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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1977-01-06, Page 4• PACi^+4 CLINTON NEW SRECOB I, ...THURS,QAY,'JANUARY 6, 197'71- qt. * think <•k� Kik�fi,"xh� 1ti';a�: ti:::�C:•:.' '::��: ry.�:: :%:�'rv�$ �:::?$ �v}:�:{::{v:•i:tiV �'r� :�:�t:$:tiff :� ::{ : �� • • Leavinqitto the people .. The best course is not always the easiest course to follow, but in the case of Clinton council, it should be worth the e1trp effort and expense. We're talking about their historical decision last Monday night to -let the people of Clinton decide who will be the next mayor, rather than, pick him or her from the council ranks. It was indeed. a tough decision for many of ,.the councillors to make, as many had only the best interests of the town at heart, and wished to save the town all the added expenses and un- counted lost hours that an .new election entails. Now whether the will be an elec- tion or an acclamation depends on the! people now. Council had .thrown the ball into the public court. Should there be an acclamation, it - will mean either the people are very happy with the choice, whoever he or 'she may be, or they don't have .an in- terest. Let's hope it's _not the latter. They stayed away One of the more strident laments heard in recent months •came from • tourist resort operators here in On- tario concerning the major drop-off in tourism from the' United States. Also the slackening off on• traffic from one part of Ontario seeking a vacation trip elsewhere in the Province. The basic answer to the problem is .simply that, Ontario tourist caterers of all types are pricing themselves out of business. The.,proof of this is apparent when one speaks to any number of local people who take the southern route through the U.S.A. on trips ..to our western provinces. In addition, the number of Local people who have discovered summer long weekends can be ,enjoyed ,just "as ,much, at •a lower expense, across the border in Michigan as through taking a long, drive into the north' country, The difference comes mainly in the expensive gas prices on this side of the border. No doubt taxation is the main cause for the much higher_. price. However, the travelling public knows that, by the tank -full regardless of the much touted but actually quite minor. difference in the size of the gallon, you can drive further for considerably less money across the border. . Add to this fact that motel ac- com modation, hotel accommodation and meals are almost at."hold up" rates over here in comparison to similar and in many cases superior_ services in 'the U.S.A. The wonder 'is 'Tat any American tourists bothered to come across this past summer. Rather than all the moaning and groaning, the Ontario department of tourism and all concerned should perhaps give away fewer expensive brochures and concentrate on better service at a more reasonable price. - From the St. Marys Journal -Argus Sugar and Spice/By Bill Smiley The spirit of a new year Could'you write ....a_pungent, telling essay on The Human Spirit in the new year? No? Well, that's what -my senior students tell •me,• too. But I•know they are wrong and I think you are wrong also. I'll bet you could write a dandy, especially if you have lived a lot. I gave my' students instructions for an essay; and most of them went into a state of mild shock. They shouldn't have. They are dealing witl-, the human spirit, their 'own and "'others, every minute of their young lives. However, students, like most of us, • prefer things to be spelled out. But how can you spell out the human spirit? You can't touch it, taste it, smell it, weigh or measure it. You can't peer through someone's navel and shout "Tally.: -ho!. There it is! Your spirit!" From the beginnings of . thought, our great writers and thinkers have explored the hum °Z creature in an effort to pin down this elu5, ve thing. Some philosophers have believed they had put their finger on the slippery little devil only to find that it has squirted away. Clerics are more apt to call it, the soul. Psychologists pin nasty names like id and ego end libido on various aspects of it. u riters,give examples of it. Artists try to de act its highest aspirations. i'he human spirit exists in all of us. It, along with the power to -reason, is what raises us above the level of'the beasts. Its presence is allied to all that is good, and great in human kind: loyalty, integrity, compassion, honor, courage, dignity, ' Its absence represents all that is bad in the human race,: greed, cruelty, prejudice, indifference, treachery. Given