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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1978-09-21, Page 4 (2)Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 21, 1978 TA aN.1P410N Maines tossed about Within the past month or so. the nion he was not 'on a trip to Germany to rumor -mill has been running full speed in this area regarding an alleged drug ring. with each new day bringing forth - more names to add eta the list. - To date. -none- of the gossip ha§ been substar tiated, and while the en- - tire situation almost reaches the coin= ical stage, people should be cautioned that some of those falsely named don't. find it very Humorous and could initiate defamation of character proceedings against those who continue; to throw names into the mill. The editor was even informed this week that some people are of the opi- watch Canada's Armed Forces. • but rather was establishing international 'connection§ for-the."Iocal mob i.- White that comment was made int light-hearted way t we hope i it no doubt will be taken seriously by someone. as are the allegations against many other area`.residents. . People tread on very thin ice when they engage in such rtimors and can often find themselves more em- barrassed before: the law their -they would want from a personal and finan- cial standpoint. • A word to the wise,should be suf- ficient. enrolment It's becoming increasingly obvious _ graduates ended up without classroom • ' ± that declining school enrolments are teaching jobs.; •• the story of the future: .The baby boorn of the 1-950's and 60's is now behind us. and fora variety of reasons: smaller .fariitlies tare now, the order bf.the day:: • ' 1976. 'thee -e. *ere 1.360,085 elementary- school pupils. enrolled in schools across, Ontario. This fall, that _ fiFure has dropped .to 1:294.640 sXdents and 1986. experts prediit the. £igui'ft' will•have.dropped to 1.192.366 stTtdents. H In urota County alone. The schoor 'enrolment has dropped:' 2.8 pet- cent.. . '- •from last year, • What does declining enrolme.ot in' . our schools mean? For softie schools: particularly the older, neighbourhobd rchools- in urban .centres. th.e decPin'�ng • enrolment e� means closurThe_ citr-af L,ojtdon has .already been for qd to close-a•number • • of. its neighbourhood sc'hbo1s despite - - the protests -of parents and teachers and community= ..organizations. -The death of a neighbourhood school is -a move which often speeds the dis- integration of community feeling in a- bourhood. but as pupil numbers'decline. sc of .. s r . es -ran -1w longer afford to- keep the smaller schools open. - . ' ▪ Even graduates prepared to take jobs in the Far North may soon find • these positions at a premium. _ • The story is the _same for secon- ''dary School teachers — last year 57 per cent -of these graduates ended up without schools. Today school teachers have joined the ranks of other universi- • ty — educated professionals who are collecting. unemployment insurance or • taking -jobs out of their field. •- But ,declining enrolment isn't just -affecting new te,achers — it's, also hav- ing an effect -on teachers already in -the classroom. • The mobility which' was once. ' associated.with the teaching profession is over. Today. if a teacher is fortunate .enough to:have a job. then t#f'ere's far ' less chapce-that teacher can transfer to another' board•or another area of the' ' province..A teacher who is frustrated teaching where be or she is now. is.like- lv to haye-to remain in the same•school, longer 9r else consider leaving the teachig profession altogether. • Right •now, the futu, a for our schools doesn't look promising. eptinusts on us still hope s Although riir'al • school are• n't as' likeltto be closed as those in the city. the day may conte when classrooms will be'boarded up or some parts of the • school simply won't be used. The dwindling number of student is -also, having drastic effects on- the job . prospects of the teachers employed in our schools. Last year. there wer-e 2.969 elementary school teachers who -.graduated-from Ontario's colleges and r universities • — and '1.677. of these Porspectives • _ By S'( -Q F -L E T CH E R • Small:town. fairs They're addictive • They re a lot different from the big city exhibitioris and fairs At those you might meet one person you know The rides are',priced right out of .sight and you stand a good chance of Ret - ting gypped by some of the hustlers on this midway. In the buildings it's strictly humper'to bumper traffic so you hang onto your wallet with one hand and push with the other At the country fair it's a whole different world First you make your -way to the church booth and pick rImn Estahh,h.d 1 A73 (•jimes that as the number o ' decreases. the quality of education will rise. A. smaller pupil- teacher ratio - should mean- more time , for the in- dividualstudent. ' -. - Unfortunately. with the provincial government reducing its payments to local school boards. and with the or- dinary taxpayer footing more of the bill for our rising education costs. it seems likely that it will be some years before students reap any benefits from the declining enrollments. "Walkout he damned I'm going to go on a sit-down strike instead." BATT'N AROUND . 