Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-11-16, Page 4PAGE 4—.GODERICH SIGNAL-STARq THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 197$ Goderich` SIGNAL—STr: '..R The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded In 1040 and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CWNA and OWP4A. Advertising les an request. Subscriptions payable 1n advance .14M In Canada, 'MIN to U.S.A..OQ'ts 401..00thor countries, single copies 36'. Display advertising rates available on requ Tease ash for Rate Card No. 0 effective Oct. 1, 1070. Second class mall Registration N UThor 0710. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of typographical err , the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable alto nut for signature, will not be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be id for at the applicable rate. In tho event of a typographical error advertising g s or services at a wrong price, goods or service may not be sold. Advertising Is merely a offer to sell, and may bo withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star is not responsible for the oss 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 DONALD M. HUBICK - advertising manager Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 220, Industrial Park, Goderich Second class mail registration number — 0716 Who cares anyway? It is said the pen is mightier than the sword. It was proven in Goderich during the weekend the pen is also mightier than the wrecker's hammer. It took just a few strokes of the pen on the cheque book of Dorothy Wallace to save the former Polley's Livery, Stable from demolition after 110 - years of service as an integral part of Goderich's 'historic square. In the eleventh hour it was money that spoke the loudest. And according to most' business minds in the community, that was as it should be. Certainly the majority of town councillors showed no passion to save the stone building on South Street which is perhaps one of the most delightful examples of Goderich's heritage there is. While individualmembers admitted they hated to see the lovely old place torn down, hardly any were willing to wield council's rightful power to designate the building as historical despite the odds. And perhaps that might not have., been such a good idea anyway. Owner Ken. Hutchins could have taken his chances and carried out the demolition despite council's protective efforts. Probably then the matter would have ended up in the courts but that wouldn't have saved the building or served any otheruseful purpose that comes to mind. In retrospect then, the action of Dorothy Wallace was absolutely necessary if the building was to be preserved. The thing that most Goderich and area citizens will not understand, of course, is why anyone would want to preserve old buildings like Polley's Livery Stable on South Street. There are some businessmen in the core area who are beginning to understand the feelings of Dorothy Wallace and others like her. There are some business ��men as well as other citizens in -this, community who can see now that the total at- mosphere of The Square suffered greatly when the new buildings between West and Montreal Streets went up; when the wedge-shaped buildings at the intersection of, Hamilton and Newgate Street came down; when the former O'Brien Meat Market was destroyed by fire. Not everyone will agree that's true. But a growing number of people are concerned that bit by bit, the historical architectural beauty of the Goderich core area is being eroded away right before their eyes. The Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LACAC) was appointed by council for the expressed purpose of identifying and designating those' architectural and historical beauty spots in the core area. Council did comply with the LACAC's request to delay theJHutchins' application for a demolition permit for a period of 90 days, but when the fat was really in the fire, council apparently abandoned its support for the LACAC's recommendations. Members of the LACAC must surely be won- dering about the need for their existence. Did council appoint a committee because it was really intent on protecting Goderich's architectural heritage? Or did council make the appointments to appease what it believed was a harmless, vague and noble sounding segment off the town's citizens, interested in such affairs and without much thought about the kind of sticky situations that could result? It is a fact that much can be done to make certain that new builings to go up in the future in the core area are compatible with the buildings already situated there. Certainly town watchdogs are to be congratulated for passing the necessary building design restrictions that will regulate a more unified and suitable downtown style for the future. But it is also true that Goderich has some unique historical architecture in the core area which needs to be courageously protected now for the generations to come. Dorothy Wallace is right. Town council must take a stand or there's not going to be much left to designate as historical in the core area. Preservation of historical buildings takes money. Lots of money. In years to come, it may even take public money to protect this town's heritage. But it will also take strong convictions that this community's heritage is worthy of protection. If the intentions of council's LACAC and the authors of the building design regulations are ever to be fully realized, elected and appointed officials are going to have to hang tough in all situations regardless of the circumstances or the personalities