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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-05-04, Page 4• . . "J• • -4. , i';'•eiCcOfcci0..4•VtAc.re; c ctt '?"1" ;.6'••••i•Ncc Plcc" ct -TI:161•7 F'7."7-777 •"" .0 •• ••;, " • ' 44. .c.';.7.1cr:ci?;.•••";;;,-',•',•"-,",,i'. • • • • -1'4 SIP* • • ti ' BLUE RIBBON AWARD Second class mail registratian, numb ef; )716' For years now, irk% and the boy a have sloged through some god -forsaken stream in the dead of night, snapped the caps off alew cold ones and regaled each other with tales of the big One that got away, barely,. Ws.* spring ritual, called fishing; and this Pattileeliend the call of nature went out to thous Os of fisherman, a can summoning the hearty and foolhardy to the streams, ponds and rivers of the wilderness in Search of fish. It's a call that can be likened to the mating call of the moose. Animals, by the thousands, thunder off into the wilderness ler- days at-- a --timksalyAQ::..-0.21nerge.mith--. hangovers, lost lures and other assorted maladies. Few even see a fish, let alone catch one. I am not a fisherman, nor do 1 have the least inclination to stand in a frigid stream with hundreds of other angling brethren in SINCE 1848 • THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT founded n MIS and published every Wedeln/ley at Ooderlth. Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. tilling rates on requeet;Subsiriptions payablein advance 911.00 in Canada. "30.00 to U.S.A., °50.00 to all other count. 9 tries. single copies SOC Display advertising rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Card No.13 effective Oc- tober 1, WO. Second class mall Registration Number II7111. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error, the advertising specs 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 thecevent of o typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely en offer to sail. and may be withdrawn at any time. The SIgnal.Star Is not responsible for the lass 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 /47A 4B6 •7.,".ccc` the hopes of eatching suWer. However, while ia,r/f40004$04 limited, 1 would concede , sitting IdlYon a river bank On fl hot samato, AsY with sufficient refreshing bS4,100;es in *Ow, does have con* an a certain ethereal scenario. • - • One.that I could live.wIthit; at least, • But on the weekendi I had occasion to witness the caII of nature or the, -rite of spring, first hand. tiny stream were barelYvisibje . as hundreds' of fisherman, visible . .; from the waist up, rose out of the frigid waters. Undaunted by the cool rains, they stood, motionless, their poles protruding . notieeablyat-oddiniglesr Fishing, I reasoned, was a sport for crazies but those closer to the 'past -time assured me the weather was just perfect for. the opening of the season. I didn't un- derstand. Being an avid golfer, I could at least comprehend the fanaticism, to a ., p ! Kg! „ , - • - Op"' 01'4, - Anyway wbile1r .#.0' kW ., , L,. , , . , s. _ 01,§tteacchgretoren4.0 garbage rbacta goett bags,pa' op. . ., .01 a _. _ , , ent '-'• h4;.0 Saturday, the Part mmor son that , 0,0,1i:•* - tw ' '°' -0414' out to bottle tilt. elements, , 00.4 , 0 ,04svalittin,i:: ,p;hti*,4:‘. .° • , Ali style:ens*: girled that i 0-4, .4: , ts gentlemen 1 I lehockey 4 ii - -; :41r:mg fishermen e'ilat.:06' r`lr'11.7"'''Iiat 479:144:;717;i:19419:P...;°t4tt16'.'*clagriti3v49w grown men, 74:711:141't14:::eansPI: fiswile' cerai:dr:renalln. I. le:SfitY i:741114;vat1I441*:4:4:' 4iiite;;;:'4). ''4 r .- ' .. . - ..',.‘; . - - en assorted '....;,, 40004 Our foray into 141111;;Zerwaifotic:urtheisrege919frollied' 4 . *000 more of an-0*.90-tlimn the2.q°11-*'. i Wilderness'. fusion and 'din of a steaa,w,:erainciedgOLlage '''.? e: - - . • ' . :. 1 ; '; 0110,iranygfterpoo#,, - ',. Wilk our intentions were noble it,' the ..,...„Theletnala -cOntingnet boldly suggested, outset, ' the inclement weather Conditions 'orawing from yaat'inaritalCSPeriene0, that - soon changed our outlbok and tha•raiftkeae, the four nia.,114. fabricated the fishing * carefully fashioned from stretch plastic, expedition only. to camouflouge a planned was abandoned scant seconds before we. journey to a nearbiwatering hole. ' entered the hotel for an afternoon of frivolity And In an exaggerated show to support It , seems that everytime I go fishing it qever animals, those women,. and comforting beverages. our claims, we dutifully and pretentiously, hurts,. , ' ';•• • .. • • FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Co-operative effort Some members of Goderich town council had pointed and direct words for their counterparts on the Huron County Board of Education Monday.' This week the Huron! County Board of Education ap- proved its 1983 budget which calls for total expenditures of $35 million a 9.5. per cent increase over the previous • budget. • However, the taxpayers share of that budget increased by 10.5 per cent to $11.6 million compared to $10.5 million in 1982. The cost of education has drawn the ire and criticism of municipal officials and taxpayers considering. the majority of the tax bill now goes to educate the children of the county. That was not the case just a few short years • ago. The average taxpayer in the town of Goderich now Pays more for education than municipal purposes. A taxpayer with a house assessed at $3,000 will pay, $876 in taxes this $423.51 of which will go for education purposes, while,$367.39 will be used by the municipality and $85.93 will go the County of Huron. • Compared to last year, the average citizen will have to produce an extra $46.11 in taxes, but most Of -that increase, $37.65, will go to the Huron Board of Education. • until the budget session Monday, Clifford said they neglected to alter a thing. • The board and its teachers and administrators ,willhave ,to abide by the six • and five per cent wage and price guidelines but most contracts will not be renegotiated until later this year. Teachers and administrators had already settled for substantial -increases. Some