HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1969-06-05, Page 4ham, Advance - Times, T.hursd
, June 5, 1969
2•
Make Them Safety Conscious
When last week's editorial on bicycle
safety was written we were not aware that
a meeting had been organized on the same
subject, to be held in the public school
auditorium on Thursday evening. However,
we are pleased that the editorial proved .so
timely.
Even more gratifying is the announce-
ment that a bike rodeo will be held in the
local arena on June 14, at which time
something very practical will be done to
promote safety consciousness among our
youngest vehicle operators. At the rodeo
verbal and printed information will be
supplemented by . tests of skill on wheels
and knowledge of the traffic rules which
are vital to the safety of youngsters on
bicycles.
Wingham local and • provincial police
will assist local organizations who have a
particular interest in making the young-
sters .safety conscious. Not only does this
program save young lives, but it implants
the habits of safe vehicle operation which
are so drastically important when the
kids graduate from the two -wheeler to
their first cars. Keen awareness of the
ever-increasing need for safe driving habits
must. be fostered from early childhood If
the next generation is to survive the grow-
ing death toll on our highways.
Parents, as well as police officers, have
a tremendous stake in such a safety pro-
gram. The rodeo will provide an oppor-
tunity for these parents to prove that they
are in actual fact concerned about the sur-
vival of their children. The police officers
and the sponsors will need all the help
they can muster if the rodeo is to be car-
ried out effectively. Whether or not you
have youngsters in the bicycle age, , call
Dawson Pollock or Doug Marshall and
volunteer your assistance on June 14th.
There will be a good deal of gratification
in doing something about traffic safety in-
stead of reading about it.
Painful Tax Bite
Just about the most reluctant people
we have seen for a long time were the
members of the Wingham town council as
they established the tax rate at last week's
• meeting. Not s.only were they thinking
about horrified taxpayers—they have taxes
to pay themselves and don't like high . rates
any more than the next fellow.
Every item on the budget . for each of
the departments was examined and re-
examined to find any possible places for
curtailment. Three thousand dollars was
topped off the first set of figures—equiv-
alent to at least one mill. Reluctantly
the councillors carne to the conclusion that
any further paring would be suicidal.
The resulting increase in the mill rate
• . • 21,18 for residential properties and
22.52 for commercial and industrial pro-
perties, is one of the stiffest increases we
have heard about this year. However, the
town council has no choice if present ser-
vices are to be continued.
Contrary to all predictions, the Huron
County Board of Education did not blast
us with any earth -shaking tax increase. Al-
though the tax levy for education did jump
by about • four . and a half mills, such an
increase might have been expected had
the local school boards continued to fun-
ction this year. Councillor Bill Harris,
chairman of the old public school board
here, pointed out that the' increase was a
reasonable one.
Nobody likes to pay taxes, but local tax
money does at least purchase those ser-
vices which we enjoy personally, right in
our home towns and . townships. We see
where the money is spent—and personally,:
we have always contended that we get a
lot for our tax dollars.
. The real bite may be yet to come.
When the new provincial assessment plan
is put into operation there are liable to
be some drast�. revaluations. So quit
hollering .about'this year's mill rate and
start worrying about what will happen
next year.
Several weeks ago the Department of
Highways people decided- that the •signs
at the entrances to Wingham were carry-
ing false information. The population
figure was given as 3,000 but some stati-
stician in `Toronto claimed' that we had a
population of only 2800 and the signs were
changed acnordingly..
• The rnaor immediately brought the
mistake . to the attention of the Depart-
ment but was told that the figures could
not be changed until the OK was -received
1
un
r fall prescho
r
The WinghaM and District
Association for Rhe Mentally
Retarded met Monday evening
at the United Church with a
good attendance of inembets.
parents, representatives from
organizations and service clubs.
and interested people.
Reports were.given on the
Regions meeting held in Exe-
ter and the Ontario Association
Convention held in Toronto in
April to which delegates had
been sent.