4, .. • with the editor A florist's dream come true After one of theino'sf interesting and -novel weeks we've experienced, it is extremely difficult to know where to start in relating some_ of those ex- periences- to x-periences-to readers. Our note -book is -britttming with intFysting tales of , Germany in general and the Canadian Atmed Forces presence there in par- ticular and it would appear more prac- tical to sit-down and write a book than a mere column. • However. we'll `attempt to present some of the information in specific stories. columns and photos dver the next two orihree weeks and hope you'll find them as intere.sting• on a second- hand basis as we did pn a first hand basis. Our trip was basically a.' working" jaunt to Germany. -and ,'while we did manage to see a considerable portion of the country along with our five other t�-ant'arta'weelrly-n • • cohorts. the Armed Forces personnel invo ver arranging the trip kept us extremely busy visiting with this nation's 3.006 - member contingent assigned to defen- - sive operations in central Europe within the North'' Atlantic Treaty Organization. We watched Bavarian Bayonet. a brigade -size exercise wherein the Canadian troops combined to practice their military skills. with 'a smaller Germa>Ay, army division acting as the "enemy". This exercise took place over a 60 kilometer area northwest of t'im and during our visit. we were able to visit dozens and dozens of small Huron Expositor • Perspectives out a piece of your favourite pie served by somebody who ,„might be the local .mayor pitching in to help a -good cause •Though there's always a gook crowd'on the grounds you dont mind as much because it seems that every other- person is a friend you haven't •seen since last fair day The rides aren't quite as flashy or as nuntierous a. the big fairs -hut the ki s s nd their money .just as f - and - seem to enjoy. themselves every bit as much You've got Tots Of time to go through tht+ few buildings• nd, see just' about • everything there is to see. It's interesting because you know the exhibitors like the -big school exhibits or the quilt made by your next door neighbour Down at the little grands- tand -you can watch a freckle contest og the baby show. or a pie -eating contest. It's a real shocker when you Adretar. obk hed IB 1 4A. r AbT.• . • SERVINO.CANAOA'S BEST fARMIAND C. W.N,A., 0.W N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC PAlit heti by J. W. Eedy, Publications Iunited IORNE ESOT, PUBLISHER Edlto, — Bill Batten • Assistant Editor — Reis Hough Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Compes1Nan Manager — HarriDeVries Business Manager Dick ldngtrind Phone 23S-1331 realize that the -third kid from the left. just a- munch'ing away. is.your own ten year old. the one you haven't seen since he came to asjc for another dollar. i' taked to one fellow who ran a food stand. It turned out that he ran a machine shop in a nearby -town. He'd ftxe uli a traitar"anti.came. to airtthe fa1"rs'katiltdwith it Already he'd picked up the lingo of the carnival men. "You got a joint here'he ' asked. wondering' if. i ran a game at the fair i asked him if he was mak- ing a reasonable amount at the fairs. • "Naw." he replied wryly. "Last year I lost money. it's a good thing i- had another business . - .". His voice trailed off. then he brighten- ed: "Maybe this year. though Kinda gets in your blood you know." As I said before. the coun- try fair's get hold of you.. Try one.. You'll like it' ' • :x • .A,.. AmolgoMot et! 1924 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario - Seto d Clan MaiL� R.gistra on Number,43S6 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada SI T\0O Pis Year; USA $22. n. - • villages in that area and to talk to the. Canadian -troops as well as many Ger- man residents. In side trips. we visited Heidelberg. Strasbourg and Stuttgart. most -of which are located in the scenically 'renowned Black Forest area. • ' Our first impression of Germany was 'that it was progressive. clean and "beauttful and while fir:Ft impr'es'sions `don't always, count. they did in this -case "aShe scene. seldom changed on any of obi- outings. The lasting impression is that the country is a florist's -dream come. true. Nowhefe have. we ever. experienced