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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-08-17, Page 4u- PAGE4 — GODER1CHSIGNALMAR., liVEDNESDAY,AlIEi 17, DAVE SYKES AnuanancedaidindinnanlenV Therehalve on* been, let's see, 1,249 stories, columns and other unrelated pieces written about the Dave Wiin TDrlltht0 seagullaffair. we add this paltry piece to the im- pressive lis,, the count will stand at 1,250. The entitle awry, in its shripleat terms, has made the art of conversation much easier of late as ? e talk in barbershops, bars and en the street naturally drifted to I; estory of the millionaire ballplayer charged with cruelty to animals for Elting a seagull at Exhibition Stadium. The alleged crinne, perpetrated by Win- field, took place in the pre -game warmup drill as the overpriced 1t.G' fielder threw a ball to the bat boy beyond the foul line. The errant I struck a seagull, presumably there to witnessthe titanic struggle between the two legitimate pentad contenders. Winfield's threw struck the seagull, kialin the bird instantly. Viewers charged that the Yankee killed the seagull intentionally and sine while pressure was brought to bear on atithordies, the player was charged with cruelty to animals. The charge was later dropped and everybody within an 8,000 mile radius of Toronto wanted to apologize for the tag a.. eace- No doubt, Americans were wondering what the crazy Canucks were up to this time. Winfield claimed the murder was unintentional and one can only assume that his motives were not suspect_ The press . d a held day witb entire zany event. The result was that the Guelph veterinarian who conducted the autopsy on the dead seagull said the news media completely and utterly made asses of themselves in reporting the event. Now, I must adroit, that in certain cases the jokes, puns and parodies were a trifle extreme. But should the media ignore such an event, when a celebrity is dared under such obscure eircutnstances. It's pure en- teatsintneet. And should the media have ignored the fact that taxpayer's rnoney was spent in charging Winfield and having an autopsy conducted in Guelph. It is not the media, fair folk, who have made asses of themselves this time. The bird was taken to the college in Guelph by animal ambulance. Before the carcass had even arrived, newspaper and television `crews had descended upon the scene to detail the gripping event for avid readers, listeners and news digesters. The vet suggested that two reporters even tried to remove the dead bird from the premises. The things reportersdo. In retrospect, :now that the story is laid to rest, it's easy to lay blame with the media for an overblown attempt at entertainment. The truth is, though, people wanted to read eNA BLUE RIBBON AWARD Second clos.. mail registration numbe 0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT founded In INS and published every Wednesday et Waldwick Ontario- Wencher of the CCM\ and OWNN. divert *icing rates on request- Subscriptions payable in advance •1f -tai in Canada. `51-80 to -OA -A— 'Wile to u1 ather count- ., trio., single copies sec. Display adver911day rates available on request. please est for State Card Na.13 effective Oc- tober 1, lt7S. Second class mall Ragistrotion Numbaar 8715. Advertising is accepted on fire condition that in the event of typographical error, *be advertising spree occupied by the erroneous Stem, together mitts reasonable allowance for signature, will not be c.aerged for but that balance of the adsartlsement will be paid fur et the ap- plicable rate- In the event of o typographical error advertising 'laminar services at a wrong print, goods or services may not b. sold. Advertising h meanly an offer to sell, and mow be wishdrawn as any time. The Signal -Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of e,nsolicilstl manuscripts, photos or other materials used for rsprodocing pur- poses. PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL-STAP PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER•President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICKK-Advertising Manager DAViD SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220. HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 4B6 about the story. `Tlhe more 'ridiculous the better, inmarryea. But it his Led me to consider my position in life and contemplate the heinous perpetrated by this correigiorKlent. Wpm, too, is heisted by the hideous memories of having smashed birds in flight while idly driving along Iligbway 21 - Dare I admit tat a "few" birds have chosen a path of ' a't that unforiiareately ended abruptly in C1 front grill. Should 1 be hauled off to the bowels of some obscure ' ail to pay for these alleged of cruelty. Do 1 face a future of incarceration for ad. mining dastardly deeds? 1 have watched helplessly as a feathered friend bounced off the windshield of the '74 Coupe but never, until now, have I seen the error of my ways. Not that the acts were deliberate, but then we roust pay for these crimes against society. Unless, we are millionaire ball players. FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 A provincial problem Quite often, many of the essential things in life are easily taken for granted. In Canada, and indeed the area of Southwestern Ontario, our abundant supply' of natural resources is often taken lightly. We assume that nature will look after itself. But there have been some alarming developments in the Southwestern Ontario region this summer as pollution has closed several beaches along the Great Lakes. Lake Huron did not escape the periodic pollution. Within the past few weeks, several beaches along Lake Ontario at Toronto were closed because of high readings of fecal coliform bacteria in the water. Two weeks ago, signs were posted at Goderich indicating that periodic pollution was occurring in the lake water making swimming hazardous. Thepollution soon spread to the southern reaches of Lake Huron and beaches from Goderich to Sarnia were closed