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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1983-02-09, Page 2• T1ieuron «xpositor Since 1860, Serving the Community first Incorporating 1 BrusseiS Bost founded 1872 12 Maln St. 527-0240 Publlahed at SEAEORTH, ONTARIO every Wednesday afternoon by Signal -Star Publishing Limited Jocelyn A. Shrier, Publisher Susan White, Editor H.W. (Herb) Turkheim, AdvertlsinglManager Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Community Newspaper Association and Audit Bureau o/ Circulation A member of the Ontario Press Council Subscription rates: Canada 517.75 a year (in advance). outside Canada $50. a year (n advance) Single Copies - 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, FEBRUARY 9, 1983 Second class mail registration number 069d On taking less It's easy to talk res$raint. But what really counts and what we'd like o .ive two local elected bodies some credit for, is to practise it. trustees at the Huron Perth Separate School understand that and the d ser a pat on the back from all of us for their common sense attitude owars sir own salaries. They rolled them back and an 11 per cent ' crease granted last year became a 5 per cent increase. uckersmith township council shovtied the same sqrt of leadership and gave itself no salary increase for 1983. That council also gave its employees a flat $750 a year pay increase, much less in the case of top employees than the provincial guideline of 5 per cent. When fighting inflation, when fighting tax increases, when fighting' the depresseti.agricultural economy, one principle applies: somebody has to set an example. Separate school board chairman Ron Murray of McKillop understands that and we applaud his short sum -up: "If we don't take less how can we expect anybody else to take less?" The board's action certainly could serve as an example to the Huron County board of education, whose members voted themselves a 100 per cent raise last year; to the teachers and other staff that the board will negotiate with and actually to all public boards and councils. Although the dollar amounts taxpayers in Tuckersmith and Huron -Perth will save are in both cases small, the principle is not. It's admirable to see leaders who lead and who are not afraid to say "the buck stops here."-S.W. Boo to the CRTC "If you don't like it, you can always turn it off." That's quite a common response to the current controversy about whether or not soft core pornographic movies should be shown on pay-TV. It's true that nobody will be bound and gagged and forced to sit in front of the boob tube to watch a steady stream of dirty movies, but there's a lot of violence in the movies themselves. It's violence against women, which in our culture is often translated as being sexy. While we don't like to tell people what they can or cannot watch or read, we think movies or TV or books which degrade one segment of the population and even try to tell us that the victims enjoy being raped, sodomized or otherwise brutalized, have no place In a healthy society. "Ah, but it's mild. The couples in Playboy movies are only h aving a bit of fun." So some defenders say and they label anyone who questions this a prude. While we agree with a recent -London Free Press letter to the editor that senseless violence on TV shows is equally harmful, we reject this "bit of fun" philosophy because it treats half the couple as a toy, a submissive plaything who exists to provide pleasure for the other half. It's a tough thing to fight, this intertwining of pleasure and aggression. It's all -pervasive in our world; porno flicks are just the most extreme ,examples. It's been a guiding principle in advertising, for example, which shows women as empty-headed, sexy and submissive and which lately to a disturbing degree features younger and younger women as sex objects. It's not an accident that child pornography is booming and it in turn sows the seeds for an insane crime like the sexual molestation and murder of a nine-year-old girl. Pornography, hurts everybody. Men, who are always portrayed as the aggressors. Women who we are told are the victims (and rea(y, they like it like that). And innocent children who are caught up in something they can't possibly understand, a More power to the groups like the area United Church Women .who met here last week and said pornogYaphy has no place on pay-TV. And boo to the Canadian Radio and Television Commission which is too lily-livered to tell the pay-TV licencee that in no uncertain terms. -S.W. A place that cares about seniors r© t Eh @© Ritz Lutheran Villa just north of Mitchell on Highway 23 is truly a home for the elderly. men and women. Concern and care of residents and staff alike make a warm atmosphere. For the aged, this is not an institution. it is a "Villa of Love" wh'ch nables them to live with continued m::aning and purpose. The handicaps which may seem a hinder• ance to us, are bypassed by the aged. by means of home and wood crafts. excercises. cards, and other activities, initiated by the nursing, craft room, and even administration staff. My mother. Anna Middegaal• was a resident of this home for almost three years, until