HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1981-08-20, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News August 20, 1901
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Close to the jungle
There's nothing quite as enlightening as a strike
by policemen to indicate just how little removed
many people are from the law of the jungle which
provides for survival of the fittest.
A police strike early this summer in Halifax
turned that city into a centre of crime, some of
which was even attributed to the striking police of-
ficers.
Gangs of hoodlums set fires in the streets,
looted stores and generally showed a complete dis-
dain for the property and rights of others.
Last week, the policemen in Sackville, N.B.
walked off the job and the same thing happened.
The officers went back to work after drivers had
turned the streets into drag strips. One of those
races resulted in the death of a driver who lost con-
trol of his speeding vehicle and slammed into a
building.
The situation points up the fact that strikes by
policemen can not be tolerated, simply because
many people can not handle the responsibility of
such freedom.
Passing the buck
Canada's 10 provincial premiers met in Victoria
last week, and as expected, hammered the federal
government for failing to provide economic
leadership.
Even Ontario Premier William Davis, who has
sided with Pierre Trudeau in the matter of the
nation's bitter constitutional debate, concurred that
the Trudeau government's energy policy has
created uncertainty and anxiety in the international
business community.
In many aspects, the premiers' complaints are
a case of buck -passing. They each have con-
siderable input into the economic well-being of this
country, and in fact, would like to *be solely in
charge. It may be convenient to use Trudeau as a
whipping boy, but the fact remains that provincial
governments are far from blameless in the
economic plight of the respective provinces and
therefore the nation as a whole.
To charge Trudeau solely for the lack of an
energy pricing agreement and the resulting
problems, is to totally ignore the fact that there are
two sides to most questions and the Alberta govern-
ment appears equally to blame for the failure in
reaching an agreement that would reduce oil im-
ports and return stability to the national energy pic-
ture.
Some compromise appears warranted by the
federal and Alberta governments to resolve that
matter and there also is a similar need for the 10
provincial premiers to accept some of the respon-
sibility for righting the national economic
problems, many of which are created by over-
spending at all levels of government.
In many areas, the premiers have control of
their province's destiny, and to heap the blame en-
tirely on Ottawa is a shallow attempt to avoid the
blame they must share.
Published Each Wednesday Sy J.W. Eedy Publications lid.
Member:
Canadian Weeitly Wewsp.pers Associ»•ion 4Nerre Weehly Newspapers Aseecietren
News Editor Rob Chester
Second Class Mail Registration Number 13115
Subscription Rates: $8.50 per year in advance in Canada 119.50 per year outside Canada Singh copies 25e
By
ROB CHESTER
Being a student of history (my own included) I
must admit I like traditions.
I seemed to have dropped into Zurich at a very
interesting time in its history.
My first exposure. to the village's history was
during the 125th anniversary. My second is the bean
festival.
This year marks the sixteenth consecutive year of
the festival and in very. real terms it keeps on get-
ting bigger and better.
It's good to see though, that the festival com-
mittee is concerned with the festival not getting too
big. It can always grow, but organizers want to re-
tain the friendly country atmosphere of the festival.
Most of the advertising of the festival is by word
of mouth, and printed material seems to be
restricted to the region.
The festival proves how popular a small town
event can be. It also proves an event can be pop-
ular with the people who live here all year round.It's
something to look forward to and something to br-
ing your friends to.
I however, will not be there.
Long before Zurich became known to me ( I
should say long before I visited the village in any
professional sense) I began establishing some of my
own traditions.
By the time you read this, my foot -loose and
fancy-free days (both of them) will be memories of
the past.
I plan to establish the biggest tradition of them
all by getting married on Saturday.
(This is even worse than radio. When an an-
nouncer is away you can stillhearhis voice).
I am writing this on Friday (Aug. 14) and will
be .married tomorrow. Not the Saturday of the bean
festival, which may very well be tomorrow to you.
If however Saturday was yesterday to you dear
reader, kindly forget the foregoing.)
I suppose even bonny Prince Charlie quailed a
little as he walked down the aisle and since I am a
lesser. mortal, I will quail all I want.
It began last night, with an inability to sleep.
A bit of extra work to set up a bean festival
issue hasn't helped me relax either. It has kept me
busier though, and my mind has been occupied.
(Last night for those of you interested was
August 13, not the night before the bean fest. We've
been through this before.)
Those of you that haven't been openly yelling at
me (That's an inside joke to the gangsters of
Zurich, bless their pointy little heads.) are probably
scoffing at the above remarks, but I usually have a
hard enough time getting the work done for one
issue a week let alone one -and -a -half.
This wedding however may seriously affect my
journalism career. Not only will I miss this year's
bean festival, what will happen next year, when I
celebrate my anniversary?
(That's tomorrow next year, not this year. If
anyone happens to be reading this in an archive, or
at anarchaeologicaldig that's tomorrow August 15,
1981 and if you touch my bones may the curse of the
Pharohs be upon you).
As I have stated before, writing is a form of
gestalt whereby ideas and typewriter and writer
become one.
At the moment my typing is giving my nervous
fingers something to do and. is occupying my mind.
(Questions about when this -moment is may be
answered by rereading the column as many times
as necessary or by sending an SSAE and $20 to me
at this newspaper.)
It is also letting me clear a lot of extraneous
thoughts cluttering my mind like Zurich bats. (And
you'll have to read the paper very carefully to
figure out what that one means.)
I just hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. And final-
ly, I have come up with a comment that needs little
explaining and can be applied to just about every
. Please turn to page .5