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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-03-06, Page 4 (2)OUR POINT OF VIEW Food for thought 'Canada's arch -rivals have finally agreed on one point. Both Federal Agricultural Minister Eugene Whalen and Food Prices Review Board chairman Beryle Plumptre say Canadians are eating the wrong kinds of food. Check out their opinions yourself on grocery day. Watch other people's shop- ping carts. Down the aisles roll carts full of ready to serve pizza, bags of caramel coated popcorn, cookies by the pound, candies by the box, TV dinners, soft drinks, ready made pies and cakes and all descriptions of convenience foods and goodies. r . . These things may not be bad for those eating them, but what Plumptre and Whalen have said is people are eating too much of this kind of food. Yet where would we be without them' ,. Friday nights in front of the television might get pretty dull without pizza or something to keep the teeth. busy. Although, if there was less of this type of food eaten, the cost of eating would be greatly lowered for some individuals. Speaking of prices,did you ever realize just how little you spend on food? First unwrap all the groceries. You can't eat tin cans or paper wrappers you pay for. . Set aside your soaps. deodorants. toothpaste, razor blades. and hairsprays. Few of us eat dog and cat food. so don't include those either. ,-Then there are the paper products. The bathroom tissues. facial tissues. and paper towels. If you can't eat it, don't count it-. What have you got left? About half a shopping cart of actual edible food? And look at all the other stuff you don't put into your mouth but still call food when it comes time to pay for it. Food for thought? An explanation There appears to be a general mis- conception that municipal councils in Huron are taking steps to disband local police forces in favor of contracting ser- vices with the Ontario Provincial Police. That may well be the result of current discussions. but it should be explained that the move was not primarily sparked by municipal councils and the record should be set straight in that regard. The entire discussion started some time ago when the Ontario Police Com- mission presented a task- force report on policing in the province. One of the recommendations in that submission was that the OPP should take over policing in towns with population in the category of those in Huron. This recommendation naturally caused some concert among present municipal policemen and the police chiefs in Huron then made a proposal that a county municipal force be established. This suggestion was made to county council by the chiefs and the municipal police committees and county council then decided to ask the OPP to undertake a study of policing in Huron. That report is now before county coun- cil and the local municipalities and outlines four alternatives: retention of the present system. retention of the present system with a central communication and dis- patch. a county police force and total polic- - ing by the OPP. The suggestion of a county police force has been dismissed as being not practical. while the cost involved in a cental system of communication and dispatch has made the second alternative less than popular with municipal officials to date. That leaves only twoof the alternatives for major consideration. those being the retention of the present system or total policing by the OPP. It is only natural. therefore. that most of the discussion has been on the total polic- ing by the OPP. because it is the area with which municipal councils are not presently familiar. They already have the other system and know what it entails. Hopefully this will help explain to some people why the most talk has been related to total policing by the OPP, and what prompted the entire discussion in the first place. Stamp out postal strikes I have personally had it, w+ith the Canadian Postal Service. so called. i am sick to death of postal strikes and threats ,of strikes. And i almost throw up every time Honorable Bryce Mackasey, minister in charge of the post office. comes on television to State bluntly that postal em- ployees last year stole only a million dollars or whatever. which is just a drop in the bucket. and that we have the third best postal service in the world. His first statement practically condones theft by public em- ployees. His second must be something he halucinated while recovering from an overdose of stamp glue. Admitted. that for years. postal employees were sorely un- derpaid. and most of them were in the job only for the security it offered. But the security is still there. and they are now far from sorely underpaid. Some of them. in view of what they do. and the relatively simple qualifications required. may be overpaid. in comparison with some other jobs. Admitted, many postal jobs are unexciting. even boring and monotonous. This is no excuse for the flouting of the public's