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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-03-20, Page 4e- , .; • „, . 070 14 .4.•gy; • • , • IIT97417. 4T 4„ 1J, . fe, ViMett, • 4-v noticably ionger andInoLmds to Urn vadous, ahades of'brown, • son : 'buJld rapidly ui '•11 PUP favorite weekly, • Reporters whi0e,physida gonergeneraily** suspect, suddenly re anon • assortment of sicknesses, 'diseases 0.111 broen or severed limb, . • • OdevvIeRoei70110t4C§r and LIable desires to devour fiat dogs ingtear** numbers. ° We also tend to 'babble on incoherently about nothing in kparticular to no-one Ip Par#01401".. In short, our depoliment la suspect. The affliction is commonly known as the YCW Syndrome, a malady that strikes the newsroom on an annual basis. I've been a victim of the syndrome on more than on0oCeasion and while destiny' - and the atmosphere than 12,349 peewee - age hockey players create at the arena, lured a colleague to provide the coverage this year, I too was compelled to offer a hand. The Young Canada Hockey Week Tour - „ othpett Olun ter: Y, the. ,fo .It the*Orld't0i** the anntrilf, (*Mee to play 400* , the tournarnent continues to* that both.boysand.girl, I might add; view e„ aetthattwo young ladies hi the t.hiyearQne in* competent goaltendeloand the , other, by any peewee standards, was a capable goal -scorer. • While the tournament has enjoyed ahnost four decades of success, the Daily News has been an integral component of , the tournament for over 10 yea*. The Daily News provides this staff with an all -expense paid, 16 hour work day. Much of it at the arena. Which explains the assorted maladies that staffers tend to develop as tourney time approaches.Despite desperate pleas, someone inherits the privilege of watching more than 80 peewee hockey games. Ah yes, whatmemories. the , e.. One • 9 Whil it May hovel.... yearoida010several ;,betora,. sistent $0110.0. 1'Otelke'foct*., forbidding play.04:-teorna 'tOPatticiPate, • tournaments, it Stilt seri/S:4e: purpose and needs I.Ohich spawned the concept. • • It may not the..international tourna- ment it Ondeivas;.Perhaps, now, it is more of a regionalized event. • • • But the fact remains; it is revered as one of the premier hockey tournaments around the area. Tournaments of suchrmagnitude don't survive the test of time, 36 year in this case;unless they • have' something to offer. The tournamentboasts of a rich legacy THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT • SINCE1848 Founded In 183 end published every Wedneisday at Oodiirich, Onterl. Member of the CCNA end .0CNA. Subscriptions payable in advance •20.95, (Senior Citizens "17.95 privilege card number required) in Coned'', '55. to 11.8.A., 055. to all other countries, tangle, conic* 50$. Cliaphiy, National and Claseified advertising rates available an request. Pigeon ask for Rat, card No. 15 effective October 1, 1984. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising apace occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged far but that balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the epplicable rete..In the event ofa typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, end may be withdrawn at any time. The SlgnaI.Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos sr other materials used for reproducing purposes. 'PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER - President and Publisher DON HUBICK - Advertising Manager DAVE SYKES - Editor P.O. BOX 820 HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH, ONT. N7A 486 50 Member: eNA CCNA Secon• d class mail registration number 071 6 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES—Meer° phone (5191524-2614 Anything for a buck As though the horrible massacre at a McDonald's restatirant in the United States last year was not enough, a film maker announced. hisplans to make amovie based on that e„.. terrible event the Listowel Banner says. FortUnately, thet -disgus:of grieving relatives Ni44. was so forcefully expressed that the movie maker changed his mind. Shortly after the insame mahcine gun -massacre the restaurant was totally demolished in order to remove any vestige of a reminder of the event, but leave it to the profit seekers to move in on any situation which could be exploited. lommemememmandmitragamorowlmetemorr prepared to "tell all” about the private lives of people who are respected and loved for In somewhat the same category are the few former employees of royalty who are pcp-rsc'RIP-r-• SUSAN HUNDE L....). RTMARK their dignity and quiet leadership. A former employee at Buckingham Palace has been . • the_source for several books and newspaper articles about the.Britiskroy_al1amilypar- 1,,•••g Looking to spring By Todd Mowatt ticularly about the Prince of Wales and Princess Diana. The fact that he has not been • employed at the palace for the past two or three years hardly makes him an expert on the royal couple today. Obviously there is a ready market for such trash or the authors would not be so anxious to talk. Surely there is enough bad news in the public realm to satisfy sordid appetites without delving into the sad and the private lives of others. One hurdle is crossed The council of the County of Huron has now at least made a decision to commit funds towards the preservation of the county facility. At its March meeting, council agreed to commit $250,000 to a reserve fund and has ask- ed subsequent councils to set aside $300,000 a year for three additional years to see thr project through. While the council generally agrees to the idea of preserving a museum for the county, the amount of money used for the project was a source of debate. Many municipalities will always be of the belief that they are getting little for their money if its used for a new facility in Goderich. -That attitude may never -change. If subsequent councils agree to the expenditure, it would mean the reserve would grow to $1.15 million in the four-year period. Many councillors are now casting an eye to the magnitude nf the renovations or building that will preserve the countv's history. But it would appear that one major 'hurdle is crossed and that the project will at least get going. The "-not next door to me" beast has reared its ugly head again in Goderich. A handful of ratepayers who learned that the Survival Through Friendship House will be located on their street at 134 McDonald Street attended a public meeting on Monday to express their fears and concerns about the house. With the transition house for battered women and their children located on their street, the ratepayers were concerned their property would be damaged or their street would be less cosmetically appealling if the house was allowed to run down. Comments such as "they can come in and wreck your lawns and everything else" and "would, you like