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Home My WebLink AboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-09-29, Page 4Likes two-month holiday People should take pride in their appearance. Not to the extent that it becomes an obsession but just that you are neat and clean and nice to look at, I am not speaking of young people who follow the trend for sloppy clothes; but of middle aged persons who may live alone, They begin to think "What's the use, nobody cares what I look like anyway". They would really be surprised how many do take notice of them and judge them accordingly. An acquaintance of mine lives alone and he has never let himself go to seed but is always well groomed. His mind matches his appearance, well-groomed and in- terested in people and the world around him. My father, when he died at eight'' five, was the same; his appearance was never sloppy nor was his mind. He was a pleasure to be with, It doesn't take wealth to keep oneself neat and tidy. And it is remarkable what that can do to one's mental outlook. You'll begin to feel cheerier and friends will notice the difference and enjoy being with you. GRANNY Trendy justice A story in The Globe and Mail recently reported that a judge in eastern Ontario is tending to hand out "social" sentences for crimes committed rather 'than the conven- tional jail sentences. Under this sort of program, which ac- cording to the report is practiced quite a bit in Britain, a person convicted of a not-too- serious crime is sentenced to repay the community not by sweating for weeks and months in a jail cell but by actually getting out with the people and helping in com- munity projects. Involuntarily volunteer- ing, in other words. It is gathered from the report—and more realistically from plain common sense—the program does not apply to per- sons convicted of heinous crimes, murder and manslaughter for instance. The success of the program, at least in eastern Ontario, is apparently very good. Persons who have been convicted and sentenced back to the community have end- ed up either wanting to continue on with their work or being hired outright by their mandatory employer. A man was sentenc- ed to coach a little-league baseball team; his sentence ended but he's still continuing as coach. So far only one person convicted has not worked out and has had to be resentenced to a jail term This is a program worthy of considera- tion, Rather than a man or woman wasting away in a jail cell they can repay their crime by helping the community. At the same time they would be helping themselves: a little work and contribution can build a lot of self-respect. There is a bothersome part about this program, however. If the program were widely adopted in Canada, would it, with time and repetition, eventually give poten- tial criminals the impression they could do anything they want and get off, in a sense, scott-free, having only to spend a couple of weeks or months helping out with some community project, just having a good time. "Why not rob a small corner store? Maybe it's worth the risk. If you get caught the worst you'll have to do is coach a little- league team, help build a senior citizen's home, paint store-fronts . , ," Is that the attitude that might eventually prevail? Who can say for certain, Some say that when a person commits a crime there is no thought in his mind at the time of what the consequences may be, he just goes ahead and does it. Maybe that is the case. But then again what is the pur- pose of any law or any sentence if it is not meant to remind the rest of us that we must tread a certain line for the benefit of all society. The program does seem to have some merit and should not be discarded without at least some deep consideration. But it needs more opinions and thoughts from those who are experts in this sort of thing before it becomes embedded in our judicial system. Slicing the pie The point has been made more than once—by John Diefenbaker on occasion and perhaps even as far back as Sir John A.—that we're lucky not to be getting all the government we're paying for. A cliche states the matter another way: we are over-governed in this country. The big, new regional level of municipal government that has been with us for seven years has merely compounded the amount of governance in our midst. The unseemly bickering that goes on between the various levels of government in Canada for greater slices of the tax- payers' pie has reached a point where few of us know how much we pay to whom for what purposes. Three and sometimes four levels of government compete for the taxpayers' allegiance. The overlapping bureaucracies of federal, provincial and municipal ad- ministrations have so blurred the respon- sibilities of each that the taxpayer—who is also the voter—has little idea for what each level is responsible. Worse, the citizen-taxpayer no longer has any