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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-10-14, Page 4PAGE ODERICI3^'SIGNAL-STAR,'THIJRSI)AY. OCTO 3E1 j.4:g976 What price gro.wth? The Town of Goderich is growing - fast - but it may be costing too much. Growth and the cost of it may put•`the town in the worst financial position imaginable in the face of prosperity. Growth in a municipality is heralded by most, people as highly desirable. Growth issp(igt t after and fought Liver. If a town is growing, the picture is rosy and the prognosis is favorable - or so it is believed. 'But growth, even carefully planned, can be expensive. Allow a community to grow• in all directions, in: wild abandon, and there is the immediate. formula for problems which are too costly to solve, too important to. ignore. Here in Goderich the results of growing too rapidly are beginning to be felt. A:story in thiS•'week's paper 'at- tests to the grim. reality That Goderich is in , financial trouble,. and that the terrible turmoil was brought on by prosperity and opportunities. It is a Vicious ` circle - industrial growth brings people; people require housing and municipal services' and facilities; more people 'need ..more jobs; more-. industry brings more people. and more problems.' On the surface, the outlook.„ is promising; behind the scenes; the figures show a bleak and gloomy forecast of things to come. As town councillors faced their budget meetings last spring, they were determined to hold the line. on expenses and .they 'diid a remarkable job.. Taxpayers all across the municipality were disappointed and frustrated when Much .. needed work and programs were' shelved, but their argument appeared weak when it became apparent that anything else would have required a monstrous increase' in taxes. Much of the hostility which has-been observed ,around the council . table ' since then has been a direct result of a ° tight. "housekeeping budget which provided little leeway for legitimate needs, not t� mention justified extras. These are difficult times for council members to be sure, but they are made all the more difficult by the lack of business -like procedures which prevent all councillors from "staying on top" of all aspects of the municipal • scene .at all times. . It takes a dedicated councillor with a passion for work and the fortitude of a f rse to w4de through the reams and r ams of papers and •motions and. by laws and agreements, and proposals and minutes and correspondence which is a daily part of modern: municipal life, committing these matters tb memory for instant recall in the heat of the moment. It requires•a devotion to duty to be •constantly comparing costs and figures; weighing decisions in the light of , the . total _ situation;.. , keeping an eye out for possible problems and pitfalls in every area under the jurisdiction of: council. Ever probing, constantly questioning, f o r e.v'e r in q -u i ring . But, after all, that's the way suc-, cessful businesses': are -run. Executives spend . many long hours .well after the • required workload', just keeping in- formed, „learn ing the business, wat- ching the trends, studying the whole. It —Is a .gruelling task.- "' • Can we expect this of elected municipal councillors? Can we really ask them to tend to municipal business in such a fashion? It seems we roust, for it seems that unless:some immediate and proper - businesslike procedures become •an integral part,of `every' councillor's • routine, the long-range story in Goderich could be a sad one. Growth is necessary. 'Goderich must continue to grow. But .how Goderich grows when, where and at what cost must bescrutinized• by a council in which each member is fully informed,, ever alert, actively participating and • • 'truly serious. It is a tall order, but it is one whichmust be filled if Goderich is ' to grow to' its, betterment' and lasting good. -SJK _ • • i-bIier'thanthouP For those --of you who missed pet rocks, , how about an All'. Canadian. . Tame Hole? .Two Toronto businessmen are promoting this latest additionto the comes in. an attractive jar and with attached instructions, retails for $3.95. Eaton's, Simpsons, and the Bay in- Toronto, Ottawa, and Vancouver nave in a week and a half bought out the why -did -I -buy -this -thing range of : entire initial inventory of Holes'.. But Christrimas..gifts, writes The Financial don't worry • there are aa' whole lot Post's Ian Brown. The Hole, which more on ,the. way: Word of praise The Goderich Signal -Star has a • .number of devoted correspondents who • regularly - and faithfully _send- in' the . . :news from the .outlying. areas. Sometimes these columns become the Object of some friendly jokes,because the content of the news from Auburn and Dungannon and .Kingsbridge and -- Colborne etc. is usually social. It .isn't often that red hot, controversial, hard, news stories emerge from Lochalsh. Yet the Signal -Star is •indebted to these rural correspondents who round out the columns of this newspaper each week withrnews of happenings in their communities. These correspondents know the . first requirement of good reporting is always names, names and more names: They work hard to make certain that ail the news from •their._ —areas-is_presented_.as; fairly and. •as honestly as humanly..possibie. In . general, the readers in those" communities are also indebted to their - correspondents. They always turn to the page in the Signal -Star where their names and the names- of their friends 'and neighbors are sure to appear. They like to read that Billy Jones Was home for the weekend, or that Wanda White played for the church •-service Mast Sunday. It is the only place in the world • • they can read such unconsequential ,news. as "Tom Brown sprained. his ankle last week but is back at his store now" and get that warn .glow which comes from knowing" Tom Brown, his wife, his kids and his store in the heart, of your . home community. —It is sad, too, when unthinking people take the local correspondents to task \\ over errors or.omissiori$ in the news of the communities they serve. The: mistake may be the fault of the correspondent, • it may be fault of the newspaper editor or somebody else. .