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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2002-02-13, Page 4 (3)Opinion 4 -THE HURON EXPOSITOR, FEBRUARY 13, 2002 Your Community Newspaper Since 1860 Tom Williscraft - Publisher Scott Hilgendorff - Editor Dianne McGrath Subscriptions/Classifieds Bernie Pugh Office/Sales Susan Hundertmark - Reporter Anne Roden - Distribution OUEBECOR MEDIA seaforth@bowesnet.com Visit our home page at www.seaforthhuronexpositor.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES: LOCAL - 33.50 a year, in odvance, plus 2.35 G.S.T. SENIORS: • 31.00 a year, in advance, plus 2.17 G.S.T. USA & Foreign: 29.44 a year in odvance, plus $78.00 postage, G.S.T. exempt Published weekly by Signal -Star Publishing at 11 Main St., Seaforth. Publication mail registration No. 0696 held at Seaforth, Ontario. Advertising is accepted on condition that in the event of a typographical error, the odvertising space 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 the applicable rate. in the event of a typographical error, advertising goods or services at a wrong price, 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 Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time.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 of address, orders for subscriptions and undeliverable copies are to be sent to The Huron Expositor. Publication Mail Registration No. 07605 Wednesday, February 13, 2002 Idltorlal and Business Offices - 11 Main Street.,tieaforth Telephone 1519) 537-0340 fax 1519) 537-9858 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1 WOE E-mail us at Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspapers Association "We acknowledge the Financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs." Editorial MPP Johns needs to be involved in school issue, her communities are at stake MPP Helen Johns needs to get involved in the fight for schools, as does any MPP with a constituency facing school closures. Seaforth is one of the communities she was elected to serve and it is important she no longer sit on the fence waiting It is reasonable to trace back school closures to a seriously flawed funding formula. While on the surface, the formula is fair, providing every school with the same funding for each student it has. But schools with fewer students can be placed in a situation where they have less money to operate the facilities. In Toronto, it means some schools have had to shut down their swimming pools. In Huron County, it means some schools will have to close. A Toronto neighbourhood can survive without a pool or even without a school. A rural community will struggle and may not survive unscathed. Johns had a responsibility to fight for her communities, even if it means opposing her government. She was elected to represent these communities and, without having to be convinced, should be taking a stand for them. But she s not and the fact no one is taking the fight to her, focussing on the school board instead, is not doing anything to convince her that this is bigger than an Avon Maitland school board issue. Her Conservative government has responsibility in what is happening. Johns maintains it is a quality of education issue that should be left to the school board and the citizens that elected those trustees knowing schools would close. However, it s not just a quality of education issue. It s also a quality of life issue. Rural Ontario continues to be weakened with the loss of many services from ambulance amalgamations, Ministry of Agriculture office shutdowns and now, a loss of community schools that helps maintain the viability of a community. The board has said it is not its responsibility to be concerned about the impact closures have on communities. It s not. But Helen Johns should be concerned. Scott Hilgendorff How to access us Letters to the Editor and other submissions can be made to us by noon on Mondays at: . seaforth @ bowesnet.com All letters and submissions must be signed and accompanied by a day -time telephone number. All submissions are subject to editing for both length and content. Don't forget to check out our homepage at: Letters Reducing alcohol content limits for drivers won't stop drunk drivers: Safety Council To the Editor: Recently, MADD Canada has weighed in heavily on the public policy debate to demand the federal government drop the legal blood-alcohol content to 0.05 from the current limit of 0.08 as an additional means to reduce the incidence of impaired driving. There is overwhelming evidence that lowering the BAC in the Criminal Code will not achieve the intended result. MADD insist To the Editor: MADD Canada , since its inception in 1990, has always encouraged the Canadian public to separate the two activities of drinking and driving. If you drink, please don't drive. Considerable progress was made in the 1980s and early 1990s in the fight against impaired driving. Since then, progress has slowed. Canada needs to refocus its energy on impaired driving, the