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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1985-10-09, Page 30Page 16A Times -Advocate, October 9, 1985 Women tell pros and cons of political office What are you doing to serve your community? The disappointingly small turnout for the quarterly meeting of Women Today held in the old town hall, Ex- eter, was treated to a candid, in- teresting and informative panel discussion on women in municipal politics. Leona Armstrong, Reeve of Grey Township and Exeter's Deputy Reeve Lossy Fuller each briefly outlined the circumstances that had launched their political careers, and gave their audience a brieT lesson in the workings of municipal government. Leona entered the political arena in 1974. A friend stopped in at her farm kitchen on the morning of the last day to file to suggest she be -a candidate in an up -coming election. He said "Just sign this nomination paper to run for Grey township council. I'll pick it up this afternoon and look after the rest." By the time he came back, Leona had decided to try. She won, and has been winning elections ever since. Leona served two terms as coun- cillor, one term as deputy reeve, and will stand for re-election as reeve in November. She plans to make a se- cond run for the county warden's chain of office, hoping to follow in the footsteps of her father, the late Harvey Johnston who served as Huron • County warden in 1952.. Besides, she noted, Grey has not had a warden since 1945. Leona related one incident where her gender was the cause of a tem- porary misunderstanding. It occurred the first time she attended an on-site drain meeting in the northern limit of Grey shortly after she had been elected councillor. She was sitting in her ear, protected from a raw, biting wind while waiting for the engineer when a man came over and said "We don't need any damn reporter at this meeting". The property owner had assumed she was a repaorter for the Listowel Banner, and apologized after he realized his mistake. The interested parties examined the drain, then crowded into the egg room of a nearby henhouse to escape the cold. Further discussion of drajn repair was carried on at high volume, with everyone shouting to be heard above the noise of the hens. • As Grey township's 200 municipal drains are a constant and important part of council deliberations, Leona took the OAC drainage course four years ago. She knows a great deal more about drains now then she did when she first entered municipal. politics in 1974. Leona has also discovered that be- ing reeve is a time-consuming job. Her phone starts ringing about 8:00 a.m. each morning. She may be stop- ped on the street two or three times during a trip to town, buttonholed by constituents who want to discuss township business. She learned not to pop a chicken into the oven, set the temperature at 450, dash out on an er- rand and plan to be back in an hour to turn the heat down. A charcoaled fowl and a- smoke-filled kitchen are mute but effective teachers. Leona stressed the fact women in politics must have the support of their families, who will overlook the occa- sional shirt not ironed, or meal not cooked. Leona enumerated the principles that guide her politica) life: an honest day's work, live within the budget, sacrifice for goals, and respect for one's word. She revealed she had stopped seeking advice from one per- son after being asked each time "Do you want an honest answer or a political one?" To her, the two should not be mutually exclusive. Leona closed the formal part of her presentation by saying that when we postpone involvements we may never accomplish our intentions and be left with regrets for deeds undone. The second panelist, Lossy Fuller, also • entered municipal politics in 1974. She had been closely following news reports of Exeter council events as she typed them into a word pro- cessor at the Exeter Times -Advocate where she was employed part-time as a typesetter. Reeve Helen Jermyn, the first woman to sit on Exeter council, and ,the town's first woman reeve, had issued a plea for more women to take part in local politics in the forthcom- ing election. While talking about the issue with a group of friends, Lossy was challenged by the question "What are you doing to serve your communi- ty?" She put aside her excuses - she should be 10 years older, politics might interfere with family