HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-03-27, Page 2,
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' THURSDAY, 27, 1975
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Goderich has U�����N prok1ern. a ~ ~---
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Need
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v taik
It was nearly an .audible sigh of
boredOM. One could almost see the
entire populace of Goderich shrug its '
collective shoulders. As the Goderich
Po\\Ce Commission, prepared to hear
and consider the opinion , of .fhe
citiznry with regard to incidents like ~
last October 31 (Hallowe'en) in the
Town Square,' the majority of people
in this municipality went uncaring
about their routine' business. '
Poor show, Goderich. This t6wn
received nationwide notoriety because
of rmWdyimnnand vandalism -,a police
officer was tried in a court of law for
attempting to handle one such incident
onbeh&f of this town - and out of 7'000
Goderich citizens, only six turned out
to Police Commission public heydng
to try to find some answers. These six
.interested citizens deserve the heart-
felt thanks of the municipality.
Why was the hearing so poorly at-
tended? Why were only two written
briefs presented? -The Signal -Star
asked that question of some citizens
ast week. The answers wereweak and
pitifully inadequate.. Some said they_
forgot. Some said theyd\dn'fhnovvthe
meeting was being held. Sdme said
they' feared 'reprisals if they spoke
their mind. Some clairned they were
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, to get involved, Still others ,said they
citizens had already Made their
were tongue-tied in public and unable feelings known Police
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to ��t their thoughts on paper in
~
�"/�� ,°-"/"�/"" is fully =°",=m*
e the
mforwasTheandCommunity Centre Board has in recent
months, faced 'problems with youthful
rowdyism at' Goderich Memorial
newspaperheadlinesfromminorsconsumingmanagerwerewhenwascommission?WherewerecitizensWhereweremothers and fathers who are con-
some
coherent fashion.
Andsoit was the same people of
Goderich who \aot'Y�ovmh�ber 1 were
shocked, outraged a shouting for
action, now� were absent-minded,
unresponsive, fearful, apathetic and
-* lack-lustre.
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. Most noticeable by 'their absence
were-, of course, the businessmen of
Goderich. Since they bore the brunt of'
last HaUovv��en'afroUc one vvou|dhave
expected some kind ofrepresentation
from them at the' hmarin8r1ast/VVed''
Deaday afternoon\when downtown
stores are normally closed. But not one
businessman showed - save .Ear|
commission.
^ The Businessmen's /�sSociat)onnnudt
surely ask itself vvhym�vvrit#nbrief or
«�her representation vvasnnadeatthis
public hearIng. A quick poll nf�prne
businessmen in Goderich by�this
newspaper revealed that while some
nnernbersfelt itvvaabest ƒo''afayout of
it", that feeling was by no means
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Commission. If , that _ is_
preoenta�ons were made in pr|vam,
almost secretly.
The County of Huron' sent letfer to,
the police commission asking for extra
police protection. To our knowledge,'
the Rec Board has never made a
submission to the present police
+p-u_,__�c� onnrn\as|on' Certainly very few
citizensve
ressed their sen-.
tnnenrs•m open session of the
com--
misaion. • '
Are all these people afraid to make
public presentation of their theoriesd '�ot[�ns? Arethe leaders and
�n sugge_
citizens of Goderich really cowering in
mortal terror, hoping that someone .
terror,
tosay thoo�
eisavxU\have courage,
things which
must eventually be said
out in the open where everybody 'can
hear?
Much' is said over fhe back fence,
'under hair dryers, in the barbershops
la beerYet hardly
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whether' the public hearing of the
'police commission was ever seriously
discussed ata regular meeting cthe
Buoinesanen'o'Aoaociat|on. Many
businessmen were aghast that their
interests were not represented at the
police commission hearing. It may
very well Have been a case of "Let
George do |y" - and George weptout of
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At the end of February,. Huron '
County CouncUheanffronits property
.
chairman Sian Profit of
about the'absolutely awful" situation
whichexists in the Court House -
vanda[|gn and rowdyish right inside
'the court .house in�p\v|ng
pmrson~va|�ng to ,enter Or- coming
frorn court sessions.
