HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1980-10-15, Page 6From
BY MURRAY GAUNT
JOCELYN . Publisher
SHARON. J. DIE'rZ • Editor
Ai4THON-Y-N -JO HNSTORE Adveri W.ng-and-
General Manager
PAT LiVINGSTON • Office Manager
MERLE ELL1OiT • Typesetter.
Business and Editorial Office Telephone 528-2822
Mailing Address P.O. Box 400, Lucknow. NOG 21-10
Second Class Mail Registration Number -0847
Subscription rate, $13.50 per year In advance
Senior Cidgen rate, $11.50 per year In adviance
U.S,A. and Foreign, $23.00 per year in advance
Sr. Cit. U.S.A. and Foreign, $21.00 per year in advance
Absentee aliffle
ct problern
Far release week of Oet. 6 -Oct, 11/80
FRom -mts
;BY PON CAMPBELL
The ReVerend Duncan' MacLeod and young Doctor
Cameron spent 'little time with. the other first-class
passengers and they' ignored the captain of the Mavis.
completely, They walked the ,decks together- when
weather permitted, read books or played chess in one or
other "of their quartersi-T-he—first-elass--aecommodation-
was not fully occupied and both MacLeod and the doctor
were the single occupants of small cabins, usually
reserved for two passengers..
At meal times, they ate apart from the rest, fully aware
of the whispered comments and hostile glances from the
master of the. brig and his "upper class" companions.
Most of their time; , however, was spent with the poor,
suffering passengers, enduring the voyage as best they
could in the cramped and stinking environment of the
steerage deck. Doctor Cameron administered to the sick
and the Reverend Duncan MacLeod moved amongst his
people with words of cheer. Speaking in his native Gaelic
tongue, he smoothed the' fears of the women and
children, afraid of the storms when the ship pitched and
rolled with the fury of the cruel sea.
On calm days- and sometimes atnight beneath the
stars, the Minister encouraged them to lift their spirits by
singing together the traditional, ballads of the "old
!tame" accompanied by the fiddler and the concertina of
he fisherman from Aberdeen. VVhen it Seemed that even
Ibis was not sufficient to rouse them from despondency,
it, called upon Neil. MacCrimmon to "giye us a pibroch
.iti. and bring back the sweet breath of Skye to her exiled
ileople!" MacCrimmon would pace the boards 'of the
ifterdeck, his head held high, whilst his fingers flittered
.ver the chanter of his bagpipes with masterful dexterity.
On such. occasion some of the first-class passengers
ould pass sarcastic comments about the -heathen
music". The captain, his loathing charged with the.
continuous inflitenre of rum. would amuse them by
saying "The barbarians, are squealing again.!'
About ten dayS into the voyage another sickness
appeared amongst the passengers. in addftion to the
prevalent stomach sickness and dysentery. This new
malady began with a high fever and red blotches upon
the skin which could not I e confused with the bites of
fleas or lice. Those afflictt d lay upon their straw filled
mattresses with apathetic r :signation to their plight. One
of these was Jimmy FrIrsef. His wife sat by him
throughout the day, holding his hand and looking into his
sunken, pitiful eyes. From time to time she, wiped the
An emergency debate was held in' the Ontario
Legislature this week to discuss the matter of job
security and protection from layoffs for the workers of
the province who are affected by plant closures. Labour
Minister Robert Elgie was asked to look into the
problems of notice, severance pay and pension
portability for victims of these layoffs and plant
closures, in view of the large number of workers who
have already been affected in 1980.
Dr. Elgie advised that he has taken a number of
changes to Cabinet for• approval, and that a statement
will be forthcoming shortly on this matter.
Independent investigations of Ontario's network of
Children's Aid Societies are finding a myriad of
problems in the, way the agencies are functioning.
Studies to date have looked at fourteen of the fifty
societies across the province, in an attempt "to identify
areas where the problems are and where improvement
can be made", according to Keith NortOn, the Minister
of Community and Social Services. These studies show
that the agencies are crisis-dominated and lacking in
planning and direction needed to ensure that they are
doing a good job.
A study which was prepared for the Royal
Commission on the Northern Environment indicates
that the pulp and 'paper industry can modernize its
plants and still make money without large grants from
the provincial and federal governments. Last fiscal
year, the Ontario Government gave six companies
$93.5 million for modernization and improvements to
environmental controls.
