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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1975-09-18, Page 4Page 4 - Zurich Citizens News, September 18, 1975 Public business in private! Last week this column commented on the decision of the Huron County Council to discuss municipal restructuring in a closed session from which the public, including the press as the public's represent- ative, was excluded. We expressed the opinion that the closed session was excusable only if the question of restructuring.was being dealt with for the purpose of providing information to county councillors. That meeting was not a study session. It was a full- fledged decision-making meeting of county council, at which the members voted against two proposals for the amalgamation of some of the towns, villages and townships within the county. A press conference was called for Tuesday, a time of the week which made it impossible for most of the county's newspapers to report in their current issues, but of course, made it very simple for any • and all interested dailies to "beat" their weekly counterparts by a full seven days. The press conference received a report of the outcome of the previous Thursday's session. News- men and women were told that no change would be made in the present county structure of municipal government. They were. told what alternative plans had been proposed by the Restructuring Commit- tee and that neither had been approved. What both press and public were not told was which councillors favored a change in the present system, or what were the arguments for and against the proposals. The residents and taxpayers of the cunty have been left to accept the decision of a small body of men in a matter which is of gravest concern to every resident, without ever having been informed of the discussions which preceded that dec- ision. Yes, of course county councillors are elected to make decisions for their constituents/ However, some decisions are much more important than oth- ers - and restructuring - to be or not to be - is of para- mount importance. Its consequences will affect the county for decades to come. It is public business of the first order - a question which should have been disclosed in every detail, with ample time allowed for public reaction to the proposals. A few - a very few - aspects of council and board deliberations must be discussed behind closed doors. But those same closed doors suggest, in instances of such widespread concern, that elected councillors are afraid to let their constituents know where the councillors stand. (Wingham Advance Times) Sunday should be family day! Fall and winter activities are in the planning stages now. It won't be long before minor hockey, bowling, dancing classes, school sports, clubs and organizations will be in full swing throughout the area. It is a good time now to remember that six days should be enough time in any week to squeeze in all the activity necessary to any and all sporting and community events involving yung children. The seventh day - in this society Sunday- should be family day. The strength of the nation is directly related to the strength of the family unit. The family unit in today's modern society is deteriorating faster than many care to admit. Much of the problem stems from the fact that individual family members including many times very young children, are racing in all directions seven days a week. It must stop. Many parents still believe it is important for a family to wroship together at the church of their choice. But even these families who do not attend church services need time on Sunday to be together in their own way, quietly and without pressure of a dozen outside activities. Families need to eat a meal together, play a game together, watch a television show together, talk together, be together. Let's make Sunday family day again. Let's make every attempt to schedule Sundays loosely so that mom and dad and the kids can get to know each other again. The future of the nation depends on it. - (Goderich Signal Star) ZURICH Citizens NEWS PRINTED BY SOUTH HURON PUBLISHERS LIMITED, ZURICH HERB TURKHEIM, Publisher Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 kr Member; �DI�� r , • eACanadiart Weekly. Newspapers Association ? Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association 1,21114110 Subscription Rates: $6.00 per year in advance in Canada; $8.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 200 The nternational Scene (by Raymond Canon) OUT OF THE PAST INTO THE PRESENT I'm sure that most of us have heard or read about head-hunters, which are not to be associated with the wild men from Borneo. If there is any one place with which we associate these head-hunters, it is the island of New Guinea. Because of the place's reputation for primitiveness, it may come as a surprise to you to learn that it is the world's newest nation, for on September 16, it will gain its independ- ence from Australia and try to make it on its own. This is not to say that the Australians will have nothing to do on the island from that date onward, simply that they will no longer be running the government. They will have a great deal to do, from an adv- isory and financial point of view, for no fledgling nation can make it on its own from Day One. ' While the island is still very much in the past in many aspects, it is also very much in the present in other. respects. For one thing it will start out with a