country's number one criminal cause of death. MADD Canada recently proposed to the former Federal Justice Minister that the Criminal Code BAC There is a widespread misconception that lowering the legal limit will solve Canada's drunk - driving problem, but the fact is that the worst offenders don't care what the legal limit is. They will drink and drive anyway. Canada has some of the most severe penalties in the world for impaired driving, yet these individuals continue to drink and drive. In some countries, driving while impaired and s lower blood (Blood Alcohol Concentration) limit be lowered to 0.05%. In a recent survey done for MADD Canada, 66% of Canadians supported lowering the Criminal Code BAC level to 0.05%. In fact, if the Canadian public understood the number of drinks an individual could consume under the current law, support for a 0.05% limit would likely increase dramatically. MADD Canada also presented to the former Justice Minister eighteen recommendations, in addition to the 0.05% BAC recommendation. Some of these other impaired driving in excess of the legal limit are not considered criminal offenses unless there is an injury or fatality. Criminalizing the social drinker, with all the costs that would entail, won't remove high BAC drivers from the road. In 1999 (the latest year for which statistics are available), there were 1,134 alcohol-related fatalities on Canadian roads. This means about three people were killed every day in alcohol-related collisions. There is no doubt that impaired driving is one of this country's top safety issues and that the right kind of government action can make a difference. More information is available on our website, www.safety-council,org Emile J. Therien, President Canada Safety Council alcohol will make difference recommendations include giving police more powers to do their jobs (powers that police have in most other democratic countries). Additionally, MADD Canada recommended testing for drug -impaired drivers and eliminating house arrest (conditional sentences) for those who choose to drink, drive and then kill or injure innocent victims. The issue of impaired driving is a complex issue that requires a comprehensive solution. MADD Canada's nineteen recommendations include general recommendations, like lowering the BAC to 0.05% and very specific recommendations, like increasing the ability for police to demand blood ,Samples from suspected drinking drivers. MADD Canada wants the Canadian public to understand what the current 0.08% BAC level means, in terms of real-world drinking patterns. Given the margin of errors accepted by our courts, police agencies will rarely ever lay criminal charges unless the driver's BAC is .10% or above. Thus, a 200 lb. man can drink almost six regular beers (12 oz. 5% alcohol by Seo STOP, Page 5 High school produced many successful graduates The Expositor of Jan. 30 reminded me of something I have carried over the years from Queens Park. It was not something I tried to remember. It was just there, stuck in my mind. Just a simple phone conversation but it has stayed with me ever since. The front-page headline, Downtown will suffer if school closes, brought it back again. Remembering it brought on the foreboding thought that more than just the downtown could suffer. I hope and pray it does not. It is 51 years since I lived Clare Westcott in Seaforth. I left in 1950 when I was 26. I attended the old public school, as did my father. It was, architecturally, one of the finest in Western Ontario - and thankfully preserved. I have a closer connection to the high school than most, for as well as being a student, for the first dozen years of my life it was my playground. I was born about 100 feet from school property and roamed it from one end to the other. I climbed every one of its bordering trees. With impish glee I stood on the edge of the playing field, then more of a parade ground, and stuck my tongue out at the cadets who were sternly lined up for inspection. To the consternation of their instructor, Ira Weedmark, making funny faces at them made them laugh, The more I did it, the angrier he got. After all, being a member of the Seaforth Collegiate Cadet Corps. was serious business - even if they rifles they shouldered were dummies made out of wood. They were the wonderful See A, Page 5 Army of snowblowers opens drifted roads February 9, 1877 John McMillan, Hullett farmer, in a letter to the editor, provided figures on his income. Milking 20 cows and sending the milk to the, Kinburn factory, he received $595.49 or $29.70. The Perth County council decided to introduce gas into couny buildings. The resolution was carried by the casting vote of the Warden. Mr. Jas. Nairn, a farmer on the fourth line of Blanshard, killed a wildcat in his stable. Five horses were sold at an auction in Mitchell. The average price realized was $4.69 per horse. A bylaw was adopted by the Perth County council offering a bonus of 15 cents each for every shade tree planted upon any public