Clinton News-Record, 1980-02-07, Page 4PAGE 4 -Cr ON NE
ARY 7 r 198
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Sr. Citizen •'19.00 par yeor
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•
oorf5r ►ndustrial group
After years of near death, Clinton's
industrial committee has . been
revived, and armed with some new
enthusiasm, generated by several
new and younger members, they are
trying to breath some life into our
industrially ailing town.
They face a stiff uphill battle,
however, from a status -quo,
sometimes undecisive town council,
who many times can only make a step
forward after taking couple a steps -
backwards.
It's not a new problern_.here. Take
- for instance the town hall. It's taken
them 10 years, thousands of dollars
spent on two studies, a plebiscite from
the voters telling them to restore it,
and still, nothing has been done.
If council had taken the bull by the •
- have had horns years ago;-th-e, -could lag ad
DearEditor
tare great pleasure tca, .co.rum.end
Steve Cooke ole-- his thoughts ..coni
erning the Ontario Tr ppers- : fany-
do het realize, how important the
trapper 'is, or how; large,,the industry
is Or -how Much income is derived:.
from it., ..
In 1077,' the State e,f Ohio's catch of
furs brought over 1tl million 'dollars
which had a net 'incrn1e to the state.of R'
over 50 na lrloll� ,
Much work ,hiss been done here in
Flulca�";e'•Ora�bfsOrttol�rd' tyre
government states that within two to
three years, Huron COinty will be in
the limelight aS all nations of the
world who area plagued with fables
will know that only though the work
of, the Huron' County trappers and
ministry of natural resources will we u
be "able to combat this plague.
1 tv.zr "'hank:s S.t.v..e.for well done.
Bob Johnston,
Clinton
-1 re ���rrtil1e ! 1111111!, / ,ir► r�i 11) c/ei •f(It' 11 111( /1 i cirrclrckile 11.•11/ cloth(' lemi 11(1011.
the town hall partially restored with
just the money they've . spent on
studies alone.
They've spent five years trying . to
make up their minds over a new
swimmmingpool, while costs keep
climbing and climbing, and debenture
interest rates skyrocket.
So you can see the problems that the
industrial_ committee faces in asking
town council to assemble an in-
dustrial subdivision, service it, and
then aggressively seek out new in-
dustry.
By the time they get around to it,
the land will be worth $3'0,000 an acre
instead of $10,000, and a half .a dozen
industries will have scouted Clinton,
only to pass through angel take up
residence ,in another more en-
couraging area.. -by J.F._.
Wh&s crying now?
Thus far, it has been a snowless
winter. For most citizens, that is as. it
should be, but for the skiers and the
operators of ski resorts, it has been a
disaster.
An article in. a national newspaper
advised that the ski resort operators
in Ontario are banding together to
send a delegation to Queen's Park_ to
seek financial aid in an- attempt to
recoup the money lost due to the lack
of snow. They will base their claim on
the belief that the government comes
to the aid of farmers who lose a crop
. due to the weather, and claim that in
reality, they are snow farmers.
.What these resort operators fail' to
realize is that government relief
money to farmers who lose crops is a
.,,..rare thing indeed. If an act of nature
such as a flood or tornado wipes out a
crop, the farmers are sometimes
reimbursed in the form of a loan. But
the responsibility -of a lost crop is one
that belongs to the. farmer. He
protects himself through the purchase
of crop insurance.
These resort operators are business
people. They have a product to sell
and a profit to be -made. But rather,
•
5 YEARS AGO ,
February 6, 1975
Spokesmen from the Vanastra
Ratepayers' Association attended the
Tuckersmith Council's meeting Tuesday
night and asked that they be allowed to
lease and take care of the Coummunity
Centre there and use whatever profits they
make as they see fit.
Tuckersmith Reeve Elgin Thompson
told the Association. that the Centre is
controlled by the Vanastra Recreation
Committee but said, " I feel that when
things get going, you can use the hall when
required."
The Seventh Annual Clinton and District
Centennial Winter Carnival continues for
its. four final days, after meeting with
moderate success during the first week.
•About -50 snowmobilers braved rather
bare •roads on Friday night as the Tor
than seek to have the entire populance
of the . province; subsidize their
operation, they should consider doing
what the farmer does; buy crop in-
surance. These people have had two
'highly profitable seasons, in a row.
