Loading...
The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-02-16, Page 4• 1 generally tend to, pay OeITThing1a .life close to the deadline wh(% in the paet, Nis created more problems .theit I care to MOW. And I paid again dearlythis week for my procrastinating habits. Monday of this week was Valentines Day, a day set aside for incurable romantics lovers and other assorted.animais and idiots who pretend to be accepted by society. In my own inimitable 'styl'e, I purchased, two Valentines Day cards for Mrs. Sykes at least three days in advance, oneasan eis- pression of my undying affection and one to express the same sentiments on behalf of the little guy. With that major purchase out of the way, I left the remaining details, such as gift selection, for later. Which,as thing turned out, was a major blunder on my parte Again, I paid dearly for procrastination. The .:evlden to would d i„pz dieate that every .: other '�% m Goderich sopped for Valentine's Day ahead of me. dale I:wpem; the streets in. Search, eta suitable gift by Ram., (thea end.of a normal' working day) the flower shops were literally Wold' of anything greenandleafy. I doubt that.aperson would been able;: to purchase even a tacky, plastic Bower for his loved one, evenObis tastes dictated. The Qawer, shops were devastated and reseal- bled war-torn battle zones as .this. correspondent wandered the streets aimlessly, attempting to purchase a singular flour. Even "the normally friendly and curteous staff looked haggard and frazzled after assembling thousands of arrangements arid while they were party to those numerous expressions of love, their faces reflected the agony of a tiring day serving an endless line • of eager customers, ;In one op, ter wiring whether the:. eetabiislintent lra!ndled a :certain line of cut Oa +era tl a Cendant simply stared ,at me arid offered, "`I,?o we sell(themn? Of course we sell' thele •mister., ,but we obviously : don't have any, more to sell today." Well, I didn't Mean to intrude la(1y, SO if `you'll just;' excuse me I'll politely leave, thank you very rnuch. The stwy alas; the same every weber I went. Just about every insignificant, tacky, commercial Valentine's Day item was sold on Monday by 5 p.m. So it is safe to assume a couple of thinge. from that information. First, 99 per cent of`. the male population has time on Monday to ignore work duties and spend'much of the day perusing Valentine articles in downtown shops before I get there. Either that or they. have sthe sense toshop early, before the' last minute rush. .• •x Secondly, it cauid also be assurtled that alter . ..enjoying an intimate candlelight dinner, .luring whichlonging glandes were exchanged, .several Goderich men pre ted their loved -afro, girlfriend, spo wife `.,nate,, live -stn `:tie; and . or significant other With a box of chocolates in the shape of a red heart, an assortment of cut flowers (preterablyred roses.), assorted steamy love notes, and other ,homes con- taining saucy and suggestive lingerie. • That may have been the case in other households, but this.agent;had'to settle for the last two remaining petunias inGoderich. Anyway, it's the thought that counts and by now those two flowers have been eaten by myyoung son. Maybe next year well shop - early and get something good theat. *CNA cn tD A BLUE RIBBON AWARD Second class mail registration number -0716 SINCE 1.848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded In 18411 and published every Wednesday at Ooderlch, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. Adver. tisIng rotes on requite. Subscriptions payable 1n advance •19.90 In Canada, °90.00 to U.S.A., '30.00 'Wail other count. tries, single copies SOc, Display advertising rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Card No.13 effective Oc. *ober 1. 1982. Second class mail Registration Number 0716. 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 kold. Advertising Is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible far the loss 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 Davis'df base Unemployment is not a unique situation to any one region or province of Canada, rather it's a disease that has spread to every corner of thenation._ Unemployment was 'alway's something thathappened to „ the other family, the ,ntper. person, the other employee t with 20 years eperience. But now, unemployment i§fl't quite so distelliitnating and'its effect is, being felt by more and more Canadians. A recent gallup poll indicates that one third of Canadians are affected by unemployment and as many as 50 per cent of Canadians believe they will be affected by unemployment before the recession bottoms out. By modest estimates, the number of unemployed people • in the country has risen beyond 1,600;000 and the numbers have mainly affected young people between the ages of 18` and 29. In the next year,anadians