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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 1981-02-26, Page 4PAGE4—CLINTON W :RECORD, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY28,1981 • ®i IP -0. Rex At. ciketest. R1ote?ia. Vie. dif ifR.169t. 4424041. Subectioasat there: Comeiir -'1f • c94lxam.'14 It lar gear U.S.A. &'feral.=-'3Y.40.par year He k ois swami dew Main W ftlogr past ONOa w►rVira fit mfrabar any. 1I�seasiAtecoal inegarporwisci le 1ti0'1h® %sawn WiRunAllesord, fooadledl in 1411. alai Viva cllw4aw New ire. fezawded l01103. Total presto 'ClintonNewsRecord *CNA MEMBER JAMES L FITZGERALD - Editor SHIELLEY McNiff - News Editor GARY WAIST - Advertising Meheger iHEATGER BRANDER - Advertising tMARGARETL. GIBS;- Office Manager ,MARY ANN GLID ON-SubseeIptif#ns MEMBER Display odsortlslnD rotes oeolioifo w. raa,woss. disk for Roto Card no. 11 offocslve Ott. 1. iw•. Despite the overwhelming odds against them, Drawer Bruth,ers and Reid, along with brothe n -law Norman Hathaway, are .taking a big gamble that they can produce quality pianos in Clinton again at a reasonable price. And what a big gamble it is. Faced with record high interest rates, a sagging economy, and stiff foreign competition, company has started building pianos { again in Pinto* itoit, once known the, world over for its quality Organa and -pia*. They do have a number of 'Oakes On thleir side, which include air experienced and demoted W-000.014. itaff, toldineutigenleet, low overhead, and only two piano models. With these magic ingredients, Draper Brothers and Reid should be well of their way to putting Clinton on the musical map once agian. As one of the only two piano -manufac- turers left in the Canada, they are pioneering the way back for Canadian manufacturing, which over the years has given up so much of its products to foreigners. And , it's about time. In a country so rich as ours in all the resources, it's a crime to see the Japaneses buy $5 million worthof Canadian wood, and then ha di back that same world in $40 million worthofpianos. By J.F. ... JtVtOt!,tI it? for 9111. !rewonly passing interest. et increase is In "'the ran,,pIf A percentandwhile that is '- an accepted figure in to- -ds escalating inflation, the total cost of Ce resehinl alarining"p .__ was ustityted about of the Huron Police nn elicited:some cone: .a council recently, the mtheonerating.budget_. >,' ago; toe• total Costs Were ex - be aro . $75, Per annum. budg for 981 kis 'hien $103,210 and obviously such an in - in that period is well above any in - factors. �4'thepresent councils of the five towns can be faulted for the fact the system is costing more than originally ex they must start to question whether' the cost myolved is warranted by th4 ry ce provided. *hen the local police answering service in #.tar, for example,.was provided by a • • private individual three years ago, the cost was around $8,500 and the project cost for Exeter -in the current year is $19,919.53. Godenclr eould be paYnng•$'111,045.48. w 0.There are obvious advantages to a county -wide dispatch system, but the five councils must keep a dose eye on the costs involved because they appear to be con- siderably higher than those which were in- dicated -when -the system was approved In Exeter's case, there appears to be a duplication of services now that a full-time secretary is available to answer the phone during the day, If the other towns are in the same position, itmay lieAbutthe.clel tral cost could be reduceclby having it in use only during non -office hours. There^is also the possibility that by br= inging other emergency calls into the system (through a central emergency number as used in most cities) the cost could be apportioned over a wider base to reduce the growing drain on police hudgets. It's a situation to which the local police committee should give some delibera- tion. -from the Exeter Times Advocate Not trying to close classes Dear Editor: Contrary to report in the February 19th edition of the Clinton News-Recovd ((HSS Chronicle) newspaper, the Huron County Board of Education has NOT made a decision to close any technical shops at Central Huron Secondary School. However, with enrolment at the school reaching the one-half of capacity mark, the Board finds it necessary to examine the feasibility of continuing to offer the wide variety of technical shop subjects that it did when enrolment was in the 1,000 to 1,200 pupil range. Persons wishing to make representation to the Board at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 2nd are requested to contact the undersigned at 482-3496 by 4 p.m. on , Friday, February 27. ,.,....._� ._. .D.J. Cochrane, Director of Education) The Huron County Board of Education. Drops of spring by Jim Fitzgerald remembering our past a look through the news -record