HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1975-06-05, Page 4:g De
• • In this
• • In this of �e� travel'. I� nd instant ent
4 cbrilfillkir/JcatiOnS4 it seems the.smaller
the:. to i vl liege be4Ornes,-the nest' vv
know .our neighbours,
Recently. l 01.ass o students• from a
l
i
' Detroit sch tried` an experiment at a
. ler ge SOurban s roppin They.
each hfook...turns bel lg-z;ioeked ina 'Gage
In .front of : the stores and pleaded with
passersby to hlp thein, Few persons
would Oven acknowledge the pleats for
; help, lei alone,'kielp them,
But, •weVre.g.iad to .report, things are
diffeifent , up here in. Huron County,
People 'still are about people. The
ancient biblical saying "Love thy
•neighbaur1' is still put to use, and quite
litra it
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•
•
•
•
•
•
ohlo
ey.
Widening, the gap
Pay increases continue to make
startling reading for people who may
be on fixed incomes or jhose people
who may be on fixed incomes or those
whose employment doesn't enable
them to keep up with the rampant
increases being afforded other people..
Members of the teaching staff on
both the Huron board of education and
the Huron. -Perth Separate school board
last week received pay increases of 30
percent.
There was a- time when a pay in-
crease of that amount over the period
of only one.year would draw howls of
protest. Oddly enough, school trustees
in the area were actually patting
themselves on the back with the
"reasonable" settlement they had
been able to work out with the
teachers.
Teachers in other areas are expected
to get even bigger increases than some
locally, although that will pt'obably not
serve to ease the burden being felt by
ratepayers as they watch their tax bills
escalate at alarming rates.
1E4
There ,Is no learer� evidence Man
two canes in this district .recently when,
two fa m ili`+s were .hit ° tragic
c 'fires.
In ;both ses, the .. i randons Of'
,Bayfleld� and the . enn dys• of,'.H !liet ».
the flames were 5 ilf bur'ning, in ,thei.,rr
homes when:f Zeds ,and nei hbour',.
Came and offeredthieir 'h'el }
The offers, .of`�clathi,ng, bedding and
• donations to help• the 'fet'rli,ies, have
poured in since and , it's enough- to
...'warm the heart Of,even the hardest
cynic, ,;
' Both f, milies'Were the recipients of
the proceeds of tWp very well attended
benefit dances last weekend. 'and now
both are back, tin the road, to.
recovery.
lf.such generosity and Kindness were
more widespread 1n .today's troubled
world; then maybe the world would be
a much better place to live.
•
Unfortunately, for all concerned, the
costs now involved in many areas of
the public sector are getting beyond)
the ability of those who have to foot the .
bills..
There's just . no way the taxpayers—
can
axpayers-.-,can keep coming up with the money. A
$10,000 annual salary is "good money"
for a large number of people in this
area and how can they turn around and
pay salaries to teachers and school
administrators that are two, three ...
and yes even four ... times that high?
The gap, ofcourse, widens more
each year because the pay increases
are on a percentage basis. The person
on a '$10,000 income may get 15 percent
to give him an additional $1,500 per
year, while he faces a tax increase to
pay for the 30 percent pay hike bf the
$20,000 -a -year man which works out to
a $6,000 jump.
Extend that over a period of only a
few years and it is quite obvious that
there's serious trouble lying just
• around the' corner. (from the Exeter
Times -Advocate)
Sugar and Spice/By Bill Smiler
Pay, perks and MPs
I know my readers have been waiting with
bated breath for Smiley, who seems to be against
most things, to launch his expected fiery attack
on federal MPs fpr giving themselves a
magnificent pay increase.
Sorry, chaps, I'll just. have to disappoint you
this time, for a couple of reasons.
First of #11,,,I could ,speak, with the tongue -of
angels, or devils, and the boys; in the Big House
*ould igrib%">it = If=thliy woul!. n't pay. any at,
• tention to John Diefenbaker, who speaks in such
tongues, they certainly wouldn't to Bill Sn'iiley.
Second of all, and the main reason I have not
erupted, is that I think our federal, elected
members should have enough money so that they
will be free from temptation, and so that the
position does not. become one only for wealthy
people who can affort to be an MP, because they
have other income.
I know, and it is true, that MPs have some
other• perks: free` mailing, travel privileges,
meal and accommodation payments while on
government business, allowances for offices and
secretaries.
In cash, their income, at $34,600, is worth more
than $40,000 because a good chunk of it is tax-
free. That's a pretty fair income, even, with in-
flation. But it's not wild luxury. It's not exactly
Arabian Nights. It's not the sort of loot on which
you are going to have`orgies or get rich.
