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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1984-05-09, Page 2Ink A2 — THE HURON EXPOSITOR, MAY 9, 1984 OPINION Huron F xpositor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating Brussels Post Biu[ 10 Main Street 527-0240 r RIBBON AWARn Published In 1983 SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning JOCELYN A. SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor KATIE O'LEARY, Advertising Representative Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc , Ontarlo.Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a year (in advance) Outside Canada $55.00 a year (in advance) Single Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, MAY 9, 1984 Second class mall registration Number 0696 No loitering "No Loitering" signs in the windows of Main St. stores have been cited by Seaforth police as the answer to recent acts of vandalism to several downtown stores. These signs will give local police the authority to move along the teenagers suspected of damaging storefronts by ripping off siding, chipping paint, dumping beer bottles and recently setting small fires In the doorways. Without such signs, the police can only enforce the town bylaw which prevents anyone from impeding the sidewalk, There's no question that vandalism should be stopped. Since the stores affected are the first three stores on both sides of Main St. south of the stoplights, they are the first stores to be seen by motorists travelling through town. If they are vandalized, they may prevent Instead of inviting those travellers to stop In Seaforth. And of course, those responsible for the vandalism should be taught they cannot destroy private property. But, "No Loitering" signs may only be a partial solution to the problem. It seems teens need a place to congregate and If they stop meeting on Main St„ they'll probably go somewhere else. Providing a supervised meeting place might also help curb the vandalism problem. The extensive sports programs organized by the town's recreation department and the monthly teen dances held by the Seaforth Booster Club already help to keep teens busy and off the street. A drop -In centre for teens in one of the vacant Main St, stores may be another solution. Manned by adult supervisors during the evenings on the weekend, a drop -In centre could provide activities, or Just a place for teens to meet when nothing else Is going on in the area. With a place of their own on Main St., teens may take more pride In the downtown and be less likely to continue to damage storefronts. Rather than telling teens where they cannot go with the "No Loitering" signs, we may see more results by providing more places where they can go. - S.H. Zero population? Zero population growth is a long way off. At the current rate of population growth, zero population may never be achieved. Recent statistics show that the world's population grew to nearly 4.8 billion In the last year --about 85 million more than last year. That's about as many people that live In Mexico and Austria combined. The years following the last world war must have been good years. Since World War Il, the number of people on Earth has doubled. And If that rate continues, the consequences could be frightening. In Canada alone, unemployment is over one million and If population continues to increase, so could unemployment. But it's the Third World countries that have shown the sharpest increases. Despite Improved nutrition and medical care, many of these countries continue to battle starvation. Researchers of the world's population say attitudes toward population growth have changed sharply since the 1960s. They said the governments of 62 Third World countries are showing concern about high birth rates and the threat of excess population on their countries' development, compared with only four such countries two decades ago. But even China's effort to limit couples to having one child won't stop that country's population explosion. Still, efforts to hold down China's population growth are having an impact, but it's more than one billion people will continue to proliferate. Now that Third World countries have better nutrition and medical care, maybe it's time the same people become better educated. Women in less-developed countries average about five children each, compared with two or fewer In the more developed countries. Les chansons TO THE EDITOR Do delegates know Mr. Whelan? Dear Sir• I read the a m write-up with more than casual interest. especially the comment of Jack Horan. President o{ the Huron Bruce Liberal Riding Association saying accord ing to the press that "he intends to vote for Mr. Whelan 'all the way"' Delegates have an awesome responsihil ity to the community at large Do the delegates really know Mr Whelan' Do they know or care how some departments function under Whelan? My experience with Mr Who Lis convinced me that he should riot he Minister of Agriculture 1 tried to reach him at his convenience as I could not believe he would approve of the manner In which one of his departments had handled my affairs but just a his staff had predicted, he refused see me Mr. Whela opinion, exhibited a total Zack ofdisinterest His sponsibility H i, interest not only in my welfare but in refusing to get to the bottom of my complaints could well have a very serious impact on agriculture and consumers in years to come. Scientists are known to disagree on what is safe but surely it is better to error on the side of safety. Scientists with whom 1 have corresponded in the USA and Britain take this attitude, but my experience has convinced me that Mr. Whelan believes otherwise. When 1 sought help through the courts, i was In discover that Mr. Whelan did not want the subject of our exchange of correspondence etc. to come up in court. If a cabinet minister has this privilege. Mr. Tru deau's Charter of• Rights has little meaning for people like myself. Do these delegates know how Mr. Whelan voted when the bill was passed to® restrict printed material on candidates ,t he used only up to 50 or is it 60 days before an election date? All Canadians should appreciate that the National Citizens ( oalitlnn members are prepared to chal- lenge the bill and go to jail if necessary to pmtect the rights of Canadians up until the final voting day. (1 have just read that Mr Mulroney now considers the Conservative Party moved too quickly to support this hill. Where does the NDP stand on this issue?) Did Mr. Whelan really miss the plane to Ontario? He may have done so but certainly because there has been very strong support for the Conservative party in Huron, tt would seem that the game of politics could be far more fruitful helping Mr. Chretien gain votes in Western Canada, thereby assuring his future as a cabinet minister. In conclusion, 1 would remind the delegates of their responsibilities not only to themselves but to other Canadians. 