HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-08-15, Page 4Should help
Increased fines announced last
week by Judge W.G. Cochrane may help
to appease some of the criticism the
court has been receiving for being too
lenient, but hopefully it will also act as a
deterrent for those who fail to obey the
laws.
Time alone will tell whether those
who have been hit by 550 fines will think
twice about having booze in their
vehicles now that the cost has gone up to
$100. That makes for an expensive night
on the town, to be sure.
However, those size fines have been
levied 'for offenders at Grand Bend for
some years now, and the deterrent factor
is less than could be expected.
Offenders still have to be caught, of
course, and while the new fines may not
curb the increase in illegal drinking,
Judge C'ochrane has advised he will hike
them even more if there is no ap-
preciable change in the number of
offenders on the court docket.
It's a step in the right direction and
hopefully it will have the desired results.
Out of
.the past
Flies are nasty. They breed in places
of filth. They like to crawl around on
our food. So we swat them and forget
them.
Mosquitoes are a real pest. They
bite and leave itchy welts. So we spray
them and slap at them and forget them.
But not so the earwig. That little
two-pronged monster is something else
again. He manages to arouse a sort of
savage hatred that is not accorded to
either the fly or the mosquito. And yet
the lowly earwig is really much less
offensive than either.
True, the earwig does chew off
some of our garden plants, but that's not
what brings out the killer instinct in us.
Somehow his mere appearance makes us
shudder with revulsion.
After all, the earwig seldom does us
any personal harm. He can nip us with
his little pincers, but he doesn't leave us .
with any itching aftermath like the bite
F4WAVRAMIRMAMMAN
of the mosquito. He doesn't leave any
tracks. He doesn't continue to light on
an arm. or nose as does a fly. He doesn't
make any noise. He doesn't make specks
on the window, He and his pals don't
come at us in bloodthirsty packs when
we try to weed the flowerbed.
,The earwig doesn't weave webs like
the spiders, He seldom gets into our
food 'supplies like the black ants do. He
doesn't even show up unless the weather
is favorable for his multiplication.
Why do we hate the earwig so
much? Perhaps because he reminds us,
by his very shape, of some primeval
monster. Maybe his form, magnified ten
thousand times, was what our shadowy
ancestors saw coming at them out of the
swamp. Hard to say. But, by the way,
have you found any new earwig spray
that works better than ours?
The Wingham Advance-Times
By
SYD FLETCHER
Lawrence and I had never
hit it off right from the first
of the year, when he made
his remark about red-haired
teachers who try to teach
music, old peoples' music, as
he called it, at that.
Lawrence and I frequently
made the long trip down to
the principal's office, me
fairly bristling with in-
dignation, large tears
already brimming in
Lawrence's eyes. The
routine was simple. We all
knew it well by Christmas, A
short lecture was mixed with
a small amount of yelling
and stirred with an ample
portion of the rubber strap.
Many tears were served
followed by a pleasant period
of silence in the classroom
which was enjoyed by all.
It was Odd though, After
Christmas I introduced some
new kinds of musics We
started working on an
operetta and Lawrence
actually volunteered for a
part in it. I fOund myself
actually liking him and he
stopped acting u'p in class. In
fact, the whole class seemed
more friendly, ',a surprising
development. ,
The principtal at that
school felt that he had to
back up his teachers. For
him, that meant bringing the
strap out of this desk
frequently. I have to admit
that the school seemed to run
very smoothly.
One new boy, not yet
aware of the system was
caught teaching our country
boys the mysteries of the
game of craps. The dice
game itself was, bad enough
but his little black book
showed that he was into
some students for as much
as three or Our dollars.
Obviously the floating crap
game had to be killed im-
mediately.
The problem that the
principal had was that
though this boy•looked quite
slight and innocent, his
school records Showed that
the last time somebody had
tried to strap him, the lad
had wrenched free, run out
of the door, and on home.
This time something would
have to be done to ensure
that justice was served.
