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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1973-11-01, Page 2PAGE 2—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, NOVEL ' LR 1, 1973 s• EDITOR1AL COMMENT alooittico RATEPAYERS AS5ocrgxiou Goodwill not hittertiess The Goderich Ratepayers' Association is a new organization in town which is attracting the attention of many citizens. Some Goderichites are getting involved; others are content to watch from the sidelines. The manner in which the Goderich Ratepayers' Association was born is less than desirable but the worth of an infor- med group of actively interested citizens cannot be under -estimated. Therefore there is no intention to discredit the ef- forts of those people who are among the ranks .of the GRA. It is encouraging to note that the GRA has made provision for representatives from its membership to regularly attend meetings of Goderich Town Council This is a move in the'right direction and one which this newspaper highly ap proves. In fact,. itkhas been repeatedly suggested in,,,.editorial comment in this newspaper that spectators at open sessions of town council are of vital im- portance to the proper functioning of municipal government here and everywhere. GRA cakprovide a valuable service to Goderich's-taxpayer only if its members approach this vigil at town council with. an eye to becoming better educated in the municipal system; to handing out plaudits where they are deserved; to put- ting forth constructive criticism where necessary: and to offering solid alter- natives where there is disagreement. In that role. GRA can become a • meaningful and purposeful watchdog in the cdrnmunity, a voice for the people and a real strength to those elected of- ficials who number only nine in a population of close to 7,000. There is a sincere hope that GRA will not permit bitterness or pettiness to infiltrate where goodwill and good sense_ must prevail. Motorists count ioo The people of Huron must be satisfied to some extent that this Riding's member of .She Legislative Assembly. Jack Rid- dell, is putting forth a supreme effort in Toronto _..' for_. -tri benefit of h i.s -con.-... stituents and all citizens in Ontario Rid - dell's Private Member's Bill,to:arrmend the Highway Traffic Act where school buses is -concerned is a comprehensive study • which is to the credit of the Dashwood area farmer. The Bill addresses itself to two major 4areas: the schoolbus driver and the schoolbus itself. Riddell calls for knowledgeable competent bus drivers and safe schoolbus interiors. Boih .are vitally important to the',.safe..transpor- tation of school children in the province of Ontario. When the Legislature begins to con- sider this Bill, it is hoped one more area will be included in the study. That area would be the drivers who share. the high=' ways with' these big yellow monsters. Transportation 'of school children is here to stay, but so are busy motorists who because of an unalterable time schedule must travel to and from business at the exact hours as children., are being picked up across the province. undoubtedly, many unnecessary ac- cidents involving schoolbuses and other vehicles have happened simply because the schoolbuses rule the road from about 7:30 to .9 a.m. every school day Morning and 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. _every school day afternoon. How many times are drivers trapped behind schoolbuses which are permitted to stop and start as:many times as there are children waiting on heavily travelled highways �.... _-- How many times has frustration in the time -is -money motorist built to a peak and finally exploded in some careless act which might have been avoided had the circumstances been slightly dif- ferent? For these reasons alone, the Ontario ,government might do well to consider the emotional reactions of motorists who find themselves behind schoolbuses lumbering undaringj,y along, tying up traffic in front and behind and shor- tening the tempers of almost all the drivers. Surely some regulations could be set out to ensure that schoolbuses travelling main thoroughfares would stop only at designated areas which should be no closer than one mile apart at the very least. Failing this and anticipating that the outcry of parents would . be deafening if at-the-door-schoolbus- service was threatened — secondary roads could be buil, along. main high- .. ways to carry not only schoolbuses but other slower vehicular traffic such as tractors and bicycles. There is no argument that_the lives of this province's school children are of the highest worth. But what of the lives of ofher motorists? Are they any more easily replaced? Competition is healthy Who says competition isn't healthy? When the plans for a new shopping centre on the edge of Goderich were an- nounced, members of the downtown business community in Goderich began singing the blues: They foresaW finan- cial ruin awaiting them the day the doors opened at the new. centre. They did everything they could to block construc- • Well, construction hasn't even started yet, but already the town of Goderich seems tO be benefiting from the com- petition. The merchants on The Square in Goderich, wbrried about their future, have decided to accept a plan ,,,t0 give the downtown area a new, bright look, If this plan had been suggested by the Me Square Dear Editor: I commend you for your sup- port of the plan to prevent the deterioriation of The Square. It is only necessary to see what has happened in Guelph, established about the time the Goderich town plan was made, to see what could happen here. Goderich owes a debt of gratitude to its original foresighted planners• and early builders. With its special street plan, its wide shaded streets, its many fine houses and The Square it is certainly one of the more fortunate towns in On- tari 0. When the present court house was designed an attempt should have been made then to give it an appearance com- patible with the older buildings