Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-12-27, Page 4Sibe Wingbant b►bnce ®itne Published each Wednesday at: Box 390, 5 Diagonal Road, Wingham, Ontario Phone (519) 357-2320 Fax (519) 357-2900 J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 We are: Jim Beckett — Publisher Audrey Currie — Manager Cameron J. Wood — Editor Cathy Hendriks — Ad. Sales Stephen Pritchard — Production Jim Brown — Reporter Margaret Stapleton—Reporter Eve Buchanan — Office Louise Welwood — Office j.. 'i" 1• •f;r ,e�.R•..�<.n Vii)..,.. O z O Member of: OCNA CCNA Sensational media coverage of murder and other gruesome acts against humanity tend to rob the pub- lic's attention from everyday acts of crime. People are moreinclined to pay more attention to something like O.J. Simpson's verdict than their neighbour or work col- league's habit of drinking and driving. One might change their attitude towards the serious- ness of this crime by considering the fact that Wellington County is one of the top 10 problem areas for drinking and driving in Ontario. The third quarter statistics from Fergus Police Service for 1995 shows that drinking and driving incidents have almost doubled from 17 arrests in 1994 to 32 arrests between January and September 31, 1995. Flip through the pages of this week's newspaper, and one is confronted by even more arrests of impaired drivers. Even more frightening is the fact that impaired drivers are arrested at all hours of the day -- even 10 o'clock on a Monday morning. While impaired driving is a crime which can be pre- vented, these and other facts show that people aren't do- ing enough to stop their neighbour, family member, friend or colleague from driving after drinking alcohol. The only antidote which seems to awaken people to this reality is when tragedy hits close to their own home. As the local chapter of Mothers Against Drinking and Driv- ing (MADD) states, chances are, you or someone you know will be involved in an alcohol-related crash some- time during your lifetime. But what stops us from pre- venting people from driving under the influence of alco- hol? Selfishness, carelessness or apathy? Taking the keys away from the intoxicated driver seems like such a simple act, yet the local statistics show that more impaired drivers are on the road than a year ago. Drunk drivers can't always be caught by the local police. It's time for us to tune into our local reality and prevent drinking and driving. As MADD pleads, let us all help change the odds and prevent further drinking and driving tragedies from occurring. Hear the facts about drinking and driving from victims and family members who have been affected by this hor- rible reality. Help stop the killing! Adapted from an editorial in the Fergus News -Express Ed. Note: This holiday season, we ask that all the readers of the Wingham Advance -Times and their fami- lies take care in travelling, not just where alcohol is con- cerned, but also weather. We wish all of you a very merry and safe holiday sea- son. Celebrate with friends, family and loved ones. And remember to take care on the roads. Use a designated driver if you are going to be drinking, car pool, what ever it takes. Just make sure this is a season of joy, not tragedy. God bless and Season Greetings. — CJW Santa Claus. Not the guy in the red suit, but the spirit that often comes with the season. A time when we can look back and see how to change for the better. Merry Christmas. The Wingham Advance -Times is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership. with Margaret Stapleton Letters Policy 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: 519-3V-2900 or mail to:. P.O. Box 390, Wingham, Ontario NOG 2W0 DECEMBER 1948 The growth of the Western Foundry "family" was evidenced this year by the fact that the Christmas party almost complete- ly filled the Town Hall auditori- um. For the first time this winter, the temperature dropped to sub- zero weather. On Christmas Eve, thermometers registered eight be- low, remaining cold Christmas Day and then dropped to 15 be- low at night. Since then, the weather gradually moderated and by Tuesday it was above freezing. The Wingham Choral Society, directed by W. G. Burton, visited the Wingham General Hospital on Christmas Eve and entertained pa- tients by singing a number of car- ols. Violin selections by Sam Bur- ton were much enjoyed. The Belgrave Athletic Associa- tion held its holiday dance at the Royal T on Monday night. Don Robertson and the Ranch Boys played for dancing with Mr. Jor- dan as floor manager. A draw for two turkeys and two geese took place with the winners being Nor- man Coulter and Norman Jamie- son for the turkeys and Keith Johnston and John Gear winning the geese. DECEMBER 1961 The following have been en- gaged as caretakers for Turnberry schools: