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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-03-01, Page 2aT Hu 4 xporon sitor SINCE 1860, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating The Brussels Post ED BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER MCILWRAITH, Editor Published In Se®forth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pat Armes, Neil Corbett, Terri -Lynn Dale, Dianne McGrath and Bob McMillen. Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Cornmonweolth Press Union International Press Institute Subscription Rates. Canada '20.00 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 mall registration Number 0696 Wednesday, March 1, 1989 Editorial and Business Offices - 10 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone (319) 529-0240 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1WO Pocketbooks being emptied again Talk on the street these days is likely to center around the upcoming federal budget - a budget which according to all reports - is an all-out austerity drive destined to cripple most Canadians. Unfortunately, that's usually the case. Canadians no sooner get over the dregs of winter, when they are blasted with a chilly reminder that they've got more storms yet to weather - one of those being the revela- tions of the federal budget. No doubt,most Canadi ins understand that budget cuts are a necessary evil. Most of us face them on a daily basis, year after year, anyway. However, it seems that is always the people who are already budgeting themselves to the extreme, who bear the brunt of the budget's fury. This year government, business and Con- servative party sources indicate they expect across-the-board tax increases when the Tories bring down, a budget in April. That budget, they say, could be laced with reduc- ed payouts on everything from unemploy- ment insurance to family allowances and day care. Obviously it's all part of the Conservative government's attempt to eliminate a ballooning federal deficit. Reports indicate Finance Minister Michael Wilson needs to find $4 billion to keep the federal coffers in order. And unfortunately, while I'm all for reducing the federal deficit, like other Cana- dians who feel they can't afford to have their purse strings tightened any more, I'm a lit- tle upset with the rumored cutbacks. I mean, has the government no imagina- tion? Certainly there are other means to raise money than by increasing taxes again and again on such items as gasoline, liquor, cigarettes, manufactured goods and business profits. Why haven't we bothered to end this federal debt before now - arrang- ed to have it paid off in much the same way as some of us would pay off a car loan? Did we have no repayment date in mind when we assumed this debt? or, did we intend to carry it forever, allowing it grow and grow at an uncontrollable rate? And really, can the majority of Canadians , really afford to see our personal income taxes increases again? To be truthful - I'm a little disappointed in the Canadian government - in all Canadian governments, past and present. To my knowledge none of them have set a very. good example of restraint. I mean had the federal government been a business instead of a government, it would have been declared bankrupt years, even decades, ago. Perhaps that's partly our fault - a public that wants and want and wants, and who, when compared with other nations in the world, generally gets. It's just unfortunate that the situation has been allowed to progress to the point it has. Had restraint been exercised years ago, we might all have been living the idyllic life by now. Since we're not, and since cut backs and tax increases are inevitable to remedy the situation, we can only hope the government does more than 'eliminate and elevate'. Let's hope they put into place a fairer system for all Canadians - one that penalizes those who can better afford it - or at least takes away the benefits from those who are cheating the system already in place. Isn't it obvious? Every couple years the issue of parking in downtown Seaforth comes up. Last week The Expositor published a story detailing heated debate in Town Council chambers over Main Street parking. The issue was raised when a resi- dent wrote telling of her frustration in not finding parking space on Main Street. Council agreed there is a serious problem, but was unsure of how to effectively approach it. Some councillors noted merchants parking on the street occupy spaces which could, and should, be available to the public. Other councillors felt the police were responsible for the problem, and said administering parking tickets to vehicles parked over the two hour parking limit would discourage merchants from parking on Main Street. It was suggested police could be a lot more diligent in' enforcing parking bylaws. So police were out in force last week and many parking tickets were ad- ministered. At least one ticketed person was. dissauded from parking on Main Street, but unfortunately it wasn't a . merchant. A lady from Brussels was ticketed because her car sat too long in front of the hairdresser's where she was getting a perm. She phoned the hairdresser. asking "doesn't the town want people to bring their business to Seaforth?" Meanwhile, many people on. Main Street, including the author of this article, have witnessed Main Street merchants who continue to park their vehicles on the street, and pull them forward or backward into another space every couple hours so they can't be ticketed.. The immediate and most practical solution to the problem of parking on Main Street is for the Merchants to leave every available space open. for those who want to do business -people who will be spending money in those mer- chant's stores. Can the merchants not see they are hurting their businesses and the Main Street business in general by putting their vehicles where their customers could park? Perhaps it was time the merchants took some responsibility for the parking dilemna in town, instead of letting all the blame lie with the police. In all fairness, whether the police patrol the main street regularly, or whether they don'f, vehicles can't be ticketed if they aren't illegally parked - however car owners manage to accomplish the feat. Isn't it obvious in this case, that by working to beat the system, we are ac- tually, hurting ourselves. This problem can't be solved by the police alone, it re- quires the participation of every merchant on Main Street. - N.C.