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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1985-11-06, Page 2� pos1tor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Incorporating Brussels Post 10 Maln Street 527-0240 Published in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning ED BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor The Expositor Is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes; Bessie Broome, Marlene Charters, Joan Gulchelaar, Anne Huff, Joanne Jewitt, Stephanie Levesque, Dianne McGrath, Lois McLlwain, Bob McMillan, Cathy Malady and Patrick Raffia. Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario PressCouncil CommonwealthPress Presss 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, NOVEMBER 6. 1985 Second 'class mall registration Number 0696 Don't forget Remembrance Day - forget it. The war is in the past - why recall it? Forget it. Unfortunately there are a lot of Canadians who feel just that way. It's a sad day, established to commemorated those who died, were injured or' served in a war or wars fought to bring freedom to their countrymen, should lose its significance. It's sad so many had to die to be remembered a few short years by those directly affected by their sacrifice, then forgotten by the "now" generation -a generation that has learned to take freedom for granted, that has never felt the pain and grief of war, and has grown bored with the stories of war as recounted in the history books. War is something unimaginable. War is hell, but something that has never been experienced first hand. It is something remembered only long enough to provide the right answers on an exam. The "now" generation has no real emotional tie to war -no reason to remember. The 66,655 Canadians Who lost their lives in World War I, the further 44,893 who were killed in World War II and the 516 killed in the Korean conflict, are faceless individuals. The day when friends and relatives would be among them is almost over. But that is no reason to forget. What those wars accomplished, freedom, is something taken now for granted, but shouldn't be. There was a price to pay, and it was paid by our forefathers. We were lucky. To many Remembrance Day/ or November 11, is just another day set aside to remember an event in history. But it is more than that. That one day commemorates 13 years of sacrifice, sacrifice on the part of the soldiers themselves and on the part of the friends and families who saw them march bravely off to war. And each time we refuse to acknowledge the significance of the day we make a mockery of all those who died trying to create and/or maintain Canada as we know it today. We are taught to forget our mistakes and to move on. In this case not to remember would be sacrilegious. For in not remembering our past we are doomed to repeat it. — H.M. A note As a community newspaper, The Huron Expositor depends to a large degree on written submissions from various individuals and organizations in and around Seaforth. Without these contributions - most of which are supplied gratis - we would be hard-pressed to provide news coverage for as broad an area as we do. Unfortunately, however, it is often the case that the real news arising at a meeting or other community event is lost in reporting the routine and obvious. The following suggestions are intended to assist area correspondents and others who regularly submit reports to The Expositor. °Don't report the routine. While the date of an event and the number of people in attendance are usually relevant, it's not news to say that the president opened the meeting with a prayer (when the meetings are always opened that way); nor is It news to say that the secretary read the minutes, that the business part of the meeting was attended to, that the guest speaker made an interesting presentation, or that a committee served lunch. Instead zero in on what's new or interesting. Mention the latest project being undertaken by an organization and who it will benefit. That's news. And It tells readers why they should contribute to an organization and how the funds collected are used. Rather than saying "Nancy Smythe read the financial report," say whether the organization is in good financial shape or not -and indicate how bad or how good by giving some figures. The appropriate time may be at the end of a financial year, or semi-annually. Say what exactly was interesting and notable about a guest speaker's presentation. That surely, is more interesting than saying, as reports so often do, that "the speaker was thanked and presented with a gift." if little of general interest occurs at a meeting, defer a write-up until next time when there is something substantive to report. And better still, when something really special is coming up, give us a call and we'll assign a photographer to give your report better exposure. Fewer, more substantive reports may serve an organization better than several "social notes" which really don't say much. °By all means mention people's names. But don't mention them just because they are attached to individuals present at a meeting. Attach the names to those who are doing new and interesting things; to those who have been responsible for the success of a major project or convention, or to the individual who has returned to active involvement in the group after a long absence. °Always re -read what you write and leave a free line between each line of writing. That is to say, please double space. More space between