The Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-09-23, Page 12PAC
47-GQDE.RICB SIGN STAR: TRURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1970•
es hate
waste.
It isthe old -adage,"haste makes
waste" that gnaws away followingah
episode in Goderich Town Council
Chambers recently when Airport.
Committee Chalrrnan Bill, Clifford
hurried through approval' of,- an
agreement with "Dominion Roads
Machinery Company for 25 years pre -
pa -id rent..-at..:sky, l�.ac..bo
will ultimately affect the ratepayers in
the 'town of Goderich._ .Certainly the
airport is an -important addition to the
community, to the county, to the whole
Lakeshore. The town is, of course, in-,
debted to DRMCO for its continued
interest and support at Sky Harbor f,ar
although DRMCO benefits' directly
r. from the .facility; the airport is of real
The story;' fully covered in this
newspaper, showed that the Airport
Committee was in need of funds to
make necessary improvements at Sky
Harbor. As Chairman Clifford pointed
out; ,the airport needs`` these ,tm-
pr-ovements in order to start making
money topffset mpirnting expenses: It
seemed wise to enter into an
agreement with . DRMCO for pre -paid
rent in order toget the money. ($20,000)
to make the improvements atcurrent
prices rather:,than waiting • for another
,,year or :so and paying more for the
required equipment .While losing
revenue i•rt the- tT'teantirxle-- .: _.
To be sure,•,Chairman Clifford had a'
valid argument, and.'there really is no
• reason to assume that any members. of
town council would have. .vetoed the
move• the. following week. Alt that was
asked by 'some cautiouselected of-
ficials was a week's delay to, provide
time to carefullyweigh the pros and
cons.
There was no doubt the decision Wei -
rushed. The 'subject'. was. not on the
,agenda: Although Chairrrtan Clifford
hada letter' containing the offer from
DRMCO president Bruce'Sulty, there
wasn't time -before the •. meeting to
Make copies. for council members or
. even, it seems, for the administration..
• . And there are reasons to wonder lust
how this involvement with DRMCO
' and vital impotT nce';to t e—Vtu
development of this district.
The'concern of the average citizen in'.
town, however, is not for the growth '
and'prosperityi that can be 'seen down
the read as a result• of a.thrivi-ng and
'"well-equipped airport., The concern af-
the average citizen is for his own
pocketbook, his: own tax bill, his' own
return on his investment. •
•
Since the nine elected members of
Goderich Town Council are there for
the expressed purpose of representing
all .the interests of all the. people, the
Matter of ,25 -years pre -paid rent for.
-DRMCO deserved no_iess_fhan' time to
allow members • to consider alt
ramifications of such an agreement.
According to Chairman Bill Clifford, --
there was noreal reason why : the
matter couldn't ,have;. waited for' a
decision at least one more week.
Such haste makes waste - not lust the
possible waste.of-taxpayers' money in
the dam and distant future, but wasteaf
taxpayers' . trust right` now in' an
election year. A delay • of • one .week
wouldn't have -made much difference
• as far •as the future operation of the.
• airport- was concerned, but it would
have given Goderich :citizens: a reason
-to believe that town council is truly a
representative of all the peopie all the
time. - SJK
Eisler deserves soporI
„Dick' 'Eisler,. the .town's bylaw en- which incidentally showed he'd worked:
forcement officer; comes. in for a great. • -160 daytime•hours and 21 evening hours
deal of criticism from time to time in .trfAugust - he listed fhose'things he did
this community: That ;s to a great in addition to his regular,' on-going
extent because Mr. -Eisler is doing his duties. He'd issued 11 .warnings to
job, a rather unpleasant job that must residents who put garden refuse on the
be:done-if .Goderich is to provide the bo •le • d when refuse " k 's
u yar wen no re. use plc up
kind of lifestyle many people demand scheduled untir October 18; he'd':
in this modern day. destroyed one, raccoon . atthe. beach
Just one of the bylaws that. Mr. • area that had been reported -sick; wiled
Eisler :must enforce :. is the bylaw he'd .urged "a number of residents" fe
governing dogs running at large. It is tie'gerbage properly so that squirrels,
important to notice here that the bylaw birds and other small animals do nodi'
• talks only. abbot dogsand that Other'• carry "garbage all over:, the place".
