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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-04-26, Page 4Editorial Viewpoint Te need the Ko I he plan to develop a Knights of Columbus Hall in the east of of town is a welcome announcement for the community of Wingham. For a long time, residents have been voicing their opinions about having to drive to places like Brussels, Belmore and Teeswater to have dances, wedding recep- tions, stag and does, athletic banquets. And for a long time, people have had to leave those centres to return to Wingham with maybe just a bit too much pleasure on their breath. The need for a community hall in Wingham cannot be ignored. We need this hall and we need the Knights of Columbus. In addition, the concerns of the neighbors of the pro- posed site must also be given merit. The potential for noise' and increased traffic is certainly a valid point. The . citizens whose homes have been established for several years deserve to be heard on this. What better a time for this community to show that it can progress with co-operation between the town coun- cil, the Knights of Columbus and the residents of the pro- posed development area. For those who spoke of "It can be done in Wingham," your money had best be somewhere near your voice box. -CJW tiljg i .gbaut Tt$ttant -Irtlago Published each Wednesday at: Box 390, 5 Diagonal Road, Wingham, Ontari o NOG 2W0 Phone (519) 357-2320 Fax: (S19)357-2900 I.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 We are: Jim. Beckett - Publisher Audrey Currie- Manager Cameron J. Wood- Pditor Norma Colley - Ad. Rep. Jim Brown - Reporter Stephen Pritchard - Comp. Eve Buchanan- Office Luise Welwood - Office Another undemocratic step Since the introduction of photo radar in the province, news agencies — particularly radio - have been broad- casting the locations of the police vans that house the cameras. Now, after all the hoopla and money collected, the Ontario Provincial Police is complaining about the broadcasts and examining ways to muzzle the media. Their argument is that by broadcasting the photo radar sites, the radio stations. are encouraging people to speed. The photo radar system has been a controversial addi- tion to our highways. Nothing short of a tax grab, the system does nothing to curb speeding on our highways: All that it really does is create little alleys of slower trav- el preceded and succeeded by the now accepted high speeds. The OPP should not be arguing that broadcasting pho- to radar sites encourages speeding; they Should be ar- guing that photo radar does little to save lives on our su- perfast highways. Radar enforcement in the past has required personal contact with a police officer hence enforcement. Photo radar is just another New Democrat money - grab, designed to take more from our pockets while do- ing nothing to preserve out safety on the roads. Just another undemocratic step towards a police state. — CJW • And the war between men rages on A reason to smile Wing. ham The Knights of Columbus are looking to end the days when. the residents of Wingham have to drive elsewhere to- have a community function. Let's hope it will all go ahead. Memberof:. OCNA CCNA The W Ingham A dv ante -Times is a member of a family of community newspapers pro- viding news, advertising and information leadership. Letters to the Editor All letters to the editor must bear the writer's name, telephone num- ber and address. The Advance -Times wel- comes letters. We re- serve the right to edit, but will endeavor to preserve the author's intent. Deadline for letters is Monday before 10:00 a.m.. Some exceptions may apply. Fax: (519) 357-2900 or mail to: P.O. Box 390, Wingham, Ontario, - NOG 2W0 APRIL 1948 Hugh Hill, Colborne Township farmer, will carry the Liberal ban- ner into the June 7 provincial election against John W. Hanna, MLA, in the Huron -Bruce riding. Five menwere nominated for the candidacy, including Wingham lawyer R. S. Hetherington. A presentation and dance will be held in St. Helen's Community Hall for newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Robinson, the former Mary Humphrey, on Thursday evening. On April 21st, a bunch of red carnations sat on Prime Minister King's desk at the opening of the Commons to mark his achieve- ment in establishing a new Com- monwealth Record for days of service --7,621 days. Mrs. Hugh Gilmour of Turn - berry received the IDA monthly jackpot prize, a radio -phonograph., which she won in the contest over CKNX radio. Charles Souch, who recently lost his house by fire, has pur- chased, the farm of Mr. P. J Kelly on the 8th concession of Morris. APRIL 1961 The engagement is announced of Elizabeth Anne, daughter of Mrs. William H. McKinney and the late Mr. McKinney to John Douglas Congram, son of Mr.