Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-09-28, Page 4• Satday, October 1 marks the beginning o ,at� n�a �ielas�year here at. your favorite -y,.: • ,11'eek 1y, or per. basic, pbysie:al year,, as we !'soy in our beet joumallsticvernacular. • Whether oar.�yearsa�!e fiscal or, physical is animater* It' aha a new beginning. A 04 ,01, Ana; on that theme, it is a easure- to announce that,Signal�Star,'Pult ing Ltd- will 4introduce air, new design. .and layout format in the Wednesdayy..O °ober 5 issaie of the Signal -Star. It's called the modular format. By the very definition of the terns modular- composed Of standardized units for . easy construction or flexible arrangement -the pages of this weekly newspaper will he composed °u( Stan- dardized units. We hope it will lend Itself to easy, flexible and even attractive con- Struction of the pages of this newspaper. Historically, advertising was sold on the basis of a column inch in every newspaper. !It one time the Signal Star page was divided into eigb columns but thatgave way to the aline -c I r, format and the metrification of the in : : - For the past Several years advertising space was bought by the colwnn.centimetre. Modular ohang that format slightly. Advertisers will purchase space in standard units or advertising units. The pages of the Signal -Star, beginning next week, will be divided into six columns providing 66 units per page or 11 units per column. By selling advertising in units, we feel we can present a cleaner and more visually attractive product to the both the reader and advertiser. The units will allow us to display advertising in more precise and attractive manner. There are also advantages for the reader to All news colonise; in the Signal -Star will now be uniform from, the front page to the back. We are confident that the news content of the paper will be displayed in a much more pleasing manner too. The changes, we suggest, will provide you with a clean and visually at nuiating news product. The modular format is not a new concept in the newspaper industry. Over the years, newspaper design, layout and makeup has undergone extensive and radical change. Those changes have all be orchestrated to attract the reader and provide unattractive as well responsible and accountable news product. While the main thrust of the newspaper is news of interest to the community, it must also be presented in a manner that attracts the reader's eye. The changes, initially, will be considered cosmetic, but they are i 1", changes; that we feel are necessary 1'n our product.. The changes may be quite subtle. slid. perhaps not that n `I ceable to anyone outside the industry. Man e•,has been one of the hallmarks of the newspaper industry and the industry's resiliency and adaptability bare kept it alive and vibrant in an age of instant news. The job itself is never quite the same from day to day. Hopefully, our efforts to hllprove this weekly product and provide readers with a more accountable, responsible and at- tractive paper will meet with your approval. Along with the introduction of, the new modular format next week, we :will hopefully be able to provide youTwith some interesting insights into the readership survey recently' conducted by an in- dependent firm. BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1983 Second class moil registration number 0716 SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded 1n 1010 and published every Wednesday at eaderlch. gnarls. Member of Ib. CCNA and C,WNA. Adverb, 'Wing votes on request. Subscriptions payable in advance °11.110 In Canada. °50.-00 to U.S.A., °50.00 Io all other caup,. teles. single copies BOC. Display advertising rates available on request. please ash for Rote Cord No.13 effective ®c. totter I. 1412. Second class mall Registration Number OM. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error, the advertising space 'anointed 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 of the ap- plieabie rate• in the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible fair 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 4B6 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 A real good habit Wearing seatbelts in cars should by now be a matter of habit in Ontario. Yet Transport Canada statistics indicate that barely half of the province's drivers regularly buckle up. Perhaps Ontario Solicitor -General George Taylor's campaign to have the seatbelt law enforced more rigorously will encourage remiss drivers and their passengers to wear seatbelts- but for how long? Once police relax their vigilance, any offenders will un- doubtedly revert back to their old, albeit bad habits. One city's experience with spot seatbelt checks last February suggests that intensive campaigns to enforce the laws get immediate results from the public. Police report that when checks began only half the motorists were complying with the law. However, by the conclusion of the program, over 83 per cent were wearing their seat belts. In the longer term, however, there is clearly a lot of backsliding. To some citizens of course, compulsory seatbelt legislation remains an encroachment on their rights. They are strongly, if misguidedly, opposed to madatory use of seatbelts. Many more, however, go unbuckled out of In- difference or because they are lackadaisical or simply forgetful. Still, it is difficult to comprehend how half of the drivers in the province can continue to ignore seatbelts when they're a fixture in cars. Evidence of their safety value is documented and is far