HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-11-21, Page 2Expositor
SINCE 1$ . SERVING THE COM M tfh11TY PIPIT
incorporating
The guar.la rout
ru`Iisliar In
S..furth, Ontario
Every Wednesday Montle*
Mamba. Canadian Csawaswty Newspaper Aa..c.
Ontario C omnriun.ty Naniriir Association
Ontario Press Council
Commonweal* Press Unison
international rales lntrMA.te
Sub.cnption Rats:
C w inds '22 00 a year. M agaric/
Senor Citizens '19 00 o year in advance
Outside Canada '63 00 area .n advance
Single Copies 60 cents .och
Second class moil registration Number 01196
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1990
111 f or tat end Swin.ss Offices 10 Main Street. aeak lit
Terl.phon. (310) 321-0240 f.: 327-211011
Meiling Auriases - P.O. los N. Seeferth. *Merl% last IWO
The Future is Rs
Environmental issues are at the top of everyone's agenda, and
particularly so during this week - Recycling Week '90
Ontario's future includes a widespread awareness of the need
to reduce, reuse and recyle as the way individuals can make 11
difference in their local environment.
Ontario's challenge is to reduce the solid waste stream by 50
per cent by the year 2000 through reduction, reuse and recycling,
But the challenge is to get everyone in the community involved,
and let them know that... The Future is Rs.
It is interesting to note that we are more of a "throwaway
society" than was the case 10 or 20 years ago. About one-third
of our municipal waste is packaging, and the amount of money
Canadians spend each year on packaging is greater than the
combined net annual income of all Canadian farmers.
Despite the fact that North America has only eight per cent of
the world's population, it produces 50 per cent of the world's
garbage - an appalling figure. Each person in Ontario produces
about a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of garbage every day, and most of
it goes into landfill sites. The annual garbage produced by nine
people, when squeezed into garbage cans, would be almost as
high as the CN Tower, or 554 metres.
Paper products, including newspaper, comprise 36 per cent of
all garbage placed at the curb for pick-up each week. Much of it
is recyclable.
Costs for waste collection and disposal are skyrocketing as
landfills reach capacity, and new sites become more and more
difficult to secure.
Recycling one ton of waste material can save three cubic yards
of landfill space. It can also conserve natural resources, help
improve the environment and create jobs.
Recycling of household wastes has become popular across the
province. The blue "We Recycle" boxes have suddenly generated
about 15,000 tons a year of used steel cans according to
Dofasco. Every ton of steel cans recycled saves 1.5 tons of iron
ore arc: 3.6 barrels of oil.
Newsprint also, accounts for approximately 70 per cent of
material recovered by recycling projects. For each tonne of
newspaper recycled, 19 trees are saved. Ontario businesses
produce more than 300,000 tonnes of paper a year.
Throwing away an aluminum pop can wastes as much energy
as pouring out a half-filled can of gasoline. It takes 95 per cern
less energy to produce aluminum from recycled materials than,
raw materials.
The list goes on.
In 1990 approximately 2.1 million households in Ontario were
served by Blue Box programs. Seaforth households will be added
to the list shortly.
It's about time. Community involvement is important to the
success of recycling and to the longterm solution of Ontario's solid
waste problems.
We must all work together -- government, industry, community
and environmental groups, educators, youth, families and seniors
-- if we want to see the results.
The Future is Rs.
Site marginal at best
Dear Editor.
A couple of years ago, 1 met a
young offender at the Bluewater
Secondary School who was proud
that he was doing a two year sen-
tence, because he said, "I saved
face". The Mid -Huron Landfill
Committee is about to impose
another 5 to 18 year sentence on
the people of Goderich Township
for the same reason.
The Board has been stubbornly
proceeding along an obsolete En-
vironmental Protection Act (EPA)
path for the past four years in spite
of the rising opposition from en-
vironmentally conscious people who
feel that irreparable harm will be
done to the Maitland River
-Letters—
watershed and the environment of
Holmesville if their new, relocated
site is allowed to accept garbage.
There is moundng evidence that
the site they have chosen is mar-
ginal at best.
In order to make the new site
technically feasible, water had to be
diverted from flowing into the new
area. To accomplish this, port of the
old landfall site had to be sub-
merged under 10 fat of water. The
integrity of the cap on the old site
'itis to page MA •
Rural Roots °''ea"""`""'
Meeting about Saudi
Last week, ` t. Columban was the setting for the Annual Dinner Meetin
c t the McKillop Township Federation of Agriculture. Approximatdy 80
pro pk enjoyed an excellent rest beef meal prepared by the C.W.L. Ladies
4 St. Colurnhan, who tried with dedication to push seweids on the pie.
e% n wh^ah we were groaning from our overindulgence..
Pre.%ident Ken Scott chaired the meeting and the newsworthy results
include the election of Tom Ryan as McKilkhp's new President, replacing
Ken who is now the lit Vice President of the Huron County Federation of
Agricultu -e (HCFA). Bob Robinson was chs as 1st Vice President, and
Tom Peckiu as the 2nd Vice President Christi Eckert will continue as
their very reliable Secretary, and [eine Directors were attuned for each ei
the concessions in the Township.
