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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1984-03-28, Page 4PAOE r:aeitaCi$NEWSeRECQRD, WEIATPD.AY, MARCH 288,1984 BtuE RIBBON A1+'t!ARD. 1983 The 41114110o Newstiki ferdl Ir puY0M1 4 Wiii0100001Y Ot P.Q. Ir 39. Cilntt►n. O tYrID, Cnnn+lwl NOM 1147Q14 02440. fupalrrlpties 11002 Cowie $19.1$ Sr:1+4A1e- *14.7i IIMIT NOW U.lrii. �91r tom► S'OMO. X"r N 1g, rafllgtrirllll es IRPuumi 0,42Pillr 41. 114 l�IPxl cW qtr #4 recut nun141gr, 0.01174 Thca thws NliKorrl 1444xity4►440®al In 1k114 Ort,. tlurQnt 1r 1 Ntlr 116,141401 Ili 14414 .fl Thep Clloton Nowa IIrtI. fateld in In 111441. Te Prilt t time 11.7110. Clinton N ewsRecord Incerp®rating THE BLXTH STANDARD J. HOWARD"AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY M*PHEE ® Editor GARY HAIST Advertising Manager MARY ANN WILLENBECK - Office Manager MEMBER Mullerr advertising retire eirellleilo on rorlue.t. Ash for il+ Rete Card. no. U1 offensive Ostokier A MEMBER Avoiding conflict Hcy -w important is the Conflict of_Interest Act to municipal councils? -- Our local municipal leaders can take a piece of advice from Strathroy council. Councillors `there are taking their share of political embarrassment after it was alleged that a council member voted on a matter jnvolving a numbered company in which he was an officer. and shareholder. What actually happened around the Strathroy council table is not yet clear,,but the incident acts as a word of warning to all local councils. Such controversies and the subsequent charges that can be laid may be avoid- ed if councils pay greater attention to the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. The legislation requires a council member to disclose interest and refrain from taking part in any discussion of vote pertaining to matters in which he or she has direct or indirect financial involvement. Any contravention determined by the judge can result in a politician being dis- qualified from holding office for up to seven years. It fulls upon an elector to in- itiate action within six weeks of learning of an alleged contravention. The act was established in the best interests of council and the communities they serve in, by offering a way to avoid controversy and bias in municipal • business that -could -benefit -individual -council -members. . --- Every municipality is aware of the law and no council member is exempt from it. Conflict of interest is an issue that can affect everyone at some point in time. while they are holding public office. It could, for instance, pertain to a councillor whose spouse is a municipal employee or a reeve whose line of business could benefit from maintenance work done in the municipality. As in the case in Strathroy, it could pertain to a council member who had an immediate or indirect interest in a land transaction, it could affect a councillor who may have a family member directly involved in some council issue. Some local councils, Iike,Clinton and Bayfield, for instance, hove made it a standard procedure for council members to declare an conflict of interest at the beginning of each meeting. Councillors in Clinton are well aware of the problems ---------that may -result -if-conflicts-aren't-declared anal conscientious efforts -are -always mode to avoid this. The Conflict ,of Interest Act is designed to protect the councillor from unfair judgement and the municipality from biased decision making. Councils who maintain to be honest and objective will realize the importance of the act. -By S. McPhee. Behind The Scenes By Keith Roulston The dream sellers - The next federal election matchup is already determined, if the media opinion - makers are to be believed. It'll be Brian Mulroney versus John Turner. It also ap- pears it will be the election of the big lie. Neither man has spent long explaining his policies as yet. Mr. Mulroney is protecting himself from having his campaign shot down before it even begins. Mr. Turner has —Hest deelared his- candidacy for..the-..Liberal leadership after eight years out of politics and says he'll have more to say on policy as the campaign goes along. But so far both mer: are saying the same thing: the thing the voters want to hear, the big lie. Both give lip service to tackling two major: problems in society: massive unemploy- ment and a huge deficit. Both promise to find more jobs yet also say they will attack the deficit. But in case that sounds too much like Ronald Reagan and Reaganomics, they also pledge their undying allegiance to social projects and the universality of medicare, family allowances, old age pen- sions and so on. They promise to build a stronger defence policy but also say we need to decrease taxes on business to stimulate growth of the private sector. They go on with their vague policy statements but what it really comes down to is that they're selling pie in the sky, trying to Convince -people that we can have it all, the government services we've come to expect, and less government at the seine time. You can't blame them in a way. If they really told us thetruth we'd turn against them. We want to think that government.can be all things to all people, both big and small. at the same time, stimulating business and providing a safety net for the disadvantaged and not costing a cent. We dream of perfect government the way we dream of winning $14 million in the lottery. We aren't ready to face the truth that if we want social programs they will cost money. If we want a larger army, it goes directly against