The Brussels Post, 1974-11-27, Page 2Brussels Post
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 27,1974'
Serving Brussels and the surrounding community.
Published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario
by McLean Bros.Publishers, Limited.
Evelyn Kennedy - Editor Dave Robb - Advertising
Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association.
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $6.00 a year, Others
CCNA $8.00 a year, Single Copies 15 cents each.
Second class mail Registration No. 0562,
Telephone 887-6641. '
Pictures in a hurry
BRUSSELS
ONTARIO
Brussels is a busy village. We at the Post know
this well because we get a large number of stories
about what is happening here through our office
every week.
We also get a fairly large number of requests for
pictures. While we have facilities for taking pictures
in the area unfortunately in a place as busy as
Brussels there are times when two things are going
on at once and we cant get to them both.
To avoid the confusion and hard feelings that
sometimes result when a photographer is not able to
take a picture for the paper, the Post, like all the
other newspapers in the area, has had to establish
some guidelines.
We ask that anyone who wants a picture taken call
the Post office, not the photographer's home, about a
week or so before the special event takes place and
let us know when and where you would like the
picture to be taken. We will check our calendar and
make sure that the photographer is available and call
you back to let you know when we can come.
The requests for pictures means that in many
cases the photographer is in a hurry attempting to
cover two or three events in the same evening.
It would be a great help to us at the Post if
organizations arranged to have everything ready so
that pictures can be taken at the agreed time rather
than have the photographer wait till the end of the
meeting.
Again we want to stress that we are glad to take
pictures at as manyevents as we possibly can, we just
want to make the experience as easy as possible for
all of us.
We at the Post are happy to have been able to
improve photo coverage of Brussels and area events.
We and our photographer want to continue giving
our readers award winning coverage. Please help us
out and try to follow our guidelines.
To the Editor
Sir:
With the approach of winter and a new
snowmobiling season, Commissioner
H. H. Graham of the Ontario Provincial
Police reminds snowmobilers of the
dangers of travelling on thinly-frozen lakes
and rivers, especially early in the season.
Every year, members of the OPP are
called upon to investigate incidences of
persons going through the ice, many with
tragic results.
Later in the season when the ice is
thicker, a thorough knowledge of
prevailing ice conditions is still necessary.
Underwater currents can erode the
strongest ice so that there is open water on
even the coldest days.
Commissioner Graham recently said that
a new problem has arisen. Many cottagers
are using "Ice-Away" machines to protect
their docks and boat-houses. Air pumped
into the water creates a turbulence which
prevents the formation of ice. These
machines are very useful for protecting the
lakeside property but present a potential
hazard to any person travelling on the ice.
Anybody using the ice-away machine
should remember that they hive a definite
legal responsibility to guard the opening in
the ice. The law states that anyone who
makes an opening in ice has a legal duty to
guard it so as to prevent any person from
falling into the Water. Should someone fall
through the opening and drown, the, person
who Made the opening could be guilty of
manslaughter and liable to life
imprisonment,
Inspector;
Silhouette
Sugar and Spice
By Bill Smiley
Had to make a speech the other night to
the honour students at our school. I say
"had to", because, the vice-principal, who
is six feet twelve, told me I was going to be
the guest speaker. I am five feet eight and
a half.
How can you be a "guest" speaker when
you work in the joint?
However, I done my best, as we say in
the English department. It wasn't much of
a speech, but the remuneration was not
exactly princely, either. Zero.
I abhor speakers at honour nights who
get up there and praise the kids and tell
them to stick in there and fight and be
competitive, because that's what the world
is all about.
I took rather a different line. I told
them that being an honour student is
chiefly a matter of birth.Either you are
born with some intelligence, in which case
you can walk through our school system, or
you are born to' a mother or father who
makes you get off your lazy butt arid do
some work. In either case, it was an
accident, not something to sit around and
feel self-satisfied about.
Both my kids were honour students, in
Grade 9. And the boy could almost tie his
own shoelaces when he was 14, and the
girl was still knocking over her glass of
milk at table when she was 14. From Grade
9 they went straight down hill. But I'm not
too worried about them.They both have a
sense of honour, and that's a lot more
important, to me, than honour standing in
school.
Some of the rottenest people, physically,
morally and emotionally, whom I have ever
met, have been honour students. With no
sense of honour.
I was an honour student too, once, in
Grade 8. This was back about the time of
the Boer War. I knew I was about the
smartest kid in the school, and was
confident of coming first in Grade 8, or the
Entrance, as we called it. Entrance to
what, I never did find out. Entrance to five
More stultifying years of school,. I guess.
Unfortunately, though I was the
smartest kid in school, I was also the
laziest. Eddie Kirkland, now a big
corporation lawyer in Montreal, dame first.
I beat him up as soon as the results came
out This didn't solve my frUstration.
MurielltobbitiS came second, I was going
to beat her up too, but she was bigger than
I, so I settled kir third.
Third is a good place to be. You ca
accused of being a teacher's pet,
called it, or a "brown", as to
youngsters so bluntly label it. On the
hand, you have proved that you are
dummy. I've been running a comfor
third ever since.
I was the third member in our fam
five. It was rather pleasant. I didn't ha
compete with my older brother and s
and I could bully my younger brothel
sister.
When it came time to take our lum
the war, I still ran a comfortable third
older brother chose to have himself k
up, rather spectacularly. My y
brother, in a desperate attempt to get
recognition, won a decoration for bra
after being shot down in the En
Channel. (I don't see what's so brave
that.) I went quietly off to a prison c
and emerged with three thousand d(
in back pay. They were both broke,
There's nothing wrong with beh
third-place runner. I don't mind gett
little mud in my face, as long as I fini
the money.
Now let's be serious for a moment
like to take a closer look at the
"honour". It's one of those abstract'
that you hear less and less these day
though it were embarrassing to utter t
Words like cpmpassion and virtue
chastity and loyalty and decency. 1)(
almost blush when they use one of the
seems that we all have to be tough
callous.
From this "all", I would except
young people, who are not afraid to
love and compassion and tolerance
kindness and pity.
They sde only too clearly throne
"plastic" wtirld they have
bequeathed: a world of false value
service to ideals; and violence.
No wonder there is a generation gals
worship the golden calf, and
flabbergasted when our kids see it for
it is: a graven image.
We want to sweep -everything uncle
rug, so the neighbours won't see it.
want our kids to be "nice"
"sensible", and "Solid", while they
the joy and the pain that is real human
These are some of the thoughts I all
with the studentS. In closing; I sugge
"Don't just be an honour student. 13
honour pp etsoh,"
Do you agree?