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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1976-12-02, Page 5e J. . r a Give• a'guy two sheets .of copy paper, a For the 98 per cent of you who still typewriter and a by-line and he thinks ' haven't grasped what's . going on, the he's a political analyst. Chance are he's electors of Goderichwill go to the polls not much better at calling the outcome of that will) to elect a deputy -reeve and six councillors. The positions of reeve and mayor have been filled by acclamation, which means only one person was nominated for each seat so were elected by default. A councillor from the last session, Leroy Harrison, and a. former coun- cillor, • Eileen Palmer, are seeking election to the deputy reeve's chair, , There are eight candidates running for six. seats on' town council:. Bob Allen, John Doherty, Dave Gower, Ben 'Graham, Elsa Haydon, Stan Profit, Joan Vanen"�pDBroeck and Don Wheeler. _ On the' Public Utilities Commission 'there are four seats, sought by six candidates: Bob Cornish, Herb Murphy, Jim Peters, Bruce Ryan, Ben Shear - down, and Harry Worsell. .da•y for at least about half of them electrons than thenext guy but he does have a couple of advantages. Firstly, because it's a full time job, he has more time to read up on background, study the incumbents in action and watch the newcomers work the cam- paign trail. Secondly, unlike the bar- room •book maker, he really hasn't anything to lose if he is wrong., Now, just to give you a little background,. I've got a hot streak going. • I accurately calleclxhe. Swedish election, I picked Carter in the United. States, I chose Levesque to win in Quebec and even bet on the Ottawa Rough -Riders in the Grey Cup. So now I may as well have a shot at things a little closer to home, -' the Goderich municipal • elections on December 6. GODERICBSIGNAL.STAR, THURSDAY, Separate School supporters will choose either Gordon Crabb or Vince Young as their trustee for the next two years. Now for the predictions. The deputy -reeve's position will probably provide the most interesting, and the closest contest. Both candidates have previously served on council and Mrs. Palmer narrowly defeated in run for reeve in the 1974 election, When the votes are in on Monday night I suggest the count will be equally narrow but Leroy Harrison will ruin. For council; Elsa Hayden will again increase her percentage of the vote, this time topping the polls. She will be closely followed by Dave Gower with Stan Profit placing third in the count; Newcomer Don Wheeler- will be elected with a fourth place standing in a narrow con- test with Bob Allen: John Doherty, though defeated in the 1974 election, will this time 'gain a seat, though at the tail ECMBER 2, i976w,.PA. end. Candidates Ben Graham and Joan Van Den Broeck will both be defeated • with Graham drawing very few more votes than Van Den Broeck. Turning to the Huron -Perth Roman. Catholic Separate School Board contest I predict an upset which will see in- cumbent Vince. Young narrowly defeated by Gordon.'Crabb. That cant could prove even closer that the vote for deputy -reeve. At the Public Utilities Commission I predict -the return • of commissioners Harry : Worsell, Bruce Ryall and Ben Sheardown with .Herb 'Murphy narrowly. defeating. Jim Peters for the fourth and final seat. Bob Cornish will place poorly at the polis And so I call the results on December 6. But I wouldn't tal' any of it too seriously: Never in/=history has a prediction publishe51/by the Signal -Star proven correct • MPP . Jack , Riddell and former- PC candidate Don Southcott are doing battle once again. This time its not an election campaign, as was the case in 1973,•but a dispute over • the _recent . government• donation of Severn Park to the.viliage:of Grand Bend for recreation purposes. Last week Riddell raised the question in the ` Legislature, `addressing it to Natural Resources Minister Leo . Ber- nier. Riddell said he wanted to know if there was any connection between the government turnover of the 28 acre park south sof Grand Bend and the rece'nt 'Purchase of an adjacent parcel of land by South cott. ' The Minister denied any connection. HERE In a London Free Press story South- cott was quoted as denyi-ng ownershipof any property near the park. Riddell later observed: that either Southcott was right or the assessment department was right. He said a . researcher had learned that Southcott purchased land near Severn Park over a month ago, although it has yet to be registered. The Huron -Middlesex. MPP asked Bernier in the Legislature: "Would a factor in your decision (giving the park) have anything to do with the. feet that a former 'executive assistant, known as Don Southcott, Co the former treasurer, known as Charlie •McNaughton,within INFORMATION, BACKGROUND AND OPINION ' IN: I4URDI the lust month purchased sed the adjacent lot to Severn Park? Riddell also said that Southcott was a developer and that he wants to develop the land"for which severances have been turned down to this point in time. The MPP suggested that 'Southcott• would be more likely to' receive per- mission to develop his 97 acreparcel of land once the community centre planned is built and services installed. . .Afterward Riddell explained that his main concern was over the destruction of treees in Severn Park by any development. He said he had received many calls from •area residents suggesting it was a "crime" to give the park away. Riddell pointed out that the proyince .owned scrub land in the same area and suggested that this land should have been donated to Grand Bend. He said he wasn't concerned about what Southcott was pian•ning as he was concerned about the loss of the. fine oak and pine trees in Severn Park. In response to the furor, Southcott issuedp,,statement on his involvement in the