the right fertilizer, the human spirit reaches out to _other human spirits, and mankind moves another inch toward the stars. Without proper nourishment, the human spirit shrivels or warps, turns in on itself, rots, and spreads like, a cancer. In certain periods, the ,undernourished spirit produces the great psychopaths like Attila the Hun, Napoleon, Hitler, and we are led into darkness. But after each of these sombre intervals, the, resurgent • human spirit roars back, fanning the embers into a blaze of glory, and once more man is on the march. This is all very inspiring, -I'm sure, but it's pretty abstract, and -I- prefer the-con- crete. he-con=crete. Let's seems,>if we can find some examples of the human spirit in action. When a two-year-old child, normally good and obedient, sticks out his Hp and flatly refuses to do something reasonable, and defies threats of spankings, he is _not just being stubborn. He is exhibiting, to the world, his sense of self, of independence. That is the•human spirit- " When an 80 year old man, or woman, prefers to pig it alone in' poverty and discomfort, rather than ,be shuttled off to a cosy senior citizen's h,ome, he or she is doing the same. . When a man or woman has enough guts to say "No!" at a time when all about are saying "Yes!" that's the human spirit at work. But let's get down to an example we can - all understand. When a man gets up after his old lady has knocked him down five times, and advances, on her arms out- stretched, and says : "Darling, ,het., me explain just once more," that is the human - spirit at its best. Don't get this human spirit thing all mixed up with sentimentality: the cooing of a baby, which might be just a gas pain, the radiant smile of a bride, which might be just vanity. Or gloating. No let's keep it on a high plain. Here are . the instructions I gave my students.'See how they grab you. "This essay is to be an examination of the human spirit (soul, self) as it acts and reacts under stress, in inter -play with other human spirits, in conflict with society. "The essay should reveal something.•of what the student has learned this year from exposure to the ideas of first-class writers -concerning the human spirit... "Ideas expressed should not be merely_ emotional claptrap or mystic foofawraw. Nor should they be a mere recording of examples of the human spirit in action, taken from the books read. They should rather represent the -student's own•human spirit reacting to the stimulus of what has been read and pondered.' "Any reasonable :.....and •. even some unreasonable - app?itches -to the topic will be encouraged. • "Students may choose one of the' following exhortations from theirlorious leader: . "Good Luck"' "or . "Eat Your Heart Out." • Aren't -you-glad you don't take English from me? v• WE NERe So MR NUS i w►s r, KM, we (.0$19111 Affoav A Pok - I WM the FArtkvi PEt_ "It's been so long since J've had a job, I've forgotten what line of work - I'm unemployed from." Odds 'n' ends - by Elaine Townshend Forgetting If it's true that forgetfulness is a sign °fold age, I must be ancient beyond my years. Lately I seldom visit anyone without leaving something behind - something personal for my hostess to remember me by, such as my toothbrush, my comb, a sweater or a pair of shoes, a writing pad filled with notes or a:roll of film, my watch or my purse. I worried about my failing memory until I heard -that other people forget things, too. For instance, a housewife put a bag of brown, sugar in the freezer and a box of ice cream in the cupboard. Another lady popped a 'roast into the oven before leaving ,for an afternoon meeting. Her mind was at ease because she knew the automatic timer would have -the meat cooked by the time she got home. Unfortunately, she forgot to turn it on: A farmet -hung a logging chain on the back of a tractor, then went to the field to plow. After furrowing two -and -a- \ half acres he remembered the"chain, which was nowhere in ,_sight. A second man used a tractor and blade to pack en- silage in a bunker silo.' He removed his jacket, flung it over a post and hasn't seen the coat since. Meanwhile two ladies, who shall remain nameless, went to church -on a Sunday morning. As usual, one or their daughters accompapied,:t#em to Sunday School. After the service, the children practiced" for a special choir. The, ladies chatted with the other 'members of the congregation outside the church. Soon they felt "cold and. decided they might as well go home. ' • During the drive, they discussed an up -coming bazaar and bake sale. They were still sitting in the