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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1983-07-06, Page 4PAGE 4 —CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, JULY 6,1983 The Clinton hietus.Raetseg es published wcPo Wedna°aday at P.O. &on i9. Clinton. Ontario. Ctartmd®, f+W➢Ni1 HS. Tol.: 9f1E-Se&I. Saobsw,ription Rote: C®oradm - °ILA Sr. Citiaen • °15.60 par roar 10.10.8. B foreign - °80.G0 poor weer it as r®yiste'rec9 se -.smord,eleaa moll by the post take aorwder t p#rmit n oatitt; W1i. Tito newe-Rec litseraersdalt In 1 floe Huron Plewa-alocord, founded In until: Orad Tie® Clinton Nen Ere, founded in 1069. Total press roan ®,EGO. l incorporating THE BLYTH STANDARD J. HOWARD AITIKEN - Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENBECK - Office Manager A MEMBER MEMBER Display advertising rater ooalloble on request. Bak for Rote Card No. It effective Oct. 1. lin. Members should support SFA By Stephanie Levesque Divide and conquer could aptly describe the situation that appears to be developing in the agriculture sector of Ontario. At farm meetings, the most common subjects discussed are Bill C653 regarding farm credit and the provincial. government's proposed 100 per cent farm tax rebate. The latter is tearing apart the approximately 25,000 member Ontario Federa- tion of Agriculture. Grumblings have been heard from some corners that when agriculture minister Dennis Timbrell and deputy minister Duncan Allen came into office they didn't like having to face this strong agriculture lobby group. It has been sug- gested the proposed farm tax rebate is one tool being used to fracture the OFA. Whether the intention was deliberate or not, while the OFA's executive have accepted the proposal many "grassroot" members have been adamently opposed to the idea. The crunch will come in July as at the OFA's monthly meeting in Toronto, the opinions of the members will be heard when individual counties indicate the reaction to the farm tax rebate. In Huron a vote was taken earlier this year when the majority of 800 farmers turned down the proposal. In Perth the general feel- ing is one of acceptance, but members are being contacted for their opinions. Whatever happens at the July meeting, farmers should accept the final out- come and support the OFA in its strong lobbying efforts. "Divided we fall, united we stand." behind the scenes Peace, Canada's great accomplishment Canadians have just lived through another anniversary of the founding of their country complete with the usual overdose of self-congratulatory speeches even as critics say we shouldn't be celebrating with so many people facing the hardship of unemployment. Every year the speeches sound the SNalpraise for the ountry's gr potential' ' , full oftalk ofourac- complishrnents. They remind us of the great technological advances that have taken place in Canada from Bell's work on the telephone to the Canada Arm on the space shuttle. There's a desperateness to our attempts to prove to ourselves that our country really has done something wor- thwhile in 116 years. But at the same time we tend to skip over the greatest accomplishment of all because we take it for granted. Our greatest accomplishment is that we have been able to bring people together from all over the world to live in peace beside each other. We have been able for the most part to have people leave their old hatreds and animosities on the foreign shore and give themselves to a new life of peaceful co- existence in Canada. This has not been an easy accomplish- ment. The decision of the original pro- vinces to join together, for instance, was prompted by attacks of the Fenians, fanatical Irish nationalists living in the U.S. who wanted to drive Britain out of Ireland by capturing and holding Canada ransom. There were supporters of the movement in Canada too, although not as many as the Fenians thought as they found out in the late 1860's when they made their attacks across the keith roulston U.S. border. On the other side of, the coin there was a time when the Orange Day celebrations on July 12 were more than a slightld reminder of past hatreds. Catholics had reason to fear the day in places like Toron- to early in the century and deaths actually occurred.' Each new wave of immigration brought tension to Canada. The Scots looked down on the Irish who came over from the potato famine in the middle 1800's and posted signs in the park that no dogs or Irish were allowed. The same signs later appeared for other immigrants. The Chinese, the Ukranians, the Boat People, all have suf- fered discrimination. Today we see discrimination still against East Indians. We see cases too of the Sikhs bringing their old battles from India and trying to continue them here. Yet within a generation they too will likely have tired of old hatreds of half -way around the world and becorne part of the new country. We have somehow pulled off a miracle in Canada. While hundreds of unofficial wars rage around the world, while Irish kill Irish and Jew and Arab battle, we have been able to bring individuals from nearly all these warring countries together to live side by side in peace. What's more, we have built a country that doesn't seek power of its own by imposing its will on others. Sure we aren't perfect. Sure