are expected to dole out $11.6 billion in •unemiloyment insurance benefits which represents an increase over the $8.5 billion in benefits in J982. During the year more than 3.5 million claims were. filed at offices across the country. The numbers are real and the numbers are staggering and closer to home, more than half a million Ontarians are unable to find jobs. There was little in the an- nouncement from Premier William Davis last week, who said that many of those jobs are not lost but simply not be- ing performed temporarily, to offer any reassurance to those victims. Perhaps the thinking of the Premier is a little naive and based on suppositions and idle speculation. It seems that forthe past few years and months, people and govern- ments have been waiting for the end of the'recession, a bright spot on the economic horizon that signals or sparks an upturn in the economy. Davis, perhaps not unlike others, indicates by his comments that Ontarians who now face unemployment and hard times, will have jobs when the economy recovers. His optimism and enthusiasm may not have much truth in it though. Many of the jobs lost in the last two years will not be recovered. In some cases an upturn in the economy may mean modest growth or expansion in both the business and industrial sector, but, not all the unemployed of this province or the country will simply reclaim jobs. It is not ,. that simple. During the last two years, many industrial concerns, many companies and many businesses across the country have streamlined•operations, trimmed budgets, trimmed expenses and Operated with they *least amount of personnel possible. It was. a sign of the times., Business in the 1980's was being compared to that of the Depression and many markets lost during this recession may be lost forever. Hopefully, when the economy turns around and con- sumer spending increases, companies will bolster their labour forces and increase production. .4 But, it is truly an optimist that looks into thefuture and predicts that • the unemployed will have the op- portunity to reclaim jobs. Davis' statement is a political one and it is probably safe to assume that the badly wounded economy may never recover to the status it once • enjoyed' No doubt Davis is well awareof that fact and aware that his government must come to grips with a growing problem.. Unemployment- continues to. grow in this province and the figures released from Ottawa probably don't truly reflect, the number of people looking for work in Canada. • The federal and provincial governments are spending millions of dollars on make-work projects which provide temporary but immediate relief from unemployment for many people. In most instances, such projects are serving an immediate need but not addressing the problem on a long-term basis. Once the economy breaks and the province and country experiences a mild boom, Canadians may not be ready. It will take a great deal of time before the unemployment figures decrease significantly. We will, continue to live, with high unemployment for a long time. Ontario has to decide where the jobs of the 1980s will be . and retrain employees to fill those vacancies as they arise. The government has already made commitments to research and no doubt high technology will also be part of the economic future. Premier Davis may live to regret his words one day and no doubt the unemployed will throw those promises of jobs back in his face. Cryinghi1d bothers restaurant owner; couple told not to return Dear Editor, Maybe you can help with a problem I have just run into. Since when, in these tough economic times, has a small business in a >imall town such as Goderich, had such a -great business clientele that he has literally had to tell people to stay) away from his establishment? That is exactly what has happened to myself, my wife, and our child of eighteen months. We were in a local restaurant one night and my son, as all children get from time to time, was a little cranky. He started to cry and we tried to calm him but to no avail. We then finished our coffees and took our son home. My wife was later told by one of the co-owners that if we were ever to bring our child into his establishment again that it could only be for 10 or 15 minutes at a time but he preferred that we did not return at all. He said that the child "bothered" him when he cried. ' Today we went back to the same restaurant for a coffee and a sandwich and were again reminded of what he had told my wife. Now does this man make so much money from his business that he can afford to be this rude and ignorant to people that have been patronizing his restaurant for seven or eight years. If he is then 1 must congratulate him, because he must have better business techniques than the rest of the country's small businessmen. But if rudeness and ignorance are a part of his technique, I'm sure it won't