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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1972-11-23, Page 4• ' ti�A.:'•,:;?:;:;}:`:ti J`.1"'� :�•�:':?':�}";: t ��:ti ::ti ::ti`•ti$' titin::.:j•..•:1'n'*,.'��`ylti•'Y;�•�••'11y:;:;:ti`;• tib'; tib{ ti; .; {ti 'ti 1{ :,}ti: :;:;:�R: 1• '•1 ":•••:.•.• ::.A:•::: � •::... ..\ S .•:•::::\1 :•:::•..., •.1''.1 1 .AL•. 1.:..•.11.'.� 1::ti".�•:1S..�a 'i4`. L L k .. .•::.. . a What lies ahead? Where is this sad old world headed? Will our thildren ever learn to appreciate the fruits of peace and prosperity for which generations of mankind have been strug- gling over the centuries? The future looks bleak. For ages past peace -loving people have longed for the day when.a man and his wife could,go about their own business, intent upon the major respon- sibilities of feeding, clothing and housing their family, in the hope that by example and education their children and grandchildren would live in a world which would have moved a few steps closer to the ideal of a. civilized<society. For the past 25 years there has been good reason to hope. The Second War spelled out a lesson which all but the most obdurate could read: Armed combat is pointless; no one wins a war. Even the Soviets, whom we in the western world feared as potential ene- mies, seemed as loath to resort to conflict as was the rest of the world. True enough, there have been wars in that .period—some very nasty ones. The striking circumstance, however, was that most of the great powers refused,' for the first time in history, to become embroiled in the localized quarrels. Why the United States has- failed to follow the example of wiser neighbors in the world community is,. of course, the question yet to be answered. In these same 25 years all aspects of life in the fortunate portion of the globe to which we belong have improved by tremendous strides. Health care, education, good food, comfortable homes—even the luxuries like boats and snow machines, are commonplace and taken for granted. We travel in vast numbers to other countries, we soak up the warm sun in mid -winter. Even our minimum wage regulations, geared to the demands of a super -generous society, are high enough to provide Junior with a car before he has learned to -earn a living. Why, then, can a few thousand thrill- seeking extremists twist and torture all the rest of mankind with acts of total violence— often perpetrated by the offspring of com- paratively wealthy and advantaged famil- ies? in many instances the motive seems to be thrills rather than monetary gain. How can organized society deal with such a can- cerous growth in its vital organs? Recently we have been reading a de- tailed history of the Tower of London. Its most• chtJing ch.pter is the one which deals with the instruments of torture employed for many ,centuries in the Tower's dank cel- , Jars—and the 'famous bodies which were handed over to the tender mercies of the etc-. ,arts who operated: the rack and thumb- • screw. Any normal reader would end that chap- ter with a prayer of thanks that he was born in a more enlightened age—until he rerhem- bers suddenly that our own times seem des- tined to return to the savagery of the middle centuples. The impl ments of painful punish- ment which were u ed in those bad old times Were the tools by hich an emerging social order repressed t e elements which sought to break down establishment of their times. We do not recommend. a return to the torture chamber or the Inquisition—God for bid! The nagging fear remains, however, that violence begets violence. If the radicals in our own day, those who refuse to even try the previously proxan methods provided by self-government to gain redress for wrongs, continue to insist on savagery, retaliation is likely to be made in kind. Fighting fire with fire is an adage with some meaning. When reason fails, fear usually takes its place. It is obvious that the millions who are. satisfied to live by the law, in. complete understanding that it may at times be blind, cannot submit indefinitely to the blackmail of the self -designated outcasts who would burn and bomb their way to—what? If organized society is forced to regress toward repression and violent punishment, justice itself will begin to crack under the strain. One has only to recall the violence and brutality of the riots in Chicago during a political convention two or three years ago to observe how the innocent are punished along with the guilty when the law is enforced without normal restraint. Perhaps there is little the ordinary citi- zen can do to solve the problem' at the mo- ment. On the other hand, there