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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1978-12-07, Page 41 4 - CQpERICSIGNAL-STAR, TI CiRS1*Y, PEQF11 H'F.R, 7 , t97:! :oderich SIGNAL - STAR The County Town Newspaiter of Huron faundeff In 1M11 and published every Thursdaygf Qadgrlch, Ontario. Member of the CWNA and CANNA. Advertising rotes on request.. S bsOlptlons payable In odvence 94.30 In Caned% "39.0 to U.S.A., '33.ie to all other counerlgaa„single copies 3S". Display advertising rates available on request, Please ask for Rafts Card No. 0 effective Oct, 1, 1975. Second class mail Registration Number 0719. Advertising -t5, -accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error, the advertising'opcica occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable. allowance for signature. will not be charged for but the balance of tho advertisement • will be paid for at the applicable rote. In the event of o typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. goods or service may not be sold. Advertising Is merely'an offer tosell, end may be withdrawn at any time. The Slgnal.Ster Is not responsible for the loss or domoaawgf 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 Meatless days ahead? The inaugural session of Goderich Town Council took about 30 minutes in all. It was a routine affair and the new mayor, Harry Worsell, lost no time in telling members of council and the public that restraint will be the key word while he is in charge. But there was no cheering from the crowd. In fact there was no crowd. Just members of council's families and a few faithful council goers. . Interestingly enough, Mayor Worsell did not indicate he intends .to cut back 9n any of• the projects already in the mill for Goderich. On the other hand, Mayor Worsell explicitly told the meeting the work for 1979 would include the widening of Bayfield Road, the conclusion of the Neighborhood Improvement Program, the. con- tinued improvements on The Square and the completion of the senior citizens complex at the corner of Waterloo and West Streets. Of course, all these were projects initiated, researched, fought over and legislated long before Harry Worsell thought about coming back to the council chambers as mayor. And what's more, some taxpayers would say those ambitious and costly projects were the very ones that brought defeat for Goderich's most recent mayor, Deb Shewfelt. Still, incoming Mayor Worsell is right when he recognizes the fact the community is committed to those projects despite the fact he, personally, may not be 100 per cent in favor of all of them. One had to, wonder Monday evening why Mayor Worsell did not choose to congratulate the previous council for its hard work and determination which brought those worthwhile, progressive programs along in Goderich. Certainly theprevious council could not be accused of sitting on its fanny, keeping expenses way down but accomplishing nothing for the people. In the inaugural address delivered, by Deb Shewfelt in 1978, there was a promise of a "meat and potatoes budget": It appears from Mayor Worsell's brief remarks Monday evening he will work toward'abudget that is even leaner than the one promised by Shewfelt. Maybe Worsell intends to take out the meat and leave the potatoes only. Time will tell. But one thing Harry Worsell did say that left a good many people wondering was his reference to "learning to live within our budget." If there was anything that was made clear at election time it was that the 1978 council had certainly lived within the budget and was, in fact, in good financial shape. The new clerk treasurer of Goderich, Larry McCabe, has done a masterful job of keeping council informed about what's happening to budgets and of finding new and inventive ways to keep the'municipality's money at work where it will do the most good. Surely Mayor Worsell was not indicating Goderich has been living beyond its means. To be sure, taxes are high in Goderich but taxpayers with a taste for something more than "potatoes" will feel the price for a little ".meat” has been most realistic. Mayor Worsell referred to a recent statementby the provincial treasurer that a balanced Ontario budget was the goal for 1980. The new mayor ob- viously is anticipating a "hold the line" year ahead and suggested that because federal and provincial governments are passing along more and more responsibility to the local 'municipalities to find ways and means to curb the inflationary trends of the past, Goderich council members will have to work hard to maintain the services to which citizens here have become accustomed. What Mayor Worsell may have forgotten is that some Goderich citizens want to see a little progress in the bargain. As everyone knows, a community, cannot stand still for very long before it begins to'' lose ground. Let's hope Worsell's callfor restraint won't leave Goderich in an expensive catch up position after two years.—SJK Laundry jobs on the line It is locally unfortunate that Goderich's Alexandra Marine and General Hospital will be losing its laundry facility within a year. The board; at the hospital has certainly been studying every possible avenue to save the in -plant service, but to no avail. The Ontario Ministry of Health seems .determined to close it down and send the laundry from the hospital out to the Bluewater Centre. While this newspaper does not relish the thought of several more hospital employees being thrown out of work, it has long been the opinion here that certain amalgamated services could save money for county hospitals in the long run. Laundry ser- vice is one service that has been mentioned by this newspaper as suitable for amalgamation, and it would seem the ministry is now seeing the value of such a decision. Laundry equipment is an expensive commodity. To