The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-07-28, Page 6?ME—CIODERICHSIGNALiSTAR., WF.DNIOSDAY, JULY* 1933
• DAVE
SYKES
e,
2 ,
oiie of the great little pleasures in life is
holidays. Mikan, of comae, youhappen to hie
a harried mother with 'six children of
elementary school age tweaking havoc
about thetiouse during thesummer months.
Rd, still, Dere I nothing quite so
empaisiti e as the pirepect of having netting
to do for two or Ihnie weeks. That exact
iscenarinetris' ted tor this wretched writer as
cf July 17.
ft bas been several yeats, mole than I
really cane to meetion ti*Idete, aim the
luxury of a three-week vatodion loaned on
the holiday Ionian. Now my time has come.
1 am truly endow of school children,
those carefree little critters, who are by
e , now, bored with what seems to be an he
teraninalty keg vacation- Enjoy ft kids,
those two month stints have a nasty !habit of
tone emitionewiem - -"r
te,1 e00.0.0-
month vacation can make you silly later on.
in retromect, 1 never tired of summer
holidays as a kid. Those languid days were
spent on the ball diewoontil, the gob! course or
playing bath col other' people's yards, which
tended to make them ugly when basepaths
were VOTE into thetfront lawn or divots
went replacd_
These is a bit of irony that as a
bigger kid, my espectatiens for cation
haven't reaBy changed all that mai
, I will still be prepelling this slight,
amend the base paths in an or" ball
league and the trusty 13 -year old Arnold
Pam golf elide have been screaming at
me from the basement The golf elate af-
fectionately known as "The Reds", will be
asked to perform miraculous golfing feats
iii.,.pcor lista =Loy t f 0:007 wePIPC
So, white the duration ed the vacation
period has been alleted thioneasurably over
the years, the games still meals the same.
The only change is that the participating
children are considerably older_ And for
some strange memo, the games now have a
Wad of mowing on weir past sunset.
If mother only imew_ She pid up with my
stammer sporting explofts for many year
and ft took some damn hard training cie my
part before she rearmed I would cut the lawn
or perform other gruelling tasks around the
house only if ft was mining_
It never did seem In _rain rionch and
mother Would curse the mimes simmer.
Weekly toil at your favorite weekly and, ti
course, the games of summer, are still
putting the chores, on the back shelf. And
those demaading choices have terrible
habit of piling up just in time for vacatio.
While I have visions el a holiday filled
with baseball, boogtdoo and barbecue, I fear
the list of jobs has grow in thriedprupeetion
to the ninnber of excuses I made to avoid
them. The list, I suspect is ter fatly kngthy.
That is the price one has to pay for
pocragination, I must sadly admit, and I
would wager that the missus neglected to
mention baseball, golf or any other spotting
endeavors on said job list.
Perhaps it was just an oversight on her
part that could easily be corrected witha bit
ei dam good grovelling or some excellent
whining. ru give tray best shot, to be sure.
• Anyway, if ft happens to rain at all in the
next three weeks, the list wili undoubtedly
make for iintu'esfing reading while I sum-
mon the Rile lady to fetch another
refreshing beverage.
• SINCE 1848
THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH 8/ DISTRICT
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Renutatiion beng tarnished
The entrance signs on the highways leading into
Coiderich proclaim this to be 'The Prettiest Town in
Canada'. And through the hard work of residents, local
businesses and town politicians, it does live up to its claim
to fame, boasting tree -lined streets, historical buildings
andbeautifulparks: • -
• However, the reputation that has been built over the
years is now being tarnished by the neglect of one building
situated on The Square, the former People's Store
bialding with its large empty whicloiym
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 respectable business com-
munity.
_What seems apparent through conversations with town
•caimmilors and representatives for the Business
Improvenient Association (BIA) is that the owners, Jorili
Investment lid. of Montreal, are receivinh 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? ft 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
olemied.