yardwhen a neighbour's truck stopped at the end of the laneway. "I wonder what they're stopping for," one of -the ladies. mused. —Then she saw her daughter jump from the truck. The two ladies looked at each other, at the empty back -seat and at the • girl walking in the lane. In ,spite of their ern- 'barrassment, they laughed,' but to this.day, the girl can't see the humour in the situation. Before you men start cracking your "Sounds just like *omen" jokes, I'll tell --you about a farmer who- pulled a similar stunt. - , He drove his wife to 'town. While she shopped for groceries, he attended to business at the agricultural office - and ata machine shop. They had agreed to meet on a certain corner at a certain time. She arrived on schedule, but he was late. She waited;, and 'waited,,,pe•ering down the streets, checking her watch; wondering where he was and worrying. Finally she noticed the truck speeding from the direction of their dome. "Where have you been?" she spluttered as she climbed into the cab. w, "Well," he- grinned sheepishly, "when I got home you weren't there." • After hearing those stories. I'm not worried aboutmy memory.`I've forgotten many things, but•at least I haven't misplaced a person - yet. , From our early fibs . 10 YEARS AGO January 5, 1967 Clinton churches marked the. opening of Centennial Year with two interdenominational meetings. On Sunday, January 1, about 200 gathered for a hymn festival at Ontario -Street Church with Anglicans, Baptists, Christian-Refgrmed, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics and United Church all sharing in the fellowship together. On -Wednesday' evening, January 4, church officials and their wives, representing the above churches, met for -a potluck dinner and evening of fellowship at Wesley -Willis Church. Mayor Don Symons and Group Captain-K.R. Greenaway brought greetings from 'the Town . of c: Clinton and the Canadian Forces • Base and the evening concluded 1 With community singing, folk songs by Mrs. Willis. VanEgmond, and a brief devotional service. Three members of Parliament, Robert McKinley, Federal member for Huron; Murray Gaunt, Provincial member for ' Huron -Bruce and Marvin Howe, Federal member for Wellington - ,Huron, sat in on the Huron Federation of Agriculture's annual conference of chairmen of commodity groups in Huron. Mr. Gaunt, who has been referred to as , the apposition's agriculture spokesman in the Ontario legislature, promised to look into ... tire proble-m s and complaints of the Huron farm groups. Two minor hockey teams from Clinton, New York State- pee wee and bantam - will be guests and provide the opposition for Ch lon. teams at the annual minor • hockey day here 'on Saturday, January 28. To invite Clinton, N.Y. minor The new council met on teams will give the annual minbr Monday forenoon, when the Hockey day an international following received the meth of Centennial touch. office: Fred Jackson, mayor; Clinton, N:V., has long been' Nelson W. Trewartha, reeve; known as a hockey town and ,is O.L. Paisley, Bert Langford, the home of the Clinton Comets Fred Livermore, L.W. Correll, who are presently pleading the W.S.R. Holmes, Dr. F.G. ten -team Eastern Hockey League Thompson,.councillors. which includes teams from Ne'w . In his inaugural address, York to Florida. Mayor Jackson cdm'plimated the new,council on their election. 25 YEARS AGO He thought it looked like.a council - January 3, 1952 which would work well together, which he said was the only way to Thomas Rathwell, 35, .Bayfield succeed. He went over the . Line, Gc derioh Township, was several committees, assuring the victim of a most unfortunate ' them that each would find plenty 'accident Saturday Afternoon last of work, He e phasized•.the need ah"out three o'clock. • of work on th streets, which he •• r - Member, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association The Clinton News -Record is published each Thursday at P.O. Box 39, Clinton, Ontario, Canada, NOM ILO. It is registered as liecond class mail by the post office under the permit number 0817, ' The News -Record incorporated in 1924 the Huron News -Record, founded In 1881, and the Clinton New Era, founded In 1885 -Total press run 3,100. Clinton NewsRecor(1 ors ; Membet Canadlatt 'Community Newspaper Adsoeiation diap1a ad rcrttAl5g Palos .' nvnilable on 0'04001., Ask for Rate Ca '1'No. 7 etteetive +cane,. 