HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-03-02, Page 2oODFRICH Sffr$AISTAR,. THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1.02
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Retarded youth will point way
There is jittIe doubt there are a
.funi ber of disappointed people this
week following the decision of the
Goderich and District Association (for
the Mentally Retarded to scrap plans
- to parti'cipate' in a scheme tq build .a
regional woo-kshop,for retarded adults
•
near :Clinton.
• We' know there are Some Goderit'_
a.nc :: area to lefwith and without
mentally handicapped people ip their
°family• -°whoa feel "that a yital .project
has been abandoned We understand
that the Association members, and
u s. _porters at Exeter are still
determined to have a workshop in
theirarea, and will likely begin
immediately to work toward that goal..
Doubtlessthere is considerable
relief mixed with the disappointment,
among those who were pushing for the
regional workshop to betconstructed.
It was a big undertaking to say the
least, which demanded faith in
themselves as well as in their
communities: And -it was a project
which would have necessitated the
total dedication of strong Association
memberships.
The Goderich and District
Association for the Mentally Retarded
will be revitalized Ow,. a..,step which
perhaps should have been taken• long
before the regional workshop project
was begun.'
Efforts are being made toy draw into
the organization some vital
community links, people who though
not parent's of retarded • children have
a deep and abiding interest in the
problems which , c.onfrorlt these
children. They will also be people who
have a keen knowledge of how to- make
a service organization .productive.
-That's juste the first step. Also
required is a program' to ' educate
families with mentally handicapped
'd
°
children to bring these youngsters out
into the open where they can develop•
and grow to the best of their limited
ability .
The°Princess Anne Nursery School
for retarded. pre-srhoolers, though
plagued' with problernsz has provided
new,'insight.for ,tethers and fathers of
m , ntally handicapped youngsters. in
Qu•een ,Elizabeth School where , they
can study until they are .18 years* of
age4 loving parents will begin • to,
understand that the,real hope for their
'children lies not in hiding them from
department was trying to locate
society as was done in years gone by� anvonE who knew a .Mr., Charles, Wood of Goderich. The`' Police
° a u t getting them o u,t into the Chief of St. Mary's had contacted°
. community where they can take their local officials With information to
part as other citizens do. the effect' that a man had been
At the last meeting of the Huron killed on the railway tracks in that
County ,Board of .Education, it 'was town and was too mutilated to
identify. The only source of
shown that when the proposed new identity was a handkerchief in the
man's pocket with the name
"Charles Wood, Goderich" on it.
The Lake Huron and Manitoba
Milling -Company of Goderich
announc_ ed that it had received its
second order from the Federal
Department of Agriculture •for
more flour to be .sold 'in 'South
possible learning eperiences for ally �Africr.
A train on its way Into Goderich
The
present workshop for the struck a cedar rail on the tracks
mentally retarded adults of our • area° and was caused to stop, :Damage
may be adequate now. It won't be in the was very limited but officials
future: When these young people— Fere investigating how the rail
could possibly have been placed
though mentally handicapped—have on the tracks:W' • •
gone •through nursery'school and.day A representative of the Signal
schoo.l,°they will ultimately Star was among a group who were
"demand': Y' some continuing form ofgiven a.demonstration of new X -
activity. ° .. Ray apparatus by Dr. J. L.
Tunnl1uIl.
Let's, hope ,when our mentally °
handicapped 'youth start • requesting
• additional services, the local
Association for the Mentally Retarded,
will be able to accommodate them with
the very latest in 'facilities. Surely
they have a right to that privilege_
°
70 YEARS AGO
The linper ral Daughters of the
Empire announced that they would
be preparing .,plain sewing and
'along orders for items in an
effort to help raise funds for the
building project at Alexandra °
Marcie lloa'lrital locally.
The woodshed „of St. Andrews,
Ward School burned but damage
•anmidestrurtion was limited to the
shed and • dict . .not spread to
adjoining buildings.
Alfred Dodd of •ColborliQ
Townshilr brought , leai action
against that township for damages
hE .suffer ed'•u•hen his 'horse fell
through a culvert: .
The Goderich • police
addition for Victoria .School is finally
built, it will contain 'classrooms for
' the students from Queen Elizabeth
School.'.t last we're -learning that'by
integrating mentally ,handicapped
children with those of normal
intelligence, we are providing the best
Pierre instills compassion?
A strta.ng, frieny: and
understanding government is -thy
election image the federal Lj,berai,s
hope'to~project, ' says The Finan.dial•
P'o.st's John Bird in an assessment of
the Throne. Speech.
