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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-02-01, Page 2• PAGE 2---GObERICHSIGNAL-STAR. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1. 1973 Nmy EDIT�R1AL. COMMENT Ironical happening Members of Huron County Council sat smugly last Friday morning as "two small delegations of Goderich citizens presented their views to the assembly concerning the proposed demolition of one exercise yard at the former Huron County Jail. One could sense the condescending, iliit4 a of council as, members. politely heard the reports - bided their time until the presentations were ended - and then. moved on to regular and ruore pressing business. Later in the day, ,however, council's assurance melted into' frustration as the tables .yvece.. turned and the- circumstan-L ces . reversed. Now county council• carried the petition - though not literally;, - to" the provincial government asking that they be given recognition as a region. Now it was the provincial gover- nment which appeared to listen graciously, though not hearing or'really caring much what Huron's viewpoint might be. .r It was ironical to say the very least, that two 'persons charged within. minutes of each other that Huron County Council was' being short -Sighted., The first ,speaker, was Joan Van den Broeck of Goderich who said "it would be a: Very short-sighted move" on the part Of bounty-coun-ei l "to -make any fur- ther inroads on the property belonging :• to and an' integral part of the old. Huron County Jail". The second • speaker was Professor John Norton Who warned that it, would be "extremely short-sighted" if county council turned down membership in Midwestern Development Council at this_crucial-stage .-after—having -spent-- thousands of dollars to help develop MDC's approach to provincial depart-` ments. . The two situations - RYE removal of a 'jail wall and the decision not to join MDC for another year - don't seem to be related. In fact, about the only similarity' in the two is that in both cases, Huron County Council has been penny wise and pound foolish. Should study suggestion The suggestion which came recently from Councillor Leroy Harrison that ratepayers should be invited to apply for appointments to municipal committees is worthy of study. Such committees as recreation, tourism; industry etc. have traditionally been appointed from a list of names drawn up by council after viewing the field of citizens in their acquaintance. There is small doubt in anyone's mind, ' then, that the list does not necessarily contain the names of persons .most interested in the work ... or even the per- sons most knowledgable in the business to 'be handled by the various commit- tees. One could assume that some truly enthusiastic and informed , citizens are being ingnored simply because they are not personally known to council. It Councillor Harrison had his •way, persons interested in committee work .in Goderich would apply ,for appointment fo committees in much the same way as application is *lade for any other job. it 'is 'likely— the applicants would be carefully screened ... and It is possible that council would still have its ways -- when the appointments were finally made. But at least anyone who was sincerely concerned about the welfare of the com- munity would have an opportunity to make his or her interest known to coun- cil ... and' know that his or her ap- plication would reach the place of decision no matter what -decision might be. Town Council should give con- sideration to Councillor Harrison's suggestion before it is time to select committees another time. Surely such a system could result in better committee work with a •greater number of the desires of the people „being ,made known, Sounds like one step toward a stronger municipal government in every respect. Off and running • The provincial by-election _'in this Riding has beep; called for March 15. The starting flag has been dropped and the would-be politicians in the areak''are off and running. . The starting gate appears to be full for the preliminaries and from the looks of things, 'when the final heat is underway,' a full roster of candidates will be in the race. A by-election, according, to officials, doesn't create the interest of a full scale election. People are lethargic - kind of numb and unfeeling about the whole thing. ' There's .indication already that can- didates in the upcoming by-election here are not going to let this contest be the quiet, no -issue type of election people have grown to expect. From all appearances, there's going to be some excitement ...and voters here should get prepared to listen and become informed about some issues which will un'doubtedly be aired, Good clean fun What fun vehicle available to "winter -sports enthusiasts is faster than a snowmobile, carries two people, is easy to transport, creates nett er air nor sound' pollution, and costs- nothing to operate? Answer: the ice yacht, now manufac- tured and sold through dealers across Canada by Sail - Rite'Ltd., Scarborough, Ontario. U.S.' dealers in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and Oshkosh, Wis., are also handling 'the craft, says The .Financial Post. "Ice yachting had its start a century 9 A and a half ago. It was big in the early 1900's but interest lapsed after • World. War l," says Sail -Rite President John Herda. "Nowti 's making a comeback . Until a--couple`of winters ago it was rare to see even half a dozen ice yachts on a frozen Canadian lake. This winter, you can sometimes see two or three times that number." .1111 Says technical ,oidviser Bill Gooderham: "It can never be a big . market, but nobody has, yet found an ob- jection to ice yachting. It's fun and it leaves the ecology undisturbed." �ryc eoacrtch SIGNAL -STAR —0-- The County.Town Newspaper of Huron —0— Founded in 11(5n a dpublisMdwery Thursday at 37 West St., Goderich; Ontario. Member of the Audit Bureau of Circulation, the CWNA a8d OWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable in advance, WOO in Canada, $(.3O in all countries other than Canada; single copies 20 cents. Second class nnailRegistrationNumber.0716. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of typographical error, thatportionoe the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together . with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged -for but the,balance of the edit rti sem ent will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong -frit', goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an' of ter to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524.8331 area code 519 Second class mail registration- imber--0718 Pub shed by Signal -Stant Publishing Ltd. " ROBERT u ,. SHRIER- .president and. publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER—editor R...W. SHAW --editorial staff EDWARD J, RYRSKI--edveHiNng manager - DAVE R. WILLIAMS—advertising representative • p r•: .•Q HISTORICAL SITE DEr101.lSNINGa CO. LTO. A DIVIStO1 of ASSESSMENT DEAR READERS As' most of you may have realized by now, I'm not a' great booster for the provincial government. I think it is unfor- tunate for Ontario: that the Progressive Conservatives have such a solid majority. Just what my politics are doesn't really matter for the in- tent of this column. `Suffice it to say that I'm opposed to much of the present provincial system but that's not„thy 1111.., .,..,,....... su ect” of this article. hj.°.. The topic is Charles MacNaughton, the man from Exeter who represented .the people of Huron County since 1958. Because of my views on political matters in the province, • I'ire, not even,1$ely. a stauMnch 41 lyaught�on' fi=r- ter. 'n'' fa t ` 1100 c , itco�Id $e sand that Mr. MacNaughton and I have had the occasional disagreement. But somehow, when a man like Charles_' MacNaughton drops out of the political scene one feels compelled to just once say what may have been buried deeply for a variety of reasons. Now 'that the Hon. C. , S. MacNaughton is just. .another Huron Countcitizeh, it can be said by his supporters.and his opposition- alike that -he was a fine representative for the Riding. He brought glory and recognition to the''County of Huron such as we'd not had before and may not ever have again. Why? Who really knows? Those of us who did- not ever get to know Charlie, the man, "probably will never know. Only the people who knew him best will ever be able to fully explain .it. 'The people of the riding loved MacNaughton. He ser- ved ,them well. He .was solidly entrenched into the hearts of he -vast majority of the-titizers-- here and. had he- continued on in office until the next election, I have little doubt that he would have bee re-elected without difficulty.n 4 And--- his colleagues in Toronto respected him. On his retirement, Premier William Davis told him, "Your record of. public_ service .islong and distinguished but that is not the great dimension of Charles MacNaughton. You will be remembered for your humanity and your humility,' your sense of honor and of honesty, your vision and y ur loyalty. These virtues you have shared with me, with your colleagues, with your family and with the citizens of Ontario. We are the better for it." Now that's performance, I'd say! Charlie was elected to the -Legislature in a by-election on May 12, 1958. Just three years later he was appointed• a ministel- without portfolio. From then on; it was up, up and upward for MacNaughton. He held nine government port- folios having been minister_ of highways, treasurer, minister of economics, minister of revenue, minister r•of highways and minister -of transport, minister of" transportation and com- munications; chairman of management board of Cabinet and most recently,. treasurer and minister of economics and intergovernmental affairs. -, At -this Stage of the game, then, it doesn't matter whether or not I was in total agreement with MacNaughton and his government. What matters is that MacNaughton expended 15 years of his life for the Riding of Huron of which I'm a part. He served well and faith- •,......•fuddyr....•.