Alan Williams, representa-
tive on the Huron County Ad-
visory Committee of the Board
of Education, reported- on the
meeting held concerning the
schools for Trainable Retarded
Children.
Mrs. Harold Wild, in her re-
port as recreational chairman,
said skating and bowling had
been provided for the children
of the school here and for grad-
uates also. Several ladies of
the community were volunteer
helpers in the skating program.
Three pupils from the school
are being sent to summer. camp
at Camp Belwood which is a
wonderful experience for them.
The junior pupils go for t w o
weeks and the seniors for three
weeks.
The membership chairman,
Mrs: H. Schipper, made an ap-
peal for family and individual
.membership, also ••club mem-
bership. Membership in the lo-
cal organization also entitles
a person to membership in the.
Ontario Association for the Men-
tally Retarded and the Canad-
ian Association and one will re-
ceive literature and information
on tine work and research .which
is being done in Ontario and in
Canada.
The main feature of the
meeting was a talk and slides
on pipe -school programs given
by Mrs. James Abbott of Palm-
erston, regional chairmanin
this area of work. This was
very informative and showed
from Queen's Park. The signs still state
that our population is 2800.
The assessor's roll at the •Wingham
town hall is open for inspection should
the Department care to verify the truth.
Last week the county assessor reported to
county council and his, figure for Wing
ham's population 'was 2,970. .
Perhaps we will have ' to wait until a
provincial assessor does the counting be -
for the signs are corrected. \ •
You Can't Win
The Township tonal of North Gwil-
D'mbury recently demanded that a police
officer searchtheir council chamber and
remove a tape recorder which" -the editor
of The Lake Simcoe Advocate had intended
to use in reporting the council meeting.
The policeman complied with the demand,
but warned that his action was illegal.
The newspaper editor stated. that h
intended to.use the recorder in order. to be
sure that he had an accurate report of the
meeting.
The situation thus posed is almost
amusing. Any reporter who has covered
council and board ' meetings is familiar
with the charge that this or the other
councillor has been misquoted. Logically
one would suppose that the use of a tape
recorder would meet with the full approv-
al 'Of those board or council members
who don't have too much faith in the
ability of the reporter to do his ' job.
Not so. Apparently this type of elected
official would rather retain the opportun-
ity to scream about misquotations than.
permit the reporter to justify what he has
written with a recording.
The rule about inadmissabilityof re-
cordings in .a court of law is a valid one,
because tapes can be altered—but it is
fairly obvious that since no legal niceties
are involved in statements made at a coun-
cil meeting the reporter could do a better
job ,,by using modern equipment.
The Dirty Old Press
Labor Minister Dalton Bales has been
making noises in the Legislature about
the 'filthy tactics of the "'mass media" ---
the big newspapers and presumably radio
and television. He claims that the press
exaggerates the importance of labor dis-
putes and fails to mention The far higher
proportion of successful labor -rant
negotiations in which the two groups
peacefully settle their differences.
It is just as well that Mr. Bales doesn't
operate a newspaper or :a radio or TV
station. He wouldn't last long in busi-
ness.. Naturally the labor disputes get into
the news. So do obituaries and fatal
accidents and bad fires and kooky kids.
1'Would it be logical or even interesting
to write yards of material about all the
people who didn't die last week, • or the
thousands of cars which managed to crawl
through the downtown traffic without in-
cident, or all the buildings that didn't
burn down?
The minister is pained because there
aren't enough favorable comments about
how well his department is 'doing. 'The
people in that department are just like
all the rest of us: they are scored more
by their shortcomings than by their suc-
cesses. Perhaps it's unpleasant; it may
even be unfair—but, Mr. Bales, that's life.