be truly economical, it must be fully utilized. Round the clock use would not be inconceivable. Apparently, the laundry from AM&G will not put sufficient additional workload on the staff at Bluewater Centre to necessitate hiring additional staff. At one time there had been a hope that one or two of the laundry personnel at AM&G would be needed at Bluewater Centre if the work went there, but that possibility has been shelved. A committee drawn from the hospital boards in Huron County has also been looking into this matter of amalgamation. There has been a suggestion that Clinton Public Hospital's laundry might 'be in a position to take charge of laundry from other hospitals but to date, no firm decision has been reachedion this matter. But the very fact that it is a topic for discussion proves that the idea has merit and could turn out to be a cost saving move. It is entirely possible that if co-operative hospital laundries will work - and save money - other ser- vices supplied by the hospitals in Huron might benefit from similar amalgamations in the future. Anything that will keep hospital expenses in line without jeopardizing patient care should be a priority item for hospital boards everywhere.-SJK Lip service The oath of allegiance was repeated by Mayor Harry Worsell and all members of council in the chambers Monday evening as a part of the inaugural ceremony. Itseemed a harmless enough thing to do, of course,' and since it is part and parcel of the proceedings, who would make any sort of a fuss about it? But in today's Canadian society, it may be one of the most meaningless utterances of all. There is little doubt that growing numbers of people - maybe even some among town council - have little but a passive regard for Queen Elizabeth II and the British Monarchy. And when it comes to bearing "true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II", there(is much left to be desired. —SJK Easy to dump but tough to load By Jeff Seddon 75YEARSAGO The Smeeth planing mill has been purchased by J.T. Goldthorpe for a sum in the neighbourhood of $7,000. Mr. Goldthorpe is forming a joint stock company with a capitalization of $40,000 to run the mill and of this amount, $25,000 has already been subscribed. It ° is rumored that the firm of Buchanans and Lawson will amalgamate with the new company. A special meeting of the Collegiate trustees was held Thursday to consider the resignation of W.H. Thompson, B.A. from the position of science maste7t ,a_ C; ., Mr. Thompson saving•, • been appointed' ttq_, a - principalship at , Strath- Iona, N.W.T. The Provincial Government has ap- pointed D. MacDonald, LOOKING BACK clerk of the County Court of Huron, as district archivist. An event that augurs well for some good sport this season was the reorganization of the senior hockey club Friday night. The club expect to play at the rink here soon against a ladies' hockey club who are making a successful tour. Geo. Beckett has purchased Ye Olde Curiosity Shop from G.A. Green and will continue the business on Hamilton Street. 25 YEARS AGO Leon H. Black, general manager of the W.A. ' Sheaffer Pen Company of Canada Ltd. since last May, was elected president and a director ''of the Canadian Company last Friday.. Commend Dear Editor, Mr. Ron Pennington is to be commended for his interest and hard work in preserving the memorial to the unknown sailors lost during the Great Storm of November, 1913. Anyone who has heard or read accounts of that devastating blast of nature, cannot help but be intrigued by its ferocity. In the aftermath, The Globe newspaper dated Thursdays November 13, 1913, proclaimed on its front page: staunch vessels whipped to pieces; storm lashes Lake Huron into a three day fury; disastrous gale Purchase of the Goderich Dairy from R.B. Cousins of Brussels, has' been made by the Andrew Dairy, owned by Amos Andrew. Gerry O'Brien was elected president of Legion Branch 109 recently, succeeding Ralph Kingswell who has held the office for the past two years. Len Pennington, who recently opened a fruit market on Kingston Street, has taken over the operation of Larder's South End Grocery on South Street also. Spring-like weather last week had people in Goderich wondering what happened to winter. Several persons reported daisies blooming on their lawns. The Canadian Tire Corporation's store on North Street has been completely renovated and includes two new showcases. 5 YEARS AGO An emergency meeting of town council was called . on Thursday morning to discuss the possibility of• another proposed shopping plaza, this time in Goderich Township. The Hon. John White has put a freeze on all commercial development in Goderich and Colborne Townships until the matter of the proposed plaza for the Town of Goderich can be resolved. John Talbot, union steward for local 210 of the 'Service Employees International Union which represents non- professional employees at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, an- nounced late Tuesday that union members would be picketing the local hospital between 2 and 5 p.m. today in support of demands being made to the Province of Ontario. A delegation of 11 Goderich residents, who have become concerned with the safety aspects of the drive to being nuclear power generators on the line, travelled to the Bruce Nuclear Power Development on Wed- nesday evening and met with representatives of Ontario Hydro. ,' Rusty Ormandy, 15 of Goderich and Shirley McFadden, 15 of Clinton, placed second this weekend as a dance pair in the sectional figure skating competition held in Windsor. They are now preparing for the championships in January. DEAR EDITOR left an appalling record; and sailors' bodies washed ashore near Goderich. As a youth, Captain Robert A. Sinclair at- tended school in Goderich. In his book, "Winds Over Lake Huron," he attests