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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1987-07-08, Page 4P/T1 —GODERICH SIGNAL-S'I<AR. WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1987 Curtis Strange stabbed deliberately at an invisible intruder in front of his ball mark on the 15th green at Glen Abbey. Despite a round of furious stabs in which he wielded his putter like a sword, an unidentified creature of small, but odd, proportions, continued to dance in the lire between Strange's ball and the cup on the par three hole. Unable to sub- due the monster, he motioned furiously to his caddie for help. Before his club carrier could assist with the destruction, Strange had eliminated the pest before stopping dead in his tracks, as if he realized he had committed a dastardly deed. Oh, I forgot," the affable 32 -year-old Virginian offered almost pleading with the sizable gallery that had gathered around the short par three. "This is Canada. I remember what happened to Dave Winfield." DAVE SYK Winfield, the imposing six -foot -six New York Yankee right fielder was charged by police after he threw a'l aseball right through one of Ontario's finest seagulls. The incident became a cause ceslebre ( the charges were later dropped) and to this day the Yankee continues to donate a wildlife painting to the city. Strange's wildlife hunt was of less significant proportions, but it provided an opportunity for one of the many humorous and human exchanges between the Canadian Open Champion and his gallery during his week at Glen Abbey. Fittingly enough, the personable Strange, won his tenth tour title at the "course that Jack built" during the tenth anniversary of the Open's home in Oakville. I suppose it's easy to be per- sonable when your financial life is secure through golf. While I have strayed from the course aver the past few yearse4postly applying meagre athletic skills- to slowpitch diamond, golf remains a paslion. A trip to the Canadian Copan is the only sure item on the calendar year's agenda for this derelict duffer. Forme, there has always been a cer- tain ethereal quality about watching pro- fessionals execute so effortlessly and at such a high level, a sport that is so frustratingly difficult for the average golfer. They swing with relative ease and yet leave spectators shaking their heads at, the lenght and accuracy of the shot. It all looks so effortless until the next time one plies their skills on the course. But that's the lure of golf. ft accom- modates a variety of physiques, a variety of ages, and a variety of swings while not demanding top levels of co-ordination and athletic ability. I marvel at the distance players like Strange, Jeff Sluman and Corey Pavin can hit their tee shots. They are slight of build and yet, can propel a golf ball pro- hibitive distances. It simply isn't fair. I only hope that my annual trips to the Canadian Open will somehow, perhaps through the process of osmossis, improve my golf game. There's has been no mark- ed improvement but I am ever hopeful. My opes were elevated after following Canada's Jim Nelforel for several holes over two days. Despite a severe boating accident that almost severed his arm two years ago, Neiford is again playing golf professionally. His injured arm hangs limply and at an odd angle at his side, the outward signs of the steel plate and 13 screws that holdit together. Watching him play was somehwat in- spiring and at least served to illustrate, that the will can accomplish great things. pinion THE NEWS PORT FOR GO,QERICH Si DISTRICT SINCE 1848 the Gdericl SIGNAL -STAR EBT ALL POUND COMMUNITY NEWBPAPER IN CANADA (Grculauon Clore 3500 450010 C A Bettor Nov,poper Coniuouuon 1984 P.O ,eo HUCKINS ST. INdDUSTRIAL PARK ®ODERICH, ONT. N7A 466, PUBLISHED BY SIGNAL -STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED Founded In 1848 end published every Wednesday at Ooderleh, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and ("CNA. 8ubecr1ptions peyeble In advance $ 2.00, (Senior Citizens 619.00 privilege card number required] In Caneda, 680.00 to U.S.A., 980.00 to all other countries, Single copies 80C. Display, National end Classified advertising restos evelloblo on request. Please ask for Rete Card No. 18 effective October 1, 1988. Advertising is accepted on the condition that In the event of a typographical error, the advertising epees" occupied by the erroneous Item, together with the reasonable ellowanoe for signature, will not be ohorged for but that balance of the edvertlsament will be paid for et the applicable rate. In the avant of e typographical error edvertieing goods or serviette et a wrong price, goods or services may not be Bold. Advertising is merely en offer to Boll, end may bo withdrawn et any time. The Signal-Ster le not responsible for the loss or damage of pnsollcited manuecrlpts"l photos or other material- used for reproducing purpose®. General Manager SHIRLEY J: KELLER Editor' ° DAVE SYKES Advertising Manager DON HUBICK FDR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OPFICES...pleaee phone (519)584-8614 Second class mail registration nui nber 0716 Member: eNA CRNA A move to reform The threatened secession of Exeter from Huron County by the town's mayor Bruce Shaw shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. There have been conflicts and resulting frustrations brewing and festering at the county level of government.for years. What the threat does, simply, is bring to attention the divi- sion between the urban and rural interests at the county level. The conflict has always been much in evidence at the county proceedings, but councillors and administration would never admit that such a split existed or interfered.with the dispen- sation of county government. However, the very nature of the,makeup of county council lends itself to certain confron- tations and adversarial situations. The