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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1984-03-21, Page 4a ge pf editorial opinion arch 21 e ingbam £ bbance-Mimeo Published at Wingham, Ontario. B.O.,Box 390 NOG 2W0 by Wenger Bros, Limited • Barry Wenger, President Henry Hess. Editor Robert 0 -,Wenger. Sec.-Treas. Audrey Currie. Advertising Ma►t,ager Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member — Canadian C ummunity Newspaper Assoc Subscriptions 120.00 per year Second ('lass Mail Registration No. 0821 Keeping taxes In setting its targets for municipal spending this year, the Wingham Town Council cannot afford to forget who will be footing the bill. It is one thing to base decisions on numbers and percent- ages; it is another to convert those numbers into real dollars and real people. Although a five per cent increase in property taxes may indeed appear "not realistic" from the standpoint of main- taining existing levels of service while also funding special projects like a new fire hall, to expect ratepayers to afford much more than that is equally un- realistic. As volunteer canvassers are fi dingy there are only so many dollars —Thu re, no matter how worthy the cause. It would appear council plans to follow the five per cent guideline on in- creases for its own employees this year, and councillors should be aware there are many in town who would be overjoyed to get even that much. To ask these people to dig deeper into their pockets to pay tax bills which could conceivably rise by nine or 10 per cent would be inflationary and unfair. Cutting back on public spending has never been easy, as governments at all levels are discovering. Everyone Ontario Community Newspaper Assoc. Six months SI 1.50 Return postage guaranteed ' realistic is in favor of the principle, but only so long as they are not the ones who feel the axe. Nonetheless, it must start somewhere and is long overdue. Taxa- tion at all levels has far outstripped gains in income and there is no doubt this drain on disposable income has contributed to an ailing economy. The public purse has never been bottom- less; if we want more than we can afford, we must learn to adjust our ap- petites. p- petites. Local governments both here and elsewhere are facing tough times as they find themselves increasingly sad- dled with the bill for services once pro- moted and subsidized by higher Levels of government. After years of being enticed by grant structures which en- couraged overspending, they now find themselves under pressure to make decisions which are bound to be unpop- ular. Council and its employees are to be applauded for their performance last year, when they held both spending and tax increases to -five per cent and still emerged with a modest surplus. This year will undoubtedly be tougher, but it is time to show they can, do it again. Anything else would simply put us back onto the inflationary spiral. A voice growing feeble It will not happen this year and perhaps not for several years to come, but sooner or later we who live inthe rural counties of midwestern Ontario face the prospect of having our voice in provincial affairs, already small, grow still more feeb'l'e. The Ontario Electoral Boundaries Commission has recently tabled a proposal for riding redistribu- tion which, if accepted, would seei this area lose a seat in an expended OnMai id - Legislature. As part of its electoral redistribu- tion the commission proposes replac- ing the provincial ridings of Huron Bruce, Huron -Middlesex, Grey -Bruce and Grey with ridings of Bruce, Huron and Grey, doing away with one seat from this area while expanding the Legislature as a whole by five seats to 130. This is, of course, nothing more than a continuation of the trend which started back about 1925 with a shift in the balance of population — and hence in electoral representation — to the rapidly -growing cities and away from the countryside. In 1925 the Counties of Bruce, Grey, Huron, Lambton, Middle- sex and Perth were represented by 16 seats in a 11 -seat Legislature, making up nearly 15 per, cent -of the total. By 1975 revisions of the riding boundaries had reduced these counties to seven seats in a 125 -seat assembly, less than six per cent, while if the latest proposal is enacted they will drop to six seats in a 130 -seat assembly. It can be argued that is democracy. Why, after all, if our share of the total population is shrinking, should we ex- pect a disproportionate representation in government? And yet there are some very good arguments in favor of at least retaining the status quo. For a start, the existing ridings al- ready fall within the population guide- lines for southern Ontario of 60,000 } ;15t...,. — yew7YOeJ6#7°7-/ CRY/,5 eJA.05C4/)' / people, give or take 15 per cent. The local riding of Huron -Bruce, for ex- ample, now has about 57,000 people while the proposed riding of Huron would have about 64,000, Bruce would have 60,000 and Grey a whopping 74,- 000, bigger than all but_the largest_cit ...-.