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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1988-02-03, Page 4Page 4 —Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, February 3, 1988 L P.O. Box 400, Lucknow, Ontario NOG 2H0 528-2822 Established 1873 VE PIF ICO CIRCULATION PATO Thomas Thompson -Advertising Manager Subscription rates in advance: Rob Bundy -Editor • Pat Livingston -General Manager 51700 Outside Canada $6090 $1 490 Outside Canada $5800 Senior Citizen Second class mailing reg. no. 0847 Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not .be charged for, but the balance of the advertisment will be paid at the applicable rates. Decision creates uproar Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the nation's abortion law. In a 5-2 decision, they ruled that section 251 of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional because it denies the rights of women -- the rights to life, liberty and security of the person. The court's judgement has not only overturned a previous decision by. the Ontario Court of Appeal, it has also, in its decision, given Dr. Henry Morgentaler the legal right to continue his abortion practices in Win- nipeg, Montreal and Toronto. Although last Thursday's decision says the current laws governing abortions in Canada are unconstitutional, the ruling does not mean women can get an abortion on demand. However, the Supreme Court's decision does mean that until the federal government decides how to respond to the ruling, any doctor performing an abortion cannot be charged. While doctors are free from any charges at this time, no doctor is bound to perform an abortion. The woman must still find a doctor who is willing to perform this medical act. In making the decision, the court struck down the 19 -year-old legisla- tion governing abortions. Under the old legislation, abortion was legal if a committee of three physicians at an accredited hospital determin- ed that a woman's life or health would be in danger if the pregnancy were to continue. Abortion in Canada was not fairly applied across Canada under the now defunct legislation -- Prince Edward Island has no hospitals which offer legal abortion, while in Quebec, abortions were easily available. The strictness of this law was turning women to abortion clinics, such as Morgentaler's, and travelling to the United States (where abortions may be performed later in the pregnancy). While the Supreme Court's decision.has created an uproar between the pro-life and pro -choice groups, there is no doubt that the abortion debate is far from over. Although this may seem like a dramatic step to some, to others it is only a step that has been waiting to be taken for a long time. L.D., 70 years ago January 31, 1918 The fuel situation - There is now a very real scarcity of fuel in Lucknow, but Lucknow is only one of hundreds of villages and towns that feel the pinch of the fuel shortage. Lucknow citizens were getting along fairly well until about a week ago when the pinch was really felt. Some are competely out of wood and are able to keep their stoves going only by borrowing wood from neighbours. Of course we were warned of the coming scarcity months ago but what could be done? The dealers could not get more coal and there was little wood cut in the sur- roundhng country. High prices induced a number of farmers who have timber to undertake the job of cutting the wood. Then came the big snow storm which made bush work very difficult. We understand that the price of $4.00 per cord is being paid for anymood that can be found. SENTINEL MEMOIRS It's happening already. I knew it would eventually but had hoped not so soon. The real fear is - it won't stop for a long time and will just get worse and worse. Yep, the politicians are expecting a Federal election to be called for this fall and seem to. be falling all over themselves trying to get into the public eye. . Maybe we just notice it more here at the . newspaper. Everyday, starting about two weeks ago, this of desk has been piled high with political press releases, messages to take pictures of some official type in a suit as he announces a $57 government grant to aid single -parent grain farmers against the criuse missle, and other such political propaganda. The Liberals want anti -free trade stories. The P.C.'s would "really ap- preciate" a pro -free trade article and the NDPers would like anything they can get. The pressure is incredible, let me tell you. The thing is, and I've noticed this -for a long time, once we do finally make it through the hand kissing and baby shaking of an election campaign and elect a government to represent us, we spend the next four or five years complaining about them! When the next election comes along, we elect the oppossition., to form the' govern- ment and then complain about them for