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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1980-08-07, Page 2t. LJE B Ei 0 ei eaeARD 1980 §fnce 100, Serving the demasunity t . . Published at Sg4I'URTH:ONTA100 every Thelaiday entia • by MePAN BBC*. Pit.1111,1ISIERS 1.TD, 1001tEwleividgAN,Publishe; SUSAN lining,. Editor ALICE PIO% 1%1ot* Editor Mentbar Canadian ComMunity Newspaper Association Ontario Weekly, Nov/tamper Association and Audit Bureau of Circulation " Subscription Rates: , Canada (in Irdnariee) S14.00 a Year Outside Canada (In advance) $30.00 a Year SINGLE COPIES -35 CENTS.EACH Second Class Mail Registration Number 0696 • Telephone 527-0240 , $EAFORTH; ONTARIO, AUGUST 7 , 1980 Getting news coverage "I guess you have to know somebody to get news in tht-Lis paper." "Your paper had a big story about my neighbours' anniversary and none about ours. Why not?" "Little Johnnie's picture Was in the paper and my Mary's got left out." Those comments are some of •the regular criticisms that, this.. newspaper's staff hears about our business, gathering news about Seaforth and area people. And they are all good questions or valid .points. It's often mysterious to outsiders, this newspaper business, and at _times we don't do a very gopd job of explaining ourseivest That's why the Expositor, in co-operation with the Bipewater Newspaper Network, is handing out free copies of a little yellow booklet called "Hey! What's happening..." It answers some of the questions and complaints that weekly newspapers get and it also has a wealth of information for anyone who's writing news of any sort for the , Expositor. That includes meeting reports, sports stories, personal news and special event coverage that this newspaper is happy to receive from many hard working volunteer writers. • Correspondents who write about area communities for the Expositor already have a copy of the booklet, which they received at a seminar earlier this year. We'll try to make one available to everyone who's writing news for us on a regular basis too. But the booklet will also be interesting to anyone who's publicity chairperson or press reporter for a local group. And to anyone who's curious—just wondering—how to best .go about getting news coverage In the Expositor. While we're on this subject, can we remind all our readers that we welcome news tips, story ideas, suggestions for our Craft column, Items for "People" and comments of any type on what sort of a Job 'we're doing. Why did we run a particular story and leave another one out? Ask us, there's a reason and we'll both learn from talking. together. • We at the Expositor feel It's really important to be -In touch with our residers. Booklets like "Heyl What's happening..." ought to help. Ask for your free copy, and for another Jittle she -et called "Your Guide to Publicity In The Huron...Expositor" next time you're In the office. Why should we speak French? Pele who heard about the remarks from a Swedish secondary school student who has spent the past year getting his education at Athens District High School, probably picked up the fact there was a lesson to be learned about our attitude towards bilingualism. Recently, Hans Bernhoff, on one year exchange here to improve his already very astute English, appeared before the Leeds and Grenville County Board of Education to tell the board about his impressions of OW school system. Mr. Bernhoff had nothing but admiration for the Ontario system of Education, decrying the intra -class competition among students in Sweden. Students there are gauged against one another in the classroom, rather than against standards that are province -wide. But we found more interesting his observations about language and learning Eng I ish . Mr. Bernhoff explained that Swedish young people learn English _from a grade three level in his own country and that there is a different attitude in Sweden towards learning a second language. One could not help but notice a subtle implication in his Words that Swedish people or, if we may say so, other Europeans, do not have the same discontent about learning another language that Canadians often do. We would add to his remarks that attitude has been inhibiting Canadians for a long time. For a reason wecannot understand, people In this country regard it as an affront when it is suggested they should speak -French as well as English. • Obviousty, in Europe, a small mass' of land with a variety of Eanguages within its borders, people have grown accustomed to accepting gracefully the fast that they roust speak more than\geae/ language to increase their communication with their neighbors. a • Not so in Canada where people regard their own language as soiriehow superior and the necessily for learning another as some kind of insult. Mr. Bernhoff rather innocently peinted out a lesson we, as Canadians, must learn. That requiring