1 would welcome discussions with any of the delegates. Edith Baker 4 FRENCH FOLKSINGER BIII Russell from School and St. James Separate School when Louisiana received full participation from the he taught folk songs with accompanying students and staff of both Seaforth Public actions. (Hundertmark photo) Sometimes I have to swallow my pride Ever have the experience where past mistakes come back to haunt you? I did this week. But regrettably, the mistake was made a year ago. When Seaforth clerk, Jim Crocker read an editorial in the Expositor two weeks ago that said "Taxes too high", he had a sense of deja vu. At a glance, the editorial makes sense and because 1 was working with figures and percentages, 1 wanted to make sure 1 had my facts straight. To compare 1983 budget figures with the 1984 budget, . my first thought was to Iodic back In last year's Expositor newspapers to make the compari- son. Last year's figures, accordiosjo our newspaper, showed that Seaforth council was overspending when compared to their new. 1984 budget. And know ng that this news paper doesn't make major errors, i went with the figures shown. it's understandable why Mr. Crocker just about choked me through the telephone But like everyone else, even Expositor staff make SENSE AND NONSENSE by Ron Wassink mistake. Our motto, "we print mistakes on purpose so there's something for everyone to read in the Expositor" isn't much of an excuse when it comes to repeating the same error. Here's what the last part of the editorial read: "At their May 24, 1983 meeting, council worked out a three year budget projection. They had projected a 1984 tax Increase of 2.9 per cent and a 1985 increase of '.h per cent. "Let's do it next year. was a comment made by several councillors when the 1983 budget was discussed. "But council isn't doing it this year. Seaforth taxpayers will in reality, have to raise 2.9 per cent more than the 1983 projected percentage. If council takes the 2.9 per cent off their 1985 projection, local taxes should only increase 4.7 per cent in 1985, not 7.6 as originally forecast. "Chances are slim that council will stay within their 1985 projection. The only way they can do It is by cutting back. There were cutbacks in 1983 and they should take a serious look at 1984 spending. The 20 per cent is definitely not within six and five guidlines." SWALLOW PRIDE It's pretty tough to admit a mistake was made and it's even harder to swallow your Pride and say, "1 was wrong." 1 always break into a cold sweat when i work with figures and municipal budgets give me nightmares, However, the first mistake is forgivable -- the second time around, it isn't and I'm sure there won't be a third. Here's what the editorial should have said. I apologize for the error. "At their May 24, 1983 meeting, council worked out a three year budget projection. They had projected a 1984 tax increase of 6.1 per cent and a 1985 increase of 7,2 per cent." (The 1984 budget increased 5,8 per cent.) The rest of the editorial should have said that council had a lower Increase than projected, lower by .3 per cent. Chances are actually pretty good that council will stay within their 1985 projection. BUDGET INCREASE if the 1985 tax increase is correct, then Seaforth residents will pay 27 per cent more in taxes in a three year period'. T1 percentage only represents tax monies to used at the municipal level. and does SEE PRIDE/ ON PAGE THREE "In"may be "out" before incomes to Huron One of the benefits of living in Huron county is that you get a good chance to look over the fads and fashions of the rest of the country before you have to decide if you're going to be fashionable here The fashion world isn't as dominated by Paris as it once was, but fashions in clothes still seem to originate in Paris, London or New York. Popular fads, from the latest food dishes to the latest dances, seem to come mostly from California these days. It takes some time for the fads and fashions to take hold in Toronto, even though so many people there seem to spend most of their lives trying to figure which fashion bandwagon to jump on next. From Toronto the fashions spread nut across Ontario first to the smaller cities and eventually. in somewhat altered form. to our little corner of the world. By that time you can see if the new fad has any staying power it may be that what was "in" is "out" before it BEHIND THE SCENES by Keith Roulst ever gets around to being "in" in Huron county, This saves us a lot of money and a lot of Looking silly. For instance, although there are probably none of our citizens more fashion conscious that our teenagers. the "punk" look hasn't really caught on locally. Our kids still look like real kids not victims of a radiation leak from Douglas Point. it's hard to know just what is fashionable in Huron county (some glib city commentators would quip that fashionable and Huron county dont belong in a sentence together). We don't have a large section of this newspaper. for instance. dedicated to telling us "hat the trendy people of the town will he wearing next fall. Our television station doesn't make a big thing about the latest fad to hit the area. We can buy magazines to tell us what's the craze