• But seldom is the error so serious that the local correspondent should! suffer abuse from irate readers. who don't. unde rstand the mechanics of the job or the difficult circumstances under , which _hese community correspon- dents . labor. The Signal -Star fakes this .,op- portunity to extend thanks and ap- pLeciation to the rural correspondents who make such a valuable contribution to this newspaper each week. Their task isn't always easy - but it is usually well done and it .is always welcomed by subscribers at-home and away. .Keep up the' good work. =.SJ K • BY SHIRLEY J. KE'LLER A very interesting brief :prepared by Joan Vanden Broeck and presented to the Huron County Board of Education last week, is,bound to catch the fancy Of a good Many parents and friends of education. Already the Signal -Star has received' a bit of feedback from readers who had varying comments about Mrs,. Vanden Broeck's stateknents. • 4 What Mrs. Vanden Broeck says, inpart, is ° aft,* too painfully true. An amazing number of students: corning out of schools in North America cannot read. They. can't spell, eitthet4 but not too, many people get concerned about that unless they happen to get these youngsters into a job •in which spelling is a major function - such as newspapering. Just, why students cannot read shouldn't be; that much of a mystery. n my humble opinion, some of it is the'fault of • the ,school...' system, perhaps, but much more of. it is a result of busy parents, too much television and not enough reading exercise: I have"been trying to think back to the time when I was learning to read, and when my children were learning to read. Incidentally, all three of my children came up through the educational system in Huron County fairly recently, and all three of therm are what I would call good readers. The youngest of my children started his education right r -here in Goderich; the middle one .began • her studies in a READERS village three-room . school; and the oldest took his Grade 1 in a "one -room country school. So we have had a wide range of learning experiences within our own little family. I went to school:in Clinton Public School when phonics was as much a part of the . curriculum as adding.. and subtracting. The reader was the 'John, Mary and Peter series and I well remember those wo`iiderfiil stories, .all.• geared to the seasons- of the. year as well as the average family income (when ' our family income was well below that average).. • But more than my in -school reading times, I recall my after-hours reading ad ventures.;, S remember my trips to the library to search out all the marvellous books on the shelves there (not nearly so.inany for children. then as there are ,now); my "perforn ances' for mom and dad in the evening when they would sit and listen to me read from my books and from books which they provided for •' • me; my hours spent'with the magazines and papers which found their ,way. into• our. householtl. , ++•+ When our oldest son was about .' four" years old, ` he I developed r an : interest . in reading.. It was natural, •I • suppose. Grampa lived with us, and she read .for hours on. end , every day. In • the evening, after the chores were done, daddy sat down with the • newspaper or: a magazin'e..I wasn't doing as much : reading: myself ' anymore, but there was some Seddon time each .day forwa story or two for the children. d Other kids got candy or ice cream as a treat when they went shopping; . my kids . got books , or . some other educational • gadget. , I in- vested in flash cards which taught the simple sounds and we played games with them' -These were Christmas -gifts. For birthdays, there 'was morel of the same:. A. little corner was. set' aside • in the diningroom for a •"school". There were books, the cards, the •pencils and crayons, the scissors and,m,pgazines. ` Without a word of a lie, reading seemed to come. naturally to our oldest son. At the age of ' five when he started to school, he could. read the sports page in the newspaper - a dailyroutine.lie (continued•on page 20) A f t 'obtirith, SIGNAL. STAFF ;the e County TOwn Newspaper of Huron - —0— Founded in 1848 and published every 'Thursday at Dederick Ontario. Member of the CWNA and'OWNA Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable in advance $12.00 in Canada, !15,50 to U.S.A., 820.00 to ail other countries, single copies 25 cents. Display advertising rates�avallahle on request. Please ask fpr.,Rate Card No. 7 effective Oct. 1, 1970. Second class mall ftegisiratloi. Number 0710. Advertising Is accepted on the'con- difion that, in the•,event of typographical error, -the advertising space occupied by the -. brroneous item; together with reasonable allowance for signature, will apt be charged for ut the balance of the advertisement will be piila'for at theapplieable rate, in the (Went of a typographical• error advertising goods or ser'i�Ices at a wrong price, goods or service may not be sold. hdvertising le merely an offer to sell, -and may be withdrawn at tiny time. The Signal -Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited minuscripti or photos. Published.by