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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-11-01, Page 4PAGE 4—GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1979 Goderich` The County Town Newspaper of Huron founded In 1690 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, '35.60 to U.S.A., '35.00 to all othor countries, single copies 35•. Display advertising rotes available on request. Please ash for Rater Card No. 9 effective Sept. 1, 1979. Second class moll Registration Number 0710. Advertlting is accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error, theadvertising 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 o typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or service may not be sold. Advertising Is merely art offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss 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 planning is necessary evil What has been described as a "controversial residential development" at Belgrave has received final approval. Seems that Belgrave is. a popular place for prospective new home owners to build, and the old saw about urban -rural relations has bogged down this expansion until recently. At least one farmer in the Belgrave area opposed the development because he claimed he was concerned about the restrictions that could be placed on his farming operation in the future. It can be a legitimate concern. There are actual' cases where farming operations have been restricted and even relocated because of pressure from neighbors. That explains why planners go to such great lengths to try to "legislate" compatibility between urban and rural dwellers. While the two may dwell 'peacefully side by side today, tomorrow may bring surprising discord and unexpected bitter disagreement. Situations change. Successful planning should ensure some built in protections for the future. Planning isn't easy. But it is necessary. In the Belgrave situation, the normal, orderly growth of the urban hamlet had priority. As long as it could happen without encroaching on an existing intensive farming operation, or an any reasonable expectations for the future farming activities in •that area, there was no reason to turn down the proposal for an urban development. But there is a side view .., the off chance that 10 or .--20-yea-r-s-down-•-the- road, a: -new -owner of adjacent farmland would want to begin an intensive farming operation, perhaps a large pig operation or a big chicken operation. The very existence of the urban development would make it virtually impossible for such an intensive farming spread to locate bp ad- jacent property. It would simply be inviting problems, planners say. Engineers with the Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food have established criteria for the amicable co -habitation of urban and rural dwellers in one neighborhood. These engineers and their standards have considerable influence when there is a question raised, whether it urban en- croaching on farmland or rural developments moving in on urban dwellers. It is interesting to note that around every urban municipality there is a restiicted farming zone ... and area where an intensive farming operation such as a large pig barn would not be permitted to locate. But there is no similar_ restriction on urban dwellings springing up in farming areas. In Huron County, if a person can meet the requirements for building in that municipality and can score a Certificate of Compliance from the engineers of the Ministry -of Agriculture and Food Office in Clinton, the urban -type dwelling in a rural area can go up. And suddenly, the neighboring farmers are in a restricted farming zone. There's no doubt about it. It is very much in the farmers' interests to be informed about proposed severances and the individual residences which are proposed for their neighborhoods. And farmers too should be vitally concerned about establishing new individual residences on their own farmlands. There may be no problem for years, but someday when the sale of the farm depends on whether or not a pig barn or a chicken barn can be established on the property, the individual residence on the corner of the farm may be a.drawback. - SJK Hints for lonely cooks A weekly newspaper editor hears all kinds of concerns from the people. who live in the com- munity. Not all readers are interested mainly in council happenings or school board hassles or PUC meanderings. Some folks are just wrapped up in their own little corners of the world .... and when you are a middle- aged couple whose children have left a gaping hole in the home or an elderly person living all alone and Clean is nice A trip to Clinton these crisp fall days -is. like a nostalgic journey into the past. Clinton citizens are still -permitted to burn their leaves, and there's something very nice about walking along the street and catching a whiff of smoke. as it drifts off a pile orburning leaves just around the corner'. But when the whiff becomes a cloud; when the sniff becomes a choking gust; when smiling eyes turn into teary pools, the'nostalgia disappears and in its place is gratitude for the lumbering old leaf sucker that trails up and doyvn Goderich streets this timeof year. The annual battle with Mother Nature's red and gold discards is in full swing .right. now. Homeowners are out in force raking them into piles on the boulevards or bagging and boxing them to save having to rake them again because the wind has redistributed them all over the lawn and garden before the leaf shredder arrived in the neigh- borhood. It's a once -a -year ritual that makes apartment dwellers glad they aren't homeowners. How fortunate Goderich citizens are, though, to live in a community where the air is always clean, , even during the hustle and bustle of leaf gathering.