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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1984-05-02, Page 4•e• .4,111t cothotori 411.4**Ylottlf 1.1414formilloa:104400/Mritogot Clinton- -..-News . 0.11,4 tioo, Apia** 0013a to 19441' Ito to (40,11 looml incerpoliating TIF BOTH STANDARD J. HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY WPM - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENISECK - Office Manager MEMBER Diselev advertising rates evellable on request. Asa for Rate ClArd. No. 141 effective October 1, Mi. Tips on child safety If there is a silver lining in every cloud, then the only silver lining that can be identified in the tragedy that has befallen the Perrin family of Stratford, is that parents are attempting 'to "street proof" their children. We have to depend on the legal system to determine the outcome of the Perrin case specifically, and it is senseless to adopt the "eye for an eye" attitude: but we, as parents and as members of society have to take affirmative action. Call your child's school. and find out if it has a system of monitoring absent students. Schools, particularly in the Stratford area, have taken extra steps in the past weeks to call home when a child is absent. li's definitely not a waste of time, but parents also have to shoulder some of the responsibility. • Consider the possibility that if both spouses work, your child may have to go to a babysitter when they are ill. Instead of having the school trying to locate a parent, it would be much simpler if the parent took a few minutes and called the school to inform them the child will be absent, It's one step parents can take to ensure, the safety of their children. There are others-. Get in touch with your local Home and School Association, Parent-Teacher Association or whatever and find out if they could host an information night on street proofing children. Service clubs could also host such an evening. ,There are many professionals out there who would be more than willing. to come to speak to a group of parents an&or.children. Police and social workers are two groups of professionals that come 9D mind. Does your community have a Block Parent program? Call your local police department and find out and offer assistance to either set up the program or become involved. • We can't lock our children in the house or deny that dangers do exist - -That on- ly happens in Toronto or the big cities". • By continually educating ourselves and our -children to the potential of these dangers, then we can give them some degree of protection. (S.L.) Elehind The Scenqs Dear Editor, Recently we conducted a survey in Huron - Countyandlcincardine to see if there was a need for a free-standing hospice to better Meet the needs of terminally -ill patients and families, as well as to see if there was a need for a county -wide bereavement program. On behalf of the Huron Hospice Pilot Pro- ject, funded by a federal grant, I would like to sincerely thank the families, and the pro- fessionals who generously gave of their tiine to answer the surveys and supply us with needed information. Special thanks to the hospitals for their assistance. ' I would also like to thank Canada Works, Employment and Immigration, and the Federal Government for funding the project and the Alexandra Marine and General Hospital for administering it. The study will be released soon and will be sent to all hospitals as well as. the Huron County library. • Sincerely, Connie Osborn, Project Manager i3y Keith Roulston • Government talk "Ladies and gentlemen," the chairman of the news conference called, banging the gavel on the table to bring the rowdy assort- ment of newsmen to order, "I am here today to announce a new candidate for the leader- ship of the party, the one man who can save this country from sure destruction on its present course. "May I introduce you to Mr. Slash N. , Hackett, a man for our troubled times." "The first priority of my government on taking office," Mr. Hackett said, would be to attack a government out of control. We must slash the deficit and get the government off ' the backs of the people." "Does that mean you would adopt such controversial measures as user -fees for hospitals?" one reporter asked. "I believe," Mr. Hackett said, "That peo- ple using hospitals should charge fees accor- ding to the need of the patient. The more he needs the hospital, the more he should pay. A man in the middle of a coronary throm- bosis is obviously going to be more willing to pay more than someone with an ingrown toenail. It's the law of supply and demand at its best. "We must," Mr. Hackett continued," get this country back to the right road of basic principles of the free enterprise system." "But how," the reporter asked, "will this affect the more than a million unemployed in the country'?" "Frankly," Mr. Hackett said, "if the unemployed just had more ambition they could be productive members of society. Look at me, I used to be poor but today I've got so much money I can afford to run for the leadership." "But," the reporter asked somewhat Warming up Sugar and Spice by R�d Hilts hesitantly, "do you wank' au mmi& and a half unemployed can be lucky enough to find oil on their farm like you did." "This country has been too pampered,:' Mr. Hackett continued ignoring him. "We must improve our productivity. How are we going to compete with the emerging third world countries the way we're going. Look atall the money we waste on family allowances and old age pensions. We can't afford these leaches on society. If kids and •old people want money, let them contribute to society. I'm sure there are businessmen in this country who would be delighted to hire kids to work in