of New York and read newspapers to see what is being touted for people in Toronto or Kitchener but nut here nothing gets the stamp of approval And if you're going to ask for advice. he careful who you ask. 1 asked a fashionable friend from the city recently. just what fashionable men were wearing these days. If I'd worn what she said was fashionable I'd have attracted as much attention 011 our main street as if I'd strung Christmas lights over my birthday clothes. Even in the fashionable city, there are different fashions for one group than another What's fashionable among the artists, actors and musical communities in the city, for instance, is going to look pretty funny on Bay Street and what's fashionable there will look funny on a university campus. in fact in the city among a certain section of the population. particularly the arty•types, what's "in'' is what's "out" with everybody else. These individualists like to choose their own eccentric dress by going to used clothing stores and buying what all the trendy people of other parts of the populace have given away. Each seems to try to outdo the other by being more ingenious in the unlikely combination of styles This could. of course, bring problems, if the trend ever caught on everybody would want to wear used clothes and nobody would be wearing new clothes to give away so there would he old clothes to wear. Grand madness means it's spring Spring actually sprang this year. instead of limping in with a bad cold, its custnmary wont, in these climes.. Usually. in this country, we don' realh have a spring. We leap from the lingering frigidity of a cold and wet April, rather similar to an English winter, into a hot spell in May that leaves us dizzy. stunned. stupefied. And before we know it, we're into a humid .tune, complete with mosquitoes and things. including young ladies. busting nut all over One hurls one's clumsy rubber hoots into one's closet. One disrobes from the massive. blanket -like contraption in which one has hidden one's frozen bones for the past five motOne skims one's hat into months. n the top corner of the closet. And one comes down with one's annual spring cold. snuffling and sniffling toward summer, that apogee of the Canadian psyche. Deep in that Canadian psyche lurks the suspicion that possibly. just possibly, this year the winter will never end, and that we shall go through a summer of frozen branches etched against a gray sky, frozen ground under foot, no flowers, no foliage, no hot summer sun to peel the skin. At least that's the way 1 feel, and I'm an average Canadian in every way. Perhaps that's the reason Canadians go winging off to hot places all winter. at phenomenal costs. When it comes to getting SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley away to the sun. we have no equals on earth. except perhaps the Scandinavians I know couples who, if they were having you for dinner, would argue about whether to give you the hamburg barbecue n- the tuna casserole, tfre cheap plonk or the expensive wine with a body. Yet they'll blow a couple of thousand dollars Inc a week in the sun. living and (etching and drinking and browning for seven days. and returning to the gray. grim landscape they left. it's insane. But then there's something insane about all Canadians, when they feel they are escaping, once again, the icy talons of winter. They go cuckoo. Just the other day, 1 saw an old lady, wrapped to the ears so that she could scarcely move, out raking leaves, simply because the sun was shining. and the calendar, though not the temperature, told her it was spring. She should have been in by the fire. Before the snow has even begun to melt, our department stores have packed away their winter stuff and are flaunting bikinis at would make a stripper blush. Beats are hauled nut before the ice on the hay has begun to melt Arden curlers stash their brooms and dig nut the golf clubs. though they would sink to the hocks on the fairways. Trout fishermen, who have been chained to the arduous ice -fishing Inc perch during the past few months. get a wild gleam in their eyes. go nut and buy a small fortune's worth of new tackle, and rush like lemmings to the choice spots on Opening Day elbowing and struggling with thousands of their ilk to get a line in the water. Kids go goofy. They Tike winter. but spring drives them right around the bend. Puddles to splash in. Mud to tumble into. Exploring to be done into all those secret corners that the snow had kept hidden. . Housewives go hairy. Their well -kept homes, dusted and vacuumed and polished to within an inch of their lives all winter. are suddenly, as the suspicious spring sun peers in, "shabby, filthy, disgusting," and they launch into an orgy of cleaning and decorating that drives their men simultan• eously up the wall and into debt Old people behave oddly With a sort of glint in their eve. they realize that they've licked the old graveyard one more time and go nut and get terrible cricks in their hacks planting flowers and gardens And young people' Well. we all know what happens to them when Canada occasionally enjoys a real. legitimate Spring They stand on street corners. after school. bunting each other like young calves. They strip to beach -wear on days that would freeze the brains of a brass monkey. They fall wildly in love with someone they hadn't even seen all winter, except as a sniffling. snuffling stripling across the aisle in Grade 10 English. They go wild with the sheer delirium of being young in springtime. The boys drive too fast and recklessly. The girls ave strange fancies and dream of sex summer secrets What do aging school teachers do in the spring? They're just as nutty as the rest. They look with aching longing to their Tong summer, wishing their lives away, They try to retain their dignity. while they feel like kicking up their heels, running off with a Grade 11 girl, or boy. shooting golf in the seventies, catching a whopping rainbow trout. And dreading retirement. It's a grand madness that seizes this nation, come Spring. Long may it continue