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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-03-30, Page 4Times-Advocate, March 30, 1978Pwge 4 Explosive The situation surrounding the strike at Fleck Manufacturing at Huron Park is nearing the boiling stage and there is every indication that a bloody confrontation could erupt unless measures are taken to prevent it. It is obvious that steps must be taken to prevent the pickets from con­ gregating at the main gates in large numbers to harass those who have a legal right to pass through those gates. Last week’s massive build-up of police protection was not even enough to prevent physical damage to two vehicles which did pass through the Frigliteiis Church officials and congregations are becoming increasingly concerned about a possible shortage of ministers in Quebec, the United Church Observer reports in its current issue. At the end of February, 23 of the denomination’s 127 pastoral charges in the province were either vacant or served by ministers at’ or within months of retirement age. Although this situation is considered far from alarming — the vacancy total is not significantly different from previous years — there is some fear it may worsen in the spring months, the magazine reports. That is the period when ministers situation pickets, and while the UAW have con­ demned the police for their show of force, it is frightening to think what could have taken place had the police not been there in such large numbers. In fact, some UAW pickets should have been thankful there were enough police on hand to prevent them from performing worse deeds than those that were perpetrated. How far would they go? That ques­ tion is difficult to answer because mob rule often escapes the bounds of ex­ planation. The situation must be defused! ministers let their congregations know if they are moving to new pastorates. Indications have come from church meetings in other provinces that ministers there are uneasy about moving into Quebec. As the language laws are being inter­ preted, most fear they would not have the right to opt for English-language schooling for their children. United Church officials are looking into the possibility that clergy may be eligible for “temporary status” under the language legislation. This would permit a family to send children to English-language school for three years with a possible extension of three additional years. BATT’N AROUND . with the editor Cheap politics It’s getting downright sickening. While Solicitor-General Jean-Jacques Blais continues to sound like a record stuck in a groove with his “no com­ ment” to each and every question in the House regarding what has come to be known as The Cossitt Affair, Prime Minister Trudeau continues his elec­ tion campaign across the country at the taxpayer’s expense. Recently the seats behind Blais were minus most of the bodies which ought to have been occupying them. The reason? On this latest campaign jaunt the prime minister not only went hfmself but took 27 of his Cabinet members with him on this three-day trip to the west. The cost to the public purse will be something in the neighbourhood of $50,000. This travelling by the pm at public expense is cheap politics at its worst. To justify the taxpayers picking up the tab, Trudeau said the trip was a chance for the government to become closer to the prairies. What he really meant was that it was a chance for the federal Liberals to become closer to the prairies which isn’t quite the same thing. It wasn’t the only time during the trip that Trudeau equated government with Liberal. In Alberta he said the westerners could start taking over the country if they elected more members to “government”. It makes one wonder just where all of those politicians elected in Alberta since 1968 were working, if not in the Government of Canada. Oddly enough, the people of Alber­ ta really don’t appear to have suffered much from their lack of representation on the Liberal side of the House. If anything they are better off than the provinces which have returned the Liberals to power — which says something about the real amount of in­ fluence the federal government actual­ ly exercises. When you’re hot, you’re hot, and there’s very little Ottawa can do about it. As for the reported crowds which turned out to see the PM — the school children waving their little flags and the 5,000 or so in Edmonton, well why shouldn’t they see this travelling curiosity show? Thank god some tax­ payers are getting something out of it — even if it’s only a laugh. Lis towel Banner Tilings have changed For most people in this country, the problems and concerns of the rest of the world have had no more relevance than an academic exercise, or a crossword puzzle. Oppression, in­ equity and corruption happen elsewhere, not here — so Canadians don’t get excited about democracy in India, civil war in Africa, economic colonialism in South America, or even moral crises in the United States. But now things have changed. In India, former prime minister In­ dira Ghandi refuses to testify before a commission she calls unconstitutional. Here at home, federal Solicitor- General Francis Fox wouldn’t release documents to the Keable Commission examining RCMP wrongdoing, for the same reason. Former U.S. president Richard Nixon’s “dirty tricks” squad sent out fake documents to discredit his opposi­ tion; the RCMP did the same to the FLQ. To a barrage of moral indignation, Lougheed Aircraft revealed sordid practices of bribery of other governments; Massey-Ferguson and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited turn out to have similarly dirty linen to air. More than one struggling