HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1980-11-13, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News November 13, 1980
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"Look, it ain't no Noah's Ark but it's all I've got"
The sporting thing to do
One of the major concerns which any sporting
team has, which is experiencing a bad season, is a
lack of motivation on behalf of the players.
On many an occasion officials in charge of the
club will fire the coach or manager, bring in new
players, drop veterans or threaten the entire squad
with a demotion to the minors.
As a newspaper is in the communications
business, it is our duty to recognize any type of
revolutionary breakthrough, including those of a
sporting nature.
The leader of the small African country of Liberia
has apparently devised a very effective tool for the
motivation of the country's soccer team.
The team held the opposition to a scoreless tie
thereby escaping imprisonment.
Only in Liberia you say?
Pity.
No energy crisis
Osle Villeneuve brought the energy debate down
to a local level in Mountain on Saturday, when he
compared the price of oil to the price of milk. What
if; he said, the price of milk was $15 per cwt, but
westerners said they couldn't afford to pay that
much, and asked local farmers to only charge them
$7. Farmers would probably scream and protest, he
pointed out.
That's what is happening now in Alberta. While
the rest of the world is paying about $40 a barrel for
oil, Canadians are paying Albertans much less. And
the Albertans don't like it.
Last week, the province vented its anger over the
price set in the federal budget by announcing cut-
backs in oil production and a slowdown in develop-
ment of the oil sands. By doing this, Alberta plans to
save its resources until the price they receive for
their oil is more equitable with world prices.
There were also several other points the Alberta
government protested, from the central
government's wish to receive a larger percentage
of oil taxes to the transferring of power of the
energy industry from the provincial to the federal
level.
It all adds up to an extremely complicated issue
that could take a lifetime to understand, But at the
middle of the debate isthe scene Villeneuve so vivid-
ly described:
Should Albertans be allowed to charge world
prices for their oil? Or should some equitable price
for oil betweenour present level and the world price
be established? And should control over this in-
dustry of importance to the entire nation be in the
hands of one or two provinces? Should •we
nationalize, or should we let the free market system
run the petroleum industry?
All of these questions are inter -related and all
must be answred before we can develop a national
energy policy. To answer these questions we need
give and take between the various levels of govern-
ment as well as the petroleum industry. From last
week's events, it appears that the give and take is
lacking. On one hand there is Peter Lougheed, who
comes across as someone with a personal vendetta
against the east. On the other hand there is Marc
Lalonde, who doesn't seem to understand the
alienation felt by westerners.
We can't let these men stand in the way of settling
these all-important questions. We need to establish
a new oil price and a long-term strategy for our
energy supplies so we can work towards being self-
sufficient in energy before the end of the century.
Experts say we can do this, but we need some
compromise between our governments. While the
federal budget appears to lack this, it has made the
Alberta government, at least, respond. Perhaps the
budget will act as a catalyst that will lead to a final
resolution of this already too drawn out debate.
The Winchester Press
Published Each Wednesday Sy J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
Member:
Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario W.ekly, Newspapers Association
News Editor - Tom Creech
Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385
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Election
elocutions
The ballot boxes have been filed away 'tor another
two years, the left -over ballots begin a life as scratch
pads, the, newspapers begin billing ' the candidates for
their ads and cleanup crews at the Zurich Arena, Hully
Gully and the Pineridge Chalet long ago picked up the
litter from- an evening of celebration for some and an
evening of contemplation for others.
"Election 80" a term coined by our friends in the
electronic media is a long -gone event, just a few hours
of high interest and activity on what would usually be a
dull night in November.
For the candidates who sought political office the
next few months will be a time of change as rookie
members of council adjust their schedule to take .in a
minimuni of three meetings a month, to be on the
receiving end of complaints and comments by his con-
stituents and to absorb an enormous amount of infor-
mation in a relatively short period of time.
On the other side of the fence, we have the defeated
candidate who was quite prepared to drastically alter
his life style in the quest of serving the people.
Last but not least, we have that rare bird the Incum-
bent who after serving the people is rejected by the
people. Suddenly there's no meeting on Monday night,
no Gooa Roads convention and no after -council
"shooting the breeze."
Changes; they happen to all of us but they come all
that more sudden with the finality of an election.
* * *
In Zurich and surrounding environs there were
several changes in area councils which included some
surprises.
, In Zurich the performance of Dan Turkheim at the
polls mustrate as a major surprise with the political
youngster running a very strong third.
There's little doubt that Turkheim's entrance into
the campaign created an interest among the young
voters which should account for his good showing.
Don VanPatter must be pleased with his perfor-
mance in his first attempt at political office as he
came close to gaining a seat on council.
Van Patter's main downfall is that he is a newcomer
to Zurich which unfortunately in the eyes of some of
the electorate is a shortcoming.
He has much which he cah contribute to the com-
munity and hopefully, he'll .find a vehicle for the con-
cerns about the village which he expressed during the
campaign.
Needless to say Bob Fishes was a very pleased man
Monday evening as he topped the polls in his first
municipal election. The former armed forces officer
was one of the more vocal members of council and it
seems that the people have heard what he has been
saying. His election would seem to indicate that the
electorate favor changes to the present of overseeing
recreation in Zurich.
Second to Fisher was the veteran Laporte who has
been chairman of the council committee which has
made several changes to face of Zurich in the past two
years.
The election of Leroy Thiel to the council is good for
both the elected body and the village as Thiel serves as
a watchdog on village expenditures. Thiel has taken
some unpopular stands in the past but the job of a
"devil's advocate" is something which every council
needs.
In Stanley township the race between Paul Steckle
and TomConsittwaspredicted to be very close but the
former deputy -reeve won a comparatively easy •vic-
tory over his incumbent foe.
While it's generally accepted to be in bad political
taste to associate party politics on the municipal level
one wonders if the fact that anacknowledgedLiberal
(Steckle) and an acknowleged Conservative (Consitt)
were in the race had anything to do with the final out-
come?
Next-door neighbor. Hay had no real surprises but
there are two very disappointed candidates for council
in the form of Don Geiger and Claire Deichert.
In the 1978 election Geiger fell short by only four
votes in his attempt to regain his seat on council which
he won' i 1976.
Deiche t a former deputy -reeve, was seeking to
serve his hird position on Hay council having lost to
Jack Tinney in 1978 for the reeve's job.
Both Geiger and Deichert finished well behind Tony
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