their factories. Then they could keep their factories here instead . of moving them to southeast Asia and keep all that money in Canada. We could save all that tax money and create more jobs as well." fresh approaches and that's what I intend to offer. For, instance, why should we pay politicians at all. Let's • let them tender for the job and the person who pays the most gets the privilege, almost like a franchise, to get what he can out of government. They can use supply and demand then to get as much out of selling their votes and in- fluences as they can. "But surely there are some government services that are essential and can't be turn- ed over to private enterprise: What about highways for instance?" "How about toll booths?" We let big com- panies run the road and charge tolls." "But won't that drive up costs for the large trucking conglomerate you own sir?" "Oh... well... perhaps the idea needs more study..." How to beat the meeting blues Meetings are an important aspect of any organization but they can also be a source of frustration, says Chuck Jacobs, rural leadership development specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food's rural organizations and services branch. First, start the meeting on time. Starting late punishes those who were on time and rewards those people arriving late; the result - the next meeting will begin just as late. The chairman should arrive ahead of time to ensure a prompt start. Use an agenda. This prepares people for topics to be covered,' esPecially if the agen- da is available ahead of time. Time limits can be imposed on agenda items to keep the meeting funning smoothly. Keep discussion on track. Wandering off topicsinstead of covering one item at a time is probably the biggest time waster. Correct participants by asking them if their com- ments are related to the topic, remind them of the present. topic, or suggest that you discuss that later when this item is finished. Summarize discussion often to keep everyone clear on what has been decided and what remains to be decided. Limit discussion and allow people to speak only once to a topic ( in large groups especially). This can hasten urgent but trivial items that take more time than A I'm glad to be back Well, I've been to Florida, after years ot denigrating those cowards who flee the true north, strong and freezing, to loll around on beaches, amidst palm trees, acquiring tans which are supposed to make us hewers of snowbanks and drawers of rusty fenders feel like an inferior breed, beyond the pale, across the tracks. You can have it. They may be more com- fortable, out of doors in March, than we are, 3ut they're no happier. They all talk about their weather, which sn't that great, when you add up the.cost of getting there, their cars, their houses, their 'Wenkids, and all their old friends who lied 1A4Year. Justaikeus. I lolled around on exactly two beaches. In oth cases, the water was too cold to swim a, except for little kids and crazy old ladies. 'ou had to be smeared from head to toe in goop or the sun, if it happened to be out, would burn you to a potato chip. If I never saw another palm tree. I would not weep. They , are ugly, misshapen things, on the whole, with nothing of the elegance of a maple or an oak. There is one type that is rather impressive, soaring up like something in the South Pacific, but most are grubby little things that have to be -clipped or trimmed, and the fronds hauled away. Just like home, except that I'd rather deal with autumn leaves than palm tree clipp- ings. And you don't clip them. You need a chainsaw, unless you're Tarzan. Show me a palm frond and I'll show you a pile of dry leaves, burning scarletly on a crisp October evening. they're worth. Use parliamentary procedure effectively, especially for a large group. The smaller the group, the less formal the procedure should be. A four page factsheet on parliamentar4 procedure is available by writing to the • Resource Centre,- Guelph Agriculture Cen- tre, P.O. Box 1030, Guelph, Ontario N1H 6N1. Be aware of the "unfinished business" portion on the agenda. This is a prime spot for rambling discussions. Be quick to iden- tify the issue and get a decision on what ac- tion is to be taken. Refer to a cornmittee any item which is either too broad a topic to be covered or which contains, many small details to be decided. For example, refer decisions on the color of tickets to be printed or the kind of club that will be needed in five years to a committee. ' Involve participants by directing ques- tions to shy individuals or using buzz groups or discussion groups to get everyone's opi- nion. Cover the most important items early in the Meeting while people's minds are fresh. Leave reports and housekeeping details un- til the and. By Bill Smiley As far as a tan goes, i got a dandy. My nose and my knees and the tops of my feet peeled. Otherwise, I came home as white as the belly of a fish, with a few freckles across the shoulders. Back to the people. The Canadians who go to Florida, that is. They're rather a sad lot. And they're everywhere. They think they are having a hell of a time. They delight in telling you that it is 68°F and it's -4°F back in Canada. That's after you've slipped on a sweater and put on some long pants, while they sit around, growing goose -pimples because they insist on wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts. They unabashedly hPag about their. ac- commodation. They seem to eat out every night. They run around in traffic that I wouldn't even attempt, driving 40 miles to a "great restaurant" which serves fair food at arm -and -leg prices. Pity them. My little brother, The Colonel, put me up, or put up with me, for 10 days out