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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-07-28, Page 4PA 4AbR1+`? ISIGf1VAlleS AR, WEDNESDAY, JULY ZL 1 DAVE; SYKES p•b r o One of the great little pleasures in life is holidays, Unl, of course, you happen to be a harried mother with six children of elementary school as havoc about the house dlrringthe e , months. But, dill, there is nothing. quite so exquisite as the ptospectof having nothing to do for two or three weeks. That exact scenario existed for this wretched writer as eiJuly 17. It has been several years, more than I really care tomedics in this piece, since the luxury of a three-week vacation loomed on the holiday horizon. Now my tune has come. I &L truly envious of gchool children, those carefree little critters, who are by'', now, bored with what seems to be an in- NiteC i buy long vacation. Enjoy it kids, time two morels Ai!!s have a 801ty habit of disappearing In a Inlay. Memories of a two- / month vacation can make you silly later on. In retrospect, I never tired of summer holidays as a kid Those languid days were spent on the ball diamond, the'golf course or playing both on other people's yards, which tended to make them ugly when badepaths were worn into the front lawn or divots weren't replaced. There is a bit of irony in the fact that as a bigger kid, my expectations for the vacation haven't really Winged all that much. ' I will still, be propelling this slight frame around the base paths in an organized ball league and the trusty 13 -year old Arnold Palmer golf clubs have been screaming at me from the basement. The golf clubs, af- fectionately known as "The Rods", will be bed t.s perfnrrn rnitsuriairnic geiiing feats :X= e�a'a'c' SCh. few we�•- So, while the duration of the vacation period has been altered immeasurably over theyears, the games still remain the same. The only change is that the participating children are considerably older. And for some strange reason, the games now have a habit of carrying on well past sunset. If mother only knew. She put up with my summer sporting exploits for many year and it took some damn hard training on my part before she realized I would cut the lawn or perform other gruelling tasks around the house only if it was racking. It never did seem to rain much and mother would curse the games of summer. Weekly toil at your favorite weekly and, of course, the games of summer, are still putting the chores on the back shelf. And ..16.. oc 'have a terrih ie habit of piling up jut in time for vacation. While I have visions of a holiday filled with baseball, boogaloo and barbecue, I fear the list of jobs has grow in direct proportion to the number of excuses I made to avoid them. The list, I suspect, is terribly lengthy. That is the price one has to pay for procrastination, I must sadly admit, and I would wager that the missus neglected to mention baseball, golf or any other sporting endeavors on said job list. Perhaps it was just an oversight on her part that could easily be corrected with a bit of darn good grovelling or some excellent whining,arll give it my best shot, to be sure. Anyway, if it happens to rain, at all in the next three weeks, the list will undoubtedly make for interesting reading while I 'sum- mon the little lady to fetch another reerest o heveraee. *CIA Second class +.11 Eiatjlanitiell I, number -0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT founded M 1111 and puhMhhad every padwlMay at liederid.. Cloterrie. hiesallow al th. ®LMA ani 01111A. Aiwa, thlp rates on request. Sulr«iptlors payola* in edvsnw 911.10 In Good% gide to ILIA, 91401to all other ca.n- taies. algia copies 11'- Display advertising rates.rellahle on request. Masao& lar Ode Lind tie. 11 all.Nhia Oc- tober doe le tweet of typographicaltSecond lhe .dverthing accepted «r....ees Hem ~tyaNnr�wUA .. -s�...sa aderreare for s1Anaiare. wUh eat he charged for hat that bedews of the advertisement will he pail for et the nor ptkahM rats. kis the.,ent of a typerop*kal ewer .dverf Wog gooier.wiliest a wrests prim Meds a servkss may riot be sold. Adrarthins b eaesiy an offer to sell, end way be withdrawal el any tgee. The 1lgeeliter is net reaporsible for the low or damage of unsaddled mahwsnlpt.. plates sr ether aswleb awed f.r repradedrg per. posies PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G; SHRlER-Paaeen4d iPikUsher DONALD Mu HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. Box 220, HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH HITA-4i 6--- Goaet%al he— FOR BUSINESS O3 EDITORIAL OFFICES placsc phone (319) 524-3331 Reputation being tarnished The entrance signs on the' highways leading into Goderich proclaim this to be 'The Prettiest Town in Canada'. And through the hard work of residents, local businessesand town politicians, it does live up to its claim to fame, boasting tree -lined streets, historical buildings and beautiful parks. sewer. thz 'a -'e atiorit that has -begre built -over the -- years'is now being tarnishedby the neglect of one building situated on The Square, the former People's Store: �'lihe`linsightly red building with its large empty windows has become an eyesore through the neglect of out-of-town owners who seem to have no interest in its appearance. It also is a poor reflection on a respectablebusiness com- munity. What seems apparent through conversations with town • councillors and representatives for the Business improvement Association (BIA) is that the owners, Jorili Investment Ltd. of Montreal, are receiving income through a leasing arrangement, with St. Michael's Shops of 'Canada and are unconcerned about improving the exterior of the building. 