we must continually remind ourselves that there are racists and bigots here as that incident in Alberta of the teacher who taught that the Holocaust was a myth, shows. But we have shown that there is a hope still in the world that people of different nationalities of different races, from different economic backgrounds can live together. That is an accomplishment that should be trumpeted around the world. No other country can boast that. Solitary scen Csugar and $ piCe I take a stand - almost 1 am a very divided character. That used to be called mixed-up. This week, I had planned to come out flatly and make a lot of new enemies and new friends by taking a stand on theCruise missile and, maybe a little shot at abortion. But my Cruise thing got all mixed up with the Fourth St. Fusiliers fighting town hall, and I made one remark at a dinner party which began such an abortion fight between two old friends, that I got scared and retreated into my carapace to write about something we all agree on: the weather. The weather is lousy. You can write that at almost any time of the year in Canada and make friends. It's too hot or too cold. There's too much rain . or not enough. There was no fall and now there's no spr- ing. O.K. That dispenses with the weather. Now, I was going to say that we should test the Cruise missiles in Canada, which the U.S. is going to ask us to do, despite all the mealy-mouthed evasions of our P.M. and our Foreign affairs man, MacEachin, perhaps the only man in the government who can out -mealy the P.M. My argument was to go something like this. After all, we are a member of NATO to which we provide planes that crash, tanks that you couldn't sell to Afghanistan, rusty, obsolete ships, and as little of our national budget as possible. by Shelley McPhee But if you belong to a military alliance, you belong or get out. You can't be a little bit pregnant. So let's give the Yanks something we have lots of — wide, open spaces — and let them test their little monsters. Then the local town engineer came up with a plan to rebuild my street, and I swung right around. His plan included cut- ting down a dozen magnificent maples (the press report said "removing several old trees"; would you say a dozen was several?, and removing a sidewalk where many children play.) The hell with it, I said. Let the Yanks use their own wide open spaces to test missiles; and let the town engineer cut down all the trees around his own lot. I was equally prepared to(leap fearlessly into the abortion fray: abortion is necessary, but not necessarily abortion. We had some people in for a roast beef din- ner the other night, and I casually retold a snippet from a novel I'd read, in which a hunter shoots a pregnant antelope, tears out the fetus, and eats it raw, claiming, "It's the best part of the meat." Next thing I knew I was sitting between two ladies,making like a tennis spectator as the -abortion ball flew back and forth between them until the only thing I could offer was some rare roast beef. So. I'll have to push those topics off for a bit until I am not emotionally involved. Anyway, it's nicer to deal with people than ideas. The people may be a little crazy, but when you mix people and ideas, you have insanity. kaleidoscope Many people have answered my request to "drop a line." David and Ivy Enns of Dalemead, Alta. are fed up to the ears with what they call Bureaucratic B.S. They've been fighting Revenue Canada for three years over tax refunds. "Yes, we have found it is very hard to find any honest men. We have been trying to find Our nine honest people; unfortunately we have not succeeded." Jean Groom reads me in the Dutton Ad- vance. She and her sisters apparently had a crush on former -editor Herb Cambell when they were kids. "Back to your last colunin — "A Dispirited Corpse" — which really hit the nail on the head ... Jack (her husband) goes up the wall when the forces are mentioned on T.V. or in the papers. The sight of Trudeau is enough to raise his blood pressure to the limit. We can understand why your brother has left Canada in disgust over the mess the forces are in." Mrs..Gro m's letter is warm and friendly and so ni a that I would blush to repeat some of who .she says. Incidentally, that c lumn brought more mail and phone calls, all angry, but not at me, than any for a long time. ' And another pleasant letter from Myrtle Holmen of Wayne, Alta., concerning my column "To Bee or Not to Bee" in which I suggested, somewhat tongue in cheek, that humans could learn a lot from the bees and the ants. "Your daily pattern of the human race sounds so glum and uninteresting. A person's life and attitude make a dif- ference in whatever they are doing." I agree. I was just trying to wake people up a bit who insist on living in self-made cells, If you're interested in motocross racing, or would like to see television cameras at work, then Hully Gully will be the place to visit this weekend. On Saturday and Sunday, Hully Gully will be hosting the national senior champion races and more than 300 riders from across Canada and the United States will take part. Let's give them all a real Huron County welcome. Television crews, including the Wide World of Sports team will be on hand to cover the event. The Nationals will also feature bed