•and' Mrs. Wilfred Congram of Wing - ham. The marriage, will take place early in May. Just at press time, word was re- ceived that J. A. (Jud) Foxton of Wingham, an I1 -year employee with the Wingham Rural Hydro, was fatally electrocuted at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Dr. Stewart Leedham was elected president of the Wingham; Kinsmen Club last Friday eve - ning. John Strong was the guest speaker at the annualockey ban- quet staged. by the Gorrie- Wroxeter Athletic Assocation with Margaret Stapleton which was held in Gorrie last Wednesday evening. The new Turnberry Central School will be opened this Sep- tember. At the. April meeting, ' tenders were opened for two schools that were advertized for sale. Roy Adair was successful in his bid of $251 for the Junction- ville School, while Fred Mont- gomery will purchase Douglas School for $125. APRIL 1971 J. H. Crawford and Alan R. Mill are pleased to announce that Ross Davies has joined them in the practice of law. Mr. Davies is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law . School and was called to the bar in March of this year. A service of remembrance was held in Willowdale on April 25 for Rev. W. A. Beecroft, former minister of the Wingham United Church,'who passed away earlier this month. The Canadian Radio -Television Commission has approved instal- lation of a cable broadcasting sys- tem at Kincardine. Eric Walden of Wingham will head the new com- pany. Mr. and Mrs. Lorne Carmichael are the new owners of the Wing - ham Stedman store. APRIL 1981 Young Billy Tolton of Wing - ham rushed home after school Monday to get in a couple of hours of trout fishing before sup- per. Murray Elston, newly -elected member of the provincial Legisla- ture for Huron -Bruce, is to be the Liberal Party critic of the solicitor general's ministry. Dana Collins is the n6,4I golf pro at the Wingham dub. Clifford Coultes of Belgrave helped to pull an injured man from a butting car near Durham last weekend. We all saw the blood„ the uned- ited newsreels of victims in extreme shock, the massive destruction of human life and con- crete. But perhaps the most gripping im- age from Oklahoma City last Wednesday was the children. Inno- cence if there ever was, ravaged by a cowardly act of•terrorism. • So dramatic is the impact in the United States that one of Washing- ton's most left-leaning, liberal col- umnist now says he believes in capi- tal P tal punishment. "-Aad„ these developments in Okla- homa havJ Left me angry too. They have left me questioning this war that continues between men. A war that claims the lives of the innocent rather than the guilty. To correlate this tragedy to Mid dle East terrorism is not far off the mark. Many innocent people in that region of the world live in fear daily of terrorist attacks. The religious war that has raged for centuries targets everyone, regardless of age or sex. And tragically; it is 'people of Middle Eastern descent that will see the finger pointing their way. The Irish have turned their histor- ic countryside into a battlefield of the cross: divided by Catholicism and Protestant beliefs. I'm reminded of a young couple I met at an Irish immigrant friend's wedding. They so desperately want- ed to move to Canada to escape the war in Belfast. They were Protestant and targets for being such...living in The Outer Edge Cameron J. WOOD fear of the unknown future and only wanting a better life for their infant daughter. Immigrations rules as such, they remain in the conflict. So much hate over what? Which church your family belongs to? We as Canadians need to look harder at these kind of incidents and say this could happen here. Believe it or not, terrorism reigns across the continent. When peaceful centres in 'the American heartland are so vi- ciously attacked, the shock waves re- verberate through North America. Yet Canada, only a day's drive from Oklahoma City, continues to exist with some of the world's most lax criminal laws - providing safe havens for the same kind of people who perpetrate such horrible crimes. because we lack the courage to take a stand on our borders. We allow ourselves to bought by special inter- est groups that fight to overturn de- portment orders for convicted mur- derers and drug dealers. We sit back and allow our federal government to implement gun regis- tration laws that.are more nonsensi- cal than clowns at Barnem afitl. Bai- ley's show. Of course our illegal immigrants will line up at police Rae needs TORONTO - Premier Bob Rae had hoped he would' be called on to save