HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-10-11, Page 5PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1979
Goderich
SIGNAL -STAR
The County Town Newspaper of Huron
-
Founded in 1840 and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA
and OWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable In advance •16.00 in
Canada. •55.00 to U.S.A., 35.00 to all other countries, single copies 55'. Display advertising
rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Card No. 9 effective Sept. 1. 1979. Second
class mall Registration Number 0716. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that in the
event of typographical orror,ftho 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 rate. in the event of a
typographical error advertising goads or services at a wrong price. goods or service may
not bo sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may bo withdrawn at any time. The
Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos.
Published by Sigt18l-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
Business and Editorial Office
TELEPHONE 524-8331
area code 519
You and your support needed
The Meals on Wheels program in Goderich needs
YOU. It needs your time. It needs your faithful
service. It needs your interest and your support.
Goderich people haven't heard much about Meals
on Wheels in the last year or so. But the service has
been quietly and efficiently provided by a group of
volunteerworkers who don't make a big thing of
their contribution to the community.
The rest of Goderich's citizens have been letting
the willing horses do the job. All the time worn
cliches apply here. Don't rock the boat. Let sleeping
dogs lie. No news is good news. Let George do it.
The truth of the matter is, 15 Goderich people
receive one hot meal a day five days of the week at
a very minimal cost if they can pay, at no cost if
money is short. The meals are prepared by the
kitchen staff at Alexandra Marine and General
Hospital and can even be made up to satisfy special
dietary requirements. These meals are delivered
every evening by a staff of volunteer drivers.
The volunteer drivers are often more than
delivery persons. Some of them become special
friends to the people to whom they take the meals.
They enjoy a visit with their clients perhaps, or
drop a letter off at the post office for them, or call
the doctor or a family member if they don't look
well. It is a worthwhile, appreciated volunteer
service that needs mpore people to help out and
reduce the load for some others.
Other volunteers are required to organize the
drivers, administer the funds, assess the needs of
applicants, find new ways to expand the service.
Two very special ladies, Isobel McDonald, and
Muriel Stokes have been involved with the service
since its inception several years ago. They, along
with another faithful volunteer, Evelyn
Washington, do all the administration of the service
and also fill in as volunteer drivers on evenings
when' others forget or get sick or are unable to help
out.
Now, this trio wishes to retire from this
responsibility. That's understandable, too. They
have given generously for a long time. It is
somebody else's turn.
Who will accept the challenge?
A special meeting has been called for Friday
evening to discuss the whole Meals on Wheels
situation. Information will be given about every
aspect of Meals on Wheels and a call will go out for
volunteers to keep the much needed service going
and expand it.
Many more than 15 people in Goderich would
benefit from the Meals on Wheels service. But there
are two main stumbling blocks.
First, AM&G can provide only 15 meals a day in
addition to the meals prepared at the hospital with
present staff. Naturally, if the hospital hired more
people, more meals could be made up. But if ad-
ditional people were hired to expand the service,
the price of the meals would go up far out of the
reach of the people who use the service. Obviously
then, that's no solution.
Suggestion has been made the kitchen at the
Bluewater Centre for the Developmentally Han-
dicapped might be able to provide additional meals,
or that the kitchen at Maitland Manor might also be
pressed into service. But at the moment, that kind
of discussion hasn't been pursued because of the
second problem ... lack of volunteer drivers.
Delivery of fifteen meals a day seems to be about
all the present staff of volunteers can handle. But
with more volunteers, more meals could easily be
delivered. With many more volunteers, it wouldn't
be hardship for anyone.
Meals' on Wheels go to all kinds of people. They
can go to elderly people who live alone and depend
on the hot, well balanced meals to provide the kind
of regular nourishment they need to stay in their
own Homes`. They can go to younger, handicapped
people who wouldn'teasily be able to prepare their
own full course meals. They can go to people who
are mentally handicapped, without the knowledge
or understanding of proper nutrition. They can go to
newly blind persons who live alone and haven't yet
mastered the art of cooking a regular meal. They
can go to lonely people who are so depressed they
would allow themselves to slowly starve to death if.
it wasn't for Meals on Wheels and the friendly,
interested person who delivers them.
