HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1979-05-09, Page 2WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 1979
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community.
Published each. Wednesday afternoon at Brusselg, Ontario
By McLean Bros. Publishers Limited
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Pat Langlois - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association
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4Brussels Post
A better world view
Well, it's over. Our visitors from Brussels, Belgium have returned to
their native country but left behind them a new awarkness here of our
neighbours in other countries.
The village gave small reception for the Belgian guests and that cozy
atmosphere let the visitors know they were very much welcome here.
And as a result, the village of Brussels, Ontario was left with some new
knowledge about their sister city in Brussels, Belgium and Brussels,
Belgium was reciprocated with some knowledge of just how friendly a
village the size of Brussels can be.
Children at -the Brussels Public School got an insider's view of what
Belgium Is like and also got a chance to show some of the French they had
learned by singing a French song for the visitors when the radio
reporters visited the school.
Brussels, Belgium has proposed a linking of the two Brussels and
suggests that maybe Brussels, Ontario could even learn a little French.
It's a good thought. There's so much we could learn by having a link
with another country and our school children would have first-hand
knowledge of the country and that would provide them• with a lot more
background than a geography text.
Behind the scenes
by Keith Roulston
NO GENERATION GAP HERE —\At least there wasn't when the grade 8
,pupils at Brussels Public School got together with some of the village 's
older residents to play cards at the school on Thursday. Standing is
Dorothy Ritchie. Seated from left to right are Greg, Campbell, Dave
Vandenberg, Aletha Rann and Dianne Thornton. (Brussels Post Photo)
DIRECTIONS — Principal Ken Scott gave some helpful hints to an
uncertain card player as the Grade-8 students at Brussels Public School
participated in a card game with some senior citizens on Thursday. At the
table are Eluned McNair, Valerie Johnston, and Kevin Kellington. Out of
camera range was the fouth player Murray Pipe.
(Brussels Post Photo)
I'm confused about nuclear power
Next to Margaret Trudeau, nobody in
this country makes news like Ontario
Hydro. But unlike Mrs. Trudeau who
provides a good deal of unintentional
humour, Ontario Hydro's actions are no
laughing matter.
When it comes to the pros and cons of
the atomic power situation I think I'm
about as confused as the ordinary citizen.
One thing however is evident, Ontario
Hydro has behaved in a thoroughly
irresponsible way to the people it is
wpposed to be serving: you and me.
In this part of the country there are few
people today who would put much stock in
anything Ontario Hydro has to say. Hydro
has been a sort of reverse example of the
old tale about the young boy who cried
wolf. In his case, he yelled false bad news
so often that people didn't believe him
when the wolf really did come-„,ln,LIydro's
case, they've downplayed bad news so
often that people don't believe them any
more even when they are telling the truth,
There are probably many around here
who would doubt that Ontario Hydro
officials know how to tell the truth.
Farmers along the route of the power
corridors from the Bruce atomic plant
would likely be among that group. They
saw so much of Ontario Hydros double
dealing that they're not likely to ever have
much faith in the utility again.
For the rest of us it's just a case of
listening in disbelief as Ontario Hydro tells
us there's nothing to worry about no matter
what lrppens. Hydro told us for years for
instance that the Bruce plant was safe from
intruders. That was at a time when fears
had been expressed that terrorists could
enter nuclear power plants and either
sabotage them at Treat risk to surrounding
inhabitants, or steal enough nuclear mater-
ial to construct an atomic bomb:
A group Of people who were in
opposition to nuclear power plants decided
to test the claims of security. They took a
boat out into Lake Huron, came ashore on
the property of the plant, entered the plant
and wandered around for quite a while
before they were discovered. Ontario
Hydro assured us that there really wasn't
anything to fear, that the intruders really
didn't get anywhere where they could have
done something serious.
For years critics of nuclear power plants
had been saying that there were potential
disasters waiting to happen. Ontario Hydro
and similar officials across North America
said there was nothing to fear, that these
opponents were alarmists and trouble-
makers. Then came the Three Mile Island
incident in the U.S. where many of the
problems predicted by the critics actually
happened. During the incident the "ex-
perts" told us there was really nothing to
worry about. When the worst didn't
happen they said that see, there wasn't
really anything to worry about.
Meanwhile we in Canada were being
assured by Ontario Hydro that it couldn't
happen here. Then word leaked out that
many of the same things had already
happened here but that Ontario Hydro had
kept the information quiet. Nothing to
worry about, Ontario Hydro told us.
Then last weekend while trying to
correct a problem in one of the reactors,
two workmen entered the reactor building
and ended up getting much heavier than
recommended doses of radiation. Nothing
to worry about Hydro said. Just an
equipment failure that didn't warn the men
that they were in danger.
Nothing to worry about. I wonder if
Hydro told that to the two men in question
and their families, when these people
worried about the effects of the radiation.
Also interesting is how Hydro can assure
us on one hand that their safety systenis to
prevent a tragedy are fool-proof and at the
same time use equipment failure as an
excuse every time one of these incidents
happens.
But most evident is the fact that Ontario
Hydro hasn't been giving us the straight
goods, whatever they are. Like many
experts whether they be in government, in
science or some other field, the officials of
Ontario Hydro and Atomic Energy of
Canada have decided that the ordinary
people don't have enough intelligence to
understand what's going on so they must
be protected from themselves. These
officials know what is best for us so they'll
So this is the Year of the Child. Well, you
can have it. And them. Our' society is
breaking up fast. First, in the 60s, the
teenagers took over. They got into drugs
and politics and violence and dropping out
and communes and health food and free
love and ripping-off the government and
driving their parents to drink and
depression.
Then we got into Women's Liberation
Movement. Raucous and intelligent
women trying to upset a perfectly good
system that has been working well, on the
whole, for about 20,000 years. We should
never have given them the vote back in '21,
or whenever.
They have wrecked family life, popu-
lation growth, and the economy by their
ridiculous demands. They have psychol-
ogically castrated their husbands and turned the occasional kid they had into a
keep as much information to themselves as
possible and whenever someone questions
them, they'll say that everything is all right
and those who criticize don't know enough
to be taken seriously.
But democracy doesn't work that way.
Democracy depends on providing as much
information to the people as possible so
they can make intelligent decisions. Sure
the people can sometimes be stupid, can be
swayed too easily one way or another, can
make the wrong decision. But I'll take the
decisions of a well-informed populace
ahead of the devious workings of Ontario
Hydro bureaucrats any day.
whining brat who thinks that love and
whatever else he wants are more important
than a good whack on the bum.
They have sent the unemployment rate
soaring by sailing into the job market in
their hundreds of thousands. Just because
they have high skills or a university
degree, they think and say, quite openly
and without shame that they should be
considered on the same level as, or even
higher than, a Grade 10 dropout male who
can barely tie his shoelaces. Sheer
arrogance.
They have wrecked the educational
systeni by refusing to remain baby
factories. This has caused rapidly falling
enrollment in our schools and a lack of jobs
for male teachers, whose wives are among
the worst examples of tiny families and
hitting the job Market:
(Continued ott Page 8)
Sugar and spice
By Bill Smiley
You can have Year of the Child