files 5YEARS AGO February.26, 1976 The community around Clinton is up in arms following the order last week that Clinton's 62 -bed hospital will be closed down `by April rat throwing 75 full=time employees and 35 part-tirne employees out of work. A crowd estimated at nearly 2,000 elbowed their way into Central Huron Secondary School Tuesday night to protest the closing of the Clinton facility. It was .the largest crowd ever assembled in Clinton for such a purpose. Dr. Brian Baker, chief of medical staff at the Clinton Hospital, received the biggest response at the meeting when he was given a standing ovation at the meeting. Dr. Baker; who has been m town since 1972, said the health-minister•regarded theClinton. hospital ' as no more than"a mere pin in the map." 10 YEARS AGO March 4, 1971 Ontario' Hydro offices moved last week from their scattered location in downtown Clinton to their new offices at the Canadian --Forces- Rase -south -of --town. Hydro -recently- bought the former base supply building and renovated it for the new Clinton area offices. The Brucefield post office was, transferred last week from Ken' Scott's store to Art Dutton's. While the move was taking place, Jorma--lialiagawk4o4P3 were found., Keji was the third generation of Scotts to run the Brucefield office. 25 YEARS AGO • March 1, 1956 • The relentless business of finding the "champion" speller in the public schools of Inspectorate 2 of Huron County, yesterday afternoon narrowed the field down to Miss Bonnie Hamilton, 12 -year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Hamilton of Albert Street, Clinton. Miss Hamilton now has to go forward to zone finals in Stratford, which will be held next\Tuesday. Less than a week after Clinton Branch No. 140 of the Canadian Legion paid off the final Gals' names For some reason, and I've no idea what it is, this column is going to be about girls' names. There are several possible reasons, any of which might be the right one. First, it might be just an unconscious reaction to the worst cold spell I can remember. The names of girls, exotic or otherwise, seem to help fight those Jan.- Feb. an:Feb. winter blues or blahs. Secondly, I might simply be getting senile. This was my wife's suggestion when I told her my subject. Who knows? A couple of years.frorn now:Imight ..be.turn- ing up at playgrounds with nothing on but a raincoat. And thirdly, the more I thought about it, the more I thought about it. I don't know whether this happens to you, but every so often I get some silly old song in my head, and I whistle and sing it, inaudibly, of course, because I don't want to be put away, for perhaps fifteen hours. It could be Colonel Bogey, and I play it, with variations, through my head all day. No other tune interferes. Just a few days ago, I got one into my skull that must date back to the Twenties, and it went on all day, through teaching, conversation, eating, shaving. It was: You 'can bring Rose, with the turned -up nose, But don't bring Lula. You can bring Kite with the partial plate, But don't bring Lula. Some old-timers might remember it. I'm sure it goes back to the days of vaudeville, or the gramophone, as we used to call it. But I've no idea where it came from, where I heard it, why I remembered the tune, or what was wrong with Lula. Anyway, I began to contemplate the names of girls, and whence they derived. We chose the name Kim for our daughter, because we didn't know whether she was going to be a daughter or another son, and the name fitted either sex. There wasn't a Kirin on the horizon then. Now you can find one on every street corner. In my home form, I have two Kims, two Karens, and a Carol, and until I knew which was which, I'd ask a question and start sounding like the old song, "K -k -k - Katie." Girls' names seem to go in cycles. One year I had five Debbies in one class. Hard- ly ever hear a Debbie anymore. ' Aside from the fads, when every third gal has the same name, there seem to be some basic roots from which beleaguered mothers and fathers label their offspring. (I've known a Robin Bird and a Pete Mose, but those were exceptions). Some girls are named after jewels, but there aren't many Pearls, Rubies, Opals, Sapphires and such around these days. They're as old-fashioned as Elmer and Gordon for boys. Strangely, I've never heard a girl called Diamond, though I've met a few hard enough tolive uptosuch a sobriquet. Girls are named after some months, but not others. We can label a girl May, April er June, but you don't hear too many Februaries or Novembers floating around. I think Febbie would be kinds cute for a short girl born in that short month. Then there is the practice of naming girls after flowers. We have Iris and Ivy and Pansy and, Daisy and Marigold and Rose, and even, on the occasional farout encounter, Tulip