The Brussels Post, 1975-10-15, Page 18READY ... AIM — Barb Grube takes careful aim
with her 22 rifle in the ladies event at, the Brussels
ORtimist Turkey shoot 'over the weekend.
(Photo by Langlois)
Grey .15
fgr fire photips_
r.
Permits for silos issued at
E. Wawanosh council meeting
Something came up on my Saskatchewan
holiday this summer past that rather
intrigued me, and I thought it might strike
a chord, responsive or otherwise, in the,
breast, or breasts, of my best friends, the
readers of this column.
I had thrown a small and unselect party
on the last night of the convention. At least
it began small. It grew steadily larger
because it was unselect: everybody who
passed the open door of my room was
hollered at to cummon in.
Fortunately, most of the people who
were passing were weekly newspaper
people with their wives, girl friends, or
grandmothers. With regard to the ladies, I
must confess, said he gallantly, that you
couldn't tell the girls from the
grandmothers.
Perhaps that is because it's Women's
International Year, but I doubt it. I have
noticed in the last few years that girls are
becoming more like grandmothers: the
glasses, the long skirts, the humped
shoulders; and, for good or worse,
grannies are becoming more like girls:
smoking cigarettes, drinking rye whiskey,
and elevating their bosoms, with the aid of
goodness-only-knows-what miracles of
elastic, to positively perilous positions.
Well, back to the party. Federal and
provincial politics, women's lib, starving
editors, rotten kids, and overpaid workers,
were dealt with fairly smartly and
expeditiously. They were all bad, we
. agreed, except for the starving editors, the
last bulwark in the fight for freedom, law
and order, the old virtues, and a return to
the "good years" of the Depression.
This was standard for a party, and I was
pleased that everything was so copl. But,
as every host or hostess of every party,
everywhere, and every time, knows, most
people sensibly go home to bed, and mine
host is stuck with the Rag-Tag and
Bob-Tail of the party, who still have a few
bones stuck in their craws and want to
wash them away with some fairly strong,
solvent.
It happened. I won't mention names,
because they are two fine western editors,
good to their children, kind to their wives,
pillars in their communities, and I don't
want them run out of town on some torn-up
rails of a defunct line of the C.P.R., not
tarred and feathered, but smeared from
head to foot with printers' ink and copies of
their old editorials.
I'll just call them Rag-Tag and Bob-Tail.
Rag-Tag finally ran out of arguments and
steam about 4 a.m., but Bob-Tail kept me
up until 6.47 a.m., the bus leaving at 8.30
for the fishing trip, me going, him not, and
I hope, if he reads this, he is dying slowly
and painfully from an incurable disease.
This is what they got hacking about, with
me as the judge; should or should not a
weekly editor run in his columns court
news?
And that is why I thought your readers
might have an opinion. Rag-Tag said:.
"Absolutely. It is our duty. No one can be
spared. We owe it to our readers. If I
Sugar and Spice
by Bill Smiley
myself were convicted of impaired driving,
I would run it in the paper."
Bob-Tail spoke thus: "Blank-beep! Who
do you think you are `'.• God? The guy or
the gal has already been judged and
sentenced by the law. He or she, has been
punished. All you are doing by printing it
in the paper i's doubling the sentence,
exposing hilt or her to the scd"rn and
contempt of friends and neighbors and
salivating sensation-seekers who swoop
like vultures on the garbage that is oth 'er
peoples' troubles."
As you can see, Bob-Tail was a little
more poetic. But Rag-Tag was not to be
downed so easily. He fought back.
"0:K., smart-ass. What would you do if
there was a murder in your town?" You'll
note that he had by now dropped the
subjunctive.
Bob-Tail:"I'd ignore it. I'd say in the
paper that So-and-So had passed away on
Such-and-Such. If the. Calgary papers
wanted to come in and make a big murder
thing of it, let 'em. You know what I'd do?
I'd go and see the widow(or widower) and
talk to her (or him) as a friend."
I won't bore you with any more. The
argument went on for two hours, with the
judge (me), looking at a non-existent
watch, brightly mentioning that the fishing
trip was starting in two hours, and even
calling room service to see what time it
was.
So what would you do, gentle reader, if
you were a weekly editor? Would you run
the court news, and break some poor
mother's heart?.Or do you think that the
public has a right to know that the mayor
got drunk and beat up his wife?
When I was a weekly editor, I had to
cope with this. I decided, with the, full
concurrence of my partner, that there was
no particular point in running court news.
Too many people were being doubly
punished, and why? Merely for the
delectation of the righteous.
Strangely enough, or not, the people
' who howl and plead the most, when it is
their family about to be exposed in public
print, are the most righteous. The less
righteous are almost proud that nephew
Elmer "got his name in the paper." .
Three days later, on our fishing trip, I
reintroduced the subject, and saw two
weekly newspapermen, that time from
Ontario, pratically come to blows over the
issue.
Daily papers treat the subject with the
utmost cynicism. They have a court
reporter. He or she reports only those
cases before the judge which will make a
"good story": the salacious, the
sensational, the bizarre — only those that
will make the reader chuckle or slaver.
What do you think? Perhaps your editor
would be interested in your opinion. Does
he or she run court news?Does it serve any ,
purpose? You judge.
Write him, or her. Write me, care of him
or her. I would really like to know how
ordinary, decent human •beings feel about
this.
