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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-01-14, Page 6• PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1981 (1 dave sykes *CMA BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1979 Second class mail registration number -0116 Are you beginning to get testy? Do you get the urge to tie the kids up in the basement for a weekend. Do you find yourself exchanging pleasantries with your mother-in-law and doing other things that are out of character? Well do not despair snowbound sufferer. It can all be blamed on the weather. . -The situation is comparable to medical warnings that too much. smoking, or ex- cessive xcessive intake 1 coffee, milk, air and other polluted matter may be injurious to one's health. In deduction, too much bad weather is _injurious to one's psyche. It would only seem fair than any maladies or personality disorders be blamed on the weather. Slogging rough a, tough winter takes a certain degree of intestinal fortitude and Moly. Not to mention patience. But when in doubt I like to blame my own rude behaviour on the weather patterns. I will `never adittobeing a certified-idiot__' The winter here has been tnneh and there SINCE 1848 THE HEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded 1n IMS and published every Wednesday at Goderich. Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. /deer - tights rates on request. Subscriptions payable in advance •17.51 In Ccs nada.'75.70 to U.S.A.. 'MOS to oil other coun- tries. singN copies Sr.'DIsptay advertising rotes available ont,Nguest. Please ask for Rate Cord No. le effective tabor 1. 1111111. Second hast nail Registration Number 87111(Ad.artisIng is accepted on the condition Chet Ifl the event of typographical error. the advartidng space occupied by the erroneous Item. together with reasonable allowance for signature. will not be charged for but the balance of the edvertlsansent will be paid for et the op- , plkobie nota. in the event 01 a iypographial euro eurnnortisiite goods or services et a wrong price. goods or service ' may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer to sell. end may be withdrawn et any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the low or damage of unsolldted nsenuscripts. photos or other materials used for reproducing pun. Phases. - PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER - President and Paiblisher DONALD M. HUBICK -Advertising Manager, , DAVID SYKES.- Editor ' P.O.Oink- - HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARIK �'sCf1DERICH NTA 486 a is no indication the suffering wtll ease. So we simply have to tolerate the winds, snow and poor visibility. So if you are tired of the drudgery of - -winter this correspondent has offered, far your enjoyment, a series of tips on how to make winter more enjoyable. 1.1f you're tired of looking out the living roach window and seeing nothing beyond the wind -driven snow,- paint a mural an the inside of the window. An etheral beach scene with blue water lapping at sandy shores would do nicely. 2.Share you long underwear with the friend of your choice. Rotate friends for the sake of variety. 3.Don't go outdoors for three months. 4.Hijack a snowplow after it has passed by your house and insist that the driver shovel. out the hard packed pile at the end of the driveway. _ 5. Use a flame mower to clean off the sidewalk and drivow., ,ilia ran be done from a second storey window but is not advisable. 0.1f your windows steam draw lewd and suggestive pictures simply to brighten up your neighbor's day. 7.On a particularly cold night hose down the neighbour's car and watch with glee as he attemp(,s to open the door in the morning. 8.Tell the children that shovelling snow is bad for that' health and under no cir- cumstances rcrunstances should they clean off the sidewalk or driveway. Kids can't resist things that are bad for them. 9.Install a wood -bunting stove under your waterbed. 10. On those frigid mornings, when the mercury dips to a refreshing -25- degrees Celsius, put insulation bathsin your shorts for added protection against frostbite. 11. Don't put any windshield washer fluid in the\ eartainer under the hood of your .car and see how long you eon follow a'tMinistry of Transportation gander Ulf -you are Into lawn agents build.a snowman and have It make a rude gesture to passersby. •13.Convert your toilet into a hot tub. 14.Wear electric rubbers to keep snow, ice and shish off your feet. 15.On the weekend build a bonfire in the basement and .roast marshmallowand wienies. 16.During a slow afternoon at work fill the boas' boots with slush, �, 17Send yourself postcards from tropical' vacation islands: 18.Drivehundreds of miles in a snowstorm on the weekend to do something enjoyable' but fail to -report to work because of flurries. Some years we get a little more winter in these parts than we bargained for and the months of January and February become tests of endurance. ' But with a little imagination it's easy to put some fun into wint r. FOR. BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL. OFFICES. please phone '(S 19) 524-8331 1N.j1f.iiI damage costly Wilfull damage can be one of the costliest burdens to taxpayers. Taken an a national scale the tally would be millions not considering court and other related costs. Vandalism and wilfull damage are expensive:, f Last week the-Sgnal-Star ran a