lower taxes. We can dream -all we want about the government -able to cut_. out waste and still give us the programs we want while still cutting the deficit but it's • precisely that: a dream. There isn't $30 , billion in waste in the government. To cut the deficit we're going to face either massive cuts in programs we've all come to expect or massive increases in taxes. There's no magic formula for having it both ways. Yet politicians continue to feed us the hoax that there is. They spout the platitudes about jobs and lower taxes and less deficit and never really explain how they'll pull off this magic act because they know that's what we want to hear. We don't want to face up to the fact that, powerful as the govern- ment is, it hasn't as much influence in the world as people think. We don't want to know that we're likely to face years of .unemployment because of the massive upheaval in the way business and industry operate . We prefer to think that we only have unemployment because - the -incompe- tent, almost malicious, bungling of a pre- sent prime minister who we blame for all that's wrong. And only when one of these new dream- sellers reamsellers becomes leader will we find out sadly • that we've bought a bill of goods. Ganadair receives aid If the federal government can bail out Canadair, it can bail out farmers having economic problems, the president of the OFA said recently. The federal government has announced that it would assume Canadair Limited's $1.35 billion debt. Harry Pelissero said, "The bankruptcy statistics show how bad life is in Canada's rural communities. Our industry needs assistance too, and we sure could use a billion -dollar boost." There have been 32 farm bankruptcies in Ontario this year, compared to 28 last year. The total for Canada is up 58 percent from last year. . "The federal government can't even guarantee a market for Canadair's planes," Pelissero said. "There's always a market for food. But little encouragement is given to the food producers. We need emergency help." Pelissero said there is "a feeling of frustration in the rural areas." He said that the bad times in farming over the past few mailaw �sA ,. z . .rs: ..4Er ill Spring tonic time agar and S.PkQ by Shelley McPhee A trip in the old Chev Driving down the highway last Sunday night, I found myself cursing with a fine, taut vehemence that sounded vaguely familiar. The object of my affection was an ap- proaching driver who refused to dim his lights, and I nearly went into the ditch in a combination of blindness and rage. When I• had cooled down I tried- to remember where I'd heard those particular phrases before, in just that' tone. Then I knew - my Dad had used-thernr in identical tones .and an identical situation, about 55 years before. Except that he HAD gone in the ditch. I guess my father, and I say it with pride, • was the worst driver that ever came over a hill right smack in the centre of the road. He wasn't reckless, careless or a showoff. He was just an incredibly bad driver. Of course he was about 40 when he bought his first car. I believe it was a 1923 Chev. He was the steadiest man alive, but every so often he'd do something -on the spur of the moment. -That's the- way -he got -the car: Plunked down the cash, took a ,driving lesson, which consisted of twice around the block, and drove it home. He tore in the gate at full bore, completely forgot how to stop, , and went right through the back of the barn. I'll never forget the annual trip to the cot- tage in the "Old Chev" as it is still fondly known- in the family. It• was about 85 miles, and an all -day journey, in those days. My Dad would be up bright and early and would lash all the heavy luggage to the bumpers, roof and - running -boards. As soon as breakfast was over, he'd go out, walk around the Old Chev, give the tires and kick and climb in., There he'd sit and honk the horn angrily, while my mother ran around years have discouraged prospective farmers from buying farm businesses, just as the bad economic times discouraged buyers from buying jets. "And farmers who are trying to get out of the business have discovered that there is no market for their property," Pelissero added. The low return farmers are getting for their products, especially in the meat in- dustry, is also a big part of the problem, he said. "The federal and provincial -ministers of agriculture have been dragging their feet too long on red meat stabili.iiation. The time for talking is past. We need a plan right away, and it has to be retroactive to be real- ly effective." Pelissero said the OFA supports the Cana- dian Federation of Agriculture's- demands for legislation that allows farmers to appeal to the courts before bankruptcy procedures are launched.. "These decisions can't wait till there's a new leader or a new govern- ment. We want action now," he said. By Bill Smiley, thethouse like a demented person, grabbing up babies, lunches, jars of preserves and all manner of,things. Then, with us kids piled in the back, on top of the bedding, we were off, with 'a great grinding of gears and lurching until wegot on the open road. After 10 miles or so, my mother would be almost relaxed, when Dad hadn't hit any loose gravel and had manag- ed to avoid several cars coming from the op- posite direction. But then we'd cometo a detour. In those days, the detours weren't the simple swing- ; outs we have now, on' a highway con- struction job. They were sheer tests of nerve and skill, with wobbley wooden bridges,. cliffs of crushed