a second language inothing shameful and that learning one can open whole new 'vistas of pomrfiunicatidn. In short, people who can master more than one language are privileged that they have the opportunity. English-speaking Canadians who find speaking another language an insult espouse an arrogance of which they should be ashamed. It even hints at a belief in racial superiority that cannot be tolerated in an age when we are supposed to be enlightened. If Swedish people can all learn to speak English, then we can learn to speak French. And, as Mr. Bernhoff pointed out, we have the education system equipped to do it. All we need is an improvernent in our attitude. (The Gananoque Reporter) Advertising is aCcepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error the advertising space oPcupled by the erroneous Itam, together with reasonable allowance for stgriature, will not be charged for but the beams of the advertfiement Will be paid for et the applicable rate. White every effort will be made to Mauve they are handled with care, the publishers cannot be responsible for the return of unsOlititeci manuscripts or photos. On Monday evening, July 28, a public roeetiug was'beld in the Vanastra Christian Church.. At one went some V persOne wee In attendance, The purpose Of WS( meeting was to discuss and totake action; tie. residents and property ciwnere, of Vanastra, on• a proposed by-law, advanced by the council of Tuckersmith Township, te burden the people of Vanastra only, through taxeei with a $130,000,00 debenture incurred tlInen the recreational complex in 1974. I called this Meeting together. I Wok this action because I sensed ari injustice and, unfairness in the Whole situation. I also took this action because ite listened to the people of yanastra; f sensed a feeling of bitterness and frustration. I sensed a feeling of Betrayal and helpless- ness. And this is what I want to write about. Other persons more knowledgeable than I, ' and also in a better position to deal with the -facts and financial manipulations in this whole matter, will no doubt see, this matter through. MY purpose is to share WO our fellow neighbours throughout the township something of the feelings among the Vanastra people. No doubt I do Pot speak for every person in the community, but then I do have my ears close to the ground. One thing Beinga. In these tough economic times you'd like a nice secure job. It would help to be well paid and have good benefits. How about a civil service job? Everybody knows civil servants, whether they _be town clerks or Ottawa mandarins have it pretty good. We all know Of 'course that thesedon't work very hard. We all know that they get far more than they're worth. We know that once you're into one of those cushy jobs you're there for life. Must be marvellous, right? Most likely not. Bureaucrat bashing is the most popular game in the .country these days. People feel alienated by the tize of _government. They resent the cosi of supporting that government, the chipping away at what they consider their rightful income by all levels of government through taxes. People resent the red tape that bureaucracy brings. And so they -fight back, a quiet guerilla kind of warfare. The press and the public take -pot shots at the bureacrats. Why not, they're such inviting targets. Besides, they can't fight back. But ask any civil servant anti you'll find that the role of the government employee is not all its cracked up to be. Take for example the level of government closest to the people. the municipal govern. ment and examine the role of public servants at that level. I've spent 10 years dealing with local government employees in vario , I have learned as atrainect feleilY 4;4 Wrong. Reality can be cruel, you know. The marriage counsellor and that is to listen, and original vision or dream was crashed, and ' to listen well. IDEALISM ! th ', istnead came e nightmare, a complex eif ' • - faeilities way beyond the fleet% and the .. Yes, there was a certain idealism with the . original intent- of the small Vanastra persons in Vanastra who in 1974 signed a nanaineeny. petition with the Township of Tucker -smith Froin the time that the etevnship for help with •ft recreational e centre. The„ ,, • Is over the ,0)-„emestship, Management and , vision was a meeting ,,hall for eleths atitiA;,, nateialieespensibilides of the recreational groups, an outdoor, ' SwimmingeepoOla . As facilfies, the beautiful dream m of soething wading pool for the meter tittle Ones and the j by and for the people of'yaRagra turned into curling Oils building for a great variety4- of a nightmare; The dream>WAS dead, and the' activities. And Yes the petitioners were _ idealism turned into bitterness. e willing to pay for these community facilities ' WHY JUST US? • through their taxes. But the Township was And now the people in Vanastra are needed as a corporation to bring this vision s asking the question: Why is the township so about. The vision -was a limited recreational determined to burden us with so large a facility, suitable to the needs' of • the community, andsomething which the debt, for something which isn't ours „ so few of us, diatleat; a bitteriatsIte inithe mouth:, Some 200 Vanastra ratepayers are facing this question, A number of us raise thele voice by. objecting to the preposed by-law .