to the public. Cooler weather may change that situation in the next few days as readings stabilize and the water may again be safe for recreational pursuits. Many factors, including the hot, dry weather, have contributed to the pollution problem. The causes have ranged from sanitary sewer drainage seeping into storm sewers in Toronto to human wast from bathers visiting beaches in the hot weather, excrement from thousands of birds and warm water. While the causes may be varied, the Ministry of the Environment should have taken irninediate steps to identify and rectify the problem. The pollution may have disastrous effects for small municipalities along Lake Huron who depend on the tourist trade. Many com- munities depend upon the lakes for their water supply. The pollution of the lakes, is not just a local concern. The „province should be taking active steps to identify pollution sources and then initiate measures to prevent future pollution- Their role has been relatively minor to date. The pollution of Lake Ontario, Huron and Erie and the many beaches along those lakes do not just affect local residents but all the visitors who come to this area for relaxation. Lake Huron always seemed to be the one bastion of cleanliness and purity along the Great Lakes. That image may be tarnished now and tourists who abandoned our beaches this summer because of the pollution will think twice about coming back. While local health units kept an active eye on the quality of the water and posted warnings, there was little else they could do but monitor the situation. Hopefully, the ministry will recognize its mandate in the situation. Celebrate bicentennial Next year the Ontario government will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of the arrival of United Empire Loyalists in Ontario. It's difficult to believe this an- niversary celebration timing doesn't have something to do with the provincial election scheduled for 1985 says the North Kent Leader. Regardless. the immigration of thousands of Loyalists here beginning in 1784 is as important an event as the British North America Act of 1867. The Canadian confederation of four British provinces was in response to a very aggressive American military policy following the civil war in the United States. As well, free trade between the colonies and the U.S. had been suspended since 1854. The BNA Act enabled Canadian colonies to unite as one nation to better defend itself against any American threat and to establish free trade across its own borders. The Loyalist response to the American Revolution 90 years earlier was much different. It was a human migration of families who felt deeply about their King, compelled by their love of country rather than legislation. They left their homes and travelled north, setting foot in Ontario in the spring of 1784. The Loyalists obtained land grants located at the east end of Lake Ontario along the St. I awrence River, Niagara, Grand and Detroit Rivers. But they didn't establish the first settlement here. The first permanent settlement took place in 1639 at Ste. Marie among the Hurons, near Midland. A number of other communities can also trace their roots to the 17th century, including Kingston, which was founded by the French as Fort Frontenac in 1673, and Moose Factory, established in the same year by the British. In the late 1740s French farming settlements appeared on the shore opposite Fort Detroit in what is now Essex County. What the Loyalists brought was a sense of patriotism, an allegiance to one country, a definite refusal of another. Most were farmers, merchants, artisans, hunters and their families. They brought with them the experience of living on the frontier and an appreciation of law and or- der. Antiques .k By haven.8ykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY KELLER Shirley J. Keller is on vacation and this week she' turns over her regular spot to Susan White, editor of The Huron Expositor. Susan's column "Something to say" appears weekly in The Expositor, and is widely acclaim- ed by newspaper judges as excellent. Enjoy! Earlier this month I celebrated my 15th wed- ding anniversary. Not alone of course, with the man I married in 1968. It's been good and it's been bad, living, learning, enjoying and sorrow- ing together. Marriage has also been a tremendous source of strength, an oasis and a base from which we move out, together and separately, to do things in our worlds. But being married isn't an occupa- tion. It doesn't sum up the total of what either of us is or does. That's why I had an immediate click of recognition when I heard Laura Sabia's remarks to a group of teenage girls recently. Many of the high school -aged girls, asked what they wanted to do when they graduated said "get married." "That takes 20 minutes," Mrs. Sabia replied. "What are you going to do with the rest of your lives?" WE'LL ALL WORK For the sad fact is, by letting our teenage girls believe that all they have to do to secure themselves a pleasant, rewarding and financial- ly sound future is to "get married" we sell a lie. The fact is most Canadian women can expect to work outside their homes for most of their lives. We might as well tell our kids this truth. Then we can encourage them to take courses and study seriously so that the jobs most of them will have to get can be as fulfilling as possible. And make good use of their talents. Your girl's talent is that she's terrific with kids? Great, maybe she can study the latest child development research and look after her own kids as well as those of other mothers who are better engineers or farmers than at childcare. A lot of us, and many of our institutions, operate as if most families consisted of a father who's the lone breadwinner, a mother who does all the work and childcare at home but doesn't earn any money, and their two children. Like it or not, that stereotyped family is now the minori- ty. Imagine a group of teenage boys asked about career plans overwhelmingly answering "I'm going