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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-05-19, Page 4Residents of South Huron should give themselves a collective pat on the back for their generosity to the Cancer canvass as the objective has already reached 138 per- cent and no doubt there will still be ad- ditional funds received when the final few canvassers make their returns. That the canvass has been so successful is a little surprising in view of the fact that area residents have been ask- ed to dig deep on several occasions this year to assist the major appeals for arenas and other community facilities. However, the success was certainly not attained just by luck. Campaign chairmen Carf Cann and Charlie Smith did a tremen- dous amount of work in organizing the event and were backed by almost 300 cap- tains and canvassers, plus some energetic service club members. Everyone involved should be most gratified that their efforts paid off so hand- somely and that area residents were so generous. Cancer continues as one of the leading killers and obviously people in this district are paying their fair share towards the bat- tle to conquer it. No doubt most look at their contribution as an investment and hopefully that investment will soon pay major dividends. ( '' ( ‘ ,mhyl..), RUN via pus voeswr /t mE:91. :11 711 ..-1.- "What do I think of the kickbacks by Polysar? — sorry, I'm not a football fan." Behind the times Page 4 Times-Advocate, May 19, 1977 Job well done A London, Ontario judge was outspoken recently in his criticism of one aspect of our judicial system. He said that the pre- sent rate or remuneration for persons call- ed for jury duty is ridiculous, And he cer- tainly is right. At $10 per day we must be at least 20 years out of step with reality. The judge's remarks were made when a jury was being selected for a trial which is expected to last at least a month. Only 12 men and women will finally be called, but no less than 600 people were summoned for that purpose. The vast majority of those called (and who cannot legally refuse to appear) will be discarded for a thousand and one reasons as the opposing lawyers seek to eliminate all who appear dangerous to one side or the other. At $10 a day the 12 who are finally selected will be kept away from their homes and their jobs at very high financial loss to themselves. The poverty level in this country is supposed to be an income of about $6,000 a year. The ten dollars daily jury fee would provide only $3,650 in a year if it was paid seven days a week. There is only one fair rate of payment for jury duty and that would be a fee equal to the wages which the juror would earn in his regular job. If the juror happens to be a housewife or someone who is not on' a payroll a minimum fee should be set , . , and that should be adequate to provide for child and home care or as replacement for whatever normal responsibilities the juror fulfills. The administration of justice has come under considerable criticism in recent years, not only from the public but from members of the legal profession as well. Of necessity changes in such an important area should not be made hastily or without careful consideration, but surely it doesn't take much pondering to realize that private individuals should not be robbed by the very system which is responsible for hones- ty and justice. Wingham Advance Times CNA stutlitssom AWARD 1.04 Does Anyone Remember Parliament? 40, Should be interesting contest Getting a sinking feeling This is a time of year when a lot of school teachers get a sink- ing feeling. All year they have been labor- ing in the fairly barren vineyards of their students, sustained by the knowledge that there is still time to produce a green shoot or two, and maybe even enough grapes to make some kind of brew. Suddenly, there are only 16 teaching days left, and there is the dreadful realization that they have exhausted all their skills, and that it had about as much effect on Susie and Joe as would a bucket of water poured over a seal. It just doesn't stick, Thus, when they should be looking forward with anticipa- tion to end of term and summer vacation, many teachers find themselves instead in a veritable Slough of Despond. It is the students' perennial belief in miracles that puts the teachers onto anti-depressant pills about now, Aside from school work, adolescents are not dumb. They are quite aware that education these days is a sociological jungle from which they have a far better chance of emerging unscathed than do those poor devils who try to teach them. They know that in our enlightened society, "failure" is a dirty word, and that everyone from the Minister of Education, through the school board, down to their classroom teacher, will do back flips trying to avoid pin- ning such a label on them, Many students know perfectly well that they can goof around most of the year, play truant, miss assignments, be late with essays,and nothing v ry terrible will happen to them, In fact, if they go around look- ing serious and sincere for the last few weeks, and do a little work, there's every chance that they will scrape or scramble through, only to repeat the whole process the next year. Born and raised in a society where it is no shame to accept charity, becuse it's now dignified as welfare, where un- employment insurance is a cosy cushion against adversity, where their aged parents will be looked after by the state, where the work ethic is scorned, where the semi-literate hockey player or pop star is not only idolized but rich, the kids are not going to get their shirts in a knot over something as apparently irrele- vant as doing well at school. And let's not blame them too much. Let's take a look at the world we're passing on to them. It's a world strangling- drowning in its own poisons, created by the greed of past generations. The kids see the greed and the poisoning going right on. Small wonder they are a little cynical about