such an endless of flowers and greenery. Every inch of space appears to be .covered with gardens. while flower boxes adorn most balconies and windows. It appears that every citizen tries to outdo his.aneiRliT3or in that regard and -each community tries to outperform the next. Blessed by a warmer climate than we , Canadians. Germans have up to three plantings of flowers and vegetables and most appear.to spend a considerable. portion of their leisure hours in this pursuit. - One,can quickly become a social out- cast for failing to appear at a party 'thout a bouquet of flowers. a prac- tiee that is no • t-expensivewhen, you can purchase more blooms than you' can carry for. •' under $3.00 at the neighborhood florist shop is you don't -want to deplete your .own garden's 'bounty. The second impression is that cleanliness is a way of life. Each,.mor- ning. the women in the village can be seen sweeping their sidewalks and the task is not completed until they have also cleaned up any debris that may have been dropped on the roadway dur- ing the night. The Germans are so particular in that regard. that requirements for keeping apartments and their surroun- dings clean are included in lease agreements. Derek Quinn. a newsbroadcaster from Lahr who • ac- companied us on our (rip to Ulm. reported that his lease required that he scrub down the sidewalks each Satur- da}I morning- Another item covered was that there was to he no•smoking in his apartment. Trips along the autobahn and country 1- 1. /]► roads revealed a total tack;pf littering and the farmyards in the small towns were impeccably clean. Members of our groupalso noted that vandalism must not be a problem. We -could hardly imagine ftowerbtoxes and other decor being left undamaged when placed at street level in Canada. although it is a very commonplace at- • traction in Germany and appears un- molested despite the fact we seldom saw .policemen in the streets in any of the communities visited. While there are many differences in Germany.' they share Canadians' ap- parent love affair with flirting with death on the highwaysg In short..they- drive like maniacs do the autobahn here -thee a,1nos eed limits. - Our military van hada top Spee orT about 115 kilometersland most drivers were passing as though we were stan- ding still. If one pulled into the'passing lane and impeded the ttpeed of the vehi- cle behind, the driver of the latter went into a frenzy by blinking his lights. - tooting his horn. or even on occasion. attempting to pass on the left shoulder. Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley , Pickedup serious disease ' There's probably only one thing more boring than being' forced to watch slides of someone else's holiday jaunt.. and that is ha.'into listen to them tell about it But ' v think that you>.are going to get v with only, two colymns about "OCR TRiP.'• you . might as well turn over to the real es- tate ads rig,ht now. gentle reader. Not afterI Spent all that money i've had two long distance calls and a letter in the past 10 days from the Charges' people Seems. we went over our limit by about double. and the bills are still coming in Oh. well. that's inflation On a trip like ours. it's probably a good idea to take notes. or keep a diary I never do this: ton interested in people and places to try to put them -down. Tried to keep it all in my head: in pictures Result for 10 days after we got home I couldn't sleep. with all those pictures. hopelessly -nixed. flashing -through my mind When you hit eight countries in 14 days. -Ws-more like low-flying than an in-depth study -of the treasures of F:urope But it's amazing what you ran and do see and experience For the average travellerr,who•is not an art expert tyre is seriouscinger aT- plaTcing. up a: couple of diseases. cattiedralitis and hasilicatis. The -symptoms are similar. •if you see a per- • spin with.head cricked right back. and. mouth -open.. he's probably just- hack from F:urope= - . While the cathedrals are awesome in their stnu•ture and art work. they tend to make you feel like a veru small min- nni1IN.in .a very large ocean_ And probably that's.what they're supposed th'do We were in the tar i'stand third- targest in the world. in .Rome and Florence. -both designed by Michelangelo. and i don't care if i -never see another. They `make you humble in the face of the patience. the - reverence. and the genius that. went into their creation. And we saw a lot of famous works of . *1't: the Venus de Milo. a stocky broad with no arms: the Mona Lisa. looking, anything but enigmatic behind six layers of bullet-proof glass. it was no more thrill than looking. at a good color photo of them in an art book. But that's not the sort of thing you remember from a trip. You