17$. - Genetal"INaN'it cY L j.116Wlp rd Aitken " Editor • Samoa E. Fitzgerald Advertising director • Gary L. liaise Aasisfant editor anis Zdelb • Office Manager ,MaargareLCribb • CkCaiatlon • Freda Ma '1 At tin, arian Willson s on M • Subscription Rates: Canada -$12 per year U.S.A. • $15.50 Other'- $18 Single Copy -25c 4, 1' He and' his brother Bob were _bringing up wood from their bush on the Bayfield River, and were, in a clearing in the iiush at the time. They both were wearing khaki coveralls. and were bent' over adjusting the whiffletrees on their sleigh. Suddenly, a shot rang out, m imediately- followed by another. The second shot struck Tom Rathwell, aslug fired from a shotgun about 15_0 yards away on the. -river. The slug travelled through his right lung and then out through his body. • Laird- -Schilbe, 23, Goderich, who later admitted to police that he had fired the shots while searching for deer', assisted Bob Rathwell in getting the wounded man, who was bleeding profusely, on a •%.1eigh and through fields of deep snow to medical aid. Mr. Rathwell, the victim, was taken to Clinton Public: Hospital, and required a number of blood plasma transfusions, ` with plasma brought from Stratford, At press time, he was reported as making satisfactory progress, but it is expected to be a long, hard pull. More than 1,500 girls, wearing RCAF blue, ,, noted their first Christmas as members of the Air 'Force, and in many cases showed, off their smart new uniforms to mom and dad as they arrived home for holiday leave. Por .many of them, it was their first leave at home since joining the -Service-. The RCAF opened its ranks to women last June and the new .members come under the same Service regulations that apply to male members of the Air Force. 59,YEARS AGO January 13, 1927 0 • declaredcould be repaired and • Northwest about a month ago, made smooth enough to meet°our'-, with a load of lumber and stock, needs• for some years to come. He returned: •last week. He says the - thought the idea of putting down shipment of grain over the C.P.R. permanent ,payements until a is very heavy, in fact so great sewage system was established that the night he reached Win - would be a mistake. nipeg trains were stalled outside Mrs, Antiie Colclough came in the city,, because every track in and paid her sub: for 1927 the the yard was full of moving cars other day, the thirty-seventh of grain. subscription she has paid to this paper. This is the sort of sub- "' scriber that warms the heart of a newspa'15e'r publisher.. Mrs. Colclough is not the oldest sub- scriber on our list, It would be interesting to know just who is. Speak up, gentlemen. How long - have you been reading this great family journal? The speed.limit•for motor..cars,- in Ontario is likely to be rai,.,sed to thirty-five miles. We have never seen the logic of licensing men to drive cars with a speed of fifty or sixty miles and then limiting them to a speed of twenty-five. The first hockey match of the season to be -played in Clinton took place last Friday when the Mitchell intermediates met and defeated the Clinton team 5 to 2. It was a clean well played game. the return match was played in Mitchell yesterday evening, •when the Perth town again came off victorious, the score being 10-5 in Mitchell's favour, 75 YEARS AGO 4, •January -30.902 ° The wardenship of the couhty will this year fall to the lot of Mr. Donald Patterson,' of . East Wawanosh, in accordance with the understanding that one year the position shall be filled ,year a Liberal and the next by a Con- servative. Mr.' Patterson is the senior member of the County Council, and will fill the position to the entire satisfaction of all parties,. • The financial statement of the town from Jan. 1st, up to the 15th or, December 1901, shows the expenditures for the -Steal' to be $19,417.28, which includes $10,302 for salaries and allowances; $4,541.40 fire and water account; $716.70 electric Tight:- $1,103.65 Streets and sidewalks; $1,828,13 interest on debenture debt, while miscellaneous accounts make up. st•he'remainder. • The other day Mrs. Nimimens: Maple Stroet, had, the misfortune to slip down and fracture ft:couple of ribs; this will confine her to the house for tom)? ..time, ;but her friends hope for her °, speedy recovery. E. ,Butt, who went out to the 100 YEARS AGO January 11, 1877 There are quite a number of dogs in this neighbourhood that are of no use to their owners, and a 'nuisance to the public, and the sooner some of them are sum- marily disposed of, the better. -Many of them have a habit of running out and barking at passing teams, and quite frequently being the , cause of runaways. Last Wednesday evening, while a horse with cutter belonging to Mr. W. Wise was being driven down the Bayfield - con. near Mr. Wheatley's, a