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Clinton News-Record, 1972-01-20, Page 4every time nomination time comes around, members of municipal councils profess bewilderment that more taxpayers don't show up at nomination meetings. They often express the opinion that the citizens just don't care. But the council members don't seem to realize that they themselves, are partly responsible for the lack of interest on the part of the public.. For instance, Clinton town council held its first meeting of the year last week. It started 10 minutes late, a new record for this council. Since it came to office a year ago for it was the first time the meeting started less than 30 minutes late. It may be fine to keep the press waiting since they are being paid anyway, but it isn't fair to the public. Clinton council has made changes in its procedure in recent years to try to speed up the meetings. No longer, for instance, are the minutes read aloud but copies are given to each councillor. This is fine for the councillors but what about the person who comes to see council in action and has to sit through long minutes of silence while the council reads the minutes while they don't even know what is going on. If the minutes are to be circulated, at least there could be enough extra copies made to be given out to any visitors who might be present. But although these factors may keep people away from council meetings, at least the Clinton council has a proper place to hold meetings and Clinton has a mayor who does his best to explain proceedings to any citizens present. Some councils, most notably township councils but also some other urban municipalities in the county do not even hold their meetings in a proper room. Many councils cram themselves into a small backroom with hardly room for a single spectator. In many cases, council is operated more like an exclusive private club than the government of the municipality which is supposed to be on view for all citizens. Perhaps, even if proper steps were taken, the public would still not come out to meetings, but at least councils would have done their part in making the situation inviting for people to see what goes on in government. Until these steps are taken, councils are in effect, discouraging the participation o f the public in government. Editorial comment Council's should respect public "I love this time of year when our lawn looks as good as the Tuttles'." Time to look at Minor Hockey This weekend is Minor Hockey Weekend in Clinton. A great many complaints are expressed in the Clinton area about the high cost of recreation. Minor Hockey weekend gives you a chance to go down to the arena and see what you are getting for your money. We hope you will see a good many persons like yourself down there. We hope you will see hockey playing a valuable part in helping children grow into responsible adults. We hope you will see country people mixing with town people and a strong sense of community spirit. Many taxpayers like to see a dollars and cents breakdown on the value of any service they buy. What does my dollar buy? The value of recreation is hard to calculate in a monetary way. Certainly, sport does bring economic returns. By keeping kids interested in sports and off the streets, for instance, the cost of loss through crime is cut and the cost of policing is cut. Then there is the fact that sport builds strong bodies and in doing so helps children to stay healthy, thus cutting medical costs. But these aren't the important part of sport. The important part is that youngsters are taught to respect rules, to get along with others, to play hard but lose (and win) gracefully, and to have a good time. it would be nice to think it was always this way. Of course it isn't. Too many times winning is allowed to become too important, to become an excuse for any bending of the rules. This is the other side of Minor Hockey Weekend. The weekend should be a time for those involved in minor hockey to reassess their own program, to see if it is living up to the principals of the sport. This is what Minor Hockey Weekend is all about, a time of examination of the minor hockey program by the public and of re-examination by those working inside the program. Junk good for a capital gain N1101111110 THE CLINTON NEW ERA Amalgamated THE HURON • NEWS-RECORD EstabliShed 1865 1924 Ettablished 1841 Clinton News-Record A member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) second class mail registration number — 0817 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: (in advance) Canada, $8.00 per year; U.S.A.; $9,50 KEITH W, ROULSTON — Editor J. HOWARD AITKEN — General Manager Published every Thursday at the heart of Huron County' Clinton, Ontario Population 3,475 THE HOME OP RADAR IN CANADA 4—Clinton News-Record, Thursday, January 2Q, 1912 Letter to the Editor abandoned. That's the way Canadian education, at its worst, 'seems to operate. Beginning next September, the kids and their parents choose what subjects the kid will take in high school. So far, so good. I've always been opposed to the old, rigid system under which you had to take math or French or something you were hopelessly inept at. I think there should be lots of options. But surely, this is going a bit far. The provincial government, with the aid of federal help, has spent millions and millions of dollars setting up schools with all manner of equipment, especially in the technical departments. Different subjects, let's say English and History, will be vying for students so that teachers won't lose jobs. The History department will make its ploy by showing pictures of nude statues Of Rome and Greece and the Renaissance. But I've laid my plans too. We're going to lay in a supply of dirty modern novels, and also give everybody at least /5 per tent. Don't tell