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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1977-10-20, Page 4Times-Advocate, October 20, 1977 Comment from... .0011.tb 1011tOn .SiStrikt • Queen sets, tone The Queen's address to the nation Sun- day evening was a welcomed respite from the carefully phrased mudslinging that is beginning to creep into the debate over Canada's future. In her address, the Queen captured the essence of the Canadian spirit: the freedom to pursue individual ways of life but at the same time maintaining a unity of spirit that only this nation fosters. It's at times such as this when the words of an individual who is removed from the day to day milieu can help us to do one thing: slow down, sit back and think what this country really means to us. Let us put away our day to day squabbles and work toward a country where a high pressure public relations campaign, be it federalist or anti- federalist, will not divide this country. Two sides to the story The price is always right W,.711 EVADH,21"1 "Guess what? We're five to ten years ahead of our time." Jr. 4, is able to see the spot where he fell into the Ausable River Wednesday, After trying un- successfully to pull her young playmate out of the water, Marieve ran to get her mother. Stellman was floating face down when Mrs. Spooner rescued him, but she revived him with mouth- to-rneuth artificial respiration. Carolynne Simmons, daughter of Mr. and Mrs, Fred Simmons and Dave Buchanan, Hensel' were' elected heads of the girls saandimbsoyths isa Wtheleetki! societies tit Luther Jackson, London,111 September 30, 197$ succeeds Mrs. Alex Manna) SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O,W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eecly Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten • Assistant Editor ,Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Plant Manager — Weekley Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — bid( Jon gkind Phone 235-1311 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advancetirculation 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $1/.00 Sangster as music teacher Of the ;Lai:mamma L1.1003 Publit School. What welfare? Canada used to be a welfare state. It isn't anymore. That may surprise those who think that today's poor have a pipeline to society's wealth, a pipeline that gushes with welfare cheques, food vouchers, rent supplements, unemployment insurance, and family allowances, If that's "welfare", then certainly this is the first welfare state. Only in this cen- tury, since the arrival of income taxes, have government gathered money from the community to redistribute to the poor, But is that really welfare? Prior to the industrial age, before the time when people flocked to the cities, governments didn't have to hand out money. Even without handouts, no one had to starve or freeze if they were able-bodied, The land, and its resources, was available to a greater or lesser extent to anyone. In its forests, the community had a sur- plus of firewood; in its streams, water; on its grasslands, grazing; and enough space that everyone could have some kind of a home and garden. Barring laziness or physical handicap, most people could sur- vive without dependence on charity. Governments didn't have to tax a corn-, munity's collective wealth, because peo- ple could help themselves. That world of the past could legitimate- ly be called a welfare state — a state of communal well-being. But that's no longer true in Canada. The wealth of our total community still depends on the land. Its forests, streams, minerals, and fields provide food for its people, raw materials for industries, and energy, But the urban poor have been cut off, from that communal wealth. They get filed vertically, in high-rise low-income housing, or cramped into rented rooms in old houses. They can't live on the crumbs from the tables of the rich — even our throwaways are now sanitarily crushed, compressed, packaged, shredded, or buried. They, own no land, and have no free access to the products of the land. If there is open land near them, it is zealously protected by local governments for recrea- tion of the total populace (and possible for future development); the poor may gather neither food nor fuel from it. Similarly, the wider natural resources of the country are no longer there for the taking. The riches of Crown (or communally-owned) land are available only by negotiated agreement with the government, on behalf of the citizens. This is not a plea to roll back the clock, nor is it advocating unrestricted plunder of our natural wealth by opportunists, be they poor or rich, individuals or corporations. It merely points out a state of affairs in which the urban poor have only two alter- natives open to them. They can steal — a method of helping themselves that society considers criminal and punishes. Or they can beg — asking governments, the custodians of our com- munal wealth, for handouts. It's difficult to describe that sort of state as welfare. But there is another op- tion, if we have the will to implement it they can be genuinely aided by creative in- volvement in the political and economic processes of the nation — and the fruit that would accrue in a "just society." Decision seems wise It would appear that the recent deci- sion of the Perth-Huron Steering com- mittee against formation of a district health council for the two counties was a wise one. It also appears that there is already some doubt about the merits of such councils even among those already organized. A spokesman for the council which in- cludes Middlesex and several other coun- ties to the south has said there is im- mediate need for clarification of the coun- cil's power and areas of control, Someone from yet another health council has ex- pressed his fears that the authority and effectiveness of local hospital boards is en- dangered. Doubts of this same nature have been heard by people who are connected with or well informed about the operations of regional governments. In fact the entire concept of regional control• is being serious- ly questioned and the provincial