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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-09-19, Page 4 (2)Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 19, 1979 iii,, Advecote Estoberahed 1 081 Times Est.Wished 1 873 Imes -Advocate Yom-- ti• .ef♦„ Amalgamated 1934 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by .1. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Hough Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Published Each Wednesday Morning Phone 235.1331 at Exeter, Ontario ,Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year, USA $30.00 Beyond reason The task of being a member of a municipal council is often filled with frustrations, but the comments aired last week by Grand Bend Reeve Bob Sharen when he submitted his resignation go far beyond the stage of frustration. He reported that people had visited his home with complaints as late as 2:00 a.m., while his wife even receives angry phone calls and his children are hassled by other children. That. of course, is well beyond the realm of being reasonable. Elected of- ficials have to expect some infringement on what they may consider their private lives, but involving the entire family or abusing officials to that extent is nothing short of harrassment. While some of Bob's programs and techniques may have been called into question by residents and non-residents alike at times, there is little doubt that he has tackled his job with a dedication and enthusiasm that was far beyond the call of duty. The head of any council often takes the brunt of complaints and criticism from ratepayers as too few people recognize he/she has only one voteand in many municipalities, the holder of the top position does not even exercise that vote but acts primarily as a chairman. People should recognize that the proper avenue for venting criticism or complaints is to take the matter before the entire council at a public meeting, rather than taking the easy and .lazy course of accosting members on street corners or at their home. In this record, many elected of- ficials do themselves an injustice when they listen patiently to people who do in- fringe on their personal time without suggesting that it is an item that should be placed before the entire council. either verbally or in writing. In short, when the situation reaches the proportions outlined by Bob, municipal officials should start acting in kind and set people straight in no uncer- tain terms.' Everyone wins There's usually a winner for every loser, but that not be the case in recent changes announced for Western On- tario's two agricultural coil Jim MacDonald, who has uided Centralia College of Agricult rat Technology through its dev,elopi g stages, will be missed indeed as he move on to take over the reins at Ridgetown. That won't be a total loss for the area as Jim pians to rem* a•resident of Huron, a fact that will 6e welcomed by the many friends of he and his family. Taking over the principal's role at Centralia is Doug Jamieson. who had been on staff since the inception of the college and who has distinguished himself in may areas during that time. He'll have big shoes to fill, but knowing his penchant for tackling challenges, there's little doubt that Doug will handle the task most capably. The Centralia College has developed considerably under Jim's direction and the accomplishment§ should be particularly rewarding for he and .the staff and the institution will un- doubtedly continue to turn out first class graduates under the direction of Doug and his staff. Still sell them Canada is still hell-bent to Sell more Candu nuclear reactors abroad — to Argentina, to Korea, to Japan, in fact wherever they can find a likely prospect. All this in the face of the known fact that India has already produced an atomic bomb from the byproducts of a Canadian made reactor. After that first big bang India made -a new promise to By SYD FLETCHER I'll bet you know what a barracuda is. Yeah. A big ferocious fish with a mouth- ful of teeth. That's probably the only meaning that will survive the test of time. Back in the mid -60's though, Barracuda was spelled with a capital "B" and though you don't see too many of them now (they didn't build cars to last then either) they were quite popular. For you people'who can't immediately visualize the Barracuda I should describe it just a little, It was the car with the huge back window which started almost at the back of the car and ran a long way toward the front. That was the big selling point that I han used -on my wife, that the back• seat could flip down and the whole back area could be used as a bed. instead of renting a motel on long trips retain from making bombs — until recently that is. Now it seems that India feels it may be necessary to get back into the bomb business because neighbour- ing Pakistan is working on one of her own little nuclear firecrackers. The real idiots in the whole deal appear -to be of Canadian origin. ' Listowel Banner Perspectives we could just pull into a camping area and sleep there, under the Atars and the glass canopy. As it turned out we never even slept in the car until we went on a trip to the west coast. Even then, we visited with various friends along the way" and never used it until we reached Banff. As you may gather from earlier columns my wife is not a nature -lover. Seeing a sign as we entered the park which said "Do not feed the BEARS", was no help this part$ ar night. Fifty times d g the space from twelve to three o'clock she grabbed y . arm - "What's that noise? What's that? despite the fact that we were en- cased in a ton