to get married." WHAT ELSE? Right, and what else? It's that what else that boys have focussed on. We can do our girls a favor by pointing them in the same direction. They'll have marriages, yes, but marriages between equals. Surely that's more satisfactory than the old system where the man's work took priority and the woman's work was a stop gap to help pay for a dishwasher. A stop gap job where she spent 20,, years of her life. It's not easy, as young boys have learned, preparing to support yourself and others for the rest of your life when you're 15 years old. The pull to abdicate that responsibility and just "get married" is strong. THE BIGGEST DAY Anger, then dread, flashed through my mind 15 years ago when an older woman called the wed- ding date to come "the biggest day of your life." You mean it's all downhill from here. Vague career plans would evaporate rather than get more concrete? And the height of my personal accomplishment was snagging a man? Popular wisdom answered yes to all of the above. The reality of living in the 1970s led me otherwise. I was lucky. Don't get me wrong. Marriage is a heavy com- mitment. And for fortunate people, people who work at it, it is the source of tremendous satisfac- tion. But I don't think it works as well when it's all you've got. Anyway, when's the last time you con- gratulated a blushing young bridegroom on the biggest day of his life? Maybe it is, indirectly for both bride and groom, but only :f their healthy blooming marriage gives them energy and nourishment to do lots else. That's an interesting piece of logic this newspaper displayed in last week's editorial originating in Listowel Banner) entitled "Metric could be costly" and stating that "This kind of stupidity has to stop". By that it does not mean, however, that Air Canada crews could benefit from some learning and from being more intelligently attentive - under "stupidity" it means the metric system itself. This leads me to questioning a point. Anyone has a right to hold any kind of opinion. it is in perfectly good order to say "1 don't like the metric system". Many times opinions are expressed on subjects of abstract and philosophical nature where any kind of facts simply do not enter the picture at any stage and where the views are entirely based on one's personal in- clinations, outlook and beliefs. I have no problem with that, but the editorial seems to deal with a different principle. If we deal with a situation where facts and figures do enter the picture, is one justified in manipulating them to fit into what ap- pears to be a precast mold of one's prior convictions' in other words - did the editorial use the reasoning process to come to a conclusion or was there a conclusion in search of some reasoning - any reasoning? Air Canada looks at the situation somewhat differently. It is correct that the Boeing 767 from Montreal to Edmonton, forced to make an emergency landing in Gimly, had insufficient fuel, due to a mix-up in calculations in manual gauging. However, this is only a part of the situation, just as the one incident itself is only part of the chain of disturbing events which resulted in Air Canada having com- missioned an immediate independent audit of its safety operations. It is not a question of the metric system, but of repeated mechanical failures. From Air Canada, the following in- formation is availabe: In May a DC -9 skidded off a runway in Regina. In June a DC -9 from Dallas to Toronto caught fire and claimed 23 lives. In July a flight from Toronto to Edmonton was aborted because of vibrations in an engine. The Edmonton - bound Boeing 767 which ran out of fuel and landed in Gimli, was allowed to take off from Montreal and later from Ottawa, although it was known that its electronic fuel gauges had failed, also paralyzing the alarm system designed to alert the pilot a half-hour prior to running out of fuel. In August a Toronto -Boston DC -9 carrying 90 passengers developed flickering in fuel quantity indicators and made a precautionary landing in Montreal where the problem was repaired. Among the Boeing 767 problems was also a miscalculation when manual gauging was done in Montreal. The dip -stick provides the reading in centimetres, not inches. The calculation from centimetres to litres to pounds was done correctly; it went wrong when pounds were converted into kilograms. Why was it done in four awkward steps at all when litres can be converted directly into kilograms? And two other points are made: 1) The Montreal ground crew has used the metric system successfully since last fall, without any problem; 2) the Montreal ground crew had filled for years the planes going to Edmonton with approximately 49,000 pounds of fuel. Since their calculation showed pounds at one stage, did not one of them question how this particular 767 would make it to Edmonton on only 23,000 pounds? It is good to see that Mr Canada responded to its complex safety problems with a prompt outside investigation. As to the measurement system - if anything, the miscalculation provides a more convincing argument for a rapid and complete ap- plication of metric system, as mistakes are more likely while two systems are com- bined. i find it difficult to understand why the metric system seems to defeat our logic and polarize the people in this country with an emotional intensity. I can live in either system. The newcomers seem to master all kinds of systems. The native born Canadian has the same intelligence and capacity for learning. Our monetary system is metric. Is there any difficulty with dollars and cents? In some minds the metric system is associated with the "French fact". I find it very funny to read that at the Quebec border Ontario -grown tomatoes are rejected when they arrive in four -litre baskets, because Quebec accepts tomatoes in only four -quart baskets - I presume, in French only. Let us own our straight likes and dislikes frankly and openly, without grasping tor bent logic and not being very good at it. ELSA HAYDON