storyabout the damage reports in Huron County schools which indicated that damage in the schools cost nearly $6,000 for the last four months off 1980. If the figure is consistent it would amount to $12,000 in damages over a full school year. When stacked up against the $25 million education budget in the county the figure is pale by comparison. Regardless, it a senseless expenditure imposed upon the taxpayer. - The cost of repair for damage in elementary schools was $3,035, more than half the total estimate. In Goderich there were eight incidents of damage at Robertson School and five at Victoria Public School for a total cost of nearly $800 - The secondary school damage total of $2,859 was largely due to 15 incidents, of vandaisim at Central Huron Secondary School m Clinton that cost $1,844 in repairs. „Two incidents of damage at G`�derich and District. iii Collegiate cost$186 torepair. Many. of the repairs required the expertise of outside tradesmen and often on weekends resulting in overtime pay. Some of the minor problems were handled by the custodial staff. But the number of incidents and the cost is not the focal • point of the problem. Students should be taught a respect for all property, public, private or institutional Their acts of vandalism only syphons more money out of parent's pockets. The cost of repairs is minimal compared to the total cost of education but nickels and dimes soon make dollars. . But then many aspects of education begin at home and don't cost a thing.D.S. Winter driving habits Winter is again pomading the Huron County area with cold and snow reminiscent of previous severe winters. Aside from a relentless cold wave that has inundated the area recently there has been ample snowfall or snow squalls a term meteorologists use to describe a foot of snow. The snow, wind and cold temperatures have combined to create potentially dangerous situations on streets and highways in most municipalities in the Huron County area. Dangers that everyotne should be aware of. Motorists must be especiaiy cautious this time of year, a time when defensive driving is a must. On the highway it is advisable to keep a safe distance between vehicles. With blowing and drifting snow highways are slippery and stopping can be most difficult. Despite the slower pace driving in town also requires special attention. Snowbanks on many streets are piled high and at intersections drivers must pull out part way onto the road before oncoming traffic is visible. ' What month is this? Yeah, righ,AClow it is only January, but my entire mental state is insisting that it is February. Everybody knows that February is the month during which depression attacks from every front. It creeps up round the end of January, circles you for a couple of days and then whammo, it -gets you right between the eyes. However, those blahs haven't gotten hold of a calander yet this year and they have succeeded in furrowing my„ forehead already. Why me, I ask those little gremlins. It seems that the post -Christmas inertia that not .1 . strokes for only a week or two has h „. around and I fear it intend to stay right through the next two months. 1 wonder if those in the medical profession have ever bothered to list the symptoms of the dreaded disease, Winterus Blab Yuckurn. If I am ever given the opportunity Allow yourself enough time to pull out from driveways --or interseetioos because the ear approaching may have difficulty stopping and traction is elusive at critical moments. Pedestrians should be cognizant of these facts as well and not put drivers in a precarious position Leave ample time to get across a street because poor footing can caeise an untimely slip as traffic approaches. Winter means many ftur.and carefree days for children and their frolic often carries onto the roadway. Parents should caution children about playing on snow banks near the road and street hockey games could easily be played in driveways or at a school yard: It is too easy fora child to get caught up in the activity and ignore safety but they must be made aware of the potential dangers. There isn't much that can be done about to severity of winter. We have to live with it. But we can live with it safely. D.S. to add a chapter to psychology books, I would describe the Feeling Bad Syndrome thusly : Victim first begins to notice extreme cold in the area of the feet. As a result, he or she bundles the appendages in several pairs of wollen socks night and day giving others the impression that the feet are in casts.'. Con- sequently, others treat victim as invalid and Contribute to his feelings of helplessness. Victim's bad feelings begin to snowball as he insists ttpon watching only war documentaries and CBC Wednesday night shows on television as opposed to light comedy. Victim claims that he "enjoys a goodfrown" now and again. Instead of doodling flowers and geometric shapes in the margins of notepaper, victim often composes drafts of ,his own obituary while he is supposed to be working. Most interesting to note, victim will List 'cause of death' as boredom. Defeated snow fence Photo by Cath Wooden 0 EAR REA BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER I hate to hear the statistics that radio an- nourrea ssspoout time and time again. Yesterday it was the grim warning that thousands and thousands in the United States will die of lung cancer in the next year - and that hung cancer is not the