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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1985-12-18, Page 4r' il' AI.c STAR,, WE'DNE.S.DA11!'a D cpm ? Xble r • , ,enetable state that colutxiniif k Ippeto.orstrve for, bio>t', do, t� } it la generally accept prate c lumnistes ,,.to declare their in - al hl sty• crut, l feel I must share this with you. : Sample the following Last week, the eotsneil of the county of Huron elected a new warden as is customary on the second Tues- day of the month of December, the 19N edl* tion being Grey Township reeve Leona Arm- strong. The election of the warden is a rather auspicious occasion in municipal govern- ment circles. The council, chambers are generally full and people tend to dress and smell nice. In short, it's a Huron County social event, Dignitaries from near and far bring greetings to the new warden. Huron County Judge F.G. Carter delivered his speech with a in= DAVE SYKES the usual good measure of loquacity and the federal member of the House of Commons respresenting the riding of Huron -Bruce, Murray Cardiff, added a measure of jocularity saying the event marked the first time he had kissed a Huron County warden. 11 gveryoue. lav,d' , sea lly . and.: the chamber was filled with muckglee,,MI? Mur cansure get them going. When the .new warden is,_olected, almost' everyone, Short all, the Coull`tttoiue cairetaker; either gets' to speak or is° introduced. tradition and tradition plays an inteegral role in the proceedings. Even the warden's clergyman was ex- tended the courtesy of microphone time and while his message was more solemn in nature, people bowed their heads in respect. However, to the point of the matter as Mayor Eileen Palmer addressed the gather- ing in her own inimitable style, she dispensed with the usual recognition of dignitaries and exchange of pleasantries before advising the neophyte warden on the salient issues of the day. Don't be afraid of making mistakes the mayor cautioned while wrinkling her brow, warden's are not infallible. That came as great rellef.tb tN1 MOW path wardens who: Vair,havelabQured•under:tr MISPOUPePtlOrk,• that they were indeedinlfallioIef but had fail- ed aired miserably.- • • But before the 'crowd`recompose, the mayor continued with the Precise pro- mulgatiqn that, "only cplumiiilists are infalli- ble." Again, there was Much glee in the council chamber. To be honest, I was darn proud. That the mayor of the town would choose such a moment to confer infallibility on this lowly columnist, and columnists everywhere to be sure, made my chest swell. It showed a decided measure of taste and judgement on her part. I was. euphoric! Mayors, I am told, simply don't confer in - fallibleness on just anyone and in that respect, I would submit, the accumulated tents orAcs i tl surely whetted the xnaY:or until sh succumbed:ito the obvious. Colunmists kno•w of what they • speak. sty sibl `,tbe' or Could easily '1" re declared'garJage men as infallible. Or even lawyers, doctors,: gas station nttendents, road grader builders or ' even councillors. But no. The columnist has been, eleyated to lofty plateaus and we have the mayorr.,tp thank for that,, When word of this spreads„no, doubt,other professionals and workers of ell description will beseech the mayor to declare them '1,o - fallible as well. But mayors don't hand out infallibility in random or willy nilly fashion. It is a most serious matter that demands treatnient with respect. I realize that a great responsibility has been bestowed upon this columnist. I'm sure it won't be easy being infallible. Opinion THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 Goderich SIGNAL-STAR COT ALL ROUND COMMUNITY NEW IN CANADA Prcubarn Gass 3500 45001C C N.4 Beans Nuwepeppr Co npaauon 1994 P.O.oda BOX 220 MUCKING) BT. INDUBTRIAL PARK OODERICH, ONT. N7A 4E8 PUBLISHED BY: SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded In 184B end published every Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OCNA. Subscriptions payable in advance 11320.00, [Senior Citizens 1818.00 privilege card number required] In Canada, 580.00 to U.B.A., 580.00 to all other countries, Bingla copies 80C. Dlepley, National and Cleasified advertising rates available on request. Plewa oak for Rate Card No. 18 effective October 1, 1986. Advertising le accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, the advertising apeoa occupied by the erroneous Item, together with the reasonable allowance for elgnsturs, will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be paid for et the epplicebls rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or =cervices at s wrong price, goods or services may net be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer toren, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star 1s not raeponelble for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposias. President and Publisher ROBERT G. SHRIER Editor. Advertising Manager DAVE SYKES DON HUBICK FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICEB...please phone [619)824-2614 Second class mail registration number 0716 Member:►CNA CCNA Honesty is required Huron County Council did the right thing when it finally agreed to open its committee meetings to the public. Hopefully council and its venerable membership will discover that openness at all levels Will lead to more valuable input and debate on a variety of matters. Council has been reluctant to open its doors to the public where its committee structure was concerned, preferring to present the argument that openness at that level would only serve to stifle debate and hamper productivity and progress. Even at the inaugural session of County Council, there were several remarks made to the effect that it was hoped the new policy would work out well and not hinder the work of the committees. Council must be commended for its openness but it need not fear the destruc- tion of the committee system because of that openness. Council has chosen, in the past, to close its committee meetings to the public and present its