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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-08-17, Page 4Page 4 Times-Advocate, August 17, 1978 Should be impressed Think small by Jim Smith A Glimmer of Hope One of the events associated with the annual International Plowing Match is the farm and home beautifica­ tion contest which awards prizes to residents in the host county who im­ prove their surroundings. About 135 residents of Huron have submitted entries in conjunction with this year’s plowing match near Wingham. That may appear to be a small number in view of the total pop­ ulation and may suggest to some that Huron residents aren’t interested in beautifying their abodes. However, a drive through the coun­ tryside will quickly dispel that sugges­ tion. In fact, most Huron residents keep their properties looking extreme­ ly neat throughout the years and don’t need special contests to spur them on to that end. Visitors to Huron this year no doubt will be most impressed with the general well-kept appearance of the ur­ ban and rural environs, including the 135 where people have taken the time to enter the match contest. If you’re not included among those who have entered the contest or taken the time to get the place tidied up recently, you still have enough time remaining to perform that task and join your neighbours in presenting a welcome sight for visitors. DO YOU HAVE THE ROOK’HOW TO SURVIVE ON A FIXER INCOME? Jobs versus pollution Once again it appears that employ­ ment security in Ontario is being used to blackmail efforts to correct hazar­ dous industrial pollution. The Ministry of Environment has reneged on an order to Inco which would have compelled the Sudbury nickel company to reduce the amount of sulphur dioxide it puts into Ontario air every day from 3600 tons to 750 tons. Although the reasons given by the ministry for the variance in orders to Inco did not say that employment and economic issues were expressly in­ volved, most observers would agree that this is the main reason. Instead, the ministry chose to use its own brand of bureaucratic babble to explain the about face. "There is strong evidence that the abatement program has been successful in achiev­ ing environmental and human health objectives.” stated Northeastern Regional Director C.E. McIntyre. Then McIntyre went on to say that the order to cut back omsulphur dioxide pollution was "unjustifiable from an environmental perspective and un­ realistic from a technical point of view.’’ The statement from the ministry and the order come at a time when many observers in the scientific com­ munity are becoming increasingly con­ cerned about a phenomenon known as "acid rain” which seems to have the effect of damaging agricultural land, polluting rivers and lakes, and killing the fish within them. It is especially prominent in the Sudbury area. There has even "been a study done to show a disturbing relationship between the amount of sulphur dioxide in bodies of water and levels of mer­ cury contamination, which has been known to be fatal to human beings when consumed in large quantities. As a matter of fact, Mr. McIntyre reported only back in April that one- fifth of the 209 lakes studied within a 125-mile radius of Sudbury are acidified and an additional 50 per cent show "vulnerability to continuing acid inputs.” Unfortunately, bureaucratic catch­ phrases such as “There is strong evidence that the abatement' program has been succegsful in achieving en­ vironmental and human health objec­ tives” do not change the scenario of a Northern Ontario contaminated by acidic lakes and dying fish. If our pollution abatement programs are going to be totally depen­ dent on an industry’s willingness to clean up without threatening to lay off all its workers and moving to a less en­ vironmentally - concerned region then it looks like the situation is hopeless. In the case of Inco, however, the company needs to stay in Sudbury because that is where the nickel is. We find it difficult to believe that the government could not have been tougher. And there may still come a time (perhaps when it is already too late) when a company’s willingness or in­ ability to correct a major pollution problem means the demise of that in­ dustry regardless of how many jobs are lost. 1 Jobs are important, but are they important to the degree that they become socially and self-destructive? That is what possibly remains to be seen. St. Marys Journal-Argus Facing hard times The University of Western Ontario at London anticipates a 15 per cent drop in new enrolments this year as high school graduates take what jobs they can find and senior level universi­ ty students drop out of their courses. Many other universities in the province are facing a similar problem. The reasons are obvious. Universi­ ty education no longer guarantees a high-salaried job — in fact it doesn’t guarantee a job at all. One recent report suggested that many of the har­ monica players and leatherwork salesmen on city street corners are Ph.D.s making the best of a bad situa­ tion. It appears that we have simply over-supplied our economy with un­ iversity graduates. A good many young people are awakening to the fact that the high cost of university education and the several years’ investment of time may be a hazard rather than an advantage in the job market. In or­ dinary times the unsuccessful job applicant was often told that he was not qualified for the position. Nowadays some applicants are learning to their disappointment that they are “over- qualified”. There is no way of knowing how closely the universities are in touch with Canada Manpower. If they’re not they should be. Despite the high level of unemployment