'According to'Peter McCauley, chairman of the BIA, two letters have been sent to Jorili requesting permission to .paint the exterior of the store and rent window space for displays. Is this too much to ask? It must be because at the present time both requests have been ignored with no reply received. McCauley even admits that the BIA would pay for the - paint and for the .rental space if permission is given from Jorili. Through lack of response, permission has been denied. .. . / - a tellephene--1 i of *own.., snc llorsr the SignoleStar :: has learned the consensus among local politicians is that the store is an eyesore in the business core. However, councillors are divided on what action to take. Some feel that in this case the Property Standards Bit -Law could be used to force the company to improve the building. Still others feel that the same by-law is too weak and pertains primarily to structural hazards which is not the case in the People's Store building. Town residents are equally concerned about what the building is doing to the beautification of the business area With such broad support for sprucing up the People's Store building among all the different groups in Goderith, something could and should be done. By not responding to the BIA's letters, the 'building's owners are showing little respect for the community in which they are located. Since they do not live here, they do. not appear to care. Isn't it time they were made to care? K.S. and J.L.B. The square babysitter Is your television set your child's baby sitter? If someone told you that a 10 -year-old boy spent 25 hours weekly reading books, in addition to his educational studies, you might think the child is probably a book- worm, ookworm, and although you might not say it; you might think him a little weird or not quite "normal". But when you aretold that the average youngster spends about 25 hours in front of the television set, the reaction is usually quite different. It appears that this is constructed as "normal" and maybe even more ac- ceptable than reading for long periods of time. Perhaps we tend tounk this way because we've been. told so many times that today's children watch too much TV and the message has lost its impact to shock us into reacting. If we really stop and take a moment to think about it, we should be shocked. A little (sometimes not so little ) box projecting two-dimensional images about one dimen- sional topics forces daily submission to it by too many of our young people. Do we consider that television could be one of the most powerful forces shaping the minds of our children in their most formative years? Advertisers recognize television for the mind -shaper it is. Do we? Every day, an average child from two to 11 years of age watches 45 minutes of TV advertising designed specifically to influence his or her wants, according to the Canadian Bureau of Broadcast Measurement. Of course there are many excellent educational programs on television, but it is still up to the parents to at least be intere.sthd enough -to cultivate- ways to monitor your child's TV schedule _ The Alberta Teachers' Association has the following advice and suggested guidelines which might help parents oversee their children's TV viewing habits. 1. Participate in your children's TV viewing. Talk about programs. Help them to evaluate, then accept or reject, programs and commercials. 2: Set family policies about TV. Have a maximum amount (ITV per day, but be flexible. Be sure baby sitters know these rules. 3. help your children choose programs suitable to their age levels. Select programs which let them gain a better understanding off themselves, and their environment. Be aware of upcoming specials and always remember that your viewing habits influence those of your children. 4. IJhcourage other alternative activities to TV such as rending and talking. Show interest . in and encourage hobbies and sports activities. Include children in some of your activities. If you should want changes in TV, let networks, stations, advertisers, and the CRTC know about it. Tell them when you are pleased and displeased. The responsibility of molding children's attitudes shouldi not be left to television, parents should take an active role.