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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1983-12-14, Page 2'gibe 3uron � fxpoifor Since 1860, Serving the Community first . incorporating •.Br'tltiaeisPosit lounfiel1$72 12 Main St. 527-0240 Published at SEAFORTH, ONTARIO every Wednesdagmominp Susan White, Managing Editor Jocelyn A. Shrler, Publisher Member Canadian Community Netmpaper Assoc Ontario Community NewapeperAssociation end Audit Bureau of Circulation A member of the OntarioPress Council Subscription rates: ' Canada $18.75 year (In advance) Outside Canadat�S5 .00 a year (In advance) Single Coulee,- 50 cents each SEAFORTH, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1983 Second class mall registration umber 0698 Too much waxer. • Seaforth council has had their share of problems in the past year and are now faced with a sewage problem that has also plagued past councils. -tater is infiltrating the sewer lines and the sewage treatment plant is orkit'ig at capacity when it shouldn't be. A related problem that could be more serious is in the hands of the Ministry of the Environment. The ministry owns the lagoon site and since the lagoon was installed in the mid 1960s, effluent has been flushed into the Crozier Municipal Drain. But the discharging could be illegal. Presently, the ministry doesn't know what's right or wrong. They have. forwarded their information to their legal department but probably won't, have any results until January. The lagoon is emptied twibe a year, in the spring and fall. Because of ' complaints of a downstream landowner who said algae growth in his ponds was caused by the discharged effluent, the ministry placed a diversion on the pond inlet when the lagoon was discharged this fall. "We did it/as a good will gesture," says Mark Bell of the ministry. The lagoon is "hydraulically overloaded" (too much water infiltration). There are certain times of the year when the lagoon is discharged, but at times it must be emptied sooner than expected because it's full. And at ` times, discharge flow is greater than the,flow of water In the stream. Treated effluent is of a satisfactory quality but because of the excess water, the facility is "less able to treat waste." At a special council meeting in November, Mayor Alf Ross said he wanted action taken as soon as possible. The ministry has started and now it's up to the town to follow suit. The matter should be investigated fully and corrected as soon as possible. the ministry makes recommendations and sets stringent guidelines for the public to follow, ' Nobody wants to be accused of discharging illegally, or polluting a \ municipal drain, least of all the town of Seaforth or the Ministry of the Environment. So another X 79,000? vnu.. a nn 111 rm,4w:u1 'r17L vor,r ,t As government expenses go, $79,000 is a drop in the bucket, a grain of sand on the beach. But at a time of high unemployment, a time when families can't afford housing costs, a time when farmers are losing their far& s and business people their businesses, $79,000 can be -.figure to fasten upon. When that $79,000 is being spent on renovations to StornoGuay it can represent not.only a poor use of the taxpayers' money, but can be seen as an example of what separates the haves and have-nots of this nation. Stornoway is the official residence of the federal leader of the Opposition. It will soon be occupied by Conservative leader Brian Mulroney and his family- after those renovations have been made. The reno4ations are being supervised by Mr. Mulroney's wife, Mila. In a news report last week an employee of the Public Works department which is assisting with the work assured the people of Canada that Mrs, Mulroney has excellent taste and a certain flair'. The house is not going to be "dull or drab". How could it be? Back in 1976 some $20,000 to $25,000 was spent in changes supervised by Maureen McTeer, wife of former Conservative leader Joe Clark..A couple of years later approximately $100,000 was spent in renovations for Pierre Trude-au and his family who lived there briefly after Clark was elected prime minister in 1979. More money was spent when Clark and McTeer moved back to Stornoway after Clark lost the 1980 electlgqn. With the kind\of money that's been spent, on Stornoway in the past seven years, the Canadian taxpayer can be assured the official leader of the Opposition isn't living in anything remotely resembling slum housing. In fact, if the pictures printed in Maureen McTeer's book, "Residences" are an indication, Stornoway was more than livable when Clark's official Opposition period ended in the spring of this year. The interior of the house appeared to be one in which anyone could take pride. Surely the time has come for our political leaders and their spouses to cut out this foolishness regarding the official residences of the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition. They should realize these places are just that - official residences, not theirown private homes to be renovated at a whim. To put an end to the foolishness parliament should legislate the residences be restored historically, in a manner befitting their period and their function and that subsequent residents make do with the houses during their terms in office. After all, if we are to believe the polls, the Mulroneys are likely to occupy Stornoway for little more than a year. And what then? Is the '79,000/ Issue important Dear Editor: Susan White's recent articles on teenage sex and sexuality were most commendable. It takes a large degree of courage to publish such frank and explicit subject matter. It's not the stuff of which out small town weeklies are usually made! Nevertheless, in spite of our own values and convictions, it's the kind of writing that can encourage open discussion and a rational analysis of a topical social problem. The facts and figures can be disputed, but the importance of the issue can notl Sincerely Paul Carroll USC needs help To the Editor: We want to thank alt our faithful supporters who have so generously