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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-04-06, Page 9tr • • I • e. It has require Ace of my.1 IW am'pre111er d 0 Ba re o ane' Lor' years 'cissa: ale>nd r and scra �,,p►inn scribe, depending on'one's mtterpretattons end: leanings„ has been theiobject of callus 'and, °ude remarks on the pari of newspaper° colleagues, 75t a My stature, to be exackhaa..come ufdee ridicule, !Pierre were those who would tauntingly suggest: that standing sideways, I as: nlvisible, Guffaw, guffaw. Others, clutching' their sides m 'fits of laughter, submitted that this correspondent could touching.a boa,walk; throughrd:Ha, a picket fence without ha, ha. Still others, ball -playing colleagues to be • slams a� of".Ine elaimto!legi For one err t>!ep few wa hte end drag legit Some readers y'r n January thy: *spa . the' rials and trh b he. attempted to;. qwt ani nagged arid gnawed', at several years. But, while I succesef illy for personalbut.comPelling myself habitually Seeking ora, of some kind. In , auffs. response toand satisfy the urge, all foodst, .staples ,ussprte • ki 1 have cram med, fi buy an entire t wardrob al easefl: my.: 1i►- hell.sPypi iia,and the net result i,s that at And if anyone cares to,drol lelwanted 'fat have, been wouldn't d o#ering a: ca moor frame. a the meagre roll fat may not be discernible my pa rats:. I'm that d of pro Overt nftt BLUE RIBBON AWARD Second class mail registration number -.0716 SiNCE 1848 THE. NEWS PORT FOR GODERIcHY11#::DISTRICT pounded In 1043 and published wary Wednesday at Qoderlch, Anterlo. Mi inb , of the CCNA and OWNA. Adver,, tising'rates.on request. Subscriptions payable In advance 19.90 in Canada, '311.110 is U.5 A. •!11.03 tool! ether count. 1 tries, single fools' Sae. OI,playadvertising rates available on request. Plods. ask for Rate tent .No.13 affective Oc- taper 1, 1911, Second class mall Registration Number 0710. Advertising li accepted: on thecondition that In the event of typoorophlcal error, the advertising speca.occupled by fhe arrotisousShen; together with reasonahler allowancs far signature. will not be charged fur but that balance of tits dvsrtlsetneot wllfba paid for at the op. plicable rote. In the event oro typographical error advertising good. or servltas st ewronp price. Roods ar services may not be sold. Advertising 1s merely an offer to sail, and'may be withdrawn at+ tiny time, lite Slgnal•Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of•unsolicltd manuscripts, photos or other materials usedfor r proilucng pun Poses.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 4B6 r. FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (S19) 524-8331 Encourage restraint The basic thrust and structure of education is changing as rapidly as the cost of implementing the changes. Taxpayers know full well that education now eats up the Major portion of municipal tax bills. In the case of residents of the town of Goderich, about 50 per cent of your 1983 tax bill will be used to educate the children Of the county. One cannot put a price tag on the value of an education but it is painfully obvious that the price tag increases each year. While the basic and fpceri:costs of education inOrease by nominal percentage points annually, Education Minister Bette Stephenson has alsoannouncedthat more money • will be injected into the system for computer study and to establish immersion or extended French as a second language in Englishlanguage secondary schools. While Stephenson has announced the ministry's in- tention to fund special education needs and grants for French as a minority language and grants for computer study, she also added that school boards will have to get by with a 5 per cent increase in grants in 1983. The ministry will spend nearly $3 billion for education pur- poses in the next year. That funding represents an increase of five per cent over 1982 expenditures plus an additional $18 million for special education previously announced and $2 million to assist school boards to install stop -arm devices on school buses. When ttensoninformed school boards that funding r . would be limited in the current. fiscal year she said' the ministry was also trying to maintain a fair level of support despite the economy. • • , Now school boards will have, to live within that five percent framework or taxpayers will face escalating costs. In 1983, each board will receive $2,171 per elementary student and $2,978 per secondary school student. The grant structure announced by the ministry represents increases averaging 10 per cent: The ministry will be allocating additional funds, for special education" programs granting, boards, $141,,per elementary pupil, $106 per secondary pupil and $3,740 for each trainable retarded pupil. While Stephenson has limited the transfer payments to the boards, she has also promised special grants to any board which hold its per pupil operating eltpenditure to nine per cent or less over 1982. The grant would simply insure that the board would hold its corresponding mill rate Wan acceptable level. The restraint program will be in effect for the next fiscal year, as well the minister encourages boards to exercise a modicum of restraint. The Huron, County Board of Education, has a,budget in excess din million and much of that budget is tied up in' fixed .costs. Salaries, of•course, account for the greatest budget expenditure.. The ministry is encouraging individual boards to cut education costs and has promised tosubsidie boards that comply with the request. The rest is up to •the boards of education. Volunteers are essential The professional hockey season will linger long into spring when weather is more conducive to outdoor