•. He has. my commen- dation and the commen- ' dation - of many, many more Goderich and area citizens. To you, Charles MacNaughton, we extend a simple "Thank You". *** • Where AO.now?; t . I hesitate to make predic- tions. You know my record for' picking 'a winner: It is pretty lousy. In fact, persons in public life are actually calling me now, begging me not to support them. So have no - fear. This column will not 'predict any winners in the upcoming nomination meetings. There's --one, thing, - though- that. practically everyone is agreed upon. The by-election in tins.- Riding (and the, bouii- daries of the Riding may change considerably before then) will be hotly contested. It will be a new ballgame with the incomparable MacNaughton out of the race. It will be' the first time in 15 years that this Riding has seen such a contest provincially. Who will be contesting the seat? I'd make a small wages. there will be four ' candidates - one for the RC's, one' for the Liberals, one for the NDP's and one Independent. I would be surprised if the ' PC candidate Was not chosen ` TF m a wi ' e to o men don't know about ladies) and- I ` would be equally surprised if a real effort was not made in the PC . camp. to introduce a can- didate from the rural area of this vastly 'rural Riding. The Liberal candidate may or may not have ,a difficult time getting himself or herself elec- ted: Im told that many of the "big -guns" in the. Liberal "group have declined to run for office against MacNaughton because it was thought to be a hopeless contest. But with MacNaughton out of ,the pic- ture this time, well there could be some activity in the Liberal circles. The .New Democratic Party in this Riding is a growing force .... and I think the PC's and the Liberals know it. Mrs. Shirley Weary, for ' instance, has -.kept her name and her political per- suasion before the people and her popularity is slowly growing on the Federal scene. Mrs. Weary's success is in- dicative of the general though gradual swing to the, NDP in Huron. People in this county are a little reluctant to change anything, most particularly. their religion or their politics. But once the swing is on, it is , on .,.. and there is no stopping it. And'I predict the HDP will one day be a major force to•be reckoned with in this Riding. So I would . suspect that. thie NDP:. would have a strong can- didate in the by-election con- test. I would suspect that can- didate would have a few in- teresting points to raise and a few pots to stir. I would suspect that all ,candidates in the contest would have to be a little more on -the -ball as far as general knowledge is concerned in ordex to answer the attack to he led by the, NDP. And the Independents, ? Well, I think there will be an Independent in the race and I think that's about as far as it will go, too. *** Only one person at_ time of writing (Thursday; January 25) appears to have a • serious in-, terest"`ih the Pe ngmination. That's Don Southcott, a former Exeter resident who was MacNaughton's , executive secretary for the past five years. I think most persons are agreed that if anyone has the keys to the. provincial govern- ment from this Riding; it has, to be Don Soutficott. ' You .can't follow around a man like Charles. MacNaughton for five years add come away without some insight, some contacts, some political prowess. I have been acquainted with Don Southcott fora number of years. In fact, you just can't be in the newspaper, business in Huron County without ,having come in contact ' with Don. Southcott at one time or another. I know for a fact that he was one whale of a fine -newspaper- man. He had a` sixth sense about many things that an By Shirley J. Keller editor must know .... and he was good at his job, real good. There are some who fear that Don Southcott has had a job in the past five years which could come back to haunt him if he tries to run for MPP in Huron. As MacNaughton's executive secretary, Southcott had many unpleasant tasks to perform ... duties which may not have en- deared him to some Of the people in Huron. Oddly enough, people forget the good things and rememtrer the bad and there are some who wonder if Don Southcott, the man with the most going for him as far as ready-made political know-how ' 'is concer- ned, would run into some strong ''oppogitieffil thrtitightitt't' 'r the Riding. ',," w I make no judgrner4' urr' th" because Huron County appears to be solidly Progressive Con- servative. 