' custodian Jim Sheardown
rently at the'
attended the '
suggestioi of the warden Ofher county
mffic\a\ `and members of the property,'
committee were busy with other things
that afternoon.
County council obviously assumes
and oyera gaso�e
thefo$peah�publicly.
anyonehaw guts
|s - this c
ovardicetheffirst
tstep
ep
towards rds
thepre$entsituati6nin some big cities
North America, where rapists and
•
muggers can attack their victims in
broad daylight while the good.citizens
pasS bnoM-fhe -•
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simply
cVnn��ain�m,though �ha
was a part Of- it; the. meeting was to
hAr ideas and suggestions for, solving
, the problem and to discuss, quietly and
intelligently, the best way'to achieve a
lasting solution. If ‘:tvas a Working
Session as well as an information
session; it'was a self-help meeting.
\ \called.for' the
ThapoUmecmnnrnsaon
h�ri���u�itk��t�pub\�]m
dissatisfied with th� whO\m system
locally. The Fornrnisa\nn asked for
direction and support; the public gave
^na��tonoth|ngyet|towpectsrn\rac|eo.
As
e|vvays,the public felt ithad �onm"
its duty by complaining; it now wants
the police commission or somebody
else to find the solution �nd take the
necessary steps to cure the problem.
.Butaccording to His Honour Judge
VVarrmnA.EhBoetzinhis sunnrnaUpnto
the court following the recent trial of
Constable John David Rills, the
solutions must be found by the corn''
rnun|ty. Judge Ehgoetz said:
''��orethan Cm�SfabheHH|shas been
placed on trial during the course of this
trial. \ think this community is going to
have to ask itself iuufwhat amount of
abuse it exmects a police officer to
tolerate in the course of the per'
�d to protect the
public. • ` ''
''Thiogroup, vyh|ch\�tthe party and
went to The Square, developed into a
mob - the police vvere being assaulted
and vilified an� subjected to gross
obscenities. A lack of respect for
authority and tha rights of others in-.
lawfully ua| �~ The Square being
dernonstnated.VVhotvverethe poUcoto
' do?
"Were they to- run and leave the
S�"are\nthe hands ofthe nnob, or try
to their , and assert some
�u.horUm?|sthat v�hatthe conmrnun\ty
vvantt? \sthat vvhafthe pobUcvvants?
- that rather than provoke a mob the
pdUcavvou\dturn their backs and leave
.
'the z\tizens unprot�cted7
"Events on .The Square - hd
. reach,edw.
the Stage -where m /cmnon` of the' '
sf billy were
'� ntedtaken place |
have no doubt corta|nre|ernontu of our
''
society
would haveed "police
brutality" and "over -reaction", and
yet | think that those elements,* /nose
Several things are abundantly clear,
now. -° '
First of all, the Goderich 'Police
Conn|os|ondid not -do enough
publicity work prior to this important
meeting. There was advertising'in the
Signal -Star .. but not everybody reads
ads. There was a news'story aboutthe
hearing plans and, editorial comment
to support the Commission's decision
to hear 'public opinion ... but not
everybody reads news and. editorials.
Had the PoIice Commission gone the
extra mile and sent out letters to the
Goderich Businessmen's Association,the County of Huron, the ToWn of
Goderich, the service clubs, the
Legion, etc. reminding. them of 'theuRcon\nghearingandinvinngthento
participate, 'attendance and interest
might have been greater.
Secondly, the vast majority of the
public .. including' the businessmen
and the cbunty offi \ ... missed the
entire point for the hearing in the first
place. The meeting was not called to
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f ATOM,
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` SIGNAL—STAFR
'_- Txe_County Town Newspaper of Huron -cx--
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BusinessFOunded In 1648 end published every Thursday stIlloderich, Ontario, Member of the CWNA and OWNA.
Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable In advance 81040 In Canada, 811.50 In all coun-
tries other than Canada,•single copies 25 cents. Second class mall Registration Number 0716, AdVer:.
m110 la accepted on the condition Mat, in tne event of typograpnicai error, the advertising space oc-
'cupled by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for
but the balance Cif the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a
typographical error advertising4goods or services at a wrong price, goods or service may not be Sold,
AdVer‘IsIng Is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any flits, The Signal -Star is not 'Upon-
sible for the lots or damage of unsOlIcIted manusCripts or photos,
p aria 'Cede 519
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'Mailing Address:
PiC). BOX. 220, Goderich
$00,0nd elite* regismraxiowmwnt*e,~011w
Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. -
ROBERT G.m and publisher
SH|RLEYDDONJ.mELLER—mdnor
JEFF SE ---editorial staff
DAVE SYKVS_4ditorial staff .
.EDmm4RD J. BYRSKI-r-advertising manager
DAV���. �ILL|AMS~�representative�representative
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]'.are
'fhe
ve
ry uones
�~ who
5.m
^-�h
m�ul||�d
ask themselves these questions.
' "What would they prefer the police'
to do? Should they simply turn their,
backs and ignore a potentially
dangerous situation in order to avoid a
confrontation?
"There is also another danger when
the authority of the po|[Ceio not
recognized, If it is not realized the
�u ice officer's are not only invested
with authority but invested with the
., dutytoprotect the public ah�'ohou|dbm•
given public support, then there is
-a|vays the danger that frustrated
police officers, ridiculed beyond
reason,,in fact will react and cause
severe personal injury ordeath out ofa
sense of frustration anden-
baraaannnt.
"Also 1 think that questibns should be .
asked by those who have jurisdiction'fo
do so about police d�edurem on the
n|0htof this incident, | have been left
with the unfortunate recollection of the
pagan pracUceofthrowing. Chr|shans
fn the lions in. order to appease the
mob.
'There were incidents 6f public
drunkenness. Some person' supplied
liquor to minors. Serious disturbances
had been caused inThe Square: The
po|oe were obstructed' in the per-
�O�����-Oƒ'^��lt
officers were assaulted, yet not one
charge was laid anyone untilCbnsta
Hills returned to duty and
requesfed permission tofile charges on
November 11, 1974, after being ,rein-
.
Stated to duty.
"Certainly Constable Hills fired a
f|�ann.'An'invem�aUon of his .�m'
duct was warra|
think, should be asked' shou|d not an
investigation of these other matfett
have been concluded at the same
t|ne?". According to the un-
contradicted evidence upon this trial,
Kelly was told. that he Would not be
charged. Theremay be other evidence
elsewhere to be brought to bear upon
that ptatenent, but if thatso the
'question' to be asked by' someone N;
'As | have stated, those are
q.e°+|bns which this court -cannot
an -
.
What clo you say, readers?
^ .
As I** But
since• PARENTS Jimmy's•
we feel he really learned to WRITE,
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HOMEWORK! needs more
SPELL or .FIGURE
it
ta send him
anythin
^~~•- wor`
See?
pe needs
more ,concentration
'on the BASICS!
,The AASICS were declaired
REDUNDANT years ago.
We've been working to
turn Jimmy into a yARM,
BROAD, FULFILLED HUMAN
Yeah?.
bleeding
He ffeeds
MOTIVATION!
•
uwas determined
some time ago that
motivation came
from WITHIN!
He needs
DISCRLINE
to whip --
him into ,
.
Are you NUTS? .
I lay a FINGER on that
kid'and they'll drag
my ,ass.4across the
front page of every
newspaper in the
But how can47ou
have'a SCHOOL
without HOMEWORK,
BASICS, MOTIVATION
and DISCIPLINE.
.`.
Search me.
But'that's
what society
decidedit
wanted time'back in theEDUCATION?
WHATEVER MADE
YOU THINK WE
KNEW ANYTHTAG
0 ABOUT
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-D-�V�[^»faiIedV�� ��������������»our �"�R0�����»�� ^"u° our -
�.=, March ^
m� , m'�� �mu«��". Forum
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swer, / | think, at|eaatshould be
askedand ansvverede]smvvhmra..