—The North Bay Sun Excess wrong When the first compact cars entered the North American automotive market decades ago, most motorists paid little attention. Why buy so small? Fuel was cheap, labor was relatively cheap. Cars with twice the size and thrice the power could be had at only slightly greater expense. They were more comfortable anyway. Then conditions changed. Fuel prices began to rise. And when the gasoline crunch of the 1970s really struck out at the North American car market, we watched as large cities rationed their gas supplies and a few motorists were even forced to spend whole days waiting to top off their tanks: It finally sank in. Cars shrunk - our automotive ideals took on a Shorter wheelbase. A comparable change of attitude in the way society uses all energy forms is inevitable. According to statistics compiled by Shell Canada, by the year 2,0000 all "renewable energy forms" will be con- tributing an increase from the equivalent of Seven minket -'barrels ofoil in 1980'to as manly as 16 million barrels. Ate our energy reserves are seen to be growing smaller and smaller, our will to find alternate energy sources grows larger and larger. Federal and provincial governments should offer irresistibletax incentives to companies researching solutions to the world's fuel predicament. The threat caused by wasting valuable energy is too costly. The formula to the world's energy riddle lies among a pile of notes hidden on some scientist's desk; our leaders should provide the breaks to make a search for the key straightforward and worthwhile. ' Someday, we'll lookback at the massive'chrome-and steel road -going monsters of the lata 50s and laugh at our But right now nobody's laughing. Cars no different from those are still on the road.—The Leduc Representative excess. lata 'k Hoo �aairiiire Fiower `]Fest vat .. By Joanne Buchanan _ Haydon'surprised at council's division Dear Editor, When the PUC review motion was introduced recently at the town council, it rather surprised me that there would be such a con- troversial division at this early stage of information gathering, as one should take it for granted that all elected persons would want to be fully informed on every subject in the jurisdiction, in order to determine the most prudent, efficient and ef- fective service. The local PUC was created in 1906 after the town council passed a by-law . placing the question on the ballot for the electors to decide. The council cannot abolish the public utilities com- mission (and we are only talking about the com- mission). It can only pass a by-law to place the question on the ballot for voters' decision. If the majority decided in favour of abolishing the commission, permission from Ontario Hydro would still be needed. The , recently defeated motion (three council members for, three against, three absent) called only for a review and local study in which all council members were invited to participate. The review could have shown: a) that the present set-up serves the public interest best and most ef- fectively in every respect in which case there would have been• no ,.need for a „sub- sequent by-law to place the question on the ballot in November, or b) that the costs could be reduced and the effectiveness increased by abolishing the com- mission, eliminating certain duplications and. combining, the utilities' operations, 'equipment; 'workforce and administration directly. with those of the municipality, in which case the council would have been asked at a later ,date to vote on a by-law whether or not to put the question in November and let the people decide, or.c).a need and direction for some more modest changes which may have been achieved within the present system. The council has periodically reviewed committees, by-laws and financial and administrative systems, because without. such reviews of its parts, any overall operation is in Pl7TP ■ its R!Li•ujii! 11..`1. II danger of becoming stagnant and outdated. Why is there, such severe reluctance in this case and what is there to fear from a review? Studies and reviews are under consideration in a number of other municipalities. Indeed, the -Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Claude Bennett, has repeatedly expressed his concern about the many special-purpose boards and commissions (public utilities commissions were among those directly mentioned in his speech to the municipalities) and spoke of need for more financial and political responsibility and control by local government. Even if all the steps to be taken had been in favour of abolishing the commission, it would not have had any effect on the present com- mission and not 'on the commission to be elected in November this year - it would have become effective at the time of the next election three years from this November. Some members are incline! to reduce too many things to an imaginary "personal at- tack" ttack" level which, par- ticularly in light of • the above, makes no sense at all. It is inevitable that at ,times there appears to be some tension between councils and public utilities commissions, because the potential for such a tension is built right into our present system. It is not possible to let it go by simply saying "let the town council look