HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal Star, 1976-02-12, Page 94:C
February I
00.11'1 ilieritage. Day
In 'spite of th'e fact thatthis coming Monday, February.
16 will stillfind youcomin•g and going as usual, it is hoped
�tliat�ro,,,Wi11Nbe enjo-ying.-a-•nr'rd• v-tnter-loctg2•we°eltti °-m—' -
. • to celebrate national Heritage Day. r .:;. •
This .date has been selected as unlike July 1 and Labor•
Day,. �ia all during .the school .yea•r and so provide an 129 YEAR - 7 _
opportunity for student projects 'and exhibitions: to help . :' • ° THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1
stimulate,:a•, realer• inter st. 'n: true natio'. "
. g e' l nal identify .as •, .. ..;f r. � 1,976.
represented-inthe nation's culture, history an:d:national
...
:estate - those buildings of ':unique interest within; o
Canadiariegrnmunities.: • •
IL is hoped'that you will take a moment on Monday,
e.b
F-ruary; 16. to reflect upon, the condition of,• local
historical buildings Only through vigilahce
historical •landm•arks',be (yr'eserved to:. hold intrust for •
`future generations .
To help celebrate Heritage Day, 1976, several projects
have been.undertaken locally. •The•Huron County Branch
of the Architectural Conservancy' is sponsoxingan Essay
& :Projects Competition°. •within the . County, secondary. .
schools.; The .public is cordially, invited to view 'this
display on Monday,. February 16,''at-8 p.m. inthe-Clinton
Secondary School.
The Goderich Kinsmen Club is also actively engaged in°
bringing the spirit of Heritage Day to the .community
through their posters and by initiating a. poster contest in
the public and separate•schools, '
' On The Sgda.re, the day will be noted by"the erection of
four Canadian' flags by the Goderich, Tourist Com-
mission.
The Tourist Coinin.issionand the'Kinsmen will com
bine efforts- toprovide a display of furnishings from the
-past in the -Bank of Nava Scotia.
Pro jeit People to People
.ill help quake victims
The. Rev. and ; Mrs. Ken -w
nison Lawton of Bethel
Holiness Chapel. Bible
Missionary Church at the
corner of Huron. and' Walnut
Street in Goderich area
.collecting., aid for the ear-
thquake victims -- - in
Guatemala.
"Theneed there is urgent,"•
-reportslVIrs':Tawton. •
.She said she had contacted-
an : Interdeno,minati'onal
Mission With c,.onnections in
Guatemala. She learned that
tents,-. .. blankets, cold
•rerriedies,: dysentery
•
medicines •and dry food
(beans., •rice, milk) are badly
needed there.
"Butfrom the experiences
they have hadin other
disasters," Mrs. Lawton said;
"money provides the quickest
•and. best way to get supplies
into. the Country.
M.i~._and:Mrs.:Kennison are
collecting 'meney and -or. •
•supplies for Guatemala: They:..
are calling it Project People
To. People. Persons •who
would 'like to assist should
telephone 5'24-27'85 , right,,
away,
1300 ore opposed
to seatbelt rule
• Ray Hanna, -RR 2 .Auburn,
-says he has . collected mote.
than 1390 signaturaes from
people who are -.opposed to the
Ontario . governme:nt
-4legislation. which makes the
:use of seatbelts mandatory. •; .
"We're not -•bpposed to
seatbelts,'"'insisted Mr.
Hanna. "Only to the use of
seatbelts being compulsory.
Over 1;000 names of
people from Wingham,
Goderich; Clinton,.Lucknow,
Blyth and. Seaforth were
included on the petition
sheets put Out in the area by
Mr. Hanna. Only11 persons
stated they';were in favor of ••
the compulsory aspectof the
legislation' regarding seat=
belts.-- .
This week, Mr. Hanna will
be talcia petition sheets -4o:
Douglas Point. ' -
All signatures will be
turned over to Mrs. Karen
Hepinstall; Elora; wh,owill
compile the results aeross the.
province and ` submit 'her
findings to Queen's Park.