The frequency with which the throne
speech- .mentions the .feelings of
isolation . suffered by individuals
indicates that the government judges
this to be at the root of present
discontent. Bird goes on to say that
any. . Liberals believe that` • the
personality of Pierre Elliott Trudeau
is still their greatest election asset.
Here we see the image of him and
ti
.his government. being projected us
c. m ss.ionate . -en,. f
p �a f.Yendly,•
understanding. .,,
A
key Liberal' MP' told°The
Financial Post last week, -The voters
are in a' mood where theywill overlook
mistakes but they are demanding
strop overnment
There -may be some difficulty in
protecting sirnultaniously the image '
of a strong, everr.tough government,
"r•and that ora IfriendlSi,- compassionate
one. . Nevertheless, • the . corning
election is likely to see the attempt
made. '
Ice travel isn't safe
Snowmobiling is lots. of fun we're
told. Like most sports involving
motor vehicles, it can be enjoyed best
if participants use a little common
sensemixed with the fuel to propel'
the machine.-_ • ,
All winter long, though, ,we've been
.hearing reports about. snowmobilers
using the frozen surfaces of laikes and
rivers as .a,,playground and while
we'•vebeen wondering about the=safetS'
aspect of this sporting area, it wasn't
until't•his week we received
confirmation from OPP officers in
this district that our fears were not
entirely gro dl'ess .
The ;OP e' • N•ase is as follows:
"Ice con '' , ' 6 on frozen lakes and
"rivers ;throug `e ut most of Ontario
have been most dangerous during the
Current season. A hate freeze-up
failed to produce sufficient ice to
withstand thejusual thaw, resulting in
few, if any; .lakes and rivers,that are
safe for ice travel in the central and
.southern parts of the province.
° "The Ontario Provincial Police
warns 'ice fishermen and
snowrrlobilers that ice conditions ate
unlikely to improve during the
remainder of the winter, in fact, are
more apt to worsen with' the longer
hours• of daylight and • warming
sunshine.
• "It is advisable to use only ice
trails established by local fish hut
operators and snowmobile clubs
-udder -fheirTs`t pervasion: Under no
'circumstances, venture out onto
unused and unknown surfaces.
Reports from many parts of Ontario
indicate there is •a wide variation of
ice thickness even on small lakes
which makes for unsafe travel without
constant checking. -
"Rivers and strearats-a:-re•••- lost
dangerous because of changing
currents which can rapidly wear away
the undersurface of the ice. This is a
particularly insidious hazard as it is
unseen and can work rapidly,
weakening ice in a matter .of hours
when air -temperature and waters are
rising." = .
tbc +ioberio
AL -STAR
-]-- The County Town Newspaper 'of Huron —0-.• .
Founded in 1t445'endpublished every Yhursilay at31WestSt., Goderich, Ontario -Member ef.the Audit
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,'a
withreaseiiableallowan et%ignature,wiItnot becharged for but the balance of the adverlisernent
*ill be paid for %t the Applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or
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and may be vitt drawn itloty time." .: .
E.flitln .d Editorial Office 0
es� ►�
TELEPHONE 5244331_
area code 519
Sec td arta ,,tail registration n'umber-0716
Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd.
ROBERT G. SHRIER—president and publisher
SHIRLEY J. 'KELLER-,med'r`tnrial staff
R. SHAW. editOri31 staff
EDWARD J. lYRSKI adve rising manager n.
��.
•
25 YEARS AGO
A three day snow storm struck • °
Huron County and ajoining areas
and completely ,tied up highway'
arid rail -traffic for days as well as
mail delivery. stopping school
buses and causing food supplie"s'tb''Axw.
run short in,some are:as.o .•
kc th Hej-kin a- loc--a1-1)rlat .�...
Made tu:o mercy flights into
snowbound 'areas of the county • ,
'taking penicillin into Dung ii1ion
and pasteurized milk for infants
info 43av-field-- lleT-e•. the-.-local,....m _.
store had its supply exhausted.
..A specialpr'ogram and, banquet
was held, locally to celebrate the
fiftieth anniversary • of till°
founding oft Women's,Institute;
The, Blue Water Band"
announced that it' now ` had 45
members and were Iwacticing .
frequently with their b public
appearance to be held about _May
1. •
' The° Goderich Lions Club
staged a special farewell dinner
for W.J. Hodge who was leaving
town__after 1Q__ year's in_ the.
community as an employee of the
Bell . Telephone' Company, of
Canada.
The Alexandra Marine Hospital, .
Board. assured the' expansion of
lbc'al hospital facilities when, it
acquired • the building , and
equipment of the former Port
The Goderich Mil°sic Club
announced th-at•under, its
'management the "Huron County
Festival of Music'° would open in
Goderich on May 5.