council is predominantly rural, and representation comes from the townships. A councillor's first priority is to his or her respective township, village or municipality and that commitment cannot help but carryover into the county government scene. Coun- cillors encounter difficulty trying to provide effective County government while protecting their own interests. It simply, is not always possible. There has to be a certain selflessness displayed by the players at the county table and ,yet, they would be remiss in not defending the best interests of their respective municipalities. There is a fine line of compromise that has to be adhered to. Certainly, if decisions are to be of benefit to the county as an entity, then petty differences and an attitude of regionalism must be shoved aside. That can only be divisive. The urban -rural conflict has been evidenced on many occasions but councillors would loudly deny that that type of narrow-mindedness existed. It really can't be avoided under the present system. Many municipalities .had difficulty providing funds for improvements to the county's largest airport at Goderich and there were concerns about rebuilding the museum in Goderich while others advocated moving the facility to Vanastra. Those represent just a few examples of the situations that can create rifts between urban centres and rural municipalities. No doubt it appears to rural representatives that funds, and services gravitate to urban centres while rural representatives hold the balance of power at the council table. It is something of a dichotomy. There are many incidents which have precipitated the move by Exeter, the county's failure to act on a recommendation to establish an industrial development office and con- cerns over county planning procedures, most notable among them. The town wants to engage its own private planning consultants beginning next year rather than use the county planning department and Shaw says there is no reason the town should not look after its own library. The county has been having problems with its library system, trying to wrest control of the system through a private member's bill, and health unit staff have gone public in their attempt to bring attention to a critical situation in that department. The mayors, not part of the county structure of government-, have banded together and appear to be working independently as an ad hoc committee., One has to wonder if they are working in that fashion because of apparent indifference at the county I 'vel or becuase they feel they can't get solid representation at the county level. Many overtures have been made, by this newspaper in the,st forthe restructuring of the county system. Perhaps, now is the time. D.S. The details of assorted power struggles have long been common reading material in the Canadian daily press. The pro- vinces versus the feds over the Con(stitu- tion, Canada versus the USA in the Tree trade talks, civil servants versus the government over everything from wages to job security. it all makes for great copy. Well, maybe not great copy, but it doestfill the pages. One might think that we in the com- munity news field would get far few • chances to act as harbingers for the par- ties involved in such power plays, but this is not so. In the last few weeks, readers of local papers in Huron County have been of- fered all manner of controversy. This week we have Huron's urban mayors vie- ing to wrest some power from what they perceive as a rural dominated county council. We have also seen evidence of a looming clash between small municipal If IF you 'RE ANyTM A/6 - LIKE YE/ SON, Yb J t PRe za4,eLV NEV/E/' AVovNT Over 1,800 expected to stop at tourist booth 25 YEARS AGO July 5, 1962: Starting her 12th consecutive season, at the Goderich Information kiosk, Miss Bea Bradford answered the puzzles for 97 tourists over' the holiday weekend. The booth will remain open until mid September, by which time some 1,800 en- quiring visitors will have asked Bea where to find fishing, how to reach the beach or other spiritual'questions. First registration on the books Friday as a busload of school children from Elmwood and Chesley asking for town tour information. They were directed to Huron County Pioneer Museum and a complete itinerary covering the town, manufacturing plants and 'of course, the beach. The information booth, located at the intersection of Highways No. 21 and No. 8 was established in 1945 with Leslie Riley as its first mentor. During 1961, a total of 1,717 visitors asked for information; 522 United States tourists and 1,195 Canadians. Chief points of enquiry include the museum, the beach, the fishing and shopping districts and, during the past weekend, the Kinsmen Trade Fair. August is the busiest month with July a close second. The first U.S. registration this year was a party of four from Toledo, Ohio, asking for the route to Coldwater. During the Signal -Star visit, a parched party enquired as to where the li- quid refreshment oasis was located; -which seems to revere a precedent by putting the chaser ahead of the spirits. Construction of a new $40,000 Texaco Ser- vice Station with modern restaurant in con- nection with it has started on No. 21 Highway just north of Goderich. It is located on the east end of a strip of land which was once part of Sky Harbour Airport field. Provision will also be made for visiting fliers to taxi up to the new 30 -set restaurant for meals when desired. The new building is expected to be ready by the end of July. LOOKING BACK 50 YEARS AGO July 9, 1937: In addition to the fine weather of the last week a big attraction at the well-known public camping and picnic grounds at Har- bour Park is the fine modern cook -house which was completed last weekend at a cost of $1,600. The cookhouse is equipped with three two -plate electric stoves and is spacious, clean and