there are many gaps in Canada’s supply for knowledgeable workers. Industries which employ highly skilled workers in their research and production departments have to scour Europe for some of their staff people. Community colleges have met some of the needs in the skilled trades but there is a need for a higher grade of excellence where jobs demand a high level of training. There has been far too little use of the "co-op” training plans in which students alternate between classroom and on-the-job experience. Government interference and com­ pulsory minimum wage laws have all but destroyed the apprenticeship train­ ing programs under which industry produced its finest skilled workers in years past. It is deeply disturbing to find un­ iversity graduates either unemployed or working at jobs much below their mental capabilities. On the other hand perhaps our society has over­ emphasized the status of the university graduate. Maybe we should be paying equal tribute to the person who is a master of the manual skills. Judging from the recent offer of the Ontario Heritage Foundation to provide an additional grant for the restoration pf the Exeter town hall, agencies operating under the Ontario government appear to have differing standards. The additional grant of $17,500 offered by the Foundation is contingent upon council matching that amount. Under the terms of provincial assistance for other projects, such as the new arenas which were built in Ontario, no municipal funds could be used in a bid to receive matching provincial grants. - The Foundation people have placed council under a considerable onus with their recent offer of additional funding. They have, in fact, said that the local project deserves to be supported by public funds. It is, unfortunately, a suggestion that is not shared by many local people, in­ cluding some members of Exeter coun­ cil, although some of those attitudes no doubt have softened considerably now that people can see the beauty of the building and the fact that it can be operated almost on a self-sustaining basis. It nevertheless does appear rather presumptuous of the Ontario Heritage Foundation to be basically demanding that the taxpayers must support the fund raising. If they have $17,500 available and feel that the restoration warrants that expenditure, surely they could provide that assistance regardless of whether the matching dollars come from the public purse or private individuals. Their offer is a form of “black mail’’ being held over the taxpayers of Exeter and could result in council be­ ing placed in a damned if they do or damned if they don’t position. Obvious­ ly, the history of the project suggests that such an unpleasant position is one that should be avoided. * * * The fact remains, of course, that every effort should be made to collect the additional $17,500 being offered, regardless of what strings may be at­ tached. While council members may be per­ suaded to provide some assistance from the general offers, there is con­ siderable doubt that they would go for the full amount. If therefore behooves the Exeter Heritage Foundation to come up with some scheme for council to consider so the full allotment can be received’, if council members don’t see their way clear to provide the $17,500. * ★ * Grand Bend residents must have been pleased to see a film crew on their beach recently preparing an adver­ tising program. It is one of the finest beaches to be found anywhere and ob­ viously an advertisement program would encourage more tourist traffic. Unfortunately, the advertisement be­ ing prepared by CP Air was not for Grand Bend. The scene depicted will apparently be used to promote air flights to the golden sands of the Carib­ bean. However, it’s an ill wind that doesn’t blow some good. Area residents who can’t find the time or the money to head off to the sunny south this winter will be able to take their lawn chairs and sit out on the shores 'of Lake Huron. All they’ll need is a con­ siderable imagination to make themselves believe they’re in the Caribbean. A considerable imagination that is...come January or February! While CP Air no doubt was looking at the cost element in using the Grand Bend beach to depict a sunny, winter’s day in the Caribbean, one wag suggested it was a far different ap­ proach than what one of our senior levels of government would have chosen. They no doubt would have flown three film crews to the Caribbean for a week’s shooting. Private enterprise, of course, has to be a little more frugal. it * * Looking through our notes of last week’s council session, one item on which we failed to report was Reeve Si’ Simmon’s concern about the new streets being built in the community. "They look smart,” he suggested, but noted that they were in effect reducing parking to a considerable ex­ tent because they are narrower and also include curbs. He suggested they should be built wide enough to provide as much park­ ing as possible and we certainly agree with him on that matter. The width of Andrew St.