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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-06-14, Page 20r A V Moi 4A—GODERICH SIGNAL:STAR, THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 1973 IT TAKES A WATERGATE TO CLEAR THE AIR As I write, the Watergate hearings are _in progress and that word is entering the language as a synonym for scandal and skullduggery. Canadians are having a whale of a time doing what they like very much, — looking down their spotless noses at the _Yanks. I guess •we've forgotten our great home-grown scandals in= volving Canadian governments, both provincial and federal. Some of the fantastic' rip-offs made bw such outfits as our railways and the Hudson Bay Company make the Watergate look. like peanuts. And then there was the Beauharnois affair, a piece of piracy that made many a Canadian politician feel like "looking for a hole to crawl into. And let's not forget the Duplessis era in Quebec, where votes were bought and sold like potatoes, ballot boxes stuffed, and strong-arm tactics used at election time. Nope . We can't afford to look down our noses at anybody. All we can or should do 'is shake our heads and remember, "There, but for the grace of God ..." - Of course, Watergate is somewhat different in that it's involved the use of police state tactics in pursuit of unbridled political power. That distinguishes " it from traditional political corrup- tion which has usually been motivated by a love of "booze, broads and bucks". Perhaps the saddest aspect of the Watergate affair is that nobody is spilling the beans because of conscience or lofty principles. They are telling all because they are on the hot seat. It's every man for himself as those involved try to save their otvn necks. A bunch of finks scram- bling for safety. At the same time, one must admire the U.S. process of probing for the truth, regar- dless of who gets,hurt. I -wouldn't want to- be up in front of those tough senators , for anything more serious than spitting on the sidewalk. How would Canada handle such a situation? Well, first the government would appoint a Royal Commission, which would investigate in near - secrecy. rhe Commission would require three years to complete its job, by which time nobody would be interested. It would then publish its report, which would be almost unreadable. A few weary editorials would be written, a few professors who could wade through the Commission - Report would make speeches and the whole thing would then be buried. As a good many observers have pointed out, the Watergate airing of soiled linen may be the best thing that has happened to the U.S. democratic system in generations. When you are constipated, you take a purge. When you've swallowed poison and want to throw up, you take an emetic. Perhaps the Watergate will serve as both. Regardless of how many heads' will get the chop, and to whom those heads belong, it is comforting to know that our great neighbour - will heal it- self, spew out the poison or cut out the cancer, and get back to work. be becoming a little sceptical, to say the least. He has been lied to and lied to. He ,must be wondering whetter he can believe anybody any more. 1 know 1 would be. There's nothing new in powerful leaders lying to the people they are leading. Hitler lied to the Germans, Mussolini to the Italians, Stalin to the Russians. ,Unfortunately , their - lies were not discovered by their peoples until the damage had been done and the world was staggering back from the holocaust they unleashed. This time the truth is corning out, haltingly, so that the damage to a nation and a nation's pride may be halted before it becomes irreparable. Let's hope so. Huron Bd. pact on ratio worries Ont. school trustees One of Ontario's smaller boards of education has bolted the solid ranks of school trustees and approved a con- tract with its high school teachers that deals with an im- portant working condition—the pupil -teacher ratio. The unprecedented decision of the Huron County School Board to ratify a one-year collective agreement containing an appendix on a pupil -teacher ratio was one of the greatest worries of trustees attending the, annual convention of the Ontario Public Schools, Trustees Association held in Cambridge last week. Until the Huron decision was made final two weeks ago, On- tario school boards had refused to bargain with teachers over their working conditions such And it will. It has survived And let's hope the Americans as pupil -teacher ratio, class Senator Joe McCarthy's witch- come out of the sordid little size, number of teaching hours hunts, the lying about spying mess, smelling of violets and each school day, selection of on Russia, the Bay of Pigs ready to get 'back to the real teachers, teaching -methods or fiasco, and many another, not problems they must solve: in- course content. Trustees claim to mention a disgusting and nation, pollution, integration. these things are management disastrous war in Asia. They're great solvers of prerogative. It is also comforting to know problems, and they have great In January, high schools in that there are still countries in problems to solve. Windsor were barely able to the world where powerful In the meantime, it behooves operate for three weeks when public figures can be brought to us in Canada not to