rock,holes you could lose a hippo in and murderous bits of bog. The next five minutes were sheer terror. We kids clutched each 'other in the back seat, all eyes and" white as paper. My' mother clasped the baby close to her breast, dropped her head and moved her lips rapid- ly. My Dad glared ferociously at the d s : his - teeth- and-:.: pressed hazards, g ground through, hitting the holes' with a bone - jarring drop, skidding perilously near the edge of a minor precipice, and confounding the blasted idiots who had created the detour. - Limp and sweating, we were always glad of the flat tire, that inevitably followed the detour. We'd pile out, hop the fence and dash about like animals let out of a ca e. My mother would head thankfully for the shade of a tree and change the babe's diaper, while Dad changed the tire, with appropriate in- cantations. Next major panic was getting the Old Chev onto the ferry. We had to cross Cite Ot- tawa River, and it was a great thrill each a ieidoscope you to Dear Editor Crisis Centre needs support 7 Dear Editor: We feel that there is a marked urgency in publicizing the fact that although the Huron County Crisis Centre house in B,a. yfield will be closed as of April 1st, a new one will be opening in Vanastra. Since the Centre opened 11 months ago, it has served twenty-two women and their children, granting them sanctuary from 'violence, and sometimes a new start in life. We feel that this has been an impressive figure for its first year of operation, but also feel that the facility is not widelylmown, due to a lack of publicity, and a lack of funds for advertising. Women Today strongly supports the work the Crisis Centre Board is doing, and hope this will help make the facility known to every -citizen of tbe.Har-on area.- - Tankyouvery:much foryour ssistance;. if I can provide any further information for you, please call me at any time: 482-9706 (work) or 482-3415 (home). Sincerely, Toby Rainey, Co -Ordinator Need names Dear Editor: For the past two years, I have been researching a book detailing the ex- periences xperiences of Canadians who served or work- ed in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam Era. To date, I have confirmed several hun- dred Canadians who served with U.S., Australian and New Zealand Armed Forces in Vietnam as well as Canadian troops who served with the series of International Con- trols Commissions between 1954 - 73, Cana- dian journalists, doctors, nurses and others whose duties ranged from covert operations to rescuing orphans. I am appealing to your readers, who may have served or know someone who did, to contact: Doug Clark, 7 Douglas Crescent, Fergus, Ontario, N1M 1C1, 519-843-4019.._..._ - . Thanking you in advance for your assistance, I remain, Yours truly, Doug Clark. RRSP facts Dear Editor: One or two enlightening facts about RRSP ':.. if a person wishes to draw money from the pension fund, he or she is deducted 10 percent for up to $5000, 20 percent anything over. When a per -son -reaches-the- age _of -71- that person has one of two options, to withdraw thewhole amount, thereby shouldering the penalty -of20_percent of signing:saxne.over to a trust fund ( annuity )°jiendlty? free, and tali- year. akyear. But watching Dad trying to get that ing a monthly payment. -For. example, capital in the RRSP $11,995.21, the max-, imum annuity trust company would pay $50 per month. We all know what use $50 per month is in these days, so, this person cashed in the $11,995.21 in the 1983 penalty of 20 percent imposed of $2,399.04 leaving the amount of $9,596.17 cash money of which he spent every damn cent. As a passing . thought, money was withdrawn from this particular RRSP in 1980 fora charitable donation of $2,611..11,(10 percent penalty) to purchase a used car for a person who was unemployed, whereby said person could travel to,and obtain a iob. He was reprimanded by the tax man, and penalized for this action. I know this to be true, because I was this person, and have documents to prove same. ' Signed, Frederick H. Jackson. • car onto the ferry was enough to mark a child for life. Year after year, when he saw my father drive up, the ferry captain would rollhis eyes and run for help. He'd enlist the engineer, the wheelsman, and every inno- cent by-stander, warn them, and arm them all with large chocks for throwing before and behind the wheels. ' Eventually, Dad would get the Old Chev wedged across the ferry so that nobody else could get on or off. The skipper would throw up his arms, shrug eloquently to the rest of the waiting cars and castoff. Dad would sit triumphantly in . the car, ready to scare everybody out of Mother year's growth . when we got to the other side of the river. There was onlyone other obstacle that really put us through the wringer, and that was The I3ig Hill, a few miles before we reached the lake: We'd go down a long, steep hill and right back up another one, longer and steeper. Each year we prayed we'd • make it. Each year -we all—threw body ,Dear Editor: -,.—• -_..