HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-05-13, Page 4PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1987
Things have reached a point in the
United States where a public figure can
hardly invite an attractive, nubile young
triode' into his home for the weekend
without people thinking the worst.
Shame on you, Americans.
And does it really matter that the
man's wife happened to be thousands of
miles away at the time.
I wouldn't think it to be a relevant fact
to a trusting nation.
But that trusting nature, that reliance
on the leaders of the nation.to do and say
the right thing seems to have vanished.
Has all that been eroded by a few
seamy,sordid'affairs.
The evidence would suggest that
Americans demand more moral integrity
from their leaders.
First, Jim Bakker, host of the religious
network's PTL Club must bare his soul to
a national television audience about an
VE SYKES
ammenef
extramarital affair (indiscretion) seven
years previous with a church secreatary
and then a presidential candidate, Gary
Hart, is accused of being unfaithful to his
wife and abandons his struggle on the
road leading to the White House.
Ing ite a shapely model into your house
for nothing more than a weekend of high-
level talks while the life partner is in
Denver and right away people start
thinking the worst. Isn't that always the
way.
If this type of mentality takes root,
soon the nation will expect its leaders
and would -be -pretenders to be
monogamous and of fine moral standing..
Could such ethical practices ever find a
place in North American politics?
One would suspect not. It would tend to
reduce the list eligible candidates to a
'mere fraction of what it is now.
Hart was racing for the White House
last week when he was tripped up by a
story in the Miami Herald alleging he
spent a weekend at his• Washington home
with Miami model Donna Rice, while his
wife was in Denver. Both acknowledged
they were together for part of the
weekend but denied that anything of a
sexual nature took place.
While many people may callously
shrug off the incident as another in a str-
ing of eonurronplace affairs among the
rich and powerful, it has raised some
poignant questions about the standard of
behaviour expected of politicians and the
role of the press.
Should a presidential candidate be held
in a different light than others and should
their lives be held open to public
scrutiny?
It has been argued that while a double
standard may exist in such cases, some
analysts have suggested that a nation's
chief executive and anyone who aspires
to the position should be held up as a
model.
Maybe the matter should be left as a
private incident to be dealt with by the .
individuals involved. Or does the
American public believe that such
behaviour demeans the office to which -
Hart aspires and that leaders should em-
body and espouse all the ideals that man
strives for and never attains.
Do such incidents show that all privacy
has been extracted from politics and that
the media plays a major role in selecting
a candidate and constructing a super-
ficial image?
If Hart ever had a meagre chance at
getting close to the White House, it was
wasted on a Miami model. It makes for
good reading in the daily press and it
shows that some people are serious about
the qualities they look for in leadership.
Personally, if Canadian journalism
ever got to that stage, I would not relish
the assignment of staking out 24 Sussex
Drive and lurking in the bushes in the
hopes a Swedish model knocks on Brian's
door while Mita is away.
inion
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Recogniton at last
Last week, the front page of the Community section.of this newspaper featured a story
• concerning the local recipients of education excellence awards:
Last year, the Huron ,County Board of Education and the• Ontario Secondary School
Teachers Federation. ( OSSTF ), co-sponsored the first education excellence awards that
recognized teachers, students' and members of the community for their: contribution to
secondary education. ' . „
This year the student winners were Bob Barwick, Darryl Black, Kathleen Donnelly, Baird
Robinson and Laura Wark..Teachers Iva Wood, Doug Bundy and John Smallwood were
honored for their exemplary efforts and Barb Almasi was. the community representative''
given an award. .
It's rather gratifying to see the board and federation collaborating on an awards program ,
that recognizes the achievements, diligent efforts, involvement, participation'and dedica-
tion of teachers, students and'citizens in secondary education.'•
Many people contribute to making the education system in -Huron County a vibrant and
meaningful one. And judging from the recipients of education excellence awards the past
two years, the awards are given deservedly to"people who have made a substantial impact .
on life at the secondary :school level. . , ., •
The candidates for these awards have been.excellent examples. of students and teachers
who have given unselfishly of themselves to make education a positive and fulfilling..ex- .
'perience. It's obvious the recipients care about their respective schools ,and their com-
munities. for their efforts have impacted on both. •
it's far too easy to be critical of the existing education system but it's great to see that
those who care are filially and formally being recognized.D.S. -
A pleasant change
The Prime Minister and the ten premiers of the Canadian provinces were jubilant after
their [meeting at Meech Lake, when they finally reached something at least close to an
agreement on the final form of a Canadian Constitution acceptable not only to the English-
speaking regions of the country, but to the French speaking regions as well.
