HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-03-14, Page 11•
i
ation, flim
Last fall this column carried On editorial
in which we gave publics credit to Ontario
Hydro for the honesty of Its d+a11ng4 with
farm owners whose properties Might be
crossed by powerline corrlydorts. Thinking
back to the way In wh +ch Canadian Pacific
had atter ted to 'estabiis duct forTo- .
p .h f# P
ronto garbage In Minto Township. without
any thought for public opinion, we believed
Hydro had learned, aTJesson.-A'series of "In-
formation". meetings Was heldin, this area
and farmers were esked to express their
opinions on the question of power corridors.
As soon as that editorial appeared we
were branded as being less than bright by
some of the property owners' involved. They
claimed. that the meetings were nothing
more than a slick type of soother and that •
Hydro had long since .decided exactly where
the power lines would run.
After Energy Minister Darcy Mc-
Keough's blunt statement in the Legislature
last week it certainl'y appears that our critics
were right—and we were absolutely wrong.
Mr. McKeough was asked whether or not a
further study of the Bradley Junction-to-
Seaforth corridor would be undertaken. His
answer removed all doubts when he said that
the route of that line had been.determined in
1.969 and no change whatever is contem-
plated.
That statement, comes from, the power
czar of the province, so there can be no doubt
of its authenticity. Why, then, did Hydro go
to'the trouble and expense of holding meet-
ings last fall, another series of gatherings
during the past tew weeks and permit the
landowners to ask questions • and raise ob-
jectionWould it ncot have been the course
of both honesty and courage to admit that thea,
route was settled three or four years ago,
whether the landowners liked it or not?
Everyone, including the farmers, is
aware that the power lines: are necessary.
The residents of this provincemust be pro-
vided with electrical energy, the need for
which has become vital since oil shortages
became a reality. However, the need for food
is equally, if not more, vital and any diver-
sion of food -producing acreage must be open
to the strictest examination, Hydro cleft
that• the productivity of farms crossed by
tower iines,will. not be seriously hampered,
Farmers whohave tried to work with such
lines over their land disagree. The affected
roper Owners in thin area asked only property � y that
a study of the route be undertaken by a
totally independent body—one which had
nothing to gainor lose by the report, but It Is
now .plain that once the almighty mind of
Hydro has been made up, there is no way it
gen be altered or even delayed,
The emerging conundrum seems to be
whether the peepie'of Ontario own Hydro or
Hydro owns us and does with us as it pleases.
Another example of its authoritarian atti-
tude was demonstrated recently when the
personnel of the re=organized . Hydro Com-
mission' was announced. Membership by
representatives of the Ontario Municipal
Electric Association has been reduced to
two.
Since the poles, power lines, transform-
ers and switching equipment in .every one of
these urban centres was°bought and paid for
by the residents of those 'communities, and
since Hydro itself has been bought and paid ,
for bythose same residents, along, with the
taxpyers and consurhers in the non -urban
areas, the reduction of municipal represen-
tation is less than democratic.
The watchword of progress, in this prov-
in{ , for the past ten years has been "centra-
liz ". Making big things ever bigger has
oi'ernment's solution for everything
fr" F3h to education, to .regional
, � �� � health,
go =;, ment. Bigness is supposed to promote
effic ency-a theory that is not alwaysborne
out by practice. Bigness has another con-
sequence—it constructs steamrollers of
inhuman democracy that flatten everything.
in their way.
Placing immense power in a few hands
can be a very dangerous practice. If you
doubt it, take a long and careful look at
Washington, D.C., and you will see That
power does, indeed, corrupt. The only, signi-
ficant
ignificant power in a democracy, should lie in the
hands of the electors. It's high time we
started to exercise that power.
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A ilag
.Will we remember?
As these.words are written at the wee': -
end it appears quite likely that the Middle
-East ration's, `or of
lift the embargo on shipments of oil to the
United States. If the removal of the embargo
does, in fact, take place the effect on 'the
American economy would be tremendous—
and it would certainly have great signifi-
cance in this country as well.
