Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1984-06-27, Page 2ra Huron xpositor.� SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST A Incorporating Brussels Post im,. ao aC A Qs BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1983 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published In SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning JOCELYN A. SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor KATIE O'LEARY, Advertising Representative Msmber Canadian Community Newapa r:,AesR(c OtjSarip Community Newspaper Asso kation 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, JUNE 27, 1984 S, ce and class mail registration Number 0696 OJ an Shoot at ome Recently Canadians were photographed fo pictoral essay called, "A Day in the Life of Canada". Publicity of the event, promises that the book will be splendid. The project was copied from a similar successful venture in Australia where 100 photographers worked various locations in that country. In 1981. Who better to photograph Canada and tell the story of the lives of Canadians, than Canadians themselves. Unfortunately, such was not the case. One hundred photographers from 15 countries were chosen to go to selected communities for the 'day., Not all were Canadians. Edmonton Sun photographer, Peter Martin was sent to Tillsonburg to photograph the town and surrounding area. .He took about 1800 photographs in black and white and color. The Sun photographer said he didn't have time to research the area and his only direction was "more or less shoot what's there_" He said he tries to find unusual situations. It's estimated that about 200,000 photographs will be contributed to the book, but only 350 will be chosen. Foreign photographers will be well-paid for their day of shooting. For them, It's like a holiday. But Canadian photographers, if they'd been given the job, probably would have done the same free of charge. A byline In the book would have been an ample award. In every town in Ctanada, there must be at (east one professional photographer. And In the cities there are hundreds. Surely Canadians are well-equipped to photograph themselves, in their own communities for such a pictorial book. Local photographers wouldn't have to research the area, because they already know It. They wouldn't have to "more or lets shoot what's there". And thus, the book would probably give a more realistic picture of a day in the life of Canadians. o flat rate H!JON`F,000FEST, a' barbecue sponsored by the Seaforth Lione Club was a success; '.Meal) there served to 700 guests,;;and about 850 stayed for the danee.that followed. Food aeryed at the barbecue was unique because all of It Was purchased or produced In Hurons County. Get,tinea; MI LK button.from Huron County Dairy Princess Muriel Huth Is Michael Baritone Tom Hayter,holds up a drumstick of one of 2b, turkeya barbecued and Jamie Dewar shows that a chocolate milk mustache andhid tan together.. . (Wassink photos) Reporters shams Employed with a weekly newspaper, it may seemunusual for me to say I'm fed up with the media. I'm sick and' tired of all the pushing and shoving that reporters of daily newspapers and televisiun•networks resort to when covering a story. Many of you probably watched the news reports on the tube about the 40th anniver- sary celebrations of the D -Day invasion. We carried a story in our own paper of a Seaforth couple who were heading for France to participate in this special and solemn celebration. The second major news item that upset rite, media wise, was the coverage of the Liberal leadership convention in Ottawa. First to my top story. A story by Canadian Press said an unruly mob denied disappoint- ed war veterans a glimpse of the Queen and stripped all dignity from a D -Day anniversary in ,a Canadian war cemetery in France. The unruly mob, wasn't a mob of veterans, clambering over tombstones and flowerbeds, but reporters and photographers wanting to get that perfect camera angle, or shout a question to the Queen or Prime Minister Trudeau. The question would probably be ignored anyway and a quick snap shot would probably be out of focus, but who cares? i say we should all care. Ever notice that when a television camera crew comes to Seaforth. people of this town will almost Canadians learned Monday from a Globe and Mali report.' that the federal finance department was considering proposals to replace the present graduated Income tax with a flat rate which would increase the tax burden 'on- the lower and middle class population. On Tuesday, finance officials denied the report although they admitted to looking for ways to simplify the tax system. Simplicity may be the main attraction of a flat rate system but the costs to the lower and middle income groups are too great for the system to be seriously considered. White the present progressive tax requires that a taxpayer pay a greater percentage of tax the higher his Income, a flat rate would meaneveryone would pay 20 per cent of his income no matter how much he earned. With a flat rate, someone who makes $50,000 would pay $10,000 in taxes and be left with $40,000. However, earnings of $10,000 a year would mean $2,000 in taxes and $8,000 left over --a considerably Tess amount of money a year on which to survive. And much Tess than the $12,000 poverty level. The flat rate would