HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-09-25, Page 4985
Page 4—CLI:NTON'NEWS-RECORD, WEDNESDAY. SF, PFEMBER25, I,
The Clinton News•ReFord Is published each
Wednesday at. P.O. lox 39. Clinton, Ontario,
Canada, NOM ILO. Tel,: 402.3443.
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The Neweftecord Incoirparated In 1924 the
Huron Neweffecord. founded in 1081. end
Tho Clinton News Era. founded In 1865. Total
press runs 3..700.
Incorporating
THE BLYTH STANDARD
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SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor
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DLit
AWARD
1955
Bridging the. generations
"Crabbed age and ,youth cannot live together: Youth is full of
pleasance, age is full of care", wrote William Shakespeare back in the
16th century.
This year.has been designated the International Year of Youth so it's an
appropriate time to consider the young people of today and their
understanding of their future as senior citizens.
A recent television program recounted the experiences of a 26 -year old
woman who set out to discover what it felt like to be a senior citizen.
Appropriately clothed, made up, and with mobility restricted to
simulate the physical „limitations, the exercise proved to be both il-
luminating and intimidating.
On one occasion she was mugged and so badly beaten that the hospital
where she received treatment considered that had she not been young
and.healthy she would not have survived t he attack! 'On another occasion,
attending a convention on geriatrics in her disguise, she found herself
totally ignored by the experts.
In Ontario, the elderly sect ion of the population is growing, and in 1980
statistics revealed that 10 per cent was over the age of 65, It was also an-
ticipated that by the year 2001 I his figure would have increased' t o 14 per
cent, rising to 20 per cent i112021.
No figures are available with regard to, people ever 65 int he Village of
Bayfield, but they do represent a fair proportion of the population, and
what is more, a very active group of people who involve themselves in
community activities, sc! t hat for many "retirement" has become a full -
lime occupation!
They are the volunteers who contribute a.treiirendous amount of ex-
perience•and expertise to local activities as demonstrated in the`service
clubs, the pottery'group, the agricultural fair and representatives on the
various community commit tees.
Bayfield is indeed fortunate in that the senior citizens adopt such a
healthy and stimulating apprnach..They are also supportive of each other
in tinges of need. Since the re -incorporation of the village' council in 1965,
they have continued to serve the village, 'bringing to tlle,)asks they under-
take. a diversity of "know-how" derived from a wide varlet y of occupa-
t.ions,,backgrounds and experience.
Their ability to contribute on such a wide scale is a point which today's
youth might bear in mind, especially when their turn comes to look at the
needs of the 'elderly, and the ways in which they can be met without
undermining independence and with the retention of opportunities for
seniors to remain active and constructive.
Planners talk in terms of increasing facilities for seniors to remain in
their own homes, the provision of increased institutional care, encourage-
ment of );ileal services, since good nutrition is an essential part of health
care,. Another aspect to be considered relates to transport. With longevity
'extending.into the '80s, this may mean restriction of driving licences (and
consequent frustration), so that although a person may be more than
capable of taking part in local affairs, attendance' is a problem.
Family attitudes are changing and the responsibility for aging parents
seems to be moving towards the state, although there are those who fully
appreciate that in families the influences of. senior members are in-
valuable as examples, sources of knowledge - and a treasure of heritage
memories.
By the year 2021 the 29 -year olds of today will have reached their own
ti5th,birthdays! And the forecast statistics -indicate that as they become,
pensionable they will be sharing; 1 heir senior cit izen stat us with t heir own
parents: - by H. Owen,
KaleidoscupQ
Who am I? Am I woman, am I lady, am I
female, am I person?
On occasion I have even been referred to
as "ma'am," but for the most part any of
the'above words have been used to describe
me and other "humans" of my gender.
And which is the proper -word to use
nowadays? 'It basically comes down to in-
dividual choice and your philosphy of life. If
you're a feminist, you want to be Called a
woman or female..If you're the old fashion-
ed type, you prefer lady. If you choose the
non -discriminating, non -labelling
phile,sphy, you're known as a person.
