HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1996-04-17, Page 44—THE MIAOW EXPOSITOR, Ape1N 17, 111115
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Published weekly by Signal-Stor Publishing at 1100 Main St., Seaforth. Publication
moil registration No. 0696 held at Seoforth, Ontario. Advertising is accepted on
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Wednesday, April 17, 1996
Editorial and Business Offices - 100 Main Street.,Seaforth
Telephone (519) 527-0240 Fax (519) 527-2858
Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69,
Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1 WO
Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper
Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association
and the Ontario Press Council
Letters to the Editor
Revealed salary changes public
outing for education director
Editor's Note: The follow-
ing was not a letter to this
newspaper but included in
the most recent edition of
Huron County Board of
Education's regular newslet-
ter Did you know that.... We
feel publishing it presents
another side on the topical
issue of salary disclosure,
recently made mandatory by
the Ontario government for
employees making $100,000
or more, in public bodies
receiving tax dollars. Mr.
Carroll is Director of
Education for the Huron
board. His salary was dis-
closed a couple of weeks ago
under the new legislation.
Dear Mike Harris,
Thanks for getting me on
the front page of my local
paper this week - as one of
those over -paid fat cats at the
public trough. It sure changed
the tone of my visit to the
Seaforth Home and Garden
Show last night. The topic of
my salary was introduced by
the first folks my wife and !
met just as we entered the
door. And twice more before
leaving! It's going to be fun
for my kids too - but then
they've put up with snide
comments about my 'wealth'
from their friends for years...
It's too bad the disclosure
law doesn't tell the rest of the
story: like the some $55,000 I
pay in taxes, and the several
thousand dollars I give in
charitable donations each
year. I didn't see any men-
tion, either, of my voluntary
5% salary reduction that
rebated about $16,000 to
board coffers over the last
three years - above and
beyond the Social Contract
requirements. A lifetime of
volunteer community service
time goes unheeded too. My
salary should be.no secret -
but I'm not sure it warrants
front page status either!
I'm a lot better off than
many, Mike. But I'm not
overpaid: Look across public
and private sector executive
compensation levels - and
like the rest of Huron Public
Education spending, we're at
the bottom of that barrel too!
Thanks, Mike! A lot of
folks said I was a damned
fool seeking this job. I am
beginning to think they were
right.
Paul Carroll
Seaforth, ON
Disappointed with Bell
Editor's Note: The follow-
ing. is the text of the letter
sent by town clerk Jim
Crocker by request of
Seaforth Council on March
13 to Robert Nei!!, account
executive for Bell Canada, in
response to his previous cor-
respondence with the town
indicating an upgrade for the
town's existing telephone
switching system is too costly
for Be!! to consider at this
time.
Dear Mr. Neill,
Thank you for your letter of
February. 12, 1996, which
was considered at the regular
March meeting of Seaforth
Council.
i have been directed to
advise yOu that members of
Council arc very disappoint-
ed with the position of Bell
Canada on this matter, and
have referred the issue to a
committee for a review of
further action by thc Town. i
don't know; at this time, what
direction further action will
take, but I do know Council
is prepared to go public with
this issue and pursue a bene-
fit for their ratepayers that is
enjoyed by the majority of
'ie province, and certainly in
ommunities much smaller
nan ours.
The people of the Scaforth
area are continually bom-
barded by promotions, adver-
tising, and telephone surveys
on services and technology
provided by Bell Canada that
are not available to them.
these people are looking to
Seaforth Council for support
and Scaforth Council intends
to pursue every avenue avail-
able to them to convince Bell
Canada that the community
deserves digital technology
now.
i will keep in touch.
Yours very truly,
James Crocker
New Canadian fails to see
humour in April Fool's joke
Dear Editor,
As a new citizen of Canada
and Seaforth, one thing that
will let you know about the
community is a local newspa-
per. Thc Huron Expositor is
to my opinion a great local
newspaper. Much to my sur-
prise 1 read in the April 3,
1996 issue about the Kippen
Militia. Understanding that
this is what you call an April
Fool's joke, i fail to see the
humour.