Building permits passed at the
East Wawanosh Township
t council meeting include:
Allan. B -ridge, pit silo; John
Miles, research station; Peter
Brommer, driving shed; Marvin
Smith, garage: Murray McNichol ;
dwelling; Norman Cook, pit silo;
Schultz BtOs,, silo.
2:Atha accepted a municipal
drain petition from Vaughn Tell,
Lot 37, Corte, 2 & 3.
Ernest' Parket will be paid
livestock claim of $64.25 re ducks
and Ernie Snell; livestock valuer,
paid tee Of $7.90.
touncii approved a land
i8 THE BRUSSELS POST
severance re Karl Lentz.
The Township agreed to sell to
John Lockhart part of Lot 28;
Cone, 4, a closed road allowanee
for the sum of $1,06, on the
condition that Mr. Lockhart pay
all expenses and indemnify the
Township from any fencing
requirements.
R. Campbell mill bring a report
of Nursery Day Care , in East.
Wawanosh to council on Nov.. 4th.
Council gave grant of $300 to
the Blyth Union Cemetery Board,
Township insutariee will be
increased as retomrne hded by
Frank Cowan Insurance for full
replacement valite as followSt
OCTOBER .15, 1975:
1971 Grader to $50,006. 1972
Grader to $50,000; 1975 Ford'
Tractor to $10,000.
Council will apply fot
supplementary allocation of
subsidy Monies for the year 1975;
under' the Public Transportation
and Highway Improvement Act:
Due to the late snowstorm in
April, heavy flooding in Aptil and.
August, plus unforseen expenses,
councillors felt it was necessary to
apply for this.
Road Accounts of 0,6.0:47
and the General 'Accounts of $6,
169,78 were passed and paid.
Classified Ads pay dividends:
Fire protection highlighted the
agenda when Grey council ,held
their October meeting. Council
agreed that the four girls namely;
Jean Evans, Susan Cardiff, Isabel
Pearson Wand Nora McTaggart
who have the fire phones, receive
$15.00 per month commencing
October at the same time approv-
al was given to reimburse Roy
Hall $100.00 and Pearl Hall
$100.00 for fire calls that had
been made. To assist firemen in
attending a 10 week course, in
Mitchell, council agreed to pay
for one car at the rate of 15 cents
per mile. As a final item
concerning fire protection council
offered to sell the present public
works garage to the Grey Town-
ship Fire Department at the price
of $18,750. In other business
council accepted the tender of
Bruce Speiran in the amount of
$625.00 for the 1953 Fargo truck.
Granted Brussels Agricultural
Society $300.00. Increased the
recommended amount • of insur-
ance for the 1966 . Champion
Grader to $50,000. and the 1970
Champion Grader to $50,000.
Withdrew the appeal against the
decision of the Huron County
Land Division Committee regard-
ing the application of Nicholas
Terpstra for severance of part of
Lots 16 and 17, Concession 10.
Indicated there was no objection
to assuming the road, Right-of-
Way, at Lot 51, Concession 1,
Gordon Matheson, at some future
time when the road is built to
M.T.C., standards. Authorized
the Reeve..and Treasurer 'to make
application to the Ministry of
Transportation and Communica-
tions for Interim Subsidy on 1975
road expenditures. Instructed the
Road Superintendent to advertise
for tenders for snowplowing for
the 1975-76 season. Tenders to
state size and make of eqUipment.
Instructed the clerk to notify the
Township of Elma that a request
has been received for the repair of
a portion of the Silver Corners
Municipal Drain, Main drain.
Granted, building permits to
Larry Ward, trailer; Oakshade
Farms Ltd., liquid manure tank;
Gerald Huissek • house; En
Edgar, machine - shop; Loth!
Weber, garage; Gordon Engn
house addition.
Granted Grey Township 4
reation Committee $2,189.95 f
repairs to the Ethel Communil
Centre. Approved accounts, get
eral- $8,799.54. and roads an
Bridges- 7,599.53.
Lawn hint
given WI
Brussels Majestic W.I. met las
Wednesday in the library. Vice
president Mrs. Eleanor liming
way welcomed the ladies and
some men. Mrs. Doris McCall,
convener of Agriculture and,
Canadian Industries took the
choir and asked Mr. Johnston
manager of the CIL plant in
Brussels to introduce the gaol
speaker for the evening; Bally
Williams, representative for the
CIL. Mr. Williams graduatedrmd
Ireland and has been with the
Company for about 20 years:HS
spoke on "Lawns and Gardens,
and told the audience in. I
humor ous way about several
chemicals and fertilizers used let
trees, shrubs, flower and veget•
able gardens and lawns,
He 'showed some slides, which
proved what the right fertilizet
and chemicals can do to make the
work easier for gardeners to hic
beautiful lawns and gardens, MI%
Williams answered several
questions'and was thanked for his
interesting talk and presented
with a gift by Mrs. Wilma
Hemingway.. 12 ladies with s
lucky number received CIL
pro
Roll Call
ducts.
was it A practicalrmstriod:
Brianor hint";
favoured with piano music. Mil
Laura Lucas gave the treasarers,
report and read the minutes.Mrs:
Wilma Hemingway reported 011
' the Convention in Atwood. Mrs;
Ada EVans On the Zone Rally in
Belgrave.
WEEKLy SALE
BRUSSELS STOCKYARDS
EVER y FRIDAY
At 12 Ntliott
Phone 61.4461 ..11e1146.e