#11-198() hoping for a fair hearine by einnteil• . and the Cl.M,B, Yet there are also some 1200 ratepayers in the larger township area who are and ought to face the same question: Why? , My appeal for fairness, for fair'Play, goes in addition to the council members of Tuckersmith Township, to our 1200 fellow neighbours. Please understand our situ- ation. Our dream is shattered, our original vision is turned into a nightmare. We are small, we are few. But we are people, we have feelings. And right now our feelings' are bitter and we are frustrated. We feel betrayed. And we sense that because we are anymore? Most of us can accept or at least ftw and small, our voice is not heard and we community could afford. In short, a facility resign Ourselves to the fact that the are burdened unfairly. And we keep on by and for the community of Yanastra-Ami_recreation_centre_isn'tnurs_anymPtee-Ma-Ybe—a.skingeourseiveseand-yows- Why? Peter Mantel, Minister, .Vanastra Christian Church it was also understood • that through it never was! But then . the people in government grants, the burdenwould not be Vanastra do enjoy some benefits of' the too heavy. , facilities, some. Yet the -injustice and But then something, maybe a lot, 'went unfairness of so large a debt, 5130,000.0e on - civil servant is a soft job right? Behind the scenes by Keith Roulston and I wouldn't trade one of them their jobs. Anyone who has to deal with the public can tell you it's no' picnic. People :who may be friendly when .they meet you on the street, may be gracious when you visit them in -their own home, can often be obnoxious when you meet them in the course of doing business. But if dealing with the public while clerking in a store or waiting in a restaurant can be nerve-wracking, dealing with the public from the position of a public servant can be excrutiating. For one thing, a lot of the public likes to remind the &even clerk or the town policeman of that second part of the label: servant. They like to throw in the faces of public officials Whenever they're in a squabble that they pay the bills.. And squabble they do. They squabble because their street isn't cleared of snow early enough in the morning. They squabble _because their hydro bill is too high eve!) though it was because they had,the block heater in their car plugged in. They squabble because their lrain backed up and it must have been the town's fault. And .of course they squabble because they think taxes are too high. And the poor public servant takes all the towns, villages and townships in the arca, belt. It may be the politicians who decide what the taxes will be ,for the next year but it's the town clerk or treasurer who has to listen tie the blame. The reason is simple: ...he's handy while the politicians are off doing their regular jolls, for the most part safely ' out, of the path of the public virrath. And of •&Vise because he is a public "servant” the people feel all the more that they can dump on the employee.. While pleasing your boss may be the bane of your life at least you likely only have one boss. The public servant is in a never-never land of having everybody as boss. The nominal boss is the elected politician yet he's a transient boss. He may be your boss this year and want you to do things one way but next year he may be gone, replaced by another politician who does exactly the opposite. And 'while a small town public servant tries to please both the pislitican and the public, he is often also needed as a leader. Take a look at the towns that are getting ahead these days and you'll likely See a strong administrator behind the scenes. As government at the local level becomes more complicated, in nearly all cases because of the growth ofprograms and red tap imposed by senior governments, the role of the public servant becomes more important. Part-time politicians don't have the time to keep on top of just what the latest rules from the big boys ... in Torento or Ottawa are. They depend on the work of their administrators tie provide thein with the digested -facts from the hundreds of pages of information that arrive each month. If the administrator does a good job and makes sure that accurate and complete information gefs to the politiciansithere is a hope that things may run smoothly in local government. If not, chaos reins. There are cases where the public servant becomes even more important. When the' people elect weak