Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1983-08-24, Page 2ale Slncii'f8 $•►v(np.th+Communh(y first; ?in cbr ora tilt) xBrus`tl,:I1$ Pi11'1t lounded'1872 12 Main st " e b,,27.0240 published at SEATO ITH, ONTARIO every Wednh1,eday'mornin0 suean White, Managing Editor Jocelyn A. Shrler, Publish )r Member Canadian Communlfy Newspaper Aaugol (100, Ontario, Community Newspaper AssoalatlorP and Audit - Bureau of Circulation A member otithe Ontario P,ase COunblf Sub5crIptlo i"retas ? �^ Canada $17.75 a yeartitfadvance): outside Canada $50,. ayeaar (in ad'vatice) - SingteCopies ;50centseach. }, SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 1983 Secopd class mall registration number 0696 •t� Leading the may A heritage district plan for downtown, Seaforth, which': will try to preserve main street's unique architecture, Improve its atmosphere"and make it a place for people is coming. But It's been In progress for a year now. . In spite of that delay,''tt's exciting to see a private property owner go ahead with plans to improveand restore his building. Especially when that building is the onetime showplace of Maln St., Cardno's Hall. As reminiscences in stories elsewhere in The Expositor show, Cardno's Hall was for about 75 years THE place for entertainment In Seaforth. Homemade talent...minstrel shows, the SCI . Alumni plays, Seaforth orchestras and bands...all had an outlet and an audience at Cardno's Hall. At the same time Seaforth,people had a chance to see some of the best performers in North America on tour. According to Ken Cardno, great-grandson of the man who conceived and built the hall, its future use hasn't been determined. But If the resurgence of interest In theatre that resulted In a fine performance of The Fantasticks last year continues, Seaforth may very well need a stage and a concert hall. But at this point, the main thing is that it looks like the building's exterior will be repaired, to prevent any more deterioration. And it,will be restored, in the first stage, above the ground floor storefronts. A report to Mr. Cardno by Goderich architect Nick Hill points out that the building's brick and its slate roof are in pretty good shape. The exterior .wood decorations need replacing, the clock and clock faces need repair and the large flat metal roof will be rebuilt. But Mr. Cardno and the provincial government officials responsible for the BRIG grant that will allow restoration to proceed know that restoration of what's there now will provide a facility for Seaforth at far, far less than it would cost to tear down and start building 'an auditorium from scratch. Let's spruce up and make the most of what's here now is the lesson that Cardno's Hall has for the rest of downtown Seaforth. The loss of Cardno's Hall, the resulting big gap on Main St. and an ugly hole in the unity of Seaforth's brick streetscape, is too horrible to think about. But that sort of destruction has happened in plenty of other Canadian towns and cities.• Thanks to Ken Cardno's imagination and determination, just the opposite is happening here. By beginning the restoration of Cardno's Hall, a gem of a building, a rare building that is one of downtown Seaforth's biggest potential assts, he is showing'confidence in our town's future. Cardno's Hall,-resored to its former glory, can be a symbol of the revitalization of our town. Congratulations'to the farsighted businessman who is showing the rest of us the way. - S.W. Our nice clean lake? i' Free fliht, THE VIEW from an uitralight is fantastic. The left photo shows a view of Seaforth. The towt;'s Iandllll site can be seen at pilot Bill McGregor's left knee. In-flight photos were taken with a wide angle lens, 700 feet aboveground. (Photos by Ron Wasaink) The pollution that has closed Lake Huron beaches hit suddenly and mysteriously. Here we are, drifting along, enjoying the nicest summer weather in years and wham....those nasty people who monitor health hazards in the environment post signs that say unfit for swimming. That's pretty hard to take on a hot August day when what you really want is a cool dip in the crystal clear waters of Lake Huron. It's even harder to take if you're a merchant in a lake resort town, dependent on the hordes who come for the beaches every summer for business that'll see you through the long cold winter. And it's hard for all of us, who have smugly listened to horror stories about Montreal sewage polluting the St. Lawrence or have been a little self-congratulatory when most Toronto beaches were closed earlier this summer, to admit that the same thing can happen here. Now that it has, the pollution won't be solved by badgering health authorities to come up with fecal bacterial counts that will let the beaches open again. Huron County, which may have seemed a clean island in the polluted, smog -ridden rest of the world, is of course not immune to 20th century conditions. We might as well face up to the fact that treated humage sewage (and untreated, from cottages and boats) is dumped in large amounts into Lake Huron. Routinely. What's apparently caused the problem this summer is the unusually warm weather. Treated sewage from a large lakefront town would normally have its bacteria destroyed by the diluting cold lake water. This summer It hits warm water and the bacteria multiply. What we have to decide now is whether this is acceptable. Do we say "them's the breaks", and hope for cooler air and water temperatures next summer? Or do we, all of us who want to use Lake Huron's beaches, book for ways to keep potentially hazardous wastes (they are industrial and agricultural too) out of the lake in the first place? We favor the second choice. We ask health, environment, provincial and municipal experts for leadership to help us clean up Lake Huron and keep it that way. - S.W. One loud voice An at-home vacation is a . holiday too It's my chance, that