-H.M. Man doing research of Harlock To the Editor; If any of your readers could assist me with I am doing research into the village of documents or, especially, photographs that Harlock, Hullett Township, Huron County. can be loaned for a short time or sold, they Harlock was located at the intersection of may contact me by phone or mail. old Huron Rd. No. 15 and Concession 12. The Thank you and your readers for your time corner may still be known as Harlock but is and efforts. on longer marked by signs, if it ever was. It Mr. Bruce Thomas, did at one time, have a post office. 72 Warwick Rd., I am most interested in the late 1800s, par- Stratford, Ont., titularly the general store and blacksmith N5A 6E8 shop of Samuel Reid, also his family, telephone: 519-273-6904 although, any information would be greatly anytime appreciated. Reporter's recall of facts poor Dear Editor: How old is Neil Corbett? In his January 18 column Mr. Corbett wrote that he was born after Martin Luther King was assassinated. On page seven of the January 18 Expositor a birthday announcement informed us that Mr. Corbett recently celebrated his 21st birthday. Martin Luther King was murdered on April 4, 1968. So how old is Neil Corbett? I guess it all depends on which page of The Huron Expositor you read (and believe). Until now I've always believed everything I heard on the radio, and on television, and read in the newspapers, But not any more. As for Mr. Corbett, I have a suggestion. On those days when column ideas are hard to come by and he's waiting for the muse to zap him "like a Bolt from the Blue," (Ben Oakland and Mitchell Parish, 1935), or in- sinuate itself, sensuously and "Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise," (Sigmund Romberg and Oscar Hammerstein, 1928) into his con- sciousness, he could be a part-time copy editor for The Huron Expositor. In that im- portant position, Mr. Corbett would, I'm sure, eliminate any factual errors trying to slip on to the pages of The Expositor and, consequently, the opportunities for cur- mudgeons like me to write letters like this. Yours sincerely, Paul Copeland Editor's Note: Mr. Corbett was in truth born two months and one week before Martin Luther King's assassination. Obviously his recall of history is slipping in his 'old age'. K®W highschool looking for alumni During the academic year 1989-1990, St. Jerome's High School in Kitchener, Ontario will be celebrating its 125th Anniversary. Over the years, we have seen many of our graduates and staff move to places around the world and we are trying to contact as many as possible to inform them of the events planned for the celebration year. To date, we have been able to contact over 2000 former students and staff - about one- quarter of those we feel can be identified. We would be most grateful if you would in- clude the following (or something like it) in your public service section. St. Jerome's High School (Kitchener, On- tario ) n-tario) wants to hear from all former students & staff. It is our 125th Anniver- sary and we invite you to join us in 'Celebrating Our Heritage'. Please send your name and address to the following so that we can keep you informed: St. Jerome's High School, 125th Anniversary, c/o Bill Klos, 100 Duke Street West, Kit- chener, Ontario, N2H 3W8. Telephone (519) 743-6305. 4 Freedom of speech isn't always cheap I bet there're a lot of peopep who'd really like to get their hands o a copy of "The Satanic Verses." I would likely have never heard of the book if there hadn't been such an uproar over it in the worldwide Muslim community. But recently I, along with millions of others worldwide, have developed an interest in finding out for myself if the book is a deliberate attempt to slander the Messenger and followers of Islam, or another work of fiction. Whichever, the book is going to be a bestseller for a long time in any nation that values freedom.of speech. And any individual who values freedom of speech has to condemn the actions of those in the Muslim community who are reacting with vandalism and violence toward stores that carry the book, and who are calling for the death of 'the author of The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie, and his publisher. That's not the way we do things in free countries. One letter to the editor that has been cir- culating to various publications from the President of the Canadian Islamic Centre, Thank you in advance for your coopera- tion. It is very much appreciated. Sincerely yours, William E. Klos Co-ordinator Gossip an evil Gossip is such an evil thing, it travels fast on its silent wing Never getting any less, it puts many an inno- cent soul to test . Gossip usually starts with "I think"- it travels so fast it raises a stink that can be smelled in every corner of Seaforth. So why start something if you don't know if it is true Some day it may even happen