- SJK not liking it.very much, that corner of the world can often use some brightening. One complaint is common from that segment of the community. It is that mealtime becomes a gloomy part of the day. Cooking for one or two isn't .much fun, and too often good nutrition is forgotten in favor of toast and tea. The Huron County Home Economist, Grace Bird, in co-operation with, Cathy Thompson, community nutritionist with the Huron County Health Unit, have teamed up to provide a course entitled "The Commn Sense Approach to Nutrition and Cooking for One or Two". It' is a course that should be welcomed by a number of Huron people for it will emphasize cooking for one or two through the use of food demonstrations. There will, be recipe -books available along with tips for meal planning and shopping. There will be advice about the way pills affect your diet and a., little information about the numbers and kinds of pills people take. And there will be a good deal of talk about nutrition what nutrients people need each day for glowing good health and where to get these nutrients in 'your diet. There will even be some suggestions about estah!ishing an emergency shelf in your kitchen .... a supply of easy to prepare foods for when company drops in unexpectedly. It's'all free. Everyone is welcome. In this area,. there are four dates that could be convenient. They are November 15, November'19, November 27 and November 30. The place is the Huronview Day Care Centre at Clinton. The time is 1 pm 'to 3 pm. If you need further it formation, just call Miss Bird at 482-3j28.or-.Zenith 7-2800 if Clinton • is a long distance number from your telephone. Cooking for one or two can be an adventure. It doesn't have to be a'burden. Take some time,ou,t-to attend this self-improvement seminar. You won't be sorry. - SJK Bugs and brawn Preference? Dear Editor, I have worked actively with Consumers .Association of Canada for the last few years. This organization' works continuously for the rights 01 all Canadian consumers. • They have; appointed me to represent them on two committees at the Canadian Standards Association. One committee is working to - •sct,,;up the standards for the microwave oven. One of our first tasks is to set up a cooking dial label that is in the same ter - minology for all microwave ovens. This will enable cook- books to be written which may be- used for all models. Today, all dials do not have the same number of watts used in the high or the top setting. It .can range from 620 watts to 700 watts which effects thecooking time required. We have narrow,ed it down to two possible systems. The one we prefer is to label the dials in watts. This way the consumer 'on reading a recipe that calls for cooking at 650 watts, can adjust the cooking ' time either longer if the nearest setting on the set By Dave Sykes EDITOR is a lower number of watts, or shorter, if the. nearest, setting is higher. Another organization in -'Edmonton prefers to use high, high low, medium high,, etc. We have written them twice to find out their reasons for this and also have asked them to -join our committee so that we can all benefit from each others knowledge. So far we have received no reply. AS- the representative'• of the consumer, I would like to ask the people reading your paper to.let me know which system they would prefer and why. It will have a definite effect on the system we choose as well as helping 75 YEARS AGO The Goderich Planing Mill Company ha's finished the Methodist parsonage at Dungannon and Lane's, a one and a half storey brick at Lanesville; will finish its. $9,000 job at Bayfield; and will finish the dwellings of Mrs.. W.A. Rhynas, on East Street, Thomas Harris on Nelson Street and William Hutcheson on Picton Street, all -next -week. The past week, five of our private residences were visited by daring housebreakers or burglars and in each instance, robberies were committed. There are a few cases of scarlet fever in town at present but our people are not alarmed as it is,an annual visitor. me to he•effective as'the consumer's voice. I can he reached at 524- 9688. - • Sincerely, Lynn Todgham 72 Colborne St., Goderich. Grateful Dear Editor, On behalf of the Sun - coast Mall Merchants Asseociation, I would like to express our ap- preciation to . all the youngsters - who par- ticipated in the Jack-O- Lantet'n Contest ' on October 27. • There were so many excellent entries, I am sure it was most difficult -1 for the Judges to make their decision. We are indeed very grateful' for your interest in the contest. Yours truly, Frank Pontes, President, Suncoast Mall Merchants Association. Write a letter to the editor LOOKING The town employees moved the seats from Court House Square on Wednesday and placed them,in the Town Hall. The move saves them from the weather and saved them from being burned on election night. The Lumber Company has nearly completed its 30,000 feet contract for Contractor Pigott. Mr. Pigott has piled a large quantity of square timber to be used for trestle work, on the island, and -took another crib of square timber up the river this week. 25 YEARS AGO Expectations are that MMus rs will be called soon for an engineering' project involving repairs at Goderich harbor, according to an an- nouncement made in Ottawa on Monday by the Federal Public Works Department. Hallowe'en was relatively quiet in Goderich last Saturday night but it was on the previous night that considerable damage was caused by vandals. ,g King Winter made his first visit to Goderich an early one this year, dumping a couple of inches of snow on the town on Sunday. The official opening of the new wing at the Huron County Home in Clinton was held last Friday. A by-law authorizing the borrowing of $300,000 on a debenture issue was passed by Huron County Council at a special session here Monday. The money is needed to make BACK up the balance of the -amount necessary to pay for construction of the new Huron County Court House and County Building in Goderich. 