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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1997-11-19, Page 224 -TNS H{AION 111XPOSITOII. November 11111 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 TERRI-LYNN DAL( • General Manager & Advertising Manager LARRY DALRYMPLE - Sales PAT ARMES • Office Manager DIANNE McGRATH - Subscriptions & Classifieds PAVE SCOTT - Editor GREGOR CAMPBELL • Reporter BARB STOREY - distribution A Bowes Publishers Community Newspaper SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 32.50 a year, in od+ma, plus 2.28 G.S.T. SENIORS; • 30.00 a year, in advance, plus 2.10 G.S.T. ustjhrsipn: 28.44 a year in advance, plus 578.00 postage, G.S.T. exempt 5UBSC1t moN RATES: Published weekly by Signal -S or Publishing at 100 Main St., Seaforth. Publication mail registration No. 0696 held at Seolorth, Ontario. Advertising is occep ed on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising spoor occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at tse applicable rate. In the event of o typographical error, odvertising goods or services at a wrong Prior, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Huron Expositor is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproduction purposes. Changes d oddress, orders for subscriptions and undeliv- erable copies ore to be sent to The Huron Expositor. Wednesday, November 28, 1447 Editorial and Business Offices - 100 Main Slreet.,Seoforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 Fax 1519) 527.2858 Maihng Addreu - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1 WO Member of the Canodion Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association and the Ontario Press Council Publication Mail Registration No. 07605 Views expressed on our opinion page(gj don't necessarily represent those of The Huron Expositor or Bowes Publishers. The Huron Expositor reserves the right to edit letters to the editor or to refuse publication. Editorial Postal system of the past? While Ottawa and the postal union continue to 'negotiate' to try to reach a settlement in the Canada -wide postal strike, con- sumers have managed to fill some of their postage needs through couriers and another modern mode of communication - electronic mail. The e-mail systems have been jammed to overflowing the past week as people switch from traditional 'snail mail' and just send their messages electronically. While it is routine for many to Ilse e-mail, it's still not widely used for such common mail-outs`arrnonthty-bills and statements. But like the old expression, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention," a few peo- ple have found it necessary during this postal disruption to send their messages via computer and phone lines. The more commonplace it becomes, the more it will take business away from traditional postal sources. Although the big revolution people were expecting in Internet use and subsequent business on the Internet hasn't quite reached original expectations, experts are still predicting that next year 10 per cent of all business transactions around the world, worth $600 billion, will be made electronically. In addition, "on-line commerce" done on the Internet next year will be worth $200 billion - up from $900 million two years ago, so say the cyber business predictors. Right now there are more than 50 million people around the world connected to the Internet. By the year 2000 they're say- ing this number could reach as hieh as ane billion. In Canada, 6 a ready on-line. So while the rest of the world (or at least those in Canada affected by the postal strike) are discovering their e-mail or being forced to finally use it and moving forward into the next millennium, the postal unions are back at the bargaining tables (again) talking about the same old things and quite possibly being left in the past with an archaic bloated system. - DWS J • Letters to the Editor Mixed emotions on Bill 160 Dear Editor: It is with mixed emotions that I read about Bill 160 and the claims that our teachers/educators make about it. Education reform is a must. Hopefully the government and our educators will realistically consider what needs to be done. When a power struggle is the problem, education will not be a consideration. One begins to doubt whether either side is seeking to provide quality education. Quality education does not need to cost as much as it does. My education dollar goes toward public education but my support goes toward alternate and independent schools. There are thousands of students in alternate and independent schools that are getting a quality education for half the amount that it costs in the public schools. These parents arc paying their tax dollars which are in turn conveniently used by the public system. Not one of these tax dollars goes with the student. in fact in Huron County we pay tax dollars toward busing for our children and yet the Huron County Board of Education charges us for busing also. This is paying double for a service to which these children are entitled. Independent schools are expected to match the educational standards set out by the Ministry of Education and yet by the same token they arc not entitled to free health services that the public and Catholic schools obtain. One example of this type of service is speech therapy. I think that if teachers and government are thinking about quality education for our children perhaps it is time that both sides consider the following: I. Education tax dollars should follow the student; 2. Parental involvement helps cut costs; 3. Speciality schools in conjunction with industry will teach and train our students. Reform does need to take place. May we never be a society that does not continually look for ways to improve and change. Please let us remember to