races and a street dance on Saturday night and the Clinton Kinsmen will be your hosts at the beer gardens. Already some local teams are entered in the bed race. Call Hully Gully if you'd like to take part in the bed races. + + + Friday, July 8 will also be a big day in Bayfield when the annual rummage sale is held at the arena. The event starts at 8 p.m. and it will be, truly a bargain hunter's delight. +++ We received a reminder in the mail this week that the Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend is hosting its annual quilt show and sale. Last year over 5,000 visitors took in the exhibition. This year the quilt show will run until July 10 and a special feature is the Pioneer Art of Quilting. The show includes films, technique demonstrations, quilts on lisplay and for sale and the famous strawberry tarts. + + + Congratulations this week go out to Lonnie and Nell Matthews of Clinton. The 2ouple celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary on July 2. Lonnie claims that ;he secret to their long and happy narriage is simply, "lots of hard work." + + + Vic Falconer, son of the Kay and the late Stan Falconer of Clinton has earned nilitary honors. Cpl. Vic Falconer was presented with his Canadian parachutist statuette on his Departure from CFPMD. Cpl. Falconer was selected for the men's University Training Plan and will attend Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) in Esquimalt, Victoria, BC in August. He is presently attending Basic Officer Training Course in Chilliwack, BC as an Offier Cadet. He will be involved in a four year program, studying engineering sciences, leading to a degree at RRMC and later at the Royal Military ''College in Kingston in the CELE classification. Along with the promotion, Vic and his wife Judy are also proud parents of a wee daughter Chenelle, born on May 13. + + + This week we welcome to our pages, Janet Tench. A high school student at CHSS, Janet will be giving us egular record reviews and information n the international and local scene. + + + We are also pleased to announc hat the Clinton News -Record earned a blue ribbon award at the Canadian Cotnmunity Newspapers Association competition this year. The Blue Ribbon, displayed on our Page 4 masthead, recognizes the fact that the News -Record obtained high marks in the competition. The contest was open to hundreds of community newspapers across Canada and the News -Record finished in the top one-third of its general excellence category. the. readers. Write letters t s' a g l lfer Here's to the golfer, with his bag, balls and cart, He drives his first ball as straight as a die, Into the fairway, my, what a shot, my what a start With his second shot, he gave just a sigh. Into the sandtrap it landed with a thud, Well, he still walked firm and confident, Standing, legs apart, club in hand, there he stood, With a mighty swing, he chipped the ball V' and landed it good. There were times he found the rough, And found things mighty tough, When his ball hit a mighty tree, He knew darned well he couldn't make it in three. So how he tried to make a hole in one, it was impossible to be done. So, with a few words +-&&&l l l?? he ad- dressed the ball, Then into the water it did fall. One can only admirethis man, Because all he did not go as planned With the game he loves and enjoys, But, here's to the golfers, they are great boys. With sense of humor to pull them through, They do their best, so give them their due. It really is great when the game goes good, What would they do without their Wood???? Alice Jackson (A Golfers Wife) Odds 'N Ends with Elame Townshend The Lady And The Cat One morning a lady walked' to her mailbox and heard a weak meow coming from the ditch. She found a cat, about a year old, lying in the grass. The cat's fur was encrusted with blood. Her left front leg was badly mangled. She must have been hit by a car during the night, crawled to the side of the road and somehow clung to life until help arrived. The lady bundled her up in her jacket and took her to a vet. There didn't seem to be any internal injuries, he said. The leg could not be saved, but, with amputation, the animal would probably survive. It might have been logical for the lady to have the cat put to sleep. After all, the cat wasn't her responsibility. Maybe it was her love for animals, or maybe it was the tiny lick the cat gave her hand as it lay on the doctor's table, or maybe it was the cat's stubborn refusal to die, that made her shove logic aside. She decided to pay for thesurgery and post- operative care. A few days later she brought home the scraggly grey and white cat with the fur shaved from its left shoulder and un- derbelly and an ugly three-inch scar where it's leg should have been. Friends came in, took one look at the creature and exclaimed: "What are you doing with that thing? It's grotesque! If you wanted a cat, why didn't you buy one of those cute little kittens at the pet shop instead of that freaky thing? It'll never be right." The lady paid no attention. She put an ad in the paper, but the cat was never claimed. That suited both of them just fine. During the first few weeks, the cat was cohtent to lie on her blanket in front of the fireplace in the living room. She purred a lot, especially when her new