Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-01-18, Page 2T H run E x p ositor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating The Brussels Post Published in Seoforth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning The Expositor Is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes, Nell Corbett, Terri -Lynn Dale, Dionne McGrath and Bob McMillan. ED,BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER MCILWRAITH, Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription Rates Canada 120.00 a, year, in advance Senior Citizens • '17.00 a year in advance Outside Canada '60.00 a year in advance Single Copies • 50 cents each Second class mail registration Number 0696 Wednesday, January 18, 1989 Editorial and Business Offices - 10 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone (519) 529.0240 Moiling Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1WO A welcome policy The Huron County Board of Education recently established a policy on sexual harassment, and while the board has gotten along for years without a formal policy in this area, and while many other boards in Ontario do not yet have policies regarding sexual harassment, this policy is a welcome one. Cases of sexual harassment are increasingly iri the public eye these days. And as the media shows the public specific cases it makes people more aware of what could be construed as sexual harassment, and makes them more aware of their own actions. To, avoid legal problems, a teacher in today's public school system has to be a lot more careful of how he or she deals with students than did teachers of only 30 or 40'years ago. So a policy which states in black and white what is considered to be sex- ual harassment and, just as importantly, what is not considered to be sex- ual harassment -"An occasional appropriate compliment is not included in the definition of sexual harassment. Relationships between consenting adults which are voluntary and based on mutual attraction..."- can only help to reassure board employees about how they may relate to fellow employees and students. It is equally important to have a complaint procedure with sequential steps, so people know they have an avenue they can, take to deal with sex- ualharassment problems. HCBE Personnel Manager Jeanne McDonald Looked at similar policies by other Ontario school boards in making the HCBE policy, but also found many school boards have not yet established policies in this area. "We may be somewhat unique and ahead of the game in having this in Huron Cbunty," she says. Trustees and Board employees say there has not been a case of sexual harassment before the Board for several years. Still this is a useful policy, even if it is hopefully never used. YOUR BUSINESS Provided by The Ontario Ministry of industry, Trade and Technology =r I \777"' "With a btosinotlu plan Oho this, your befit hopo la to win a lottery, WO a winner, or bo very Moo tom rich relative?" Writing a business plan Trying to start a business without a pro- per business plan is like trying to travel through uncharted territory without a map. Pretty tricky to figure out where you're going.. It is critical, in fact,, to have a comprehen- sive business plan for a number of reasons. Unless you have a clear, written profile of the company's expected performance and prospects, it's virtually impossible to get any financial backing, apart from family largess. What's more, putting it all down on paper makes it easier to judge whether the venture is sound to begin with. And once you're established, the plan serves as a good reference to track performance. Although it's not a legal requirement, a formal business plan is pretty well deemed mandatory by the financial community, Gary Angst, a consultant in the Small Business Branch of the Ontario Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology, points out that it's foolish to approach a banker with only some preliminary calculations. "Some people actually jot numbers on a napkin or on the back of a cigarette package; not sur- prisingly, they don't get more than the time of day from the banks," he says. Angst covers the province each year giv- ing numerous seminars to prospective en- trepreneurs on how to develop a sound business plan. "A typical business plan begins with a summary of your operation, your idea, the market need, the amount of capital required and the projected financial results," explains Angst. "Your plan must make sense on paper betore you dip into your wallet and get involved in a business." Graham Cunningham, an accountant -and senior partner with Toronto-based G.G. Cunningham and Associates Inc., is con- vinced there's a definite correlation bet- ween a valid business plan and commercial success. "In your business plan, you should make a yearly sales forecast," advises Cun- ningham. "Then, compare your monthly cash flow with your projections. Although there will always be some variance, you can red flag a problem right away." Based on his long experience as a management consultant to small business, Cunningham cautions against one fairly common problem in drafting business • plans. Often, he says, owner -managers are `%o optimistic when forecasting sales. Figures may be pulled out of thin air or calculated too nimbly using spreadsheet software. "Sales forecasts are virtually meaningless if you don't calculate the profit spread for each product line," says Cunningham. To help you create a valid business plan, the Small Business Branch of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Technology provides three low-cost, comprehensive guide books that cover business planning for the manufacturing, retailing and service sec- tors. These booklets contain forms to be fill- ed out. Once completed, they provide a blueprint of your management, marketing and financial capabilities, solid groundwork. on which potential investors can build. 