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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-03-19, Page 4PAGE 4—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19, 1986 Call it fate or cruel irony, but I get the distinct impression that my lot in life may be restricted to producing perilous but perceptive prose about peewee hockey players. It's a rite of sprung around this harbour town each year to open the arena doors and invite the immediate world to a hotdog and a game of hockey. The Lions ('lub hospitably extends the invitation each year And ,each year, people accept. The hot dogs are mun- ched lustily and the game is enjoyed hearti- ly. While the rite may not always signal a hopeful return to milder climes, it does at least offer promise, that escape from the bowels of the arena is imminent. The con- clusion of Young Canada Week means that young omen will abandon their winter pastimes and turn their energies to young ladies.. It means that curlers and ringette players will go and do whatever curlers and DAVE SYKES ringette players do without ice. It means that parents won't have to suc- cumb to broken and twisted vertebrae while dutifully attempting to teach pre-schoolers to skate on Sunday afternoons. It means that I will soon emerge, shiver- ing but none the worse for wear, from the icy clutches of the arena and curling rink. It means that the only ice in my immediate future will be in a cool beverage and of the cubed variety. Young Canada Week means a lot of things to people in this community and nu doubt conjurs up visions of past games, memorable teams, lasting friendships through billets, the smell of hot dogs. the freshly painted ice surface and the inces- sant din in the arena lobby as it plays host to 1,268 pubescent hockey players, coaches nd parents. e--tecarnment brought this wretched scribe to the his community, several years ago and since the first issues of the Daily News the newspaper which carries daily accounts of the tournament I were offered for ransom in the arena lubb. 1 have, somehow, inadvertently managed to get myself inovlved in the production of tfhe tabloid. Fuzzy pictures, crooked headlines, er- roneous headlines, misplaced columns of type and improper identification have become eorntnon fare in the Daily News as its production overstepped the bounds of normal -working hours. I have had a hand in all those shortcom- ings and was credited with authoring the outline, Poised Peewee Player Punches Puck Past Post, to aptly describe the action in a photograph. It is the stuff YCW legends are made of. But those pucks and poised players and posts were years behind me. Or so I thought. '1'he toils of YCW were delegated to younger, fresher colleague's with no memory of previous years to jaundice their outlook on the tournament and the work it involuntarily bestowed upon them. But, as has been habit with the peewee ex- travaganza, one year's worth was enough to send would-be sports reporters to the depths of despair. • Many, in fact, threatened a fateful leap from a basement window as a genuine indicator of their disdain for the tournament and the agony involved in get- ting the tabloid out the back door. I,too, threatened many things and often feigned mental incompetence in a vain at- tempt to get out of the job, Of course °I couldn't pull it off. But I have managed to avoid the job for several years until an undisclosed disease rendered one of the college students useless Thursday. The next day I could be seen pur- posefully pounding out peewee stories while a hotdog dangled from a corner of my mouth. From My precarious perch in the soundroom I berated players for making the wrong play, questioned several of the referee's calls and wondered what lunacy I had fallen into. YCW comes but once a year. Opinion THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT SINCE 1848 Godertcr, SIGNAL -STAR EBT ALL POUND COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER IN CANADA n ,i„tnni '1,,(11) a`,UUI I P.O. BOX 220 HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH, ONT. N7A 4B6 PUBLISHED BY SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded in 1849 and published every Wednaeday et Ooderlch, Ontario. Member of the, CCNA end OCNA. Subecriptlone payable in advance 822.00, (Senior Citizens 819.00 privilege card number required] in Caned°, 880.00 to U.S.A., 860.00 to ell other countrioe, Single copies 60C. Display, National end Cleeelfled advertleing rates available on request. Please eek for Rate Card No. 16 effective October 1, 1986. Advertieli,g le accepted on the condition that in the avant of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with the reasonable allowance for eignature, will not ba charged for but that balance of the advertisement will tee paid for at the applicable rate. In the avant of e