HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1978-05-25, Page 19•
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What t readers thTh
Freedom
Dear Editor:
How long is this nonsense
over three particular books
going to go on? It is hard to
believe that in this day and
age we are still fighting for
something as basic as
freedom of speech, but ap-
parently we are. And it is
time now for those of us who
care about freedom to think
and freedom of self-
determination in life, to
actively oppose the enemies
of free speech.
Many of the enemies of free
speech do not recognize that
they are. They really believe
that they are guardians of
Christian principles, or
common decency, or their
daughters' virtue, or even
something as silly as "good
taste". They quote the Bible;
they quote historians,
sociologists, philosophers;
they quote whatever famous
or obscure academics they
must, to reinforce their point.
And who really cares? How
many people agree on the
various sources as having the.
ultimate authority? Not even
the Bible is universally
considered a valid reference
any more.
I say this as a reminder to
people who still believe that
when all else fails, they can
appeal to the underlying
Christian decency in all of us,
by invoking the Lord and
quoting Scriptures.
It may come as a shock to
the more sheltered residents
of Huron County and other
dark places, but the ideal of
the "Christian life" does not
pack the wallop it used to.
Surely we must admit that
insistence on Christian tenets
as the guidelines for supreme
right is .neither useful nor
acceptable, since such in-
sistence denies the beliefs of
other religions and the
validity of other life-stylers.
Freedom of speech is a
fundamental human right
which should require no
defence. It is very hard to
separate freedom to read
from freedom to think, and
both of these depend of
freedom of speech. Therein
lies the significance of the
objection to specific pieces of
literature. How much in-
terference in these freedoms
can be permitted, and on
what grounds?,
Objections to material used
in such a way as to promote
racism or armed violence
would be understanaable. But
those are never the ob-
jections. No, the censors are
hung up on sex and swearing.
Too much
permissiveness
Dear Editor:
Political prose not-
withstanding, the legislative
record over the past ten years
speaks for itself. Eg: In 1969,
homosexuality between
"consenting" adults was
"legalized" - opening
the way to a whole new
"industry" in male
prostitution, gay "rights"
demonstrations and "gays"
entering the schoolhouse to
teach our children about their
alternative lifestyle! In May
of 1969 we saw abortions
"legalized" resulting in wide
open abortion on demand and
the snuffing out of thousands
of unborn Canadians who
would never live to know their
flag, their heritage or the soft
rains of Springtime.
In October of 1970, we saw
the loyal allies of Free China
banished from their Embassy
and Consuls as Red China
was "recognised"and ac-
commodated in our cities. In
July of 1976 we saw a new
Citizenship Act which relaxed
Canadian immigration laws
while reducing waiting time
for citizenship from five
years to three years.
Between a massive in-
crease in government
spending, increased civil
servants, Canada's armed
forces have been downgraded
to a mere 80,000 (Cuba itself
has 87,000 troops deployed in
Africa alone!) Not-
withstanding the massive
cost of spreading the French
language from "sea to sea"
the bureaucratic interference
into the nations business and
industry finds employers
harassed, restricted and
controlled as never before.
The trouble is, Once opened,
the Pandora's box of per-
missiveness perversion and
pragmatism is difficult to
close. But closed it must be if
this once great nation of
Canada is to survive another
decade.
Yours sincerely,
Patricia Young,
Vancouver, B.C.
,M1
In most cases they are a lo
more squeamish an
hypocritical than the young
adults they pretend need such
great protection from ex
posure to life.
Is it wise to preserve an
idealistic illusion of life? Do
we not value all viewpoints?
If we are to read various
accounts of the human con-
dition, we may expect the
means of expression to vary
also. If a writer is to put a
point across, trust him to
choose the words and means
necessary.
Let us examine the role of
the writer, very briefly.
It is hard for me to un-
derstand that anyone can be
so lacking in appreciation of
the creative process as to
suppose that everything a
writer says reveals his own
soul. What garbage.
In Margaret Laurence's
excellent book "The
Diviners", she creates a
character who is permitted to
think and speak in a certain
way because that is
necessary to the character. It
is the mark of a very rigid
mind indeed that cannot
appreciate such a basic use of
incident and language. A tiny
percentage of the nearly 400
pages in the book bear the
awful words that make the
faint-hearted quake.
The idea behind the book is
that of one person's struggle
and the outcome. It is, in the
,;.end, a book about growth and
survival -- often not really
understanding why. For its
style and its insight, this book
has been judged as a great
book, almost a milestone in
Canadian literature, by those
with sufficient depth to app_.
preciate it. "The Diviners"
does indeed "leave " you
farther on than when you took
it up", to quote the criterion
in E.D. Fingland's letter.