that home up alongside your pladel" were expressed. While most people will agree that sertiices such as the Survival Through Friendship House should be available for the people who need them, unfortunately, some balk when the service is offered too close to — home.. Mindssuddenly close to the ideaof helping their fellow human beings when peo- ple feel the sanctity of their homes is threatened. As house director June Taylor pointed out at the public meeting, the women benefit- ting from the house could be. the friends, . neighbors or relatives of anyone in Goderich or Huron County. It's an ugly fact we don't like to admit but one in 10 women in Canada is the victim of physical or emotional abuse. The house meets a critical need in the coun- ty. And,it helps us take the first steps of a) realizing the problem is a real one and b) 'giving our support so the problem can be solved. What the ratepayers who complained at the public meeting may not realize is they are probably in the minority with their fears and ignorance. The Survival Through Friendship House has wide community imp- • port which includes area churches, • businesses, service groups, government , agencies, police and. private citizens. The 4 house needs the continuing support of the • community to succeed and from indications so far, it will succeed. Thegradually dying. Seven yearsagee 20 irate homeowners attended a public meeting pro- testing a group home for eight trainable retarded adults in Goderich. Labelling the retarded‘nootnext ternseons daosortome" "sex perverts", attitude the s homeowners threatened to sell their homes and build fences around their homes so they. wouldn'thave to look at the occupants. But, with some education about the group home land the people who would be living there, the homeowners found their fears were unfounded and unreasonable. The group home turned out to be as good a neighbor as anyone else on the street. I hope the neighbors who complained at the public meeting on Monday take some time to visit the Survival Through Friend- ship House or attend a few board meetings. They may even find themselves signing up as volunteers or taking advantage of the ser- vice. When you stop to think about it, we're all vulnerable human beings who need the help of social programs from time to time. Both as volunteers and recipients of a program; we benefit. On the whole, Goderich is a caring com- munity. By putting its support behind the Survival Through Friendship House, the town in expressing its outrage at the high-W- cidence of family violence and taking the necessary steps to stop it. The few complaints about the house could be the last we hear from "not next door to me" beast in our community. One fh-the-first things a successful and constructive public official, elected or ap- pointed, ought to iearn is to live with a fair amount of criticism in a relaxed manner. The second eequirement is the ability, if necessary, to be critical of some policy or procedure to the point, with a practical recommendation how to improve the item intelligently and in a businesslike spirit, Thircity, after putting up a good and civiliz- ed fight for one's ideas, principles and style, it is pendent to recognize the point where a majority decision simply has to be lived with peaceably, as an inevitable con- sequence of our democratic process. If one can do Os with a bit of grace and humour, so much the better. Even before an individual becomes a can- didate fora publicposition, he or she would do well to take stock of these considerations. Criticism is one reaction you can count on. As a municipal counsil member, a school trustee pr a public utilities commissioner - how will you handle criticism at either the receiving or the giving end? I find it surprising how many public office holders are not at ease with this important aspect of their work. What should be regard- ed as normal differences are often treated with elaborate and disruptive animosities, devoid of larger perspectives. Thus much of the good arid positive wor " becomes over- shadowed by the furiousfinpping of sadly cuppea vnneo., Each public body has its own internal dif- ficulties, often in the shape of useless flare- ups over minor matters and small amounts of money to which people in general relate more easily than to illustrious visions. The Goderich town' council is no exception: it lives with a simmering little split over council -related expenses. • A heated exchange of words by town coun- cil members was reported last week. All members are naturally entitled to express their opinions, but public interest would be served more fruitfully and lastingly, if a dissatisfied member were to make specific proposals for clearly worded im- provements, instead of resorting to harsh accusations of vague and general nature and thus of misleadingproportiens. I can syinpathize with a number of points made by Councillor Jim Searls from time to time on some other subjects However, he is aware that I disagree emphatically with the unnecessarily derogatory expressions he aimed recently at his municipal colleagues of equal status and responsibilities. When asked directly, Mr. Searls said inter that he does not in fact object to elected and appointed officials availing themselves of certain learning opportunities at council ap- proved municipal seminars and workshops, and that he does not Underestimate the im- portance of civilized hospitality and public relations in the increasingly complex business of a municipal corporation, although these have been the areas in which the periodic littleexpisions took-0We. According to Mr. Sear* his back was up because no receipts were required under the travel ekpense schedule and because the amounts stipulated in the by-law were fre- quently treated as a flat rate "must" in- • stead of an upper limit "may". One concludes from this that some unplea- sant exchanges might have been prevented, if Mr. Semis' objections had been calmly focussed and clearly expressed where it counts - at the council table - and if all the ins and outs of,the subject had been discussl• ed by all members thoroughly, without ir- ritation and in good faith. The two points Mr. Searls says he is making are fair and valid. Every company asks for receipts and, • has stated limits. If a more casual approach had developed in the town practices, it was more likely because it is easy to fall into a simplified and comfortable routine. Ob- viously it presents no hardship to comply with better defined procedures. Interesting- ly, such a ,proposal in a concrete form came from other members - councillors Clifford, Cornish and Carey initiated the addition of "not to exceed" into the wording of the by- law without any problem. It really is important to master the art of constructive criticism at both ends of a dispute. 1• ELSA HAYIDON 4