Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutWingham Advance-Times, 1981-12-16, Page 47.111g - PG • �Jf IL @ly Ali tit Obbance-elinto. Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited Robert O. Wenger, SeetAleaS. ry Hess, Editor BilllCrump, Advertising Manager rY, Wenger, President Member Audit; Bureau pfi)i>'Gtllations Member — Canadian Community Newspaper Aloe Ontario Comripnity Newspaper Assoc. Subscriptions $17.00 per year Second Class Mail Registration No. 0821 Six months $10.00 Return postage guaranteed E Take a careful look The prospect of another sizeable- tax increase in Wingham next year is hardly a happy one. Nevertheless, town - council is to be commended for its open and businesslike approach to setting a budget. By starting early to look at a detailed proposal, it allows plenty of time to debate priorities and make whatever changes are required to ensure the final figure is a manageable one. This approach contrasts with that of some of its predecessors, who seldom set a 'budget until the year was half gone. At;:that time, with half a year's spending already . under the bridge, there Was lifliie:,.room for serious debate or changes of direction. In some cases, the mill rate for the year actually was set before a budget had been struck. Council'spractice of holding- its budget deliberations in open session and making available the budget esti- mates also is a refreshing change from the pastwhen.secrecy was the rule and all information,was .Carefully guarded until the `Final flgures'had been set. There is 'certain to be some;sharp debate ;yet -before the new bud9et is approved, and councillors doubtless will get plenty of public feedback on what is or is not a spending priority. This Is all to the good. In weighing the merits of a mill rate Increase, councillors should bear in 'mind that, though none of them are unemployed, laid off or on a fixed income, many in this town are not so fortunate. For these people and others already weighed down by rising prices and high interest and mortgage- rates, even, a relatively moderate tax increase of 10 to 14 pet cent could lie too much. It is time, as one councillor suggest- ed, to take a long,' hard look at some areas of the town budget and to separate the necessities . from the luxuries. Many . individuals and families are being forced to reevaluate their own spending and tighten their belts as°they see their incomes. being • eaten away by inflation. They have no other choice. ,Government ---at all levels. - would do well to follow their .example. Uocir Yoa firg$ It • ite DECEMBER 1934 Visit Hamilton's Jewellery store for Christmas gifts. ,Diamonds are available, $15.00and up. At the December meeting of Huron 'County Council it was decided to request the 0 to ' D rtment of High - n r epa ways not to clear the King's.. Highways in Huron of snow this coming winter, but , to leave at least six inches of snow so people who wish f sour ,grapes �enFi�V Q may use sleighs. Winghain Council en- dorsed :a resolution passed by • Howick Council , requesting the Provincial Highway Department to take over the road from Harriston to Wingham via the ninth of Howick: They y are also.,requesting that the road be,' paved atan early date. • Co • The December 5 : issue • of Today haps could not fit our own personalities. Magazine; the weekly supplement to to those of our peers,. but most of us several Canadian daily newspapers, have managed: to adjust with maturity. carries an is a titled "Story. Tellers• We have learned that our failure to be • to the Wo ' in capsule form the "included" was a condition or our own publication , ut nes` the backgrounds , making Prov short stories ane�;life,•hi'stories of five Cattadians.:who Miss Munro sp. e haVe.achieved tstanding, success iIn beyond doubt, that she is a person of ' the medium of short story writings , vivid:imagination and her recollections Heading the itst,; ts,> Afice; Munro, % , of'a:tower: Town populated with boot - :Alice o was. raised in 1 ens arid'prostitutes is' a case in bofr�ntAiice Laidlavtt,.,ttvh r egg `p • ' the eniv rons of-111tiinghartn, .•: the*, area xpoint.• Truth ofthe.matter is that there as Ill : wt. i as • eribi that • eneral area •a en ; t �b. 'wets f�iiitnr. 