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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-3-20, Page 4• Page 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1985 The Clinton News -Record Is published each Wednesday at P.O. Sox 39. Clinton, Ontario. Coincide, NOM 11.0. Tol.: 482.3443. Subscription Rate: Canada .• $19.79 Sr. CIN,zen • *16.75 per year U.S.A. foreign - $55.00 per year It is,aeelsttlrod as second class moll On the post office under the permit namhar 0817, The Nows.Record Incorporated In 1924 the Huron News•Recard, founded In 1881. and The Clinton yeWs Ere. founded in 1865. Total press runs 3,7Q0.. Incorpor. ating THE BLYTH STANDARD CCNA J. HOWARD AITKEN . Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertlising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENSECK - Office Manager MEMBER A, MEMBER Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Cord No, 15 effective October 1, 1984. Give youth a chance In this time of national high unemployment for youth and a lack of adequate funding for higher education at the province's colleges and universities, there are few constructive areas for our youth to apply themselves. Many are putting in time cashing government cheques and working odd jobs until something, anything happens to charge their bleak prospects. So it is especially disconcerting to note that politics may be playing a part in gutting the budget of one federal youth program of any merit. Katimavik, or "meeting place" in Inuit, is a program designed to increase awareness of the various communities which makeup Canada and help provide some information to develop an overview of what it means to be a Canadian. It also gives participants a chance to work at different jobs and, because of the limited allowance and honorarium dispensed as part of the program, understand the nature of volunteerism and its importance in the quality of our lives. Within a scant six months and amid the obligatory mouthings of support during the Inter- national Year of Youth, the Progressive Conservative • government in, Ottawa has dramatically cut the program's budget from $45 million during the 1984-85 phase to $19.7 million for the 1985-86 period. And it has been suggested that this is due to the fact that Katimavik was developed and considered a Liberal project. Katimavik is a successful project and conducting petty politics at the expense of our already disillusioned younger citizens is a cynical and destructive act of political expedien- cy. One can only hope that the approximately 2,000 youths not accepted due to the reduction , will be able to find jobs during the current economic upswing, although statistics show this is not the case. All youth needs is a chance to show what they can do. And we'll all benefit if they have that chance. by James Friel minter bouquet qiqidoscupe Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Allen Betties of 147 Victoria Street, Clinton who celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary on March 27. Also 45 year wedding anniversary con- gratulations to Mr. and Mrs. John McCowan of Ontario Street, Clinton who celebrated on March 20. As well, Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Horton of 122 Queen Street, Clinton celebrated their 50th anniversary on March 6. In an age of quick marriages, and even quicker divorces, these long lasting romances are especially admirable. Marriage brings many special joys and comforts, and its share of concessions and co-operation. The Wall Street Journal also notes - "Mar- riage entitles women to the protection of strong men who steady the stepladder while they paint the kitchen ceiling." +++ Marriage and spring go hand and hand. Spring is also a busy time for homeowners, farmers, gardeners, recreation leagues and community groups. A peak glimpse at the upcoming calendar for the area shows an impressive and ex- citing schedule of events for people of all ages and interests. From Bayfield to Blyth, in Clinton, Goderich and Tuckersmith Townships, the spring and summer season looks busy and exciting. One special upcon'ung event is the Clinton Public Hospital Celebrity Auction. This uni- que fund raising event features an auction of fine and fun items - including handmade quilts, paintings, jewelery, figurines, golf lessons, a getaway weekend, hand crocheted table cloths, even a pig. More than 20 items will be put on the auction block by celebrity auctioneer Huron -Middlesex MPP Jack Riddell. This is the third year that Jack has donated his services to this cause and he has the knack to make the af- fair both fun and profitable. Profits from the event will be put towards Thes nothing nice about winter driving. It can be frustrating, dangerous and slow go- ing. ' Tolerance, patience and a good road crew°department are the three main keys to safe winter driving. Not all drivers are patient and tolerant, however. They fishtail their way down streets at speeds that aren't safe in any kind of weather. They gun around corners., ,with complete disregard for the dangerously high snow banks, and other more cautious drivers. They choose to ignore safety rules and laws and drive with taillights and signal lights covered by snow, and vision impaired by frosted windows. There's little that cautious drivers can do about these reckless sorts, except take extra caution to protect themselves and the unconcerned. Careless driving is an aggravating fact of life; In Clinton, we are fortunate however to have an excellent public works department. These fellows work hard to keep our town streets clean. Their professional and efficient manner is evident throughout the town and in comparison with other local towns, Clinton's streets are always the best around. It's easy to take'such services for granted, but it takes a great deal of manpower and ef- 'fort to keep the miles and miles of Clinton streets free from snow buildup. Snow removal is a thankless task. It means working in the middle of the night when most of us are enjoying the comforts of a warm bed. It means hearing complaints from people who don't like their driveways filled with snow and complaints from others who say their streetsaren't cleaned fast