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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1984-01-25, Page 2• I • Tt iuron • Since 1000;" Serving theCoMMitt$9, OW tl Incorporating aekruNmek Pot 440i;ndoiieilki 12 Main*. • 5274040 1 Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO every Wednesday itiOralfig , VE 41144014 AWAKC, 1953 MOM -TN A. SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor KATLE p' LEARY, Advertleing Representative Member Canidile ogmmopity Newspaper Assoc Ontario Commiffitty Newspaper Association and - • AtotttOureeti OtVinetieltion A member of the Ontario Press Council , Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a year (In advance) Outelde Canada $55.00 e year (In advance) Single Copies illOceres each '44G‘ • OA • • 14 • „ ' . , , F., PA , ,gry SEAFORTH, ON- TARIO, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25,10114 Seconill\sei mall registration Number 0696 41.11.1.1•11•111MMO. Time to quit This week is non-smoking week, and the highlight of the stop smoking campaign is Weedless Wednesday. Ever since 1976, the Cancer Society, Lung Association and Heart Foundation 'have co-operated to.promote the national campaign to butt -out. And it's paying off. A group who used to be a minority, non-smokers are the majority and they continue to grow. In 1967, statistics show that 50 per cent of Canadians were non-smokers. That percentage has increased to 72 per cent. Smoking is addictive and the federal government has Joined in to convince Canadians to quit. The Health and Welfare department has budgeted $1.7 million to convince people to stop smoking. In addition to a three part CBC television program, health and welfare have provided a booklet, "Time to Quit". A problem the federal government faces if every smoker decides to quit is a loss of $1.2 billibn in tax receipts. Opposition parties have spoken out about high taxes putting tobacco growers out of business, but some say they are open to the Idea of helping them shift to other crops such as peanuts or corn. 11's a game of take and give on the part of revenue and the health departments. In addition to smoking, there have been government sponsored advertisements advising people not to drink and drive during the Christmas season. Taxes are also collected on the sale of alcohol, but the government hasn't come out with a pamphlet telling people to stop drinking. Some might argue that liquor isn't addictive and not harmful. But just as srrioking causes cancer in 90 per cent of lung cancer victims, alcohol causes cirrhosis of the liver and destroys brain cells. - - If a husband smokesr his second-hand smoke, in 40 per cent of the cases, will result in his spouSe suffering from lung cancer. In the case of impaired drivers, the innocent victim suffers. Non-smokers are a majority. What about the non-drinkers? - R.W. Working together Finding ways to attract tourists to Seaforth is not a new idea. The Vah Egmond Foundation has been drawing outsiders into town for years with the restored Van Egmond House and its annual Ciderfest. And, the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (LCAC) will present its ideas for revitalizing Main St. at a public meeting In February. The work done so far is moving Sea'orth's tourist trade In the right direction but as LACAC spokeemEin Walter Armes told several Seaforth groups recently, by no means have we reached our potential. Each group has the ability to bring people into the area especially if they work together to make existing events bigger and better. The Optimist Winter Carnival is a good example of successful co-operation. Last weekend the Optimist club and several winter sports groups got together to make the carnival the biggest yet. Hockey players, skiers, and snowmobilers from all over south-western Ontario were drawn into town for the events. The participation of more Seaforth groups could probably attract more people to town next year. Another way to make Seaforth better known Is to promote town natives who have made national headlines. Lloyd Eisler, formerly of Seaforth, now living in Hamilton, gold medalist in the Canadian figure skating championships, should be asked to Make a special appearance in his hometown or given a hero's welcome in a parade up Main St. Brantford boasts that it's the home of Wayne Gretzky, and London says It produced Miss Universe, Karen Baldwin. We must continue to promote our town and ourselves, Seaforth Is unique because groups have shown they can work together. Let's all participate. It's good for Seaforth. - S.H. Don't tell me to "Have a nice day" 7 Apecg cad zpOc®, by KO &a If you read in the papers one of these days about some middle-aged guy going berserk and punching a pretty young waitress or bank teller right in the mush for no apparent reason, you'll know it was I. driven finally over the brink by the inanity to end them all. "Have a nice day." It may happen in a restaurant. It will be just after that waitress has served me lukewarm soup. followed by filet of sole. The filet will turn out to be of the boot variety, rather than the sea variety, and I will just have broken a tooth on it. As I am fumbling fragments of bone out of my face, she will sashay off to serve another customer, hips twitching, and toss over her shoulder at me a gay "Have a nice meal, now." That's when I will let her have it. Or it might occur on a Friday afternoon, in the bank. The weather forecast is for blizzards, I'm in a snarky mood, on my way to have two teeth extracted, and my arthritis is giving me a fairly lively foretaste of hell. And this young teller, her feet aching, slaps down my withdrawal,summons an ethause- ed