'The release of normal supplies of Arab
oil to N�rth America would permit not only
. fransportation and heating fuel problems to
evaporate, byt countless other related short-
ages and conflicts would disappear in a few
months. . •
With the pressure off, will we slip back
into the sort of idiotic complacency which
has placed us in such dire straits over the
past five months? Will the cost of developing
the Athabaska tar sands once again seem too
high? Will all -Canadian pipelines from
Western Canada and the east coast become,
once again, poor investments?
Hopefully the Americans have learned
some very important lessons since the fact of
their oil poverty has been rapped home so
sharply. In Canada, however, the lesson.
should prove even more valuable since we do
have our own resources awaiting develop-
ment—and that development must proceed
just as though we expected another crisis in
Buckle up Buster!
Now, sonny, you fasten your seat belt
before you even start the motor. Who said
so? Mr. Davis said so, that's who. And if you
don't Mr. Davis is going to send one of his
little boys in the blue suits to get you ... and
Mr. Davis is going to see that you go into
court and you will have to pay a big nasty
fine ... like $200 maybe.
Mr. Davis has the right idea though. All
his silly little kids should fasten their seat
belts before they drive their cars. He is right
when he tells us that a lot less people die in
traffic accidents when they are safely belted
to their seats.
Mr. Davis may have a little trouble
catching all the bad boys who don't do what
he tells them. There will be some sneaky
ones and some careless ones, and it's going
to take ever so many more policemen to
check all the cars going along the roads to
make sure the people in them have fastened
up before they started. And when the police-
men do stop some cars to see about the seat
belts some of the sneaky people in the cars
the Middle East.
Let us not assume that the Arab nations
have e i •s d don i . to act,with a.
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hi-istian •chsrity tow�r their neighbors
In
the West. They have already gained impor-
tant concessions from European nations.
Both Britain and France agreed' to the
blackmail and concluded agreements to
furnish weapons of war in exchange for oil.
. The future will contain the unspoken 'threat
that any nation which assists • `he State of
Israel will find itself once agar on the oil
embargo list.
. Canada, of all the Western nations, is in
a . uniquely fortunate position with its
sizeable—though not inexhaustible -re-
serves don, I, its vast supplies of fresh water
and untold mineral resources, including
what are probably the world's largest depo-
sits of accessible uranium—the fuel of the
future. Several knowledgeable writers, not
all of them Canadian, have predicted that
the next century will be Canada's—that our
position, both geographic and economic, will
soon begin to dominate the world.
Be that as it may, one thing is certain.
Canada will dominate nothing unless we
have the foresight and the courage to move
with confidence into the future as the owners
of our birthright.
will quick fasten the belts they had left
undone and by the time the policeman gets to
look in the cars all the sneaky people will
look very innocent and say, "Oh, Mr. Police-
man, I. wouldn't ever drive without my seat
belt fastened."
And some of the people won't bother
being sneaky. They'll just say to the police-
man, I never fasten, my seat belt. I have a
hernia and that darn strap hurts me, so you
just take me into your old court and I'll prove
that I can't -wear a seat belt and you'll look
silly because your charge won't stick. And if
that doesn't do it, I'll argue that the govern-
ment cannot force me to protect my own life.
Otherwise it would fine me for smoking
cigarettes."
All of which tends to confirm a few old
sayings like, "You can lead a horse to water,
but you can't make him drink."
In fact, there's an old saying among the
veteran legislators In this province which
goes, "Never pass a law that's unenforce-
able."
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES
Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Brea. Limited
Barry Wenger, President , Robert 0. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer
Member Audit Bureau of Circulations
Member --- Canadian Community Newspapers Assoc. Ontario Weekly Newspapers Assoc.