of steel and glass. Would you believe heavy tin anctorackesitoyway it always amaies'ie that a tiny woman'brave enough to endure the horrors of a departmeht store sale would be afraid of anything else. Then of course, at tour o'clock in the morning, there was the inevitable call of nature. There was ,no- way she was going outside. That was all there was to it. Well maybe, if she was ac- companied by somebody. What the heck was that noise anyway? Two ghostly figures flitted through the trees to the privy. When two bats followed by a third flew obit of it as the door opened i just about lost her again. She was not what you call pleased about the whole situation. The 'icing on the cake' happened in the morning. Bright sun streamed through the big window. Hot bright sun., We stretched and woke - up, only to realize in a hurry that the nice camping spot we had chosen in the darkness was actually part of the thoroughfare leading to the washrooms. Not surprisingly, several.- people everal•people were not a little startled to see something that ressembled a large Tip - bowl there with two open- mouthed peopte; -equally startled, staring out at them. Somehow, the topic of sleeping in the Barracuda never really got broached. again. " 14/ell, I wasn't in Canadian !waters when 1 caught the blasted tuna!" BATT'N AROUND with the editor Start spending or pay consequences The chartered banks in this country are waging an incessant campaign to get customers and it seems that almost every day one or the other is coming up with some.new gimmick.. One has come up with what is termed non -service charges. It's a monthly charge of 25 cents which will only apply "if there has been no activity in ' our ac- count." This. of course. could open up . a whole new world for the consumer who is lax about supporting various businesses and services. They could get a monthly bill from the charge card company for -not mak- ing any transactions or from the TV repairman because they hadn't bothered to use his services. People could even be prompted into having fire's or auto collisions so they wouldn't have to face any. added costs for not using their insurances. The examples could be extended at any length depending on your imagina- tion. but they are all as absurd .is having a monthly charge for not making any transactions through. your hank ac- count. One of our favorite columnists is John Duffle of a tabloid from Victoria B.C. and in the past this writer has picked up some off -beat items which have been shared with you. In a recent issue. John came up with one of the best ideas that have crossed this desk in some time and could result in a great lessening of tension and worry for most people. He writes as follows: Scarcely.a day passes that we are not told to give up something pleasant because it is bad for us. Cyclamates were among the first to go- they produce cancer. Then the same fate overtook saccharine. a substance that allowed those ol'us with a greed problem to pre- tend that we were doing something shout it. The list continues to grow. Salt is fatal. sugar is bad, smoking and drink- ing lead to an early death. Oddly enough, nobody ever warns us against broccoli or liver or brussels sprouts. three things I'd be glad to sacrifice. - I think we're going at the problem the w rung way. Instead of flying into a pan- ic when rats develop -alarming symp- toms after eating some common product, why aren't we spending our money in an effort to develop a strain of disease-resistan' rats? Surely with our knowledge of genetics we could breed rats that could swallow saccharine by the spoonful, drink, smoke and carouse without ill effects. We could aim for the ultimate, a ro- dent capable of flourishing on canned chocolate pudding. orange -flavoured breakfast drink and white bread. In - this societi. we've developed a something -for -everyone phobia and a San Diego publisher is now working on a reference directory called "Who's Nobody in the United States" designed to pay tributes to people who have done nothing - the nobodies of America. To have your name enshrined, you need merely write, in 25 words or less, the reasons why you consider yourself a nonentity. Entries have been pouring in. Sugar and Spice Dispe sed by Smiley /1. an it is expected that the book will con- tain about 10,000 names when publish- ed. Not too many people would want to consider themselves as legitimate can- didates. but it may be an interesting ex- ercise to sit down some night and list all the reasons Why you think you shouldn't be. it may be an enlightening experience for people, particularly those who think the world would stop turning without them. When the writer was attending Ryer:- son, the `jouTnait'siii department 'head related that he had a standing obituary for himself with two of the daily newspapers for whom he previously worked. Each year, he sat down and up- dated the information and listed any new accomplishments or items that would make his death notice more com- plete or sound more outstanding. While that may appear to be rather macabre in some regards, he explained that it was in essence an annual review of his life which enabled him to deter- mine if he had accomplished some of the goals he had set, as well as providing an inspiration for some new ac- complishments in the year ahead. Again, that's a rather interesting exer- cise that could prove rather startling. particularly for those who may find that over the period of 12 months there may be little more to add to the account of their lives and their contributions to their community and humanity. From the frying pan to the fire When.) leaped from the s'W m • th m'lik€ peasants, esoaped. 