Having lived close to the
German border in Holland i
have seen the upcoming of
Neo -Nazism in Germany,
France, Belgium and even
parts of Holland. Many peo-
ple of different colour, tongue
or faith have been killed in
the past couple of years by
CONTINUED on page 6
Opinion
Canada wins world weird championship
As you know, March is the
third month of the modern
Gregorian calendar. It corre-
sponds with the Roman
month of Martius and was
named after the famous
March brothers -.Groucho,
Harpo and Chico. •
Am I the only one who
believes that the month of
March consistently produces
the weirdest human behavior
of the entire year? Never
mind Ronnie Boothe, the
Indiana woman who knocked
back a jug of vodka and then
used a shotgun to remove a
callous on her big toe. Her
toe ain't that big no more.
Never mind Alfie; the bor-
der collie in Plymouth,
England who got tired of
waiting outside a store for his
owner so he hopped on the
bus and went home. The cor-
rect bus, the right stop.
Never mind Richard Barber
of Kansas who after admit-
ting murdering his dentist,
tied dental floss around his
neck and jumped off a ledge.
He's just a little taller today.
Never mind the guy in
Michigan who failed to rob a
Burger King because the kid
at the counter said the till
wouldn't open without regis-
tering an order and then
wouldn't punch in the rob-
ber's order because they
don't serve onion rings
before 11 a.m. Bureaucracy is
taking the fun out of every-
thing.
Never mind the Brazilian
farmer who was released
J
William 1
Thomas
from 13 years in a cage by
his wife and her lover and
says "there's nohard feel-
ings."
Never mind the Russian
machinists who, due to a
shortage of rubles, are now
being paid in Chinese -made
brass. Some of them probably
could use a little lift. -
Never mind all that because
the real dillies of March mad-
ness are domestic.
In Peterborough, Ontario
last month Gerald Dixon was
convicted for robbing the
Bank of Montreal. He was
arrested a few hours after the
heist depositing the loot IN
HIS OWN ACCOUNT, AT
THE SAME BANK.
I don't think they should
have charged him at all. I
think they should have fea-
ttied Gerry in all the bank's
ads as a model of customer
loyalty.
It was touch and go at the
trial. Guilty, he faced serious
prison time, not guilty he
stood to win a toaster and a
chance at a Caribbean cruise.
Gerry Dixon was sentenced
to six years in prison. -But
remember, that's "Canadian
prison years" sohe's proba-
bly out by now.
And we're also letting the
rest of the world know we -
come from the land of the,
loony.
A group of Canadian
tourists, 58 to be exact, on a
flight about to land in Cairo
were hijacked by
Palestinians, flown to the
country of Libya where they
had lunch with dictator and
all-around great guy
Moammar Gadhafi and then
flown back to Cairo.
Laughing and lunching in a
hotel cafeteria in Benghazi,
the Canadians took turns pho-
tographing the Libyan dicta-
tor, a feast the CIA has never
been able to duplicate despite
20 years of trying.
They said that Gadhafi gave
them a talk on Libyan
tourism and urged them to
come back again some day
for a vacation. I imagine the
Canadian response was :..
we'll call you and please,
don't send the tour guides to
get us.
The Canadians were
unharmed and unshaken,
showing anger only when
they were told that the
unscheduled flight to Libya
and back, doesn't count on
their frequent flier points
plan.
And finally, the Canadian
Football League which has
moved to and then out of
more cities than missing spy
informant Grant Bristow, did
us proud once again in
March. ,
During their college draft
meetings, the Montreal
Alouettes selected a dead guy
in the fifth round. This is
true.
Last year at their annual -
draft meetings, the Ottawa
Rough Riders of the CFL
also drafted a deceased
American player.