to the magnitude of the storm: "a man went to the bank of Lake Huron to look out on the storm - - tossed waters. Gusts of wind were so strong that he put both arms around a tree to keep from being blown backward and although the bank was 80 feet high, he was soaked by the spray." Today, only two ships which experienced conditions on that fateful day can be found on the Great Lakes. ,–,) Captain S.A. Lyons, of the steamship J.H. Shead le downbound on Lake Huron, felt that his only chance of surviving the awesome conditions, was to steer a wide zigzag course from side to side of the lake. His decision proved to be correct. His ship, one of the few to survive, safely reached the port of Buffalo. In Sinclair's book it is stated that "the shaking up that the Sheadle received was so severe that when her hatch covers were taken off, her grain cargo was so compacted that a man could walk over it leaving his footprints, but not sinking down ankle deep as usual." Today, this ship is named the Meaford and All letters received by the editor will he published, unless they are considered by legal opinion to he libellous, All letters must he signed but pennames will he used on request. However, should someone call to request the name of the writer, the writer's identity will be revealed. sails for Upper Lakes Shipping Company. The only other vessel remaining can be found tied to the north _pier in the turning basin of Goderich harbour. On the morning of Saturday, November 8, 1913, the Howard M. Hanna Jr. loaded coal at Lorain, Ohio bound for Fort William. A relatively new ship, she had been launched at Cleveland five years previously. During the loading process, her concerned skipper, Captain Hagen noticed that the wheelhouse barometer was falling. During the month of November, a "falling glass" was not unusual and every at- tempt was made to complete trips before the impending winter freeze. In the early hours of the next morning, the Sarnia Lightship was passed. Conditions there were fair so the Hanna steamed on into, Lake Huron. Off Harbour Beach, the weather changed dramatically. Intense winds from the northeast made it impossible to Turn to Dave 5 • DEAR READE I am writing this week to destroy the myth that newspaper people - particularly weekly newspaper people - are robots, programmed to do the bidding of the community on signal. I know this news will come as a shock to many readers who for years have believed that reporters, photographers and editors are little more than min- dless, meddlesome machines that come when summoned and leave when told....some With faulty ',mechanisms that sometimes produce errors when nothing short of perfection is expected. A few readers even believe that these same newspaper . people possess ad- ditional capabilities -rather like the deluxe model robot -computer all rolled into one -that can perceive the future sand gather all data related to the community's desires and achievements on some kind of an ;n- atant recall tape for immediate playback to everyone, complete and accurate. Nothing could be further from the truth, Newspaper people -at least the ones with which I've been in contact during the last 16 years -are simple, ordinary folk with very human strengths and weaknesses. Some have homes and spouses and children. All have a private life and a need for rest and relaxation. It isn't unusual to get invitations to events around the area. This is right and proper. Signal -Star encourages readers to telephone, to write or to personally visit the office to inform staff of upcoming going's -on. In fact, Signal -Star depends on, that kind of community participation and co- operation. But in far too many situations, an invitation is more like a notice for a 6command perforrnance....and every once in a while, Signal -Star editorial people are made to feel they have somehow failed in their responsibility because they have been unable to at- tend an event or have reached a decision not to cover it. Sickness or accident is inexcusable. More pressing I'" commitments have no bearing. Nothing changes the hard fact that a reader has called the Signal -Star and expects immediate and positive response. In a way, it reminds me of the man silo wanted to be relieved of a problem. He tried all manner of remedies. None worked. Finally, in desperation, he got down on his knees and prayed. After,, waiting what he considered to be a suitable length o'f time, and having received no relief' from his problem, he was overheard to' say, ''That's the last time I'll put my faith in God. I prayed for my problem to be taken away and 1'still have it. God doesn't answer prayer." It took a little child to point to an alternate viewpoint. "Maybe God heard your prayer, okay. Maybe His . answer was no. , There are times when Signal -Star must say "no" to assignments. But some folks out there find it trtilydif- ficult to take no for an answer. Then the, threats start -to cancel subscriptions, pull out advertising, withdraw all visible support, even on occasion to inflict harm on Signal -Star staffers. There are times when wires get crossed, when reporters get sick, when time runs out, when the unexpected happens. But again, some people can't accept such legitimate excuses. And the telephone calls begin -first to the editorial department, then to others in the Signal -Star management positions, finally to anyone with even a remote connection to the Signal -Star. The same axe is ground for months just about anywhere -on the sidewalk downtown, in a restaurant, at a dance, at church. It may be the reason',that so many weekly newspaper people go into seclusion When they are not on duty. It gets a little much to be out for a quiet, romantic dinner with one's spouse only to be attacked by the waitress over a cribbage tournametit picture that was omitted from the paper.