HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-08-08, Page 4 (2)t>iL
Page 4
Times -Advocate, August S. 1979
Times Established 1173 Advocate btablathed 1881
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imes - dvocate
SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND
C.W.N.A., O.W.N. A. CLASS •04» and ABC
Published by .1. W. Eedy Publications limited
LORNE EERY, PUBLISHER
Editor — Bill Batten
Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh '
Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett
Composition Manager — Harry DeVries
Business Manager — Dick Jongkind
Phone 235-1331
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Amalgamated 1924
Published Each Wednesday Morning
at Exeter, Ontario
Second Class Moil
Registration Number 0316 i
SUBSCRIPTION RA TES:
Canada 811.00 Per Year, USA 830.00
Showing compassion.
Members of the Christian Reformed
Church have shown the community
some strong leadership in being the first
group to sponsor refugee families arriv-
ing in this country from -Vietnam.
The compassionate concern evident
in the decision is heart-warming and
there is little doubt that other members
of the community will join them in ex- -
tending a helping hand to the two
families which will be settling in our
midst.
.A spokesman for the congregation
indicated one of the rpajor concerns for
the two refugee families is not the cost
involved, but rather the difficult task the
families may face in gaining acceptance
by the community.
That is rather' disconcerting,
although certainly not shocking. There
is ample evidence that many Canadians
are very agitated that refugees are being
brought to this country at a time when
unemployment is already at a high level.
Several petitions have even been
presented to the federal government ask-
ing them to cut back on the number of
families they have agreed to accept into
this country.
That selfishness is repugnant and
unfortunately is'the type of attitude
that has caused a deep rift among
various parts of this country and, in-
deed, between many nations of the
world. Too few have yet recognized that
they live in a global family and their very
survival depends on fostering love and
charity between all members of the fami-
ly
Those who would discount that
theory need only look as far as the
energy crisis to see that they depend on
other nations to share their riches of -oil
with North America, while they look to
us for food and other raw materials for
their existence.
The affluence of this nation in the
past has blinded people to the fact that
some day they may be the ones begging
on another door for a hand-out. For too
long we've squandered our resources in
the pursuit of the "good life" while tur-
ning a deaf ear to the pleas of those who
are starving.
Certainly, the number of refugees
will add to the problem of finding jobs
for everyone in Canada. But if we share
our abundance, no one will starve or go
without shelter. The refugees ask for no
more than that. Can we deny them?
This newspaper knows that the area
can support several families and
hopefully they can be accepted with the
compassion evidenced by one group
within our community which has shown
some leadership that should be a moving
example to everyone.
Problems exist
Small town living has its advan-
tages when looking at the process of
socialization in this community of 5,000 -
plus citizens.
We tend to look favorably on the
advantages of the slow pace, less hectic
life-style. leaning away from associating
our town with problems more prevalent
in larger. more sophisticated surroun-
dings such 4s Toronto,• or even Lon-
don.
Howeser, as a recent Journal -Argus
story resealed. the problems apparent in
larger communities, are also prevalent
right here in St. Marys.
Social worker Brian Hodgins told
our reporter of cases involving
alcoholism, drug abuse and a fast -rising
problem. marital disputes.
St. Marys. believe it or not, is no
different than the larger communities.
Marital problems here reflect the
national trend in our "lazy hamlet". He
said 45 percent of all cases dealt with
By
SYD FLETCHER
It seems that this gen-
tleman came downstairs One
night. very late, to fix
himself a . midnight snack.
He opened the door of the
refrigerator.- and was
amazed to finc4a huge rabbit
sitting there. .
"What in the world are you
doing there?" he gasped.
The rabbit looked at him
coolly (no pun intended),
then replied, frigidly, "Well,
it's weally none of your
business, but if you weally
must know. this is a
Westinghouse refwigerator,
and I'm westing."
That small story has really
nothing to do with this
column other than the fact
that it is about rabbits. •
Every small child, it
seems, looks at white rabbits
'offered for sale in a pet store
and thinks, "Now there is the
perfect pet," and I suspect
over the past year involved marital
problems. while 20 per cent involved
some form of anxiety and were
categorized "Supportive' and 10 per
cent were alcohol related.
