HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-01-25, Page 2414
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PAGE 2—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSPAY, JANUARY 25, 1973
E
DIT,OR1AL COMMENT
County should explain
It's pretty well decided now. The one
exercise yard at the' former Huron
County Jailis coming down to make way
for an addition- to the Huron -Perth.,
Regional Assessment Office. It may ap-
pear on. the surface that L. e county is
still .negotiating with the provincial
government-about--the-leasing tetrns.Jac
the--proposed-new additiont'rnay-,iook-- -
like there's still a chance for the walls to
go untouched - but a safe wager would
be that the die is cast and the deed will
be done in. good time. _
About the only thing which will -ave --
the historical jail intact will be complete
and unrelenting public pressure on the
elected officials of this county. Letters,
telephone calls, petitions, deputations ....
yes;' sit-ins and placarded pickets,.
Do the people of this county care that
...........
much? It remains to, be seen. i
There are still a couple of unanswered
questions, ., however, concerning the
county plans for the assessment office
addition. •
• At the January meeting of county
" council, it was merely stated that it was
"impractical" to expand the facilities to
the west through the purchase of ad-
ditional land. There was no explanation
.—as—fa—fust -how-- rrrpracttcahirreatly-iS-= _-.
—and if, in fact, there was ever any serious
consideration' given to the proposal by..
the county's `property committee.
, It also behooves council to explain to,
the citizens of this county how it
proposes to save the remainingjail walls
once the initial blow is cast. How it plans
to provide adequate parking and space
for future growth without endangering
the remaining walls. How it purports to
keep the entire jail from eventually
falling beneath the wrecker's boom once
its .true historical • value has been
defaced and dismembered for all time.
Comment on Co -Pilot
At the last regular meeting of
Goderich Town Council, Councillor
Frank Walkom, asked for some report on
the activities of Co -Pilot. Walkom
claimed he_ would like to know more
about the program of Co -Pilot for the,
community.
It is obvious that Councillor Walkom is
one Goderich citizen who does not take
The Goderich Signal -Star seriously.. If he
did, he would-be familiar with -the weekly
column Co. -Pilot Reporting In which is
written by Maurice Blanchard, the
program co-ordinator. He would know
that he and all citizens of Goderich are
encouraged to drop into the Co -Pilot of-
fices on Hamilton Street for a• friendly
cup of coffee and a complete rundown
Of the program.
There has been some criticism of the
Co -Pilot programa It was expected from
the beginning. Like the Folks group of
last summer, it is finding that misinfor-
med opinions die slowly, sometimes not
at all. Why? Because -these are youth
programs - for youth and by youth. Age
doesn't want to admit that it sometimes
becomes stodgy and sect, ,often
sacrificing good ideas for stubborn
habit.
Co -Pilot isn't perfect. Nobody claimed
it would be. But Co -Pilot is open to the
community for public appraisal and sub-
sequent suggestions. Nothing could be
more above -board than that.'
Accept Co -Pilot's invitation in this
week's newspaper. CaII around. See for
yourself. Don't comMent until then.
It's their opinion that
Members of Huron County council
"have been attempting for some time to
convince the provincial government that
thie bounty unit should remain as the -top
tier of ,local government rather than ex-
panding to a larger regional base. ,
Warden candidate Ed Oddleifson of
Bayfield, in his pre-election speech last
week, urged the county council to fight
against being swallowed up by the
regional governmentplans of the
province.
He said Huron must -show the -Ontario
government: that it can act as a, respon-
sible entity.
Shortly after those: words echoed
around the council chambers, some
members of county couteil proved him
absolutely wrong in that contention with
their actions in the voting for warden.
It would normally be assumed that
county council members would•- weigh
carefully the talents -and_abilities of the
;candidates and then vote -accordingly.
But .they didn't.
_The,pattPrn of 'voting__.suggests.-.:that
some members are of the opinion that
the choice of warden is .hot important
and they ended up playing games, swit-
ching their support from onecandidate
to the other as 'the ballots proceeded,
despite the fact the man whom they
backed on early ballots was still in the
running at the, end. •
For some it may have been a matter of
looking -after their own -Personal -goals.