once in a year opportunity to, like a Grade 3 student, write "what i did on my summer holidays." And like most'Grade 3 students' stories, mine isn't terribly thrilling. But it's original. As my New York sister-in-law said during a particularly riotous time at the family cottage, with a horrified look on her face: "thank heavens the kid (our kid) can't write yet. Her vacation stet), would slander us all." - Ah, but she can talk, and I'm sure she will, at great length. in fact 1 can hardly wait to hear what scandalous and garbled account she gives her babysitter of our quiet 10 -day -family vacation. it was you know, a stay-at-home, a slow, easy, do nothing special time, the sort of holiday that 1 usually avoid like the plague. A vacation, I would have told you a few months back, is only a vacation if you go away. The farther the better from your 2O nn cAll ng R]y by Sinai) W" b6i@ 'house, your town, the people and places you see all the time. CHANGE iS ESSENTIAL For it's been my theory, and in the past it's proved correct, that change ---new sights to see, new people to ponder --is the essential ingredient in any break from the workaday world. Now I know the farm families out there are laughing. Cynically. "Hal," a neigh- bour used to kid us as we drove out the laneway for a week at the lake "while we stay home to feed the country." Small businesspeople can rarely afford the luxury of time away from the store or the office either. I work nights for a week so I can get away and then weekends and nights to catch up when 1 get home," a young professional told me. "A holiday away just isn't worth it to me," But i felt that if you can beg, borrow or steal the time to get away and even if you have to camp and eat Kraft Dinner while you're somewhere other than your own backyard, you'll have more energy, a better outlook on your life and be just happier than you would staying home. LOCAL ATTRACTIONS Alas, this summer for our family was the exception that proved the rdie. For a change, we stayed home and friends came to visit us. They brought fresh perspectives with them. And we took them to some of the local tourist attractions that we'd normally drive past on our way to that far away vacation spot. Like the Falls at Benmiller. Food and cabaret in Stratford. Sailing lessons in Goderich. The tis -yet -still -unclosed -by -pol- lution beach at Bayfield. You'ye got the idea. The best of all times were spent flying a kite or catching a ball in our own backyard. Lounging on the back deck, remembering and drinking homemade' wine while the barbecue cooked. And that riotous time at the family cottage? Well, on a very hot day when everyone was sitting around wilting in bathing suits, someone borrowed the kid's poster paints and started some marvellous body painting. The aforementioned sister- in-law got decorated with yellow feathers, a �a Big Bird. She looked great, and despite what you may hear from the kid, that was all there was to it. You heard it here first. Some created news for August in the news business it',s called the dog days of August: a time when there is so little news reporters are tempted to create some. We couldn't resist the temptation. TORONTO:. The Ontario Human Rights Commission has ruled against a company that required those filling out job applications to take iQ tests. The Commission said that in line with its earlier decision that employers could not give prospective employees lie - detector tests, the new ruling will protect the privacy of those seeking jobs. "We now have the fairest guarantees against discrimination of any jurisdiction in North America." a government official said proudly. "Not only can an employer not hire on the basis of race, sex (or lack thereof), color,creed, ape, criminal record, dishonesty but now stupidity is no barrier to finding work." WASHINGTON: President Ronald Reagan has announced a military emergency and put the U.S. Navy on full alert. The nuclear arms race is an overwhelming Issue. The results of a nuclear war are so frightening that most people prefer to Ignore the Issue rather than speak out for peace. By not thinking about It, they hope it will go away. But Joanne Young of Exeter is not most people. After spending 20 days in jail after her arrest at an anti-nuclear demonstration at Griffis Air Force Base at Rome N.Y., she is still determined to fight the nuclear industry and the arms race. Her husband's death at age 34 gives her great motivation. In 1956 he died from a rare'form of cancer he developed after exposure to a cloud of radioactive dust while working for an Eldorado Nuclear Ltd. plant In Port Hope. The firm denied any connection between Ills death and the radioactivity. In her fight, Mrs. Young endured the brutality of military police at the Griffis air base, hunger strikes, and notoriety at South Huron District High School In Exeter where she teaches. She says she's eager to get back to school where she can tell her students about her experience. Joanne Young's voice, though loud and brave, Is Just one of few speaking out against the nuclear arms race. Instead of staying mute, our voices should Join hers In the fight. Only by following her example of non-violent protest Is there any hope of ending the race towards nuclear war. - S.H. 13 @fond 2.c @tj ii by a®NE Mutton "America's security , and honor are at, stake," the President said in his regular weekly radio address to the nation. He accused the Soviet Union of meddling in a sphere of traditional American influence. The President has, according to an unnamed source close to the White House, sent a letter of protest to the Australian embassy warning that Australia II, the controversial yacht in the America's Cup yacht competition should not win. The America's Cup is the inalienable property of the United States, the President is reported to have told Australian officials. it has been American for more