- ridings. There also is an argument to be made that rural ridings contain a Much 'gr'eater diversify of interests and prob- lemthan most urban ridings and the distances involved make it difficult for an MPP to „provide an even level of service to all his constituents. It is a far cry from a city where a member may represent 70,000 people, all living with- in a 15 -minute bus ride of one another. Thisdoes not necessarily mean giving rural ridings the same consid- erations which apply in Northern Ontario, where, because of low popula- tion density and immense distances, ridings may have populations as low as 31,000. However it should mean allow- ing rural ridings to fall toward the low- er end of the guidelines, not strictly re- quiring that they be on or above the target. The proposal of the boundaries commission probably will not become law' until sometime after the next elec- tion. In the meantime the commission will hold hearings to permit public re- action to its proposals. The meeting for Huron will be at Kitchener on April 16; the one for Bruce and Grey will be' at Barrie on May 1. Anyone wishing to nake a representation or objection is required to give written notice prior to the session. It is to be hoped individuals as well as municipal councils will protest this change in the strongest possible terms. With the fight for dollars and services growing tougher every year, we in rural Ontario can ill afford to be forgot- ten. Disturbing prediction From the earliest days of nuclear power plant construction there have been dire predictions of danger to the populace in general, and in particular to .families living within a few miles from the plants themselves. The design engineers and plant operators have al- ways dismissed these claims as base- less hysteria. Q Public attitudes shave changed since the near-catastr�Ophe at Three Mile Island where an American gen- erating station went out of control and posed the threat of total disaster -before it was finally reharnessed. Last week Graham McCready of Calgary, the engineer who designed the control room safety equipment , at Douglas Point, signed an affidavit to the effect that a repeat of Three Mile Island 'on the nearby shore of Lake Huron is a distinct possibility. Mc- Cready states that the batteries which would provide control room power in case of a hydro failure might explode if suddenly required in an emergency. The batteries were installed nine or 10 years ago and the Calgary engineer says they are overdue for replacement. A disturbing statement, to say the least, made by a man who should know whereofhe speaks. All in God's name Items from Old Files MARCH 1937 It was with deep regret that word was received here that Dr. S. Kent Smith had died of cerebral hemorrhage in British Honduras in his 38th year. He was born in Wingham, his father being C. P. Smith, former manager of the local branch of the Canadian Bank of .Com - has been successful in passing his final exams. Mrs. George Henderson and little daughter Janisleft for New York, enroute to Paisley, Scotland, where they will visit for three months. They will sail on the Queen Mary. M. V. Smith, teacher of agriculture in the Wingham merce. , High School, has resigned to At a special meeting of accept a position on the staff Wingham Town Council, a of the Ontario Agricultural tender was received from R. ,College, Guelph. John A. E. Campbell for the. pur- Jackson has accepted the __chase of the Bottles_Block Position _ Qn.-tii� Wingharxa.___ho from the town at a price of High School staff. $525. The tender was ac- ceptedunder certain con- ditions. Thomas Kew has pur- chased the harness business of J. Johnston and will operate it in conjunction with his own business of the sable kind. The Post Office Depart- ment at Ottawa has an- Bosman of the second line of nounced a •new issue of Morris, who is. with the postage stamps, bearing the Princess Patricia Light portrait of King George VI. Infantry, received his wings They will be available April r and : is now a qualified in denominations of one -cent green, two -cents brown and three -cents red. Bert Mitchell and Herb Fuller left on Saturday for Northern Ontario. They expect to secure work at one of the mines. The Gorrie Public School is closed owing to one of the pupils ,having contracted diphtheria. Maxine Farrish is getting along as well as can be expected. MARCH 1949 Harold Cantelon, Con- servation Officer for the Dept. of Lands and Forests, who has been attending school at the Ontario Forest Ranger School near Dorset, has received word that he Brussels, Ruth Toner, Wroxeter, and Jo -Anne Alton, Lucknow. Ashley Hunt of Wroxeter has bought the former Frank Cole home in the village of Gorrie. Mr. Hunt drives the mail truck from Harriston to Wingham. Two local lads, Bruce Lott and Jim Campbell, have reached the final stages in the construction of a beautiful 14 -foot motor boat. When ready for the water the craft will take a 25- rsepower- and power plant. Their workmanship is the finest, especially for a first try at marine engineer- ing. An incubator of .ttie latest model and design arrived at the Wingham hospital last week just in time. It was put into action immediately for a premature baby. At a sitting of the Ontario Liquor Licensing Board, ten branches of the Canadian Legion in Huron and Perth were granted licenses to .sell beer- in their, club rooms. Licenses were approved for Wingham, Brussels, Exeter, Seaforth, Goderich, Blyth, Hensall, Listowel, Milverton and St. Marys. Iran is sending thousands of young men and even children Into the gunfire of their enemies, the Iraqis. Four of their enemies, the Iraqis. Four dif- ferent Islamic sects are battling each without regard for the thousands of in- nocent women, children and old people who are being slaughtered. Catholics and Protestants blow each other to pieces in Northern Ireland — all in the name of God or Allah. The boys who die in the hills and gullies of Iran have been promised in- stant transition to Heaven as a reward for their devotion. The militias in Leb- anon seek little reward except the joy of