HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-11-28, Page 34J
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Page t8--Crossroads—Nov. 28, 1984
Shirley Whittington
The fowlingofalake
(honk if you lo ve geese)
The subject today is geese.
Annually several hundred
Canada Geese take up
temporary residence on the
shores of a little lake within
our town limits.
The lake is so appealing it
has been described as the
jewel in our municipal navel.
Because of the hyperactive
alimentary tracts of our
visiting geese, the navel now
has an awful of -um -lint in it.
When the enormous deep -
chested birds'first flew into
town several years ago, they
were a big hit. The resident
gulls nearly died of envy.
More than one female was
seen flexing her wings and
saying, "I must, I must, I
must develop my bust."
We townsfolk took the big
honkers to our hearts. We fed
them, and felt noble and
Assisi -like. Quivering with
patriotism we shepherded
overseas visitors down to the
lake to see the magnificent
Branta Canadensis. A de-
lightful pic,ture of three
geese standing at lake's
edge, won a Chamber of
Commerce photography
'contest and is now .featured
in our town's promotional
brochure.
Gradually we discovered
that Canada geese are quick
and efficient grain re-
'cyclers. They eat, and then
they drop their gooseberries
all over the grassy lawns and
beaches, .a procedure which
has caused us tore -name the
birds Branta Canadensis
Polyfeces.
Summer rains wash the
gooseberries down into the
lake, and this results in a
high fecal coliform count.
For two years in a row,
we've had to close out beach
to 'swimmers because the
water is too dirty to swim in.
Since this town counts
tourism as one of its primary
industries, you can under-
stand that we are now
looking at our geese with less
than friendly eyes.
That flock has grown fast-
er than crabgrass in the
suburbs. Where there was
once a dozen there are now
hundreds. They love the
calm reedy waters of the
lake. They find foraging in
the grass rewarding. And
I'm sure they cry "Alas, my
poor brother" every time
they hear a hunter's gun go
off in the marsh a few miles
away.
Our little lake has become
the Miami Beach of goose-
dom.
By the time you read this
column Goosey Gander and
Goosey Lucy and the whole
honking herd will have
flapped away to warmer
southern climes for the rest
of the winter. Our lake will
slowly regenerate. But next
spring, the geese will be
back with their sunglasses
and air mattresses, and
dozens of newcomers who
have heard about this goosey
paradise from their friends.
By August our beach will
be closed again.
We have a few months to
find a solution to the prob-
lem. We have considered
shooting them, a procedure
which would require a
temporary lifting of gun
restrictions within the town
limits. But establishing a one
day goose hunt didn't sit well
with most of us. It seems un-
sporting to blast the day-
lights out of a bunch of vaca-
tioning geese who have been
living in what amounts to a
bird sanctuary.
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Members of the local
Hunters and Anglers
Association agree that a
goose hunt is not sportsman-
like so that leaves us still
with about 300 more geese
than we need for local color.
Should we import
predators? Anything big
enough to capture one of
those big birds with the
lethal wings would alsp be a
threat to swimmers and pic-
nickers. To set a pair of
cheetahs among the geese
would in the long run be
counter-productive, if it's
tourism we're after.
Please be assured that I
am not starting any feather-
brained Save -The -Geese
campaign. I want them out
of there — most of them, at
any rate. Those long -necked
beggars are multiplying so
fast we'll soon have to put
them on the voter's list.
We have about six months
to figure out some way of
arranging a climate of co-
existence. I'm appealing to
all of you who read this
column. Some of you in other
communities must have had
a similar problem. How did
you solve it? Cheetahs?
Shooters? Mass export?
I'll be waiting to hear from
yoti. We need to know what to
do.
Honk if you love geese.
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By Margaret Arbuckle
"Fatal Vision", the latest
in the never-ending offering
of TV mini-series, has
something ,not too many of
the rest -have: a good story.
The program only was four
hours in length and aired last
Sunday and Monday
evenings on CTV, giving
viewers the luxury of not
having to tie up the whole
week in front of the tube.
"Fatal vision" is based
upon the true story of Dr.