some of the virtues such as unselfishness and the golden rule. It's a world in which the rip-off is admired, on the whole. They see unions ripping off manage- ment, management ripping off the consumer, everybody trying to rip off the government. So why not rfp off the school system? It's the biggest sucker of all. It's a world in which the media pander to the bizarre and violent. The hijacker, the terrorist are overnight sensations, Is it naive to suggest that these are respon- sible, to some extent, for the bomb warnings, and the incredi- ble vandalism in our schools? It's a world of drugs. The old man has his drinks every night and gets smashed on the weekend. The old lady has 18 different kinds of pills. Why not run away from reality by emulating them. It's a world in which the daily papers are full of examples of corruption in high places. A senator here, a president there, has helped himself. So what's wrong with cheating, as long as you aren't caught? It's a. world in which the best and bravest are often bullied by the brutal and belligerent. So why not give the teachers a hard time? "They can't do nothin' to ya, anyhow, 'cept senja home, So what? Write a note and sign your old man's name." Not a very pretty picture? You're right, gentle reader. But this is not an indictment of students. It's a cry of shame for the society we're handing onto them, Let's restore "failure" to our vocabulary. Let's restore "ex- cellence," another word that's been dropped. Let's show the kids that apathy is ugly, that reason is superior to violence, that love and sex are not syn- onymous, that compassion and courage far outweigh cruelty and cowardice. I'm sorry for them, and what ,we have shown them. But I don't despair. Let's show them it's a beautiful world, and that they are beautiful and that they are needed to make it more beautiful. Then watch them go. Amalgamated 1924 • UMM7::::1111? 0.111=111= Airma="Zr1""". Voters in the Huron-Middlesex riding should be in for one of the most interesting elections in the province in view of the two well- known candidates being fielded by the Progressive Conser- vatives and Liberals. Sitting member Jack Riddell has to he a slight favorite at the outset of the campaign, based on his two strong electipn victories to date, plus the fact he has proven to be an excellent representative for the riding dur- ing his two terms. There is little doubt that it will take a strong PC candidate to un- seat him, but there is every in- dication that Anson McKinley may just be that person. One of his major advantages will be the McKinley name. It is obviously as well known in the riding as Riddell's and that is a major factor in any race"when a sizeable number of voters tend to vote on personalities. Most candidates who attempt, to unseat sitting members have a difficult task in getting their name as well known as their op- ponent in the short span of an election campaign and McKinley should have an added advantage in that regard. That •is not to suggest that the Stanley farmer will be riding on the coat tails of his brother, Bob, Anson is well known in the Huron portion of the riding, having served many years as a coun- cillor and reeve in his township and also as warden of the county. His leadership and contribu- tion to his community make him his own man and undoubtedly that's the way he'll expect voters to view him. * * * Because the riding is basically agriculturally oriented, both Riddell and McKinley enter the race on comparatively equal grounds on that basis. Obviously, farmers will find little to choose between the two men when they stop to consider which one of them knows the farm scene and its related problems and will speak for them in the Ontario Legislature, The many voters who are listed in the ranks of small businessmen will also eye both candidates on an equal basis. Both are family men, well respected in their community and it will be difficult for voters to make up their minds. In fact, this may be one elec- tion in which party platforms and track records may be among the deciding factors unless voters can find some obvious differences which we have failed to consider in assessing the two men. If party leadership does play an important part in the local ' riding election, then McKinley should benefit from that and even strengthen his chances of unseating Riddell. Liberal leader Stuart Smith has not been overly impressive in the early stages of the cam- paign, although it should be noted that Liberal supporters were indeed cheered by his per- formance at the ,recent party meeting in Exeter. In fact, one staunch Conservative who was in attendance at the meeting, ad- mitted that Smith's performance even impressed him, However, most PCs look at the NDP as their main opponents in this current election and certain- ly Premier William Davis has aimed most of his attack in that direction to date. The last elec- tion saw the NDP move into the number two spot ahead of the Liberals and there has been nothing to suggest that Smith has made any great strides to lead his party back into the number two spot, let alone the number one po`sition. That situation, of course, gives McKinley another slight advan- tage because many people without any strong party ties tend to think it is to their advan- tage to have a member on the government side of the Legislature. Davis and McKinley obviously have a better shot at that than Smith and Riddell at this stage in the campaign. However, there are still many days remaining in the contest and the Liberals could make considerable headway before people start heading to the polls on June 9. * At any rate, this should be an interesting election in this riding, although it also suggests that people should look seriously at what th'e party leaders are saying as the campaign con- tinues. It is important to consider what they are saying, as opposed to how they are saying it. Televi- sion has drastically altered elec- tion campaigns and too often people