Certainly the event was hailed as a triumph for Mr. Mulroney, whose negotiating ability is
credited with a breakthrough in the impasse which has existed since the constitution was
clraw•n. up during the Trudeau years.
Of course this important document will not be finalized until it has been debated in the
House of Commons in a few weeks,
A constitution to which all provinces prescribe is vital as 'far as. Canada's reputation
abroad is concerned. Other nations must see us as a people who are united in their purposes
and decisi(ms.
"1'hrs is particularly true in the United States, where reference to and reliance upon their
constitution is so often cited. Few of us ordinary Canadians are as yet able to understand the
arguments and concessions which were put Forward and accepted during those discussions
but no doubt we will hear a great deal more about our constitution .before the year is over.
it is a pleasant change to hear that our leaders have been able to agree on such an1mpor-
tant subject, after the long months'of dispute and invective over the shortcomings of one
party or another. ( Wingham Advance -Times(
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41.
Flouridation of drinking water
apposed by some Goderich residents
25 YEARS AGO
May 10, 1962:
Flouridation of Goderich drinking water
wi.11 be opposed by some citizens, council
learned Friday evening. The group .had
planned to be represented at the meeting
but was assured by Mayor E.C. Fisher that
the next regular meeting would be in plenty
of time to register objections. Accordingly,
Bylaw 14 was given only first and second
readings. The bylaw, initiated by council
April 6, authorized flouridation of the town '
water supply. It instructs the public utilities
commission to apply flouridation "in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down by the
Ontario Water Services Commission for in-
stallation of equipment and ,regulation of
dosage. Council at the April 6 meeting had
before it a letter from the medical staff of
the general hospital advising that they
"unanimously endorse flouridation of the
town water supply as a safe and effective
means of reducing the incidence of tooth
decay here." About 50 Ontario
municipalities have flouride naturally in
their water supply while other
municipalities apply ti artifically.
An airplane which has flown around the
world in eight days dropped into Sky Har-
bour Airport on Tuesday. It is a Super V
four -seater plane and is covered with
autographs of persons from the four corners
of the globe which it has visited. Pilot of the
plane was Chuck Banfe of California. It
came first to the Fleet Manufacturing Com-
pany of Fort Erie, Ontario, from Bay Avia-
tion Company of San Francisco; California.
The former company is planning to
manufacture this type of plane in Canada
and one of them is at Sky Harbour Airport
for study with a view to having the manufac-
tured products painted there.
Okay' So my Mother's Day Column is a
week late. This is not so had. It's in keep-
ing with the typical tardiness of my
Mother's 1)ay cards, birthday cards and
general shows of appreciation.
Anyway, as my mother well knows, I
always have the best of intentions.
Actually. I have a lot of reasons to ap-
preciate nom, beginning perhaps with
the very fact I made it through my for-
mative vcz,rrs with a relative minimum of
emotional confusion. When you think
,]bout it, I suppose without the'efforts of
both my parents, f'would never have -had
any formative years at all. ( They still
haven't explained that "Birds and Bees"
thing to my complete satisfaction. but,
I've decided it's better not to ask too
many questions )
But back to Mom. Without her, I would
certainly have slept through my entire
high school education. She had a way of
half -screeching, half -singing "Pa -a -t It's
a quarter to ei-ei-ght," that would have
had even Rip Van Winkle out of bed and
down to the breakfast table before she
needed to call a second time. And she
generally made breakast to boot,
something I really miss these days when
1 survive most mornings soley on the
strength i or lack of iti of the contents of
our editor's coffee pot.
My mother was always a great
listener. Despite whatever problems she
may have been facing in the course of
• raising six children, she always managed
to make you feel like your troubles were
Priority Number One on her list too.
Of course she and 1 haven't always
agreed o,n everything. Mother seems to
eonsider my rather liberal views on most
issues somewhat radical and even
outrageous. Though she always lets me
speak my piece on a subject, and appears
to give my opinions dueconsideration,
she generally ends most arguements with
"Well, that's not right," at which point
the discussion is concluded.
