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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-10-19, Page 4PAGE 4--GODERICHSIGNAL-STAR, THURSDAY, OCTQBER19,1978 eNA The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded In 1595 and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CWNA and OWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions .payable. In advance °14.911 In Canada. °89.55 to U.S.A.. 'MOO to all other countries. single copies 99 cents. Display adver- tising rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Card No. 5 effective Oct. 1, 1975. Second class mall Registration Number 5715. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that. in the event of typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rata. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or service may not be mold. Advertising Is maraly an offer to sell. and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star is not responsible for the toss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos. Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 area code 519 14,1•Ari rf cO1M1' Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER — president and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER — editor EDWARD J. BYRSKI — advertising manager Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 220, Industrial Park, Goderich Second class mail registration number — 0716 Let's be positive This is the week that candidates are announcing their intention to run for public office in the next two years. By now many papers are- filed with municipal clerks ; certainly by Monday, all names will have to be submitted with the properly at- tached signatures of those ten who support them. By this time next week, the election campaign will be in full swing. Candidates for all offices will probably be making themselves as visible as possible, giving appearances as requested and seeking ways to get their feelings across to the voters. It is an exciting time for most aspiring politicians and to be sure, some candidates thrive during an election campaign when there is an op- portunity to get down to some serious politicking for a change. It is to be hoped that all candidates, particularly newcomers to the municipal scene, will keep in mind the awesome responsibility that accompanies the work they want to do. Little is accomplished in a municipal contest by digging up skeletons,in the closets of others in the same race, for in a close-knit community most voters have long ago formed their impressions of all the candidates save those one or two whom they have never met. Even more dangerous, perhaps, is the temptation to promise tight spending restraints and ,miracles with the tax dollars that are already corning into municipal coffers. Services such as taxpayers in this part of the country have come to expect and to enjoy, are expensive. Neither are municipal eggs all in one basket - nor should they be - and plans to cut programs and redesignate dollars" may simply not be feasible or desirable. The weidht of public office is real. Municipal government is hard work. It is not for the weak - hearted or the insensitive. Most especially, it is not for the irresponsible or for persons with a personal axe to grind. The period prior to an election can be valuable, especially for the voters who have a rare op- portunity to learn. Let's keep the campaign in this area - instructive, informative and positive. And good luck to all.—SJK Nice work, council It was a good move on the part of Goderich Town Council, prompted by Reeve Bill Clifford, to for- ward the letter of Evelyn Hair of Owen Sound to the headquarters of the bus company that is respon- sible for the bus depot in Goderich. For too long, the town of Goderich has been the brunt of cruel, demeaning jokes because of the deplorable con- ditions at the bus depot on West Street and at some previous locations. It -was also a good move to forward a copyof the letter on to Bruce Betties, who operates the bus depot here, as well as to the tourist committee whose business it should be . to assist travellers through Goderich in any way possible. The letter from Evelyn Hair is perhaps a little unfair. (That letter appears in the Letters to the Editor column this week.) It is a little surprising that her elderly uncle was not able to see the restaurant directly across the street from the bus depot when he found himself locked out of the bus company's facilities. It is also hard to believe that this man was afraid to ask someone for directions to a place where he could safely sit down and rest until his bus arrived. But Evelyn Hair's letter did strike home in a few places. It is true that travellers 100 years ago in Goderich probably had better facilities available to them than at the present time. Itis also a valid point to ask just what impression is left about Goderich with the people who ride the buses to and from this town. Council members noted on Monday evening that the local operator of the bus depot cannot be blamed for the conditions. As this newspaper has explained before, Bruce Betties does seem to be fulfilling the contract he has with the bus depot. If customers are still unhappy, they should take up their fight with the bus company who draws up the terms of agreement. That's just what town council is doing and it is certainly the appropriate action. Evelyn Hair got in Mother nifty dig ,400, t should hurt town ,council just a little...and maye. even the bus company executives who will read her letter. She makes reference to a "few similar situations that exist in Northern Ontario" and while there is no intention here to be snobbish, it is just a little embarrassing to understand that the letter writer may be comparing The Prettiest Town in Canada with some small, out-of-the-way stopover in the woodlands of this province's furthest ex- tremities, because of an antiquated, ill-equipped bus depot. The situation for people who wish to travel into or out of Goderich via any other conveyance than automobile is impossible: It has been for years and years. The letter by Evelyn Hair may bring a smile to the lips of some who know that Goderich is a safe place to visit and who also are familiar with the fine eating spots this town has to offer in the vicinity of the bus depot. But it also smacks of so much truth it is infuriating...and it makes one wonder whether the community is really making progress or not.