After all, if one . should become a con-
didate for warden in the future it is
beneficial to have voted for as many.for-
0.4114
+,
A
• • • ,Y
mer candidates as possible in the hope
that they in turn will support you at a
future time.
Of course, the warden is also a mem-
ber of the striking committee, and
having cast ballots for him at some
stage along,, the line may also assure a
member of one of the better committee
jobs. •
Members appear to lose sight of the
fact that if county council is important
and responsible, then the choice of war-
den must be carefully considered,
The warden sits on all committeesand
therefore wields considerable influence.
Should it not be a job for the best man
possible?
The warden chairs most of the
sessions and his abilities along this line
play—an important part in the effec-
tiveness of council. Should it not be a
job for the best man possible?
The Warden represents the county at
many . functions, including those with
provincial government leaders who may
_well--judge-the--a-biIit,ies-of=cotsmy-conn=-----0f-the--telephone,-Sonleti es -.I-
wardens..
4
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6AND FuR"f HERMORE, G, Er -r ki AT
5YuP,D Cl4AA Cli.er of y 0c4R"MoctTH
U/44 ffi Al vo 4 A DID 1R Ess Me f
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SEAR READERS
On a day like today. it .is a
tremendous asset when I love
my work as much as I do. This
is Tuesday. Don't -ask me why
I've left this column until after
dinner Tuesday .evening .... but
,I have. It has been a long day._.
I'm• fighting the flu. There's a
long night ahead of me (two
picture assignments yet) and
tomorrow is another day
filled with appointments and
deadlines.
Things are happening thick
and fast now. There's •con-
troversy on all sides about all
things .... and this newspaper
tries to keep on top when
'possible.
Why? For you, the readers,, of
course. And though every day,
we receive many ' ,snore' com-
plaints than compliments, we
go forth with -courage to report
and comment each week.
I guess I'm a little more tired
than, usual tonight. Reminds,
me of something I read recently
which gave -seven pointers to
bring you back to normal when
you "are exhausted.
.They are:
1. Have a complete physical
examination. —Now that's a
good thought. Must get around
to •that one of 'these first days.
2._. Eliminate. unnecessary ac-
tivities,,—Well,
c-tivities.—Well, I've eliminated
dishwashing and dusting and
shopping and visiting --and
sleeping .,.. maybe I could cut
back even more.
3. Do more about things than
complain.. Take action. - Boy,
do I take action but somehow,
it only brings more work and
further headaches: Must be
something wrong with the ac-
tion I'm taking.
4. Avoid loneliness. = I'm
seldom alone •evethough my
caller is only on the other end
ment is suffering under the con-
stant bombardment by
snowmobiles. , and their
operators,
Undoubtedly you• 've been
told that the snowmobilers
were charged unfairly that
they are really a reasonable,
responsible group of. recreation
hunters whose only desire is to
get away from it all for a few
hours each winter's day or
night.
Well, .14m here to tell you
that I attended that meeting.
I went there without any pre-
conceived ideas about
snowmachines, their value or
their nuisance factor. And I can
honestly tell you I came. away
• from the, meeting without any
fixed conclusion ° in my mind
« about' snowmachines.
What I did discover is that
people are absolutely wonder-
ful. They are so marvellously
unpredictable and _yet so pain-
fully predictable. Let me tell
you what I mean.
The majority of the audience
were snowmobilers. A show of
hands - revealed.- this. They
were, I suspect, present to
defend' themselves not that
they need defending, mind you,
but they were there in any
event;.
The speakers in favor of
snowmachines did a creditable..
job of convincing, most people
-in attendance that for the
most part, " it is just a few
thoughtless - I think the term
was stupid - snowmobilers who
are causing the uproar among
non-snowmobilers. I agreed.