LOOKING BACK
50 YEARS AGO
May 14, 1937:
At the regular meeting of the town council.
on Friday evening last a petition with 61
• signatures was presented asking that the
council pass a bylaw to enforce the obser-
vance of the weekly Wednesday afternoon
half holiday by. allthe merchants of the
town. The petition was presented •by a
deputation of merchants for whom Mr. E.M.
Welch was the chief spokesman. Mayor
MacEwan saida stronger case had been
presented than ever before for action on the
line indicated, but he expressed doubt of the
power of council to pass such a bylaw. He
also took occassion to invite the merchants'
present to attend the meetings for the Old
Home Week celebration. "If council is ex-
pected to do things for the merchants, the
merchahts should reciprocate by coming
out and helping in community projects,"
said His Worship. The petition was referred
to the special committee.
Work was begun yesterday in dredging
out the south-east corner of the harbour
where rolling cribwork some time ago gave
way allowing a 'cave-in just east of the
elevator. The cribwork will be built-up. The
steamerI,achinedoc which arrived Thurs-
day morning took on a cargo of 93,000
bushels of wheat at the elevator and left for.
Montreal the same day. The Steamer Deep-
water this week made its first trip to
Goderich arriving here Monday with a
cargo of wheat from the head of the Lakes.
The cargo of about 110,000 bushels was split
between the elevator and the mill.
70 YEARS AGO'
May 10, 1917:
The regular meeting of the public school
board was held Monday evening. The prin-
cipals reports for April were received and
other routine business transacted. Miss
Sharman, principal of 'Central school,
reported 174 pupils enrolled, 68 boys and 106
girls; average attendance of 156, 61 boys
and, 95 girls; • deposit in penny bank 174
amounting to $46:08. Principal Johnston of
Victoria school reported 405 enrolled, 223
boys and 182 girls; average attendance of
340, 185 boys and 155 girls; deposits in penny
bank 463 amounting to $102.41.
Mr. N.F. McLean, city passenger agent of
the White Star Line, Detroit, is in town mak-
ing preparation for the annual Greyhound
excursion from Goderich to Detroit. , This
will be run this year on Tuesday, ,lune 12
returning Thursday, June 14. The round trip
will be$2 with one way costing $1.50. Excur-
sionists need fear no trouble on account of
the new US Immigration Act. Canadians go-
ing, to Detroit on a trip like this are not .re-
quired to pay a head tax and immigration
officers will be on board the steamer on the
trip to Detroit for the purpose of passing all
excursionists.
On Monday afternoon, the GCE cadets
were inspected at Victoria Park by Capt.
A.C. Barclay of London. The boys made a
fine appearance and received high praise
for the inspection for the way in which they
handled the drill. At the beginning of the
year, the corps had 57 members but owing to
so many of the boys leaving to go on farms
only 35 appeared on parade:
Mother is probably the biggest ( and
perhaps only) fan of the spattering of
verbage with which her eldest son
regularly fills this particular space each
Week. She saves al4 these columns and to
my everlasting embarassment forces
most of her guests to pore over theko
when they drop by for tea. If I happen to
be present during one of these sessions, I
feel like I'm 12 -years -old again and have
just received a glowing report card from
school. .
Perhaps she does this because I never
received a report card that could be
described as glowing (or even slightly
luminous') and she is now attempting to
make up for years of lost bragging
rights, Does anyone really understand
the workings of a mother's mind'
My mother doesn't drive a car, yet is
able to offer (from the back seat) motor-
ing tips that would confound the
capabilities of even a Mario Andretti, or
Jacques Villenuve.
from
this
angle
Patrick Raftis
My mother doesn't particularly care
for hockey, yet she recently sat up until
2:30 with my father and I and watched
all four overtime periods of the seventh
game of the Islanders -Capitals series.
eniovs the playoffs, you see, especially
when they involve a player who is a
fourth. cousin, twice removed, to someone
she once met at a euchre party.
Speaking of parties, my mother loves
them. Even though she usually has to be
dragged kicking and screaming from the
kitchen, in order to get her to sit down
and eat before the rest of the hungry
horde we call a family has finished off
the roast beef and the last of the pumpkin
pie.
one of the greatest things about my
mother ( and probably yours too) is her
selective memory. She tends to look back
on the more positive things her offspring
have accomplished, while forgetting their
occasional indescretions.
Like writing your Mother's Day column
one week late.
Hope you had a good one'
13