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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-04-06, Page 4PAGE 4 —CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1963 BLUE RWB'ON,' 980 Vbse Vinson ewes-Wn¢®e® Bs pan®BBsAlred mods Wifet9eeseedny ®n 2.0. Seam 8®. Carunose, ®namr9©. Casmeseftes. Webs B®®. Bo O.: eS2-449.2 alsofesswagnslors Soto. nswaas - •15.0415 Sr. CBrBmun . '63 SS per yams ®AcsvA®n •58.05 tees yeses et as reigeseorrod ess =mesa stems oesssai by IA^ pmmr cake wwdpr Qua posswAn rsssrnMber NAY. Doe 2Socos-Stressed erstiverlessnstresi Ice BM SYse Huron Beowtapeu©vd. Se.eso:,-ng Iw BSB. emcee BBc. Cllnnon aeon, Erm. Sescn sciesSI /w libbS. Bestai p easy runs 4.MS. Clinton Mews -Record A Incorporating THE ! MXTH STANDAR J. HOWARD AITiKEN - Publisher S 1 LLEV Mc'HEE - Editor GAidY HAIST - Advertising Manager MAidY ANN HOLLENMECib - Office i oroger MEMBER MEMBER m lsploy mdsorrlaln® rotes avoal1oble an request Apb for Soto Cord Sao ,a a,AaoetOso estt. e®101 dor a better world This post Easter was a particularly good time to think about humanity and the future. As Christians around the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 40 nations were involved in violent conflict, 200,000 people held anti-nuclear demonstrations at army bases in Western Europe, North America prepared for the testing of the Cruise Missile, the United States and the Soviet Union continued to hash out their nuclear arms disagreements. Never before have there been so many wars and military uprisings in the world. Wickedness and discontent seem to be taking over people and nations. The values and morals that our ancestors fought and strived for are no longer im- portant. We are too affluent, too greedy, too irresponsible, too ready to create problems rather than solve them. It is now easier to manufacture, purchase, import and export military arms. It's big business, bringing in billions of dollars. The United States is involved in conflicts in some 20 nations, the Soviet Union is involved in more than 13. A Harvard professor, the head of Physicians for Social Responsibility says that we'll be lucky to survive 1990. At the rate we're moving, human life could be erased from the face of the earth in less than a decade. Stili most ignore these devestating facts. Instead we choose to celebrate Easter with all the festivity and religious splendor of Christmas. As well as honor the past, it is time for us all to begin planning a better future. This planet is ours and it is our responsibility to maintain lasting peace and fellowship, to give our offspring a better place to live. If we don't, perhaps the only salvation and hope for the world will come from the intervention of God and the second coming of Christ. - by S. McPhee behind the scenes The politicans The list of candidates for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership has grown again with the emergence of a new candidate, Marvin Righteous of Loyalty, Alberta. Mr. Righteous said he entered the race because he felt his party and the country needed an alternative to that "communist, fascist. quiche -eater whohas run the nation into the ground for the last .13 years." Ile characterized his rivals as bleeding hearts and fellow travellers and claimed even Peter Pocklington was "pandering to the weak-kneed, simple- minded public" by saying that he would not destroy the social systems of the country. Mr. Righteous, in a news conference attended by three reporters from the Loyalty Reporter, said if he becomes prime minister one of his first duties will be to begin a privatization campaign to put as much of the economy as possible back in private hands. He plans to sell off Petro - Canada. the ('BC and many other. crown corporations. He also revealed he has a plan to sell off the Trai4ts-Canada Highway to private interests who will erect toll booths every mile from coast to coast "and that's not every 1.6 kilometres, damn it." he warned the reporters.) His government, Mr. Righteous said, would turn the tide once and for all on the creeping communist influence in Canada. Ile would work out a deal wit companies such as Domtar, he promised, to secure inexpensive labor" by shipping all Lada owners to Goderich to work in the salt nines "Let them see what it's like to be liussian," he said. His anti -communist fight would go farther From now on furniture stores would not he allowed to advertise china a billets for sale 'These would be renamed Taiwan (•abin ets On the subject of foreigh investment, Mr. Righteous said that foreign in- vestment was what was needed to get the