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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-12-11, Page 4(THF BLYTH STANDARD) Page 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1985 The Clinton News•Recprd Is published eech Wednesday at P.O. Box 30.. Clinton, Ontario, Cnneria, NOM 11.0. Tel.:482-3443. Subscription Rate: Canada -321.00 Sr. Citizen • $18.00 per year U.S.A. foreign 300.00 per year it Is registered as second clams mall by the post office under the permit number 0817. The Nows.Record Incorporated In 11124 tbeHuran News -Record, founded In 1001, and The Clinton News Era. founded In 1802. Total prow runs 3.700. Incorporating J. HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher ANNE NAREJKO - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENBECK - Office Manager Display advertising rotes available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 15 effective Oc• tabor 1.1904. Stifferpenalties save lives Impaired drivers will no (longer get a slap on the wrist but will face penalties which approach the magnitude of their crime. It is estimated that over 50,000 people either die or are injured in ac- cidents caused by impaired. drivers. For this reason, the federal govern- ment has amended the criminal code in an attempt to deter drivers from drinking before getting behind the wheel. Under the new law, a first offender will receive a minimum fine of $300, opposed to the previous $50 fine. The maximum penalty is a $2,000 fine and a six month jail term. Judges will also have the authority to prohibit convicted drivers from driving for up to three years. The second time offender will face 14 days to one year in jail plus a six month driving suspension with the third time offender facing a three month to two year jail term. - Impaired drivers who cause injury can receive a 10 year jail sentence as well as a 10 year licence suspension. Impaired drivers responsibile for causing death will face a maximum 14 year prison term and 10 year licence suspension. Those who have lost their licence but continue to .drive should be prepared to sit in a prison cell for a maximum of two years dnd face a driving suspension of three years. By the time Christmas festivities kick into full gear, the Ontario government hopes to have even harsher laws in place. They are planning on passing legislative reforms that will allow judges to impose a one year licence suspension and a possible jail term for first offenders. This would replace the present threemonth suspension. The federal and provincial governments have joined forces (federal government sets fines and jail terms with the provincial attorney general determining the licence suspensions) in an attempt to make the highways and roads safer. They've complied with the public's plea for stiffer penalties, now it's the public's turn to .use the new law as a deterrent. - Anne Narejko Reader seeking apology Dear Editor: I wish to thank "Concerned Parent" Dan Steyn for his apology in the News -Record on November 27 but no apology has been received from the Clinton News -Record as of yet. The letter that Dan Steyn had written to the News -Record on November6 would not have interfered with the municipal election if the News -Record had 'not printed it on November 6. ' The • question now is should the Clinton News -Record be printing malicious gossip at any time? I wish to thank the administration, the principals and the teachers for the letters of appreciation I have receiied in the past weeks thanking me for my contribution to the Huron County Board of Education in the past five years. Yours Truly, Franklin M. Falconer .RR5 Clinton. Reader believes body contact for Pee Wees is a regressive move Dear Editor: This letter is written to request the: sup- port of your newspaper anti its readership to address a concern held by many parents of minor hockey players. Recent rule changes, sanctioned •by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association have introduced per- missive body contact to the Pee Wee age group. This follows an earlier change which sanctioned a similar regressive step for Bantams. Many parents and coaches see this as a regressive move. The requisites for being an effective player seem to place brute strength as a priority over skating skills, stick -handling and teamwork. Wide dif- ferences in the physical size and develop- ment of this age group also create a signifi- cant safety hazard. When the four footer col- lides with the six footer, the results are not .amusing. As this season of minor hockey unfolds, the garnes I'm watching verify growing ag- gression and negative competition. It's not "cute" ; it's "sick"! The rules should be changed. If parents will join me and others who are voicing similar displeasure, they will be changed. You can help by urging concerned parents and others: 1. to contact their Minor Hockey Association President; 2. to write their local newspaper to publicize the concern; 3. to call their local radio call-in show; 4. to write their M. P.P.; 5. to write the OMHA President at: 1425 Bishop St. Unit 6, Cambridge, Ontario. NIR 6J9. 6. to write the CAHA President at: National Office, 333 River Road, Vanier, Ontario. K I L 8H9. 