respon- sibilities - and filed her nomination papers with the full backing of hus- band and children. She not only won, she did very well at the polls. Lossy vividly remembers her first ccwncil meeting, held in a stuffy lit-. tie room with no windows and no ven- tilation. She sat beside a man who smoked cigars throughout the ses- sion. As a rookie councillor, she was assigned to look into day care grants and dog control (The dog catcher had just resigned.) Lossy confessed she went home prepared to resign too. The next day she talked to -Bruce Shaw, the newly elected mayor, and decided to stay on. She is glad she did. She soon authored a successful motion still in effect banning smoking during coun- cil meetings. Lossy moved by acclamation to the deputy -reeve position in the last elec- tion, and will seek re-election in November. Lossy explained that all Exeter council and committee meetings are open. The general government com- mittee is responsible for finance, pro- perty and social services, and roads and drains also encompasses sanita- tion. Most issues are thoroughly aired at committee level, and recommen- dations brought to the regular twic- monthly council sessions. Lossy said she feels quite comfor- table at the meetings even if she is the only female, as everyone is treated equally. If councillors go out for cof- fee after a meeting, she makes sure she gets her own bill; she doesn't want anyone to feel obligated to pick up her tab just because she is a woman. In closing, Lossy posed her question to herlisteners,"What are you doing for your community", and reminded them that "it is no more difficult for a woman to get elected than it is for a man." Because of their positions on coun- cils, both women sit on Huron Coun- ty Council where the mayors, reeves and deputy reeves of the county's 16 townships, five villages and five towns meet together to govern the county. Both expressed great satisfaction in serving at the county level, and felt their sex was an advan- tage rather then a handicap on many PRESENTATION — Women Today president Debbie Selkirk presents gifts to Exeter Deputy Reeve Lossy Fuller (centre) and Grey Township Reeve Leona Armstrong. The two women participated in a panel discussion on women in municipal politics. Bakers Dozen 4-H find pies are too hot By MRS. HUGH MORENZ Shipka The Bakers Dozen 4-11 number two group of Grand Bend, met last Mon- day evening at Ann Russell's home for meeting two, with ten in attendance. The young folks divided into groups and made a bowl of pastry. Then each one made an individual apple pie. The pies were too hot to eat so they took them home to sample. They were asked to comment on the tea biscuits made at their first meeting, for the roll call. Next meeting at Mount Carmel Catholic school. Press reporter - Angie Zielman Personals ' Dr. and Mrs. Wilfred Turnbull, one time residents of this area,'bf Van- couver B.C., have been visiting relatives and friends for the past two weeks in Ontario. As well as his brother Ed Turnbull of Zurich, he has two sisters, Mrs. Marian Stuckey, Grand Bend, and Mrs. Florence Hen- drick, Exeter, and several nieces and nephews here. The seven daughters of Mrs. Jessie Walz, of Kitchener, gathered to celebrate their mother's 90th birthday in Kitchener. Attending from this area were Lenore Orr and Eva Nan- carrow of Sr ithcott Pines. Other daughters e Dorothea Knights, Windsor, Blanche Walpole and June Carte, of Kitchener, Mary Vanholla, An exceptional record. An exceptional opportun That's Industrial American Fund, a portfolio of prime U.S. and international stocks traded in New York—The Big Apple. Take a look at what Industrial American has achieved, then call or write for more information. Since inception 5 years 3 years 1 year industrial American fund 21.2".. 21.9'.. :12.8 . S&P500 Dow Jones 8.2% 11.3% 19.2% 25.9% Industrials 4.8% 9.1% 17.1% 19.1% Offer made only by prospectus All figures average annual returns to May 31. 