ac- tivity than indoor playoff gazing. However, the local winter sporting is slowly coming to a close. Hockey and ringette playoffs are all but wrapped up for the season with only the Goderich Atoms left to contest for provincial honors with Amherstb*g. Most leagues have concluded play and the figure skating club presented its annual carnival, in fine fashion, weeks ago. The season has been a productive and entertaining one for local sports enthusiasts. Both the junior and senior girls ringette teams won WOAA championships this week as did the Midget B hockey team. The atoms are tied in their final series with Amher- stburg in a quest for a provincial championship. Other travelling teams did not fare so well if we are to measure success in terms of championships and trophies. Par- ticipation, sportsmanship and good fun, however, are the key ingredients and in that repsect all teams had winning seasons. The community can well be proud of the young people who represented this=town in tournaments and league play. Also thanks should be extended to the many coaches, managers, assistants, parents and the people who volunteer their time to make minor sports a successful and integral part of this community during the winter months. Their dedicated efforts often go unnoticed but their contributions are appreciated by the young people who benefit the most. D.S. . °Frosty shore Bhr Dave Sykes N^..rt.^?.9^^'.«•+w�:�..e'y+p.sARO4sM W C'IA5+1npV'.:t6V v • 4, a•� - • n.a A::r wc.auaeenaxe tvi SHIRLEY' KELLER - AN OPEN LETTER TO WILLIAMDAVIS PREMIER OF ONTARIO Dear Mr. Davis, I write concerning the recent proposal of your government to ensure that all French-speaking. students in the Province of Ontario will have the opportunity to be educated in their own language, if that is their desire. As I understand it, these youngsters Will have the right to ask the board of `education in their own jurisdiction to, supply staff, transport, even board and lodging where necessary, t6 obtain that right. All expenses are to be picked up by the taxpayers of Ontario, I believe. I would really like to find fault with the reasoning behind this proposal, Mr. Davis, but I cannot. The right for such legislation was given long before either of us was born, wasn't it? As Canadians? we've been taught to accept the traditions of our English -French heritage .... and to respect them at all costs. In this case, a high cost. I'm certain you can see, as I can, that the division between' French-speaking. and English - Speaking Canadians is deepening and widening. The unalterable truth is that Canada has not been united by those old language and religious rights which were bestowed so long ago by way of the Treaty of Paris and The Quebec Act, and are still retained. Now a full 115 years after Confederation, Canadians are still fighting the old battle that should have been settled by the defeat of the Frenchman Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham at Quebec. And things are getting more and more com- plicated in Canada as new people from around the world arrive here and get involved in the day- to-day routine of contributing to the federal and provincial economies. They are Portuguese, • Chinese, Dutch, Gerinan, Laotian, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Danish, Ceylonese .... you name it .. and they don'tunderstand or support the ancient agreements which still bind us and confide us. You see, Mr. Davis, I believe those old language and religion concessions to the French should be scrapped once and for all. They appear to be hauling us down and drowning us as surely as if the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans flooded over the whole of Canada. . I don't make this 'statement. lightly. I tom- ' prebend the horrendous sacrilege implied in that suggestion .:. and my mind is boggled at the thought of working' through the prejudices and the civil strife that are inherent in it. But that's the kind of sweeping reform I am convinced is absolutely essential . if Canada is ever to achieveits full potential as a nation. How does one abolish something like that, Mr. Davis? How does one say politely that the old Protestant -Catholic grievances which were first addressed in 1763 and still affect us, are un- suitable novW in'a'tountry. where Christianity -has become little more than a buzzword bandied about by well-meaning legislators and lawmakers? How do you explain that it is fruitless to argue over whether it will be English or French or both, when the world in which Canada functions is changing more rapidly than ever before, and when the universal language is the only one which means much after all? And while we're at it, how do you convince a nation that the parliamentary procedure we have known for 115 years and which is patterned after the British system of government, is so antiquated it no longer serves our needs? How do you demonstrate that the habit of Opposition is at best laborious and at worst prohibitive to the will of the majority of the people of Canada? `It is from this perspective then, Mr. Davis, that I must register my most strenuous objection to your latest proposal regarding language rights; in Ontario education. I am not opposed to French-speaking youngsters being educated in French. I am not even opposedto paying for this privilege out of tax'dollars.: • But I do oppose limiting the legitimate and basic requirements of the majority dt Ontario students, English-speaking; :French -Speaking, whatever tongue .... e.g. reduced provincial funding to public and separate schools at both' • the elementary and secondary levels .... while addressing the desires of the French-speaking ; minority to be educated In French by the