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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-09-26, Page 4This is Public Health Nurses Week, seven days set aside to recognize the women (and men?) who supervise the health care of general public. What do you know about the work done by the nurses at the Huron County Health Unit? Public health is an often mis- understood service. Sometimes it is looked upon as something for people who can't afford to pay - a kind of a charity organization for certain segments of society where money and maybe even understanding are in short supply. Nothing could be further from the truth. The citizens of Huron County pay handsomely for its public health staff. It isn't a handout. It is a valuable health support service that has the public welfare at the heart of its mandate. Whether it is an immunized popula- tion or senior citizens or new mothers or school children or individuals with specific health needs dependent on the public system, health nurses are in- terested. They have a heart for the troubled and lonely, and a trained eye and hand for the sick and distressed. They are on the go 12 months of the year... and they are involved 24 hours a day every day of the year. This week it is a bouquet for the health nurses in Huron County and a special thankyou for the job they do for citizens here from all walks of life. Their efforts are sincerely appreciated. Goderich Signal-Star Help the children The statistics recently made public by Douglas Barr, Executive Director of The Children's Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto, are shocking: between 1976 and 1978 the number of 13 to 15 year-olds in foster care in Metro Toronto went up from 205 to 510, an in- crease of 150 per cent in two years. The old image of the Children's Aid was one of child-snatchers who took children from their homes over the protests of parents. The new problem for the '702 is children so out of control that their parents request that they be removed from their homes and `straightened out' in foster care. Or social workers may have to take young children into care out of concern for their safety. The 13 to 15 year-olds are not babies, but some cannot speak up about parents who batter them or sexually abuse them. When a child is taken into care, the choice in not between a troubled home and an ideal situation in foster care. Children take their troubles with them and often go through two, three or four foster-placements, becoming more and more rejected and disturbed. Foster parents can only take so much before their family is in danger of breaking down as well. The agencies attempt, under ex- treme shortages of budget and staff, to keep children in their own home by giv- ing the parents support and guidance. As well, a number of alternatives are attempted, such as boarding schools, temporary group homes, stays in shelter-type homes during crisis periods. But isn't it time for the rest of us to ask ourselves, "What is happening to the children?" If they are in trouble, they need our help every day in every way, too.Oftenweare mean-spirited when we hear a neighbor's teenager exploding in anger, using foul language or we express disgust when we see a 12 year-old temper tantrum. Agencies cannot work in a vacuum. It is up to all of us to create an atmosphere of love for the children around us. As parents we can guide them, laugh with them, correct them in a generous manner. As good neighbours we can alleviate little tensions that could grow — lending an ear or a hand to a depressed or worried mother. We can spread calm to achieve peace. The professionals can best handle crisis situation. But surely parents and neighbors can prevent many from reaching the boiling point by living love. Perhaps we can begin to turn around Doug Barr's statistics in this Year of the Child. Contributed Poye.4 Times-Advocate, September 26. 1979 4t,a13.1ishe4. 1073 Advocote E0a414heri.1.881 Imes. dvocatel WAVOitg"74:4.: SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND .C.VV,N,A„ Q.W.N,A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W, Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Amalgamated 1.934 Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jong_ kind Published Each Wednesday Morning Phone 235.1331 at Exeter, Ontario Second Clan Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada S11.00 Per Year; USA $30.00 wr Space is available In addition to planning a new police office, the committee members of Exeter council in charge of that project have decided to explore other uses for the proposed facilities at this time. It's a practical step to take any time a new facility is being planned in that it at least makes people aware of other needs in the community that could be met through an extra room being added at the time of construction. However, while there appears to be a need for a spot for the local euchre players or even a drop-in centre for senior citizens, it is equally evident that the community has an abundance of un- used space that could facilitate these two functions. A cursory view of the inventory shows three churches in the downtown area with a considerable amount of va- cant space during weekdays, as well as a large Legion Hall, a now enlarged Scout hall and the rec centre. 