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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1985-10-30, Page 2+CNA BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Huron x osltor di SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST OPINION incorporating Brussels Post 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning ED 8YRSK1, General Manager HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes, Bessie Broome, Marlene Charters, Joan Guichelaar, Anne Huff, Joanne Jewitt, Stephanie Levesque, Dianne McGrath, Lois McLlwain, Bob McMillan, Cathy Malady and Patrick Raftis, Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association OCommonwealth Prweal CouncilPres Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: Canada $20.00 a year (in advance) Outside Canada $60.00 a year (in advance) Single Copies '- 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1985 Second 'class mail registration Number 0696 Apathy alive Apathy is alive and well -- and thriving in Seaforth. And, unfortunately it seems to be indicative of the growing mood in sari On o. Never before has apathy been more apparent that now -- prior to a municipal election. In Huron County, participation in the election has been virtually non-existent, with community after community struggling to fill the seats available, let alone attracting enough interest to warrant an election. It's disheartening that a county, within a country and Within a world that is becoming so outwardly conscious of the plight of those in third -world, and disaster -struck countries around them, could be so lacking in concern for their own community. In Seaforth the only battle after the official closing of nominations on October 21 was for the position of reeve. The mayoral position was acclaimed and only five applied for the six seats on council, so were acclaimed as well. The deputy reeve position was taken up by an original candidate for councillor who changed her mind in the late stages of nomination day. Now after a 24-hour extended nomination has passed, Seaforth will offer the public a ballot form with more than five names on it - those representing candidates for the reeve's chair and those vying for the position of public utilities commissioner. Now there will be an additional two people vying for the open seat' on council. It is sad though those two candidates do not even live in Seaforth, but are residents of Egmondville. Both however either own property or rent property in town and have shown more interest than those people actually living in Seaforth. In Tuckersmith Township there are plenty td for vying yiifor one thef the position hree po9reeve and deputy reeve but only one person applied nS on council before the October 21 deadline. The other two positions have since been filled, again by acclamation, after the nomination period was extended. Hibbert too will be holding an election soully to fill the reeve's chair, McKillop Township will hold no election, and Hullett did not attractt. enough people to fill the positions open. Brussels too had all its positions' filled by acclamation. it Is not really surprising the municipal election should draw so little interest. in recent months the newspaper has noticed a declining Interest in anything going on in and around town, with the exception of purely social events. Public meetings, like one on the floodplain held last month, are drawing fewer to none of those who initially showed interest. And polls, such as the recent one conducted by this paper on the Roth building, and whether it should or shouldn't be demolished, seem to be meeting with less response than they might have been a few months ago. People seem to have grown complacent about the happenings around them. Perhaps it was time people took their minds off the national and international aids for a bit, and worked a bit harder to secure things at a local level, LIVE -aid, and FARM -aid and such things are great, but maybe it's time we got thinking about a MUNICIPAL -aid of sorts. Caring begins at home. — H.M. Hidden tax The Progressive Conservative federal government, still licking its wounds from a sound beating with the stick of public opinion on its attempts to lower the deficit through cuts in social welfare programs to lower-income Canadians, is currently researching a new way to fill its coffers. One that could affect, and probably outrage, even more taxpayers than their previous insensitive schemes. Cutting family allowance benefits and de -indexing senior citizen's pensions, as the federal Tories are proposing would cause hardship for a large enough section of the population, but a new plan to replace the much -despised federal sales tax with a European -style "value-added tax" (VAT) would hit every Canadian, and once again, be hardest on those who can least afford it. The federal sales tax is imposed only at the manufacturers' level. The VAT, however, is applied at every stage of production and can therefore be applied to virtually everything. If a VAT were implemented, Canadians could find themselves paying sales tax on a whole range of currently untaxed goods and services, from haircuts to drycleaning. According to the VAT principle, as a raw material is transformed into a finished product, its value is increased each time it is processed or handled in some way. It is the difference between the value of the raw material and the value of the processed material that is taxed at each stage of production. This snowball taxation effect ultimately makes everything more expensive to the consumer, to whom the tax will eventually be passed. While this makes VAT a highly effective fund-raiser for the government, it unfortunately will take even more money from the pocket of the average consumer. The insidiouk thing about value-added taxation, is while actually costing the public more, it creates the impression they are being taxed less, because they cannot see the automatic sales tax added on to the cash register tape, as they can now. Another danger of the VAT system is the temptation for the government to slowly inch up the universally -applied VAT rate, because a small increase in the rate will generate a large increase in the total tax dollars raised. As unwelcome as the current sales tax is, it is an open, easily -spotted tax. Consumers know when they are paying it and how much it is costing them. The VAT system