1985. Dividends reinvested for InduslnfI American. Date of inception: October 1915. INDUSTRIAL AMERICAN FUND L /t ❑ Please send me information on .Industrial American Fund. Name Address City_ Province Postal Code Phone { Rc side n•ha•l I l Rus i nc ss 1 (DSP) Se(' 1rlitiE s ['Meld Gary C. Bean 344 Andrew St. S., Exeter, NOM 150 235-2231 Ottawa and Faye Brock, Bolton. Mrs. Alberdina Westerhof, of Dalfsen, Holland, returned home Wednesday after holidaying here with her sister-in-law, Annie Zielman, nephews and nieces for the past six weeks. Susie and Wayne Robson, Colin and Sheina, of Essex, spent a few holidays here last week, with the children's grandma, Annie Zielman and their aunts Debbie and Angie. Presently visiting with Morley and Millie Desjardine, Richard and Ken- neth, are Millie's mother and sister, Mrs. Lydia Jesske and Mrs. Edna Burkhart, both of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Mrs. Elizabeth Adams, is present- ly a patient in St. Joseph's Hospital, London, where she underwent surgery last Friday. Hugh .and I visited Sunday after- noon with our nephew and niece, Les and Jane Coleman, and- our baby great niece, Suzanne Elizabeth, who we saw for the first time. The Col- emans live in the Clinton -Bayfield area. Area 4-H clubs meet By MRS. HAROLD DAVIS The Kirkton No 5 Basic Baking 411 club met at Marg Angus' house for the first meeting. The officers are as follows: pres., Lisa Ulch; 4ice., Darlene Atkinson; secretary/press reporter, Susan Selves; phone girl, Leanne Bickell; treasurer, Karen Atkinson. During the meeting we made tea biscuits. They were scrumptious. The second meeting was held at Marg Angus'. All members were pre- sent. We made apple pie and blueberry pie. We -ate the pies and cleaned up. On our third meeting, held at Diane Atkinson's, all members but one were present. Karen and Leanne made cor- nish pasties while Darlene and Tracy made banana -coconut creme'pie. The new members went over their books with Marg. While the food was baking we ate some pies that Karen baked ahead. They were delicious. When the pasties were done baking we tried them. The response was mixed. Hurondale 4-11 Thursday, Hurondale 11 held their Of 1 t\\1 51.1 .51 Wit - %N1) P111.5I151. UO.10111110� T first 4-11 meeting based on Basic Baking. After the roll call had been answered by everyone, Tracey ()ke, the assistant leader, demonstrated the reactions that occur with baking soda and baking powder in water. She then demonstrated and explained how to correctly measure flour and sift it. Members were then divided into two groups and the leaders Pat Ballantyne and Karen Etherington helped us make tea biscuits. While the tea biscuits were baking, the election of the officers took place. The president is Tracey Oke, vice- president Dianne Hamilton, secretary Mary -Jane Parsons, treasurer Sheila Dougall and press reporter Lori Parker. The leaders, Pat and Karen then explained how to test the temperature of our oven and how to tell what we did wrong if our tea biscuits don't look appealing' The tea biscuits were tasted and were satisfactory to everyone. The meeting was adjourned by Tracey. t ;f MI< )„ • WINS OVEN Sou Chong of Golden City Restaurant was the ner of o microwave oven in a contest staged by Russell Electric conjunction with their celebration of selling General Electric ap- pliances at the same location for the post 50 years. Jim Russell makes the presentation to the winner. win - in of the committees. In response to questions, Leona and Lossy said campaigning was not very expensive, and figured costs shouldn't exceed $200. They advocated newspaper ads, having cards printed, and going door to door soliciting support. Although only 10 names of people on the tax roll are required on a nomin- - lion paper, Lossy advised getting 12 to 14 in case any of the signers turned out to be ineligible. Neither woman has been defeated in an election. However, Leona said the last time she ran as reeve she was opposed by a man who had never served on council in any capacity. She still finds hard to accept the fact 270 people voted for someone with no previous experience in municipal affairs. Losse confessed that as a self - admitted "stubborn, headstrong" person, accepting defeat on a motion she feels strongly about is difficult, but once the vote is over she accedes to the majority view and the argu- ment is left behind as council once again begins working together. The women agreed that the honoraria they received do not com- pensate for all the hours they spend on municipal business, but Lossy pointed out "You don't get paid for what you do, and that's not why you are doing it." Both women stated their reason for entering municipal politics was a lik- ing for people, and a desire to work for the betterment of their com- munities. 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