needs. or for the thumb -to -the -nose attitude towards the government, employer of the postal workers. Nobody forced those people to work in the post office. Plenty of other jobs are just as monotonous. If they wanted excitement why didn't they go Times Established 1873 into high steel work or massage parlors. Isn't it about time for a showdown? Either Canada gets a first rate postal service, as we used to have, or we scrap the whole thing and turn it over to private enterprise. In my far from humble opinion. the latter course should have been taken years ago. For the past several decades, the per- formance of the post office in this country has been a dismal one. Each year. efficiency decreases: each year the costs increase. Each new broom ap- pointed as minister has carefully swept the dirt under the rug. instead of -out the door. I think it's too late for a purge in the post office, which has become so constipated that nothing short of dynamite would move those turgid bowels. No new minister has the guts to go in and ream out the dottle of the public pipeline. It would be his head on a platter if he tried. Nope. it's too late fOr half measures. it's time to put the whole. shambling, sick, half - paralyzed leviathan on the auction block, and sell it to the highest bidder: buildings, bricks, equipment and jobs. And let's not get any phony nationalism mixed up in it. if one of the new rich oil countries wants to buy the mess and put it in running order. why not? Canadians can't do it, ap- parently. You think this is too drastic? it seems the only alternative we Advocate Established 1 881 €�fWimes-bmcate SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. and ABC Publisher — Robert Souihcott Editor — Bill Batten — Advertising Manager Assistant Editor — Ross Hough Plant Manager — les Webb Composition Manager — David Worby Phone 235-1331 MONAPAV • have to limping along with a postal system that the word "rotten" inadequately describes. You think something as big and important as the postal non - system should be controlled by the government? Hogwash! Anyone with ears to hear or eyes to read knows that government is notably inefficient as an em- ployer. Let's look at one example. We have two transcontinental railways. CPR, privately owned. has shown a thumping profit year after year. The CNR, govern- ment owned, highly subsidized, is alway in the red. You think I'm a little hot today? You're right. Postal strikes have cost me con- siderable, in terms of anxiety and cash. And I'm only a little frog. Imagine what the lousy service is doing to slow down and thwart large companies. which hire hundreds of thousands. As i write. postal employees in Toronto are not working, while mail piles up in thousands of tons. Why are they not working'? Because they won't cross the picket lines of another, com- paratively small union that is on strike. And get this. The Post Office gave its non -working employees leave of absence without pay. They were not fired. And those employees have the unbelievable gall to talk of suing the post office because they are not drawing their pay when theyare not Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation March 31, 1974, . 5,309 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada 59.00 Per Year; USA $11.00 CCNA GLUF riRROM AWAY0 u)71 ... AND SNOVEI. THE DRIVEWAY ON YOUR WAY OUT! Get your horses ready The only people smiling these days over the current mail situation. are those who breed horses. The way things are going, theee's every indication that the nation may have to revert to the pony express and they will come out the big sinners, having the necessary equiptnent to reac- tivate such a system of mail distribution. • At the present, the nation appears to be rolling from one post office strike into' another. It's a situation that many people cannot afford. The disruption in service to those who rely on the mails to transact business creates economic caos. and un- fortunately comes at a time when the economy is already in a position where it cannot stand such stresses. ' Ironically, while many businesses suffer great losses due to the curtailment of mail service in Canada, our Prime Minister is off on a jaunt to Europe in an effort to stimulate trade with some countries over there. He'd be much better off at home attempting to settle the post office problems. so the trade and commerce that we already have in existence could function properly. Even if he did interest some people in doing business in Canada. it would probably be a lost cause. Their letter carrying a purchase order would get stifled in the post office strike anyway. And. unless we can find some horses that swim extremely well. even the reactivating of the pony express wouldn't help the situation. it's time that the delivery of mail was put into the class of "essential services" and the government and its postal em- ployees forced to accept ar- bitration for settlement of disputes without strikes or lock- outs. + + -*- During