are. some particulars in which we are to blame. For example, the entertainment for which we are willing to pay. The next time one of those. farcical wrestling bouts appears on your television screen, fhirk for a moment of the way we permit displays Qf gross violence., The only interest one could' possibly have in TV -style wrestling is in the prospect of pain -whether faked or real. Read the movie advertisements in any newspaper—particularlythose which ah- nounce showings in the cities, where a entertainment market is available. Time after time you will find evidence that the public is being fed a diet of violence in the most obscene form—because the'public has proven it will buy this sort of entertainment. peaceful, progressive society can be achieved only when a predominating propor- tion of. its members want things that way— personally and directly. in their, own lies. We have not yet proven our sincerity when we talk of peace. Listen to the judge An unnamed reader recently mailed us the. following comment, written by Michael Barrett in the Glasgow Weekly News: The law, somebody once said, is an 'ass. And sometimes the comments of judges when they sentence people seem to confirm that view.' But this week I came across a judge's observations which were so acute and wise that they have been quoted all `over the world. I would like to repeat them at some length. ' The, judge is Alfonso Sepe and this •is . what he said when he sentenced a 17 -year-old ,youth to prison for possessing hallucinogenic drugs and assaulting a policeman. "Do you know who is going to serve that year? Not you: your mother and father will serve that year. Your body is in the stockade for a year, but their souls are tormented for a lifetime. - "I have not spent .five cents on raising yiu. I dont know you from Adam, but your mother and father have put their lives, their hearts, their sweat, their money and every- thing else they have into bringjng you up. "And now they have to sit in this court- room and listen to a total stranger, vvho had nothing to do with your upbringing, scold you and put you in jail. You fiare it outg Not long ago The Ontario Minister who takes charge of problems of the environ- ment—notably garbage—decreed that it will henceforth become illegal to package fluid milk in three -quart cardboard cartons. The intention behind the mal date is to reduce the amount of throw -away packages which in- creasingly clutter up our garbage containers and disposal areas. The honorable gentleman must - have some sort of point • there, but so far we haven't figured out what it is. Perhaps we are dense, but we just can't see why it's bet - "This is a time when phoney kids your age are yelling: 'You adults have your alco- hol, we want our drugs; you have polluted our water and air, you have polluted this and - that,' and all the rest'of that garbage that comes out of your ,mouths. - "I want you to think of -this for one year and the reason why I say it is, if you are sick, a doctor will treat you, and he won't be high on drug's. .The lawyer who represents you won't be high on drugs, and the people in whose custddy you will be won't be high on drugs. "Your astronauts are not on drugs, your president is hot, and your legislators are not. And your engineers, who built the bridges you drive across, and the tunnels you drive through are not high on drugs. Those who build the planes you fly in and the cars you drive are not. - "But in the world of the future that same may not be true. Teachers, doctors, lawyers, legislators—products of the new drug -ori- ented generation—may well be high as kites. "You know whom to send your children to, or whom to trust your life to. Let's see what kind of world you leave to your children before you talk about the world that we left to ours." 09 ter to have three one -quart cartons in that old green sack than it is to have one three - quart box. , Algebra always 'eluded us, so perhaps there is an equation which explains this three-is:better-than-one theory. However, it's no. problem for us, any- way. We burn our milk cartons in the fire- place—which is still quite legal. It'would be a different story if we took them out to the back yard for cremation. Chimney smoke is cleaner than bonfire smoke—or didn't' you know that? THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited. Subscription $10.00 a Year Second Class Mail Barry Wenger, President Robert O. Wenger, Sec.