Third World nation has had its precarious economy staggered by financial decisions of multi-national corporate giants; now Quebec has been sent reel­ ing by Sun Life. And it was easy to hurl accusations of “support for terrorists” when the World Council of Churches made grants to liberation movements in far- off Africa; now the WCC also funds Canadian native organizations. So let’s quit kidding ourselves. Let’s stop dividing the news into “us” and “them”, into “world” and “local”. Because both are really the same. For the future, we can’t hope to im­ prove the world unless we clean up our own act. Nor, any more, dare we boast of our own salvation while letting the rest of the world go to hell. Contributed Area is South Huron has become a real tourist mecca over the past few weeks, although unfortunately the stories some visitors relate to other would-be tourists may not be conducive to ad­ ditional business. First of all, there are the tourists who arrive early each morning in their black and white vehicles and grey bus, converging on the local OPP detach­ ment office before setting out to view the area’s scenic and historical points of interest. They, regrettably, no doubt relate tales about South Huron being an un­ friendly area. In fact, they find it so un­ friendly they find it necessary to carry guns on their hips and arm themselves with helmets and long sticks. While visiting South Huron at the end of a long winter is not the best time to see the beauty of the countryside, these tourists appear to have a strange sense of what to see and do. Perhaps we need some tourism brochures to outline some of the points of interest so they won’t find it necessary to park in groups along concession roads. We’re certain they’d find it more en­ joyable arranging a tour of the restored town hall, visiting some of our local industries or farms, or even tak­ ing a tour of a sugar bush. There is little doubt that they are far from being goodwill ambassadors for South Huron. Most of them indicate they can think of a 100 places they’d rather be. One of their problems is obviously in understanding the language. This, of course, is a matter that tourists in many countries find difficult. It is ap­ parent that these tourists have not en­ countered some of the books which are on the English courses in Huron’s secondary schools. If they had read some of those, such as The Diviners, The'Catcher in the Rye and Of Mice and Men, they would have a better grasp of the terminology they find used by peo­ ple with whom they come in close con­ tact each day on their sightseeing tours. There is obviously a ready market for someone to produce a small dic­ tionary defining some of the words. It wouldn’t be a costly venture, because most of the words only use four letters. Perhaps the government would even provide a grant through a student make-work scheme of some nature. 'tourist' mecca These tourists report that they find the people of South Huron quite ex­ treme in some ways. At times, they are serenaded and otherwise entertained, while on other occasions they find they are being pushed around a great deal. What they do find difficult to unders­ tand is the general disdain which some local citizenry display towards motor vehicles. That too is usually inconsis­ tent. They find that when some vehicles come along, people tend to wave at the drivers and in general act rather plea­ sant. However, that mood changes drastically when some other vehicles hover into sight. Those drivers are often greeted with waves, but the hands are in a clenched position. Residents of South Huron have even been known to kick at cars or trucks. White buses tend to draw out the deepest emotion. Passengers are greeted with songs, not those one usually finds on any hit parade, but rather they are more medical in nature, using terminology related to a hard crust which appears over a wound. Perhaps the tourists would be better informed if they were provided with song sheets so they could join in. After all, it must be rather unpleasant to hear sing-a-longs and not know the words so one can join in on the festivities. ★ * * There are other types of tourists who have also been visiting the area recent­ ly. They tend to. arrive rather sporadically, and often in numbers slightly less than that which their tour guides announce. They often come in buses and are usually somewhat belligerent, due in no small part to the fact their South Huron holiday comes immediately after a stint on a production line without the benefit of a good night’s rest. They too have apparently been warn­ ed about the unfriendly citizens in the area. Some have been known to come with baseball bats, despite the fact ball teams have not opened spring training. Perhaps they thought their buses were heading for florida? These tourists are also badly in need of a brochure outlining the points of in­ terest. After all, there must be better L things to see and do than merely stand to view the pillars at the entrance to Huron Park. They should be advised there are similar pillars at Riverview Park that are equally attractive. In fact those pillars even provide some reading material of interest to tourists. There are other pillars located at parks and cemeteries in the area that could also be viewed. Again, there is a suggestion that a profitable venture could be undertaken ' with a comprehensive guide to “Pillars in South Huron”. It could be illustrated with photographs or sketches. No doubt the tourists would eagerly purchase such a brochure. The people in this group act rather strangely at times. They obviously come from areas where there isn’t much traffic, because they spend most of their time