Desperate to bring fans to
the ball park, some believe.
the CFL plans to dress dead
guys this season ling to
attract Gerry G Ircia tallow
ers.
But that's not the strange
part. No, the strange part in
that when Leafs G.M. Cliff
Fletcher found out that
Montreal had drafted a dead
guy, he offered them Todd
Gill and two minor leaguers.
. Please, sign the bottom of
this column and hang it on
your well, like you would a
certificate. You survived the
month of March. You earned
it. Hope spring's eternal.
Editor's Note: Scott's
Thoughts will return next
week (if Dave posts bail at
the Kippen jail).
Reader tells Thomas where Egmondville is
Editor's Note: The follow-
ing is a letter to columnist
William Thomas.
Dear William,
I never heard of New York
until today. That's what my
Uncle Tom told a policeman
when the policeman asked
'where is Egmondville?' That
Was in 1939 at the World's
Fair. Uncle Tom said, 'I fixed
him - Egmondville was
named after my great -great-
grandfather Co!. Van
Egmond. He had a contract to
build part of the Huron tract
and was given land for ser-
vices!'
We do not have a down-
town, only one grocery store
and it's called 'Egmondville
Store' - rather unique don't
you think? -
Tlfanks for your written let-
ter to me: If you ever make it
big (as a writer) I could pos-
sibly make some money sell-
ing this autographed letter.
Then again if you end up in
jail I would have to keep it
and that might create a prob-
lem for my grandchildren.
Well I won't worry until
either happens.
You asked if.I could spare
some grass as you have the
mad cow disease. M0000000.
We live on 1/4 acre and lots
of grass but please hurry as
my husband wants to but
some goats and they are
messy. But I'm wfndering
which would have the best
disposition. I have talked to
my friends at the Tasty -Na
and we will get back to yo,
At my age, it's still 75;1
don't want any problems
with you or the goats.
Sincerely,
• Betty MacLean
P.S. By the way, where is
Wainfleet?
Carroll `misrepresenting' cause of other parties
Dear Editor,
It was with a great deal of
disappointment that I read
Paul Carroll's (and Roxanne
Brown's) 'letter to all Friends
of the Huron Public
Education System.' While I
have no doubt Mr. Carroll is suggesting an amalgama-
has a genuine concern for tion. When Carroll suggests
in his letter that he wishes to
establish a 'single school
board for Huron County, one
that provides for all sectors
and protects the language and
what -is best for the Public
School System, I am disap-
pointed that he is misrepre-
senting the cause of 'the
other parties' with whom he
religious rights of all parties,'
he makes, at worst a dishon-
est and at best a naive ges-
ture.
While I cannot speak for
the Huron Perth Separate
CONTINUED on page 6
Man shoots boy peeping in on family squabble
FROM THE PAGES OF
THE HURON EXPOSITOR
APRIL 24, 1896
A SHOOTING AFFRAY -
A shooting affray, which will
probably result seriously for
at least one person, took
place on Monday night. It
seems that Gabriel Reeves
and his better half are in the
habit of indulging in family
squabbles, which have a ten-
dency to annoy the neigh-
bours, and on the evening
mentioned one of these feuds
, took place.
A number of boys, who
were loitering in the neigh-
bourhood, heard of the affair,
and, apparently desirous of a
better view of the row, went
to Reeve's house, and while
there one of their number
threw a stone at thc door.
This drew the attention of
Reeves from domestic
affairs, and he directed him-
self to those without. Just that
he might have more weight
with the boys, he brought out
a gun with him and fired a
shot, the bullet lodging in the
left arm of Robert Boyd,
striking at the elbow and
glancing upward to the shoul-
der, from where it was
extracted by Dr. Bethune.
Reeves had his preliminary
hearing before Mayor Gray
and John Beattie, J.P., on
Tuesday afternoon, and was
committed to Goderich to
stand his trial. There can he
no doubt but the boys have
been, to a certain extent, to
blame, as they have on previ-
ous occasions annoyed thc
defendant, but their actions
certainly did not justify his
using such violent measures
to quell their annoyances.