In the question period in the
Legislature of • Ontario
recently, the Hon. J.W. Snow,
-Minister of • Transportation
and Communr-eations,. said,
"I must say', that if I had to
sumrnari2e, inthe mail that
has come to my desk, there',
has been a great deal more
support for this legislation
than there has been' objection'
to it." (Hans'ard - January 16,
•
Another ballpark . eeciecil . A
for Goderich 'recreation
Goderich town council
passed a motion Monday
night
ght giving the.,Reoieation
Board jurisdiction over
scheduling o
Agriculture Pa
• Last. • week,
delegation.
SiNGLE CQQY 2 5c
•
esti
1 . events , in
rk.,
following a
from -., the
Industrial Softball League
•who expressed concern; for
their playing dates, council
referred the :Matter- to the
recreation board . and parks'
committee to co-ordinate the
functions held . at the park.
The recreation board drew up
The.Goderieh. Kinette Club
money to be donatedto the
members placed containers
Goderich several weeks ago
count the: money the citizens
stint -Mlenday •night counting
March of Dimes after the club
. in stores and businesses in
and Monday collected them to
of Goderich placed in them` to
•'
1
izens
The . Concerned. Citizen's
Committee in Goderich
stepped up their activities
this week in their fightto keep
Goderich • Psychiatric
Hospital .and, other general
hospitals in the area open.
1976) _ The committee opened an
:office donated by Bert
Frank Miller
une
Y JEFF SEDDON...
One year ago this • week
Frank Miller, Ontario's
mini-s•ter of health, was
greeted with •. open arms by
health professionals in Huron
County. when the minister
made a whirlwind tour of the
county. ' to '.`ferret out
feelings"' on hearth needs in
Huron." "
Mr. Miller is expected back
• in the_county this week with
• the key to ,lock the doors on
some hospitals here.
Something he said a year ago
he wouldn't do.
The 'time period between
• the two visits --b=y Mr. Miller
broughtabout a reversal of
several points he made to a
gathering of .about_50 health,
professionals on his last tour.
The reversal, something
the minister is not akin to,
resulted in the expected
closure of one or two. of
Huron's: rural -urban
hospitals. The minister is
currently on, a field trip that
,..will bring him to Western
Ontario/ and sources at
Goderidh P'sychiat'ric
Hospital who want very`much.
'
to see the minister, says that'
'Mr. Miller is coming to Huron.
as fa'r•'west as•Clinton. - •
A visit from the minister.
•- recently has been followed by
a wake of closed hospitals*,
., angry doctors, • unemployed
medical and hospital staffers
and an irate public concerned.
• about losing,thei°r community.
_hospital to save the province
s tee
be donated t:othe charity. Gil Tomsen, left; wsgwith fellowKinettes Brenda Parker, Joan McDougall'and
clubpresident Freida Thomson,right;who reported that
x1,910.2 had; been collected thus farinthe drive and thatheclub expects more to come (staffphoto) .
Alexander' in Suncoast Mall,
and: seeking 'county -wide
support for a. blitz of Premier -William Davis' office to have -the premier- reconvene 'the
legislature • to debate the
entire restraint program.The campaign, which
kicked off atthe beginning of
•
•
vee year ago to1a
money. His present trip about
the province has locked the
doors qof .three general
hospitals and his itinerary
calls for visits to two more
Thursday, and the same
number Friday. The minister's goal is
reduction of $50' million from
the 1976 health budget: His
niethod of reaching that goal
is to -reduce the number of
hospital beds in the prov.irice
by 3,00.0, cutting out;. 5,000 jo`.bs
at the same thine.
Mr. millet. ..has......bean cdn-
"sistently accused by Op-
position parties in Queefa's.
Park and by -. heallth
professionals for his lack! of
consultation with ,hospt!tal
staffs and doctors and with
the Ontario Legislature prior
to weilding his'axe of closure.