country going again. He was working on a proposal, he said, that would see the entire federal government bureaucracy sold in one package deal to an American -based multi -national congolomorate. Included in the deal would be a plan to turn the Parliament buildings into an exclusive summer resort hotel. The Canadian people could rent the facilities back for two weeks each winter which, he figured, would be about all the time Parliament really needs to sit under his new plan to de-emphasize government. On law and order, Mr. Righteous said he was in favor of bringing back the death penalty: for shop -lifting. On the environment, Mr. Righteous said that he was all in favour of pollution. More acid rain, more leaking chemical dumps, would create new jobs in companies set up to bottle and sell clean air and water, he said. "What's the use of an environment if you can't make money from it." Mr. Righteous said he was all in favour of the U.S. plan to test the cruise missile in Canada but would propose some small alterations in the current plan. First of all, instead of having the tests in Alberta, he would propose they be moved to Quebec. He would also suggest that real warheads be used. This, he said, would not only give a really good test to the weapons system but would make sure the Liberals weren't in a position to win an election again because of their strength in Quebec, would cure the separatist problem once and for all and would "Get that damn French off the Corn Flakes boxes." Finally, he said, his very first act after being sworn in as prime minister would be to appoint a representative from each province to a firing squad to shoot Pierre Trudeau. "That'll make sure the com- munist, fascist, quiche -eating (expletive deleted) doesn't come back and get me in seven months." With Elaine Townshend Odds 'N Ends The Storage Area house should have one, and pro - habit does In some horses. it's one or two drawers; in Others. it's a cupboard in some places, it s a ( Inset. while in many it's a whole room It's an arra in which treasures - or junk, depending upon how you look at it - can be `trnc(1 The drawer is easy to spot. It's the one in the kit( heti with the string hanging out of the corner Often it's difficult to open be( ause the hammer handle is wedged at thetop Mie drawer contains nuts and bolts and screws and hubby's Favorite screwdriver, which he can never find There are rolls of oil and scraps of paper. one kitchen spoon bent out of shape and a knife with a broken handle as well as a doorstop and a glass coaster without a mate There are tin. shiny metal things and flat round rubber things Nobody knows what they're for. but they can't be thrown a wax because they might be important (:leaning the drawer makes an in- teresting chore for a rainy afternoon. ('on - tents are dumped onto a newspaper which is spread out on the countertop. Then, items are sorted into piles labell- ed: Necessity: Unnecessary But Having Potential For Future Use; Purpose Unknown But Looks Interesting; and Pro- bably Useless. inevitably the countertop is needed before the joh is finished, and the quickest way to clear the mess is to throw everything back into the drawer The storage cupboard is usually the highest one in the kitchen, located above the stove, fridge or broom closet. it's the space in which seldom used dishes are crammed. it can be a source of embarrassment, if a hostess forgets to retrieve Aunt Martha's gravy boat until two minutes before din- ner. While guests watch apprehensively, the hostess climbs atop a stool, jerks open the door and deftly catches a glass that comes tumbling out. End of the line Lsugarandspice I'll miss them NOTHING annoys me quite as much as the dear souls who, when I'm telling them about my retirement, beam sym- pathetically, and exclaim gushily, "But you'll miss the students, won't you?" They are shocked and a little indignant when I tell them that I will miss the students the way I would miss a bullet -hole in my sternum, a punch in the mouth, a massive coronary. "But I thought you loved your students," they croon bewilderedly. And of course they're right. I do love my students, in the abstract. I also love apple pie and 'ice cream, rye on the rocks, lilacs, rag -time music, and women. But that doesn't mean I've got to eat nothing else, drink nothing else, smell nothing else, and feel nothing else, for the rest of my days. Imagine one day of sitting around eating apple pie and ice cream, washing it down with Canadian Club under a lilac tree with the tape recorder blaring rag -time, and a beautiful, soulful woman on