HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-04-03, Page 2•
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PAGE 2-GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, APRIL 3,1975
LOOKINO BACK
n YEARS AGO
During past years Goderich
has spent many hundreds of
dollars in advertising the
Circular City as "the healthiest
and prettiest town in Canada,
with broad, hard and smooth
limestone roads, unexcelled for
.bicycling, riding, driving," etc.
It would almost seem that the
Council are willing to sacrifice
our good and well-earned
reputation in this respect in
-allowing the Square to remain
in a state of unpardonable
roughness.
The large stones and
boulders placed on this
"pleasurablethoroughfare last
fall are being broken by a few
men now; but prompt action is
required to make a prompt and
satisfactory job.
-F*-F
Nairn's grocery store has
heen a special centre of at-
traction the past -week, to
witness the demonstratiorrot
cooking shredded wheat biscuit
as a food, conducted by Mr.
Lewitt, the representative of
the manufacturers. Lessons
were given each morning, and
were largely attended by
ladies, andthe unanimous
' sentiment was\that of pleasant
surprise and app eciation.
65 YEARS AGO
A very pleasant and suc-
cessful event took place at\the
hospitable and t ommodiOns
home, of Mr. J. W. Salkeld on\
the evening of Thursday, April
-the--obcasion-being-- a- -"-hard-
, times party" in Which the two
branches of the Patriotic
Society of Goderich township
• took part. The "hard timeefee
of ten cents was charged to aid
'the Society. There were about
seventy-five present, in'
varying costumes of poverty.
At the. close of the lecture on
Monday evening,' given in, the
lecture room of Victoria Street
church by Dr. Gallow, on Home
Nursing, an address ac-
companied by a gift of a
Japanese chair, .was tendered
Dr. Gallow by the members of
the class who ' recently
graduated in first aid under the
. auspices of the St. John.
Ambulance Association. Miss
Nettie Green read the address
and Miss Maud Millian made
the presentation.
The Collegiate board, the
teacher's and the students have
joined together in a most
laudable effort whereby it is
,*,,,,hoped to accomplish a double
purpose of high cultural value.
A large exhibition of pictur ,
reproductions of the eat
masters, is to be hel in the
assembly room for . e days,
April 1 - April- 5 W ch will give
the citizens. of oderich. and
vicinity asp ndid opportunity -
Of enjoyi
a rich treat. • •
0
5YEARSAGO.,
e 21st Goderich Lions Club
oung Canada PeeWee Hockey
Tournament concluded
Saturday and is reported to
have been the most successful
,yet with 86 teams 'entered,
iarger crowds in attendance
and as much enthusiasm as
ever. •
L. 0. (Nip)., Whetstone ,
founder.of the tournament, was
named "Mr. PeeWee Hockey"
0during the opening ceremonies
and presented with a citation
from the town for his. efforts in
pro/noting the tournament and
fdt his invOlvement• in the
tournament • and in minor
hockey ever since.
-F
,Les Pitblado, Goderich, has
been named chairman of the •
Goderich Branch of the
Canadian Cancer Society
Campaign for 1970. Former
chairman, William Barlow, will
handle the campaign for Huron, '
County.,
," •
• J.
LA—
'Mt Cf2 LOOKS
,FPKIILIA% OUT T
WO' PLPt.t THE
.117ktftt
50)111A1t WOWS. PLIMSE,
(Intended for last week)
Dear Readers.':..„.
Jack Cumming, the fellow
who does such a bang-up job
each week all winter of
writing Let's Talk Minor
Hockey, left a clipping trOm
The Orangeville Banner
March 5 edition, on my desk. it
is .a column called Personal
Privilege written by Malcolm
J. Scully, and is entitled "A
Disgrace".
The column deals with the
series played between. the
Goderich and Orangeville
Juveniles a while back. Writes
Scully:
"The real disgrace, howe
was the language us � by
Goderich players an oaches.
It did not come bursts of
frustrated inve ice, it flowed
in a steady am of filth. I
have hea swearing before, in
fact I an "cuss" as well as
any y. But when young
yers such as those from
Goderich deliver a constant
stream of filth and gutter
language, even I am shocked."
Scully pointed out that in his
opinion, ' the. referees were
partly to blame for the foul
language. He pointed out; the
referees should have
"penalized the whole Goderich
team and kept giving bench
penalties' until the team"
cleaned up their language."