standard by which to judge priorities, or measure the effective use of his money. Granted that most of our money goes to provide services which the politicians would argue we have voted for, it would be refreshing if the various levels of govern- ment would try to tackle their problems on a basis of need and efficiency, Instead we too often are treated to the tiresome dis- play of each trying to grab the biggest share of the communal pot. For instance, we have federal and provincial ministries of labor, natural resources, health, social security, environ- ment, consumer protection and business regulation. Add to this municipal involve- ment in health, social security, en- vironmental protection, transportation and education and you find how the taxpayer • supports enormous bureaucracies which overlap in a dreadfully wasteful manner. How does the beleagured taxpayer- citizen chooe within three jurisdictions? Surely the time has come to tell governments to cooperate rather than com- pete for the privilege of spending tax dollars and free the financial resources needed for one level to do things well. •nr4f-Yii: ...:464•:44646 • -twait:wo eoutb Aturon Aliorta *lab ipthoot Comment from... By J.L. Wooden Times-Advocate, September 29, 1977 .014*/**.M.OlitCor,/ ) From the rocking chair Why buy Canadian? Friends of mine in all walks of life can't understand how I can stand teaching as a vocation, With striking originality, they ask: "How can you stand it?" So, with another 10 months of my chosen way of life under way, I thought I'd look at it, and try to give them an answer. Perhaps we could start with elimination. It would take an act of God, or a change of sex, or something equally dramatic, to make me ah engineer. I have just completed the job of trying to change a typewriter ribbon. It took me 39 minutes. I wound up with ink all over my fingers, my face, and a clean shirt, And guess what came out when I began typing? Red words. It was one of those half-red, half-black ribbons, and I'd got it upside bassackwards, The Only reason you are reading this in black is that it is being reproduced by someone else, My lack of engineering skills precludes my Making a fat living Where the real money is these days: as a repair man. If you have a son or daughter pondering a career, for the dear goodness' sake, steer it into fixing things — plumbing, electricity, TV, cars. Took my lawnmower to a repair- man the other day, It wouldn't. start. Picked it up three days later. The bill was $41.16 — one dollar and 16 cents more than half what I had paid for the new machine a few years ago. The bill for labor was $27. You could have a baby for that not so terribly long ago. I've never wanted to be a scientist. Can't see Spending my life in a lab trying to find a new additive that will make clothes whiter than white or a new chemical that will Make deo- dorant dryer than ever. Medicine, Since I have never had a secret desire to be God, held little appeal for me. It's a noble profession, and you can make a pile of money by peering into people's apertures, probing their flab, making their blood spurt, and writing prescriptions among other things, None of those things turn me on, though. Dentistry, ditto. I can see no particular charm in standing at an angle most acrobats couldn't maintain for 10 seconds, gawking at gums and crumbling renovations. One look into my own mouth would give me night- mares for a week. To heck with the $50,000 a year. Then there's the law, of course. There's a great deal of poppycock about the majesty and the integrity of the law. All of it stems from lawyers and judges. But I wouldn't care to be associated in a profession where there is, despite all disclaimers, one law for the rich and another for the poor, Shalpspeare said it nicely: "Let them hang all the lawyers." Another field that brings in a mighty good buck is accounting. But where's the future in that for a fellow who can't even account to his own wife for the way he behaved at the party on Saturday night? Quite a good career these days There was more bad news for the area economy last week in the announcement that the Dayton Tire bicycle tire plant at Huron Park would be closing its doors, resulting in the loss of employment for over 50 workers. Declining markets due to a reduction in bicycle sales was one of the major contributing factors, according to company spokesmen. However, perhaps of even greater significance in the deci- sion, was the comment that the firm could not compete with cheaper tires being imported from foreign manufacturers. This prompted the employees to suggest they had been sold out by the federal government, and while that may be rather simplistic, it is a charge with some validity. • It is a situation that is evident in many manufacturing situations in this country, and not only bicycletires.The clothing in- dustry has been hard hit with