No. 2, Mrs. Beryl Kirton; No. 3, Isaac Metcalfe; No. 4, Mrs. McCracken; No. 5, Mrs. Gilmour; No. 6, Mrs. Moir and No. 11, Mrs. Biggs. The Baptist Church and the Salvation Army are uniting in a Watchnight service on New Year's Eve at 11 p.m. Cadet Alan Neelon of Toronto and formerly of Bluevale, will be the guest speaker. The young fry are out in droves this week, trying out new skates and so forth that formed part of their Christmas loot. The arena has been very busy and if there were more snow, skiing would provide plenty of activity. Dr. W. V. Johnston, formerly of Lucknow, was the guest speak- er at the annual pre -Christmas gathering of hospital trustees and doctors. The trustees and their wives and the doctors and their wives were the guests of Mrs. I. Morrey. DECEMBER 1971 Wingham lost a dedicated citi- zen early Friday morning, Dec. 24, when William Barrie Conron died shortly after suffering a heart seizure °at his Diagonal Road home. He was 51 years of age and was in the insurance business. Jo -Ann Henry of Wingham bought a ticket on a draw to help the newly -formed Deb -U -Tons pay for their uniforms and won a $25 hamper of food. Carol Ann Rutter sold the most tickets. Mrs. James Deneau early this month made a plea to area woman for "Shirts for Pakistan" through letters to the editor in this newspa- per, The Listowel Banner and The Mount Forest Confederate. She was pleased last week to learn that over 300 shirts had been turned in at the newspaper offices. RE6EMBER 1981 Sharon Skinn of Wingham cap- tured first prize for her Christmas scene in the annual window paint- ing contest at Wingham and Dis- trict Hospital. A prominent Wingham busi- nessman for 50 years, Frank R. Howson died Dec. 17. Mr. How- son was a miller and proprietor of Howson & Howson Mills. Amy Pollard, a pupil at Wing - ham Public School, won first prize for her Christmas short story and David Wheeler of Turnberry Central won first for his Christ- mas poem in a contest sponsored by The Advance -Times. Seeping new promise and life ne of the hardest columns to write each year is the Christ- mas entry. I try not to be too political and try to be reflective, hoping to let my readers see a little more of me that doesn't always come out during the rest of the year. At times, I'm reflec- tive, thinking back on the year that was and what we have accomplished together and what we said we would, but never managed. . For me, the latter usually out- shines the former. I tend to be one of the great pro- crastinators. If something needs done, I'm the best at finding ways to let it sit and wait. Surprising for someone whose career.. revolves strictly around deadlines. Even this column, which has been in my head for hours is now being typed at the last minute. When I set out to plan this last en- try for 1995, I was truly stuck. I wondered what could we look back on with fondness in a year that brought so many tough issues to light. As I celebrated Christmas with my in-laws last week, I took a mo- ment to see my family: the people who had made a dramatic impact on my life and those who understand my ambitions when the focus oft be- comes unclear. At times they are my influence and my harshest critics. Over the past several months, all of The Outer Edge Cameron J. WOOD us have gone through incredible changes in our lives, for the good and the bad. We all persevered. And it came to me: no matter what we have in our daily lives, we all share one equal quality that may- be we only notice during this special season: promise. We all share the promise to suc- ceed, be it in our careers, our person- al lives or in our families. We all have that ability to make something positive happen, regardless of how small or large it may seem. I had a hard time understanding that myself this year. We have been dealt some difficult realities. I was taxed, physically and emotionally, until a conversation occurred be- tween a concerned gentleman in the community and myself. Despite the casual discussion, the result was I re- alized we often look beyond the im- portance of community in trying to fulfill our own promise. We forget that there are others who see promise as something completely different. Looking at what the man had ex- pressed as a concern, I decided to do something. To reach out into the community and the local politics to change something so small as get- ting snow removed from in front of a local hitching post. As simple as the task was, I came to understand that to succeed, we need to look into the important things of our community: the people. We can debate issues like store closures or taxes, but in the end the result rarely changes., Taxes happen and business changes. It's the people that make our com- munity dynamic. Often, I have been critical of this community: attacking it for lacking