Incidentally, I note that of
the eight books she cited as
among the world's greatest,
none is Canadian. While I do
not believe in "buying
Canadian" for purely
nationalistic reasons, I do
think we must support con-
temporary literatur and
authors. I appreciate the old
masters, but lots of people do
not, and you do not develop an
t appetite by force-feeding. Let
d people read something they
can understand and if
possible enjoy. Forget the
- idea of the classic and the
prestigious.
It is unforgivably elitist and
dictatorial to say that
children should be given
"good" reading, and they will
seek it out as they grow up.
How many people are turned
away by such sniffy literary
snobbishness? How dare
anyone presume to decide
what is "good" or suitable for
someone else's taste? Brings
to mind the aristocracy
deluding itself, keeping up
pretenses, throwing
banquets, while , the mob
gathers outside the gates.
"Madame, the peasants
say they have no bread."
"Then let them eat cake."
The infamous words of Marie
Antoinette, last queen of
France.
Consider the effects of
outside pressure on the
classroom. What might be the
impressions of students who
see authors blacklisted
because they said something
that made someone un-
comfortable? What is the
message put across? To tell
people what they want to
hear, instead of what you feel
it is important to say? What
happens to truth then? What
happens to the right to form
and express opinions? What
happens to experimentation
and creative expression?
Every year on November
11th, the generations who
lived through two world wars
mourn those who died, they
say, for our freedom. There is
great lament that the younger
folks do not care, are not
grateful for the sacrifice.
Well, in the absence of a
convenient war to test our
patriotism, will you take our
word for it?
And those who charge that
we do not appreciate the
sacrifice --will they consider
whether they have done their
best to preserve these
freedoms? Or have they, by
their own actions, made false
praise of the dead?
Teacher charges....
Sincerely,
R.J. Thompson,
Clinton
• from page 3
John Cochrane, director of education for
Huron County said the decision to make Fox the
vice-principal was made because of his ex-
perience as a department head. Cochrane said
Weary did not have the experience as depart-
ment head which he said is a "logical
progression" in school administration.
Cochrane said the committee given the task of
recommending an appointment to the vice -
principalship was made up of five senior ad-
ministrators. He said the principal of CHSS and
superintendents of education conducted the
interviews and made a recommendation to the
director who passed it on to the board. He added
that the committee was not asked to justify the
recommendation.
"As far as I'm concerned there was no
discrimination, chauvinism or bias in the
decision," he said. "The criteria was experience'
as a department head."
He said there were two sides that could be
looked at in the situation. He pointed out that if
Weary had been appointed to the position Fox
could have claimed he was a department head
and she was not.
The promotion carried a hefty salary increase
for the successful applicant. A vice-principal
earns $29,500 whist+ the average wage for a
secondary school teacher is $23,000 including
increments.
Bill Counter
I have a number of discon-
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hung) window units at at-
tractive Bargain Prices, as
well as some excess
Trimlite Wood Gliders at
Prices you'll like.
DASHWOOD CLASSIC ENTRANCE
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SAKRETE MIXES
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'PINCESS 57 WEST Ci INEON 48 2-.96 'I
Larry Plaetzer, R.R. 1 Auburn and Joyce Dougherty,
R.R. 6 Goderich were recently titled Huron County
Junior Farmer's King and Queen.
They were judged on the basis of a five-minute speech
on "How can k as a Junior Farmer member live up to the
motto 'Self Help and Community Betterment' for the
benefit of Huron County?" as well as having a fifteen
minute interview.
Both are members of the Auburn Junior Farmers.
The other contestants included Ted ThortOn and Karen
Armstrong, Howick; Fran Logtenberg and Alec Irwin,
West Huron; Carolyn Kellet and Murray Stewart,
Exeter; and Janice Van Uliet and Bob Wilson, Seaforth.
MP tells of health survey
Dear Editor:
I am enclosing a copy of a
letter received from National
Health and Welfare which
might be of interest to your
subscribers.
Yours sincerely,
R.E. McKinley, M.P.
Huron -Middlesex
Dear Mr. McKinley: '
The Canada Health Survey,
which has been developed by
my department and Statistics
Canada, will begin operations
in your constituency on June
12.
As you may know, the
purpose of the Canada Health
Survey is to meet demands
for better information on the
health of Canadians. This
information will cover
matters such as functional
ability, use of health facilities
and various personal
characteristics affecting
health. The data collected
through 'the survey will be
invaluable for planning and
assessing programs in the
health field.
Approximately 12,000
households across Canada, or
38,000 people, will be asked to
participate in the survey
every year. Participants will
be asked to answer questions
on their health status, to fill
out a questionnaire on
aspects of their lifestyle and
to undergo certain physical
measurements which will be
taken by a registered nurse.