her death on Jan. 11. She and my father Lamhertus, immigrated from the Netherlands in 1948. After farming in Blyth area. and following the death of dad. mother lived by herself until i1 was necessary for her to receive the care this home provided. The English language always proved a bit of a harrier to mother. In consideration of this, the staff at the Villa placed her with Clara Leasa. Being of German descent Mrs, Leasa was able to Little Stitc It hardly seems possible that it has been rine year since we first wrote about ideas for arena fundraising. Duc to consistent cooperation and ultimate optimism we would like to report our efforts. We have an album of pictures of our quilts We had two quilts given for draws. There were 22 quilts and tied quilts made and giveb. There were seven tops made and sold of which we have three to be completed. We are understand mom quite well, when she spoke her native tongue. Having been so long a part of the farming community, the view from her window allowed her to see not only the area farmers working the land. but also the picturesque greens, and the winding Thames River. During mom's declining days she was allowed to remain in her home, and we, her family were able to stay with her around the clock. The care, love, and comfort she received from all touched us deeply. The doctors from the nearing Mitchell Medical Centre are always minutes from the Villa. This was a comfort to mother and us. One of the doctors even made a special visit to her Jan. 1 to wish her a happy new year. Most of us have only one mother and father and we no doubt want the best for them, especially when it becomes necessary for extra care. I truly do appreciate the care given to mom by the staff of the Ritz Villa. This home is an excellent residence for the seniors of our community. Thank you, Ritz Lutheran Villa for the respect and dignity you give to our seniors, and parents. Mrs. Harry (Helen) Van Moorsel R.R. 5 Mitchell hers report still tmtsmng up the ends of the project. There were two successful garage sales. As we admire the many features that we have in our community centre, we feel very pleased to have contributed towards our community's need and dream. Great job done Seaforth and district on determination and goals achieved. Yours sincerely The Little Stitchers Society 1__ OpOnOon by Ron Wassink Why we don't .believe a word they say If there is a disease that infects our society in the 1980's as much as the economic rot that has attacked our economy, it is the cynicism that left a large portion of the population not believing a word its political leaders say. In times of crisis, great leadership can pull a country together, can make people think of more than their own plight and sacrifice their own petty needs for the common good. F.D. Roosevelt was able to do that in the U.S. during the Depression and Winston Churchill in Britain in the dark days of the Second World War. That kind of leadership is sorely needed today, not just in Canada, but in all Western countries but people are in no mood to put their trust in political leaders. They've been burned too often. While it is easy to point to the causes of cynicism in Canada such as a party in power in Ottawa and another in Ontario that seem willing to make, any kind of philosophical back -flip in order to stay in power, this mood of cynicism has been imported, for the most part, as have nearly all our cultural impulses, from the United States. Cynicism about politicians reached a peak with the Watergate scandal and has refused to go away, but the causes of that cynicis n go back many years before Watergate. Watergate and the Vietnam War simply gave the American public irrefutable proof that they had been lied to by their political and military leaders for some years. Even after the Americans had been in Vietnam many years, the bulk of the American 13* and aB @ oc@noo by KoOtb CI(DuOS40n citizenry were quite willing to believe what they were told by their leaders. It was the disclosures of the manipulation of the media public opinion by the military and govern - mental leaders that helped build a climate in which the American people could finally accept the fact a president could be a scoundrel. On reading All The President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodwards account of how they broke the Watergate story, on is struck by the fact that in the -early going' not only did the public and other newspapers refuse to believe what they were digging up, but many times the reporters could not believe it themselves. Their faith in the integrity of the American system was such that they could not believe the illegal activities even when they had the proof before their eyes. But once the Watergate damn broke we have found more and more evidence of lying and manipulation by American government leaders since World Wai 11. While Nazi war crimjnals were tried after the war, for instance, the U.S. government made a special deal with Japan's odious experiment- ers in germ warfare not to prosecute in return for the results of the experiments carried out on human guinea pigs, some of them captured American prisoners of war. More than 