take a greater chunk of money from those who cannot afford to spare it. Heavily -burdened already by high interest rates and inflation, the lower and middle classes deserve a break rather than an even greater burden. If govecnment wants to simplify the tax system, It should work on patching up the loopholes which allow the rich to pay less than their fair share of taxes. - S.M. SENSE AND NONSENSE Jo' ,Rion Wassink worship the ground the reporter and the camera crew stand on. Or when a reporter or photographer of a daily paper comes to town. people will do anything it seems, even stand on their head. The staff of the Expositor ft apect the people of Seaforth, but also those Who visit our town. We're not pushy. We try tgkeep a tow profile at local, events, because such events are for the enjoyment of the public.'.All too often, I've seen photographers go as they please, as if they own the event. Not only is such action annoying, but• it's distracting for the person giving the perform- ance and the audience- But why do we put up with such nonsense? Is it because we think it's glamorous that we could make the daily or television news? Perhaps the out -of --town media and foreign correspondents just don't give a damn. After ell, they're only in Seaforth, or for that matter. at a 40th anniversary in France, once ilea lifetime. They're here- today and gone tomorrow. Of course they don't care. In his`column,'Donal O'Connor, editor of the St. Mary's Journal Atgus,talks about the Susan Nelles issue and how Austin Cooper, lawyer for Ms. Nelles, when she was charged with the murder of baby deaths in Toronto, feared for the safety of his client when she was mobbed by photographers and reporters. Mr. Cooperpraised the media for accuracy and fairness in reporting the case, but he made it plain that he deplored the,behavior of the media mob as it ape coached his client outside the courthouse. He described how the mob. pressed cameras and microphones into the face of his"client. A flying wedge of law enfotcement officer was required to get Ms. Nelles to her car. • OVERTAKEN BY PRESS The Liberal leadership last week was overtaken by the press. The actions of the press • was disgusting. First of all. the oe convention wasboring, and to dragit. metier ,hours was unnecessary,: _,'; Does epybody care that John Turner•won? • We all. knew he would anyway becau$e`the Liberals didn`t have any other choice if they wanted a chaneeto wt_t e next election. Mr. Turner has that nice, clean-cut image, that all-American boy look'that most people. like. However, the press. Mob scenes and;,;the microphones sfioved into leadership, candi- dates faces wasn't really necessary. The. media were all trying to get that quote of the week -- they didn't want to lniss anything, not even a tear, or a wipe of the brow. There was even a point when a reporter said peoplewere falling off steps and people were being stepped on because the media was following somebody to Jean Chretians y suggestion is that if press people continue to act like, animals, then they should be'put in.a ring, Pike in Roman times. and the event of the day can be held in the stands. That way, nobody will get hurt, except the press as they fight for handholds in the creeks of the wall in their effort to ask an important gUestion such as, "What is your reaction?" "Move batik you media bastards" was shouted by the war veterans in Normandy. It's time we all took up that call. If your local newspaper won't stand for it. why shoeld you? camp. �. -.r. , .. r b�tter ,i!■rvad • KRemembering' ,r � Cama .a '• country 'This is the time of year When we wave the flag a little and celebrate the birth of a country. But what are we celebrating? For most of us is this any more than one long weekend to spend at the beach? Most of us have lost touch With our country's history. Despite modern cou tttuni- cations that let's us get .pictures from the moon; pep& in the cines know less and less about:'w1 ere their food.comcs from and care even fees about what goes on outside the metropolitan boundarie5.;As they do so. they also turn their backs on their history. on the fantastic story of the~people who carved this country out of bush. Around our Muddy Lane Manor it's the time of year when the grass and weeds in some unused corners get knee high and 1 bring out the trusty scythe from its place in the woodshed. As 1 sweated and strained hacking away at the foliage under some trees by our lane the other day, I stopped for a breather and looked up across a hundred To the Editor Sportsfest is in Kincardine Dear Editor: The Lake Huron Zone Recreationists Association is hosting it's 8th Annual Sportsfest this summer on the weekend of Aug. 17, 18, and 19 in Kincardine. We are extending an invitation to the residents of Seaforth, young and old alike to participate. Sportsfest is a Sports Festival Weekend designed for fun. fellowship. participation. and friendly competition in recreation sports. Enjoying yourself and "playing the game for the sake of playing" are the main objectives. Sportsfest is for recreation and house league participants/players, not for All Star teams. This year we are introducing several new events including girls gymnastics, boys ball hockey. youth judo, girls soccer. ladies soccer, outdoor badminton, men's over 30's soccer, sailing races, co-ed two pitch ball archery, long distance swim, lawn darts. canoe races. board sailing, rugger. mens flag football, cycling races, developmental- ly handicapped events and karate. • Of course, we will be hosting the traditional events of Boys/Girls T -Ball, Girls Squirt & Pee Wee ball, mens ball hockey, boys soccer, senior citizen euchre and shuffleboard, lawn bowling, ladies slo pitch ball, ladies softball, mens slo pitch, badminton. youth swim meet, fun run, tennis, darts, horseshoes, metes basketball and beach volleyball. - All participants receive Sportsfest but. luns✓uu.