to you So never try to give gossip.a boost If someone tells some gossip to you and you have your doubts that it could be true. Come to me and I might tell you - mind your own ,business... Ginette Nash one Mohamed (Mickey) Jornha, I tmd par- ticularly offensive. In it Mickey declares his disappointment with the Canadian government for allowing the Satanic Verses to be distributed in Canada. He says "Islam is a religion of tolerance and peace and respect for other religions," and ends his letter by saying the Muslim organizations across Canada have been trying very hard to assist muslims "to restrain and control their strong emotional reactions. By allowing this offensive book into Canada, the government is not helping such efforts." I was disappointed that the Canadian government weakened its position of allow- ing the book into Canada by stopping its distribution for a week before finally giving it the green light. And for the last line in the mickey mouse letter, I would say it is good to see the government stand up for what is right, rather than letting its decisions be governed by a group threatening violence (read also, strong emotional reactions). ' Across the world some people have been dying, and many have been wounded while demonstrating about this explosively con- troversial book. Death threats have been issued to Revenue Minister Otto Jelinek who announced the book would not be banned, to book store owners and employees, and Ot- tawa police report they received a bomb threat against the Iranian Embassy. And somewhere in the wide world hides one Salman Rushdie, who will sleep the re- mainder of his nights in a flak jacket. No doubt he wishes he had never seen a • typewriter. Brave 12 -year-old boy stops runaway MARCH 1, 1889 A BRAVE ACT - On Thursday of last week a horse attached to a cutter, while tied to a post in Harpurhey, broke the line by which it was tied, and gaining its liberty made for town at the top of its speed. Several parties who met the animal made ineffectual at tempts to stop it. When nearly opposite the agricultural grounds a number of lads were playing on the side of the street and as the horse was passing, one little fellow, Russel Thompson, grandson of Mrs. M. Thompson, of John Street, and about 12 years of age, made a jump for the rig and catching on behind climbed over the seat and reaching over the dashboard got hold of the lines, and before reaching Laidlaw's corner he had the animal pulled up and under control, although when he got into the cutter the horse was running at full speed. The little fellow turned the horse around and went back until he met the owner, and delivered up the rig entirely uninjured. It was a brave and daring act which very few men would care to attempt much less to successfully carry out. Huron County, the last 17 years, has sent 12 pupils to the blind institution at Brantford and has eleven there at present. • Mr. J.B. Crosson, of Clinton, who recently got his hand badly bitten by a horse, receiv- ed $20 from an accident insurance company in which he had a risk. These things come in good sometimes. Friday and Saturday last were the coldest days we have had for years. Saturday the mercury stood at about 10 degrees below zero all day and a stiff wind blowing from the west. Saturday night it fell to 28, the lowest record in these parts for a good while. Mr. Smith, of the Broadfoot and' Box Fur- niture Manufactory, returned from a very successful business trip to the Lower Pro- vinces a few days ago, and left on Monday for Manitoba and British Columbia. Mr. Smith is a hustler after business. MARCH 6, 1919 The Lord's Day Alliance has spent many anxious moments in battle with the question of coal delivery on Sunday as a possible danger to the moral welfare of the com- munity. During the recent cold spell the coal dealers in some cases got behind in their deliveries. The annual seed show of the South Huron Agricultural Society was held in Smallcombe's Hall, Hensall, on Wednesday last and was the most successful of the many conducted by the society. This was the first seed show for Hensall and by the large attendance and the interest exhibited it ap- peared to be only a forerunner of what a Hensall seed show will develop into. Mr. J.F. Daly is making extensive preparations for a big season's business in the sale of Ford automobiles.,tiis first ship- ment of Fords, consisting of car load, ar- rived in town on Wednesday of last week, and is now assembled in the ware -rooms. March came in like a lion and tradition sayeth that it will go out like a lamb. The Seaforth Creamery has made a good start and is getting in a good supply of cream for this time of the year. Last week they made over 2,000 pounds of butter and the supply is continually growing. MARCH 3,1939 Inclement weather resulted in a slight decrease in the attendance of the annual Hensall Seed Show, but the quality of the ex- hibits was up to standard. Old timers in Seaforth who remember hockey games in the good old days, claim the crowd that saw the Clinton-Seaforth game on Tuesday night was the largest ever in the rink. The total paid admission was 1,364. George A. Sills, well known Seaforth business man, on Friday celebrated his 84th birthday. Mr. Sills enjoys the beat of health and is daily seen about town. "Movies have done more to make children dissatisfied than any other factor," J.H. Kincaid, North Huron Public School Inspec- tor told the Seaforth Lions Club on Monday evening. He was speaking on the new courses of study and the changes in condi- tions under which the child of today lives. FEBRUARY 27,1964 The Seaforth Community Hospital cam- paign is short $20,000 of its $195,000 Turn to page 17