sneer and 648 of 770 teachers resigned in account. It couldn't happen in Russia or China. And it wouldn't happen in many a so- called democracy. On the other hand, the average Joe in the States must G point the finger. Let's pretend our neighbours are having a domestic quarrel which is none of our business. Let's cultivate our own garden. It needs it. a strike. The strike ended after Education Minister Thomas Wells persuaded the Windsor •Board of Education to agree to freeze the pupil -teacher ratio for two years. The urban -rural exchange, is for youngsters 12 - 15 Urban -Rural Exchange is back: And with it, a chance for farm families to show an urban youngster just what it's like to be a farmer's son or daughter, as well as an opportunity to learn first-hand, what it would be like to live in a city all the time. To those 12 to ,15 years old Urban Rural Exchange offers a family a chance to help remove some of the misunderstandings - that isunderstandings.- that exist between urban and rural people. It also offers a learning experience and a lot of fun. Interested families with no twelve to fifteen year olds may also act as hosts, although they wouldn't, be able to take part in the return visit. In a typical exchange, an ur- ban child will _spend one week on a farm in July or August, followed by a week-long visit with the city family for the rural boy or girl. Each visitor will participate as a member of Now! Guaranteed Investment Certificates Member Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation VG The senior Tru.sl Company deeded enlieely to serving the people of Ontario. VIC7VRL4 and GREY TRUST COMPANY SlN'CE 1889 9:00 to 5:00 Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 6:00 Friday L.A. Zurbrfg. Manager 524 -7381 -- 'Elgin end Kingston Streets, 9oderich the family, taking as much part as possible in the normal ac- tivities of the host family. Hopefully, the urban child's fir- sthand experience as "a far- mer" and the farm boy or girl's week as a "city dweller" will help make 1 them and their families more tolerant and knowledgeable of the other life- style. The program is -an bppor- tunity both to learn and : to teach — a chance to find out the others point of view, as well as a chance to show him or her how you see things. Transportation for the four sets of exchanges in July and August is arranged by the program co-ordinators and both- the exchangees and the host families are insured against accident and liability. Application forms will be available in local schools or from Dianne Fines, program co- ordinator for Huron Perth, in the county Agricultural Office. A tree absorbs sound, its leaves trap air pollutants, and moisture given off by the foliae cools the air. Windsor teachers felt they had reason to fear that the school board would increase both the pupil -teacher ratio and class size. The general reaction of trustees here to the Huron agreement was: "It's awful." Ted Conover, a Peel County trustee and former school board chairman, told a discussion on salary negotiations: "Huron is an example of what not to do...whenever anybody tells you that Huron has already done it, don't you do it." (On the other hand, James ,.,3ethune, executive assistant for economic welfare of the On- tario Secondary • School Teachers Federation, termed the Huron, settlement ''fan- tastic" and "a breakthrough." Speaking in a telephone inter- view from Toronto, Mr. Bethune cautioned, however, that its significance depends not on the language of the con- tract but on how the agreement actually works). Wilfrid Shortreed, ,a Huron County trustee, was so taken aback by the protests of other trustees that he commented "maybe we made a mistake that every other school board can learn from." The pupil -teacher ratio does not fix class size, but it is the single most important factor determining the number of students the teacher will see in each class. The other important factor is which courses each student chooses, since no course is compulsory under the provincial government's con- troversial HFI directive on high school curriculum. The pupil -teacher ratio also determines how many teachers each school board will hire or retain on staff. Student enrolment (which is declining in elementary schools) and student choice of courses also determine how many teachers will be employed. The Huron agreements sets two pupil -teacher ratios, one for vocational courses and a higher one for all other courses. The vocational ratio is to be one teacher for every fourteen to 14 1/2 students. The other ratio is to be, one- teacher for every 17 to 17 1/2 pupils. Education Minister Wells, persuaded the Windsor school board to freeze its PTR at 17 pupils per teacher. John Cochrane, Huron's director of education, said in a phone interview the agreed upon ratios mean vocational classes will have 18 to 20 students, while academic classes will have roughly 35 students each. The size of academic classes will vary greatly, Mr. Cochrane 'said. Latin classes would be smaller and English classes larger, reflecting the popularity of these subjects 'with students.—Globe and Mail the cratt corner 46 HAMMON 51 1,0111I0H FOR YOUR Clan Lookeiii AIITISTS14 Ga sio'Rr'" 10:0014.bl 2:00 p.m. ;10 .1 524481 AUTO INSURAN See or Phone MALCOLM MATHERS GENERAL INSURANCE AGENT 46 WEST ST. 524 �rn.vn,geir. �.