During the recent convention of the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association, one of the featured speakers was Roy F. Bennett. president and chief executive officer, Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. He explained that many of the safety and emission control requirements forced on car manufacturers have reduced gasoline consumption drastically. Theengineering and mechanical handiwork done to make cars and trucks meet the emission laws resulted in fewer miles per gallon and most of the safety standards led to added weight - side -door beams and complex bumper systems are examples • and thisaddedweight further reduces miles per gallon. He hinted that more effective ways to increase safety and cut down on gasoline consumption would be to make seat belts mandatory. reduce highway speeds to 55 and initiate honest - to -goodness crackdowns on drinking drivers. "To my mind. these are some working. even though they are not on strike. Can you figure that out? it makes my head reel.. This week, 1 sent a letter "special delivery". it cost me 48 cents in postage. To make me expend such a sum. the letter had to be mighty important. It's sitting in a post office. unsorted. in which the employees. are NOT on strike. i've had enough. Who'll join me? And in closing, may 1 add that 1 don't put the blame on the postal union. not all of it. These people are human and will reach for all they can get. The real root of my rage and the •fifth -rate Canadian postal non -service is the gutless politicians in Ottawa. of the important measures that will bring safer roads to Canada - more so than all the costly built- in. added -on gadgets and gim- micks put together," he con- cluded. There was a great outcry when legislators considered making seat belts mandatory, but the results are difficult to argue against. • I n New South Wales in Australia, it was found that by forcing people to buckle up, the highway death rate dropped by 25 percent and medical authorities reported a 35 percent reduction in the number of serious injuries. Still not convinced? Perhaps you• will be after your next accident - if you're alive then to consider it!! + _ + An advertisement currently appearing in this newspaper indicates the local RAP com- mittee are looking for "cruisers" to -help supervise the roller skating program planned this spring and summer. - The question is: why do you need cruisers for roller skating and not for ice skating? Sunday afternoon, the writer took his two youngest sons to the local ice palace for a session of public skating and came away with the opinion that cruisers are needed just as much - if not more - for ice skating as roller skating. Some of the Sunday afternoon patrons were playing tag, others were racing, while still, others ii were stealing caps and tossing them over the boards. Youngsters were darting in and out of the skaters and many were taking their life in their own hands by skating against the normal flow of traffic. Groups were seen standing along the boards, making it difficult for younger skaters to manoeuvre safely aroundthe ice. In general, it was havoc, and it is more by good luck than good management that some serious injuries do not occur. Our two offspring had on their hockey helmets, a 'move that turned out to be most prudent as one of the two was knocked off his feet by another lad who was enjoying a race with a buddy. We have always considered ice skating - more dangerous than roller skating because of the sharp blades and the vast age difference of the patrons and suggest that cruisers secs ar e definitely required to keep it a safe pursuit for all skaters, particularly those whose abilities could be described as "wobbly" or for some of the more senior patrons, "rusty". Prior to a recent hockey game in St. Thomas we saw the tail end of the skating program where a grey-haired cruiser was on duty. Those in attendance were obviously - still enjoying them- selves despite the fact they were kept moving in one direction at a steady pace under the cruiser's watchful eye. 50 years ago The Goderich hockey team won the OHA Intermediate cham- pionship by defeating Exeter 8-7 in Goderich; 6-3 in Exeter in home and home games. Sarnia High School defeated Exeter High School in a scheduled WOSSA hockey game. The score was 4-3 in Exeter, Sarnia winning the round 6-4. Mr. & Mrs. William Kernick of Usborne, celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary last week. While Gordon Heater of Hay was delivering some eggs at D. Cantelon's store at Hensall, the team owned by W. C. Pearce ran away, broke loose from the sleigh, and landed up in the Methodist Church shed. 25 years ago Exeter District High School essay winners received their prizes from postmaster M. W. Pfaff. They were John Hendrick, Wilbert Crown, John Petris, Bill Gilfillan, Joyce Witmer, Shirley Pearson, Marion McLeod, Elaine Beer, June Walters and NancyTieman. A group from Dashwood, Grand Bend and Exeter are in Toronto today with Thomas Pryde, MLA, and Hon. G. H. Doucett, Minister of Highways to urge the paving of Highway 83 from Exeter to Grand Bend. The cafeteria was opened this week at Exeter District High School. The 25 cent meals were served to 180 persons. 