politicians the public service often ends up virtually running the local government not for the politicians, but inspite of them. It may not be representative democracy at its hest, but often it's the only thing that keeps the wheels of government turning at all: - But what is such a public servant likely to get for this? Most likely a lot of abuse both from above and below, from the politicians who resent the le.adertitiin of The person who's supposed to be their employee even though they don't want to lead themselves and from the public who feels the public servant is getting too big for his boots. Thanks is a word not often heard by a civil servant. So you want a nice civil service fob? Show up at your municipal office about the next time taxes are due. You migbt find somebody ready US give you Ms. . About that book I'm writing. Sugar and spice By Bill Smiley Let's see now. Here it is about August, and 1 was supposed to produce a book this suiesner, 1 wish it were as simple as getting pregnant and producing a beautiful, healthy, welcomed child. Twe different parties are after me, as we say in this country, to get off my bottom and pop a best-seller. Some daffy dame in Vancouver got me cut of bed one morning at 7:10 with a phone call, offering to be my agent. at ten per cent. 1 was a little grumpy. I have been known to .throw the alarm clock right through a window when it goes off at 7:15. tasked her what the hell time it was in Vancouver. It was 210 a.m.. naturally. a time when even daffy dames should be snoring. Twenty minutes later, while I was shaving. she called again to ask how many pages the book would have. what kind of paper, what kind of cover, what price. She could have heard my answers all the way to Vancouver without bothering Ma Bell. A couple of days later, my old lady got a call. right in the middle of her siesta, from some publisher the d.d. in Vancouver had mile& At this point my o.l. was getting bit brassed off. answering the phone calls at alt hours from old fighter pilots who were flying when they called, people who wanted an instant recipe for becoming a syndicated columnist, and dear old ladies who were suffering from insomnia and just wanted to tell her they'd been reading my column for seventy-six years. As a reeult. she gave the world-famous publisher what is known as short shrift. I don't know the etymology of the phr J. but basically it means being,cut off at the knees, 50 that your shrift, or whatever, is dangling in the dirt. He didn't call again, and I haven't called him because I don't want to appear to be towering over him. My other agent, and old friend, who could sell cowboy boots to Indians, and moccasins to cowboys, dropped a line with some suggestions and advice. He should know better. He's been giving me both for mere than twenty years, and I have not only ignored both, I have usually done the opposite, with no dire results, except that we'd both have made some mhney if v4 listened. But what good is moriey these days? First thinghe tuggested was a title. If rd had a national contest to choose the worst possible title for my pregnant but un -popped book, his would have won first prize. Next, my old buddy offered some ideas Expositor asks: BY JIM HEER One of the hottest issues in the United States today. is the recent revival of the draft registration. Mandatorily imple- mented last %seek for 18 to 20 -year-old men, registration has stirr5d a volcano of emotion buried since Vietnam. Sentences for failing to register for the draft are five years in prison. Another controversial question being raised with the same topic is: should women register for the draft? This week in consideration of what has been taking place south of the border, the Expositor Asks, "should Canada imple- ment a draft registration in case of the outbreak of war or some other emergency need?" "It doesn't hurt to be prepared," said Liz Brown of 6 Side St. in Seaforth. "1 think some of the women would be as good as men during war," she said, "There are places for women as well as for men." Dan Dale, an 18 -year-old who would qualify for the registration in the U.S., said he thought the draft was necessary, but only during a war situation. "Yes, we should have a draft because if there is a war, 110 one would go, but it is not necessary right now," he said. for chapters: the family. the school, sex, politics, etc. I wish he'd spelled out the et • cetera, because I don't know much about the others. The family. What a chapter! Dull, null, dull. Unfortunately, I came from a happy family. I didn't hste either my tether or my mother, so there's no mileage there. I get along great with my boathers and sisters. as long as we're several hundred miles apart. 