I don't have to tell you — because they will tell
you themselves, at inordinate length — that an
MP has extraordinary expenses. You've heard it
. all: giving up his business or profession; keeping
two homes; being expected to contribute to
every cause in his riding, however trivial; being
expected, to entertain when Homer and Emily
drop in on him at Ottawa; having to buy a raffle
ticket on anything going, and so on.. It's a lot of
chickenfeed that builds up into a pile of dollars.
If somebody asks me to give a donation to the
South Northumberland Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Pregnant Cats, I can tell
him to get stuffed, drop dead, or blow it out his
ears. The MP for that riding must smile gamely,
and hawk up a five. And, so it goes.
This is no apology for MPs. They are the ones
who should be apologizing. Not for the increase.
But for the -incredible -ineptness of the timing.
Out of- one side of their mouths, .they are sup-
••, ro am.:of.restraint,forlAusinosss_ and
• labor. Out of the other side they are mitering a
" shame -faced "Aye," or absenting themselves for
• the vote, when it comes to giving themselves an
• increase that is 92 percent over what they were
• making in 1970.
I admired those MPs wao bluntly said they
needed the increase and would vote for it. I have
• nothing but contempt for those who snuck in on
their braver brothers' and sisters' coattails.
Nor do I have much time for people like
Diefenbaker, who made a grandstand play out of
it by pointing the finger of scorn at others. At his
age, and with no family, and no: political future,
he doesn't need it. He's get a fat pension, plus the
old -age pension, waiting for him.
But his leader, Robert Stanfield the
millionaire, doesn't need it either, and, he voted
,for the increase, for the sake of others, who do
need it.
It seems like a lot of money, but it forces some
questions. Is an MP with all his extra expenses,
worth more than a letter carrier — five times
more, in cash?
Should an MP be worth about the same as two
and a half high school teachers? Is he worth less,
from an income point of view, than an Air
Canada pilot, who flies a max'mum of 75 hours a
month, for just over $50,000?
,Is the MP as valuable, in ch terms, as about
three steelworkers?
If your answer to these queslions is no, then
you are either a letter carrier, a school teacher,
a pilot, a steelworker, or a dam fool.
When an MP received $10,000 a year for about
five months work, and was able to keep his own
business or profession going, he was rich.
Today, how many first-rate professional men,
who have worked hard to build a practice that is
bringing in $50,000 a year, are going to throw it
up for the hazards of a political career, where it
might be here today and gone tomorrow.
At the other end of the financial scale, the
bright able young man or woman who has a low
income and could not possibly finance a run for
parliament, will be encouraged to take a shot at
•
TILE CLINTON NEW ERA
Established 1865
it.
There's no point in saying: "Pay them what
they're worth". Some MPs would be in the
bread -line and others would be millionaires.
But there is some point in giving the office
some dignity, economically as well as socially
and politically.
Despite what you may think, there is precious
little corruption in Canada at the MP level. All
the, big money in corruption is at a different
level:
Let's keep it that way. Pay a Member of
Parliament enough so that: a) he is not tempted
iri' ori nS-Oractites t -16alacu b^ he"
or she does not have to be Wealthy to make a run
at it. This way, we'll get the most for our money.
But that pension plan for MPs is another
matter. I `haven't space here to comment on it.
All I can do is weep bitter tears and suggest that
never in the field of human endeavor will so few
have been paidso much for so little.
THE (HURON NEWS -RECORD
Established 1881
Clinton News
)lecoli(1
puba,ltokl *ivy 'Thtlir'i dmy ,
mat Clinton,, Ontario
tO7 • JM r rit'alti
Genoa! Man agote
J. Howard Altkirn
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The Jack Scott Column -
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Pull overmac
A •letter -to -the -editor in the daily newspaper to which I
subscribe interests me and so, of course I hope it will interest
you.
It appears that this gentleman inadvertently went through a
red Light in ourtown and was promptly flagged down by the
.law,; This, the letter -writer writes, was only proper. He had
erred, if accidentally. He was reconciled to his ticket. But then
the man in blue spoke. "Pull over, Mac," he said.
I know how he must have felt, as a charter member of the
Don't -Call -Me -Mac Club. I thought he showed considerable
restraint in his letter. "I do not think addressing people with a
snappy remark is necessary," he complained.
As you can see, this is a minor incident. Yet it has hidden
ramifications. The letter -writer's feeble bleat of protest could
be magnified at least 40 million times if the public were to
express itself, as it ought, whenever it is abused.