FIVE YEARS AGO
Local residents learned that
•Goderich,would be the only port on
the east shore of Lake Huron to
play host to the'desti'oyer. Nipigon
when it"woultl ne making a tour of
the Great. Cake's' as part of
centennial activities planned by
" the Navy.
Goderich Town Council heard; a
recommendation from the
Ontario Housing Corporation to
constrpct 22 new living units in
the community.
Councillor R•B. Robinson,
Proposed at a council meeting that
tax exemptpremfses in .Goderich
should.• at least have to pay
charges for garbage collection
but his suggestion ran into stiff- -.
opposition from other members
of council. '
Both the Goderich police
department and the local
detachpient of the Ontario
Provincial Police said they would
be• starting a Crack down on
motorists who left their cars
parked over night where they
were hindering proper snow
removal.
Godekeli town council • was
consideririg n proposal to cut the
rate for dog tags to the lowest
level allowed by provincial
legislation. - • 4
Education Weekduring'March 5
to 11 was to be marked by open
house at the various edfieational
institutions in the community as
well as a wide variety of other
special activities that' the local
•schoois h d been planning.
The Goderfelf Nursery° School
ge years
doors after foura
its
r_.losedy
Of service to tliie' tom munity • The
'treason, for closing .down was
attributed to' a shrinking
enrolment.
Another Editorial Debate
1
necessary:
) begunyin • Loddon has caused
( The TIP ,T.uxn'In A •Pusher scheirne recently
such a great amount of discussionin roost focal circles •this `week that the
Signal -Star editorial staff has agreed to engage in an Editorial Debate on the
subject. ' d� ,
bn taw mew die ie -tally Strata an�`°d-Mrs . -Sh i'rO ' a er was. Oft
the "affirmative" side. Both staff members caution readers to remember
that this is'a debate formai and the content in the following articles is not.to be
considered the philosophy of either writer.
YES R
The TIP (Turn InA Pusher) plan may be the
only way to curb drug abuse in our times. If it
is used properly, it should be a valuable aid in •
flushing out the men and women at the root of
one of, iodern society's greatest problems—
the misuse of drugs.,
-Of course, there is a question of moral
ethics underlying the decision to support—or
not support—TIP. Any time one must bribe a
human being to rat on his fellow human beings,
there has to be some soul -Searching as to the
wisdom .behind Vit.
There are those who would say that paying
someone to inform on a pusher, no matter how
low on the humanity scale he is, is just as
unsavoury as peddling pills and powders in the
first place. Maybe. But which "crime" will
hurt the most people? Help the most -people?
Ithas been said that drug abuse in our times .1
has been grossly exaggerated by frightened
folk who don't really know the drug scene as it
is happening. 'roil might be able .. to sell .that
theory to the mother or the father who hasn't
met the drug problem face-to-face, but it would
be another matter to convince the
brokerifhearted parents of a "vegetable". or a
youthful suicide victim that the Illegal drug
trailis a harmless adventure.
There are all kinds of arguments to detract
from the issue at hand liquor wrecks Mor
lives than drugs; cigarette smoking' has been
proven harmful to the health; many people are
already drug -dependent with physician's
.._ prescrip'tions' to perpetu e their" habit; -etc;
etc. --but
the horrible facts remain. Drug
'abuse is illegal, dangerous, expensive and
. habit-forming Pushers often prey on. young
children.' and some offer' "Stuff" of poor
quality which may have .some terrifying
results when, the'final tallies are made. '
Add_ta this the common 'belief : that many
small-time pushers peddle dope to support
theirowndrug, cravings, you begin. to con -tare
up a mentalpicture of a ,less than• admirable
person without, decency and devoid of any
scruples.
• And at'the btto,m of it all is the
organization—the , behind -tile -scenes and
under -the -cover biggies who mastermind the
deals and plot the moves as 'coldly and as
callously as other businessmen manoeuver
.rates o,f.engine. part sor sac.ks.offloux..These.
respectable parasites thrive on the miseries
o -f others' and grow fat because of
someone else's weaknesses.
Yolrmight call them The Untouchables for in
a society such as ours, they are protected
more 'Vigorously than the kids in the street, who
try,a little'something just to find but what it is
like.
One wouldsuppose that it would be a simple
matter to find people•who would be ready. and
. willing-ta -ixfvrm -onsuch undesirables -as
these. Not so, The sad truth of our times is that
,Many people will simply walk away from an
injustice rather than risk.becoming involved.
