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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-06-13, Page 2PAGE 2---QODIRIC1-t SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JUNE 1:3. 1974, Everybody's an editor The Conversation over lunch was ',relaxed and friendly. The comments were off the cuff and not reportable. Yet the gentlrnan who complained that news reports from his special i•n4eriest• group 'were no longer sent to, the Signal -Star because the members "didn't like the • headlines" the editor chose for their stories, could not gounnoticed. ,u The gentleman in question was an arm councillor who was convinced his beef was a legitimate one. He was cer- tain 'the local newspaper existed only to provide the °good news from his com- munity -never the bad. 1f-likthought the newspaper had a right to raise issues about this and that from time -to time, he was no doubt opposed to the newspaper taking an opposite view to the ones held by him and his associates. He apparently felt no compunction whatever to ensure that theratepayers in his municipality had the opportunity to be informed about the matters discussed at his coun- "'cil meetings, regardless of the headlines -chosen by the newspaper editor for the stories. The Signal -Star has not been in the habit of covering area township council meetings. There are two reasons. To be fair to all, staff would.have ,j;o be dispat- ched to cover meetings in Goderich Township, Colborne. Township, Ashfield Township and . West Wawanosh Town- ship. \What's more, township council meetings are often" long and tedious, dealing with batches of details about `tile drainage loans and culverts and ditches • and warble fly spraying and gra'Yel ten=. dens. Frankly, the value of these news items does not usually justify the cost of ,sending staff members out to' collect them. For those reasons, Signal -Star A .depends on township councils to send copies., of their mi lutes for publication. This does ' not seem to be an unreasonable request. The township of West Wawanosh sends reports on a regular basis and there are indications the citizens there appreciate this service and are keenly interested in the news. West yVawanosh . councillors may not always be 'happy with the type of publicity their council business receives but they seem to understand the value of letting their taxpayers know a little of what's going on in the township.,That's commendable. • - -- It should be noted that township coun- cils as duly elected public•bodies have a duty to the ratepayers whether or not the headlines chosen by the local newspaper are deemed by those would- be editors as sensational or unflattering. Just as they woOld not expect to con- trol the stories or headlines written by an on -the -spot reporter who could not be barred from an open session of council or from picking up copies of meeting minutes,, neither should they suggest that facts submitted by them for free publication in the local newspaper be positioned and headlined to their total satisfaction. Persons wanting this ,kind of assurance mus; pay regular adver- tisintg rates for the space they require: This weekly . newspaper is a trusted source of information for . residents ,in and around Goderich. 'All township councils and other service and com- munity groups as well - are urged to sub- mit their meeting reports for publication. However,' the right is reserved to edit copy as seen 'fit and to .headline all stores with titles selected by the editors to be fitting and proPer according to good newspaper, style. ' ' BNA's for cats Goderich isn't the' only community with .a cat problem. Moose Jaw, Saskat- chewan, has too many cats running- at large and city -council is,seeking to con- trol , them. Again like Goderich, conn- cillors•are finding it isn't a simple matter. It was decided in Moose Jaw to pass a law requiring cats to be licenced - to give their. animal control officer some authority in his attempts to confine felines. Moose Jaw cat lovers were op- posed to the plan and hired a ,lawyer to fight the impending legislation. Whether or not the lawyer was also a `'fat lover isn't clear, but the counsellor knew his business. The whole ,question is now before the courts. His argument sounds convincing. "Henry II of England passed a decree r-- 800 years ago that no,' law could be passed which aimed at the control of cats," the lawyer' argues. "Since that law has . new: been , repealed the. municipality of Moose Jaw can not pass a bylaw' to that end." Could it have been that King Henry II .thought like Goderich's Deputy -reeve Stan Profit? Couldhe have feared that to control cats would mean an.increase -in rats, in those days dreaded plague c.arriers? ' No wonder cats are said to have nine lives. With protection by the British North America Act - or so it appears - it is possible'that legally, cats have every right to walk by themselves wherever and whenever they choose.. Isn't that the cat's meow? They need support The people who are working so hard to open the former Huron County Jail to the, public by the end of this month _ deserve the support of the people of Huron C..punty, particti"l rly those