1t. remains a mystery why the organizations in charge of those facilities have not shown some community leadership in assessing the needs of some citizens and making their accommoda- tion available to them. Surely it is not necessary for the taxpayers to dip into their pockets to provide facilities when there appears to be so many already available that sit va- cant for many hours each week. A vital service "There — see? I'm putting conservation at the top of the list for cabinet attention." YASPER PARK Po POT FM) Tilt CAW, 141.114TEP s ‘70 1111t ormks ) Mainstream Canada A Difficult State of Affairs Perspectives BATT N AROUND . Fans more violent than kids By SYD FLETCHER In his tweed coat and roman collar he looks every bit the English vicar. His pleasant round face and ready greeting complete that image. He's a veteran at making you feel at ease,and seems genuinely interested in you and your life, Listening to him in the pulpit rounds out the picture of the complete minister as his sermon rings out with real fire and conviction making every person in the congregation sit up and take notice, Filled with tremendous enthusiasm and boundless energy, he puts in long hours visiting shut-ins and the hospitals. He has a feeling for those in pain and need, and has the capacity to cheer and brighten the sick room with his quick honest smile. An example of his devotion to duty came recently when he learned, just after driving 30 miles to the city and back, that he had overlooked a patient who had been ex- pecting a visit. Without hesitation he got back in the car and drove right back to the hospital, though it meant he would not be back till late. He loves preaching and is more than ready to fill in for another minister even during the hot days of summer when the pews are not too full and the congregation is not at its best, Perhaps you're saying that all of this is standard for any minister and you May be quite right. Lots of ministers have drive, energy and conviction that radiates from them. This man is a little dif- ferent though. A few years ago, right in his pulpit, he was struck down with a crippling disease. Doctors said he would never preach again, in fact might never talk. Good reasons for any person to quit or retire early. Not him. In a matter of a very few weeks his faith and strength, his belief in the importance of his calling had carried him back into the pulpit. Now he speaks clearly and without hesitation, the only reminder of his illness a crippled arm which he won't allow to in- terfere with his busy life. I didn't mention that he is past the age of retirement, and has officially done so. In reality, he is just as active as ever, a shining example of how a person in his settler years can be an effective force in the community. Most newspapers have seized upon the recent report of the Ontario Hockey Council to carry screaming headlines that violence appears to be rampant in minor hockey and the sport is in serious trouble. Adding fuel to the fire is the current push to have a ban placed on bodychecking in some of the lower categories, a move being opposed by many minor hockey coaches and managers. This, of course, has prompted charges that the people who run minor hockey are oblivious to the views of the parents , who answered ,hthe survey and outlined,),.. their concerns about the violence•on the ice. The whole issue has set the writer to thinking about his role as a hockey coach and a parent and the only conclu- sion I can reach is to be thankful that my kids don't play in the leagues where violence is a matter of concern. That is not to suggest I am overlook- ing the fact that there have been games in which some individuals displayed over-aggressive or even some dirty tac- tics, but in watching my kids play in well over 100 games last season, I can not honestly recall any incident that came close to being described as violence. In fact, through years those kids have been subjected to much more violence on the school playground and in their own home than they have in any hockey game in which they have participated. They've suffered broken jaws, noses and collar bones and been stitched up Every September, after a long summer vacation, several of my colleagues ask me jeeringly, I'm afraid, "Well, did you write that novel?" Or, "Did you polish off your play?" And every September, I have to come up with an excuse. "No, I broke my pelvis sky-diving." Or, "I had it well in hand until the day I was out sailing we crashed into a 200-pound sturgeon, and I suffered a bad concussion." One gets pretty good at the instant retort, the swift riposte, after twenty- odd years of it. To tell the truth, "Well, uh, no I spent the summer drinking beer and going to auciotn sales and swim- ming and cutting my toe-nails, and trim- ming the corn on the ball of my foot, and reading four hundred novels, and cooking up a storm of frozen dinners," would be out of character. Because every June I swear to all and sundry that I'm going to turn out a peice of prose that will make Dylan Thomas, Ernest Hemmingway, Mordechai Richter and Margaret Laurence wish they'd been born thirty years later, Some years it's going to be an -autobiographicalnovel, with absolutely nothing held back. I warn my wife: "Can you take it, sweetie? There will be no holds barred. Everything exposed, The whole business down in black and white." She nods as she finishes the dis- hes. Other years it's going to be a play that exposes the whole rotten, corrupt, perverse, middle-class life of this coun- try. The wet tea-bags in the sink, the un- made beds, the after-breakfast martinis, the secret racism as we watch the In- dians being decimated on thelatc-late show. But, somehow, after twenty years of this charade, I might as well face the fact that I am neither a Margaret Trudeau for a variety of cuts and treated for bruises and sprains, but the worst "in- jury" arising from their participation in a hockey game has been a couple of painful experiences with cold feet. One of the basic facts that most peo- ple seem to overlook in that when violence does occur in a hockey game, it is outside the playing rules and the culprits are penalized for their action. Unfortunately, similar to any aspect of