- in the core area has eliminated street parking on one side and the amount of parking has also been reduced considerably on Wellington St. in the vicinity of the rec centre with this year’s road program and we presume also in the area of the Legion Hall. Parking is already a major concern to downtown merchants and in the other areas mentioned and it is rather disconcerting to see it being reduced even more through the elimination of parking spots on one side of the new streets. Hopefully, council in the future will see’fit to alter their policy, particularly in areas where parking is needed. Even in some residential areas, it does create <a problem and a bit of a hazard. Somewhere in Ottawa, a small group of civil servants fear for their jobs. They are clever people, perceptive peo­ ple, well aware of the realities of Canadian life. But, collec­ tively, they slipped up and violated one of the most stringent rules of the bureau­ cratic code of conduct. Specifically, the bureau­ crats did something right. They put together a govern­ ment program that, while modest, may help Canada pass smoothly out of the era of cheap petroleum. The program was announ­ ced recently by federal Ener­ gy Minister Alastair Gillespie and commits Ottawa to sup­ port of the infant Canadian solar energy industry. Ot­ tawa has promised to spend SI25 million installing solar space and water heating equipment in government bijildings. There will be 25 SI0,000 grants for research and S350.000 in prize money for contests to encourage de­ velopment of more efficient solar systems. SI 14 million will go into joint projects with the provinces and pri­ vate industry. And there is more than SI00 million for research into energy possibi­ lities of the forestry industry - such as space-age wood­ burning systems, a natural technology for Canada. All told, that amounts to a little less than S400 million, which is still small change in the energy business. The sig­ nificance of the program far outweighs the dollar value, however. Up until recently,govern­ ment energy pundits thought only in terms of heavy oil (tar sands) and nuclear ener­ gy. To some extent, that is still true. But Gillespie’s an- nouncement at least indi­ cates that government is now aware that there are alterna­ tives. The importance of the alternatives tp heavy oil and nuclear cannot be overem­ phasized. If we, as a nation, choose to concentrate on these two capital-intensive forms of energy, we will quickly run out of capital to invest in other areas of the economy such as building new industries. Solar power and other types of renew­ able energy - on the other hand, relies more on labour (for installation and manu­ facturing) and less on capital investment, so it could solve some of our labour problems without draining our capital resources. And the possibili­ ties for new small businesses are endless; renewable energy would eliminate much of our dependence on a handful of mammoth energy corpora­ tions. Gillespie’s program does not cover ail the bases; wind power, for example, has pro­ mise. But it’s a major start inasmuch as it will provide funding and a market for the first generation of the new technology. Mass markets won't spring up until this first generation of techno­ logy has been perfected,lead­ ing to lower costs. Under Ottawa’s plan, that technology will be developed. There is more for experimen­ tation and the promise of a guaranteed government mar­ ket for manufacturers of the new equipment. There is also moral support from Ottawa. All that’s really missing at this stage is a set of tax incen­ tives for developers and indi­ viduals who install renewable energy systems in their build­ ings. Given proper tax breaks, we can expect rapid advances in this vital industry. "Think small" is an editorial message from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business : Timet Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 . ............I....... imes - Advocate JrrvUg Hww.NMlh MMkAms t Kerch lbw* M7J 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...... Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Cla»» Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Pet Year; USA $22.00 ----------------------- ------------------------- rto'Atn memory lane J Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley • ,1 Canadian critics lack ability A few years ago, I picked up a paper­ back novel entitled, I think, The Last of the Crazy People, written by one Timothy Findley. As usual, I turned to the back cover to find out something about the author. There was nothing to find out about the author. There was nothing, and I a voracious reader and a teacher of literature, had never heard of him. I began reading the novel, and soon thought, "Oh boy, this is an excellent writer. Who the heck is he?” And that was the end of my curiosity. This year, I read in the paper that one Timothy Findley had won the Governor-General’s Award for a novel called The Wars. That suggested he must be a Canadian writer. Never heard of him, but remembered the name and the other novel I’d thought so good. Since, I’ve read The Wars. It is powerful, sensitive, beautifully struc­ tured. Probably the best novel that has won the G-G’s A. some of the other winners were sleaze. Recently, Findley wrote a newspaper article in which he pointed out the appalling lack of ability among Canadian critics. I don’t blame him. He was right on. With a few excep­ tions, I find our critics to be narrow­ minded, nit-picking people who ap­ proach anything new with pre­ conceived prejudices only exceeded by their desire to reveal how clever and witty they themselves are. But the point that interested me most in his article was its concluding one. He stated, unequivocally, that we are in the midst of Canada’s golden age of writing, and suggested it was a pity that no one would say this until fifty or a hundred years from now. Well, he’s wrong. This one small voice in the desert of Canadian critics agrees with him about 94 per cent. Not quite golden. There’s some dross among the glitter. Rut absolutely high­ grade ore, with the occasional diamond popping up, and a lot of silver threads among the gold. Fair enough? What is a golden age? In writing, it’s a time when a rich vein of talent is dis­ covered, and minded, and turned into vessels and shapes and pieces that will delight and enhance life for