How'many, times have you read that. someone
was beaten to death near a crowded street
because his screams for help were ignored by
apathetic passersby who feared they might
also be in danger if they intervened?-
Y,ou're right. Paying :w informers. is an
unscrupulous way to ferret out drug offenders.
But. you're 'dealing with unscrupulous
criminals and. an unscrupulous segment.'of
society in an unscrupulous vyorld. It may bathe
only, way to approach a problem which is
growing like a cancer in most of our cities and
towns . ^ . •
The TIP program will, however, have to be
carefully handled to be successful.
Informatibh will have to ° be thoroughly
investigated before .any action is 'taken on
,leads and consideration will have to be given to
the type of . information received and the
motives for giving it.'
Moreover, the TIP scheme will have to• be
considered only one part : -a supporting
agency—in the fight to control drug abuse in.
'our:: time. If_ it --complements education
programs and regular police investigations
and 'modern, well,run drug treatmentcentres
i
,in our areas, the,. TI.P plan can, be° a vital and
important help to rehabilitation for some. It
may atse serve"to prevent heartbreak`4 and
suff6ring before it 'ever begins,
NO
The recently announced "Turn in a Pusher"
'(TIP) has brought a great deal of controversy,.
and willprobably bring little' else, in the past
few days as drug hysteria in Western Ontario
finally reaches the point of complete
ludicrousy. v
In the course of being a reporter, and a
young one at that, I have ' heard a great deal of
.discussion about the use, abuse. and misuse of
drugs, the so called drug problem and, various
suggestions of how to fight it, how to deal with
it, how to live with it.._and 'even how to
completely destroy it, abut -TIP has got to take
the :cake as the most insane and futile, atte'm.pt
to face a situation as important as the abuse of
• drugs yet. - ,
Just how a groupr•.of citizens, supposedly
level headed, mature and civilized, could
possibly justify„ banding into some sort of
vigilante • group completely ,escapes
understanding. To my way of thinking they are
reacting like a cornered animal. who .faced
with something it does not understand, resorts.
to a final attack aimed at killing that opponent
rather than making a, human attempt • at
deciding if this is, or is not, the correct move.
` Some interesting points have come forward
during the days following an announcement
that the program would begin operating in
London that point out just how futile TIP really.
is
and how it inay -actually make tIr problem
• worse. `-
Dr. Mario Faveri, .a Board of Education
-",psychologist.ia. o ,dt2p, ntetl outin a debate__
held at Fanshawe College on the matter that in
Tampa., Florida, where the program. was first •
begun, the "Drug problem"has worsened` since ,
TIP started, either because -or despite of it."
.•He'�n.'lstspo"infedart that not one major pusher
has been arrested let alone convicted.
•
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4
.N
Although a full page advertisement in the
London Free Press boasted the success of the
program in Tampa -Dr. Faveri further pointed
out in his .comments that considering Tampa+ s
TIP office receives 30. calls per day their
conviction rate only works out to a mere .3 per
cent. No doubt there ate those who will say that
any` ' success is worthwhile; 1 can hardly
accept, that . with the other problems the ,
program presents, a three tenths of one per
• cent conviction rate justifies it.
The first and foremost of these problems
means that TIP will in all probability, defeat
itself as well as defeat atitempts on the part of
law enforcement agencies to deal effectively
-=- with drug abuse. TIP • will do this through
bringing on a further tightening, within the drug
culture, as. related to informers ,(trot the
opposite as they plan). Itis also quite possible ,
that there will be an increase in crimes
through retaliation against those suspected of
'being in contact with the "Turn in a Pusher"
plan.
Dr. Charles Aharan .of the Addiction and
Researich Foundation when •speaking at the
debate mentioned earlier, noted TIP might be
used by pushers themselves to eliminate.
competition. Without a doubt this is another
possibility to be considered.
Ofcourse the police like the idea, ,citing
such virtuous reasons as "citizens taking part
justice" and helping 'p'ersons make "a
moral judgement" on the matter: It wouldn't -.
have anything to do with the fact the plan, might
just help cover for the police forces'
incapability at dealing with dealers in drugs?
TIP I's doomed to failure, already three of
its founding members have publicly annou►•d
they are withdrawing their support. It wil
like all other programs•based on the
assumption that monetary gain will prompt
anyone corrupt .enough to be involved with
drugs to turn in even their bestf friend.. There
'are ‘a lot of drug users• but there are too' few
who put money above loyalty to 'make ,TIP
work. if it's money they want no doubt they can
get a better offer• than $500•1rom other sources
to cause a "few problems for those organizing.
TIP. •
The comments of our readers
on this matter would be
appreciated. You are the.
debate judges
4,