highway within the county. A private school was opened on the first of February by Miss M. E. Wright, proprietor of M. E. Wright s Fancy Store, Main Street, Seaforth. A yong man in the employ of James McBride of Seaforth lost a finger when the performing horse with which he was shaking hands brought his foot down, crushing the lads fingers on the stable floor. It was announced that the last installment of the debt on the Seaforth Public School property had been paid. There were seven teachers employed at the school, two males and five females and their salaries were: Principal, $650; 2nd. teacher $450; 3rd $300: 4th $275; 5th $230; 6th, $220; making in all, $2,345. This was $59.38 less than was paid the pervious year. It was noted that diptheria was very prevalent among children in Tuckersmith Township. At a meeting of the Huron Years agone... Presbytery in Brussels, it was announced that the stippend offered by the congregations of Hullet and Londesborough to their new minister was $650. February 11, 1902 There were six male prisoners confirmed to the county jail. Five charged with vagrancy and one charged with insanty. Mr. W. Coates, inspector of the County House of Refuge, informed the county council that the average weekly expenditure on inmates of the house was 84 1/2 cents. East Huron public school inspector Robb said that the average salary paid to male teachers in rural areas of the county was $365.60 and that paide to feamls teachers averaged $267.11. A sleigh load of young people left Hensall Friday to watch a hockey game between Woodstock and Seaforth, Woodstock won 8 to 2. The storm which has been raging since Sunday is the worst of the season. All traffic has been at a standstill for some days. The mild winter has taken a sudden change. As a result of the severe snow storm, neither the Brussels nor the Bayfield stagecoaches reached Seaforth on Monday. The second of a series of horse fairs is to be held in Seaforth on Monday next. The Mill Road is the worst drifted this year than it has ever been in the memory of the oldest resident. A very interesting debate on the all absorbing question of Prohibition is to be held in the hall over the separate school on Tuesday evening net at eight pm. The firemen were called out Saturday morning, but it proved only to be a false alarm. Mr. William Oak of Tuckersmith has a mare which recently gave birth to twin colts. Unfortunately, both died. February 11, 1927 Mr. George Hills has sold his blacksmith and carriage shop business in Egmondville to Mr. Alex Lillico of Acton, who will be open for business on Feb. 21. On Saturday afternoon, February 5th, a very exciting hockey match was witnessed by a group of enthusiastic spectators on the Emgondville open air arena, above the dam. Mr. Thomas McMillan, MP, left on Tuesday morning for Ottawa to attend the opening of parliament. Mr. Frank Cudmore was kicked in the face by one of the horses in their barn and suffered a broken nose. The drama of The Dust of the Earth was staged on Tuesday evening in the hall at Dublin. Miss Mina Rogers who coached the grownups of her section is to be congratulated. The proper style of garb for ice skating, ice hockey and skiing at present worn by women and girls consists of wool knickers, wool hose, a short mackinaw or windbreaker, wool scarf and cap. Februrary 8, 1952 King George VI died peacefully in the early hours of Wednesday morning, at Sandringham. His eldest daughter has been proclaimed Queen, with the title of Elizabeth II. J. Leslie Kerr of Toronto has been appointed principal of Malvern Collegiate in that city. Mr. Kerr is the some of Mr. James Kerr of Seaforth and is a graduate of the Seaforth Collegiate institute. The annual meeting of the trustees of Seaforth Public Library was held in the library Monday evening. Reports showed the circulation of books in 1951 to be 8,566; 218 adults and 80 children comprise the membership. The sixth meeting of the Thrifty Kippenettes was opened by singing There s a Lonely Little Robin. The Fireside Farm Forum met Monday night at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Jewitt with an attendance of 25 adults and 17 children of various ages. The Farm Forum Guide was read and the three questions about What sets farm prices were discussed at considerable length. February 10, 1977 An army of snowblower's, graders, bulldozers and fron end loaders had succeeded in opening most Seaforth area roads by Tuesday, but the cost of the assault on the snow has been extremely high. Seaforth streets were crowded last Wednesday aftenroon as people took advantage of the first lull in the five-day storm that had blocked most roads in the area, to get into town and get supplies. The whole community is invited to a reception tonight at the Town HaN, honouring the Canadian Figure Skating novice pairs champions, Lloyd Eisler Jr. of Seaforth and his partner, Lori Baler of Mitchell. The two won the award at the Canadian Figure Skating Association Championships on the weekend In Calgary.