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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-07-05, Page 2PADS' 2--OODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JULY 5, 1973 •- , 4 9 Participatory democracy Participatory democracy. That's what Deputy -reeve Stan Profit says he wants and by all appearances, that's exactly what Deputy -reeve Stan Profit is begin- ning to get trom the people of Goderich, although _there is some question if it is just the kind of participatory democracy the deputy -reeve was after. • To be sure, the minute people actually begin to participate indemocracy, they start to think for themselves. That's good, but it can be dangerous and damaging for an elected body in a system which thrives on the normal apathy which prevails everywhere. For when people participate, apathy goes out the window. And when apathy is gone, people soon develop a sur- prising desire to be heard. And when people want to be heard, . they want someone to listen ... and to -act. With this new awareness should come a whole new era of co-operation and progress .... but will it. Wilt elected of- ficials have the wisdom and the courage to translate participatory democracy into acceptable action for a better future? One of the most recent examples of local, participatory democracy is the citizens' committee to study the possible advent of the shopping plaza. This com- mittee states that while the developers, the planners, the businessmen and the elected municipal officials will all have their say, it is the people of Goderich and area who should be heard and must be heard on this matter. And the committee has set out to determine if the people of Goderich want a shopping plaza here; if they will suppo i a plaza; if they are satisfied with shopping locally. These are valid concerns and Rick Robertson -and his citizens' committee must be congratulated for their initiative. But must local officials always listen to the voice of the local people? Can the local people really expect their collec- tive voice on such issues to bear more than the usual weight just because their numbers are greater? Participatory democracy as sought by the deputy -reeve includes local citizens working together to help finance the step§ to progress in the' community. But participatory democracy can be much more than that, and in some case its worth is difficult to assess and even more difficult to reconcile in the whole spectrum of facts and figures. The provincial government, too, claims to want participatory democracy.. But whenever the grass roots voice is sought, the answer comes back contrary to the views of tie government .... and participatory democracy is nothing more than .a fine sounding phrase which pacifies the people. How does it happen? Every week come Thursday and the rush of finishing the newspaper is over for another week, the editorial staff sits down to criticize The Goderich Signal - Star. -. The trio of writers views the news with a more critical eye than the most discer- ning leader. Needless to say, time and ;a time again - week after week - mistakes are discovered after it is too late to do anything about them. =And though the news staff vows_to strive for perfection tWfolfowing week .... though everyone is advised of all errors and thereby warned to avoid similar problems in the weeks to come .. mistakes continue to happen. For the most part, Signal -Star readers are understanding of the human failings_ of the news staff and the great team of workers laboring with them. Oc- casionally though customers cannot be pacified by a mere apology or even a promise to publish the corrected item in next week's news. They often ask the The wisdom One of our readers brought us a clip- ping recently, a piece written 'by an unknown who signed herself only "Widow X". It contains a -few gems of kindly wisdom you might find in- teresting: Years ago, when my widowed mother came to live with me and my husband, she made our lives so miserable that I determined I would never bring such misery on my children if I ever had to live with them. One day I sat down and wrote myself a letter. In it were some pertinent rules, and on the outside of the envelope I wrote: "To be opened on the day I go to live with my daughter, heaven forbid." I tucked it away in an old book and forgot about it. I've been widowed and self-sufficient for six*years, but recently I was forced to give up my job and go to live with my oldest daughter. I've opened • eiA somewhat reduridant question, "How - does it happen?" The Signal -Star from time to time has the privilege to host tours through the plant. Usually during these tours someone will remark "I had no idea there is so much to putting together a newspaper." While that doesn't explain how mistakes