Subscription $10.00 per year. Six months $8.25 To United States $12.50
Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 Return postage guaranteed
'Pad no.1atterition to;the, spot* on Donny', face, He had a few
cold sores .when the picture was taken They disappeared
quickly and, in general, t,hia.7•y ear -old is in good' health... He has
a medical �oblealn ti, because of, hav n swallowed
a littlea
denture powder whelp he 'was fe ow. This 'caused ur
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stricture in the oesophagi,, which requires treatment only when
it bothers him, !The Last treatment was over two years ago.
Results of the accident .area ech defect, for which, he is
receiving help at school, and ah need to eliminate acids and
vinegar from his diet.
Donny is an OjibwayIndian :; . his language is.English. He is
slim and tali for his age, ,a "g -looking boy with dark eyes,
brown hair and medium complexion.
Donny is a Most amiable .'boy who wins affection at first
glance. He is curious, friendly and outgoing and hp loves people.
He prefers to play with older children and is delighted when they
will include bin) in baseball or .Yniature golf. He is a hockey
fan, via television. An Average, student in Grade 1, he likes
books, especially if somebody will read to him.
Donny needs parents who wll1 appreciate an active young son
and who can help him with his aech problem. It will be best if
there are older brothers and siaters in the family.
To inquire about adopting Donny, please write to Today's
Child, Ministry of Community and Social ; Services, Box 888,
Station K, Toronto M4P 2112. .
NEEDS BROTH Ef tS AND SISTERS
Thursday, March 14
Letters to the
• M rch 1l 1974
Dear Mr.. Wenger:
.00 ;.behmlf :of The. Wingham
Towne Players 1 would like to
thank you and Vonm Lee for your
interest and Concern about
whether we lived or died.
We are id alive and better
and have begun the production of -
two plays which will bio presented
in the Wingham Town ;Ill on
April 18, 19 and 20.
Sincerely,
Susan F.a kerod
Secretary -purer
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Wingharn Advance -Times
Dear Editor:
I had the opportunity of attend-
ing the Hydro hearings that were
held in the town hall in Wingham
Feb. 27 and March, and being a
farmer nearly all my life .1 was
interested to hear the protests
made by the farmers with regard
to the heavy hydro lines crossing
their property and the effect this
would have on their property.
The farmers affected were
very ably represented by local
counsel, Mr. MW and Mr. Henry
of Toronto. The lawyers ques-
tioned Hydro officials at great
length as to the need for this line
beirg built. I wasinformed by a
number of farmers as to the
amount of compensation they
were receiving from Hydro and
in my opinion it was adequate.
Farmers could continue tofarm
under the power line. In some
cases it appeared as though
Hydro was buying the entire
farm and giving it back to the
owner.
As president of the Huron
County Federation of Agriculture
for 1962-63 the executive met with
the directors of the 16 townships
, of Huron monthly. We discussed
and dealt with the problems
facing farmers which at that time
and for many years after were
surpluses of almost every farm
commodity and. received prices
which were often below cost of
production. A representative
from each of the 48 counties of
Ontario to the' Federation of Agri-
culture met four or five times in
Toronto each year and briefs
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Items from Our Old Files
MARCH 1939
Huron County was unsuccess-
ful in its bid for the 1940 Interna-
tional Plowing Match. The On-
tario Plowmen's Association at
Toronto accepted the invitation of
Elgin County:
'Miss Margaret Copeland, who
has been a clerk in Greer's Shoe
Store for 15 years, has accepted a
position with the Rupert Legate
shoe firm at Owen Sound.
The frame dwelling house on
the farm of W. H. Fraser, first
,concession of Morris, tuvas com-
pletely destroyed by fire. The fire
is believed to have started from
over -heated stovepipes.
At the regular meeting of Boy
Scouts, J. R. M. Spittal, acting
District Commissioner of Huron
District, conducted an investiture
and presented proficiency badges
to George Lloyd and C:"Hamilton.
