Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1989-10-25, Page 2Huron xpositor SINCE 1861), 'SERVING THE COMMUNITY 'FIRST Incorporating The Brussels Post 'Published In Seaforth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning KA The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of; Pat Armes, Paula Elliott, Terri -Lynn Dale, Dianne McGrath and Bob McMillan. ED BYRSK .I, •General Manager HEATHER ROBINET, Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth 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 mail registration Number 0696 Wednesday, October 25, 1989 Editorial and Business Offices - 10 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK 1W0 A message in the madness I really doubt that the fervor and ex- citement that was previously attached to, the 1989 World Series, will be recaptured. Sontehow, in the wake of the tragedy of last Week's earthquake in California, the thought of two baseball teams battling it out for the sake of a championship, seems rather crass. Certainly the whole idea of competitive spirit at a time 'when a state is in mour- ning, is a little hard to swallow. But then again, life must go on. I just wonder how motivated the plaifers and fans Will be Friday after coming face to face with their own frailties just one week previous. Incontestably, my own feelings towards the 1989 World Series have changed dramatically since last week's earth- quake. Suddenly, in the wake of it all, my priorities have changed. Suddenly, life is much more precious to me. And I live in small town Ontario, him- dreds and thousands of miles away from the menacing San Andreas fault. I can only imagine what impact the earthquake had on San Franciscans. Like everyone else I was amazed at S EATSOCKS by Heather Robinet the incredible toning of this latest quake. With the World Series on the coast, it seemed almost inconceivable that any tragedy could possibly strike. After all, baseball had already been dealt its unfair share of tragedies this summer in the death of Commissioner Bart Giamotti, and the tarnishing of Pete Rose. Yet, the hands of fate reached out again, leaving death and rubble in its wake, and damaging the World Series in the process. In view of that fact, one can't help but draw conclusions about the quake - about why it happened, when it happened and where it happened. Certainly it was no accident that an earthquake of the magnitude to topple bridges and flatten highways, occurred at a time when the eyes of the world were focussed on the State of California.? Cer- tainly it was no accident that the fatalities all occurred outside of, and away from Candlestick Park - drawing attention away from and not to, the sport of baseball. There was obviously a plan here. A plan to remind mankind that its primary focus should be on people, not on events or objects. And in spite of the catastrophe, and the apparent sadness it will bring to those in- dividuals it specifically touched, it was a good message. It was an effective message. When and if the World Series continues, it will be under much blackened cir- cumstances. Because people will have acknowledged, for a time anyway, that mankind is a delicate entity, and that life is precious - something to be appreciated and not taken for granted. 1 The unthinkable Our world as it exists in this last year of the 1980s is a fascinating place, especially for students of politics. Most riveting of course is what is happening in Communist countries. Momentous events in Poland, East Germany, Russia, and especially Hungary, have happened too quickly to comprehend. However, there is little doubt the move to democratic socialism is having a dramatic impact on the East-West polarization that has existed since World War II. .. Here in Ganda however, we are still navel -gazing, mired in our own polarization - the French -English question. Here too, there are substantial changes - changes that were unthinkable nine years ago, at the time of the 1980 separation referendum in Quebec. The mood of English Canada has hardened, especially •in Ontario which has been a buffer between Quebec and the western provinces. A decade ago Ontario was saying Quebec 'must remain a part of Canada no matter what the cost or demand. No more. While the Peterson government of- ficially mouths the message of referendum days, popular sentiment in the province is much closer to the sentiment that has existed in the west for close to two• decades. Today a growing number in this ' province are stating emphatically that if Quebec needs special status in order to remain a part of Canada, then Quebec should go. A gallup Canada Inc. poll in July recorded 28 per cent of people across the nation were in support of Quebec's separation. It is likely that number has increased by now. The hardening attitude began in earnest with the Meech Lake Accord, the document fashioned by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the 10 premiers behind closed doors over two years ago. Seen as the necessary document to 'bring Quebec into the Constitution" , the accord has been the focal point of a new kind of nationalism. It is a kind of nationalism neither Mulroney nor Peterson will acknowledge.; however, it is not • only .worthy of acknowledgement, it is more honest and visonary',the the false kind of interpretation premiers put on their accord. No student of politics in this nation is about to swallow the position that Quebec isn't included in the nation's Consitution - not when the Supreme Court of