competition from imports and the shoe industry is also facing increased pressures. A '- The fact is, CanadianS Must gp,,to the realization, they can no longer have the best of two worlds. They can,'t continue is "working for the government." Certainly you'll never be fired, unless you turn up drunk four days in a row and rape four different secretaries. Even then, you'd probably just he "transferred to a less sen- sitive area," or put out to pasture on a pension. When I was a student, we used to say scornfully that if you couldn't do anything else, you went into the ministry. This was a base canard, of course, but the delights of the parsonage never really got me excited. I wouldn't have minded pounding the old pulpit a bit, but I couldn't have stood the old biddies and the back-stabbers and the constant mendicanting, What I thought I might be was a professor of English. Sit around in a book-filled study, dis- pense wisdom to awed students, and give the occasional brilliant lecture. Well I've since met some of my old friends who chose that path. They're more boring than the guy who comes to fix my furnace. What I really and truly wanted to do when I was young and romantic was to become a foreign correspondent. Influenc- ed by movies, I wanted the works: trench coat, snap brim felt hat, bylines from Hong Kong and Nairobi, Nearest I got to that was' editing the country cor- respondence from contributors to a small-town weekly. That wasn't a bad vocation, except that you worked 60-odd hours a week and never made any money, I guess my secret desire for years was to be a writer, Preferably a pipe-smoking, enor- mously popular, immensely wealthy One, several times divorced, a world traveler, a lec- turer in great demand, yet with a depth, a plus quality in my novels that would put me up there with Hardy, Conrad, Hemingway. With three or four of my novels turned into smash hits on Broadway and in Hollywood. And all my own hair and teeth. Only trouble with that wish was that I was too lazy. Oh, the talent was there. No question about that, as we novel-writers manque can assure anyone. So instead of becoming a Hemingway, I became Bill Smiley, a chronicler of the tribulations and the trivia of the mid,-20th century. And not a bit bitter or disillusioned about it. That wasn't quite enough to keep a body alive, so I became a teacher, Not only because most other professions fill me with nausea or loathing. But because I like young people', words, Ideas, and two months holidays. to press for wage demands which price their products well beyond those of imports and at the same time enjoy the savings in com- modities which arrive on the market from foreign lands. A protest march to Ottawa about allowing bicycle tires into the country from Taiwan may have some effect, but it would lose something in the translation if the marchers failed to take into consideration that their shoes and shirts probably carry a "made in Taiwan" label, Canadians have never sub- scribed seriously to the "Buy Canadian" program, not even those workers who have seen their jobs jeopardized by im- ports. Retailers haven't pushed it to any great extent either, despite the fact the buying power of their customers is reduced when they sell imported products, rather than those manufactured domestically. It would be interesting, for in- stance,. to know how many area bicycle dealers demanded Cana- dian made tires to support the people from Dayton Tire who buy merchandise from, them. It's. easy to castigate the government for our economic woes, but the fact remains that many of those woes are not government inflicted, but self- inflicted by Canadians in general. They've been warned for the past decade that they are pricing themselves out of world markets and yet they have failed to curb their demands for higher wages, benefits and profits in an effort to remain competitive. They have also failed to un- derstand the complexities of . world trade, and in particnlar that it has to be a two-way street. The government can't place protective embargoes on im- ported bicycle tires from Taiwan without expecting to have that country looking elsewhere for wheat or some raw materials normally purchased in Canada, or at least placing embargoes on those items and putting Canada at a disadvantage against other countries trying to sell to Taiwan, An indication of how far we have placed ourselves outside '.vorld markets is the fact that most of the raw materials for bicycle tires manufactured in Taiwan may well have come from Canada in the first place. Yet, it is still possible for that country to buy those raw materials and pay for the ship- ping and then pay the shipping on the finished product and still sell for prices below tires produced right here in Canada. There is no simple solution to the problem, but there is a clear indication that Canadians must start following the policy of