councillors suggested it was definitely time to get tough with the Board of Education and urge them to be more responsible in their spending habits. The London Board of Education recently approved a 14 per cent increase in its budget that has city officials there reeling. Trustees there have now warned that excessive expenditures Triay force layoffs among the teaching staff and tougher bargaining measures will be employed: It is the kind of attitude that will have to become more prevalent among trustees of boardsOf education if crisis are to be kept at acceptable levels. • While municipalities struggle to keep mill rate in - Creases at a minimum, their budgets are tied directly to education costs. Goderich taxpayers face an increase of just over , five percent and considering the economic climate, thatincrease can, for the most part, be absorbed by the taxpayer. n fairness, the trustees of the board have little • However, that doesn't mean that increases should be flexibility in the budget and much of the $35 million is condoned simply because they are kept under 10 per cent. eaten up by operating costs and salaries. •This year the town of Goderich will have to pay an ad - Councillor Bill Clifford suggested to council Monday • ditional $177,394 in education costs to the_Huron board. that the board acted irresponsibly in passing its budget, That is a significant increase by any stand claiming trustees simply rubber stamped the document One-sided restraint is not restraint at all. The which was placed in their hands that very afternoon. municipality, the county and board of education have to While trustees had not seen the printed copy of the budget act in a co-operative manner. , 411 • Hospital is best place ' There has been considerable interest of late in the idea interrupted during a mother's stay in hospital. The Kitchener doctor, however, points out that any delivery can suddenly become complicated, demanding skills and equipment which would not be available in the home. Since our hospitals are prepared to meet all such emergencies, it makes nothing but sense to provide this protection -for both mother and new baby. One of the great blessings of life in a small community is ospitals have accepted the presence of the father in the the fact that most of them have their own hospitals, by delivery room if that is what both parents want. Hospital • now well equipped to provide excellent health care. It is visiting hours have been made a great deal more flexible difficult to understand what real advantage there would so that family relationships will not be unnecessarily be in refusing to take hilladvantage of our good fortune. that babies should be born at home. The midwives' • organization puts forth many arguments in favor of a child entering this world in its mother's bed. However, a Kitchener doctor recently pointed out some of the obvious fallacies in this argument. That there should be more family participation in the birth of a baby is an acknowledged fact and most modern • One's reaction to school boards has the elements of a love -hate relationship, par- ticularly at budget times. The Huron County Board of Education is no exception. The immense importance of education stands above any .dispute and there is full awareness of the god reputation and high standards of Huron County schools. And yet - and yet - when the budget figures hit you and you look at all kinds of things behind them, the sweetness dissolves quite a bit. -Attending the Huron County Board's budget meeting on Monday, I• was favourably impressed by one change. The Board appears to be serious in its' declared desire to seek a greater degree of public dialogue. For the first time in my memory the Board's budget discussion took place at an open meeting, with the trustees actually asking questions and expressing concerns in full view of the "ordinary people" present. In the past the public was admitted to witness only the formal rubberstamping of the prepared document, without visible par- ticipation by the trustees. The new approach is a step in the right direction. 1 hope that the next one will be to notify the public directly in advance, not just the municipal offices. Improved as it was, even this yhar's budget meeting of the Board was essentially little more than somewhat glorified rub- berstamping of a document prepared by the administration and previously processed by a committee. Most of the trustees seem to have no real opportunity to dive deeply enough into the overall magnitude of the prepared conclusions. No opportunity or no real desire? Committees working in relative isolation are not sufficient to provide the in- tense scrutiny of the entire picture one would expect. No alternatives were provid- ed or demanded. A $35 million dollar budget was passed without one figure being chang- ed. As we are constantly renunded, most of the board's budget consists of fixed items and the board has control over only 5 per- cent of its expenditures. Two questions come to mind - 1) why did the Board get itself into such a predicament that it is no longer the master in its own house and what exactly does the Board control under the ex- isting conditions? - 2) why have a powerless board at all? Some of the large increases caught my at- - tention. "Staff Travel and Improvement" in the elementary category increased by 36.3 percent, in the secondary group by 44.7 per- "It"`" cc• • . , 4.