Trouble is, we've come to accept a new relationship between
those who are the servers and those who are the served. The
word "serveant," itself which once had an honorable meaning,
would appear to be in disrepute. Though we all serve one way
or the other, the vast majority of people who do it directly,
across desks or counters or tables or through wickets, give the
impresrSit n that 'they, are nl�gt !fired for anything more than a
king o iia; lord + °Sa'tier 'b '`chore'tliatis'1neat tl er'n.
Ttiere is a 'r'naanner that. liar"tome to be The Thing.' It says
"Okay, buddy, whaddaya want" or "Oh, brother, can't you
see I'm busy?" or "Pull over, Mac." And, like the sheep we
are, we hardly ever rebel.
This very week, for example, I went to a certain customs
house to pick up a record album sent to me from New York,
surely as straightforward a piece of business as one could
imagine. I run the familiar risk now of injuring innocent men.
I've no doubt that there are many splendid chaps in that
building, doing difficult, even thankless jobs. But, buddy,
brother and Mar, they weren't the ones who looked after me.
I got my records only after 25 minutes of unnecessary heel -
cooling and the most perfunctory, brusque, downright
suspicious encounters I can remember. They gave me the solid
impression that I wasn't there legitmately, as a member of the
dear old public, .but as an unwelcome intruder who was taking
up some pretty vital time.- vital'to them, that is, since my own
was clearly the least of their concern. .
Did I start hollering? I did not. Like the poor prunes we all
are, I simply waited, a faint little smile masking the deep burn
inside, and took the medicine that has come to be a massive
dose.
There seems no other rational reason for the recurrence- of
this sort of thing except that a great many people who are
called upon to serve the public must somehow feel that there's
a social stigma involved. If this is true - if there's a hangover
from the days when one who served the public was considered
as the member of an inferior class - then it may explain the
whole unsavory business.
If a man is trying to prove by his lack of courtesy or his
hostile manner or an offhand familiarity that he's the "equal"
of the man on the other side of the transaction, then he is one of
• the greatfools;of our:time.
'' What's. c all 'r "a + +t,ed'is self-respect and, as the public well
• k ws even tl'ie• mof
'menia9- ob done
well and pleasantly,can
no J
earn that. A great writer once referred to "the shame of service
rendered grudgingly" and that is the way we ought to think
about it:
That traffic cop with his needlessly coarse command, the
,customs house man with his resentful chilliness - they are the
kind of people who make their jobs seem beneath dignity and
pride, though the work itself should have both.
If nothing else, they have the God-given chance to make life a
little easier and a little brighter for the people they contact,
which is surely a responsibility to bb cheris led-. ' "•
From our early fites.... • .
• i •
10 YEARS AGO
June 10, 1965
Miss BL,rbara Durst, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. M. W. Durst,
Mary St., Clinton, graduated
from the Kitchener -Waterloo
Hospital School of Nursing on
Saturday, June 5. She has ac-
cepted a position on the staff of K-
W hospitals with duties to begin
in mid-September.
Maynard and David Corrie,
proprietors of the brand new and
modern Red and White Food -
master on Huron Street just west
of the lights, have planned a royal
welcome to Clinton and area
housewives. Everything about
the store is geared exclusively to
the woman who appreciates
beauty and efficiency blended
into one.
A special church service held
at Wesley -Willis United Church
last Sunday honoured members
who have been affiliated With the
congregation since it was born 40
years ago of an historical bet -
Township School Area Board but
are not through yet.
25 YEARS AGO
June -8, 1950
John A. Anstett, Dundas, has
purchased the jewellery formerly
operated by A. M. Jackson,
Clinton.
Jet Sabres Fighters planes will
roar overhead as part of the giant
air show at RCAF Station Clinton
this Saturday.
Last Saturday was a busy day
in town and the weather cleared
in time for shoppers to get'out,—
and take advantage of the
"Clinton Day" bargains.
Trinity Church at Bayfield is
being redecorated for the special
services marking its 100th an-
niversary.
Misses Audrey Jervis and Joan
Moore will replace Misses
Uonalda Adams and Bessie Erb
on the teaching staff at Clinton
Public School.
Some of the rats at the town
dump are reported to have
ween. ihe PreAb erignta-a4 thg,,cecaiged.a.realcaxe._aa.4i,:wor se.
