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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-11-30, Page 4PAGE 4 --001)ERIcuSIGNAILATAR, TEV4SPAY, NOVEMBER 3Q,, 1918 €NA Godrich SIGNAL -STAR The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded In 1540 and published !vary Thursday et Godmrlch. Ontario. Member of the CWNA and OWWA. Advertising rotes on request. Subscriptldns payable In advance 94.30 In Canada, •35.00 90 U.S.A., '35.00 90 ail other.countries, single copies 33'. Display advertising rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Card 14o. 4 effective Oct. 1, 1970..Second class mall Registration Number 071e. Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of typographical error. the advertising space occupied by ' the erroneous Ito!, together with reasonable allowance for signature, will not be 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 of a wrong erica. goods or service may not be sold. Advertising Is merely an offer to cell. and may be withdrawn of any time. Tho Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos. Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIEK — president and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER — editor DONALD M. HUBICK - advertising manager Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 area code 519 00,21111 `PCNA f'."."5: , ,, Coke'" Mailing Address: P.O: BOX 220, Industrial Park, Goderich. Second class mail registration number — 0716 But we don't need it The community really must sympathize this week with the members off the board at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. They have just come through one of the roughest years in the hospital's history and suddenly, they are faced with some government economy measures that seem more like money wasting procedures than anything else. And the worst part of it seems to be that the government will have its way no matter how foolish board members believe it to be. The confindrumi involves a governmentedict that the board of AM&G hire a•management consulting firm to make a study of the hospital and determine new and exciting ways to save money. As far as board members are concerned, the hospital is functioning at a peak of efficiency now with every department; cut to the 'bone for funds and every employee keenly aware of the role he or she must play in the overall success of the venture. But the government believes otherwise, and is wholeheartedly shoving board members toward retaining a team of management consultants whose sole objective will be to roust inefficiency and promote savings. But the ironic part of it all is that the cost for this service could be astronomical ... one estimate put before the board on Monday evening was for $3,000 per week for up to one year, maybe longer. A little quick mathematics shows this to be an expenditure of something in the order of $150,000 ... or $10,000 more than the special grant given to the hospital last summer by the Ministry when it was discovered the hospital was in financial difficulty. Board members who are painfully aware of the kind of scrimping and saving necessary at the hospital to put the plant back -within current budget guidelines before the end of 1978, are convinced the hospitalcannot afford to hire management con- sultants. Indeed board members are unanimously agee'ed that the Ministry of Health should be advised once again that AM&G trustees find this suggestion beyond their budget means and unnecessary at this time. Andy Boutilier made a wise motion at Monday's meeting to ask the Ministry for a period of one year to get things back on an even keel before resorting to management consultants who would only throw the hospital into panic again without just cause. But even more disturbing is the thought that savings would most certainly be brought about by cutting back staff. While no employees would necessarily be laid off in a sweeping move to cut expenditures immediate)tiy, the suggestion is there that when people left the hospital's employ they would not be replaced. While this newspaper would not attempt to convey the idea, that AM&G is without problems and maybe even some over -staffed departments, it is true that the health scene changes rapidly from year to year. What are labelled savings today may be approved legitimate expenses tomorrow ... and to spend a large amount of money to dream up long term solutions for a short term ideal seems like the most ridiculous and frustrating kind of waste. Board chairman Jo Berry may have the best solution of all. Mrs. Berry recommends calling the Ministry's bluff ... and telling officials there that AM&G board members have no intention to hire consultants they can't afford and don't particularly want poking and prying into local affairs. It might also be prudent to advise the Ministry in the same letter that the board of AM&G is doing a remarkable job of bringing the financial picture back into focus at the hospital under the guidance of a new administrator, Elmer Taylor, that morale is high at the town's well respected health care facility and that givenenough time, the board of AM&G will show the Ministry a few tricks. It is sad to hear remarks such as those uttered by hospital board members Monday evening ... statements that demonstrate the feeling of utter helplessness the board members feel when facing what Dr. Michael Conlon calls a "foolhardy" order by the Ministry of Health. It is sad because hospital board members are dedicated citizens with a desire and an eagerness to do a rjgb for this community. But they are made to feel like mindless machines programmed to do the government's bidding automatically and obediently without the dignity of thought. In fact, it should be the Ministry of Health doing the bidding of citizens ... the people who elect and pay for government.