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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1969-09-04, Page 4Page 4 W%rghani Advance -Times, Thursda , Sept, 4, 1969 Stay With It, Pierre The speaker for the Liberal party whose voice was heard over CKNX on its Sunday morning public- affairs program described some of the efforts which will be made during the next session of the House of .Commons. According to this speaker (whose name we failed to note) the Liberal government will pursue its "just society" program with vigor. The promise which struck us most favorably was that some controls and safe- guards will be set up to protect Mr. Aver- age Citizen from the over -zealous civil servant. There is no intention here to use "civil servant" as a pair of dirty words. Cer- tainly there are thousands of conscien- tious, fair-minded civil servants, but with the ever-increasing amount of social and business legislation which pours out from all levels of government, it is inevitable that some of the paid help who administer all the new regulations are likely to be less than utterly impartial. Every person who has ever dealt with the inspectors who drop in to see that gov- ernment is getting its share, of the public wealth has had some experience with the type of official who enjoys throwing ' his weight around. Most of us are over -awed by this approach. We learned to our, re- gret that it is best to put up and shut up. Arguments can prove costly. The ,government's intentions, as out- lined in the address to which we refer, are to provide safeguards for the citizens who believe that they are being treated un- fairly. One suggestion is that an ombuds- man be appointed (or as many of them -as are needed) whose sole purpose would be to give unhurried consideration to the pleas of the private individual. The same sort of task might be undertaken by series of impartial committees. It -all sounds good, but there might be such a spate of complaints that the total body of ombudsmen would outnum- ber the present army of civil servants. Whatever the difficulties, some system of protection for the public against the utterly impersonal impositions of govern- ment is a vital need -and it will be inter- esting to see what solutions can befound to a problem which has attained new and frightening proportions in our times. It was also indicated .that there would be a new and deeper look into the place of Indians in our society — another aspect of the "good" life in Canada which is long overdue for complete reform. Are the Youngsters Here Really Different? We believe, as you do, that this its a nice clean little town. There may be some real possibility, however, that we older -folks tend to keep our heads deeply buried in the sands of self-interest and wishful thinking. The Saturday edition `of The London Free Press included a five-page section on drugs — not the sort that bring relief to humans in pain or ill -health, but the many narcotics which are posing a fright- ening threat to countless thousands of our. young people. The, group of articles to which we refer should be read by every parent and; teach- er --- and;most certainly by every'younger ';sAU nS4 `'S K11. a.4v person. it sets forth some stare thg`*facts' most startling of all is 'the: factual refer- ence to common use of narcotics . in our own particular part of the world. A re- liable London psychiatrist is quoted as. stating that in the city of London alone 800 cases. , of drug overdose are treated 'annually at St. Joseph's and Victoria Hospitals. Not all of these are cases of drug addiction andthey° include mature adults as well as young people. They serve to illustrate the extent of harmful uses to which all available drugs are. put. More than a year ago this column sug- gested that 'responsible adults, particu- larly high school teachers would be well advised to encourage our young people to face the raw facts .of drugs and their dangers. Most of today's high school. students are intelligent enough to take a hard look at a problem of this magnitude 'and to discuss its implications. All sorts 'of informed specialists are availabl to .tell the'students all the facts about drugs and -information of this sort might well satisfy the curiosity of those who would f periment with drugs to find • ,.opt for themselves: Let's not fool ourselves. Some of the kids fright • in our own 'community are al- ready using marijuana and their experi- mentation will quite likely lead to more :dangerous diversions. What are we going to do .about Vit? Now You Can Pick Your Own Punishment Selection is the keynote, of our age. With a vast range of goods and services available to us we have.grown accustomed to picking out exactly those things for which we prefer to pay our money. Ap- parently the Ontario Department of Trans- port has decided to go along with the trend, for on Monday of this week a new sliding scale of fines for speeding convic- tions, with` the penalty rising sharply in relation to speed, went into effect. The rate is $2.00 for each mileper hour over the speed limit up -to 9 miles per hour; $3.00 per mile between 10 and 19 m.p.h. over the limit; $4.00 per mile between 20.. and 29 m.p.h. over the limit and $5.00 per mile for 30 m.p.h. over the limit. As an example, a driver will be fined $10 for driving 35 m.p.h. in a 30 m.p.h. zone, but the find will rise to $30 if he is convicted of driving 40 m.p.h. in the same area and to $150 for a 60 m.p.h. speed. A new sliding scale of fines has also been set for convictions resulting from the overloading of commercial vehicles. "We have overhauled the entire system of deterrents by discarding the principle of varying fines for