more persuasive than claims that seatbelts are sometimes an impediment to occupants of a vehicle. To the extent that they reduce injuries on the road and consequently medical bills paid through the public health insurance system, seatbelts have a lasting social and economic value. The claim that compulsory seatbelt legislation offends or restricts individual rights lacks merit. It is no more a violation of rights than the mandatory use of hard hats on construction sights across the country. Acquire a good habit. What happened to Sunday? Although Sunday is still a day of worship. for many, it has also become a day of frantic activity - far removed from what the Bible indicated was to be a day of rest. Moral and religious grounds entirely aside, a great many people seem to have forgotten that rest is a necessary component of successful living. Listening to radio early this past Sunday morning we heard a long list of places and events where the restless could go to spend the day. Fall fairs, parades, sports events, boat and horse races, baseball games. The list seemed endless. It is true, of course, that rest may be described as any sort of change from the daily grind required to earn a living, but one of the great values of worthwhile rest is found in the quietness which provides room for reflection, for enjoyment of family affection and relief from the fierce activity which the workaday world demands. So many people have lost the ability to simply relax. If they must stay home at the weekend, out comes the power lawn mower to help fill the void created by lack of more mercenary activity and to drive quieter neighbors nuts. As is the case with so many of the guiding rules set out in scripture, the designation of Sunday as a day of rest was based on a wise understanding of human beings. We need one day in seven to recharge our mental and physical batteries - a difficult achievement if we are rushing off at top speed to catch a parade 75 miles away. ( Mount Forest Confederate) At half mast By Dave Sykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY KELLER For nearly a quarter of a century, I've been involved with newspapers and newspaper reporting. I've sat in on meetings of all sorts, at all levels of influence. Reporters covering a 'beat' get very familiar with the business carried on in that area. In fact, there are times when I have felt that as a reporter, I had more background and more useful working knowledge than some of the group members themselves. I hope that isn't egotistical. 1 hope my reason for believing that I was well informed was because I had followed the group through many months of deliberation .... and because of my job, had been forced to listen closely to everything that was said, to ask questions to get my facts straight and to review and appreciate all viewpoints on the subject so my story could be as fair as possible. As a reporter, I have suspected on many oc- casions that participants in the meeting have arrived there totally unprepared. I could tell it by the questions they asked ... or by the blank stares they gave when I asked questions. And sometimes, to be honest, I got so frustrated I was tempted to shout mit, "What's the matter with you people? Don't you listen to anything? Can't you remember what happened just last meeting?" It really is a favorite pastime of reporteps to sit together over a coffee or a beer and conduct a postmortem of a meeting they've just attended. It's natural, I suppose. How else can they vent their collective concerns for what they see as the ineffectiveness of individual members who just aren't pulling their weight? And who else sees? Or cares? Every board, council and other organization has these people. And that should come as no surprise. Ineffective, non-productive people are everywhere .... even among the ranks of newspaper reporters. But through all my years of reporting and all my related frustrations, I never envied the position of those in public decision-making roles. I tried to have the good sense not to say, "If I was the mayor, I would do such and such ...." or "I wish I'd been able to speak to that motion. I'd have told those turkeys a thing or two." I do recall thinking and saying aloud, "If I was that person I'd resign if I couldn't make a more meaningful contribution than that." And more times than I can remember I've stated in one way or another, "The voters are so gullible. How could we elect such a bunch of losers?" Well, now the shoe is on the other foot. In a weak Moment, I agreed to let my name stand for a seat on the board of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. Now in a small sense, I have crossed over. Now I am being assessed by the press. It really is true that one does see things from a different perspective from that seat at the board table. Now one must bear in mind that it's not just hot air that is passing through your lips ... it is articulated thoughts that could have a real and lasting effect on people's lives and affairs. Now it's more than second-guessing someone Is Huron County Library Board engaged in subversive activities? Are there in- ternational spies hidden under the table when the board meets? Are the members plotting dangerous schemes or using awfully bad language? I am suggesting these ridiculous possibilities in jest, of course — I think. The fact is that one does not really know. In Huron County the Library Board meets in closed session and is sternly determined to fend off even a single stray taxpayer who makes the mistake of showing some interest