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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-09-30, Page 4PAGE 4—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1981 dave sykes ti BLUE RIBBON AWARD Second class mail registration number -0716 Professional sports is in big trouble. At least recent offerings in the coveted word press have promulgated that sports is becoming unhealthy and is some cases, unmanly. That is not to suggest that actually par- ticipatingin sporting events is unhealthy, au contraire. Rather, devout sport fans run the risk of doing weird things to their hearts as they follow the sporting exploits of their favorite teams. An American cardiologist claims that faithful fans, who meticulously follow the trials and tribulations of their favorite team, are subjecting their heart to irregular beats, palpitations and erratic jump. If you have a heart problem to begin with, watching your team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, could prompt a heart attack. In sporting vernacular, the term sudden death has a sickening tinge of reality. Sports fans are a rare and different breed and they take the fate of their team seriously, as if it has a profound effect on their lives. To the ardent sports fan, a team's loss somehow reflects on them personally. Now perhaps the theory only applies to sport fans who are content to back respectable teams. Teams that are con- sistently near the top of the heap and vying for championships on a regular basis. That's heady stuff and it can drive the sports fan to drink or severe palpitations or both. But what about the fan who offers undying allegiance to a losing team. Is he safe from stress and unusual wear and tear. onthe ticker? One could snatch that deduction from the thoery but I would submit that ardent followers of Toronto's version of hockey and football teams, namely Maple Leafs and Argonauts, are also easy prey for heart conditions. Admittedly, Argo fans will never ex- perience erratic heart jumps as the team battles Edmonton Eskimos to a draw in the 1981 Grey Cup and forces the contest into overtime. Argo fans have no fear of heart disease. However, when the team punts on first down from mid -fields it has caused fans to dip deep into the contents of a brown paper bag. And what about those die hard followers of Harold Ballard's version of a hockey team, i.e. the Maple Leafs. To my knowledge, Toronto's hospitals are not oiierrun with cardiac patients as a result of the Leafs being edged out of Stanley Cup play in overtime of the final game. Toronto sports fans, I would wager, have the healthiest hearts among all sports cities. However, I would have to concede to the doctor's theory that sporting events con- tribute to irregualr behavior of the heart. On the weekend I had the good fortune to attend a professional sporting event, leaving early Saturday morning in a mobile zoo that contained a variety of animals in the fashion of Noah's Ark. Our contingent was content, throughout most of the game, to indulge in comforting beverages and generally act In a rude manner, thereby _ dispersing much of the crowd in our section. The event was relatively tame until a late and crucial point in the game, when the exuberant chring and chanting of the crowd, shook the stadium, waking several of our group and spilling the contents of paper cups on their crotch. At that point, I'm certain several mem- bers of the group experiencedsevere palpitations and irregular beats. The scenario would serve to support the good doctor's theory about sports fans. Aside from heart problems, there is also a fear that sports is becoming unmanly. The International Football Federation has told soccer players to start acting like men and stop kissing and hugging after goals. The Federation claims that exultant outbursts with players embracing and kissing should be banned. Maybe if spec- tators got involved in more embracing and kissing there would be less heart trouble. SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH &DISTRICT Founded In 1111 and published every Wednesday at 6oderlch)Onterlo. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. Adver- tising rotes on request. Subscriptions payable In advance °11.11 In Canada. '35.111 to U.S:A..'33.N to all other coun- tries, single copies 54'. Display advertising rates available on request. Phaseout' for Rota Card No. 11 affective Oc- tober 1, 1981. Second class mall Registration Number 4714. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error. the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable allowance for signature. will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the ap- plicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at,a wrong price. goods or services may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer to sell. and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star 1snot' responsible for the lou or damage of unsolicited manuscripts. photos or other materials used for reproducing pur- poses. PUBLISHED BY:SIGNAL-STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220, HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 486 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 It could be you The month of October will be one of great significance for the people of Goderich and surrounding area. The month has officially been declared as Hospital' Month and that declaration brings with it definitive and. worthy goals for the community. ' As outlined earlier in several stories in•the Signal -Star, the board of governors of Alexandra Marine and General - Hospital.. are proceeding with. plans to construct a new Intensive Care Unit at the hospital. Once the decision was made to actively pursue the construction of a new ICU unix, the board assembled a team of local professional people and citizens to organize the fund-raising campaign. During the month of October, that\campaign will be in full gear and all the months of planning will come to fruition with a positive response' from the citizens of Qoderich. As indicated in an information brochure, the existing