Most days.I don't feel much like a lady, in
the Victorian sense of the word, but then
again I'm not an feminist to the extremist of
terms, not enough to call myself a woman
with a capital "W".
There is no doubt that 1 am a female. A
person? 1 am that too, but I like to think of
myself in a little more personal terms.
The age of liberation has brought' its share
of confusion to the proper choice of title for
females. Today there seems to be no stan-
dard.
Historically the term lady has been most
commonly used to describe the female.
Loing standing club titles give some in-
dication of the times, like Summerhill
Ladies' Club, the Royal Canadian legion
Ladies' Auxiliary, Clinton Spring Fair
Ladies' Division,
And on the other hand, we have the
Women's Institute, the United Church
Women, the Catholic Women's League -
By Shelley McPhee
groups that also originated decades ago.
The discrepancy continues.
Female athletes are women: They're as
competitive and as aggressive as their male
counterparts and participate in equally
gruelling tests of physical prowess. And yet
they compete in tournaments like the
Ladies' Open and their score statistics are
recorded under titles like ladies' high.
Restrooms are still usually identified as
ladies' and gentlemen's, rather than
women's and men's.
Better that then label them with those sil-
ly male and female symbols. It takes at
least five minutes to figure out which is
which, which stick figure is wearing the
skirt, which isn't.
And better than having non-sexist "peo-
ple" washrooms. Do you think we'll ever be
liberated enought to have non -gender public
bathrooms? Maybe we will, but I hope I'm
long gone.
And perhaps the day will come when guest
speakers will simply address an audience
by sating, "People."
Todgly we still open meeting by saying
•' Ladies and gentlemen," not "Women and
rnen,"
Likewise when a man addresses a group
of women he'll probably say, "Hello ladies."
He'll rarely say "Hello women," and he'll
be sure to rack up points as a chauvinist if
he says, "Hello girls."
And still, it's line forme to inform my hus-
band, "I'm going out with the girls tonight."
The terms women, ladies, female, person,
even girls all have their mare
Sugar and Spica
The word female clearly illustrates the
biological differences between the sexes.
The word wornan asserts female indepen-
dence and equality with men. It's an ap-
propriate term for use ?in the professional
world where we have women engineers,
women doctors, women attorneys.
The word lady conjures up images of
refinemenr and female fragility, courtesy
And person? It represents a statement
and nobility.
about equality of men and women in an age
of discrimination. It stands for equal rights,
pay for work of equal value. It stands for
respect, regardless of sex, age or color, ll.•
And who am I? I am all of the above.
I am a woman journalist - proud of my'
profession, proud of my sex.
I am a lady when I'm dressed to the nines,
feeling beautiful and romantic, enjoying a
special eyeing with my chivalrous man.
And too, I am one of the girls. That's when
my female friends and I get together for the
night on the town, complete with beer and
pizza, some good gossip and boisterous fun.
And I'm a person when forced to take a
stand on my role in the work force, when I'm
defending my rights as a human being.
Woman, lady, female, person? For me
there's no one word that is better than the
other. I choose to wear many hats of my sex..
It depends on my mood, the circwnstances,
the role I'm playii that day.
Sounds logical doesn't it? After all, it's a
wornan's-lady's-f emale's-person' s
prerogative.
maiwienittaillmw
A small hotel
JUST a few rather dour comment's on a
few things, as summer drags to a close.
I now know what it is like to run a summer
hotel, without benefit of staff.
I undertook to take my grandboys for two
weeks. They were here for four. Their
mother joined us "for a few days" and
stayed two weeks. Their Uncle Hugh has
been up from the city at least every other
weekend, often with friends.
'Trouble is,that it's beautiful around here,
with trees, swimming in fresh water,
breathing in clean air, and eating fresh
food: sweet corn picked today, green or
yellow beans the same, real tomatoes in-
stead of those hard, bitter little pellets from
Florida or California, strawberries and
raspberries and blackberries just off the
vine. ..