Second class scout badges were
presented to, Clarence. Hamilton
and George Lloyd.
Mabel Johnston and W. G.
Hamilton won prizes for best -
dressed skaters at the ice carni-
val held in the Wingham Arena.
Comic awards went to Mrs. R. H.
Lloyd and W. H. French; Marie
King and Louis Russel of Brus-
sels were the best -dressed
couple; and the smallest children
on skates were Barbara Roberts
and Bobbie Kress. The races
were won by. Betty Rae and
Harry Brown.
R. J. Scott of Belgrave will be
one of the speakers at the 25th
annual convention of the Ontario
Brotherhood of Threshermen
which will' be held in Sarnia
March 9.
Nearly 1,500,000 childless Ger-
man couples are now to be penal-
ized by a 40 per cent income tax
increase under the new Nazi
Baby ca'lmpaign tax. Bachelors
and spinsters will also have tax
increases.
At a meeting in Teeswater, it
was `suggested that the Town-
ships of Carrick and Culross and
the towns of Teeswater and Mild-
may organize to obtain the ad-
vantage of a school nurse for all
the schools in the area. The addi-
tional cost to each school section
would not be great and the bene-
fits incalculable.
Mrs. Bert Boyd of Whitechurch
left recently for Paris, where she
has secured a position.
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MARCH 1949
The local Branch No. 180 of the
Canadian Legion held Artillery
Night at the Legion Home. Fol-
lowing the initiation of W. A.
Hogg into the local branch, Com -
0
rade George Williams presented
Dr. A. W. Irwin with the Past
President's badge for service
during 1948.
Wingham will lose one of its en-
ergetic businessmen within the
next two weeks . when C. E.
Richey returns to his hometown
of .Arnprior to take over as man-
ager of the Walker Stores branch
there.
Court Maitland No. 25 of the
Canadian Order of Foresters,
Wingham, held a public installa-
tion of officers, with Alex Reid,
Thomas Gaunt, J. Mason, Lloyd
Mundy, J. Currie, Gordon Hanna
and Ernest Walker among those
being installed as officers.
Scarborough Township (Tor-
onto) will honor J. G. Workman
for.the many years he has spent
as teacher and member of public
and high school boards by nam-
ing a new public school the J. G.
Workman Public School. Mr..
Workman was a member of the
Wingham High School staff when
the school was first opened and
later served as principal for 'a
short time.
Duncan Kennedy was appoint-
ed to the Wingham Public Util-
ities Commission to complete the
term of the late commissioner, J.
J. Evans.
Stewart Procter was elected
president of the Belgrave Co -
Operative Association at its an-
nual meeting held in Belgrave.
Vice-presidents are James
Michie and Simon Hallahan; C.
R. Coultes is secretary.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Louttit
were honored . by Wroxeter
friends prior to leaving their
farm to retire. in Wingham.
A fine new railing has been
added. to the new bridge in
Gorrie, and adds greatly to its
appearance and safety.
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MARCH 1960
The arena commission ended
the 1959 fiscal year with a
balance of $963.13. During 1959
there were 8,426 paid admissions
to WOAA hockey gashes and 7,235
paid admissions for skating.
Audiences in the High School
were delighted with the students'
presentation of the operetta,
"Medics and Merriment". This is
the first year that the annual high
school concert has taken such a
form, a replacement for the usual
variety concert. Mrs. Carl Doug-
las was in charge of the training
for music ; E. Russell Smith was
responsible for the dramatic end
of the production.
Born Monday, February 29,
Pamella Clark, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. William Clark of Wing -
ham, will have a birthday every
fourth"year. •
Higher grants for county li-
braries are being sought by the
Huron County Library Co -Opera-
tive.. A delegation has placed
claims before Ontario Education
Minister' John Robarts.
Joe Clark, secretary of the
Wingham Sportsmen's Associa-
tion, announced that the club has
purchased 1,500 assorted trees to
beautify the Lower Townnd
and property for the proposed
picnic area and bird sanctuary.