smile from down stoned her pantyhose, and chirrups, "Have a nice weekend, eh?" It's not the grammar or the verbiage I object to. It's the Lifter insincerity -of the suggestion . It means just about as much as if the speaker blew his/her nose and spat into the wind. And it's pretty obvious where it mine • from. It's one of those American imports 0, that should be banned at the border. Ii has crept across via the airwaves, -.ieseed in treacly tones by signing -off disc jockeys and game show MCS. And it has been copied by Caindian media people, who ape automatically the rasp/e- nunciate:MS of their U.S. countef-parts, such es eggesciltion for "oreenticiel" and noshus for "natseelus." Front there it has spread like the Black Plague into our airlines, hotels, restaurants, and even our sacred institutions like The bank. I haven't been in a bordello lately, but I'd be willing to bet that when a customer totters off shaky and unshaven into the cold dawn, the maddme will coo after him in dulcet tones, "Have a nice day, now." I have a strong suspicion the damn thing originated in"flie deep south, along with such heari-felt maxims as "rail come back real soon, y'heah." Which means, toughly, if you want to be ripped off again in our joiat, we'll he happy to oblige. • I refuse to believe all those'waitresses, air stewardesses, bank clerks ate spouting this garbage from deep in their beetle. Those gals are tuckered out. They don't give a diddle wh er we drop dead, aslong as we do' 'n nt of somebody's else's wicket. o, rve been coerced into this phoney fa elf e Simon legrees they work for, Please see DAY on page ?, The secret to the success of Optimist Winter Carnival is due variety of ecfentelor all egos. 'Films” kept Atomt hockey pleyereeceuPtee*te • . a snowmobile poker rally Unfortunately,.; the 'snow fipbfOrlirlife Conteit Was Cancelled duo cold' weather. It's time to o ,,f . v”:4 r 6 al v1,,,r,.r 4r. xi! .) Wajt#J,047 • Television lute becomel mainerseintee of " 6105;21,,.; ?94H 111 14.,9J; entertainment foesnoit petrPle. Ovet 9S•per. aW• 11150 '©1111. cent of all Canadians own at. leitst ronse television set- But television viewing eand programming is gettingpit of - • Back In the 1940s and SOs, not everyone could afford a black and white TV set, but most wished they could. For those who did watch the boob tube, as It is now affectionately known, many were disgusted with all the violence in the shoot 'em up , by Ron lifagda interaction. There's very little movement and not much is happening, he said. ABOOK A Californian study shows that students - spend about 30 hour a week watching. westerns. television - as much time as they spend, lit But the violence 30 and 40 years ago is mild ' school. So the 17,000 FiuttilegWnMs are coni,pared to what we're faced with today.. taillight pastimes *filch wereellseirded In Television does have some good points, the wake of TV, Such its ioadlog, playing There are educational programs, commenter- games and developing funk commtnica. les, and of course, the news, main concern lion. , of many people, especially of the inhabitants The London Ave Preithashfert printing a of Farmthgt, Conn., US is that people, series of five articles the beak, Raising especially cImIdrcn, are watching too much Good Children, by Dr. Thomas Lickona. Re television. ' . _ _ discusses the effects of television on children The towrrhas sutched campaign to get and whatparents can do to combat them. all ,000 residents' to usiplim tube for one Reople.Uire glowed 'television to reshape month and tune it to Other paithnes. The their personal' Wes, reitding Witt, eating superintendent of -schools in Farmlflgton is and sldrighabIts imd hovi-peoPle entertain convinced that TV is retarding the develop- and visit frkeds. "Most scribes, we may ment of children's reading and social habits. have allowed TV, without even realizing it, to It prevents people front doing other things. replace us (parents) as our children's primary There's no etrinrautileation. There's no moral teacher," he says. at't U • V). 545PO'it4E11 IT! • .4 L4.:111.!.t.1,::.1 All this talk of television ruling outlives, In a sense becoming our God, has been building in momnaentum, A few years ago, I tottkifi a movie called Network. The movie told the story of a TV news anchorman, who became feship with television. In one of the sixties; (everybody thinks he's a*'), be yells, "rm mad as heti and tot going to take it anYmore." , • Thereupon, the aged imams= takes It upon himselflo latitscick campaign en his news program, where viewers mot only turn off their sets, bueliterally *troy them. The scene of hundreds of spartinent dwellers dropping their television sets from their windows to the pavement below was most startling. TURNEDOPF 'People have a tight he turn off their television* andthey should start 11.00h. B y the age of 12, .The average American child will have viewed about 100,000 episodes n, 'P r, olitt loocriv6pItoilottith datroye ',Cstgtposii,.the mainstay 'of elll dreillettreffralunaing contain, each hour, an ' average of 26 ineidenti , of physical tomb intended to mitt or kill. • A Michigan study found that even though kids can now see,up to 40 sexual encounters a week 41 TV, they can see even More drinking. The highest .rate of alcohol occurs during prime lime and on the top 10 shows. Meantvhile, cornmunl- ties across the US face the problem of.kids who drink more ernLatTiur earlier age than ever before. The statistics and numbers go on and ref. , And Ws alarming. But rntiot one tots& 1 usually take bone late night movie a week, and Monday '.t I watched a dearly. People were ,g, drinkhatanddrhUg, were involved hit and run