take all our children into consideration. Margaret Dykstra 4,r•-.. Huron school centre of radar in 1940s Not long ago I found my old pass that allowed me to get inside what was then the Royal Air Force RDF school near Clinton. As well, the pass gave me access to the compound, considered one of the top secret places in Canada, or in fact in the Allied controlled part of the world. Inside was a treasure of sorts that was invented by a fellow called Watson -Watt. In fact he became Sir Robert Watson-Watt...the man who invented what we now call radar. It was at the radio research lab at Ditton Park, England in 1935 where he first demonstrated his new apparatus for the "detection and location of aircraft by radio methods." After the war he came to live in Canada...and I believe he settled north of Toronto... fo4it was on Number 11 Highway a bit south of Richmond Hill where he was picked up for speeding by the very apparatus he invented. His delicate invention was to be a major element in the winning of the war and Canada was chosen as the site to train airmen in its use...it was considered so del- icate that when it landed in Halifax a special CNR train took it from there to Clinton. An engineer, considered to have the smoothest hand with a brake in the CNR system brought it the whole distance with all other trains giving it the right of way...his name was Turnbull and he was an engine driver who could start a train and stop it without the passengers realizing they were moving. Although he was hated by farmers from Stratford to Goderich for he could never go by a herd of cattle grazing by the right-of- way without stampeding them with a long blast of the whistle. .. _.-... As a Royal Air Force estab- lishment it was not under the command of the RCAF. The C.O. and most of the early command officers came directly from England as did most of the instructors and other station staff. In fact many people who dealt with those first arrivals believed the British government and the RAF were quite happy, even relieved, to have them far from the shores of Guest Column by Clare Westcott England. I remember two things from those early days. The com- manding officer was hastily returned to England after he was apparently involved in an accident on the highway almost at the front gate of the camp. As I remember it, drinking was a factor and a pedestrian was killed. Huron County was not con- sidered a bible belt...our pro- fanity only went about as far as hell and damn...maybe sometimes a bit stronger. It was a rare occasion when we heard the infamous four letter F--- word used. That is until some of us attended the soc- cer games between the team loud while playing soccer. The RCAF took the base over with a C.O. who was a colourful character as he was unique. His name was Patrick and he was, at 27, not only the youngest Wing Commander in the British Commonwealth...he was the only Wing Commander in the Commonwealth not wearing wings. He was not a pilot. He drove around a souped -up Plymouth with a two-way radio...the first I had ever seen. He would head towards the compound gates at full speed calling the guard on his radio saying, "open that bloody gate, I'm comin' through." His job demanded long hours and he spent days and many nights at the base, although he and his wife lived in Seaforth in an apart- ment above the store next to the Regent Theatre. An odd twist to the story...the daugh- ter of CNR engineer Turnbull and her husband operated an electrical store below the apartment where the Patricks lived. In the early days of the base I worked for Frank Kling and we were there almost every week installing and repairing equipment. The compound inside the base was very restricted and I remember being interviewed by an RCMP officer before being issued a pass. ROYAL AIR . FLQ(CE. - - - I:o. 31 R.D. Ht70I:ALZilfrOl+. ONTR* .10 • PASS ISSU 1JB`_' 21.11.4 1'o fio a. Jam..• Rank — 1.(r't * ...len/A-.444Z. To be .prba e tet n demand by autircri ty� Signature of litti'IW tu'>xliste -- Tech. Ad {Mr -"• years the people in Seaforth opened their homes and their hearts to many of the RAF instructors and technicians who were far from home. Aside from the few rowdies that came in the early days of the base most were tine young men and quite a few returned to England with Huron County wives. One girl, Jean Herford, daughter of the Anglican church min- ister in Seaforth, married an English corporal and returned with him to live in Maidenhead, England. Many romances began through invitations to Sunday dinner by Seaforth families. Almost every weekend one or two airmen from the base arrived at the Westcott hou One of them, Ron Evans from Toronto, married my sister Marguerite. Huron County was host to four major bases...the Royal Air Force RDF school at Clinton, the Royal Air Force AOS station at Port Albert, the RCAF Elementary Flying Training School at Goderich and the Centralia Advanced Flying Training Base. It was the largest air force training station at that time in the Commonwealth. I'm sure it was a proud moment for Seaforth when Frank Golding, one of its sons, became the final Commanding Officer at the base. Although not meant to be, it was indeed a tribute to his father William Golding, who was the member of par- liament for Huron from 1935 to 1945, for it was no doubt the effort he put to making sure Huron County was front, and centre in the war effort in the dark days of the early 1940s. The county was home to four major air force bases. A claim no other county in, P/a Canada could make. want(// ' I still remember an interest - Cap' `'I' 7+! ""' I frig and somewhat arrlu's1ng" ��;itleident Frank Kling and I • watched one summer after- noon. Men from the American forces were trained at the Clinton base and were brought in by bus from the U.S. Air Force base