friend was near. Her first attempts at standing were feeble. Her first steps were hesitant and frightening. She took many painful tum- bles before she learned how to balance on three legs. But, once she discovered balance, nothing stopped her. ' When she wasn't exercising, she was grooming herself. Gradually her fur grew and covered the scar. Her coat became soft and shiny. Her movements became less awkward. Running became more fun than walking. Her greatest passion was jumping from the floor to the chair to the mantel and back again, especially when the lady's friends came to visit. Her proudest moment came about a year after the accident. She marched from the field behind the house. Her eyes sparkled, her neck arched gracefully and her tail flicked furiously. She dropped a mouse at the lady's feet. Liquid industrial wastes threaten our environment, Liberals state Some dumps and landfill sites are receiving increas- ing volumes of liquid in- dustrial wastes which are threatening the environ- ment. according to Ontario l .iberals. Illegal and unproper disposal of wastes is going on without action from the Ministry of the Environ- ment, i.iberal Environment ('ritic Murray Elston said. "Toxic wastes are leaching into groundwater supplies and posing threats to the health of residents in the area of poorly regulated dumps." Mr, Elston said. Opposition Leader David Peterson cited three ex- amples where the Ontario government has tailed to properly police dumping practises — the Perkinsfield dump near Midland, the Up- per Ottawa Street dump in Hamilton, and Fighting Island in the Detroit River south of Windsor. "These three sites are testimony to the bankruptcy of the government's waste disposal policy'," the Liberal i,ea .,, said. I ch case, toxic wastes have been dumped in large volurnes and damaged the surrounding environments. The Liberals' attack followed the release by En- vironment Minister Keith Norton of a blueprint for ;taste management calling for the vigorous application of the "Four R's" - reduc- tion, reuse, recovery and recycling. Mr. Elston dismis a the hlueprint as "anothe act of puolic relations des ined to add yet more waste paper to the piles of Ontario's gar- bage." "Time and time again, we hear the same tired ser- mons," the Environment Critic said. "We were first lectured on the "Four R's" back in 1974 by then Environ- ment Minister William Newman. It's time that the Ministry reduce its rhetoric and begin to use the mechanisms it has in place to properly manage the flow of waste in Ontario. In pressing for immediate chemical waste cleanup, Mr. Peterson said it would be fol- ly to wait until the new On- tario Waste Management Corporation establishes a major dump site for chemical wastes. "That could be years down the road," he said. "Mean- while, wastes are despoiling the environment. Enforce- ment of existing laws must be strengthened and penalties toughened." Mr. Peterson's comments followed tours of the Pauze Landfill site at Perkinsfield, near Midland, and the Hamilton 'Upper Ottawa Street dump. The Perkinsfield Jump has received more ban 1,000,000 gallons of chemical wastes in recent yearn, including chlorinated solvents, plastics, resins, paints and printing adhesives, organic solvents, oils, phosphates and sludges. Leaching has occurred. Wells of residents in the area have been con- taminated and cottagers at nearby Balm Beach fear it is only a matter of time before their water supplies are poisoned. In the case of the Hamilton dump, estimates of chemical disposal run as high as 10 million gallons, with ground- water contamination con- firmed and moving east toward the face of the Niagara Escarpment, a mile away. Potentially dangerous chemicals found at the site include polychlorinated biphenols (PCB's), benzenes toluenes and xylenes. Mr. Elston cited Fighting Island as another example of the government's failure to properly regulate waste disposal in Ontario. The Detroit River ;Island, between Windsltir and Amherstberg, was used for 40 years as a repository for chemical wastes from the U.S. company BASF Wyan- dotte. The government is now considering the endorsement of an island reclamation pro- ject involving the dumping of sewage sludge from the City of Detroit, but scientists have detected other con- taminants in the 'sludge, in - eluding mercury. lead, cad- miutn and arsenic. The Liberals said Mr. Nor- ton should concentrate his attention on cleaning up the existing mess. "Instead," Mr. Elston said, "he is adding to the debris by producing such throwaway items as his timeworn blueprint for waste management." Summer safety at home Wet Charcoal Danger A bag of charcoal left ex- posed to the weather for several days could become a major fire hazard. if it gets damp, the action of the water on the charcoal can cause spontaneous combus- tion. The 0111,01 11J Safety League . eminds ., ou to stoi e charcoal in a dry place. if you douse hot coals to save them for later use, spread them out to dry then store them in a metal container away from the house. .9afety On The Range When you are cooking on top of the range, turn pan handles toward the centre or back of the range so you can't accidentally bump them and spill the contents. ,Turning ethe handles in will also keeptoddlers from reaching fr them. A