5 YEARS AGO The vice-president of Rockledge Properties Limited, Gordon Smith of Goderich, told the Signal - Star Tuesday that his company would definitely he building a plaza at their site on Highway 8 just east of town. Ontario Energy Minister Darcy McKeough was in Goderich Tuesday, th'e day after he presented a brief to, the municipal leaders of Bruce County concerning the development of Bruce Nuclear Power Station. He made three different appearances in Goderich, each time explaining the province's energy situation. The people of Goderich and area aren't a whole lot closer this week to the realization of a shopping plaza here than they were last week. At time of writing, neither Suncoast or Rockledge have an undisputed permit to build and during the past few days, Goderich Township served notice it will make application for a judicial review of tlW OMB hearings held. The senior Vikings are first place finishers in the Huron -Perth football conference with a perfect six win -no loss record following. their 22-13 victory over South Huron Panthers Tuesday. DEAR READER BY SHIRLEY J.KELLER Let's get something up front. I'm no student of economics. I'm not a financial whiz. Anything you read in this column is the result of some careful reading of a speech delivered by Gerald K. Bouey, governor of the Bank of Canada. Bouey spoke to the House of Com- mons Standing Committee on finance, trade and economic affairs. And if I understood what 'Bouey said - and I think I did - it makes good sense to allow the interest rate to go up. Interest rates right now are at record levels in relation to this country's in- terest rate history. The interest rate charged by banks on demand loans to prime borrowers is 1334 percent. Other • borrowers pay more. Housing mor- tgages are in the 1314 to 1334 percent range. That seems high. But there's a difference between interest rates and "real" interest rates. The interest rate when set against the rate at which inflation is reducing the value of money, will give you the "real" interest rate. So says Bouey. It seems to depend whether you are borrower or a lender. The true lenders are, of course, the savers in Canada. The folks who hold deposits with banks, trust companies and credit unions. The people who buy life insurance policies, contribute to pension funds and pur- chase bonds. If you are 'a borrower, the interest rate looks high. If you are a lender, the interest you receive in relation to the declining purchasing power of . the money you have loaned and will eventually get hack, looks small. Therefore, low "real" interest rates cannot reasonably be expected to continue because they impose no real cost whatsoever on borrowers and penalize rather than reward savers. Inflation then, is the problem to be handled. People are losin.g confidence in the future value of money. It is FEAR that is threatening the future for Canadians. Faith must be restored, and according to Bouey, raising the interest rate will help. Here's how. "A rise in interest rates discourages borrowing and spending," says Bouey. "This brake on spending causes markets for goods and services to be less buoyant and more competitive than they would otherwise he with the result that businesses find it more difficult to raise their prices," The rise in interest rates increases the pressure on business to hold down its other costs of production, including labor costs, as well as its profit margins and prices. These same in- fluences should also operate in turn in the direction of causing employees to moderate their demands for higher money incomes. Bouey also feels the rise in interest rates helps to maintain the foreign' Bouey says Canadians must be exchange value of the Canadian dollar prepared to do those things that are and in that way, helps to protect necessary to restore the faith of people business firms and others from the in the future value of their money: Our higher' prices and costs . of in- money. ternationally-traded goods that would result from a lower exchange rate. "It is because of all of 'these in- fluences that one must look beyond the immediate impact of higher interest rates on business costs to undrstand their restraining effect on the rate of inflation," says Botley. Bouey pointed out it was the mai job of the Bank of Canada "to ex- rise control over the quantity of money and credit supplied to the Canadian exonomy through the operations of our -Nanking system"'. Canadians are.at a crucial stage in the fight against inflation, Bouey believes. "I think it can he said that we have reached a crisis of credibility in this matter," said Bouey. "Do we continue the battle or do we forget about it for a time because we fear a period of slower economic growth?" There's the word again. Fear. The governor of the Bank of Canada says that if we stay with it, we have a very good chance of pulling out of this period with a solid basis for a sound future.,A non -inflationary, highly compeitive economy. High em' ployment. A strong external position. I accept that. Let's get busy and make it work. A