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Times-Advocate, 1978-06-15, Page 1Tears, cheers, jeers mark book debate By Jeff Seddon Close to 500 people sat through an, emotion charged public meeting in Clinton Tuesday night to hear arguments for and against the use of three English literature novels in Huron County high schools. The public meeting was organized by a concerned group opposed to the recent campaign to have the novels banned from county high schools. Parents, students, grandmothers and authors debated for almost three hours on the merit of the three novels or the reasons they should be removed from the list of approved high school textbooks. People came from the four corners of Huron County and from areas outside its boundaries. Many came simply to witness the debate but became deeply involved as the audience ran the emotional gamut. Some wept openly. Some Auto check is coming The week of June 26 the Ministry of Transportation and Communications vehi­ cle inspection lanes will go into operation in the town of Exeter. The lanes will be set up, at the Ministry ground, north of Highway 83, on Highway 4. • Officers of the Exeter police department will be issuing notices to drivers of vehicles to have them check­ ed during 'the designated week. Stephen tax rate up by 10 percent Most taxpayers in the township of Stephen will be facing a 1978 tax increase of 12 mills or about 10 percent from last year. The total mill rate for farm and residential proper­ ty owners paying public school support will be 133.4 mills. The overall separate school levy will be 133.2 mills. A new fire truck es­ timated at $40,000 is part of the $1,500,000 budget and one of the reasons for a 7.38 mill hike in the township rate. The other increases are the County of Huron 1.38 mills; secondary schools 1.97 mills and public schools 1.55 mills. The commercial and business rate will rise from 137.52 mills to 152.07 mills. Clerk Wilmar Wein said the small rise in the county rate was because the levy Call tenders for system Tenders have been called this week for the design and construction of the com­ munication system for the police departments in Huron County. The tenders have been called by the Town of Goderich which will serve as the base site for the system. The deadline for tenders to be received is July 24. The municipalities in­ volved are Goderich, Ex­ eter, Clinton, Seafprth and Wingham. No date has yet been indicated when the system will commence operation. Fete cleric and family The congregation of Ex­ eter United Church gathered at Riverview Park, Sunday, to bid farewell to their minister of the past nine years, the Rev. Glen Wright. Early worshippers were favored with several quartet selections by Carf Cann, Norm Walper, Pat Skinner and Doug Insley. Bob Cameron accompanied them on one of his antique pump organs. Rev. Grant Mills and Rev. Harold Snell participated in the service and Rev. Wright recalled some of the highlights of his ministry during his sermon period. Following the worship ser­ vice, Carf Cann acted as master of ceremonies for a presentation of several gifts to Rev. Wright and his fami­ ly, including a cheque for $1,000 donated by members of the congregation. A program of games was followed by a pot luck dinner. shouted. Some pleaded for cool heads to prevail. Some argued and one man asked the audience to settle down and listen to their hearts as he prayed. The meeting was arranged by a group opposed to the removal of the three novels- The Diviners by Margaret Laurence, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and Catcher in the Rye by J.D, Salinger-and to support their cause imported four noted Canadian authors to defend the books. June Callwood, a non­ fiction writer, Alice Munro, a fiction writer, Janet Lunn a children’s writer and Steve Osterlund, a poet, composed a panel that keynoted the debate and each was given ten minutes to outline reasons the books should not be removed from approved lists of textbooks. Revival Meeting Munro’s comparison of the alleged pornographic material in the novels to material in The Bible sparked an audience reaction that began to resemble a faith healing session. She used several stories from the Bible to make her point that, when taken out of context and highlighted by someone suggesting the book is pornographic, exerpts from many books, the Bible included, could be grouped with the threePEnglish texts. Monro pointed out that if she lifted exerpts from the Bible and was angry about them she could list them, mimeograph them and send them around to people-and have them think the book was not increased last year when many other municipalities did up the rate. He added, “We are just catching up.” Residents of the three police villages in Stephen will find very little change in their tax rate from a year ago. The increases for Crediton and Centralia will be about one and a half mills and 5.18 mills at Dashwood, Police village residents are not charged the general .township rate but they do pay a special village levy and an administration rate. The latter levy was lowered this year because the villages pay for their own road work. The Stephen fire budget was set at $51,000 lor the year 1978. This amount is ex- pected to cover maintenance costs of the two township fire departments based at Crediton and Huron Park and retainer agreements with the Exeter and Dashwood brigades. A land severance applica­ tion from Len Veri for Lot 13 Concession 13 was tentative­ ly approved. Drainage in­ spector Ken Pickering was authorized to repair the open portion of the Finkbeiner municipal drain.’ A meeting will be held June 19 to study the engineer’s reports on the De Block, Khiva, Webber and McBride municipal drains. Tighten waste disposal Council is taking steps to tighten their control on the waste disposal site on Concession 14. In the future, charges will be made for large loads of refuse which are brought to the dump site. The fee for a packer truck will be $15 and $10 for a truck with capacity in excess of a half ton. All entrance to the dump will be controlled with a card system. An individual resident may take garbage or refuse to the dump but must register at the township office and receive a card for a nominal fee of one dollar. The tender of C.A. McDowell Ltd. of Centralia to haul the fill and gravel to two road construction locations on Concession roads 8-9 and 10-11 was accepted. It was the lowest of four received. Sherwood Exeter Limited will be supplying a new trac­ tor and mower to the township for a price of $8,~ 544,64 with a trade included. It was the lowest of two tenders submitted. THEATRE AIDED The Ontario Arts Council has awarded grants to two area summer theatres. The Huron Country Playhouse at Grand Bend received $25,000 and the Blyth Centre for the Arts received $20,000. contained nothing but “sexual escapades,” She made it clear that she loved and respected the Bible and was not suggesting it was pornographic. She explained that the story of King David and Bethsheba could not have been told in the Bible unless the writer was not explicit in his depiction of JJavid’s development.” • , “You couldn’t say he and Bethsheba were good friends,” she said. She said a serious writer has a responsibility to get as close as possible to the “shifting, complex realities of human experience”. She explained that to depict a character in a book the writer has to say what the character would say. The writer has to “have the character talking”.She said the exercise is not an at­ tempt to please people or offend them but to allow the reader to become familiar with the character. Steve Osterlund told the imes - Advocate erving South Huron, North Middlesex gK VhL ..... '' wBk J: .w •••••x .< Serving & North Lambton Since 1873 llili$• One Hundred and Fifth Year EXETER, ONTARIO, JUNE 15, 1978 Price Per Copy 25 Cents 3 n - READY FOR WALKATHON — The first walkathon sponsored by the South Huron Big Brothers Association proved to be a success with over $2,000 in pledges received. One runner, Al Epp had more than 200 sponsors. Getting ready to leave are John Bilke, Exeter mayor Bruce Shaw, Epp and Andy Pridham. In the front row are Robbie Finkbeiner, Doug Smith and Stephen Anderson. T-A photo Impaired driver jailed Huron Park firm fined $5,000 Dunlop Industrial Limited was fined $5,000 as the result of an explosion at their Huron Park plant on November 19 which injured two men, one of them seriously. The fine was levied by Judge Glen Marshman, who presided at Exeter court, Tuesday. The firm was charged with A! Epp runs up Big Brother totals Saturday’s Big Brother run in Exeter was an unqualified success and was beyond the expectations of any of the officials. More than 60 runners of all fiages participated and pledges were in excess of $2,100. One of the Big Brother directors Al Epp not only completed the 10 mile fun but was backed by 203 pledges for a total monetary value of $1,560. Big Brothers publicity director Rob Grant was excited about the results. He commented, “It was a lot more money than we ex­ pected tb receive. We would like to thank the entire ' community for pitching in.” Grant continued, “It was a windfall. We started eight months ago without any capital. This will give us the audience it was vital to permit writers, artists and musicians to work freely. He said the artist cannot be asked to .write something to please a group of people because that is an impossible task. He said the writer can’t be concerned about people’s reaction to his work but can only hope that his efforts “move” a reader emotionally. He said he respected people’s right to accept or reject an author’s work but not their request to have him write a certain way. The London poet said he wouldn’t ask a musician to write music without using drums which have a “primitively sexual rhyth­ in”. He wouldn’t ask an artist to paint a picture without “using the color red” and would not ask a ballerina to perform a dance “without showing her crotch”, He said “he is not expected to write but choses to write”. failing to ensure safety measures. The court learned that there was improper ven­ tilation in the area in which the two men were spraying the interior of a 16,000 gallon rail tank car. Bryan Finch, 26, was seriously burned in the explosion and spent several weeks in hospital. Another chance to really further Big Brother activities.” “Our initial success in Exeter should spur other Huron county municipalities to start the program. They have sort Of been sitting in the wings waiting to see what would happen here.” Grant concluded. Saturday’s run was one of many across Canada to