—SJK. Old does not mean sacred The' recent surge of attention to items and buildings of historic value is highly commendable. For too many years we have ignored the fact that not only our grandfathers and grandmothers, but we, ourselves, have been and are in the process of making history. -Future generations will be curious to know how we lived and what we achieved, so it is only right that we• should preserve any important evidence of our civilization. , Like most sudden waves of attention, the present interest in older buildings seems to have gone a bit too far. Old buildings, no matter what their ap- pearance or condition, have suddenly become sacred. Any structure over 100 years old has been adorned with a halo of historic sainthood: The town council in Goderich is facing a dilemma in connection with the imminent destruction of an old stone building on South Street, just off the town square. Admittedly it is still a solid structure which might well stand for another 100 years, but neither its present appearance nor its past history would seem to merit such a fuss. As far as we know it never housed anything more glamorous than horses when it was a livery stable, cars when it became a garage and latterly building supplies. No room in the building was ever slept in by royalty or used as a fort to stand off the Indians. A few years ago there was a similar outcry over the destruction of the old town hall in Mount Forest ... a building which was ungraceful from the day it was built. The same thing has occurred in many Western Ontario communities. In fact London, England, goes through exactly parallel decisions, but in that city the holdups are usually based on historic structures ofi'a mach more significant nature. At present a major city development has been halted because in the course of excavating for the new buildings the contractor uncovered the remains of Roman buildings which were erected at least 1500 years ago. Admittedly, if we are careful, Canadians 1400 years hence might, by slim chance, come upon some evidences of our times, but it seems unlikely that. we have built anything as defiant of passing time as did the Romans. By all means let us preserve anything that is worthwhile and historic in the true sense, but old does not necessarily mean sacred. —The Wingham Advance -Times 75 YEARS AGO At the request of R. Holmes, M.P., the Minister of Public Works has consented to put wire screening from the top of the boxes in the Goderich post office to the ceiling, thus making it more secure and allowing the front lobby to be open longer. So far, there is not much talk concerning the approaching municipal elections. It is stated that all of the present coun- cillors will seek re- election and there will be several other aspirants for seats at the board. Mayor Lewis says in regard to a second term in the mayoralty, he is in the hands •of the ratepayers. L.E. Dancey of town was one of the buyers at the big Government LOOKING BACK timber sale at Toronto last week. 'The new tug for Dominion Fish Company was launched Thursday. It is said her name will be Loch L4omond. A winter bridge has been built from the dock to harbor island and a narrow-gauge track laid over o,n which timbers are carried into the ship yard. The Gospel Tem- perance meeting held in the Temperance Hall last Sabbath afternoon was not largely attended due to inclement weather. 25 YEARS AGO The Upper Lakes and St. Lawrence Transport Company has enlarged its plans for the Purity Mill here and will now build grain elevator bins with a capacity for 1,000,000 bushels. There Appreciation Dear Editor: Preparing for thelast meeting of the outgoing Town Council on November 27th and looking beyond it at being part of the new Council, I find myself thinking a great deal about the municipal work in general and about the four members in par- ticular whose term ends this week. The four are: Mayor Shewfelt, Coun. Gower, Reeve Clifford and Coun. Wheeler''. •Coun. Gower's departure is by choice and he will continue to serve his community in another elected capacity, on the Board of Education:. Only time will tell. whether any of these men will decide to seek a Council position again in. the future. For the time being their contribution will be missed in many ways and I find that I cannot let them go with just a wave of the hand, as if the whole thing did not really matter. In municipal elections, perhaps there is now too much public emphasis on expressions such as "winning" or "losing" and not enough on "serving". Yet that is the term that comes to my mind when I think of the outgoing members with whom .I have shared the Council work for years. At times we have foughtvigorously on opposite sides; on• countless occasions we have worked hard in the same direction, always following our vision of what our town is and can be. With an insider's un- derstanding of the nature and the demands of the office I measure and respect the contribution these men have made, each in his individual manner. My association with Bill Clifford and Don Wheeler was of com- paratively shorter will be a total of 24 bins each 100 feet high and each with a diameter off 24 feet, six inches. Close races featured the municipal election in Goderich this week with the posts of mayor and deputy -reeve at stake. Deputy -reeve Joseph Allaire defeated Coun- cillor John Vincent by a majority of 46 votes. Mayor J.E. Huckins was returned to office defeating Councillor C.M. Roberton by a majority of 53 votes. Playing the first part of this season with the Ottawa Senators, Jackie Price, young Goderich hockey player, moved up into NHL competition during the past week with the Chicago Black Hawks and cored a goal on Sundaysnight when the Hawks defeated Detroit Red Wings 5-0. Town Council at its meeting Friday night, was. asked to consider payment of a payroll of $2,000 for the Goderich volunteer fire depart- ment. 5 YEARS AGO Robert Mills, representing the staff of the Goderich Post Office, presented retiring postmaster A.M. Hornuth with a power saw to fit out his workshop for retirement activities. Homuth was honored by the staff at a retirement dinner on Friday evening. He has been postmaster in Goderich since 1955 Miners employed by the DOMTAR Chemical Sifto Salt division mine at Goderich returned to their jobs shortly after 4 p.m. Thursday after a fire, which caused an estimated $100,00;0 damage, finally burned itself out on the 1,760 foot level in the mine. At a meeting on Monday evening, the steering committee set up by the Goderich Businessmen's Association to oversee the initial steps of a doWi town refurbishing project, met at the Bedford Hotel and