, animals = cats,, skunks, raccoons etc.,",_' Mr. Eisler's report didn't end at the
are not really within Mr. Eisler'sarea :; bottom' of the page, either. He went on
of concern. Yet people do expect him to to explain to council- that 'he, is con .
be on call nearly 24 hours a day to rid cer.ned about the dog problem in
ou name 'these men?
BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER
•.. This' writer , gives most
hearty thanks :to :Councillor
Elsa Haydon for her:con-
tinuing fight'tokeep the press
reporters informed.•" At last
week's' council' session, Mrs.
-Hayden... spoke.. up and
rdminded town: i i
adm n s�'trrator
Harold Walls that . copies ` of
the committee. reports should
go to the. press as well as to
DE
answers are given. It is a
healthy,- • pleasant.
arrangement.
What . Mrs. Haydon • did
imply,., however,. was .that
when the pre, doesnot get
copies of committee reports,
there is often no knowledge of
matters • which ` areunder
discussion and because of
it, the press cannot question
concerning them or keepthe.
public informed.
members of :council. Mrs. "Lots of things get sort of
Haydon is -.right, of ,course, -lost • in the shuffle," Mrs.
and members of .the press ;Haydon explained.
thank her for her interest and •+ + + '
Concern. One of the most' discon
This is ,not .to imply;: of cer-ting--aspects• in the wciliole -
course, that town ad- exercise is the 'unmistakable
rninistrator Harold Walls is evidence from ti e.to time'
unco-operative. Far from it. that much o 'the . real
Mr.. Walls is one of the most . decision aki of council is
,•hel - f 1 and tot it Pro " ' done not: -a : e council table
.1?. a ii .' r t _„Y fp s . or even 'elle • tbrref fires
e so ith thefp ns, whom th
P
_ .
must deal ' � , v' , • ; _ table, but in the back room
forJack of a better term.- •
Nor does it imply that
committee chairmen • are
u n c o:= o p e r a t i ve .' • The Goderich' Restaurant after a
relationship which the Signal- meeting to a : telephone
Star enjoys with all members conversation mid week: And
of council is excellent and there may be no real intention
when , questions are 'asked, to do business in private
their -backyard .of skunks, get snakes Goderich. He said that- for a while, •
out of their :basements: and coax 'roc= -things appeared_..to. be' under control.
coons down from their trees'. It really :Now, for:; whatever reason, dogs are r= •
isn't much 'wonder then,. that Mr. again becoming a nuisance and he
Eisler gets a tittle -annoyed at times. feels he Will have to get'fougher :until
".`when he 'obliges citizens ..in their the problem abates once more. '
distress and gets ;criticism for th_e He also.' spoke: briefly about barking
methods he uses` in some situations. 4 dogs, saying that people call Jwrji-to:
As one of the town's officers, Mr. complain about a dog in the neigh-
Eisler reports to town council once borhood thatis barking constantly and
each month concerning his work. At. a • disrupting sleep. Heasked council to
The "back -room" may be
anywhere "from .a table in4he.
recent. ses'sion.of council, he: reported put some teeth in the bylaw covering
that during the month' of August he'd do s• so that he could be ofmore
issued85 arkin tickets and 15' war= assisfance to thosepersons who parking
p were _..
nings for parking laid 14 charges Suffering becausea dog was allowed by .
against parking violations; in- a thoughtless owner to bark and bark
vestigated .12 • complaints about at alt hours of the. day "and night.
-animals; taken one dog to the pound; it is unfortunate that the town has to
noted one violation .of the,• dog .bylaw hire a bylaw enforcement `officer to
and laid -one charge; investigated three make certain' -that people obey the
•
complaints in ofving •:the watering rules. It seems ridiculous that grown—
b
law • Hated free violations 'and men and women m " t. be '
y n us ordered` and
issued 11 warnings with regard to the forced to have concern for the rights of
Watering bylaw, investigated two. others. But: it is ever th.. s.:,.;
complaints and noted two violations Dick Eisler has a full schedule: More
againsf_iheopen fires_,. bylaw;. issued •than that, he has a nasty job which not
:.'four warnings concerning _open fires, everyone would `enjoy or even at-
and issued one permit for an open fire.. tempt. Goderich is fortunate to have
• In additionto this, he:reported 620 dog, him at work in the municipality and
' tagsissued to date. :.• - citizen's 'should give him support
Then at the bottom of his report - whenever it is possible, to do so. --='SJ K '
r.
