particular reason, except to hassle her mother into sense of inferiority. "Because I didn't need one. I was married to a man who work- ed 60 hours a week to provide a living for his wife and children, of whom you were one and don't you forget it. And we had a lot less then than you have now." This was one of those big swipes women can make, which simultaneously take a crack at the daughter's husband, remind her that she's been a burden, es- tablish the fact that we coped better than she does, and tries to get me on her side, two against one. It didn't work, I've been at this internecine warfare too long to choose up sides. I like guerilla warfare better, sniping from the weeds. The old lady went on to show that she'd had jobs: doctor's receptionist; kindergarten teacher; church organist; pro tern editor, in which she covered a murder-suicide case. Kim was getting a little des- perate. "Yabbut, Mom, that was the old days, Look at you now. You're just a housewife." This is supposed to be the crushing epithet, the one that makes you put your head in your hands and weep, "You're right, I've never The questions and complaints raised last week by some citizens over the early morning victory parade staged by the Exeter Hawks are a little surprising and hopefully will not alter some of the tradition, which in effect, was also being questioned. Championship teams in Ex- eter, and indeed in practically every community in Ontario, have always been given a ride through the streets on fire trucks, Many of those parades are staged late at night or in the early morning hours, and while they do infringe on the rights of some people by wakening them, it is difficult to envision that be- ing a very serious problem because they are short-lived events, Most people in Exeter are awakened periodically by fire, ambulance and police sirens, as well as attacks by nature's wrath, and surely the rare occa- sion when people are awakened by a joyful event should not be too difficult to accept. The volunteer firemen in this community provide their ser- vices in all kinds of weather at any time of the day or night and if they want to join in some revelry to honour a chain- pionship team (which has1 happened four times in Exeter's history) then we find it most dif- ficult to suggest they should be denied that whim. To term it "immature behaviour" or charge them with having no thoughts for other peo- ple is extremely unfair under the circumstances. The firemen and Hawks, hopefully, will view the com- plaints as coming from a very small minority and realize that no matter what you do, there will always be those who can find some particular fault. Certainly, the questions and comments about the safety aspect of such parades have to be considered in a more serious vein, One letter writer asked what would have happened had there been a fire that night. We assume that the drivers of the two vehicles would have im- mediately stopped the trucks and told the celebrants to jump off. They would have then sped to the fire hall- and waited for the other members of the brigade to arrive so they could depart for the fire scene, Perhaps we should emphasize that fact that they would have had to wait for the other firemen. The trucks were never more than a minute away from the hall and in fact would have been ready to answer an emergency situation in less time than normal in that they were already out of the hall and mann- ed. The local fire trucks have traditionally been part of parades in Exeter over the been fulfilled." But the Old Lady's getting tough, too. She retorted: "Yes! And that's exactly what I want to be, I like my sewing. I enjoy cooking gourmet meals. My piano students are a pleasure, Your Dad has lots of insurance." Kim was fairly speechless, but blazing inside. Something had gone wrong with the whole dis- cussion, "But how can you? I'm going to . . . No man is going to . . They try to . . You have to ." By the time, the two oppressed women were talking so loudly and angrily that I couldn't ever hear, on the late sports news, whether the Leafs, bless their erratic souls, had won or lost. I tiptoed off to bed, on my way checking that the sons of the slave mother and the grandsons of the downtrodden grannie were properly covered for the night, and dreaming of the sweet days when they could revenge themselves on those two women who were trying to destroy them by making them into little gentlemen, years, and certainly there is always a calculated risk that they would be held up in answer- ing any fire call. However, that risk is no greater than having any parade in town which would delay firemen from reaching the hall or getting their vehicles through the traffic snarls to answer an emergency. Residents should be reminded that the fire vehicles are equipped with two-way com- munication systems that reduce problems in such situations. The odds are stacked suf- ficiently against those situations to preclude the suggestion that parades of any nature should be discontinued in Exeter or that the fire trucks and police cruiser should not be involved. Police Chief Ted Day raised the point about the possibility of a serious injury arising out of the Hawks victory parade and the fact the town could end up being sued for such a situation. That also is a possibility although we have never heard of such an occurrence in the hun- dreds of championship rides staged across Ontario or in the numerous times that the local fire truck has transported people through town on various