life, the riskof kids being subjected to ,,PtIVing tactics can not be removed ,,,"from hockey any more than parents can arantee their kids won't fall off their bikes or get into a fight on the playground. A ban can be placed on bodycheck- ing, but it does not necessarily follow that kids won't hit each other when they're playing hockey. It simply means the kid will get a penalty for doing it, and while it may reduce the amount of body contact, it can never eliminate it entirely any more than instituting a penalty and suspension for fighting has been able to entirely eliminate those in- cidents. I agree wholeheartedly that a coach has a great deal to do with the attitude of the players when they step on the ice, but it is no more than the responsibility parents and fans have to set the general tempo of any contest. In many games which generally show an increase in the amount of hitting or dirty tactics, it is often noted that the situation is generated to a considerable nor a Tennessee Williams. A new piece of fiction that is going to sell, must have certain ingredients: sex, drugs, violence, perversion. How can a guy write a red-hot article when he has lived a Practically pure life for a number of decades? How can a guy write explicit sex scenes about nipples hardening and the scream of an orgasm, when all he's seen for the last twenty years is a couple of robins having an affair in the back yard? How can a guy write about drugs when his nose is so many times fractured that he can't even smell onion-breath, let alone the sweet scent of marijuana on the air? How can a guy write about violence when the worst incident he has seen in years is one grandboy giving the other a cheap shot in the back when the other wasn't looking, knocked the other's head against the head of the picnic table, and drawn blood and tears? It's not ex- actly Attila the Hun. How can a guy write about perver- sions when the only thing he's seen for years is a baby-girl bluejay trying to pre- tend she's a baby-boy bluejay? Or a hen- pecked husband trying to pretend, when his wife has gone to the john, that he's Henry VIII? No, I'm afraid you'll have to stick to TV, the movies, and Harlequin Romances, if you want your favorite in- gredients. I just don't seem to have any background upon which to draw. When my wife says to me, after a par- ticularly brutal party or weekend, "How come you never have bags under your eyes, like me?", t merely answer the truth: "A clean heart and a pure mind, my dear,"I must admit that after the thirtieth repetition of this little slogan, extent by the people in the stands, It is interesting to note that 80.3 per- cent of those answering the hockey sur- vey felt that there should be an improve- ment in "parent behaviour at games". Unfortunately, many parents feel that it is the other side which needs to improve their behaviour without being fully cognizant or responsible for their own. While the writer questions the number of people who think minor hockey has too much violence in view of a sample survey taken among some local parents last year, there is little doubt that the survey will have many beneficial aspects, I think the important thing is that more and more people are starting to recognize that hockey is a game to be played for fun and physical fitness, rather than winning. It is also a game in which kids can gain pleasure from im- proving their skills as well as making new friends. Coaches and parents who fail to recognize the need to look more serious- ly at the aims and objectives of the game will do themselves and their kids a great injustice, and while some of the criticism or concerns expressed may be con- sidered an over-kill by some, there is always room for improvement and perhaps it is worth noting that the local minor system may be in better hands than many other associations in the province. she emitted an unladylike remark. But it's the truth. It's not that I haven't has lots of ex- perience. I went through a world- rending depression and ate potato-skin hash and porridge soup, I went to work at 16, for thirty dollars a month, twelve hours a day, seven days a week. I ssurvhiovoedtinag waat r imnewhich ,especially bothsides were the British Navy, I was almost kicked to death by a German Feldwebel, just because I'd stolen his pipe and tobacco. I ate mangels and drank rainwater in a prison camp, I spent a year in a T.B. sanatorium, I've survivedthirty years of marriage, two rotten kids, and am still coping with two grandboys who are the most ingenious methods of torture since the Inquisition. I even graduated from a university, with honours, when they still had standards. I spent eleven years in the editorial chair of a newspaper, which has buried many a man. I have lived through, and thrived on teaching teenagers, which has sent more people to an early grave than did the editorial chair. But still, whenever I think of writing a Searing play, or a violent autobiography, I can't seem to put fingers to typewriter. I think I know what's wrong. I didn't hate my father, That seems to be what you need to get you going, Or, if you're Jewish, your mother, My father was a mild decent man. He didn't beat me. Indeed, he didn't pay much attention to me. My mother was loving, but not over-protective, Darn it, why didn't I have rotten parents like everybody else, so I could write a vicious, sexy, perverse novel? By W, Roger Worth When governments get in- volved in areas of the economy normally handled by private entrepreneurs, funny (and not so funny) things have a way of happening. Consider the plight of be- leaguered restaurant, bar and hotel operators in tiny Prince Edward Island, a province where tourism is the mainstay of the local economy. It appears P.E.L's Liquor Control