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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1966-01-27, Page 9It Takes More Than Buildings There is no question that the Public School Board is doing the proper thing in planning a new school building. It is needed for a number of reasons that have been presented at various stages. While the new buildings will provide better facilities, it is our opinion that the time has come when the board should give serious consideration to the establish- ment of second language training in the school, and that the second language should be French. There are, we know, a good many people who will fail to agree that French • should be taught in Ontario elementary schools. They probably don't have child- ren who reach the secondary school level and find that French is a required langu- age for university entrance. From every study on the subject which we have read, and only the other day we noted one by an authority in London, Ontario, published in 1924, it is obvious that a second language can be learned by elementary school pupils far more readily than by the older student. Unquestionably the teaching of French in our public school would present a prob- lem for both the board and the school principal, but we do not think that the problem should be insurmountable. French is being taught in many elemen- tary schools in other parts of this pro- vince. The 1965 annual report of the Toronto Board of Education, as an example, states that French is being taught to a high per- centage of pupils in Grades VII and VIII in the system, and it is a big system. We think it is not only possible, but definitely is very desirable that second language instruction should be instituted in our school as soon as possible. Can Be An Important Meeting That the Town of Mount Forest has taken the lead in calling a meeting of area municipal representatives to discuss the business of "designated areas," we think calls for congratulations. That town has come up with the idea that all the communities in this area of Western Ontario, which are not in fast • growth zones, should team together to present a united front to the powers that be in the federal government, in an effort to have the whole region designated as a slow growth area, The northern part of Western Ontario and a band around Georgian Bay has al- ▪ ready been designated, with the result that industry is being attracted to communi- ties in that zone. Being a designated area can make the difference when an industry decides to establish outside Metro Toronto. In the first place there are definite tax advan- • tages, and perhaps more important there are outright grants of considerable pro- portion on capital expenditure. So far the government has used the figures supplied by district unemployment offices as the basis of naming designated slow growth areas. This is not a sound criterion. In the case of most smaller centres in this region, the employment offices will show almost no unemployment. And for a simple reason. As soon as a man is unemployed for any length of time in Wingham, he heads for the bright lights of the city. This does not mean that we are not in a slow growth area. In com- parison to the Golden Horseshoe we might just as well be at the north pole as far as growth is concerned, regardless of the fact that we are only two hours from Canada's centre of population. Wingham Council last week agreed to support the Mount Forest resolutions call- ing for consideration by the Federal Gov- ernment and will send representatives to the meeting next month. Anything less would have been folly of the worst kind. Get The Garbage Out Of Town haps it would work out reasonably well except for the fact that invariably some individual with a big load of flammable garbage touches a match to the heap and then the fire smolders for days and weeks. If there is anything more loathsome than the smell of burning offal, we have yet to experience it. Surely we are not so hard up for fill that this spot must continue to be used as a public garbage heap. When the wind blows from the west, which it does almost continually in the wintertime, the people who live in the lee of the dump have to eat, sleep and work with its foul smell in their noses. There is every good rea- son to question even the legality of using an area so close to human habitations for this purpose. Why not get the garbage out of town? Doesn't Pay To Be Uninsured Anyone who read last week's issue of The Advance-Times and noted the new daily rate for hospital ward care should be finally convinced that Ontario Hos- pitalization Insurance is indeed a neces- sity. Without this coverage even a brief illness in hospital would break the person of ordinary income. At $23.85 per day the total would run up very rapidly. Admittedly most people do carry hos- pitalization insurance, but surprisingly, there are still some who don't, either through oversight or in a spirit of reck- • less confidence that they will never see the inside of a hospital ward as patients. To the uninitiated the $23.85 rate may seem like highway robbery, but it must be borne in mind that this rate covers not only bed care but drugs, special nursing where necessary, and many other services which were formerly charged as separate items in addition to the daily bed rate. No hospital makes any profit. They are all operated on a cost basis, no matter where they are located. If you still have not registered for hospitalization insurance this recent rate increase at the Wingham and District Hos- pital should serve as an urgent reminder to do something about it right away. Give Them A Boost • Don't forget that this is Minor Hockey Week. And don't forget that without minor hockey Wingham would have no hockey at all. Visiting Detroit teams are scheduled to play exhibition games with the Wing- ham boys next Saturday. Make sure you are in the arena to cheer the youngsters along. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited. W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert 0. Wenger, Secretary-Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers ASsociation. Authorized by the Post Office Department as Second Class Mail and for payment of postage in cash. Subscription Rate: 1 year, $5.00; 6 months, $2.75 in advance; U.S.A., $7.00 per yr.; Foreign rate, $7.00 per yr, Advertising Rates on application. The residents of (Diagonal Road and the entire south-east section of the town must be a patient lot. Day after day all winter their nostrils are assailed by naus- or eous smoke and their homes invaded by rats — because all the refuse from the community is being dumped practically in their back yards. In the summer months the town dumps its garbage out in the country, where its presumably causes no unpleas- antness because it has no near neighbors. But in the winter the town sends the re- fuse to the low spot back of McClure Motors and the Joe Kerr Construction pro- perties, where the fill it creates is used to build up the level of the lots and so, eventually, creates usable land area. In theory this is fine, but in practice it is something less than desirable. Per- 0 Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, Jan. 27, 1966 SECOND SECTION bliancleatZimit Try This On Sadists Huronview, Ont., January, 1966 Dear Mr. Editor: It has occurred to the writer that a short news item from Huronview might be of interest to many of your readers. As we are now well into the new year; 1966, may I send greetings and best wishes to our friends from many parts of the county, and thank them for their gestures of kindness, visits and greeting cards to residents here in our home. They have all been so much appreciated. The year that is just closed has been a time of change at Huronview. So many of our fellow residents, whom we have come to know and respect, have passed on and others have taken their places. But I suppose that is as it should be. We all grow old together. The evening shadows deepen around us, the hush of night and the fading horizon all make a mystery and a silence around us, and we are filled with a longing for the years far off and forgotten. JANUARY 1917 The public school board met in the secretary's office on Mon- day evening, Secretary, J.F. Groves in the chair. The elec- tion of the newly elected trus- tees was certified. Mr. T. R. Bennett was elected chairman and the re-elected trustees are Messrs L. Bisbee, A. E. Lloyd and H. E. Isard, Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Jas. Stewart of Wingham, visited relatives in Bluevale last week. The first meeting of the High School Literary Society for this term was held on Jan. 3rd. Miss Janet Kerr, 1st vice- pres. , occupied the chair. The program was as follows: piano solo, Miss Ruby Hewer; read- ing, Miss Mary Connell; piano duet, Miss Jeanette McKee and Miss Gladys McCallum; critic's remarks, Mr. Butcher. JANUARY 1931 Word has been received Torn the Civil Service. Com- mission, Ottawa, in regard to :he Civil Service Examinations which were held in this centre pn October 14th. The marks ar- ained by the four local candi- Jates were: Jean Currie 89.6; Alba Carter 83; Florence Smith 76.2, Mae Chapman 76. Mr. and Mrs. John T. Len- *lox, Catherine St, received natty congratulations on Janu- ary 16th, it being the thirtieth The residents here, for the most part, are quite content in the environment in which they are placed. Quite naturally we miss our homes, but we feel quite secure under the care of our superintendent and his staff who, I believe, are working harmoniously for the welfare of the folks in their charge. Our superintendent, Mr. Johnston, has been laid aside for some time by sickness, but we are glad to report that he is back with us again and we are hoping that he will soon be re- stored to normal health. Our surroundings are very pleasant and our living quarters and corridors are all kept very clean and tidy. We have a large library and reading room with a collection of some 700 books, and many other things in the way of en- tertainment. And so we can look forward and pray for con- tinued blessing in 1966. Drop in and see us some- time. Sincerely, R. Henry Leishman, anniversary of their wedding. Mr. E. V. "Red" Richards of town, district supervisor of the Supertest Company, has been promoted to wholesale manager at London. Mr. Rich- ards expects to move his fam- ily to London. A meeting of general inter- est was held in the schoolhouse this week for the purpose of