Yes, there are all kinds of people right here in
Goderich, whose lives are made more bearable
because of Meals on Wheels. There's absolutely no
doubt an expanded service would be of tremendous
benefit to this community and the wide variety of
people who reside here.
Who can be a volunteer? You can.
Let's have no copping out. Let's have no excuses.
Everybody can make some time in, his or her life for
something other than self.-SJK
We have human attributes
It is National Newspaper, Week. This is a
newspaper so consequently, it is Goderich Signal -
Star week. Let's hear it for the local news sheet.
• At times like this, editors and reporters often take
the opportunity to point out all the wonderful things
their newspapers provide to the community. And
it's true. The hometown paper is a great forum for
everyone in the district to use as a platform for
their ideas and concerns, •and as a source of in-
formation for everything from town council's latest
zoning change to the price of toothpaste at the drug
store. •
No other instrument in the community binds
people together like the newspaper does.
But for this time in National Newspaper Week,
this newspaper will admit some of its shortcomings
to the public. They are all well known to staff and
every effort is being made to provide or replace
what is missing.
Still, a newspaper is a business and it has to be
operated as a business or it will fail. The philosophy
of freedom of '"the press and ,the high ideals of
courageous reporting and impartiality in the news
columns often get tangled up in the dollars and
cents side of the operation.
And that's a shortcoming, albeit an unavoidable
one in this day of economic pressures.
There are other. shortcomings at Signal -Star. An
imperfect balance of news .... too much of
something, not enough of something else, nothing at
all of some. things. An absence of new, fresh ideas
that would make this paper sparkle. A failure at
times to treat everyone alike in all things. An oc-
casional bad decision that allows someone to be
judged unfairly. Errors that insult and embarrass.
Less than adequate typography. Amateur handling
of professional undertakings.
Looking over the list - and who among you
couldn't add your own recitation of pet peeves when
it comes to The 'Goderich Signal -Star - it is abun-
dantly clear such failings are human in nature.
And that says so much about your weekly
newspaper. It is plagued as all humanity, with
weaknesses and failures.
But like the human form it has a heart that beats -
steadily. It can laugh, it can 'cry, it can grow sick, it
can die. It can think, not always° correctly. It can
move, not always forward. It can see, not always
clearly. It can hear, not always faultlessly.
You can love a newspaper or you can hate it. But
you can't deny its existence or its powerful per-
sonality in everything it touches.
Your newspaper is . your partner, your friend.
Treat it as such. - SJK
Here wegoagain
Four R's
Dear Editor,
In the article, "School
is the four Rs", our Lord
Jesus Christ is described
as "the living God". In
another paragraph,
readers are urged to,
"Find out how . Bible
based are its principles".
And one paragraph
states, ' "The Lord's
Prayer is to go because it
offends the non-
Christian."
How Bible based is the
claim that Jesus is, "the
living . God"? The Bible
identifies the living God
as the One'.'Whose name
alone is JEHOVAH... the
most high over all the
earth." (Psalm 83:18
King James version).
Writing to Ephesian
Christians, Paul said:
"Blessed be the God and
Father of our' Lord'Jesus
Christ..." (Ephesians
1:3). And John records at
chapter 20, verse 17:
"Jesus saith... 'I ascend
By Dave Sykes
DEAR EDITOR
unto my Father, and. your
Father; and to my God,
and your God'."
The Lord's prayer
begins: "Our' Father",
which is in full harmony
with Paul's words, as
well as those at John
20:17. The first petition
is' "Hallowed by thy
name" What does Psalm
83:18 say that name is?
In addition to that,
Peter is credited as
having said: "Thou
(Jesus) art the Christ, the
Son of the living God."
(Matthew 16:16) Fur-
thermore, Jesus himself
stated: "The living
Father hath sent me"
(John 6:57)
• Consequently, as ,a
Christian, appreciating
what Jesus said at John
17:3: "This is life eternal,
that they might know
thee the only true God
AND Jesus Christ,
WHOM THOU HAST
SENT." I must protest
such misrepresentation
of the Bible.