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES
Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited
W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert A. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer
Member Audit Bureau of Circulation
Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association
Subscription Rate:
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Second Class ifali Registration No. -0621 Return Postage Guaranteed
This happy young fellow won't be a year old till July but
already he looks like a future football player. He's big and
sturdy and loves rough games, especially wrestling. Randy
is a solid baby with big blue eyes, light brown, slightly curly
hair and fair, sensitive. skin. A very sociable boy, , he, enjoys
children and likes' to be in the midst of their activity. He is
also fond of a puppy in his foster home. He is very active a
'and as he starts to walk is beginning to be independent,
though he still likes.tote cuddled. Randy's family history is
incomplete but it is known he has ,one Indian grandparent
and that his mother may have diabetes. The baby himself is
in excellent health. He needs parents who will give himlove
and stimulation. To inquire about adopting Randy please
write to Today's Child, Department of Social and Family
Services, Parliament Buildings, Toronto 182. For general
information about adoption ask your local Children's Aid
Society. '
Soap box derby feature of mall days
Several interesting events
are shaping up in preparation
for the Lions Club Mall Pays.
July 3, 4, and 5. One of these
will be a Soap Box Derby to be
held. on Saturday, July 5th,
sponsored- jointly by the Lions
Club and the Recreation and
Community Centres Board.
Because a good soap' box en-
try can take several weeks to
build, .the rules governing the
derby are listed below. • All
who are interested in :entering
this event should read the rules
carefully and start work tight
away. .
- Entry forms may be obtained
from the recreation office.
RULES
1. Eligibility --Entries from
contestants residing in Wingham
School District only, will be
accepted.
2. Age Limit --Boys 15 years
and under on the day of the
race. .
3. Racer must be .built by
the boy who is to drive it. He
may have help from other boys
• eligible under rule 1. Parents
may help in an advisory capaci-
ty only.
at. To be eligible racer must
not be set on wagon or carriage
frame. The racer must be
built completely by the boys,
with the exception of the
wheels and axles, which may
be bought.
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5. Racer must run on our • semi-finals, unless eliminated.
vfheels. Wheels may be of any
type obtainable but must not
exceed 12 inches in diameter.
6. Total cost of the racer
must not exceed $15.00 --the
contestants may be r equired t o
produce evidence of cost.
7. Each racer must be fitted.
with a brake which a cts either
directly on a r ear wheel or
drags 'on the ground in the centre
of the car.
8. Racers must not exceed
these dimensions: Overall
length --80 inches; o v e r a l l
width --42 inches, overall
height --30 inches.
9. Racer must have at least
3 inches road clearance.
10. N either front or rear
wheels may extend beyond the
ends of the racer.
• 11. No gears will be permit-
ted -in the steering assembly;
• 12. The body of the car ,} •
may be covered, with alumin-
um, linoleum, fabric, wire
netting, sheet metal, ,wood,
leather, paper, cardboard, pa-
per mache, plywood, fibre
wallboard. Cloth over wire
netting makes a good job.
13. Each racer must be built
so as to permit easy inspection
of every part.
• 14. The race will be run in
heats of two o r three cars. The
winner o f e ach heat will a d-
vance through the quarter and
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dear Sir:
On behalf of the Wingham
Home and School Association,
I,, wish to rake this opportunity ,.
to express our sincere apprecia-
tion for the encouragement and
support .the. Advance -Times has
given us during this, our Chart-
er year.
�The editorial comments and
the comprehensive coverage
concerning Home and School
did much to inform the public
of what we are trying to ac-
complish, as well as helping us
to gain new members.
We are pleased to note that
you share our . genuine interest
in the children of this com-
munity and their, welfare
Again, may I say thank you
for your co-operation, interest,
and assistance during the past
Year -
To the Editor:
In response to many inquiries
about Cable TV coming to
Wingham. I would like to set
the record straight. Wingham
Cable Television Ltd. , • is pre-
pared to go ahead with the in -
stallation of cable in Wingham
immediately. However. our
application is before the Canad-
a Lan Radio and Television Com-
° mission, and until this applica-
tion is approved w e cannot be-
gin operation.
We sincerely regret the de-
lay. but as we all know , the
wheels of government g r i n d
'slowly. We also look forward
to serving this community with
cable television service in the
very near future.