7. to contact their local hockey coach about immediate abuses of physical aggression; and 8. to call me in Seaforth to add their names to a brief for submission to the OM -IA. I am convinced - through contacts made during the last month - that a majority of parents want these regressive rule changes removed. It's an error to assume that nothing can bp done. Let's take glome positive action to initiate some constructive change on behalf of our children! Sincerely, Paul Carroll. Litter is more than an eyesore D'!ar Editor: Some people have no consideration what- soever when it comes to our Ontario Highways. Whether it's a cigarette package or a big bag of garbage from their car, they just chuck it out ,the window. And you see it every day. It's worse this time of year because it seldom gets picked up and it's left there for every one to look at it. But sometimes it goes beyond an eyesore and inconsiderate rudeness: It can be very dangerous as well. Last Tuesday I was on my way home from work at 3:30 a.m. when I came across a medium sized brown paper bag in the mid- dle of my lane. Normally at that time of day I would cross the yellow line and go around it but unfortunately I couldn't because of an oncoming truck and it is never safe to take to the shoulder at highway speed for a bit of garbage so I drove over top of it. Clunk bang. Needless to say it was more than just gar- bage. Some dummy, or dummies, had put a rock inside this bag thinking What a great joke. Well it's not. There was no serious damage done to the car except for the gas tank. I know for a fact that there was three- quarters of a tank of gas when I left Clinton and when I pulled into my driVeway in Vanastra there was less than half a tank and was still pouring out strong. Worse yet. What if I. had been driving a small car that's low to the ground. Damage would have been much worse. Or if the front tire hit it. I hate to think of the result of that. In conclusion I would like to add that if the person or persons who did this stupid act is reading this article, it would be nice if you came and paid for the damages (which I have my doubts) but at least think twice about it before doing it again and that also holds to anyone else who thinks something like this could be funny, it simply isn't. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS... M.J.Bolger, Vanastra Got an opinion? W rite a letter to the editor Kcieidoscope December 6 - I'm feeling out of sorts to- day. I'm cleaning out my desk drawers. Ordinarily this routine task does not raise such a flood of emotions in me. Today is dif- ferent. Eight years worth of collections are spread atop my desk, stuffed in a nearby garbage pail or packed in boxes as I prepare to make my grand exit from the News - Record. It's maternity leave time. It should be a joyous event - at least a reprieve from the daily rigors of this job; an opportunity to pamper myself; time to decently care for my too often neglected home; time to plan and prepare for the birth of this baby. It is all that and still I'm feeling a little blue. I can't begin to count the number of times . I wished that I didn't have to face the daily grind of newspaper work over the years; the too long nights; the mistakes and com- plaints; the controversies. How I longed, or thought I longed, for a "normal" job, the nine to five kind, with no responsibilities, no challenges, no deadlines to meet, no some 3,000 readersto answer to. And now, when I think about it all, I'm go- ing to miss this place. By Shelley McPhee This newspaper work has been an all - consuming job for the past eight years. In this business personal and social life takes a back seat as the demands of the job mean that there are few days, nights or weekends for oneself. Suddenly my time is going to be my own. What will I do with it? No more Monday night council meeting until midnight. No more sitting and waiting, for sometimes well over an hour, to take one little photo of a kid and her trophy, No more chasing fire trucks at four in the morning. No more putting the newspaper to bed in the wee hours of the morning each Tuesday. I'll miss it all. For the past week or so I've been thinking about writing this column, thinking about what this job as editor has meant to me, thinking about how my life is going to change with motherhood so close at hand. And I'm stumped for words. My work at the News -Record has brought more than its share of joys and ac- complishments. I've been part of some im- portant events in this area and I've had the opportunity to meet many influential and exciting people. And my work has helped develop my character. It's given me confidence to speak out when needed, the compassion to understand another person's point of view, the maturity to take my blows fairly and to accept my compliments graciously. Best of all, this job has given me the op- portunity to do my favorite thing, talk to people. No doubt come January my life will be drastically changed. I'm prepared to devote a good portion of my life to this new little baby. I'm ready, or as ready as I'll ever be for the long nights ahead, the four in the morning feedings, the time consuming care, the pressures and the problems of motherhood. Somehow this all sounds too familiar, t much like my schedule at the News -Record What about the time for myself, the time to decorate my home, time to pamper my husband, to do some volunteer work, join an aerobics class? In its time and place Ii believed that being a newspaper editor was the greatest challenge I would ever face. Now it seems I am facing an even greater challenge .. - motherhood. Give me a few months at this new job and I'll let you know how it's going. Jack's Jottings By lack Riddell I am very pleased to report that as On- tario's Minister of Agriculture and Food, I have signed the first national tripartite