4 Keeping secrets burdensome to What is it about having a secret that gnaws away at a person's soul, that makes them want to reveal whatever tidbit of in- formation they alone possess, juicy or not , despite the fact they might never, ever have felt the desire to reveal the in- formation in the first place, if it hadn't been labelled confidential' Secrets are a terrible thing, not only do they conjure up images of clandestine meetings under murky street lamps and unlawful gatherings for the purposes of purporting something wicked, but they place an awesome amount of responsibili- ty on the shoulders of those people that have to bear them. Now, I don't mean to sound totally negative on this subject, or even to suggest that having secrets, or sharing secrets, should be taboo. The point I'm trying to make, and I'm sure anyone who has ever had to keep a secret will bear me out on this, is that human nature is not conducive to keeping secrets. I mean, if it were, would it be such a struggle to keep one? And it seems the bigger the secret, the harder it is to keep. As soon as the word 'secret' is fastened to a particular piece of information, and a promise extracted that it must never, ever be revealed, the wheels are set in motion for an agonizing battle of undeterminable length within the body of SWEATSOCKS - by Heather Mellwraith the 'secret' recipient. From the point of sharing, that person's every thought and action is forever governed by what knowledge they now possess, but must somehow keep to themselves. That necessitates implemen- tation of a system of self -checks, since in- evitably the coveted information will rear its ugly head, threatening to reveal itself when you least expect it. That in itself, can only Lead to a series of uncharacteristic actions. Among them half -finished sentences - utterances that start out sounding profound, but leave the listener wanting, since you can't complete your thought without betraying a confidence. Keeping a secret can also lead to the start of a disreputable future - since it eventually leads to the deception of others in your company, as you pretend to be unknowledgeable on a subject of discus- sion, when you really know exactly the answer they are looking for - but cannot reveal it. And if you do reveal it, well.., you may never be entrusted with a secret again (which may or may not be a blessing ). Now, I don't mean to intimate that I can- not keep a secret - I can. I've just found out that information, labelled secret, is more difficult to keep, than information that is not. Maybe that's because we (the secret - holders) are more conscious of the respon- sibility we've been given,, maybe we thrive on the power having a secret can entail, or maybe we just want to be in on the ground floor when and if the 'secret' is ever revealed. Whatever, secrets - those damnable thoughts or actions kept from sight or knowledge, can lead to plenty of unrest. And in my opinion, someone carrying the burden of a secret would be better left to their own devices, well away from the pro- bing eyes of society. And if that's an im- possibility, at least give them the option of sharing that 'secret' with at (east one other person. Column -writing toughest part of_.'ob Without doubt, the hardest part of my week is when I sit in front of my keyboard trying to think of a topic for this column. Some weeks I just don't have two bits. I bother other people in the office for col- umn ideas, but they have none. All they have are sheep jokes. One suggested I write about pay equity, and she prompted me to say that women really don't need as much money as men. I have no desire to be drawn and quartered. I watch the media for topics which in- terest me, but few seem appropriate for a column. This week I could write about the in- creasing chumminess of the USSR, how that country stands to flourish from in- creased trade with Europe, and how what Reagan once called an "evil empire" will turn out to be an, ally and an asset. But the media is already brimming with news of the new Soviet oneness. I could write abouj the people on the island of St. Pierre -1 quelon who are stan- ding up for their livelihood, and who con- fronted French police that came to their island in military planes. They are caught m the middle of the fishing dispute between Canada and France, but they can't wait for interna- tional red tape to decide their future while French factory trawlers acused of over- fishing continue to deplete the fish they need. I could write about these French fisher- ment, but I don't like