The national average sees two of
every five marriages ending up in courts
and divorce is the end result.
One statistic we were glad to see,
was the alcohol related incidents were
apparently lower than average. We
should thank our own social worker
along with the local branch of
Alcoholics' .Anonymous for lending to
the low figures of alcoholism and its
effect on society in St. Marys.
in the big city, people try to blame
the fast living, slumping moral attitudes
and other deviations of the norm
associated with megalopolis existence. If
that's their excuse. what is it in St.
Mary's?
St. Marys Journal -Argus
Perspectives
that many parents fall into
the trap of agreeing.
thinking. "Well. if they have
to have a pet. then what
problem is there is one little
rabbit. Surely they aren't
that much bother." and
home -it comes.
Shocking isn't it, how
easily one falls into traps.
My father though, was
never one for doing things in
a small way. He could see
tremendous possibilities in
the raising of rabbits. a real
commercial venture
Instead of -just one rabbit -he
bought two, then ten.
At first my brother and f
were enraptured. Rabbits
realty are cute and fuzzy and
cuddly.
It's amazing though how
much twelve little bunnies
can leave behind them, and
believe me, the fragrance of
those twelve stays with you
long after you have left
them.
Then there was the food
problem At first we thought
we could pull grass for them.
Sure, sure. The neighbours
threatened to sue us if we
didn't leave their lawns
i
•
alone. Desperately we
turned to the wholesale
grocer for left -over cabbage
and lettuce. You could now
smell us coming or going.
And of course. rabbits are
not known for any promise to
depopulate the earth. Their
motto seems to be 'go forth
and multiply.' It seemed that
these little beasties were
already into higher
mathematics. Before we
knew what had hit us our
whole shed was full of the
little critters. Almost ever',j%e�sinB a fur coat after five minutes.
hour was spent in being And true, it is not brightly lighted.
hewers of wood (for new But there is enough light to see what you
cages). bearers ofwater, are imbibbing, count your change
and- cies ners• d, whoteve1f without using your finger-tips.and rerasl
Finally we built one htlge*.a book ora newspaper.
room and let them all run
loose in it. It became a maze
of•tunnels and what not. •
Then in the midst of all this
entertainment, a terrible
blow felt. One day our
bulldog broke into the en-
closure. it was a mans
slaughter. Bodies
everywhere. A sudden end to
our budding commercial
enterprise.
We didn't know whether to
laugh or cry.
if/IN
e?.so,.ran toukwt...
411.
BATT'N AROUND with the editor
Coming down to earth
Nov. that sky -lab has returned to
earth without any devastating loss of life
or property damage, people around the
world can heave a sigh of relief. Right?
Wrong'
Experts now advise that within 50
years, a belt of satellite fragments
resulting from collisions in space will
form around the earth. There are
already more man-made bodies heavier
than one gram circling the earth than
there are natural metereoids.
This debris includes fragments from
over 30 satellites that have been explod-
ed or have disintegrated in orbit. The
first major collisions. scientists predict,
can be expected within the next 10 to 20
years, and things will get progressively
worse from then on.
In short, there's a junkyard•in orbit
and eventually there will be a need for a
space garbage collection corps and of-
ficial space garbage collection and
recycling operations.
While many of today's school boys
look skyward and dream of the time
they'll be shuttling back and forth to the
moon or other planets, it would appear
that space travel will be just as risky as it
is on today's highways as• space craft
will have to dodge through the junkyard
in the sky.
That should frighten people a little.
As garbage mounds continue to grow on
earth and threaten to bury civilization,
the hope that future generations may be
able to escape by striking out into space
may not become a reality. We're slowly
filling it with junk also'
.
As gas shortages continue across the
U.S.A., many Canadians feel it is just a
matter of time before they are forced
into situations where they too will have
to line up for their fuel requirements.