your knee. You'd wind up with pie tasting of rye, sickly -sweet music, and a woman scream- ing because she had an ice cube down her decolletage and ice cream (chocolate) all over her bikini. One could cope with one day of that. It might even be interesting. The combina- tion has many permutations. But try it three days in a row, or 10 and you'd wind up in the white jacket. What if the woman started smelling of rye, the ap- ple pie tasted like lilacs the rye was hot- ter'n a fire -cracker, and the music started by Rod Hilts sounding like strawberry ice cream? And that's how I feel about my students. As we used to say in Germany, "Genug ist genug! ", or something along those lines. Does the lion tamer miss the lions when he retires and goes into extensive plastic surgery on his scarred face, his torn legs? Does the janitor miss his broom? Does the sailor miss puking into the wind? Does the housewife miss the ironing? Does the plumber regret not having scabs on his knuckles any more? Does the doctor miss head colds? Does the lawyer miss the peo- ple at parties who ask him if their wife - husband is divorceable? Certainly I'll miss my pupils. Just the way I miss the old rubber boots for fishing that I threw out 12 years ago. Just the way II'll missbeing a prisoner -of -war on bread and water. It's not that I don't like kids. I do. But I don't go on and on and on being their father and their mother and their babysit- ter and their friendly local policeman and their ingratiating psychiatrist and their grandfather and their jovial uncle. I know perfectly well that the moment I retire, my potential students will be plung- ed back into the Dark Ages. None of them will be able to read or write or scribble graffiti on the desks or go to the washroom twice every period. What is to happen to them? It may seem heartless to you, but it doesn't bother me in the slightest that good ole Mr. Smiley won't be there to suckle them at his literary breast, watch them blossom into language that only a sailor wouldn't shrink from, and steer them into courses that will drive them to suicide. They can go and cry on someone else's shoulder about the rotten parents they have, and the terrible turmoil of being a kaleidoscope Well, well, here it is April already. It just seems like yesterday that March blew in. Anyway we've flipped another page on the calendar and our thoughts are con- centrating on gardening, sowing the fields and cutting the grass. A few eager gar- deners have already had the lawn mowers in action. The rest of us are still clearing up the winter garbage from our lawns and hoping for that warm spring rain to wash all the dirt away. + -4 4 March it seems always shows our properties at their worst. Grass, last year's Flowers and leaves are dead and brown, dust and gravel coat the sidewalks, windows and sills. Beer bottles and the neighbor's garbage starts appearing on the lawns. i suppose that's where the term spring cleaning originated and certainly a spot that needs a good (lusting off is downtown (Tinton. ()n Saturday boxes and bottles, dust and leaves were really whipping around buildings and posts in the mini wind storm. Stretching on tiptoes, she feels to the back of the top shelf, which is, of course, where Aunt Martha's gravy boat has been pushed. Clasping the dish gingerly by its handle, she climbs down and hurriedly moves to the sink to "rinse off the dust". Behind the sheepish smile, she's vowing to clean that cupboard tomorrow. (leaning the cupboard requires a whole day of washing dishes, scrubbing shelves, replacing shelf paper and rearranging dishes. A final touch might be to stick a sign on the outside of the door: 1.1.F.0 - Unidentified Falling Objects. Besides a "junk" drawer or cupboard, most houses have a crowded closet or storeroom, but investigating them will just have to wait for another day or week or month. teen, and the "fact" that all their other teachers are down on them, and that's the only reason they are 50 percenters instead of 80 percenters. They can tell some other gullible that they didn't know that their assignment was due, that the reason they missed the th'd ithe bus. thattest was they'sat missedtheythembusssed. They can give somebody else the big blue or brown stare of utter sincerity while they lie through their teeth about why they have thrown someone else's book out the window, or why their desk has suddenly overturned, or why their desks are covered with pornography. Don't get me wrong. As individuals, I love them. Who could be sweeter than Shawn, wide-eyed, who tells me that the reason he didn't write the