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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-06-10, Page 4Page 4—CLINTON NEWS -RECORD, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 1987 J. The Clinton News -Record Is published egch Wednesday at P.O. Dos 39, Clinton. Ontdi'lo. Canada, NOMI 1 L0. Tel.: 482.3443. Subscription Rote: Canada • $21.00 Sr. Citizen - $10.00 per year U.S.A. foreign 360.00 per year I1 Is registered as second class mall by the post office under the permit number 0811. The News -Record Incorporated In 1924 theHuron News -Record. founded In 1881, and The Clinton News Era. founded In 1883. Total press runs 3.100. ShIIey McPhee Jkiist Incorporating 071-1E BLYTH STANDARD'UV m� ANNE NAREJKO - Editor FREDA McLEOD - Office Manager SHELLEY McPHEE HAIST - Reporter DAVID EMSLIE - Reporter JANICE GIBSON - Advertising LAUREL MITCHELL - Circulation/Classified GARY HAIST - General Manager CCN. eiA MEMBER MEMBER CN BLUI RIBBON AWARD 1987 Display advertising rotes available on request. Ash for Rote Card No. 13 effective Oc- tober 1, 1984. This is Senior Citizens' Month • June is the month dedicated to Senior Citizens across Canada. Indeed, it's about time Canada recognized both the past and present contributions of seniors. In Ontario, the government is just now beginning to realize the complex needs of senior citizens. And these needs are being met, thanks to groups such as the United Senior Citizens of Ontario (USCO), a group of seniors, which lobbies the government for necessary changes in policy affecting seniors across the province. In a recent speech to members of the local chapters of the USCO in Lucknow recently Minister for Senior Citizens Affairs Ron Van Horne, says a "quiet revolution," is now taking place with seniors making their needs known to the government. One of the profound changes sparked by the diligence of the seniors' groups was the establishment of the Ministry of Senior Citizens' Affairs itself. The ministry is the first of its kind in Canada. Also significant was last year's White Paper called "A new Agenda," a blueprint for change in the way the Ontario government views the ques- tion of needs of the province's elderly in the future. Two crucial areas the government hopes to address are the provision of a clearer definition of extended care to seniors and a new program dubb- ed "One Stop Shopping" which will allow seniors access to the gamut of services available (VON, Meals on Wheels, etc.) without dealing with the maze of services individually. With government and seniors groups working together, an enriched way of life and increased services for the elderly appears to be just around the corner. Broken glass is a hazard, says reader Dear Editor, It obviously has been great weather to head for the beach and I enjoy bringing my two toddlers in the morning, but I have a pet peeve. It really breaks my heart to see all the BROKEN GLASS half buried in the sand! .Just yesterday ( Friday) a women cut her foot as she was leaving. I remember a few years ago a four-year- old was screaming in terror as she badly cut her foot. Its really disgusting! I'm a Hayfield resident and must say that the beach at the bottom of Howard Street is superb this year compared to other years. We should be thankful! But good beaches at- tract campfires and beer parties too and -- that's likely to mean more broken glass. It must be a cheap thrill to crash bottles on the stones in a "happy haze". But then again those people who do this kind of thing probably never read letters like this. And even if they personally didn't do it, they're obligated to stop those who are inclined too. Kind of like the friendship system in drinking and driving. So I try and do my part to pick up the glass I see before my tod- dlers step in it. I throw it in the village - provided trash cans by the stairs. And I pray my girls are fortunate not to suffer the pain and terror of a cut foot or anything worse. But I wish I could do more. (By the LQttQrs way - there's plenty of broken glass in the main park too. What's with these vandals anyways? Posting signs on the beach on top of the stairs might help? Asking local children's clubs to help clean up the beach and park might help? (I understand the Boy Scouts used too) Rallying with other residents to expose underage drinking might help? (Sorry, but you kids just having an innocent- ly good time and not breaking glass and ac- tually cleaning up after yourselves may have to be sacrificed for our children's safe- ty. You could get on your peers backs about it. Besides innocent or not - it's still illegal ). Putting banners up in high schools or ads in the papers to increase public awareness might help'. Appealing to the public to use cans instead of bottles may help? Meanwhile every time I go to the beach I just gingerly pick up another handful or two of glass and keep an eye out for the kids 1 guess. But it make me mad ... Sincerely Coby Amoraal. Neighbors and ducks Everything I never wanted to know about wood ducks - that's what this week's column is all about. And then it isn't. I'm going to tell you about the people who told me about wood ducks, and why they told me about wood ducks. But first, I'll tell you about the wood duck itself. The Audubon Water Bird Guide says that the Wood Duck is a "delicately propor- tioned and exquisitely colored duck that is at home wherever there are trees and quiet fresh water." The Wood Duck is remarkably tame. It is a vegetarian, making up