happen, it does give some idea that the margin for error is considerably -- higher_ than . one. -would _ assume. ....wh' ils looking from the outside in. What ap- pears as sheer stupidity .,from that van- tage point becomes awe that so few errors actually occur in the vast volume of work whichis turned out by the Signal -Star crew each week. If you have two hours to spend drop around to the Signal -Star to hear how the particular mistake you are concer- ned -about happened. There will be an explanation. If you haven't that much time, just marvel with others who know that the mistake wasn't greater. of maturity that letter and -1 think your older readers might benefit from it, as I intend to. Here are the rules: 1, Give what you can toward your keep. Any budget will stretch just so far. -2. Keep yourself clean and neat. 3. Remember, it is THEIR home. Be especially considerate of HIM. He allowed her to bring you here. 4. Give them privacy at every oppor- tunity. 5. If they want to go away on a vacation, but are hesitant because of you, offer to visit another relative or friend so they will be free to go. 6. Don't offer any advice or express any opinions unless asked. 7. Volunteer information that they might be too embarrassed to ask- for, such as arrangements for your burial, hospitalization, etc.--Wingham Ad- vance -Times. gfjc toaecfclj SIGNAL -STAR ,, The County Town Newspaper of Huron —0— Founded in -0-- Found.d,n 11411 and pub 1, shed every Thursday .1 37 West St , Goderich, Ontario Member of the Audit Bureau ofCirculation, theCWNA andOWNA Advertising rates on reauett Subscriptions payable in advanc., fa 00 in Canada, sa SO ,n 11,1 countries other than Canada, single copses 20 cents Second class moil Registration Number 0718 Advertising ,s accepted on the condition That, ,n rhe event of typo$saph,cal error, that portion of Iho advertising space occupied by the erroneous ,tem, together with reasonable allowenc, for signature, on Isnot be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for of the applicable rate In the even' of a typographical error advertising goods or services alawrengp ice. goods orservices may not be sold Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be with* own. at any time Business and Editorial Office • TELEPHONE 524-5331 area codell, Second class mail registration number --07141 Published by signal -star Publishing Ltd. RODENT G. 11,40111111.—prtaside t and publisher 1iFHALEY J. KELLIR—eriltor A. W. SHAW— ednertal staff EDWARD J. RY INCI —advertising manage DAVE N. WILLIAMS--advertising representative e DEAR READERS g Shirley J. Keller If you have travelled recently in the Benmiller area you will have noticed that the former woollen mill has takenon a new look and if you read last week's Signal -Star you will. know it has taken on a new roll as well. It is to become a "rustic hotel -dining lounge" open to the public generally. There's. no doubt about it. Peter Ivey's idea for first-rate country dining lounge is a good 'one and there's no spot in On- tario which is more beautiful than Benmiller for such an un- dertaking. But whether the people of Benmiller, and. more to the point, Colborne Township are fully appreciative of magni�u�e of the project and the changee it may bring to the area, isdif- ficult to say: This column has expressed the view on more than.one oc- casion that the area -all along Lake Huron but most especially in the Goderich vicinity, is going to boom. It may be that the Ivey hotel -dining lounge in quiet, peaceful Benmiller is just one more indication of the changes which are to come throughout the entire district. People want to get away from it all. More and more, pedOle want to make their permanent homes in quiet green areas far from the work -a -day world. The time is long gone when businessmen want to . live behind their stores, for in- stance. Instead, they want to close up the store at the end of the day and go home to get lost in the seclusion of trees and water and blue sky. Look around. You will see a gradual but certain trend away from the urban areas to the rural scene; away from the core. of town to' the suburbs. .An exclusive and perhaps ex- pensive dining lounge would have had no place in Benmiller 20 years ago. But today there's an obvious move towards the wide open spaces and gracious country living and people have the money and the facilities w' which to indulge themsely is fancy. Just th est weekend, I spent five days in Toronto and vicinity. People are on the move and life is going at a fan- tastic pace. My intention was to attend the Ontario Summer Games at Oshawa but it was impossible to find accommodation in that city or in any of ,the Smaller communities surrounding there. I finally ended up calling a cousin who lives in Toronto. She advised