HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1978-06-01, Page 4Page 4
Citizens News, June 1, 1978
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull
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Changes are good but ...
Legislation introduced last week by consumer
and commercial relations minister Larry
Grossman altering certain laws pertaining to
alcohol and its consumption are on the whole an ex-
cellent step in the right direction but there are cer-
tain changes that deserve a harder look.
The most prominent of the changes was the
raising of the legal drinking age from 18 to 19, a
move which should eliminate a great deal of the
drinking by high school age individuals.
Paradoxically those same individuals who are
deemed not mature enough to consume spirits are
felt to be able to handle the serving of same in a
responsible manner.
While Grossman's reasoning that a ban on ser-
ving by 18 year olds would hamper the summer
youth employment situation makes some sense, it
nevertheless would make better sense if there was
a unity of ideals in the enactment of legislation.
The introduction of stiffer penalties for the
drinking driver is welcomed and something that
should have been done long ago.
An area which this paper views with some
trepidations is the issuance of on the spot, 24 hour
driver license suspensions to motorists who are
considered a risk although not legally impaired.
The police of this province are here to enforce
regulations and not to act as a watch dog on acts
which although a vast majority of the people in On-
tario might consider to be wrong but are not illegal.
Until the practice of drinking and driving is brought
out of this no -man's land, the police should main-
tain their distance. By the issuance of a licence
suspension, the province is saying an offence has
been committed.
In Ontario .08 has been established as the rate
in which impairment legally takes place. If the
province feels this limit is too high why doesn't it
lower it, rather than "dilly-dallying" with pseudo -
legal licence suspensions.
Big brother is atching
Dissidents and humanists beware. Big Brother
is watching closer than ever.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is at it
again — doing what its government leaders do best.
Another purge is on in the Soviet Union.
How ironic. An emminent physicist named
Yuri Orlov has been criticizing his government for
its repression of civil liberties and he has been
passing such information along to the outside world.
For his open stand against injustice and the cruel
sabatoge of human rights, his government arrests
him, brings him to trial in a court shut off from the
public, and convicts him of treason.
In our country, the freedom to criticize our
government for its erring ways goes without say-
ing. Surely Orlov's conviction proves the very point
which he was attempting to make — that there is
still no real freedom of expression in the Soviet
Union. Unfortunately for his courage and tenacity,
he will be rewarded with at least a dozen years of
hard labour and probably ruin for his family,
whereas in Canada he might be appearing on T.V.
talk shows to discuss his new book.
The Western World is still very much in-
terested in "detente" with the Soviets, and for ob-
vious reasons (agreement on non-proliferation and
arms reductions) it would be unwise for anyone in
government to suggest that detente be written off.
But at the same time, the West must
remember that it is dealing with a country whose
foreign policy is perhaps friendlier than it used to
be, but whose domestic affairs have changed very
little since the reign of terror under Joseph Stalin.
And the strange thing is that if Karl Marx
(upon whose philosophy the Soviet system is loosely
based) were alive today — he, too, might have
wound up alongside Orlov in a Siberian labour
camp.
Although Marx talked of the end justifying the
means a s (something the Soviet Union believes in
wholeheartedly) Marx also spoke of a time after
the revolution v tion when everyone would live and work
together in a peaceful harmony and governments
would no longer be needed.
In the Soviet Union of the 1970's, such thoughts
would no doubt be considered at least as criminal
as those espoused by Orlov, Sakharov, and other
courageous Russians who continue to speak the
truth under the thumb of a totalitarian government
which justifies itself by living The Big Lie.
St. Marys Journal -Argus
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Miscellaneous
Rumblings
By
TOM CREECH
11, These blasted
E. •
ball games
1 111,11gnInk
"Okay chucker, fire nice ball, come-on big
Murray fella."
"Strike! "
"What -a fire big Murray fella, he's way behind
ya, way behind ya, fire nice guy, fire nice."
"Strike."
"Honey pitch chucker! One more like that will
do it big Murray fella."
"Ball!"
"Looked pretty good Murray fella . . one
more will do it, one more will do it."
"Strike three!"
"All right! What a fire chucker!"
If there is one sport that rivals the popularity of
hockey in this part of the country, it has to be soft-
ball, either, played in its traditional way or in its
slow -pitch derivation.
As in Zurich which has a very competitive four
team rec softball league, Exeter has its own league
albeit on a slightly less competitive scale.
The parent company of the Citizens News has
been a part of this league since its inception three
years ago with yours truly playing for like number
of years.
The purpose behind our league is to provide
some recreation for area men (sorry ladies) so as
to prove you don't have to be Johnny Million Dollar
Athlete to be called a jock.
An example of the recreational aspect of the
league took place a week ago when the Times -
Advocate was scheduled to face Hensall.
Five minutes to game time there were six
players who are regular members of the T -A squad.
Images of forfeiting the game ran through the
manager's (this writer's) head. Then, out of the
blue came two friends known as Steve and Dave
who knew about as much about softball as this
writer knows about donuts.
All we need now is one player (or body) and low
and behold a gentleman who was scheduled to be in
a distant land shows up.
Great! We now have eight bodies plus someone
who can pitch but who's going to catch? The fact
that our pitcher can catch doesn't matter much and
since the manager is not exactly overwhelmed with
requests asking that they may fill this so vital of
positions, he dusts off the catcher's mask and
assumes his position behind the plate.
Memories of being 14 years old and playing in a
boy's rec hardball league flash through my mind.
Get far enough behind the batter so that the bat
doesn't hit you. Be ready for the throw to second
and most importantly, if you can't catch the ball,
keep it out in front of you.
For the first few innings of the game those few
reminders seemed to get the writer through but
(there's always a but) a base runner at third and a
ball that got away seemed to change the complex-
ion of the game.
"He's coming, he's coming," and low and
behold our gentleman on third base had decided to
steal home. Picking the ball up, the writer half
crawled towards home plate in an attempt to block
the base runner but alas, too little, too late.
Following a couple more innings of catching,
the writer was retired to the greener pastures of
the outfield where he enjoyed the comparative bliss
and cleanliness of this position.
Just for the record, we ended up losing the
Please turn to Page 5
•
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
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