me that a IS or 14 year old will choose anything except what he thinks are the "easiest" subjects: This could lead to courses in basket weaving, archery, or mope and gawkery And what do I do if the principal informs me that nobody wants to take English next year? I'm not a bit worried. I am convinced I can took better than some of the Home Economics teachers, and could fit in nicely there, I know the first four letters Of the Greek alphabet, and could teach Greek in a pinch. The Editor, On behalf of the Women's Auxiliary to the Clinton Public Hospital I would like to thank you very much for the excellent coverage you have given to our monthly meetings over the past year. We feel that our work is well directed and we appreciate the Either I'm slowing down or life is speeding up. Probably both, which is one reason I'm so confused these days. The other reason is that I've always been confused. For one thing, the new tax legislation. It may be manna to lawyers and accountants, but to the ordinary, rather stupid Canadian, like me, it's like wandering around in a bog in a fog, blind-folded. What did I do before Valuation Days were announced? Nothing. I didn't have a clue where to start, and besides, the whole thing had about as much fascination for me as a January sale. Now I discover that I should have valued some of my precious antiques and stuff, so that I could pay taxes on them when they increase in value. Well, I haven't any stamp collections or coin collections or paintings that are going to increase hi price steadily. I don't have a summer cottage, which teems to be a bad thing to have, according to the papers, But I de have some antiques. There's the violin, for example. It's an authentic hand-made Instrument, My Uncle Tom made it about forty years agO, and somehow it came into my possessioh. No one in the family has played it, because there is only one string, the bridge is broken, and the fraine is slightly warped, Therefore, it's not just junk, but almost pristine, and Surely is increasing in value daily, The Cate in Which it is enclosed is equally antique, (1'd say about 1850 vintage). I publicity given to us through your paper. We have many members who are unable to attend the meetings and through your paper they are able to keep abreast of our activities. Yours very truly, Helen E. Shearing, Recording Secretary. definitely slipped up there. That thing could be worth as much, as $38 in ten or twelve years, and I got it for nothing. How much will a rapacious government snatch from me in capital gains for that? And the beds, of course. They are genuine antiques. My mother bought them at an auction sale, and they must have been 100 years old then. We inherited them, and they're probably priceless by now. How about my hip waders? If they're not antiques, I'll eat your hip waders. They're so old I can't remember when I bought them, and they are full of genuine holes, just like old furniture. And where does my wood-pile come in? One of my , oaks blew down last summer, and I had it cut into firewood. Now I didn't pay for , the oak when I bought the property, and I have about $35 worth of wood there. Do I pay, capital gains tax on it? Enough of that. I'm becoming steadily more worried, I can see my entire estate going down the drain to the greedy tax collector. Something else has me just about as puzzled. It's the educational system. It's different in every province, so that you can learn as ninth in 12 years in Manitoba as you can in 13 years in Ontario. That is understandable, because of the difference in climate (the only reason I can think Of)._ But a whole new, frightening aspect of the blackboard jungle is being introduced in my province.. It's probably something the Yanks tried out ten years ago and found unworkable and have since Price of beauty At a large wedding reception earlier this week my wife and I found ourselves seated by an elderly woman, a relative of the groom and a stranger to us, who had been, I was sure, a great beauty. Age had taken its toll, as the saying goes, but the ruins were still impressive. We talked of a number of inconsequentials, as you do at such affairs, but our attention strayed to a girl of perhaps 19 whose appearance was so exquisite that it was hard to keep your eyes to yourself. She was the Dresden doll type, manufactured from honey and cream and spun-gold heir and two improbable dimples. "How fortunate the woman who is born with beauty," I said, tritely, encompassing the elderly woman in the observation. "Life must be very simple with that birthright." My wife raised her eyes slightly, as wives sometimes do when their husbands are being excessively gallant, but the older woman accepted the compliment graciously. She gazed reflectively at the girl, a little sadly, I thought, and replied, "I once thought so, myself, but I believe now that great beauty can be a terrible burden for a woman," She was speaking, I realized of her own life, I made an effort to listen lightly, as it were, so that I would not intrude on what promised to be a confession. "Beauty gets in the way of ordinary, comfortable 10 YEARS AGO January 18, 1962 This date with Rubinoff on February 2, appears to promise something of interest to all music lovers, whether of the "long hair" variety, or those with more down to earth tastes. The colourful career of Rubinoff and his violin, includes radio broadcasts such as the Chase and Sanborn Hour and the Chevrolet program. In spite of the storm of last week, Ontario Street United Church Women met for their inaugural meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 10. One hundred and thirty-six guests were served dinner by the men of the Board of Stewards. This the women considered a real fete! The inaugural meeting of the Clinton Public School Board tonight will include a special ceremony