HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-10-26, Page 4•
PAGE al —GODERICH SINAL -STAR, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 197$
1
Gti6derich
S1GNAL—STAR
*CNA , The County Town Newspaper of Huron
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Business and Editorial Office
TELEPHONE 524-8331
area code 519
*CNA
or• •
, 4
AS,05.
•-•:..4er taw!'
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
Welcome Dr. Chan
It is a big welcome this week to Dr. Charlton Chan
who has arrived in Goderich from Huntsville. -Dr.
Chan -will be moving into the office formerly oc-
cupied by the late Dr. John Wallace, and while he
won't be specifically "taking over the practice",
Dr. Chan will be offering his services to Goderich
and area people who are perhaps seeking a new
family physician in a community where a number
of general practitioners in recent months have
closed their offices.
The doctor shortage in town has been serious. The
medical men who are working here have been run
off their feet, and it is no secret that they have been
actively searching for men and women with
desirable qualifications to come to Goderich to
practice.
It is to be hoped that Dr. Chan will be only the
first of several new faces in the medical profession
here. Health is such a precious commodity - and
people today are more aware than ever before of
the need to care for and to prevent early and un-
necessary deterioration of their bodies because of
lack of adequate medical attention.
It only makes good sense - and the townspeople
welcome Dr. Chan as a new member of thamedical
profession and as a vital part of the valuable health
care team here.—SJK
Health is iniportant
. •
Is there life after employment?
That's the question asked in the September R yal
Bank of Canada monthly letter. It's the question
asked most often by men and women who are either
approaching the age of retirement... or who are
contemplating the age of retirement in an effort to
be prepared for those 2,000 or so extra hours a year
when it is no longer necessary to punch the clock at
the plant, milk the cows at sun -up or get,to the office
in time for the management meeting.
Remember when everybody wanted to know,
"What are you going to do when you grow up?"
Well, the thing people should be prepared to tell as
they get older is what they are going to do when
they retire. And that takes thought and a good deal
of -Planning.
The Royal Bank letter says that the most vital
concern of all in retirement planning is not money.
It is health. And the way to good health in
retirement is a matter of the right exercise and diet
throughout the middle years for physical stamina
and continuing mental exercise for psychological
well-being. Just as a person's golf game will be
worth nothing if that person can barely summon the
energy to haul himself out of bed in the morning, so
a person's accumulated • knowledge and un-
derstanding can be wasted if his mind is allowed to
become inactive and sluggish due to the lack of
mental exercise.
One group of psychologists has found that the
mind does not achieve its fullest powers until the
age of 60, and that it declines only very slowly after
that. But a mind, like a body, will go'into decline in
any stage of life if there is nothing to stimulate it, to
keep it alert and active.
Life expectancy statistics show that the Canadian
male of 65 today may expect to live to 79; the
average female of 65 may live to 82. That's too big a
chunk of time to spend loafing, especially when
there are endless contributions which older people
can make, not in spite of their..age but because of it.
Like everything else though, a successful
retirement takes careful planning and con-
centrated effort. One must have goals and it is
never too early to establish those goals. ,But at the
basis of it all is good physical and mental health.
After that comes social and financial preparations
for those golden years.—SJK
Wax it
Winter is coming, folks, and so are the salted
streets and roads. Those folks who are thinking
about their cars and their own personal physical
fitness can ge,t_a jump on ,Old Man Winter by
waxing the fafnily vehicle.
Yep, that's right. Wax the car.
Nobody bothers to wax the car these days you
say? That may be true, but that doesn't change the
fact that about the only thing anyone can do to keep
his car looking like new is to wax it twice a year -
spring and fall.
Talk to any of the factory representatives and
they'll strong recommend regular waxing of the
car. Though paint itself will protect the metal for a
considerable length of time, there are many
elements - chemicals, air pollution, caustic par-
ticles, dust, grime, sun, squashed bugs, detergents,
and of course, salt - which work against this
protection. There's really nothing like- wax to
protect your car, probably the largest single in-
vestment your family has next to the house.