words and lines is incredibly pleasing to editors, typesetters and proofreaders, It makes the job of getting your news quickly and accurately into the paper a lot easier. Always include your name and phone number on correspondence. Very often it is difficult (or impossible) to decipher the spelling of names in handwritten copy. By including a phone number at the top of your copy or write-up we can call you to check. Also, something that you mention may not be clear to the reader who is unfamiliar with your particular group or club. We may need to call you to avoid confusion -for ourselves and for our readers. Our aim is to continue putting out an informative and interesting quality newspaper. Community contributions are an integral element in achieving this aim. 4. POPPY DRIVE—The annual Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Drive is available at many local stores and businesses, Here, from left: poppy currently in full -swing, after kicking off last Sunday. Legion committee member George Case, Legion Padre Frank Golding, members are canvassing the town selling poppies to local residents Poppy Drive Chairman Gordon Beuttenmiller and President Jack between now and November 11, Remembrance Day poppies are also Muir prepare boxes of poppies for members to sell, (Raft is photo) A horrible waste of money It seems appropriate that Auditor -General Kenneth Dye would release his annual report just before hallowe'en. It truly is a horror story fraught with waste and mismanage- ment of taxpayer's money. Mr. Dye, using a classic bit of understate- ment, said, "M.P.s are not getting the information they need to control government spending." in other words, our elected ones are somewhat in the dark. I wish somebody would turn the lights on. Here is a government that claims it knew nothing about spoiled tuna being sold to consumers so one cannot logically expect the same people to know anything of the size of a one billion dollar tax break to bail out Dome Petroleum. To be fair, it was the liberal government under John Turner that arrang- ed the deal but the conservatives approved the hefty tax dodge. The little Egypt Bump, another tax dodge named after a stripper, and other tax breaks employed by Dome, Gulf and Petro -Canada have cost the feds at least two billion dollars over the last four years. The politicians argue the meaty breaks are needed to help the large money gobblers increase exploration which, in turn, will result in, chuckle, lower fuel prices for Canadians and a decrease in unemployment. Don't hold your breath. The Macaroni government believes that by giving large tax breaks to the wealthy, they, in turn, will use the available money to invest and create jobs. It's called the trickle down theory and the only place the money trickles CORNUCOPIA by David Broome is to condos in Florida. The theory though has an obnoxious connotation attached to it. It always reminded me of a dog at the supper table waiting for a scrap of leftovers. Perhaps the most obscene waste of money occurred when the external affairs depart- ment spent $773,500 to buy memberships to a swanky club in Hong Kong for 34 of its diplomats. The $22,500 initiation fee, says the auditor -general, consumed 20 per cent of the departments entire budget for employee recreation at all its missions abroad for the next four years. The excuse offered by the external affairs department for the expendi- ture was to enable the shaken diplomats to escape from the tensions of the city. Had the poor souls been stuck in some outpost like Beirut, the cost of joining a club there may have bankrupted the government. Then there was the grant given to northern New Brunswick which was supposed to alleviate the high unemployment during the winter months. That money was spent on two golf courses that were only open during the summer. I'd love to hear the explanation for that one. And how about the falling out 'of two incompetently run Western Ranks. Stephen King has got some competition in the horror story business. We have 4.3 million people in this country living below the poverty level and 1.5 million unemployed. We are saddled with a government that gallops to the rescue of failing banks, floated oil companies and hard pressed diplomats. And, at the same time, the same government is threatening 'to dismantle social programs that help prevent the poverty line from rising through the stratosphere. Somebody's priorities are stuck where the sun doesn't shine. Mr. Mulroney reminds me of a certain hockey team. Don't laugh. He is good on the road when the audience doesn't know him. He was great when roaring about apartheid in South Africa but when he returns home a knowing audience doesn't cheer. He will turn what was potentially the greatest federal political dynasty of Canada's time into a small blip on the pages of history To paraphrase a cartoon that appeared in the Toronto Star a few months ago, "First rats, then cockroaches, now, tomes. " Blue Pages make me blue The Blue Pages make me blue. They also make me forty shades of green and red with frustration and purple with rage) The Blue Pages were supposedly designed for our convenience, and they are convenient if you like to play hide and seek without ever leaving your home. Now I'm quite sure I'm not the only dummy who has left my keys dangling from the mail box. No problem, just call the post master and let him know. He will be happy to keep them until you can get back. Phoning the post office is not as simple as it seems, I have a million