involved. Is the prize worth the price? Do enough people care? —SJK Good luck It is with much regret that the Town of Goderich will say farewell to Sgt. Mery Witter of the Goderich Municipal Police force. Sgt. Witter has been a good policeman in the community, well respected by young and old alike. But it is with much pleasure that Goderich folks extend best wishes for a bright future to Mery Witter who only recently graduated from the University of Western Ontario with his Bachelor of Arts, majoring in sociology. As most interested citizens will know by now, Witter attained his university degree by taking extension courses offered by UWO in the area. It was a long hard grind involving much self sacrifice, but Witter has achieved his goal. In true Witter fashion, the big man with the friendly grin has extended his gratitude to the other members of the .local police force who supported him in his quest for his degree. Now in the same spirit of co-operation, this community says "thanks" to Mery Witter for a job well done and looks forward to his continued suc- cess in Windsor where he will become a community relations officer with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. -SJK • Post-mortem comment The people of Goderich have spoken. A new council has been elected. Of nine faces at the council table for 1979-80, four will be new: The post-mortem began Monday evening when it was apparent that Goderich's incumbent mayor Deb Shewfelt had been defeated; that Eileen Palmer had beateniBill Clifford;. that newcomer Jim Searls had accumulated more votes than two experienced councillors who had given heavily of their time for the community in the past two years: Some people see it as an anti -Square vote and as Deb Shewfelt explained it, the re -opening of an old wound that hasn't really healed since the nasty fight between the downtown merchants and the mall supporters. Some others see it as an anti -development vote, a kind of protest against progress. Certainly any government that is planning things and getting work accomplished will make more bad friends than one that holds the status quo without raising hackles or taxes. A few said it was a vote against high taxation in. the vain hope that a new council would put a stop to the spiralling dollars Goderich householders put into the municipal coffers each year. A nig : -,er of people saw the election as nothing more than a popularity contest, particularly in the race for mayor. One or two felt it might have been an 'effort to E overthrow the real estate interests on council. One or two more were convinced it was nothirig more than a trend which was evidenced throughout the province where one after another of the incumbent politicians faced an electorate that was ready for a change. The fact is the election is over and under the democratic process, town council will be func- tioning again beginning Decei'kfher 6. There's nothing left to do now but to pray for wisdom and understanding for those who are shouldering the burden of office....and to wholeheartedly thank those' others who lost for their labors in the past.—SJK JASPER, Canada's Safety Bear r• Ms Dem psay with a Iightet that's left laying around, Sou ma bC •;eriuusly hurt arid. t liouse'burrat to.the ground. • Low light BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER What with elections being on everyone's mind for so long now, this week might be a good time to take a breather from the regular routine of the day and to look at some of the bright unusual hap- penings in ,the, world around. Most weeks,' Dave Sykes and Jeff Seddon do a pretty good job of making. people smile and I certainly hope that my "boys" are giving you some of the humor you ordered through the recent readership survey in Goderich and area. Usually I read the morning daily at our hosuse while I have my second cup of tea. I browse over the district page first thing, then turn to the obituaries, glance over the front page headlines and maybe even scan some of the more interesting stories and then take a swing through the inside pages for what I callthe lighter or bizarre side of the news. And really and truly, I am seldom disappointed. I look for those itty-bitty stories that ,are tucked here and there throughout any respectable daily newspaper and in them, I read the rare and strange By Dave Sykes DEAR READERS tales that make life so interesting and varied. +++ While browsing through the morning paper on Friday, I found an item which wasn't really all that short but it sparked my imagination for the whole day. It was the story of Mary Ellen Corning of Minneapolis. Mary Ellen is a ban- krobber. ° Mary Ellen at 34 has been sentenced for up to `five years for robbing the Marquette National Bank in Minneapolis of about $1,000. She's robbed ,other banks too but those charges were dropped for some reason or another. You see, Mary Ellen is somewhat of a puzzle to police and FBI in- vestigators. Mary Ellen is really a delightful person. One friend describes her as "a sweet dear woman more honest than your average doctor, lawyer, mer- chant, chief." An FBI agent explained it this way: "It's hard not to like her. She seems so harmless and friendly. But then, she had some tellers in fear of their lives." ±±-1- Immediately ++ Immediately I began to picture Mary Ellen as a younger version of the lovable stowaway in the movie Airport. If you saw the movie you have to remember her. She looked as innocent as a new born baby but she knew every trick in the book to travel free of charge on just about any airliner she chose. So it is the Mary Ellen only Mary Ellen