1 love my son and daughter; when he's itri Paraguay and she's in Moosoeme. I adore my grandboys, especially when I'm waving bye-bye as they•leave for another few months. My wife and I put up with each other. So what's to write about? • The school? Another dead end. I've been going to school: public, high, university, air fdrce lectures, teacher, for more than forty years, and I know about twelve per cent more than a six -months infant. In math, 1 earet even use a calculator without getting all fouled up. as the Revenue Department just informed me this week, to the tune of S8I0.00. And forty cents. In geography. I am quite confident that Texas is south .of some oil -reducing places, and north of others. Should Canada have a draft? "Women should also be drafted," said Mr. Dale of 54 Coleman St. in Seaforth. "They might not be able to fight, but they could do something." Countries should settle then. quarrels differently. said Mrs. John Glanville of R.R. 4, Walton. "I don't think it is that necessary," she said. "It usually happens every generation and I'd hate to see all of bur young men go to war." Should women be drafted? CAN'T SEE WOMEN sfiro-ariNG "I'm not sure about women. I just can't see women up on the front line shooting at people." she said, , "rdon't think registration for the' draft is necessary unless war was here," said Linda Brown of R.R. 4, Seaforth. "If they are going to draft men then they shoulthdraft women," she added. Mary Smith of 99 West William St. said she felt any registration should be or: a volunteer basis. "I don't think Canada needs a draft," she said. "There would be enough people volunteering. , Canadians have always eerved their country." Registration, she said, is up to the "You're laying you life on the line eoniot: should make up your mind as an indiv- . icloal." "The seniors should tot be making the decisions for the younger people," she said, adding that feelitgs about war have changed with each generation. UNFAIR TO FORCE "Young people's attitudes towards mili- tary service have changed a lot over the years. For people to be forced into something is unfair." Jerdice Ettair1S of 6 Ann St. in Dublin, said people should not bee forced to register. "I would eay those who vOlunteer are generally better qualified, militarily- tounded people," she said. 'If there was a war, Canadians would be in there pitching. !Li the first world war, they did more than their share," she added. "I was shocked when I heard the States were doing it and would hope Canada would never," said Margaret Kemp of R.R. 2, Staffa. ' "I don't know about worien," she said, "they are asking 'for equal position; if they expect it in all other areas, I wonder if they realize this 'would 'he another area they become eligible for." • In history, I am content with a student's assessment that the Church of England was established 'because Henry VIII was fed up with the Pope. In English, I'm pretty secure. 1 know the first line of several of Shakespeare's great soliloquies: "To be or not to be." "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomer' row..." But I can't remember the second line or any of the others. And 1 do know whst a partici* N, which is more then I can say for the two Grade Ten's 1 taught this year. So school is out, as a subject. Now about sex. Thar, 1 might he able to conic up with several chaptets. Despite my earlier clisclairner about science, I do know a pistil from a stamen. I think. And 1 got some pretty hot stuff from an electrician one day, when he said, "This is the female plug." And of course anyone who reads modern novels can't help but be pretty well versed. as 'versed* a bad word? I'm never sure.) It comes from the same root, if you'll pardon the expression, as "perverse." Otherwise, I know most of the stuff. Kinky sex is two people with Afro hair -do's getting all tangled up. Aural sex is kissing with your ears itstead of your lips, rather like the old myth about Eskirnaux tubbing noses. Rather odd, but whatever 'turns you on, as we sex writers say. No problem with the sex chapters. As to his final suggestion, politics, 1 meld write a book. But nobody would read it, became it would be banned as the most obscene literary effort since Lady Chatter- ty's Lover. To the editor: The Hill family If passible I wish to utfflrc the foeum of your paper to search out information on family members who at one time resided near Staffa in Hibbert Township. James Hill emigrated from Scotland and it is possible leased the west half kit 6, concession 1, from the Canada Company during the 1850's. He was married to Jane Fairbairn in 1832. They had the following children: Thomas and George (twins), Jane, Margaret, Christina, James, William and David. A semi -centennial and history of the Hifi, Rodger and Brodie families was compiled during the 1880's. Should any of your readers be related to James or Jane (Fairbairn) Hill or know of their families I would enjoy hearing from them so that an update of the Hill genealogy may be completed. rim Hili, Box 31T, hfilestone St*.