One of the more popular systems be-
ing employed south of the border is the
"odd -even" system of rationing. »Cars
with licence numbers ending in even
figures can buy gas on even -numbered
days of the month; those with odd
numbers fill up on other days.
That all seems very logical and fair,
but there is a basic injustice here that
seems to have been overlooked. This
year. for example, there are 186 odd -
numbered and only 179 with even
numbers.
Sit times during the year there will be
two consecutive odd -numbered days,
thus allowing theoddballsto fill up one,
siphon the gas into a container at home.
and gas up again the next morning.
For those in this country having fears
that they may face identical problems,
they'd do well to look at the 1980 calen-
dar and determine if they should have
an odd or -even numbered licence plate.
My, life does become complicated,
doesn't it!
. . .
Getting back to the topic of junk,
most readers have had occasion to
wonder how their names get onto lists
which result in them being the recipients
of rafts of junk mail.
People involved in the business of
compiling mailing lists for firms have
many sources for their supply. not the
least of which are the government agen-
cies which sell mailing lists to commer-
cial interests.
Peace River MP Ged Baldwin was
shockingly apprised of this situation
recently after he had received his first
Social Security cheque.
Sugar and Spice
Dispel sed by Smiley
Visiting The Oasis
Almost every day in the summer I
drop in at The Oasis. as I think of ii.
1 know. I know. Nasty -minded
readers are already thinking It's some
kind of watering -hole for dry old Bill
Smiley. One of those air-conditioned
bars that are so dark you can't see a
thing for five minutes and have to count
your changc.by the Braille system.
Not so. 1 strongly dislike those Joints.
Most of them are dark and dirty- and
stink. They have a fess poor. lonely souls
who have nowhere else to go. and very
often a construction gang or a road
gang. noisy and beer -swilling and
profane. sousing it up on the company's
time.
Nope. i avoid'those places like the
plague. The Oasis is nothing like that. It
doesn't have a braying television 'set,
foul-mouthed roisters and cold -eyed
waitresses. it's just the opposite.
True, it is air-conditioned. But not the
kind that makes you wish you were
And that's exactly what 1 do there.
and why 1 think of it as The Oasis. it's a
charming little. place to stop.and refresh
oneself, to cool out and meditate a bit.
and gossip and just plain, sip. before
plunging back out to into the desert of
life.
What The Oasis provides for the
wandering bedouins who stop there is a
little peace and quiet.
It has none of the plastic jan ch the
chain hamburger and submlv,;,z joints
But it has a number of the things these
places eau never offer: charm,
friendliness, good manners. courtesy.
The customers are not made to feel
that the management• is doing them a
favour by serving them. They are
greeted warmly. they are served quickly
end efficiently. and they are thanked
graciously when they leave, even though
they've spent only thins ants and taken
up a seat for half .an hour.
How many public places to eat: and
drink are there like that in this country''
You could count them without taking
your socks off.
Sure, we have fancy restaurants in
this country where you can pay S50 for a
so-so dinner for two, and be patronized
by the wine waiter. And we have
efeventy-seven thousand snack bars and
lunch' bars and grills where everything
tastes the same. •
• But we have scarcely any places like
The Oasis. It's not much. physically.
Just a half dozen or so tables in the back
of a store. Very much like the sort of
tearoom you can still find in England, if7
you get off the beaten ffa»Ti .
The menu varies little but there's a
good soup du jour, good coffee and hot
tea. fresh -made sandwiches, and a lot of
„We! that are baddies fqC-tlle
•
., �t`11�Y��i'Ire-a�Ilv`a.i•:.N..' �:;i')1
young ladies who frequent it home-
made pies, butter tarts, muffins loaded
with calories.
Part of the fun. for me, is sitting there
getting a jolt from my coffee andlisten-
mg in:
"Just a pot of tea, thanks. Well, what
are you going to have. Ida? You are?
Well what kind do you have? Well.
maybe just a square of pineapple cake.
And lust one butter tart to get started
ori" r,;i.r�half.aer*.:-1s-eta, those..?
gentle ladies are walking out with about
six hundred' calories they didn't need.
