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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1986-02-26, Page 2Huron o xpositor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Incorporating Brussels Post 10 Main Street 527-0240 Published in SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning ED BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER McILWRA$TH, 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 McLlwaln, Bob McMillan, Cathy Malady and Patrick Pettis. Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription rates: ' Canada $20.00 a year (In advance) Outside Canada $00.00 a year (In advance) Single Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1986 Second 'class mail registration Number 0696 O Water system overdue A modernized and expanded water system for the Village of Egmondville, a long -overdue improvement, Is soon to become a reality from all indications. Therefore, now is the time to make sure the expansion is handled with consideration for future needs, in order to ensure the system will not require a further outlay of cash a few years down the road. The Egmondville Water System was last expanded in 1967 and if the parties involved then had been more forward thinking, the current project might not even have been necessary. Instead of looking at supplying on the absolute minimum of this vital service, as has been the case in the past, Tuckersmith council should be concentrating on creating a system which will handle any conceivable potential growth in the community. In order to do this, it is essential the residents and the council all work together to ensure all concerned parties pay an equitable share of the cost involved. This does not mean heaping the extra burden of a higher hook-up fee on residents living south of the Bayfield River. Those people, who due to poor planning were never included in the original water system. should be entitled to receive the same service as residents on the north side. and at the same price. By discriminating against the south side residents in the hook-up fees, council is creating a climate of negative feelings, which will only serve to hinder their obvious goal of building a better community. — P.R. Lawyer a mistake Perhaps the decision by the Seaforth-Tuckersmith Landfill Committee to have Stratford lawyer Mike Mitchell chair the public meeting held last week was a mistake. His presence seemed to turn the meeting into a lesson in intimidation, something the crowd reacted less than favorably to. Tactics such as those employed by Mr. Mitchell may work well in the judicial world, but they were out of order last Tuesday night, when Seaforth and Tuckersmith Township residents, concerned about the possible location of the much -disputed landfill site, turned up In droves to listen and respond to a presentation by Burns Ross. Mr, Mitchell, although promising at the start of the night, to act only as a mediatory and to direct the questions to the appropriate party for answering, overstepped his boundaries. What was the point of having all the "specialists" present, If Mr. Mitchell intended to answer the questions himself. Perhaps Mr. Mitchell was too removed from the situation to act as a proper chairman. Sure he sped the meeting on, but he also showed a complete lack of concern for the people who were asking the questions, treating them in the off-the-cuff, almost brusque manner that one might use when shooing a fly. But more than this it was his rather weak attempts to project humor in a situation where most assembled found no humor, that riled most. Remarks such as the one likening the dump site to the liquid manure stations dispersed throughout the country, and the "city -folks" apparent aversion to them, did nothing but antagonize an already touchy situation between the residents of Tuckersmith township, and those of Seaforth. Perhaps if these public meetings are going to occur in the future, as they are destined to during the remainder of the landfill site search, a more appropriate chairman should besought. Someone, who can keep things in order, but who also knows when and where to remove himself and his opinions from the discussion. —• 1.M. SWEAT SOCKS by Heather Mcllwraith Macho — it was supposed to be a Cyndi tauper weekend, you know, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," and all that. And it was fun - some wine, a fire, a late night sauna on the Friday, followed by a day of skiing in the sun and some anticipated apres ski activities on day two. Who could ask for a better time, right? Well, there always has to be a catch - and in this case the catch was ultimately - guys. -isn't it alwayst- What is it about the male gendne anyway, that requires them to tun, into schools of piranha once the skiing has stopped, and the music starts. Oh how I hate MACHO!! I suppose