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Times-Advocate, 1983-06-01, Page 4Paw) 4 Times -Advocate, Juno 1, 1983 Ames - dvocate Times Established 1873 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex Advocate Established 1881 & North Lambton Since 1873 Amalgamated 1924 Published by j.W. Eedy Publications limited LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager a 4. r *CNA 11' Published Each' Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class MaN Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $21.00 Per year; U.S.A. $56.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' •.-.ascc.ay.-.moi: yfi... iX . `'�� nosapq�/�as�wamvs:asa�H.4rSdGl-%Z:s4l• Keep the vow Natural Resources Minister Alan Pope has vow- ed that provincial parks will remain as places where people can take their families for peace and quiet. That's good news for the majority of campers, who do make it a family outing to enjoy the great outdoors during the summer months. They have every right to expect that they will not have to pitch their tent or park their' camper next to some others who are there to engage primarily in rowdy, noisy parties. Pope made his vow in the aftermath of the Victoria Day weekend scene at the Pinery Provincial Park, where police and park officials were kept busy'attemp- ting to control those whose main interest appeared to be in letting off some steam with late-night drinking forays. The first holiday weekend of the summer season has traditionally had some problems in that regard, mainly from young people who have completed a round of strenuous exams and want to get out and have some fun. While Pope has promised to keep tight control on such activities, they generally wane aft fr the initial weekend of festivities. One of the basic problems is the divergent interests of some campers. Those who bundle up their kids and want to commune with nature and enjoy a different pace for the weekend are in sharp contrast to those who planto party through most of the night and then spend much of the day recuperating while their neighbors are off on nature hikes. Pope should stick to his vow, or course, but perhaps he should also consider buying a few hundred acres out in the middle of nowhere that could be for the exclusive use of those for whom the scenery is unimportant as long as the beer or liquor store is within driving range. The fact is, the party -goers are going to have their party one way or the other, so they may as well all end up in the same place arid have a really big bash without disturbing anyone or keeping other park officials and police on the run. Rules for such a. park could be simple. Let the rowdies in Friday night, then lock the gate and come back Sunday and allow the survivors to return home. A dizzy game While motorists have had difficulty keeping up with the rapidly fluctuating prices of gasoline for the past few months, it appears that some of those involv- ed in the industry aren't sure who's calling the shots to set the prices. The chairman of Gulf Canada Lid. suggested the price increase which corresponded with the Victoria Day holiday weekend was undertaken at the dealer level. Several dealers have called that claim bunk, reply- ing that any major changes are directed from the com- pany level. Regardless of who is calling the shots, their credibility is in question with the motoring public, and there are indications that some station operators are getting a little tired of going up and down their ladders a few times every day to keep pace with the fluctuations. Businesses require a profit to operate and 'presumably the profit required can be obtained somewhere between the 19.5¢ and 47.5¢ per litre peo- ple have been paying at varying times. ' Why can't they settle on something in between and leave at that and take the guess -work out of knowing what it is going to cost to head out on a weekend trip, whether that be a holiday weekend. or not? Scent of arrogance Yes, we do agree that the metric system of weights and measures is more efficient than the imperial system which most of us have used all our lives. Agreed, teaching school-age children to think in metric is sensible. What we don't think makes much sense is the big stick approach of the federal government; the threats of fines and -or imprisonment. So a gas station operator decides he will sell his fuel in gallons instead of litres. So what? Why is it so all -fired important? If the car drivers who patronize his station like to buy in gallons, what harm is done? Last week the Sun Rise Dairy in Wingham was threatened with heavy fines because the owners wanted to use up their stock of plastic one -quart con- tainers. The authorities finally relented and permit- ted the use of the non -metric containers fot' a few more days, but why all the great fuss? The entire metrification program has taken on the scent of government arrogance, an odour which grows more prevalent all the time. Wingham Advance -Times A blow to parental credibility The credibility of a great number of area parents probably got shot down last week and they'll still be running for cover in view of comments made by SHDHS principal Joe Wooden. Our educational ovals stem has been under attack from many sources in recent years. but obviously Joe is not among those who have major concerns. It's the practice of most generations to assume those succeeding them have