buy- ing their own products, even when those products may be more expensive than imports, Had they followed that policy in their purchases of bicycle tires, the Dayton Tire plant at Huron Park would probably still be in operation and 50 people would still be working, A legislative committee study- ing highway safety in Ontario has recommended that the drink- ing age be raised to 19. However, statistics released by the committee indicate that such 'a, move would be akin to sticking a little finger into the dyke rather than using a thumb which would be much more ad- vantageous. It said that after the lowering of the drinking age from 21 to 18 in 1971, teenage involvement in drinking and driving accidents increased dramatically. By 1975, teenage drinking drivers were in- volved in 37,2 percent of alcohol- related accidents. If the committee is interested in their, aim of "lowering the horrendous' death 'rateon the highways of Ontario" it becomes obvious that they should have been much bolder in their ap- proach. By raising the drinking age by one year, that 37.2 percent figure may be lowered sornewhat, but obviously not as much as could be accomplished if the drinking age is increased to 20. Most 18 and 19 year olds would naturally argue that in the eye of the law they are considered adults and should have the same rights as other adults. However, the inescapable fact is that statistics have clearly shown they are incapable of handling booze and automobiles. An even bolder recommenda- tion would be to increase the driving age to 18, That would substantially reduce automobile accidents, which rate as the leading cause of death of younger people in Ontario. Any such rules infringe on the rights of those who are capable drivers and a more logical method of cutting down" on ac- cidents would, be lengthier licence suspengions for those who are found guilty of driving infractions, regardless of their age. We imagine most people would slow down if a speeding ticket resulted in a one-month suspen- sion and they would probably think twice about combining alcohol and automobiles if an im- paired driving charge resulted in a one-year suspension. The consideration a person gives to his actions is usually directly proportionate to the con- sequences he may suffer as a result of those actions. It is, nevertheless, a strange fact of life that most people worry more about licence suspensions for traffic infractions than they do over the fact those infractions could result in serious injury or death through accidents, 55 Years Ago Exeter Juniors lost their game with Owen Sound in the NWBA final last Wednesday at Palm ers ton. The Harvest Home Thanksgiving service under the auspices of the Ladies' Aid was held in James St, Methodist Church Sunday. Rev.' J, G. Litt, Zurich occupied the pulpit both morning and evening and Miss Clara Morlock, Crediton, sang two solos. The South Huron Choral Society held their annual meeting Monday evening and re- organized for the coming season, The newly-elected officers are: Hon; pres., A. Hicks, M.P.P.; president, Miss Ethel Murdock; Hensal.t; 1st vice president, H. T, Rowe, Exeter; secretary, Miss Vera Essery, Exeter; treasurer, Mr. M. R, Rennie, Hensall; executive, Mr. Wm. Elford, Elimville; Mr. S. Martin, Exeter, and Miss E. Rennie, Zurich; with Prof. A. W. Anderton, director. 30 years Ago Work is now moving rapidly on the construction of the highway between Exeter and Dashwood. Looby and Looby, who have the contract have completed six culverts with four more to do. The twenty-fifth anniversary of Crediton United Church was held on Sunday. At the field day for High Schools of Exeter, Mitchell and St. Marys last Friday, Exeter pupils carried off five of the seven championships. Golden Jubilee anniversary services were held in Greenway United Church on Sunday. Larry Snider won the war veterans class with tractor at the North Huron Plowing match, 20 Years Ago •The assessment for the Town of Exeter passed the two and one- half million dollar mark this year. This is over $50,000 more "All children have a right to the best education available. It is an entrenched right which no one would dare challenge". "I am • reasonably convinced that all the basic scholastic skills can be learned by children with normal learning ability". "If diversity of mental abilities . . . is a basic fact of nature, as the evidence indicates, and if the ideal of universal education is to be successfully pursued . . . schools and society must provide a range and diversity just as wide as the range of human abilities". "The mass of any people anywhere are uneducable in any or the traditional sense of the word . .". These four quotations from very different types of scholars and observors of education help us focus on a basic dilemma for the secondary schools. If we believe the last statement above then educational institutions would, be vastly