15 years ago Strike at General Coach works, itensall terminated Wednesday afternoon when picketers agreed to go back to work Thursday morning. The end came during a meeting between company of- ficials and strikers but'it was in- dicated the firm made no con- cessions to union demands. The picketers started Thursday af- ternoon when a negotiating meeting at Toronto came to an Abrupt end. Police patrolled the plant Friday, Monday and Tuesday to make sure non- striking personnel could get in and out of the plant. A rink of Sarnia lady curlers were guests of a rink of Exeter ladies on Wednesday. The game ended in a tie. The Exeter ladies were Mrs. HarryAiley, skip, Mrs. Charles Shane, vice -skip; Mrs. Morley Sanders, second and Mrs. Gerald Webb, lead. Approximately 14 inches of snow fell on Thursday,Friday and Saturday, plugging roads, ac- cording to the aviation weather service at RCAF Station Cen- tralia. Wind guests Friday were as high as 50 mph. Township crews worked night and day over the weekend to clear roads of one of the heaviest snowfalls of the decade. Some snowdrifts in Hay and Usborne townships were 12 feet high. 10 years ago Kathy Buxton, a 17 year-old student of SHDHS was crowned queen at the annual At Home dance by the use of the telephone. A snow blizzard kept voting students home, so members of the student council phoned as many students as possible for their votes. Two area students won awards at Western -Ontario Agricultural School. Ed Hern placed first in dairy showmanship class and Danny Coward, RR 1 Woodham, walked off- with the wheat showmanship honors. Public speaking and verse speaking contests were held at Exeter Public School this week, with the judges having con- siderable difficulty picking winners among the many fine young performers. Winners were Mary Wilson, Bruce Fulcher, Michelle Harrison, Claudia Barrett, Kathy Bentley, Dan Jory, Joe Darling, Roberta Barrett, Steven Luckton, Ross Huntley, Bob Dobbs and Stan Rawlings. . r 5419419 Witieved, 9wvo 2v4it4 Nothing you do is right There's a story about a man and a boy and a donkey starting out on a journey. At the begin- ning, the boy got on the donkey's back while the man walked beside, but the people along the way hooted and hollered, "Look at that mean, strong boy riding on the donkey while the weak, old man walks." So the boy jumped off the donkey and the man mounted the animal. This time the . crowd jeered, "Can you imagine that healthy man riding while he lets the p000r little boy walk." Not wishing to cause any more disurbance the man and the boy decided they would both ride the donkey. Immediately the people set up another roar, "How cruel they are to both ride on the back of that poor, overburdened beast." So again, wishing to gain approval of the crowd, the pair changed positions and both got off and walked. Now, the crowd really ridiculed them, "Can you imagine anything so silly," they taunted, "both walking while the animals carries nothing on its back." Then the man and boy thought they really had the solution, one picked up the front feet of the donkey while the other took the back feet and they began to carry it along the road. The jeering. throng howled with laughter, "Surely this is the stupidest pair we have ever seen." Unfortunately, there are quite a few people around like those in the crowd. No matter what you do, you can't please them. They'll find fault whatever happens. Much has been written about criticism, how it usually is motivated by a sense of in- feriority, by egotism that would try to lift itself by putting down the other person, by finding fault with others to cover faults in oneself. One needs to feel great pity and love for the critical person because love is the catalytic agent that makes you understand why the criticism is there. But it's not easy. How difficult it must be to live day after day with someone who is constantly criticizing. This winter I met a lady by the name of Hilda who told me of a difficult situation that had her almost to the bt'eaking point. Her own sister had turned against her, and everything Hilda did was wrong. If she inquired about her sister's health, she was nosy; if she didn't she was thoughtless. Should she initiate a con- versation, she was trying to show off her knowledge, if she remained quiet, she was being sulky. And so it went, whatever lactic Hilda used to please her sister was met with negativism and criticism. After talking to Hiltla, it appeared that most of the trouble came from the sister's jealousy. Hilda had achieved academically, the sister had not. Hilda held an excellent position, the sister felt her's was much inferior. No doubt she was flooded with doubts as to her own worth and she was