me she would be "in the country" from the closing of school until it reopened but I was welcome to use her home as a base during the weekend of the On- tario Games. So, during the weekend I did a great deal of driving and a fair amoiint of eating out. I can 'tell you the move is on, away from the cities and towns to the country and money appears to be no object for the vast majority of the people. Speaking of the Ontario Games, they were an absolute delight to watch. It gives one a tremendous feeling to stand beneath fluttering Hagge while the crowd sings O Canada, with rows of young, eager Ontario athletes standing at attention ready for the startirg gun. I liked the motto sported.by .one youthful swimmer on her T-shirt. It read: This swimmer was made in Canada. And that was the tone of the whole event. Everyone but everyone felt very Canadian and very much from Ontario. I've never been so aware of my citizenship in a long, long time or so proud (since the Canada -Russia hockey series). I saw my first real- live lacrosse contest at the Games. Lacrosse isn't all that popular in this part of the world but the two teams I saw ham- mering it out were from Whitby and Niagara Falls and they looked. -like they'd been playing the game for years and years. The crowd nearly went wild as the score ended in a 12-12 tie at the end of regulation time. It was announced there would a 10 minute over -time period and if nothing was set- tled in that period, there would be a sudden death rule in force. • The crowd roared as neigh- boring Whitby made it 14-12. Then the fans from Niagara Falls had their innings as. Niagara tied it up 14-14 in the dying moments of the overtime period. And then, as if by magic, the Niagara team took fire and net- ted two quick goals to make it 16-14 just as the buzzer soun- ded to end the overtime. I've watched a lot of hockey in my lifetime; a fair amount of football, and basketball; a con- siderable amount of baseball. But to my way of thinking, lacrosse has to be the most gruelling contest of them all and the roughest sport I've ever seen. That game alone was worth the trip to Oshawa.. * * * During the weekend I visited two large shopping malls and I couldn't help but think of home and the fuss which is arising here over the possibility of a mall locally. • These mails - one in Toronto and th'e other in Oshawa - were large and contained everything from pet stores to hairdressing salons. It was hot outdoors but indoors the temperatures were cool and inviting. Prices? Well, prices were high to my way of thinking but one conies to expect that in these kinds of city plazas where the finest in shopping comfort is offered. There's small doubt that a, local plaza, if constructed, could not compare with these two shopping malls I visited. This community just does not have the population base to support such a project. vAhut I did make some obser- tions which may or may not be of interest locally. First of a11, I found the mer- chants in these malls tots`' ty in- dependent and lacking in the kind of good business grace`s" I've come to appreciate in the small towns I have shopped in ail my life in Huron County. Secondly, there was a gretat deal of walking to be done, just as much if not more than in most of Huron County's business districts though the walking was a bit' more en- joya,j 1e in the climate con- trolled enclosure. Thirdly, the variety from store to store was not all that great. I suppose there's just so much new under the sun, but I found when one looked through the merchandise in one ladies' store, one had seen the main stock in all the ladies' 'stores in the entire plaza. Fourthly, I discovered that the people who reside in the area of these plazas and shop there regularly, soon long for somewhere else ' to shop and will migrate readily to other areas and other centres where food and clothes and goods are offered for sale. Finally, I remembered how much I dislike shopping anywhere, anytime. For a short while I can tolerate shopping but soon it becomes a drag and. I'm ready for something new to take my interest anything so long as it does not involve tramping around looking at price tags and com- paring those figures to the balance in my pocketbook. Thank you Dear Editor: The school year 1972-73._ is now part of history. ,Yet during the . year, you havemade our children, our teachers, our parents, and the public fully aware of what is going on in the educational progress of every day life. Thanks for your fine coverage be it events in touch football, floor hockey, swim- ming, skating, basketball, volleyball, tumbling, soccer, softball, folk and square dance, and track and field day events. Your acceptance of articles on teachers' meetings, workshops, and professional development days .has been