Special speakers for the meeting were lack and Prate Malone, ree *
nem to Mie 1!M
Victims punished in
It 11 DO WW1 swath a a —
a palm provizo MAU leo x u
before tw:lahe is declared so. Scouts
all Desna has to do is hope for a
delay in triad dates, sad beiahc to is
tate world by the tail.
According 10 lucidity's Londa
Frog Prors, a Swam Court of
Canada ruling Int month reinfar-
ciog the right to a speedy trial, bar
maimed w a Menge number of char-
s ttuving out in many carat
acxv.s
pa
of criminals charged
12acA serious offer as sexual
dungemus weapons and
drunk driving have been set trot,
thou dockets chucked out tate win-
dow, simply because of the al-
mighty supreme court decision to
crack down on the province's back -
Court system.
's the justice in that.
Canadians are already reeling
from the seemingly increased
amounts of crone in society.
Women are afraid to drive alone in
their cars. Parents are afraid to let
their children out of chair grasp for
30 seconds, Senators are afraid to
unjust systi
Sweatsocks
walkdown the street alone. And
teenagers we afraid for their
sexuality. . atld that lives.
And now, we ' ve gut the supreme
court tcllmg us that a speedy trial
jaw LA more unpruuariit than the
y ut the public. It's hard to
fathom.
Lai week, two Ooderic:h mar
charged with atrsun in a July 1988
testament fire had their case this -
missed by the general division of
Ontario court Seems it was unfair
to make diem want two years for a
teal date. Dora that mean they're
presumed innocent?
What is fair?
Certainly snare of these people
being sot free would have been
proven innocent But a greater
majority would not have been. It is
our treaunent of that majority that
appalls me.
In the case of the person who
committed a sexual assault - what
Dy =toOaoot
aboutucr victual How will
he idle feel knowing that the injus-
tice done to hini/h r did not warrant
enough respect to bring the offender
to court? How will ha/she feel
knowing that offender is back on
Me streets, free, I presume to pur-
sue life the way he she once did?
Sarins the wr+ogg person Li patywil
the sentence hors.
What kund of paranoia on the part
of the public is going to be created
simply because the justice system
has felt compelled to honor the
rights of the criminal" before the
rights of the victim, and the general
public at large?
And what about the policemen
who have watcd w arrests,
and get those criminals as far as the
courthouse? Won't they feel a little
gypod by this ruling? Won't they
ffeel they've been usurped by the
higher beings, and their respon-
sibilities to the public mocked?
Why should they continue to mance
the effort?
Already, more thea 2,500 charges
have been thrown out of touts
saves Ontario, and crown attorneys
and defence lawyers say more cases
will be thrown out yet. Many more.
Some government estimatesugge
as many as 50,000 cases will be
stayed before the backlog is
cleared.
That's a lot of police work gone
down the tuber. The Supreme Court
might as well announce an open
season for came, because us ruling
virtually guarantees that there'll be
no punishments handed out - at
least not in the near future.
Frankly, this decision sickens me.
It's not merely an effort to crack
down on the province's backlogged
court system, it's an invitation to
commit crime.
OLD TELFpMoNE BOOB '
TO BE RECYCLED INTO
BAMROOM T)55UE .
-- wf Item —
• •
9.
�• 1 • ;tit �tii�;����i��i��� `�'•
�.. � ,� •, , • •.f •tel /•:�L' �.. l.•�
,i� t t•► ,,�/ } ' �. ,.
41
� t i
qN, BACK{ TO TRE GOOD of 1DAYS
•
• • t- s;` •��.
= ,w
••r • •
Royal Fair was most fun yet
This was the best year yet for me
at the Royal Winter Fair. Being
raised in Toronto I've been to the
Royal many times with my parents
and on school trips. I know exactly
where to find what I'm looking for.
The first thing is to find the
carved butter exhibit. This year it
was very different and the display
was made up of many displays of
butter carvings by students. In past
years I've seen a butter statue of
the queen, Princess Anne on a
horse and the Fab Four in the early
1960s.
I've even seen royalty live at the
Royal Winter Fair. With my grade
six class I saw Prince Phillip pat-
ting the backside of a bovine while
a group of well-dressed dignitaries
stood around watching the prince.
All of us grade sizers stood around
the stall and the prince, staring up
at him in awe. Suddenly, the bovine
lifted its tail and made a sound not
unlike a trumpet, which was fol-
lowed by squeals of shock and
delight from the grade six children
-Just Thinking
standing around Prince Phillip. The
prince gave the creature one last
quick pat and commented about it
being "a healthy animal' and moved
on to another beast several stalls
down. We howled and howled. That
was my closest brush with royalty.
