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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-01-12, Page 4Page :4 Citizens News, January 12, 1978 Tranquility in the woods J11111111a1a111111111111111111110U11111111111l111111111191I111111111111i1101111111111111/111111111111111111111111i1111111i1111111111►I11111a11111111a1L1� Vi.ewpoint Fa/11111111111111111111U1....,.11111IIIIU11611111111111111111111111111911111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111II 11111111111111111111G A waste of money About two years ago the LaMarsh Com- mission was established to study the significance of violence in the com- munications media. When the commission held its hearing in Wingham we heard solemn words about costs. Miss LaMarsh, obviously conscious of criticism of the ex- penditure required for the study, was at some pains to tell her audience that she was making every effort to keep costs in line. Now that the commission has com- pleted its work and turned in its report, along with its statement of expenditures one is left wondering what all those words really meant. According to the provincial auditor Miss LaMarsh personally received $93,000 for her services. She was paid $250 a day, plus expenses. And believe us (or better still, the auditor) those expenses ran high. Commission members apparently forgot about the need to economize. One visit to Europe by two of the com- missioners and three staff members cost more than $46,000. The room services charges run up by one commissioner during seven clays in one hotel amounted $688. The HEST MPH LOCAL NEWS hotel bill for one commissioner and one staff member for seven days totalled $2,- 233. There were other little items, such as single meal charges as high as $55 for one person. Limousine charges of $474 in Los Angeles, including a $50 (yes, fifty dollar) tip, a limousine trip from Toronto to Lon- don with a price tag of $127; a limousine trip from Toronto to Kingston, $658... and on and on. , Miss LaMarsh at one point earlier in the study estimated the total cost of the report would be $125 million; actual cost, $2,026,245. And all this wealth for a study and report commissioned by the Province of Ontario on a subject over which the province has not on iota of control. Chief subject of criticism was the television medium, which falls under federal jurisdic- tion. Over two million dollars were spent on a nearly useless exercise at a time when Ontario hospitals were being ordered clos- ed for lack of money. —Wingham Advance Times 1 £til 'ZFEI) S f Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Member: Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association News Editor - Tom Creech Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Subscription Rates: $7.00 per year in advance in Canada $18.00 per year outside Canada Single copies 204 Cow -cuff payments Agriculture and Food Minister Bill Newman has announced that Ontario has made an interim payment to cow -calf producers under the province's beef calf in- come stabilization plan. The payment, which represents betweem 80 and 100 per cent of the entire amount to be paid, was made in December 1977. In making the announce- ment, Mr. Newman said, "Although we don't know what the federal support price is going to be yet, the Ontario government went ahead with its interim pay- ment to alleviate income tax difficulties for Ontario producers." Producers with more than five cows may expect to receive two further, smaller payments. One will com- plete the provincial portion of the program and the other will come from Ottawa as the federal government's share. For producers with five cows or fewer, the December cheque represents their full pay- ment as their cows are not eligible for the federal program. The entire gross payment per eligible cow will total $46.70, based on a weighted average price for calves of $39.29 per hundredweight. The interim December pay- ment was calculated on the basis of $46.70 for every cow in the herd, less $10 for any cow eligible for the federal program. The $10 will be made up in the two cheques to be mailed after the federal government an- nounces its support price in the new year. Unpaid enroll- ment fees have also been deducted from the interim payment: • 111111111111111111111111n1 11U11111111111111111111 nor UUflUHniliiint Miscellaneous I mullings By TOM CREECH A piece of history I like junk. I'll always like junk. Better to keep today rather than regret when it's thrown away. Most youngsters like to collect stuff from an early age. It might be a dump -truck that only has two wheels, the dump -box is missing and its electric motor has long ago seized up, but he'll keep that thing until he either grows out of it or until mother or father steps in. This writer was no exception to this and it was at an early age when he began to enjoy the intonations of the auctioneer's voice on a warm summer day. Remembering back 10 or 11 years ago, the dulcet tones of the late Alvin Walper still ring with clarity. One of the biggest thrills at age 12 was the fact that the writer actually out -bid somebody for an item which he desperately wanted; a beat -up storm lantern that was bent at a 20 degree angle, had a wick that was ,stuck and a fuel tank that leaked. Soon after the purchase was made, a mad dash to Traquair's Hardware store for some wick and then home to get some coal oil. After numerous attempts at getting the stupid thing to go, it was retired to hang in the basement on one of the supporting beams where it still remains to this day. The point that the writer is attempting to make is that collecting stuff is as much a young person's do- main as it is an older person's; the difference lies primarily in the value of the collectables. Many people collect beer bottles, primarily in lots of 24. While beer bottles in roughly that number habitate the Creech household, the age of the bottles range between 20 and 70 years. Any collectable is significant from the standpoint of the images which it conjures up. Four bottles which are sitting aft of my typewriter represent four different decades. The first beer bottle of any significance is one that found its way a foot below the ground at Exeter United Church. A beverage known as `Carling Black Label' is still to be found in this container, albeit in a different state than its drinkable form. Louis St. Laurent and a lawyer from Saskatchewan by the name of Diefenbaker were mak- ing their presence felt in the House of Commons. A young centerman by the name of Beliveau had just made his debut with the Canadiens and Punch Imlach was finishing a stint as coach for the Quebec Aces. Across the border, the Rosenburgs had been convicted of spying and were sent to the electric chair. Jumping a decade, a bottle of `Black Horse Ale' still with its contents, arrived on the scene. Purchased at an auction sale a few years ago in Varna, memories of the depression come into play. Days when being un- employed really did mean something. A time when `Bible Bill Aberhart' came up with a form of currency for his province. A time when this area grieved over the tragic death of Howie Morenz. Back in the 1920's one of the more potent malt beverages available must have been Taylor and Bate's 'Old Stock Ale' bottled in St. Catharines at a potent nine percent alcoholic content. Charles Lindbergh had just flown across the Atlantic, the stock market had crashed and it was the Toronto Arenas and not the Maple Leafs. The bottle which is the most valued of this modest collection, is but seven and one quarter inches high with a base an inch and a half in diameter and is shaped something akin to a miniature bowling pin. The bottle contains no label but on the glass, the words 'O'Keefe's OK, Toronto' are present. From what little this writer knows of beer bottles in this country, the O'Keefe bottle which is ap- proximately 70 years old is a stage between what was known as a torpedo bottle and the form of bottle that was used until the early 60's. The torpedo bottle contained a porcelain cap that was permanently attached to the bottle. This bottle is of a modified torpedo shape but is designed for use with the normal metal crimp cap. If there is anyone who knows anything about this bottle, please give me a call or drop me a line. If you have some old bottles of any type that you would like to get rid of or just show, please do likewise, 1nu111111LI11111n111nn1111U1111111g11W1