after its own business and the PUC after theirs". Much of PUC business is , the council's business, whether we like it or not. The provincial statutes determine that the municipality is the owner of the utility, but the control and management is with the commission. The PUC audit is only part of the municipal audit. The mayor is a member of the commission by virtue 'of his municipal U1f1l.Y. '..Ultilei'b tuuactht ti needed for PUC capital projects, debentures, ex- tension of the works and for several other things down to the commissioners' remuneration. Incidentally ,the municipality has demon- strated itsperational and administrative. capability in a closely related field by 'having operated and managed the sewage plant directly and most suc- cessfully ever since it was built. The review motion could be reintroduced at the council any time there is a mover and a seconder. However, a month has been lost. There' is not enough time left to comply with all the statutory requirements and time limits connected with the election at the beginning of this November. It rules out a meaningful and thorough review and presentation for public in- formation and discussion. As it is too rush -ed to do it in a thorough and business -like manner under the cir- cumstances, it is better to leave it alone forthe time being. A referendum on a certain subject need not be tied to a imuricipall election. As the next council will feel even more pressure on municipal tax dollars ( already more than half of locally collected taxes must be paid to the Board of Education and to the County, without any choice), it is to be hoped that more council members will feel motivated to take a more business -like approach and will wish to know much more about how the dollars left for municipal services could be utilized to the best advantage to the public. In the meantime, you may wish to ask some council members who helped defeat the information gathering review, why they oppose better and more thorough knowledge in all business aspects of municipal life and its alternatives. Some time and energy spent on agitating about picayune events and amounts might be used . better for learning. Perhaps we can see it in the future. Sincerely, Elsa Haydon Police point -of -view on disaster given Dear Editor, Reference: the comments in Dave Sykes' column concerning the disaster drill. at Roberton School. As this Was a drill, the first one held in Goderich, I felt that it was important at the scene to allow the press. to - take their photographs as I hoped the exercise would get good coverage. Thrs _WS.. preyed .eorrect in thecase of -- our - •local newspaper the a articles and photographs brought this test to the ngtice of the public in a strong manner. From the police point of view there were several things I did not do which, would be mandatory and essential at a real disaster — calling out the coroner for the "dead" persons, taking our own police photographs among them. The crowd, including the press, would have been kept behind the barriers. In the exercise, we had to imagine certain things, such as the "fires' I kept seeing and requesting the firemen to "extinguish". Some of the "umpires" may have appeared too close at time but, of course, we had to imagine that they were not there. I certainly did not see you or the television crew getting in our way. For the purposes of this first exercise, le thought the press should be close -in to snap the action. At a real disaster, such. things as press cards, media control posts, information posts etc., would -be- set up and then you ( and the TV crew) will probably require a telephoto lens for closeups. The incident at the hospital was unfortunate. However, the debriefing on the exer- cise will reveal any errors or weakness and that is the reason for having such a drill. Thanks again for the ex- cellent coverage. Yours truly, Patrick D. King,, Chief of Police. P.S. Hang onto your old 35mm camera, but please..A...leave your blasted seagull behind!! Tourist Says toilet needed Dear Editor, As a tourist visiting your beautiful little town, due to some literature I was handed at . Eaton Place about a month ago, I feel compelled to write to your local paper to draw a very important item beforethe eyes of your subscribers and the people on your town council in- cluding the mayor and town administrators, and especially the people on the tourist board or whatever, also the people who decide the 'do's' & 'don't' about the parks, etc. A badly needed toilet should be placed on the grounds at the darling little park on the river bank down near the Salt monument and across from the jail. There are tables, seats, mowed grass, garbage containers, everything BUT 4a toilet. ' Again I say - it is urgently needed by those who stop to picnic at this park as I did. There aren't enough trees between the golf course road and the side street to make a 'bush stop' for the needy when nature demands ac- tion. PLEASE Db SOMETHING! Sincerely yours, Greg Carter, 911 `Water Street, Niagara Falls, Ont. More letters on Page 5 1