�. plaques, Wlli ue awardeo Intl year to the communities large and small with the most participation...the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario. John B. Aird will open Sportsfest, Aug. 18 followed by an Open Civic Sportsfest luncheon held in his honor. Celebrity and fun competition events are open to all at the beach "Sportnic" held at '1:30 p.m. Aug. 18. Three dances will be held Saturday evening -for teens, adults and older adults. Refreshment gardens are operat`ueg with live entertainment, babysit- ting service is available for visitors and there is lots of overnight accommodations and camping. Participate in Kincardine's famous Saturday night parade down Main Street with the Kincardine Scottish Pipe Band. ' Seaforth was host of last year's Sportsfest and Seaforth and district residents have always participated at Spot'sfest. We are counting on you to come to Sportsfest '84. Aug. 17, 18 and 19 you are bound to have a lot of fun. You can pick up full information and registration brochures about all events from Recreation Director Bryan Peter at your Recreation Office. Entry deadline is July20. Entries are, taken on a 'first come - first served' basis. Yours very truly R. Keith Davidson, Host Director BEHIND THE SCENES by Kith Roulston acres of rolling fields and realized that in 1867 when this country was born, farmers would be ouit cutting whole fields of hay with a scythe. Then they'd coil it by hand and eventually pitch it on a wagon by hand, draw it to the barn with the help of horses or oxen. then pitch'it into the barn or stack it outside, again all by sheer muscle -power. fhey would probably finish getting the hay in just about in time to start cutting grain with the scythe and cradle. The grain was then gathered, tied by hand and stocked. then pitched on a wagon and taken to the barn where it was flailed until the seed separated front the straw and chaff. That grain had been planted by muscle -pow- er with a team of horses or oxen pulling a single-fbrrowplow. The farmer walked miles for each acre plowed. But this was luxury, easy living compared to what the pioneers did to get this far. They arrived in Canada and travelled to their land over roads that were mere tracks through the bush. That bush. which they had to clear before they could build a home. let alone grow crops, has been described as having trees so tall that it was eternally dark and damp. There were centuries of undergrowth and vines and old fallen trees. Take`ati ax and split ablockof wood or chop • down a small sapling. Now, imagine seating out to clear a whole farm with nothing but an axe and )'team of oxen to help haul the logs away. Imagine any of us today being brave enough to even start. But then imagine ply of us shipping off in tiny boats over a huge ocean. knowing the tales of plague that have gone on ships like this before, leaving behind everything .we know to strike out to a new lana. 11 would be akin today to us volunteering to be the first people to colonize the moon. except that we'd go to the moon with the full technological and financial Support of whole nations on earth. These people struck out on their own to Canada. theyy built this country. bit by bit tike the chips flying'from those huge trees as they cut, to be what it is today, if we could remember this more often, if we could recapture some of their bravery and daring. ours would be a better country. Heart is still so'e from long, cold winter it's: been a long, cold winter and spring, and my heart is still 'Sore. But the tulips are bursting and the sun is shining, and the kihdness of people keep the spirit alive. There's a tendency to sleep in. and stay up until the last late movie is over. and to exist on frozen chicken pies. But 1 can't do it. The phone keeps ringing. Old friends drop in. People bring me gifts. Naturally, the phone rings when I'm on the john or in the bathtub. I think 1'11 have it removed. Not the bathtub, but the phone. Gifts? A daffodil in January. A pot of mums (I can't spell the whole word) in February. A• chicken pie and butter tarts in March. An Easter lily from dear Julie a,t'Easter. Cooked aes from Evelyn. my cleaning lady. Three pounds of California dates from my aid roommate at college. (What does one do with three pounds of dates?) Letters still come from all over the continent- Some of them make me weep. as they try to condole and comfort. 1'11 never get around to answering all of them, but thanks. thanks, especially to those who know me only through this column. Good friends drop in to make sure I'm not going down the drain. Old friends have written: Gene Macdonald, Per Vidsten. Kay SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley Bills. and many others. You'll probably get ley answers before Christmas. Other friends drag me out to dinner and force ice to be genial, if not jovial. ti's difficult, but not impossible. The loral golf club says 111 be fined if I don't pay up before a certain date. The insurance company has already nailed me for being lata in payment. 