Direct • questioning from those
groups and hundreds of
citizens.. have resulted in
vague statistics and veiled
reaoning- behind the
decisions of closure,
Mr. Miller has offered no
sound financial benefit for the
hospital bed cuts, ' He has
'
constantly• referred to
"savings the cuts will mean to
his n1inistry but has Claimed '
ignorance, as 'have other
ministries, as t0 what the
closures* will cost' • the
government • for unem-
ployrnent..lnsurance' and
additional staff in hospitals
designated to serve the
,people currently using the
hospitals to be closed; what
thy dosing.of tore psychiatric
hospitals will mean to
' community mental health;.
what the apparent lack of
-respect the government has.
shown the people has done to
the voters' confidence in
government; and what, in the
case of the psychiatric
hospitals, the- closures will
mean to out-patients using
the facilities daily.• •
The moves by Mr.•Miller in
°Hn uroare contradictions -of
his.•com:ments. made a year
ago. At that time he told
health -professionals •in.
Goderich that Alexandra
Marine and General was. safe
from closure. and .that • other •
rural hospjtals , werein no
danger of being closed.
He instructed the 'doctors
and hospital administrators
not 'to look • for "wholesale
changes in the health scene"
adding'thathis main concern
health facilities was
duplication of servfces bet -
Ween large • urban' hospitals
close togethixc,. '
The minister said that 'in.
the urban. -areas, hospitals
were, g.eographically close
•together and cjujte fte•n had
the- same programs and.,
equipment ' which was an
expensive habit. He said that
that situation: 'r was
"Impractical and could not
go onuncheeked'••
Mr. Miller. told thegroup"
that the' centralizing of
specialists in one large area
was already in practice in.
arenas of heavy population but
was not . affecting s't'nttiler
•
efforts
t is we k, h s been supportd
by 1,:000 people who signed
cards, asking for the.
:pre.inier's intervntion. The
cardswere signedin the first
48 hours of•the campaign and
thommittee are seeking an
additional 4,0.00 supporters
this week. • . .�Advertising for supporters
was placed in newspapers in
Goderich and London and the
success 'of those ads willdetermine. if :simiarads are
placd in the remainder of the
weekI news a ens in Hy p .p uron ,
County. • .
•
ea t and the leaders- of the
opposition. parties. '
The letter\ signed by
'committee chairman .- Paul
Carroll' concedes " that
financial. •restraint is
necessary at this. time, ad-
ding that if the` issues ' in-
volved are to .receive the
fullest consideration the
premier should reconvene the
legislature and 'subject the
restraint programs to.
democratic. debate in the
house prior.to their im
P
lementation. •
-The -letter statesthat the
The three maifi concerns of •level of services provided to
them )60.000• citizens in :the and active Concerned citizens
hospital •catchment area has been secured, allof whom
must be maintained and feel that mental health • rt
the committee have been
hospitals: He said that the stressed in a letter to the
idea of abandoning smaller .premier;' the Minister of
health services and herding
large groupsof people to one
centre . was "completely
w'r`ong„• .
The. change of thinking the
minister seems to have had in
the:past year, have resulted ”
in some profound wholesale
changes in the health scene in ..
Ontario, sotttcahing IVIf,.
Miller said not to look for.•
The. moves have caused.:' , ..
enough concern in Queen's .
Park and in_the cornmun.ities.
directly affected to cause the
opposition parties -to prepare
to bring down the government
with a vote of non confidence..
The changes have shown the
people of Ontario that it may
be 'time to • take a. tour of -
Queen's Park to try to "ferret
out feelings the government
seems to be lacking for the
people they serve'.
Beach • area
Op .for lease
The Marathon Realty Co.
Ltd informed councilthat the
property formerly: leased by.
Imperial phot the heach.will
not be available to the town
rent .1 rev. The town will be
able to lease the land for.
$1,200 per year plus taxes.
Council: referred• rhe matter
to harbour and finance •
committees. ,.