The vice-principal, a
husky six-footer, stationed
himself at one door of the
office and I was placed at the
other, while the principal
informed the boy that if he
did not submit he would be
suspended,
The principal gave him
five stiff whacks on the left
hand asked for the other but
hit him only twice on it. He
looked at me,
"Do you think that that's
enough? he asked. I
shrugged, puzzled by the
uneven distribution of blows.
Then I looked at the boy's
hand and understood. After
only two blows, the hand had
turned as black as pitch from
the fingers to the heel of the
palm. Apparently a blood
vessel had broken and
flooded the whole area.
The floating crap game
was dead and buried, but the
strap came out of the desk
drawer just as frequently
after that,
Perspectives
55 Years Ago
Months of preparation,
much thought and patient
toil went into the making of
the fifth Hurondale school
fair, which was held Friday.
Judges for the livestock, fruit
and vegetables were Harry
Strang, Harold Hern, Horace
Delbridge, Gordon Cudmore
and Ernest Pym. The judges
for the flowers, cooking and
sewing were Mrs. (Dr.)
Graham and Mrs. Wickwire.
At an organization
meeting of the temperance
forces of Hensall held in the
Methodist church on
Tuesday evening a full
organization was effected.
Everything is in readiness to
carry on a campaign for
sustaining the OTA on
October 23.
Dr. H.G. Fletcher is
opening an office in the
residence of Mr. A. Camm,
Main Street on September
20.
Mrs. Ed Johns and
children of Elimville, left
Tuesday for Saskatoon
where they will visit Mrs.
John's parents and other
relatives.
30 Years Ago
Council voted $470 to the
Fire Department to pur-
chase trailer equipment for
added protection to the
village.
Cedric Shaw in charge of
the Bank of Montreal's
Ingersoll branch since 1947
will succeed James Hendry
as manager of the bank's
office here.
Hydro men will start
surveying electrical
equipment this fall and
winter prior to the district
change over from 25 to 60
cycle.
The members of the
Exeter Turf Club decided at
a recent meeting to donate
$800 to the Exeter Com,-
munity Park.
20 Years Ago
First scholarship to be won
by a member of the 1959 SH-
DHS graduating class is a
$200 UWO entrance award
which went to Bill
Etherington R.R. 1, Hensall.
Robert Wolfe as King and
Ann Robertson as Queen,
reigned over the Cowboy and
Indian parade which marked
the end of the Exeter Kin-
smen playground for this
summer.
Col. E.E. Tiernan, OBE,
CD of Dashwood has been
appointed commandant of
the Royal Canadian Army
Medical Camp School at
Camp Borden.
15 Years Ago
Grand Bend OPP detach-
ment and anti-gambling
squad raided three
amusement centres and
closed down a bingo game,
Thursday. Pinball machines,
equipment and merchandise
prizes were seized.
A Cooksville Firm moved
into Exeter this week to
commence immediate
demolition of the Central
Hotel building, the last of
Exeter's nine hotels. It will
be replaced by a modern,
one-storey office for British
Mortgage and Trust who
purchased the building a
year ago.
Tenders will be opened
today for the construction of
the Parkhill dam. The date is
about four months later than
what had originally been set
as completion date for the
dam itself.
The extensive work en-
tailed in the conversion to
dial by the. Blanshard
Municipal Telephone System
is progressing "pretty good"
according to Ross Marshall,
chairman,
JASPER, Ganada's Safety Bear
Stay away from deep water unless you can swim
like a fish or a frog or even a pollywog.
It was ironical that Exeter council
received a letter at their meeting last
week requesting aid from the Township
of West Carleton which had recently ex-
perienced severe flood damage.
The request was denied, as council
members chose to follow a policy of not
providing grants from the public coffers
for such funds.
The irony was, that at about the
same time they were adhering to that
policy, a storm was building near this
community that eventually touched
down in the Woodstock area and
created devastation that only those who
have viewed it personally can fully com-
prehend.