And think about the side benefits to you, as well,
lots of bending and stretching, lots of arm muscles
in use, lots of pushing and pulling, lots of good old
fashioned exercise.
Think about it. Regular waxing could pay off
when you trade in your car - and when you go for
your annual physical check up. J -low's that for a
neat way to live longer and enjoy it more.-SJK
Some good advice
It is really very good advice. According to a
chartered accountant with Clarkson Gordon and
Company in Toronto, women should establish their
own credit records. Even in this Comparatively
enlightened age of equality of the sexes, there are
Safe .spooks
The annual trick 'n' treat fest is fast approaching.
Tuesday evening even the littlest ghosts and goblins
will be out in full force, making their annual trek
around the neighborhood to collet the goodies that
Will delight their taste buds and clutter their
bedrooms for days to come.
Do parents need to be reminded to make certain
that their children wear masks that are safe - with
eye holes which are large enough to permit good
vision and properly fitted so they don't slide down to
stifle breathing? Do mons and dads have to be
encouraged to send their children out in light
colored clothing, with flashlights, so that they can
be easily seen in the dark by motorists as they dash
madly from house to house?
nd do homeowners need to be told to leave porch
lihts burning so that no one trip S on a mat or does a
somersaultover some hidden obstacle? And surely
no one would tamper with children's treats but
would simply turn off the lights td diseburage kids
from calling.
Hallowe'en is a fun time for young and old. But it
should be a safe time, too. With just a little common-
sense - and some genuine concern for the children
of Goderich and area Hallowe'en 1978 can be the
be yet, •
Good hunting, spooks.-SJK
•
still areas where women need to guard against
discrimination - and one is the matter of obtaining
loans and credit.
A woman can be bitterly disappointed to find that
even though she is earning the same pay as a man,
she can be considered by some liank-to- be a less
reliable borrower than a man. Often, a woman is
required to get her husband - or ever her father - to
co-sign the same loan that a man earning the same
wage and borrowing the same amount of money,
could get on his own signature.
When a woman finds herself alone as the head of
a household, she may find a need to establish a
credit rating for herself. If' she is married, even
+though she and --her husband negotiate loans
together and pay _hack loans together, the credit
rating is on thehusband, never the wife.
The Ontario Consumer Reporting Act allows a
woman to request that separate credit histories be
maintained in both her name and her husband's
name. But this won't happen automatically. A
woman must make a formal request when a
husband and vyife take out a joint loan or open a
credit account. It is also a good idea to review one's
credit history once a year.
Another good idea is for a woman to take out a
small loan even though she may not need one. Put
the money in a bank savings account. The dif-
ference between the interest you pay and the in-
terest you earn will be small, and your good credit
record - along with the fact that your loan officer
now knows you as a financially responsible person -
will make it easier for you to get a loan should you
reed one in the future.
It really is good advice for all married women
who may one- day find themselves divorced or
separated or widowed and for single women
who to date haven't established a credit record.-
SJK
1
•
..••••.;
o, what, when, where? (Answers this week in Tid Bits, Page 2)
BY
SHIRLEY J. KELLER
On my desk today is a
copy of the Ontario
Secondary School
-•Teachers' Federation
booklet entitled --"Local
Government Wants
You", explained as a
"guide to Ontario's 1978,
Municipal -School Board
Elections". '-
According to Malcolm
Buchanan, chairman of
the political action
committee of OSSTF,
local government in
Ontario is in trouble and
needs help. On the basis
of voter participation in
elections, says
Buchanan, it is the least
democratic level of
government in Ontario,
with a turnout of ap-
proximately/35 percent of
the electorate.)
"Yet local government
in Ontario this year will
spend about $8.2 billion,
58 percent as much as
provincial spending,"
says Buchanan. "Local
government will spend
more than $22 million
every day, up $4 million a
day over two years ago."