or Virginia (if her last name happens to be Creeper). But they, too, have pretty well gone by the board. I don't know why. A girl is just as pretty as a flower, and often smells even nicer. Why don't we go back to that and call girls Petunia, Begonia, Phlox, Crocus, Daffodil? Think of the sweet little ab- breviations. they'd. acquire. Pet, Beggie, Flocky, Crokey and Daffy. Once in a while there is a flare-up of old- fashioned or foreign names. Then we have a rash of Samanthas, Marthas, Ingrids, Fleurs, Leslies. The trouble is, with' our fondness for nicknames, even these august narnes become Sam, Marty, Ingy the dingy, Flour, and Les. Thank goodness there is a solid element of parents in our society who stick with the good old Biblical and fundarhentally Anglo-Saxon tags: Ruth, Mary, Rebecca, Margaret, Elizabeth, Jennifer, Susan, Jane, Sophia, and such. Not for themthe exotic and subtly sug- gestive stuff like Sylvia, Sonya, Roberta, Giselle, Juanita. Those are the sort of names that can get a girl into trouble. How about Carlotta? Or Vivien? Trouble, trou- ble. 1 Personally, if I had six daughters, Lord forbid, I'd try to get one into each category, Emeraldsfor jewellery. September . for a month. How does September Smiley sound? Sweet -pea for flowers. Sweet -pea Smiley? Ursula for an old-timer. Once had a slight fling with a girl by that name. Mary for the solid vir- tues and the religious connotations. And Diana, goddess of love, for the dangerous group. If I suddenly and unexpectedly had a seventh, I'd name her for one of the great women in myth or literature. Perhaps Circe, or Cordelia. Everybody happy with those? Thank goodness my daughter has two boys, one -Nikov, after a character in a Russian novel, the other Balind, a name she made up. She'd drive us crazy if she had a batch of girls. mortgage on the memorial, Kirk Street, the general meeting on Monday night accepted the recommendation of the executive that the property committee proceed with the building of a stage at the hall. Final plans are not yet complete, but it will be a,2Ox40 foot addition. Upstairs will be a stage for the hall, and the downstairs portion will be used as dressing rooms and storage space. 50 YEARS AGO ' February 26;1931 The first of the home and home encounters in the junior NHL league semi-finals was played in the local arena on Friday evening. The Wingham Colts being blanked by the Clinton Canariesfor a four -goal margin. The street committee of the town council `.had a scraperOri the front streets last' week trying to level them op a bit. Keep off the gravel roads until the general thaw comes is good advice to motorists of the district. The Clinton Chautauqua programs start • Friday evening, February 2 land and are of unsurpassedmer—"if-Ty are presented by , artists of.universal distinction. Come out and help your community support this great Canadian Educational Feature .that pis brought right to your own homes. Fresh ',for the, Lenten Season Specials: caroni;kwo pounds, 15 centseorangeelandt le, ons, per dozen, 19 cents; salmon; 'one pound, 25 cents; at W.T. O'Neil, Clinton's Big Cornet Groceteria. Phone 98. 75 YEARS AGO March 2 1906 The Brucefield Oddfellows supper on Friday evening was the event of the season, a large number were in attendance with a goodly share of ladies, being the wives and sweethearts of the members and their friends. The oyster supper, which was prepared by Mrs. Robt.' Murdock, was ex- cellent, the room had a festive appearance, being beautifully • decorated with choice flowers. • A fter the supper Mr, Fraser; one of . the charter members, took the chair, when a short but very appropriate musical en- tertainment delighted_ the audience, all left with the assurance that the Oddfellows of Brucefield were 0.K . Mr. S. Switzer of Tuckersmith cut about 1,200 cedar posts last week. Rev. Wm. Leckie of Londesboro walked to Clinton last Sunday and preached in Willis church. J.P. Harrison. who foolishly tried to work a blackmailing scheme on Mr. Davis of the Hotel Bedford, Goderich, last week, and was committed to stand his trial at the Jurors' Session, made application for a speedy trial, which was granted, and he name up before His Honor Judge Doyle on Tuesday for a hearing He pleaded guilty 'and elected to be tried by the judge. After the judge had reviewed the case and told the prisoner the seriousness of the crime he stated that were it not for his wife and child, the latter only a few months old, he would feel disposed to give him seven years, but owing to the cir- cumstances, and with a hope that he ould lead a more manly and honorable life, he com- mitted Harrison to Huron County jail for one tnonth•with hard labor. The prisoner broke down and wept bitterly and appealed for ,leniency and promised lie would lead a more manly life in the