In a telephone. poll of tOwn moat�i, the Signal -Star
has learned the consensus among local polfticians is that
the store is an eyesore in the business core However,
councillors are divided on what action toltake. Some feel
that in this case the PropertiStandanis By -Law could be
used to force the company to improve the building. Still
others feel that the same bydaw 15 tai 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 Goderich,
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?
KS. 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, and although you might not say it, you might think
- hint a little weird or not quite "normal".
• „ But when you are told that the average youngster
spends about 25 hours in front of thettelevision set, the
reaction is usually qiiite different. It appears that this is
constructed as "normal" anti maybe even more ac-
ceptable than reading for long periods of time.
Perhaps we tend to think this way because' we've been
told so many times that to.day'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 itteve
• should be shocked. A little (sometime e 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 fromtwo to 11 years of age
el 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 interested enough t� cultivate ways .to .monitor
your child' s TV 'schedule.
The Alberta '1eachers' Asoiatou:11"as the ,foW�ifig
advice and suggested guidelines which might help parents
oversee their children's TV viewing habits.
I. Participate in your ehildren's TV Vittfillg-: Talk -Obeid
programs. Help them to evaluate, then accept or reject,
programs and commercials.
2. Set fatally policies about TV. Have a maximum
amount of TV 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 of themselves, and their environment. Be
aware of upcoming specials and always remember that
your viewing habits influence those of your children.
4. Encourage other alternative activities to TV such as
reading and talking. Show interest in and encourage
hobbies and sports activities. Include children in sinned
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 duldren's attitudes
• should 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 C-anada, by the
year 2,0000 all "renewable energy forms" will be 'con-
tributing an increase from the equivalent of seven million
barrels of oil in 1980 to as many as 16 million barrels.
As Our energy . reserves are seMilb be growing smaller
and smaller, our will to find 'alternate energy sources
grows larger and larger.
Fediira and provincial governments should offer
irresistable tax incentives to companies researching
solutions to the world's fuelpredicament
The threat candid 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 noake a search dor the .key
straightforward and worthwhile.
Someday we'll look back at the massive chrome -and -
steel road -going Monsters of the late 50s and laugh at our
excess.
But right now nobody's laughing. Cars no different from
those are still on the road.—The Leduc Representative
f . • • '
• J. .;• .
Mark Hook admires Flower Festival entry
a,
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
• 15 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 end 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, ally
overall operation is in
LETTER
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 conunissions
(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 inclined to
reduce too many things to an
imaginary "personal at-
tack" level which, par-
ticularly in light of the
above, makes' no sense at
It is inevitable that at
times there appears to be
some tension between
councils and public utilities
corrunissions, because the
potential for such a tension is
built right intonour 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 conunission
by virtue of his municipal
office. Council's consent is
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 its operational 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-
fommtion and discussion. As
it is too rushed to do it in a
thorough and business -like
manner under the eir-
•
curnstances, it is better to
leave it alone for the time
being. A referendum on a
certain subject need not be
tied to a municipal 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 mere business -like
approa& and will wish to
know much more about how
the dollars left for municipal
services could be utilized to
the best advantage to the
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 Robertson 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 es I
hoped the exercise would get
good -coverage. This was
• proved correct in the case of
our heal newspaper the
articles - and photographs
brought this test to the notice
of the public in a straw
manner.
From the police point of
view there were several
things I did not do which
would lee 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
bs niers.
In the exercise, we had to
imagine certain things, such
heeett--- eneetehmetiainelitt=
as the "fires" I kept seeing
and requesting the firemen
to "extinguish".
'Some of the "umpires"
may have appeared too close
at times bid, 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, I -
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 35nun camera,
but • pease leave your
blasted seagull behind!!
ourist says toilet neede
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 hnpOrtant
item before the 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 placedon 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 a 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., deraandS
bon.
PLEASE DO
SOMETHING!
Sincerely yours,
Greg Carter,
• 911 Water Street
Niagara Falls, Ont.
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