4
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int 4kibttio
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TE.LtPHONE 524.4331 SHIRLEYY J. KELLER Ii -- editor
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Rather it may be . nothing
more than a natural outcome
of •talking with associates
but decisions are
pubtlic- attention via the
council table. Then it is a case
of something being common
knowledge on. _the street
reached plans are made and and not .known ', to. ' the
expenditures are' okayed by ''newspaper. '
members of council without , There are even times when
the' press or'; the public newspaper reporters are
knowing. • urged torespecta confidence
Most times these' matters 'concerning something which
d atcouncil ora
has transpired c
P
board meeting .•..:. only to go
out onto -the street and hear
.the whole story from acitizen
not even remotely connected
with, council or its . coin-
onto.the committee reports. ft mrttees.
is 'not: that the press €ears. ' So it is that press reporters
council members • are like to ':plug as "many loop -
deliberately hiding things .... holes as 'possible ante
although in some cases there ' having all the. committee
may be reason to wonder. It is reports as they are presented
simply -that the press doesn't -is' just' one more .way to
Want to miss anything which '.:"eliminate possible problems.
might be sof consequp;ice to -•,,,:I '•n ikessgood sense.
the'rate -a' �ers now or%in:the• I-: -1 { -
future. All this leads us to elected
Soine of. the most ridiculous bodies 'like ' Huron ' `County
and embarrassing Council where committee -
situations,. can arise when; a 'reports are never made
Member of council in con -public • 'under any cir-
versation
: with; a 'ratepayer, cumstances until they.are
perhaps, alludes to a de sign specially -prepared for a full
which has not.. coixi- the' council session. It . ,;is
surface at council meetings
g..
sooner or later. What worries
most reporters is those im-
portant' items- .which never
quite make it to the public
discussion table or even'
S
• noteworthy here to explain
that the. committee reports .
which go on the councillors'
desks'at the monthly county
sessions are NOT the com-
mittee
reports which ;.are
circulated::. prior to the
• session, to the members.
In•short, the reports which
go -to the public are carefully ,•
re d • almost lik
p pare os a •..�:
press releases which'are
deemed suitable for' public
digestion. As the discussion
about' the committee report
goes down at the • county '
Session, it is.veryoften-clear
that there is an under -current
indicating that • committee
sessions have been stormy
and council members are
aware•of a good many things
which the press . is rlbt. And.
though the reporter.may
sense that the story he or,she
has to writewilltell only part
of• the true situation; -there is
little recourse but to report.
only tl�ose things that are said
in public or written for public.
perusal.
So it is that the.press starts
to question and to dig and to
(continued on"page 18
4
Concerned.
Dear E ditor :
Many citizens
are quite
concerned about the attitude
and . actions ' of the'Town
Council i.e., The rather im-
patient and disdainful brush-
off of the complaint of the
Nelson` St. E. taxpayers: by
Mr. Profit and Mr: Gower.
. Mr. Profit stated that no
-one=can-:teft.trucks__where to
drive. He has lived on'this
side of: the .Atlantic, for some
years and_ should be aware
;that : there,..are hundreds of
thousands of truck. routes on
the North American , con-
thrent,_ and mos,t certainly, as
reeve of Goderich he should
be aware that there" is one
truck route in Goderich. •
He also made the profound
statement with •which most
people will agree, that trucks
should use roads that can
•
standup to. their traffic best. - on the airport_ has been
How does he,in his infinite $60,000 has it not? Yet 99.9'
wisdom, reconcilethe fact • percent of the Goderich -
that these trucks graders etc: taxpayers • will -derive no
are not doing - that, which is -benefit or ever use the:''air-
the concern of Nelson St. E., 'port. IS this a one company
taxpayers. One block south of town? .
Nelson .t.,.E, .is' ;Brock .St, Less than h1�alf of DRM.CO••
which is - paved, and two employees` l 'Ge In and :.pay.' -
blocks south of Brock is broad taxes' in Goderich, and we do
East St. also. paved. These have several industries now.
streets are also closer' to Do not forget Donner,'Sifto
Dominion Road Machinery ' Salt, Shea`ffer Pen C., Speidel,
Co::_,and convenient, for Textron, the two elevators, •
Lakeport Steel' plus all the Dearborn:" Steel Tubing,
other heavy ' trUcks afid b several. auto repair shops,
equipment that use and.abuse : county, provincial and
Cambria ,Rd. N. and. Nelson federal employees; Blue
§t. E.,' awovery'bumpy and' Water Centre employees and, ..
poorly kept up streets.. • the many - employees • in •
Mr. Gower stated that the businesses plus 'hundreds. -of.,,
paving and storm sewer other residents. •
installation of Nelson St. E. There appears . to ' be 'a
was "under consideration". conflict of•interest.existing in•. b
(no time limit, yet the town the •Town Council and Airport•
council were given no time to Committee. PPerhaps it would
consider his, proposal re'the„; be wise to look over. the ...