1 was the editing a weekly newspaper into the only officer left. quagmire of teaching in a secondary I was pretty keen to show that I was school . i didn't realize it was frying - pan to fire. Like most people. I had`'a stereotyped idea of a school teacher. Someone who had quit work while I had still two hours. plus overtime or night work. to go. Someone who was fairly bright. rather shabby, not well paid but never really poor, looking forward to a steady pension after a mere 35 years of work. Someone who always had a modest home and a secondhand car. ,the re- quired two or three children. a dowdy and modest wife, and a simple. dither sedentary profession that would enable him to live and collect his pension until he was 90. But most of all. someone who had- a week's holiday at Christmas. another in March and two whole months off in the summer. I am forced to admit. as well. that i rather looked forward to having a touch of authority. i had none over my kids. because i loved them too much. i had none over my wife. because — well any of you married men know. True. I had been an officer in the officer material and leadership tbre. I talked about morale, and try- in to escape. The only comment was m de by a grizzled sergeant, who said flatly, "Screw that!" The others mere- ly laughed. So I found out that my authority con- sisted of cutting loaves of black Ger- man bread into equal portions of six, with a dull knife, under the guillotine eyes of Suet, the rude and licentious soldiery. And the only reason i had the job was that they didn't trust each othe&. So much for authority. But I knew it would be different as a school teacher, i would be firm, but just; a wise and benevolent father figufe, but one who would brook no challenge to his decisions. Yes. a regular Mr. Chips, accepting confidences. doling out gentle but profound advice. having tea with my students, my wife hovering in the background, enjoying the way f twitted the youngsters. What a pipe dream! I "went into" education, as it is nefariously known, just about the .time of the big baby RCAF. which suggested authority. But boom at the end of the '50s. New fighter pilots had no authority _ �_ weri beius._batilt,..and:loglied-- army 1ieatena#acoeie-'. �''x: K - �ffh'dlthewshb actories. curse at his men and degrade them. Any body of any sex, and I mean any, And himself. if we tried that with some -that was warm and breathing and had ground -crew chap, he'd merely give us anything approaching a university the finer. We were merely the curious' ' -.kgrele. - -A-Ptlog dragge > off the young chaps who flew the things. They streets and stood up in front of 30 or 35 were the people wbo made the things kids who were just getting into drugs and permissiveness. Every third stu- Only once did I have a Chance to be a dent was a barrackroom lawyer. leader of men. and thus throw my Hair became the thing for males. weight around. it was after I'd been • Jeans so tight a touch would have shot down and captured. i wound up• blown' them up, and T-shirts with with about 40 Canadian soldiers. Short- messages so explicit a marine would ly afterwar'ds, their only two officers, have blushed, became the thing for who cursed and screamed and treated females. Language that would curl a • • sailor's hair became the thing for both. And not only aniong the students. Teachers ranged from fitness freaks to alcoholics anonymous. from pedants to pederasts. The started appearing in long hair and desert boots, m gasp -revealing cleavages and mini -skirts and sadistic high boots and Afro wigs. Any day now I expect to see a lady teacher. if that has not become a mere euphemism, carrying a leather quirt. (This is not a type of purse.) But I tried. ,I did try. i walked through the halls exuding false con- fidence. conservatism, and daring, in my modest suit, my white shirt. my dark tie. my black shoes. and my dedicated expression. It didn't work. Oh, a few students respected me, especially when they could get me off the track of the lesson and talking about real life. A few girls fell in love with me for periods as long as six weeks. But one can only hold his thumb in the dyke for so long. No pun intended. They overcome you by sheer numbers. Today, when a teacher walks down tha'hall, he no longer feels like Mr. Chips. He feels more -t1 eAl a boxing mil r, .^sire n, . ng to break up a clinch in which one of the participants is in danger of being strangled. By a tongue. One of my students, Gr:_.' 1, Nears across the not -inconsiderable chest of her T-shirt the legend, "No Browsing". And perhaps that's .why a dozen teachers have died young, in their 30s and 40s, while I've been at it, aitd three colleagues at time of writing, are in the intensive care ward --of the hospital, with heart attacks. Not an old person among the lot. Perhaps I'll join them one of these days, and we could play bridge. flat on our backs. • Mainstream Canada Transportation System Still in a Mess kr W. Roger Worth ' Seseral years ago, former federal Transportation Minis - ler Jean Marchand bluntly summed up the slate of Cana- da's transportation system: "It's in a mess." Nothing much has changed in the intervening period. Ca- nada's transportation system is.still in a mess. Just ask wheal farmers what they think of the rail -port sys- tem that carries their product 10 international markets. The apswer, after they've stopped swearing: it's horrendous. in fact, the country is los- ing millions of dollars worth Roger Worth is Director. Public .4ffairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. of wheal