HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-01-05, Page 4Citizens News, January 5, 1978
Quiet in the bush
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Proble s have deep roots
Revelations that workers of the post of-
fice don't always `handle with care' is
merely indicative of the problems that
arise in any large organization, be it the
post office or General Motors. In any
organization of the size there are bound to
be individuals who really don't give a darn
about their job and will do anything to foul
up the system.
What a lot of people don't realize is that
the post office has undergone some
dramatic changes in the past 20 years.
After the second world war, it was the ex -
serviceman who swelled the ranks of the
postal service and as such, a pseudo -
'military temperament became part of the
post office way of life; if a superior told a
worker to do something, he did it with no
questions asked. While the pay was low by
private industry standards, the job offered
security, a comrade in arms feeling that
these men had experienced in the armed
forces.
Problems began to arise when the ser-
vicemen moved up to the management
level of the post office and workers not ac-
customed to strict regimentation assumed
the positions of the ex -armed forces per-
sonneland at thesametime receiving wages
that still fell below private industry stan-
dards.
As the postal employees unionized,
conflict was bound to arise between
socialist leaning union leaders and the up-
per echelons of post office management
who viewed this as threat to their authori-
ty.
'At the same time that the new brand of
postal worker appeared on the scene, the
post office was faced with ever-increasing
amounts of mail and the subsequent
problem of how to move the mail in a more
efficient manner.
By the mid 60's, it was realized that
modernization would have to take place, or
else the post office would lose some of its
business to private carriers.
The postal workers viewed this as a
threat to their jobs and showed their dis-
pleasure by work stoppage, slow downs and
acts of vandalism.
While agreements ratified during the
70's allowed for union input intoproposed
moderization, this question is still upper -
mind in most postal workers and it is this
uncertainty that leads to the use of
packages marked `fragile' as soccer balls
and phonograph records as frisbees.
The public as a whole does not ap-
preciate the fact that Canada still has one
of the finest postal systems in the world
with the United States Postal Service run
as a crown corporation, acting at a rate of
efficiency lower than that of the Canadian
service.
Next time you receive a letter,
remember that 99 percent of the people
who handled your mail enjoy doing a good
job.
FIRST WITH LOCAL NEWS.
Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
eN.
Member:
Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association
Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association
News Editor - Tom Creech
Second Clan Mail Registration Number 1385
Subscription Rates: $7.00 per year in advance in Canada
$18.00 per.year outside Canada Single copies 20a
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• Miscellaneous
• Rumblings
By
TOM CREECH
The date on the calendar says that it is now January 5,
1978, so what does it mean?
For the first time in over 35 years it was not Guy Lom-
bardo who helped bring in the new year.
Christy Lee Ann, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ken
Ducharme of Zurich is exactly one year and two days old.
Providing all things are equal, your car insurance has
gone down, the life insurance policy premiums have gone
up and your bank account has taken a turn for the worse.
Its only 360 more days till Christmas strikes again.
This could be the year that peace finally comes to the
middle east if Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin can
resolve the differences that separate two of the powers of
this part of the country.
Residents of Stanley and Hay townships should gain a
better understanding of the planning process as the secon-
dary plans for the townships come closer to being im-
plemented.
Hopefully the Zurich Flyers will regain the form that
saw them attract large crowds as they won the South Huron
Hockey League Championships a few years ago.
That the Zurich bantams lead by prolific scorer Robert
Willert will 'go all the way' and capture the WOAA cham-
pionship.
Last (but certainly least) 1978 may see the year when
`Godzilla' the 1967 Ford with too many miles on it, finally
bites the dust.
Newspapers receive a lot of mail with the government
sector being the most prolific mailer. An interesting
pamphlet put out by the Ministry of Consumer and
Commercial Relations entitled "Insurance, A Basic Guide
for Consumers' found its way this newspaper a few weeks
ago.
The pamphlet gives an excellent summary of the main
parts of life insurance, the types of insurance available and
what they cover.
If you're not that sure as to what your life or car in-
surance policy covers, maybe a stamp and envelope ad-
dressed to Consumer and Corporate Relations, Queens
Park, Toronto, Ontario M7A 2H6 would be worth the cost.
The booklet is free.
* * *
For some unknown reason I watched the late show Sun-
day evening which consisted of a very educational film en-
titled `McHale's Navy joins the Air Force'.
`Pretty hard up for something to write about, eh
Creech?' you say.
While that has a certain amount of truth to it, the film
and its TV sister are incredulous in their format con-
sidering their subject matter. Could you imagine the state
of the world 35 years from now if all that generation had
been exposed to reruns of `McHale's Navy', 'Hogan's
Heroes', `Combat', '12 O'clock High', or `Black Sheep
Squadron'?
The Second World War consisted of sinking your base
commander's PT boat so that you could go to Brisbane on
leave, hearing a fat German Guard saying 120,000 times 'I
know nothing' and seeing a B 17 return from a mission over
Germany, shot up all to heck and. not a single scratch on the
pilot.
... The wonders of the modern media.
What seems so wierd to this writer is how people can
laugh at something that is based on something so serious.
The only thing that I can think of is that when one laughs at
war, he is stating how ridiculous the whole premise is.
* * *
Upon the doing the year end review for this paper, I
came across several happenings that if it was not for a
phone call to the Citizens' News office this paper would not
have known about. If you have something that you think will
be of interest let us know. The smaller a newspaper is, the
closer the relationship is and should be to the people.
Speaking of the newspaper, one of the better pieces of
writing that I came across was Cathy McKinley's
humourous expose on how the maple tree beside the village
office came to be planted. The late Charlie Chaplin would
be proud of the scenario which Cathy painted and I1m sure
that's what actually happened considering the people in-
volved.
Talking of trees, what ever happened to the Christmas
tree that the village was supposed to put up beside the
village office?