I don't. blame them. The city can be pretty
gruelling in a hot summer. But next sum-
mer I'm going to lock up the big brick house
with the jungle in back and the massive oak
in front, and take ' -,n+ el with one
bed, no swimming pool.
First two weeks with the boys were fine.
Made their sandwiches every night , popped
them in the freezer (the sandwiches, not the
boys). Drove them away from the television
at 11 pan. (they have, at home, a tiny black
and white with two channels). Turfed them
out of a sleep like the dead at 7 a,m. Super-
vised breakfast (kids can drink a barrel of
orange juice in a week). Checked to see they
had sandwiches, an apple or .banana or
pear, wrapped their bottle of pop in their
towels, made sure they had their swim suits,
and booted them out the door in the general
direction of summer camp. Tried to keep
them in clean clothes, no easy feat.
Speaking of feet, they have the happy
faculty of playing football or baseball or
basketball in the back yard in their bare
feet, just after the lawn sprinkler has been
on for two hours, then rushing inside, across
the rug and going for a pee, then rushing
By Bill Smiley
back across it to resume activities. It didn't
seem to bother the boys, but it played hell
with the rug. I don't think I can get it clean-
ed. Might as well throw it out. Their Gran
would have killed them. On the spot. But
there are so many spots now, it doesn't seem
worth it.
Dinner was fairly' simple. I didn't fuss
around like Gran, getting a wholesome
meal, with chicken thighs, taties, salad and
dessert. Small boys love hamburgers and
chips. Needless to say, we, dined out quite
often:
Thanks to Ben, the younger of the two, the
back lawn looks as though several goats had
been grazing on it, and, after eating all the
grass, had started eating dirt.
Ben, to the amusement of my neighbors,
can play any game without equipment, or
opponents. Baseball:. he can take a called
strike, scowl at the umpire, foul one into the
stands, then hit a double and stretch it into a
triple, sliding into third base. He can dribble
a basketball, flip it to a team-mate, get it
back and drop an easy basket, walking
away, dusting his hands. He's eight, and at
seven decided his given name, Balind, was
not for him, so re -named himself Ben. Quite
a kid. Lives in his own world. And pretends
to be deaf when you try to call him out of it.
As soon as their mother arrived, of
course, the boys went ape,' Every grand-
parent knows about this. Don't ask me why.
I'm not a child psychologist.
Dear Kim has an over -abundance of
talent. She composes music, writes like an
angel, is an excellent teacher, and has been
stone-cold poor ever since she got married.
She's a bit sick of being poor. But she's an
excellent mother.
Sick of being poor, she 'spent most of her
time here writing new songs that were going
to make a million, and pumping me to find
out how to be a syndicated columnist within
almonth, at the outside.
And we fought. She is a bristly feminist,
and I; as she thinks, a male chauvinist. But
we love each other and when the fights got
near the blood-letting stage, one of us would
grin and declare truce. She took me for
about one grand this summer, counting
everything, but you' can't take it with you, so
why not?
Hugh is another fettle of kish. He lives in
one room, in the .city, with cooking
privileges, but doesn't cook much. When
he's home, he is either standing at the
fridge, door open, as he used to do when he
was 16, or standing oyer the stove, cooking
some infernal but delicious concoction full
of almonds, raisins, garlic and whatever,
with'a pasta base. He's not an old waiter for
nothing.
This weekend he brought a friend, Elena.
She's on a very strict diet, because of
allergies, and brings her own food. Not wan-
ting to be beholden, she bought some food. I
came down to the kitchen yesterday, and
she had out for dinner eight huge lamb -
chops. I asked how many were coming to
dinner. She said just the three of us. Two
chops each and a couple to share. I turned
green. But she and Hugh ate two each and
Hugh had another couple for breakfast.
I bought some home-made bread and
Elena has six slices. Hugh ate the rest of the '
loaf, at the sande sitting, except for one
slice, which I surreptitiously snagged while
they' were sitting. around belching. Tough
diet; eh?