or- ganizing the Bluevale Literary and Debating Society. The fol- lowing officers were elected: President, J. C. Higgins; first vice-president, Charles John- ston; second vice-president, Mrs. Alex Mowbray; secretary- treasurer, Miss Pearl Mathers; press secretary, Miss M. Olive Scott; pianist, Miss Margaret Garniss and Arthur Shaw; con- venor of program committee, J. C. Higgins. JANUARY 1952 Miss Mary Procter, daugh- ter of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart Procter, who graduated from Stratford General Hospital last June, has now successfully pass- ed her examinations and quali- fied as a Reg. Nurse. She has accepted a position on the staff of Wingham General Hospital. John Hanna, M. P. P. return- ed last week from a seven weeks' holiday in Miami, Flori- da, where he reported temper- atures of from 70 to 85 and an A good many people. decent, kindly, warm-hearted in most respects, have a morbid streak. They get a big vicarious bang out of the gruesome or the gory. Eyes glinting, voices lowered, they discuss with relish Aunt Sadie's cancer of the liver, the weekend accident in which a pill a r of the community smashed his pelvis while head- ing for the city with his mis- tress, or Uncle George's ad- vanced dropsy. It's a shame, then, to disap- point these people when there's a chance to add a little color to their lives. This week I had that chance. I cut my foot rather badly. Nothing serious, but enough to give me a good heavy limp. It happened on the weekend, and Monday morning I was ready for them. The first eager enquirer caught me just inside the door, as I arrived for work. What was it? Bad fall and a bro. ken ankle? Hopefully. Arthritis getting unbearable? Coyly. No, no, nothing as simple as that, 1 assured her. I explained that my wife and I had been practising our karate on Satur- day night, as usual. Growing bored with smashing those big dents in the refrigerator with the sides of our hands, we'd de- cided to try some footwork. I'd launched a jump-kick at my wife's teeth. She, a real karate expert, had stuck out her tongue, and it was so sharp she'd opened a four-inch gash in my foot. Four inches deep. that is. 1 don't know whether the lady who'd asked believed me. I just walked off and left her standing there, mouth open, eyes slight- ly crossed. The next enquiry came from enormous building boom in pro- gress. The Wingham Town Hall will get a long needed face lift- ing soon, as well as a new ven- tilation system, the council de- cided Monday night at the regu- lar council meeting. A Wingham rink placed third at the Paisley Bonspiel on January 18, with 2 wins plus 13. The rink consisted of R. Hob- den, D. McDougall, R.S. Hetherington and Jas. Carr, skip. Huron County Council, in session in Goderich on Tuesday afternoon elected Harvey John- ston, reeve of Morris Township, as warden of the county for the year 1952. one of those loudmouths who like to embarrass one in front of a group, He tried. Loudly. "Whada do? Get drunk and fall down the cellar stairs, ho-ho?" Not at all, I told him calmly. I'd got drunk, been locked out, slept in a snowbank all night. wakened with a frozen foot. and had had to have three toes am- putated. I asked him if he'd like one as a souvenir. but he didn't seem too keen. The next customer was a mal- icious old bat who looks like the flower, but in reality is the ser• pent under't. "Been fighting with your wife again? It's about time she put her foot down. On yours, hee-hee." "Well, we weren't exactly fighting," I told her. "I had the shotgun out and was just trying to scare her a little, just in fun. when the darn thing went off and blew a hole in my foot the size of an orange. Wanta see?" She turned green and started to sway. so I left her. A fourth interrogator, a young lady who loves trouble — other people's, that is — came up to me, eyes glistening, and solicitously hoped it was noth- ing serious. I said not really. just a few severed tendons. Nev- er he able to wiggle my toes again, but lucky to get off so ea- sily. 'After all, it was a 30-foot drop." Gaping, she pursued, "What in the world happened?" "Nothing much, I fell off the roof and landed on one of the iron spikes in the front porch railing." "But what in the world were you doing up on the roof, in the middle of winter? You must have been out of your mind!" "Oh, no. not really. I was just trying to get my wife to come down out of the tree," And that shut her up. As the day went on. 1 told other vultures that: A Grey- hound bus had stopped on top of my foot and didn't move until the lights changed: the foot had been burned beyond recognition by a faulty electric blanket: that my (laughter had been helping In chop kindling for the fire• place, missed, and lopped off all but my littlest toe. Getting my coat in the cloak- room at the end of a pretty in- teresting day. I heard two le- male colleag4s, unaware of in) presence, reconstructing the ac- cident. "Drunk as a billy-goat, they say, and climbing a tree after black squirrels, with a shotgun." "No. no. I heard he'd gone af- ter his wife and kids with the axe, and dropped it on his foot." I limped off. Quietly. Tri- umphantly. In th Editor's Mail REM INISCI G The medieval astrologers also forecasted the weather. id