killing. We don't pretend to the clear knowledge of God's will which Is claimed by those fanatics, but there would seem to be a reasonable doubt that He is actually pleased with the cruelty dispensed In His name. Mrs. M. Johnson was elected prei€dent of the Ladies' Bowling Club in Wingham.. Her supporting officers include Mrs. R. R. Hobden, Mrs. F. Sturdy, Mrs. G. MacKay and Mrs. E. R. Harrison. John H. Bosman, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. paratrooper. He is stationed at Calgary. Miss Audrey McCutcheon has completed two weeks' training and on , Monday started in on her own as operator in the Wroxeter telephone office. MARCH 1960 The Huron County Junior Farmers and Junior In- stitute Association held their annual meeting in Blyth. The election of officers was" the highlight of the meeting. Among those heading the Junior Farmers are James Bowman of Brussels, Murray Gaunt, Lucknow, and Jim Renwick, Clifford. Officers of the Junior In- stitute include Ruth Procter, piew Books in the. Library, TWO DIVISIONS TO BLUE - WATER by Peter Bowers This is the story of the CNR to the Bruce. In general, this book portrays the railway in its last 10 years of steam, not forgetting the formative years or the decline of the '80s. It is probable that no area in Canada -can claim to have been better photo- graphed so you can enjoy a trip down the branch lines "the way it was". EARLY AMERICAN AN- TIQUE COUNTRY FUR- NiSHiNGS by George Neu- mann This beautifully -illustrated book covers the period from 1600, when the first colonists started to make their own furnishings, right through to 1800. The "country fur- nishings" means, besides furniture, cooking and eating utensils and other personal belongings. For those in- terested in antiques, this is a delightful book through which ,to browse. AN AUTUMN IN ARABY by Carola Salisbury Here is the third novel from a comparatively new writer to the romantic suspense scene. Set at the beginning on the coast of Suffolk, the reader is soon transported by sea to Egypt for the opening of the Suez Canal. The voyage includes many mysterious hap- penings involving an artist, his son and Suzanna Copley, a Florence Nightingale - trained nurse and the heroine of the tale which does have a happy ending. A rink from the Wingham District High School won top honors in the Western On- tario Secondary Schools Association bonspiel. Members of the rink are Ted MacKay, David Carr and George Jones. MARCH 1970 At a meeting of Wingham Town Council, the big news was a decision .to proceed with the purchase and in- stallation of traffic lights on the five corners at Josephine, John and Diagonal Road. First moves to provide pedestrians and local motorists with signal control of traffic on the main street was made no less that 18 years ago. .__Dougl -H.owatt-.anct Avn_—'i as great -success D. Howatt of Belgrave were among 93 men presented with certificatesindicating they had passed the Primary and Advanced Training Schools for Drainage Con- tractors sponsored by the Ontario, . Department of ,Agriculture and -Food.. Walter Dernerling of the Fordwich area has returned from- Racine, Wisconsin, where he spent a week at the ***-.4444044.44044.14444,44•000 414444444.4* • • • • • • ®• • • d • 1.• • Council shares blame for high cost of drain Dear Editor, In reply to the report on Turnberry's council meeting last week concerning the so- called upset over the For- tune Drain, it certainly is an upset and I believe council should re -read what was written in the paper. To begin with, shortly after the tender was let to Stender Drainage from Listowel he came back and wanted more money because of difficulty he claimed he was having, but when a meeting with the three rate- payers and Stender was held he was told at the time that he could either -do it for the contract price or move his equipment out. However Bill Shifflett, the engineer, told the council they couldn't put him out but the council didn't bother to check the law out and now we find out that they could have asked him to leave. Whether they didn't know `where to check the ruling out or just not be bothered I can't understand. The original cost of my portion of the drain was to be $14,167 and the bill I received was for $20,683.94, which is about 46 per cent more, not 35 per cent. The total original cost was to have been $55,383 and when finished it was $74,594. Mr. McBurney saying council went out of their way to inform us is a little misleading, as they didn't know what was going on themselves, stating they didn't have any idea it was Festival auction J. I. Case training school. Herson Irwin and Brown Smyth, . former directors of the West Wawanosh Mutual Fire Insurance Company, were ' honored by their colleagues on their retire- ment. They had a service with the company of 11 and 13 years respectively. Miss Catherine M. Hunt was appointed to succeed Mrs. Larry Wheatley as Home Economist for Huron Worm'worth, Malcolm County. Participation Lodge to survey area needs Participation Lodge, a year-round recreation, vacation and relief centre for physically -disabled . youths and adults as well asa centre providing a., wide variety of community programs, has embarked upon an ambitious project. Within the next few months, it will survey the needs and aspirations of the physically disabled and their families in the Grey -Bruce region , and surrounding counties. The study is being done to ascertain the need for future housing such as accessible apartments (with or without attendant care), group homes, day programs, transportation, education (such as computer courses) and employment. The A stupid trademark Perhaps no single habit of speech has ever been as infuriating as the questioning grunt at the end of every second sentence, as in, "Then he left for Stratford, eh? And when he got back he got right into bed, eh?" That stupid addition to one's con- versation seems to imply that the lis- tener is so dense the speaker must con- tinually check to make sure his mes sage is clear. In a recent article on the City of Calgary the National Geographic quot- ed a conversation with a taxi driver whose sentences were peppered with this Idiotic word, and that prestigious Dear Editor, The . Blyth Festival is pleased to announce that its Leap Year Auction held March 3 was a great success. We were able to raise $6,000 net from the event, which will go a long way toward paying for our new lighting board. We are very grateful to everyone for their kind donations. It was the generosity of so many people which made the evening such a success. Many thanks for your help and interest in the Blyth Festival. We hope to seeyou here this summer. Philippa Borgal Project Manager survey will be used ' by Participation Lodge to present. a proposal to the Ministry of Community and Social Services so 'that programs and services could be developed to meet the needs of the physically disabled. The help and cooperation • of all local residents is being solicited to enable . Par- ticipation Lodge to serve the communities better. If you are a physically -disabled person or a parent, relative or friend of one or belong to an agency that extends its services to such people, please bring your concerns to the attention of Par- ticipation Lodge by phoning 794-3201 or writing to Box 139, Holland Centre, Ontario NOH IRO. magazine branded the habit as ,an ,al I - Canadian trademark. We Canadians know that the "eh?" is no more objec- tionable than the American habit of ending sentences with "okays?" How- ever, the once -famous MacKenzie Brothers show on international tele- vision left us with the brand. Like "weatherwlse" and "at this point in time", the use of "eh?" should be designated as criminal misuse of the English language and those convicted should be placed in solitary confine- ment while they listened to seven hours of taped repeats of their own con- versation, eh? r, • going to be that much more until thebill came. I thought that was what we paid Mr. Nicholson for, to check these things out and communicate with the engineer, council and the ratepayers. What is the use of going to the ex- pense of drawing up a contract if you can charge any price at all in the end? I feel the council has not represented the ratepayers and hope they do a better job in other parts of the township business. George Merkley RR 1, Wroxeter Hockey Mothers appreciate help Dear Editor, The first weekend of the Wingham Midget Tour- nament proved to be a great success. The Wingham Mothers' Auxiliary would like to extend congratula- tions to all the participating teams for games well play- ed. We also would like to comment on the good sports- manship and good mangers displayed by these young men. The Mothers' Auxiliary would like to thank everyone who helped in any way to make this first weekend of the tournament such a success. Hockey action continues this coming weekend on Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25. The _draw for a hockey stick covered with $40 in quarters and also a 50- 50 draw will be held Sunday afternoon. We had 34 winners in our rnurtt-prize draw ..held Sunday, March 18. Thanks again to the local businesses who donated prizes for this draw. Jeannette Baler Mothers' Auxiliary PRESS COUNCIL The Advance -Times is a member of the Ontario Press Council which will consider written com- plaints about the publica- tion' of news, opinions and advertising. If a com- plaint can't be resolved with the newspaper, it should be sent to the On- tario Press Council, 151 Slater St., Suite 708, Ot- tawa, Ont. K1 P 5H3. TODAY'S CHILD BY JUDITH ADAMS This charming young fellow loves bright lights and cameras. He's William, a healthy, happy two- year-old who needs to find the right adopting family. He's very sociable, and prefers being with people to playing alone. That's partly because he has such a lot of stimulat- ing company where he lives just now. He takes a very short time to get to know people and include them among his many friends. William does have one health problem that isn't giving him any trouble art present. He was diagnosed as having iron -deficiency anaemia when he was little and after taking extra iron, this improved. Recently. it was found that he is a carrier of Sickle Cell naemia. That only means for William that he could become anae- mic again, and- take iron; but it's important to know he's a carrier because if he should one day marry some- one who is also a car- rier, one of their chil- dren is very likely to have the `disease itself. With all his playful- ness and mischief, Wil- liam appears to be quite bright and alert. His agency hopes he can be placed in a black adopting family, or perhaps a family who have adopted Other black children. He's a lovable little boy who responds enthusiasti- cally to people, and loves to laugh. He says "mom" and "dad", and many other single words, both in English and in French, as he lives in a French foster home at present. If you think yours may be the family for William, please write ,to Today's Child, Min- istry of Community and Social Services, Box t.t t, Station K, Toronto, describing your family and way of life.