-Treas. Member Audit Bureau of CirculationL. Member Canadian and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associations $5.25 for Six Months, in United States $12.50 in Advance Registration No. 0821 Return Postage, Guaranteed 100""'":" �►a� o opinion Thtsday, NiovenI L S MOWW • The Gods Singled Me Out Bill Smiley Occasionally, I succumb to a great disenchantment with life. At those times I feel that Some days are bad, and all the others ar< Yesterday was one of the, bad- der ones. It began at 2 u,n, which 1 think anyone will agree is a bad time to start a day. I had the Gallipoli disease. It's called this for two reasons. First. it was rampant among the poor sods trying to capture Galli- poli in World War I, when the Australians lost more men to dysentery than they did to Turks. Second, it keeps you galloping. back and forth, forth and back, until there's something like a tun- nel between your bedroom and your bathroom. Eventually, you are so weak it's an effort to pick up a Kleenex and have a honk. Enough to make a bad day. you'd say. Oh, no. It had to be badder. That's the way the gods work. When they single you out for a going-over, they're not go- ing to be happy with a mere case of dire rear. • After waiting for months •for the to organize some storm win- dow work, my.wife had finally got cracking, which she should have dune in the first place, and hired two young men to take off and wash and put hack the storm win- dows. Four of them had been re- moved last spring and sat in the patio alt summer, gathering twigs and dead flies. The others had never come off. The. win- dows,' that is. Anyway, she had hired two of the most unlikely window -wash- ers in town, a couple of former students of mine. Personally, though I like the pair, I wouldn't hire them to dig agrave for a cat: However, as they weren't on welfare or unemployment insur- ance at the time, they leaped at the opportunity. After they'd checked on the going rate and ag- reed it was adequate. Barely. Not that they were immature ur anything. Oh, no. They'd done their Grand Tour of Europe'. One had spent six weeks in jail in -the Netherlands. They'd had four or live jobs since, in such productive industries as leatherwork and making health food. ,Well, they arrive to do the win- dows the day I am almost on hands and knees with the„ Bright and early. Eleven All I want to do is crawl into bed and feel forsaken. No chance. A brisk linging on the doorbell. "Well, here we are." cheerily. A groan from me. They had a long ladder borrow - Letters to 195 Minnie Street, Wingham, Ontario: November 19, 1972. The Editor. The Wingham Advance -Times, Wirighatn, Ontario. Dear Editor: Articles and editorials on your pages relating to drug misuse in Whv" Perhaps to meet their o'eds perhaps to cope with their problem 4 Drug use is nor^ of a symptom than a cause. Some people turn' to alcohol, some to food. some to violence, and some inwardly to insanity in their ef- forts to adjust to situations with Which they feel they can not cope. our community are indeed of con 1 wout"d• suggestr; -.Mr. Editor, cern to all. In the past two yearour society must' somehow in Wingham. the secondary :haw a feeling of concern. and school has expanded its health dare for its..inembers; that on an and guidance curricula to include individual or organizational basis new and growing data on drugs: we take this concern 'known; its Iibraryt.holdings of publica- that we make help and counsel - tions dealing -with the drug issue ling facilities more readily avail - have also been increased; and able and accessible and in •this the Student Council has soon- way assist the individual in shred guest speakers and -discus -learning how to. cope in mere ,signs on the 'topic: The Wingham positive ways. Home and , School Association Yours sincerely. .held an Information Program Jcthn M. Kopas attended by several hundred per- sons. Elders of a local church. 0 - 0 -- 0 participated in informal "rap sessions" with a cross-section of November 20, 1972. area young -people. Most re- Dear Editor:. . Gently, the County Health Unit The Maitland Valley Conserva- showed the *Art Linklatter film to tion Authority wishes to reply to a high school audiences within' the letter from - the Howick' Lions county. These are only some of Club which appeared in the No - the ways in which there has been vember 9th, 1972 issue of your response to the situation to which newspaper. There are .two state - you call for further attention. idents made in this letter on These endeavours. combined which the Authority wishes to with the extensive coverage. comment. made through various govern,- The . first statement contends trient and social agencies, the that ". . . the people of Howick press, radio, and television have are helping every other munici- contributed towards a reasonably pality- in Ontario to build