The one speaker from Clin-
ton, Case Buffinga was_ his
name, stated that in his opinion
many snowmobilers would be
happy to take their
snowmachines out of the built
u{1~ --areas--.-tn__-reatr_ic-te
snowmachine areas if they were
provided by the .government.
In short,- the snowmobilers
claimed that all these charges
about having no regard . _for
other people and their property
was just so much hog -wash
because if, proper controlled
snowmachine areas were
cils on the abilitiesof the
Should it not be a "job for the best man,
possible?.-
The list could be extended to great
lengths, but suffice it to say'that the war=
den's position is extremely importa'ht
and should not be secured as the result
of political games.
Voting whims as displayed last week
do little to enhance the position of war-
den_ or county council.
—Exeter Times -Advocate
ffihe ooDcrtch
SIGNAL—STAR
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• think I'm alone too little tit
surely I must- be mistake .
5. Plan ahead. - And 'l'm
doing that. I'm planning for a
complete holiday when young
Mr. Shaw returns from his
tropical vacation to the south
seas somewhere.
6. Avoid the fallacy of,, ex-
cessive rest. - Excessive 'rest is
one luxury I can't indulge
myself in at this point in time
..,. so it isn't difficult to avoid
it.
7, Take an interest in oflier
people. - Yes, get my mind off
myself and onto somebody else
and his or her problems, Good
thought. That leads me to think
about the poor misunderstood
snowmobilers which -crowded
into the cafeteria at GDCI on
Monday evening.
* * *
I suppose most of you
have heard -rumors about the
horrible attack Dr.Mike Watts
made on the snowmobilers
(there's even a , Letter to the
Editor on- that subject this
week).
\ You may also have heard
how (Britisher) Nick Hill
strode to the lectern with the
grace of a country gentleman
and stated in soft acrd` on -so -
articulate terms how he
abhored the noise of
snowmobiles.
You may even have heard.
something 'about the desarming
Don McKee, the local biologist,
who claims that the • environ -
provided, they
than happy 'to
But the oohs
emanated,
snowmobilers
laughter when.
would be more
stick to them.
and aahs which
from the
- the audible
certain charges
were laid at their feet -gave one
to wonder if -snowmobilers did
not indeed believe they had "an
implied right" to operate these
snowmobiles where they
choose.
It was almost a case similar
to the young woman who;; ard"
she approved of the institution
of marriage but gaffawed
rather loudly when a happlily
married couple questioned her
somewhat shoddy morals about -
extra -marital sex. Understan-
dable, perhaps, 'but hardly con-
sistent.
That was the note which Dr.
Mike Watts picked up and
he chided the' snowmobilers for
their behaviour during the .
speaking times of certain anti-
.snowmachihe orators.
On the other hand, the `
people who were opposed to y"
snowmachines gave not an inch
to s the -ensible, sensitive
snowmobilers and their
numbers must be legion:
One snowmobiler rightly
resented the implication that
all snowmobilers. are to be con-
sidered as creatures bent on the
destruction of themselves, the
environment and the peace and'
well-being of others. I'm not a
snowmobiler, but I found that
obvious conclusion distasteful •
and unfair.
The strongest suggestion, of -
course, came from Dr. Watts
again who - suggested that
snowmobiling for pleasure
should be, banned - completely
and forever.
The most listenable course o
action as far as I was ' concer-
d___-ned.canie ,frp.nLErnest Williatris '- h
By Shirley J. Keller
snowmachines although `he; did
intimate that if he had his way,
he'd put a whopping tax on
many small -motor things like
snowmachines and chain saws
and motor boats and lawn
mowers.
And Nick Hill, bless him, in
his own quiet and extquisitely
proper manner asked only that
snowmachines be shade quieter
,so that they could "share" the ,
winter countryside in a more
compatible manner , with
snowshoers; crosscountry
skiers, birdwatchers etc.
