HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-03-07, Page 1Ron Shaw
From Lake. Huro
to Lake Chad in
adventure searc
By.....,,
BY SHIRLEY J. KELL.ER
With rising costs- Fon ,every
side, people everywhere are
concerned about the dollars
they have 'to spend. One of -the
most .common questions asked -
is, "Where do my ,municipal tax
dollars go?" "
From time to ,'time,
statements are heard such as:
'For ,.the money I spend in
taxes in this town,you'd think
we'd 'at least have ,decent
streets to drive on."
It was -comments like these
which prompted a • visit to the
office of the Town Ad-
ministrator Harold Walls. The
object 'of the call"'wa§ to deter-
mine.just where tax dollars are
going'in this Community and to
,help local council members.
convince local ratepayers that
everything possible . is being
done to' provide the , best ,
ant
possible services, on the unt
;This is probably.the last edition of the Signal -Star which of tai dollars raised annually.
will Carry my. by-line. • I say,"probably"••because who knows : ,Lash year, revenue for the
What strange twist the future could lake, but my immediateTown °of Goderich'' •was
far" from Goderich.
plans at least will . ca 'ry.. ree _.- ...... $1,878,605, Goderich people
' To.see •that statement staringback at m a from the
raised , $1,258,'057 "of that
typewriter fosters mixed emotions. I look forward to a new
and interesting future'with'excitement and anticipation°but
I look back on nearly'thstee years in Goderich'ivith a sense of.
loss and some regret at leaving. . •
Even after such a short time as part of this community I
can't help but feel I have some stake in it. As a result I will
always follow with' interest, the changes.., and developments
involving this community.
•
Although I'm leaving the field, at least for the time, being,
I'm still a -member of the,, community press at heart and
would like to take a riioment to champion that cause: ,
Your local press is your forum. Your key to 'a necessary
involvement in your community.
Certainly newspapers area business, based -like all others
on economic realities, but unlike other businesses it provides
a unique service. It is the means throughwhich members of
the community 'can publicly communicate 'with each other.
The news staff employed-.byyour local paper. can not read
• your minds, try as they might: They inust''hear from,you. If
they are being criticized for not doing, tneir job as well as
they should, thdse reporters' and editors share the blame.
equally with each member o `'the 'community,
~Unless you keep in touch with them there are not enough
hours in the day for them to research all the issues and mat-
ters they should be dealing with. ; Newspaper people might
be regarded as public servants, their job'A,being to translate
your ideas, aspirations, problems and concerns.into a unified
weekly product.
Goderich's; future looks bright. More and more people are
becoming involved in the decision making .process' of this
cornmunity and there•is not better.indication•of a vital com-
munity than that.
,Which ever side of the fence you choose on any given issue,
involve yourself in Presenting and defending those views.,
Groups like the Ratepayers' Association,_&e.Businessmen's
Association, the Architectural Conservancy, the Environ -
.mental Group and others, no matter how strong or weak, are
good signs
and deserve more H support.
Without the involvement of its residents a community
does not exist. It becomes merely a collection of homes and
•`nusinesses along A pattern of streets and "roads.
The only cloud on the to'n's •horizon at. this moment,
from a. personal point of view •at least, would be the,impen-
ding nuclear power development. W ,y
• Whether or not it represents' bad news will have,.to be
deoided by residents of Goderich who 'have their futures in-
vested here. If they want boom -style development, despite
<, the,unknown future implications, it's there'for the taking: If
`they tivould rather deal with slower development and,
preserve the present character of this community i.t„will be a
tooth and nail •fight.
Personally, as well, -my wife Peg and 1 have enjoyed our
past years, in Goderich: • Some have noted that our con-
tribution here (however small) will be missed.
•
"We express our gratitude to those who made such obser'-'°
a rations but I am reminded, of the man who was convinced
that .upon his, retirement the whole .company would fold.
The personnel manager stigg'ested if he stuck his hand in a
pail of water and then withdrew it,,the hole that would be
left would represent the company's inability to replace his
service's.•
The personnel manager was correct and we recognize the
fact
I doubt there was an organization, group or club in
Goderich whc -did not extend an „invitation to us to join their
activities, Due to the rather unorthodox nature of our time-
tables we were unable to accept many of those invitations
but we declined with regret.
Those groups with whom -we, did have the opportunity to•
be involved welcomed us and'helped truly to makenGoderich
our home and not just another place we lived along the way.
So where are 'we going? As I noted at the outset "a long
way from Goderich".
We have taken a position with the C• anadian Hunger
Foundation on a research mission to the Salielian district ctf
Africa. That area lies in the sduthern reaches of the Sahara
Desert in north-eastern Africa and includes all or part of
Mali, Mauritania, Senegal,Upper Volta, Niger, Togo,
Dahomey and Chad. •
These former'French colonies' are at present in the grips of
one of the worst droughts in history. There has been hardly
a drop of rain in over three years and as a result both
livestock and people , are dying by the thousands.
The Saheliaa project will attempt to lay°the ground work
for more effective aid programs. The research will be"'
agriculturally oriented and hopefully provide information on
'which rebuilding projects can be based when the worst is
over.
My partidifar work will be in the area `of documenting the
research findings and 1?eg will work as may secretary.
And so we're moving, from the yore of Lake Huron to the
shore of,Lake Chad, but we will long remember our time
here and will 'return often to freshen, those memories.
sidewalks as , well as
snowplowing during the winter.The' roadway construction.
budget was set at about $64,000
but wound }rp costing
something like $165,077. Three
projects - Stanley Street, St.
David, Street and St." Vincent
Street -• didn't gets. finished,
'because Warren Street,' Rich
Street, Sunset Drive and Eldon
-Street were, named top priority.,
. Constrution , on. .Warren•
Street alone' cost, well. over
$99,000; Brock StrCet cost
$12;039; and Rich Street, Sun-
;