Sincerely your's,
C.F. Barney
Give a gift
Dear Editor,
You may never meet a
blind person in the course
of your day. Yet in this
district alone there are
724 blind people.
Most of them lead quiet
lives, turning to ,CNIB
from time to time for the
occasional service. They
can do this because in the
past sighted persons like
you made substantial
donations, to CNIB's
annual campaign.
With your financial
support, along with that
of community funds and
some government grants,
CNIB , a private agency,
has developed 80 • dif-
ferent services in
rehabilitation and
prevention of blindness.
In today's world there
is a need for mobility
training, recorded
reading materials, new
kinds of employment
opportunities and senior
citizen care. Special
'• electronic aids are now
becoming available.
These assist the blind
• person to keep pace with
his sighted neighbors.
Prevention of blindness
services' must also be
financed from donor
dollars.
We • hope you will
consider this letter your
invitation to make a
donation to the CNIB
campaign. You may not
know your blind neigh-
bors, but your gift will
enrich their lives and, at
the same time, provide
services in prevention of
blindness.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carl Riegling,
Campaign Chairman,
Ashfield and West
Wawanosh Township.
Worthwhile
Dear Editor,
The concept of a
"District News Page"
(such as the Signal -Star)
one) may well be worth
the time and effort of the
Weekly News Network
for Huron County.
Its value, should be
more evident now that
our major daily. has
chosen to opt out of Huron
County.
I don't like the news
vacuum that's left and
there doesn't seem to be
much hope in getting the
London Free Press
bureau going again for
county news coverage.
Any possibilities?
Paul Carroll,
Seaforth.
Got
an opinion?
Let it
be known
in a
letter
to the editor
75 YEARS AGO
The town council has
made a good change
removing the fence which
for so many years has
circled •the beautiful
Court House Park. The
suggestion has been
rnade that a granolithic
walk be built around
between where the fence
was and the water table.
Those citizens who
have promised to aid in
building the Alexandra
Hospital, medical men,
merchants and all in-
terested in its building,
are requested to meet in
the, Court House on
Monday evening, October
17. The leading question
will be as to whether the
,committee shall proceed
with the erection on the
lots on Wellington Street
or whether a building
LOOKING BACK
suitable for a hospital
shouldbe purchased or
leased.
The concert given by
the Marine Band in the
West Street rink on
Thursday evening was
well attended.
The cement brick
making company is
shipping brick to
Stratford and are carting
them to the end of the
track, the railroad
company not having yet
extended the track as
promised.
The Goderich Planing
Mill Company took a big
load of mechanics- to
Bayfield on Monday to
work on the company's
contracts in that village.
25 YEARS AGO
Thieves netted about
$40 in an early morning
break-in yesterday at the
CNR freight shed in
Goderich.
Manager of the
Goderich Arena for over
four years, Lorne D.
Wakelin, 40, last Friday
was named manager of
the $1,000,000 municipal
stadium being built in St.
John's, Newfoundland:
According to statistics
obtained from the Town
of Goderich voters' list, a
total of 127 more voters
than last year will be
eligible to go to the polls
in the December
municipal election here.
A 200 -acre farm in the
Auburn district that had
been in the same family
for three generations was
sold at an auction
Monday, breaking a link
that had been established
for about a century. The
farm was part of the
estate , of Walter
Washington. It was
bought by Dan Pitblado
at a reported price of
$20,000.
A • week-long strike of
plumbers which halted
millions of do.11ars wbrth
of building in Huron,
Perth. Middlesex and
Oxford Counties was
dated to end yesterday.
5 YEARS AGO
Dearborn Steel Tubing
Manufacturing recently
revealed plans to double
their floor space at their
welding shop on Bayfield
Road.
Release of Ontario
Hydro's long-range plans
this ,week confirmed that
the Goderich area is still
considered as .a possible
site for a nuclear power
generating station.