Commission has dif- ficulty handling even the sim- plest of tasks, such as main- taining stocks of the limited number of wines listed by the government-operated facility. Fallout from that situation naturally presents very real Roger Worth is Director, Public Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. problems, particularly for the smaller restaurants and hotels that can't afford to carry large inventories. "The liquor commission al- ways seems to be out of stock of the most popular brands on our wine lists," says an irate restaurant operator. "It creates havoc in the dining room." Customers, of course, blame restaurant management when 55 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. Fred South- cott who have been spending the summer at Grand Bend, left this week for their home in Venice, California. Mr. C.L. Wilson, who purchased from William Dougall Jr. of Hay, the bald- headed eagle captured on the Dougall farm a few months ago has presented the bird to the London Zoo. Mr, W. Cutbush last week purchased the house of Mr. Beer on Simcoe Street. On Tuesday, Jack and William Snell, Lloyd Schroeder, William Wareing and W. Geddes left by motor for Bedodore Bay and Port Elgin on a trapping and hunting expedition. 30 Yea rs ,Ago Town Council will sponsor a contest among students at Exeter Public and High Schools for the best crest for the municipality. Exeter Home and School announced this week it would sponsor a meeting of town officials to discuss the organization of safety patrol for school children, Lorne Ballantyne, 17, is believed to be the youngest ever to win the South Huron Championship in Friday's plowing match near Dash- wood. Jim Tomlinson and Donna Wells were proclaimed the senior champions at the Exeter Public school track and field meet held Wed- nesday afternoon, 20 Years Ago Ross Tuckey of Tuckey Beverages Ltd., Exeter was elected president of the Ontario Carbonated Beverages Association at a Cape Breton coal miners have long held a super- stition about allowing women to go down a mine. It is supposed to bring bad luck. The miners were a little surprised in the face of this discrimination to learn that a group of women in Sydney and Glace Bay, during Centen- nial year established a "Miners Museum". It was to be a living memorial to the 'men of the deep' who have been mining coal in Cape Breton ever since the French discovered the ore body in 1720, The women's Centennial group spearheaded by Mrs. Nina Cohen wanted to show the visiting public some- thing of the conditions and problems of going far below the earth. The women now have a colliery under the wines aren't available. In ad- dition, shortages sometimes necessitate costly reprinting of wine lists. In normal business circum- stances, restauranteurs would simply change suppliers, but such is not the case when the government is the only source of alcoholic beverages. Further, it becomes diffi- cult for restaurant operators to complain, given the fact that the same liquor commis- sion enforces all rules and rek- gulations for licensed prem- ises. "It's a Catch-22," says bar manager. "We can't com- plain about the wine problem because we're afraid of being hassled by liquor commission inspectors." An unhealthy situation in- deed. The wine difficulties in Prince Edward Island are not unlike situations in other prov- inces and sectors of the eco- nomy where the government has its finger in the private- enterprise pie, And business people, espe- cially smaller entrepreneurs with little clout, are many times forced to live with the status quo. Not a pretty state of af- fairs at all. imemory ane, , convention in Hamilton last week. Ontario Department of Education has given ten- tative approval to the $60,000 three room addition to Exeter Public School. Official opening of the new central school in McGillivray Township will be held Friday evening, October 23, it was announced this week. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Dobbs and Mayor and. Mrs. R.E. Pooley, who are on a trip to the west have been held up on their return owing to snow storms. 15 Years Ago A complaint of pollution in the Aux Saubles river west of Exeter will be turned over to the Ontario Water Resopurces Commission but it is doubtful if such an easy solution will be found to answer the problem in regard to the lagoon operated by the town for Canadian Canners and drainage problems in the area of the canning factory. Members of Hensall Council expressed disap- pointment Monday that their request for acentennial grant to repair and renovate the arena was turned down on the grounds it was not a suitable project for such an occasion. Exeter assessor Eric Carscadden reported to council Monday that the population has dropped by a total of 85 this year while assessment has increased by only $85,000. Mayor Eldrid Simmons reported at council Monday that he would definitely not seek re-election for his post for the coming two-year term, Atlantic Ocean. Retired miners guide visitors down the slopes where mining machinery is on display. Visitors are allowed to dig coal samples, put on miner's helmets and stroll through the dank tunnels. A pleasant surprise in this dark underworld is a flower garden growing in the rocks some fifty feet below the Atlantic Ocean. Miners' Museum in Glace Bay, Cape Breton is a fine tourist attraction but the irony of the museum is women are allowed down the mine. The girls got around a stubborn super- stition in a very subtle way, John Fisher, Executive Vice President of the Council for Canadian Unity was Canada's Centennial Comntissioner. Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley It's novel time again CANADA COLUMN By John Fisher of the Council for Canadian Unity Conseil pour l'unite'canadienne