English-speaking taxpaying majority. Quite clearly, Mr. Davis, this province cannot afford to spend even a part -of the education budget oche luxury you propose until you have satisfied your first duty to the people of this , province to turn out students who can: 1. adapt to several lifetime career changes in a fast -paced world that gets smaller and smaller with each passing day; 2. communicate well in the universal languages of music and art, science and technology, culture and recreation; 3. muster the skills to do needed jobs in the - workplace and become useful, contributing citizens in whatever economic climate prevails; 4. prove themselves 'ready, willing and able to forget the traditional French -English millstone° hung round our necks by decisions from long ago so we can get on with the challenges of a nation of many languages, many cultures, many creeds. When you are making a decision, taking a stand or expressing your views, do you always start by systematic analysis of your motives and thought processes? Do yon app- ly such scrutiny to others? Only to others? Repeated public and private expressions concerning the group home controversy in town gave me a push to think more about the possible processes how our opinions and reactions may be formed. Many times it issaid that those who sup- port the proposed group homes are "emo- tional". The way it is said seerns to imply that there is something suspicious, inferior and maybe blind about being emotional. In- ferior as compared to whaT? Seldom has an applicant been better and more thoroughly prepared in a businesslike manner than the Association for the Mental- ly Retarded when it appeared before the Goderich Area Planning Board at the recent extremely well attended public meeting. The association spokesmen had done their homework on every level, from the ministry's inspections and approvals to in- dividual appeals. And the subject ishuman beings, however it is expressed - emotional- ly or rationally. On the other side the planning board was presented with a petition signed by 260 con- .. cerned citizens who oppose the homes in question. I find it difficult to believe that all these 260 citizens are more rational, better informed and less emotional than the Association for the Mentally Retarded or those others who speak in support of the homes. A similar, supervised group home has ex- isted in Goderich on Keays Street for several years. The area neighbors came to the Meeting and said , that originally they had doubts and fears, but that none of the negative possibilities materialized and that the group home residents turned out to be model neighbors. What could be more ra- tional - and less emotional - than learning from the actual experiences of those who have lived next door to a group home for years? "Group homes are seen as a better and more humane way of caring for people with nonacute social, mental and physical pro- blems than confining them in institutions. De -institutionalization facilitates their in- tegration into the mainstream of society by providing proper facilities in a residential rather than institutional environment."' The above quotation is from the Town of Goderich Official Plan, hardly a document of sentimentality. The plan was processed by the planning board over a number of years, unanimously passed by the Town Council in 1981 and it became law when the minister signed it earlier this year. A copy of the draft plan was circulated to every household and public meetings were held. Five of the present members were on the Goderich Town Council when the plan was passed. One presumes, of course, that they agreed with the policies of the Plan when they voted for it. A case could be made that it would be less than rational to find some of the same members against their own Plan so soon after it was created. The proposed homes would house a total of 10 retarded adults who have no behavior problems and who are found to be capable of living in the community, under supervision. Is there in some minds too much emphasis on "group" and not enough on "home"? After all, a large family or a common-law couple with a group of undisciplined children, barking dogs, continuous music and loud drinking parties could move into either of the houses overnight, without prior approval., of the neighbors. Where do we start or stop worrying about the character, talents and limitations of the people living in their home next door or down the street, ex- pecting nothing from us? Some people, particularly some parents seem to live under the impression that if the group homes are opposed, somehow it helps keep the Bluewater Centre open. I do not think that there is one person in town who does not appreciate the work of the Bluewater Centre and would not like to see it remain in operation. One thing a s not de- pend on the other. It would t :'ytotally ir- responsible and unreasonable of the association not to take any, steps to prepare for realistic possibilities: Let us not confuse the complex elements of the Bluewater Centre with the need for and the suitability of group homes. Inevitably, as it is a human condition, all parties react with a mixture of reasoning and emotion. All I am saying is - let us look before we reject, let us learn before we con- demn, let us not belittle other people's endeavors and approaches oiit of hand. And above all, let us remain aware that behind the political, neighborhood, `union and in- dividual controversy there is a group of human beings for whom we decide. I interrupted the writing to watch the perfect and splendid takeoff of the Challenger into space. If only we could con- duct our small affairs down here with'even a minor degree of the same spirit, ELSA HAYDOf