Albert Nethery will donate a boat
to be used on the pond.
At the regular meeting of the
Ladies' Auxiliary to the Canadian
Legion 180, Mrs. Eric Walden
was welcomed into the group, on
transfer from Ripley. Mrs.
Vaughan Douglas, Mrs. Ed Rich
and Mrs. William Renwick 'were
installed as members.
Mr. and Mrs. Carl Dickert and
family who formerly resided on
the ninth concession of Howick,
moved their househbld furnish-
ings to the house in the village of
Fordwich recently vacated by
Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Lynn.
Mrs. E. A. Elliott and children
have moved back to Wingham
from Sarnia, to join Mr. Elliott
who was transferred here from
Sarnia some time ago to become
manager of the Supertest Pe-
troleum Corp. office in Wingham.
IDB BULLETINS
FOR SMALL BUSINESS
To help smaller enterprises
keep in touch with business
developments, the advisory ser-
vices department of the In-
dustrial Development Bank rec-
ently launched a quarterly pub-
lication, "Small Business News".
Available free of charge from
IDB, the publication aims to keep
owners and operators of small
businesses informed of new ideas
and is part of the bank's program
of promoting good mapagement
practices in small businesses.
The February issue spotlights
some facts and figures on start-
ing and running a campground,
the role of the *accountant in
providing information and gui-
dance to a business, and lists
some of the other free literature
available from IDB.
Copies can be obtained from:
Director of Advisory Services,
Industrial Development Bank,
116 Leacock Drive, Pointe -Claire,
Quebec, H9R 1111.
were presented to the minuses of
agriallture, the Lon. W A' To the Editor;
.Swart. The committees that
Jo. morrisoms utter deserves,
met 'with the minister of agiris
air' Wit,, a response,..:
culture were well received with wine reluctance, as a Weir u.
him, And a being a fanner, was of do brevity' I1
most sympathetic to the prob-, treat these t nom:
lens of fanners. It .was, agreed
that more industry located in the
pro wince with more people as
consumers was the answer to our
problem of surplus farm pro -
ducts. -
The Ontario government was
quick to see the needfor. more
hydro and the Douglas Point pro-
ject was . undertaken with the
heavy powerline to be built in
.1975. This will be a real asset to
the province of Ontario,ene-
fiting everyone and another step
towards greater progress. This is
an example of progress for which
the Ontario Progressive Con-
serVative ative party is noted.
Yours truly,
Elmer Ireland
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Bluevale, RR 1,
March 4,1974.
Dear Editor :
, In reply to last week's letter by
Judith McKibbon I would like to
point out that '!Mothering" is not.
a "task". it is, a :privelege. 1, caro
testify to this, as out of a family of
10 I have railed8 to adulthood. I
doubt very Much if there are
However, cOnaider thew
1. I'm concerned about '`ham-
s a and the denitecs
txeatin
Melt medical pro-
cedwres,. .
The lgorgentaler
c so
underground. Norgentaler woe
acquitted last fall on the charge
of performing an :ilhgal abortion
(subject to appeal), Although the
police took the woman, who was
in the clinic when it was raided,
to hospital; .a w for the de,
fence said the Woman -' -not
have been hospitalized, WM
:entaler has caused s o mar;
deaths and seldom any 'coin-
plications'
can -plications' in the, more than 5,000
abortions . he has performed.
(refer to "dobe and Mail", No-
vember 16, 1973).
If we withdraw the am re-
forms, we will drive women to the.
'fly -b ght ' and consequent -
1Y, send,litany to their dean*.
The b k -street boyo don't.;irk
.F
,dor gen'a ever,
2, The.problem of overSeoPow
n rill; not, saop 'r bowie;
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an intellectual, "n Mercenary, such
as.Herinan Rahn
..declares itw�.