an easier time, but his comments certainly erased that argument as he contends to- day's high school students work harder than their parents, are less disruptive in class and are more skillful athletes. That doesn't leave many areas open for bragging rights. The lone salvation is that the 27 -year veteran of the SHD}IS staff does feel previous generations may have a greater ability to fantasize and their im- aginations were not as inhibited due to less influence from TV. The real test of that argument may be evidenced in how parents can use that im- agination to keep on convincing their off- spring that they really are more in- telligent. Failing that, they'll have to draw on all that ability to fantasize. There is one other saving factor. Joe feels that today's students have had their reading abilities adversely affected by TV. Hopefully that means most of them weren't able to read his comments in last week's issue. •`$ This fall will see a massive change on the educational scene in Huron County as every secondary school will have a new principal and the system itself will be headed by a new director. Ilowever, there won't by any drastic changes, given the fact that all the per- sonnel involved have been operating within the system for some time. There will, of course, be new ideas presented as the new people bring along their innovations, some for bet te, , some for worse. On the whole, it should be beneficial, as BATT'N AROUND with the editor • >:a long as students and staff are prepared to accept some of the changes in the spirit in which they are intended. Sitting at the desk pounding out this col- umn on a cold, wet Thursday morning, it is difficult not to have some sympathy for the plight of area farmers who are facing some critical decisions regarding this year's cropping plans. Some have already been forced into making changes in varieties, while others will be having to take a serious look at a different type of crop entirely. Even those who have managed to get planting completed are fretting about the lack of growth. It may be too early to hit the panic but- ton, of course, but this was certainly one year in which farmers needed no further problems to compound those with which most are already confronted. Because of the high dependence on agriculture for the well-being of the area, everyone will be joining in the hoe that mother nature gets herself straightened around very quickly. It may not be much consolation, hut during a trip through a wide area of the western it of the province over the holi- day wee nd, the writer was able to see that Hurfarmers are off not as badly as those in other areas where there ap- pears to have been almost no work on some farms as yet this spring. Obviously,, it is going to require ideal conditions for the balance of the summer and the fall to come close to getting the record crops which have been recorded in Huror in the past two years. Gardeners have been no better off, although few rely on that as a source of income in comparison to farmers. The writer managed to get in some seeds a couple pf weeks ago, but probably they would have been best left in the package. The weeds, of course, do not appear to be as intimidated by the weather condi- tions, and even if some of the vegetables • do emerge with a change in the weather, they'll be difficult to find in the jungle of dandelions and the other assorted bane of those who muck about in the soil. However, I don't feel too badly in com- parison to the chap in the next office. He's been working in his garden since those warm March days and still hasn't produc- ed anything to show for his eagerness and effort. It's a good thing his hat -pin worked so well in helping him select winners in there - cent Stanley Cup contest staged by the local oldtimers' hockey team. He'll at least he able to use some of his winnings to get more seeds. Catch This Week, another at- tempt to catch up on my correspondence, anda jaundiced look at the great Canadian farce of the ear- ly 1980s, the six -and -five "restraint" program. It's amazing how far the tentacles of Canada's community newspapers carry this modest column. I've had letters from all over Canada and the States, from England, South America, Australia and New Zealand. Her old friends will be glad to know that Mrs. Jean Rankin (nee Crosby), now of Gisborne, New Zealand, "just about reads the print off the hometown paper, The Chronicle." (Dunnville?) Her letter, sent end of March, says there has been no rain there since October, and they're pum- ping water from the river. And women's lib thrives in N.Z. "Mind you, the town planners should have been doing something (about the water) years ago. Pi- ty more females were not on the town council." You have been busy, Jean, since you left for New Zealand 36 years ago. Six daughters, one son, and nine granchildren. Thanks for the note, and hope you got a good look at The Royals when they were there. Mrs. Rankin says, "I still jump up to at- tention when my own Na- tional Anthem plays. Usually, only time I hear it is at World Games, etc." Closer to home, Mervyn Dickey of Prescott, Ont., chides me for a recent slam I took at the business of bribing Canadians to read Canadian books, by up on correspondence offering used lottery tickets as part payment. It was the principle, not the practice, that made me squirm, Mervyn. As you point out, the Half - Back program was