Threw them onto a bus to the city this
morning, laden down with plastic bags full
of corn, beans, blueberries, tomatoes and
green onions. All fresh, local stuff.
They left me with a refrigerator full of
Elena's diet soup (ugh!) Hugh's dried corn,
and a lot of other delicacies from the health
food store that are -going straight into the
garbage.
It's lot of fun, running a summer hotel.
With no staff. Next summer, there's going to
be no manager, either.
eb
Behind The Scenes Former lawyer to be Lieutenant Governor
By Keith Roulston
Agricultural ignorance
For anyone who cares about farming~ the
communities that depend on farming and in-
deed on the future of the country, the ig-
norance of the urban population in Canada
is appalling and frightening.
One doesn't just have to talk to their big
city cousins to grasp this. I was recently at a
farm meeting in Bruce County with
representatives of the weekly newspapers
and was amazed at how dub some reporters
were.
Government as a whole seems to reflect
this ignorance. There was the ridiculous
government stRdy last spring, for instance,
that said farmers made more money and'
paid less tax than other Canadians at a time
when those of us living in rural areas could
see farm families tearfully giving up the
way of life they wanted to take urban jobs
because they just couldn't make ends' meet
anymore.
And now comes the new "MacDonald
Report" with observations and recommen-
dations on farming that make it obvious Mr.
MacDonald and his commissioners didn't
spend any of their $21 million to buy rubber
boots to go out and see what's actually hap-
pening on the farm.
From the synopsis printed in newspapers
at least, the MacDonald commission's farm
section it's obvious that the commissioners
came out of their deliberations (if they in-
deed even took time to deliberate about
farm issues) with the same. prejudices they
went in with. It's impossible to establish any
farm policy out of the contradictory recom-
mendations.
For instance, the commissioners com-
plain that our farm industry is too depen-
dent on subsidies. They've got a point. But
the only way to produce food without sub-
sidies is to come up with orderly marketing
.( just as General Motors, law societies and
other groups have found). The way to get
orderly marketing is through supply
• management.
Yet the commissioners ' say supply
management should be phased out because
it doesn't promote efficiency. What should it
be replaced by? Stabilization plans into
which both the farmer and the government
pay fees and the farmers draw out like in-
surance when the price of the product gets
low. But isn't this'a government subsidy?
Only one supply management system sees
any government subsidy and that's the
dairy industry and only because the govern-
ment is afraid to let the consumer pick up
the full price of producing milk. Far from
being against free enterprise, the farmers
under supply management are more self-
sufficient, less dependent on government
nto
l orderly mathan the rk ng. Whatrmers who refuse e, gito veno rthe
intervening inflation, prices for food produc-
ed under supply management haveincreas-
ed less than prices of foods not under such
systems.
The Commissioners were worried about
the amount of farm land being paved over
for urban purposes (famrers themselves
stopped worrying about that, about 10 years
ago and worried instead just how they were
going to manage to keep 'farming tomor-
row). Again, there is but one answer to keep
land in farming: pay enough for farm pro-
duce that land is worth as much to the
farmer as to the developer. Keep people on
the farms, in the small towns, so we don't
have to keep expanding cities.
Unfortunately through their ignorance,
Mr. MacDonald and his commission are
producing recommendations which would
do just the opposite.
BY JACK RIDDELL
1 HURON -MIDDLESEX M.P.P.
Ontario will be a new Lieutenant
Governor. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
announced that Lincoln Alexander will
become the next Queen's representative in
Ontario.
Alexander, a lawyer and former MP from
Hamilton, will leave his present post as
Chairman of the Workers Compensation
Board. Premier David Peterson said he was
delighted at Alexander's appointment and
that he was looking forward to working with
him.
Peterson also praised the 'outgoing I,ieute-
nant Governor, John Black Aird. He said the
disappointment in seeing Aird leave will be
offset by the magnificent way he used his
position to raise the needs of so,many forgot- '
ten people, especially disabled children, to a
place on the agenda.