first, second and third or subsequent offences," says Hon. Irwin Haskett, Ontario's Minister of Transport. As an example of stiffer fines, ..Mr. Haskett mentioned the new, minimum fine for a careless driving conviction. For an offence occurring previous to September 1st the minimum was $10. The penalty has now been raised to $100 and the maxi- mum remains at $500. The new scale of fines may seem pretty stiff to a person who is normally a care- ful driver and has made that once -in -a - News Items SEPTEMBER 1920 Mr. William Rooney, itstiv has been residing with his si ter, Mrs. T. Barnes, Winghn, has gone to Ireland to visit his parents. Mr. Rooney wit* severely wounded in the right hand while serving in the world war. Another change has taken place in the McLaughlin Auto- mobile Agency in Wingharn Mr; R. M. V anNorrnan has Sold N lifetime slip, but the law does recognize the simple fact that the increasing number of automobiles on our highways makes it imperative that all drivers be kept keenly conscious of their responsibility for public safety. In Bermuda, where no cars were per- mitted on the roads until the war years, the government developed a very effective system of controlling. speeders.. Upon conviction a fine is levied: as it is here, but in addition a driver's license is usually suspended for life. They simply lake him off the road. The last time we were there • we found that,there was no speeding prob- lem. No one ever tried it. The number of vehicles on North Am- erican highways is expected to double within the next 20 years. Already the United Staten has 36 vehicles for every ion in Canada mile of highway. Our ,situat is not as drastic on a nation-wide basis, . but in Southern Ontario, where so much of Canada's• population is condensed, the situation is similar to the one which pre- vails in the States. It is a simple matter of survival. The automobile has revolutionized our whole way of life in a scant 50 years; the press- ing question now is whether the revolu- tion will continue until it has extermin- ated our society. It appears to be well on the way to doing so. Fortunately, the new speeding laws and the other regulations which have been sharpened by the Department of Transport • will be welcomed by the vast majority of Ontario's drivers, who are good, re- liable .people. But they will be rough on the small minority who cause 90% of the accidents. 0114110111101141Mr111111111 his share JR t .'60a t4 `• Andrew T tor, and the #1012 will be .knows at Taylor & Dobbie, We understand that Mr. Taylor is conteampla8ng turning the dining, room part of the Queen's Hotel into show rooms and equipping a modern McLaughlin garage. Nothing definite has really been decid- ed on as to the remodelling of the building as yet. Mr. J. R. Wightman was drawing in oats on his farm A LETTERS.1:o TIEE EDITOR Islington 678, Cont., August 25, 1969, Dear Sir: I am writing to you concern ing a guest editorial that ap - peared in your newspaper on July 31st concerning the exten- sion of the Separate Schoolsyst- em. Unfortunately, I did not find out about the editorial un- til yesterday which explains my tardy reply. May I explain that .I also, am a Grade 12 (going in - `to Grade 13) student like M x - MacKenzie. When the British North Amer- ica) Act was formulated . th e Fathers of Confede ration were anxious to protect the rights of the Protestant minority in Que- bec. They therefore put in a clause guaranteeing any reli- gious minority the right to set up a school board where there is a viable number of families. In Ontario the Catholics set up this system and 'have maintain- ed it. • Presently the government of Ontario allows the elementary glades of the Separate School System grants that are and of course legally should be equal with the Public School System. They also allow grants for Grades nine and ten that are equal to one-half the Public School grants. The Separate School system ends at Grade ten, In'Ontario we have one sys- tem of education with two bran- ches, the Separate Schools and the Public Sohools. One sys - tem, or rather branch, -the pub- lic schools are complete from Kindergarten 'to Grade 13. - The pu,hl a system, d,an therefore 1-` gage in such new eaiidationat9l , ideas as the ungraded education and programs that require the continuum of education. The Separate. System isnot given the opportunity to engage in these programs because its stu- dents are forced to change schools and programs at Grade ten. How can the Government promote changes in education and at the same time prevent the 400,000 students in the Government approved Separate School Branch? All the Catho- lic people are asking is that each branch of the Ontario sys-- tembe treated ;equally a n d therefore we ask that the Sep- arate School System be extend- ed to,13 in equality with the Public School System. Many people, wonder about the financial end of it. As a student I have to be educated. It costs eight hundred dollars a year 'to educate me whether in a Separate School or a • Public School. It will be no more ex- pensive to extend the Separate School System and there is ar. . good chance that if the govern- ment moves quickly it willsave the government many educa- tional dollars. Now I might take the liberty THE WINGHAM ADVANCE - TIMES Published at Wingham; Ontarfo, by Wenger Bros. Limited W. Barry Wenger, President - Robert O. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulation Member Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Subscription Rate; 1 yr. $6.00; 6 months $3.25, in advancer USA $7.00 per yr.; For,ign rate $7.00 per yr. Advertising Rates on application . Registration No. -0821 Return Postage Guaranteed Second Class Mail to reply briefly to the many misconceptions of Mr. MacKen - zie. (A) The extension of the Separate School S ystem has noth- ing to do with Pope Paul. It is between the'Catholic people of Ontario who want 'a total en- vironment education which in- cludes religion, and the Ontario government. (B) We are not trying to dis- unify the province any more • than the French who want their language rights protected in e4- ucation. (C) We Catholics have been developing a growing under - standing of people of other faiths One student, very active in the fight for extension of the Separ- ate School System and who was on the executive of the Ontario Catholic Students Federation (the only province wide student union in Ontario that represents. 32,000 Catholic high school stu- dents), was an Anglican who faithfully practised his religion. He was one o f the most dedi- cated workers we ever had in the Federation and is a lifelong personal friend. Soou see you don't even have to b* Catholic to be in a position to be Presi- dent of all the C atholic high school students in Ontario be- cause he very easily could have been my successor, except that he had to move to British Co - lumbia. (D) You say "Almost half of the present teaching staff in the Separate Schools is Protestant and increlasingly large numbers of families are sending their children to district schools". I know of no school where there is even ten per cent Protestant teaching .staff so please show me your references; and our high school population like our ele- mentary population increases greatly every year despite the closing of 10 schools in the past ' 3 years. Mr. MacKenzie is trying to blame the R. C. church for the religious turmoils of the world. Durjng this whole fight for the C ension of . the Separate School System we Ma. de it clear that it is -a matter of what is better for the education of all the students in Ontario. Not once have we said one word against any relig- ious denomination and yet we are constantly subjected to edi- . torials that are attacking us per- sonally instead of attacking our aims. I suggest that i t is reac- tionary and ill-informed editor- ials that cause religious turmoils. Mr,. MacKensie and Mr. Ed- itor, I suggest that you learn about a problem before. yo u • formulate and publish editorials . Then you'd b e doing your part to cut down on bigotry and ig- norance. r near 8elgrave nae y ree dy, and be wa,s astonished to 500 a doe and two hall glowl fawn came out of the bush nearby and walk quietly into his oat field where they leisurely ate in the stubble about 20 yards from his wagon. They did not remain long though for they rapidly strode off into the bush on Mr. William Field's farm and doubtless would soon be miles away again. Miss Marjorie Fisher h a s been engaged to teach on the staff of the Paris Collegiate. SEPTEMBER 1934 Miss Bernice Blake who Made such a splendid showing in the Upper School Examinations, Was awarded.a scholarship of $100 tuition for each of two years in Western University. This is a general proficiency scholarship awarded on the re- sults of nine Upper School pa- pers. Some time between 8:30 and 12:Q0 Saturday night, the home of Albert Foxton, Blue - vale Road, was entered and $12 5 in bills, $60 in silver and cop- pers and a cheque for $1.56 were stolen. Mr. and Mrs. Foxton were in town when the robbery took place. When Mr. and Mrs. Foxton left home they noticed a car standing near their gateway, apparently with engine trouble, and it is thought that maybe the people in the car were watching till all were away from the house, Mr. R. H. Lloyd took nine boys of his Sunday School class to the Canadian National Ex- hibition last Friday. They re- turned on Saturday having had a wonderful time. The boys who had the trip were reward- ed for excellent attendance at their classes. Yours. truly, Joseph Redican President, Ontario Catholic Students Federation. SEPTEMBER 1944 At a special meeting of the Council last week Edward H. Whitby was appointed night- watchman with his duties to commence September lst, We regret to report that Mr. Sparling Yoe had the misfortune to be caught in the cables at his crushing plant and suffering a fractured skull and lacerations which required several stitches. On Thursday evening a lo- cal trio won second prize ip the Henning Tro tiy,l'ourna - ! t at Hanoier wits, „ plus of '22. the riot w Connell, Art Wilson and H. L. Sherbondy, skip, The big senile is typical of Davey's disposition, for this is a happy, easy-going little boy. He is healthy and sturdy with big brown eyes and dark hair. At 22 months Davey is not very talkative, but he understands every- thing said to him, especially the word "no." A‘friendiy, . cheerful child, Davey is not over -active or inquisitive, though he shows persistence in activities that appeal to him. He enjoys people but can play contentedly alone. He is doing most things at the average rate and it is felt he has higher potential. This little boy needs a loving mother and father who will provide a stimulating atmos- phere andwill not be • concerned over epilepsy. in his background. To inquire, about adopting Davey. please write to Today's Child, Department of Social, and Fami- ly Services, Parliament Buildings, Toronto • 182. For other information about adoption ask your local Child- ren's Aid Society. Mrs. James D. Elsley of R. R. 2," Palmerston, entertain- ed for her mother's 80th birth- day on Tuesday, August 29th. Neighbors from East Wawanosh where Mrs, Ellis resided for many years prior to making her home with her daughter, to- gether with sisters from Wing - ham and Brooklyn, N. Y. , re- spectively, gathered to felici- tate the octogenarian