HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1975-10-23, Page 4M
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are still unaware
• On Monday of last week one of the wail-
1crtown television announcers uttered a pray -
0r0 voicing thanks to the Almighty---n0t for
the bounty of the land, but for something he
apparently considered a great deal more
Important. He thanked God for the opportu-
nity we have been given to realize that we
can get along with smaller cars, .less expen-
sive vacations and simpler foods.
He had a great idea, but all the evidence
points to his being premature in his assump-
tion that Canadians are, indeed, aware that
they will have to accept a less voluptuous
way of life than that to which they have be-
come accustomed over the past 20 years.
That pressing need for a simpler and
less costly way of living was exactly what
Prime Minister Trudeau was pleading for
when he addressed the nation with his
explanation of anti-inflation guidelines. The
mandatory 10 per cent limit on wage and
price increases is just another way of saying
that Canadians are spending away more
than they can possibly earn.
What has the response been to the gov-
ernment's first attempt to actually do some-
thing about a rate of inflation which is pacing
us down the road to certain ruin? Antago-
nism. Organized labor, of course, was the
first sector to scream "foul"—but other
howls of dismay were to be heard on all
sides—including flat statements of non-com-
pliance. This time, however, the price of
disobedience will be stiff,• for fines of up to
$10,000 and jail terms as long as five years
have been established for those who defy the
rules.
Of course there are inequities. You sel-
dom recover from the threat of a deep-rooted
cancer without some painful surgery. The
guidelines are not without serious loopholes,
but they are better than nothing at all. If in-
flation should continue at its present rate
every living Canadian will suffer, either
• through total absence of jobs for. the increas-
ing numbers of unemployed, or because of
the deteriorating value of the dollar when it
is spent for food, clothing and shelter. We
have been on the road to self-destruction,
and although most countries in the western
world are suffering from the same disease,
Canada has been making the poorest show-
ing in the way of preventive action. We have
a much higher rate of inflation than the
United States; we have had a very much
c!r
greater loss of man -days through strikes,
and despite a sharp increase in wage levels,
our productivity has dropped alarmingly.
Labor leaders shouted that high wages
do not create inflation, that higher costs for
goods and services and homes create the de-
mand for higher wages. They failed to
mention the fact, however, that wage levels
have risen by a higher percentage than the
general cost of living. Labor is not just keep-
ing up with inflation; it is outpacing it.
We do agree that the allowable wage in-
creases are unfairly proportioned. Wages
will be permitted to rise only 10 per cent this
year, except in the case of the low wage
earner. He may receive $600 more, even if
that figure exceeds the 10 per cent limit. The
top allowance, however, is to be S2,400 in the
upper levels, even though that figure may be
less than 10 per cent. All of which means that
a man or woman who is presently earning,
say, $5,000 a year may be paid an extra $600,
to bring the total up to $5,600. The executive
who is now betting $25,000 may be increased
by only 52,400, bringing his yearly wages to
$27,400. Who do you believe should be getting
the bigger pay boost?
Incidentally, federal members of parlia-
ment are exempt from the above limitations
because their pay increases were estab-
lished by law earlier this year, at which time
they received a pay increase of 31 per cent.
The prime minister, for example, will re-
ceive an increase of $4,600.
• Perhaps the most worrisome -facet of the
legislation is the form of organization
through which the act is to be administered.
Jean -Luc Pepin, a former cabinet minister
in the Trudeau government, heads the re-
view board and Mrs. Beryl Plumptre, who
headed the former Food Prices Review
Board, is hl second in command. So far we
have heard' about mechanisms for
appeal against decisions of the new board—a
safeguard which is absolutely necessary
when a board and its senior officers have
been given the power to send a person to jail
for up to five years.
Despite its shortcomings, the decision to
spell out limits on the allowable increase in
prices and wages was an absolute necessity.
Hopefully the gaps will be closed and the
inequities ironed out. And also hopefully the
majority of Canadians will recognize the
need for this sort of control and abide by the
principles for which it stands.
;Understandably ur►tat
Residents of the Village of Ayton have
every reason to be irritated by recent re-
ports that they are barring themselves in
their homes and grabbing for shotguns and
rifles. They have reacted quite under-
standably to a Canadian Press story which
portrays them as jittery cowards. We at-
tended a very pleasant golden wedding anni-
versary celebration in that village ten days
ago and the subject of murder in their midst
was mentioned only once and then only after
we had quietly asked a question about it.
Ayton is a quiet place, unusually blessed
by the fact that it does not lie along a busy
highway. Its people, or at least the ones we
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know, armsensible, dignified folk who do'`not
panic as easily as the CP story claims. That.
they should be apprehensive until the
murder mystery is solved is also under-
standable. Who among us would not be?
Naturally they are locking their doors at
night—a wise practice in any community.
