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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-06-09, Page 6tt • • PAGE 4--GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 1977 This is election day. Have YOU voted? Points to ponder Councillor Don Wheeler seems to harh'e done a good job of convincing himself and. some other members of town council that his motion to censure Councillor Haydon was purely in the interests of orderly and efficient council meetings. Wheeler's motion • and particularly the preamble to it was 0 masterful attempt to make the whole silly mess seem worthwhile and even noble. The fact. is„ Wheeler and those who voted for the motion didn't do much more than kick, up a heap of dust in an otherwise dry and lackluster meeting. Two points have been overlooked throughout the entire exercise, probably because they are touchy subjects which may be better left alone. However since at least six members of council feel the issue is important enough to publicly censure one of its own members, it may be time to explore those difficult areas and get some things out in the open. Regular attenders at council meetings will. -vouch for.tbe fact.,ih.at cotmcii mem- bers em bers are constantly snarlingat each other. It isn't any secret among those who are close to council affairs, that petty dif- ferences exist between councillors. Some of these have arisen through council business some appear to be strictly per- sonal. But they are all very evident at nearly every council meeting where cutting little asides and snide snickers are routine, Tempers flare in an instant. Voices are soon . raised and foolish remarks ex- changed. Sometimes it makes "good copy" and newspaper reporters pick up the statements with relish. Usually it is just plain disgusting and degrading, leaving the press and the public shaking their'heads in disappointed bewilderment. Through most of this, Mayor Deb Shewfelt - the man with the gavel - sits back motionless and silent. Seldom do council members hear the pounding of the, gavel to halt these exchanges. Occasigiially, the mayor adds his own terse remarks. sometimes adding .,fuel to the already red hot fires of anger. Councillor Don Wheeler is dead right to be concerned about the need for "orderly and efficient meetings'. But censuring Councillor Elsa Haydon is like putting ashes in an open wound - more aggravation, no healing. One wonders if the May 2 meeting was out of hand as are many meetings of town council. And one wonders if a strong, decisive chairman could have prevented the unfortunate action of Elsa Haydon and put an end to the bickering and bantering that detracts so much from council meetings in Goderich. The second point which cannot be ignored is the fact that' Councillor Elsa Haydon fights an uphill battle every single week at the council table. The male members of town council, particularly, enjoy picking away at Councillor Haydon. This too is obvious to those people who regularly at- tend council meetings. There's little doubt that Councillor Haydon can handle herself in most. situations. She is an artist when it comes to debate, she does her council homework as well as some extra -curricular reading assignments which keep her abreast of most municipal matters, and she is hard- -working for the citizens of Goderich to boot. She is thorough in every situation and is a bit niggly when it comes.to .details. She .is. an idealist who sticks to her guns in the face of whatever unpleasantness confronts her.. She is consistent, she is forthright and honest - and she is a pain in the neck to her male associates on council. It would be wrong to say "other council members do not respect Elsa Haydon. They do. But the game seems to be to find the chink in the Haydon armor, to wear her down, to put her in her place whenever possible. Wheeler's . motion to censure Elsa Haydon wasn't much more than another attempt to publicly discredit this woman 'who has in the past described herself as a bit of a Pollyanna. Other councillors have left meetings, had tantrums, been out of order. Other situations of equal gravity have slipped unnoticed by council mem- bers who failed to get excited about the lack of decorum or procedure. Yet this time there was a motion to censure - a motion which was approved by six members of town council because, they said, to let Haydon's actions go undisciplined would be to condone those actions. One may never know for sure that it was Haydon, not Haydon's actions upon which council wanted to focus. But the motion to censure seemed a little too slick and much too proper for the council which has never let decorum get in its way before. — SJK Encouraging trend Statistics show that there is now Tess time. lost in strikes and lockouts across. Canada than has been the case in recent years. Work stoppages are far below that of last, year • and still falling, reports indicate, The months of February this year saw 199,440 man days lost. During the same month in 1976, there were 603,130 man -days lost through strikes and lockouts. In relation to the total .and time, this represents 12 man -days per 10,000 man - days worked, compared to 37 last year, The February •- figure includes five stoppages