residents in, Goderich. At the risk of bringing renewed shouts of protest • down on the heads of those who ere proud that the former jail has been preserved for future generations, this newspaper believes the citizens of. Huron County now roust see the poten- tial of the 'building and the great oppor- tunity that -lies therein if the citizens pull together ° to make it work. • Naturally, the ambitious project of restoring and refurnishing the jail takes money. The jail board can be depended • upon to seek out all avenues of funding - whether it be through grants from gover- nment or from private sources. But in these early stages when„rthere has not been enough time tO, make the proper inquiries and thorough investigations, it must certainly •behoove the people of Huron to dig deep into their own pockets to meet the initial, needs. -. As well as money, items are required and co-oPeration in locating* -all the bits, and pieces of historical value for the building is urgently requested. Jail board' members are certain that if suf- ficient interest can be aroused among the people of Huron, the materials for the displays`will be forthcoming in abun- dance to make the former jail a truly fine showpiece in the county, The rail board's job won't be easy. No one thought it would be. Yet the mem- bers of that board, some of whom have been laboring long and lovinglyaoward the goal, are prepared to sacrifice their time and energy. Can the people of this county and this town do less than to aid them by moral and monetary -means? . tEbriobrritb A SIGNbAL—'STAR1 O The County Town Newspaper, of . Huron -,_j__ "His lust cords were I'm dying for a cigarette!' " PEAR EDITOR r d Thankyou Dear Editor, The Council and members of ,The Huron County Historical Societyhave asked me to write to you, and extend our deepest thanks- to you good people at The Signal -Star for publishing accounts of our meetings; han- ded in. by our very" efficient Public Relations Officer Mrs. D. D. Mooney of Goderich. We want you and your staff to know that we do appreciate this service you have so kindly rendered both at,present and in the past. Again thanking you, Yours very truly, Mrs. M. Bat -kin, Secretary -Treasurer, Clinton. Pro-life okay Dear Editor, - What a topsv turvy world we live in! The Goderich Pro'.Life Group's commendable work to save lives - human lives - comes rrr.. ;, • under attack in these columns. Why? Because of their' efforts to publicize the facts .on abor- tion, In another newspaper the loss of lives - animal lives - -.raises a storm of protest. Why'? Because of an article featuring the use of dogs in experiments conducted to save human lives. Or,, again: how explain " a' society that abolishes capital punishment on htimanatarian -.grou.nds, but then - turns around and gives. ''the Legal right to girls of 16 years. to kill' their unborn., ' Reginald. Thompson's recent letter to the editor•in this paper is .a good example of our fuzzy thinking. A type of . thinking. that in the long run erodes the rights of each individual.- Is it., much of a step from abortion on demand to'the killing of the newborn? As alluded tolby Mr. Thomp- m should world population ever reach a crisis level then there are sure to be some people advocating the mass killing of newborn" babies. And who will be doing the 'protesting' in this case? It will be some dedicated group similar to the Pro -Lifers and also under attack for its stand, On the right to life of each in- dividual. Yours truly, Lassalinew .Need pictures Dear Editor, The Huron Historic •Jail. Board is busy preparing for its' first season. Part. of this preparation in- cludes putting' together a display of the,works of the for- mer Goderich photographer, Mr: R. Sallows. If any reader happens to ,have 'any of Mr. .Sallow''s photos in his 'possession, we would appreciate it very much if they would allow one of our members to come to their home to photograph their original in ' order that a copy can be used in • this display. Kindly phoneme at 524-9924 or write •to me at the address below if you can help—it will. he greatly appreciated. . Sincerely,, •Joan Van den Broeck, 175 Wellington St, S., Goderich, Ontario. I!wow intion Dear Editor, We the Candystripers at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital- would like to thank you for the coverage you gave • us on our awards day. • • Wehavespecial k f 75 YEARS'"AGO The Musical Society -have engaged the elegant and corn- modious steamer ''City of Toled ." for a moonlight.excur- sion on the lake on Monday evening next. This is an oppor- tunity which no one should miss as it is very seldom that a boat 'of this class is available here. The excursion will be in aid of the funds of the Musical Society whose fine band will be on the boat. The harbor has been quiet for the past week. The schooner Sarah arrived from Stokes.Bay with a load of lumber for the Goderich Lumber Co. The schooner St. Andrew arrived with a Icia'd of grain on Satur- day and staved on until Mon- day to have her boilers cleaned and inspected; She took on a quantity_ of hay and cats for_ Fort William and a number of passengers went up with her. Gaoler Griffin is very, much