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The Huron Expositor, 1989-01-04, Page 2Huron xp �N' psrtor CEer4siboAla MUN nrtiRS'T. Incorporating The Brussels Post Published In Seaforth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning The Expositor Is brought to you wich week by the efforts of: Pot Armes, Nell Corbett, Terri -Lynn Dale, Dianne McGrath and Bob McMillan. EP BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER McILWRAITH, Editor Member Canadian Commun Newspaper Assoc Ontario Community Newspo Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription Rotes: Canada '20.00 a year, in advance Senior Citizens • '17.00 a year In advance Outside Canada '60.00 o year. in advance Single Copies - .50 cents each Second class mail registration Number 0696 ilifedriezday,,iianpary4, 1989 Editorial and Business Offices - 10 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontarla, NOK 11190 Abandon railways potential resource Soon the railway line that runs from Goderich to Guelph vein -be no more. The Canadian Pacific Railway line which runs through Goderich, Blyth and Walton was abandoned effective January 1. It is '77.2 miles of rail line which joins 1500 kilometers of abandoned line across Southwestern On- tario. It will soon be piles of ripped -up steel rails and ties, to be hauled away for salvage. —. But one question remaining is what will be done with the land Which made up the line° Here's an idea with merit: One group in the Goderich area has proposed that the roadbed be used as a "recreation corridor" for cyclists, hikers, snowmobilers, horseback riders, cross country skiers, and everydog sledders. At n'e jme, the economy of many towns and villages in Ontario depend- ed e n the railroad. The re reation corridor would bring tourists and travdlers and could in time be as important to the municipalities along the route as were the original steel rails. Other abandonments have been used•in this w4j in Ontario and in the United States, and this would be an excellent use -this scenic land. Recently, Ontario's Ministry of Transportation announced that an inter- ministerial committee has been formed to consider the provincial acquisi- tion of abandoned railway rights-of-way for transportatlkon, recreation, and other public uses. So apparently, if a recreation corridor could be proven to be feasible, it could become a reality. What's more, if abandoned lines turned to recreation corridors were ad- ministered by people with imagination they could become a valued resource. N.C. Canada Post - makes right move Canada. Post's latest decisiion regarding rural customers seems to be something of a mixed blessing. The corporation. recently announced that as of January 3, Canada Post will stop collecting the $6.74 -a t'ival fee that some ''one Million rural customers pay for the use of lock d mail boxes in local post offices. But in the small print is a detail that .may make some 'new enemies. To quali y,for to free box, Canada Post must determine that the post of- fice box is, -the customer's only service option. If it is decided that a customer should get mail on rural routes, for example, the customer may keep the post office box - but the fee will be $26 a -year, not $6.74. And switching to Janeway service will cost residents $15 to $50 to buy, in- stall and maintain the mailbox. But for the majority who rely on post office boxes, Canada Post's move will be a long;overdue correction of what many rural residents see- as a discriminatory policy, in which customers who get home delivery don't pay, while those who go to the post office to get their mail do. It is a policy which should bring Canada Post some badly -needed friends in the country's rural area. Goderich Signal Star. , g ra. ....V .17 Contributions needed for seed Dear Editor; Overseas agencies seldom highlight positive and hopeful projects to win public support. Ethiopia is a case in point. Mention Ethiopia and most Canadians think of a wasteland of war and famine, without hope. But this image is misleading. There is hard- ship, but there is also progress. USC Canada is helping to supply funds so that fanners and scientists can work together through Ethiopia's Plant Genetic Resource Centre (PGRC) to conserve the country's traditional seeds and select the best for development and storage in times of drought. PGRC Director, Dr. Melaku Worede, describes the program as the only way to achieve sustainable agricultural growth within Ethiopia. ,Local seeds have been developed by centuries of cooperation bet- ween man .and nature, to resist drought, pests and disease. Improved seed .varieties will be used to increase agricultural:produc- Uon. The'Ministry=ofAgriculture, Farmers' Associations and the Ethiopia Seed Cooperative .are working in close coopera- n Lien ;with PGRC. 