parades. It is certainly a chance that is taken by participants on any parade vehicle, although the speed with which most events of that nature move does act as an overwhelming safeguard. We've shuddered on many oc- casions during local parades, but our anxiety has been generally associated with the dangers in- volved in horse drawn vehicles rather than the smooth ride of a motor vehicle. People who took a close look at the picture in last week's issue 55 YEARS AGO The Exeter Lodge of Oddfellows celebrated the an- niversary of the Order, Sunday evening, when they paraded to Caven Presbyterian church and listened to an excellent sermon on brotherly love by the pastor, Rev. James Foote, W. W. Taman acted as marshal. Postmaster Milton Pfaff is having the interior of the office remodelled and renovated. He is having a partition put in dividing the office from the public waiting room and is also adding a number of new boxes. Miss Amy Shapton has taken a position as clerk with Southcott Bros. Mr, Gordon Wells left Tuesday morning for Stratford where he has taken a position. Miss Idella Davis left Tuesday for Windsor where she has accepted a position with the Bell Telephone Company. 30 YEARS AGO . The work of flooring Exeter's new bridge is now in progress. Mrs. L. Kyle was re-elected president of ,Exeter Women's Institute, During the year the Institute made 428 lbs. of jam for the Red Cross. Dr. J. G. Dunlop has been ap- pointed coroner for Huron Coun- ty. Ten acres of the canning fac- tory's property on the east side of Exeter were planted last week with 1,080 pear trees of the Keefer variety. George Shaw, a former officer with RCAF at Centralia has purchased the property of Mr. B. Moore, Exeter North. Mr. Shaw will be remembered, by sports fans as an outstanding hockey player with the airforce team. 20 YEARS AGO Clinic committees have been appointed in this district for the would probably agree that the Hawks were seated safely on the fire truck. Most of them were wedged firmly into the spaces between the ladder rungs and had their feet braced against the hand rail. The trucks were travelling at a speed of around 10 to 15 m.p.h. and as an occupant of one of those trucks we can assure peo- ple that the dangers involved were negligible. Contrary to one opinion we have heard expressed, the Hawks did not have any beer bottles with them on the fire truck, nor were any of them "half stoned". That is not to suggest the Hawks had not been drinking. There had been booze in the dressing room after the game and there was some on the bus. Very little of that which was in the Stayner dressing room was taken internally and our recollection is that the supply on the bus was not extensive. In fact, it was all consumed rather quickly (perhaps to the chagrin of some) and it was all gone before the three-hour trip had been half completed. The exuberance and noise of the parade was not alcohol oriented, but 'rather the enthusiasm of 22 young men who had spent over seven months working strenuously to attain a goal and were naturally proud of having achieved that goal. The apology extended by the team members in last week's issue should obviously suffice for those who were upset by their behaviour, although again we — Please turn to Page 5 15 YEARS AGO Monday night, the bank barn of Elmore McBride, Biddulph, burned to the ground destroying nine cattle. Saturday morning, high winds helped ravage the large turkey broiler barn of Clarence Knight, Usborne, It was empty at the time, Inspector Donald M. Scott, has urged the SHDHS board to in- crease its guidance service for students in view of the new streaming program. Area children only landed about 50 of the 200 trout put in the Morrison Dam the first day of fishing. They have two more days to fish before the adults are allowed to cast in their lines. J, Carl Hemingway, Huron Federation fieldman, announced his intention this week of stan- ding for nomination as candidate for the New Democratic Party in the coming federal election. Two non-commisioned officers of RCAF Centralia, WO George Nobel and Fit. Sgt. J, W. Harris lost their lives in a boating acci- dent in the Parry Sound district this week. To the editor: The fire truck has been the traditional vehicle in a parade. I am sure with their C.B. com- munications it could be at a fire about the same time as if it was parked in the fire hall, A fire call could also happen while it is in the Exeter fall fair parade. I too have been awakened by barking dogs, fighting cats, am- bulance sirens, squealing tires etc, I would believe any fireman in the department would be a qualified driver just as our men in blue qualify to drive town or provincial owned vehicles. I am sure they turn their backs on noisy wedding parades, hockey parades etc, I would doubt any sport minded magistrate would convict anyone on such a noisy parade charge, I doubt if it would happen even in Russia, Some of our local OPP are coaching local teams to try and better the youth of today. I have been a baseball and hockey player in Exeter in past years and enjoyed being a par- ticipant and think every parent realizes that our country is moulded from the youth who take part in sport activities. I would venture to say that the largest percentage of the youth who see the inside of a jail are those who never engage in our great games of hockey and baseball, soccer etc. The money that is being donated to our new sport complex is with the hope that some day our citizens will be proud to say, "that" NHL