at Selfridge Field, just outside Detroit. As the men stepped off the bus they were lined up on the tarmac and each pre- sented with a foreign service ribbon...and they were less than 200 miles from home. RADAR PASS - This is a photocopy of Clare Westcott's now tattered pass to the radar school near Clinton. from the Clinton Base and the team from the Royal Air Force AOS station at Port Albert, a few miles north of Goderich on Lake Huron. It seemed to be the only profan- ity they knew...they used it as an ongoing part of every con- versation...and especially In later years while working for the Seaforth PUC I got to know Mrs. Patrick for each month when I went to read the electric meter she would invite me in for a cup of tea. She was a stranger in town and hadn't made many friends. Although over the 154 births in 1946, 788 patients Premier inspects hospital, 25 -.bed addition FROM THE PAGES OF THE HURON EXPOSITOR DECEMBER 3,1897 SEAFORTH STUDENTS SUCCEED - Twvo more have come to the front, as we find from the McGill University lists. Miss Lizzie A. Brooks and Miss May D. Kemp passed the ordeal of examina- tion with distinction at the opening of the session. Miss Brooks won a second year scholarship of $100, and Miss Kemp passed the higher examination of the first year. We extend hearty congratula- tions to these clever young ladies, and wish them contin- ued success and honor throughout their whole course. They already have good places on the honor roll of the Collegiate Institute, and it is a pleasant thing to report their satisfactory career in the Universities. Our school has now quite a bevy of girl undergraduates at the Universities, who are well able to keep up the name and the fame of old Huron. McKILLOP - Local Briefs - Mrs. S. Robinson, who has been visiting friends in Tuckersmith and McKillop for some weeks, returned home to St. Catharines last week. Mrs. Robinson was formerly a resident of McKillop, and is a daughter of Mr. John Crich, of Tuckersmith. - Mr. Richard Robinson, of Leadbury, who had his collar bone broken a short time ago, is nearly fully recovered. NOVEMBER 24,1922 Local Briefs - Many friends will regret to learn that Mr. In the Years Agone James Dick was seized with a sudden attack of heart trouble on Sunday last, and is still in a very serious condition. - Dr. Field, Public School Inspector, of Goderich, paid an official visit to the Seaforth public school this week. - Mrs. S. Dickson, who has been spending the sum- mer with her daughter, Mrs. A.D. Sutherland, left on Saturday for Edmonton. - Mr. Ken Ament has returned from the London hospital, where he underwent an oper- ation several weeks ago. - Mrs. S. Morton, and son of Hamilton, are guests, at the home of Mrs. Morton's grandmother, Mrs. J.H. Broadfoot. - Miss Margaret Edge is visiting with Hamilton friends. - Rev. F.J. Oaten, D.D., of Toronto, was in town recently. He was rep- resenting the convention interests of the World League against Alcoholism and arranged for some of the del- egates from other lands to visit Seaforth to address a mass meeting at a latter date. - Messer*. William Venus, Louis Fortune and William Trott, returned from Blyth last week. They were . engaged with Sloan Bros. for the apple season and packed some sixteen hundred barrels of apples. DECEMBER 5,1947 While in Seaforth on Friday, Premier George Drew Y't spent an hour discussing hos- pital matters with the mem- bers of the Board of Scott Memorial Hospital and in inspecting the hospital and new 25 -bed addition, now nearing completion. Accompanied by Chairman James M. Scott and members of the board, Col. Drew toured the hospital after see- ing reports of the increased activity there. Opened in 1929, there were 278 patients and 44 births that first year. With the same accommoda- tion the hospital served 788 patients last year. There were 154 births in 1946. Figures for 1947 so far indi- cate a new record will be set , both for patients and births. The Premier was particular- ly interested in the new wing, much material for which came from a former RCAF building at Pon Albert. He discussed with L.H. De LaFraniet the manner in which costs of construction had been lowered. eee Marking the 28th anniver- sary of the marriage of their parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.K. Cornish, Bruceficld, on November 26, members of the family, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Brock, Exeter, and Mr. and Mrs. Carlyle Cornish, Seaforth, surprised them with a duck dinner at their home in Brucefield. Mr. and Mrs. Cornish were presented with a vase and a ' bouquet of chrysanthemums. Mrs. Cornish, who had intended arranging a party to celebrate the event, was unable to do so because of injuries received in an acci- dent a short time previously, and from which she is now recovering. DECEMBER 7,1972 Seaforth voters showed lit- tle interest in elections here Monday when slightly over 30 per cent bothered to vote. It was among the poorest turnout in a municipal elec- tion in Seaforth in many years. In the election for two PUC commissioners Dr. Roger Whitman was returned for a second two year term. Also elected to the three man com- mission was a former Seaforth Mayor Edmund Daly. The third member of the commission is Mayor F.C.J. Sills. Seaforth electors will have another chance to go to the polls. On Dec. 18 one winner will be selected from three candidates for council: Mrs. Marjorie Whitman, William Bennett and David Schenck. eec McKillop voters approved a liquor vote to permit sale of liquor with meals and in lounges. To the two questions: do you favor the sale of liquor in dining lounges with meals - 272 said yes, and 101 said no. A 232 yes vote was need- ed to win. The second ques- tion, do you favor the sale of liquor in lounges - yes won over no by 269-108. )