final arguments on matters at the open council session. Those final arguments often came in the form of formalized reports that solicited little debate. The open committee system should not discourage debate nor should it discourage members for speaking on behalf of the people they represent. Now, members of the public will have the opportunity to see how the committee system of county council functions, if they choose to attend any meetings. Council, even if it is still somewhat reticent about the prospect, must be congratulated for at least making the attempt to open its meetings. It is a good start towards building a healthier relationship between the politicans and the people who bestowed trust in them at election time. At the inaugural session of council Dec. 10, past warden Paul Steckle commented that the press had been honest with council even though council may not always have appreciated that honesty. The new system will do much to enhance the image of county council. Afterall, honesty is all the public expects of its elected officials and administration. D.S. A total flush is needed At a time when many Ontario residents were of the opinion that environment officials were taking steps to make their water and air cleaner and safer, the current problems being experienced in Lake St. Clair indicate quite conclusively that is not the case. The lake has been described as a toilet bowl for Sarnia's chemical valley and each day ap- pears to bring new evidence that residents in the area are at risk. There is little doubt that the situation is serious although it will apparently take some time before any clear indication can be given to the damage done and the ramifications for the future. One of the worst worrisome aspects is that environment personnel have been less than for- thright in bringing the matter to the attention of the public and that prompts concern that there may be similar situations elsewhere in the province where people have not been advis- ed of the risks which exist in their midst. While some considerable cleanup is now underway for the St. Clair River and its adjoining lake, it is evident that it should quickly be followed by action to determine if cleanup is re- quired within the provincial and federal ministries responsible for the environment. It would appear that some flushing out is required in more than the lake and river. Exeter Times Advocate 1 do not want to be a spoiler of fun, but somebody has to say it. ,Judging by the news media in general, including letters to the editor in the daily papers, post office bashing appears to be a popular game. There seems to be no end to the things that are said to be wrong with our postal service. Under the circumstances I start to feel strangely left out, because I cannot think of even one occasion when i have had postal problems. 1 receive quite a lot of mail in all categories, including a large number of magazines and books, but I have never ex- perienced any of the delays or other things people are complaining about. Perhaps I am just lucky. In this case it is time to hear from the lucky ones, too, par- ticularly at this time of year when the postal officials are more than ordinarily busy with our Christmas mail. Whether they are on the delivery route or looking after the ser- vices at the office end, these men and women must be doing a whole lot of things just right, to keep the system functioning, and their work deserves credit. Greetings to all of them! My next observation relates to an event I found profoundly disturbing. It concerns a letter from the Goderich and i)istrict Ministerial Association, addressed to Goderich town council and appearing on the agenda at last week's meeting. In September, a Baha'i Week had been declared by the council, in accordance with the reasonable policy of several years that such declarations are made on request, for special occasions, for any group (social, religious, professional, service) who pays for the printed announcement. The Baha'is obviously did. The Ministerial Association had this to say: "At a subsequent meeting of the Goderich and District Ministerial Associa- tion, some concern was expressed on the ap- propriateness of such a declaration. We would wish to register this concern, with a suggestion that the council consider the criteria for these events, and whether or not they ought to include sectarian religious groups. "While the Baha'i Faith appears to en- compass all religions, it nevertheless in our opinion, is a particular religious philosophy, that cannot be reconciled to any other world religion including the Christian Faith.” The Ministerial Association's letter then Clownin' around By Susan Hundertmark Sugar and Spice December is a trying time. For one thing, it's so dang sudden. There you are, tottering along a day at a time, thinking it's still fall and you must get the snow tires and storms on one of these fine Saturdays, and throw some firewood into the cellar, and get some boots and replace the gloves you lost last March. Christmas is away off there. And then bang' you look out one mor- ning, and there's December, in all it's unglory: a bitter east wind driving snow, and a cold chill settles iii the very bones of your soul. Winter wind as sharp as a witch's tooth sneaks in around uncaulked doors and win- dows. One's wife. complains of the terrible draught from under the basement door. You investigate and find that one of the base- ment windows has been blown in and has smashed on the woodpile. You clamber up over the wood. knocking pieces off shins and knuckles, and 1;I11i some cardboard in the gap. Creep cautiously outside, and nearly bust you bum. There's ice under that thar snow. Make it to the garage. and find that your car doors are all frozen solid shut. Reat them with your bare fists until the latter are bleeding and your car is full of dents. Final- ly get them open with a bucket of hot water and a barrel of hotter language. Slither and grease your way to work, ar- riving in a foul snood and with hare hands crippled into I laws, bootless feet