determined to bring Hilda down to her level. Not only that, she was telling lies to other members of the family trying to turn them against Hilda as well. Well, what wasHilda to do? It seemed she had tried about everything ... love, patience , understanding, but still she came under this tirade which was obviously upsetting her very much. It seems to me, that this is one of those times when having done all we can, we must stand, as Paul says to the Ephesians 6:13, He goes on to tell us how to stand against evil malicious strategies ... with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the greatest weapon of all, prayer. How often prayer is looked upon as a last resort. We harbour a kind of 'I've tried everything else so all I can do now is pray," . attitude. I believe that prayer is not only our greatest weapon but is absolutely essential to our Christian lives. Sunday, I stayed home from church and listened to a Presbyterian minister- speak on the tremendous necessity of getting more meaningful prayer times into our lives and into our churches. Of course, the right kind of praying never glosses over anything. It has to be truthful, it has to be constant, it has to be intense and it must be unselfish. As Hilda and I talked over her relationship with her sister we were able to look at it openly and pray about it earnestly. I had a note frtom 'bei' this week ... things haven't changed too much with her sister yet (that will come) but Hilda is coping beautifully. Our response to now By ELMORE BOOMER Counsellor tor Information South Huron For appointment phone: 235-2715 or 228-6291 Runaway health monster Health is in the air! Everywhere! The Lalonde paper and Mustard report have caused an uproar. And suddenly the discussion has switched from pollution to health. When compulsory medicare was introduced, the health of Canadians was a motherhood issue. Everyone should have health as an inalienable right. Health included not only wellbeing but a personal sense of happiness. Health care was the answer. "We'll care for the sick and cut morbidity and mortality roles". A cursory nod was made toward prevention and community medicine. But now the fashion has changed. Health care is not the answer. To affect a positive change in the health of Canadians we have to do more than care for the sick. The causes of sickness and death must be defined and neutralized. This simply means a community -centered practice of health. The Lalonde white paper has divided the causes of sickness and death into three main categories. They are briefly biological, environmental and life-style. The biological category en- compasses all the realities and tendencies inherited genetically at birth which cause sickness and death. - Environmental causes of sickness are those originating from outside the individual over which he has little control. Sickness caused by the in- dividual's life style is the most grievous. They are called sicknesses of choice. We can choose to smoke or not td smoke, to drink heavily or not, to eat nutritiously or not. Norman Webster in writing of Health Minister Frank Miller, remarks, "One thing that frustrates him is the prevalence of 'diseases of choice' - the massive health problems caused by alcohol. drugs and tobacco, too much food and too little exercise, wreckless driving, overworking and 'incautious sex' ". One thing that emerges is simply that we are treating the sick not preventing the sickness. We are closing the barn door after the horse is gone. The cost of closing this par- ticular door is Massive. Ontario's public health bill last year was $2.2 billion and this year will be 52.5 billion. Next year the price tag will rise to $3. billion. Bankruptcy looms ahead for Ontario. The problem is twofold. The public and the professional hold the keys. The public must see the cost plainly. Up to this time it has been a hidden cost. We see the tip of the iceberg only. On the other hand is the health care system - "a non -system" according to Mr. Miller. There is no direction about needed ser- vices, the location and the ap- propriate cost. This is exactly the area of limitation on the professional. The doctors have taken direction from the government this year in deciding to accept only a four percent raise in their fees. It seems part of a genbral trend away from professional self- direction. This curbing of the health monster is a small beginning. It seems that, that as highways are provided the more cars there will be to fill them, so also the more doctors there are the more medical services will be fostered. It is estimated that each new doctor costs Ontario $250 thousand. This includes physician and hospital fees and needed hospital accommodation and specialist fees. Mr. Miller thus feels that if he can check the inflow of doctors into the system, .especially doctors from other countries he can cut the annual health bill for Ontario by a half billion dollars by 1980. The recent agreement between — Please turn to Page 5