four years! Some would say that an election cam- paign, such as the one we are probably about to embarke upon, is exciting. The mud -slinging, the name-calling, the pro- mises, the smiles...it's the democratic way to get a nice office in Ottawa. I say most of us get sick of politicians soon enough after they get elected, so why push it and start invading our space while the call to the polls is only speculation. I do my very best to stay apolitical dur- ing election campaigns, I have to. What I'd really like to do is ignore the whole bunch of them until about a week before the elec- tion, then seriously look at the issues and make a decision. Why do we have to strecth it out over months and months? I realize this is a very cynical approach to the whole process, but as far as I'm con- cerned, the best man to run the country is the guy who's honest, a bit wise, and hard- working. ON THE SIDE He's not the one with the most colourful press releases, or the the one who gets his name in the paper the most, or the one -who promises the largest municipal grant. Unfortunately, that is the guy who will probably get elected. I get the Hansard Official Report of the House of Commons Debates here at the Sentinel. Most of it is pretty dry to say the least, but recently I did find this little bit of dialouge between two elected officials. I think it shows that we don't always make the right choice when we vote and that politicians are just people like the rest of us, not demi-gods who should get their names in the paper any more than the kid who scores the overtime goal in the PeeWee championship. • These are the actual words spoken bet- ween Mr. Dingwall, the member represen- ting Cape Breton, and Mr. Forrestall, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Regional Industrial Expansion: Mr. Dingwall: Go sit in a brook. Your mind is as clear as fog. Mr. Forrestall: That nonsense isn't deserving of a response. Mr. Dingwall: Oh, oh! .Mr. Forrestall: Is that all you have to say? Mr. Dingwall: It's a lot more intelligent than what you said. Mr. Forrestall: Come on outside. Mr. Dingwall: Aren't you tough. Mr. Forrestall: What did you say? Mr. Dingwall: I said, ''Aren't you tough". Mr. Forrestall: Come outside., and say that. At this point,. according to Hansard, the Acting Speaker of the House called for order and the two men sat down. Isn't it nice to see the men and women we send to Ottawa don't take their jobs TOO seriously. Now if they'd just let up on us, the poor public, during election campaigns. I feel better now. Have a good week. Agricultural Society Annual Meeting - The Annual Meeting of the Lucknow Agricultural Society was held last week and there was good attendance reported, the four neighbouring municipalities being as well represented as Lucknow itself. The treasurer's statement showed a gain of some $40 last year and in spite of the hard luck of 1916, the Society is still in good financial shape. Alex Nicholson was elected as president of the Society at the meeting. '50 years ago February 3, 1938 Attractive prize list for carnival - A monster ice carnival, under the direction of the Lucknow Arena Club, will be held in the Community Hall on Tuesday evening, February 15. A fine variety of events is being arrang- ed and door prizes, costume and race prizes, will be offered to the amount of $100. Many of the prizes are on display in the window of Huston's Barber Shop. Posters around town tell the whole story. 25 years ago February 6, 1963 Sale Negotiations - Negotiations are cur- rently being carried on for the sale of the Beatty Ladder Factory in Lucknow, and if they are successfully finalized, the new in- dustry gives considerable promise to being a much larger operation than in the past. Ladder production at the local plant was gradually tapered off over the past few weeks with periodical staff reducions as well. On Friday, the factory closed completely. A spokesman for the Beatty Bros. con - fir ned that negotiations for the sale of the plant were being carried on and that the Beatty firm was satisfied with the offer and are ready to close the deal. 10 years ago February 1, 1978 Worst in a decade - The bottom dropped out of the barometer last Thursday and the storm described as a winter •hurricane struck southern Ontario and parts of the northern United States causing death and damage. The barometer fell to a record low in the 108 years the readings have been recorded. Hurricane force winds were measured at nearly 80 miles an hour, causing a blinding blizzard that blew up within minutes pelting the country with icy rain. Everything in Lucknow, including the Bank of Montreal, was closed for the day. Huron Federation circulates petition - The Ontario Federation cf Agriculture is submitting a proposal for a corn marketing board without agency powers to the Ontario government.