cold as a witch's other appendage Come nut of work to go home and find a half-inch of frozen rain and snow covering your car, and no sign of your scraper, and another deep dilnt where some idiot slid into your car door in the parking lot. closed with thl hope that the town council will "receive this registering of concern in the spirit with u hich it is intended." My pro- blem is that f do not know what that spirit is. Are such words spoken out of Christian charity and lova or do they contain a polite form of religious intolerance'. Is one religion more appropriate than another? I am reacting to the correspondence as it appreared before the town council where it was "received and filed". One presunos that the Ministerial Association regarded its message as complete When other religious groups had their events proclaimed in the past. there had been no protests. A munic•ipal council anywhere in our country represents, with equal attention, people of all faiths as well as of no religious affiliation. The municipal mill rate collects from Presbyterians, Catholics, Baha'is, Agnostics. During the proclaimed week when the Baha'is held a series of get-togethers in The Livery, someone tried to set the wooden door on fire You see the large burn mark when you pass the building. The Baha'is are persecuted in Iran (as are other religions fought over in other countries) but I could go on and on, but it's only rubbing salt in the wounds of the average Canadian. Get home from work and find that the fur- nace is on the blink, and the repairman is tied up for the next two days. And your wife is also fit to be tied up over your dilatoriness. Surely there is some way around this suddeness of December. Is there not some far-seeing politician i if that is not a con- tradiction in terms ), who would introduce a bill to provide for an extra month between. let's say, November 25 and December 5. • i wouldn't care what he called it. It could be Lastember, referring to your fast -dying hope that there wouldn't be a winter this year. Or Last Call, or Final Warning, or She's Acomin! Anything that gave us a good jolt. It would be a good thing for merchants. They could have special Lastember sales of gloves and boots and snow tires and ear muffs and caulking guns and weather strip- ping and antifreeze and nose warmers. before plunging into their pre -Christmas sales, which are promptly replaced by their .lanuary sales. It would be great for the Post Office, which could start warning us in ,Jwie that all Christmas mail must be posted by the first day of iastember if we wanted it delivered before the following June. It would make a nice talking point for all those deserters and traitors and rich people who go south every year. Instead of smirk- ing. "Oh. we're not going south until Boxing Day. Hate to miss an old-fashioned Cana- dian Christmas," they could really shove it to us by leering, "Yes, we thought we'd wait this year until the Last day of iasternber, you know. Avoid the pushing and vulgarity ESA HAYDON ate® somehow, I took it for granted that more ge- nuine tolerance is readily reaching out a helping hand in our friendly and peaceable town. Love and peace are words preached in churches at Christmas. Under that sign, the ministers might have served God and their congregations more sincerely by helping 114141414. By Bill Smiley_ of the holiday rush. If nothing else, it would give us a break from the massive nauseating volume of pre - Christmas advertising, which begins toward the end of October and continues, remorselessly, right into Christmas Day. Best of all, perhaps it would give dummies like me a chance to avoid looking like such a dummy. Procrastinators, who flourish dur- ing a sunny November, would have no more excuses. All their wives would have to do is point to the calendar and say, "Bill, do you realize it's only three days until Lastember. Isn't it time you did your Lastember chores" In fact, if that fearless politician who is going to introduce the Lastember Bill in the house wants some advice, here is a codicil for him. Somewhere in the Bill should be the warning, in bold type: "Procrastinators will be Prosecuted!" Jeez, why not? They pro- secute you for everything else. If such a month were added to the calen- dar — maybe we could start it with Grey Cup Day — people like me wouldn't go on thinking that Christmas is weeks away. Instead, on the last day of Lastember, with all their winter chores in hand, they'd know that Christmas was practically on top of them, like a big, old horse blanket, and they'd leap into the proper spirit, lining up a Christmas tree, laying in their booze. tuning up their pipes for the carols. As it is now, we know that Christmas is like a mirage. it's way off their somewhere. and no need to panic. Then, with that startl- ing Suddeness, it's December 22. all the Christmas trees have been bought. the only remaining turkeys look like vultures, and the liquor store is bedlam. Who's for a J ,aster nber? remove the burn stain. I regret deeply that I see reason to say all these things. As a person who has always felt very strongly for freedoms and respon- sibilities, I find the ministerial letter almost personally painful and most unfortunate. Whether it is the Baha'i faith or any other religious philosophy, the principle remains. I hope I live in a community where human values and equal freedoms are cherished by all. Reading up on their faith, i learned that the Baha'is are industrious and stand for strong family life, good education, equality for men and women, world peace, love for fellowmen as God's creatures. Which one of these qualities should be rejected by Chris- tian churches? I learned also that the Baha'is worship without clergy, every member contributing his or her share in conducting the affairs of the community. In the Baha'i writings I found this thought: "Beware of prejudice. Light is. good in whatsoever lamp it is burning. A rose is beautiful in whatsoever garden it may bloom. A star has the same radiance whether it shines from the East or from the West."