of the 14 I wasted. Before I arrived, he'd had my daughter Kim and the boys, Nikov and Ben, for two days. Before that, he'd had my sister a for about two weeks. He is extremely 'generous and hospitable, but by the time I got there, he was a little on edge, and I don't blame him. In his place, I'd have just moved out, into a motel, and said, Help yourselves." • But he pressed on, cooking special meals, taking people out to dinner, at great ex- pense, and trying to convinee me that I was hopelessly incompetent. We'd both lost our mate in the past seven months. He also had a dog, Cyndy, a big golden Kaleidoscope retriever, and a step -son, a big, golden boy with a cheerful Charm and the awkwardness and laziness of all teenagers who like sleep- ing in, eating like alligators, and forgetting everything serious they are supposed to do. In addition, he had a house, which seemed to be surrounded by jungle, and 64 glass doors which he kept so highly polished that T freciuently ran straight into one, thinking it was open. I have a large bump on my forehead to prove it. The glass doors were constantly being locked and unlocked, an unnerving experience for a guy who scarce- ly ever locks anything. He has to tackle that jungle, take the dog everywhere with him, and worry about his step -son's marks,- attitude, motivation, and whether he'll get home tonight from the barbecue or whatever. My poor little brud- der. Well, I finally took a little pressure off him by accepting an invitation from a couple of old friend a who lived not too far away. My brother said, "He's all yours. I can't do anything more." This was after he'd ar- ranged flights, a rental car and a motel where there were no rental motels, near Disney World. Two days at Disney World nearly finished me: Ben, the whirling Dervish, and Nikov, who wanted to ride anything that would scare the wits out of a human being. And Kim, who seemed inexhaustible, and wanted to get theirmoney's worth. Spent the final two days with the old friends, went to a cocktail party, was fed on such as fresh melon and strawberries, and - lined up a door-to-door limousine service from there to home. Some incompetent! Maybe I will go back. Sometime. • Monday's winds really had everyone in a stir. The telephone here at the News -Record office rang most of the day as people called in to report wind damages around the countryside. At times things got a little hectic around here and even a little quiet, especially when the hydro went out. Most of us survived the day with few damages, but others will have their work cut out, cleaning up the remains of roofs and trees. Our poor feathered friends were probably hit the worst. Just think, all their diligent work, building nests for their newborns are now d'estroyed. Here's hoping that nice spring weather will return soon. +++ Margaret Thorndike of Clinton received a pleasant surprise on April 29 when she was honored by the Ladies Legion Auxiliary. Eleven women from the Clinton Legion attended the Zone C1 convention in Seaforth on Sunday and Mrs. Thorndike earned an award for outstanding service as a past zone commander. The award, a Trillium pin, bearing the Ladies Auxiliary crest, was presented to Mrs. Thorndike by Theresa Achtenberg, provincial president of the Ladies Auxiliary Command. +++ This Sunday, May 6 the Auxiliary to the Clinton Public Hospital will honor young hospital volunteers at the Candy Striper Capping and Award Ceremony. Twenty-five Candy Stripers will be honored for the hundreds of hours they have donated to the hospital. The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. at Wesley Willis United Church. Everyone is welcome to attend. +++ Also on Sunday -afternoon, between 2 and 4 p.m., Clinton council invites everyone to take a tour of the newly renovated Clinton Library. By Shelley McPhee The open house is being held to encourage people to see the beautiful new library facilities. An official opening ceremony will be held later this year, in conjunction with the town hall renovation completion. This Sunday, the open house will feature tours of the library and coffee and doughnuts will be served. Please take this opportunity to see our impressive library facilities. If you are already familiat with the library, take the time to visit to pass on your compliments. Clinton now boasts a library that equals any of the modern facilities located in larger urban centres. Once you tour the library yourself, I'm sure you'll agree that our money was well spend on the extensive renovation work. + + + On May 8, the Clinton Library will host another special event. Mary Walker, a teacher at Fanshawe College in London and author of the book Homespun Interior Design Simplified, will be conducting an informal seminar at the Clinton Library, starting at 8 p.m. Mrs. Walker is an expert in interior decorating. She has designed new homes, has worked as a design and sales consultant and has had a daily decorating show on CFPL Radio. Her book looks at personal style, decorating basics, space, line, form, texture and pattern, color, lighting and flooring. Mrs. Walker wrote that her book, "allows you to take a tour through each area of your home with a new awareness." In her book, Mrs. Walker wrote that she prepared the book, "because of my years in the design field talking to many people, I developed an awareness as to the lack of material in libraries and in the market place for the homeowner. Someone should provide help for those adventurous but fearful souls. This with encouragement from students and friends, Homespun was born." A copy of Homespun Interior Design Simplified is available at the Clinton Library. Everyone is inVited to hear Mts. Walker when she comes to the