remember the highlights and the human relations. ththad moments and the exalted ones. Like going through the Dolomites. a range of mountains so forbidding they make -the Rockies look genial, in a rainstorm. the driver inching around hairpin turns Or a magnificent summer evening with good wine. good food. good music, good friends. on a balcony ovellooking the beautiful Tivoli gardens. outside Rome. • • • Or wandering around the Moflt Mar- Ire in Paris. haunt of famous writers -and artists over the years.. watching the -painters at - work:- haggling- over- a- - picture. maybe having your portrait - donein 10 minutes. Or being kicked off the grass in Monte Carlo -by -a surly Monacan cop,-- Or hustling through the rain %in ileidelberg. trying to buy Suppositories , with your scanty German' Or sitting on your balcony in Lucerne. wondering what the poor folks were doing. as you looked over the lake to the'mountains. • 'Or, admiring the lady of the streets, who saw uz gawking at her as she lean - On the twisting country roads. we saw many examples of oncoming drivers being forced to brake sharply to avoid collisions with others who were inT•the process of passing trucks or slower moving vehicles on hills and • curves. We came to the conclusion it was best to ride along looking out the side windows and let the driver contend with the harrowing sights on the road ahead. The only time we really felt safe was during a35 kilometer ride in a tracked armored personnel carrier. . .ed against a building. turned.her back. - flipped•up hes skirt. no pants on. some of the bolderspirits told me. I. of course. -had covered my hand with my eyes, or something like that. Or discovering in your room a small bar refrigerator. stocked with everything from Coke to champagne. All you had to da was help yourself. mark town what you'd used. and pay .for it ip the morning. Can't see a North Amerit•an hotel trusting anyone that much. Or watching your .wife, the insom- niac at home, sleeping: on the bus. on the ferry. in a boat'fn the canals of Amsterdam, on a boat down the Rhine, on the Seine. on the train. The only . -place she didn't sleep was in 'he hotel 'rooms. worrying about getting up at 6 a.m.; and on the Hovercraft -front . France to England which -took only 35 • minutes. Perhaps the best part of a group tour. as I mentioned. is the relationships you form. We had _Canadianslc r _aS_#lar_#pArt as Dew-• son City. the Yukon. and Nova -gco ta, the whole breadth of the eountry. • • We had Americans from California; Texas, Illinois `brrgon, and Iowa. And we Had five Australians. Have you ever heard a' lady from Texas trying to talk to a middle-aged Prench-Canadian or a young Australian? It's a riot. 1 Think small byJim Smith Not Stupid But . Bureaucrats and politi- cians are not stupid. Admittetlly, thisinfomia- tion may come as a tremen: dous shock to many Cana- dians. (In some parts of the ,country, it may even rank as stop-the-pressnew,s.) But it's true. Bureaucrats and politi- cians are not stupid: -- • Unfortunately, those same t;ureaucrats and politicians are often petty, jealous and more concerned with pro- tecting their own little ad- ministrative kingdoms than with doing whatever happens to be best for Canadians in general at that moment This, in turn, makes the bureau- crats and politicians appear, stupider than is actually the case. This pettiness and empire= building has resulted in hor- rendous internal divisions. The fight between- Quebec and the rest of Canada is not between races. Rather, it's between politicians. Alber-' tans generally like other Ca- nadians. British Columbians love Nova Scotian. But re- lations between the provin- cial and federal goveniment are almost unanimout4 Ito.; healthy. And Canadians as large are payinga heavy price for this political intrigue. A quick explanation of 'one aspect of CanadianTax law will illustrate the nature and cost of this administra- tive empire -building. - In 1924, Ottawa intro- duced a manufacturers' sales, tax to raise money. The tax applies to goods as they leave the manufacturers' hands and it 'does bring in a great deal of money every year. But it is not a good tax-- '" For instance, some manu- facturersinclude delivery r - SS Years Ago - rtte-concert-an coital in James Street Church on -Monday was largely at- tended and thoroughly .en-. joyed by those present. The entertainmttnt was under the auspices of the Sunday . School. - The Zurich Fair was held on Thursday and 'Friday last. The weather was ideal and the exhibits in all lines were excellent. A large crowd was present. -Mr. Bordon Cunningham left on Monday to attend Huron College, London. . A number from town at- tended the Conference Epworth League convention held in St. Marys on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lucan Juniors have captured the junior • m- pionship of the NWBA. t he final -game was played in Lucan on Saturday.when the 'home team defeated Durham 1-0. 