are swayed by the polish- ed advertisements without giv- ing ample consideration to the message itself. We are, after all, not electing television performers, but rather candidates and leaders who will perform in the important role of governing the affairs of this province over the next four years or so.' That is obviously much too im- Dear Parents and Friends: The staff of McCurdy-Huron Hope was pleased with the response to Open House last month. Our children are always proud to show their families their work and this evening also provides an opportunity for the McCurdy children to show their families the Huron Hope classrooms. As many of you are now aware, an evaluation of the school system has been in progress in the southern part of the county for the past two months. The surveys that you were asked to reply to have been reviewed by committees and the results have been compiled into an Internal Report. As the second phase of this evaluation an External Evaluation Team will be visiting our schools during the week of May 16-20. The members of this group come from as far away as Sud- bury, Kingston and counties such as Hastings, Frontenac, Peel and Grey. When the final report has been written we hope to have a better underttanding of our local strengths and weaknesses. The first of six swimming lessons began Wednesday at Vanastra. The children are all more confident in the water now and are more efficient in getting in and out of their clothing so that they may make use of the full 30 minutes of pool time. Once again we thank our volunteers who come to the pool and assist the children in the water. The pupils in grades 5 to 8 had their Spring Concert last week and as always we were invited to watch' the dress rehearsal. Mrs. Simmons' class had borrowed our puppet theatre for their play and put a sign on one side of it thanking us. The photographer was' in last week to take the cover picture for the McCurdy Yearbook. Nelson, Andy and Eileen were picked as representatives, from our rooms to join with pupils from Kin- dergarten to grade tl in a group picture. portant to be swayed by slick promotional schemes, placards or the likes of that. This province, similar to the nation, faces some difficult times ahead and with the lag in our economy and the question of national unity, there is little doubt that the outcome on June 9 will be one of the most important factors on how well we solve those problems. It is imperative that everyone become acquainted with the local candidates and their respective parties so they can cast an intelligent vote. It is also equally important that when voters make up their mind, they should do what they can to support the candidate and party they think will do the best job for Ontario. That too, is part of the democratic process, although un- fortunately one in which too few people become involved. The two riding candidates will, we are certain, conduct high level campaigns in which all their supporters will be proud to engage. The nature of the two men makes that a foregone con- clusion. Each is obviously willing to make the sacrifice necessary to serve in public 'life and they deserve the support of everyone they will serve. That's you and me, brother (and sister) so let's get involved. Leslie Szabo, formerly from Milton has transferred to our area and makes the ninth pupil in the primary room. We have also added a part time staff member, Mrs. Koehler who comes in mornings to help us. Mrs. MacGregor took Cindy and Eileen to London on Thur- sday to visit Tom who is still a patient in cottage 21 at C.P.R.I. They were happy to report some improvement and Tom seemed pleased to visit with his classmates. They took Tom the picture that Pirie Mitchell had autographed especially for him. We now have access to a new piece of equipment — a video tape play back. This means that we will be able to see many of the educational T.V. programs previously not available to us but recorded on tape by our Media Centre in Clinton, Our first tape arrives this week. Five of our pupils, Cindy, Debbie, Susan, Larry and Eloise have their applications in to the Midwestern Regional Children's Centre at Palmerston to attend the summer program. This program provides a residence and recreation experience for the children and those who went last year are looking forward to going back. We are very saddened to report that one of our former pupils, Michael Najdzion, was killed on May 7 while helping to take down an old shed. Michael had been with us until three years ago when he was able to go into an opportunity class in Bosanquet Township School, He was sixteen years old and a fine young man. A donation from the staff and students of Huron Hope was made to our local Association for the Mentally Retarded in memory of Michael. Our sym- pathy is extended to the family as we share in their sorrow. Upcoming Events — May 23, Victoria Day, holiday; June 3, trip to storybook Gardens. Sincerely, Eleanor Scott Principal f 20 Years Ago The Corbett-Lieury set, coached by James Lochkart, won the Times-Advocate juvenile square' dancing competition at Exeter Lions Victoria Day Festival Monday afternoon. This set has won the Parkhill Lions Club trophy three years in a row and the championship at the London Sports Fair. The Farmer's Unions spon- sored a debate Wednesday between Liberal Andy McLean and Progressive Conservative Elston Cardiff who outlined the farm policies of their respective parties. Discontent over faim conditions was revealed as a major factor in the Huron election campaign. Mrs. Miyo Obakata of London gave a demonstration of Japanese flower arrangements at the annual W.A. Blossom Tea held in James St. United Church last Wednesday afternoon, While Mrs. Obakata fashioned flowers and shrubs into simple but effective arrangements Mrs. Lyman Cousins, president of the Garden Club of London described the natural beauties of Japan. 