eno.ugh. Little do these people know that it takes a great deal of planning, money and plain hard work to keep the seemingly endless downfall of snow cleared away. Main thoroughfares, municipal parking ldts and sidewalks are the priority concerns of the public works crew, and these areas are cleared out each morning before the daily rush of drivers take to the streets. After that comes the job of clearing away the snow and ice from mile after mile of Clinton streets. It's a thankless, expensive job, that's done out of necessity. This editorial applauds the work of our local public works department. A winter bouquet to you fellows - you deserve it. - by Shelley McPhee Behind The Scenes' By Shelley McPhee the hospital building fund for the new obstetrics wing. Some may choose to go from the auction empty handed, but no one will leave hungry. The auction features a gourmet dinner and lots of wine. The date for the auction is Saturday, April. 13 and the place is the Goderich Township Community Centre, Holmesville. For tickets - call the hospital at 482-3447 or Faye Fear at 482-9412. +++ Another sure sign of spring - the return of the robins. How refreshing to see them. Many people have spotted spring's favorite bird. Our own reporter James Friel came across a flock of robins at the Falls Reserve. Betty Bowes of Blyth reported seeing a robin "a fat little fellow" in her backyard, and Shirley Hargreaves of Brucefield kept the robins well fed during one of our recent snowstorms. The robins, and bluejays, were lured to the Hargreaves' home by pieces of soft apple, set out for the storm stranded birds. +++ Anri hoot of all - cnrinrr is man1P syrup New 4-H project time. Local sugar operations are riming full force and the sweet spring elixir is at its finest. I've taken a finger sampling of the Pullen boys' product, but yet have to make up a big batch of wholewheat pancakes to give it the real test. The Goderich Township Enterprising Senior Citizens are planning a tour of Schilbe's Sugar Bush near Bayfield on March 28. Cars will be leaving from the Goderieh Township Community Centre in Holmesville at 2 p.m. After the tour, everyone is invited back to the Community Centre for a pancake feast, starting at 4 p.m. Sounds like a great way to start the season! +++ The Clinton News -Record is pleased to an- nounce a new edition to the pages - The Vanastra Report. Toby Rainey, of Vanstra will be, reporting a variety of news and up- coming events from the community. If you have news reports, sports reports or human interest stories that you'd like to pass along, call Toby at 482-3815 after 6 p.m. or on weekends. Score with safety • member's family will develop an emergen- cy escape plan for their home. Learning how to handle an emergency correctly and first aid will also be stressed. The workshops for this project will be held. Tuesday, April 2, 1985 - 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Clinton Town Hall and Tuesday, April 2, 1985 - 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. at the Clinton Town Hall. If interested in leading this new club, please contact Mary Ann Yaromich at the Clinton Agricultural Office (482-3428 or 1-800-265-5170). The project "Score with Safety" is being offered in recognition of the International ,Youth Year (1985) and the contribution that our youth can make towards safe homes and communities. More accidents occur at home than anywhere else, so ,the project will teach members how to make their homes and out- door surroundings a safe place to live. Proper driving habits, as well as water, food and fire safety are included in the pro- ject and each member will have the oppor- tunity to learn artificial respiration. Each Summer Anticipation By Keith Roulston — • Hockey trade • • by Anne Narejko • Suggr and Spice Those Canadians who see total free trade with the United States as the answer to our economic 'woes and who argue that Canada can only gain from such an arrangement .should perhaps take a look at our national game to see what price Canadians can pay for trying to chase big American bucks. With a new arena ready for a major league team in Hamilton starting this fall there is talk on this side of the border about the possibility of expansion. But the Globe and Mail in a recent survey of U.S. owners said expansion of professional hockey into more Canadian cities would be bad for the league. Listening to some of the owners, if they had their way there'd be a lot fewer Canadian teams than there are, even if they are the strongest franchises in the league. Pride and image comes into it as one fac- tor. U.S. owners shuddered when the St. Louis Blues almost became the Saskatoon Blues. Whoever heard of Saskatoon. The owners want the stamp of approval of play- ing in "big league" cities that already have baseball and NFL football teams. Only two Canadian cities have baseball teams and of course none are in the NFL 'so they aren't big league cities. Statistics show that while the Canadian teams have among the highest home atten- dance figures and, with a couple of notable exceptions, are among the most exciting teams, Americans don't flock to see them when they come to town in major metropolisis like Uniondale or Rutherford. This, the American owners say, is reason enough not to create any more Canadian teams in obscure places like Hamilton. It's worth remembering that, it took history to get the first two Canadiarrteams ( Toronto and Montreal) and political pressure to get the third (Vancouver). When the NHL finally expanded in 1967 (ironical - 1.. Canada's centennial), it didn't add a single Canadian team. Chasing the American television dollar, the league put franchises in big U.S. centres that didn't know a hockey puck from a burnt donut like Atlanta and Oakland and ignored Canadian cities where hockey interest was strong. Eventually the Atlanta team moved to Calgary where it's been a big success even when it had a poor arena to play in. The other Canadian teams, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Quebec, only came into being because of the formation of a rival league. The owners of that league, mostly Americans, tried to be "big league" too and put teams