only or more common aihnent brought on by cigarette smoking. And last evening, one of the American chan- nels on television was saying that despite the grave reality of the ravages Of cigarette smoking, millions of Americans will ignore the whole thing and just keep right on puffing. This morning. I heard that the jobless in Canada rose significantly in December. And then there's Joe Clark's predictions that because of the new legislation affecting oil riggers, it is expected that thousands more will be thrown into the unemployment lines. Worst of all maybe are the gloomy predictions about the economy of the country. It really gets depressing to listen to the financial wizards outlining the horrible things_ that are going to happen .to us in the next few months .... higher interest rates, increased costs for housing and food, less disposable inconie,a a drop in real profits. On and on. But I try to keep things in perspective. My Mind goes back very easily to a period 25 years ago or so. I was just newly married and we e%rat r.t-:i.i TT-.rt,.,r„ r was were e7Sjlw"�:..,. --- . , • Victim begins to feel tbat the whole world is against him as household appliances break down one after another. First to go are the tea kettle and toaster from too much use. Next is the washing machine, also from overuse. 'See symptom re : socks) - Entering a state of panic, the victirfi will then try to save himself from complete despair by organizing a Saturday night party to try to add some levity to his life. However, the victim will forget to check the weather forecast in his . haste and inevitabley it will storm. As a result, the victim will spend the Saturday night alone with 15 bags of sour cream and ' onion daps and four cases of beer watching and if you can believe it, even cheering for ttre;;Toronto Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. Victim finally reache's lowest ebb oirl Blah Scale. Dark circles appear beneath his eyes frnm t5 Pero.,-- ^e 5feep every night con - 0 ERS unemployed. We lived with my father. The only furniture we owned was a second-hand electric stove (I thought it was luxury beyond belief) and a foldaway ironing board we'd retrieved from somebody's garbage. The future didn't look too bright for us, I guess. And there were pi'err y of p edietior"s write days ahead which looked anything but promising. But we were too young and too inexperienced W be worried about it. We just went along one day at a time, making do with what we had, enjoying it and keeping our eyes fixed on a time when things would be better. And better times came. Much better times. Times so good we could hardly believe it was happening to us. F` As I look back, I find we hada couple of things going for us that many young people don't have these days. First of all, neither of us had ever known what it was like to have plenty of everything. We'd both come from families where it was slim pickings most days just to keep fed, warm and decently covered. You could say we were hardened down to adversity. Secondly, we expected to have to go to work to improve our lot in life. We knew that if we sat on our duffs, we'd starve to death. There wasn't anyone that either of us could depend on to t:mil us Out.. trasted with absolutely no exercise what- soever. Victim calls in sick at work because he cannot find the energy to brash the slow off the car in the morning. At this point, the only thing that can help the victimis the passage of winter. With the onset of spring, the victim will gain new and exciting feelings of, optimism andhe will peel off his socks in merriment. I don't want to wait until spring! I want to " be cheery now! It difficult to write light and breezy co ; i .w about this and that when one is low than a earwig's kneeca t.. So this is. what I want you to do. Get out a pen and some paper and write down your favorite joke, limmerick or whatever and send it to me care Of the Signal Star. Make sure you sign it -so I know who made me chortle for a minute. Maybe I'll even make a column of them if they are printable. ' h Hope to hear from you soon. 1 And we didn't have any lofty ideals about the kind of work for which we were suited. No em- ployment was beneath us. In fact, we weren't fussy at all. If it paid honest money for honest effort, it was our kind of job. I had a stint as a celery pickerin the wet, cold muck. T`ii white beans in the blazing sun. 1 scrubbed cottages for wealthy vacationers. I did laundry for a motel. Hubby had some super employment op- portunities too. He cut grass and trimmed hedges. He made maple syrup. He mixed mortar fora mason. He pulled beans out of a mow at the barn threshing as a sideline. He drove a cattle truck. He cleaned wells and repaired roofs. Through it all, God provided us with health and strength and courage. With His help, we raised our family and learned some valuable lessons in the bargain. Now we hear about more hard times to come. We don't like the idea We're not anxious to relive the past. But sometimes I wonder if it isn't just the kind of medicine that will get this nation back on its feet. There's nothing like a few hard knocks and some good old-fashioned poverty to get peon back to the basics of self-preservation. And that's when we reach deep within our- selves for the real stuff that's in us. That's when we learn. That's when we grow. And that's when things start to happen for us. And for everyone. cath ooden 1