In a speech to the St. Thomas More
Lawyers Guild, Peterson stressed the need
to remove cynicism from the political pro-
cess. He said one way to accomplish this is
to open up the process and make it more ac-
cessible to people in the province.
The Premier pointed to freedom -of -
information legislation, televising, the
legislature to bring it into the living rooms
of the province and replacing the patronage
system with the merit system as steps the
new Liberal government has taken towards
a more open form of government.
In an effort to save consumers and tax-
payers millions of dollars in unnecessary
payments to drug manufacturers and phar-
macists, Health Minister Murray Elston an-
nounced changes to the pricing schedule of
the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan. Beginning in
September, the Ontario Drug. Benefit for-
mulary, which lists wholesale prices for
2,300 drugs, will have prices set by the
Ministry of Health, based on the best
market information available to the govern-
ment.
In the past, prices published in the for-
mulary were based on manufacturers price
quotations which Elston said were often in-
flated above what pharmacists actually
paid. Drug companies found this helped
them increase their share of the market.
'Elston said this move could save the plan
up to 50 million dollars a year in reduced
drug prices and lead to lower prices for con-
sumers outside the plan who pay for
prescription drugs over the counter.
Meanwhile, Environment Minister Jini
Bradley presided at the opening of the
upgrade and expanded sewage treatment
plant in Niagara Falls. This new facility
represents the first significant clean-up of
any of the eight sources of pollution iden-
tified in the Niagara River Toxics report.
Bradley said he was pleased the Ministry •
of the Environment was able to contribute
$3.3 million to the cost of upgrading the
plant, He said these improvements along
with an increase in staff in the Niagara
district office will help ensure that Ontario
is doing its part in cleaning up the Niagara
River. The river, along with Lake Ontario is
the major source of drinking water for near-
, 4 .,,;ii�.4�, people in Ontario and parts ��f
ly nlilli�al people in and parts of
the United States,
Finally, the Royal Commission on the
Northern Environment, otherwise known as
the Fahlgren Commission, has published
and released its report. Started under the
David government in 1977, the 450 page
report containing 129 recommendations,
was eight years in the making and cost the
province, nearly $11 million. Commissioner
Edwin Fahlgren said the backbone of his
report is the establishment of a Northern
Development Authority which would be able
to regulate development in Northern On-
tar•io.and ensure that the rights of residents
are protected.
As well, the report reconunends that In-
dian commwiities' in the 'North should be
given more land and complete control over
their education -Premier Peterson said his
government is already taking a serious look
at the recommendations of the report.
ree trade or not
Would free trade with the United States be
advantageous to Canadian agriculture? Dr.
Murray MacGregor, P. Ag,, a member of
the Ontario Institute of Agrologists and
Professor of Agricultural Economics at the
University of Guelph states that `there are
winners and losers in any free trade
situation.'
Proponents of free tradepoint out that
barriers to trade restrict the gains from
comparative production advantages.
Maximum benefits are achieved with the
absence of trade barriers. Reductions' in
these barriers generate net gains to the
trading participants.
However, barriers to trade always permit
gains to some groups that would not exist in
the absence of these barriers. This creates
the `winners and losers' situation if the
trading barriers are removed. The free
trade scenario is an extension of the free
entry principle with large numbers of Small
buyers and sellers operating under the
condition of `perfect competition'. Such
conditions just do not exist today. The •
predominance of large, firms and collective
action by large groups inevitably leads to
bargaining• and -or negotiation as the
means of establishing trading relations
among countries and regions.
Free trade is commonly perceived as the
absence of tariff barrier's. However, there
are many other barriers to trade that may
be more significant in protecting the
advantages of some groups. These includ
local and regional government institution
imposing requirements that locally and
regionally produced goods and services be
purchased; restrictions in the guise drhealth and safety measures are ,..so afteh
Imposed.
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