Intensive Care Unit atthe hospital is lacking both in terms of space and equipment. While space is hampering the efforts of medical personnel, outdated equipment is ad- ding to the difficulties oftheir efforts to provide com- petent medical care. To reduce the problem to simple terms, the present space and equipment is below standardand the 'people deserve more adequate medical treatment in adequate facilities. . Unfortunately, the construction project is not subject. to any government funding at present and the board must rely on the people to rally behind the effort and financially support the project. It's up to you. The unit will cost approximately $495,000 and the goal of the fund-raising campaign is $250,000. Many municipalities, industries, service clubs and groups have already pledged monetary support. On Thursday, October 1 the campaign will swing into action with a candlelight parade from Victoria School at 7 p.m. and canvassers will receive final instructions in the cafeteria of the hospital. The campaign blitz will take place Thursday October 15 when volunteers will seek pledges in a door-to-door canvass. It will not be a stagnant and lingering campaign, but, rather the committee hopes to gather sufficient in- terest and support in the month of October. Your support is critical. The present ICU facilities at the hospital are woefully inadequate both in terms of space and equipment. The There I was, sitting cross-legged in the centre of an enormous pile of file folders hill of fragments of the past, the reason for dragging it all out completely forgotten. Perhaps I didn't have a reason. Sometimes, one ,just- feels the urge to bulldoze through all the Old Stuff in the closet just for a lark, just to make sure the past is still there to hold on to. I hang onto memorabalia for dear life. I save everything. The problem is, I forget to label the things I save and thus forget. their significance. For example, in the flotsam and jetsam of the Old Stuff box, I came across an grey seagull feather. Why would I save that? What kind of great revelations are attached to it? I couldn't remember, but then again, if it wasn't important I wouldn't have put it in the box in the first place. So I put it back in reverently. " And I also discovered a rock. Not a big rock. Just an unobtrusive, flat, three - cornered, white stone. I did remember present facilities are well below government standards. �tt So. why .doesn't. the government chip in arid ensure that these facilities provide the best quality Of, medical care available? The Ministry • of Health has a waiting list for capital building projects that exceeds $1 billion while the Ministry is committed to spending approximately $s120 million eachyear. • That puts the request of the AM and G board at the end of a long list of building projects. The only alternative is to get the community involved and get the job done. It is an extensive commitment and task to place the responsibility of raising. $250,000 on. 15,000 residents in Goderich and the surrounding area served by the hospital., Brit the fund-raising committee is more: than: confident that goal will be equalled. To look at the problem honestly, the community cannot afford not to support the project. Surely many people have had the good fortune to avoid a trip to the hospital and may well be ignorant of the equipment .and medical services available. Those who have required medical attention at the • hospital or have had friends and relatives in hospital, realize the important role the community hospital plays in prpviding a competent level of medical care. One out of every six patients entering the hospital is admitted to the intensive care unit. ° In the case of cardiac patients and critical cases, the first 24 to 48 hours is most serious. Without proper facilities and equipment, many patients must be tran- sported to London and that time coulette critical to. the patient. • The proposed unit w_ ould contain equipment capable of monitoring patients 24 hours a day from the central nursing station and nurses would have visual contact of all patients. All patients would be monitored by telemetry, an . electronic system. allowing the patient to move about freely while the heart beat is transferred to the central nursing station. The • four new ICU units would be equipped with specialized outlets for oxygen,' suction, blood pressure machines, etc. You and your family deserve the best medical treat- ment available. The medical staff and hospital board want you to have that expert care and donations towards, the new ICU unit willImake that hope a reality. Remember. It could be you. D.S. , A where it came from and when, but the why part eluded me. That's the most important thing, the why. But it too went back in the box. Someday I shall remember its reason for being. I have always felt that saving things can be rather dangerous. What if I was run over by a 'truck, this evening? Someone would have to sort out all my junk and they'd find ' all manner of ghastly things. Oh, I don't think I'd mind people digging up my old seagull feathers and stones. After all, if I can't remember why I kept them, then it shouldn't bother others. But those file folders contain all sorts of deep dark secrets that should be thrown away. But that would be -like throwing out all the computer cards in my memory bank. How could I ever part with all the diaries I started and kept religiously for eight days at a time? 1 have a handle on my precise ac- tions for a total of seventy-two days of my life over about ten years. Sample this. 1 ./ ..... Stormy times By Cath Wooden DEAF REA BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER Are citizens in - general abdicating their community responsibilities? That's the question that came to my mind last week as I read The Goderich Signal -Star. For in two ,separate stories, indications 'were that elected and hired municipal personnel were experiencing problems that could easily be solved if ... IF ... citizens were behaving in a more responsible manner. . Case One was the town of Goderich's recent dilemma