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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1970-07-23, Page 4PAGE FOUR ZURICH CITIZENS NEWS For Better Understanding OM MIR MN The recent decision of the Huron County Board of Education to permit representatives of the press to sit in on meetings of committee -of -the -whole is a progres- sive step in public relations. By allowing reporters to hear the discussions in committee the board is provid- ing for better understanding of its problems. The net result should be a better informed public and increased understanding of the work the board is doing. Criticism of boards of education has been mounting for the past year and in Huron County it culminated a few weeks ago in some pretty sharp remarks from board members. Obviously the public and its municipal representatives have not properly understood what the board of education is trying to achieve. It is virtually impossible for a reporter to write ac- curately about the business of a public body if he or she spends part of the meeting time out in the hall waiting to be re -admitted. This happens when a board votes to discuss its business in committee and the press is permitted to hear only the committee report to the board. Those reports can be, and frequently are, so lacking in background information that the reporters are left guessing. In 35 years of newspapering we have seen the same situation repeated time after time, and without ex- ception the public has gradually lost confidence in the board or council which follows this course of proc- edure. Criticism, no matter how ill-founded, cannot be avoided in cases of this kind. Whether we like them or not, county school boards are here to stay. If there is any change they will grow larger rather than smaller. The objective, of course, is a better calibre of educational opportunity for our children. In addition, though many of you will not believe it, the enlarged scope of administration should lead to a more efficient and less costly educat- ional system. We tend to believe, as you do, that something has been sacrificed in the change -over. For one thing, none of us are as close to our representatives as we were when the local boards were in existence. Our schools seem to be a little more like education fact- ories -- but that is only an impression, not a proven fact. It is true that top-level salaries are high, but the report of the director of education which we carried recently in this paper, makes the point that unification and elimination of jobs and personnel are reducing the over- all cost. Now that the press has been given access to a broader source of information it is hoped that the facts will reach the public and the attitude toward the board of education will sweeten to some degree. (Wingham Advance Times. "The boss complimented me for thinking big .. . in a small sort of way." ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher Second Class Mail Registration Number 138540044.40# f Member: Canadian Weekly. Newspapers Association 11 Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association 2111110W Sub eription Rates: 54.00 per year in advance in Canada; tillp in United States and Foreign: single copies 10 cents. OUR INSTANT GARDEN by Bill Smiley It's high summer, with a hot sun, a blue sky and perfect conditions for sitting at the picnic table typing this column. But there's something wrong, something off-key. It took me a while, but I've got it. Instead of the lush green jungle that used to encompass our back yard, there are splotch- es of color everywhere, destroy- ing the solid green effect I'm so used to. My wife has been off on another of her wild, off-season bursts, like doing the spring house-cleaning the week before Christmas. It all began with one rose. She received a large rose -bush, ready for planting, as a gift. Our rose bed, like the rest of our flower beds, was suffering sev- erely from malnutrition and neglect. They were like children who undergo the same tre,gtment — stunted and retarded. Our roses had shrunk to three, one dead, one dying and one which produced about two tiny blooms a year. In a fit of ill-considered fury after some barbed remark from my wife, I went out and dug up the lot and planted the new one. I should have put it quietly in the tool -shed and let it die a natural death. It only took the one log to break the jam. The rose was a beauty. It looked so lovely and so lonely that the old lady, no gardener, sent me out to buy another. I got a dandy for fifty cents, age, sex, color and kind unknown, but dubious. The boss was disgusted, but we planted the thing anyway. Then she bought two more and stuck them in, with peat moss, fertilizer and invocations to the gods. I thought that might bring a little peace, but she'd caught fire. In a flurry of self -disgust, she went at her window -box like a wolf coming down on the fold. It was a dilapidated object that runs along the side of the garage. I rather liked it as it had been for several years, with the fresh, green weeds spilling down over the side. But there was no reasoning with her. Out came the weeds as if they were scorpions. Off I went for a carload of zinnias, begonias and other bewildering things. Work- ing as carefully as a