many years. England had one in the late 16th cen­ tury, when Marlowe and Ben Johnson and Will Shakespeare served as lucid, brilliant witnesses to the vagaries, foibles, and magnificence of the human species. Russia had one in the 19th century, with Tolstoi, Chekhov, Dostoievsky and a dozen others. America had its golden years in this century, with Willa Cather, Steinbeck, Dresiser, Hemingway, Sandburg, Frost and a host of smaller fish cruis­ ing along in their wake. A golden age in writing is not something planned. It cannot even be foreseen. It can only be backseen. It’s a seemingly spontaneous outburst of literary fireworks, for which there seems no provocation. O.K. End of thesis. But, as I so seldom do anything' useful in this column except expose the darker side of our national psyche — crazy wives, rotten kids, bewildered politicians — perhaps today I can render a service. A little digression. I teach a Grade 13 course in contemporary literature First term, all Canadian; second term, all American; third term, all British. At the end of this year, I had the kids write an assessment of the course; no names, no pack drill. About 80 per cent of them said the Canadian section was the best, that they’d become ac­ quainted for the first time with great Canadian writing, and that it should be extended for the full year. This was after meeting perhaps 20 Canadian writers, in print. What does that tell you? First, our own children don’t know our own writers. Second, their parents don’t have any Canadian books in the house. Third, Canadian publishers are lousy promoters. End of digression. It’s summertime, time for reading. Time for my public sevice bit. If you can take your eyes for a mo­ ment off the golden shoulders of all those golden girls, check this list, when next you decide to pick up a paperback novel. If the store doesn’t have it, de­ mand why, hotly. If you like Westerns, read anything by: Jack Hodgins, Paul St. Pierre, W.O. Mitchell, Robert Kroetsch, Rudy Wiebe, Margaret Laurence. Every ohe is a genuine artist, and I’ve missed others. If your taste is with the effete East (Ont, and Que.) read anything by Morley Callaghan, Hugh MacLennan, Alice Munroe, Margaret Atwood. And three dozen others, including Marian Engel (Bear). 55 Years Ago A beautiful array of flowers was gathered in the basement of the Public Library Friday and Saturday last for the first flower show of the Exeter Horticultural Society. Mr. S.M. Sanders has purchased the Exeter and Hensail branches of the Jackson Manufacturing Company. The Exeter factory is located in Mr. S.M. Sanders’ building. Mr. Davis will still be in charge of the Exeter branch and Mr. Goodwin will still be in charge of Hensail. Mr. J. Decker of Zurich shipped a car of prize horses to Toronto to compete in the stock show at the Toronto Exhibition which is now in full swing. Miss Blanche Senior is appearing this week at the Allen Theatre, London. Miss Senior upon completing her engagement in London will make an extensive tour of the larger theatres in Canada and the United States. 30 Years Ago Russ Snell and Ken Hockey were winners of the new trophy donated by the Jones Mac Naughton Seeds Co. also a suit of clothes or topcoat in a scotch doubles tournament on the local greens Wednesday. The hay and straw baler owned by the Jarrott brothers, Kippen was partly destroyed by fire on Monday. Murray May, representing Exeter High School left Wednesday for Longford Mills on Lake Couchiching to attend an athletic leaders camp. The interior of Shipka Public School is being remodelled. At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce in the Town Hall the raising of the status of Exeter from a village to a town was discussed. 20 Years Ago Work began Tuesday on the development of a fairground and playground beside the community centre at Zurich. Senator W.H. Golding, Huron-Perth received moving tributes from his colleagues in the Senate when he returned to the Chamber recently after a period of ill-health. He was described as a “great parliamentarian” and as a “true , honest Grit of Ontario.” The Exeter Fall Fair is being held September 16, 17, and 18. Included in the three- day event will be the third annual trades fair. Misses Helen Taylor and Ruth Ann McBride of Exeter and Marion Gill, Grand Bend, for SHDHS students are attending London Teacher’s College this year. 15 Years Ago Dalton Finkbeiner, Exeter won the senior champion stallion award in the Arabian class with his Ibn Imaraff in the horse show at the Canadian Na tional Exhibition this year. Hon, C.S. MacNaughton won the PC nomination in Clinton last night. He was unopposed. Hon. William Davis, minister of education, spoke at the meeting. A large and new steam­ boat whistle installed at the Dashwood Planing Mills Ltd. let forth with an unscheduled blast in the middle of the night- recently and caused some consternation ajnong the residents. The enrolment at SHDHS is expected to be down from about 760 to 710 owing to the opening of the vocational training centre at Clinton. Not i? ,meHtion> a11 from Quebec, Modechdi Richler, Marie-Claire Blais and Rocb Carrier. And forty-four others, like Yves Therriault. Way down east, Ernest Buckler, Alden Nowlan, Ray Guy, and 14 more. J J The book will cost you a little more than that porno U.S. novei with the cover of a girl being raped and whipped while she s stuffing pills down her lovely throat. That’s because our publishers have a small market, because people like you don t buy their books, and*have to charge more. But you’ll be doing our writers, our country, and, more importantly, yourself, a seryice that will make the Canadian Golden Age of Writing a fact, not a footnote in the future.