1 missed the date for one Visa card payment and been fined. Some guy from Avis in Florida tells me there was body damagetothe car I hired, and was I in an accident. No. 1 don't think I'lleven answer him. That's some of the good news and some of the had. To the bad, Vmfairly imperturbable. To the good. I'm grateful. More good news. My neighbours are as staunch as Scottish clansmen. They don't interfere. They don't pry. But when you need help. they're right there. Jim came over and tried to get my lawnmower going, tie did, blit it would p. Finaily 1 rRzed he'd been trying fd fistox my old lawnmoaiiwer.which the dopey kid I'd hired .1 last year had put in the toolshed, instead of leaving it out for the dump, as I'd intended. As Jim started back to his workshop to have another go, 1 spotted the brand-new lawn- mower at the back of the tool -shed. We hauled out abroken bicycle, sundry doors and screens, and pulled out the new one. It started tike 'a jet fighter. He charged me nothing, even though 1 was the dunce. And his tvife invited me to coffee, More good news. I got a kid to cut my lawn and other dreary duties, and the manor looks half -decent. He was a good lad, worked hard. and was honest: if taciturlf "Good"; that's O.K.; Good." was all fre said, but he worked. An old friend died while I was away, and PM sorry I was not there for her funeral. She had devoted her life to teaching and helping others. and aboat three generations of students respected and loved her. She was the sort who sent flowers to my kids when they won at a musie festival. Speaking of which, a scholarship in music was established in my wife's name. and she'd have been delighted to know that one of .her We are Canada favorite students had won it. She had not taught him, but spotted him as a winner several years ago. I'm trying to brace myself for two weeks of my grandboys early in July. it was tough enough when their Gran was here to .bawl then out for all sorts of sundry misbehavior. If this column ceases to appear about mid-July. send my mail to the local Medical Health Centre. They'll be going to a day camp. where they're supposed to tire themselves out with swimming and running and stuff. But they come home at 4;30, want to play soccer or to go to the beach, and are still going to a 500 -watt clip. Then they want to stay up until midnight. watching TV. Oh, well, I'll probably survive, and if i don't, so be it. My big social event of the next white is the high school commencement, a long, often boring, and usually very hot evening. But 1 think I'll go. There's soinething awfully sweet about the girls (who wore jeans all year) in their long dresses, and something pathetic in the graduating boys, strangely pathetic in real suits and chocking to death m ties. Otherwise, my busted shoulder is coming along. and I'm going to try to swing a golf club. do some swimming, and get cracking on a book. What do you think of when someone refers to Canada? There's our flag. national anthem, constitution, that distinctly shaped piece of real estate, and our prime minister. Perhaps you think of the laws of our land and the political system that we are now enjoying. There are many images that instantly flash in our minds -- images that are real and deserving of our- iespect. But they're not Canada -- Canada is More than that. We can, and have changed our flag at will. The sante may be said of the national anthem. Our borders areal] outline on'a map. They are also subject to change and by themselves they don't make a nation. The prime minister is only the temporary elected representative • COUNTRY CORNER by Larry Dillon of the people. The las and the political system that our laws are based on can be changed to suit the needs of the times. These things are a reflection of what our gation is. They are not and do not deserve to be thought of as Canada. • - - We are often told of the patriotism we must have and of the loyalty that we owe our country. To have that national pride, we Must know whatit is we are proud of. We cannot base'our respect on only a flag, an odd shape on the map, or a poliitician who Can and does make mistakes. Cenadais much more than all that. Canada is a group of people banded together. lt'S a country with artists, dreamers, thinkers, workers, _builders =- a country with little people,' big people, slew people, cast people. Canada is all tif its People with all their good qualities and ail of their faults. Canada is 25 million men, women end children living together, working together and playing together, and yes, if they must, fighting together. The people around you,.the ones you love and respect and also those you do not approve of, that's what Canada is. Each and every one of those 25 million people • are a part of what makes Canada a great nation. - The flag, the national anthem, the constitution, he laws and the politicians, ate only symbols. They are representations. As such they cannot be perfect, The real Canada' is around as --We're part of it. Each and every one olds is part of the reason that Canada is a great nation- We are Canadal