Would it not be appropriate to ask
them to invest . a portion of their
previous profit in insurance against
the time of poor snow conditions?
Farmers have been gambling against
the weather since the dawn of time.
Now, let the resort operators learn to
cope with the weather as the farmers
have done. (From the Wheatly
Journal)
Trough pa tro l
One of the favorite extra duties of a
high school teacher is "trough
patrol." The euphemism_ior this is
"Cafeteria supervision."
It's such a lively, colorful and
varied activity that you get teachers
vying for it, offering to trade off one
dance supervision for a week of
trough patrol°.
Of course, dance supervision is
pretty dull stuff. All you have to do is
check the'girls' purses for mickeys of
vodka, look to see who is throwing up
in the washrooms, make sure that no
one is setting fire to the stage curtains
while enjoying a crafty drag, call the'
cops if you find someone with dilated
eyes trying to fly instead of dance.
And there are too many teachers on
supervision. We sometimes have 12
teachers to supervise only about three
hundred dancers. The only real
problem with dance supervisions is
trying to retain your hearing under
the assault of a rock band.
But trough patrol is another kettle
of fish. It's exciting, dangerous, and
turbulent. Never a dull moment.
_•, Qh, it's demanding. You need the
resourcefulness of a Thomas Edison,
the judgement of a Solomon, the,
tolerance of a saint, and the ability to
wash your hands of the whole matt-
er . of . a Pontius Pilate. Not to
mention eyes in the back of your head,
a strong stomach, and a thick hide.
-But that's why we trough patrollers
feel we are a special breed. Like the
first,men on the moon. Or lion tamers'.
Or sewage experts.
Take ' a huge cafeteria, once a
gymnasium. Put in it -500 exuberar'it
teenagers just released from four
boring, monotonous. periods in the
classroom. Arm them with
everything from plastic forks to hard
apples.. Throw in two teachers, and
stir with a mixture of sex, high spirits,
the' desire to show off, an i a hardy
streak', of latent va •dalisrn.
-Interesting.
Lively? Oh, yes. Over in this corner,
two grade-niners are flicking potato
chfps drenched in gravy at each
other. In the middle of the arena, a
group of seniors 'is screaming with
hilarity at an off-color joke. In
another corner a pair of young lovers
is just on the verge -of having sex. As
you"lmoye to break something up, an
apple sp1a ers against the wall where
your head Tutt watt.
Color€tel?Well-; I'• guess. 'Here a '
squashed orange, festooned by french
fires and garnished by sticky ice
cream wrappers. There a trampled
banana topped by a dropped, melting
ice-cream ba,r. On -the .,liastel_ walls
some abstract art manufactur'ed by '
flung apples, peanut abutter sand-
wiches, half -empty cartons of
chocolate milk, and other viands.
._Adding a nice touch of cool are the
green -garbage bags, surrounded by
brown paper bags, thrown, and
missed, from as far away as fifty feet.
In the garbage bags, bulging_, are
about two hundred lunches, made up
in the dark of an early morn by a
loving mother. They are intact, in-
cluding sandwiches, apple or orange,
and. -cookies. The owner is downing his
second plate of french fires and
gravy, or his third ice-cream bar.
Besides the color, there is a great
appeal to the senses, something we
English teachers try to instill in the
writing of our students. For the eyes,
there is M.ary Ellen, bouncing braless
around .. the perimeter of the zoo,,
pretending nonchalance and drinking
in every whistle.
For the nose, though I can't smell,
they tell me 'there is a pervasive
aroma of cooking oil, onions, bodies -
and
For the ear, there,is. a cacophony,
ranging from a no+i;y group singing
"Happy Birthday" with some new
words, to a squealing, giggling bevy
of young girls, to the triumphant
shouts of the poker players as they
slam down a full house over three
nines.
. For the sense of touch, there is, of
course, the stepping on abanana that
shouldn't be there, or the picking up of
an empty milk carton only to find a
quarter -pint running up your arm,
I mentioned some qualities the
teacher requires. Resourcefulness.
Like knowing howto.leep your eye on
a group that is,going to get up and
leave their table looking like a trough,
and simultaneously breaking up -a
fight between two banty roosters from
grade nine.