in Miami and Cleveland but it was the Canadian teams that stayed strong and kept the league together until it could force a merger with the NHL that gave Canada for the first time some semblance of representation in a league for which it pro- duces 80 per cent of the talent. Even the dreams of the big U.S. television bucks have turned around. Jealous of the money Canadian teams were making from Canadian television, the American teams recently nearly split the league over a plan to grab some of the Canadian television cash. Free trade is supposed to make common sense. But what common sense is there in the business of hockey when the country that produces the players, that produces the big television dollars, that produces the strongest franchises is told it can't have more teams because the weak teams in the U.S. ca i t build up interest in playing ex- citing Canadian teams from lesser known cities among their'fans. What sense does it make that the city of New York has three teams while the province of Ontario, where hockey is nearly a religion, where • more hockey players start out than anywhere else in the world, has only one team. Tl„s folks, is the rational thinking that big business is supposed to produce to make us forget the narrow nationalism and more to free trade. - Warn' memories AN OLD friend died recently, and though I was saddened, news of his death brought back some warm memories. He was Captain D'Alt Hudson, I'd always called him Dalt, thinking it was short for Dalton. When I saw the fancy D'Alt in his obituary, my mind began toying with the no- ble ancestors in his background. He had many of the traits of an aristocrat: a hawk -like profile, an impatience with fools, a grand courtesy with the ladies. My wife thought him a perfect gentleman. He wasn't perfect, but he was a gentleman. When I first met him, he was long retired from his career as a captain on the Great Lakes, though he occasionally skippered some rich man's yacht down the inland waterways to Florida. He didn't drink, but he told me with a glint in his eye that he'd been a "heller” as a young fellow. However, he did smoke, a pipe, which rarely left his mouth, even when he was playing billiards. Ahd that's where we met — at the billard table in the curling club. There was no one else around, and he asked if I'd like a game. I modestly told him I hadn't played in years, neglecting to add that I'd been something of a pool shark when I was in high school. I made a few decent shots, though he beat me easily. He was a 75 -year-old shark. We played a few more times and some of my old skills came back and? I was able to give him a game, occasionally fluking a win. We enjoyed each other's company, though there were three decades between us. We played the same kind of pool, needling the opponent, trying to talk him out of shots, but never with malice, and a straight face and "tough luck" when the needler's ploy work- ed, orked, or the opponent scratched or miscued. By Bill Smiley When D'Alt learned that I had sailed for five summers on the Lakes, he was delighted. We began to exchange ,yarns, found that we knew many people in com- mon: Capt. Bill Taylor of the ill-fated Noronic, Capt. Harold Miller of Wiarton, and others. We had shared the shabby beverage room of the old Mariaggi Hotel in Port Arthur, as it was then. We'd both been through the Big Storm of '37 or '38. In short, Cap took me as his protege, as a sailor and a pretty fair billiards shooter. He loved to entice passers-by into playing a game with me, always introducing me, craf- tily, as "a high school teacher." This would ensure an easy win for the victim, as it is ob- vious that school teachers could never be pool sharks. Then the old devil would stand 'by and chortle to himself as I cleaned the victim's clock, loser buying the drinks. When it became clear that I was no easy mark, D'Alt came up with the idea of a club championship tournament for Russian billiards. This would bring in the local sharks, and some real competition. He organized it, put a plaque on the wall, and play began. He didn't take part, though he could have won it handily. My first oppo- nent, the terror of the local poor halls, scared me when he brought his own4custom- made cue. I beat him. My last opponent, a brilliant but reckless player, won the first two games (it was best three out of five). Somehow, mostly due to his dashing but dangerous play, I won the next three. D'Alt was delighted and promptly had my name affixed to the plaque. It's still there, as far as I know. Then there was he time he took me fishing for bass, out in the Ray. He had a stubby, roomy, trusty, old boat that chugged out to the fishing grounds while we exchang- ed anecdotes and lies. He certainly knew where the fish were. We heaved anchor, cut the motor, and while he filled the pipe and gave me instructions about bait as though I were a six-year-old, we bet a quarter on who'd get the first fish. I flipped my line in while he was getting his pipe smoking and whipped a bass in on my first cast. D'Alt let go a few choice ex- pletives concerning young punks taking ad- vantage of elderly gentlemen. We filled our quota and started for home. At least we started to start for home. But the motor wouldn't catch. He tried everything, including some language I'd never heard before. Nothing worked. So there we were, two men in a boat, half a mile from shore. D'Alt was furious, with himself, the boat and the world. Here he was, a renowned Captain, helpless, maroon- ed at sea in a tubby little launch, with a guest aboard. We finally attracted the attention of another boat which towed us ignominiously to shore. We finally got to a telephone and he called his son, Doug, and told him in no uncertainterms to come'and get us. Two or three hours later we were home, by car. Left the boat, brought the fish. D'Alt was in a fairly black mood and unusually taciturn. I was chuckling inwardly but didn't say a word. It was not my pride that was hurt. Typically, he insisted I take all the fish. I stopped curling and we saw each other only occasionally, but the old warmth was there. Maybe I'll meet you again, D'Alt, at that big billiard table in the sky. •