last long. Yours sincerely, Bruce Bennett, Goderich False impressions reported Dear Editor, In our presentation to town council on February 7 on behalf of the Goderich Arts Foundation, Dennis Little and I seem to have left your reporter - and probably council - with two false im- pressions which were reported in the Signal -Star of February 9. I wish to clarify our statements and to apologize for us both because we were not more specific in our statements at the time. The Wintario grant tor $24,000 which we are cur- rently trying to match is not a capital grant for building but is for the portable equip- ment necessary to furnish The Livery. The matching money must be raised by March 31, 1983, if we are to claim the funds which have been committed by Wintario for this p se: To the Goderich Business Improvement Association '- not to the Foundation - goes the credit for sponsoring the Science Fair. We are proud and happy that we will be ready to house such an im- portant event for the B.I.A. as one of the first happenings in our new facility but we do not claim the glory of being its sponsor. Yours, Dorothy Wallace On thin ice By Dave Sykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY KELLER If you are mg.over the g!�Bqenin last week's D •' Readers t,teliumthat`-,aru" ; , g. abuse right he rfi good old Huron empty could be a contributing "tor to our rotten health and accident record, you`usthave been interested in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police study entitled National Drug Intelligence Estimate 1981. The RCMP . report. ,released to the public Monday, February 7, 1983, has some startling facts for all of us to digest. FACT: About three million Canadians spent nearly $1,700 each on marijuana and hashish in 1981, with a third of the illicit purchases made by teenagers. FACT: The "glamour drug" cocaine was used by nearly a quarter of a million people in Canada - 250,000 persons, some as young as 13 years - at a cost of just over $2,100 each average over the year. FACT: Heroin and other "junk" wasibyfar the most expensive, habit at $112,500 annual cost for an estimated 20;000 persons! FACT: Canadians spent more than eight million dollars on street drugs in 1981, with more than five million dollars of that going toward marijuana and hashish. FACT: Virtually no 'community in Canada remained untouched by cannibas use. FACT: There has been a marked increase in the social acceptability of cocaine. FACT: The availability of heroin is likely to increase. FACT: Domestic laboratories run by' motorcycle gangs- in many instances, produce many of the chemical drugs such as LSD, syn- thetic mescaline, angel dust and MDA used in Canada. • Canada. ,ACT: The number censer was, ;'t clear., but it., ?APT: 015 "was spell in'1.981.,.' on chemical drugs.' Thestudy was done, according to the RCMP, because an accurate assessment of the magnitude and dimensions of the illicit drug problem in Canada is a fundamental starting point for rational policy-making as well as public debate. In other words, many people have their heads buried in the -sand when it comes to the drug habits of their neighbours and friends - maybe even their own families. Until someone gets the facts out in _front of us, documented by a well respected force such as the RCMP, no one is going to address the real 'problem. In one radio report I. heard, the announcer was giving figuresthat indicatedthat illicit drugs are sold in every high school in the nation_ None is immune ... not even GDCI where our sons and daughters attend daily: That makes it mighty personal dglesn't it? Too close for comfort, I can well remember having teenagers in the 70s, products of the 60s. I recall the fears I had about drugs then, .and I know I wasn't alone. But lately I think we've been lulled to sleep by the quiet, and we just aren't as upset by the potential hazards of drug abuse as we once were. It is all becoming very commonplace ... rather removed from our daily concerns of making ends meet in tough times. Now with the release of this drug report by the -RCMP, nearly .simultaneously with Dr. Harry Ciealar's shocking: report: about the high risk of serious accident and illness in our own backyard, we're reeling in the knowledge that ' maybe things aren't as right with the world as we thought. And we're a bit patiic-stricken Why all. the fuss right now Mhyiseieryoneso,:, :. suddenly up -in -arms about such things as eating well and exercising, curbing our alcohol intake and ending our personal dependancies on this and that? The fact remains we can no longer afford to indulge ourselves. Even if we don't care what happens to our own physical selves, someone has to make us care so that each of us can do our bit to keep the cost of the nation's health services down. And what about the terrible waste of absolutely essential human resources that oc- curs when we