Scully 'went on: "But the
coach , and manager of the,
Goderich team deserve a major
share in the blame. They made
little or no effort to control their
players' language or play. If
the coaches . will not exercise
some control 'or judgement,
then the job of the referees may
well be impossible."
+++
I' nOt a hockey fan...at least
not an avid fan who follows a
team around no matter where
or when. But I did see one of the
OrangeNiille-Ooderich finals. In
fact, I sat right behind the
Goderich players' bench on
that occasion. 4411)
There was ' some "gutter
language...but it 'wasn't
"flowing" as Scully' suggested.
In fact, one hears more filth on
the,. average playground from --
the mouths of young children,
(12 and under) than came from
that players' bench the evening,.
I was in attendance
• I suppose one could. say I am
a prude, but I do find such
language offensive no matter
where it is spoken...and I find
I'm hearing more and more of
it every year. Too bad, too.
But, to read in the press about
the discreditable behaviour o
Goderich team in a h. ey
'sries - not their abilit o play
thb\game - makes e a little
ashairned. I know ither citizens
who read t account were
similarly arrassed. It is -to
be ho atnext year's
hoc teams '11 show more
s rtsmanship and gen-
lemanly conduct - at•n-,ne and
away. \
With last week's a
nouncement that the county
budget has taken such a leap in
1975, it appears thatGoderich
taxes will also increase by a
significant amount. That will
not likely come as a surprise to
anyone, even those who didn't
read last week's headlines
"Goderich to, pay over $60,000.
more".
According to the Financial
Post, property taxes in most
Canadian towns and cities will
jump at least 10 percent and
perhaps as much as 25 percent
this year as municipalities
attempt to meet dramatically
higher costs.
"Taxes will probably rise $50-
$70 per • average hciuse,
depending on the area of the
country and the amount , of
provintial government support
the city is receiving,",Lione
municipal official says.
The reasons for the tax in-
creases are as numerous as the
municipalities that. have to
collect them. • Every com-
munity, it seems, has the same
dismal story. Labor costs are
up 15-20 percent; education
costs • have sky -rocketed; the
cost of repairing streets has
risen 30-40 percent; fuel prices
are up 20,percent ; welfare costs
are up; and even the cost of all
the bureaucratic' paper has
almost doubled. .
Many people think they
aren't getting enough support
from the provincial govern-
4,1-nents. That particular com-
plaint always makes me smile,
for after all the people pay the
bills...not some nebulous thing
,called 'government". You and
we' re the government.
•
•;1 btobtrtrb
SIGNAL—STAR
-0- ' The County Town Newspiper of Huron -O-
.
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,FOundid k 1648 and pubashed every Thursday al Ooderich, Ontario. Member of the CWNA an VVNA,
Advertising feu on request. Subscriptions payabIndvanc.$�00in Canada, $11.30 In all coun-
tries other than Canada, single copies 23 cents. clue Mill Registration Number 0716. Adver-
tising is accepted on thil conditiOn me, in the *vent of typographic.' error, the advertising space oc-
cupied by the erroneous item. together with 'reasonable allowance for signature„will not be charged for
but the balance the advertisement will be pad for at the applicable rite. In the event of a
typographical ewe advertising goods or SOMCIIII at a wrong price, goods or service may not be sold.
Advertising le merely an offer to &elk and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not moon- •
sable tot the lose or darriege of unsolicIteo manuscripts or photos.
liusinoss and Editorial Office
TELEPHONE 5414-8331
aro* code , 9
Mailing Address:
P.O. BOX 220., Goderich
Second etas* mall reolstratiori nihnber-0716
Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. .
ROBERT G. SHRIERD-presideni and publisher
SHIRLEY J. KELLEA—editor
.JEFF SEDD6N—editorial staff
DAVE SYKES—editorial staff •
EDWARD J. BYRSKI--advertising Manager
DAVE R. VVILLIAMS—advertising representative
,
Countyengineer Jim Britnell
and I had a li tle light-hearted
disagreeme on this very point
last weeim was pointing out
that "government" kicks in
a rge portion of the county
oad budget funds.
The county budget shows that
$1,500,000 of the county road
funding comes from the
Ministry of Transportation and
Communication. Only
$1,021,000 comes directly
through county
taxation -...$10,300 comes from a
surplus account and $29,700
comes from a reserir'e.ftind.
I reminded Jifn that the
Ministry funds come from us
too...and Jim -countered with,
"And from the people in
,Etobicoke and Mississauga and
• rkrnitton...