in the federal jurisdiction in- volving 746 workers and about six percent of the time Lost. Eleven of the 106 stoppages involved 500 or more workers and ac- counted for 42 percent of the time. Four of these 11 stoppages were in the service sector, three in manufacturing, two in mining and two in construction, —SJK Summer safety Someone falls into the water and screams for .help. There is no standard lifesaving device handy. What do you do? Here are some tips from the Canada Safety Council. The first thing you don't do is jump in after the person unless you have been trained in life-saving! There is often something at hand which can be used as a flotation device - a thermos jug, a capped water can, a plastic cooler, even the spare tine in the trunk of your car - if you think fast and keep your head, Empty the con- tainer, reseal and toss it within reach of the person in trouble.. The spare tire is bouyant enough to support tour or five persons even when mounted on the heavy steel wheel. Since it. is too heavy to be thrown, swim and push the tire` in front of you. Keep the tire bet- ween you and the person in trouble so as to stay clear of his panicky clutch. When he has grasped the tire and calmed down you both can hand paddle to shore. tEht Ooatrtth SIGNAL -STAR --ice — The County Town Newspaper of Huron -CJ 4 nunded In Isis and published M,ry Thursday at 1.0derirh, Omar.. Ueiuhr, .d I,. ('Ns.' and OV %% \dtertising rates on request! uh.Friplions pot ahlr-in ad, i r 11 • •� In 1,anada, 115.50 to l S.A.. $20.1a1 to all other countries, 'single "'pi' S1 roil U,.pl.n adtertising rates atonable on request please ask. for Bair 1 and \o , rffe, 11,r Irl i 1 1976 Second class mall Registration 'Somber '1716, Advertising I. al'1'rplyd on the , in, dilion That. in the event of typographical error, the advertising spare occupied ht -1 hr erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature. will not he charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. goods or terviee may not be sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may he withdrawn at any time, The Signal Star is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos. ' Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 area code 519 Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER — president and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER — editor EDWARD J. BYRSKI — advertising manager Mailing Address: PyO. BOX 220, Goderich $ocond class mail registration number -0716 or 0 Roderick Lewis, Ontario's Chief Election Officer, looks over a century of the reign of Edward 7th; the box of the 1950s and 1960s; a mill Ontario ballot box designs. Photo shows, from left to right: the sturdy metal munition box modified for emergency use in the 1995 election; and box of Queen Victoria's reign; the box used in the early 20th century during the present box of lightweight plastic. BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER. Next year will be the first year since the Keller family came to Goderich eight years ago that there will not be a family member enrolled at GDCI. So when I went to the annual June awards assembly last Thursday No, I don't know them the morning 1 went with some way I know ,know understand certain sadness for a part of ••, my own children, but I cer- tainly know them. Their names have come: up in the,. news time and time again since they were just little sprouts and here they are, walking across that stage at GDCI picking up their awards for participation. I was almost as proud for those two youngsters as I'w would have been for my own children. I gues's .I'll continue to enjoy what'sgoing on at GDCI for some years to come. ...and `I hope I never DEAR got underway. The first young lady on the stage was Denise Mitchelmore and not long after her came Dan Maillet. "l know these kids," I. told myself. my life which was ending,,,, As I :' sat in the latge auditorium amid hundreds of teenagers from Goderich and area, I thought that ..assem- blies and other activities at GDCI might not hold the same interest for me in the months ahead until the. youngest Keller makes his way to the local secondary school in a couple of years: And then,. when I was beginning to get a little too sentimental, the assembly 8 ec ee ha REA ERS. get too old to be a part of things there.' Speaking of pride, I was thrilled once again to hear the GDCI concert band at Thursday's assembly, How those kids have progressed in the years sinceI've been _ attending GDCI. fungi - bans. - Music instructor Al Mul1i r told the assembly that he'd"' set some .goals for himself when he came to Goderich - many of them still unfulfilled, partly because they were a little too ambitious. " Mullin said, though, the most important thing is that the students who attend GDCI have the opportunity - the chance to become involved in the music program in the school. There's no excuse now for the fellows and gals at the local school to lament about the fact there's no variety in the courses offered - no wary to learn many of the great 'things that used to be taught only in the bigger schools in the city. And Mullin said something else which was terribly thought provoking. He said that more is