5�t�1y ,. �ai;atfoot99 9 enough Wingham 'pimple have never fes''' marr'.So4� lacking . in business acumen had much. chance. to enjoy"the excel- that his wife and children nearly tenet*. her,: writing ability because we starved to death. He was such a poor have repeatedly beenimede`the butt of: advertisement for his line of trade that, soured and cruel introspection on the as far as we can remember, no one part of a gifted? uthor. • sought his clientele after he left• for '"The article opens=with Alice Laid- other parts. • iaw's,quoted description -of her early If there•was a prostitute her finan- • years: "We lived' outside ;the whole.. ciai success must��have been even less r'13602e-hustlingcom- f he use we. didn t ive than that o spciai'.satructure�beca l in the town and we'didn't live`•in the patriot, A: small town is not a •partic- country. We lived lot this kind of ghetto ularly profitable field of enterprise for. where all the boWfeggers, prostitutes an ambitious flesh peddler: Wives and ' and hangers-on hived .:. It was a corn- girl friends are just • t'oo close to the munity of outcasts .1: had that 'feel 'n scene of action.. • - about, myself." ' ' • The . following paragraph is not contained in. quotation marks, so • we have' no way of "knowing : whether the " ' author of the .article, Wayne Grady, • writes' from first-hand knowledge -or from;Alice Laidlaw's recollections. It reads like this: Wingham, where Alice Munro was born Alice Laidlaw in 1931, is a small . but ;stately town in Huron County, an area of Ontario not known for its pro- gressive views. Fictionalized as • Jubi- lee in Munro'S second book, "Lives.of 'Girls and Women" (1971) and as Han- ratty In her most recent book, "Who Do. You Think You Are?" (1980), the town is stultifyingly provincial and only,roc= casionally reaches the comic heights of Stephen Leacock's Mariposa. Yes, it is sad. Many of us have endured periods in adolescent years when we sensed that we did not, or per - "The town is stultifyingly provin- cial," says the article. Why, we wonder, is provincial necessarily stulti- fying? As a matter of fact, can any place on earth be mores: JItifying than the cold, uncaring impersonality of a big city? If small town life, is so stulti- fying, we Wonder why Alice finally chose to leave one of the few interesting cities in Canada (Victoria) to return to Hur• County? !sit a fact that Clinton, ere she now lives, is any less stulti- fying than is Wingham? Miss Munro is a gifted writer. The numerous awards her work has won for her over the years attest to her ability. But it seems that something less than greatness impells her to return again and again to a time and place in her life where bitterness warped her person- ality. Surely there are more noble themes than real or imagined injuries suffered 35 years ago.' Let's be realistic Prime Minister Trudeau has stated on several occasions that he intends to get out of politics. It has been a fore- gone conclusion in Ottawa that once he had achieved his goal of patrlation of the constitution he would make a hero's departure from the scene of political conflict. It seems, however, that no one should jump to conclusions where the PM is concerned. Recently he remarked that he might just have to stay on until Rene Levesque has been ousted from the seat of power in Quebec. Trudeau even suggested that he would be "drafted" into continued leadership of the Liberal party. The latest rumor has it that he will continue in office until he has won a battle with Ontario's Premier Bill Davis and sees this province officially bilingual. There is no doubt that Canada is a nation of two languages and that both English and French must of nece§city be used in the House of Commons and in the federal courts. However, en, forcement of a totally two -language policy in un,ar w wuuid be idiotic. Of course French language services must be made available in those commu- nitles where French is still a spoken language, but in the vast majority of communities, where no French Is spoken, official use of two languages• would be useless as well as stupid. We have no sympathy for those among us who are anti -French bigots. French-speaking Canadians have every right to their own language. Per- sonally we would be delighted to have a greater command of that tongue. But to enforce the use of French in the Legis- lature, the courts and the provincial civil service would be nothing more than symbolism. Certainly French -language