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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1978-06-21, Page 371' LCUe1'S Ieate• Image BY STEVEN DILLS Letters to the editor, are important. portray the pulse of the community. They reveal unsolved problems and criticize others. They show concern about specific subjects. And they provide criticism about local issues. The letters are, in most papers,' the best read part of the newspaper. A recent survey by The Advance in Liverpool, N.S., found the letters to the editor column topped the readership list. Politicians, government bureaucrats and others concerned with solving people problems refer to the letters column regularly. During one recent controversy. in an Ontario region a Hydro spokesman was heard to say they didn't really care what the newspaper had to say about the story. It was the readers' letters that` they concentrated on most. George Cadogan, publisher of the North Shore Leader, Newcastle, N.B. offered a couple of suggestions regard- ing letters to the editor during one of his presentations at the Atlantic Commun- ity Newspapers Association Semi- annual meeting recently. His most important point on this subject was "if you've got somebody involved enough to write a letter it's a big story:—Put a big headline on it." In this way, he pointed out, you are giving the little guy a break. He also pointed to his own paper as an example where it is not uncustomary to see a six column head on a letter to the editor. Most publishers agree letters to the editor are important. They portray the side of a story not always covered. One Ontario columnist wrote at length, last October, about the lack of a letter to the editor that week. "The' editor wanted to have a word with us. Seems that management was upset. "Do you reporters realize that we are reaching deadline and we don't have one letter to the editor. Not one 1 What kind • of newspaper is this?" The columnist went on to say, "Several people probably sat down and wrote a scathing letter against the paper and its editorial policy but refused to mail.it just to make us squirm. The ploy was working. "Before anyone could offer a reason- able excuse the editor continued. "What's a newspaper without letters to the editor? Nothing. It means we just aren't doing our job and we may well be the laughing stock of the typewriter set. "What kind of reporting staff have we got here that couldn't entice even one reader out of thousands to scribble a disgusting little note to the editor? "Surely we must have transposed some of the columns -of type so a story jumped around and was impossible to read. We are at least capable of that on a regular basis." "What is so different about this week than any other week when letters to the editor pour into the office about our nasty little errors that seem to occur without much effort. "It has always been our editorial policy. There will always be readers who desperately scan every inch of the newspaper copy in search of a little error or two. And we generally insert a small faux pas here and there just to please that small percentage of the reading public. It would be unfair to cater to one segment of our readership. "And as we all hung our heads in " shame in view of the fact that the Signal -Star would be published without one letter to the editor, we vowed that this week our facts would be distorted, our pictures fuzzy and we may even make up a few names in identifying faces. We hope you find the mistakes. "After all, without a letter to the editor, a newspaper is like being ' the best man at a wedding attired in a new tuxedo and beat up North Stars or rudely belching after hors de'oeuvres at a political party fund raising dinner, while sitting at the head table. "But as you can judge from the tenure of the column the reporters of the pulsating newsroom are rather subdued these days. So please writ! and tell the editor this column is the worst dribble any . self respecting newspaper subscriber \was subjected to. "It would make us all feel Metter." The above segments (only a few lines missing from the column) are from the Goderich Signal Star by columnist Dave Sykes. But getting back to the letters to the editor and their effectiveness I remem- ber hearing a while ago about the great changes letters to the editor columns have had on different communities. At one paper, the editor and reporter found their tirade against local politic- ians in. the editorial column was not working well. Apparently, though, without any second thoughts the two collaborated on a letter to the editor campaign as concerned citizens of the town and the results were much greater. The politicians, of course, knowing their re-election depends on catering to people's wishes were, in this particular town, more anxious to keep the constit- uents happy than to heed the paper's message until after a community resident had voiced the same opinion. (This paper used pseudonyms as long as the writer was identified to the editor of the paper.) The above goes to point out that although there have been many changes in papers over the past few years in newspapers, the letters to the editor columns will continue to be ' an important part of any newspaper, , no matter how many opinion columnists the paper has. And the columns give the ordinary person, who gets mad seldom a chance and a place to air his or her views on a specific issue which usually affects a large segment of your conimunity. (The Publisher) Aubrey's Observations Friends, after last weeks' article I would like todig a little deeper into my personal thoughts. I would like to write about the "Stagnation of Lucknow", as I see it personally. In thirty-five years, the town has not varied from one thousand population, gh'e some fifty either way. I know of no other word, than stagnation. In order to express my belief in progress. 1 have continued to labour under a statement that was given to me some time ago,. that sixty-two per cent of the people in Letters to the editor.. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 izing them in public requires some qualifications. Launch- ing a campaign to ban books requires something else. The memoirs of the Marquis of Sake, (1740-1814, 3 volumes) are part of French literature textbooks for most of the secondary schools in Europe. Imprisoned for years, the hale and hearty de Sade wrote about what he knew best: his erotic dreams. J. D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye"..„--- by-- sheer comparison, is the light of a candle shining on against the light of the sun. But what a candle. The memoirs of the Mar- quis of Sade (sadists) is a monument of French litera- ture. His work contains all the scholarly ingredients: the theme by its coherence and transition; the order, propor- tion and appropria mess of paragraphs; the position and arrangement of the sentenc- es; the figurative language and freshness of diction; the grammar; even the ptlnctu- atio'n and mechanics. All this punched out by a literary genius. 