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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-01-30, Page 4a1; it 1• i' 7i f}; • •ate-1�,. sv cdidat' who d' evasive a8 Davis, i f In. losing Davis, •Aboth the pry a public thaveloSt one of more skilifut qualified question dodi'gers-of'modemtier. Inresponse to any uestion, Premier' tit could rattle on for minutexand even, hoursat, times, expounding. in explicitly. vague •: terms. . In. short, Roister of rhetoric, Davis could dodge any question, any time, But only after a lengthy, .convoluted'and discordant. reply would the interviewer realize the venerable - premier nasi had said , nothing in • fats inimitable It was the nature of thetnaatx But, while he • was generously accused of falling on either 5SUr lflg�' <the ea tiers t once tvativ .alis tea, with el�ue .iellsensiblities, t thenational age ep Onelot.: ridd�i b enu • under .tement. Wi T eller, bead , ► ,the : beri ls, :the` slubseque it leadership race won by John 'brown') its'Ole near' political demise: n few months later,at, the hands of Brian PlulronieY,.the provinelal race was something of a yawner , iybe n t the', . have the $ sense to hon during a week. r. THE NEWS PORT FOR DODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 Founded in 1848 end publtehed every Wednesday at Ootlerich, Ontario. Member of ,the CCNA and OCNA. Subsuriptiane payable in advence'^RO.65, (Senior Citizens '1,7.18 privilege card nwfiber required) in Canada, '55 to U.S.A., '85. to MI other cbuntrisi, Single copies •50¢. Display, National and Classified advertising rates available on request. Please ask far Rate Card No. 15 affective October 1, 1054. 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N7A 486 S,.00° Member: CCNA Second class mail registration number 0716 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFCCES...pleese phone [519)1524-2814 • Move a little to the right Welcome to Frank Miller's Ontario. Well, at least the transition from Davis' Ontari-ari-ario may not officially take place until February 8, for all intents and purposes, we are now entering a new phase in the unprecedented Tory dynasty. The party faithful took the straight, narrow and safe course in electing Miller and attempting to prolong that which has been inherently Ontario, a right-wing Conservative government. Miller steps into a position of tradition and one that brings with great responsibility: .But Miller may not have time to bask in 'the reflection of Bill Davis and the glow of the leadership victory for long, and word is that an election is likely as early as this spring. The party, faithful will suggest that the actions of their candidates at the convention Saturday did not in any way propel the possibility that a rift exists or that the conservative foundations showed signs of cracking. That Miller was quick to play a conciliatory role as quickly as his feet could carry him to the box where the younger candidates had formed a formidable coalition in opposition, suggests he recognized the need for unity and support. The actions of Dennis Timbrell, Roy McMurtry and Larry. Grossman should at least • serve to indicate to the party that there is some polarization within the ranks or, at least, some subtle differences between young and old and those who play slightly off the centre line. - Miller was expected to win and he held off the coalition by a 77 vote margin on the third ballot ending what would have to be considered one of the• most low key leadership contests of modern time. The formation of the three-man coalition provided the most excitement of the weekend but it still wasn't enough ammunition to knock off the heavyweight cabinet and caucus support Miller had attracted to his camp. But the election to the head of the party brings with it new responsibilities and challenges for Miller. The economy has to get moving and with his background in the treasury department, Miller should have a'good grasp on the problems theitigAintario. His pledge to help small business is sound but it will take more than a boost to small business to get us back in business. Many people are becoming increasingly concerned about the cost of the education -- system- and now -the _government's _movetofund the separate school system beyond Grade 10 has added a new dimension to the funding problem. It will be interesting to see if Miller will deliver an economic statement before calling an election or even bring out a full budget before going to the electorate. Considering the vo. o coyi,e ' - spring election could be a distinct possibility. D.S. Winter on the Maitland By Dave Syke€ POStS�RI 7,r• r. r JOANNE BUCHANAN _= ^_ This past Sunday, I felt like I could have been the subject for ,one of those Participaction commercials To make the commercial, they could have taken a close-up shot of me learning to put on cross country skids; then they could have • followed my first few tentative steps. along the ski trail; and finally they could have zoomed in on me at the end of the trail, ski poles raised high in the air, shouting, `I did it! I did it!' For many people, learning to cross country ski probably doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But for a sedentary, accident- prone and uncdordinated person like myself, it was quite an achievement. I'm not saying that I was great at it the very first time out, but I felt a real sense of accomplishment when I' had finished. I did fall -but only twice (delete that frons the aforementioned commercial). The first time, I fell while inching side -ways on the trail to make room for some faster skiers to get, by me. I knew I was falling but was completely. helpless to do anything about it. When I did land, snow went up inside my coat and underneath my sweater and began melting on my bare skin. It was very cold and wet but I was more concerned about getting back on my feet again. This turned out to be quite a difficult task however. I now know how a turtle feels when it is on it's back and can't right itself. I finally had to We off ski and -enlist -the -Md -of a -friend to grab me by the arm and pull me up and then put my ski back on. What a hassle. It made me determined not to fall again but of 1 ' ,11 When we came to the part of the trail which required us to cross over a narrow ridge with water running underneath it, I Was very nervous. I remember thinking that if I fell off the bridge into the water, I'd either drown or freeze to death. I couldn't decide which-appealed-ta-rnelessalow.ever.,- I threw caution to the wind and clasping both of my poles in one hand, I used