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Home My WebLink AboutTimes-Advocate, 1979-12-05, Page 4 (2)Pogo 4 Times -Advocate, December 5, 1979 AmmisommasismaIIIIIIIIIIImorsamoesio. b 4sw. ,e° ,. ►.max -.mitts Advocate ENablnMd 1681 Amolgamated 1074 6O► hones Established 1673 Imes Ivocate ....r....,.....�. aim er.r....�.. SERVING CANADA'S BST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LOINS EERY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Published Each Wednesday Morning Phone 235-1331 of Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA 530.00 •CNA T�4 It can happen The recent derailment of several tank cars which resulted in the evacua- tion of a large percentage of the popula- tion of Mississauga has prompted some concern in this area over the possibility of a similar disaster. Our reporter last week indicated that local emergency departments have some operational procedures for such calamities. but there was an un- derlying current that none was too con- vinced that they were as prepared to handle such a situation as they would like. The main problem cited was the fact they do not know what chemicals may be invol. ed in any emergency or how the various chemicals must be handled. It seems it would take several phone calls before local officials would know exactly how to deal witha spill. • and obviously those minutes spent in garnering such information could be extremely critical for the prevention of loss of lite and property Since the death knell was sounded for Huron's Emergency Measures Organization several years ago, there has apparently been little action between the various emergency departments in the area to maintain a dialogue on the procedures they would follow in concert with each other if an emergency did arise. The Mississauga disaster should spurlegislationto tighten up controls on the transportation of dangerous sub- stances by any method. but obviously the risk can never be totally eliminated. It therefore appears reasonable that area emergency personnel should be made more aware of the dangerous products with which they may be con- fronted and to set about some plan for their joint responsibilities in any emergency. The worst attitude that could be taken is to think it could never happen here. Save yourself December 1 to 7 is the Canada Safe- ty Council's twenty-fourth consecutive Safe Driving Week campaign. The Canada Safety Council has chosen "Safe Driving The Positive Choice" as this year's theme. We believe it con- veys a simple but powerful message. A number of choices can be made but responsible drivers will opt for safety. Safety must be always uppermost if traffic accidents are to be prevented and their. terrible costs meaningfully reduced Such reductions regularly oc- Worth It remains to be seen what success Exeter council will have in their plan to negotiate a two-year contract with civic employees. but it is certainly worth a concerted effort. Salary negotiations take con- siderable time at the best. and obvious- ly any move to reduce that time is a benefit to all concerned. Few negotiations are successfully com- pleted without some hassles and even harsh words at times. so cutting those instances in half would be advan- tageous as well. It is particularly worthwhile that the two-year pact he considered in the middle of council's two-year term. That gives newly elected members an By SYD FLETCHER i've only had one ride in an ambulance and after it, I would just as leave be un- conscious for any others, if you don't mind. i was teaching in a small school just north of Toronto and had hada problem out in the school -yard with a young lad. He stayed in after school for me and about four o'clock took his bike and headed home, with me not too far behind. To get to his house he had to cross Highway 7 at one of its busiest in- tersections, and instead of walking his bicycle across had just continued riding it. A car picked him off at about 80 km hr. and had thrown the lad about fifty feet through the air over into the ditch. When I got there the boy was lying on his back and cur in Canada for one week each year - Safe Driving Week. They could be cons- tant if we cared enough to make the positive choice every time we took the wheel. It is so simple and the rewards are so great. Please make 1979's Safe Driving Week the best ever. Make the positive choice yourself and encourage others to follow your example. Wear seat belts, slow down and drive with true feelings of responsibili- ty for the safety of yourself and of those who share the roadways with you. a try opportunity to get a feel for the respon- sibilities and capabilities of their employees without having to vote on contracts "cold turkey" as it were. It can also work to the advantage of the conscientious employee from that standpoint and also saves them from the "greenhorn" who gets elected to clean house or cut costs drastically. The disadvantage for everyone. of course. is knowing the state of the economy for such a long period of time. However. the advantages appear to outweigh the disadvantages and hopefully both sides will give the idea the consideration it merits. It is a prac- tice that other elected bodies in the area should also seriously consider. Perspectives both feet were facing down, so badly broken were his legs. Fortunately he was unconscious until he reached the hospital. The ambulance arrived and as I was the only one who knew him I was elected to go along with the boy. Highway 7 heads west from there into Brampton and became a four lane joined highway, about two kilometres from the town. When we hit that section of road the driver was travelling at