Metfibdists. f-IolmesvITTe United
Church also marked its 40th
anniversary of Church Union last
Sunday with a special group
picture of those who had been
associated with the church for 40
years or more. There was given a
list of 34 names qualifying for the
picture.
In keeping with his promise at
the beginning of his term of office
10 January, Mayor Symons in-
vites any citizens to attend town
council meetings. The meetings
begin at 9 p.m. the second
Monday of vach month.
'1'hirty•three students from
Cent! al Huron Secondary School
have successfully completed the
first course in Driver Education
ever taught school. Classes began
in .lnnuary. 1965 under the
direction of Jack Pule her,
Exeter. •
Mrs. Mary Rothwell of RR 3
('Ihtton has joined the staff of the
Ileyoi Bank lir ('anuria, (i"oderich.
Miryor ►>an Synlotf soId he was
speechless (S hen called on for his
remark ,I Chit, hong presented
'�rtlt (,, first official chain
►►f olfro rice.. 111e Insignia of office
Itud been wuggc'sled in reeenf"
v('II a l t innr111o1'r1 Lind 11119
ack%•4p+rl►►•I
I he (Hayfield '''Tawe Out'
!ir houmI' committee (tont the void
III iba --,00ting of ittotilo
y
when fire broke out in tjie town
dump shortly after six o'clock
last evening. Clinton Fire
Brigade son had things under
control.
G. Reginald McKie!, Clinton,
paid $850 to MacDonald College,
Quebec, for a Holstein bull calf at
the National Holstein sale. He is
named MacDonald Post Sterling.
Heavy rains at the end of the
weekp did much to bring on hay
and pastures. Corn planting and
bean planting is the order of the
day. Spring grain -On the whole is
doing fairly well, although there
has been some cases of poor
germination In areas of ex-
ceptional dryness.
The parking Bylaw, No. 1 for
1950 was finally passed,
regulating pa eking to the streets
of town.
50 YEARS AGO
,lune I1, 1925
SeN ern l 1)oherty pianos were
on display at the Wembley
i xhibit Ion In England recently.
Mr Doherty has just returned
film) 11 business trip to that
►Inlry a nd is well -pleased with
the 114'eption his piano is getting
In I Elland.
' I he follow fng . letter • was
revel\ ed by the secretary of the
(' lint on Public Library from D. O.
('arson, inspector of Public
l.lbrariox: "I ant pleased tti sign
the maximum grant to your
excellent library. It is a pleasure
to review your report. The books
have been chosen wisely, the
patronage is large and your
financial statement is excellent.
The town should be very proud of
its library and it would be good if
other towns could come up to the
fine work accomplished here."
Varna News' — Our township
roadmaster, John Rathwell, is
having the 4th concession 'of
Stanley widened in the next few
weeks. This iscertainly
necessary with the popularity the
car i§ enjoying this year.
Weldon Hovey has been
transferred by the Bank of
Montreal to Brucefield and
Varna. Mr., Farnham is taking
his place on the Clinton staff.
Miss Caroline McDonald, well-
known in Clinton but for the past
20 years a missionary in Japan,
has been honoured by the
University of Toronto as she is
the first lady to -receive the
degree if Doctor of Law from this,
solani of-tea?niftg .
Fred Rumball has made a Messrs. Sooner &_. Thomas,
who have successfully carried on
the butchering business here for
a number of years, last week
dissolved partnership, and the
business was purchased by
Messrs. John Dayment and
William Foster, two local young
men, who will carry on.
Recession
Dear 1ditor: '
What a wonderful ,-thing
would be 'if the people
Clinton, of Ontario, of Canada,
would say, "Our country 15
facing dangerous eCOnot ie
disaster, a recession present, a
depression on its way. We wit
help by "refusing to asit f0.
unnecessary grants. We w,
not ask for luxuries until. in-
flation is Ileaten; an inflation:
which we as individuals have
helped bring about."
Is this too much to ask? Z
greatly fear it is, poor weak
reeds that we be. We sent our
young to fight and die in two
world wars. They saved our
country but what 'kind of a
heritage- are we leaving the
children and grandchildren of
today as regards environment
and financial, security? We
talk, talk, talk and do nothing:
All we think of is the present;
what we want and how much
more we can ask. How in e
name of all that's inflammable
can a government beat in-
flation as long as we ask for
more, more, more and it hasn't
the gumption to refuse? That
being the case, for goodness
sake let us as individuals
resolve to do our part and stop
asking.
I am not against anything
really needed, but in this cas
there are several very pleasant -
alterations. In the existing.
senior citizens' residence there
is a very attractive public
sitting room, seldom used I
have been told. In the new
building on King Street why not
build a larger room for drop-
pers -in as well as residents? It
..can be done if we put our minds
to it.