my other hand to clutch the bridge's railing and • pull my way across inch by inch. I wasn'tso brave when I encountered the first big hill though. "What's all that screaming and yelling," I asked my friend who was ahead of me on the trail. "Oh, it's nothing," she informed me. "Just some people going down the hill that we're coming up to." "Hill," I said nervously. "I'm not ready for that yet!" I didn't care how it looked. I took off my skis and walked down the hill with them in my hands, only to be upstaged by some young kids who went zooming past me. Children don't know the meaning of the word `fear' I decided. Besides, I reasoned, their broken bones heal faster than an adult's. After the -'dill, we `continue d,unekre flet y` -along the trail at a leisurely pace. "Isn't the scenery lovely. Don't the trees look nice with all the .snow on their branches," my friend remarked. ' "What trees," I said..I had been oblivious to -my surroundings -as 1 J1 'pt mx-laead_th ip to stare at my skits and make sure they didn't overlap. It took a lot of concentration just to keep from tripping myself or doing i•. The one time I 'had gotten confident nnn„oh to 1nnkk nrnnn,l J hoA lna4 my balance, resulting in my second fall. By the end of the trail, -I was ready to quit: I had worked up quite a sweat. We had,skied about. 2.5 kilometres in two hours. Since I'm not-accustomed-to..much'pliysic2ll..exertion, that was enough for me. But I'm anxious to try my new-found sport again sometime soon. It has a lot of benefits, the main two being fresh air and exercise. Afterwards, you can sit around and drink hot chocolate without even worrying about the number of calories in it. Cross country skiing is also a cheap sport, an important factor for a miser like myself. There are many free trails in the area, so the only cost involved is your initial investment in equipment. In the beginning, until youdecide if itis worth the investment or not, it is wise to borrow or rent this equipment. The best thing about cross country skiing for me was the fact that .1 didn't: injure myself. With my' track record—torn ligaments tobogganing, a sprained finger bowling and a cut handfaliing offs tour bus- -this was amazing: Before I had started opt on my kung advert Fact serloltsly hit tip consfder the possibility of breaking one or both wrists and not being able to type this column! All in all, the entire afternoon's outing was great. I slept like a log that night and although I was expecting my body to have seized up on me by the next morning, my muscles were fine. If you haven't tried cross country skiing, I highly recommend it. Take it from me: if I can try it anti live- to tell the tale, anybody can! "A service built on stealth, evasion and untruthfulness ought to have a decent growth potential. As Kurt Vonnegut once said, people need good lies because there are so many bad ones around. An entrepreneur who could not succeed at lying for a living would at least gain useful experience for a career in,politics." And so it goes. This particularparagraph was part of a London Free ress recent editorial, but it is one of many references, in speeches and `writings, to politics and politicians as being of questionable integrity and shady reputation. Why is there such an increasingly cynical and bitter view of politicians? Recently we witnessed on television how Frank Miller made an outstandingly useless observation at the end of his victory speech as the new leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. Waving to the two provincial opposition leaders who sat as panelists in the CBC control booth, Mr. Miller jokingly threatened to put them, out of business in the next election. He added, with a mild undercurrent of sarcasm, that they would then have to find "real work in real life", If politicians' work is of low -ranking value and dubious importance in real life, how does it apply to Mr. Miller? 1 am tempted to say that perhaps one should not expect a better degree of thought from Mr. Miller. But - there we go again. We chinas pride In our democratic systems on every. level. Politicians are basic ingredients in these systems. Can we be proud of one and belittle and scorn the other? Is the public disillusionment based on lack of proper understanding or is it largely generated by the grandstanding and grabbing, wheeling and dealing on the part of the individual politicians whose personal ambitions and private -.needs and struggles often colour the cloak they wear when attending to public service? It is probably a bit of each. So our contribution ought to be to seek improvement on both levels. Municipal politicians have a special place of closeness and visibility in our everyday lives. They could more easily help restore a great deal of the slipping respect for and trust in public office. I do not subsbribe to the general cynicism, but I do notice the tarnished spot§ onthe shine of the realistically indispensable idealism in elected public service. There is too much grabbing for one's own pockets. Recently the Goderich town council's. administrative committee (Mayor Palmer, councillors Clifford and Wheeler) recommended increased amounts for everything from council members' remuneration toter allowances, travel expenses and mileage. I was not only saddened to see the outstretched "taking hand" appear so readily, but I found the glib and aggressive words even more disappointing, particularly the committee's startling interpretation that many of the increases are not "discretionary" and therefore need not wait until budget time. Councillor Carey pointed out the simple fact that all items are discretionary. He moved, seconded by Councillor Seeds, that the increases in question be referred to budget. The motion carried. I have always found it offensive that any municipalincrease at all should be approved ahead of and apart from the total budget considerations. What it appears to say is that it is of utmost urgency and importance to gratify individual pockets .first. Whatever money could be spared after that can be made available for projects, programs and services. There is arrogance in such views. The point is not that in dollars and cents some of the proposed and tabled increases hardly amount to enormous sums (we can take a closer look on other occasions) but rather the increasing tendency of too much reaching into public coffers by those who have the keys. As person who appreciates the good and valuable work done by politicians I think thatit serves a positivepurpose if we take the time to point to the occasional tarnished spot. ELSA HAYD