disappointed over the decision of the county council in regard to the proposed new residence for the goaler and his• family, He has urged strongly the un- sanitary conditions of the present residence and at the January meeting of the council the warden and engineer were appointed to investigate the matter. The two reported in favor of removing the cottage and constructing a new and modern building but council voted in favor of leaving .the old and the gaoler will have to put up, with the present con- ditions for at least another year. - The Auburn Baptist Church on. the base line has been renovated and now has a beautiful and comfortable ap- pearance, ' • being thoroughly repainted and renovated, 50 ; YEARS AGO - The Federal Construction Company is making good progress now On the intakefor the water works. The land end of the intake is nearing the railway track on the beach and the dredge `is working quite close to shore, dredging out a- a specia an s or channel which the new intake Mr. Monroe and the will follow. 'Broughams for their generous Our enterprising sho© met- donation er donation of the clock -radio, We :ch, ant, Mr.. Reg Sharman, has have received our new uniforms had the shop on East St., for- merly occupied by his repair department, remodelled, into a new store. He, is proposing to launch out on a new depar°t- ment in connection with :his business. A new glass plate front with show windows has Dear Editor, been put 'in and the floors and The 'Red Cross Blood Donor walls redone to accommodate much more shelf space. The Clinic would like to thank all store in short looks spit and (continued on page 3 span. and would like to thank who helped. Yours sincerely, 'Diann Riley Secretary everyone Thank donors DEAR HEADERS Tribii I( I have decided to use this space this week •to :speak per- 'sonally to the people who read thle'"Signal-Star. I think with the official opening of the new plant, it is the proper occasion. and a golden opportunity to ex- press my feelings about Signal - Star Publishing Limited • and the man at the helm, R. G. Shrier. ' As an employee with close to five'years of service, I'm not by any means the oldest employee nor am I the newest. I'm in that comfortable middle slot where I can look at things without the prejudice of long service hut' with the advantage of some experience. it suppose one could say I've •been associated with R. G. Shrier and Shrier publications for close to nine years, '1 was, I believe the first editorial -type .employee at The Clinton News - Record when Bob Shrier became publisher there. I was the only editorial staffer, 'trio, and thrust from a reporter's post to an editor's desk in one sweep of the old pen was quite a frightening and maturing - experf nce. One couldn't say I was the editor of the Clinton paper, although that was what it amounted t�, I suppose. I was more like a body filling an editor's slot, but never really functioning as I should have. Up until that- time, you see, I'd. worked almost exclusively (except for. a few shoat weeks) on newspaper:- where i°had ab- solutely nothing to do with the actual, layout and production. l' merely wrote copy and took pic- tures, The Jest was sort of Founded in 1848 and published every Thursday at Goderich. Ont rid Member of the CWNA and OWNA Advertising rates off' request Subscriptions payable in advance $850 in Canada. 51000 in all countries other than Canada. single copies 20 cents Second class mail Registration Number 0216 Advertising is accepted on the Condition that, in the event 01 tjipographical erro'r the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but the balance of the advertiserrient will be paid for'at the -applicable rate In the etient of a typographical error 'advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or service may not be sold Advertising is merely an offer to sell and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited mann cripts or photos Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 aria code 519 Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 220, Goderich hotrod class 'trail rregi$tratitfl number --0719 Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SAIEA---president and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER-editor BILL DIMMICKne-editorial staff JEFF SEDDON—editorial staff EDMittb J. BYRSKI—•advertising manager DAVE R. WILLIAMS advertising representative -11 P \. g Shirley J. Keller to Signa!