things well informed populace.. with grants and we are getting In spite of .the abundance of in- nothing in return". Since 1962, formation on drugs, people. when the Maitland -Valley Con - young and old. continue to 'use servation Authority was formed, and experiment- With drugs. the 'Authority has been respon- TODAY'S CHILD BY HELEN ALLEN Baseball is Bobby's passion so he is extremely proud of the trophy he is holding. The cup•was presented to him for being the "best ever" bat boy for a team of older boys but Bobby plays his favorite game as well as giving service to it. Bobby is 9, slender, healthy and active, with brown eyes and reddish brown, slightly curb hair. His ,fair skin freckles in the summer. Because of flat feet he needs to wear sturdy shoes but his' mobility is not affected at all. Next to baseball he likes camping. This lad is attending special education classes. lie is average in intelligence although his performance in school is not yet up' to par, probably because of lack of stimulation in his early years. But Bobby is obser%ant, interested in and inquisitive about a number of things, particularly' the exploration of space. Alle sizes every opportunity to learn about outer space, the planets. spaceships and astronauts, and watches for television programs on those themes. Bobby needs the certainty of knowing that he is wanted and loved. The ideal home for him will be one where the mother and father are consistent in their handling of children, where youngsters are encouraged to talk about their interests and their feelings, and where there will not he competition for the parents' attention. To inquire about adopting Bobby, please write to Today's Child, Box RRR, Station K, Toronto. For general adoption in- formation, please contact your local Children's Aid Society. ed from a long-suffering father. Nothing else. I guess they were going to pry the windows off and wash them with the ladder. My wife mustered cloths and clean- ing fluid. I dug up a hammer and screw -driver, which took me many minutes and many oaths. They set to work, and I nearly had a nervous breakdown. I cowered in the living -room. They're -right there at the win- dows, grinning cheerfully, smearing dirt around on the panes. They need a step -ladder. Haul it up from the basement with the ,last possible ounce of strength. Retreat to the bedroom. There's one of them up there, perched on the ladder, shouting at me to whack the storm win- dows from the inside. I whack and shudder, waiting, cringing, for the sound of a six-foot storm window shattering into tiny bits. Or the sound of the ladder crash- ing through the inside window. Or the thud of a body hitting the turf. Wander whether I have insurance to cover, first, the glass, second, the body. No idea. This went on for a couple of hours. Shouts, imprecations, poundings. I was in a state of col- lapse and the old lady wasn't If w 4. "f(OW COME YOU ASIC ME FVF2y FIVE flt1 ASLEEP YE7'? rt much better. I was wishing I'd gone to school, even on a stretch- er. But I guess the gods, besides tormenting people like me, look after those who need looking after. Neither of them fell, even -as much as eight feet. They finished the job. And they were there, very business -like, for the cheque. They also had some terse remarks about the inadequacy of 'our cleaning materials and we felt properly guilty. Try it some day when you have the Gallipoli and a couple of nit- wits doing your storm windows. A the Editor sible for the expenditure of ap- proximatel'y $65,450 dollars on capital developments in. the Township of Hawick to the end of 1971. Of this amount, approxi- mately $42,200'has been contri- buted by the Province of Ontario through .grants, approximately $2.1,800 has been . paid by the. 29 municipalities in '.the -Mat l;ud River �'NM tershed; arid the re` tnaining $1.450 has 'been contri- buted by Howick Township as a special benefiting municipality. This money has been spent on the Garvie Dain, the Authority Ad- ministrative Headquarters, the Gorrie Conservation Area, the Fordwich Dam and a parcel of reforestation land. As well; the Authority has immediate plans for improvements= to the Gorrie Conservation Area and future plans for other projects in the. Township. These figures would indicate that as tar as Provincial grants for conservation projects are concerned. Hawick certainly has not "missed the haat". The second statement wnich deserves comment concerns the swimming water quality at the Gorrie Conservation Area. The Lions' letter states that "... the. public health authorities will not pass the water in the park for The month of -August, due to• pollu- tion". This