Then the f011owing
statement appears, not
credited to anyone in
particular: "The
province is now turning
back the clock with
respect to funding
assistance to local
government and school
boards. After making the
fundamental decision to,
increase - assistance
substantially at the
beginning of this decade,
the provincial govern-
ment is now scaling down
its rates of increase in
funding and the share it is
prepared to finance. This
is placing an increasing
burden on the property
tax, after the con-
siderable relief provided
by the Provincial
government in the earlier
years of the 1970s. The
ability of local govern-
ments and school boards
to deliver services to
their -people-on--a- basis of -
equity and equality is
being undermined. The
prospect for local
government and school
boards, without sub-
stantially increased
assistance, is a con-
tinuation of reductions in
services together with
increased property
taxes."
The booklet goes on:
"Since municipalities
and school boards are
legally the creatures of
the province, there is no
legislative basis on which
the province can be
required to treat • local
governments and their
agencies on a basis of
equity. Understand that
there is now no process
whereby municipalities
and school boards can
provide input with
respect to provincial
levels of funding that in
any way is binding on the
provincial government.
Understand the basis of
provincial grants and the
amounts involved.
Understand that inflation
has eaten away the
benefits of increased
amounts, so that in effect
both school boards and
municipalities are really
getting less assistance
now than before in terms
of "real" constant
dollars.
The brochure uses the
employer's portions of
payments made to the
Teachers' Superan-
nuation Fund as an
example in what it calls
the Ontario government's
efforts to "unload some of
its responsibilities and
pile them on local
government".
It is explained thus in
the booklet:
"Up to September 1977
when Treasurer (Darcy)
McKeough decreed
-otherwise, the,provincial -
government payments as
the legal employer were
clearly considered
provincial responsibility.
However, Mr. McKeough
• said that henceforth,
when calculating
provincial assistance
grants, the • superan-
nuation payments would
be considered for
calculation purposes as a
payment to local -
government. Presumably
this still remains
government policy.
"The sums are con-
siderable. Last year the
total was $387 Million and
this year the sum was
$331 million. Substantial
amounts of both figures
involved acturial deficits
owed by the government
because of itsunrealistic
actuarial assumptions_
"And to add fuel to the
fire, Treasurer
McKeough . said the
government was thinking
of trying to make school
boards (rather than the
provincial government)
responsible for future
actuarial deficits of the
fund. It will be a neat
trick if it gets away with
it. It will of course, be
reflected in increased
property taxes, indirectly
helping to cope with the
provincial deficit."
The booklet also points
out that the provincial
grant system to local
government is "in-
credibly out of date,
incredibly complicated,
incredibly irrational, but
it staggers on because no
one seems able to devise
any other system that is
politically acceptable."
"The fact that the
current system is
politically undesirable
for local government
doesn't seem to matter,"
thabrochure states_
'Currently-- provincial---
government assistance to
Ontario's 827
municipalities, 197 school
boards and thousands of
local purpose bodies
flows (or dribbles)
through 14 ministries,"
the brochure says. "It
involves 93 different
types of programs and
assistance. Most of the
payments are of a cost
sharing nature related to
specific programs. Less
than 30 percent of the
provincial payments to
municipalities and
special purpose bodies
are unconditional in
nature, providing
freedom for local
_government to establish
priorities and
programs.''
The brochure even gets
• into property tax reform
and market 'value
assessment saying that
"property assessment in
Ontario is archaic and
according to Treasurer
McKeough contained
"gross inequities".
"But after ten years of
discussion and study the
issue is too hot to handle
at either the provincial or
local government level,"
the brochure says. "In
June the then Treasurer
reluctantly announced he
was unable to go ahead
with market value
assessment which he had
hoped would take effect
in 1979."
The brochure goes on:
"McKeough was
overruled and is gone.
Now Intergovernmental
Affairs Minister Tom
Wells (and others) are
wrestling with the
dilemma. It is a political
nightmare and there is no
easy solution. Everyone
is running scared on the
• issue."
is- -not
always worth one dollar,
the brochure explains.
"For example, a 1978
dollar is worth only 56
cents in terms of a 1971
dollar. A 1978 dollar is
worth only 901/2 cents in
terms of a 1977 dollar in
light of a 9.4 percent
inflation rate,- the
brochure points out.