around The . Square. It is too late for that now but for- tunately trees hide its stark and forbidding look for most of „,.. the vear. The older facades, without being identified, give a pleasing sense of unity and a co-ordinated appearance which should be retained. Its new commercial establishments, with their slabs of concrete, plastic and tile are necessary for strictly economic reasons surely they can. be put all together in the new areas where obviously appearance is of little __irrnport.ance:_When new, they do .. look, shiny _and modern_ In a few years}---herwever, i ike them contemporary the automobile, 1 they look a bit pitiable. Unfor- . ▪ tunately they cannot ,be so easily assembled in areas hid- den from view and scrapped. In addition to the main- tenance program for The Square I • believe restrictions s ou ld be placed on the, style of ilding that may be erected. Without this, The Square will soon lose much of its present charm and -elegance. axe to grind would be al to give it the tone a „hate group„ . of There - was whether Council mee c should be even tend theallowed That kind ratepayers' roe p (Continued on pogo ng do tera ars fir a on wi e. C sic It tern ds oui on ow t qu ttor cele me de e e: privi is 11 of g, 11 �takf fire [OOKINO DCIC 70 YEARS AGO November 5, 1903 • The annual meeting Children's Aid Society held yesterday afternoon. 01,(1officers were reelected President, Jas. Mitchell; president, J.M. Field, secretary -treasurer, Mrs, Clark. The financial stat showed the year's expend to be $5.60, and the balan hand, $40. In accordance a change in the act made. last session arrangements be made with the mavo Wingham (for East 11 §°eaforth (for South H and Clinton (for West 11 for' the appointment of chi committees for the three _toral districts -of the coun act Gin conjunction with rrnrrlt�s-('hlidreri's At sere. Milk has gone up to6ce quart. Mrs. George Acheson again been elected_ to position of recording secr of the Pro ProlOitcial Wo Christian Temperance U • , Twenty-nine pounds w 'weight of a cabbage grow Thos. Gundry this se Others in his patch lookeq .,as large. Last week a lost cart restored to its owner thro small ad in the Signal wi couple of hours after the paper. ,Thos. E. . Hays, Ser recently disposed of a steer to George Dale, of Road, Tuckersmith. animal weighs 1,720 and Was sold at four and! cents a pound. Although such a monster, it has n been fed a pound of meal, .competent judges think when fat it will easily w 2,500 pounds. JACK'S JOTT'IRGS FROM QUEEWS PARK ►1 • Jack Riddell, Huron ,MPP ,;,., Huron County Planning Department a year ago, chances are the merchants wouldn:t even have listened. But now they are worried a little so they not only -listened, but they acted: Competition all too often becomes a dirty word in small towns. If one mer- chant starts cutting into 'another's business a little too much the result is often one of anger and bitterness bet- ween the two. If both parties make an honest effortio give the best service to their customers, however, the result can only benefit a community. Everyone in business must remernber at all times that he has no particular right to the business of his corihunity. He must earn that business.—The Blyth Standard Mb, eaberitb SIGNAL—STAR —0-- The,Lounty Town Newspaper of Huron —0 -- Founded In 1848 and published every Thursday at 37 West St., Goderich, Ontario. Mem- ber of th&CWNA and OWNA. Adver.11wIng rates on request. Subscriptions payable In ad- vance. $8.50 In Canada, $10.00 -In c.ountries other than Canada, single copies 20 cents. Second class mall Registration Number 0718. Advertising Is eccepted on the con- dition that, In the event of typographIC81 error, the advertiaing space oftupled by the erroneous Item. together with reasonable allowance for signature, will nof be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or +services at a wrong price, goods or setvi6e mey not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER—prosidant and publishor SHIRLEY J. KELLER—editor R. W. SHAW—oditorial staff KELLESTINE - editorial- Matt EDWARD J. BYRSKI--advortising manager &rallies' and Editorial Mc* TELEPHONE 524-11331 ores code Si, Illesend gloss mail registration number -0716 Environment Minister James Auld announced in the Legislature that he intends to decentralize the ministry. The changes are to transfer more power to directors of six regions and create -23- local offices to deal with municipal -Provincial matters. The reorganization, to take effect April 1, 1974, will in clude the appointment of two new assistant deputy ministers and will create three new divisions. Ontario Treasurer -John Welfare personnel of misrepresentation,, mis- statement of fact and attemp- ting to deter certain prospective foster parents, from adopting foreign. children. Rene Brunelle, Minister of Com- munity and Social Services, did not debate or deny the charges. Replying to a question by • Albert Rea (Liberal Ottawa East), who `star signed but blank certificates of mechnical fitness for used cars can often be obtained on the black market for a direct charge, Transportation Minister, Gor- don Carton, said he is planning legislation to reduce the num- ber t►f fraudulent certificates. Mr. Carton told the Legislature that as many as 40,000 vehicles issued - certificates to. mechanical fitness last year could be unsafe because they were never checked by mechanics. Five percent of the certificates issued last year could be illegal because mechanics had signed them for a ,fee without ,checking the vehicles. Darcy McKeough, Minister of Energy told a Legislature Comibittee,,considering the ex- peridietife estimates of the Resource Development ministries that Ontario Hydro does not have a policy of building generating plants to provide electrical power for ex- port. But he said Hydro does have a poly, of maintaining an energy reserve;",and this reserve may be expor►i.ed. Hydro',.s generating reserve now is ap- proximately T2 percent more than. actual power