Pug, 4 'Times-Advocate, August 101 1079
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Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1001
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SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A., 0,W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC
Published by J. W. fedy Publications Limited
LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER
Editor — Bill Batten
Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh
Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett
Composition Manager — Harry DeVries
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Phone 235-1331
An ironical twist
Published Each Wednesday Morning
at Exeter,Ontario
Second ass Mail
Registration Number 0386
SUBSCRIPTION RATES;
Canada $11.00 Per Taar; USA $30.00
• , • •• • • • •
Wivt would have happened had
that tornado hit Exeter? Would the
residents of the area look to their
fellow citizens across the province for
assistance in rebuilding their homes,
churches, barns...and indeed, their very
way of life?
It's a hypothetical question, of
course, and one that everyone will be
thankful they do not have to answer.
But in reality, it is a question everyone
must answer, for the need for assistance
is paramount.
Would you have expected others to
help you? Do you think they would have
offered that assistance?
Amalgamated 1924
About grants and priorities
"Where do I plug in the electric blanket?"
rate during the past couple of
years, but so have the pro-
ducers' costs.
Certainly, farmers and
fishermen having been faring
well of late, but that's the na-
ture of the business. Producers
earn a great deal of money in
the good years, hopefully off-
setting losses in the lean
periods.
Some misinformed city-
slicker complainers are bright
enough to remain silent when
food prices are dropping, and
producers are in trouble.
While there may be room
for complaints about the in-
adequacies and pricing poli-
cies of the nation's processing
and distribution system, over-
all, consumers are getting food
at reasonable cost.
Much has been made of the
fact that it now Costs $61 per
week to feed a family of four
people in Canada. Atrocious,
some consumers would say.
Yet Canadians only spend
about 22% of take-home pay
on food. The complainers
should look at Japan, where
families spend as much as 40%
of income on food. Or Europe,
where it's not considered un-
reasonable if food costs sur-
pass 30% - 35% of family in-
come.
Canadian consumers com-
plain about hamburg at $2.50
- $3 per pound. Yet the same
product in Tokyo appears on
retail store shelves priced at
$10 - $15 per pound. And the
Japanese don't complain.
What's important to note,
particularly considering the
energy crunch, is that North
Americans have not been faced
with outright shortages of
food. The producers are doing
their job.
Rather than complaints,
Canadian consumers should
be patting farmers and fisher-
men on the back. They deserve
a break. In recent weeks this newspaper has
made mention of the vast changes tak-
ing place on Exeter's Main St., not only
in new construction, but in the renova-
tion and re-decorating of many existing
buildings.
However, there appears to be a slight
misinterpretation as to where the funds
are coming from for those projects.
BIA president Bob Swartman sat
down beside the writer at last week's
council meeting and related a story that
perhaps is too wide-spread in the com-
munity.
Bob had some car trouble the other
day and was kindly given a lift home to
get another vehicle by a female motorist.
While that would normally be a pleasant
experience, Bob wasn't quite ready for
the comment of his good Samaritan as
they drove along the main drag.
"Isn't it great that the businessmen
got some grants to fix up their store
fronts," the young lady remarked.
While the BIA president is naturally
among those who would like to have
that story be true, it just isn't the case.
The local businessmen have not received
any grants for their store-front projects.
Any work being done is coming out of
their own pockets.
As Bob tells • it: The only "grant"
we're receiving is the one that comes
with a 14 percent interest tag from our
local banker.
Hopefully, that will set the record
straight as to who is paying for the
sprucing up that is taking place along
the street.
The businessmen hope to get some
provincial grant money, but it will be
spent only on beautifying public proper-
ty, such as tree plantings, shopper's rest
areas, etc. None of it can be used for
privately owned facilities such as store
fronts.
Hot nuff fer ya? By the time this
appears in print, I may be looking
through drawers for my longjohns. That
would be typical of the weather in this
Canada of ours.