- SJK About those flags This newspaper has been suggesting in recent weeks and months that private persons and businessmen who fly flags should check those flags and take them down if they are in a state of dishonor. A state of 1ishonor may be described as faded, tattered or dirty. If the flag at your home or place of business flts one or more of these descriptions, the suggestion is to take the flag down immediately. An examinationsof flags presently flying_ in (Goderich and area shows that some stillare in a, state of dishonor. Perhaps part of the reason is that people just don't realize what the Canadian flag should mean to a Canadian...in fact what any flag_ should mean when itis run up a flag pole. A member of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire in Goderich kindly sent to the Signal - Star a copy of that organization's brochure, Our Flag. It states that the national colors, red and white, were chosen because red means valor; white' stands for truth. When a Canadian flag, therefore, flies in faded reds and dirty grey whites, it makes a mockery of the courage that purchased Canadian freedoms and seriously erodes, the ideal of truth and justice in the nation: The IODE brochure also sets out the specific ways in which the Canadian flag should be used and also outlines ways in which other bunting should be displayed in relation to it. For instance, officially the flag is flown on land Only in daylight hours, but on special occasions it may be flown at night, when it should be illuminated. No flag, banner or pennant shbuld be flown above the Canadian flag. When the natibnal flag is flown with asecond flag, the Maple Leaf .roccupies the staff,on the left from the viewpoint (Attie audience facing the flags. When three flags are flown together, the national flag occupies the centre staff. When more than three flags are flown, the national flag may be at.the left, or there may be a Canadian flag ht each end of a line of flags. And finally, when the flag becomes faded or worn, it should. be_disposed of by burning quietly and without ceremony. It is not considered an act of disrespect to burn an unserviceable flag.—SJK A reminder Just another reminder. This week the Signal -Star editor received a letter for publication. It is an excellent letter- well - presented, neatly typewritten and carefully worded on a subject dear to the hearts of many people, the noise at the local theatre Friday evenings. The letter would most certainly have been in- cluded this week if it had had a signature. The letter was signed "Someone who can sit at home and ,listen to that racket, without having to pay $3.00 to hear it." Signal -Star would have been pleased to use that signature in the paper, but it is absolutely necessary that the prof er name of the letter writer is also attached to the letter. Policy for letters to the editor is simple. Pen names will be permitted when requested, but actual names and addresses must also -be provided. In the event that someone calls to know the identity of the letter writer, that information is always divulged. This policy gives a certain amountof anonymity to people who are otherwise reluctant to express their opinions in a public forum, and yet it does ensure that the letter writers stand behind those opinions andwill take responsibility for those opinions in the even that someone cares enough' to challenge thein. Only unsigned •letters - or letters which are deetned to be libelous - are withheld from the public. All other letters are published, regardless of their content dr the topics they discuss. ,. If the writer of the letter on the theatre will drop into the office and sign the letter, it will be published next week, -SIM 4it .1 who, what; when, where? DEAR READERS BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER Well, those long awaited holidays are over for another year. Now begins the long vigil until it is holiday time again. The worst thing about holidays is getting back into the swing of things when you return to work. There's always so much to get caught up on, even after a brief holiday. The continuity has been broken and for a week or more, you are constantly running into ,-situations that remind you you have been away, and have missed something that could have helped you if you had been at work. But that's the way of things. And it is the same for everyone. My holiday was a little unusual from most in the sense that I did almost nothing. The first week we did a fair amount of travelling - but my husband did the driving and my son sat up in front as co-pilot. I simply curled up on the back seat and slept. Mile after wonderful mile. I did manage to wake up for a little sightseeing when we stopped in Ottawa - and to see a movie during a one-night stop over in Belleville. But one could say that for the first week of my holiday, I slept. The War Museum. in Ottawa was one spot we visited. We went there because our son has a terrific interest in the wars that were fought just about anywhere in the world in years gone by. His greatest en - thusiasm is for the Civil War between the north and south° in the United States. But he does get excited about the struggles between the English and the French when Canada was young, and he does study avidly anything pertaining to the world wars in which Canada took part. Hence the War Museum was a treasury of wonder for him. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the visit too. The War Museum isn't new, but it is growing. New exhibits are being found; old exhibits are being im- proved. And since the museum is arranged according to the sequence of time, it is very in- structional as well. Like most museums this one is quiet. Visitors are quiet. Employees are quiet. Aside from one exhibit - a typical world war one trench in which a recording provides the sounds of mortar fire in the distance - there is no noise. I don't know whether it was because I was just' relaxed and ready for sleep, or whether it was the tranquility of the place. But whatever the reason, I wanted to doze after about the first half hour and mercifully; thoughtful planners provided benches for weary spectators like me. I simply collapsed from time to time, and allowed myself the luxury 'of 40 winks while my son and my husband read every inscription and examined every single article in the building. *** Naturally, there are security guards in the museum - bilingual people who do nothing more than walk through the halls with their hands behind their backs, looking official and watching for trouble. And I thought to myself, "What a terrible assignment, day in and day out. How sleepy they must get!" I got up the nerve to speak to one of them. "Do you ever gettired" of walking . around in here?" I asked him. "After ten years, you get used to it," he told me, never slowing his pace and never changing the expression on his face. Well, I thought, that's the end of the con- versation, with that fellow. He's out of range, now. And he kept right on walking away from me. I turned my head to watch something else and fell back into my half - slumber; In about five minutes he was circulating past me again. "My feet get tired" he commented, picking up the conversation as though it had never been interrupted. "I've got a real bad cold this week. I really shouldn't be here, but one of the others is off sick." ,Then he was out of ear- shot again...and the conversation lapsed. I had a strange urge to. follow him in case he was still talking to me. But instead my family wanted to move on to i r Allr 75 YEARS AGO The party of C.P.R. surveyors that has been working in this district has carried the trial line as far east as Brussels and this week has commenced work on a second line through Goderich Township. The Monkshaven, one of the Algoma Central boats, brought in 67,000 bushels of wheat for the elevator on Friday and cleared harbor. Saturday evening. Several of the crew quit the boat while in port. E. Belcher has sold out his bakery business to Roy N. Harrison. The new superin- tendent of the elevator is John Shaw of Winnipeg another floor so I ex- pected I would never hear the end of that sad tale. But I was wrong. The same security guard walked by me on the second floor and went on," It's the weather, you know. Rotten weather. Cold one day, hot the next. Everybody's sick around here." Now this has gone just about far enough, I told myself. Either this fellow has a motor -driven walking apparatus that keeps him going at that steady gait from morning to night, preventing him from stopping to con- verse with one person for too long at one time, or he can be jolted out of his routine. I began to circle a Nazi plane - the first jet -like plane known to modern man - and the next time the guard approached, I got the jump on him. "I wonder what these were for," I mused aloud as he came within range. "Those were for telling the speed at which the craft was flying," he answered, never slowing his pace. "That plane was the Nazi secret weapon but it just didn't have the necessary capabilities to be effective." And then he was gone, hands still behind his back, his face ex- pressionless. As I lefthe War Museum, I was certain I'd seen some of the best examples of war and its lasting effects available anywhere. *** The second week of my vacation was beside a quiet little man-made lake ringed with beautifully -colored maple trees. Perfection. In the cottage was the machine to which I am addicted. Television. What could be more delightful. A quiet set- ting. No telephone calls. And a television on which I could do all the channel selecting...almost. I watched the World Series with my husband - an avid and totally unreasonable Yankee fan. And I watched Leaders' Day from Parliament Hill, a sparring match not unlike the World Series but with much less public interest. I loved Leaders' Day. Those of you who read this column will know that Pierre Trudeau is a favorite of mine - and• even ,Flow, when Canadians everywhere are reportedly incensed by the Liberals in general and Trudeau in par- ticular, I cannot for the life of me see any legitimate reason for that animosity. e Joe . Clark started off the proceedings ... and did rather well, too, I thought. He's no John Diefenbaker, mind you, but he made a pretty good speech. He certainly had the party members clapping their ' hands (never thumping their desks, of course) in ac- cord. But Trudeau was in form. In what I find to be an honest and totally believable approach, Trudeau told Canadians that unlike the gloom and doom painted by ' the leader of the opposition, Canada was doing pretty Turn to page 5 • C0 11111111111111111111111111111111 LOOKING BACK who entered his duties Monday. The Harmony Club are arranging for another hop in the Oddfellows' Hall on November 9. The schooner John Schuette arrived here Sunday morning with 565 tons of coal for the power- house. This is part of F. B. Holmes' contract with the town: The coal was loaded at Toledo. 25 YEARS AGO Goderich will have 26 additional rental homes by the first of next year according to plans completed by town council. The houses will be situated in a sub- division south of the public school. Further evidence of a growing Goderich is the large new addition to Goderich Manufacturing Co. Ltd. It is a new dry kiln, adding an extra capacity of 50,000 board feet to the dry kiln and also providing extra space for the storage of lumber. Mayor J. E. Huckins will run for a fourth term of office this year, he told the Signal -Star this week. Goderich barbers yesterday denied a report in daily newspapers that the price of haircuts here would go up from 65 to 75 cents. Goderich will have over 100 more voters than last year eligible to cast votes in,. this December's municipal election. 5 YEARS AGO In just three weeks, Signal -Star Publishing Co. Ltd. will be moving its entire operation into the firm's new quarters at Industrial Park on Bayfield Road, it was announced this week. At a preliminary gathering of organizers on Wednesday, October 8, a meeting was set for Friday eveningto form a Goderich Ratepayers' Association. The Goderich Businessmen's Association met last Wednesday afternoon and after hearing a presentation from Huron County Planning Department officials Gary Davidson and Nick Hill, agreed to recom- mend to the Association executive that a working committee be set up to proceed with a program aimed at restoring the Goderich Square. The Goderich Town Police Force was honored on Monday with a special citation for a low casuality record among all cities with under 10,00'0 population reporting in the 1973 CAA AAA Pedestrian Safety Inventory Program. • High winds on Saturday evening, which the Department of the Environment weather station at Sky Harbor report gusted to 51 miles per hour, swept through Goderich but left minimal damage.