than a century. Even the name is American. No new-fangled Australian -designed yacht should be allowed to interfere with the way the world was meant to be, he said and hinted at a communist conspiracy behind the innovative keel design of the Australian yacht which has many Observers thinking the American hold on the America's Cup,may be in danger for the first time. Pentagon, officials said that the President has asked them to have a squadron of atomic powered submarines stationed off Newport, Rhode Island in case the unthink- able appears like to ha, J en. TORONTO: The Ontario government has announced a new lottery. The new lottery, called Lotto-Ployment, will have tickets sold at $25 each with proceeds going to political parties cainpaign funds (to be split on the basis of party standing in the legislature). Winners of the lottery will get jobs. "it's an ingenious idea," a government spokesnlan said. "Since employers will no longer be able to' choose who will work for them on the basis of race. sex, color, creed, age, criminal record, dishonesty or intelligence, we have decided that we will help them make an impossible choice by holding a lottery. They will say how many people they need and will draw that many names. This saves them breaking any laws by turning anybody down who might think they'd been turned down on the basis of race, sex, etc. and the money goes to a good cause." OTTAWA: John Roberts, federal minister of Employment and Immigration has an- nounced a new affirmative action employ- ment program. From now on employers will be able to get special grants from the federal government for employing the disadvant- aged. While the government has already had special hiring plans for the native people, the disabled and women, (and former Liberal cabinet ministers) it will now have a new category, the stupid. "These people must be given new opportunities, he said. "The government can only hire so many, now it's up to the private sector to do its part." Some summer with the grandboys Next person, of either sex, who comes up to me and smiles: "Did you have a nice summer?" is going to get a punch in the gut. I haven't had a nice summer since I was 14 years old. And this was no exception. apart from the magnificent weather that burned my lawns to toast. So. Great summer days, one after another. Ideal beach weather. Lying on the sand, thinking of nothing. Turning into rare steak, which 1 do. Then a plunge into some of the only clean water left in North America, aside from a patch where some idiot has washed his or her hair, or a patch of oil where some retard has swished too close to the beach. Out. Nice, but definitely out, according to the doctor, who says 1 have a perforated ear -drum, and swimming is a no -no.. Ever had a perforated ear -drum? it's my second. The first was in,the air force, when 1 dived from 10,000 feet to 1,000 with a bad head cold. Symptoms? Sharp pain, almost total deafness in the ear, and a feeling as though it were flail of water. Have you ever heard of someone giving himself a perforated ear -drum by swatting a $Ugc:fQ and 21pk@ by DODO 4'11ftp, horse -Fly so hard that he bust his ear -drum and didn't even touch the fly which was almost finishing the chewing off of his right earlobe? Now you have. Nice summer? it's been swell, old friends. Two grandboys for two weeks. Paradise, right? Somehow, they haven't managed .to completely disable any major appliance in the house. But every little silver cloud has its lead lining. Each of them eats more that their Gran and I put together. When they're around, It's like being a short-order cook. After three bowls of cereal, topped with bananas or some other exotic fruit i ask, inanely: "Anything else, boys?" Well, it turns out that they might be able to choke down a couple of fried eggs each, along with two pieces, each, of toast Smothered in peanut butter and hone. Let's forget the orange juice and milk. It a Drily money, and you can't take it with you. And their life program has changed drastically. They used to be up, prowling around, about 6 a.m., hungry, when I felt like a sack of wet oats. Now, it's like digging a well. The other morning, I'd done my ablutions. Woke up the boys, who stared at me as though they'd been on dope for two weeks. Told them to get cracking. They slept -walked their way through dressing (and they can never find their shoes) and next thing 1 heard, while I was making their breakfast, was the TV on. This time, i didn't make cheery sounds. 1 bellowed. Down they came, swollen -eyed and sulky. It was only after two bowls of breakfast food that they became.sltghtly human. Froin there on, it's Twenty Questions time. They: "i can't find my towel, Grandad. Where's my swimming suit, Bill? i've even looked under the bed and no shoes. Whv do we have to get up so early? Which is Balind's lunch? Which is Nikov's lunch? Do we hafta eat an apple again today? Why don't you just give us the money to buy our own pop for lunch? Will you. untie my shoelaces? ' Me: "It's on the clothesline. Swim in your underwear. Your shoes are right where you left them, in with the orange juice. You have to get up so early or you'll meet yourselves ''coming home. Who cares? Yes. Because you'd lose it. No, just pull them on omehow." By the time they get home from day camp, they're feisty little guys, bright, witty, ready to play games, even polite, which throws Gran and me into confusion. They help set the table and are ready to talk philosophy, and economics, or about that bully in their class. By 9:30, bed -time, they've become the ultimate in diplomacy. They can stretch that out to 10:30 by a devious number of tricks too miscellaneous to mention, and maybe that's why they're such utter aroggs in the morning. Yes, I've had a grand sumnler. Good neighbor seriously lli. Good colleague under- going a triple heart pass. And deaf as a post in one ear. Eh? 4