Ju,gement? You see a kid sitting
alone, sucking an ice-cream bar, at a
table laden ,with debris. "It ' ain't
mine. I ain't pickin' it up." He may be
right or lying through his teeth. Do
you act the petty martinet and snarl,
"Pick it up, anyway!", or do you
mildly do it yourself?
Tolerance? Absolutely. You have to
remind yourself continually that
some ot 410.6- don't learn any
manners 'at home, and others are just
forgetful or careless.
You need eyes in' the back of your
head or you'll either be beaned by -an
apple or have an entire group of boys
who have eaten about ten dollars
worth of junk food move swiftly and
silently to another table when your
hack is turned, leaving something
looking like the town dump at their
original table.
You,.need courage when you see
four bearded hoodlums in the
cafeteria, casing the joint, and you
have a gut feeling they • are not
students, Tackle them and get a shot
in the mouth, or run for the vice=
principal? I opt for the latter, it says
here in•small print.
All in all,a varied life with a myriad
of attractions, trough patrol. I only
hope that, when I retire, the school
board will let me come in a couple of
times a week to do it, free, just for the
fun of it.
chlight Parade opened the Carnival, and a
family moccasion dance the same night
was poorly attended. •
A recreation cominil:tee will be set up in
Stanley Township, it was decided after a
meeting last week with 30 interested
residents and council members.
10 YEARS AGO
February 5, 1970
A 15 -year-old Clinton youth,' chargedi
with juvenile deliquency in connection'
with the murder of Miss Katherine
McGregor of Clinton, was remanded in
Family Court until February 17.
The Huron -Perth Presbyterial of the
UCW held its third annual meeting last
Tuesday at Wesley -Willis United Church.
Stewart Middleton of Triple A Farms,
RR•3, Clinton was awarded the man of the
year "Lifetime Membership Plaque"
presented by the _Western.. Ontario._ Aber-
deen
deen Angus Association at their annual
meeting and banquet held, in Glencoe on
January 30.
--Tenders will be called shortly -for
resurfacing No. 4 Highway from.Clintonto
Kippen. The contract, expected to be
Completed by fall, will virtually complete
reconstruction of No. 4 from Clinton to
London.
Fire 'in a . vacant ' apartment at the
Mackay apartment building on King Street
on Monday morning did $5,000 damageoto
the building. Clinton firemen were
praised, not only for saving the building,
but for limiting smoke and water damage.
25 YEARS AGO
February 10, 1955
Cool water applied with a sponge is
credited - with saving the life of a nine-
month -odd girl"burning up" with a fever
which raised her' temperature to 109
degrees.
Sheila Blake is still serious, but no
,longer in critical condition in Clinton
hospital, attended physician Dr. W. Street
said Tuesday. , Her ` 'temperature had
dropped to 102. •
Clinton's Police Department has placed
the matter of settling the current wage
dispute with the Attorney -General of
Ontario.
Constable R.,Timleckwill receive of-
ficial commendation from the town council
for his action in the line of duty last
Thursday, morning, when he arrested at
gunpoint on the main intersection, . two
escapees from the Huron County Jail in
Goderich.
The annual 'congregatidnal meeting of
the Grace United, Church, Porter's Hill,
was conducted on January 24, following a
pot luck dinner served by the ladies_of the
congregation.
50 YEARS AGO
February 6, 1930
The most successful this season and one
of the most successful skating parties ever
put on in the local rink was staged Friday
night by the local branch on the Canadian
Legion. "
At the Clinton council meeting, Chair-
man Holmes reported for the fire and
water_committee. He said Clinton's fire
loss last year amounted to"only $36, a fact
which he felt demonstrated the, splendid
efficiency Of the fire brigade.
"I have to work in 'the store and do my
own housework too, and I got nervous and
run down and was in bed nearly all sum-
mer. The,..least noise would make rile
nervous. I was told to take . Lydia E.
•
•
It
Yinkham's Vegetable Compound, and I
have taken seven bottles. It has made me
stronger and'put more color into my face. I
am looking after my store and housework
and my four children and I am getting
along nicely now." -Mrs. J.. ' Malin,
Hamilton.
Bayfielders are busy harvesting ice this
week. The quality is very good. and depth
from 10 to 12 inches.