tele -commun- ications system as advanced as any in existance elsewhere. Any subscriber can dial anybody else on the island and even to Australia for that matter. Not to be outdone by other nations, New Guinea is to have its own airling and at the present time they have a delegation at the Boeing plant in Seattle deciding which advanced type of jet aircraft to start out with. In case your high school geography is a bit rusty, or in case you never studied about the island, a few facts might help you get a better pict- ure. New Guinea is not one island but a group of islands to the north of Australia, 181,000 square miles of them to be exact. There are 3,000,000 people which is roughly on a par with New Zealand. My source of information tells me that it is the 139th memb- er of the United Nations and that it is the last piece of land of any size in the tropics to become a nation. The new nation is not start- ing out with a handicap such as that experienced by such new nations as Bangladesh. It is rich in a number of scarcely touched natural re- sources such as copper, lum- ber, fish, .hydro -electric power, oil and natural gas. The question here, then is far more how these immence resources can be exploited by foreign firms without the new nation losing too much of its economic freedom such as many believe the case to be in Canada. Already one major ;problem has come up which I think is worth relating. Part of New Guinea is the island of Bougainville, scene of some vicious fighting bet- ween Americans and Japan- ese in World War II. This island is rich in most of the resources which I mentioned a minute ago and it has so much copper that the major companies have already started lining up to get at it. The people of Bougainville were so afraid that most of the money from these cop- per deposits would go to the main island of New Guinea that even before the day of independence was announc- ed, Bougainville declared its independence from New Guinea. Right now nobody is quite sure whether or not they are going to make it stick but nobody can say that the new nation doesn't have prob- lems right off the bat. We'll just have to wait and see how they work that one out. Because the islands were part of the British Common- wealth, their government will be similar to the one we have in Ottawa. However, as you can well appreciate, the English system of govern- ment needs a great deal of experience to make it function properly and so the first government in New Guinea is a rather primitive collect- ion of lobbies rather than distinct political parties such as we have here. Some of these lobbies are composed of capable men;others have characteristics that are dub- ious at best. This tend to make the more competent beurocrats are already get- ting annoyed at some of the more blatent pressure groups and one can see a certain struggle for control shaping up. All this while certain ele- ments of the country are still settling their differences by bow and arrows and spears. News of Huronview Miss Robertson and Mrs. Overholt were welcomed to the Home at Monday after- noon's activities. Marie Flynn, Lorne Lawson and Nor- man Speir provided the old tyme music and led a sing - a -long of favourite tunes. The Bluebells, four girls from the Clinton and Seaforth area, Elizabeth Gibson, Deb- bie Westerhout, Barbara and Judy Carter provided their own guitar accompani- ment and sang several num- bers at Tuesday's "Family Night" program. Jill Wheatley of Seaforth sang two vocal solos and help- ed to lead a sing -a -long. Mrs. Jim Lobb and Mrs Elsie Henderson played a piano duet and Mrs. Henderson played the bells accompanied by Mrs. Lobb. Mrs. Butt expressed the appreciation of the residents for the fine musical program. Two new members, Mrs. MaCauley and Miss Roberton were welcomed to the Over 90 Club on Wednesday aft- ernoon. Twenty-eight memb- ers attended the get-togeth- er and following the games of euchre and crokinole, tea and cookies were served by the Walkerburn Club of Auburn. TODAY'S CHILD -BY HELEN ALLEN Just to look at David you can see this 10 -year-old has a zest for living. He is a very active, enthusiastic boy, always in a hurry. Anglo-Saxon in descent, David is handsome and healthy with light -brown hair, blue -grey eyes and fair skin. He makes a good impression on meeting strangers because he's friendly and outgoing. People who spend a lot of time with David need both pep and patience to keep up with his energy. Tests show this lively boy is average in ability but he has had problems in school, probably because it is hard for him to concentrate. He was in a special class but has now been in- tegrated into the regular classes. Reading and arithmetic have improved a good deal though he is still behind in spelling. David needs to be kept busy. Fortunately he is keen on sports which helps to work off some of his surplus energy. He plays volleyball, basketball and hockey and loves camping, swim- ming and fishing. He likes music and wants to take guitar lessons, David is anxious to belong to a family. He should be the youngest and will be a fine son for involved, active parents. To inquire about adopting David, please write to Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Services, Box 888, Station K, Toronto M4P 2112. In your letter please tell something of your present family and your way of life. For general adoption in- formation, please consult your local Children's Aid Society. NEEDS AN ACTIVE FAMILY