250 years from now, J. D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye" will be probably rem- embered as the typical North American connection which brought young men in diffi- culty in touch with themselv- es. The Catcher in the Rye narrates the inner bravado of a minor. The unadornate inner language, of a drop-out facing the system and its ramifications for the first time isnot the language of a choirboy. However, no one knows what a choirboy is thinking in petto. People who consider J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye blasphemous and obscene should have the grit and the basic integrity to write two to three pages about their own erotical dreams and secret desires. Who knows. With the right formation, self-discipline, love for hard work and a touch of brazenness, maybe they might add some literary monument to make up the deficit of the Canadian literary scene. Yours sincerely, A. Joe Legrand, The Belgian Smith, Amberley, Ontario. Lucknow are of the retirement age. This is possible, but 1 have no actual proof ofthis. Not one ofthose statements are of legal standing, they are what different people have told me, simply hearsay, but basing my thoughts on this condition, I would like to make a few remarks based on my own thoughts. First of all, why the local standstill? Why not some achievement in the village? The only answer I can think of, is that the large percentage of these people are quite happy to own their own homes and keep everything quite right inside their own lot line, keeping their house well painted, their yard. -and garage well cared for. After doing this, they are quite content to walk in the door and pick their favourite chair, then sit down on their "assets", and let the rest of the world go by. Somehow, there must be a certain amount of truth in this or there would have been a definite change in this period of time. We had a good substantial factory, that is now leveled to the ground. Next to it was a sawmill, now in ruins„•while just a few short miles from town there is one running to capacity. Why? Silverwoods have moved out, another why? A large number of merchants have sold their businesses and other people have come in and are carrying on the store, or whatever other term you want to use to describe it. The only real manufacturing business is outside the corporation limits, and the amount of farm machinery occupying formally tillable ground, is in my opinion a great mistake on somebody's part. Why can we not have a committee of at least five men, who believe in their home town to try and have, if not those businesses, have others, that would be paying taxes to relieve the strain on the municipality. I, personally, am of the firm belief that there is business enough right here to make it a very successful venture for at least four more new car dealerships in this town, just' one su estion. gg ,. ,... In estimating the country surrounding this town, why not larger stores so that the general public would buy at home instead of driving miles to get the product they want. Yes, I believe in progress,, and I believe in it here at home. A lady told me today, that her entire family of six had all gone to other towns to find work. In my estimation, there is some one or rather some group that are shirking their responsibility to the people of Lucknow to permit the town to stay -stagnate and just let things take care of themselves. Even the new community centre was built by an organization of town people. Yes, , I believe in progress from where it should come. Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, June 28; 1978 .Page 5 ,7 1e column that's r..d for a,pumas* .: . I iA1APi by Scotty Hamilton Mail your problems to "Impact” c/o t, is paper All tetters will be answered provided a stamped addressed envelope is enclosed. Some of general interest will be published. Letters must, be signed but wwe will NOT reveal your identity. . NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE "These Questions anti Answers based on Ontario Law, are published to inform and not to advise. No one should try to apply or interpret the law without the aid and advice of a trained expert who knows the facts, since the facts of each -case may change the application of the law." A Syndicated Canadian Newspaper Feature LETE FLOWER SERVICE DESIGNERS TO SERVE • YOU QUICKLY & EFFICIENTLY DAILY DELIVERY TO LUCKNOW. TEESWATER BRUSSELS. GORRIE & ALL POINTS IN BETWEEN COUNT ON OUR EXPERIENCE TO SERVE YOU WITH THE VERY REST IN FLORAL PRODUC TS LEWIS FLOWERS 357-3880 135 FRANCES WINGHAM SA SEPOY DRIVE-IN Restaurant • FULL COURSE MEALS • DAILY SPECIALS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK Mon. -Sat. 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. SUN. 10 A.M.-MIDNIGHT LUCKNOW 525-2034 1 am writing you this letter on behalf of my elderly Mother who is a widow, living alone. She is a spry and healthy 82 years old but is not too good at writing. However she has her "dander" up about the large amount of "junk mail that finds itself into her mail box with great regularity. I really am at a loss to know how so many different types of firms have her name in the first place, because outside of a few local flyers we don't get any of this "junk mail", [thank goodness!] anyway she wants to put a stop to this and wonders, as I do, if it can be done, and if so, how does she go about doing it? We both enjoy your column and thank you for any advice you might be able to give us. .Yes, there is a way! Drop a note on behalf of your mother to the: CANADIAN DIRECT MAIL MARKETING ASSOCIATION, 130 Merton Street, Toronto M4S 1A4 and advise them that you want a form to have your Mother's name removed from all mailing lists. Then all you do is to complete and return the form and the CDMMA will then advise their member companies accordingly. C. A. BECKER EQUIPMENT LIMITED JnGemaf afl if di Sales Service Rentals , Field test a new '86 tractor to -day! LUCKNOW 529-7993 My parents claim that at nineteen years of age I am now an adult and should therefore have a will made, but since I own very little personal property and no real estate I really can't see the sense. What is your opinion on this matter? Though making a will at your age is not essential, it is nevertheless a wise idea. A will lets you give your property to whomever you wish (with some limitations if you are married), whereas, if you die without a will (intestate), the Devolution of Estates Act decides where your property Will go. It is up to you who you want controllingyour property after you die. If you died unmarried and Without a will, your closest next of kin (your parents and brothers and sisters) will take the property under the Act. Remember, a will is freely revocable, destructible and alterable. It costs very little and lets you appoint who is to manage and distribute your belongings. Before making any will, have a chat with a lawyer first. —