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Clinton News-Record, 1985-3-6, Page 5THE BLYTH STANDARD) 1 Page 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6, 1985 Tho Clinton News;.Record do published each Wednesday at P.O. Boa 39, Clinton, Ontario, Canada. NOM 11.0. Tol.: 402.3443. Subpaription Rate: Canada• $19.75 Sr. Citizen - 616.75 per year U.S.A. foreign - 295.00 par year iA io registered as second clans mall by the post office under the pormit number 0017. Tho Nowa-Record Incorporated In 1924 the , Huron Nemo -Record, founded In 1001, and Tho Clinton Names Era, foundod in 1863. Total press runs 3,700. incorporating J. HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENSECK - Office Manager CCNA e4A MEMBER MEMBER Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 15 effective October 1, 1984. The need will continue Canadians in theft thousands dug into their pockets when the news of mass starvation in Ethiopia became widely known last fall = despite the obvious fact that the need was enormous and far beyond the resources of individuals or even single nations. Since that time various stories have circulated which cast doubt on delivery of aid to those who need it. The truth of the horror stories has been verified beyond doubt and the fears of wastage have been rationalized. Observers on the spot have reported on the - percentage of aid which is reaching those in greatest need and we can now be assured that our help has brought some relief to hundreds of thousands not only in Ethiopia, but to many other African regions where starvation is widespread. The great danger now lies in human forgetfulness. Africa's need will remain accute for a long time to come. The single, spontaneous gift we made initially is not enough. If our sympathy is genuine we must continue to help without which millions more will be left to die.—from The Wingham Advance Times. Red Cross needs support for worldwide campaign Dear Editor: March is Red Cross month and'the Clinton Red Cross committee is geared for its an- nual fund raising canvass. We hope for generosity from the public as we have received it in the past. The committee is composed of Ken Flett, Garnet Harland, Winn - IHomuth, Val Galachiuk, Mrs. Flagg, Helen Cooper, Marg Caldwell, Marg Allan, Bill Counter, Mrs. Fines and Bess Fingland. The work has expanded year by year as more and more countries look to the Red Cross for help in getting foo n edical sup- plies, blankets and tents. If you read your daily papers, you will see the Red Cross worker with the Red Cross insignia on his clothing or vehicle, i in places such 'as Ethiopia, Mexico, Pakistan and Cambodia. As a president of the Clinton Chapter of the Red Cross during the great war, I know the difficulties and questions which arose at that time. And,I know they have arisen since we started our yearly campaign. These questions have been largely"over- come, although I was amazed recently when a middle aged man asked, "What does the Red Cross do?" He only needs to read his daily paper, The Red Cross takes on numerous jobs. It finds" missing persons and . is the only organization allowed into prisoner of war camps with food parcels for the ill -fed in times of war.. The Red Cross helps whenever and wherever it is called upon to provide help regardless of the cost. The firm basis for such work must be the moral support of each and every human being. The question of comparison with. the Salvation Army, that splendid body of workers for the good of all mankind, creeps in. The two organizations defy comparison as each does its work and each work is dif- . ferent. The Red Cross can and does do work that the Salvation Army can not do. Two in- stances are blood donor clinics and getting • food parcels to prisoners of war or to famine stricken areas of the world. They even took food to some of Hitlers' vicious camps by way of the Switzerland Red Cross. Helping the wounded and dying in the bat- tle fields, while they were both protected and unprotected, is another of the Red Cross'' duties. Due to the generosity of the News -Record editor, each year we receive publicity which somehow is always needed to reach our goal - and which, as a . committee, we are all grateful for. • How many are aware that the "red cycle" is the symbol for.the Red Cross in Muslim countries? Not being Christian, they choose not to use the cross but instead, the cycle. The color red' stands for the work of that splendid organization. May the time never come when the Red Cross resources fail - because we failed them. Kaleidoscope Sincerely E. Fingland Clinton Observations on life only in America • ...do they lock up the jury and let the prisoner go home. .do people make instant coffee and dawdle away an hour drinking it. .:sloes a mother drive her kids three blocks to a physical -fitness class. ...does it take more brains to make out the income tax return than it does to make the income. (from the Clinton Oddfellows and Rehekahs t. Behind The Scones By Keith Roulston Di‘,coNeries and 1os�E°6, "There are tunes when being an adult is no fun. I'd been sitting in a car for some time. waiting for someone to come out from an appointment. Staring through the wu,dshield, rnv mind .was crowded with thoughts. Would i be late for the next thing on the schedule? How was I going to manage fit in 'all 1 had to do the next day? And so it uent a universe full of adult complications. For some reason though there was a moment when the mind cleared, when for the first time I saw what 1 was looking out at It was one of those clear cold winter nit ht- With the full moon's light reflected yip 1,fthe snow, the night wasn't really dark at :i11 Against this cold blue light the farm hiii,dings seemed to be hulking shadows hu,t,iled around the warn', yellow light of ar,1 lights. The air was so crisp that