75 YEARS AGO
February 9, 1905 •
The Ancient Foresters have rented the
• hall in Tisdall's block and will have it fitted
up for .occupancy by themselves. They.
hope to move in about the first .of=April-,and,
expect to have just about the cosiest
society home in town.
Mr. J.H. McConnell, organizer of the
Woodmen of the' World, left town -yester-
day. da for. Galt after laboring for 10 days in
the interests of Clinton Camp. Asusual he
was successful in ..adding to the mem-
bership of the Camp which is noiv in a very
prosperous state. , -.,
Miss Lillian King, who 'riet with an
accident at the .Christmas entertainment.
at the Methodist Church in Bayfield is all
right again. Part of the costume with
which she was arrayed caught fire.
100 YEARS AGO
'
February 5, 1880
About 12 o'clock las1 night a body of•rnen
blackened and masked, entered 'the
dwe,l.l,izlg_.,,.,Qf_,,,the somewhat notorious
Donnelly family, and murdered the in-
mates, the father, mother, one son. and.,
girl, a niece. The old man was shot at the
door, the -others -being clubbed to death.
A small boy who was named Connor,
who was in the house at the time, took
refuge under the bed, and escaped unhurt.
The maskers 'then set fire to the house,
which, together with the murdered bodies',
was totally consumed.
Another son (William) residing about
three miles from the homestead, was woke
up at.the same time, when his brother John
went to the door and was shot dead.
For some time back incendiary fires and
other misdemeanors have been of frequent
occurrence, and whether rightly or not, the
Donnelly family were blamed, if not as the
actual perpetrators of the crimes -;—that
they were the instigator's, and hence an
intense feeling of enmity accuihulated
against them through the township. A
Vigilance 'Committee was formed some
time ago by the settlers as a means of
protection from these outrages, Which,
with all, their precautionary measures, did
not seem to have obtained their desired
end, •
The last fire was on the Rider Farrp on
the 15th of January and the father and
mother were arrested on suspicion of
being implicated in the burning.
Their examination•was still pending, and
was to have been closed yesterday but the
morning light displayed the ghastly
spectacle of the last remains of the in-
mates of the Donnelly homestead, burned
to a cinder, after first being murdered with
axes and such other weapons as came to
hand,
It is said that about 20 men, disguised
evidently beyond recognition were
engaged in the bloody work.
The cold-blooded atrocity is without
. precedent in the criminal callender of
Ontario.
simple plant?
The other morning I was sitting at
my kitchen table sipping coffee and
wondering what in the world I'd write
about this week, A plant on'"the win-
dow still caught my eye.
It's a simple little plant with ribbed
dark 'green leaves on sturdy stems .in
a mushroom -shaped ilb'w'er-pot. It
was a housewarming gift, when I
moved into the new apartment.
The giver didn't know the name.
Several visitors have, suggested
several different names, but I don't
think anyone knows for sure. To me,
it's just, a plant and a good con-
versation piece. ..
Other ;people have plants that
resemble it. They tell me to give it lots
of light but no fertilizer: They say I
should water it regularly but
shouldn't give it too much water. To
,,,my relief, my sister told me not to
worry, if it didn't grow much; hers
didn't.
As some of you may recall, my luck
with plants has not always been good.
During the first three weeks, four
leaves on my new plant died and I
thought I was doing it again •illiri
poor innocent little plant.. -.Once the
plant became acclimatized to its new
home, however, ' it perked up, and
since then, has even looked healthy.
A few new tiny. leaves replaced the
dead ones. They grew to, a medium
size and then -stopped:- The plant
showed no..sigiis of shooting oat more
leaves or growing taller or flowering.
It seemed content , to just appear
strong and healthy and .enjoy, the
sunlight in its place on the window sill
with all the other plants.
It was just a small simple unob-
strusive plant, until that morning. I
noticed something different. In the
mid 'df the' tightly -packed ,leaves, a
light green spike was thrusting .up-
ward. The tip of the spike was white
and fuzzy. Maybe it's going to flower
after all, I thought. •
The spike grew rapidly. Within a
few days, it was four inches higher
than the tallest leaf and the white
fuzzy tip had spread almost to the
bottom,. It sure didn't look .like a
flower it looked more like a weed,
but I wouldn't. admit' that to anyone
but myself,
one o€ G ,e peculiar things about the
spike was its habit ortwisting and
turning. At night, for exaimple, the tip
would' be headed towards -the window.
