Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1982-03-17, Page 6editorial The LUCKNOW SENTINEL ''Tie Sepay tome" EstobRobeill167.3 SHARON J, DIETZ Editor PAT LIVIIVGSTON - Office Manager MERLE ELLIOTT - Typesetter JOAN HELM - Compositor Lu k ow Stentiad, . Wedaeaday, March 17, 1982,—Page 6 Business and Editorial Office Telephone 528-2822' Mailing Address P.O. Box 400. Lucknow, NOG 2110 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0847 Subsctfpil.: rate, S14 -Sq per year in advance Senior Odzen rate, 512.110 per year `advance U.S.A. and Errata, S38.1111 per year la adva.ce Sr. Cit. U.S.A. and Foreign, S3f.90 per year la advance Get our MPs back to work • It's time our members of parliament get back to work. More than a million Canadians are., jobless, and the unemployment rate is still climbing as the economy sinks deeper into a recession. Inflation is riding at 12 per cent - a level higher than what Prime Minister ' Pierre Trudeau's Liberal government declared a "national emergency" in .1975. Prime interest rates are at a crippingly high 16.5, per cent and bankruptcies and foreclosures are rising daily. Yet our members of parliament who should be providing leadership by addressing and resolving these vital national problems are standing around the halls' of parliament with division bells ringing in their ears. The foolishness of this exercise is only underlined by the. fact that so far, Speaker Jeanne Sauve who has the responsibility to call a vote and get parliament functioning again,has this comment on the situation:. "Me house gets itself into a mess, the house gets itself out of a . mess". - While Sauve is trying to protect her own future as speaker, because she fears the Tories will accuse her : of partisanship if she ends their protest, she has a greater. responsibility to see to it that parliament is functioning effectively. Perhaps the stalemate will act as a catalyst in bringing about,parliar ientary reform whichis very necessary. But the , foolish antics of the Tories and Liberals is only further destroying the image of the House. of Commons in the eyes of the Canadian public: Already too many people believe the house is an arena for party namecalling and petty jibes rather than a vehicle of debate whereby constructive changes . can be made to bilis presented for consideration. The longer the Commons checkmate is permitted to continue,' the more ridiculous , the House and the MPs are made to look. Ou 'MPs should get back ` to work:; Speaker Sauve should act immediately. letters to the ditor 8350 - 76 Ave., Edmonton, Alberta.: March 6, 1982. , Dear Maudie: Enclosed is 540.00 for two tickets. Would you make one out to Clara Webster and one to myself and pass them on to Clara for me as.I will be home in .rune. I also hope to be there in eighty three to celebrate. Pass on my' best regards to all of your gang. What boosters the old Sepoy Town has and I'm proud of all of you. Sincerely, "Big Jack". (Webster) To the Editor: As you may already know, the Town and Country Homentakers' Agency .exists to provide quality care in' the home for persons in Huron County who need help with homemaking or personal care. We are a registered 'charitable organization whichemploys trained homemakers throughout the county.: In 1981 the Town and Country (Homemakers provided over 52,000 hours of service, to 1,444 residents in all parts of the county. To do this, we employ approximately 80 homemakers, an executive director, a case manager, and a bookkeeper. Our board of directors is composed of volunteers, with representation from most areas of the county. We believe this Huron .County charity provides a valuable service; all of the benefits are for residents of the county and it also provides opportunity for employment. As of January 8, 1982, the hourly cost for homemaking service is $6.25. Out of this we must: pay the homemaker's wage, pay part of her travelling expense, operate the homemakers' agency, pay employee benefits. Based on ability to pay, the charge to theclient ranges from $2.00 to 56.25, and many people who need this help have difficulty paying. for it. In many'cases, the help that a homemaker can provide means that elderly or disabled people can stay in their own home; and there's no place like home! This year we have receiveda grant from the Canada Employment Development Branch to organize and conduct a door-fo-door canvass in Huron County. The canvass, Turn to page 7• redtrees by don canpbelI Early inthe morning of Mon- day, Arpril 24, 1843, three wagons moved ' south along the road' called Yonge. The middle wagon was a small 'vehicle drawn by a single -horse, and within the rails which enclosed the sides, were seven sheep. Normally it. would have beena light load for such a sturdy animal to pull, but the soft earth made the going difficult. At the front, Neil MacCrimmon led the way in a. covered wagon. This would be the conveyance for all his worldly possessions„ and the home in which he would live, not only during. the journey, but whilst he cleared the bush on his his new crown grant. The last wagon was similar to the first and carried Hamish Murdoch and his wife, Katie. Young Edward MacQueen, the step -son of Hamish, drove in the centre of -the group. He was proud of his skill at handling horses . and made no secret , of the fact to his , sister, Anne, . who sat beside ' him, and begged from time ` to time, that she might ,take the reins. "The care o' horses is frae a man and not frae a girl," Edward told her haughtily. " 'tis for a man to work and for a woman to cook the food, and nae bother wi' horses and -suchlike." The brother and sister were no different to others oftheir age. They had the same foolish tiffs, envies and jealousies between them; the . same desires to prove their importance in life, and, as is the failing with all youth, the, impetuous desire to fully. develop before their natural time. Hamish. Murdoch did not restrain Edward in his attempt to prove himself a man. His interest in the lad, had made the boy less resenting of his step -father, and besides, in the pioneer life which, lay ahead, every ounce of spunk would be .needed. Secretly, Hamish looked forward to the day when Edward would