schools should be ' obligatory In those areas where French is the.Ianguage of even a reasonable minority', but a "reason- able" minority must be defined in pre- cise percentage terms. We don't need another wrangle of the sort which rock- ed the Windsor area a few years ago, as local antagonists argued the establish- ment of a French -language school. n ratulatioris. toMiss' g Dorothy Sothern,r t fourth • sye.concessiitlnof Howie+k;Witehi •1 •:a recent contest sponsored 'Dear Editor, by Thomas Furniture Co., We enjoy reading,your London, was` the winner of paper each week "kapd seventh prize, a four -piece ` comments on the trouiled •deluxe bedroom suite valued• farm and business ecenoiiny. at $100. . • Our Fede: ation i. of The Lyceum Theatre is Agriculture held a meeting fortunate in securing the recently in Blyth with' our picture, `"LittleWomen", for friend Murray • Gaunt, showing at .Christm'astime. member of the task forgo, ase -movie is based ontheTh speaker. Murray explained book written by Louisa M. what he and other members Alcott•. had found out about the Mrs. LH. McGee was, in- • crisis in. farming.stalled as president 'of the 't`o put a long story short, WMS of St.. Andrew's the main trouble is tooittany Presbyterian Church: Other fartners bprrowed too much officers include Mrs. A. E.. money from too.many banks Lloyd, Miss M: Anderson, to grow too much food and Mrs. T. C. King and Mrs. J. there simply is not that large Fells. a market to absorb it:` all. Ranch at Kingston. DECEMBER'3957 George -Tripp of Ridgetown has purchased the bar- bering business operated by Vic .:Loughlean until a few weeks ago. Four J -inet i'bers of the Wingham Lions Boys' andBand 'fere presented •with silver': Medals as aresult of theirj^efforts at the Band Festi$ at i't3'London hist June. Thte girlSJ who werehonored are Julie Cruik ers to t shank; : Marjorie Moffatt, Joyce. Procter and LloyeStobo. James Clark was re- elected president of Howick Legion Branch 307. Other officers include Ed Gilmar, Ken, •Galbraith, Harold Keil, Thomas Ritchie and HectorHamilton, `•Whitechurch: friendscongratulate Cecil Falconer, the local =agent for . CIA Insurance, who was. one of four agents in Ontario to,win a turkeyfor having top sales •' fortwo weeks in November. Mrs. K. Edarr,was elected president of the Wroxeter Women's Missionary Society: Viceppesidents are Mrs. J Sanderson. and Mrs. Glenn McMichael; Mrs. H. Wylie is secretary and Mrs. A. Munro treasurer; ... ,The congregatipn of Cltalmers • Preslhiyterian Church, " Whitechurch, has been making - extensive changes•in the•' itchen;of the saving could.. hej rmers',probl • DECEMBER 1946 Howard Bedford, who has been associated with CKNX since coming to Wingham in 1936, has severed his 'con- nections with that station and has received a license to operate, a radio station at Niagara Falls. The call letters of the new station will be CKVC and he expects to have it ready for operation in June. Relatives claimed the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. George Popowich who died on the gallows in Welland County Jail in the first execution of • a married couple in Ontario 'in, more than 80 years. The couple had been convicted of murder in the robbery, slaying of a Thorold mer- chant.• • The second timber wolf pelt in a month has been received at the Huron County treasurer's office, The wolf was shot near Amberley-by Bert Johnston, RR7, Lucknow. . Five newborn babies owe their lives to the fact that Wingham General Hospital has a new baby incubator. This fine apparatus was to the hospital presentedp by the John Cornyn ' Currie Estate of which W. A. Galbraith is executor.,,., Ray Lawson, OBE, of Lon- don, one of Canada's most prominent industrialists, has been appointed lieutenant - governor of Ontario. Harry Wells has received two pairs of South Arherican chinchillas from New- market, Virginia. They are nnw on exhibition at his ranch on Mill Street. Mr. Wells is the only authorized rancher this side of Stratford for thhe Dominion Chinchilla It was also learned that we have been getting bad advice from bankers and govern- ment officials. Some' think the answer lies in a much stronger farm organisations to put more pressure on banks and government of- ficials. I had it suggested. to me that we should get -violent to get results. So I said, 'Count me out", as I see