to condone violence. I could write about the birthday of Mar-, tin Luther King and his quest for racial harmony. Especially in light of the recent racial violence -a brawl involving 60 students- at a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia school, and the racial tensions between the Metro Toronto Police and Toronto's black community. But I don't know a lots about King. He was assasinated before I was born. On a lighter side, I could write about vir- tually anything. I thought for this week's column I would just crack open a dictionary, and write about the first work I saw in the upper right hand corner of the page: Unfor- tunately that word was "porphyropsin." Something found in the retinas of fishes. The next word I flipped to in the dic- tionary was "horse." But I don't have much to say about horses, other than that I would almost rather carry one than have it carry me. So I gave up on the dictionary after. horses. So instead I have been writing about what I can't write about. Most other journalists would tell you such a column is a cop-out, a desperate at- tempt to try and make a deadline when the editor is breathing down one's neck, and a Cheap way to fill space. It worked didn't it. Public to inspect SCI •19139 addition JANUARY 18, 1889 Mr. Robt. Jamieson, of the Golden Lion, left yesterday on his semi-annual trip across the Atlantic for new goods. Mr. Jamieson goes by New York and we wish him a plea- sant trip and a safe return. On Friday evening of last week as Mrs. Dr. Coleman was walking along the side walk opposite Cardno's block, she slipped on an icy spot, falling and breaking her left arm. We are pleased to learn that she is get- ting along nicely. The skating and curling rink is now in full blast when the weather permits, and both skaters and curlers are having lots of fun. Mr. John Hannah attended a very suc- cessful and interesting meeting of the On- tario Creamery Association held at Picton last week. He was appointed Vice -President of the Association. The rain of Wednesday bas had the effect of considerably reducing the snow drifts and improving the roads, but there is no ap- pearance of sleighing yet. Mr. Josiah Irwin has sold the north fifty acres of his farm on the 2nd concesson, near Alma, to Mr. Alexander Jamieson, of the Huron road, for the sum of $3,300. It is a very nice lot, and has on it a small frame house and bank barn. Mr. Lewis McDonald, of the saw mills in Walton, has sold a hundred acre wood lot in the township of Grey to Mr. Querengesser, of McKillop, for the sum of $7,000. JANUARY 30,1914 Mr. William Govenlock has purchased the grocery stock of Mr. C.S. Andrews, of th Postoffice Grocery. Mr. and Mrs. Andre intend on going west in the spring. Mr. John Dodds has leased the McCallum residence on Goderich street and now oc- cupies it. Mr. Walter Haines, of the Dominion Bank, sprained his ankle while skating at the rink on Friday evening and has gone to his home in Wingham until he recovers. The January thaw set in on Monday night but it has not seriously impaired the good sleighing of the past three weeks. Wood is plentiful in town this winter and is being more used than for several winters. The cause of the unusually plentiful supply is, no doubt, the wind storm of last Good Fri- day which blew down, a large number of trees. Mr. D.T. Pinkney, formerly of the Royal Hotel, Seaforth, who recently sold his hotel business in Berlin, has removed his family to Stratford, where they now reside. JANUARY 20, 1939 The public will have an opportunity of in- specting the addition and other im- provements at the Collegiate Institute on Monday and Tuesday evenings and Tuesday afternoon of next week. The annual Lions Club ice carnival is be- ing held this year, it is expected, on Friday, Feb. 10th according to Lion E.C. Boswell, who heads the committee in charge of the event. Arrangements are being made to pre- senta particularly special attraction on that evening. Members of the Public School Board organized for the year on Wednesday even- ing when J.A. Wesfcott was named chairman. A check-up on hockey players reveals the fact that 211 players are taking part in scheduled games at the local rink. This is an increase of four over last yea . The annual meeting of McKillop, Hibbert and Logan Telephone Co. was held in Looby's Hall, Dublin on Wednesday and records one of the largest attendance for many years. Egmondville defeated Winthrop in hockey with a score of 2-1. J.M. McMillan's rink captured the silver spoons at the Seaforth Curling Club's week- ly bonspiel on Wednesday afternoon and evening. JANUARY 16, 1969 A revfw of the Christmas program, as ar- ranged by the Christmas activities commit- tee, will be carried out this weekend when results of the program will be assessed and plans set in motion for the next year, accor- ding to C of C President;. W.M. Hart. Additional books, valued at $1,294.00, recently have been added to the large library at SDI1S. The wide selection of books has been made possible by a bequest from the late Bruce Scott. Each year the Scott Estate provides funds with which to pur- chase additional volumes, as well as scholarshps to SDHS students. Installation ceremonies at the Legion Hall Turn to age 14A