I shouldn't be critical, but guys, where'd you learn those lines, or those moves. Obviously they haven't been patent- ed. Is there no originality left in today's world. You'll have to forgive me, maybe my little skiing adventure brought out the snob in me, but more than likely I just attracted the undesirables at the resort. Oh, it was flattering, I guess, to be deluged with offers to dance, but I must admit I was getting a bit paranoid when after several dances I realized none of my "partners" had given even the semblance of a normal name. "rm Fever," just does nothing in the least to quell my apprehensions about the fella I'm dancing with. In fact, it -probably augments them. I tend to .think, `'illi yeah- Fever, eh, Would that be Scarlet, Yellow, Typhoid or Rheumatic ," " • Fever to rhe -has always signified 1. an phooey! OPINION Pay T.V. — they got me FROM THIS ANGLE They finally got me. Oh, I know I said I'd never fall for it, but I guess it was inevitable. Laugh if you want, but don' dough too loud, because chances are if you live around here they are going to get you too, sooner or later. W hat I'm talking about of course, are the Pay TV people. I have succumbed to their lure and allowed them to place one of their insidious little brown boxes in my apartment. W hen Pay TV arrived in Canada a few years ago, I scoffed at the idea of paying for something I was currently receiving for nothing. "Who needs it," I said. There -is plenty to watch on regular cable. In fact, being a frugal sort, I probably wouldn't even have cable if I could think of a way to hook up a tower and rotor on the roof of my Main Street apartment building. Cable is one thing, but Pay TV? Never. It all began innocently enough with a visit from my local cable company representative, who came ostensibly to check on my picture receptions After a perfunctory check, he made me an offer I could not refuse. Would I like to try out the five new pay channels the company is now offering? 'Before I could refuse, .the man from C.A.B.LE. had obviously ascertained my weakness and said the magic word, For 30 days, he said, I could receive Much Music, The Sports Network, The Nashville Network, Arts and Entertainment and The Life Channel, for free. FREE!! The very mention of the word has always brought my resolve tumbling to the ground. Free samples, free coffee and donuts, free air. It doesn't matter what it is, if it costs me nothing, lam forever in favor of it. If only those door-to-door evangelists would charge money for their pamphlets, I would not have umpteen back issues of The Watch Tower, cluttering up my magazine rack. How could I say no? • unhealthy condition of the body, or 2. disease. Both of which, in this day and age, I wouldn't be the least surprised to hear as the reason for an apparent nickname. You can't be too careful, right? And if it isn't the lack of a name that scares you there's always something else." Regardless of where you go, there's always the one guy, one, did I say one? who's had a few too many drinks, and just can't seem to shake "that loving feeling." So sometimes whether you want to or not, dancing is the only escape, as long as it's a fast song, of course. The only problem is, sometimes those fast songs can turn on you and you find yourself in a bear hug embrace, and the overwhelming desire to; 1" scream bloody murder, except you can't gather in enough air for that; 2. kill the disc jockey, but who wants to go to jail; 3. die a quick death, but how would that read -in the papers? or 4, all ,of the above. - And what kind' f evening would it be if guy number three, I don't think he had a name either, didn't try to combine business and pleasure - namely dancing and drug sales to the beat of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll," Will I ever forget the intonation he gave' the line, "Do you want to party, OR WHAT?" Is it any wonder !chose to ski Sunday with My toque pulled low on my forehead, and with my mirrored gogs, despite the somewhat less than sunny conditions. And is • it any wonder I retained to Seaforth, where I know the guys could never possibly sink to the levels they sunk to at Talisman - or Could 'they? by Patrick Raftis I thought I saw an out when the cable worker told me he would attach a device to my television, which would allow me to pick up the extra channels on my UHF dial, "Sorry," I told him, the UHF dial on my television, which is of such ancient vintage it was probably turned on when the first episode of i Love Lucy was broadcast, had long since been disconnected to correct a chronic tuner problem. "No problem," said the cable man, and before I knew it he had hooked up a converter, which could be mine to use after the free trial period, for a paltry few dollars a month. I was defeated. Never an ardent TV addict, I am now left with a multi -pronged