This year was great for me at the
Royal because I had a mission. I
was to take photographs of
everyone from our readership area
who was exhibiting the fruits of
their labours at the fair. I was at the
fair on Saturday, and what a bad
choice of days it was.
There were very few competitions
going on and the vast majority of
them had happened throughout the
week. It figures. When the place is
quite and not packed full of Toron-
to people saying "Look, dear, a
cow" is when they decide to have
the real action at the Royal. So, the
place was nearly empty of com-
petitors and full of people out to
walk around and hold their noses.
"the Royal Horse Show was hap-
pening and I could see the
Coliseum was jam packed full of
spectators. Having already paid my
admission at the door, and being on
a tight budget these days thanks to
falling trees, I couldn't afford the
extra ten bucks to get inside the
Royal Horse Show. It was
definitely for the 'Mink and
Manure' set anyways, I decided and
continued on my way smelling the
dung at admission price.
It quickly became obvious to me
that a lot of people, namely
farmers, had spent lots of money to
be in the fair. It cost them to get
their exhibit to the fair (and
probably late at night along the 401
and Gardner), and it cost them to
enter into the competitions. They
have living expenses to look after
while their at the fair. I realized
these people deserve much better
coverage than what the Toronto
papers were giving them.
The Globe had a pull out section
on the Royal and, of course, it was
full of info on the Royal Horse
Show. As far as farmers went, well,
they interviewed wealthy movie
director Norman Jewison who has
475 acre farm. "Yes, I name all my
cows after my movies."
Next year I'd like to go back to
the fair and get better pictures and
go on a day when there is
something more interesting hap-
pening. Next year I'd like to do it
right.
Birchall preferred hanging to prison
NOVEMBER 21, 1890
Birchall was hanged at 8:29
o'clock last Friday morning. Bir-
chall feared the t by some means a
faked confessit,n might be worked
off on the public after his death and
to guard against this tie made out a
document:
If, after my death, there shall
appear in the press or in any other
matter whatsoever, any confession
that i had any hand in the murder
of Mr. F.C. Benwell, or any per-
sonal knowledge of said murder
with intent or malice aforethought,
or with any personal connection
with the murder on the 17th
February, or other day, or any
knowledge that any such murder
was about to be committed, or any
statement further than any that 1
have made public previous to this
date. 1 hand this statement to the
care of Mr. George Perry, of
Woodstock, Ontario, that he may
know that any confession or partial
confession are entirely factitious and
in no way were ever written by me,
neither emaatited from me m any
way whatgnever to any person, and
the whole are fictitious and without
Years Agone
a word of truth. This likewise ap-
plies to my story in the Mail, in
which I have made no confession or
partial confession. This holds good
throughout. Signed, Reg Birchall.
As the Dean entered upon the
Lord's Prayer, the executioner put
the black cap over the head of the
doomed man and adjusted the noose
about his neck. Birchall did not say
a word after leaving his cell, except
it might have been to mutter a word
to Mr. Leetham or Mr. Wade, when
they bade him goodbye. The words
'deliver us from evil' was the sig-
nal, and a quick pull on the small
rope by the executioner released the
immense weight. it fell six or eight
inches iato the ground by the force
of the weight. Birchen had been
placed close to one of the uprights,
and the jerk of the noose drew his
body first obliquely, and then up.
The body was jerked into the air
about five feet and fell until its feet
were within two feet of the ground.
from the Archives
The drop was made at 8:29; the
convulsion commenced half a
minute later, but they were not at
all violent, more resembling heavy
breathing, with slight twitching of
the hands and legs. At 8:30 1/2 the
convulsions had ceased and at 8:35
Dr. Chamberlain, w,ho stood with
his hand on the body, declared that
life was extinct.
Discussing capital punishment
some time su t ' .. uently, with the
deputy sheriff, he : irchall) seemed
to favour hanging to life imprison-
ment.
"It's like this, Birchall," said the
good -nattered deputy. "as long as
there is life there is hope."
The doomed man quickly caught
the idea and his face lighted up
with a bright smile. "Yes, and after
you are in prison for a time the true
facts of the came will be known and
you will get reprieved," he said.
"Or, by good behaviour you will
get out in ten or fifteen years,"
remarked the deputy.
"I would not care to take chances
of that. If I were guilty I would
rather hang, but I'm not, and that is
why perhaps 1 had hoped so
strongly for a commutation of my
sentence. The facts will come out
someday about this murder and then
you will know that they hanged an
innocent man."
NOVEMBER 20, 1914
"The wastage of horses in war,"
remarked an officer of the commis-
sion now in Canada, "is much
greater than the wastage of human
life. So susceptible are the remounts
to disease and injury that the
casualties between the day of pur-
chase in Canada and the arrival in
France amounts to a considerable
figure. When it comes to actual
fighting conditions the horses of an
army show a quick reduction. Their
hulk, for one thing. is much greater
than that offered by a soldier. When
a man is wounded he keeps on
fighting if he possihk can and
should the wounds prove slight is
patched up and returned to his poet
Tern
to page MA*
1