statement is entirely false. The Medical Officer of Health for the County of Huron r•ecent1), confirmed that the quality of the water in the swim- ming area at the Gorrie Conser- vation Area has been acceptable every summer since testing be- gan: Even if the water quality was unacceptable due to low flow dur- ing the month of August, removal of 'a log from the dam would likely augment the flow suffi- ciently to correct the problem. The Authority would gladly do this if necessary. The Conservation Authority pis on9a) thea crest1, .: ethr h 'f>iiutil ipa`i ' e 6ca' i Mr of ve 'pro- vincial ro-vinci.al grants for local public im- provements. These improve- ments must, of course, pertain to the general' conservation 'aims of the Authority and local money must be contributed in order to receive the grant, Shouldthere be any,possibility of the Lions' proj- ects qualifying for assistance under- the Conservation' Author- ities Act, the Authority would be pleased to consider them, The Authority requests the Howick Lions Club to take note of the above information and con- sider it in their planning for com- munity betterment. ' Yours truly, Marlene R. Shiell, Secretary -treasurer, Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. Best treatment for splinters is to first soak -the area in hot water, St. John Ambulance suggests. When possible, grasp the splinter with tweezers, gradually working it out. iPthe splinter is broken off short and under the nail, cut oitt a small wedge of nail with sharp scissors and withdraw the splin- ter. Wash With soap and. water and cover' with a clean dressing. HE LOVES RASERiLi, badder dada But it wasn't over. I finally got to bed, whimpering with relief. My wife carne in and said she's El been talking to our daughter, who has a great rip-off idea. She's go- ing to Cuba, and has a plan. She'll write a couple of columns for me, free. All I have to do is pay her for them. Baddest. However, silver lining department. By staying, at home, I had missed a three -and - a -quarter hour staff meeting, t - which is an abomination on the face of the earth. So, all in all, maybe not such a bad day, after all. New gasoline lead content regulations effective Jan. 74 Proposed regulations govern- ing the lead content of gasoline were announced today by federal E:nvir,ontnent 'Minister Jack Davis. Issued under the Clean Air Act, 0 the regulations would' require that from January 1, 1974, no gasoline manufactured' or im- ported for use or sale in Canada contain more than 2.5 grams of lead per Imperial gallon. "These proposals are directed towards protecting the health, of the ublic," said Mr. Davis. "We, do nl t consider present levels of w lead-in the ambient air of Canada - to be dangerous. However, we are concerned about the potential long-range effects of increasing levels of lead in the urban en, vironnrent. Acting on the advice of the National Health and Wel- fare Department, Environment Canada will follow a course of prudence about lead levels in the 'urban environment.' 410 Lead is a toxic substance Which is absorbed through ingestion or by, inhalation. Few opportunities remain. to further control the lead - contentof food and water, so con- trol of atmospheric sources 'now assume primary_" importance. A tna jor source of atmospheric lead is the combustion of leaded gaso- line in automobile engines. "-`The proposed regulations re- present only ,the first step in con - _trolling the lead content of gaso- line," Mr. -Davis said. • "In taking these, steps, Canada joins with other major western industrialized countries, who are concerned about the potential ef- fect of this problem." What's new at Huroriview? Mrs. Warren of Crediton led the Christian Women's Club song service on Sunday in the chapel. Mrs. Campbell of Crediton ac- companied the singing as well as solo numbers on the accordion. A group of ladies who are tak- ing a homemaking course at Conestoga College have been at the home this week assisting in various departments and the ac- tiity programs. There were ten tables of euchre and other games at Wednesday afternoon's get-together in the auditorium. Nineteen Girl Guides from Goderich and their, leader, Mrs. Brady, visited Huronview on Family Night and provided a variety program. Marion 7Vlelick introduced the program which in- ch' .ed group singing by the girls; dance numbers by Kimmy Brady Heather Bender; banjo solos ►,y Marie Button; violin solos by Paula Butler ac- companied at the piano by Mar- lene McDougal. Mrs. Christine Thompson thanked the Guides and their leader on behalf of the residents. The girls assisted the volunteers with wheelchairs 0 fl