typogrephicel error advertising goods or services et a wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Advertieing ie merely an offer to null, and may be withdrawn at any other he Signal B ar is 4notreproduc ole for the lone or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photon purpoaee,. General Manager Editor SHIRLEY J. KELLER DAVE SYKES Advertising Manager DON HUBICK FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES...ple96e phone [519]524-2614 Second class mail registration Member: number 0716 Th a €NA CCNA And besides, we like. to buy Canadian goods For years; government advertising has urged Canadians to buy home-made products, thereby ensuring that our own economy would be sufficiently stimulated to survive, provide jobs and that Canadians would prosper in the process. In fact, American television networks now feature some of the top entertainment stars of the day who incessantly admonish their fellow Americans to buy goods made in the good oi' USA. But, of course, people sometii nes will spend more money in search of bargain rather than supporting their local stores and shops or by buying locally made products. The human animal, it seems, is an inveterate bargain seeker and will go to great lengths to get "a deal.” It was interesting to note a news item from a paper in a Huron County town whichoutlin- ed the story of a township council that decided to trade in its 1984 road grader on a new model made by Champion Road Machinery of Goderich. Turnberry Township councillors •were seenlingly stunned by an offer from Champion to replace the township's 1984 John Deere model road grader with a newer Champion model fora modest price. Township reeve Brian McBurney was part of the council that opted to buy an American product which created a bit of controversy in the township considering that Canadian graders are manufactured in the neighbourhood. Well, it seems the township was made an attractive offer by Champion at the annual On- tario Good Roads convention in Toronto in February. At least it was an offer they were not willing to turn down. For a modest fee, the towte hip gets a new grader, a one-year warranty and a larger model. And, as councillor W. Paul Elgin explained to Inis municipal colleagues, "Besides, I like to • buy Canadian." It just takes some people longer to come around. D.S. A staid Senate wakes up Meltdown By Dave Sykes Lioness Club says early detection improves cancer survival rates Canadians have traditionally been led to believe that the Senate is a frill in the country's system of government. Further, Senate positions have been offered as rewards to long- suffering politicians and friends of politicans. It has been further suggested that the inhabitants, the Senators themselves, were rather docile, sedate beings whose behaviour bordered on comatose. But i.iher•al Senator Jacques'Hebert has created quite a stir in the Senate these days as he heads into his second week of a self-imposed hunger strike to protest government cutbacks to youth programs. • • Newspaper reports suggest that more than 1,000 people flocked to the normally staid Senate Sunday, marking the first time the doors have been opened to the public on that day. Most of the public showed up as a sign of support and to sign the Senator's petition to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, demanding that he restore the Katimavik program, a $20 million project that the Conservative government chose to scrap recently. Many local residents will have fond memories as the town used the program extrensively and constructively, Many young people from' many parts of Canada came to Goderich under the terms of the program and worked at many jobs that helped the community and its citizens. Drinking only mineral water, the Senator sleeps on the Senate floor in a sleepingbag and has lost 12 pounds since his hunger strike began last Monday. Hebert has gained a great deal of support from the public since the strike but he hopes the support will lead the Mulroney government to rethink its position. He hypes "that the people of Canada will tell the government to have a policy of youth and to show its goodwill. The simple thing that they could do would be to re-establish the small budget of an organization that is already there, that works beautifully, that costs very little and that is the pride of Canadas and that has an international reputation." Until then Hebert will fast. Hebert founded the $20 million Katimavik program'in 1970 when Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister. It was Trudeau who later appointed his friend to the Senate. Katimavik was a youth program that paid more than 1,700 young people $1 a day to do community service work in various sponsoring communities across Canada. The par- ticipants were each paid a $1,000 honorarium at