con- tributed to the USC to help meet commitments to the hungry poor in the Third World. However, the USC. still requires $2 million to fund urgent requests for assistance and desperately needs new friends and donors who will help to give hope to Iheu'.ands in countries such as Bangladesh. The USC works with people of all faiths, both in Canada and Third World. Receipts are issued for income tax purposes. Please help! Sincerely yours, Dr. Lotta Hitschmanova, C.C. Founding Director Raymond ven der Buhs, Managing Director R Shot in the farm Photos by Wossink BOOSTER SHOTS for measles, mumps and Top left is Chris I(etchabau; bottom left, Lori rubella were given to grade 7 students of de Wys; centre, Jamie Wallace; top right, • Huron Centennial .school, Brucefleld on Jennifer Watts; and bottom right, Jennifer Friday. Most students didn't mind the Murray. needles, but some showed painful reactions. Christmas doesn't mean Cabbage Patch- dolls Judging from past Christmalses and events that are happening this year, there's no doubt that many people don't have a clue what Christmas is all about. To many people, Christmas means shop. pingfor gifts, preparing Christmas dinner. planning family gathering and: deciding what to wear to chyr d numbers are declining) Christmas morn' g. Christmas has turned into a "give me" this and "I'd like that for Christmas" occasion. Just look what happened in the last two years. Trivial Pursuit was a hot gift item last year and this year, people are literally fighting for Cabbage Patch dolls. For those of you who aren't familiar with the latest in dolls, the Cabbage Patchers aren't really dolls, says their creator, but "kids". And you just don't buy a "kid", but you "adopt" it. Included with the $30 plus adoption" fee are "adoption papers and birth certificate." There's only one thing 'like about this doll (and I don't like dolls) is that it doesn't do anything. Its eyes don't even blink. Unlike others. this doll can't roller skate, push a baby buggy, drink and wet itself or drive parents up the wall with a constant wailing by Ron i WcOg lin sound that somewhat resembles a- baby. It doesn't even look cute. The problem with Cabbage Patch dolls is the way they're being marketed. Apparently, the distributor of the dolls Coleco Industries Inc., introduced them at a trade show with sales agents dressed as surgeons delivering the dolls from under cabbage plants. Concerned United Birthparents, an emo- tional support .group for people involved in adoption, launched a campaign against the dolls because "this desensities kids to the reality of.adoption." The group says the dolls suggest that adopted children"come from low -life vegetables - cabbage" and can be bought. The dolls have shown how greedy people are. They have incited near riots in many shopping centres. In one city. 500 people waited in line for a store to open. When the doors opened, there was a stampede to "adopt' 200 "kids." In Milwaukee, visions of 2,000 dolls parachuting from a B-29 bomber sent dozens "Peace on Earth" For Christians and non-Christians alike, there is one element of the Christmas celebration all can support: the wish for peace on earth, goodwill toward men. And yet despite the universal craving for peace, despite the support for the ideal, peace on earth, goodwill toward men has not caught on in the 2000 years since the words were first spoken. Even while the new religion of Christianity found new converts all over the world, peace was often sadly lacking. It is particularly sad how often arguments over Christianity itself, either with other faiths or between various sects of Christian- irty, have led to bloodshed. - And so at Christmas 1983 Christians, and people of all faiths all over the world. are more worried than ever before about the prospect of war, a war that would not only lead to death and misery, but perhaps the extinction of the planet. It's easy to lose hope in the wake of the daily news that seems to go from bad to worse, Days "Morning dear" "Hi sweetie. Did you get some sleep?" Insomnia Was the big bane of an otherwise healthy life. "Hardly any. 1 was sick all night with a cold. Let's make the bed. You have to get away early today." It was Professional Development Day for teachers and 1 had 30 miles to drive. We began the bed -making. She gasped. and said 'I'm sick" and fell to her knees, 1 tried to lift her onto the bed, but couldn't, with only one arm useful. • "I'll get you a glass of water," and I headed for the bathroom. I heard a heavy' thud, rushed back to the bedroom, and she was lying on her back, bleeding from a cut on her head, where she'd struck the sharp corner of a chest of drawers. "Did I fall? Why did 1 fall?" I was alarmed, but not panicky. 1 gogot a cold compress and tried to staunch the bleeding. "Stop putting your fingers in your cut it only makes it worse:" She rolled over onto her face and said, "Don't leave me. Don't leave me." A of people rushing to a start' n near -freez- ing weather to catch dolls w ball gloves. 'The parachute story was a joke of two radio announcers who said people should hold their American Express Cards up high so the bomber could take aerial photographs of their accounts numbers. In another story, a Coleco spokeswoman said the company was forced to charter flights of the dolls from the,Orient and step up production to meet th"frantic" consumer demand. By Dec. 31. the company expects to ship over 2.5 million of the dolls. The Ligtowel Banner editorialized that "this business of ttanding out adoption papers for make-belieile babies might seem cute and harmless. It's about as harmless as those posed and contrived photographs of females in all those magazines the public is finally getting worried about. Just as so-called girlie magazincs dehumanize fe- males. this idea of adopting a play -toy dehumanizes the reality of adoption." is Christmas by GZaBdi RwOot0Ofnl It is sad that even so-called Christian nations, have not embraced the teachings of the gentle man from Galilee, teachings of forgiveness, of turning the other cheek, of not