acquisition -of Severn Park to the • Exeter Times -Advocate. In that statement he said that since suspicion had been .raised about, his involvement, he would welcome any inquiry, meeting, discussion or forum or any other roc Ontario's Economic Strategy for 1977. -(a rni ii-budget--i-f-y-ou-wilt;un.veiled„this. week by treasurer Darcy McKeough is. said by ' the government to combine investment incentives with tough government . spending restraints to provide 'a health_ climate ' for private > , sector expansion. "We intend to continue our basic strategy . of public sector control and private sector expansion during 1977" McKeough said. "We, are convinced that this has been the right.course because it shifts economic resources into the market economy, thereby building a more solid base for future growth and prosperity." PROVINCIAL P • Leading the list of incentives was the announcement effective January 1, 1977 of a new, long :term exe`mptioiifrom retail sales tax for production' A' temporary exemption was in- troduced by McKeough in 19,75 and since that time Ontarlo's share of new in- vestment.in -manufacturing and mining. industries is projected to be significantly higher than in the rest of the country. "There is ample evidence that this has been an effective incentive," McKeough claimed. "Our businesses have used it to expand production' and improve their, competitiveness. All Ontarians benefit from these actions because the economy machinery and equipment. A recent government reporesays that Canada already has enough laws to regulate legitimate firearm use and that further "gun -control" legislation may ti• only create a bureaucratic tangle. The report is part of the research prepared before the framing of the gun- control bill for consideration by the House. It says that "because of the wise discretion of police forces relatively few -'`: Canadiansare actually aware of the comprehensive manner in which fire- arms usage has already been legislated". Criminologist William DuPerron prepared the report for the Solicitor generates a high return for the tax dollar invested." . The cost of this —incentive .---`to the Province for a full year'is.projected to be $160 million. According • to McKeough, the Province's spending priorities for 19'7' were guided by three factors. "First, we are determined to contain' the increase in our, spending well below that of the expansion in the economy. Second, was the: need to fully, honor our commitment to local government. Third, we have to minimize Our operating costs and overhead 'expenditures, so that more resources ' will be available. for job - creating capital inyestment projects." CANADA General's, Department ' in 1974. Apparently officials are' not overly :impressed with the report however, and it did not figure in the,.proposals that formed the gun -control bill. Du Perron's report is basically a review of •current research and. literature dealing' with gun control, but draws several conclusions and makes some recommendations about gun- control .legislation. He recommends stronger. controls ` on handguns and greater penalties for the use of guns in.. the commission of crimes. IN majo ifference between the Government legislation and Mr.. Du .Perron's thinking is that he claims any ' system to contr4il sporting guns maybe counter-productive: - Government legislation would require everyone wishing to buy a gun or am - Munition to first obtain a licence. The bill increases the penalties for the use of guns in crime, makes gun owners responsible for the safe -keeping of their firearms,: Makes it more difficult to obtain handguns' and outlaws any fur- ther private .ownership of automatic weapons. Mr. Du Perrpn says in his report that The situation in the middle east may be shaping up to .the first round of full scale Arab-Israeli fighting since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Over the weekend Israel warned Syria ..a , again that movement of Syrian troops into southern Lebanon would risk Israeli military action. The Israelis said they favorel the idea of an "independent Lebanese force" to half fighting between Lebanese Christians and Moslems in the area. , Officials .in Jerusalem • issued a statement saying that "any Syrian in- eursion ' south of their present deployment will only increase. tension. • trees could be preserved, day camping facilities improved and vegetation already destroyed can. be effectively restored. .' . `For Severn Park, I personally see an outdoorartificial ice skating trail winding around the trees and covered with an attractive canopy to keep out the rain and snow," he said. Behond that he envisions walking' paths, smaller court facilities and perhaps a . modest clubhouse for the community. "As for our company's involvement in land, the records at the Registry Office will show that the only land recently purchased is . the Sherwood property in ' Grand Bend," he noted. DINTS According to the Minister of Finance, Ontario's spending restraint, which dropped increased--spendiin.g_.in_1.976 to 11.5 per cent from 24.7 per cent .in 1974-'. 75, is projected at a further restrained 9.6 per cent for 1977. This contrastswith. an expected leper, cent overall growth in the Province's economy, rne"aning the Province's expenditures will be growing at a lesser rate than the Provincial economy. , . Transfer payments to the Province's local governments will increase by 10.7 per cent or.some $330 million under the Edmonton 'Commitment. • This com- mitment guarantees that the Province will increase •- payments to the SEVEN officials framing the gun control legislation should keep in mind that most gun owners do not misuse firearms and their needs must be sensitively dealt with. He says, "one must never lose sight of thefact tlfat the root causes of violence may well go much deeper than mere widespread gun ownership. It must be recognized that firearms merely facilitate rather than cause various forms of violence."