The Goderich
•Municipal Nursery
School committee
chaired by Elsa Haydon
has been given the
authority to investigate
the purchase of property
to house the nursery
- school presently
operating at MacKay
lfall.
After overcoming the
problem of heating its
gymnasium enough to
hold classes there tem-
porarily, Victoria Public
School hds encountered a
problem with insufficient
lighting in the room.
Two visitors to
Goderich arrived here
very excited last week.
The New York City
residents came here to
see if the town really
existed. Their names are
Angel and Evelyn
Goderich.
DEAR
READER
BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER
I really must admit it. Thanksgiving
just plainly "snuck up".on the editorial
department of The Signal -Star this
year. It was on -us and we were not
ready. No Thanksgiving editorial. No
Thanksgiving picture. Not even a
Thanksgiving message from the
ministers in our area.
And to be frank, I think it was the
case with a great many people.
Thanksgiving is just another long
weekend ... a time to have the family
home and cook a big dinner or a time to
truck off for a short holiday to look at
the coloring trees. It isn't a day of
giving thanks as it was originally in-
tended to be.
That's probably because we of 1979 in
Ontario don't understand how much we
have for which we should be truly
thankful. We're so accustomed to the
light we have forgotten what darkness
is like.
Maybe I'm the exception. I don't
know. But I recall all too well those
other days and I spend a part of almost
every day now giving thanks for the
blessings I have.
I didn't live through the depression.
but , that isn't a prerequisite for
acknowledging one's good fortune. And
I didn't ever go hungry as a-childor live
in fear of spending even one night
without a warm bed or a loving family.
I've never been without shoes and
clothes sufficient to keep me decently
clad.
So what's so unusual about that? To
what "other daysi'.am I referring?
Well, I guess I'm talking about the
days before I learned to be satisfied
with things as they are ... and to be
continually clamoring for more, more
and more. Those horrible "can't -get -
enough -m ust-have-more-all-the-time"
days. _
Maybe that kind of satisfaction
comes with age. But 1 doubt , it. I
suspect it is a state of mind that occurs
when a person realizes his or her in-
significance in the whole spectrum of
time and space and admits that in
relation to what's available in the
universe, attainment of things can
•
never bring joy or peace.
A person always has to come up short
on that kind of a measuring stick. No
matter how much you get, there's
always so much more to be had.
So I use another gauge. In deal in other
commodities most of the time ... like a
warm smile for everyone I meet .... like
giving my time and my talents for the
happiness of others ... like loving my
family and friends to the fullest extent
of my human abilities ... like doing as
much as I can wherever I happen to be'
to share myself and what I have with
others who need what I can offer.
It's exciting and rewarding. Some
days it is harder than other days. Often
I fail. -
But one thing I've discovered without
a doubt. The more you give, the more
you get. Talk about pressed down and
over -flowing. And with those kind of
odds, you've got to be happier, more
peaceful and more satisfied.
On Thanksgiving then, 'I have a
different attitude than some people.
The things I don't have just don't enter
into the picture becauselhey have been
rendered as secondary. It is the
multitude of marvellous blessings I
enjoy every day that overwhelm me ..,
and I give thanks.
Like the gift of two good eyes and two
good ears and reasonably good health
that allows me to go to work each day;
like a job that I truly enjoy and some of
the 'talent I need to do it as well as
most.
Like a loving husband who thinks I'm
a very special woman; like children
who come home though they are away
and let me know in all the little ways
that they love me and respect me; like
an extended family that keeps me in.
their thoughts as I think of them; like a
lovely home far and away ahead of
anything I ever hoped t'o enjoy; like a
bountiful smorgasbord of food in the
grocery stores and the money to buy all
of what I need and some of what I
shouldn't have.
Like the freedom to speak as I feel, to
worship as I wish, to live without op-
pression. Like a blue sky and a blaze -
red tree and a soft gleaming snowbank
and a clear running stream. �
Like a creator at the helm; keeping
all things orderly and in balance
Maybe I am a week Bate with this.
But When you think about it, there's no
one day for being thankful.
J