about 160 km hr. (100 miles per hour is what it said actually). The traffic was heavy yet everybody seemed to hear or see us coming and cars pulled over to the side. it was almost like a boat cutting through a wave to see them move aside as the driver headed right down the exact centre of those four lanes. At the hospital 1 paced up and down in the hall, waiting for the parents to come. • Across the way two doctors were working on a young woman who had tried to commit suicide, and only one doctor was available to work on my student who was bleeding from numerous areas and appeared to have a bad concussion. He was a big boy. like a man in size, and now that he had regained consciousness was struggling violently with pain. Because of the con- cussion they could not give him an anaesthetic, so had to work on him without one. 1 offered to help hold him down. A nurse held one arm and [held the other while the doctor was stitching up the legs. To my amazement, the boy, full of pain and fear, struggled up and bit the nurse on her arm. It seemed like an animal reaction almost. Whatever, they patched him up and though he never regained the use of his legs for six months he appears now to be as good as new. It's amazing what the human body can withstand and still survive for another day. "Find a job yet?" BATT'N AROUND with the editor The law is working Most readers are probably aware of Parkinson's law. which states that "work expands to fill the time available for its completion". That was the pronouncement which brought fame to Professor C. Northcote Parkinson some 21 years ago. and he added to that fame with his useful discovery that bureaucracies tend to grow by about 5.75 percent an- nuals regardless of the work burden. if nually. That sent shivers down the spines of bureaucrats the world over and Parkin- son recently suggested that nothing has happened to invalidate the truth of his laws. In fact. after painstakingly plotting growth curves. he is able to state the year - 2195 - in which he calculates the whole working population of Britain will. on present trends. have been ab- sorbed into central and local govern- ment administration. Last week's civic banquet. at which people who serve on various appointed boards in Exeter were given a free meal. points out just how quickly we are moving to fulfill Parkinson's law. although the majority of people so engaged in this community are on a volunteer. gratis basis, A similar banquet 20 years ago could have been staged in the small meeting room at the rec centre. At that time. the community had an elected council. an arena board. a part-time clerk, part- time tax collector and assessor. a police chief and a couple of employees engaged in public works. Since that time. all the town departments have increased con- siderably in staff and we've added a planning board. building inspector. committee of adjustment. parking authority. board of management for the Business Improvement Area, ex- panded the arena board and presumably in the next few weeks a committee and inspector to administer the new property standards and maintenance bylaw will be added. Perhaps we're right on course with Processor Parkinson's growing curves? • The foregoing is not intended in any ways to suggest that the community is over -administered or that the people who serve on the various boards are not fulfilling worthwhile tasks. Marra of the administration groups which have been added in the past 20 years have contributed significantly to the ordered growth of the municipality and the people who serve have done a conscientious job in making it a better place in which to work. live, shop and pia'. Providing them with a free meal once a year out of the public coffers is almost an insult as repayment for the hours- they give up for their fellow citizens. to say nothing of the hassles they often receive from those same fellow citizens Former mayor. Bruce Shaw. made a valid point when he suggested everyone should serve in some capacity at some time. and while he admitted that public office often results in a person making more enemies than friends. does give them a greater appreciation for the problems encountered by civic officials and a greater appreciation of each other. There can be little doubt that the latter benefit is one that is sorely lack- ing in our modern society. Some area councils have questioned the annual expenditure of funds to provide a Christmas party for their ap- pointed officials. but even as Parkin - Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley Influencing the weather Well. I seem to he able to influence the weather merely by writing a column about it So let's try it again. Early in October. I wrote a column laudatory of those golden October days. with a sky of infinite blue. just a plea- sant tinge of melancholy in the air. and a general sort of plat along those lines. Promptly. without even a decent in- terlude. October turned into a monster One of my colleagues. in whom f place infinite trust because he is always wrong. and I go from there. told me that this October had had approximate- ly one-third of the sunlight hours of a normal October For once. I believed him November surely the foulest month of the year in this country. with the possible exception of March. is living up to expectations One day of watery sunshine. lour dans of rain and dark skies That's why I'm writing this. By the time it appears in print. the second half of November will have turned out to be a giddy adventure of belated In- dian summer. with a touch of deep south thrown in November is a nothing month The leaves are all gone in fact. they're ly- ing on your