But as I write, holed up in my study
with the drapes drawn and the fan blow-
ing, we're well into the second week of
one of those scorching summer sessions
that we masochists in this country en-
dure and even enjoy, in a_perverted way.
We suffer, but we suffer with a certain
pride. One wilted citizen will say to
another dripping one, "Ain't it a cor-
ker?" And the other will respond,
almost joyously, "Never seen the beat of
it."
On the streets of our towns and cities,
we duck from one air-conditioned haven
to another, catching our death of cold in
the process. Smart people take a heavy
sweater to the supermarket so they
won't freeze their extremities, and peel
right down to those extremities as soon
as they get back into the street.
What a crazy way to live. Six months
ago, and six months from now, we'll be
doing the opposite, ducking from one
over-heated place to another, and
bragging about the cold.
I wonder if there is another nation in
the world that talks as much about the
weather as does ours. I doubt it. Perhaps
it is because we ate rather shy and inar-
ticulate when it comes to opening a con-
versation.
As a result, we commence With, "Cold
nuff fer ya?", or, "Hot nuff fer ya?", and
can nearly always be certain that the
person spoken to, even a complete
stranger, as long as he's a Canadian, will
respond with somthing like, "Real
brute, izzen it?" This retort covers ex-
treme days in either winter or summer,
If an immigrant, unfamiliar with our
opening gambits, makes a sensible
remark about the weather, such as,
"My, it is unpleasantly warm today, is it
not?," we go right on the defensive, with
The majority of local residents may
be able to understand Ted Wright's con-
cern over the fact that we're falling
behind in the reconstruction of
sidewalks. It's a costly proposition,
although to be sure, there are many
areas in town where pedestrians feel as
though they're tackling the Swiss Alps
when they attempt to traverse some of
the heaving, broken sidewalks.
Those people may be more than a lit-
tle chagrined to note that while Ted was
making that comment, it came after his
roads and drains committee had
recommended the spending of '5,000 to
pave the parking lot behind the
municipal offices.
So, while they continue to stumble
along on broken sidewalks, they can
take some respite in the knowledge that
the cars parked behind the town offices
will have a nice, smooth surface on
which to rest their tires.
Don't know about that...it just
doesn't seem quite cricket that cars get
better treatment than pedestrians all the
time.
To be sure, parking can be arranged
more orderly when there is an asphalt
surface on which to paint zones, but the
priority does appear more than a little
out of whack,
* • *
As any area motorist will tell you,peo-
ple tempt fate every time they head on to
area roads, and at no time has that been
more evident that the past two weeks. If
memory serves correctly, the accidents
in that duration have caused about a
dozen injuries and property damage of
well over '75,000.
You can use your own mathematics
to figure out what those statistics would
add up to over the period of one year.
Any way you look at it, it's a lot of work
for some body shops, both of the human
"Ah, this is just right. Wait'll the real
heat wivehits,It'll slaughter ya."
Or if a similarly untutored foreigner,
just trying to be pleasant, says in
February, "Mein Gott, zis is a cold
country in vinter, Hein?" we snarl,
"Nah, she's mild this year. Ya shoulda
been here last winter. Forty below for
three weeks straight."
Yes, there is a certain arrogance in
Canadians when it comes to our
weather. Nobody much likes rain and
wind. But when it comes to hot and
cold, we are fascinated by temperatures.
We exchange weather reports. We
remember winters and summers as far
back as thirty years.
If some unusually urbane Canadian
ventures to utter a, "Nice day, eh?", we
usually come back with a yabbut. "Yab-
but there's a big blizzard comin' in from
the West." Or, Tabbut it's supposed to
rain all next week."
Canadians know, without being told,
that if a winter week has been sunny and
sparkling, it's going to snow and blow
on the weekend. They are positive that,
if the summer has been ideal, warm and
dry and delightful so far, it will be cold
and wet when it's their turn to go on
holidays.