stabilization agreement for red meat pro- ducers with the federal government. On- tario is the first province in Canada to sign this voluntary income assurance plan designed to protect beef, lamb and pork pro- ducers in times of low commodity prices; Ontario producers have ibeen most patient and supportive of my efforts to successfully conclude this agreement, and I was pleased to have had three representatives of the pro- ducer groups in Ottawa to witness the sign- ing. First Contract Legislation The Liberal government is committed to collective bargaining as a fair and effective method of establishing terms and conditions of employment. Affirming this commit- ment, Labor Minister Bill . Wrye has in- troduced first contract legislation to provide for the settlement by arbitration of first con- tract disputes. Wrye pointed out ,hat, on some occasions, the employer fights against the existence of a bargaining unit even after certification is given to the union. First contract legislation would begin to address thisproblem, beyond a finding of bad faith. Wage Protection For Insolvency. Situations Labor Minister Bill Wrye has released the final report of the commission into wage protection in insolvency- situations. The report recommends that employees be pro- tected in the event that their employer goes bankrupt. It suggests that an employer hold three pay periods of wages in trust for the employee; that employers should be per- sonally liable for wages; and that an unpaid wagesfund should be established to ensure that no employees lose wages, even where no assets were available. Wrye stated his ministry will undertake a thorough analysis of the recommendations with a view to tak- ing appropriate action. Northern Medical Travel Health Minister Murray Elston has in- troduced the Northern Health Travel Grant Program to provide subsidies to Northern residents who have to travel over 300 kilometres, one way, for necessary medical care. The program, announced by Elston together„ with his parliamentary assistant, Chris Ward, member of Wentworth North, and the new minister for Northern Develop- ment and Mines, Rene Fontaine, will cost $13.2 million. In order to encourage more medical specialists to locate in the north, Elston also brought in the.Medical Specialists Incentive • Program which will provide $40,000 over four years to help specialists set up northern practices. As•well, Elston approved an addi- tional $2.5 million dollars for perinatal ser- ' vices, which serve high risk pregnant women and high risk newborn infants, at four northern hospitals. Better Drug Pricing: New Legislation On Nov. 7, Health Minister Murray Elston introduced two bills in the Ontario legislature which are designed .to have a positive impact on prescription drug prices in thisprovince. The Ontario Drug. Benefit Act, for the first time, gives the government the legislative authority it requires to manage the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan (ODB). ODB is the pro- gram under which senior citizens, people on home care, residents for nursing homes, as well as those on provincial assistance pro-. grams, are able to receive prescription drugs without charge. The program now ac- counts for 40 per cent of all prescription sales in Ontario. The second bill, the Prescription Drug Cost Regulation act, is now consumer pro- tection legislation. It's been designed to en- sure that high quality, low cost drugs are available to all people of Ontario. The. Need For Action The costs of financing the ODB program have been rising by nearly 23 per cent an- nually for the past six years – from $100 million to $300 million and it was projected that costs this year could be as high as $400 million. Unrealistic drug prices in the government's Drug Benefit Formulary were a major reason for these rising costs. Up until now, prices published in the for- mulary were based on manufacturers' price quotations which were often inflated above what pharmacists actually paid, therefore costing taxpayers millions of dollars a year. Informing The Public The Prescription Drug Cost Regulation Act will promote more knowledge and understanding among the general public Sagarcmd -Spice MPP about the interchangeability of. drugs, drug prices, and the options that are available to consumers when a prescription is filled. Reaction To The Legislation The legislation has received the solid sup- port of public interest groups such as the Consumers' Association of Canada, the United Senior Citizens of Ontario, the On- tario Health Coalition, the Toronto Mayor's Committee on Aging, Canadian Pensioners Concerned and the Association of Jewish Seniors. Advertisements criticizing the proposed legislation, however, have . appeared in many Ontario newspapers. Some ads have claimed that many of the smaller indepen- dent pharmacies will be driven out of business, that larger operators will have to reduce staff and cut back on customer ser- vice and that pharmacies may expect a 40 per cent reduction in profits as a result of the legislation. Yet, it is difficult to accept these statements of economic doom for phar- macies when an essential component in pharmacists' compensation under the new legislation – namely the dispensing fee – has yet to be negotiated. Also, Elston has stated he is committed to establishing a fair' and equitable dispensing fee for pharmacists and his ministry of- ficials are ready to meet with represen-, tatives of pharmacy to negotiate this mat- ter. The Ontario Drug Benefit Act recognizes that volume