concerning the town's parks and their apparent connection with vandalism • and rowdyism. A recommendation to formulate and im- plement a restricted use bylaw for the parks was defeated because, as some town councillors pointed out, it could not be enforced. Councillor Stan Profit went on to suggest that a larger police force is the obvious answer to curb vandalism. And Reeve Don Wheeler and Deputy reeve Bob Allen reasoned • that tougher en- forcement of existing laws by the courts was the solution. Case Two was in a Huron County Board of Education story concerning the "horrendous" example at Goderich District Collegiate Institute of shoddy workmanship. There, the cost to the taxpaying public could be as much as $400,000 to repair the vocational wing built in 1967. The story advised that education officials are shaking their heads in unbelief at the condi.gf the building. And Director of Education John Cochrane admits he has no explanation for the structural mess except to wonder why someone from the community didn't advise the board officials at that time that workmanship left something to be desired. "October 15, 1970. Patty S. didn't invite me to her pyjama party. I don't care anyway because I hate her guts. You could put a toad beside her and I couldn't tell who was who." It's great stuff. Someday I may write my memoirs. And then there's all the gushy poems I wrote when I was 17 that made me blush in embarassment as I sat there among them all, oblivous to everything, lost in a dead world. "Jeez, I gotta get rid of this." I panicked. "What if somebody saw it!" I rushed the old notebook to the garbage, but couldn't dispose of it. Happens everytime I look through the Old Stuff in the closet. Unfortunately, my powers of organization are somewhat lacking. Because part of my job entails photography, it seems too much like work to keep photo albums of trips and holidays and stuff. Instead, my file folders are jammed with random black and white 8XlOs made in a hurry. No explanation written on the back. No ERS Interestingly enough, the building hi question was .constructed while the Goderich and, district residents were members of the local high school board. • County boards didn't come into being until 1969, yet it is the county board that is left to repair the damage ... and take the verbal abuse of disgruntled taxpayers. In both cases, however, it is evident that the total community is suffering financially. The • people who pay the bills are catching,it in the ear now because 'one individual or a group of in- dividuals, has 'chosen to act in an irresponsible way. And the initial question posed in this column deserves an answer.' Are citizens in general abdicating their community responsibilities? „And if so, maybe we should also ask why. • There is little doubt that if citizens of all ages acted in a responsible manner, there would be less need fora police force in the community. Instead of increasing manpower on the police force as Councillor Profit suggests, a chief and one or two officers could handle the chores that would arise from accidental occurrences and the occasional angry outburst. And think of the money that could be saved in police salaries alone right here in Goderich. Extend that throughout Ontario, and it is easy to see what a financial bonus it would be to all those persons who pay the bills. But alas, fewer and fewer citizens - adult persons not excluded - are able to control themselves in many aspects of day to day living. They need to be constantly protected from themselves whether at work or at play. They just don't seem to be able to handle responsibility. As for those who do the protecting, the wat- names, no dates. There is an out -of -focus picture of some human being, it looks male, bending over and . furiously vacuuming a carpet. I don't know who it is, or whose carpet he was vacuuming. It is becoming obvious that I have a problem here. My powers of analysis tell me that while I freely admit a passion for the past, I refuse to acknowledge that the present will someday become the good old days; hence, the souvenirs are hastily put in the closet without care or explanation. It is a rather difficult jam to be in, don't you agree? I'm reading a novel right now by John le Carre called the Naive and Sentimental Lover. "The past stinks," states one of the characters bluntly. I'll admit that the odours coming from my closet are a tad questionable, but then again shutting the door is much easier than throwing the Old Stuff box away. ching, the guiding, there are similar problems shaiittngup. Society in general appears to be losing its concept ° of what Constitutes responsible behaviour. There is an overall slackening of the regulatory codes that determine what is the minimum standard of personal and community responsibility in this nation. This kind of leadership comes in part from government, the church, the courts, the schools and perhaps most important, the family. If these institutions are in disarray, we can expect trouble. . Just take a quick look at these age-old bastions. Government is a joke to many -people, the churches are empty, the courts are many times, mistrusted and disrespected despite their undisputed position as the highest authority in the land, the schools are struggling to keep abreast of a knowledge explosion and the homes of the nation are falling apart at a record rate. The result is a wholesale tendancy to operate just barely inside the requirements of the law ... or, at times, just a trifle' outside them. Responsible action is often construed now as anything you can get away with. The first step on the way back is to recognize the base problems. The second step is a desire to change. Accepting responsibility is a prime requisite for citizenship. Always has been. Always will be. The degree to which individuals and groups can accept responsibility for their own actions will determine the ultimate success of the whole. The sooner we see the connections between self and the community,, the sooner we can get on with a happier future. cath wooden separesviemsembestwisesestaN