-Siar publislwr on his big play miraculously rcecimplished by somebody else. Two of the newspapers had been letter press, that's ' hot type and linotypes. It was •.a process I never got 'embroiled in, although it always fascinated me to go to the back shop and watch. Page makeup was something..that was done by the boys out hack, as far as I knew.. That Was the situation, then, when I first met Bob Shrier - a man with offset newspapers on his mind, a man with too many irons in the fit'e, but a man who trusted me to help him over a rough spot. The one thing I had going for me at that point was that I'd worked at Clinton and knew a few of the people there. Bob. Shrier had lust pur- chased the big Fairchild News King press and new typesetting equipment. • To be truthful, Bob's main concern at that time was to master the technical problems of the offset process and to produce more than.one newspaper on a con- tinuing basis in a central office. And that was enough to occupy his time the little insignificant editorial details which haunted me, the frightened •'female in the Clinton outpost, were the furthest thing Oihm his mind. But - Bob gilder took time to talk to me when °other things were left undone; he en- couraged me when he was probably quaking in his own shoes; he praised me, when no praise was deserved. Things .got too much for me at the News -Record. i had two children to are for and I Was expecting a third. M ,ome was 25 miles away from the office and I felt all things combined, I wa#n't being fair to my family or tci the best boss I'd ever had. I gave my notice. • When I moved to Goderich five vea(rs' ago, I went around to the .office on West Street to see Bob Shrier, He'd changed a lit - tie - he was more confident now. The operation had changed, too - it was beginning to take shape, ' But I'd changed too - I was more confident. What's more the offset operation wasn't new to me any more. I'd had ex- perience with it at The Exeter Times -Advocate, Layout and the rudiments of page makeup were familiar to me too. I felt qualified enough to ask Bob 'Shrier for a job at Godet'ich. I'm not going to tell yon it has been smooth sailing ever since. What job affords that luxury? Still, the last five years have been among the best in mv,li,fetime and along with a few other wonderful people at \ the Signal -Star, Bob Shrier has made it that way for me. Bob Shrier is more than a boss to me. He's a gond friend and anvhne who has worked with him for any°length of time will undoubtedly feel the same. Bob Shrier's staff likes him-, Of all the attributes Bob possesses - and there are many - he's probably the best exam- ple of an executive's executive. He knows hove to delegate authority, but more than that, he knows how to let the perso to whom he's delega d authority operate comp tely independ ently without far of reprisal. 'The Signal -Star now has many department beads. I'm one of them. I'm in charge of the editorial department.: With me, as with all department heads, Bob, Shrier stays in the background. He rarely initer- feres. My decisions are my own, and if I make a wrong one I• kniiw Bob will understand and help me find a way around the problem without making an in- cident out of it. It has been this special at- titude which has made the Signal -Star office one of the most unique in this part of the country. It has produced staff members who are not afraid to deal with all manner of decisions. And the side,effeet has been loyalty - loyalty and enthusiasm which motivates people like nothing else, Many ,people have marvell at the devotion of Signal- ar staff - the crazy hours hey work, the surprising zeal under exceptionally poor wor rig con- dition's in the old 'sant, the family -like close ss which' seldom wavers. , We're an u ikely group at the Signal -St: r but we function well as . a am under, a man who .tre: s us like people, allows to be decision makers and k• •ps things moving ahead so e can enjoy a certain me:'sure of security to boot. Bob Shrier 'isn't the only good boss in the country, but he is our boss. We're indebted to him for his investment in us and we're proud to be part of his crew at the culmination of his dream b , The_fire committee reported to council that they had met with the fire''brigade and that the men a'r'e'in favor of with- drawing their resignation: They recommended that the fire war- den do not act as captain or chief of the brigade but that the men be allowed to choose their leader from their own ,ranks Chief Postlethwaite made ap- plication for two 'weeks holidays each for Sargeant Ross and himself. The two policemen will be on holiday at separate times in the beginn.n of th'e surremer, The Deputy Reeve sugge: ed to Town Councjl that se eral trees at the end of W: ei•loo Street :Should be cut' ack as they are obstructing he view. The matter was refe red to the Public Works Co r mittee, the Cemetery Comm' tee and the Parks Committ:e 5 Y -ARS AGO A compl are usin yestig Gode poin no u int that large trucks he Square is,'to be fin- ed. althou4h the ch Police Department ed out that th4 can do ing to prevent,' the trucks til the new tts ffic' by-law omes into effect, Goderich Town ouncil last week decided to go alonwith a request from >t'' Goderich.' Trotting `Assotr., and make a grant of $.5,0 0 to the Association for a nstruction of a paddock at the local harness racing track. O nership of the building will re rt to the town after the const ction is com- pleted. Goderich Palic ' t epartment has been asked tc investigate an abondoned home ofd Trafalgar Street, Councillor Reg Jewell asked cou cil Thur- sday night to have the • roperty inspected as it contains n old refrigerator which could pS`tpve to be a harzard to children. 1e said one child had already been', -s, trappedin the basement of the old frame home and he was afraid children would be trap ped inside the building if fire should break out. a