would be a little bit like'taxing thhe air we breathe,tinued on reaA (Co it .p AT DAYS END Tuesday Seaforth firefighters were called to battle a of the property were burning 'leaves. blaze in McKlttop Township. A hollow tree caught fire when owners (Mcllwraith Photo) Someone repeal Murphy's Law Did you ever notice...? ...When people make wills they all die a couple of days later; that the winning lottery ticket was purchased by the guy in front of you; you hop off the couch and break your leg yet some )gker falls 50 storeys and lives, your netghboi erects 'a 10 -foot -high wooden fence; the new record you just bought has only one good song on it - the one theylplay on the radio; your favorite movie is pre-empted for a national ballet special; when choosing sides for a pick up hockey game you're not picked; the flyers in the Saturday comics are always upside down; the person walking in front of you always misses stepping in the doggie doo; you get the flu on hot sunny days; that when the house burns down the bills somehow miraculously survive the fire; kids don't visit your home on Halloween; when your company is going to keep 65 workers your number is 66 on the seniority list; your friend forgets your name when introducing you to a stranger; you find out a month later that the business down town has been hiring; you're on the edge of your seat watching an exciting football game and the cable goes off just in your house; you spend 25 bucks on Nevada tickets and don't win anything and some wealthy fella sits down, spends a dollar and walks away with $200; some person buys a round of drinks but the waitress doesn't CORNUCOPIA by David Broome bring you one; when people spill things on you its always on your good clothes; you thought you paid off your chargex but the new bill says you. still owe $600; you're driving down the road and you further squash the dead skunk; that when all your favorite, teams lose it seems to last for decades; you're out ,jogging at night and someone has let their giant doberman out for a run; everyone is roaring past you on the freeway and the cop pulls you over; your wife wants to find herself and joins the Frrlesiastical Knights of the Holy Libido Movement; the one time the phone is for you and not the kids, it's the police; when you do splurge on a case of beer, all the friends you haven't seen in six months suddenly show up; slow drivers travel in convoys; all the chicks have been smiling and giving you the eye but you discover the reason for their attention is that your fly is down; that on foggy days truck drivers often pretend that it isn't; the weather always clears up about 5 p.m. during your summer holidays; your favorite rock band has decided to go country; you're at a party in a crowded room when you let loose with an unfortunate silent expulsion of gas and everyone stares at you; you get to the beach and it rains, you quickly dash to another beach and it rains, you rush to another beach and it still rains. You talk to your best friend the next day and he says it was sunny where he was; you get obscene phone nails on Christmas day; your mother forgets your birthdate; you're hustling the gorgeous doll in the bar for three hours when a guy she hasn't seen in five years shows up and she leaves with him; that your new nickname is jughead; you blow your nose and discover some time later you have been mingling among the crowd with green stuff matted into your moustache; and finally — when all is going bad you have won the big one, yes, your lottery ticket is a winner. But, to your horror it went out with the trash i ast night and is now buried under two tons of garbage at the local landfill site. Somebody ought to repeal Murphy's Law. Busy summer, and hectic fall It's been a busy summer for Members of the Liberal Government and the pace hasn't let up, as a variety of announcements and events preceded the sitting of the legislature this fall. Ontario Premier David Peterson has reaffirmed his government's commitment to the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. In his remarks at a recent awards dinner for achievement in employment equity, the Premier said equal pay will be introduced in the public service, covering 80,000 workers. As well, a green paper will be issued to discuss ways of implementing the principle in the private sector. The discussion paper will be tabled in the legislature m the fall, followed by public consultation meetings held in several centres across the province. The Premier also made public the final version of an agenda on employment equity programs put together by the Ontario Women's Directorate. This agenda will put employers who sign it on record as supporting employment equity and the equal treatment principles of the Ontario Human Rights Code. The provincial economy was the subject of another speech by Premier Peterson to the Conference Board of Canada. There, the Premier expressed his concern over the federal government's plan to speed up reduction of transfer payments to the provinces. The amount of money Ottawa provides to Ontario will be reduced by $150 million in 1986 and $150 million each following year to 1991, "It does not make sense," said the Premier, "to endanger our commitment to meeting fundamental human needs like health and education." Meanwhile, in an effort to both save lives and create jobs, Transportation and Com- munications Minister Ed Fulton urged his federal counterpart, Don Mazankowski to provide more funding for railway grade separations. Speaking at a meeting of Federal -Provincial Transportation and High- way Safety Ministers in Vancouver, Mr. Fulton called for fresh funding for the urban transportation assistance program (UTAP). Federal money for the program was used JACK'S JOTTINGS by Jack Riddell, MPP up in early 1984 and there has been no further funding since then, despite the fact that rail safety is a federal responsibility. New money is needed, "if we are going to put an end to the tragic number of people killed at railway crossings each year, said Mr. Fulton. There have been 85 fatal accidents at railway crossings in Ontario in the last eve years. Mr. Milton's proposal was unanimously endorsed by his fellow ministers at the meeting. On another front, Health Minister Murray Elston announced his intention to consult with the people of Ontario on extra billing. in his remarks at their annual meeting in