phone numbers conveniently filed between my ears but alas the Post Office isn't one of them. That's what phone books are for... The telephone book fell open to Seaforth (there's nothing like a well trained telephone book). Now is it under Canada Post? Post Office? Seaforth Post Office? Our little post office is listed not once but twice in the Seaforth section of the white pages. Yes twice!! Bureau de Poste and Post Office, but neither listing gives the simple, seven digit number you are looking for. What you get is HERE'S THE BEEF by Carolanne Doig this: "Post Offices - See Government of Canada Offices Section in the Blue Pages" SCREAM II) That statement took up three lines and used 50 letters instead of a simple number. Wouldn't it be much more conveni- ent to give us our local post office number on one line and perhaps state on the next line, "see also government of Canada offices in Blue Pages."? That would be too easy. So I turned to the Blue Pages. There is nothing under P. Post Offices, Postal, or Canada Post in the Government Services listing. Nothing under Town of Seaforth, or under P in the Provincial pages. How silly of me, it must he under Federal. i forgot, but then anyone who leaves their keys in the box_ AHA! There it is! it says P - Post Offices - see Canada Post Corporation. SCREAM!!! Now, let's see Canada Post Corporation . Port Stanley, Rodney, St, Thomas, SEAFORTH 527-0031 Remember that number You never know when you might leave your keys in your mail box. Other numbers to play hide and seek with include the Seaforth Town Clerk's office, Seaforth Police, Seaforth Public Works and the Seaforth Rec officeit's a great idea for a new inexpensive Christmas game. Give everyone a telephone hook and see who can find the number for OHiP, Canada Pension, UiC, etc the fastest. Pity the city -dweller in the fall This is a time of year when my heart goes out to city -dwellers. It's a time when rural or small town I lying is immensely superior to that in the concrete canyons, the abominable apartments, the sad suburbs of metropolia In the city, day ends drearily in the fall. There's the long, wearying battle home through traffic, or the draughty, crushed, degrading scramble on public transporta- tion. The city man arrives home fit for nothing but slumping for the evening before the television set. And what greets him? The old lady, wound up like a steel spring because she hasn't seen a soul she knows all day, there's nothing to look at but that stupid house next door, exactly like their own, and the kids have been giving her hell. He's stuck with it. For the whole evening. That's why so many city chaps have workshops in the basement. Its much simpler to go down cellar and whack off a couple of fingers in the power saw than listen to Mabel, Life is quite different for the small town male. He is home from work in minutes. He surveys the ranch, says "Must get those storm windows on one of these days," and goes in, to the good fall smells Of cold drinks and hot food. His wife saw him at breakfast, again at lunch, has had a good natter with the dame next door, and has been out for two hours raking leaves with the kids. She doesn't need him. Instead of drifting off to the basement, the SUGAR AND SPICE — by Bill Smiley small town male announces that this is his bowling night, or he has to go to a meeting of the Conservation and Slaughter Club, and where's a clean shirt. And that's all there is to it. While her city counterpart squats in front of TV, gnawing her nails and wondering why she didn't marry good old George, who has a big dairy farm now, the small town gal collects the kids and goes out to burn leaves. There is nothing more romantic than the back streets of a small town in the dark of a fall evening. Piles of leaves spurt orange flame. White smoke eddies. Neighbors call out, lean on rakes. Women, kerchiefed like gypsies, heap the dry leaves high on the fire. Kids avoid the subject of bedtime, dash about the fire like nimble gnomes. Or perhaps the whole family goes to a fowl supper. What, in city living, can compare with this finest of rural functions? A crisp fall evening, a drive to the church hall through a Hallowe'en landscape, an appetite like an alligator,and that first wild whiff of turkey and dressing that makes your knees buckle and the juices flow free in your cheeks. But it's on weekends that my pity for the city -dweller runneth over. Not for him the shooting -match on a clear fall Saturday, with its good-humored competition, its easy friendliness. Not for him the quiet stroll down a sunny wood road, shotgun over arm, partridge and woodcock rising like clouds of mosquitoes. It's not that he doesn't live right, or doesn't deserve these pleasures. It's just that it's physically impossible to get to them easily. If he wants to crouch in a duckblind, at drawn, he has to drive half the night to get there. Maybe on a Sunday or holiday, in the fall, the city family decides to head out and see some of that beautiful autumn foliage. They see it, after driving two hours. And with 50,000 other cars, they crawl home in late afternoon, bumper to bumper, the old man cursing, the lids getting hungrier, the mother growing owlier. Small town people can drive for 15 minutes and hit scenery, at least around here, that leaves them breathless. Or they'll wheel out a few miles to see their relatives on the farm, eat a magnificent dinner, and sit around watching TV in a state of delicious torpor. Yup. It's tough to live in the city, in the fall.