the results of violence every day on the TV news. I think it time that we act as strong individuals; and make our own decisiois..The sooner government gets out of farming the betterI find it very hard to co%npete against their big leians. and cheap food policy. Both my wife Verlaine and I were born in , the Depression years on ;farms, but our parents worked very hard and we had enough to eat and also warm clothes. My first new clothes came at 12• years old. At high., school myallowance was,25 cents a' week. That would buy two bottles of pop at fiva'dents each and one move; 15 cents. We started farming 32 years ago with two cows, no money, no machinery; not even a down payment on the farm. But by having-_ good neighbors and friends: and good health we stocked and' paid for three farms• in 23 years. We had our ownlird times as well as good. We worked driving a transport truck plus custom work and ran the farms as well, but we did it one step at a,;tithe. ,,a, 1 never took out algb ieiritiiiient Farm Credit loan. We sold ,our car to buy ,the first, o ming I:had, made some duiii`b. moves and we were nearly broke. The chap who' held our mortgage and lent us money to buy feed and cattle advised us of the debt we owed. In another four years, by doing without a car part - `time, no entertainment spending, no , holidays, we were able to pay a for our farm and all our debts by saving. At the, federation meeting a: lot of cures were sliggested, but nobody, suggested saving our way' out of trouble. Most people seemed• to think we could just spend our way out of trouble if we had low interest rates, capital grants and marketing boards. A lot of farmers in the last 10 years borrowed another $10,000 or $28•,000 each year. You can sure raise your : 'living standard:HFiis Way,.but it's' also the surest way to a farm bankruptcy. Why borrow money to produce cheaper food? .It doesn't make -sense. • , 1 see a dangerof violence in Canada breaking out as the gap between the rich and poor gets ever wider, and I would make a- plea to. MPs who raised'theirowe 'wages, also most civil servants get a to or 15 per 'tech raise every year, to use some restraint when farmers are being asked to take less eachyear plus higher input, costs. A merry Christmas to all on our Saviour's birthday. To farmers, don't join a violent group. ' Remember what. a violent group did at Calvary. Glen Van Camp RR 4, Brussels COIeii 9atd ciaucurr ,,inihe c,' Grade 9 voluntal ;t grades. The 'vita t was sadd.ene Harry� Pr', e inthat village -.R. e 1 Beigrave• Lo►al..1 Lodge met in, t',he,, :.. Half. With. visitorsi from Dungannon and r e TItE`, iVi1E ��.�'' AWAY Brussels. This meeting had lotiii Gritli s t,.. • 4.. , special significance .•+.as: it lieu a chess Mas'ierNir ith.a marked at ,least 110 years ift fA n u since O `i' ' 462 was g g egos and(re*, r a 4rlefs i3 -s molt is a f reek'. organized s... The appointment of Robert,- . r natu a e` le- ofrr� of; total". W. Carbert as associate recajl eapaialer of.iiaitiing' director to 'the information textbooks chess ail es, branch, Ontario Department .` textbemili on biochemistry of Agriculture and ia'ood, was and military secrets. His, announced by the deputy name is Arden 1Nyua .. Accident finds him in minister of Agriculture and,Moscow at a moment when Food. Bob: will -be-reins:. his talents are urgently sible for information needed by the •CIA. Over a vices to the press casual chess game in Gorki' „broadcasting media . 'Tort2ntooffices.•�'J' l;k:°� hears information lat coil d,,alter the military At the meetingcif" the, • . balance between fig Bluevale ' :United Church superpowers. All he #i ds a, Women, a,'UCW\ pin was t to is melte contact with~ills -presented to Mrs• Milton-.lmaster`•�but he makes a Fraser, a longtime valuable mistake and becomes in - member of the church :and volved instead, in a chess community. In expressing ., game for is own survival. her thanks, Mrs. Fraser said aIle"would not be far away, in the vicinity of Brussels. EIIIUCATION — RIGHT' OR "'PRfVILEGE? Lois Ferguson of Lakelet The .map? of`! i'1literacy. -received the Federa ted, matches the map" of world : Women's Institutes , of poverty, Only . one-fifth. of • Ontario entrance award for 'children in the 'Third World girls ...entering . Macdonald attend school. In' Lesotho, Institute. Botswana and Swaziland in ,_._ T._., ; ; :Southern Africa, Ire. USC •of- `fers secondary school - The word arthritis is made scholarships based on up from two Greek words — , ' grades::and need, permitting arthron meaningjoint and gifted students to remain in - itis' :— meaning inflamma-- . school and not swell the. tion. Therefore, any condi- ranks of the�uneducated, un- tion which causes infla a mm skilledand unemployed; tion in joint 'or joints is . a J $3.75 cancers-tl�tionr:"hooks, corrreei ly..