a major part of its diet with seeds of trees, shrubs, nuts, grasses and some insects. Wood Ducks nest in old hollow trees - ap- ple trees, even old shade trees that are located close to a house. An average brood of goslings may number 12. They may live in a nest that may be located more than 50 feet from the ground. The young apparently jump to the earth from their high rise homes without injury. Why, you may ask, am I telling you about Wood Ducks? Our neighborhood has been fortunate to have a mother Wood Duck and her brood of 14 goslings in bur midst. "Have you got your camera handy," my neighbor telephoned me one morning last week. "We have a new neighbor," she told me. She went on to say that a Mother Duck and her brood had taken up residence under their Blue Spruce Tree. I went across the street to check out the action. Sure enough, a duck was sitting beneath the tree, her brood in tow. I was pleased to see that they had found such a comfortable, shady home. An hour later the telephone rang. It was my neighbor again. "They're gone," she said, "Mother Duck It took many to make queen contest a success Dear Editor: I've received from Mary (Aron; Mary is On behalf of the Clinton Fair Board. I wish there to add the delightful, smiling to thank the numerous participants in this assistance as Mistress of Ceremonies for the year's Queen of the Fair contest. A special official- opening and the queen of the fair thank you to the Kinette Club for sponsoring contest as well as any other unforeseen duty the luncheon and assisting with the many lit- that may pop up during the evening. tle chores that, when there is someone there Thanks, Mary. willing to help, seem to get done with little The following merchants and professional or no fuss and bother! people from our community donated gifts A special thanks to our contestants; and cash to cover the prizes for the con - without you we would not have a contest, No testants: Anstett .Jewellers - tiara for the matter who is chosen queen, you are all win- queen; Huron Central Agriculture Society - ners in my eyes - just for having been a par- banners for the queen and princesses; Lee's ticipant. I hope it was an experience you will Ladies Wear - gift certificate; My Fair Lady remember! Congratulations to Miss Con- - gift certificate; Country Pictures - por- geniality, ,Jennifer Straughan! You deserve traits for the queen and princesses. the honor! To the queen, Lori Brandon, I Fleming Feed Mill, Epps Manufacturing, know you will represent the fair board well Dr. Ken Wood, Dr. Graham Bowker, Gerry during your year as an emissary of the Hiltz, Gaiser-Kneale Insurance, Peter Roy Huron Central Agricultural Society. Insurance, .John Wise Insurance, Haugh Congratulations! Tire, Harold's Shell, all gave cash dona- Thank you to the sponsors, you were well tions. Thank you. represented. We appreciate the business I would he remiss if I didn't mention the people and organizations from the area folks that worked behind the scenes with becoming involved in this project. I hope Nancy Snell to decorate a truly beautiful you were in attendance to smile and wish stage; a perfect setting for so many perfect your girl luck! I'm sure you were as proud young ladies! Bev Elliott, Marilyn Forbes, of them as I was. Millie Lobb, Verbeek's Garden Centre, :.. To Jane Muegge, a special thanks for tak- and the list goes on. Your efforts did not go ing the time to come to our "Getting to know unnoticed. Thanks for helping to make the you" luncheon and giving an appropriate evening a special time for our girls! talk to the girls and their moms. And to the I hope we'll see all of you next year at the moms - we all know what support you- give fair. Oh, I hope you didn't forget to sample at a time such as this; thank you. the Candy Floss'. 1 would like to acknowledge the support Marie Jefferson has taken her family down the street. They're now at my sister's house." The new neighbors had left our street before we even had a chance to welcome them. They had moved on to Princess Street. We had missed seeing Mother Duck and her entourage as they headed on their way. It's not often that we miss any action in our neighborhood. We keep a close eye on each other - a watchful eye and a concerned eye. Our little neighborhood is one of the best. We live in a comfortable community of neighbors, made up of a group of people whose lives and backgrounds interact with our own. They are more than the people. who live next door, these neighbors of ours, they are also our friends. Their lives are part of ours, as our lives are part.of theirs. We know when they go to bed at night. They know when we go to work. We know what they're barbecuing for sup- per. They know when we're sick. We know when wash day is and what clothes hang on the line. We know a lot about each other. We share in each other's problems and in each other's joys. We help each other out in a pinch. We give advice to each other. And, we respect each other's privacy. I love this neighborhood of mine. I am comforted and secure in the idea that I am surrounded with peole that care about me, and people that I care about. It reminds me of the neighborhood that I grew up in. It was a farm community, where people lived more than a field's distance apart. What greater comfort it was on those snowy winter's night to see the lights of another farmhouse in the distance. In the country, winter was always a time when neighbors banded together to help each other. When storms closed the