Canada has stated otherwise. Moreover, hard -care opposition to Meech Lake includes many reasons beside the opposition to the "distinct society" clause pertaining to Quebec. People simply do not like the in- creased powers given to provinces in the accord. They don't like the unanimity clause which many believe will rule out such possibilities as senate reform and provincial statues for the Yukon and the Northwest Ter- ritories. They don't like the fact rights of individuals ane minorities are not protected in the accord. Put bluntly, men and women on the streets of cities, towns and villages, and in the hinterland of this nation, are asking a question, the prime minister will not consider:if the accord is bad for the future of Canada, can it be good for 'Quebec? If it can, then it follows that what is good for Quebec isn't nessarily good for the nation. And if that is the case, then Canadians must deal with the choices of pleasing Quebec at the cost of a weakened nation, or pursuing a direction for a nation that either puts up with a disgruntled Quebec or a separated Quebec. Listowel Banner. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AG N -y spa �/' / ,__.///k,:;' \-----'""-''1/4N)” i - Reader salutes creativity Dear Editor, Discretion tells me to keep my big mouth shut - yet thick-headed valour won't seem to let me. It's been fun to sit by the sidelines and watch the saga unfold. Yet I can no longer bide my time nor bite my tongue! Poor old D.D. Wilson - may his spirit rest in peace! I was quite looking forward to meeting the old gent - if not in person, then at least in cast, or bronze, or whatever form he might have taken as he was bodily conjured up to occupy a seat on Main Street. As primary host taking up permanent residence in the much -disputed Town Hall Civic Court, he could, for generations to come, bid welcome to residents, visitors and all! In permanent- ly pensive posture he could - good will and stalwart Council willing - have proclaimed widely, in thought-provoking silence, the good deeds of our little community, our friendship and outreach, in invitation to comers all. What a pity that his future now is eon- de}nned to dusty archives as nothing more than a scandalous vision haunting }the pages of a unique and wistful Mainstreet Plan and occupying only the microfilmed columns of Expositors `89. '(Will you ran a picture next week with the ..official obituary? - I want to clip it ;and ttUek, it under the arm of my -400 ,pound ,concrete Grecian lady graciously ibedecking,my side lawn - Twas her only ,hope ,for :eternal companionship, . having ,sa'dly :once .been Jilted by :that stately bronze monument way the other side of 'Main .:Street ...) Alas! This ,unique opportunity to ,,,pro- claim the merits .oi:Seaforth lost. In interest 'of quelling„lln,apparentiy,ope;,sided controversy . a potentia y "positive -impact on our ,comrnunitY,tsr!future bas,now .been set aside. I tip mw 4hat, m salute to the ,hold antraentIt' tyt d> e d e Iota/a ail•d2iletb a New college course: sign waving 101 As many as ;8,800 community college teachers are currently on strike. While thousands upon thousands of students face the very real possibility of losing, at the very least, weeks worth of valuable educa- tion time, the teachers are pounding the picket lines almost cheerfully, as one pro- minent daily described it. One educator commented that the `issues were tod im- portant not to be (on strike)', in fact. If there are any striking college teachers who are sitting at home right now reading this, I hope that you're not expecting me to agree. Having come out of the univer- sity system in the not -too -distant past, I am of the opposite opinion. The issues are too important to not be on strike. As with any strike, the facts and issues in question are all there in black and white. Wages raised above those of a secondary school teacher, solid assurances of job security (including provisions for re- taining laid -off workers and a guarantee that qualified teachers will be transferred to departments where work is available) and 20 paid sick days a year. I quite lik- ed the idea ;that, currently, all unused sick days can be accumulated and cashed in for hall of their value when the employee long and hard to devise a very special thrust for Seaforth to help us forge a place out there in front, just one small step beyond the myriad other small ghost towns striving for security and a broader tax base to secure a stronger social and economic future. There are some communities which come to mind that seem to have .boldly broken through..And they have .done so -on- ly through the diligent and always con- troversial efforts of a creative few who dared to be lust a smidgen different: Che- mainus, B.C. painted murals, -Niagara -on - the -Lake spouted the heritage .boutique, Elmira spawned the renaissance ,for ?brick paving. Seaforth could have elevated'its ef- forts to a similar and .attention -gaining in- novative plain ,,. No one should have expected perfection. four gargantuan planters could ,quickly have been spread to ,new locations thus conveying a more ,suitable scale. ;In good time, the main ,corners could get their needed ;facetlift..More time and longer term planning ,could acquire worthy options for dressing up ytlie town .entries. And - waste, collection forbid! - we might even have had ‘cast :a cadre of others: That tart ithe,pyro maniac ;Griffiths, or An- drew;Steen or>pelssonagessof;higher repute! `Shamel,,May ,,theppirits ;of McLean and .Scott,and'(anrpbelllfrown down upon you! May Van Egriiond "rise up again and shake an acousing ,finger. May the pre- Seaforthian swarnp'well,up ?beneath us :and ,swallow the "timid yet obol,vter :the ;bold. I :salute ,the Vanning .committee - and (thank the,.merflbars Ffolr stheir;foresight, and creativity. )PSS`diravery�wa sled "4I(,1"'(!