govern- ment has been noticeably quiet about for- ming any more regions. Wingham Advance Times The School At one time the public library served the whole community and it's information needs. It was considered unnecessary far schools to have libraries. Because of the teaching methods employed this was undoubtedly true. Almost every English speaking student in the Province of Ontario would have studied from exactly the same textbooks and would have received a good grounding in what are fondly recalled as the "basics" or the three "R"s. If the student did not fit in he either dropped out of school or marked time by repeating grades until he was old enough to leave school. By the 1950's it had become abundantly clear that this kind of schooling did not answer the needs of all students and led to an unquestioning kind of learning of the facts presented.If the teacher or the text book did not present the information it was not im- portant. Advances in science and technology and indeed in all branches of knowledge meant, however, that it was no longer possible for the teacher and text book to give all the knowledge necessary for one to make one's way in the world. Instead it became necessary for the student to learn how to learn so that when he needed to he could evaluate situations and make meaningful choices. A single text would no longer do the job and the public library was not adequate for supplying supplementary materials for many reasons, In many cases schools are not close enough for students to readily go there. The hours may,, not coincide with school times. The public library collection is called upon to fulfill many needs in the community and cannot afford to devote an inordinate amount of time and money to the school population which is only a small segment of the community. Finally, and most important, the public librarian is not a trained teacher and need not have a clear understanding of the objectives of education or the methods of teaching. By law the librarian in a school must be a qualified teacher since his or her job is primarily to be an educator, As well he should have training in the field of library and By JERRY McDONNELL. Librarian Library information science, This means that he must be a graduate of a recognized university and then take training in teaching methods and library science, Many school librarians have also had several years of experience teaching in a classroom before making the switch to library work. The librarian's training in teaching is an asset because he should, if possible, be involved in many aspects of the education process. He must work with teachers in planning curriculum where he can provide help in finding what material is available in the field and how it can be used in the classroom or in individual study, He must know the methods used to teach dif- ferent parts of different courses so he can order the appropriate materials. If, for instance, the French Revolution is taught by the lecture method while students must write essays about the American Revolution, one or two books will suffice for the former topic while more will be necessary for the latter. The American history books will also have to be at a level which students can understand. The teacher-librarian is also responsible for working in con- junction with other teachers to see that students learn library research methods and that they understand how to make the best use of the materials they do read. No student should reach university or college level with out this knowledge and skill as we used to in the not too distant past. I was almost finished my un- dergraduate years before I realized there was a tool such as the Canadian Periodical Index which lists the articles in Canadian magazines by author, title and subject. This makes it possible to find that article you need to do an essay on solar energy or simply to find that article you remember reading a few months back in Macleans. Now there is hardly a high school library in Ontario which does not subscribe to this Monthly publicaion and in which the librarian is not willing to teach any student how to use it. While some publications and services are common to all high school libraries there are im- portant differences. Schools serve different types of students in different types of com- munities. In a rural area such as this it may be ncessary for the school library to provide more :recreational materials than 'would a school like London Central which is only a block or two from a large public library. Public libraries in the South Huron area may not be able to provide large collections of fiction in the areas which interest young adults. The same problem occurs in other subject areas, If the school library cannot provide the material necessary for an essay on payoff scandals in- volving crown corporations the student may have trouble getting it through the public library unless he is willing and able to make a trip to London or some other larger centre. Considering all these aspects of the job to be done and remem- bering the financial constraints it becomes obvious that the school library cannot always ac- complish all of it's tasks but it is an interesting and exciting challenge to try. Out *hoot S There is something delightful- ly inconsistent about most women which can make strong men moan and gnash their teeth but provides a certain amount of inadvertent hilarity to those of us who have given up long ago, After years of blowing every nickel we made, the old battleaxe and I decided to start saving money for our old age. Neither of us will make it: I because the old corpus will likely cash its ticket before that time, and she because she'll never grow old. But it seemed a good idea at the time, I had no idea what it would lead to. But it did. First thing noticed was that it cut down severely on my extra-curricular activities. "Hey, sweetie, is it OK if I join the poker club this fall? They need me. They play so many old women's games that they want someone to teach them how to play real poker. It Would prac- tically be the same as teaching eight school." "13iII, you know perfectly well the answer is