honouring Alex F, Cudmore. Mr, Cudmore retired at the end of 1961 after completing 40 years on the Clinton Public School Board. A commemorative plaque has been obtained by the board and this will be presented to Mr. Cudmore, Conducting the ceremony will be the Rev. D, J. Lane who will also address the 1962 board members. IS YEARS AGO January 17, '1957 Canada remains the most talkative country in the. world, at least by phone. Did you know that an average of a calls were made per person in Canada in 195'n That's counting children too. In the United States there were only 409 conversations per person. A quick comparison of temperatures in the weekly chart published in the lower left hand corner, brings proof positive that things are not as they once were — at least insofar as weather a year ago is concerned. Though noses freeze and the warmest clothes are demanded in this weather, there's hope for spring. Next Wednesday, the Huron Central Agricultural Society hopes to plan the Clinton Spring Show. 25 YEARS AGO Jantiary 16, 1947 Frank Finglarid, K.C., has been named chairman of the new CCL Board. Congratulations to George Garrett who quite recently celebrated his 87th birthday. Forty-seven boys and 14 girls are enrolled in the Agricultural Short Courses being held at Exeter this month. The courses, which commenced last week And will continue until Jan. 29, are under the direction of Leroy G. Brown and Gerald E. Nelson. 40 YEARS AGO January 21, 1932 George Riehl held a dance Thursday evening in the hew building he recently erected on property he purchased on Mary Street. Clinton fire brigade made a run out to the farm of James Van Egmond, north of town, Saturday morning,- fire having started in a pump house, S. 0, Castle has sold his house become a beautiful woman 'for her age'. It is never very subtle. The woman is very conscious that people are saying of her, 'Isn't it amazing how she does it?' That you might say, is the epitaph of beauty." "If that's true," I asked. "Why, then, should the beautiful woman struggle to re-capture it?" "I believe it is because she is trapped," the elderly woman said. "The woman who has been worshipped as a child because of her beauty has never had the chance to develop a substitute for it. Other women may be known and admired for their wit or their intelligence or their strength of character or their warmth, qualities which are changeless, but the beautiful woman has learned only to rely on her appearance and so she's terribly vulnerable to the passing years. "When I see a really beautiful young woman," she went on, "I think of myself, 'What a handicap!' I think of the disillusionment and the adjustment she will have to make when the bloom is gone " She stopped short and, glancing up, I saw that the gorgeous Dresden doll was walking toward us, It was something to see, Violins began to play all over the room. As I struggled to my feet I heard the elderly voman saying, "I would like you to meet Patricia, my grand-daughter. Isn't she lovely?" on Victoria Street to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Webster, Varna. Mr. and Mrs. George McVittie, Londesboro, treated about 30 friends to a goose supper last week. 55 YEARS AGO January 18, 1917 Mails and commercial traffic have been somewhat mixed up this week owing to the cancellation of several passenger and mail trains on the lines into Clinton, Captain Jones, Forest, arrived last week to take charge of the Salvation Army Corps in Clinton, The mercury has been playing with zero for the past week. A. M. Wilford, produce merchant of Wingharri and well-known to a number of Clintonians, was elected as alderman to that town. The climate was right; so was Dad. He pulled his efficient sleeves up. to his elbows and deliberately laid out the massive- shouldered body. "It" lay obstinantly dignified ill reinforced, double protection cardboard. The stage was set for the operation. The incision was made in the belly of the package, Dad stripped away the fleshy layers of cardboard arid bared the hard skull of "It". He grasped "It" by the chin and drew "It" out of "It's" immb„.ready to spank "It" to life, Dad's deft fingers swiftly cleared "It's" way into our world. And there "It" stood: a super-deluxe, shiney topped, steel girdered eating table, Buying this imposing model 'was out of pure desperation. We couldn't keep the old cerated body on its feet. That eating table had a "bum ler ! Every time Mom donated the heavy pot of gravy to the table, it was human in its creaking and complaining. Then half way through the meal someone would stretch his knees and kaock the "bum leg" from under, the table, We tried everything to keep the table upright. We taped it in place. It ripped under the strain of the gravy pot. We glued the leg in place. It divided under Dad's censorious fist. The golden spikes tarnished, Nothing worked! We even tried to honour one member of the family as "Corner-of-the-table-holder- upper". Peacefully speaking, the honour wore thin after a few years. In the past ten years the number of herbicides available to farmers have increased by almost 100 percent. The 1972 publication Guide To Chemical Weed Control outlines the uses of some 75 different weed control chemicals. As the use of these new herbicides has evolved so have the weed populations. Many of the chemicals used today are very specific in the type of weeds or the family of weeds which they will control. It is essential today that the farmer make himself aware of these various tools which are available to help him control his • weed problems, A two-day short course on Weed Control will be presented at Centralia College on Tuesday, Feb. 1 and Wednesday, Feb. 2. Sessions begin at 9:30 a,m. and end by 4:30 p.m. each day. A partial list of the topics to be discussed include: New Recommendations for 1972, Factors Affecting Herbicide Effectiveness, Annual Grasses and their Control, Perennial Grasses and their Control, Aerial Application of Herbicides, Crop Injury Evaluations, Herbicide Residue Problems, Licence Requirements and Classification Changes, Sprayer Clinic. 