the light. from town, miles away, twinkled there way to me as 1 sat high on a hill. !Ater,' ;appointments kept, I would stand outside an'l listen to the awesome silence of a winter night I, iter that week, to escape the everyday worries I'd strapped on skis and headed for the wilds. But the worries had come with me and a wasn't until I stopped by the river that I really saw what was around me. The snow •lav along the riverbanks in sculpted mounds. All the boughs of trees were weighted down with huge cotton balls of snow. The only sound was the gurgle of the water through a break in the ice. The sun was warm in the shelter and washed the whole scene in a brightness that was hard on • the eyes. i had made the discovery twice in a week that we all keep discovering and Ing again, the discovery that there are A 'many good things in this that we're travelling too fast to see. There are so many wonderful things in life that money can't -buy. So we trade the real beauty of winter for a job that will buy us at most an expensive camera to try to capture the rare moments like this so that we can have them right there in, the house because we won't take the time to make more trips out to really experience life. 1 keep remembering the question asked by that study a year ago by the Canadian Homan Catholic bishops when they asked what our whole system was set up for, man or the system. Supposedly, the system is to serve man, to give us jobs to provide us with the necessities of life, food, shelter and, increasingly, VCR machines and vacations twice a year. We demand more time for recreation" from ourl jobs, more vacations, shorter work weeks, then fill those hours with expensive gadgets so we can't have time to enjoy the free things. ])avid Susuki recently started a new television series called "A Planet for the Taking" with a study of an obscure, primitive tribe in Africa. For these nomadic people, • he pointed out, there was nog accumulation of possession because they were on the move so much. Work for them was the acquiring of food only and it tpok them perl� two days out of the week, The rest of th t' e they were free to enl�`the world and play with their children. They also moved through their environment in harmony with it. They didn't cause pollution'. They didn't cause waste because they only needed enough for themselves. Now really, which of us is the more enlightened people. Last week a girl I didn't know died. I didn't personally know Helen Roestcisoender, but the news off her tragic death in a highway accident both saddened and startled me. Many other people in the community shared my feelings. In recent months several area families have been burdened by tragic deaths in hway crashes. And too, the communities dere these families live share in their grief. Fatal accidents heighten our awareness. They make us realize how final, how unexpected car crashes can be. Our lives can end so suddenly, so innocently. There's no promik6 that w0'11 all By Shelley McPhee enjoy long, healthy lives. Often there's no warning when death will occur. It's a unfortunate lesson learned and a difficult reality to accept. I deal with it best by Talizing all the good things that I'm fortate enough to enjoy in this life. Simple pleasures and complex emotional satisfactions, they're mine to enjoy. I'm grateful for these and can only hope that they'll be with me for years and years to come. Still, we've got no guarantees. ^What I'm really trying to say may sound contrived, and granted it's cliched much too often, but life is precious. If only more people could find some joy in life before it's n,rPr And as a bit of an afterthought, it suite is nice to know that we live in such a caring community. It's a special small ;ten vn characteristic that t hope we never We. -f- -f- -I- I'll leave Kalidescope there this week. with some serious food for thought. On the more day-to-day aspects of life - it still looks as if we may have a postal strike next week. In the event that we do, News -Record subscribers, in Clinton only, may pick up their newspapers here at the office. We haven't yet figured out what we'll do with the hundreds of other newspapers that will pile up here. Here's hoping they're in your mail box! Influencing youth Through 4-H In the 441 sense, leadership is guiding peo- ple towards useful goals. These goals are to help the young people: 1) develop self- confidence, 2) learn to work with others, 3) acquire a sense of responsibility, 4) develop individuals' qualities of leadership, and 5) develop an appreciation of agriculture. It is the sharing of your skills and abilities, as a leader of today's youth, which helps us to achieve such goals. Leaders are influencers. It is through this role that our present 4-11 leaders gain a great deal of satisfaction. When was the last time you observed a young person tackling and overcoming a problem, using the skills and guidance which you had impressed upon that individual? Do you remember the pride and gratification you felt knowing your nar't ac an inf111Pn'Pr wac inctrlimental in his or her success? This is but one of the many rewards of taking on a leadership role in the 4-H program. 