•Bes� ;Sincerely, .Paul Carroll iferetenp 'iecezcdll- yf 411f Y,1 pl$ ' ✓ llrret q'ltkx��m •i 1 ROUGH NOTES by Paula Elliott leaves or retires. "Geez, I WASN'T sick, but I COULD have been, so pay up." And it would be a frosty Friday in Hell before you would see a qualified teacher take a job in the typing pool, or have a textiles instructor tackle a job in machine shop, if these were `departments where work was available'. No doubt I'm oversimplifying the issues, but unfortunately, Mr. and Ms. College Teacher, this is how the guy on the street is seeing things. And the college students, the majority of them 17 or 18 years old, are supposed to wade through the muck of verbal diarrhea in the contract negotiations and understand implicitly why, after work- ing at joe-jobs for four Or five years after school and summers to save up for their education, they've been denied it after two months of class? Expletive deletive. As a university student, I was taught by some pretty lackadaisacal professors who sat around on their mortarboards and tenure with no interest left in teaching save for the toothsome paycheque. After having paid $170 dollars a term to sit in their class and watch them yawn at a rate of approximately .79 cents per minute, I felt gypped. But universities are very much the ivory towers that they are accus- ed of being, and professors are a breed apart. Community colleges were meant to be training grounds for the workplace, in- stitutions to teach the skills necessary to succeed in the outside world in a trade or profession. Congratulation, college teachers. Now every college student in Ontario will know exactly how to hold onto a stick and a placard and march in a neat little circle. You're setting a wonderful example. Recognize 1964 Queen contestants? OCTOBER 25, 1889 In "News of the Week", the Expositor reports that the strike pf Scottish school boys has spread to the western part of Scotland, and also into Ayrshire and about Aberdeen. The boys have formed regular labour -like parades, with bannersand cries for "shorter hours". The strike has also spread :into England. The other day 100 malcontents paraded the streets pf Barnet, demanding "abolition of the cane, less hours, in school, less parsing and no home lessons." In Goderich, in innovation was made in connection with the fountain on the .Square, which was the supplying of Cupid with a neat drapery. This was ,admired .by inany, particularly the modest Court House officials. The milkmen of St. Thomas have ;decid- ed to charge 6 cents per quart ,for milk after ?November let, and not; to sell in less quantities than one pint. On Sunday mor- ning if a vessel is not left -m a convenient place they will consider that the customer does not want ,any milk. This rule was adopted to avoid the ringing of bells on the Sabbath. OCTOBER.';1, 19a).4Shipments to date to the* atriotic iFund from ,Seafprih ,totalled 179 Sacks,oats, :436 barrels of ,potatoes and 03 ,barrels :of apples. .An ,order for :one but •and a lhalf r on or, the ',e E1N THE YEARS AGONE from the Expositor Archives in Canada by the Britian purchasing agents. The order will keep almost every shirt factory in Canada busy during the winter months. There was ,quite .a fall of snow in Hen- sall .on Monday when considerably .ave six inches fell, but it is quickly disappearing, and will serve to hasten all undone outside work. The central recruiting station for the county has been established at Clinton, and applications are beitlg received from young men wishing to enlist with the special Canadian Service Battalion. The pay for a Private is $1.10 .per day from the tine he enlists, with extra allowance of 75 cents per day for board till billetted at London. OCTOBER 27, 1989 With ,the ,Seaforth Lions tenth annual Hallowe'en Frolic only four days ,away, eommittees.;are working day ,and ;night to make .ce Irl everything is in r diinees for the ,big event, And record crop $'Are ex- pocte0... , parade from Victoria i k, !games,and'aidarice,lice amtio,g.yevetlts ba- ting ;plat(tied long ,With -a special • ap- ;pe nceibyMire the 11 gr;itolamaze and.athrllt ire er;owds:;wii Iiisl s! Ants• Between $70 and $75 was cleared by thl Seaforth Boy Scouts at their annual apph day. Property for Sale: Six -room frame house in good condition, on Ord St., Seaforth. Two lots, chicken house, hydro. $350.00 cash. Mr. J. Docherty of Egmondville reports having seen three live snakes, each over three feet long, in the Egmondville Cemetery. Mr. Docherty informs that their appearance foretells of a mild winter. OCTOBER 22, 1969 Candidates for the ,annual MRS Snow Queen contest have been chosen. Vying for the crown are Diane Stoll, Mary Lou Coyne, Linda Bryans, Mary Helen :Buchanan, Irma Peterson, Cathy Phillips, Carol Van Loon and Janet # uIley. Sunday ,marked the observance of the 100th anniversary of the occasion in 1884 (y when services were first held on ,.he site of ;the present Northside United Church. Seaforth's recently inaugerated, Annan ser- vice worked In reverse wen the hag con- taining copies of The "Eicpositor,addressed ;to°'Egmond , •s..�.bscribers, was picked up iyrre, a tlttk, akrd fpkept ,ord -