The weather is so much a part of our
national psyche that it's a wonder it
hasn't crept into politics. On second
thought, it has. Elections are carefully
geared so that they don't occur in mid-
summer, when nobody gives a damn
about politics, nor in midwinter, when
it's too cold to get out the vote.
One of these days, so enthralled are
we with the weather, that we'll probably
have a couple of guys running for prime
minister who are weather forecasters.
And the one who gives us the most
horrendous forecasts will win in a walk.
I am not sneering at my fellow
Canadians obsession with the weather,
am as bad as•the next. There's nothing I
enjoy more, on a Whiter day, than
and vehicular type.
Some of our counterparts in the news
media appeared to make fun of a pilot
project over the Civic Holiday weekend
when the OPP parked unmanned
curisers along various highways in an
attempt to slow down motorists. It was
unofficially known as "operation
scarecrow".
Well, this writer happens to think it
was a good move. In fact, we'll have to
applaud any attempt by law enforce-
ment agencies to protect people from
themselves. And that's all they were try-
ing to accomplish!
If the carnage continues on area
highways, it may be necessary for the
police to use their unmanned cruisers in
the middle of the highways to slow
down some people.
* * *
In case you're interested, they ap-
parently don't have Civic holiday over
in our namesake in England. The hard-
working editor received calls from two
Exeter papers last Monday asking for
pictures'of our Main St. to accompany a
story they were doing on the return of
Tom Rookes. Tom, as you may recall,
visited Mayor Derry Boyle and this Ex-
eter a couple of weeks ago.
Tom is interested in opening up better
communication between the two Exeters
and to that end wants to hear from any
local citizens who may be interested in a
type of pen pal relationship with some
people over home.
You can contact Mayor Derry or
write to Tom Rookes personally at: 3
Leypark Close, Exeter, EX1 3NU,
Devon, England.
By the way,old chap, we think it's a
jolly good idea!
blustering in from the cold, tearing off
the boots and overcoat, and asking all
and sundry, "Did you ever see such a
rotten winter?" And sure enough,
someone will retort, "Yabbut we had
two feet more snow this time last year."
In summer, I sizzle around the golf
course (my body, not my score) and
whine with the best of them, "Isn't this
brutal? My lawn is baked black, It was
98 in our bedroom last night." And one
of the foursome will come back with,
"Yabbut remember last summer, when
we hadda play in rubber boots and
mackinaws?"You can't win,
One of the few Canadians who
doesn't care about the weather is my
wife. When we had babies, she'd pop
into the office in the middle of a bliz-
zard. "What in the Sam Hill are you do-
ing out on a day like this?"
And I'd discover that she'd thought
the baby needed some fresh air, and
pushed the carriage through the snow
for half a mile.
Her indifference to our great national
conversation piece infuriates me. We
had a bitter quarrel just this week, I'd
been out in the car, and told her the guy
on the radio said it was 96 downtown.
She said she didn't believe him. With a
touch of warmth, I repeated what the
guy on the radio had said. Ninety-six
degrees.
"It couldn't be."
"Why not?"
"Because it doesn't feel that hot. And
what does it matter, anyway?"
You can see why I blew my top.
Matter? What could be more important.
There is not single element in this
country that is more important to us
Canadians than our love-hate
relationship with the weather. In fact, it
may be the only thing that will hold this
country together, when all the referen-
dums have been taken,
Mainstream Canada
Producers Taking a Burn Rap
By W. Roger Worth
Canada's farmers and fisher-
men have been taking a bum
rap from consumers who con-
tinually lay the blame for ris-
ing food prices at the dock-
side, or at the farm gate.
Bluntly stated, a lot of the
complainers don't know what
they are talking about. In fact,
Canadians are among the best
fed people in the world, and at
prices that are among the low-
est in the world.
It's true, food prices have
been rising at an inordinate
Roger Worth is Director,
Public Affairs,
Canadian Federation of
Independent Business.
Nothing typical about weather •