(42 -Those are questions which | feel
• have arisen during the course of the
1 do not believe that the questions
. Can be ignored. | hope that they .will
be, at least, asked 'and appropriate
efforts,' made to attempt to obtain.
answers to them before some other
tribwnm|.''
' One such "tribunaI" to which Judge
Ehgoetz referred was held. The
Goderich Police Cornrn}oa|oRsef aside
a special time to c�nsider the ()Pinions
of the people of this community and
only a half dozen citizens out of a
population of 7,000 botheredto write or
'appear.
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'ironically, while the police corn'
mission hearing was going on, Young
Canada Week was .underway at the
local arena. More than hockey was the
' attraction. As usual, the grandstand
was packed withyoungsfers ofaII ages
- and all interests.- and according to
reliable sources the show there ,was
occasionally much more entertaining .
than thone going on inside the arena. •
• That matterwas tohave been on the
agenda for' discussion at the monthly
of the Goderich
meeting
ahiOn|ni Centre- 'Mare
.night. No doubt fhe members of that
board will fry to determine what can be
thine hmprevent s|rn||arinstances inthe
future '' and that is- certainly com-
mendable and
ornnnmnda|eand necessary - but the fact
remains that without community
support and mornrnun|ty~action,little of '
lasting effect can b, acc�rnplished
The people �f Goderich vvi||'have to
get off their butts andtake action. They
will have to stop pretending that life in ,
this small ,.town is wholesome and,
clean, and begin to realize there is a
prob|mmm locally which must be solved
immediately. ' ' '
The basic tamily unit is one area for
sfudy; the schools and th= churches
".u=. also b. considered. The -whole
f� • mf 'community and
recr' � U activities will have ,to be'
reviewed, improved, revised and
improved again. The pm|hc|nQ in this
` community as' well as the judicial
system must be carefully scrutinized.
Talks must be open and free;
'spokesmen must be courageous and
frank. ' '
Thehearing date is passed, but it is
not toolate. The., Goderich Police
Commission is still' looking for -com-
ment and
cmnn'mentand co. -operation from the people
of this town. Whetheryour b |
to the commission is written orspoken,
it will be welcomed at any one of the
public meetings heLd the,Second
Tuesday of every month.
Goderich is indeed The Prettiest
Town Canada. Lets also work
jmvvard making a law-abiding,
peaceful community where citizenship
is a privilege and raUmnjsaioy.
Let us start now!
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InfoD�
�r ---
Dear Editor,
Many of us ex -airmen from
Port Albert have kept in touch
with Mrs. Stella "paum"^•
of Fred) who was sa,
vyears, ery kind
but none of us has had
any reply sit* Nov. 1973 When
we know slit was in a holiday
inn at Clinton for the winter and
hoped. to go back to her
Goderich home in the spring.
She
and Any information�you
be able to ius will
be, ap'
preciated.
Sorry to bother you.
Many thanks;
- Yours Sincerely,
Mavrice Hutchings,
3 Highland Road,
Chichester,
Sussex, --_.
QX
England..
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�x��D�o���ou
Deir
When shopping in The
,Woolworth store on The Sq"uare
on Friday with two of our
grandchildren, I gav'e them
some money . to spend, The
younger of the two dropped his
money and could not find it.
It, was not very long until
lad (about ten years of age) had
noticed this money on the floor,
picked it up and asked our boy
if it was his.
BeYhre we could thank him,
he was gone.
Iq these days when hear
girls, this made us proud' of thatlad. He is a credit to his parentsand an example to us all. Hepreached a silent sermon inreturning the money, and Iknow it made quite an impression on Our grandchildren,and it must have made himfeelgood inside.This is our thanks to theunknown boy.
Yours
Alfred Fry.
Needs money
Dear Editor, '
CANTDU, a volunteer
organization, needs $500.
Requests from other groups for
our literature have indteased to
the point where we can no
longer meet, the -demand. Themoney will be used to 4coverinitial printing costs, Donationsor "guggestlons for4 possiblesources for funds .would -be(continued on page 3)
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