-. _ .._.. English into the halting climb. And each All day Peggy and I'sit at the dining room year, Dad would forget to change into low table, a great pile of letters between us. We soon enough, and stall about 20 feet from the address these letters to Members of Parlia- top. Then there was the dreaded ordeal of ment. We sign them and we seal them and backing down for another run, and the final carry them to the local post office in neat ignominy of going and fetching the farmer bundles of 50. ' with his team, after three futile and fearful I look acrosss the table and see this attempts. woman bent upon her labour and my mind Nowadays, when I see a movie about goes back to a time when she was involved teenage hot -rod drivers, playing "chicken" in a labour of a quite different sort, the and taking supposedly awe-inspiring labour of bringing her babies into this world. chances, I just sneer. One trip to the cottage It was a world we believed in then. It was in the Old Chev with my Dad, and those a world of hope and faith and we held those punks would never have the nerve to climb tiny infants, each in their turn, close to our into an automobile again. breasts and our tears of joy fell upon their innocent, upturned faces. We held new life in our arms and it was a miracle that we shall never forget. Now, with all life on this earth threatened, I see her writing. Her brow is furrowed and she writes with a kind of quiet desperation, for she is deeply troubled. The foreshadgw- ing of the hot winds of nuclear death is. so. close now. All the beauty and hope for the future that was once hers in her young motherhood may soon end in a world of searing flesh, bulging, sightless eyes and the screaming agony of untold millions trap- ped in afissioned hell that was never of their Human survival Finally, it's spring.- What a great feeling it is to fling open the doors and windows, to smell fresh air, to curl up in the front room in a ray of sunshine, even to watch flies cavorting on the windows. Spring's a wonderful season, but then again so is summer, autumn and even winter. I've never been able to decide what's my favorite time of the year, I think I like the changing of the seasons the best. Each change in nature is special. It's invigorating, exciting, comforting and romantic. With spring comes the traditional house cleaning work. Some say it comes from a burst of energy and a new lease on life after winter's end. In my house spring cleaning comes out of necessity. With all that extra sunshine streaming in the windows, I can really spot the dust and cobwebs! Spring also brings on the gardening urge and my green thumb's already aching to get out there in the dirt and do its stuff. Gardening's a relatively new venture for this homeowner so I'm crossing my green thumbs in hopes that this year I can actually grow more than weeds. Actually, my beans and tomatoes fared pretty well last season and I learned on the By Shelley McPhee weekend from Margaret Chapman of Bayfield that those_ two veggies are companion plants. I wasn't aware of that before, but maybe I have gardener's intuition. I've stocked upon gardening reading material and many o ese articles and ideas will be feature our upcoming Home and Garden Special Edition. The special section will be included in a mid- April edition of the News -Record. In the McPhee-Haist household, spring also marks our first anniversary as Clinton homeowners So far Gary and I can happily report few regrets in our choice. The late Trucker George Elliott maintained a good home and we're happy to be its new owners. + + + Spring also means daffodils and the Sorority ladies will be, out and about on March 29, 30 and 31, selling the flowers for the Canadian Cancer Society. . The daffodil sales are popular here and the flowers sell out quickly, so be sure to put in your order. In connection with the Cancer Society fund raising month, the annual Daffodil Tea will be held on April 6. Fore more details, see this week's Community Calendar. Maple syrup lovers will be pleased to know that the sap's running freely now. In Bayfield's Pioneer Park the big maples have been tapped and this year's batch of syrup will be served at Lions's pancake making. The stacks of letters are piled around us in this special effort of ours. This is something breakfasts this summer. that we can do in this isolated little valley. Monica Beaumont, a food and nutrition We can bring our fears to the attention of specialist with the Ontario Ministry of those we have elected to positions of trust. Agricultue and Food, recommends that I reach across the table and place my maple syrup be stored unopened in a cool hand over hers. "Thank you Peggy," I say place to prevent it from spoiling: to her. "Thank you for these beautiful Once - open, keep tightly closed in a children and grandchildren and great refrigerator. For longer storage, keep grandchildren that you have given to this frozen up to one year or put in sterilized world. Thank you for your understanding sealers. To store in jars, first boil syrup then and for seeing the Clanger clearly. Thank pour into sterilized sealers and store in a you for the honesty and courage you have cool place for several months. shown and the work that you have done in Maple syrup doesn't last long in most the interests of human survival." homes, but there's nothing like a shot of Her face brightens in a smile. "Really sweet spring tonic in the dead of winter. dear, you give me too much credit," she Best take Monica's advice and store away a says. "Any mother who has raised a child pint or two. must feel as I do. I've had my time on this beautiful earth. I just want to ensure that the children of tomorrow will have the same opportunity." And with that she reaches for her pen and another envelope and returns to her task. Yours sincerely,' G.H. Rutherford, Hedley, $.C. +++ Happy birthday wishes go out to Beatrice Voting of Huronview. The former Clinton resident is 90 -years young and a family celebration was held in honor of her birthday.