who re- tains to a remarkable degree" her old-time sprightliness and vigor. Miss Jean Moorehouse is back at her home at Stone, Staffordshire, England. She had been attending Alma College for the past four years, since the. blitz, and during vacations and other holidays was theguest of Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Lloyd. Mr. John- W. Hanna, M. P.P. , left Sunday night for Northem " - Ontario with a party headed by the Hon. T. L. Kennedy, min- ister of agriculture., They will study agriculture conditions throughout tie northland visit- ing all the important centers. S.S. Guest Editorial A commission has been established in our school to study the functions of the Students' Council. I was most typical of the uninterested student who had about as much interest in the Council as in my homework. Now, however, as a member of the commission, I recognize that apathy among the students is what we must com- bat. Apathy, which in students is a fear of making fools of themselves, is perhaps a reflection of the adult community. The attitude and example of adults, parents and teachers, are the most to blame. Apathy By Betty Colwell 128 The cause of this apathy might be the petty issues with which the Students' Council is allowed to deal. It has been said that the Council is merely a body to arrange dances. Assuredly It does this well, but shouldn't it have other purposes? 40 People benefit from their mistakes. If Councils were given more leeway to make mistakes they would learn from them. More experienced advisors should be con- sulted on major matters. In making and unmaking their own rules students would learn by trial and error the realities of education an -i of. life. t sr Aboutgarbage and all that • Summer wanes, and so does the sky, and so do I. How and why do we wane? The summer wanes with sadness and digni- ty, as is her custom. The sky wanes. regularly. And I wane Violently. Some people grow benevo- lent and kindly as they get , older; I. just get more violent. I hope I turn out to be an Angry Old Man. And I know I will, if 1 can just hang on long enough to get old. It's a 'world to turn anyone, even a gentle, vweet chap like myself, a bit savage. Don't think that I'm just get- ting crotchety. I've been crotchety for years. You hear people going around all over Canada saying, "My, isn't that Smiley crotchety?" Ana others replying. "Yes, crotchety is the word. If thre's. a word .for it, it's . crotchety." 1 Mind you, I love the world around me, and up to half a dozen people, and. I. laugh like a mental case at some of the things I see. But there is a limit to theamount of garbage I can stand being thrown in my face day after day in this year 1969 A.D. That makes me just like the Prime Minis- ter. For instance. We have so much surplus wheat that we have a national hernia, trying to lift it from here • to there. Politicians go white trying to figure out what to do with it. Why don't we give it away? I don't mean the farmer. I mean Canada. Pay the going rate to the farmer and give it away to people who are starving. Up go the taxes. So what? They go up anyway. For instance. Our education- al system caters to the medio- cre, to mass -production of the mediocre, just like big indus- try. The intellectual elite among our kids are starved to death, that is, bored to death, and the kids who are below average are swept under the rug. This means our schools are full of fat, lazy kids who are there only because they don't want to face the lean, cold world. I'd turf out on his or her tail, at 16, every kid who wasn't interested. And I'd let him back in, with generous help, when he became interest- ed. For instance. Daily newspa- pers lie. daily. Not downright lies. They merely slant, distort and colour the "news," depend- ing on their policy and politics. However, it's a free country, and I guess they're free to lie/ For instance. Television could be a tremendous ° force for spreading peace and love in the world. What it does is spread jam . on cake, and . vio- lence on ignorance. With a few notable exceptions, it serves its e patrons garbage in a fancy wrapper. Its entertainMent does not entertain. Its news seeks out the sensational or the silly. Its commercials are aimed at a world of morons. Do you really • believe, for example, that a certain brand of beer is mak- ing Canada famous throughout the world? Or that you can get tlothes cleaner in cold water han in hot? Or that "you'll never make it if your armpits sweat? And for all this obscenity the three " big U.S. networks last year split over two billion dollars in profits. The CBC, which gives us the same ref- use, generally, came up with its usual deficit. This shows a the superiority of Canadian television. Somehow. For instance. There are two laws. One for the rich and one for the rest of us. And any lawyer and any ' policeman knows it, If you're •a dumb kid e from Newfie; or an Indian who got drunk, you can rot in jail for a month or two before your case is even heard. If you're a middle-class doctor or business- man, and you have the money and the right connections, you're home free and every- thing is hushed up. For instance. Poverty. Twen- ty million people living in one of the biggest countries in the world, with enormous natural resources. And millions living in sordid, squalid poverty. For instance. The Church. Again with a few notable ex- ceptions, it does not face life. It wrings its hands, or washes them, Pilate -fashion. You don't see many preachers charging into a finance company and brandishing a whip these days, do you? 4 For instance. about garbage. membered this and I forgot to This column is And I just re - is garbage day put Mine out. a