by wishing to attend a meeting simply as a quiet observer. I experienced this sort of rejection on September 19th. Having telephoned the County Chief Librarian, Bill Partridge, for the date of the meeting and to have con- firmation of my understanding that such formal meetings of a Library Board are open to the public, I sat down politely and quietly in the county chamber where the meeting was to take place. Perhaps I had expected some board member to say how nice and encouraging it is to see that at last there is one person who takes the time and cbmes to learn something about the work the members are doing for the benefit of our public library system. Much to my astonishment, my presence had exactly the opposite effect. The Board members went into a -dither over it and Mr. Hanly ( County Administrator and Secretary to the Library Board) nearly had a fit, particularly when it was suggested by Mr. Partridge that the Library Board is a separate body under the Public Libraries Act and perhaps it could be at least mildly questioned whether the Huron County's closed -meeting policy for committees automatically applies in this case. Mr. Haply rejected ail this as nonsense and firmly and quickly established the fact that, as the County pays by far the larger portion of the Library Board's budget (in 1 s 12 roughly one quarter of that budget was paid by the Province), the Board members better do exactly what the County wants - or else. And what the County wants is to have all Library Board meetings closed. Nothing to question. "It has always been like this". There were no crowds of people rushing to get in. There never would be. There was one Single solitary taxpayer in the audience, the first in all these years, judging from the fuss. Somehow I found it difficult to visualize that the representatives of the 26 municipalities who form the county and collect their taxpayers' money to finance it, could entertain the thought of some sort of financial retaliation over the spectacle of a taxpayer showing an interest in the system. Mr. Hanly's stand did not surprise me, as we have always frankly differed on the philosophy of closed meetings of public bodies. Without hesitation I continue to have great respect for the dedicated efficiency with which Mr. Haply keeps the county system running smoothly and I have found him courteous and helpful whenever I have needed information. However, when Mr. Hanly holds up the shield of "county policy made by county council", I beg to wonder politely how much of Mr. Hanly's own determined guidance has gone into the formation of that policy. The by far outdated closed -meeting policy (never discussed at an open meeting) stands in startling contradiction to the modern attitudes with which the Huron County keeps in step in other fields, for instance computerization. What did surprise me greatly was the attitude of the Board members, particularly the citizen appointments (as opposed to elected representatives) whose almost eager, instant and absolutely unquestioning acceptance of the pressure was quite extra- ordinary. One member meekly suggested that perhaps they should not even receive advance copies of their own Minutes carrying the stamp of county secrecy. No member seemed to be interested in what the Public Libraries Act says about the Board being a corporation or that the Municipal Act requires that formal meetings of "local boards" (specifically mentioning a "public library board") be open to the public. By a motion, the entire Library Board decided to continue to abide by the closed -door policy of the county. I left the meeting at that point. The almost °sad thing is that a simple gesture of interest of a single member of the public can be regarded as a dangerous at- tempt to "rock the boat", thereby bringing presumably the whdle system down. The Huron County boat is in safely charted waters; it does not leak. The County is well run. Why could it not be seen to be well run? As there is nothing to hide, only an outdated attitude keeps the public out and at arm's length when any sign of public interest should be welcomed wits enthusiasm. in the solitude of the editorial office or the relative privacy of a booth in a neighborhood restaurant ... far from the eyes and ears of the public. Now it's really thinking things over carefully ... hearing all the facts, weighing all the pros and cons of a situation and taking a stand that will likely be recorded somewhere for someone to peruse. And it's amazing how quickly one's confidence is eroded in such a situation, for you soon learn just how well you've understood a problem when you get the feedback about your actions from the folks who must live by your decisions. It takes courage to stand up and be counted ... to ask questions that may be "out of order" .... to dig deeper than is comfortable for some ... to reach a personal decision for each subject that is drawn fromfacts and not emotions. And it takes time to learn how things are best accomplished ... what routes are less volatile and more productive than others. It takes patience to wait while you familiarize yourself with the entire scenario. It takes a certain amount of humbleness when you blunder despite your best efforts and a whole lot of perseverence to get back up and keep slugging. I'm sure I will get a new appreciation for public decision -makers everywhere through my experiences on the hospital board. I'm sure it must have been a public decision - maker somewhere who said, "It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it." ELSA HAYDON