test was that he hadn't (in two months) read the book? Who could be more appealing than Lisa as she explains that the reason she is fall- ing behind is not her boyfriend, perish the thought, but her parents, father a wife - beater and mother a drunk (both of them turning up for Parents' Night; the father a milquetoast, the mother a Sunday School teacher)? What can you say when Greg mutters, shamefacedly, that he didn't get his essay done because he, heck, was skiing all weekend because, like, it was the only de- cent weekend all winter? Maybe the reason I'm so soft is that I never told a lie, was never late, never slept in, never missed an assignment, and sat like an angel in class, when I was a stu- dent. Whatever, I'm gonna miss them exactly as couch as they're gonna miss me. In both cases, like a tooth -ache. Unfortunately all the retuse and garbage (lid not blow away to Kansas. It's all lying out there in front of our shops and it looks terrible. How about it, let's clean up Clinton. This Thursday or Friday get your broom out and clean off the sidewalk. i guaranteee that downtown Clinton will look much better. Maybe it's time that Clinton council studied the possibility of buying a sidewalk sweeper. -I + + We're happy to report that the "Death How Sheepdog'. is now safe and sound. He was taken to the Seaforth Veterinary Clinic and pound last week and scheduled to be put to sleep on Friday. Our reporter Rod Hilts reported the possible tragic ending for this beautiful dog and the Seaforth Clinic was flooded with calls by Friday morning. "Thank you everyone for showing your concern and offering your help. + + 4 Hello Kippen and Hensall readers! Hope the paper gets to you in good time this week. Readers from our southern area phoned in to say that their March 30th News - Records didn't arrive until yesterday, April5. Here's what happened. The papers came to the Clinton post office on March 30 and were sent on to Stratford, then to London and back to Hensall and Kippen. That's the way the routing system works. Unfortunately there was a hitch in last week's delivery. Post offices were closed on Friday and Monday, and of course there's no rural delivery on Saturday. And so it took nearly a week to mail papers from Clinton to Kippen, a distance of less than 10 miles. You figure it our + + 4 - The The Main Street Wit says that what Canada Post needs is a computer that can figure out all the things that don't add up. a 1- -+ Have some free time on Saturday? Why not head up to Blyth to watch some of the performances at the Ontario Junior Farmers Drama fest. Junior Farmer clubs from throughout the province will be competing for top theatrical honors in Dramafest, this year being hosted by the Huron Junior Far- mers. 4 4 1 llere's a neat fund raising idea that brought more than $2,000 for the new hopsital at Smooth Rock Falls. A local service club in the town north of Tinuninshad all 2,300 residents arrested for a day. ()PP officers ch agged people, young and old. from their work, their homes, their schools and shipped them off in the paddy wagon. Once behind bars in a mock cell at a local furniture store. "the prisoners" could on It be freed after paytg $2 bail. Anyone wanting someone arrested could pay $1 for a warrant. Smooth Rock's Mayor Roger Duguay got so tired of being thrown in jail that he finally bribed town officials the princely gum of $5 to keep him out it's a novel, fun way to raise funds that could get the whole community involved. I'm sure that each one of us can think of someone we'd like to put in the slammer. ;• 4 4 After a short winter's nap the No. 15089 Clinton School ('ar is getting ready for some more restoration work, thanks to Ron Young and many kind donations. Opening day for the School Car will be on May 21, in conjunction with Klompen Feest. Elizabeth Wilmot, author of Meet Me At the Station and Faces and Places Along the Railway, has written to Clinton council explaining that the CNR has a gold spike which might be presented to Clinton and the school car Mayor Ches is looking into that. the readers s must help Dear Editor: As farmers consider the busy season ahead m the planting of the 19 t; crop, 11 hope they and all Canadians will pay close attention to the Legislative Process in Ottawa. The Reinstatement of the Far- mers and Creditors Arrangement Act is in the Committee stage, where witnesses will be heard, regarding its passage. Purely and simply, the Act provides for an intermediary of a Judicial Authority for farmers to make compromises and rearrangements with their creditors. With the passage of this