Ottawa, Mr. Elston called on Ontario's district health councils to organize one -day community consultations on extra -billing in nine Ontario cities. The meetings will be held in Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Ham- ilton, London and Windsor. Consumers, health care providers and public interest groups will be invited to make presentations. In order to have the greatest public participation and to get some feedback in a relatively short period of time, Mr. Elston suggested the meetings be held on Saturdays during late October and early November, He described the meetings as necessary because he has been unable to discuss extra -billing with the Ontario Medical Association. "The physicians' association appears to have opted out of the negotiations. said Mr. Elston. Getting the most out of trade in foreign markets was the focus of a conference held on Export Opportunities in Toronto on October 22 and 23. Hugh O'Neil, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Technology, said trade specialists from the Ontario and Federal governments will provide informa- tion on how to export to 17 foreign countries as well as 8 metropolitan areas in the United States, The conference, which is being held during Canada Export Trade Month, pro- vides a chance for many Ontario entrepre- neurs to learn about conditions in the foreign markets in which they are interested. There will be four seminars at the conference dealing with export opportunities in the United States, Western al' rope, the Pacific Rim and the Middle East. For more information on the cost and registration for the seminars, you can call the Conference Secretariat, toll-free at 1-800-267-0422. Fo- cusing on the Environment, Minister Jim Bradley said an estimated 1400 new jobs will, be created in the recycling industry as a result of the new soft drink container regulation recently announced by Premier David Peterson. Mr. Bradley was addressing the sixth annual Recycling Conference in Burlington. "Recycling is the cornerstone of Premier Peterson's new soft drink policy," he said. The new regulation opens up the soft drink market to a range of new containers as well as providing a secure market for refillable bottles. All of the new containers must be recyclable and those who produce them must see that they are in fact recycled. As well, the Ministry of the Environment will increase funding up to $2.8 million for useby municipalities in their curbside collection of separate material for recycling. Turning to agriculture, the annual fall celebration, Agri -Food Week was kicked off on Monday, October 7 with a fun -filled food and beverage contest. The rural team, led by Agriculture and Food Minister Jack Riddell, managed to beat the urban team in a contest which saw competitors try their hand at corn husking, wine tray racing, an apple peel off, thug -a -mug of milk and egg cracking. The goal of Agri -Food W eek was to focus attention on the key role the agriculture and (Continued on Page A3) State of fear is commonplace Are you frozen with terror, these days? You're not? Then wake up, you vegetable. You're supposed to be. Haven't you noticed the relentless cam- paign to scare the living daylights out of us ordinary souls? There seems to be a conspiracy, in the communications media, to put you and me and our wives and kids into a perpetual state of fear. Advertising is the most prevalent, though not the most powerful weapon of scare- mongers. It is suggested that if we have greasy hair or a greasy sink, we're sunk; that if we don't use a certain soap, we stink; that if we don't drink a man's beer, we're a bunch of you-Imow-whats. Well, all thiees enough to set up a certain nervous tension in the ordinary amiable chap. What man wants to admit he's a failure because he can't rush out to his friendly neighborhood dealer and snap up an all-new Super Aurora Borealis Shooting Star Sedan, with safety belts? Or has dandruff? But this is for the morons. You know, all the people who don't read this column. If they want to wind up with acid stomach, upset nerves, migraine headaches and irregularity, as constipation is now known, serves them right. Anybody who is frightened by that kind of advertising deserves it. But it is not on the humble commercial - watcher that the big guns of the horror -bri- gade are trained. It is on the serious reader -viewer. They have moved. lock, stock SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley and frightfuls, into the newspaper, maga- zine, book and "serious" TV field. Every time i pick up, leaf through, or switch on one of these media, somebody is trying to frighten the wits out of me about something. It's a bit hard for a fellow to cope with. Black headlines or graphic pictures suggest that I'm supposed to be shaken rigid about Communists and cancer: birth control and bingo; high school drop -outs and hoenosexualism. Simultaneously, I'm supposed to be stricken by integration and insulation. If I'm not in favor of the former, there'll be a terrible bloodbath. If I'm agin the latter, my heating bill will soar. Sometime during the day, I'm supposed to be whimpering in a corner because of: high-priced funerals; the computer, which is going to put me out of a job; the unfulfilled housewife; and all that leisure time I'm going to have next year, when automation takes over. You'll notice I haven't even mentioned nuclear fission, which is old hat, nor the squirrels in my attic who, at this moment, according to an article, are chewing my wiring to start a fire in which we'll be cremated, and do we have enough insurance? If people weren't basically so tough, sensible and mean, they'd all go to bed and pull the covers over their heads. Fortun- ately, we're as sensitive as an old rubber boot. But, in case the scare -distributors are bothering you, let me give you a formula that is guaranteed to steady the nerves. One thing at a time. Communists — most of us are twice as scared of our wives as we are 'of the Red menace. Juvenile Delinquents — hit them on the head. Hard. Cancer — you want to live forever? Creeping Socialism — better than the galloping type. The Computer — so who wanted a job in the first place? Leisure Time — be happy to have a chance to sit on your butt. Unfulfilled Housewives — fill them. Population Replosion — see Birth Control, also Nuclear Fission. High -Priced Funerals — you don't have to And so on.