But Reeves is known to
In the Years Agone
have a most violent temper,
which is not improved by
whisky, and on diffcrent
occasions used threatening
language to diffcrent persons
to whom he thought he owed
a grudge. Under the circum-
stances, we think that a short
term in the Central would
improve his temper, and per-
haps put him in the way of
earning an honest living.
APRIL 22, 1921
LOCAL BRIEFS - The
slcct,and snow storms on
Saturday and Sunday did
considerable damage to some
of the rural telephone lines in
this district. Thcrc was good
sleighing on Main Street
Monday morning, but it soon
disappeared, and the weather
since has been warm,
although frequent thunder-
storms have occurred.
BASEBALL - Thcrc was a
good attendance at the base-
ball meeting held in the
GWVA rooms on Friday
night of last week, when the
following officers were elect-
ed for the season: Honorary
president, Dr. Charles
Mackay;, president, Kenneth
Amcnt; treasurer, Tom Smith;
executive committee, Allan
Reid, Ralph Weiland, Frank
Cudmorc, Earl Smith; man-
ager, F.L. Downey; represen-
tatives on Scaforth Sports
Association, A.D. Sutherland
and John Beanie,
Thc club will enter a team
in the North Wellington
League and with an abun-
dance of splendid material
should do well. The council
it
is having thc recreation park
put into shape and Manager
Downey will commence
active practice next week.
April 26, 1945
At a reception and tea held
in St. James' Parish Hall
Sunday afternoon, 66 men
and women, who served in
the armed services, were wel-
comed home by the parish.
A short program was pre-
sented, opening with "0
Canada," a welcome address
by Rev. T.P. Hussey and short
addresses by Frank Reynolds,
president of thc Holy Name
Society; C.P. Sills, chairman -
of the Separate School
Board; Con Eckert Jr., on
behalf of the school children;
Loretta Bannon, president of
the Sodality. and Mrs.
William Hart, president of
the Catholic Women's
League spoke briefly and
said much of the credit for
the happy occasion should he
given to Miss Alice Daly,
War Services Convener, and
Mrs. C.P. Sills, past presi-
dent.
While buildings now under
construction or projected will
do much to relieve the exist-
ing shortage of housing in
Scaforth, thc program will
fall far short of requirements,
according to real estate
agents, who daily arc queried
by potential tenants as to the
availability of housing.
Thc housing shortage has
resulted in the biggest build-
ing boom Scaforth has expe-
rience in many years, with a
total of at least 17 units heing
built, or pending construction
awaiting materials, according
to information on file at the
town clerk's office. Of this
number, 11 are apartments,
the remainder being separate
residences. •
The largest unit is an tight
apartment block being erect-
ed by Dr. E.A. McMaster, on
the corner of Goderich St.
West and West William St.
Conversion of the second
floor of thc store on Main
Street, recently purchased by
Frank Kling, will provide
three apartments.
APRIL 29, 1971
A former Scaforth resident
and his wife arc among 194
Canadian artists who have
been selected by the Canada
Council to receive bursaries
valued up to $4.0(X) each.
Nelson Ball under the clas-
sification 'Writing' •and his
wife, the former Barbara
Caruso of Kincardine under
'Visual Arts' have been cho-
sen from 888 applicants. -
Mr. Ball, who is a son Of
Mr. and Mrs. William Ball,
Seaforth, is a graduate of
SDHS. He has had a hook of
poetry, "The Pre -Linguistic
Heights," published this
month.
**
The Scaforth Chamber of
Commerce elected its officers
for the current year at a din-
ner meeting Thursday
evening.
Elected to the executive
board were Clair Campbell.
president; Jim Sills, vice-
president; Mrs.. Jean
Henderson, past president;
L.F. Ford, treasurer and K.G.
Oldacre, secretary.
4`