30 Years Ago Mr. Vernon Heywood .recently received a Men- tioned Dispatches certificate ror distinguished service in the army. Mr. and Mrs. George Ferguson. London and formerly of Exeter won a new Ford at Western Fair. • Exeter firemen will sponsor a baby contest at the Opera House for the benefit of Child Welfare. Harry Cole is attending the College of Pharmacy at the University of. Toronto' Mr. and Mrs. William Roh- de, Thames Road returned on Saturday after spending their honeymoon in eastern Ontario and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Miller returned from their wedding trip Sunday. .Sixteen public 'school canvassers realized' $8I.60 for the Nnvy League. on Saturday: .. costs in them price; others don't. The manufacturers who include delivery must charge the federal tax on the delivery cost. The other man- ufacturers get to ship the goods tax-free. So some manufacturers pay higher taxes than others -pay. There's a.lengthy list of other problems associated_ with the manufacturers' sales tax but the•point should -be clear: this is not a good tax. A federalretail sales tax, on the other hand, is excep- tionally good. It is easily ad- ministered, treats all products alike and the consumer•pays exactly the same amount of tax as what the government collects. But Ottawa refuses to replace the mnanu£acturers' sales tax with a retail sales -tax because the provinces would ollect the retail tax money and pass it along to.. Ottawa. The federal govern- ment �Q esn't- want .to' give the princes collection powers - so the consumer suffers on. Sometime soon, Ottawa will try to replace the manu- facturers' sales tax with a wholesale sales tax. The new tax is barely better than man- ufacturef� ' tai and is definite- ly inferi8r to a retail tax. However, Ottawas will still be able to collect the money directly - and that's"all that matters in .Ottawa. Stupid, no: Dishonourable arid petty, definitely. This isn't good government ; this is bureaucratic tyranny. Cana- da deserves better admini- strators - and a federal retail' sales tax. "Think small' ,is an edMonal • message from are Canadibn Federation of Independent Business _. - TA memory lama, 20 Years Ago Mr. and Mrs. W.C. 1-'oster for the past year were guests of honor at a family dinner at Hooke's Ites,laurant., London to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. They were married in Scotland and came to Canada in 1923. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson Dick, Hensall, marked their fiftieth wedding anniversary over the week end at the home of their daughter Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Cudmore. Exeter. They met on a blind date 54 years ago. The Exeter dairy team, made up of Pat Marshall, R.R. 1 Kirkton-and Lorne 11 rn, R.H. I Woodham ced fourth in a class in ich 55 teams competed a( ( C. Guelph. Friday: 15 Years Ago Carolynne Simmons has been chosen to head the SH- IMS student council for 1963- 64. Her executive inclndes Neil McAllister. vice- president; Linda Hunter- Uuvar, secretary; Joan. Smith, treasurer; and Bob Hoffman, publicity chair- man. Huron 4-11 clubs, the largest youth organization in the county, is trying to establish a choir. Director is J.G. Burrows, local public school inspector. Stephen township council approved the purchase of a $25.000 power grader at its meeting Tuesday right. , h;orme'r deputy -reeve • Cratide'M. Farrow has been appofited manager, of Exeter industrial Development Corporation, Flying Officer G.A. Houlahan,- Dashwood has g.uccessfully completed the R('Qt' radio officer's course at. air navigation school. Winnipeg -where he received his wings recently. • PI, ing travel irons, hair dryers, recipes, and * eedotes about toilets. ' - . ironically,• from this land- of separatism and stuff. .perhaps the best friends. we made on the tour were . Quebecois. And I think i know why. i dusted off my. rusty French and made an effort. and thy_ did he seine wltb_.._ �' - --. . An Australian lad and his sister became almost like a \ son and daughter to us. A young Canadian school teacher frrom- Calgary wept and hugged and kissed when we bumped into her after the tour, in London:- We drank dinner with two handsome young couples frdm Illinois several times. The Ladies Texas invited us down for Christmas. Donald, from Quebec, wants me to find a school where his daughter can learn English. And i was like to be kissed and hugged to death by 18 -year-old Cathy, from Oregon. My shirt was all.wet with tears after our farewell party. Very nice work, if you can get it. •- • ar 1