The village and township councils have of-
fered $2,500 reward for information and that
'sum nas been matched by the province.
Police are quite likely in possession of more
information than they are prepared to 'talk
about at this point.
In the meantime Ayton is going about its
daily business.
A word from the wise
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger be-
came responsible for a rather unusual quote
during his visit to Canada last week—a quote
which he obviously had no intention of mak-
ing public—and a news reporter became the
object of considerable controversy.
Dr. Kissinger was chatting wijil Cana-
dian dignitaries at a dinner in Ottawa. In
front of him was a microphone which would
carry his speech to newsmen, but which, it
turned out, was switched on prematurely. In
a private aside he was heard to mention that
Richard Nixon was "an unpleasant man"
who really .:id not govern his nation in the
last eighteen months he held the office of
president. He also commented „that Jackie
Kennedy is a "sexy" woman.
Despite the obviously private nature of
the comments, one reporter used them as a
news story which went blazing out across
two nations, and for which a Canadian
minister telephoned apologies to Kissinger
after his return to Washington.
There are divided opinions about the
ethics of the reporter who used the private
conversation in his story. A reporter's first
job is to publish news, and in this case Kis -
singer's personal opinion of Nixon was, in-
deed, news. Nor was the good doctor stating
anything that most of us didn't already
know. Most people long ago assumed that
Richard Nixon was not particularly pleasant
and most male members of our citizenship
would hardly deny that Jackie is sexy.
Be that as it may, the ethics of the
reporter in question are doub`tfut. In our own
opinion, he should have respected the priv-
acy of the conversation. It is just such
breaches of good taste that give the news
media a bad reputation and create barriers
for those conscientious newsmen who are
trying to do a responsible job for their
newspapers and for the public they are sup-
posed to serve. Surely there is enough news
to go around—both good and bad—to satisfy
the average reporter and the average reader
without thrusting into the areas where priv-
acy should be expected and observed.
Both smoke and fire
It's that time of year again for all ttte
folks who suffer from smoke inhalation. The
fumes of burning leaves can be an agony for
those people who have respiratory problems
or de: irate eyes. One of our friends must put
up with a constant headache until all the
leaves are either burned or soaked by fall
rains.
City residents can't get away with it.
Why can it be done in smaller places without
restraint?
THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES
Published at Wirigham, Ontario, by Wenger Bei. Limited
Bares Wenger. Present Robert O. Wenger. Secretary -Treasurer
Member Audit Bureau of Circulations
Member — Carnahan Community Newspapers Assoc.
Subscription $1000 per year
S ont l $5 -
Second Class Mail ReOstration No 0221
PARENTS WHO CAME to collect their children toward the end of the Junior Citizens'
dance marathon Saturday morning were made`'honorary' teens as they were drawn into
the dancing. Al Harrison, a member of the Wingham Town Council, was also drawn into
the excitement.
•
'OBER 14-20
y Joe 'Smulevitz
'typical October weather
brought rapid:changes during the
week.
The warm front that brought
the rain on Monday advanced to a
position -north of us. The passage
of this front and the clockwise
circulation around a large high
pressure system off the raid -At-
lantic coast resulted in a strong
southerly flow of air. Tempera-
tures were well above normal
over the entire region with a few
reporting stations recording
record highs for the date.
The spell of warn) weather
suddenly ended when a cooler air
mass moved in. The leading edge
of the advancing cold air brought
a few brief showers to the are& A
flow of northerly air with below
normal temperatures became
established.
A deep low moved northward
from the Gulf states. Low pres-
sure to the south and high pres-
sure to the north resulted in fresh
northeast winds with below
normal temperatures for the
weekend. Nearly 25 mm (1 inch)
of rain occurred over areas of
southern Ontario. Our area es-
caped with only a few brief
periods of drizzle and light rain
as the low weakened as it moved
Letters to the Editor
Editor,
Advance -Times
Dear Sir:
I am repeatedly confused by
the reasoning process of the elec-
tronic media in releasing certain
"news" items. Here are a couple
that concern me.
1. Late night news broadcasts
10:00-11:00 p.m. will announce
that there has been a serious car
accident with severe or fatal
injuries but "police are withhold-
ing names of those involved,
pending notification of next of
kin". What possible useful in-
formation -value is served? How
many hundreds of people who
hear thisPsirielitPfretful hours
waiting for their next of kin, who
are out for the evening, to, arrive
home safely?
2. Recent commentary re resi-
dents in Ayton being molested —
harassed —, frightened by person
or persons who get some "jollies"
out of rattling doors, windows,
etc. These "sickies" apparently
thrive on the publicity and if so
the media are serving to recog-
nize and probably to encourage
the practice.
Perhaps out of a Tong term
involvement in the field of public
information you could provide
clarity or understanding to these
matters. Too, I would appreciate
some comment from the radio -
television industry.