15 Years Ago Excavations for the • new separate school in' Exeter were started on Monday by the Rawlings Construction Company, Aylmer. The school, to be named the "Precious Blood Separate School" is planned for completion by September. A capacity crowd was taken down memory lane in song and dance on Saturday at the J.A.D. McCurdy School auditorium during the third annual Spring Revue, The professional calibre entertainment was provided by the girls' glee club, the Har- motones band and the pupils of the school. Joseph Zimmerman of Dash- wood suffered a $2,400 loss over the weekend when professional thieves broke into his TV and radio store. Stolen were more than 400 TV tubes, a portable television set, three radios, two record players and a repair kit containing about $500 worth of tools and tubes. Three Huron Newspapers won awards in the competition sponsored by the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association, The Times-Advocate placed second for the best newspaper in towns of less than 3500. population. Clinton News-Record placed third in the same division and two awards went to the Zurich Citizens News. It placed third for papers printed in under 1,000 population class, and third for papers showing greatest im- provement. 55 Years Ago The new Methodist Church at Centralia was opened and dedicated on Sunday by Rev. J. W. Hibbert, president of the London Conference. It was presented to the conference by Messrs. John Essery and W. R. Elliott and was presided over by the pastor, Rev. Arthur Sinclair. Rev, Mr. Hibbert was the preacher for the day. The choir led by Mr. Andrew Hicks, M.L.A., gave an excellent ser- vice, assisted by Miss Marion Casselman, violin soloist, of Chesterfield and Miss Margaret Moodie. Miss May Nelson has taken a position in Harvey and Harvey's north store and Miss Ruby Davis in the main store. Mr. Maurice Senior has returned home from Toronto where he is studying law at the University of Toronto. Mr. A. J. Ford has recently planted put one thousand trees covering five acres, The trees are for silk worms. 30 Years Ago Centralia United Church celebrated their 25th anniversary on Sunday Morning, afternoon and evening congregations were enjoyed by capacity congregations, Services were led by Rev. Arthur Sinclair, of Blyth, who was the clergyman at the time the church was built and dedicated. The Hopper-Hockey Furniture Company are preparing to remodel the apartment on William Street into a modern funeral home with a connecting residence. The building was recently purchased from A. 0. Elliot. The District Annual of the Women's Institutes was held in Thames Road Church on Tuesday. Workmen have been leveling the grounds and the gravel is ready for laying the cement for a new out-door roller skating rink to be erected by Earl Neil. policies made by mandarins in back rooms. The trend away from Par- liament has been accelerat- ing. Recently, the Canadian Labour Congress proposed that Cabinet, big business and big labour should get together to establish an all- powerful planning body which would have executive powers in government. The Canadian Federation of In- dependent Business success- fully opposed this idea but the plan would never have arisen in the presence of a strong Parliament. Obviously, something has to be done to get govern- ment back into the hands of elected representatives. Two good places to start would be television cameras in the House of CoMmons and dele- gating more authority to House committees. Television would take Par- liament into every home. Good MPs and bad PMs would be easily identified by the general public, just as good and bad government policies would be more re- cognizable. But the most promising reform would be reworking the House committees. At the present time, any MP who doesn't toe the party line in committee is promptly removed. But, in the United States, Congressional com- mittees have broad powers to investigate and legislate. House committees could provide a platform for com- petent backbenchers, giving their position some 'purpose and bringing a voice of the people back into government. In other words, let's get government out of the back- rooms and back into Parlia- ment where it belongs. Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 exefeaines-Uveafe SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O,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 Registration Number 6386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES; Canada $1 1.00 Per Year; USA $22.00 Huron Hope news by JIM SMITH A couple of decades ago, in the Dark Ages when elect- ed representatives were still expected to help govern, some long-lost cynic pointed out that politicians, by and large, aren't very well quali- fied. In the cynic's words, "the veterinarian who doc- tors our dogs and cats is re- quired to show more prepa- ration for his calling than is the politician who seeks to assume the right to direct not only our industrial but also much of our personal life." That's a neat argument, with only one flaw: it for- gets that, for all their faults, the politicians are of the peo- ple and elected by the people. They are the spokesmen for their constituents. Lately, Parliament hasn't been used much in day-to- day governing. All the real decision-making is done by a handful of Cabinet ministers and thousands upon thou.' sands of civil servants. The MPs, by and largei aren't happy about this and they show their discontent by spending as little time as possible in the House. Ex- cept for Question Period, when backbenchers can har- rass the Cabinet, the House is all but deserted. Everyone knows that, no matter what Parliament seems to be doing, • the heavy action — such as dismantling of the Anti-Infla- tion Board — is taking place behind closed doors. Decisions are being made in three ways. Constant fede- ral-provincial meetings result in the major decisions. Cabi- net confers regularly with big business and labour leaders. And civil servants handle most of what remains, Parlia- ment simply rubber stamps