robs banks instead of cheating air tran- sportation companies. Actually until 1973, Mary Ellen led a pretty normal life. She was they daughter of a college professor, attended the University of Colorado where she earned her master's degree and later married a fellow student by the name of Hobart Corning. It was in 1973 that Hobart and Mary Ellen split and Mary Ellen took up with an ex -convict who lived across the hall from her. Larry Kohout was just back from prison where he had served a sentence for stabbing a guard. According to Mary Ellen, , she found this Kohout a true in- tellectual. He had very little education compared to Mary Ellen'g background, but she found that he was the most intelligent man she knew. Mary Ellen said the lessons Kohout had learned didn't come out of books and as far as she was concerned, that made them "more real." She found throughRohout that she had been "living life secondhand" and only "playing intellectual games that got boring." +++ Can't you just imagine it? Here's this well- educated, well-bred, totally normal (ac- cording to society) young university teacher suddenly turned off by her own lifestyle. She was no more than a round peg in a round hole - neatly fitting in with the ideals of everyone around her. And all at once she begins to see that she has about as much in- dividuality as a grain of sand on the beach. She longs to experience the heady sensatidn of in- dulging one's self in all kinds of off -beat ac- tivities in a wild, stimulating search for a new identity, and to become a square peg in a round -holed society. Anyway, four years after Mary Ellen met Kohout she left teaching fora life of crime. In the fall of 1977 she'was picked up for shoplifting and sent to jail. Kohout didn't wait around to see if Mary Ellen would get better at her new trade. He took off and she hasn't seen him since. But she certainly had developed a new line of interest and stuck with it despite,Kohout's disappearane. +++ Since then, Mary Ellen has lived on what she could steal or embezzle or pilfer. She wasn't super successful - but she did make a living until she was caught just recently. And as I said, Mary Ellen's now in jail again just waiting transfer to a federal prison. But the new Mary Ellen is unconcerned. She is not in the least bothered by this new turn of events and even sees it as a golden opportunity to find the time sheneeds to write a book. It will be creative writing, says Mary Ellen. Who knows? Maybe she'll call it Crime Can Be Fun... or Makeover with Mary Ellen... or maybe even How To Stay Young While On The Lam. One thing we know for certain is that Mary Ellen's book isn't going to be about prison. "People have written about that -' says Mary Turn to page 5 • 75 YEARS AGO A. special committee of town council recom- mended that the manufacturing company which has been in communication with council, be offered free water for drinking purposes, water for boiler purposes at cost and exemption for 10 years from taxation on im- provements, on condition of locating here. 'The public works committee recommended that the Grand Trunk Railroad be allowed the privilege of a part of Maitland Road fora crossing at a rental of $1 a' year. A.C. Hunter, M.D. has been appointed surgeon - captain in connection with the 33rd regiment. Major Young received, the commission on Tuesday. LOOKING BACK George Watson, the tailor, has opened a shop up for cleaning and pressing clothes. Professor Patty's demonstrations with liquid air and wireless telegraphy at the Opera House on Tuesday night provided a most 'en- joyable evening for those who attended. Last Sunday afternoon the auditorium of Knox church was crowded on the occasion of the annual union Sundayschool temperance rally. 25 YEARS AGO The Goderich„ Fire Department will soon have a new meeting quarters in . a room im- mediately behind the fire hall in the town hall building. A native of Goderich, Rev. Father „ Joseph Killoran, became the first Canadian priest to be ordained in India in a ceremony last Saturday morning at St. Mary's College, Bengal. In recognition of the completion of 20 years of service to Huron County Council, County Clerk and Treasurer- Harvey Erskine, was presented with a mantel chime clock at the Warden's Dinner Thursday evening. The former Goderich Memorial Arena 'Com- mission had a surplus of $1,134.19 when its books were closed on August 7 of this year, J.H. Kinkead, chairman told a council meeting Tuesday night.Mr. Kinkead also tendered his resignation at the meeting. Goderich's new police force was completed as faras personnel is con- cerned at a special meeting of council last Friday when John W. Cartwright of Toronto was hired as a constable. 5 YEARS AGO This week your copy of the Signal -Star has come off the press at the publishing company's new facilities in the local Industrial Park. A fire completely gutted the home of Patsy Walker on Gibbons Street on Tuesday evening. The G.D.C.I senior Vikings football team 'won their fifth Huron - Perth Conference championship on Saturday defeating Central Huron Redmen 23-0 in a sudden -death final game on a snow- covered field in Exeter. A meeting was held in Goderich this week with representatives of all the service clubs being present`'"to try and im- plement the Meals on Wheels program here. Animal control officer Dick Eisler told town council last Thursday evening that cats are getting out of hand in Goderich. There are about 600 strays, he said. 00 The illness you'll never see coming. Get in shape — and don't give the enemy a big target. Fitness is fun. Try some. 4111 PaRr1rep ali7an