Jack Riddell, M.P.P. (Huron-Middlesex), has asked
the Minister of Agriculture and Food what measures
are to be taken to restrict the practice Of fOreign
investment in farm land in Ontario. A bill has been
passed in the Legislature which will make it necessary
to disclose the purchases of farm land by foreign
purchasers, but as yet has not been put into force.
Agriculture Minister Lorne Henderson advised that
this bill will be proclaimed to be effective December 1st
of this year. The, bill is retroactive, and gives the
individuals who now own land and reside outside
Canada up to one year to register.
W NT I NI L
411eSepoy Town". Established 1873
On the Biurotorttne Boundary Published Wednesday
One thing should be, made absolutely clear.
The current controversy about foreign investors buying
t,p Huron farm land is not about bon.? fide immigrants,
s the Huron Expositor.
No one's worried about those from other countries who
ay farms here, move here and work them, joining, their
ighbours and the rural community.
What is worrying the littron Federation of Agriculture
,iough to ask for the provincial agricultural minister's
signation over the issue is what absentee ownership of
rge blocks of our rural land will do to our community here
we know it.
We're worried too.
As several McKillop people have sald, absentee and
oncentrated ownership of farm land depopulates the area.
It can make all our institutions...schools, churches, clubs,
much weaker. Instead of 20 farm families on a given
stretch or rural line you'll have five or six.
That's .a process that's already started of course as 300
or 400 acre rather than 100 acre farms have become the
norm. But now, still in Huron at least, the owners live in
the community. That gives them more of a. stake in
everyone's future, something 'an investor who lives
thousands of miles away doesn't have to` know o'r care
about.
"What's all the fuss about?" some say. "We can always.
rent the land back from these guys. They have the bucks
and the bucks talk."
' And it is a complicated question. Is a farmer who's
thinking about retiring supposed to turn down an offer of
say $2,000 an acre from a foreign investment syndicate
with the comment `8'No, I'll be a good citizen and sell to my
neighbour for $1,500?"
Can the community as a whole require that sort of
sacrifice from farmers?
Not likely.
But the answers to complicated questions aren't found
oy turning your back on them in the hopes they'll
disappear. No,' the provincial government, and those of us
who live in rural communities have to look for answers ...
controls on absentee ownership, residency requirements
for land buyers. Whatever. Other provinces have
legislation that addresses the problem.
It will be costly, and it won't be easy.
But we think there's not much choice. As one farmer,
the third generation of his family to occupy the home farm
said: "Our ancestors came here to get away from a feudal
system. We don't need a new one starting up here now."
—The Clinton News-Record
Make Playnougki!
Make whatever you want out of play dough, Mn, the
following ingredients together and Voilal. you have
enough play dough to mould buildings, animals, people.
trees, roads, or anything at all. The sante-It:1hp of play
dough s can be turned into whatever you need, day after
day.
To make play dough you need:
a large bowl
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil --
1/4 cup of salt y, cup of water (if you want.colored play dough, add food
coloring to the water)
2 cups of flour
Directions:
1. Put all the ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Mix them together with your harlds.
3. If the 'dough is too mushy to hold a shape, add a litle
flour.
4, If the dough is too hard to mould, add a little water.
5. Make whatever you want to.
6. Store your play dough in a plastic hag - it will last for
weeks.
by MacKay Fairfield Tate
(c) Toronto Sun Features 1980
sweat, from his thin face with a cloth dipped in cold water,,.
"Oh Jamie! Can I no, get ye a bite teeat. Ye will no get
well wi' out food. 'Try a wee bittee, ye're losin' all yer
strength!"
14eil Watched the beautiful face of Fiera wrestling with
her fears as she tended to her husband, They had left
everything they had known to gamble on a new life in ,
Upper-Qanaida„but.now_it_seemea, her-husband, had lost
all interest in who he was, or where he was gesing•
tried again to ',arouse him. "
• have to get well Jamie. Without you, I will have:
nobody to care for me." Unconsciously She placed ahand
on her abdomen, '"And the wee babe r .the bairn yon
wanted.- your ain wee son := he'll be needin' a father. Try
to eat Jamie, ye must get well,"
Neil was a strong character' but he couldn't bear to
watch the suffering of the man who shared his bed, or the
woman who.clung to him for all her hopes and dreams of
the future. went up on deck to find. the doctor, Yopng
Doctor Cameron was standing beside the ship!s rail near
,the fo'c's'le, looking' ahead into the west and the broad
expanse of sea, Re seemed deep in thought and did not
look up even when Neil stood by his side.
"Doctor Cameron; Sir.
"Aye. What is it?" The doctor answered in an absent
tone.
TO -MIS