different. Ontario, however, in principle at least, believes the first three are closer to expressing our educational attitudes, It is because of this position that we have broadened the number of courses. With a diversity of abilities it becomes necessary to develop programmes of study suitable for a variety of students. Thus, there are courses in Mathematics and English, for example, at several levels of difficulty. It is this diversity that has resulted in the development of such a variety of subjects at the secondary school level. A school of South Huron's size is able to offer students a good choice of subjects although this choice is limited by certain requirements. All grade 9 students must take ,,English, Mathematics, Science and either Amalgamated 1924 CCNA 81 RIRDON AWARD 1416 This Week's COMING ACTIVITIES AT SOUTH HURON Friday, Sept. 30 - Honour Student Dinner 6 P.M - Commencement 8 P.M. Saturday, Oct. 1 - Cross-Country Team to York University Meet Monday, Oct. 3 - Evening classes begin. Tuesday, Oct. 4 - Girls Basketball teams play Norwell S.S. at S. Huron 1:30 P.M. (Jrs.) 3 p.m. (Sr, ) - Girls Field Hockey play Norwell - 2 P.M. - Cross-Country Team to Parkhill Wednesday, Oct. 5 -Boys Volleyball Teams to Cen- tral Huron 8nglish & Theatre Students to Stratford Festival (Richard III) Thursday, Oct. 6 - Football Teams to Listowel ▪ OHS Basketball team to St, Marys - Girls Field Hockey Teams to St. Marys Friday, Oa. 7 - School Dance Saturday, Oct. 8 Cross Country Team to 100 meet than last year. Population was reported at 2,699. South Huron District High School graduates have won 'a record $3,200 in awards this year, largest amount received by a graduating class in the school's history. This is pm more than last year's record. The newly elected officers of the Exeter Oddfellows Lodge were installed Tuesday, evening, They are: NG, Roy Hunter; Past Grand, Bob Belling; VG, Gerald Campbell; chaplain, Allan Richards; rec. secretary, A, E. Howald; financial secretary, Glen Fisher; treasurer, W. G. Allison; RSNG, Albert Keyes; LSNG, Asa Penhale; RSVG, Harold Rowe; LSVG, Percy McFalls; RSS, Stan Whiting, LSS, Roylance Westcott; IG, Ted Wright; OG, Allan Fletcher, 15 Years Ago Rev, Arthur J, Stienstra, Hartford, Connecticut, was in- stalled as the new pastor of the Christian Reformed Church by Douwe Boersma. He will be ordained Thursday night and will take over from Rev. G, Van Eek. Property assessment in Exeter has climbed over the $3 million mark thisyear, This is all in crease of roughly $146,000 over last year, The population too, continues a steady rise, totalling 3,124 this year. A large congregation gathered Sunday at the protestant chapel at RCAF Station Centralia for a dedication service in memory of the late Rev. F/L Earl Moore, who served as chaplain at the station for several years before his death early this year. Voluntary contributions received from the servicemen and their families of all faiths at Centralia were used to purchase a stained glass window. Usborne council has approved department of highways plans for bridges and culverts over municipal drains across No. 4 highway under the rebuilding program scheduled for next year. Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 trateferZimesabucieate 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 — Bin Weekley Composition Manager -- Harry DeVries Business Manager Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 Published Eath Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $1100 Per Year; USA 02.00 the Geography of Canada or Canadian History. In addition students in grade 9 must take 4 other subjects. Grade i0 similar requirements, Students must accumulate a total of, 27 credits in order to receive the grade 12 diploma. These 27 credits must include 4 credits in English, which for most students means one English credit each year. The subjects divided into 4 broad groups such as Sciences, Art, Social sciences and English. A students programme must include courses from all 4 broad areas. Six credits at the Grade 13 level are required for the grade 13 Diploma. A student's grade 13 course selection usually is based on the requirements of the post secondary institution which he or she plans to attend. Almost all grade 13 students take English as one of the credits. The so-called credit system has received a great deal of comment both pro and con. Students at South Huron have tended to select the traditional group of courses. The major benefit- of the system hs been the possibility that students can select subjects and levels of difficulty more appropriate to their ability and interest levels, It has certainly resulted in the retention of more students in secondary school. In other words the system now operating in secondary schools does reflect the thinking AK indicated in the first three quotes given above rather than the last quote. • f r