neoidents and were Smashing through roadblocks. In total (I lost count), about 10 police cars were demolished and almost as many people killed. It's time we took along, hard took at our television viewing- habits. Maybe it's even dine to turn the tube off for a month. Let's do it before It's too late, before we turn into gaping mouthed zombies. \-Small businesses must organize to survive On paying a visit to a town I used to be quite familiar with but hadn't seen much in the last couple of years, I was shocked to see just how far the recent recession had bitten into the local business community. Businesses that had once seemed very successful had vanished. Some places were simply empty. Others had been replaced with businesses which had moved up to a better location when the building became vacant. It was quite sad to think of all the frustration and heartache that must have taken place for those business people and their families before those businesses disappeared. And it was sad to realize that the lives of everybody in the community would be a little emptier because of the absence of those businesses. A day or so later I heard a commentary on • the redid that spoke of the taxation system being s'et up so that the really big businesses got a much better tax break than the small DGIrafftcl oc@nes by Egg) I;ImUlgn business. Yet -statistics show that nearly all the jobs created in this country in the last few years have come not from big businest, but from the small, growing businesses. Further more, small businesses can spread the wealth to all parts of the country, not concentrate it in a few major urban centres, thus causing problems of dislocation and urban sprawl.. Yet if seems everybody, while giving lip -service to Mall business, supports big business, from the government with its tax deals and bail -outs, to the consumers who can hardly wajt to take their business from the small local store to the big, conglomer- ate -owned, shopping centre. One would think that small businessmen would be battling to try to get a fair break from society but instead they seem to be quietly going to their own solitary deaths tether than getting together. Farmers are notorious for being indivi- dualists but they seem downright communist compared to our local small businessmen. Farmers have their Federation of Agricul- ture their Christian Farmers Pederatirth, their National Afters Mint. The farmers' survival group has fought.hard, often taking the law into its own hands, to keep their brothers Out of trouble. Stitt' businessmen; however, facing the smite problems, have shaken their heads and said isn't that too bad but done nothing • much. They may pay memberships to the local board of trade or chamber of commerce, they may belong to the Federa- tion of Independent Business but that's about as far as they get involved. Often local merchants' groups can't even agree long enough to set common store hours or Christmas promotions, let alone take more positive action. This is a time of year when there are "-Fasters' Weeks," and other educational seminars for farmers, keeping them on top of the latest advances in technology, helping them improve their businiss praktices. Where are there similar meetings for our small buenessmen? The Huron Federation of AOadture will holdsits members of pakliament dinner soon to make their local aware of problems on the farm. Where is the equivalent for our business- men? Are they willing to go broke rather than work together? ah)g oc5N©ffi Patient can't understand time lag Dear Sir, At 4:30 p.m. on Sunday Jan. 22, I was involved in a farm accident. I was taken to Seaforth COnunrutity Ilosviital and arrived at the Emergency Out Patient Area at S;12 PAD - Hospital staff took all of the particulars Mid proceeded to evaluate my condition. They then placed a phone call to Underwood, the dotter on call. The, doctor wee info:tested of my condition, which was'a Shingled finger and was possibly broken. I *as told that the doctmecould not be there until 7;30 pan. • The nurse at this time then dtessed my hand and gave me medication for pain. With the help of friends and relatives, my cattle were fed and my milking was done. As a taxpayer and euripcirtet of mit medical system, I fail to understand how a doctor can neglect a potentially serious situation for two and a -half hours. I did go to the Stratford Hospital to receive the Medical help I could not get at my local hospital. Hospital, Communi of Seaforth Community OstrSeaforeciate the help and concern of the but I have no 'confidence in this particular doctof. ° I do understand that there would not be a dictor on staff on Sunday at the hospital. however, I cannot understand why it would take a doctor 21/2 hours to get to a hospital in a town the size of Seaforth. I couldehave been to Toronto hi that length of time and I did report to a more distant medical facility. I do not teeally write letters, but found this response- to my problem totally unacceptable. I hope that my letter will highlight what I consider to be a serious problem at Seaforth Hospital, before something more serious happens. Hensall council doesn't do homework Dear Editor We attended a meeting last Thursday evening galled 'by the Hensall council to wk7.1le5the propbsed renovation plans to our town MK" We were pleased to see so many residents there but felt that their time as well as ours was poorly spent. Council obvioutly didn't have their homework done as costs could not be ,Regards, Gerry Ryan R.R.H1 Dublin, Ont, estimated, space could not be justified, and alternatives were not looked at before this meeting was held. Thank goodness Dr. Please see HENSALL on page 3 47