the end of their year-long sting in the pro- gram. Secretary Of State Benoit Bouchard said the government will not simply react and create another youth program.J.o replace Katimavik but he added in the House of Commons Mon- day that the government is planning to introduce a program that will contain elements of the Katimavik program which is to be cancelled in June.; While Hebert, as the creator of the Katimavik program; obviously believes' there is merit in such a program, it isn't often Canadians see politicians back up their beliefs with such strong action. There must be programs in place for Canadian youth during these difficult economic times and it will be interesting to see what the Conservative government comes up with in the face of Hebert's challenge. D.S. Dear Editor, Once again the Goderich Lioness Club will be selling daffodils on behalf of the Cana- dian Cancer Society on April 3, 4 and 5. I think I can safely say that there pro- bably isn't a reader of this paper whose family hasn't been touched by cancer in some way. Many of you may wonder whether any progress is being made toward curing, or, at least, halting the spread of cancer once it has been diagnosed. The following figures may give you some ideas of the progress being made: FIVE YEAR SURVIVAL RATES: ' LETTERS CERVICAL CANCER: 30 years ago — 34 per cent; Today — 90 per cent. LYMPHATIC CANCER: 30 years ago — 25 per cent; Today — 80 per cent. LEUKEMIA: 30 years ago — 25 per cent; Today - 40 per cent. OVARIAN CANCER: 30 years ago — 25 per cent; Today — 40 per cent. TESTICULAR CANCER: 30 years ago — 45 per cent; Today — 85 per cent. Some of the reason for the increase in sur- vival may be due to better awareness by ,: people in general arid, therefore, ,earlier detection, but equally important is better treatment available today thanks to the generosity of the public. The Goderich Lioness would like to say thanks for your past generosity and to'ask you again to be as generous as possible when you are approached to buy daffodils. Sincerely, Mary Lou Aubin Chairman, Daffodil Committee The U.S. must make a stand soon writer says mention the odd earthquake which doesn't Dear editor, and close to home peril. 'On Thursday, the United States Senate Americans are leery, after the price they do mirth for tourism. will vote on whether to give $100 million in.,. paid during the last intervention of signifi- aid to the contras in Nicaragua which cant numbers. The scoreboard is on the The road to communism is through Mex - President Ronald Reagan is asking for. grounds of the White House. (the Wall) ico and the time is ripe. Just a link away on With the NASA program on hold. due to ^ the chain. Don't Rambo on this issue I don't believe Reagan will get what he is American neighbours. As the man says, February's tragedy,. plummeting oil asking for but will we all regret it in time. 'You cyan pay me now or pay me later. A prices threatening the world economy and Mexico will probably declare bankruptcy stand has to be made. ' general chaos on the Meditlerranian shoreline, he has to tread lightly het firmly within o years due to massive1 Pete Henry , in his request to meet this most immediate unemploinent and falling oil prices, not to Belleville. hospital. reunion committee looks for former staff members Dear Editor: • During 1986 Belleville General Hospital will be celebrating 100 years of service to our community. To commemorate this special occasion, the hospital will be hosting numberous events through out the year. i We at the -hospital have worked very hard to contact many of our tormer statt about our pians and we wish to enlist the help of your newspaper to notify others we may -have"Missed. One of the highlights of the year will be, Reunion Weekend to be held Friday, May 30 through Sunday, June 1. Please request former staff to contact the hbspital to be inclpded on our anniversary mailing list. Should you require further information, please contact Mr. A. W. Gray, Radiology, Belleville General Hospital, Box 428, Belleville, Ontario K8N 5A9 Thanking you in advance, A. W. Gray Chairman, Public Relations Centennial Celebrations Committee. It pays to take. Canadian dollars to Florida bear Editor, I know it may be a bit late for most vaca- tioners to the southern United States but I would like to pass on the following informa- tion re - Canadian - U.S. dollars. Before departing for Florida the last week 1, A of February, l read in a local newspaper the merit• of taking Canadian dollars to Florida. I must say it pays to read the papers as I had the following experience. At the local bank beforesIsl ft I received $60 U.S. per $100 Canadian. At the Landrnark Bank in Pompano I received $68 per $100 Canadian. If you don't mind carrying large amounts of cash - don't leave home without it. It pays. • Gus Chisholm A