• Hei claimsthe most obvious negatite side effect of widespread gun ownership is the 'number of accidents. He says WORLDUI/EEK and create fresh hazards.". Syrian army units are poised along the Litani River, about 15 miles north of the Lebanon-IsraeI frontier, and the Israelis have let it be known that stream is considered to be the "red line'' beyond which the Syrian troops had best not venture. Although the Syrians have managed ed to halt the civil war in' the rest of Lebanon, and want to move into the area near the Israeli border to complete their.. oc- cupation of -the country, one can hardly blame the Israelis for feeling uneasy, Syria proved 'a most belligerent neigh- bor when she occupied the Golan heights, continuously shellingborder settlements in Israel. They. then suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Israeli army in 1973 and were pushed back from their Golan lairs. Should they be allowed to build up a force in the Lebanese border area they would be in an excellent ppsition to attack through Israel's back door, or worse, launch a pincer movement from both Lebanon and the Golan area. Israel has said it would. view Syrian forces closer to the frontier as a threat, and has sent troop and tank rein -1 forcements to the region. . "Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said over the weekend that he approves of a plan;'" reported to have been suggested by Lebanese President Elias Sarkis, . to station an "independent Lebanese force" near the border. Israel has condemned an alternate plan to have sortie Syrian soldiers enter the cities of Tyre and Nabatiye, both leftist strongholds, about 10 miles from the border. Rabin is said to be equally concerned that the border area would once again become a^ staging area for Palestinian municipalities • at the :same rate as its own growth in revenues. "The Ontario Government is being run with a leaner and more a ficient civil service as a result of the reduction of 4,200 "complement positions during the past two years," McKeough said. ve decided not to push .for further complement ..reductions in 1977 but within the constraint of zero growth we will achieve further efficierrces in the use of our manpower and better service delivery to taxpaying public." The Ontario decision to continue the •ban on sales tax for production equip- ment and the central bank's recent move to reduce prime interest rates on there are about 23,000 firearms ac- cidents each year in the United .States. "Thus it may be assumed that a certain risk to one's self and family is entailed in the ownership of firearms." The Du Perron report dismisses the argument that guns are needed for -defence of the home against criminals. "In the great majority of cases, the householder has no prior warning and thus no opportunity to arm himself," he says. • Gun ownership . by potentially violent people may actually provoke them into aggressive action,-he_admits, but 'adds guerrilla attacks into Israel. That problem was relieved during the civil war when._the Palestinians were oc- cupied fighting other Arabs for control of Lebanon.. There are reports of secret con- sultations between .the Lebanese. President, the United States and other Arab countries aimed . at avoiding an Israeli -Syrian clash which would surely follow any Syrian advance across the Litani River. At the same tithe as Rabin was again stressing that Israel- was, willing at any time to resume the Middle East peace by which any and al'1'iconcerns can be clarified to the fullest -extend possible. • "I would be extremely disappointed if my strong advocacy over the past several years of Severn .-Park as a community centre; would hamper or hinder in any rvay.,-the development of this site into what I°believe would be an outstanding attribute to Grand Bend and the Pinery community," he said. The resort developer explained that he was convinced that Severn Park is an extraordinaryoutstanding; tremendous site for a tourism welcome. centre with modes recreation facilities: Itwas suggested that at least 90 percent of the borrowing could well have a positive effect on , "the provincial economy. Especially when combined with a slow but real improvement in the, American economy. What is most important is to hope that McKeough's "mini -budget" will indeed stimulate small business while , the federal Anti -Inflation Board holds down. inflation further up the scale. Small.. business in Ontario, and .elsewhere, tends to be less automated and therefore employ more manpower per -dollar.in- vested than dol the large, highly automated, industries; A major con- sideration as unemployment continues to rise that it is futile to try to keep firearms out of- the hands of criminals by using •• legislation because "procuren;ient of firearms by this group is se 'readily made by illicit means." - The •Government has now asked. Statistics Canada to make a survey to •find out how many guns there are in the country, it is estimated there are about 10 million and for what they are used. The main reason for this study is so the Government can find out where it should station its licence registrars. When all is said and done however, one more freedom is being taken from us . conference in Geneva, Abu Arz, leader of the Christian militia- in Lebanon was quoted as saying Isreal was a friend. "Israel never wronged Lebanon in the - past 30 years," he said in a newspaper' interview, "but the Arab countries did.' At the same time however, Abu Arz vowed to "fight against any Israeli -in- vasion of South Lebanon with the same savagery with which we fought the Palestinians." An interesting coMmeent in light of the fact that Israeli units occasionally ,offered support to ' Christian forces during the civil war.