Airport). The amount spent members of each and note
their place of;einployments.
.This is election year and it
is to be hoped• that some
citizens : genuinely interested
in the welfare of the town of
Goderich and 'these 7,200
citizens thereinwill run for
offices.
Judging `from past recent
performances, .perhaps we
should resort to the old
fashioned habit of hanging
mottoes on the walls of the
Council Claaimberxs_uch as
"Honesty is the best policy,";
"No back room decisions
"be frank and open' .` Do unto
others as ye would have them
do '.unto you"Y`Confuscious
say: be not menial lest kick in
the rear makes nose very
brown." and finally that weli-
known saying, attributed to
Abraham Lincoln: "You'can •
fool some of the people all of
the time You can foolall of
the people some of the time
But yeti can't fool all of ,the
people all of the time."
Now it seems that a screen
must be built at the airport.
How many thousands .will
that amount to. Yet we can
not find the money to provide
maximum fire protection for
the town -proper -
It has 'been Said that an
tiinirr peachable source has
stated that Goderich Airport-
can' never; widc:',-"any cir-
cumstance. be otrier than a
"Class ``D" airport Ir, ' ; also
rated as a private arrpurt.
Think' • on these things
please., Apathy • :can be a
dreadful disease in .a com-
munity
"Af conc e rn ed'ta xp a y er:"
Need volunteers'
Dear Editor:
Hallowe'en is approaching
and the Goderich Police
(continued en page 18
80 YEARS AGO
Thos. J. Videan'is this week
`'-showing a tomato weighing
two pounds and one ounce,.
the largest shown this season
in Goderich. .
The . Wilson Cornedy
Company now playing to the -
Victoria Opera . House is an .'
excellent combination, their
pieces' being good and the
manner of their presentation
excellent. Although there are
some among the troupe that
take the lead, each member
plays • his, or her part
sntisraetorily.The piecesin'
their repertoire are Mainly of
a comic nature, yet there is.
considerable :'sentint:ent:
running through there, and all,
Of them are acted -and put on
the stage •iti a 'style that could
not be excelled by cobnpanies
with much greater preten-
sions. ti
C,. A:�lTumber tali
flagstal'i ' tit ..thhe Ameriput acan°'
Consulate, so tall that the flag
„whert hoisted can be seen over
the :large . trees at the Con-
sdlate entrance which climb
over forty feet. •
• The • Henderson itiryc is
Company made ' a large
shipment of cycles .to Berlin.
last week.
40 YAKS AGO
Goderich is to have an old
boys' reunion in 1937. This
was the decision of a
representative gathering of
the to*nspeopte .which was
hold at the town` hall on
'Monday night.
Agricuiture park is a busy
spot these days'. Besides the
fall fair, the track and• field.
stars of the collegiate are
busy training for the -focal
find meet which takes place
•
Friday, fine weather
prevailing. The hopes of'
the
collegiate are...pinned on- the
Juniors .e arid intermediates,
both of which divisions have a
number of 'promising. young
• i5YEARS AGO •
At a nom *nation meeting
held on Friday.evenin of last
week, Charlos•MacNaughton,
Minister. of Transport and
Communications, was chosen
to seek, election '*to to the
provincial legislature once
more and represent the
Progressitre Conservatives of
1tinon 'tiding by the ,1oca1
IIs.C. association.
Kenneth Iioliert Duncan
4$, Year, -old 'Osborne Town-
ship farmer, Will be the
Liberal : candidate in the
Huron Riding for the October
:21 election. Duncan was one
of two candidates who agreed
to stand for election Monday
evening although the meeting
of :abotit,200'party supporters
chose Diiricari's opponent,
Norm Irwin of RR 2 Kippen to
carry -their banner', Irwin
withdrew Tuesday because of
"Personal reasons".