lawn. if yon"re like me. dank and soggy and heavy The chap who's to put on your storm windows has gone into hiding. letting his phone ring its head off. And when he does come. the windows don't fit. because the sills have swelled through the inordinate rains. Or something The skills of snow become skiftier every time there is one. and any day you'll get up and it's midwinter. November is darkness and depres- sion. And one of the most depressing things in view is the proliferation of Santa Claus and the four color adver- tisements for Christmas gifts, and the ridiculous beginning of Christmas. so- called. music. There are snow tires to get on, and snow shovels. snow boots, and heavy clothing to dig out. each one a dull, .sickening thud on one's spirits. This year. as in every other November. the government. whatever the shade of its coat. is waffling and in- decisive and obtuse and strangely un- aware of the real problems of the coun- try. This year. in November, you can go into a grocery store. spend ten dollars, and come out with your total possessions in the palm of one hand, in one smallish paper bag. ' You know that old car isn't going to make it through January. but you look in horror at prices of gas and a new car. and go on driving the coughing, belching old brute. hoping for a flood or holocaust to end it all and save you the decision This November. people are running wildly from one hank to another trust company. trying to take advantage of the ridiculous rates of interest. If they have any money And if they don't. they quietly cry in the dark and forget about building or buyinga home. because there is no way they can every pay for it. Joe Clark's silly mortgage deal or not. And if people can't afford to build houses. because of the cruel interest rates. what happens to the construc- tion industry. and all the others that de- pend on it. from tiles to appliances to heating units And the blue-eyed sheiks are rattling their sabres in the west. and the chain - smoker is rattling his quill in Quebec, and altogether. it looks like a long, dark. cold winter for this country, physically and spiritually. However. brethren and sister. do not go quiet into that good night. it's not all bad. There's some great news on the /1 sons's law makes that expenditure in- crease each year. it is still a very small price to pay in return for the ours of dedicated leadership provided by the volunteers who serve in so many ways. The writer shouldapologize.oratleast explain the reasons for his actions, in being the first in line for the meal at the civic banquet. particularly after Mayor Boyle explicitly suggested I was to be at the other end of the procession. For 15 years. Clarence has taken great delight in periodically advising that not only does he not give a damn what I write in this newspaper about him. he seldom ever reads it. That. of course can be crushing for an editorial writer who spends countless hours in deep thought attempting to provide editorial leadership for the community and its civic leaders. It was a small victory indeed, but I couldn't miss the opportunity of letting His Worship know that sometimes 1 don't have to pay attention to what he says either I just wish 1 could say the same thing about the tax increases and other legislative rules he helps hand down each year. He sure holds all the trump cards in that regard' And if you happen to be wondering why people write newspaper columns. there's some explanation provided in these words by one of the foremost. Erma Bombeck. "i was 37 when 1 went to work writing this column. l was too old for a paper route. too young for social security and too tired for an affair." sports pages. Toronto. at least. is main- taining its image it has the worst baseball team in North America. in the big leagues. It has the worst football team in Eastern Canada. And the Maple Leafs are well on their way to being -enamed the Cellar Dwellers. Doesn't all that cheer you up'' At least there's some consistency in the coun- try. it's only a few weeks to the equinox. And even if you're so deep in snow by then that you don't know an equinox from a solstice. never fear. Spring is near. A mere four months off. 1 feel like a sailor throwing lead life - belts todrowningsouls. but 1 repeat the call. "Press on. regardless." Maybe you'll hit a lottery winner. Maybe your wife isn't really pregnant. Maybe you can live on unemployment insurance and still get your Saturday night case of twenty-four. Maybe. But 1 know it's hard to keep the faith in November Even the ruddy birds. those with brains. have gone south. Those without are walking. it's too wet to fly. Think of all the good things inlife. Now keep on thinking. Think some more. and I'm sure you'll come up with one. Let's see. 1'rt1 not dying of cancer. i don't think. 