75 YEARS AGO • January 22, 1897 Wood Bee — The first wood bee of the season in this section was held at Mr. H. 0. Walters, when the old crosscut was again brought out, and the men showed that they had' not forgotten how to saw, judging from the amount of wood cut. No doubt more bees of a like nature will immediately follow. The annual meeting of the Canadian Press Association (of which R. Holmes is V ice-President and D. McGillicuddy, one of the Executive) will be held in Toronto on Feb. 4 and 5, and should be attended by every newspaper man. (Ed, Note — Mr. Holmes was Editor and Proprietor of the New Era.) Open air skating is being enjoyed by the boys on Fair's, Gibbings, and Steep's ponds. The leg shivered in its shakey corner like a fickle poplar leaf. Often the eating table would sink to its knees in oscillating splendor. This was particularly gratin? on Mom's nervous system. Sneakily the leg would fall off when Mom's best dishes were op the table. The table's bill for broken dishes competed with the car payments. Unfortunately, the table just let the bill run up,..(much to the disgust of Mom's purse). Mom's purse was not about to let this fall on much longer, That is how "It" was brought into our world. "It" looked healthy. But anyone connected with the medical profession could see progressive signs of poor government. "It" was sway-backed Every day the gravy pot was loaded on the table. The stomach slowly sagged into paunchy old age, The legs became splayed like an aroused dog. This condition started just 28 days after "It" was bought. As the meals go on, the valley becomes polluted with slopped gravy and lost pieces of rotting meat. Our meat plate can only be filled two thirds of its capacity. We always needed full helping to feel healthy....Gravely, the pot has no meat left; just dead bones. Today our eating table is still a constant mealtime companion. Our meat plate clings precariously to the edge of the valley. But our nostalgic memories have slid into oblivion... Some of the personnel who will be speaking and leading the discussion periods include: Dr. John Bandeen and Prof, Peter Southwell, University of Guelph; Rudy Brown, Ridgetown College of Ag. Technology; Bruce Lobb, Ontario Department of Health; Mike Miller, Agriculture Office, Clinton; Bill Taylor, Soils & Crops Specialist; Dr. Al Hammell, Harrow Research Station. Registration in the course is limited to the first 50 applicants. Interested farmers are advised to file their application immediatel with their' County agricultural representative in the counties of Bruce, Huron, Perth, Lambton, Middlesex, Oxford and Elgin. Farmers in other counties may apply directly to Short Course, Centralia College of Agricultural Technology, Huron Park, Ontario. Meals and overnight accommodation are available at the College, A course fee of $6.00 per person will be charged. Safe snow mobiling The snowmobile boom has provided recreational activity for many thousands of Canadians. Used safely, snowmobiles can be a source of enjoyment. Used improperly, they can be killers, says Hal Wright, Farm Safety Specialigt, Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food. During the 1 9 7 0-71 snowmobiling season, Ontario's 157,000 snowmobiles were involved in 38 fatalities and about 600 injuries. These included collisions on the highway with automotive traffic and collisions with other snowmobiles, trees, stumps and fences off the highway. Alcohol contributed to approximately 20 percent of these collisions. Falling through thin ice was also an important casue. The rules of the road for snowmobiles are similar to those that apply to motor vehicles, when traveling on the highways that allow such travel. Turns, right of way, passing, parking, traffic signs and signals are among these similarities. One major regulation is that it is an offense to operate a snowmobile without due care and attention fcir other people or property. This applies both on and off the highway. A shakey stand by the kitchen table by andre amsing WHAT IN THE WORLD IS OXFAM? Travel Agency') Baby food? Airline? Detergent? Development Agency! OXFAM THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PEOPLE 97 Eglinton Ave., East Toronto 315, Ontario relationships," the elderly woman said. "A beautiful child is invariably put on display, on a pedestal, always conscious of being different from other children. There's a constant danger of being adored rather than loved, "The beautiful woman is rarely trusted by other women, perhaps because they are resentful of her beauty and because, of course, she attracts men so very easily. Men! How they swarm around beauty! I suppose there's never been a truly beautiful . woman who wasn't associated with frigidity. She is always on guard, aware that the men about her are always the vainest of men, seeking beauty as a possession. "A woman who is plain in appearance or less than plain has more chance for lasting love," the elderly woman, went on. -:"She knows that the man in her `life has found deeper qualities in her than the mere surface impression. A beautiful woman is never quite sure that she hasn't been acquired merely as a trophy and, because she is never sure, she dreads the day when her beauty will fade." "But with so many beautiful women," I said, again indicating that I considered her a classic example, "their beauty remains for a lifetime. The older woman smiled and made a slight bow. "There comes a day in the life of every beautiful woman," she said, "when she is aware that there's a change, that she has Weed control course planned