promote the work of Big Brothers. At the moment six boys without fathers have been matched up in the Exeter area and many others are interested in finding Big Brothers, Marshall Dearing is president of the local Big Brothers group. Mayor Bruce Shaw who also par­ ticipated in the run is tile secretary John Tim­ mermans is vice-president and Bill Dr ledger is the treasurer. Janet Lunn told the audience she felt art was the “truth of the human spirit”. She said she did not feel children would be adversely affected by material in the novels, pointing out that well written books permit readers to share emotions with the author and learn of the complexities of human feelings. Lunn said the alleged pornographic material was a description of a “very or* dinary part of human life... if it weren’t we wouldn’t be here”. Callwood sympathetic , June Callwood said she was very “sympathetic” towards parents in the audience whose children are being “exposed to something the parents wish they can’t trust BOOK PANEL — Four authors and a school teacher comprised a panel for Tuesday night's meeting in Clinton to discuss three controversial books in the secondary school curriculum. From the left are; June Callwood, Janet Lunn, Steve Osterlund, Alice Munro and Colin Lowndes. Staff photo A ' jail in lieu of the $400 in fines. In a preliminary hearing, Keith Oulds, and Michael Fallon, both of RR 1 Charing Cross, were committed for trial on charges of forcible confinement and extortion in an incident involving a Stephen Township farmer. The duo elected to be tried by County Court judge and jury and the case was ad­ journed to December 12. employee, Harry Plantenga, . was also injured. The explosion ripped a 20- foot square hole in the roof of the Huron Park plant. ’ A Grand Bend man, ’ Raymond Gordon Keller, < was sentenced to 14 days in ; jail after pleading guilty to I an impaired driving charge laid after police noticed his I erratic driving on March 23. ; A breathalizer test showed ; an alcohol content of 210 mgs. Keller had previous convictions. Jerry John Dayman, RR 3 KippOn, was fined $250 or seven days on an impaired driving charge laid on May 6. He had a breathalizer reading of 218 mgs. Dayman was also fined $25 or three days on a charge of having liquor available in his vehicle. A Hensall man, Lloyd Garnet Allan, was fined $200 or seven days on an impaired driving charge and also $25 or three days for driving a ■ motor vehicle with liquor readily .available. He was charged on May 6. I Fined $400 James MacVicar, Exeter, was fined $100 each on four charges laid under the Unemployment insurance Act. He received payment of $708 to which he was not entitled, about half of that amount having been recouped. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was given ah alternative of one month in wouldn’t see”. She said parents raise their children with the hopes that they can instill in the youngsters the moral standards that they believe in. She said it is very difficult when the children come to a point in their lives when they go out the door and the parents are left with nothing to do but wait and see if that teaching successful. Shorter swim time will boost interest In response to some public criticism (including an editorial in this newspaper) South Huron rec centre ad­ ministrator Kirk Armstrong outlined reasons for the switch to two-week instruc­ tional periods at the local pool this summer. He made his comments at Monday’s meeting of the rec centre board at the sugges­ tion of Mayor Bruce Shaw, who said the public should be informed of the reasons behind the switch from three-week sessions. Armstrong said one of the reasons was financial (there will be four sessions instead of three this year) but also noted it should encourage more youngsters to take two sessions and therefore progress more quickly in the various categories. He said youngsters were .generally unwilling to take two sessions last year when it represented six weeks, but they would be more apt to sign up for two this year when it represented only four weeks. Armstrong also said that it was difficult to maintain interest in the class periods during the final week of the three-week sessions. “There’s a lot of wastage in a three-week session.” he said, adding that the shorter instructional periods have worked in other centres. • such as London. Chairman Bob Down said there was some concern about the possibility of “Rain-outs” in the shorter periods. He said problems would occur if classes ex­ perienced two or three days of rain in the two-week period. Armstrong replied that dry-land training would be held on such occasions when the youngsters would be given instruction in water safety and similar topics in the change rooms if rain prevented use off the pool. Festival at the rec centre, Saturday. Space was at a premium at the event and the Lions hope to make it an annual attraction. Staff photo OVERFLOW CROWD — It was billed basically as a sing-along band, but there were plenty t>f dancers on the floor throughout the Main St. Jug Band performance at the Lions Main St. Callwood said teenagers will turn parents’ hair “snow white” assaulting everything the parents believe ip. She said it doesn’t matter what the parents believe in, the teens will assault it at some point in their development but if the