future. In Coming up green Someone mentioned the 1981 licence stickers are green. That will match the col- our I turn every year about this time, when I hand over my $45 and get that itsy-bitsy sticker in return. I sympathize with the mdtorists that pay more and envy those that pay less. Granted the sticker is a good idea. Not having to replace the licence plate every year makes a lot of sense. It also saves frostbitten fingers. Once the sticker is in my possession, I'm overcome by anxieties. What iL I lose it between the office and the car? What if it blows away? Shat if it doesn't go on right? What if it doesn't stay on? They're silly worries, of course, but until that $45 worth of green is safely and firmly in place, I'll feel uneasy. I'll avoid the issue as longs-ican and probably end up in a last-minute line. Heck, I've got days left - hours, anyway. the meantime his wife and baby are lefl to get along as best they can, though the people of the town will not see her suffer. She will likely return to the old country, to friends. The whole affairisunfortunate, to say the least. • 100 YEARS AGO February'25, 1881 , The high school Literary Society gave its regular fortnightly meeting, last Friday evening. The occasion was one that drew a large audience. The program, which con- sisted of music singing, readings, recitations and a debate, was very entertaining, par- ticularly the debate, the subject of which was, "Resolved that the execution of Queen Mary was justifiable." The subject was well handled on both sides, and a decision was ' given by the audience in favor of the at'-., firmative. • Clinton's new town hall was formally opened on Monday and Tuesday evenings last, by the celebrated Holman Opera Troup, bf London, under the auspices of the Clinton Cricket Club. The hall Which is not quite ..finished, presented a very neat appearance. It was seated with chairs, there being about '5506 r the purpose. ' `bear Editor, ' �3 One way that Canadians can protest against Prime Minister Trudeau's unilateral patriation of our constitution is to write to Governor-General Ed Schreyer and ask him NOT TO SIGN Prime Minister Trudeau's Constitution Act. We must realize that the chances of Governor General Ed Schreyer not signing the Constitution Act are very slim because he is compelled by his oath of office to sign it. Governor General Ed Schreyer cannot, like Prime Minister Trudeau, disregard the parliamentary procedure of passing an act. Our _request to Goyermr General Ed Schreyer not to sign Prime Minister Trudeau's Constitution Act is one course of action that we can take against what Prime Minister Trudeau is doing to Cana- dians and to Canada. If enough Canadians do this, it might embarrass the Government by showing the world how we feel about having our constitution unilaterally patriated. Thank you. Sharon M. Larkin, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Do you have en opinion? Why not write us a letter- to the editor, and let everyone know. All lettereere . published, providing they can be authenticated, and pseudonym. Fa a allowed. All letters, however,, are, subject to editing jar length or libel. Usually in February I'm happy to see anything green, but in this case, I can wait. Oh well, buying the new licence stickers breaks up the monotony of winter. We can all think of more pleasant ways to do it, but we have no choice. We can shock ourselves out of winter complacency just by opening our heating bills The effects of my February bill may turn me blue. The bills have been making steady monthly jumps, which I expected, but I wasn't prepared for the February leap. After noting the amount due, I turned down the thermostats and hauled out more blankets. Yin determined to try to at least "hold that line" for the rest of the winter. I could warn visitors to wear heavy sweaters, but they're probably accustom- ed to it. Everyone seems to be experienc- ing the same thing. It's just another part of our Canadian winter, and we hardy Canadians can cer- tainly handle it. I believe we should try to find something positive in every situation. It took me awhile, but I finally thought of a good point for the storm that confined me to the apartment two weeks ago. The cabin fever was tolerable, and the longer my car stayed off the road, the longer I could avoid the gas station. This soothed the bad case of gas -a -pump -a - phobia that I've noticed developing over the past six months. The winter white -outs also kept me away from the grocery store and those cash regrstef tapes. It must be -my imagination, but the shopping bag seems to be getting smaller. After every spree, I'm determin- ed to shop more wisely. I'll turn away from the goodies that make my mouth drool and buy only the practical items. The best things in life are still free, and. it's agood