purchase discounts are not available to all pharmacies, especially the smaller, independent operators. The act therefore provides flexibility so that no 'pharmacy will be required to accept pay- ment for any drug at a level lower than what the pharmacy paid for the drug. This will help to ensure the economic viability of in- dependent pharmacy operators and recognize the contribution they make to our health care system. While there are some who say the govern- ment is moving with undue haste, the fact is that there have been no price adjustments in the Drug Benefit Formulary since January of this year. This means that not only are new drug benefits not being included, but for every month that publication of the new for- mulary is delayed, the cost to Ontario tax- payers and consumers is estimated' to be at least $3 to $4 million in excess drug costs. A strange bird A strange bird is our Hugh. An odd bird, indeed. He can be as cunning and wily as an Egyptian bazaar merchant. Next moment, he can be as naive as a six-year-old who has been slapped for doing something un- thinkable in our rectitudinous Canadian society. I observe him more closely than I have in years, because of geogfaphy. For some years, he attended, occasionally, various universities, from Toronto to Halifax. He worked on a boat on the Great Lakes, and another on the Vancouver -Alaska run. He .spent five years in Paraguay. There were side -trips to Mexico, Israel, Guatemala, Costa Rica. He's been to Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Bolivia. As a result, we didn't see much of him. Now, he has rented a winterized cottage at a beach near me, while maintaining his practice in the city. Nobody but Hugh would rent a cottage which he must vacate from mid-June to Labour Day. But he did. He arrives from the city on Friday even- ing. Does he rush out to his beloved cottage, which he rented to "get away from the ci- ty?" Not on your life. We have cups of tea, some food, a little yatter. He plays the grand piano and some new tapes he's disovered. We watch late TV. He sleeps late, showers, brings me a cuppa in bed, plays more piano or guitar, and halfway through Saturday afternoon, I almost have to kick him out to go to his retreat in the country. He returns to my place Monday evening and the same routine is followed. Tea, shower, music, TV. He catches the early bus Tuesday, usually, and goes back to work in the city, where he sleeps on a bed in the By Bill Smiley' clinic he shares. A tough life. We spat, infrequently, but fairly fiercely. I'm a sceptic; he's a believer. In everything: holistic medicine, astrology, reflexology - the mind boggles when he gets on to the relation between' music and the en- tire body. I ask snarky questions until his dark brown eyes begin to smoulder. But he has a great personality, and a wonderful curiousity. He is very fit, because he eats only the right foods, except that every time he leaves, my refrigerator is almost cleaned out. He charms people, and opens up to them. He is an excellent listener, except that he gets a bit of a glazed look when I go on about something he doesn't agree with, or has heard before, or doesn't fit into his scheme of things. He is completely amoral about money. He received a small inheritance from his grandfather, and admitted that it was just enough to pay his debts. (It wasn't, of course). He has friends all over Canada and the U.S., and sees nothing wrong with "dropp- ing in for visit" and staying a„few days. And he's just as hospitable with his friends. He's asked them all up to his cottage, where he has amelectric piano, courtesy of you -know - who, a TV, all the appliances, and electric heat. This may sound as though I thoroughly' dislike and am suspicious of my son. Not so. It's just that he has a human spirit that is not easy to pin down. He loves his sister (who is another weirdo), his nephews, and at times, his father. He went on a long trek to see his grandfather, who is in his nineties. He cause mine the other night, a d found his father draped in his favorite armchair, with a wet towel on his head. Was aghast. "Dad, what's the matter?” I informed him. that I have come home late, left no lights on, carried four bags of groceries, had made a misstep on the back porch, and fallen Istill holding two bags of groceries), and had cracked my head on the sharp side of the porch. By the time he got there, it had almost stopped bleeding down my neck. My mother taught me that a cold compress would ease the bleeding, years ago, when there was no such thing as an emergency ward. I But Hugh was horrified. He insisted, over my objections, that we go to, the hospital. (He loves driving my car.) It turned out that the cut was fairly deep and wide, and the doc stuck some stitches in it. Did you every try to get a bed in a hospital.? It's like getting an engraved in- vitation to a garden party at Buckingham Palace, except that I doubt the Queen's signature would get you in. I'd been waiting three weeks for a bed, and there I was, with a little cut on my head, being cosseted and sewn. Oh, it was worth it. They put a great, flapping bandage on the cut, and then tied a thing around my forehead, so that I looked like a hippie or an Indian or a long-distance runner. My neighbor was delighted by my band. But it fell off in a few hours. It was apparently designed only to hold my head together. So. You see? If Hugh hadn't come home, and wanted a Chance to drive the car, I could be sitting, dead cold, in my own blood, still reading the paper.