insight or acceptance. Blit then, by doing so, I have be- come a part of that dynamic. The new year brings with it a chance to change, a chance to go and seek new promise, For that to hap- pen, we all must accept our promise and seek that success, no matter how big or small. This year has also brought to me some new influences. Three new people have touched my heart and my life. While they remain too small to understand their impact on how I see my own promise, some day I hope that I ca^ take theirs and create something worthwhile. Julia, Brianna and Madison: may our laborious fruit be your reward. Welcome, God bless. You have made this year's struggles worth every effort. Behind Santa's sweatshop Little hands will be tearing open presents under the Christmas tree next Monday morning but what of the little hands that crafted the gifts, often in appalling conditions, that will bring such joy? Much has been made in the daily press lately of the exploitation of child labor in Third World countries and most of the flak has been fired at U.S. toy giants Mattel and Hasbro, many of whose products are manu- factured in those parts of the world where Buzz Hargrove and his pals are persona non grata. Children as young as 10 have been reported to be working in sweat shops in places like Pakistan, where a 12 -year-old was recently murdered after having spoken out about the brutal working conditions in a factory in which he had been sold into slavery by his parents. There are reports of plants in Cen- tral American free -trade zones that are so bad that North American com- panies associated with them have pulled out completely. In China, conditions are reported to be so primitive that workers routinely die from exposure to glues and paints used in manufacturing toys for your kids. There have been televised reports of plants in Southeast Asia where women workers are locked into dor- mitories at night and are forced to have abortions so that they can be kept at their sewing machines churn- ing out pairs of $200 sneakers en- dorsed by multi -millionaire athletes. But in all these reports of pre -20th - century working conditions in vari- Photo withheld due to nature of article Babe in Toyland Robin R. MORRIS ous Third World hell holes, there has been one very serious omission, and Off The Record intends to bring this into the open to assist you in making informed buying decisions this Christmas. We have learned of a toy factory in a corner of the world' so remote that it has only been visited by Nor- wegian explorers, Russian skiers and a U.S. nuclear submarine. A place so godforsaken that even the seals feel safe. A Dickensian version of a one - company town controlled by the fac- tory owner as if it were a 19th centu- ry Yorkshire mill town. A locale so antipodean that there is only one way in and one way out and both are in the firm grip of the plant boss. A place under no political jurisdiction and with no laws save those of its parsimonious owner whose insatia- ble pursuit of production has led to the most shameless exploitation of his workers. It's the North Pole, a fictional geo- graphic location in the Arctic Ocean that is permanently fixed in our imagination. Although Canada claims it as its own, we have never been able to exercise complete con- trol of this northernmost point d `the earth's rotation and with the Russ- kies perched on the other Side of the polar ice cap it was to our advantage to allow its political strongman, San- ta Claus, free reign in his realm of rampant capitalism rather than have him go over to the Reds. We used the same logic when Papa Doc Du- valier controlled Haiti and a long string of generalissimos dressed like hotel doormen ran South America for the benefit of U.S. mining com- panies.' But now that the Bolshies have taken a powder in the former Soviet Union and People's Republic of On- tario, the truth about the guy in the red suit and long beard - an Arctic version of Castro - can be told and we base our report on a long - suppressed UNESCO study into con- ditions in the dystopia of Santa's Workshop. United Nations workers have nev- er been allowed into the workshop proper, much as they have been re- fused entry to North Korea's nuclear power stations and Iraq's biological warfare plants, but workers were in- terviewed on ice floes outside the plant where they were forced to fish for their dinner and the story was pieced together from this anecdotal evidence. One worker told the UN investiga- ,'. tors he had started as a child and had been employed in the workshop for 900 years. In that time hadn't grow an inch - except for his batlike ears, which had grown to more than adult size and came to sharp points. This, the investigators reported, was a little known side-effect of the dangerous glues used in the plant. Please see SANTA'S/7