no. We can't afford it. We're trying to save money, not throw it away." No use reminding her that on the couple of occasions I played with these infants Of the game I came herne with So many quarters in my righthand pocket she thought I'd broken a leg as I limped in the door. "Ull, dear, there's to be an old fighter pilot's reunion in Edmoe. ton this October. Golly, it would be kinds nice to sneak away for a few days and see sbme of the old..." "What de you de at those reunions? Besides tell lies and drink?" "Well there's a whole program. Speeches. A dance. Wives are invited. Howja like to go? They're a great bunch. Guys'll be there from all over Canada and the States. Australia. Britain. We didn't do a. thing all summer. Let's go away from it all," "From what all? You mean from me. You know I wouldn't be caught dead at a fighter pilots' reunion. A bunch of boozy old men standing around, half- pickled, waving their hands in the air, What would it cost?" "Well, there's just the air fare. And the hotel. And the conven- tion fee. And a few odds and sods. Por the two of us, it would come to only about $700. And if you were sure you didn't want to come I could make it along for $500," Stony silence, Not a word, a gesture of encouragement. She went off, rather tight around the lips, to watch TV. I sat and paw- ed rather wistfully through the reunion literature. Next day, when I came home from work, it had all disappeared, There was a small pier of aShes hi the fireplace, But that's not all our saving binge has affected. I'm not that Selfish. I'm not going to kick up a fuss just because my social life has been Wiped out so that T can have a hamburger and a half, in- stead of splitting one, When I'm an old dodderer. No, there's a lot more., My wife, In her zeal to save money, has started reading the food ads for the first time in her life. , Could any of my readers use 20 pounds of flour? The old lady uses approximately five pounds a year, for frying fish and stuff. The other day, because it was half price, she bought a 25-pound bag. It sits in the kitchen, moved from one location to another, like one of the seven dwarfs sleeping off a hang-over. The house is filling up with bargains, She bought 12 cans of peas at 30 per cent off, We never eat canned peas, preferring the frozen ones. We'll never get rid of them unless she makes a massive canned pea-casserole and invites all our friends to dinner. We would then have no friends. Yesterday she came in gleeful- ly and dumped a whole bags full of razor blades in my lap. Half price! By the time I get half way through them, an orderly will be shaving me in some Sunset Heaven. I go into the bathroom and Morally stumble and fall over sticks of roll-on deodorant which are Spilling out of the drawers. There Was a special on them, and We have enough to pass a few along to our eventual under- taker. Any day now, I'm expecting a truck to drive up to the back door and unload half a ton of potatoes, because they are 10 per cent off When bought in bulk, Open the freezing compart- ment in the fridge to get a couple of ice cubes, and you are liable to be brained by an avalanche of frozen hamburg, 10 pounds of it at 45 cents a pound, wrapped in Unemployment is up, the value of the dollar is down. Inflation is on the increase, faith in the Canadian economy is on the decrease. That's the rather bleak picture facing Canadians as they head into the long, cold winter months. Traditionally, the winter brings further increases in the unem- ployment picture so there are few bright spots on the horizon. In short, it could be a long, hard winter for many people living in this nation and certainly with the disastrous harvest period ex- perienced in this immediate area, many of those hardships will be felt here as well. The frustrating part of the entire situation is that few people have any plausible methods of correcting it. Those that are being offered are often con- flicting in nature. Business and labor want the government to end the controls set out by the Anti-Inflation Board, while the government contends that the end of controls will see mammoth increases for products and services and place the country in an even greater predicament .. The major objective should not be to put more money into the. hands of those who are working, but rather provide some jobs for those who are not. Unless labor and business are prepared to agree on some type of voluntary restraints program, it would appear that lifting the controls would be rather dangerous. In his recent visit to London, Prime Minister Trudeau suggestedithat one of the basic problems with the national economy is the fact that Canadians have been making too many demands on their economy in the past and as a result are falling behind in the competitive world market. He said Canadians will have to "cool off" and expect less if the economy is to recover. Certainly, most of those who are without jobs have already "cooled off" and more may join them in the coming months. For them, it will not be in response to the Prime Minister's suggestion, but purely through necessity. But perhaps things are not as bleak as some would suggest. It may just be a case of Canadians not being able to continue their high standard of living; a stan- dard which may be too high any way. Necessity is the mother of invention, and many people may find that life isn't really so dif- ficult without the luxuries on which we have become so ac- customed and with which we could probably do without. half-pound packages. That's 40 hamburgers. I eat about four a year, grudgingly. I was thinking of having some brickwork done on my house this year. But bricks are expensive. I think I'll use frozen margarine instead. We got a great buy on it: 37 cents a pound, and we have 82 pounds in the basement. We have two beaten-up old cars. It was always a decision: which one shquld go in the gar. age. No more problems. Now they both stay out on the Street. The garage is full of turnips, squash, vegetable marrow and cabbage, every one a bargain. There's no question, We're saving money right and left. And just the other day, my wife an. Minced the coup de