•
•
a motion at their Thursday affernati.ve for the ,league if
night meeting requesting . the trotting association was
jurisdiction , over " the allowed • to race Thursday.
scheduling ofevents at the nights but it would be difficult
park • while the parks -tom since .they also. play on
mittee would retaimi•ts.role of Sunday . and Monday ; and .
maintenance.•a•nd•-re ainether .players would have to stayin'
ju.ristl•ietion -• over the .town for a l'i ween. He
explained thatfuthe ekprobldems
could •perhaps have been
alleviated if the league was .
notified earlier of,the trotting .11
association's plans: -
Doug Fisher told members
Thursday night to settle their, of the recreation board that if
dispute for playing dates: the indusia-iea•gue•is.forced
Ind•ustr,ial Softball operated to change its Thursday night • •.
on Thursday nightslast year, date it .Would mean an in:
' and the .trotting associationconvenience' tcr Other groups
was informed by the Ontario •involved . in the use ';of the
Racing Commission they had park.
• Rine Thursday night,racing: "We must also consider_:.
dates in J u.ly" and Augu. ' minor baseball, soccer and
' Doug Currie ofst'. the the girls' softball. teams,'.he'.
:Industrial Softball executive said. "If we move to another
said the :executive •.was • nsight..then ene_ofthtese other
working . on plans and - groups will get.shunned:' '
schedules 'for the season and Fisher explained -that a °
would request to start earlier . move" to a . weeke.nd..night
in the season' and^then.were would probably" .Mean less
•,inforined of the Trotting participation by players and
Association's.Thursday�. night. fans..
dates. Currie claimed the Don 1VIcKay of the•Goderic-h
• association knew; of the day Trotting Association.: ex
elrange-on December.' 30 but—piained—tris-:group' had—no •
nowsay theY .only. received : control over the situation'and
•. officiia.l.,,,,confirmation oh that the Ontario Racing ,
February 4. .. 7 Co'mmiss.ion- ,,simply `gave
"We hadto get •the in-. them approval torace nine .:
formation second hand ' Thursday ..nights•through July .' .-l
through the newspaper and and August. The Commission,
• heard- nothing of their date approved Thursday nights' to• •
changes until'tode-said. - avoid conflict - with , racing.
"We have tried to go', along dates of other tracks in the
': Kith .them in,t'ie past but it is arq
difficult. -"Two years -ago we' were on
Currie explained that •the borderline and last,year
Friday night. was the ()Lily • continued onpage,l6
operation of the park.
Representatives of both the
Industrial 'Softball League
and the` Goderich. Trotting
Association attended the
recreation board meeting
to save
- finally adds that some
mechanism be ' established
that will permit a degree of
community ..involvement..in
areas' where the restraint
Programme may have ad-
verse social. or:.economic
effects. ' • "
-The committee advised the
,recipients of the letter that
they will continue their
campaign regardless 61 the
final decision of the gover-
nment. .
The support of 20 groups
Including' ng' n
unici
palities,
social 'agencies, •medical
groups; community groups
• vice's must :be provided .in
",..some form in thecomr"nunity.:
They state that if a .com-
promise is reached they will
monitor the„sitrration to en-
-sure that the transition of the
hospital does not cause social;.•
health ar economic disruption `
'in the community.
The, committee members
are also concerned over the
problems. that have been
•.created. due to the time . the.
minister has taken to an-
nounce his plans definitqy.
They claim that staff morale
at the hospital is at.a low ebb
and that patients : at 'the
hospital and their families
are being sujjected.• to:ex-
treme anxiety,
l I,rr' Goderich committee of Concerned Citizens opened an
nt;l`ice in the Stincoast Mall Monday as part of a stepping up'. •
Of their enna'paign to enlist the support,ot the eotnniunity to
ki,ep (ioderich Psychitatr•ic 'Hospital 'open. - Here G1'H
•sup iorte'i s, left to right, R'iinford Jackson, Neil Louttit,
Stephen Daynes and Reg Lang peruse newspajierclippin s" _ •
about the hospital.. (staff photo) • , g