Yours truly,
James Deneau
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Assoc
To United States 812.50
Beta= page guaranteed
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ATTENTION
CITIZENS OF WiNGHAM
The members of the Wingham
Police Department under the
auspices of the Wellington Huron
Police Association, wish to advise
the citizens of Wingham that we
support the- Canadian Police
Association on their stand for
Capital Punishment pertaihing to
persons convicted of killing Pri-
son Guards and Police Officers.
The members of this Depart-
t`ient however feel that a
alk -out to protest this feeling is
not in the best interests of the
town of Wingham nor the citizens
of this town. Therefore officers on
duty on the day the walk -out oc-
curs will fulfill his duty as usual.
This Department however will be
sending representation to Ottawa
to protest the Attorney General's
stand on Capital Punishment,
and in this way we hope to show
our support to other member De-
partments and to the Canadian
Police Association.
Signed
Constable Ed Daer
Wingham Police Department
Pres Wellington -Huron Police
Association.
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INMATE
SEEKS PE' PALS
The following letter is self-ex-
planatory. except for the fact that
it v. as addressed to "The Wroxe-
ter. Ont Newspaper" It was for -
u arded to The Advance -Times
from the Wroxeter Post Office
and reads
Drat Srr
i was hoping for your help in
putting a small article in your
newspaper there in Wroxeter,
Ont., Canada, of me needing
correspondence from Canada.
I'm here at Lucasville Correction
Institute in Ohio, in the United
States. This would be a great help
to me in returning myself to
society. I read a lot on Canada
and we here consider it almost as
a part of the United States. There
are a lot of people from .Canada
here in Ohio and also the (ad) -
joining states. •
Well, my name is Karl Richen-
dollar, 'single, 29 years old, white:
male and sentenced to 6 to 25
years for robbery. I lived most of
my life here in Ohio.
I am withoA means of.
for an article but hope'y+ott t
see my need for help and put a
small article in the paper. Well,
I'll appreciate your help.
Thank you for your. time.
Sincerely,
Karl Richendollar
P.O. Box 787,
'Lucasville, Ohio 45648'
quests.
The Authority was made aware
of this meeting through the -local
newspapers on July 24, 1975. The
Executive members im-
meidately proceeded to discuss
the Authority's position on the
subject of flood line criteria and
subsequent fill and -construction
regulations, as the Minister's de-
cision did - not conform to the
policies set out to us by the
Conservation Authoritiesb
Branch. We required concrete
direction from the Branch as this
matter was a contentious issue in
other watershed municipalities
-as Well. Hence, I will quote from
letter ' to the Minister'IA
ttnial _ Res es dated Jury 25,
1975. \\
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Dear Editor: ,,
I would like. to clarify the posi-,
tion of the Maitland Valley Con-
servation Authority with regard
to the flood line mapping contro-
versy outlined in your letter of
October 7, 1975.
It is regrettable that the
Executive` Committee members
of the Authority were not invited
to the Howick Township Secon-
dary Plan meeting on September
25, 1975, as they would have been
happy to be in attendance to ex-
plain the present predicament
that this Authority finds itself in.
It would have been a simple
matte at that time to assure
local toisidents that the Authority
has generally adopted a policy of
commenting, only when asked to,
on 'specific requests for filling
and construction in floodplain
area. It should be recognized that
our role is only an advisory one at
the present time. We certainly
are not trying to cr "
e econom-
ic hardship" for lanowners in
any part of the Maitland River
Watershed.
I would like to also point out
e Resources Manager who
a representative at the
eeting, is an employee
Provincial Government,
that
acted a
Howick
of
and as such he attempted to offer
technical advice where he
thought it was required. Ap-
parently there has been some
misunderstanding.
This misunderstanding May
stem from the same predicament
which I mentioned earlier. You
see gentlemen, we are in exactly
the same position that you now
find yourselves in. - -
According to the .records here,
a citizen's group from Brussels
and Wroxeter met with the Minis-
ter of Natural Resources on July
18, 1975 to discuss the criteria for
flood line mapping across the
province. A letter from the
Minister dated July 28, 1975 indi-
cated to this delegation that their
concerns had been well noted but
that he (the Minister) could not
recommend approval of fill and
construction regulations for
Brussels and Wroxeter until he
had reviewed the situation. I am
not aware of any further action
taken to satisfy the citizens' re -
"The Executive has
learned of your decision to
withhold approval of Fill
and Construction Regula-
tions and subsequently the
use of floodplain mapping
development review in the
village of Brussels and the
hamlet of Wroxeter ... 'Mr.
Minister, where is our
credibility for applying a
consistent policy? What do
we do now? Your decision
dictates that we i,withhold
development review for all
areas in the Authority and
for that matter all areas
throughout the Province of
Ontario.