1 No one begins leading with all the characteristics of a leader, but as you gain experience at leading, you'll develop the qualities and abilities of a leader. There are many opportunities for development in this program. All new leaders will have orienta- tion and training for this new and exciting challenge. There are Regional Leader Con- ferences for the experienced 4-H leaders. And for new 4-H leaders there is the ex- perience, knowledge and guidance of the more than two hundred and fifty 4-1I leaders presently active in Huron County. Marls of the 4-u 4arirnitrtral elnha have two or more leaders co-ordinating them. The following clubs are active in Huron County: dairy, beef, senior dairy manage- ment, field crops, farm safety, goat, horse, sheep, - poultry, farm machinery, con- servation, sodbusters, swine, veterinarian and snowmobile clubs. Other clubs which are available in the 4-H program, given enough interest are: maple syrup, apiculture, rabbits and judging. New people are invited to join our dynamic team of 4-H leaders. For more in- formation, contact Karen Rodman or Mary Ann Yaromich at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Box 159, Clinton, On- tario (482-3428 or 1-800-265-5170). We are Together Today for a Terrific Tomorrow! Promise of spring broken Last Friday Clinton streets were dry and clean. The snowdrops were in bloom, the street cleaner was out, children were shipping. The promise of spring was shortllved. On Monday and Tuesday fierce winds, freezing rain and snow pelted the area and shutdown schools and businesses. (Shelley McPhee photo ) Sugar and Spice Personal columns SOME people, much too refined to indulge in pornographic books or blue Movies, get their voyeuristic kicks from reading the "Personal" columns of the newspapers. Not me. I ain't refined. By the time I've skimmed the front page, been bored by the pompous editorials, I'm through with the paper. It is strictly for wrapping gat bage. in. Never do I read the classified ads, selling everything from houses and cars to bodies, I haven't time. And besides, they're all the same. Whether it's a car, a house, or a body, it's the greatest buy of the century. Many of them carry the same message: "Must be seen." Well, I strayed. Yes, I wandered. The other day, looking through the ads• for teachers in the hope that I could find my daughter's address in Moosonee (she hasn't written us in over three weeks and I have a piercing picture of her and the grandboys stumbling around the tundra looking for the place), I staggered, by some mischance, on- to the "Personal" column. No wonder those warpies read it, the peo- ple who leave the room,nose in air, when so- meone mentions sex, or tells a funny, slight- ly off-color joke. It's a kaleidoscope of sex, sin silliness and sickness to warm the heart of any peeker through others' windows. I read with at first amusement, then amazement, and then a bit of shock, though I am fairly unshockable. This appeared in "Canada's National Newspaper", which maintains a lofty moral tone on most of its other pages., It was. like looking under the rug in a highly moral dowager's house, while she is out getting tea, and finding a lot of dirt under it. First under suspicion are the items under By Bill Smiley "Massage." Some of them are innocuous enough, but what about this one: "No ap- pointment needed. 10 a.m.,to 10 p.m. 7 days a week." With a woman's name and phone number. Maybe she's just a hard worker, who doesn't get up too early, and doesn't like days off, but I doubt it. Then you come to the section headed: "Readers, Palmistry, Horoscopes." Again, some of them'are legit, as legit as a fortune- teller can be. But there are some intriguing ones: "Mrs. Selma will help you in all pro- blems of life. No problem so small that she cannot solve. (How about big ones? ). One visit will convince you." Hanky-panky? Sure sounds like it. But that is kid stuff, only mildly titillating, compared with the sick, ar- rogant, lonely, blunt, no -holds barred medicine that comes under the heading: Companions Wanted: This is where the real meat of the "Personal Column" is, and I im- agine an inveterate reader skips the masseuses and the fortune tellers quickly, and gets down to peering into private lives. When I was in the weekly newspaper business, there was the occasional pathetic guy who would come in to the office and place an ad: "Successful young farmer, good farm, stock, house, seeks partner in- terested in matrimony. Write Box 220B." It was pathetic because we knew the guy. He was 53, ugly. His farm was 60 apres, mostly second -growth bush and pasture. His "stock" consisted of two pigs, four chickens and three mangy cows. His "house" was a shack without plumbing, heated by a pot- bellied stove. He never received an answer. but would come in once a week for two mon- ths, asking for the mail from Box 2208. But these city slickers are a lot more sub- tle rule tough. I'll give/you a few examples that curdled me a bit. The egos are fan- tastic. "Professional man, married, mid - thirties, seeks married woman for afternoon or evening meetings." How would you like to be his wife? "Gentleman, 48, business owner, lives in new apt. seeks charming, attractive lady to share his life with." No mention of mar- riage, "Middle-aged business man seeks younger male companion." Well. "Sophisticated gentleman, creative type, seeks the oleas'ure of sensuous woman 30 - 45. If an exciting affair with an appreciative male is your style, send snapshot and phone no. to ... ' \He could be 80. But it's not all men. "Lady, 55, R.C., wishes to meet gent up to 60." If you're 61 you're out, but you could be 21. "One wild and crazy guy wishes to meet one wild and crazy gal who loves dancing and camping out and would like to share a serious relationship." On a dance floor? In a tent? '1 am a lovely, loving female, 33, divorced and a writer, who is also tolerant, percep- tive, idealistic, off -beat romantic, cerebral and a Cancer looking for an honest, stable relationship. I am loo ing for a man... (and a list of adjectives like hers). Someone with a calm exterior, but brimmingwith hidden fiires and worlds to explore. Under 50' and over five feet seven inches." That's what gets me. After the great build-up, the blunt facts. If you were 51 and five six, you'd miss out on this fantastic woman. "Intriguing. Blonde young lady seeks wealthy man for daytime affair." That's the shortest and most honest of the bunch. Shy probably works nights.