sales because Canada can't fulfill its delivery corn- mitments. The country's trad- ing partners limit orders be- cause they know we can't de- liver. While proposed new port facilities -on the Nest Coast may alleviate part of the prob- km. Western farmers - through the Canadian Wheat. Board - hale been forced to spend millions of dollars on rail cars in an attempr`to-upgrade the system. The situation is little dif- ferent in Atlantic Canada. Quebec and Ontario. The railway companies con- tinually seem to be switching rail freight to trucks as a mat - ler of policy. meanwhile cut- ting back service. Rail freight rates are also extremely high compared 10 those in the A !Suva Scotia business- man, for example, claims it is much cheaper to truck his pro- duct 400.miles to the l -'.S. bor- der and use the American rail system for a Chicago shipment, rather than give the business to the Canadian railways. For small business people, even finding the best freight rale creates hatoc, given the anomalies and sometimes con- tradictory pricing policies built into the complicated system. As far as rail passenger ser- vice is concerned, forget it. Aside from C'N's much bailey - booed Montreal -Toronto Turbo train. the railways just aren't interested. What's amazing is that all this is happening al a time when energy prices are rocketing. instead of creating road- blocks for potential customers. Canada's railways should move into the 20th century, using their energy-efficient equip- ment to provide the upgraded kind of service the country so badly needs. Who knows. they might even find it profit- able. ( down memory lane, 55 Years Ago J.G. Stanbury and R.N. Creech, representing the Exeter Board of Education and J.M. Southcott were in London Thursday attending the opening of the University of Western Ontario, London and the fuar•teen counties surrounding that city can well feel proud of the magnificent buildings. The By-law, proposing to spend $7,000 for the erection of an addition to the Exeter school was voted down on Monday by the ratepayers. W.J. Beer has on display a fine built neutrodine ratio set, built by Rev. G.M. Chidley of Thames Road. Mr. Arthur Jones, Hensall, has purchased the Massey - Harris repairs in connection with Mr. B. M. Francis' business. 30 Years Ago Exeter branch of Canadian Canners have an orchard of 1,500 pear trees on the east side of town where some 50 people are picking pears for canning. The presentation and dedication of a baptismal font featured the service at the St. Johns -by -the lake Anglican Church. The font was presented by the W.J. Heaman family of London. A grandson, John Douglas Wright was also baptized.at y°y Madeoa stair t on its new community centre. Opening " of the new headquarters of Huron County Health Unit in Clinton marks the beginning of full-time public health services for every citizen of Huron County. 20 Years Ago A sister and a brother led the prize winners in the schoolchildren's com- petitions at Zurich fail fair last week. Donna and Larry Kipper placed first and second in scoring the highest number of points. Russell Schroeder, RR 2, Centralia, fractured his hip when he tripped and fell in a field not far from his home on Wednesday of last week. Thahksgiving feature at Zion Lutheran Church, Dashwood, this year will be a used clothing drive to aid the needy through the world. Barbara Parker won the harvest queen competition sponsored by Exeter Kin- smen at their fifth annual jamboree Friday night. • • 15 Years Ago This year the Zurich fair celebrated its 100th an- niversary and reports are it was one of the best on record. improved mailing service for the Exeter area began this week providing earlier arrival of mail, and later outlet to assure next day delivery throughout Western Ontario. Two early morning trucks will bring mail from London. Ross Haugh, Stephen Township clerk -treasurer and T -A sports columnist, won the hereford heifer being raffled 'at the Exeter Fall Fair this year. ' Pelee` Lewitt son of Rev.: . - and',Mrs. S.E. Lewis, Exeter has been approved as a candidate -for the ministry and will be officially received at the next meeting of the Huron Presbytery of the United Church of Canada. .ANADA COLUMN By John Fisher of the Council for Canadian tinily Conseil pour l'unite eanadienne During Canada's one metal requires incredible hundredth birthday, six technical skill, patience and million medals were dis- keen powers of observat- tributed to school children ion. This witty, gracious, and given as awards to dis- slender lady who cane to tinguished Canadians. Canada from Hungary had They were designed by those attributes. A medal Dora Depedery Hunt of or sculpture is not cold Toronto. So were the metal to Mrs. Hunt. There medals for the Montreal is magic in. a medal, she Olympics. Mrs. Hunt is says. There is life in it. Canada's foremost ink'dal- Medals are meant.. to, lie list and -is considered one hf fondled. best December the best in the world. Her she had an exhibit of her medals, medallions and work. The first night was small sculpture hang in 70a reserved for blind people. museums throughout the' 'lilts *vies tr1'a'rt they could world. understand because they could feel the character- istics or the famous Canad- ians Dora Hunt had por- trayed. John Fisher, Executive Vic% President of the Council for Canadian Unity was Canada's Centennial Every morning Dora Hunt is at her studio down- stairs by' four. She spends the rest of the day shaping clay and cutting fine lines into it. Transferring the likeness of people onto a tiny piece of clay and making -it -crime Alive on, Commissioner. • •