3000 people may have died in these experiments in Manchuria. More and more credence has been leant as years go on to charges that the U.S. used this germ warfare knowledge on the Chinese during the Korean War. Dr. James Endicott. a Canadian missionary was branded a communist sympithizer and attacked by his own church for his reports that he had seen evidence in China that proved the case. Today his. .testimony that he saw voles infested with fleas carrying bubonic plaque and feathers and insects carrying anthrax have more and more supporters and his church has apologized. Dr. Endicott claims the whole Korean War was a fraud perpetrated by the Americans as lin excuse to take on some Communists somewhere following the Communist take- over of China. He claims there are papers at the United Nations that prove that point but the U.S. vetoes in the Security Council keep the papers from being seen by the public. Is he right? Well what really matters is that there is so much distrust these days that people are suspicious that he may be. We've There'll be a lot of bitterness in th Depressing, isn't it? And I'm not talking about the weather. Although 1 could. Came home from work yesterday. mid-January, in pouring rain. Didn't even bother to plug in the block heater. Got up this morning and it was below zero. Guess what didn't happen. And how about that rampant 'flu that is striking down huge. burly men as well as little old ladies. I fall somewhere between the two, and it has certainly stricken me down — about fdur times. Twice in the last two weeks we have scheduled a party for friends. Everything set: fire laid; glasses polished; booze bought; rug vacuumed almost to death. And twice Old Mistah Floo has knocked everything into a cocked hat, whatever that is. Do you have any conception of the effort required. when all you want to do is die and be incinerated, to have to call up about 15 people, two weekends in a row, and tell then the party is off? And 80 per cent of them are out on the first. and second, and third call? But what the heck. That's what this country is all about in winter. and it is only then that l curse me ancestors, not loud but deep. for setting forth from the peat and potatoes and deciding they'd go to Canada. Why not Australia, or South Africa. or Tahiti? 2gg©Q and 5pk* by DODO $rn16ll@y The only smart person in niy entire family collection (connection? That's The Floo) is a nephew who sent to Costa Rica, started a small business, made a happy marriage, and has three little girls, We had a happy Christmas card from him. Everybody else in the family is sick or stupid or broke or old or having marital Why didn't 1 go to the Yucatan Peninsula in Why didn't 1 go to the Ucatan Peninsula in Mexico. as Roman Woychuk and 1 planned to do as soon as — and if — we got out of prison camp alive? And I wonder what has happened to Chuk. He was a brilliant cartoonist. but had an eccentric streak. East time 1 saw him, we were out at a nightclub with our ladies. Toward the end of the evening, he picked up his glass, pretended'tit was a grenade. pulled the non-existent pin out with his teeth, and hurled it through a mirror that must have cost 20 grand. But what am 1 doing in the Yucatan Peninsula with a crazy Ukrainian? A columnist is supposed to have a theme, state Are we brave Hope you all read that fascinating classified ad in last week's Expositor. (If not, we'll pause here so you can fetch the paper out from under the dog's dish. the garbage, or that pile in the back porch.) There now. We're talking the one in the personal column that features a shy ("I can't believe I'm really doing this") young (anybody near my age is young) man who's looking for a woman who shares his interests and is willing to move to Toronto (!) and marry (!!). These ads have been com- monplace for sometime now in the nation's bigger dailies. They have an extremely high readership, and presumably people from time to time even reply to them. I think it's particularly interesting that they've now moved into the small town press. and in the issue before Valentine's Day too. What I hope this brave young man has done is to stimulate a whole lot of local readers to take advantage of the one time of year when it's respectable (well, maybe tol- erable) to talk about love in the pages of the local weekly newspaper. That's this week and it's time for our annual Valentine's classifieds. Look at it this way. If some poor guy from Toronto has enough nerve to make his search for the perfect (soul) - mate public. we in Seaforth and District can at least loosen up enough to proclaim love for our spouse or some- body You don't have to use names. Initials are perfectly acceptable, or even assumed names Although that can bring complications in a small h enough sogngd Ong 5a; by kll,C)n WM@ it. defend it. and leave the reader in a state of serenity; a problem solved. a difficult dilemmtade clear as crystal. And all I've done so far is muddy the waters, obfuscate the obvious, and leave the reader with raised eyebrows -that indicate Smiley should be put out to pasture. What 1 really wanted to talk about was The Depression. We're in a Depression,and note the capital D. How do 1 know? Well, gentle reader, I've been there before, I know the territory. A few years ago, in my youth, I stated that we could never have another Great Depres- sion, like that of the 30's. After all, we had unemployment insurance, a reasonable Old Age Pension, medicare; all sorts of buffers against poverty, hunger, humiliation, rag- gedy asses. and the like. 1 was wrong, itnd though 1 bate to admit it. as everyone does who is wrong, 1 was. Oh. we're not quite back to the thirties, but we're nn th., .. 