requirements, and it has • suggested that this reserve capacity should be increased to 27 percent. His proposed power export would be made under a Hydro contract with the United States which expires in 1975._ The additional export above what origianlly was called for in the contract would mean a profit to Hydro of about $20 million. Residents on the. Great Lakes shoreline in Southwestern- On- tario may face serious problems from storms again this fall. The Assistant Deputy Minister of Natural Resources told the Legislative Committee that the levels of Lakes Erie and Huron have not dropped' as much as hoped since serious flooding last spring. He. said • that although area co-ordinators have almost completed con- tingency plans -should there be flooding, very little can be_done in terms of long-term protec- tion while water levels remain high. He expressed the hope's that storms this fall won't be severe. Liberal Leader Robert Nixon asked Agriculture Minister William . Stewart in 'the Legislature to bring order into the futures market which he described as "falling into the old-fashioned procedures characteristic of the robber baron days." Mr. Stewart did not deny that dealings in the futures market have escalated com- modity prices beyond all realism, but he said there was nothing he could do in the way of legislation or regulation to control the activities of the market. The markets in com- modity futures operate in Chicago and Winnipeg, and are'; beyond the reach of the Gover- nment of Ontario. The Ontario Government's position on the assembly of, land , for housing by municipalities will be announ- ced before Christmas, Treasurer John White said. Reporting to the Legislature on the -second National Tri -Level Conference in Edmonton this week, Mr. White said he had supported formation of a task force to study aspects of public finance. Ontario gave an under- taking to match`ollar-for- dollar Federal dnconditional grants and tax sharing paid to the local governments through the Province. The money would in fact be paid either to the Municipal Councils of the ratepayers as determined by the Province in co-operation with the Municipal liaison Committee. Congratulations, once again, go out to Charlie MacNaughton for his appointment to the Bo rd of Directors of Laidlaw Transportation Limited. Yours very truly W. F. Auld (a relatively new Goderich resident). P.S. 'Your policy,, for saving newsprint ia€tek+es �snse. F hesitate to mention it but perhaps if you were to condense Your Dear Readers Column this would help. I'm sure your ideas could easily be put in half the space with- a little effort and editing. To this same end you might compress this and other letters to the editor as a good editor should. • W.F.A. I -44 -mo rim. OPP roaarric 906 Ati move tov4r0 yowl, II nr►is more lolerrrnrr' Dear Editor: As a ratepayer (and a Coun- cil member hoping to get first- hand information on how people think and .feel, about many subjects), I attended the two recent meetings at which the Goderich 'Ratepayers' Association was founded. Many municipalities have had -such organizations for years, for presenting ideas and suggestions for the im- provement of their com- munities. I would not associate their creation primarily with strong dissatisfaction with the elected' representatives, as it was locally stated. At the first meeting it was strongly suggested that those ratepayers who are developers and real estate representatives should not be allowed to hold office in the Association. At the second meeting it was pointed out to me personally at the door (by an organizer who is, also a local developer) that ac- cording to the prepared by-laws; no Council member was allowed to join; this point was later amended to exclude Council members from the executive. Whilstf do not • think that such an attitude harms any councillor (1 for one had no in- tention of joining under the cir- cumstances) it is' a pity that such a worthwhile organization was not allowed to get started on a more reasonably and suitably tolerant level. If the Association hopes to become representative of the ratepayers in the whole town (and I very much hope it will), deliberate discrimination of any kind should be derisively reJected from the beginning. If you start excluding some groups of rapepayers now, perhaps later it ie found that. some religions are less than ac- ceptable or that the people riding bicycles should not be welcomtd! A ratepayers' association is fine, but it would be most unfortunate and unfair if a few people with a persenal 25 YEARS AGO, November 4, 1948 All traffic started rol Over the bridge at Sal early this (Thursday) after after the bridge had closed since the beginnin Iasi week for necessary rep Albert Mero, Bruce St has a curiosity in his gard the shape of • a tomato p that has reached the,abno height of twelve feet. Because of the extra demands at this tifne of the 'Goderich Elevator Transit Company from t will 00 longer be able to power into the Goderich H system. The Ontario Provin Police car which is on tow Goderich service is being eq ped for police -radio recept Hallowe'en was "false 'night, but Monday seemed be "false teeth" day. At two people found lost dent them to Signal-Sandbroughttar. One was foun raking leaves on North S`Huron t nearand the oth The Square. Miss Helen Black, Reg. N the new superintendent Alexandra Marine and Gen Hospital, Goderich, succ Miss M. Dickson, who is to a similar position at Chapl Ontario. .Miss rs. BBlack la k and ,daughter of late William Blackof G0 and is a gradua q�t� has Hospital where assistant -superintendent several years. of Hu The final meeting 9 County Council for 1948 open on Tuesday, el 16. 5 YEARS AGO November 1, 1St Town council last Thu gave final approval too placing the • fluoride. Veit before the people at diet election to be held Decett John Newcombe, sn 81, old Goderich man els ted with a sisty-yelite.,! continuous service in um dependent Order of Oddiel Tuesday st Macke 01. • Goo wool