deliberately damage our bodies and our minds with all manner of hurtful habits? Destruction of a nation always follows when a majority of the citizens choose to pursue per- sonal goals and ambitions which are in conflict with 'accepted practices and at odds with national needs and aspirations. It's a proven fact. • It's time we faced up to the truth about our- selves andpur families and friends. It's time we admitted we really are on a collision course with disaster on many fronts. It's time we decided to put on the brakes and get ourselves turned around. In Huron County, we're a bit luckier than most. We have a medical officer of health who has put his finger on a large part of the problem, and we have a county council-- that has engaged a resource person who has the expertise to lead us out of the wilderness., All_that remains is for us.torecognise out own weaknesses ..-, and to determine to do something about them. Let's hope we have the good sense for just that. Reader voices opinion on Piayb�y"soft porn" Dear Editor, I would like, if I may, to take this opportunity to voice my concerns, or rather my righteous indignation, re the proposed Pay TV First Choice planning to air Playboy' type "soft -porn" films in the near future. This, I realize, is a con- troversial issue, as it affects our rights as human beings. Those that want to gain pro- fit by this new media ex- posure argue that to restrict Playboy programming is, an infringement on an in- dividual's rights. Let's think further about that argument, as we explore the following analogy. As parents, we try our best to provide our children with good, wholesome, attractive- ly prepared and nicely serv- ed food for their physical well being. We welcome government standards and the necessary regulations ensuring high quality and safety of the foodstuffs we buy.' No parents would un- concernedly allow their children to eat polluted food yet, here we are con- fronted with the issue of this type of lurid, erotic, Violent film beingpresumably allowed to come sato the liv- ingrooms of our nation's TTE homes, allowing our children's minds and emo- tions to be "fed" ! ! ! ? with garbage: , You've heard the wisdom of the saying, "You are what you eat." Please consider this also: "We're a part of all whom we meet, see, and ex- perience," Much is at stake if this type of erotic pro- gramming is allowed to enter our homes and in- fluence our people of all ages. No one is spared the dirtying effects of watching such trash. Aren't our rights being in- fringed upon? Have we been asked if we want this type of programming? 1 was one of the 2,654 persons Who said NO in last -week's London Free Press survey - .a health: 82.7 percent responded in the same way. Only 17.3 percent said they Wanted a choice of erotica of- feted ffeted on the 'tV chhaiifelle m their home. On January /4 at Nor- thside orthside United Church in Seaforth at the annual meeting of the Huron -Perth UCW Presbyterial, which' was attended by 200 women representing the 72 United Church congregations in those two counties, we unanimously supported and sent petitions of concern to: The Honourable Francis Fox, Minister of Com- munications, House of Com- mons, Ottawa K1A OAS. C.R.T.C. (Canadian Radio, Television & Telecom- munications Commission), Mr. John Meisel, Chairman, Central Building, 1 Pro- menade Du Portage, Hull, Quebec IIIA ON2. All the locally elected ppa�rliamen- tary representatives, as well as the T. Eaton Co. Ltd., which apparently is pro- viding 80 percent of the fun- ding for some of the film pro- duction. I would aincerrely 116Pe our goverliment and the C.R.T.C. will responsibly. screen these fih, and -hopefully restrict Playboy type films completely, and set up wholesome standards to ensure good quality. We insist on high standards in the foods we eat - why not in the things that affect our minds and emotions! In the January 24 News - Record, I was amazed to read that Mr. Stinson of Bluewater Cablereported having received no com- plaints about the Playboy channel being . offered by First Choice. Surely there are many people in this love- ly part of Ontario who feel the same as I. do. However; in all fairness, I must say I have been unable to reach Mr. Stinson by phone, as each time I -tried he was unavailable. Already there is too much violence on our TV programming. In her. book, The Joy of Children, Pearl Buck wrote, "If I were asked what ele- ment is most important in a child's life, I would say the element of beauty ... they must be taught to discover beauty in nature, 'in art, in music and hooks, in liable human beings hititi'g or dead, in the loyalties of family and friendship, in the love ofd and country." How true thin' is! There is so much beauty to feed on, why stoop to ugliness? Thank you, Editor, for your graciousness in allow- ing me to "speak my piece". Elaine Bechtel, ' Clinton.