airy. The frame building is finished in cream with red - shingled roof. At the rear and a part of the building, which measured 26 feet square, are lavatories and showers. The cook house is equipped with an 80 gallon hot water tank. for kitdhen and showers. The water supply is provided by an extension of the town water system. A large massed choir is needed for the grand pageant spectacle "Britannia". Members of the Goderich choirs and other organizationa are urgently requested to co- operate in making this phase of the pageant a success. Mel Turner, pageant master, states that Mr. H. Livens, choir leader at Knox Presbyterian Church, will act as leader of the massed choir. Mr. Livens re- quests that all who will give of their services and sing in the choir telephone him at 336 or leave their names at pageant headquarters, North Street, either by telephoning 150 or personally. It is necessary that the choir get under way Monday night when the first rehearsal will be held in the basement of Knox Church at 8 p.m. sharp.- On Sunday evening, a large number of persons gathered at the harbour to see the palatial 178 foot yacht,.Olive K, of Detroit, owned by H.F. Kittering, head of the research department of General Motors and said to be one of the richest men in the U.S. The huge yacht, which is beautifully ap- pointed, is equipped with two 500 hp Diesel • motors. . The owner and party made Goderich the turning point of ,a weekend cruise out of Detroit. This was not the first time the Olive K had been in this port. She k had visited Goderich in two previous occa- sions some years ago. 70 YEARS AGO July 5, 1917: In spite of many unfavorable conditions, Goderich's Dominion Day celebration on Monday last was the most successful for several years. The townspeople turned out in full force to take part in the doings and from outside of town people came in large numbers to see the sights. The. program of the day was carried through without an inci- dent and.everybody seemed to be well pleas- ed with the proceedings. The program open- ed with a parade which was not a large one but had some excellent features. The pro- cession was headed by autos containing the members of town council and the returned soldiers. Then came the band, followed by the firebrigade with its equipment, then a company, mostly juvenils, in Highland costume with a juvenile HighlaLnd band of pipers and drummers and lastly the decorated cars and bicycles – a very pretty array. The Court House Park looks very pretty with the trees in full leaf and the grass in good condition. A visitor to the town a few days ago was admiring its beauty but said the wire stretched around the trees was very unsightly, When the reason for this was explained he remarked that it was sur- prising tht the people of town did not take more interest in such a beauty spot and keep to the walk's provided instead of taking short cuts and spoiling the look of the grass. The customs returns at the port of Goderich for the month of June were $19,130 as compared with $14,732.30 for the same month last year. The returns of the first quarter of the fiscal year, ended June 30, are $51,541.99 as compared with $41,498.87 for the same period last year. • poli a forces and the council's which conn trol them. T e subtlties behind these dis greements are sometimes not so sub- tle but can be overlooked by those failing to read between the lines. From where I sit, it's interesting to note the means by which the opposing sides choose to make their point. Take the police matter for example. One week, we have members of the local police force petitioning the police com- mission for increased manpower to lighten a heavy workload. The following week comes the public announcement that mayors in Huron County are con- sidering the idea of disbanding local forces in favor of regional -style OPP policing to combat high budgets for lral forces. The local police have subtly put their case before the public in the last two weeks by changing the style of their weekly report to the local paper. Where we used to get only the details of serious or unusual crimes, we are now receiving a laundry list of every occurrence, from thefts to noise complaints, handled by the force. The motives on both sides are obvious. In the county matter, Exeter Mayor Bruce Shaw grabbed some front page headlines in a major daily paper by threatening to "secede" from Huron County if county council doesn't take his tawn's concerns more seriously. . I won't suggest that Huron mayors don't have some legitimate complaints about the way things are handled by county council, but Shaw's comments should be viewed as what they are, a ploy. No town has declared separate status from its county for 80 years, because the municipal government system has moved too far along the road, to centralization of services to make the move practical. - While these types of power plays are from this angle Patrick Raftis intriguing for a while, they generally become long drawn-out affairs. While no likes the interuptions caused • by strikes such as the recent postal dispute, at least that type of thing is usually over with quickly. The two sides slug it out for a few rounds, somebody backs off and things go back to normal. I have a feeling these other issues will be making news in various forms for a long time to come. I'm willing to make some predictions at the outset. First of all, no town the size of Goderich is going to go for OPP policing in place of the local force. A constant police presence is needed as a deterrent to crime. Second, the Goderich force is unlikely to receive the additional manpower it wants, and needs (two or three new of- liters) 'because the cost would be pro- hibitive, but it might get one more in the fall. Third, it will be at least five years before any significant alterations are made to the structure of county 'councils Turn to page -5