moral teachings are strong the youth will return to them. Callwood said parents —\ i books to teach The administrator reported that members of the three chapters of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority were also apparently upset at the board’s decision not to operate the Victoria Park wading pool this summer. The criticism had been passed along to him through Exeter Councillor Lossy Fuller. It was decided to close the facility after Armstrong reported at the last meeting it would cost at least $1,000 to get the pool ready and operate it for the summer, Down suggested the board should possibly discuss the matter with the Sorority members, the pool having been donated to the com­ munity by the Beta Sigma Phi. “They may be willing to help operate it,” he said. The board agreed with that suggestion and plan to meet with the three chapter presidents this Saturday. In other business, the board: Authorized the aministrator to hire one of three women who had .applied to perform cleaning duties at the rec centre, and also to hire part-time help for the summer. Armstrong said that one extra employee would be needed for eight weeks and another for four weeks in view of the fact the full- time staff would be short-handed throughout the summer due to the holiday schedule. He also noted the ice would be used more per day in the summer than during the winter months with a hockey school and figure skating course scheduled. Learned that the budget is basically on target to date. Expenses at the end of May were $65,996 and receipts amounted to $48,990 in the same period. Were advised that atten­ dance at roller skating has not been as good as last fall. children but have to do that teaching themselves. She said books will help the children become aware of human realities but the affect of the material will be based on the moral values instilled in the children by their parents. She said one saving grace about using the novels in question in a classroom atmosphere is that parents have an op­ portunity to talk with their children about the books before they leave home. “When they walk out the door thdy ’ll be good friends if you’re lucky but, you’ll have very little opportunity to offer them guidance through life once they leave home,” she said. Callwood said she did not feel as concerned about the affects of English textbooks on children as she did car­ toons. She cited The Road Runner as an example pointing out that children watch the cartoon and continuously see a character “smashed to smitherines” and get up and walk away. She said children can get the impression it is alright to hurt someone because they can just get up and walk away. “I can’t believe that the Road Runner can erase the belief instilled in children that you can’t hurt people, she said. I Can Decide David St. Jean, a Grade 13 student at Goderich District Collegiate Institute, said he felt a double standard was being applied by people wanting the books removed from classrooms. He said he is considered an adult legally and is old enough to decide if he wants to drink and how he wants to vote “yet people tell me what I can read and what I can’t read”. St. Jean said he can’t Please turn to Page 3 Pharmacy has new ownership The Exeter Pharmacy changed ownership recently, having been purchased by a three-man partnership. One of those partners. Esmail Merani, has started duties and a second phar­ macist. H. Hussein, will be joining him later. The former owners. Bill Huntley and Trevor Wilson. are still working with the trio. Merani. who is also a partner in a North Bay drug store, graduated from Aber­ deen College in Scotland in 1973. He then spent a year and a half in England and came to Canada four vears ago. He plans to be married in September and will take up residence in Exeter next spring. He is a member of the Rotary Club. Usborne bid for gravel Usborne township council is in the process of pur­ chasing property to secure a sand and gravel deposit. Council has made an offer of $225,000 to purchase Lot 25 and the east-half of Lot 26, Concession 8 from Lee Webber. The sand and gravel deposits to be used for municipal road purposes are located on Lot 25. Two land division ap­ plications were dealt with at the latest meeting of council, A request for severance of Lots 29 and 30 Concession 1 by Harry Dougall was ap­ proved while a bid by Karl and Helga Ortmanns on Lot 15 Concession 4 was refused. The tender from Dave Siddall was accepted to deliver sand, clay and gravel to two road construction locations this summer. The Siddall firm will haul sand clay and gravel to Concession 4-5 for 61, 57 and 59 cents per cubic yard, respectively. To the Con­ cession 14-15 site, Siddall will receive 72, 56 and 72 cents, respectively for sand, clay and gravel. Building inspector Doug Treibner reported seven permits issued during the month of May for a total value of $109,000. Nine in­ spections were made. Petitions for the Creery and Miller municipal drains were accepted and the work referred to A.J. De Vos of A.M. Spliet Associates. C.P. Corbett of Lucan was authorized to do the engineering work on the Buswell Brothers petition. One tile drainage loan in the amount of $6,300 was approved. Bylaw No. 5 was approved, It appoints a board to operate the Kirkton- Woodham swimming pool for the year 1978.