-Tr,4e. But part of Huron
• Countk,money goes to roads in
Etobicoke and Mississauga and
Hamilton..
Money -comes from the
people. We are the government.
+++
Jim was a littleperturbed
about the impression created in
the countybudget story that the
county roads department is the
"culprit" in the mushrooming
county costs...not only this time
but "again".
I understand Jim's concern.
The story was only alluding to .
the fact that the county roads
budget accounts for the largest ,
portion of the county budget as .
a whole. It only looks like the
greatest "culprit" because the
roads department spends, the
lion's share of the money.
Jim is quite right: The county
roads committee has not asked
for a direct increase from the
people for eight years. That's
an admirable record and one of
which Huron County, Council
can be justly prOnd.
And there's_ahother thing. ..a
•
Shirleg J.
matter which is often hushed up
in urban municipalities
because- of the real (or
imaginary) tension between
rural and urban represen-
tatives.
• Urban centres get cash
rebates from the county road
, department. In Goderich,
something like $488,000 is
received from the county
coffers every year because
there are no county roads in
town.
Goderich citizens , ask 'Why,
they . should pay toward the
• county road system at all.
Rural dwellers counter, with,
"Why not? Do not Goderich
citizen § and • Goderich
customers travel over county
roads to get out of and to town?
Could Goderich survive without
these roads?" 0
So the silent battle goes
on...each feeling the other is
getting the better deal.
• Probably the best similarity
is the case of people With no
children who also must pay
school taxes. Is that fair? The
4- arguments • can go both
• ways...and the issue may never
be, settled.
" But Jim ' Britnell has a,
point...a very valid point. The
county roads department is no
-4more to blatne than any other
department for the soaring tax
bills this year: Costs are up
everywhere.
+ +
Which brings up one Mal
point. Can the town of Gode
afford a recreation complex? -
Can the. citizens here actually
pay for a costly facility.such as
is being planned by the ,com-
plex committee? Do- the
citizens who want a complex
really 'understand the im-
(continued on page 3-)
Meet Anders Celsius, creator of the Celsius scale. He was a
Professor of Astronomy at Uppsala, Sweden,
in the early
Ifith Century. In his' short lifetime (1701-1744) Celsius made
many worthwhile tontributimis to scientific knowledge, not
the least of which was the thermometer based on 100 degrees
of ,difference between the freezing and boiling points of
waters,' .1-14analcia-bfficially--switched to the Ceislun,
Tuesdak, April 1. Are you ready to think mettle?
• v •
Court policy the same
Not long ago, Judge Francis- G.
Carter, a member of the Goderich
Police Commission, made the
suggestion that the newspapers should
carry more court news. The judge
apparently belongs to the.sctiool which
believes that the threat of having one's
name appear in the local press,,acts as
a deterrent to those who would break
• the law.
• Of course, Judge Carter was &so
hoping that the greatesi effect* would
be on youthful offenders. who, after
being responsible for the family name
being dragged through the pages of the
newspaper/ would be - suitably
disciplined at home thereby lessening
the chances ft for another similar
episode.
There are those who agree with
•Judgetarter. Usually these are people
who do not ever expect to see their
family name appear in the local
newspaper. Often these same people
would fail to see the appearance of the
family name in'a court story as strictly
a 'deterring factor, but rather as• -•a
shameful and highly undesirable bit of
news reporting. Sensationalism, some
folks have tagged it. •
•
•
This.neWspaper does'not cover many
'court proceedings. The reasons are
yaried and numerous, but not the least
of them is the very real aggravation of
embarrassed parents and guardians
who would go to ail lengths - and often
do - to preserve the family name
without spot or blemish. And looking at
it from point of view, there seems
to be little justice in branding an entire'
family for the misdemeanors whidi
generally result from the thoughtless
actions of a child sewing wild oats or
even recklessly ignorihg, law and or-
der:
..•
It is not the dt.ity of a newspaper to
punish those 'Who run afoul of the law.
Nor" is it the responsibility of a
newspaper to be the 'tool by which
mothers and fathers are forced into
confrontation with their children,
young or older.
The police lay the necessary
charges; the courts mete out punish-
- ment; mom and dad are free agents to
deal with their children as they see fit;
and the newspaper in its news columns
should cover the news of the„ com-
munity.
This • seems to be the burning
question then. Is a list of drinking
charges, traffic act violations and
other sundry illegitimate behaviour
really classified as news?