'The cast to USC,of laun- ching end coor,dinating.khis importauterilot project 's;$1.3,mUlion We;need the financial support=ofCanadians,tohelp,Edriopia;put>its own resources to work. Please send your contribution; every dollar counts. John Martin, Chief Executive officer, USC Canada, 56 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario KIP 5B1 'Charlottetown -descendents sought Dear Editor, Weare interested in locating Descendants of Delegates to the September 1864 Charlot- tetown Conference. If any of your readers are Descendants or if they have information on Descendants, they are asked to call toll- free Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland 1,6004565-0243 er write: The Festival of the Descendants, P.O. Box 2000,Charlotte n n, Prince; Edward: Island, CIA 7N8. All Descendants will receive a guest of honour information kit. Thank you. , Rick Coles 'ChairMan Festivalof the -Descendants b, Help improve paper content Why is it that the end of the year is such a hectic time in our lives? It's as though we've decided that everything will come to an end ,on December 31, and have set our minds to go out in a blaze of activity. We forget that tradition has proved time and time again(, that come January 1 there'll be a new year, and with that new year, new opportunities to live life ffio its fullest. Instead - because of some unfathomable bit of planning, we are saddled with the responsibility of celebrating two major, and very different, holidays within one week of one another. Not that I'm complaining. But, whose idea was it anyway, to put New Year's Eve on the short week after Christmas? It seems we hardly get a chance to sit down and rest our weary soles after all the Christmas rush and clean-up, when sud- denly it's December 31 - and we're at it all over again. It's fumy isn't it, how much more effort we put into this holiday season. Despite the fact it falls during a time of year that boasts the most unpredictable, and often impassable, weather, we center our days on traversing across hill and vale with the express purpose of visiting friends and relatives we haven't seen all year. Heaven forbid that we visit diem elsetime during the year - when perhapslthe weather might SWEATSOCKS by Heather Mcflwraith be more in our favor, : ,d the roads more inviting. None -the -less I suppose there is something positive to be said about having Christmas and New Year's fall in such close proximity to one another. For one thing, it certainly adds to the festivity of the season. And, maybe it even creates the season. Without the amalgamation of the two events, the Christmas season would `probably begin and end on one day. This way it continues for a week. The amalgamation of sorts also gives students that much sought after, lengthy vacation from the books and the teachers - and teachers, it gives that much needed reprieve from the children. Oh, I suppose long title ago the two celebrations could have been organized to take place at different times of the year, but then again, that Haight not have been a popular decision. As much as we complain about the weariness that besieges each and every one of us over the Christmas season, at least we know that come January 2, we've got almost a year in which to recupe. -PPP In keeping with the tradition of making New Year's resolutions the editorial staff of TheHuron Expositor has one, at least, it would like to share. In addition to keeping the readers in- formed about what is going on, what is new and what is interesting as it applies to the people who live in our coverage area, we intend to increase and thereby improve, our coverage of agriculture related topics. In order to do that however, we need the assistance of the public. Anyone with story ideas, a concern, or an idea which could be expounded on - however big or small - is asked to contact myself, or Neil, at The Huron Expositor. We admit freely that our knowledge of agriculture is limited, and ask that you whose kitbwledge is not, make a res° .ion to become more involved in yo ocal newspaper - .and helpov its content. - Happy New Year. Small towns are . good for hockey Hockey players in small towns don't realize how lucky they are. Talking to the coaches of the team from - Denmark really pointed out to me the ad- vantages of having a small number -of peo- ple using one arena facility. I come from a town of about 11,000 or 17,000 including the surrounding area. But it was always the smallest town in the hockey leagues we played in, because we had just enough players signed up for mino hockey to force us into the "A" league. where we would compete with cities of up to 60,000. With the exception of a couple bright seasons, we were always just barely competetive. So I grew up with a notion that if you wanted to be a good hockey player, it was to your advantage to be born in a city. This idea does hold water, in some ways. There are larger numbers of people in big cities, and therefore yourlikelihood of get- ting good coaches would seem to be better. Also, in big cities teams were always richer. They went to every tournament they could find, and I remember teams who had busing, home and away uniforms, team hockey bags, always jackets, and one even had matching whitle cowboy hats. The latter I didn't envy them. From my experience with hockey in Seaforth, it is apparent that there are a lot AMY TWO BIT by Neil Cor _ett of excellent hockey players in this town, arid many have been available for coaching over the years. To my knowledge, no team `from my hometown ever went overseas, and yet a team from Seaforth, where one would think there are a lot fewer available dollars for such a trip, went to Denmark only a few years ago. But the most important aspect, the quality of the players, is where a small town like Seaforth really stands out. I would bet that per capita Seaforth has had more junior, and