� Dad Y THERE the lasting Gifts LUGGAGE By .SAMSONITE .DIONITE LEATHER GOODS By .BUXTON WALLETS, KEY CASES, CREDIT CARD CASES, BREAST POCKET WALLETS, MONEY CLIPS, ETC. EXCELLENT SELECTION FOR FATHER'S DAY F.E. HIBBERT 160 THE SQUARE N. 524-8811 GODE AVE ie aliN t on W' a Alar is Wel RAWI DINNE 2 nited June ,50, $t50. 24,25 .010i .rh. '( game". rnJune 5ei One .kly if lON i Bruce rsha "1 Saltfo: g their June �byl riends 23,2 i Liqui ouse., J Hall. Come the Win tl ho be Take a -23,2a FC oIp Il have a ;The Ze by ACY 5i FREE TION, ran Nursing Home Week IN GODERICH THE IMPORTANCE OF NURSING HOMES There are 483 I rc,.rnsed Nursing Nemesia_ Ontario and -they provide 22,000 beds which represents more than 20 per cent of the total health care beds in the province. Nursing Homes represent a huge capital investment in land and facilities. •These facilities have been provided by free enterprise at no cost to the public purse. Nursing Homes pay taxes as do other private and corporate citizens. In fact the taxes they pay help to provide the' dollars used to build hospitals and Homes for the Aged. Nursing Homes provide long ,term care for the aged ill. Homes for the Aged were established to provide residential care for the Aged. Nursing Homes are established to provide residential PLUS nursing care for those aged who are ill, and for persons of all ages who suffer from continuing disabilities. Nursing Homes which provide Special Care for children and adults with mental disabilities number 261. They care for 5400 residents for whom formerly the mental hospital was their only refuge. As our population increases and the percentage of persons over 65 continues to accelerate there will be an increased demand for more Nursing Horne beds. In Ontario there are now 625,000 people over 65 and the number is increasing at the rate of 20,000 per year. In many Homes the average age of the residents is over 80 years. Centennial birthday Parties in Homes are becoming almo.st commonplace. THE NURSING HOME AS' A HEALTH CARE FACILITY The Nursing service in the Nursing Home provides appropriate health services according to the resident's physical and mental disabilities. Most residents require between 1' 2 and 2' 2 hours of . -nursing care -per -lay: -The Nursing Horne provides the two essential functions indicated in its name,— Nursing, anda Home for its residents. The "Home" atmosphere is stressed in the Home's outward appearance, in its functional planning for kitchens, bedrooms, recreation rooms etc. and most of all in the personnel training for the skills and attitudes required of the staff members. In the hospital there is concentration upon correcting the problem caused by • an adverse incident or accident which interferes with the patient's normal life conduct and which affects, one or more parts or systems of his body. The hospital staff uses operative, intervention or physical chemical change to abort the course of disease and correct alignment of parts. In this sense a hospital is a health servie station or body repair shop. The Nursing Home, on the other hand is a home, concerned with continuity of care and for the whole person. The Nursing Home resident's physical needs may be great: he may suffer from a chronic disease for which he needs continuing medication, he may suffer psychological depression from his being deprived of the richness of friendships he formerly enjoyed: he may have serious limitation of _ movement because of a "stroke Memory loss may be so serious that he gets "lost" even a few feet from his bedroom door. For such ill, estranged and lost persons the Nursing Home offers integration into a new home society. NURSING CARE Nursing care in the Nursing Home therefore, whether geriatric nursing or retardate care, is an exceedingly demanding speciality and vocation. The Nursing service gives attention to caring for ale of tbe.resident's physical, mental, psychological and spiritual needs and does it as a continuing activity --- over a long span of time. Residents may spend many years in this congenial and caring environment. The Home becomes for them THEIR home In that home they find support and the security and warmth of human companionship. "Serene old age" is not a myth. It is found and expressed and lived by thousands of disabled older people in Nursing Homes in Ontario. PERSONAL CARE This varies with the patient's degree of disability Included are assistance with dressing and eating, with getting into and out of bed, with bathing and cosmetic needs, with dental hygiene, with walking and with getting around with the aid of wheelchairs and other ambulant aids. MEDICAL CARE Patients in Nursing Homes usually havo their own family physician. This is encouraged but if the patient doesn't have his own doctor, or if m emergency the personal physician"i's not available. the Home has one or more advisory physicians who respond to calls and arrarige for the resident's transfer to a hospital should this be necessary DENTAL CARE "r When a resident needs attention for his teeth or gums or when he needs new dentures or repair of dentures a dentist is called, or the resident is take • to the dentist. Financial responsibility Or dental care is that of the resident or his family Goderich Nursing Home Maitland Manor Ltd. NURSING NOME DI OPEN U1l 0 RE CI bx