‘", Spring runoff •- t ommercial fisherm6n have not caught all • • Dear Editor: • • • , My husband is a com- mercial • fisherman, and • often times I have heard people say there are no trout, because the commercial fisherman have caught them all. This is not true, but you can't seem' to make people • understand, because they simply don't want to. ' My husband has offered to take people on the boat with him to see what is caught. Many say they don't have to because they already know. They can tell from shore through their binoculars. The following is an article that was in the Toronto Sun by Outdoors Writer Ted Gorsline which backs up what the commercial • fishermen have, been trying to tell them and the Ministry of Natural Resources. Here's a fisherman • who hates Salmon Ernest Schwiebert, perhaps the best-known fly and trout fisherman in the world, was in town last week to lecture at the Canadian Fly Fishing Forum. He has a lot to say about angling technique (and in that area he is brilliant) and he is • outspoken in his views on splake and coho, chinook and pink salmon stocked in the Great Lakes. TTER Schwiebert said "the Great Lakes salmon programs have been an economic success but are destroying trout habitat." • He calls the salmon programs an "en- vironmental disaster" and thinks the splake program is for dum-dums. "Why go to the bother of creating a new hatchery fish when you have so many ready-made wild strains of fish that would do the job." He is not criticizing from ignorance. He has two doctorates, his own en- vironmental planning company in New Jersey, and advises government agencies in areas as diverse as Alaska and Argentina. Schwiebert says "the problem with salmon in Michigan is that they have been stocked in such quantities that when they return to spawn, they root up so much gravel making their spawning beds, that they destroy the algae which aquatic insects need for food." Once.the insects have been destroyed, a stream is no good for resident fish or as a nursery for young trout. He says there are so many salmon in Michigan streams now that they destroy each other s eggs, and adds that fish and game departments have not been intelligent in their choice of salmon strains for the Great Lakes. "The salmon return in the fall, and because of their size, they intimidate spawning brown trout and • keep them from ascending the rivers to lay their eggs. "There are plenty of salmon strains in the west that run in the summer that could be used. That way, the salmon and brown trout would lay their eggs at different times of the year." Schweibert claims pink salmon, the type planted by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, are a problem because their "numbers are not regulated cent. The expenditures for the Board Ad- ministration Centre went up 22.9 percent and stand now at $2,596,486. I do hope that the "tough and unpoptlar measures" for the future, alluded to by the vice-chairman at the end of the budget discussion, are not intentions to cut services for our already decreasing numbers_ of students, whilst these diminished services would be provided by ever more highly paid administration, teachers and other staff. - The Board's financial demands are for- warded to municipal councils as predeter- mined apportionments, for inclusion in the consolidated mill rates, for collection from local ratepayers and for transfer of the money in due course. The law makes the municipalities the collection agencies for the school boards, without any say what- soever in the boards' finances and in- creases. After minute scrutiny of their own needs and upon keeping their own budgets down for the services expected of them, the councils witness the inevitable increase in they must collect these taxes. the property taxes and the system says And yet a and yet - the trustees and ad- ministrators in school board offices are no ogres out to get us. I do not agree with some of their methods and I wonder about the degree of their determination in some in- stances, but I do not question their integrity and earnest desire to do the best in their view, with what they have within the system, The council members' frustrations are understandable in the circumstances, but their sabre rattling at the boards does not address the problem at all. Demands for changes to the system should be supported and must be addressed to the Province. Pro- perty taxes should not pay for the rather devouring demands of educating people; these costs should come out of general taxa- tion. Motions to that effect have been presented year after year at the annual meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. t have always voted in favour, but there were never enough of us to see the motions carried. Perhaps this will change in the future. In the meantime you may want to know that every dollar you pay in property taxes in Goderich in 1983 is spent as follows: 48.3 cents for Board of Education, 9.8 cents for County system and only 41.9 cents remain for supplying all the services for which the municipal council is responsible. by available spawning beds like other fish. "Their young don't stay in the stream after hatching like rainbow and coho. They leave right after they hatch, so they can use sterile rivers for spawning. "Their numbers are regulated only ' by the amount of food in the lake, so their populations grow to enormous size. When they return to spawn, they come • in swarms and obliterate the beds of other fall -spawning, fish like brook and brown trout." Since pink *Mon have • now spread throughout the Great Lakes, MNR May unwittingly he , devasiathig famous trout streams hi both Ontario and the U.S. • Yours truly, Jean Reid, Varna. losing of Centre is not accepted Dear Editor, The majority oppose it. In reply to a news item in Parents at Bluewater Cen- the London Free Press, Fri- tre are still- demanding to day, April 22, pertaining to know why the Davis govern- cloSures of Start Centre and mentis planning . to close Bluewater Centre, I wish to facilities where individual object 'to 'remarks that care is excellent. Mr. Drea "there probably now is a has Assured us it is not to relative degree of accep- save money. tance." At Bluewater Centre there There is no degree of ac- are workshops, two barns, ceptance by parents of two swimming pools, a camp residents to the closing of on the brow of Lake Huron. Bluewater Centre. The auditorium is in use A small number of parents• of residents at Start Centre almost every night for floor hockey, movies and dances. - may possibly be beginning to A very active Volunteer accept the planned closure. This is a limited number. Turn to page 5s ELSA HAYDON