Each.
•
6
Mainstream Canada
A Precedent That Hurts
By 11 Roger North
The trend by Canadian gov-
ernments to lax everything in
sight gained further momen-
tum recently when the Con-
servatives in Newfoundland
made history of sorts by plac-
ing a 43/4 tax on media adver-
tising.
Quebec introduced a 2010
tax on broadcast advertising
two years ago, but Newfound-
land is now the only province
in the country That taxes all
media advertisements worth
more than S20: .
Roger B orih is Director,
Public Ajjairs,
Canadian Federation of
Independent BJusiness.
It may be only a matter of
time before other provinces
follow suit, duplicating New-
foundland's unique tax.
So who should care, other
than the advertisers that are
forced to pay the tax, as well
as the radio stations and weekly
and daily newspapers that have
to. collect the money.
Like any other hidden lax,
the costs will certainly'be passed
on to the public in the form of
higher priced'goods and ser-
vices, so consumers will even-
tually foot the bill.
Nevertheless, - the public
generally blames business for
price increases, so the govern-
ment receives the extra revenue
without having to accept the
responsibility for its ,actions.
A nifty ploy indeed.
More important, though,
is the potential adverse effect
of such hidden Matson smaller
weekly newspapers and radio
stations, particularly if adver-
tising taxes are introduced in
other provinces.
Many of these newspaper
and broadcast businesses are
not big moneymakers. But they
provide a crucial service to the
public, pulling together the
diverse elements in the com-
munities in which they
operate.
These smaller enterprises
will be the first to suffer if
advertisers incorporate cut-
backs as a result of the tax.
Instead of creating another
layer of tax -collection related
paperwork, making life dif-
ficult for the small town
media, the Newfoundland
government would be better
advised to tap people's
pocketbooks directly through
provincial sales or income tax
increases. Then the public
would know who to blame.
By introducing the unique
advertising tax, Newfoundland
is out of step with the rest of
the country. Hopefully, other
provinces will take a long, hart!
look before they follow New-
foundland's lead.
And if it's not too late, per-
haps the legislators in
Canada's easternmost pro-
vince might reconsider. The
advertising tax is a precedent
of the wrong kind.
A few days later, he received an fa- mi
envelope of advertising material from »` ` tes'V1;f�'1 ��m'
mortician.
• • *
An oddly named periodical devoted
to academic humor, the Worm Runners
Digest, recently carried a tongue-in-
cheek study by a professor at Guelph
University, in which he discussed the
strangely appropriate names of some of
the writers of scientific papers. •
_ While many were too risque for this
family journal there were some useable
examples.
A writer named Hatch studied bird's
a man named Chow devoted his time to
nutrition and 'a writer for the British
dairy institute bore the fitting name of
Cheeseman.
( One that may send chills down a few
spines was a paper called "Vasectomy.
the Male Sterlization Operation" by
Gillette.
The local library would undoubtedly
, unfold other unusual examples, such as
Folk Names o1' British Birds by Robin
Wild; Animal and Human Behaviour by
• Michael Fox; Birds of the Pacific
Northwest by Dickey; Genetic Studies
of Fish by VVourms; An Encyclopedia of
Fishing by•Bates; Perennials by Bloom;
The Imperial Animal by Tiger and Fox.
•
Our final quote of the week comes
from Sidney Harris: "The self-employed
middle-class cheat the government out
of far more millions in taxes that the
people on welfarp take in fraudulent
payments. and with less excuse and
justification".
Even when The Oasis is busy, there"is
no sweat. No barking of orders. No get-
ting cross. There's time to laugh and
joke with old customers, be pleasant tei
new ones. and make sure nobody is be-
ing neglected.
i've watched tourists come in, a little
uneasy because they're not used to such
informality. They tentatively order soup
and a sandwich, find them excellent,
wind up with a whacking great piece of
pie, pay a modest bill, and go out look-
ing as though they couldn't believe what
had happened to them.