player came from Exeter, or to have a little boy come running home, to say "Mom, we won, we won". We realize-injuries could result from falling off a fire truck or parade vehicle, but we also take a chance walking on an icy street or driving a car. I am sure the people of Exeter and surrounding area including Zurich are very proud of the Ex- eter Hawks Junior D all Ontario champions and wish them success in the future and that a few disconcerned people who were awakened by a few minutes of noise will not dampen the taste of victory. P.S. May I add that the tax- payers of Exeter will be much better off by having a victory parade "as often as we can", with a fire truck leading, and people cheering. "Go Hawks Go, Go Hawks Go, we're No. 1", than to have your taxes increase by a non paying sports complex. Sincerely Gerald (Gerry) Smith * * * Dear Sir: The Standing Senate Com. mittee on Agriculture has held a series of seven public meetings with beef producers across Western Canada. These meetings were part of the Committee's Inquiry into Long-Term Stabilization in the Canadian Beef Industry, The Committee plans to hold two meetings in Ontario, in the near future, at the following locations: Tuesday, May 10, Stratford, Ontario, Stratford Coliseum, 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, Smith Falls, Ontario, Carousel Motor Inn, 7:30 p.m. The problems of beef producers during the past three years have been a serious threat to the in- dustry. The Committee is sin- cerely interested to hear the concerns and suggestions of beef producers on the requirements for long-term stability. These meetings will be open for individual producers or organizations to make a verbal presentation. (Written briefs not necessary). It would be appreciated if beef producers in your region could be made aware of these meetings and urged to attend, Yours truly, Senator Hazen Argue Chairman, Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture To the Editor: As local hockey fans who try to support their team we are disap- pointed that such a commotion has been made over a well deserved victory celebration, It is unfortunate that the hour was so late but due to distance from home it could not be held earlier. There have been previous parades with the fire truck at a late hour after political win- nings, where no fuss was made, We should be very proud that the Exeter team has put our town on the map hockey wise. Hopefully this will be the end of this matter and more impor- tant things will be attended to. Wishing the Exeter Hawks the best for the following season in our new sports centre. Ruth Haist Donna Perry Marie Brunzlow * * * The Editor, Exeter Times Advocate 424 Main Street Exeter NOM 1S0 Sir: I am following, with some in- terest, the debate over some of the materials used in the English courses in the Huron County Secondary School System. Most of the books under discus- sion have been around long enough to have withstood the "test of time" that makes a piece of literature "good." I thus ask the group of citizens con- cerned about the use of such materials: "where were you seven years ago when Catcher in the Rye was part of the grade 12 literature course?" After having been exposed to this piece of literature, and after having studied Salinger's picture of life, 'I feel that I've suffered no ill effects from this book. To the contrary — it served as but one more of many different lifestyles examined during the course of my English studies in high school. By placing such a great emphasis on the "filth" contained in such books (if it can be considered such), the con- cerned members of this group are merely forcing the attention of the students to something that was, to this point, but one more book on a book list. As far as censorship (for that is what it is) is concerned, where do we stop? The works of Shakespeare can — and are — in- terpreted as Shakespeare himself intended them — full of the lust and vigor of .life. If we are to censor the works of such writers as Salinger and Steinbeck, in order to shelter the youth of Huron County from such "filth", we must lock them away from all contact with the world as it exists today. In summary, the best offence is a good defence. To the parents concerned about the morals of their youth, you must raise them in a good home, teach them of right and wrong, set a good ex- ample, and let them go. If by grade 11 or 12 you still fear for their morals, it is for your benefit, not theirs, for the damage has been done long before this point. To emphasize Ms. Tiffins point, TRUST YOUR CHILDREN. "If you expect good things, you'll get them." I suggest that if we are to get concerned, there are many more important things to get concern- ed about. Sincerely yours Bob Read former SHDHS student 645 Berkshire Drive London a ne..,:j wn .rnernorY Huron County mass TB x-ray campaign near the end of May. Last passengers on the Huron- Bruce coach service, which was discontinued Saturday, were Mrs. William MacLean and her two sons, Brian 7, and Allen 3. Calvin Fahrner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Emmery Fahrner, Crediton, graduated from Toron- to Bible College, Friday. Sandra Walters, 8, of Winchelsea, received the highest mark of the eighth annual South Fluron Music Festival last week. She was awarded 90 percent for her singing. Uel J. Schroeder, formerly of this district, was one of three RCMP constables cited for bravery in the gun-battle capture of four armed bank bandits in New Westminster, BC.