surgeon, so the window -box wouldn't fall off the wall, she planted it and gave it a coat of paint. But we had some flowers left over. That meant I had to dig up a corner of another crumbling flowerbed, and we planted the leftovers. I was confident this was the end. She hasn't even pulled a weed for years. No such luck. Blazing with enthusiasm, or simple insanity, she shot me off for another carload, zinnias and marigolds. By the time I returned, she had weeded the front half of our moribund tulip bed. She had dug little holes and set in them a handsome row of orange and yellow marigolds in half an hour. An instant garden. Now she has her eye on the old peony bed. Once a mass of green and bloom, it has shrivel- led to a few sickly plants producing eight blooms. It seems it is to be dug up and completely replanted with another exotic species. With all this new beauty, of course, we had to buy a new water -sprinkler. The old one was perfectly all right. It cost $2.95 ten years ago and water would still come out of it, though it didn't really sprinkle any more, just shot out two jets in opposite directions. New one, $11.00. She's fascinated, and keeps me moving it about all day, from one flower bed to another. "No, no. Move it another two inches to the right." It's all ridiculous, of course. Even 1 know that you don't plant flower beds in the middle of July. They'll all be dead in a week, either from the haste with which they've been ripped from the womb and thrown into life, or from simple drowning. I liked the old jungle, with the odd tiger lily struggling up through the milkweed, or a few hardy daisies reaching for the sun. Why can't women leave things alone? 0 Fish For Bass In Lake Erie One of Southern Ontario's bet- ter small -mouth bass hotspots is Long Point Bay --situated on the Canadian side of Lake Erie some 60 miles south-west of Hamilton and prospects look good for anoth- er excellent season. It is estimated that last year 75, 000 anglers battled and boated approximately 100, 000 of the exciting scrappers. Other offerings in the Bay, which on opening day June 27 was dotted with hundreds of boats anchored, drifting or trolling, include large- rnouth bass, rock bass, pike and perch. Within easy driving distance of the Buffalo and Detroit districts, Long Point Bay --with its abund- ance of marinas, boat -launching ramps, party boats and accom- modations-- is enticing more and more American anglers for one - or -two-day trips where fishing for a variety of species is assured. 1 THURSDAY, JULY 2% 1970 Catfish Prove Quite Popular In Some Areas So you don't have the time or money to head into Ontario's northland wilderness areas in pur- suit of this Canadian province's more challenging game fish. Well, how about a common -to the -south species that frequently runs to more than 15 pounds, can be found all along the Ontario shore of Lake Erie and is good for a healthy tussle on light tackle? The catfish--much-maligned as an ugly, useless scavenger -- will provide the action and almost any creek leading into Lake Erie frorn the north will provide the location. Granted, he is ugly and a scavenger. But he's far, far from useless. And don't discount this weighty bottom -feeder in the dinnei dep- artment. Properly cooked, (look for the best recipes in any cook- book originating in the deep soutti) the catfish makes a tasty, white - fleshed dish that's hard to beat. Although most creeks and riv- ers have a small year-round pop- ulation of catfish, they do not see the arrival of the great spawn- ing run each year until "ice -out" conditions. Angling gets hot about Easter and continues through out the summer and into Septem- ber. Bait --they've been caught on anything from cheese to soap and from leeches to nightcrawlers-- with a gob of nightcrawlers good at any time. Other winners are soft-shelled crayfish and fresh liver. Tackle varies from the newest ultra -light spinning outfit to the long-time favorite bamboo pole and bobber. Reincarnation: This may be observed in many offices at 5 p,m. when all the dead people come alive. Business and Professional Directory OPTOMETRISTS J. E. Longstaff OPTOMETRIST SEAFORTH MEDICAL CENTRE 527-1240 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat- urday a.m., Thursday evening CLINTON OFFICE 10 Issac Street 482-7010 Monday and 1Wednesday Call either office for appointment. Norman Martin OPTOMETRIST Office Hours: 9 - 12 A,M, — 1:30- 6 P.M. Closed all day Wednesday Phone 235-2433 Exeter Robert F. Westlake Insurance "Specializing in General insurance" Phone 236-4391 — Zurich Guaranteed Trust Certificates 3, 4, 5 Years — 81/2 2 Years -- 81/ 1 Year — 8% 3. W. HABERER ZURICH PHONE 236-4346 AUCTIONEERS ALVIN WALPER PROVINCIAL LICENSED AUCTIONEER For your sale, large or small, courteous and efficient service at all times. "Service That Satisfies" DIAL 237-3300 -- DASHWOOD FUNERAL DIRECTORS WESTLAKE Funeral Home AMBULANCE and PORTABLE OXYGEN SERVICE DIAL 236-4364 — ZURICH ACCOUNTANTS Roy N. Bentley PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT GODERICH P.O. Box 478 Dial 524-9521 INSURANCE For Safety .. . EVERY FARMER NEEDS Liability Insurance For Information About All Insurance — CaII BERT KLOPP DIAL 2364988 — ZURICH Representing CO.OPERATORS INSURANCE ASSOCIATION