the nation during the Ontario elec- tion, but it looks like his talents will not be needed. The New Democrat premier felt that if there was serious threat that Quebec would separate al the same time he was running for re-election, it would give him an opening to show he is needed and outshine his rivals. But a serious threat has not devel- oped - far from it. The separatists in- stead are fumbling, stumbling, re- treating and quarreling among themselves and Rae has watched in dismay as a potential issue has gone down the drain. Rae, with only between 15-19 per cent in polls, needs issues that can divert voters from his many domes- tic problems. He could be excused for thinking he had found one when the Parti Quebecois won a provincial election last September in which it promised to hold a referendum on separation by this summer. The PQ, true, had scraped in with only 45 per cent of the vote, but there was apprehension understanda- bly that using the resources of gov- ernment it might be able quickly to persuade more of the merits of separ- ating. Rae could then have portrayed himself as thetonly leader with expe- rienCe in dealing with other govern- ments and particularly the Quebec headquarters for their Firearms Ac- quisition Certificates and register their illegal handgun that they use for "protection" in the "hood". Ya, right. We all sit back and say "poor Paul" when our MP is turfed from his caucus duties to speaking out on our behalf. Only a few bother to care enough to show some support. And while our American neigh- bors are still pulling survivors from the rubble, a copycat. bomber blasts the Legislature in Prince Edward Is- land. Only one seriously hurt and thankfully no one was killed. It's a tragic political statement to see our federal government go to such great lengths to protect some bottom -feeding fish but ignore our demands for tougher restrictions when it comes to. violence on our streets. Just what kind of power does Captain Highliner hold in Ottawa? It has happened here; this cow- ardly violence against others. We can say that Marc Lepine was a ter- rorist who targeted women; Paul Bernardo the same, allegedly for .now. The Quebec Legislature gun- man, Denis Lortie. We do have our • own terrorists.. But we do not have the adequate legal recourse for dealing with these vile creatures. We have criminal rights. Just where does safety for citizens begin and "humanity" end? A dozen children dead. Still more unaccounted for. Disgusting. Quebec debate with Eric Dowd issue, because he has been at the heart of constitutional talks for five years. This is the type of issue which dis- plays Rae's strengths. He speaks elo- quently and passionately on momen- tous topics such as national unity, while Liberal leader Lyn McLeod and Progressive Conservative leader Mike Harris plod by comparison. Rae's supporters already tried to get across the message the Quebec issue needs him. Former Manitoba NDP premier Howard Pauley said that neither McLeod nor Harris would make a credible premier and asked "Do you trust them to be the leader of Ontario, negotiating with (PQ premier) Jacques Parizeau7 Rae also offered to go to Quebec and speak on behalf of Canada, first on TV and again during a visit by the Quebec Liberal and federalist leader, Daniel Johnson. Rae could have escaped criticisms that he was going merely to win votes, because it can be argued that the premier of the most populous English-speaking province should go - to Quebec in a referendum cam- paign, offering reasons an induce- ments for it to stay. Tory premier William Davis also spoke in Quebec several times before the referendum of 1980. But Rae would now have difficul-' • • ty proving there is any imminent danger of Quebec's separating. The PQ, despite being in government, has been unable to increase support in polls for unqualified separation and most Quebeckers have shown much more interest in the economy and jobs. The PQ has had to postpone its referendum until the fall at the earli- est and is not even certain it will hold it then. It also is squabbling over whether it should climb down and ask Que- beckers whether they want separa- tion with some form of political as- sociation with Canada as its only chance of winning support. The separatist movement may rise again, but in Ontario it is now almost a laughingstock. Ontarians during the last Quebec election said they were hot much concerned about sep- aration and .snore with their own bread-and-butter igsues. If Rae were to claim in an Ontario election that voters should keep him because of the danger of Quebec separation, they would ask what dan- ger and say they have no need of a savior.