~' ailed `arthritis. clothes, . i� x� , e p • ses and Tlierealreriorei than one inflammation -in gtransportation for one year. hundred differen causes of Sponsors are urgently need - joint ed. Theor further information Arthritis Society; urges you contact USC. Canada, 56 •. that if you think you have Sp5B1.arks St., Ottawa, Ont. KIP arthritis, see your doctor. longed fur• he family, ;to se ; tsuryi°vef she Beata a"iifei ne. f• Some questions about town taxes . Dear Editor, . Re: "Wingham council considers proposedbudget for 1982", Dec. 9. As I read through the article I felt comforted to find that Council is trying so hard to keep the Taxpayer happy, however a few ' questions did come to mind: Are we ( the taxpayers) supposed to be pleased that instead of 22 per cent the property tax increase might Motorists are rude to funeral Dear Editor, Having recently been in a funeral procession from the Currie -Walker Funeral Home to Wingham Ceme- tery, I was appalled at the rudeness of several motor- ists. They refused to give the right-of-way to the proces- sion turning. onto Josephine Street. Two drivers 'were , boorish enough to cut in and fellow behind the hearse ' ' ahead (lithe mourners. -K•h Penetanguishene the police are always on hand to direct traffic and I think this courtesy Wingham's fYrce should extend tractor. After four years of far- Norma Downie Penetanguishene be only 1;0-15 per cent? Were we . Supposed to be - pleased that instead of 15 per cent the property tax in- crease was only 14.6 per cent last year? Do we need ' a $19,000 change in accounting procedures? What are, and do we need to make, the capital pur- chases to warrant a 24 per cent increase in recreation costs? How much industry and commerce shied away from Wingham because it didn't • have adequate recreation facilities or a costly ac- counting system? How much industry and commerce was attracted to Wingham this past year, and out of all of it, how much of that was because of the Low Taxes? Is it a town bylaw that says council must set a double- digit target increase for the Mill rates each year? Last year I. was told by our Own town clerk that the mill rate in Wingham, is very high 7-- and Ican only agree. Of course, like Mr. Richard LeVan, "i don't know what the answer is," but ,1 hope there are some answers because i, for one, aril not looking forward to another tax hike. Terry Pautler Wingham TODAYc1IitLO BY HELEN ALLEN Susie is almost 9,.a happy, healthy youngster who loves attention. She is sweet -natured and cheerful when adults are concentrating 'on her, butjealous when some other child is in they spotlight. This young girl's development is much below average and she has difficulty in learning. The most noticeable area in which she is behind is language. Speech therapy is helping but she does not speak clearly, and her vocabu- lary is limited. She is expected to progress in that' area, but psychologists do not anticipate an increase' in her academic: potential and she will always need special schooling. • Susie loves musicand dancing. She is .very,motherly towards her dolls. She likes adult company but is frus- trated when she cannot make herself understood. She'. likes to be helpful around her foster home. Susie needs parents who will give her much love, who will enjoy her happy, loving personality and who have the patience to help her learn as much as she can. To inquire about adopting Susie, „please write to Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Ser- vices ''OX 888, Station K, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2H2. In your i:_t ter tell something of your present family and your way of life. •)••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• :: •: :, • t n'• • r: • w' 'i. • • • .• ti 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • . , • • • • • • • ••fty • • •• `s s 0 • • 0 •e..•®tsl/•••••••••••••••eseeettee• a '1