Incidentally, when one mem-
ber of the Select Committee
'.tried( to shoot down Nick by
tellin'g . him that young people
who go to. ,modern-day „dances
will probably be deaf by the
time they get on a snowmobile,
Nick quickly retorted that he .
saw no reason at all why
snowmachines could not be
made more quiet - , •
Is there anything wrong with
that?" asked Nick, his earnest
approach' and forthright
question completely shattering
the m'ember's point. •
* *
But • the xea r'breath of fresh
air ' came from the youth - the
Willy great teenagers who stood
up -in all their eagerness and;in-
nocence and made their presen-
tations to the provincial gover-
nment. -
Thegal who left me with the
most to think about' was pretty
brunette Brenda Thompson
who asked one simple question:
"How 'many people here are
going to be around 50 years
from now to .breathe the air
we're going to have to
' breathe?"
Some quick mathematics put
most everyone in the room, well,,
over. 80 years of age in 50 years
�,�..,, a.nd same like myself
would be considerably older
than that.
of Seaforth who wants to see
legislation whereby.
snowmachines are banned from
built-up areas unless the local
municipality can '.`demonstrate .
a need" for snowmobiles, I
believe he put it.
Don McKee would like to see
tighter controls. put • on
And Miss Thompson had a
point. If we didn't think ()Cour:
selves, why didn't we think of
others?
Slowly .butsurely, that's
what Brenda said. Slowly but
surely we're destroying our -
jOOKING BkCk
TO YEAR$ AGO
JANUARY 25, 1903
A.M. Polley has sold his
established livery business
South street to Gundry Br
who have taken possession
week. We understand that
Polley will' devote his t'
largely to his farm in°'Gode '
_'Township:. _ __ ., .__.....
- The,' Grand Trunk Railr
office here has just announ
its intentions of replacing
old freight shed with a new
'tadtr—f tructilre: -Writes
theca genf ilh clerks
be provided in the n v f rei
building.
The promenade at t
Collegiate Institute on Fri
evening was well attended a
like most efforts under Simi
auspices, was a -thorough 8
cess.
The January thaw hit us
week and it's fair saili
around -the square.
The Intercolonial Railw
through its advertising ag
C.L. Crighton, is -sending out
very fine calendar for 1901
`A._' party of 2,000` Brit;
people will sail from Liver
on March 21. to settle in
Saskatoon district.
25 YEARS AGO
JANUARY 25, 1948
A successful and very ha
social evening was enjoyed
the members of the Slue Ws
Brass Band and the Gir
Bugle Band, their families a
friends in the Masonic Asse
bly Hall on Wednesday nig
attended by two hundr
people.
W.P. Johnston""' was ele
president of the a Goderich Tr
ting ' and Agricultur
Association at the annu
meeting last week. ,
Goderich French D
Cleaners have donated
trophy to the Goderich 1
dustrial1Bowling League to
awarded to the . winner of
gentlemen's high average f
the season.
Mr. "E. Weaver of Petrol'
has been appoiifted °manager
the .Goderich Public.. Utiliti
Commission,
Huron County Council
their January meeting Frid
!right -voted 14-11 in favour
increases of salaries of Couu
officials.
The Goderich Kinsmel up
the Seaforth Beavers by an 8
score at,the West rink on Mo
day night in a regular Inter
if mediate "13" contest.
selves and others with.
maybe even unbor
generations.
I think Brenda and Cath;
Cruickshank and Lind
McDonald, all 1 of whom a
dressed the meeting,. ma
everyone think a little. 1 kno
they made the committee, thi .
because one member comme
ted on how good it was • to
the ydung people taking an i
terest in things in a. construe
tive sort of way. He comme
ded them for their interest..
and so should we.
*, * *
To sum up the feeling I t•
away from the meeting, 1
this line from • Nick Hill'.
preseritatign: "We can only sur
vine as a human race in pea
and ,harmony when we res'
each ,othersvalues an.
styles." -
Amen.
And that -goes-- for muc
Much more than snowmobil
dear readers. Much much more
• Would that more of us had
the determination to live 0
that code.
_d . G. R D-ia'A #UH
TOWN Vorfr's :.
iTsise.r A Ai Agta sw PAY.
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