very gratifying. It has been a pleasure to have worked with you. Yours sincerely, J.B. McCarroll, Physical Education Consultant. Trophy turmoil Dear editor. As a secretary for the Huron Minor Soccer Association I went to Exeter to watch the Exeter Centennial Cup Tour- nament in the Atom age group which is 10 and under. I must say the Tournament was exciting for the young boys who showed ' excellent Talent by all communities par- ticipating. Teams participating were two from Exeter, two from Goderich, two from Seaforth, one from Clinton, one from Huron Park and one from Grand Bend. It was a lot of fun for the boys and parents and spectators. I have watched every game played and there were 'many coaches from other com- munities who tried to cheer on their teams to win "coaching?", There were also many parents supporting their teams cheering them very loud. At one game I have seen an Exeter official approaching a 'Ssaforth spectator telling him not to shout so loud. Before the Centennial Cup there was—a clash between Exeter officials and Goderich requesting that the H.M.S.A. Committee would deal with this matter. This was discussed at the last meeting. Then it was felt that because of the lack of basic rules in soccer that all communities will try to study the literature given out, so in the future the game would be enjoyed by all. Reports have been given to me by some officials who know soccer, that hockey rules have been applied to this -'game sen - di ng--a--player -off- for -5- minutes -- during the game for misbehaviour. In soccer if a player is sent off the field he stays for the game and his con- duct is reported to the H.M.S.A. committee who would deal with this matter. During the presentation of the Exeter Centennial Cup to Goderich Atom A team, an Exeter official in his speech condemned the Goderich coach from the Atom A team without consultation and earned a disciplinary action by refusing to give the Goderich team the trophy to take home to Goderich. He stated that the trophy will remain in Exeter. During the half time of the first game between . Seaforth and Goderich pressure was ap- plied on the referee that he would talk to the Goderich coach and disqualify the game. The referee refused as he could see nothing wrong with the game and felt it was properly. played. This referee promised me and the President Dr. John Underwood that he will make a statement to O.S.A. OF Sport Ontario Job Jones. ' In concluding I would like to point out that H.M.S.A. com- mittee •.had nothing to do with the denial of the trophy to the rightful winners. Yours in Short Kaz Budny P.S. The referee was an official referee of the O.S.A. whose ser- vices were requested by Exeter to officiate at the final game. 4 William . the Goderich Society racer, Canadian Co,, Paris . Expoalt awarded to position au thor' Rev. W:hWt, formerlyin Presbyteian , LebanonKentud; Mise. onatawhotau years in the nee School, resigned b' with a view College in Halo her departure to Goderich, she wy the choir and Y Union of St. PauP'il► Hensall, with an- ing daaga servpressice as aappreechurch companied by a ; An addition,of lgp io tri ' 4ll41y oflit modern language, last meeting of lnstitute. tiit On Monday against the return Cameron as mem legislature for Wel entered in the ofjpt McDonald local High Court. The James Mitchell thl candidate. Corporation .q Beacom was well the new watering the town has en charge. He Jays dig holds -several `mon weight than the old easier to draw, #25 YEARS July 5,11N Favored with fix the Dominion Day , in Goderich went OR quite successfully, time the parade the morning until elusion of the Agricultural Pari evening,_the`. proved most enjova The Godertcl' held its _last' r,-., resuming them in the British Exchagt The new preai Emerson spoke of Tying ahead and of!. greater activity now club has a membe one of the largest in Ontario for a lou Goderich. Paul Mooney, son D.D. and Mrs. lh,. pleted his four ytu! business administra. a t Pickering Newmarket. He woe dlington award width for outstanding coo. community life. Farewell messap minister and people closing of the m pastorate of Rev. ' bull in North Stolt Church. Representative congregations in e Maitland Presbyter' Presbyterian Cb Lucknow when a held in honor of MacDonlad, newlj moderator of the Church, in Canada. about 800 people a Ashfield are* school' at the Kintail beside Lake Huron S YEARS A suplementaQ program was council which inv' This amount include cover the rem Levis Comps Y'ed n way 8, :1b�000 $4,500 for atop blacktop paving f� 8 to Maitland 80 to nd r� Most p rated emp1OY� d Sheaffer Pen p;' Isid off for an justment" the no[ntatemeat q the comWnY to ineufhcient in relation to been found an d an inventoN into effed- We like . Letters to the a Write yours tod0r 1 d