If this decision stands, we
would like to arrange, a
meeting between yourself,
representatives of the Con-
sertration- Authorities
Branch and a delegation
from this Authority to
discuss the ramifications of
the decision that was
handed down."
The reply I received to this
letter was dated September 8,
1935 and was written by an ad-
ministrative assistant to the
Minister. I quote:
"It has been brought to my
attention that your letter of
July. 25, 1975 to the Honor-
able Leo Bernier has not
ben answered. I apologize
for this. I will bring it to his
attention upon his return to
his office."
That is, the last directive t re-
ceived from the Minister's office
concerning this matter. It would
seem that both your group and
this Authority's requesfAare still
under consideration.
I must admit that as your ap-
pointed representatives for ac-
tion, we have, to date failed. It
would seem that this Authority
has no more "authority" than did
your citizen's group. We are all
subject to the Provincial Govern-
ment's decisions . . . or lack of
them.
We continue to work toward re-
solving this flood line mapping
problem. but our etf'orts are only
made more impossible by the
misunderstandings and criti-
cisms with which we are now
confronted. The only way the
Authority can ever hope to come
to grips with this dilemma is
through your support.
We wish to continue working
with. and working for our mem-
her municipalities for the wise
management of our natural re-
sources, and to maintain the most
benefits for all. This, gentlemen,
is our position. -
I hope this letter will shed some.
light on the matter from our per-
spective, and I certainly look for-
ward to any further discussion
which may lead to the resolution
of this problem, particularly at
our local level.
'remain,
Sincerely yours in Conservation
Jack Graul, Chairman
Maitland Valley
Conservation Authority.
;'• ,.nom
�l V HI T ECHUR CH
Mrs. Percy Gray of Toronto
spent the weekend with Mr. and
Mrs. Tom Metcalfe. On Saturday
they visited with her sister, Mrs.
Joseph Thompson, who is a
patient in Listowel Memorial
Hospital. ti
slowly northward+
it weak southwesterly flow of
moist, Mable air continued the
overcast conditions for Monday.
Temperaturess remained below
normal but anend to the cloudy
skies was indicated,
The extended outlook Indica
a wardhing trend during the fi t
part of the week. Cooler air e n
be expected to return by Friday,
Precipitation is likely in the
latter part of the week.
New books
in the library
Coroner by Morton Shulman
The ex -chief coroner of Toron-
to's own account of the events
which led to his appointment as
coroner and subsequent firing is
lively, self-critical, excoriating of
hide -bound officialdom and often
hilarious. These stories of politi-
cal pay-offs and scandals are told
with startling candour and gusto.
Her Own Woman: Profiles of Ten
Canadian Women
In this book ten Canadian
women, some famous across the
country, others leading quiet,
private lives, are brought vividly
to life by five, of the best and
brightest young writers in the
country. The profiles include
those of Barbara Frum and Judy
LaMarsh as well as those of
Kathleen, a student, and Mrs.
McCracken, a mother. All are
women who emerge as flesh-apd-
blood characters, who like the
rest of us are managing to cope
with life. '
Hollywood's Canada by Pierre
Berton
The Canada that has been
shown to t'he world is very differ-
ent from the real Canada and the
Canadian image now firmly fixed
in the minds of three generations
of moviegoers inside and outside
this country is a caricature of the
real thing. Pierre Berton has
examined the plots of all 575
movies made about this country
and finds the Hollywood image to
be that. of a land of snowswept
forest, devoid • of ; cities ancg
wl;''eof l'ed by happy-go-1Ucky
french -Canadians, wicked half-
breeds and gun -jawed Mounties.
In this funny yet tragic and explo-
sive book Berton shows how
Hollywood has both turned our
history topsy-turvy and squel-
ched the Canadian movie indus-
try. .
TODAY CHILD
BY HELEN LLEN
Hughie is a small. blonde boy with blue eyes and fair skin —
and a problem. He was born with Downs Syndrome
(mongolism) which means he will be limited intellectually.
though he is developing well now and is considered educable. He
also has a heart defect which may require surgery later on.
Scottish in descent. Hughie is 14 months old. He gets around by
rolling. which he can do rapidly in either direction. He has not
attempted to crawl and his foster mother thinks he won't. She
feels that any day now. he'll be on his feet and walking, He
chatters a lot but it takes imagination to know what he's saying.
Hughie eats and sleeps well and he loves to cuddled.
He needs special parents and perhaps older brothers and
sisters. The ideal family for this little fellow will appreciate his
loving. cheery nature while being realistic about his limited
potential and the possibility that his heart condition may affect
his life expectancy.
To inquire about adopting Hughie, please write to Today's
Child, Ministry of Community and Social Services. Box 888,
Station K. Toronto M4P 2H2. In your letter please tell something
of your present family and your way of life.
For general adoption information. consult your local
Children's Aid Societ
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