small dog suddently ran out on the road, and barking at the horse,• caused it to start off. The driver was thrown out, . the shafts broken, and away the horse went, never stopping until it reached Mr. H. Snell's, Hallett, a distance of about four miles. ' Two tramps were committed by Mr. A.S. Fisher for 20 days to hard labour, on Tuesday, for disorderly conduct, and breaking Mr. J. Cunningham's window. There is hardly any doubt but their intention was to obtain a committal, so than they_ would. enjoy comfortable quarters during this cold snap. It is a pity the quarters are so comfortable, and that there is so little for them to do. Smile In the last analysis, ability is commonly found to consist mainly of a high degree of solemnity. News -Record readers are encouraged to express their opinions in letters to the editor, however,"such opinions do not necessarily represent the opinions of the News. Record. . Pseudonyms may be used by letter writers, but no letter will be published unless it can ,be verified by .phone. i fhink- :r'r:/J.i �:•:::;i';•?;: r.iit:f�': ffvi�%� 'Y'�� !F:$ i : r:,/moi r'rr- 7.1 Service! Dear Editor Congratulations! We must let you know that after the, first delay on our papers, they are • now arriving as they should, the Monday following publication. We are very pleased, keep up the goo work.. We would also like you pass along congratulations to Elaine Townshend, and tell her how much we enjoy her column. We look forward to reading it each week.. Again our thanks, and we look forward to continued good service, barring a mail strike of course. A very Happy New Year to all of you. Yours truly Charlie & Hazel Brown, Dunedin; Florida. Taxis! Dear Editor: I am enclosing a copy of a letter written to the Town Council at Clinton and I would appreciate if. you wold print it in your fine Clinton News -Record. I have also included a photostat copy of the last letter received from the Clerk's office and a copy of the tax arrears as billed to r'ne, after being • away from the Town of Clinton for over. five years. • Thanking you and trust that the enclos'ed letters will be of interest to the people, o Clinton. Yours tru: Elwood Epps Orilli "Town of Clinton C. C. Proctor, • Clerk Treasurer, 23 Albert St. Clinton, Ont. - Dear Cam: "Enclosed is my cheque for payment in full of the -back taxes $4,383.17, plus the penalty that you penalized Me. for-, when it was your fault,,in. the-- amount of $1,053.94: Personally I think the ones; responsible for not collecting, these .taxes should absorb this amount. A total of_ $5,437.1I, that; I am paying under protest, which was levied against our property ,at Y(80 King Street, Clinton, Ontario. "Why I should have top y these taxes, when I was not even at` these premises, nor was I advised • of any delinquency of said amount, and especially for five years, sounds very unfair, .especially - the penalties caused by either the Clerk's or the Council's inefficiency, I ,think is very unfair. "It. is hard to. understand this is very little thanks for all the money we created in Clinton for the many years we were in,business there., "If this is a sample of the way the Town is run it is no wonder that Clinton taxes are much higher than most surrounding Towns. "Further to this, you also have tried to collect,, a Business tax in the amoun of $1,053.94 which you als failed to collect, and whic fortunately for' me, is not b law charged to the propert but you at least tried t collect it from me. "I would like to suggest t all Tax Payers in the town o Clinton to take a good look a the way the Town is ru before it is too late." Yours truly, Elwood Epps "Elwood Epps Orillia Ltd., RR3 Orillia, Ontario Dear Ellwood: "In reply to your recent letter to Council asking to be. relieved of the penalties onl the tax arrears, may I advise that this letter Was discussed by all members of Council at their last meeting on Dec. 13, 1976. "I must inform ' you that Council agreed unanimously 'that you must be charged pena°lty at the same rate as any other person. I pointed out to them that I had already given -my word that if the account was -•paid by Dec. 31, 1976, no penalty would be charged on the Nov. 1 th stalment.- They agreed to - along with this, but no fort relief was approved. •"With reference tot t1 e Business tax, it is true that it is not against the property. The reason it was also shown is because it is standard procedure to at least attempt r- have this paid as well. My experience in the past few yeasts here is that it has also been paid up completely when requested.' .—Yours truly, C , C. -Procter