job, because we certainly pay for the necessities. Now don't get me wrong. I know Canada is a great country and Canadians are much better off than the people of many other lands. Complaining is just a tool some of us use to pass the time in these mid -winter doldrilms. Returning to the subject of green, after the green sticker is firmly in place on my licence plate at the end of February, I'll look forward to St. Patrick's Day. When the green of March passes, the green of spring can't be far behind. Valuable restoration Dear Editors, I would like to take this opportunity of discussing two issues that are of impor- tance and topical in the town- restoration of the Town Hall and improvements to the downtownshoppingrea. As some of your readers may know, my firm of Hill and Borgal, Architects and Planners has been intimately involved in both these projects. Whether to restore the Town Hall has been, is and will be a con- troversial subject, hotly debated by both sides. However it is of value to reflect some five years back I believe whena referendum was held to solicit local opi- nion on the future. of the building. Two to one were in favour of keeping the Town Hall. I share this opinion and to this day am . absolutely confident that council's deci- sion also to retain the Town Hall is a sound one. The work to date on the building has been to secure its_structural soundnessand this involved underpinning the foundations tying' the upper structure together so to speak, especially the front that is leaning out and repairing the brickwork. This was necessary work before anything else could be done. Unfortunately, for the money spent` thus far nothing attractive can be seen. The Town Hall looks just as neglected as it was before we started work. The situation may be likened unto one net• waStiing fora year: -one would .look •and.feel deoiiddly shabby,ti.. So it is with the Town Hall, but in this ease it is many manyyears since the building was cleaned, maintained and painted! The next stage I believe is indeed pain- ting and maintaining the exterior, and this I am hoping will be done this year with Council's approval. The Town has applied to the Ontario Heritage Foundation for funding and there is no reason, I believe, why Clinton should not take advantage of these public funds designed for this very purpose. We have been appointed architects for the restoration of the Goderich Town Hall and our original feasibility study won $40,000 for the restoration of their Town Hall. Going back a few years a con- siderable grant was also obtained for the Exeter Town 'Hall. So I am confident we will obtain Provincial support and can assure the good people of Clinton that the painting and decorating of the Town Hall will be a very attractive result and one we will all be proud of. I should also mention that a number of us are working hard on designing a new use for the upper second floor. More about this later. The second issue I want to write about briefly is the proposed improvements to the downtown business section. These are being directed by your merchant com- munity and involve a combination of basic improvements to the car park behind the Town Hall and also a'number of beautifica- tion proposals such as creating a paved seating area in the Memorial Park, a land- scaped "Corner's Park" next to Triangle Discount and tree planting in specified areas. That we need a well paved car park is without question and well worth the ex- pense. When it comes to beautification however, I am sure some merchants and members of the community question its merit. It does not seem to have any direct tangible economic result to any of us. I believe however it does. As a merchant desires an attractive and appealing store front and display, which is good for business, a whole downtown should aspire to these same sound qualities. The objective behind the Province pro- claiming the act for municipalities to create B.I.A.'s (Business Improvement Areas) was to enable merchants to plan and improve their business areas in a col- lective manner as a merchant would his store in a singular manner. I appreciate your merchant communities concern to expend the B.I.A.'s budget carefully and properly and I believe the improvement proposals that are being planned for have achieved a good balance of functional as well as purely beautiful improvements. May I conclude by saying that I think the town has many strong assets. I work with many municipalities, town councils, mer- chant groups and members of the public, and I am impressed by the foresight of your town council and busine,4is communi- ty and am very confident that with the ongoing restoration of the Town Hall and improvements of the downtown, Clinton will go from strength to strength! Nicholas Hill, I Ipl.Arch.,M.Arch,, M.R.A.I.C.,M.C.LP. Goderich