1 , the town where I live seen the Americans stage such "provoca- tions" before such as the Gulf To Tomkin incident in Vietnam which was staged to outrage American `public opinion and build support for the bombing of Cambodia. The sad fact is that in trying to fool the American public, often with the best of intentions because of some persumed outside threat, the manipulators are only weakening the system they are trying to preserve. Lying about what happened in Korea or Vietnam or about what goes on in right-wing dictatorship in Latin American today doesn't fool the other side, the enemy the U.S. leadership is trying to defeat. It only confirms to China or the Soviet Union or Cuba or Nicaragua that they are battling an enemy that will resort to anything to win and therefore cannot be trusted. Clandestine marieuvres by the CIA to either build Up' or' tear down governments in third world countries around the world, only loses respect for the U.S. and tends to make People draw closer to the strong alternati)re: the Soviet block l s And when the truth of these lies and illegal activities eventually leaks out, as it always does, it only weakens the resolve of the American people. They don't know what to believe anymore. Ronald Reagan wants to convince us of the danger of the Soviet arms build-up. for instance, but most people don't know if they can trust his word. The truth may hurt in the short run but in the long run, only the truth can make us strong. e land roughly thirty per cent of the people are without employment. In the town where 1 lived during the Great Depression, the figure grew to about forty per cent. That's why my Dad lost his business. He was a softy, and gave credit. People couldn't pay their bills. He went broke. What's going 10 happen in this country when the unemployment insurance whatever runs out of money? When there isn't enough left in the government coffers to pay the doctors? When there isn't enough money to pay the interest on the massive deficit we've acquired by borrowing on the future? When there isn't enough money left to pay old age pensions, and child-care subsidies, and welfare, and look after all the prisoners and retarded people and insane? Well. it'll be interesting, at any rate, There's going to be a lot of bitterness in the land. Personally. I'm going to buy myself a double-barrelled shotgun. And when 1 go down to collect my old -age pension, and the 6 twerp who still has a iob tells me there's no money'left, I'm going to make him' extract it from his own hip pocket. And then I'm going to go out an shoot up some metric signs, just for the helluvit. for Valentine's Day? town. I remember the time a Valentine to a man with a fairly common first name appeared in this paper. A wife of someone by that name called up and wanted to know who had sent in the ad. Turned out it wasn't directed at her nearest and dearest at all. but she wasn't at all happy That taught us a lesson. It's not the intention of the Valentine classified feature to break up marriages but M cement them. A sense of humour is essential. So a word to the wise' if your beloved doesn't have a funny hone, or if you can't find something mushy to say about him or her. forget it for this year. And a word to those many people who like to read the Valentine's greetings but wouldn't in a million years send one in themselves: it's just for fun and surely that's what we need a little more of in midwinter Western Ontar- io So let's all just get going and make a list of those we appreciate but rarely thank and compose our Valentines for next year. Sure beats talking about the weather. Adults were kids once too Oddo °n [endo by Edo* 4owngh@nd Contrary to popular belief among kids under the age of ten. their parents and their parents' friends did not grow up in the dark ages. We had electricity and indoor plumbing. We even had radio and T.V. Television shows were in black and white, or course, but we had programs that were created just for us kids. Yes Virginia. there was life before the Cookie Monster! When it was Howdy Dowdy time, for example. we were glued to the television screen to watch Howdy. his sister, Heidi. and the clown, Clarabelle. There was also a Friendly Giant. who had a tiny puppet pal and a giraffe (named Jethro. I believe), who stuck his head through a window now and again. Will any of us forget the cute kids with the big ears who sang and danced their way into our living rooms every week? With them. we Sang our pledge of allegiance to our hero "M-I-C•K•E-Y M -O -U -S -E". We followed the progress of a few of the child stars through the years. Annette graduated to beach movies and more Please turn to page 1