Signal Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G: SHINIER•- president and publisher SHIRLEY A. KELLER �- editor • EDWARD J. BVRSKI advertising manager • Business end Editorial Office. TELEPHONE 524=8331 ire!, code 519 • !nailing, Address: P.O. BOX 238) Goderich Second' class mail registration nurtrber•!'t16 little green meat: Dear Editor: A.couple 'of weeks ago, the "editor of the Clinton News - Record tried to set people's minds at ease when he ex- plained that the presumed UFO that was sighted in this area was only a weather balloon.'Tfie explanation wa-s somewhat inaccurate • however, as it actually was a Martian Space Ship! You see, a Martian Space Task Force was sent here to investigate numerous reports that the green and blue and red and variegated people seen on Bluewater Cable TV, were actually captured Martians with a few Purple DEAR People Eaters thrown in for, good measure. After • assessing the situation from. all angles, the Martian Commander ap patently remarked that, while the colorings were out of this world, they were too far out for the images- to be Martians, and besides,, no Martian could withstand or sur -vise, the distortions smearings which he assumed was a. form of torture devised. by Bluewater Cable TV. He :. concluded his' teport with the .statement that, it was purely : an earthling problem. correctable only; by Mr. Ron McIntosh, and, disguising his spacecraft as a weather' balloon, set off. for home: • :And so we still wait for prove the.; quality of Its transmi~i.ons , up to a viewable standard: How'nice it would have been .Mr McIntosh, if "you' had given your viewers„ good viewable pictures and color for Thanksgiving. -We're nolvasking.you for a giant step forward for an • Bluewater Cable TV to im- __mank-ind irispace.— just one...._ small . step forward here' for your 1 viewers.. How much longer do we have to wait? ' Art Coombs, RR 5, Clinton. • Special -speaker Pear Editor, '' Since the ,abortion law in Canada was amended in 1969 to allow "therapeutic abortions,'' over 220,000 children have :been killed by abortion. The '.vast . majority of the abortions in Canada are done by a small number of doctors and I mainly in the large centres-. ' - Dr. Reg Bannister, M.D, will be guest speaker at the Goderich and .._District' Pr Life . annual meeting. Dr. Bannister's topic will be "Honesty and the .'Present Day Physcian. Dr. Bannister is a family physician and obstetrician and 'has been in practice for 30 years In 1.970 when he became aware of ;wfiat was taking:. place, Dr. Bannister became active in Pro Life. He is a founding member of the Canadian'Physicians for Life and. is now the' Ontario co- ordinator ; of --that organfzation. Dr. Bannister is also a founding member of , Anglicans for Life.. • • The annual meeting for the Goderich and District Pro. Life will be in the form of a , pot luck " supper at Kingsbridge Parish Hall on Monday, October -1S at p:m Grace Austin En anglais Dear Editor: The', air traffic controller's - *dispute did not start in Canada, andyet most stories that I have read • about the (continued on page 20) 49 YEARS AGO Dungannon's nth' 'Fall - Fair,herd last 'Friday; will rank high in the annals of that historic event. It was estimated that, at 'one time 2,000. people were on the grounds, the gate receipts being over $350. ' The evening's performance added. another $275, the• best total_ since' 1922. Roots,- fruits, flowers, -ladies and children's exhibits ()Copied a•11 available space, the Garden. and Canning Club's display being of particular interest. The Lucknow . Pipers led the display of prize stock. • LOOKING The cupof enthusiasm surely ran over last Tuesday night at the initial rehearsal of Lions' Club's;,d'hilatious" - welfare" _' show, •Knockout!" in MacKay Flail. Over 75 eager boys and girls and sjnart young men and women veritably /bubbled over with zeal as the show director, Hal Usher, began tow explain one of -the many in tricate song and dance. , routines - in this sensational musical comedy that will, be,: presented in the Opera House the evenings of October 26-27 with a . special school children'sk matinee for the first performance., The • all-tiirie hero of. Goderich hockey passed• away at hiss home. in Forest Hill last • weekend in -the person of R. R. Carr -Harris. He was the 'star of the greatesthockey team to ever come from Goderich in 1906 Olken they went -through tothe OHA f, ttal against Peter= borough. He was a -fine sport, the likes of which has never been seen in Goderich and he will be sorely missed by all who knew,him, • 5 YEARS AGO Over 40 Elgin Ave. BACK residents signed 'a petition , which,,was' presented to Godei°ich, Town Council at. . last Thursday's meeting..Tha; petition was accompanied by -several , residents who ap- peared in.'person before the,;, council, including the group's . spokesman George Atkinson. The delegation and. the letter protested the traffic problem in the section of Elgin Avenue east of • the stoplight and. requested that a safety guard be erected in the area of Elgin Avenue and Cafnbrialtoad, Councillor Reg Sewed, chairman of 1tithe,; .• Parks Committee, told council that it was with regret that the decision had beers reached to lock the doors - on .the• public washrooms' in the basement of the Court . Hofate' .each evening and all day Sunday. Councillor Jewell. said that van •alism in the washrooms ha _been great; and a recent discovery offires burning in the sinks prompted the decision to close the washrooms when members of the parks staff go off duty each ' day and on the weekends. '- Billiards, snowmobile races and' carnivals will not be permitted an Sundays