renounce , the name of his clan, and change it from MacQueen to Murdoch. - There was one member of the group_ who chose to journey on foot. Bonnie, the sheep dog ranon ahead, sniffing the bushes along the trail, and barking at animals which were emerging from the long winter. She paused now and then to _ look back, and wait for the wagon which her master drove down the road towards a new destination of hope. • In Toronto, they wouldassemble with the restof the exiled people and MacCrimmon wouldlead the way. He had never asked •himself why they should have chosen him • for such a task, and yet had he thought for a moment, he would have, realized .that he was their natural choice. Not because he was a man who seemed to have no fear, nor that he had already proven himself as a settler in a new land. He was. MacCrimmon, and the MacCrimmons . were the hereditary pipers to the clan MacLeod, whose . music had played uponthe ramparts. of Dunvegan Castle for generations. Who else but a piper leads any band of Highland people? MacCrimmon was a born leader. It was not easy to journey south. There were washouts along the road, and in places the water,was; above the hubs of the wagon wheels, On more than one occasion; they had to unhitch the horses and use ail of them to pull just one wagon across a particularly muddy section. If this was the great Yonge Street, Neil. MacCrimmon could only imagine what he would encounter gong the rough byways, and blazed trails which lay ahead. North of Hog's Hollow they paused' to eat Here they had their first taste of what their future may entail. it took some time to dry out wood to make a fire. The fried porkfrom the. salt barrel was easy • enough to cook and the bread they ate had been baked only the day before... it was lateafternoon before they approached the outskirts of Toronto, and they were pleased to see a lone rider galloping up the road to meet them. It was the Reverend Duncan MacLeod. "You have made ' good time Mac Crimmon, though I cannot think your journey has been easy. The rest of the people ire gathered on the Lakeshore,; by the riverthey call Humber. We have some 27 wagons and yours will make thirty! They are all waiting for . Flora MacCrimmon looked' down at the baby, James who nestled closely against her, and was feeding content- edly from her ' breast. She bent her head and kissed him gently on the forehead. "There ye see, did I no tell ye, ye father is a braw man? The MacLeods will no take the trail, wi'out a MacCrimmon tae lead the way! onefoot in the furrow Precious little comment has been heard about the new agriculture minister for Ontario. It is the first time in my memory and I think it is the first time in Ontario that a non -farmer has been handed the agriculture post. It seems to me the traditional rural roots of the Conserva- tive party are being eroded. When nobody with a farm background and the ability to become a voice in the Cabinet can be found in that Tory majority, something is sadly missing in Ontario. I That something, of course, is a shortage of voters from rural commun- ities. Is' it any wonder that this entire country does not have a comprehen- sive agricultural policy? The deputy - minister of agriculture, Duncan Allan, has flatly stated that Ontario does not have a long-range agricultural policy. Maybe, with his clout as the golden boy of civil servants at Queen's Park, he can devise a policy. Farmers now make up less than five per cent of the population. They no longer have a voting clout. Perhaps Mr. Timbrell's appointment is a harbinger of things to come. He was given a warm welcome a couple of weeks ago, at the annual meeting of the Ontario Cattlemen's Association. He frankly admitted that he doesn't know much about farming buta promised to be a good ,listener. Certainly, Premier Davis' position is that ministers do not need to have professional experience relating to their portfolios. At 35, Timbrell is the youngest Cabinet minister who has leadership ambitions. He represents the Don Mills riding, a Toronto suburb of highrises and single-family homes where the only things that sprout and grow are children and television aerials, a far cry from the realities of the back forty. It is true, too, that many of the problems worrying farmers have little or nothing to do with the way they plant and grow crops or fatten cattle or. raise hogs or chickens. Their problems are far more political than simply growing grain. High interest rates, low returns, marketing .policies, high input costs, income stabilization, subsidies and estate taxes, to name just a : , few problems, cannot not be solved completely by. politics and politicians, Government plans and decisions,how- ever, can go a long 'way to help the beleaguered agricultural sector. • It is probably career planning at its best as far as Timbirell is concerned, He certainly performed with aplomb in the high-profile health ministry, The Tories have an aversion to choosing. leaders from Toronto and Timbrell's insistence on getting the agriculture'. portfolio may be his method of disspelling that mistrust of Hogtown among rank -and -file party members. Some of the leadership hopefuls - in fact, all the big guns - are from Toronto ridings: Larry Grossman. Roy McMurtry, Tom Wells, Bette Steph- enson, Robert Elgie. For Timbrell to make a name for himself in the agriculture and food ministry. would raise his stature among farmers and throughout the party. It .might wash the stigma of Toronto from 'his name. • Those who think Bill Davis is an idiot should view this recent Cabinet shakeup as one the smartest moves ever made by a very brilliant politic- ian. All the would-be successors to his post as party leader have been given portfolios that will force them to fish or cCbait. They will have to perform prhperly to gain the respect and ad- miration of the people and, most of all, the party faithful. When they stumble, it will be in front of everybody and Mr. Davis will be the one to chuckle if they do. ' It would appear that most farmers have adopted a wait-and-see attitude with Dennis the Menace. He, too,is a smart politician.: In a few years, We may be suggesting that he is as ,bril- liant politically as his present boss.