It's a place that brings out the decency
in people. Seating -is bmited. The other
day, four people walked in and there
wasn't a table for four. A young couple,
with a babe in arms, offered to move to
a table for two that had just been
vac ted, transfer�?? r food, utensils
Ads
b 'fifC" finer% were so
shocked they could scarcely say thanks.
Very•often, The Ticket -Seller is there.
He sells tickets on every lottery you've
ever heard of. He loves children and
jdlles.and
.1.82?"---*; Y' .tet..," .��,33,,. ',' ',
Oasis. He unks a coffee, disprays his
tickets, usually selling one or two, and
hits the street. The Columnist observes.
Two teenagers grab a table, The
Columnist listens. "So, 1 said to him.
-not on your life." Giggles. "So guess
what he says?" Giggles. And so on.
Despite what my wife thinks, l am not
enamoured of the lady who runs The
Oasis, though she does have a beautiful
face, figure and walk. In fact. she
doesn't.walk. She sashays.,..
I am in love with a little place of sani-
ty, sense and sereniity in this increasing-
ly ugly world.
55 Years Ago
Fire, caused by a spark
from the threshing engine
igniting some loose straw at
the side of the barn, from
there spreading up to the
straw stack. totally
destroyed the fine bank barn
of Milne Rader. north of
Dashwood.
Wm. McDougall Jr.,
residing a couple of miles
southwest of Hensall caught
a bald-headed eagle making
off with one of his chickens.
The bird measured six feet,
six inches from tip to tip of
the wings.
Mabel and Viola Austin
were both married on the
same afternoon, one of
Caven church, the other in
Thames Road church to
Charles Little and Mansfield
Cooper.
30 Years Ago
Approximately 8875 was
realized for the Lions Club
hospital fund at a concert
and draw at Lakeside Casino
Sunday night. Eric Mcllroy
said it was a record benefit
performance.
Council voted to build new
rest rooms to be housed in a
separate cement building
behind the town hall.
The first band tattoo held
around here in some time
drew a large crowd of 1,500
people at Kirkton Com-
munity Park. Tuesday night.
it was sponsored by the
Woodhath fife and drum
band. •
Dedication of the new
Church of God at Grand
Bend will take place this
Sunday.
20 Years Ago
Mrs. John Fletcher. Albert
St., who will be 94 years of
age on Friday has begun to
celebrate early. On Sunday
she visited her brother Ed. •
Francis -in Croswell,
Michigan.
Four children who *ere
1
presented with Bibles for
outstanding assistance at the
vacation school at Exeter
Pentecostal Church are
Lorraine Bradley, John
Richards, Larry Stire and
David Parker.
Charlie Wong who has
been at the Exeter Grill for
the past five years, left
Tuesday to become a partner
with his brother in the
operation of the Aero Grill,
Kingston.
It is expected that close to
500 children will be par-
ticipating in the Lake Huron
Zone Recreation Council's
first annual Play day that
will take place in the Exeter
Park. Wednesday. August
26
i5 Years Ago
Bert Clark, Exeter suf-
fered the loss of one eye and
a badly severed nose and
other facial lacerations when
'he fell through the glass in
the front door of Huntley's
Drug Store.
The Dashwood Hotel, used
as a grain storage building
for some time, will be
renovated in the near future
following the granting of
liquor licences by the Liquor
Control Board. -
Quick action by the Exeter
Fire Brigade prevented
flames from doing serious
damage to an Exeter home
owned by ' Mrs. Ludwig
Schultz, Hillsgreen, when
fire broke out at noon,
Saturday.
A record group of 104
campers attended the 3rd
annual Boom's Kin camp at
Goderich Summer School
last week. Despite the fact
that it rained four days and a
"flu bug" ad 21 on the sick
list one y the kids ap-
parently enjoyed them-
selves. Dir ting the camp
was Gravett's 'nal duty as
Exeter's 'Ree Director.
The reverend will be joining
me in praying for rain. I told
him no rain, no crops — no
crows, no green fffr!,t! • in the
offering plate.
•
•
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