ac- cepted tenders for the first stage of planning. Only 15 pers ns turned out last peers evening for a.treeting at the recently formed Goderich Ratepayers Organization. The Goderich Industrial Corporation is this week kicking off a drive to raise money for its activities through the sale of more shares to the public. DEAR EDITOR duration, but whether it was working on the Finance Committee with Bill or on the Waterfront Committee with Don, or on the many direct Council table subjects, I came to regard their minds with deep respect, if I may say so with the. directness we shared in our dealings. For Dave Gower and Deb Shewfelt I have a special place in :My respectful affections. Sitting in the audience ten years ago I witnessed their first steps as new Council members. Two years later I joined them. at the Council table. In these eight years of working together we have agreed and disagreed; we have called each other out of •order as well as fought hard for the same things; we have, together, grown and learned and stretched our minds and hours. It has taken many past Councils' efforts and guidance to help create the clean, safe and handsome town we know today. The outgoing Council, with Deb heading and co- ordinating it with drive, energy, vision and directness, has added a significant and dynamic contribution, •an action- oriented period of getting many things done and many progressive new projects well under way. Being part of it has been a very satisfying ex- perience. As a citizen and colleague I take my hat off to these men who helped make it all hap- pen. As a woman I want to say a special "thank you" to their wives and families. ' Years of fractured mealtimes, rapidly changing schedules an,d shouldering all sorts of added responsibilities amount to quite a bit of credit in anybody's book. A special word of ap- preciation goes to Barb Shewfelt who stood and worked beside the Mayor with good grace and humour throughout terms, but during the not only the Council particularly demanding period of last year's celebrations which brought together many of us in the spirit of good feelings about our town. Yours affectionately, Elsa Haydon OidMan Winter by Joanne Buchanan DEAR READE It really is a riddle, isn't it.I'm nothing but a homemaker who works down at the local newspaper offic , so how could I polgsibly know the answer eh? But I am 'smart enough to admit it IS a riddle and that's more than some of our high mucky -mucks in this country will do. It happens all the time. People glance through the newspaper and read that this service or that commodity is going up in price. The reader reaction is predictable. There is a quick shrug of the shoulders and a comment such as "Where's it all going to end?" Then they turn the page and read the want ads. . Three weeks ago, Goderich residents got the news that hydro rates will go up in 1979 by 10.5 per cent. Two weeks ago the federal government announced that postal charges will increase sharply in the new year. Last week, the province said the grants to school boards in Ontario will increase by only five per cent in 1979, meaning that in all, likelihood local taxpayers are going. to have to 'a'ccept a greater share of the cost of education in their municipality or cut back on the quality of education for their students. What's next? Who knows? And frankly, who cares? When the Liberals in Ottawa brought down a new budget recently, hardly anyone was expecting more than a' band-aid applied to a gaping wound. The opposition members strongly tr criticized the government's efforts to stimulate the economy without stampeding the inflationary factors. And anyone could have predicted that, too. In the Canadian system of government, the opposition is elected to criticize and any red-blooded Canadian would have been shocked to the core if Joe Clark or Ed Broadbent 'had said the budget had merit. But here's the rub. Provincial policicans in Ontario have complained that because the federal kickbacks to provincial government will be smaller this year, the Ontario government will be forced either to reduce programs increase taxes or borrow additional money to make ends meet. That's ,a Crime, say provincial politicians and it -shows the eed for a new governt'dbtlt in Ottawa. Then, almost in the same breath, provincial politicians are telling the municipalities their grants will not be as high as originally expected •- and it is. up to the local taxpayers to decide what to do about the shortfall. Same plot, mind you, but now it is necessary and sensible. Obviously there is no easy answer. If there were, the remedy would have been applied a long time ago to correct this worrisome problem} that is turning into a national nightmare. No, the solution appears to be as complex as it is elusive. And it could be the cure would be more devastating than the ailment. . Many economists believe the solution lies in balancing the budget at all levels of government. In Ontario, courageous Darcy McKeough promised to put the province in the black by 1980 .and a short time later, Darcy was dumped out on his ear along with his financial folders. Now we hear Frank Miller of hospital closure fame, telling the provincial citizens the budget can be, balanced in Ontario by 1984. Does 4• anyone believe Miller will have' more luck with this portfolio than with his last? • Fact is, grassroots Canadians wart a miracle. In every way, Canadians are showing they expect government to pull off the hat trick of the century - and to make financial stability appear out of the- thin air without causing any hardships to anyone anywhere in this great nation. And as ridiculous as it may seem, politicians from coast to coast are rising to the challenge `- baiting the people for a miracle and actually at- tempting to deliver one. What a side show. In the audience are booing, unreasonable, gullible, selfish -citizens - egging on the performers who are basking in the spotlight and playing to the crowds. It really is a riddle, isn't it? Why. won't anyone recognize the country's greatest need is for some straight talk, some soul-searching at the grassroots level and a nation-wide pledge to end demands for goods and services we can't afford and have no divine right to receive gratis.