Jeffrey MacDonald, an ex -
Green Beret who currently is
spending three consecutive
life sentences in a Texas
prison for the 1970 murder off
his pregnant wife Colette and
their two small daughters.
MacDonald was a free
man for almost 10 years
after the murders, but was
retried in 1979 and found
guilty according to the
evidence presented.
In "Fatal Vision", as in
reality, it is MacDonald's
father-in-law, Freddy
Kassab, who gradually
comes to the realization his
son-in-law's story of four
' drug -crazed hippies mur-
dering his family, while only
inflicting superficial wounds
upon MacDonald, simply
does not hold water.
Ovgr the next several
years it is Kassab and his
wife Mildred who press for a
retrial of the son-in-law they
once had so staunchly
supported.
The Kassabs are por-
trayed by veteran actors
S
BILL
BRA1VIAH''
ONTARIO
GLOBAL TELEVISION'S
As ROVING REPORTER
People in Sudbury chuckle
when they see Rusty Blakey
riding to work on his bicycle.
He doesn't like driving, wear
or even riding in one if he can
avoid it. A rather small, thin,
elderly man, he pedal's along
to his office looking very
much like a mild-mannered
clerk, or perhaps a book-
keeper:
The irony of this is that
Rusty is' on his way to
Ramsay Airways. He's their
top bush pilot!
Not only that, he's thought
to be the most experienced
bush pilot in the world! He's
logged over 33,000 hours in
the 46 years he's been flying
planes into the northern
wilderness.
He doesn't fit the image of
those early swashbuckling,
adventurous men who flew
into rugged bush country,
putting down their small
planes into small spaces. But
he's one of the pioneers in the
business, and he knows
Northern Ontario like the
back of his hand.
He began his career in 1937
with Austin Airways as a
general .helper: The next
year he became a pilot, and
has been ferrying feight and
passengers to Indian
reserves, mining settle-
ments, and isolated outposts
ever since.
To the sick, lost, or injur• ed
in a cruel country that shows
no pity, Rusty's mercy
missions have often made
the difference between life
and death. But he's modest
and unassuming. He plays
down his exloits and at-
tributes the fact that he's
never had a serious -accident
to "common sense, but
mostly luck."
• Rusty took my wife Jenny
and myself for a short trip
over the Sudbury area. I
asked him about the my-
stique surrounding the
rough-and-ready daring of
bush pilots of fiction. He dis-
missed the idea as the pro-
duct of overly active im-
Arthntis is ci serious
health problem in
Ontario. Please
give it. more than a
thought and help
arthritis research
continue to pay off.
The Arthritis Society
Ontario Division
920 Yonge Street
Suite 420
Toronto,' Onta rio
M4W.3J7
Karl Malden and Eva Marie
Saint with sensitivity and a
drive for justice. However
the real laurels go to
newcomer Gary Cole for his
stunning and eerie per-
formance in the role of Dr.
Jeffrey MacDonald.
In a recent interview m
People magazine, Cole said
he did not know anything
about the MacDonald case
until he picked up a copy of
Joe McInnis' 1983 bestseller
aginations.
"We had sone characters,
all right," he said with a
grin. "But all of them were
dedicated pilots."
As we landed on Lake
Ramsay after our run to wit
the famous airman, J y
said, "If I'd been holding a
full cup of coffee, I wouldn't
have spilled a drop."
Rusty's age is a well -kept • •
secret, but friends say he
must be in his mid -seventies.
And in a few more years,
he'll hit the half -century
mark as a bush pilot!
Fatal Vision.
Accprding to the article,
Cole admitted to being
"haunted" by the subject,
but obviously put any
qualms behind him because
he portrays MacDonald
without judgment and with
the intensity of the man who
claims his innocence to this
day.
In fact MacDonald's
lawyers petitioned NBC not
to air "Fatal Vision" at this
time since they feel it will
interfere with his latest
request for a retrial.
It has been reported that
MacDonald had hoped
Robert Redford would
portray him onscreen, but he.
should not be disappointed
because there already is talk
of an 'almost -assured Emmy
win for Cole.
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