roads and our cupboards were. -,bare we would share our food and milk. When the electrici- ty went off we'd head to the neighbor's house - the ones with the wood stove. When the water pipes froze, we'd get water from - the neighbor's house. When there was work to be done, everyone pitched in to help. Neighbors were there to help in times of trouble and in times of joy. They celebrated birthdays together, weddings and anniver- saries too. They played cards together, went shopping together, raised their families together. It was good times, and good memories too. I live in the community where that same sense of neighborhood still prevails. It's a natural process, this feeling of care and con- cern for your neighbors. It begins with small talk if you see them in the garden, or shar- ing a morning cup of coffee. It's conversa- tion while you're cutting the grass or heading out for an evening walk. It's bor- rowing a ladder or an egg. It's watering their flowers when they're away. It's bring- ing in their laundry when it looks like rain. It's sitting out on the front verandah on a warm summer's night and waving across the way to your neighbors. It's a good feeling. We live in an age of travel and change, where people are continually on the move. Houses are bought and sold overnight and people move from city to city before the post office can get the forwarding address. In many neighborhoods the old-fashioned sense of community no longer exists. People live nearby each other simply of proximity, but in many cases their lives never cross paths. It's like the Mother Duck and her family. She lived on our street only a short while, and she was gone before we had a chance to welcome or say goodbye to her. That's too bad, I think she would have liked the neighborhood. It's a great place to call home. EEIRLY FILES 5 years ago .June 9, 1982 Extra Bed Fee At Huronview - A bed retention fee for residents who are absent from Huronview will be charged effective ,lune 1. Huron County Council approved the fee of $13.80 per day to he paid by residents when they are away, to ensure accommodation when they return. Crash Causes Power Failure - More than 2,500 people were without hydro on Sunday morning following a single -car -crash near Hohnesville. Hydro service was disrupted in Bayfield and Clinton for up to three hours after a car slammed into a main line hydro pole on old highway 8 at Holmesville. Hydro went off at approximately 6:20 a.m. and was restored by Ontario Hydro crews about an hour after in Clinton. Ser- vice wasn't restored in Bayfield until after 11 a.m. Council Set To Hear Another Plan - On ,June 14, Clinton Council will be meeting with engineer Burns I ols of Goderich to discuss the future of the Clinton Library and perhaps the town hall. 10 years ago June 9, 1977 Advance Poll Turnout Good - Some 546 voters in Huron -Middlesex made their final decisions on the provincial election last Saturday and Monday when they cast their ballots at the advance polls throughout the area. Returning officer Eldrid Simmons noted that the 546 voting number was down slight- ly from 1975 when 687 people voted at the ad- vance polls. -He added, however, that the ad- vance polls were open over a three day period. Eight thousand See Spring Fair - The 123rd Spring Fair drew more than 8,000 peo- ple over its three day span last weekend, leaving officials of the Huron Central Agricultural Society very .pleased. Using some new facilities, including the new 1,500 seat grandstand, completed in time for the fair, the Society gave a record $22,000 away in prize money. 25 years ago June 7, 1962 Berry Festival to Help Hospital Fund - Members of the Clinton Public Hospital staff are planning for a strawberry social on .June 27 in the nurses residence, to help boost the funds they are raising to help furnish part of the new wing. Fire Destroys Farmer's Shed - Fire at midnight Saturday destroyed the driving sh- ed at Tom Turner's farm just west of Clinton on Highway 8. Losses in farm equipment and building is estimated at $4,000. 50 years ago June 10, 1937 Home And School Garden Party - The Clinton Home and School Association are in- vited to attend a garden party on the grounds of Victoria School, Goderich, on ,lune 19. Anyone wishing to attend please get in touch with Mrs. F. Fingland or Mrs. E. Paterson who are the conveyance convenors. Police Issue Warning - Action will be taken to prevent the willful destruction of flowers in town. Children have done some damage, but the worst offenders are young men from outside points who have deliberately picked the buds from the peony bushes in the library park. These young men are known to town of- ficials, and unless the practice is stopped immediately, prosecution will follow. It is hoped that such action will not be necessary, but the destruction will not be tolerated. 75 years ago June 13, 1912 A Freak - John Medd of Hullett had a monstrosity arrive at his farm the other day in the shape of a colt with two heads, two necks and two stomachs. The veterinary who was called in was of the opinion that if he had arrived sooner he could have saved the colt as all the parts were well developed. The Best In Its History - The annual meeting of the Doherty Piano and Organ Company was held yesterday. The reports showed the past year to have been one of the best. in the history of the company. The following officers were elected: President, W. Doherty, Vice, W. Jackson, Director, C.E. Dowding, Secretary Treasurer, E.J. Hill.