"The provincial
government argues it is
giving more to local
government and school
boards," the booklet
says. "That's true, but
not in real tennis. This
year's $1970 million in
provincial assistance is
equal to $1785 million in
last year's dollars - when
the assistance amount
was $1871 million. The
current year's increase of
$99 million is then really
$86 million less compared
with the situation last
year."
Does that totally
confuse you? Bite on this,
taken directly from the
brochure:
"In constant 1971
dollars, both local
governments and school
boards are now receiving
less assistance from the
province than was the
case in the fiscal year
1975-76."
One chart headed up
"Per cent of school board
costs borne by the
province: generally its
declining" shows that in
the elementary schools in
Huron County in 19,6, the
provincial government
was paying 72.23 percent.
In 1977 the provincial
government paid 71.96
percent and in 1978 it is
Turn to page 5 •
75 YEARS AGO
It is understood that D.
Cantelon of Clinton has
secured a settlement with
the persons in the Old
Country who were in-
debted to him in an apple
deal. The amound in-
volved was some $5,000
and they offered him
$4,000 which he has ac-
cepted through his
lawyer, Mr. Proudfoot.
A session of the town
council was held Monday
evening behind closed
doors. It was learned that
one of the subjects
discussed was the
proposed CPR con-
nection. Mayor Lewis has
been authorized to go to
Montreal authorities.
The CPR
The annual meeting of
the Children's Aid Society
was he'd yesterday af-
ternoon with Jas; Mit-
chell re-elected as
president. The " financial
statement showed the
•I
LOOKING BACK
year's expenditure to be
$5.60.
The supper and hop
given at Oddfellows' Hall
last Friday evening
under the auspices of the
Goderich Township Rifle
Association was a great
success. Over 100 couples
Were present.
25 YEARS AGO
When the CPR
passenger train pulled
out of Goderich at 4:10
p.m. on Saturday for
Guelph and Hamilton,
conductor Herb L. Chick,
65, was making his "last
run before retiring. Two
• decades of his total of 48
years and Six months of
railway service were
spent running in and out
of Godefich.
Two new motels are„to
be built within a distance
of two mile's from the new
south limits of the town of
Goderich on the Bayfield
Road, It is expected they,
will be in operation by
early next summer.
Rumour developed into
reality earl Y last week
when construction
started on a large modern
drive-in theatre on the
south-eastern outskirts of
Goderich off Number 8
highway. It will occupy
more than 12 acres on the
farm of Phil Bisset. In
charge of construction is
J.A. Campbell of Toronto
known as the "Drive -In
Theatre King of
Canada."
It is understood the owner
of the new driVe-in is Mr.
and Mrs. H.J. Sutherland
Of St. Marys who are
proprietors of Goderich's
present two theatres.
Goderich's new
swimming pool in Judith
Gooderham Memorial
Playground is , rapidly
nearing completion and is
expected to be finished
before the end of this
month.
S YEARS AGO
Members of the
Goderich Fire Depart-
ment were called out at
noon en Tuesday when
the fishing tug "Larry
Tom" owned by Sovie's
Fisheries of Goderich
went aground about one
mile south of Goderich
Harbour.
James Erickson was
elected president of the
fledgling Ratepayers'
Association last Friday
when the group met and
G. R. ( ick) Robertson
T
was lected vice-
epresiden .
Construction on an
addition to the men's
industrial therapy
woodworking section at
Goderich Psychiatric
Hospital is expected to
get underway during the
next few weeks.
The Goderich Fire
Department and the
Clinton ,Fire Department
(
water carriers have been
kept very busy during the
past week trying to
conquer a silo fire which
has been burning for the
past month on the farm of
Leo Dykstra of RR 2
Clinton. , '
Victor Lauriston, noted
newspaper man and
historian who gained his
literary start while living
in Goderich, died last
Friday at the age of 92.
His father was once
principal of Central
Public School4 now a
museum.
For the first time last
Thursday evening an
official proposal was
made by EriI Krohmer, a
local developer, for a
condominium develop-
ment at the south end of
Gibbons Street on Sun-
coasf DriVe. Upon con-
sideration, council
agreed to , table the
matter for dtudy.
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