Legislation, the current crisis of farm foreclosures and bankruptcies would be stopped. The senseless financial pressure on rural human resources, would also be stopped. It could be the forerunner of New Legislation that would be beneficial to other small businesses and ordinary homeowners. Herein lies the Problem. The name of the game is Power. The Lending Institutions have it and they would like to keep it. It should be obvious by public statements by the Banks. They are very vocally opposing the Farmers Creditors Arrangement Act. They are very con- cerned about any erosion of their Power. All Canadians should be aware of the Private Lobbying in process, where our Members of Parliament are pressured to leave things as they are. We as Canadians elect those M.P.s. but our responsibility should not end there. They should be informed that this Legislation is critically necessary if the Farming Sector is to make the major contribution to Canada's economic recovery. The 40 percent of Canada's employment that is generated directly and indirectly by the Farming Industry, cannot be reactivated, without economic sanity being established in our rural communities. Admittedly, the Canadian Farmers Survival Association, was born out of the desperation of farm families' inability to deal with the Changes of Rules in our Economic System. It is, however, developing into a forceful organization of concerned farmers, who recognize that passive acceptance by farmers, has allowed the continuing deterioration of our rural communities. Working against the labelling of "militant illegal activists", we are finally being recognized as responsible leaders with the no-nonsense approach necessary to cut through fear and prejudice. No other farm organization was able to assert the necessary pressure to bring the needed Legislation so close to passage. Self-styled spokesmen for farmers, who suggest any watering down of the Legislation, should be painted with the same brush as any Member of Parliament who would favour the Banks' position over people. They need a nu.le from their voters to remind them of their respon- sibilities as true Statesmen, not Politicians. M.P.'s should be told that -1. there is no real purpose in transferring bankrupt young farmers to the competition for jobs in the industrial sector; 2. there is no dignity in casting mid e -age farmers with 30 years' experience in producing food, on the welfare scrapheap; 3. the real problems of vanishing jobs in White, International, Massey -Ferguson and other spin-off industries, is a eerect result of farmers' shortage of funds to re -invest in their requirements for farming. Finally, M.P.s should be told that the problems must be dealt with NOW. As Parliament reconvenes after the Easter recess, it is to be hoped that those 10 M.P.s who are the sub -committee of the Agriculture Committee will emerge as Statemen in their assessment of the Presentations to them. When the Farmers Creditors Arrangement Act, is returned to Parliament for final reading before becoming Law, hopefully all M.P.s will be 'aware of the wishes of their constituents. Sincerely, Robert King Rodney, Ontario Looking for education history Dear Editor, As a historian of nineteenth and early twentieth century Ontario education, I have become increasingly interested in the history of Ontario's teachers. To date my research has led me to census records and to the records on teachers contained in the holdings of the Ontario Archives in Toron- to. But I am also aware of the likelihood that local families, historical societies and museums may have invaluable materials in the way of diaries, letters or memoirs of Ontario's early school masters and mistresses. My interest extends to the per- sonal and family histories of such in- dividuals, as well as to the more obvious materials that have to do with their ex- periences. i wonder if you would he good enough to print the enclosed request for information about such materials in your publication. Diaries, correspondence and memoirs of men and women who taught in Ontario schools before 1920 can be sent to Dr. Alison Prentice, Department of History and Philosophy, OISE, 252 Bloor Street West, Toronto, MSS 1V6. Thanking you in advance for whatever help you can give me. Sincerely yours. Alison Prentice, Associate Professor. 11n vnu hart, an !III nr.ln:' 11 h% pelt r'rile UN a /eller In the, stiller, and lel erery.lne knnu . 111 lrllr•r. are l.ublirhed, Irrnrirlinu the, , an In, authenticatrrl, and llYeur/nn nIY are allnrrevl. 111 !curry, halr.'rer, are reehje•.•I Irl e•rlillnlr /,rr lenj1lh ter lehrl.