even professional hockey players -per capita- than any city in Canada. And neighoboring towns such as Exeter have also obviously had their successes. The only reason I can see for this is the amount of ice time available to players, and the smaller ratio of ° coaches to players. I know, players who could get on the ice five plus days a week last year. In Herlev the've got things even better. The players from the visiting Danish team eget out as a three times a week for practice, and on or two times per week for games. There e a limited number of players, so the boys a played together for several years (as many have in Seaforth). Obviously this gets results. The Seaforth Junior "D" club has been really struggling this year but there is a lot of talent on that team, even if it is young talent. Several players on the team could go on to play a higher brand of hockey, and some definitely will. A couple could go a long way. . Someone's doing something right somewhere along the line, for these players to be able to distinguish themselves in hockey. It's not just the number of people in a town that makes opportunities, it's the quality of the people and the programs that are there. Rifles and bells ring in New Years 1889 JANUARY 4, UN Hensel]. notes - At a few minutes before 12 o'clock the tolling of the John A. Mitchell church of England bell announced that the old year, with all its checkered scenes of joy, pain and pleasure, was dying out, while just at twelve, and a few minutes thereafter, the merry chiming of the same bell, accom- panied by the booming of our cannon, in the form of guns and rifles, proclaimed and ushered in the glad new year, with all its hoped for joy. The magistrates of Huron County return a total of 79 convictions for the quarter ending December 11. Of this number, 17 were by the mayor of Goderich, 7 by Seaforth magistrates, 8 by Clinton, 10 by Wingham and the balance more or less scattered. In these cases were eight violations of the nce Act. The fines imposed amounted to The following is a statement of the result the nominations as far as we have heard: EAFORTH - Robert Wilson and F. Holmested for Mayor. D. D. Wilson and A. Strong re-elected Reeve and Deputy Reeve respectively by acclamation. There was skating on the rink for the first time this season on New Year's Day, and the crowd of young folks out shows that thio healthful recreation is not going out fashion yet. JANUARY le, 1914 Old Jack F. t, got me work in good aha e Beek and made up for •ut The blizzard which t and blew out about m 5) ha, drifted the =county run ro, dly in places, ;and the,;mer- cury di lei a ten be,ow zero on puesday morning and was about the same eeddnnes- day moraine . However, things have moderated nicely,aince,and we are;now;en- joying nice winter weather . with fair sleighing and good skating and curling. - JANUARY 8,1939 A suggestion that the Provincial Plowing Match be held in Huron in 1940, which has been advanced on several occassions during the past year, will be definitely considered at a meeting to discuss this issue to be held -in Clinton Saturday afternoon. The plowing match, international in its scope, has never been held in Huron. The Seaforth Beavers opened the in- termediate "B" schedule on Thursday by defeating the Goderich Sailors to the tune of 12-2. The revamped Beeves played the brand of hockey for which the fans have been waiting for a number of years. Mr. and -Myr. ,Huffman, for many years highly respected Seafo,.i. ets,Observ- ed the 65th anniveree i , c age on Friday, Decemhp' tr . .A.W. Dick .was electeo i, ,f ,eaforth Fire Brlgadeatthewua,.al „lung uesd.. .-ming, ,file •Succeeds E. J. ,'Bios who kiss ,erve'1 a nurnber.of years and who presided at the, meeting. Oho! The•year's long hill again, With alt.the old-time thrill again And an excellent: cl�lanee of.apl11 again, For the tae's pi�aalt opr knowin , Slitwe ptart,with!amien }lie:��arteaeh one, And takeithe fulls 40,f i, And cry -;at t&te , , The ;best man's woo," come::on,,,then.lenkbeagplpg! ' ANNE SUTHERLAND BROOKES Their Majesties King George VI and Queen Elizabeth are scheduled to spend an hour in Stratford on June 8th, according to an official itinerary made public at Ottawa Tuesday night. They will spend the night on their train somewhere between Stratford and London. JANUARY 2,1964 Winners in the beat decorated homes com- petition were announced last ,week by Chamber of Commerce president W. M. Hart. For the first time, this year the com- munity was divided into three zones with a winner in each zone. The prize in each case was an eledtric blanket. The winning residents are Lester Leonhardt, Coleman I Street; Wes Coombs, Egmondvllle; and R. J. Boussey, James Street. When he opened the door of his Welsh Street residence early Friday morning, Grant McClinchey found the interior to be on fire. Within minutes the entire building was amaes of flames. The house was empty at the time. :Fire Chief John F. Scott estimated the loss at $6,660 including $2,000 contents. Nothing was saved, he said. There was keen interest Monday after- noon when nearly 150 MeEillop voters crowded the Winthrop Hall for the annual township nonninations and ratepayer's Meeting. When nominations were closed at 2:00 o'clogk by returning officer J.M. Eckert, a total !of nine nominations bad been filed for five :offices.