done through' the 'tts"to help the Gause for 'nationaT unity than through anything else except sports, When youthink about it, he's absolutely right. Music hath charms in many quarters. -John Stringer, principal of GDCI, attempts each year at the start of the awards asserhbly to assure the students who sit in front of him that it really doesn't matter that 10 pe. them will notbecl platform to receive John Stringer tells the.studentste rewards come for have reachedtheta , achieving the prize really much at all the satisfaction a knowledge and one has earn seeking toattain He's right; of coon also right when hes without others arouid to challenge or toe few people can reach any of 14 There's only a Tele called to acceptan Stringer every' every student in the winner and canfeeli proud of his or Tura 40, • Concerned Dear Editor, The Executive Committee and members of Branch 109 Royal Canadian Legion have directed me to express our concern at your proposal to rename the Goderich arena.. - We would remind you that the arena was first dedicated in 1947 and named the "Goderich Memorial Arena", The inclusion of the word "Memorial'; was not by y chance, as the arena, built try serve the needs of the residents of Goderich and district was erected to serve as a perpetual memorial to those who served and died during the second world war. DEAR EDITOR • Our feelings in this matter may be best expressed by quoting in part from the ritual of our opening ceremony, "and the country in which we live, and for which they died, may ever be worthy of the sacrifice they made". We therefore strongly urge that the name of the arena, even though remodelled, retain the ideals and prin- ciples which inspired its original builders. Your truly, R. Chapman, Assistant Secretary. Thank you Dear Editor: It is with considerable pleasure that I express, on behalf of the Huron County Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society, appreciation and gratitude to all the'residents, industries, business firms and associations of Goderich andsurrounding area who contributed so generously to the 1977 Cancer Campaign. You have enabled the Goderich Branch to reach and surpass its objective _by 43 percent. • Under the campaign co - leadership of Les Pitblade and Harold Chase and their excellent team of volunteer canvassers, the Goderich Branch are to be congratulated on attaining as of May 30 a remarkable total of $12,660. This includes the significant contribution of over $3,000 ' from a snowmobile rally conducted by the Benmiller Court, Canadian Order of Foresters and $1.55 from a Daffodil Tea organized jointly by the Women's Groups of the Churches in Goderich. This great achievement combined with the other Branches irr Huron has enabled the Huron County Unit to exceed its 1977 goal of $35,000. A mdst important point to consider is that this fine job was doneon a voluntary basis whichenables the ' Cancer Society to continue its suc- cessful campaign for funds at a cost of only five cents for each dollar raised. This five cents covers the campaign posters, canvass kits. Sincere congra all who havemadethi9 possible. This helps prove the cancer rate. Furthermore; kind of dedicadonld that will some dal, altogether, Ross Campailn HuronC Canadian Casa Adolescent: a acts like a baby don't treat him Biro t, e( n a s ar a v. cl 3YEARS AGO That unpunished cr,ninai, the dog poisoner, commenced his diabolical work again- this week, after a rather long rest; his first victims of the present attack being A•M, Polley's pretty dog and Mrs. .1x15 Vivian's thoroughbred, and others have since been poisoned. Craig's Hotel on Kingston Street has been transferred to Messrs, iK'ing and Johnston. The new firm took possession last week. The tennis season opened LOOKING this week. The weather being fine. opening play was very good. The bare spots on -the tennis lawn have been returfed. 25 YEARS AGO Wednesday afternoon's mail brought a very generous donation to the Lions Club's Memorial Arena permanent. floor fund. A cheque for $3,000 came from H,W. Knight, of Toronto, a former Goderich boy. who lived here some 48 years ago. A bylaw to license and regulate owners of ,public garages was passed by Town Council at its regular meeting folfowing discussion of a recom rhendation of the committee of the whole council that, in view of the hazard to schoolchildren, no action be taken with regard to a request of the Canadian Oil Companies Ltd., to build a garage at the southeast corner of Elgin Avenue and Victoria Street. Goderichhorses continued in the money in racing meets around the countryside in the past week. Easter Maid; Ab BAC Stevenson's five-year-old mare came up with one of her best performances by win- ning both heats of the 2,25 event at Hanover on Saturday evening. 5 YEARS GO In the absence of ailing Mayor Harry Worsell, Goderich Town Council voted 5 rnernbbrs to 3 against -a proposal of the Sully Foun- dation to build and donate a $75,000 to $100,0.00 park. A study commission to promote development of a Park) Lake Huron created at a ink of representatives ';. La m bton counties,' Sarnia and the way Commission, Bend Wednesday MiLaafter: last Friday se dedicated Mt�?i Alexandra 1tal; K' GeneralssllenosP