I am tired of the continued
reference to 600 senior citizens.
There well may be that number
but they sure as sure aren't
going to use a centre, not any
centre. One hundred may, but I
doubt even that figure.
' The attitude of some who say,
"We may as well get om the
band wagon," or "If we don'
get one, someone else will," or
"They are- building two in
Stratford we may as well have
one and get back at Stratford,"
would be almost ludicrous if
they weren't so pathetic.
It almost makes one wish a
depression would hasten on its
way and hit us in the eye.
Sincerely,
E. D. Fingland,
Clinton.
although the usual dairy supply is
coming in with an advanced
price. Cantelon Bros.,. who are
shipping a urger supply east this
week, report tub butter at 14c to
15c, loose at 13c to 14c and eggs at
10c to 11c per dozen.
Miss Lucy Grant, daughter of
Mrs. Jno. Gibbings has been
awarded a teacher's certificate
for the full primary and ad-
vanced art courses as a result of
the provincial art school
examinations.
100 YEARS AGO
June 10, 1875
Mr. Thos. Emmerson, Huflett,
had fifteen sheep and lambs
worried by dogs op last Saturday
night.
A new town bell ha§ been
received from the foundry and
has been elevated to its place in
the cupola of the town hall on last
Monday. Its tone appears to be
clear and sharp and sounds
pleasantly. It will again be rung
regularly at six and seven a.m.,
twelve m., and one, six and seven
large shipment of lumber from
his yard here to Grand Rapids,
Mich.
75 YEARS AGO
June 8, 1900
Saturday was the .. day ap-
pointed for the raising of Henry
Rau's Karn, and the weather was
exceptionally favourable. About
100 persons. were present. sides
were chosen with J. Laporte and
Mr. Elliott as captains, the result
was an easy victory for the
former. The barn is 46 x 66 feet.
D. Stevens who had the farm on
the 13th con., Hullett, rented on
which he was living has bought it
from Alex Smith, the proprietor,
who resides across the road. It is
a good .farm, containing 75 acres,
with splendid buildings.'
Mrs. Jas.' Grieve has sold her
farm in Harpurhey to Jas. Hugill,
who intends to reside on it. The,
farm contains tyhirty-five acres
and was sold for $1,50.
In the list of successful cans
didates in the law examinations
at Osgnode Hall, Toronto, is the
name of G. E. Buchanan, son of
Dr. Buchanan or Zurich, who
passed his third 'year
examination standing first in the
pass list.
This past week, the markets
have not been very lively
Robert S. Campbell, son of Mr.
and Mrs. R. B. Campbell of
Clinton, received his Doctor of
Dental Surgery degree at the
University of Toronto's Spring
Convocation on May 29. Dr.
Campbell will associate with
Dr. C. Stiockel i'nTillsonburg.
Boo Grey
Dear Editor:
It all started in the Boo Grey,
Dotty Ball days when Julia
graduated from grade eight.
That was 1966. Then Sarah, in
1969, quietly informed all, in
her valedictory address of the
good time Cam and Ron had on
that Grade eight trip to
Niagara Falls. In 1970, Peter,
-the doctor's kid was the only
boy in the graduatting class
without a,,,.suit coat. To add
insult to injury, he had a hobo
insignia,on his shirt. Last year
Kate graduated and we were all
there again in the Clinton
Public School auditorium.
Sweat, darn right we sweated
and we laughed with one
another because it's always hot
at graduation time.
Emminently more important
than personal discomfort was
our pride as parents of par-
ticipating students and the
feeling of belonging held by
those students.
• i' a . ins -tt1_
�m
�f�
el n
' �sa
g
those of us who enjoyed the
-entertainment provided in
watching the Time Machine go
through its paces at Clinton
Public School. All students and
teachers involved are to be
congratulated. Let's not
detract from the feeling by
complaining about persdntl.
discomforts.
Sincerely,
Marny Walden.
Racing
Dear Editor:
The calendar of events for the
Ccntenr•'al Week of this town
has been published several
tries : nd I am sure a great
deal of time and thought have
gone into its preparatiolr !`
However, there is one item that
bothers mc.
Every Sunday ,afternoon
there are horse races at the
Clinton race track and 'Cen-
tennial Sunday, August 3 will be
no exception. Let me say at this
paint that I am not in favor of
these paces on any Sunday, bu
on -that particular Sunday,
when we are remembering th
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