a real Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley boon to small-town libraries with minuscule budgets, enabling them to buy Canadian books they couldn't otherwise afford, by hoarding used Wintario tickets. I may scorn the crassness of the idea, but I'm a pragmatist. I prac- tically flog my students to collect the lottery tickets, so that we can buy a cou- ple of hundred books my starving English budget can't manage. Typically, the plan, which benefits Canadian authors, publishers, booksellers, libraries and schools, as well as individuals, is be- ing cut off at the end of May because so many are taking advantage of it. And what's the matter in Faulkner, Man.? Don't they have wire clothes hangers there? A letter from Mrs. Ilse Hofbaurer chides me for a column in which I mentioned the pro- liferation of those pests, hangers, until you throw them out in a rage. "I readyour article every week in the In- terlake Spectator. I'm an old woman now and to move my fingers I cover empty hangers. Would I like to have those hangers you throw out! But how could you send them to my post office. If I had your address I send you some covered ones your clothes won't fall down. I pay you the postage back. Excuse my english, I'm german. I learned myself. I'm 53 years here in Canada, 50 years here in Faulkner. Have to celebrate soon my 50th wedding day alone, my husband sleeps for over 16 years. Moved by this letter, as I was, my wife went out and bought some hangers in fancy colors, and they're on their way to 11"rs. Hofbauer. And an old ghost turned up, again from the west. Dated Innisfail, Alta. "Have often wondered if you were the same Bill Smiley I met in Holland, in a railway station, time, Oct., 1944. "There was about forty Canadians, mixed regiments, Canada Scots, Regina Rifles, which I was one, Winnipeg Rifle Regi- ment, Black Watch, etc., 3rd division. "Jerry had marched us into this railway station. When they were ready to move us out, you were missing. They finally found you hiding in one of the cupboards. All I can remember is that you call- ed yourself Bill Smiley and that you had been a fighter pilot. We wound up in Stalag 11B, Fal- ingbostal. Several of us escaped and were back in England April, 1945. I have farmed since and in 1973...retired. I have a saying for my forget- fulness - I have a western brain, wide open spaces. Yours, Bill Shewkenek." Well, Bill, my memory of that day and later is crystal clear. You and the other "grunts" were put in one box -car. After being thoroughly beaten up, I was put in another, with the German guards, as I was a dangerous criminal! Don't you remember the two Canadian Army of- ficers, Capt. Bob Brownrigg of Calgary and Capt. Roger something -or - other? They treated you guys like dirt. There was a big German guy from the west, a conscientious objector, who dressed wounds with whatever he had. Remember how they marched us through Holland after we left the train? Eating hot spuds Dutch farmers boiled for us? The night the Mos- quito night -fighter attack- ed the train? The officers and some of the guys in your box -car escaped. They were recaptured and I met them later. How's that for memory after almost 40 years? Well, there goes my space, and i haven't even opened fire on the six -and - five fiasco, which is strict- ly five -and dime stuff, in my opinion. I'll hoard my ammunition until another week. Deserve commendation About a year ago or so each principal in Lambton County was asked to draw up a list of possible measures that could be undertaken in case of an emergency. I carefully drew up a list of catastrophes which could conceivably happen and the proper procedures which should be taken in such a situation. One of these was a tornado. If one received warning of a tornado approaching in sufficient time to prepare for it, which is probably doubtful when you hear people telling of their express -train speed, the children of a school are supposed to be moved to the central halls of the school, made to.sit down with their backs against the inside wall out of Forest, including a school, range of flying glass' a nursing home, not to I went to see some of the mention my own house. Perspectives By Syd Fletcher destruction which resulted My utmost sympathy from the recent tornado goes out to . the people whichhitin central Lamb- whose homes were ton County, and i am cer- tainly grateful that it followedthepaththat itdid. Three miles west and it would have hit a rural school right during lunch hour with the children all out on the playground. Two miles to the north and it would have torn through destroyed. 1 was talking to a teacher at Bosanquet school who picked up wed- ding pictures from a home almost 30 miles away. That gives an idea of the tremendous force of those winds. (I understand that a tornado can reach wind speeds of up to 500 kilometres per hour, almost twice that of a hur- ricane.) What amazes me is that anybody could sur- vive under those circumstances. The only good thing that I can possibly see from such a disaster is the way the community has pitch- ed in to help out the people who were wiped out. it does my heart good to hear of the Mennonites coming down from the Kitchener area, out of their own free will, spen- ding a great deal of their own time and effort to clean up'the mess, just as did hundreds of local volunteers. Each person who helped deserves to be commended.