Ian MacLaurin
Eric Walden
Yours sincerely,
Mrs. Marilyn Kopas Department Store Sign:
Immediate Past Bath towels for the whofdamp
President fa roily.
15.._ The committee reserves
the right to bar any car or driv-
er from racing if in its opinion
the car is not safe or that any
of the rules and regulations
have been contravened.
•
what ...could be accninpli2heil by
such a program. The Associate
tion pians on starting gich a
program in September begin �►
ning with one erg a .week,,
Mrs. Crawford Douglas and Mrs.
J, K. McGregor are the chair.
men for the local Association
and will need a place to hold
die program as well as volun-
teen to run it. In this set-up
the children of pre-school age
let started hi a learning pro-
gram and this prepares them
for school when the time comet
It also gives the mother s a
morning of their own.
In the report from the school
the principal stated that there
are 16 pupils and three witl•grad-
uate this June. There areseven
school age beginners for Sep •
-
tember.
Director denies
Itwo-payr system
R. J. Carter, a teacher in the
technical department of God-
erich District,Collegiate In
stitute, charged in a.letter
read ata meeting of Hu Huron
County Board of Education . in
Central Huron Secondary School
at Clinton, Monday evening,
that . a. 'two -pay system" existed
in' the negotiation .of contracts
between the teachers and the
board.
"I wish to be placed on re-
cord as being utterly opposed
to the two -pay system as sug-
gested to the teaching staff by „
our negotiating committee, "
he said. "Any system of re-
muneration which permits
teachers of equal qualifications
and experience to be paid dif-
ferent salaries is totally unfair
and discriminatory.
Board members appeared a
little nonplussed in interpret-
ing the meaning of the term
"two -pay system", as alleged
by Mr. Carter. Asked to give
his opinion on the matter, John
B. Laois, chairman of the Board
said he did not pretend to un-
derstand what was meant by
Mr. Carter, but probably it
was this:
"A teacher in Goderich might
be getting more or less money
than a teacher in Clinton or
Seaforth or-Wingham or Exeter,
because he had been hired on
certain terms,by a Board pre-
viously in existence, " he vol-
unteered. He pointed out that
this is one of the problems fac-
ing the new County Board of
Education.
'D. 1. Cochrane, director of
education, was emphatic in his
declaration that "there is no
such thing ai a two -pay syst-
em. "
Mr. Carter 's letter was "re-
ferred to. the secondary schools
salary negotiating committee
under the chairmanship of D.
J. Murphy, Goderic h , who is
on vacation in Europe until
June W., The committee met
after the Board meeting and ap.
pointed John Broadfoot, R. R.1.
Brucefield, chairman pro tem.
Added to the `committee temp-
orarily was R. M. Elliott, R. R.
3, Clinton.
With wool r .. tar ee.
;be 004ct palet ,s 'age. it
Is felt a Sheltered Wotltthop is
needed iwt rely ;netts fotum, -
The new slate, CI officers. fpx•
threesilocal, 1 1 ..1 iltten; press
p
roma. J. E. Reavie; vice*pees„
'dent. William Millen of 'Tees-
water; isecretaty, G. W •Giffin;
treasurer, William Lind up;
councillors, Mrs. R. Kilpatrick
• and Mrs. Mary McKinney; Pre
school and Horne Care chair-
men, Mrs, C. Douglas and
Mrs. J. K. McGregor; r'ecrear.
.atonal chairman, Mrs. H. Wiadr
program chairman, Ross Ham-
ilton; membership chairman,
Mrs. H. Schipper; publicity,
Mrs. J. Reavie; and transports
tion cha%man, Harvey Webster
of Lucknow.
It's
got me baffled
It takes a mickle to make a
muckle, whatever that means.
And it takes a lot of mickles
and muckles to, make up that
peculiar agglomeration of
mammals known as modern so-
ciety; including a quantity of.
crackpots and a welter • of. weir-
dos. Present company . accept-
ed.
Four different glimpses of
modern society, the human
race, in the last ' few days have
baffled me completely. How
did we get as far as we've
come? And how come we hay,
en't got farther?