I'm sure ;that; .pie -in- iia- ►
many who enjoy the discomforts, • predictions; 'about the Entire
doubts and' inconvenieces of a , .
pregnancy, but no child is really the world's population will.be.as
born unwanted, as there are so prescient .as. those he`made 001)*
many eager potential adoptive "flung AAineriican military sue
Wok -
parents waiting, Any parent' with cess .in. Vietnam . (his , HHuds
on
problems of health, finance or, think-tank, in studies commis-.
sioned by the Pentagon, ,predi -
• unnatural parent instincts.: �•.
should have no worry about their ed easy' vices for America).
child being unloved when so We could, perhaps, hurl book-
many empty arms - are waiting, ish quotes at ench.oihe foritnany
_ True, no one is forced to have . w to ;come: 'Hoer,
an abortion, yet, but whenthe
hundreds of thousands Of°'people
plagued by worries, guilt or mis-
givings it presents itself .as an`
easy way out of what canbe a dif-
ficult problem.
For those who do not want a
child there are various methods
of birth control according to their
moral beliefs, but once a life is
begun at conception (and this
has been proven) no one has the
right to terminate it
starving in Africa, India and
'South America° provide els
testimony proving that the
can dot feed its .people.
Abortion is not a desirable
method of birth control, but until
people realize that a prio'ty in
to -day's society is effective birft
control and family planning --
the' spectre of :unwanted ''preg-
nancy will, threaten lives abroad
, t question the staterintent 'that and general welling lam,
. mir-O e o 3 T le -POI t 1F
offer is a means of chsp
-411w-task tilay't on . ,
osingofan
unwanted child by recommend-
ing adoption. Birthright ` cannot
allay the anguish of a woman
caught ,in an unwanted preg-
nancy. Birthrig1't also steers
clear of birth control ,courlse'iling
an odd oversight,' in my opin-
ion.
Murder is 'q matter of defini-
l'ion. A soldier in wartime, a
policeman in the line of duty and
any citizen protecting him -her-
self from injury may kill other
human beings without penalty.
Some of these deaths may be
and the obligations may become
'a lifetime sentence, an ordeal
emotionally destructive to the
mother and disastrous to the
child". Would not the guilt feel-
`ings of knowing that one has de-
prived their own child of its right
to live and grow not be more
damaging than any pregnancy
carried to fullterm? Biologically,
would not the interception of a
natural function be more harniful
to the mother's future physical
health?
Sincerely,
(Mrs.) Anna Marie Kieffer
0-0-0
Dear Readers:
Did you see the picture on the
front page of your Advance -
Times edition last week? Capt.
Jack Cameron of The Salvation
Army has been presenting these
playactings of the Twelve Apost-
les each Sunday evening since
January. It is beyond explanation
how well the true picture is
brought to reality and to see them
one can truly imagine they are
living in those days.
If you wish to see something in-
structive and educational it
would be worth your while to at-
tend each Sunday evening
through April 7th.
An Outsider
who has attended
quite deliberate and pre -planned.
George Devereux, an anthropol-
ogist, investigated 400 cultures
and found that only one had no
record of induced abortion: I do
not define abortion as murder nor
does the government of. Canada.
May I remind my former
teacher of a Chinese dictum that
"to be a better teacher one must
be a better pupil." Perhaps, Mr.
Morrison can learn from me:
Yours truly,
Judith McKibbon
0 0 0
CORRECTION
G. McLean wishes to correct
one paragraph in a recent letter
to the editor. It should have read:
"A discount is given on all out
of town fares even though I ask
for no discount on..my expenses."
REPRESENTATIVES of the Wingham Deb -U -Tons
travelled to Guelph last weekend to attend a training
session there which was conducted by Bobby Courtwright, a
drum major from Orlando, Florida. Lori Thompson,
Michelle Rintoul, Lori Biggin (in frond.) arid instructor Patti
Robertson posed for this picture with Mr. Courtwright.
(Photo by Ward Robertson i
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