Not long ago, The Huron Expositor in
Seaforth carried a letter from a mon
who asked this very question. The
letter, in port, had this to say:
' "Detailed accounts of the mischief
and petty misdemeanors reported in
the court reports lower the quality of
the paper that reports fhem. These
reports are usually sought out by
people all too willing to fill their gossip
a coffers with any choice bits of local
scandal, Indeed the stories grow -from
the report until the final product- would
make a good fiction section for your
paper. Most people feel confident that
the courts, the people involved and in
the case of youth their parents - are
• quite adequate to deal with local
problems. ,The embarrassment
pressure- that ;public scrutiny and •
speculation bring only magnify and \
distort the problem. For a more
pracTical example of court reports and
their ramifications, I have just ex-
perienced some professional em- •
barrassment and inconvenience due to '
a similarity in name to one mentioned
in your article." .
Newspapers who carry regular court
reports do not seem ,too be finding these,
lists of offenders growing shorter - or -
longer. Hence one must really question '
their true value as news stories.
The policy of the Signal -Star is this:
When the newspaper carries a -news:
story 'listing charges 'laid -following -an
Occurrence of ',community concern, ---
eVery'dfforf will be`.made to cover the
ensuing court proceedings. This
newspaper does not .cover court on A
regular basis, and has no intention at
the present time to alter this policy.
-7:
.•
reventative policing
in Delta, British Columbia, one
police constable believes he has found
the answer to at least part of the
problem with youthful exhuberance
when it interferes with the law. He is
sfrong on public relations - in the, °
schools and not just elementary
schools where twb-wheelers and
crossing guards are the big thrill.
es:nstable Ken 'Ball is conducting
,classeS at 40 elementary and secon-
schools in this- Vancouver area
unity. He visits each school for
e period of one week, trying
class twicfr a year,
ble Ball, the ;other of
s that the' only time
er saw a police
of classroom-
\./t*
corn
an a
to see eac
Why? Cons
four children, s
sone ' youngsters
officer before his seri
• lectures was "when he wen trouble."
Constable Ball says that b allovVing
, youngstersto getto.know "wha, ou're
like and how you feel it's st
possible that you can prevent, troub
novo rather thhn being confronted with
it later."
Is it working? School principal John
Husdon credits th program with
giving students a clearer un-
derstanding of the police and the law.
He admits "the kids' attitudes have
improVed here, no question at 'all."
-Constable .Ball concurs. He finds now
that students often approach him
privately to seek answers to personal
problems!
,
These "gloNies are off and anything
goes" sessions with the senior grades
in high schools are learning ex- -
periences 'for both. policeman and
students. When a Grade 9 girl asked
whether it was true the police are using
fake bomb scares as excuses to get into
the schools to search lockers, Con-
stable Ball reminded her that "if we're
going to search your locker we'll •
search it', ,yve don't need a fake bomb •
scare. Q '
Constable Ball uses some simple by* .
dramatic methods to get the point .
across. in one instance, lie taught ari,
all -girl ciassitit the dangers of hi4ching
• a
a ride by circulating a police picture of
the body of a 16 -year-old girl found
murdered and molested after being
picked up by a driver i,n,northern
In Mazeppa and Hammond in
Minnesofa, students are becoming,
policemen and policewomen. Granted,
these students are from the neigh-
boring community college where a
course in law enforcement studies is
,offered, but • the fact remains that
Young people are enforcing the law
through an unusual program devised :
and 'administered by a policeman by
the name of David Hayden.
Hayden selects the students himself.
And the towns are finding the program
helps solve a manpower shortage'in the
security field at a•price they can af-
ford. What's more, it gives a..
"working" education to youths in-
terested in police worK.
Althbugh° both these ideas are being
pu to use far from ,Goderich, there is
''
N
reaso1,1 to believe there may be merit in
these su gestions as ways to help solve
the rowdyism and vandalism scourge
n this town. , -
Both ideas were touched upon at the
recent police commission hearing
which :was so poorly attended in
Goderich. These illustrations gleaned '
rom the daily press are only two
daptions 'of methods by which ,other
ommunities deal with their problems. ,
There are many more ways of-
ealing with problems. There is no
eed for the defeatist attitude in
oderich where people shrug their
houlders and say, "What can you do
bouf it anyway?"
There are things to do, new ways to
e -tried: Let's put head. together and
ome up with some ' concrete
Ug§estions when the Goderich Police
omMission meet S in open session ,on -
he .second Tuesday of every morIth.
Think Godrich. Speak, Goderldi.
ction, Goderich.
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