accumulating material wealth on earth, of avoiding the sin of pride. And so we have had wars over mineral riches or farmland riches. We have had wars of revenge for past misdeeds. And today we have two powerful nations so tied up with pride and an inability to turn the other cheek at any imagined slight that we seem to be moving ever more steadily toward war. 1 used to be a nationalist when 1 was younger. One of my proudest moments as a teenager was getting out of school on Feb. 15, 1965 to see the new Canadian flan raised. Earlier than that, 1 can remember my first - knowledge of international affairs were two wars, the rebellion in Hungary that the Soviets put down and the conflict in the Middle East. It was with a surge of Canadian pride I remember, that 1 heard Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize, 1 recalled the Pearson years the other day and went back to read about that crisis in the Pearson memoirs. 1 had forgotten how close we came to a world war then as the worry that the Soviets and Americans might get drawn in on opposing sides grew before the Canadian delegation at the United Nations worked out an acceptable solution that saw a United Nations peace force placed between the two warring sides. For a brief period there and nights are longer . kggcm -rid iM by Dm $fflOkghyz P By this time 1 was panicky and spent ten minutes trying to get our doctor through an answering service. then through the hospital. I thought she was just knocked out by the blow on the head. Stupid people kept asking how old she was, and whether she was breathing. 1 tried to find a pulse and held a mirror in front of her mouth, but my hands were shaking so much 1 couldn't tell anything. 1 finally phoned an ambulance. The young men did everything they could, then took her to the hospital, still In her dressing -gown, 1 can't believe the insensitivity of the hospital administration. While the medical staff was trying to save my wife, 1 was told 1 must sit down and answer a lot of ridiculous questions: address, her age, telephone number, insurance number. all that garbage. Not a single personal note, 1 almost told the clerk tb stuff lc Our doctor appeared. a nurse took me gently by the shoulder. and 1 groaned, "Don't tell me. Don't." He did. I hadn't left her. She'd left me. I've always thought 1 was pretty tough. 1 shed a few leaky tears when my mother and father and brother died. During the war, 1 had a buddy one day and an empty bed the next. But this time 1 cried like a baby, despite efforts to pull Myself together. Every time someone said a kind word. my face would crumple and 1 couldn't speak. Could barely get a word out. The rest of that day is a blur. 1 took a last look at my sweetheart, my Old Bartlett/re. my constant support. my favourite bickering companion, the oft -upset mother of our children, the scolder and spoiler of our grandboys. 1 kissed her, touched her cheek and wept. And wept. Took a taxi home. No jacket, just a shirt. It The Banner continues,. ';,the name, given these,..011s must be giving :educators: and parenisa, sense of deja vu_ {t ttarkens back to those day long past when children who asked where°they came from were told they were found under a cabbage leaf. Many children actually believed that to be true. What are they now being subtly persuaded to think -- that adopted children come from cabbage patches? Unfortunately, the meaning of Christmas has been lost. It's a time for giving. not give me this. Christmas means money and somebody is going to have a great year because they're going to be rich because suckers like us bought, or should 1 say, adopted cabbage patch kids because our two year old asked for or even demanded such a dolt for Christmas. Valves slijluld be taught at home and some parents aren't doing a good job of it . That this kind of dehumanizing advertising gimmick should be tied into a Christian celebration of Christmas makes this craze not only a sick one, but a very sad one. Let's remember the true meaning of Christmas and act accordingly and sensibly. Fighting over a doll is not in the Christmas spirit. wish was, just as when the original United Nations charter was signed, the hope that interna- tional action might bring peace. But national price got in the way as it always did. Within years we went on the Cuban missile crisis and shortly thereafter the Israelis and Arabs were at war again. The only real hope for lasting peace in the world is that countries will eventually relinquish some of their own national pride and allow for international courts add permanent international police forces. That, of course, would mean that nations must accept, as each of us do in our private lives, that there is a set of rules that is larger than our own. Until nations are willing to relinquish the sole right to police themselves either to the United Nations or to regional international police forces and international courts we will face the continual fear of war. Only by accepting Christ's teachings of peace at'the highest levels of our nations n the hope for peace be realized. 1... wasn't home. 1 vaguely remember people, old friends. coming in. Jeanne Sauve held my hand and stroked my head and didn't say anything foolish. Petrie Rintoul put his arm around my shoulders, insisted 1 eat, and made soup and peeled a banana. 1 had to laugh. amid my sobs, at the banana. Typical man. One of the worst ordeals was calling the kids and my wife's dear and close sister. 1'd igetto the phone, blurt the news as quickly as I could. theh choke up completely. I've always admired people who could cope with grief. without a lot of hysterics and sentimental nonsense, 1 couldn't. The next few days were spent in limbo or some such territory. 1 was useless. Everyone else pitched in, neighbors and friends brought vast quanti- ties of food. My big sister arrived and took over. and kept things on an even keel, washing dishes until her hands were shrivelled, ironing shirts, putting things away until I still can't find anything. 1 did manage to hold up pretty well at the LONGER/ 7