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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Citizens News, 1975-12-10, Page 4Page 4 - Citizens News, Dec. 10/75 H 41 7C 1a ,fph, %Pi. II t 111 Illi 1 '*;11 111111111111111411 Xl :.t�,... AL. t U ,"1I U It l�. „ I r.tin,...a..,�,,,�� jaiau. t4 n.waa.+l\ iw4 •hlt ain 6a I lett-- "It's alright my dear, it's just his way of welcoming you back!" Attorney General Roy McMurtry wants judges to have the power to impose lifetime driving bans on motorists with repeated drunk driving convictions. Good. But let's not kid ourselves. If McMurtry 's intent is to reduce the toll of alcohol-related road injury and death, then locking up the repeater is but a drop in the bucket. No more than 5% of impaired drivers involved in accidents are repeaters. The vast majority of alcohol-related accidents involve first offenders, and this is the group that must somehow be influ- enced - before the fact - that there is a real risk of legal consequ- ence if they get behind the wheel after drinking. When. the British imposed their Road Safety Act of 1967 allowing police to screen drivers randomly for the presence of alcohol at the roadside, fatalities in. that year plummetted 14.5%. The year fol- lowing, the reduction in road deaths eras 10%, and the year after that 5.7%. Cynics could argue that the law wasn 't working any more, that drinking drivers were just getting back to their old ways. Perhaps, but in the interim, a good many lives were saved and many accid- ents avoided. It has been estimated that in a seven-year period since imposi- tion of those laws, some 5,000 road fatalities and 200,000 injuries have been avoided. There is a lesson in this for Canada. A check with local police officials here is southwestern Ontario shows a staggering number of injury and fatal accidents have alcohol involved with one or both drivers. We face a bleak future if this trend is allowed to accelerate. McMurtry has already admitted that tougher. sentences by themselves won't significantly reduce the gruesome road statis- tics, that an in-depth education program is necessary if real progr- ess is to be made. Let's hope that if and when McMurtry 's ideas take the form of legislation they are kept in perspective. The banning of repeat offenders is still a drop in the bucket. If debate on this issue gives the illusion we're doing more than we actually are, then what have we accomplished? Except that more time will have passed, and more innocent people will have been killed on the roads. Maarri©h R1Gmz PUBLISHED BY INDEPENDENT NEWS PUBLISHING HERB TURKHEIM, EDITOR Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385 Member: Canadian Weekly. Newspapers Association Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association Subscription Rates: $6.00 per year in advance in Canada; $8.00 in United States and Foreign; single copies 20. Hensall Mrs. Pearl Petzke and Mrs. Rose Broderick of Exeter visited last week with the former's son-in-law and daughter Mr. and Mrs. WayneSmith. Local visitors with Mr. & Mrs. Gordon Schwalm, Mrs. Daisy Ivey and Mrs. Elizabeth Volland were Mr. & Mrs. Allan Miller, Mrs. Marion Sangster, Mrs, Irene Finlayson, Mrs Edna. Pep- per, Mrs. Bona Clark, Mrs. Win- nie Skea and David. The Last Word (by Ted Rowcliffe) It is my imagination or are the weeks really getting shorter as the calendar approaches December 25? The weeks fly by rapidly in this business at the hest of times but this week it seemed like we had just finished get- ting one paper out when it was deadline time again. Being busy helps make the time go more quickly but things are getting a bit ridiculous. * * And then on Saturday it was Santa Claus day at Exeter and the jolly fellow arrived right on time as usual and was on hand at the Exeter Public School following the parade to talk to all his little fans. I can remember very vividly from my childhood going to Simpsons in Toronto every Christmas to sit on Santa's knee and tell him what I wanted for Christmas. I'nl sure that despite some of the turns our society has taken wince them "good old days," sitting on Santa's knee is still a big thrill for the youngsters and one that will be remembered for years to come. The parade itself was excellent and I've been hearing good comments about it ever since. From the number of familiar faces from Grand Bend, Hensall, Lucan and Zurich in the crowd, it appeared that a fair number of area people joined their Exeter neighbours for what was billed as Huron county's best parade. The aspect I liked about the parade this year was the large number of clowns and others depicting various animals who walked along beside the floats and stopped to chat with the little youngsters. We tried to get a few pictures of these scenes and hopefully they'll turn out well enough to share with you. Congratulations to all those who worked so hard on this year's effort. * * * Just before the parade I was assigned to over the Huron Country Playhouse bazaar and tea held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Brown of Southcott Pines. The bazaar, while hurt 'slightly by the conflict with the Santa Claus parade in Exeter, was an excellent one and the ladies arc to be proud of their efforts too. Although it didn 't really show up in any of the pictures, one of the interesting highlights of the bazaar was the set- ting. The Browns, from Michigan, have a very lovely home on the lake and its architecture is most original. So original in fact that it has been featured on more than one occasion in American home publications. 1 was the only male at the bazaar except for a brief moment when Mr. Brown passed through to get his golf clubs. He said he was going golfing but if you will recall the weather on Saturday you might forgive me when I say that I suspected he was just using the clubs as an excuse to get out of the house. It worked out okay though...I only had to open one jar with a sticky lid. * * * One of the greatest things to happen to elementary schools in recent years is participatory drama. A good example was the morning's entertainment provid- ed for the little pupils at Grand Bend Public School on Friday by the nienmbers of the Theatre Arts 400 class at South Huron District High School. The young actors actually went into the crowd of children and in one instance had a few of the children help out with a specific scene. Talking to the actors and director Pat Quigley behind the curtain prior to the performance, it seemed the actors were just as enthused as the audience and they all seemed reluct- ant to sec the end of the week which had them performing at arca schools every day. * * * Bits wul pieces..., Don 't forget Santa arrives in Grand Bend this Saturday. Then later it is rumoured he might appear again at the dance sponsored by the Grand Bend Recreat- ion Committee to be held Saturday night at the Ausable Centre. Sunday there is a variety show at the centre to round out the weekend...Also on Sunday at the Bend is the open house at The Village Inn Retreat. Manager Leo Morning- star has issued a hearty welcome to one and all....Our fame is spreading! At Precious Blood Separate School in Exeter Friday night, one of the characters in a play identified him- self as a reporter for the Independent News. Conte to think of it he was a little seedy looking. The Salvation Army were busy on Sunday visiting area nursing homes and hospitals where they sang and played Christmas carols and handed out treats to all residents and patients. If you 've contributed to the Salvation Army recently, you' 11 be pleased to know your contribution brought a little happiness to those less fortunate than ourselves..., And so for another week I'll say so long. May you be in heav- en a half an hour before the devil knows you 're dead