The measurements consist of
height, weight, skinfold and
blood pressure. Some par-
ticipants will also be asked to
perform a physical fitness
Children undisciplined
Dear Editor:
It is quite a sad thing today;
the way children are reared
and disciplined, or should I
say not disciplined.
A body tries to clean up a
yard, plants a little grass
seed in hopes that it will grow
into a beautiful lawn.
PEOPLE of all ages walk
across it.
So you put up signs saying
"Please Keep Off The
Grass". Now a weekend
comes up, and you decide to
go away.
Now you come back to find
one sign gone all together and
the rest torn up and thrown
onto your neighbor's lawn;
the one she has worked hard
to make look good. THEN
they walk across your place
anyway.
A little natation in your
record a few weeks ago
mentioned the disrepair and
ugly look of some places in
Clinton. I am wondering by
now if some of these yards
are those owned by the in-
considerate persons doing
this AND maybe a small few
belong to the ones that feel
like I am starting to feel;
What the +(!$)! is the use?
Signed,
John H. Rueger,
Clinton
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CLINTON NEWS -RECORD. THURSDAY. MAY 25, 1978—PAGE 19
What do readers think
Tuckersmith
Dear Editor:
Recent newspaper stories
may have been misleading
Tuckersmith Township
ratepayers. One quotation
from Tuckersmith Reeve,
Ervin Sillery was that "the
tax rate is pretty well held to
par as last year". This may
be true in total, but it is
definitely not true for that
portion of the tax rate which
is the responsibility of the
Township.
This fact was kept from the
public until the tax bills were
received just recently. The
tax bills show that the general
township rate has increased
by approximately 30 percent
from 25 mills in 1977 to 31
mills in 1978. The total mill
rate was held by a
corresponding seven mill
reduction in the County Rate.
The public school rates, both
elementary and secondary
have remained virtually
unchanged from 1977.
The fact that the council
appears to have attempted to
hide the rate increase from
the ratepayers may now lead
them to question the _ reason
for the increase which at 30
percent is one of the largest
increases in the area. A mucks
test and to give a blood
sample.
Of course, all the in-
formation obtained will be
held in strictest confidence
and will only be used for
statistical purposes. Each
respondent is free to choose
whether or not to participate
in the survey.
I hope the information
contained in this letter will be
useful to you, should any of
your constituents have any
questions.
Yours truly,
Monique Begin
Minister of National
Health and Welfare
better policy would have been
to have publicized the in-
crease at the time the budget
was set and to explain the
need for the increase, which
is probably quite justified.
At the same council
meeting, when the budget
was adopted, it was noted
that Tuckersmith Council
gave a "first time grant of
$600. to the Vanastra
Recreation Association".
This grant is small change in
comparison to the interest on
the nearly $80,000. of a deficit
the Township carries for the
Vanastra Recreation Centre.
At prime rate of 91/4 percent,
this would make a con-
tribution of $7,400 by the
Township'to the Recreation
Centre every year, which
nearly equals a two mill rate
on all property in Tucker -
smith.
However, when Tucker -
smith Council was ap-
proached by the Tuckersmith
Federation of Agriculture, a
group representing the single
greatest source of tax
revenue for the Township,
with a request to have their
grant reinstated from $600. to
$900. this request was denied.
Council did not even offer to
increase the grant by the 30
percent which they increased
their charges to all
Tuckersmith ratepayers. The
$600. grant to the Tucker -
smith Federation probably
dates back to a time when the
Township mill rate was in the
area of 12-15 mills. Therefore,
a comparable grant in 1978
should be in the area of $1,200.
to $1,500. which would barely
be keeping pace with the rate
of inflation.
It may be a possibility that
Tuckersmith ,has increased
their general municipal rate
by seven mills which would
raise slightly more than an
additional $28,000 to start a
program for the repayment of
the Vanastra Recreation
Centre deficit. If this is true,
Council should be willing to
tell their electorate.
Yours truly,
James I. McIntosh,
Tuckersmith Township
Best Interest
*9%%
annual
We represent many Trust Companies. We are often able to
arrange for the highest interest being offered on Guaran-
teed Investment Certificates.
* Subject to change
1
Gaiser-Kneale
Insurance Agency Inc.
14 Isaac St., Clinton, Ont.
Phone 482-9747
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go lower in price, soy so
For instance '12,200 or
best offer.''
1976 CAMARO, green, automatic
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Days 000-0000 or 000-0000 after
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phrased when short, precise
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and sove you money.
'Power steering and
•brakes says the same
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assisted braking assembly
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buyer knows what price is
right for him!
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