standing in the middle of roadways. They should be advised that can be dangerous! While they join in some of the songs and are generally happy, they are sub­ ject to quick mood changes too. They’ve been known to throw rocks at windows. Some of them are athletical­ ly inclined and practice their weight lifting exercises by bouncing cars, even tipping one over in one exuberant display of strength. ★ * * Then there is the third group'of tourists. They could be considered more normal in many respects, because they carry cameras arid tape recorders to record what they see in the area. However, for some strange reason they are more interested in taking pic­ tures of other tourists than they are in having pictures of local people to take home to show their friends. They don’t even like to share their pictures with some of the other tourists, even though they have been requested to do so on occasions. That’s rather selfish! These tourists come from all over Ontario and it is difficult to explain why they have suddenly found South Huron so interesting. They ask many questions and write notes. Perhaps they are compiling information for a book on South Huron? Wouldn’t that be interesting! Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1 881 aimes - Advocate ServtAf MutvA. A **n*t* Umfc* WJ .......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 Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 (♦CNA SUBSc •. • -ff. Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00 I qbe cEnergy gavers by Richard Charles Meet old watts-his-name You know the old joke: Who goes there? Watt. I said, who goes there? Watt, etc. Another story goes like this: we switch on our home appliances, and even trust some to switch themselves on, and we are hardly aware of the watts quietly pouring into our homes until the next hydro bill arrives. So, who goes there? Money, that’s watt. The people at the power station see it from another angle. When we switch on a small 1,000-watt appliance for an hour, we use 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy, which takes the equivalent of 10 ounces of oil or 13 ounces of coal to produce. That doesn’t sound like much, But an ordinary Canadian home can easily use 12,000 kWh a year for appliances alone, not counting heating and lighting. That’s close to 4 tons of oil or 5 tons of coal for each of the millions of homes in Canada. We could surely save some of that by finding out whether watts are our friends or foes before we let them in. Three of the biggest energy users in the home are the refrigerator, freezer aiid stove, and all can be run more economically without making them less useful. An electric stove uses an average of 1,200 kWh per year at a cost of about $30. Make some savings by using the oven to cook larger quantities at one time (freeze some if you don’t need it all). There’s no need to preheat an oven if the cooking takes more than an hour, and you can switch off 30 minutes before a roast is done and let the existing heat complete it. On the top of the stove, use the right size of pan for each element, don’t drown vegetables in too much water and, once it boils, use less heat to keep it boiling. Again, turn off the heat two or three minutes early and let the heat in the element finish the job. Glass or glass-ceramic dishes need less heat than metal for baking in the oven. The best-performing pots and pans on top of the stove are bright and shiny, with straight sides, flat bottoms and tight lids. Double-boilers, pressure cookers and vegetable steamers (baskets) also save energy. Frost-free refrigerators and freezers cost more than standard models, and can use 30 to 40% more energy. Even a standard 14-cubic-foot freezer uses an average of 1,200 kWh annually, and a standard 12-cubic-foot refrigerator about 850 kWh. Between them they can add about $50 a year to your hydro bill. When buying either, make sure that it is properly insulated. To save energy, place the refrigerator or freezer away from heat sources such as the kitchen stove, direct sunlight or heat vents. Lfeave space around it for air to circulate and take heat away. Keep the refrigerator’s condenser coils clean for good performance. Make sure that freezer and refrigerator doors are airtight. For efficient cooling, defrost whenever the frost is one-quarter of an inch thick. Some don’ts - don’t set the temperature lower than necessary, don’t open doors more than you must, don’t overfill (let air circulate inside), don’t put food in while it’s hot, and don’t leave the refrigerator running while you are on vacation. The Office of Energy Conservation, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources has dozens of ideas, big and small, for stopping the watts from leaking away in the kitchen and other parts of the home. You can find a lot of them in 100 ways to save energy and money! in the home, which is yours if you write to Box 3500, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario, KIY 4G 1. Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley Lingo polished for trip One of my favorite indoor sports is leafing through travel brochures, and I’ve been indulging myself lately, while planning a jaunt to Europe this summer. I revel in the colorful descriptions of exotic and romantic places, even though I know they are generally a lot of hogwash. It is common knowledge that Venice stinks like an open sewer, but I still want to have a gander at the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs. I am perfectly aware that being a Canadian tourist in Paris is like being an open safe in a houseful of burglars. But that doesn't stop me from wanting to visit Notre Dame and have a dekko at the great bells where the Hunchback thereof swung so merrily. I’m pretty sure that I won’t be hav­ ing an audience with the Pope, but I’d still like to stand in the Sistine Chapel in Rome, gawking at Michelangelo’s magnificent ceiling with all the other tourists. I'd love to ride down the Rhine guzzl­ ing pilsener and looking at castles, with one eye peeled in case we spotted Die Lorelei sitting on a rock in the mid­ dle of that polluted stream. I’d delight in a real Hungariah goulash, Bavarian sauerbrateh, Italian pasta, or even an honest Swiss steak. It would be great to drop in on old prison camp friends like Nils Jorgen- son in Oslo, Milan Karie in Dubrovnik, Jean Morai in Liege, Belgium, Rostislav Kandusky in Morava, Czechoslovakia. Even though I know they would no longer be dashing young fighter pilots, but pot-bellied burgers heading toward senior citizenship. In fact, I could happily take off every summer and spend six weeks or more kicking around Great Britain and Europe, looking up old acquaintances, making new friends, and devouring scenery and history. There are only two things that stop me from doing this. One is money. The other is my wife. There’s not enough of the first item. And it almost takes dynamite to get the second item travelling. Looking at prices, I am shaken fairly rigid by the way they have shot up in the five years since we last went abroad. Hotel prices in London have zoomed by 50 per cent or more, to make that city, once a real bargain, one of the more expensive places to visit. For example, by taking advantage of a “special discount” connected with our tour, we are able to stay for one night at the Penta Hotel for a mere $56.00 Regular rate is $62.00. Last time we were over, we stayed at a middle­ class hotel, with bed and breakfast for $32.00.’And while the Penta is a new hotel, and no doubt very smart, it is far from being one of the great hotels of London. At the rate of increase, a dou­ ble room at the Dorchester or the Savoy would now set one back about $150.00. Probably the answer is simply Lon­ don’s popularity. Although many new hotels have been built in the last decade, there is still an enormous de­ mand for rooms, with hundreds of thousands of North Americans, Europeans and Asians pouring into the fabulous old town every summer, mouths open, wallets bulging, and cameras clicking. Nor does it help that the pound has got back some stability, while the Canadian dollar has sunk to Depression levels. A colleague who was over there last summer suggested, “Take as much money as you think you’ll need, then double it. They whack you a buck for a cup of coffee.” When I was young and in my prime, as they say, the British pound was the soundest security in the world. A pound was worth about five dollars. Today, the pound is one of the least envied and most unstable units of currency in the Please turn to Page 5 55 Years Ago Exeter was represented in the Musical Art Society Choir, London, by Miss May Clarke,pupil of A.D. Jordan. The choir of 100 voices gave a very select concert in Patricia Theatre on Thur­ sday night. Miss Corsina Parsons presided at the organ in James Street Church on Sunday last in the absence of Mr. Gray. Mr. Alvin Moir, who has been working in Windsor and who had the misfortune to have his hand badly injured, has returned home. Seeking the establishment of a provincial highway to the route which has come to be known as the Blue Water Highway, between 50 and 60 delegates waited on Hon. F. C. Briggs, Minister of Public Highways. Messrs. Art Ford and Charles Prout, who have been working in Detroit, have returned home for the summer. 30 Years Ago Mr. B. W. F. Beavers has retired as secretary of the Usborne and Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company after 19 years in that position . Mr. Norman Walper has just completed a dealer training course in a four-day conference sponsored by McColl-Frontenac Oil Co. Ross Houghton has taken over his new duties as postmaster at Cromarty. Pupils of Wichelsea school were taken on a tour of London by their teacher, Mr. Harvey Sparling, and six of the district ladies on Mon­ day. Only two marks separated thelluronia Male Choir from Stratford choir for first prize at the Stratford Musical Fesitval. 20 Years Ago Exeter Lions sold hun­ dreds of brooms to town householders last week in a “clean sweep” fund-raising drive. Chairman of the campaign was C. S. Mac- Naughton, the PC candidate in the May 12 by-election. Paula Boulianhe, Crediton, was awarded third prize in a province-wide lyrical verse-speaking competition at Toronto Monday afternoon. Six teachers have resigned from the staff of South Huron District High School. They include Cecil Wilson, head of the French department; John Mahon, of the agriculture department; Cecil Porter, head of the English department; Heather Goldstein, social studies teacher; Marilyn Bowman, home economics teacher; and Mrs. C. Nichols, of the English department. Rev. N. D. Knox of Trivitt Memorial Church, Exeter, and St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Hensall, told his congregations Sunday that he has accepted a call to Trinity Church, Lambeth. 15 Years Ago The million-dollar Parkhill dam project was given final approval by the Ontario Municipal Board Wed­ nesday. Estimated at a cost of $1,073,620 the dam will be constructed just north of Parkhill. Exeter Midgets, first minor team here to reach the Ontario finals, meets Huntsville in a best-of-five title series beginning Friday night. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker was greeted by a crowd of about 700 at the Exeter train station as he made whistle stops through Huron and Perth ridings.