By morning, it would have made a 48
degree turn and be racing into the
kitch, almost as though it was,
staring right at me as I sat at 'the
table. r `
I felt most uncomfortable. Plants
are supposed 'to grow towards the
light; aren't they?, Then; why doesn't
the spike face the window in the
daytime and the table at night?
' In my mind's eye, I saw a
microscopic furry being in -a sub -
terrain vehicle in the depths of the
mushroom -shaped pot sending up her
periscope to case the joint.
Next day another spike appeared.
W i th in •aweek;--three new -shoots --were--.
growing. How many beings are down
there, I wondered.
I know what you're thinking:
"Elaine grows more than ivy and
violets.,' or "She wasn't sipping
coffee; she was sipping leftover New
Year's cheer." or._"She's got cabin
fever,' been stuck in that apartment
too long." or "She's really flipped this
time!"
You're all wrong. And so was I. A
friend dropped in the other flay and
shatteredmy whole illusion. She had
a plant like mihe. It grew spikes just
like mine.
"What do they do?" I asked.
"They grow, turn wh'te and die,"
What a disappointment)
Parking problems
,Dear Editor:
The recent parking permit con-
troversy has prompted us to write
about -our experience` .with this
matter.
In June 1979, the Clinton Taxi
Business was relocated td the Clinton
Hotel and parking permits were
applied for. Council advisedus the fee
would be $25 each space for the
balance of,the year and no clue of how
we would' be shafted the .following
year. •
There was a time, previous to
shopping malls, that parking meters
served a worthwhile purpose; now
they are as obsolete as downtown taxi
stands. Surely, common sense and
-fair 'Flay will rectify this situation
beiQreall i. slost .tonearby progressive,
..
towns
and cities.
Yours sincerely,
Doug and June Howse
4, -Clinton Taxi
Who's crazy?
Dear Editor:
Some weeks ago an article ap-
peared in at least two of our farm
papers -entitled "These Crazy High
Interest Rates".
I think we need to be careful when
we make. generalstatements like this.
It depends on your point of view.
I'm quite surethat the wast
inajority of people who have money
out at 'interest' think that present
rates are wonderful. Even business
and industry isn't complaining.
During World War °II, government
contracts were let on the basis of cost
plus profit.
Itworkedwell fora short time, but
business and industry soon
discovered. that an increase in costs
.automatically gave an increase in
profit. It has been more recently
discovered that high interest rates (or
high dividends) increase costs very
evenly throughout the business world
so that real competition is eliminated
and profits increase automatically.
Turn to page 16 •
Don't blow it
Mr. Editor: -
With the Government opening the
budgetary process to public scrutiny,
we find that the huge deficit facing the
people of Canada can be- charged
directly to the Liberal and Con-
servative Parties, as over the years
ever since Confederation, they.are.the
only parties to have held, office in
Ottawa.
The budget that brought the defeat
of the last Parliamer1t WaS clothing but
an attempt to saddle the ordinary,
little taxpayer, through legislation,
with supplying the revenue to cover
the tax deferments given a number of
large Corporations.
In 1979 out of some $1.2 billion in
Mlles`, Imperial Oil • had an ac-
cumulated deferral of $577 million,
Bell-Canada'1993 million and Inco
$417 million. .Add to this deferrals to
private pension • plans and you find
that this totals some $20 billiondollars
at the end of 1079.
I would hope that the electorate will
realize that both the Liberals and
Conservatives have thought this good
business in view of the fact that those
Companies and corporations have
contributed over $22 million dollars to
their campaign funds between 1974
and 1977.
It has been standard procedure for
both old parties to try to frighten the
electorate ' with • such words as
"Communism" or "Socialism" or any
other "isrn", they think necessary to
hang on to office, and then ask them to
tighten their belts, pay another 18
cents for ,gasoline, and additional
cdsts for all other commodities. o
The above is easy to accomplish
when they use an electoral system
that -allows 35 percent of the elec-
torate to elect the Government with 65
percent opposing their election.
Think seriously before castfng your
ballot on February 186. Your fate is-
in , your hands --- DON'T BLOW IT
THIS TIME.
Si 9rely,
, •Osborne Z usher,
Bayfield