grace, If we move quickly,we can get a terri- fic deal on a new dining room suite. It's been knocked down from $1,800 to $1,500. Any readers who are having trouble saving money in these troublous times need only drop a line. At Smileys', The Price Is Right, During many of his travels across the nation, the Prime Minister is faced with placard- waving groups demanding jobs. At the same time, news items appear about people wanting to hire someone to work and not finding any candidates. Just this week, a Toronto firm indicated they had been trying to find laborers for a job that paid $7.00 per hour. There were no takers. Fruit and vegetable growers have indicated they can't find enough people to harvest their crops and as a result they either rot or the government is forced to bring in off-shore workers to assist. That all seems very strange as the unemployment figures continue to rise. It prompts the question of how seriously many of those people are looking for jobs and how many of them are quite content to sit back and let the' unem- ployment cheques roll in. It is easy to sympathize with people who are out of work and genuinely interested in getting a job, but one of the reasons they can't find work is that businesses have to spend some of their money to pay towards the fund which is being ripped off by others in the unemployment ranks. That is a business expense which increases costs and reduces job opportunities. On the brighter side of the economic scene, Exeter is "booming" in comparison to many communities in the nation. Work is well underway on two major building projects, the new Bank of Nova Scotia building at the corner of Main and Gidley Streets and the new Big "0" office structure on Highway 83 east. The latter will result in some growth for the community, while the bank will be a matter of transfer of location The new headquarters being built by the Masonic Lodge for the Exeter OPP detachment is also progressing on Highway 4 north. Again that will be basically a change in location only and not create any new jobs or bring new people to the community, The real test of the outlook for Exeter will come in seeing how quickly some of the vacant commercial buildings will be filled, as the present tenants move to new locations. With the closing of the Chainway store, and the opening of the facilities at the town hall, several commercial locations will be available in the near future and hopefully they will be quickly filled. As a final comment, area youngsters should be reminded that the winter activities will soon commence at the South Huron rec centre. There are plenty of op- portunities for would-be hockey players and figure skaters. Both programs emphasize the fun aspect of the sport, as well as the development,' of individual skills. There will be a full house- league prograin operated in the minor hockey program this winter and each participant is guaranteed equal ice time and the promise of playing against boys 'of his own calibre. To date, the registration is low, but hopefully many will sign up during the final registration this Saturday at the rec centre. 55 Year Ago A tap at the school, used for filling the boiler was left running on Thursday evening last and before morning there was a couple of feet of water in the basement. Some of the water came up through the radiators and overflowed into the rooms, Sr. S. T. Simpson field secretary of the Orange Grand Lodge, occupied the pulpit of Trivitt' Memorial Church on Sunday evening. Mr. C. W. Robinson, auc- tioneer, left on Tuesday for Fergus, where he has taken a pbsition as implement agent. Harry Strang, while helping to load apples, had the misfortune to fall off the wagon and break two bones in his left arm. 30 Years Ago Exeter chapter No.222 OES met in the chapter rooms to celebrate their ninth birthday. W. H. Pollen was elected president of the Exeter Bowling Club Thursday evening. Exeter District War Time committee has ceased activities, Pounds of salvage collected were 209,210 which sold for $1,200; pacels sent overseas were 1,018, including 366 sweaters and 366 pairs of socks. Janet Kestle was elected president of the Exeter District High School Council for 1947-48. The interior of the Exeter Town Hall has been redecorated. 20 Years Ago Campaign for the blind in the Exeter area neared the three- quarter mark of its $850 objective with a total to date of over $625. Pauline Becker, as a scarecrow and Kristine Gulens, as a Tittle girl were prize winners at the Hallowe'en party staged by the Walther League of Zion Lutheran Church, Dashwood, Tuesday evening. Attendance at similar parties throughout the district has been cut by flu casualties. Debris from the fire which destroyed their farm house near Staff a Saturday has been removed and construction has begun already on a new home for Mr. and Mrs. John Ternplernan and their seven children. Question of how long Cen- tralia's control tower will con- tinue to direct air traffic was raised this week when reports indicated the station's flying program night be curtailed when the NATO training scheme ends. Officials at the station said there was "no factual basis whatsoever for the reports." 15 Years Ago Close to 74 men in the Dash- wood area have been donating their -spare time for the past few weeks in aiding with the erection of the $20,000 community hall. They plan a door-to-door canvass to raise the $5,000 which is needed to complete the structure. Due to the quick actions of Mrs. Peter Spooner and her daughter, Marieve, young Stellman Harris, Amalgamated 1924 COMING ACTIVITIES Mon., Oct. 24 - Parents Night 7 - I0 p.m. Tues„ Oct. 25 - Girls basketball, Northwestern at SH, 2 p,m. Girls field hockey, N.W. at S.H,, 2 p.m, Mass media classes visit Lon- don Free Press Thurs., Oct. 27 - Football, Stratford Central at S.H„ 1:30 p.m. • Girls basketball, S.H. at Clinton Panshawe representative at S.H, Fri., Oct. 28 - No classes Teachers will be attending con- ferences and visiting other schools, etc, WOSSA Cross-Country Senior outer weekend hike Bruce Trail mintormt ,,,,vmensonewsks • Times Established 1873 Advocate Established '1881 `fie tratritainesabuocafe