library on May 8. +++ The Clinton Bicentennial Celebration Committee will meet on Wednesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. at the municipal council chambers. Michael Cavanagh, Southwest Area Bicentennial Co-ordinator will be a special guest at this meeting. The committee invites Any interested local residents to attend. +++ The Clinton- Town, Hall Steering Committee meets tonight, May 2 at 7 p.m. at the Clinton Public School Library. All are invited to attend. You can tell a farmer by his habits +++ Don't forget, this Saturday is the first of the month and that means the local Lions Clubs will be out 'amaking their regular newspaper pick-up. The Londesboro Lions will be in Clinton bright and early and over in Bayfield the village club will also be looking for donations. Have your papers, bundled, tied and placed out at the curb first this Saturday morning. .A farmer is a person whoOWns between 20 and 30 hats. They have names on the front, just above the peak - names like United Co- op and John Deere. You can always tell a farmer....but not very much. Farmers never go out of the house without one of those caps, and that's why all farmers - have white foreheads. Sometimes they wear them indoors. Young farmers wear them' low over their eyes. Usually their dads wear • them on the back of their heads and have the uncanny ability to, in one motion, take 'off the cap, scratch the scalp, and replace the cap at the same angle in about 2.3 seconds. • Farmers sometimes wear their hats in the house until a)their wives make them take it' off, or b)they, go to bed. One can always recognize a farmer by his fingers (sometirnes farmers don't have all of them by the way). They are usually very big and when you shake hands with one it feels a lot like sandpaper - and they squeeze as though they really are glad to see" you. Sometimes after you shake hands with a farmer he slaps you on the shoulder and dislocates it for you. If a farmer says it's going to rain, it does, but rarely when their land really needs it. Farmers like new cars and always buy big shiny ones. Within two weeks after delivery there is three tOlfotinfirChesl'of mud on the new front Boon 4nats'a the, dashboard -is covered with dust, a pair of work glove, a notebook and three books of matches. In the trunk of the new car .can be found air cleaner off the pick-up, a pair of boots caked with dried mud, a box of, miscellaneous gears, cogs, two fan belts and three spare hats. Farmers are the only people whocan keep their sanity while the rest of us bang our heads on the wall in dismay over the weather, government policies, the weather, price increases, the weather and a county council which often forgets most of its con- stituents farm for a living. Farmers read agriculture bulletins, The Canadian Farmer and the financial page, but not necessarily in that order. They know a lot about insects, hail, crop dusting, irriga- tion, interest rates, curling, animal husban- dry, engines, electricity, welding, and futures, but can never seem to figure out what the heck those guys in Ottawa and at Queen's Park are doing. Farmers like roast beef (usually well done), small children,' especially their grandchildren, woodlots, big tractors, Hub- bard squash,,pot roast and sometimes liver. They like mashed potates with gravy, homemade pie, and almost anywhere in Florida. They like vacations, but not as much as their wives do, big bath towels, dogs, euchre and Hockey Night in Canada. Farmers don't particularly like zucchini, opera, the Liberals, hospitals, super- markets, the 401, gas stations (that's because they usually keep a gasoline pump of their own near the barn, sort of a do-it- yourself service station), implement salesmen, bank managers and drought. Farmers are people who are convinced to spend a small fortune on a sprayer and huge quantity of the new insecticide methyl bethyl aprozean, only to find out that day after they spray it has been banned by the federal Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Welfare because, besides killing bugs, it just maybe kills birds and a few people too. Farmers are the people who know how to raise food in such quantity, and of such quality, we are a people blessed many times over with their plenty at a fraction of the cost of what many in other less -privileged countries pay to eat. A farmer is an eternal optimist who - in spite of rain when his land is soaking wet and drought when it is parched dry, hail when his corn or beans are at their peak, not • withstanding interest rates and collapsing markets, government action or inaction - still gets up every day, puts on his cap, and once again makes it all work for all of us, who so often take our farmers for granted. -reprinted from the Kent County Federa- tion of Agriculture. Help support UNICEF Your purchase of UNICEF cards and gifts this spring can help make possible a "children's revolution" which could save 20,000 young lives each day around the world. The 1984 State of the World's Children Report issued by UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) tells of an inexpensive four -point plan that holds new hope for millions of children in the develop- ing world. Through breastfeeding, LITI- munization of all children. supplying growth camas to monitor ctuldren's development, and through a simple technique called Oral Rehydration Therapy to stop -the biggest killer of children - dehydration caused by diarrhoea - UNICEF is bringing about a "children's revolution" that is saving thousands of lives daily. Revenue raised from the sale of UNICEF products is match- ed dollar -for -dollar by the federal govern- ment through CIDA (the Canadian Interna- tional development Agency). 1