dilema. W hat do I watch? Much Music has its uses as background music, but continuous viewing of rock videos surely has some adverse effects on one's sanity in the long run. I am a sports buff, but even so, I must balk at tuning in to curling matches at midnight, or Australian rules ping pong. Perhaps The Nashville Network's Tumble- weed Theatre, which offers such classic western movies as "Yodelling Kid from Pine Ridge," "Robin Hood of the Pecos," or "Hawaiian Buckaroo," will offer me many hours of enjoyable entertainment. But somehow, I doubt it. I am not all that sure what kind of entertainment the Arts and Entertainment network offers, because most of the time, the reception is punctuated with a loud buzzing noise. I really must call the cable people about that, because some of the stuff does look kind of interesting. It is The Life Channel, which I am expecting to provide the most fascinating fare available among these new channels. In addition to such enlightening Sunday afternoon programs as Rheumatology Up- date and AMA Video Clinic, one show called Stretch with Priscilla sounds intriguing, if not illegal. And what better way to spend a Saturday night, than with Dr. Ruth Westheimer. Billed as America's foremost psychosexual thera- pist, Dr. Ruth helps viewers confront and overcome seemingly insurmountable sexual dysfunctions. "With Dr, Ruth, good sex is not a fantasy, but a reality," says the promotional material. Whoa! What time is that on. With all these "must see" programs available, one could easily turn into the proverbial couch potato. It makes me wonder what kind of effect prolonged viewing of all this will have on my lifestyle. I picture myself a month from now, walking aimlessly about the streets of Seaforth wearing a stetson over my walkman, which will be blasting out the latest popular rock music and country tunes. If anyone should be so foolish as to engage me in conversation I will regale them with the latest results of the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships and recent college basketball scores, while acting out a passage from some obscure cultural production. Perhaps I should call Dr. Ruth W estheimer now -- before it's too late. MAGIC SHOW — Touring magician Dickle Dean, right photo, February 18. At left, Mr Dean's assistant, Marg, mystifies student pulled Ilvo doves out of handkerchiefs, his sleeve, In fact volunteer Stove Fritz, with the old inverted bottle trick. Raft's photo everywhere but his hat, during a show at Sealorih Public School on Just a budget scapegoat Dear Mr. Wilson I see you are about to table your new gouge, er, budget today. I'm just sitting here babysitting the kids and am wondering how badly you are going to hit us again, this time around. i know, that you know, that I do indeed, exist. Heck, if me and the many others like me did not exist, who would you tax? The rich? The large corporations? Ha, ha. That's a real yuk yuk. Your type have this grating tendency to accuse the poor and unemployed for being lazy, unproductive and not contributing their share to our country. Yet you depend on these very people at tax time to keep this nation financially afloat. Your buddy, Mulroney, says anyone with a job is not poor. Obviously, he hasn't had to toil at a part time job or struggled along with one that pans a minimum wage. Although, with his performance of recent mouths, one would swear his job is a part -tiger. I wonder if you and the Prime Minister have ever had to worry about meeting the mortgage or paying the heating bill. 1 wonder if either one of you have developed heart disease or an ulcer worrying yourself sick if you are going to have enough money to feed your family. I suppose not Every year, at budget time, the Bay Street Boys hover around you like jackals waiting for a tidbit or two. You and your predecessors usually capituiate and the big corporations invariably get their tax breaks with the promise, premise, that new jobs will be CORNUCOPIA by Dave Broome created. Don't you think it's time to end the farce? One wonders how many jobs your stupid $500,000 capital gains exemption created. Many large, rapacious corporations have vacuumed huge profits at the expense of laid off workers and the creation of low paying part time jobs. They call it streamlining. You took a swipe at old age pensions, the baby bonus and severance pay. Your next target, in this never ending clap trap about lowering the deficit, will probably be unemployment insurance. After all, if you force these bums off the dole it will dragoon these people into finding a job, right? Rut then, olio a tuhnt jobs? People are sick of successive austerity budgets that have been aimed squarely at the middle and lower classes. You ntay not have notieed, Mr. Wilson, that as a result of all these budgets, the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow wider. You will never close this widening hole in our society by continually hammering away at those that can least afford it. I don't recall, when Mr. Mulroney ran for the Prime Minister's office, one of his platforms being, taxation til poverty. You see, Mr. Wilson, what we, the lower lass are tired of are the high rollers and their ilk who have of, the country dry and we end up paying the price. Oh, there are many things you could do in today's budget. You could overhaul a tax system that is profoundly unfair. You could start taxing large corporations and the wealthy. You could lower interest rates and regulate banks that have been sucking billions out of consumers in the name of free enterprise. You could get off the bads of the poor. You could lower gas prices which are proving beyond all doubt just how greedy the oil companies and your government really are. As long as you ane taking the advice of pin-striped postures who cannot possibly comprehend how the rest of the country is living, we should not expert anything profound in your n ew budget. Methinks it will be another massive tax grab aimed at you know who. I hope I am wrung" If not, those same poor may someday carry you, Mr. Wilson, out on your back. To quote an old poor man's phrase, "A beggarly account of empty boxes." I pray we never sink that far. Yours 'til bankruptcy Scrimp Only the singers have changed Second verse, same as the first, all together now one, two, three. Third verse same as the second, all together now, one, two,three. The words and tune are the same but the singers are different,...so goes the music played at public meetings dealing with the great landfill debate. In June of 1983 those making the most noise were the people from McKillop since the proposed Mcilwain site was in "their backyard." In April 1985 the song was the same but the choir had changed. At that time the singers were residents of Harpurhey, Seaforth and Eg- mondville since the proposedlegoon site was in "their backyard. ' It is now February 1986 and once again we are singing the same song but with a completely different group of singers. This time the vocals are done by residents of Tuckersmith living around several potential sites, particulary„ the Gemmell site, because once again it Is in "their backyard.” Although the music may sound the same and the words are very similar, there have been several changes made to the score, changes that many people may not be totally aware of. It is important to note the steps the landfill coriimittee and citizen's group have taken are the result of lots of bartwork, research, and meetings with various ageneses that set the rules' when it comes to.the final decision making. It is "unfortunate' the • HERE'S THE BEEF by Carolanne Doig majority of people in the public sector are not aware of the background work done before the public meeting can be scheduled, First of all, if it wasn't for the relatively new Environmental Assessment Act, landfill siting could conceivably be done with little or no public input, and less regard for the surrounding environment and other related repercussions" Therefore instead of viewing the Environmental Assessment Act with horror and suspicion, Many of us should give thanks this piece of legislation protects us from hasty and possiblydangerous decisions,. Granted, like many new pieces of legislation, the Environmental Assessment Act is not without it's faults. Some factors may look good on paper : but when it comes to employing them in real life situations, the human element often causes unpredictable problems....and delays. Landfilling as a proposed solution to solid waste disposal is a very sensitive issue. The problem, the solution,and the various use and effect relationshipsca are multifaceted. Add to this the emotional involvement of a varietyof people with different ideas and you get a very upsetting situation. However, one public meeting is only a very small part of the process that must be followed step by step before any final decision can be made regarding the disposal of solid waste for our community. Although there are mountains of work already completed there are still mountains of work to be done. Throughout the entire process public input is essential....NOT JUST AT THE PUBLIC MEETINGS. For several years people in the area have been aware of the upcoming problem when our present landfill was obviously nearing capacity. In the last few years most people Clave beeome tuned into the fact that out of necessity we are searching fora solution to our waste disposal problem. There are many people who have definite views and opinions regarding garbage disposal. Some people are willing to take the time to sort their garbage and separate it Mite various recyclable materials: Others, don't want to be bothered with all that nonsense Continued on Page A3