4 But it. is a thought and one which is turning in the minds of many, folks'. of all political views. ' *** I've -been around long enough now to know that things are_not'ev_erwhat:Ahey, _. seem . on the surface. I'm willing to bet there's plenty of behind -the -scenes activity in all the party associations and I don't rule out the possibility of a ,"dark horse" in this contest. But that's as far as my speculating will go, dear readers. I've no wish to spoil anyone's political debut and I go into this pre by-election period with anticipation for a great race. Svpport the jail Dear Editor: It is encouraging to see the amount of support 'and en- thusiasm being generated in our efforts to save the jail wall adjacent to the Assessment Building. I am sure that Ian Leslie over in England would . be proud of the stand that the Goderich people are takingon this issue and I am sure -that ' he would be pleased, too, if he 'knew that, not only, Goderich people, but people from all over ai.e starting to register their positive feelings on this matter. A very large measure of credit is due to the dedicated group of young people who are helping to,take petitionsito the. exclusion of their other ac- tivities. We will continue in our ef- forts 'to save the wall from the wrecker's ball and hope that if you are interested in helping us, in any small way, that you will get in touch with us. Sincerely, Joan Van den Broeck. P.S. If we missed you, petitions are at Bygone ."A'ntiques, both Laundromats. and LG.A, Defends OMaML, Dear Editor, I see by a recent letter in your paper that the Ontario Milk Board (O.M:M.B.) raised the price of fluid milk by three cents from 38 to 41 cents per quart, Rubbish!! The O.M.M.B,, a producer board, tries to negotiate a price for the farmer. They recently asked for an increase of 57 cents per hundred weight, which was an average based on the farmer's increased cost of production and would amount to La cents per quart. The O.M.M.B. were refused by the Canadian Dairy _Com, mission, a Federal body who control, and can over rule the O.M.M.B. The O.M.M.B. were given 35 cents per hundred or lest than ,.9 -cents per quart making'' the price 'of milk to the farmer 7.35 per hundred or 18 1/2 cents per _.quart. After the dairies receive this —milk there is no government body to control the price to the consumer. 1111 John Austin 1e ontlem d ort page 7) LOCKIN8 BA+ 70 YEARS FEBRUARY 1, The poultry show closed on Friday, was successful yet held county associatiion. 510 entries which gratifyii to the di ; J.B. - Hawkins, .0 Street,' has"purchased some residence of Stokes on St. Patrick' and' intends ' to m sometime in spring. The Dollar -Eighties Shorties had.,a hockey the . rink Thursday., n►. D. E.'s won by a score W.H. Kerr, proprie Brussels Post, is the W. Huron. for 1903. Go to the, old reliabl house Victoria Rest 'West Street, for fresh sold in bulk and all st Blackstone, ' proprietor, In 97 townships statu. has been" abolished. counties are removing vestiges of a ruder civil toll roads. Nasr- ed - Din, the la of Persia, was not mu marrying man, and his rarely numbered more t and never exceeded 370 When he died, each w 200 pounds and was ma an official. A number of coal were arrested at Toledo; charged with illegally bitting to keep up prices 25 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 1, 19 Captain G. Smith and Win; M. Lockwood o Salvation Army have r: orders to leave. Goderich take up work in Tillson. The annual meeting fo scribers of the Col, Municipal Telephone S will be held in the Township Hall on Thu February 5 at 2 pin. The County Council on nesday afternoon confirm: appointment of Alex Al der, former reeve of Gr: County Assessor, authorized the equilizati. Njtthe a/lsN�s'essment, to be com' 044,- c .'aL*ouzon Flyers tlnu"eT" their winning 'wa .Friday night at the local: by whipping, the Hes. Shamrocks 8-4 in a 0. Junior "0" encounter. The MacGillivray Mi• band of Knox Church het, first meeting for 1948 on day:. The roads in Ashfield West Wawanos.h were y tically abandoned the mil' last week, while the storm still raging. Snowplows- •,. crippled` and -just -gave up several reasons.. Telephones served thr. the Goderich and Clinton changes increased last yea 282 to an all time high of2: A supply car, part of a C. freight train, was damag, the extent of approximately Saturday evening when a caused by an overheated s, Tri the car broke out while train was standing in Seaforth Yards. 5 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 1, 1968 f lady► Ind • les enroll hoof. Shu ng says s claims Maitland Valley ,Con vation Authority boosted 1968 budget. $11,300 over .years at its annual meeting Wingham. For the first time in history, the military estab ment at Clinton is comma"' by a colonel. Group Cay E.W. Ryan,. C.F.B. Clio Commander assumes the title colonel today. Robert R. Needham has appointed to succeed 11 Menzies as manager of Grain Elevator Division of per Lakes.. Shipping Lind. Mr. Menzies retired it the, of the year. , More than 100 volun canvassers converged Goderich homeowners during teeming rain Monday eVen' in support of the March. Dimes campaign. .Goderich Siftos shot -d' the Leamington Flyers 1.2 an interlocking Junior 6 game Sunday night Leamington. The Siftos a how in third place in the tral Division just two Poi behind second place Water!' Simkins. • The Cancer, Polio spa Tubercular fund committee'' Rebekah Lodge No. 89 P ted &cheque to cover the cod a new emergency stretcher, officials of Alexandra Ms and General Hospital lastWd' nesday. 111 i TM1'o's working Overholt three yt Colonial another pholo) Georgi which which' encase pleted about