1 can afford three squares a day. 1 hope. My five shares of CDC have dropped only 528.00 a share on the market. and have rallied by one dollar. My wife hasn't left me. as she's threatened lately. Mixed blessing, that. My grandboys are six hundred miles away and cant use me for a climbing tree every second weekend. My bursitis is merely excruciating. not unbearable. Good old November. Nothing like it. Now. change. Weather' Mainstream Canada The Taxpayers' Revolt By 13 Roger Worth like modern day Don Quixote's, thousands of Ca- nadians are haunting the cor- ridors of officialdom, parti- cipating in what mas become a genuine taxpayers' result. It's all part of a secs real concern among mans North Americans that governments in Canada and the 3..S. are picking more than a reason- able share of dollars from taxpayer pockets. There is mounting esi- dence in Canada that people are not prepared to support Roger 11 "orth is Director, Public Affairs, Canadian Federation of Independent Business. more grandiose government spending schemes, and ref- erendums in the C.S. have forced governments to hold the line on expenditures. Here are a fess examples of the shift in Canadian at- titudes: * In Calgary, about 300 worried taxpayers are batt- ling plans to build a luxury complex of municipal build- ings. * in, Quebec and Ontario, as well as many other pros- inces, business groups perpet- ually complain that gosern- ment spending is out of control. * In Edmonton, 200 citi- zens have rallied to one alder - Man's bid to upset a proposed tax increase. • N hen a computer expert from ♦ ancodser founded the organization Human Action to Limit 7 aces, support poured in from 1,5(14) people across the country. John Hulloch, president of the 55,000 member Cana- dian Federation of Independ- ent Business does not find the taxation backlash surprising: "After all, the Federation isshic•h represents small and medium-sized businesses) started at a las revolt move- ment," he points out. "Today. swore more concerned than eser about the heavy tax burden and such government schemes as the overgenerous unemployment insurance pro- gram, now costing about S4.5 billion per year." Those benefit payments are part of a huge federal govern- ment deficit, expected to total more than SI 1 billion this year. That's a cool Sl,000 for each Canadian in the work force. In addition, provinces and municipalities add billions to the total deficit as they fail to balance their books. While there is no vehicle in Canada through which voters can sent their spleen on spe- cific issues such as excessive taxation, politicians appear lo be hearing the "hold -the - line" message. It's about time they understood. TA 'lawn memoty lane 55 Years Ago Mr and Mrs Walter Rice and fancily of Petrulia. manager of the local branch of Libby.:1cNeil and Libby pickle plan) moved to town on Tuesday of this week Harry Lawrence has returned to the staff of the Molson Bank atter relieving in Clinton. :1iss Evelyn Huston has received the appointment of organist at the Main Street United Church Mr. ('has Godbolt has rented for a term of years the 23 acres on Huron Street. owned by Mrs W .1 Bissett and formerly rented by the Exeter Canning Company G M Chidlev was elected %4' M of the Lebanon Forest Lodge AF & FM on Monday evening 30 Years Ago Asa Penhale was elected president al I he Smith Huron Plowmen's Association Saturday alternoin Community night at Lucas netted $12010 for the new Lucan Community ['entre now in course of erection Thursday December 3 Mr and Mrs Harry Lewis celebrated their 40tH wed- dinganniversan with afami- ly dinner at their home in Crediton The Centralia church choir under the leadership of Mrs. G.F. Penwarden presented its cantata. "The Chorus in The Skies" before a large congregation 20 Years Ago Saturday's $200 jackpot in Exeter was won by Mrs. Lloyd Parsons. Exeter The draw was made by Police Chief C H MacKenzie A well -lighted Christmas scene. including boy choristers on the frontsteps of the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Beavers. Andrew Street won first prize in the home decoration contest. Garnet Hicks has been ap- pointed Usborne Township's representative on The South Huron District High School Board He replaces William Ellerington Grade eight students of Exeter Public School enter- tained members of the Kindergarten class at one of the numerous class Christ- mas parties Tuesday after- noon On Sunday evening the first ('(.IT vesper service held in :lain Street United Church was led by Bonnie Doerr 15 Years Ago (►F'F' ('pi George Mitchell. formerly of Exeter was in- stalled as the War Master of Lebanon Forest bodge. AE. AM at the regular meeting Monday evening One of the tightest votes on record resulted to (;rand Bend this week when elec- tors went to the lolls to cast ballots for rim nC11 a nd school board seats Mrs Tom Prvde. Albert Street. was the winner of the portable TV which was raffl- ed off recently by members of the Exeter legion. An urgent meeting of the Huron County shareholders of Farmers' Allied Meat Enterprises Co-operative Ltd has been called for Monday night in an effort to determine if farmers were Interested m keeping the organization going. The readers write Dear Sir The Canadian govern- ment. church and civic groups. and individual citizens have been respon- ding to the current plight of lndo-chinese refugees in the most humanitarian way possible. namely. opening doors of the country and their homes to these unfor- tunate homeless people A small number of refugees have already located in Huron County I would ask sponsors of refugees to inform the Ituron County Health ['nit prior to or when a refugee arrives These people immigrating to Canada will have been ex- posed to illnesses much different to the illnesses prevalent in Canada. It is important for their sakes that they receive ap- propriate health care as part of their acclimatization to Canada. Many of you. already in- volved in sponsoring refugees. will have been through much required red tape. The Health Unit does not wish to add to this but rather to assist the refugees in the maintenance of their own good health and to en- sure the residents of Huron County that they may safely assist them We would welcome the op- portunity to assist spon- soring families or groups and will make this process as easy as possible for all concerned Yours sincerely. Brian Lynch. M.I) . U.P.H. Medical Officer of Health. County of Huron • • • SEASON'S GREETINGS • BE A + BLOOD DONOR