First of these was a big proj-
ect at the big shoe factory I
work In. Teachers and students
have been slaving for months,
making ` canoes and planning*
trips. They wound up with
about • 30 canoes, maps, com-
passes and no brains.
With just a little less fanfare
than the Spanish . Armada, they
set off on a sunny Friday after-
noon, holiday weekend, to
conquer. the wilderness and
make Etienne Brule look like a
Sunday tripper. •
It 'rained, all . day..• Saturday,
Sunday and Monday in the
great national park they chose
for their insanity. The temper-
ature was a little above freez-
ing. They came back exhaust-
ed, soaked to the 'skin, and
frozen to th marrow.
About 'people were about
as miserabl as they ever have
been, or ever will be, in their
• lives. And already they're plan-
ning the next trip. Already,. it's
a greatadventure, in retro-
spect.
I know the `feeling. I was 'a
prisoner of war, and there was
little joy in the jaunt. But
looking back, I wouldn't have
missed it for anything. Pretty
stupid ? • •
Thefine weekend, since the
rain ruled out anything intern -
gent, I took two little nieces
out to the beach to see the
"motorcycle gang." We saw
them. In all their glory. Black
jackets, beards, long hair and
frightening. .The kids weren't. I
was. Frightened; that. is.
When we arrived, these
young adults,. and I emphasize
that they're not teen-agers,
were grooving on fireworks.
Fortunately,. they . were so
beered-up; and it was so damp,
that the whole thing was a fiz-
zle. They were trying to light
Roman candles- and such on
the floor of a restaurant.
Adults, playing with 'firecrack-
ers. firecrackers.
What makes these people.
wander about the country in
wolf packs? They get their
kicks from noise, and
violence. But they'respeed people,
and certainly some of them
have brains, feelings, decency.
-Yet they're capable of actions
that recall Hitler's Brown -
shirts, and I don't think there's
any need to go into detail. I
was glad the two police cars
were there.
The next night, . there was a
big fire, about four blocks
from our house, when a lum-
ber yard went tip in a dazzling •
display. And who was there
hot -rodding 'it from all over
town to get' a ring -side. seat.
Good, honest, responsible .tax-
payers. Including yours truly. •
I was so pleased (I've always
loved a good fire, especially at
night) that • I left my wife
standing in 'her dressing -gown
and pyjamas, about a . block
from the blaze, while I .aged
closet' for a' cheekby-jowl view
with the other sensible Citi-
zens.
"Ain't she a dandy?" And
"That's a real ripper," we
grinned into each others' or-
ange
range faces, a little disappoint-
, ed becausethere was no wind,
and the firemen were prevent-
ing
reventing it from spreading. My wife
vialked . three blocks home, in
her night attire. I'd forgotten
her completely. • What kind of
monsters are we? •
And then I went back to
school after the weekend, and
here are these Grade 12 stu-
dents, in. panel discussions,
sane, serious and sensible,
grappling . intelligently with
the problems they're going to
have to face shortly.
They're net doing it to im-
press me. Some of their opi-
nions would curl their moth-
ers' hair But they dont like
society much the. way it is, and
they want to do something
about it. •
They get angry with each
other, disagree, grow red in
the face, and shoutVat each
other like - well, like a group
of adults.,
Crazy world, but it's the one
I want to stay in for a while, at
least. Today's world; in addi-
tion to the cold binoculars of
the historians, needs o some mi-
nor chroniclers, like your hum-
ble servant, to tell it as it was.
St. Paul's Church
(ANGLICAN)
WINGHAM
' Minister — REV. C. F. JOHNSON, Locum Tenens.
Organist — MRS. G. L. DAVIDSON.
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY .-- JUNE 8th
11:00 a.m.—Morning Prayer and Church School.
KENNETII W. IAWLESS DDS.
wishes to announce
the opening of his office
for the general pradiree . of Dentistry
at
239 John St. E.
Winphdrit, Ontario
By Appointment
Phone 357-1400
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