Loading...
Times-Advocate, 1978-03-23, Page 4Page 4 Times-Advocate, March 23, 1978 r (7A)" «»a» a M l Cl !Mh V____ _____ It lias no ending Bernard Shaw, in the preface to his play, ANDROCLES AND THE LION, discussed the New Testament Gospels. Here is part of what he wrote about Matthew’s Gospel: “Matthew then tells how after three days an angel opened the family vault of Joseph, a rich man of Arimathea, who had buried Jesus in it; whereupon Jesus rose and returned from Jerusalem to Galilee and resumed his preaching with his disciples, assuring them that he would now be with them to the end of the world.” Then Shaw added: “At that point the narrative abruptly stops. The story has no ending.” Shaw there said more than he intended. He rejected the traditional Christian interpretation of Easter, but in writing, “The story has no ending”, he underscored, inadvertently, what Easter has meant for Christians through the centuries. For the Chris­ tian believer the crucifixion of Jesus does not mark a tragic ending, but rather, a new beginning. For those who stood around the cross on Good Friday it was the ignominious end of Jesus of Nazareth. For of­ ficialdom it was the end of an awkward and challenging incident. For Jesus’ disciples it was the violent and tragic end of a glorious hope. Then came Easter morning. The Gospels declare that God raised Jesus from the tomb. And soon Jesus’ followers came to an awareness that he was alive, that he had ongoing life — and out of this .awareness, out of the Resurrection experience, came the Christian faith and the Christian Church. The details of the Resurrection, its means and its mechanics, its “how”, are shrouded in the mists of history. There are serious inconsistencies in the accounts of the event in the four Gospels, and there can be no simple, agreed account of what happened. Proof and disproof are quite beyond us here. But the Resurrection experience and the Resurrection conviction have persisted — and this has been the dynamic of Christian faith through the years. The Christian religion is not simply a matter of honouring the memory of a great man and trying to live in accord with his teachings. The Church should not be merely a memorial society, a sort of Jesus fan club. Christianity is not essentially in the remembering of a dead hero; Christianity is in experien­ cing a living Lord. “The story has no ending”. —Contributed “Ah, spring — makes one feel like taking the day off. . . if I only had a job. .... with the editor That time again Too late to win or lose by Richard Charles See you later, radiator? If you want to keep your home heating system working for you, don’t turn your back on it during the off-season, and then cross your fingers and hope it behaves itself when the cold weather comes back. This advice applies as much to the old-tried-and-true heating system with hot-water or steam radiators as to a more modern electronic marvel. In fact, you may not be aware of any trouble, and yet by letting heat go to waste before or after it reaches the radiator. It’s never too soon to check over the system and take some simple precautions against waste. But, of course, you need to keep an eye on it in winter too. With hot-water heating, the water is pumped through tubes in a furnace, where it is heated to a maximum of 82°C (180°F), and then piped to radiators throughout the home. The water cools in the radiators and then returns to the pump and starts again. An expansion tank and relief valve keep the water pressure from going too high. Another valve prevents the flow of water when the circulating pump stops. Here are some points to watch in getting the best from hot-water heating. Make sure that there’s an air space in the expansion tank (see the operator’s manual or ask a heating expert). Insulate the water pipes leading to and from the furnace, especially where they pass through areas that don’t need heat. Keep up the water levels throughout the system; check the water-level gauge on the furnace before you start up in the fall. Let any air out of the system (while it is running) by opening the vent on each radiator in turn, but close the vent as soon as water starts to spurt out. With the advent of spring and warmer weather, old and young enthusiasts will be thinking of getting out the bicycle. The Ontario Safety League suggests a few preliminary steps you should take to insure your bike is safe. Ride a bicycle that fits you. The size of your bike affects your .ability to reach and use the steering, pedals and braking controls. You should be able to reach the ground comfortably with the ball of your foot while sitting upright on the seat. Check the tires for wear and tear. Also check the wheel spokes, chain; and your lighting and horn systems. Make sure the bike is well oiled, and get down to the nuts and bolts of things, tightening any loose nuts where necessary. Before taking the bike onto the street, check the braking ability of your machine on both wet and dry sur­ faces. Your bicycle should also be in good alignment. If the bike veers to one side when pushed forward, it is out of line and needs adjustment. Remember that the bicyclist is considered under the law to be a driver and as such traffic rules, regulations, signs and signals apply just the same to the cyclist as to the motorist. For those who wish to brush up on the law, there is an excellent pamphlet published by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, “Ontario Laws and Your Bicycle.” It is available at all Driver Examination Centres and through most police departments. The Ontario Safety League reminds you that you’re one of the smallest units on the road and it’s not always easy for motorists to see you. Use reflective tape as required by law, reflectors and wear light coloured clothing at night. Motlierlioocl issue The press has traditionally labelled some social concerns as “motherhood issues”. Nobody, for example, wants to be against honesty, health or cleanliness. Yet the memory of some events lingers on from 1977, and suggests that as motherhood issues, these are not sacred after all. Last September, Ontario’s premier William Davis led a trade mission to Japan. He got a rough reception. Japanese industrialists criticized Canada for high labor costs, strikes, foreign investment policies — and for having overly strict environmental controls. Later, in December, newspapers reported that a breast-fed baby was be­ ing poisoned by its own mother’s milk. A variety of industrially produced chemicals which are not found in nature, such as PCBs and DDT, but which are now loose in our environ­ ment, had been accumulating in the mother’s body and were being passed on to the baby. Other mothers were cautioned about risks of breast­ feeding. And yet, what choice is there? Cow’s milk matches the needs of newborn calves, not of newborn humans. Baby formula can supply an infant’s nutritional requirements, but it must be mixed with water from our lakes and rivers. That water contains the same industrial contaminants. In fact, one study discovered that the chemicals in the Great Lakes were collecting in fish, and killing off seagulls that ate those fish. Gulls that lived on garbage dumps instead of fish were healthier. Besides, in comparison with breast­ feeding, no formula has yet been manufactured that offers immunity against common illnesses and allergies, that helps assure emotional well-being, or that contributes to higher IQs. If this most pure and perfect food is now hazardous because of our environ­ ment, could anyone argue for more pollution? Yes. And not just the Japanese in­ dustrialists — “the wonderful people who brought us Minimata,” as Norman Webster described them in THE GLOBE AND MAIL. Canadians did too. When Inco, Falconbridge, and Noranda all announced massive layoffs, a surprising number of Cana­ dian voices called for a relaxation of environmental controls, to allow the corporations a return to profitable operations. Fortunately, sanity prevailed. But the incidents revealed that for some people, the only real motherhood issue is short-term economic gain. A senior member of the education relations commission of the Ontario ministry of education suggested this week that the issues in dispute between Huron secondary school teachers and the county board of education are “Mickey Mouse’’ items. That no doubt is an over simplifica­ tion of the situation, but certainly there is one aspect of the strike that tends to make it rather meaningless. If it wasn’t so serious, it would almost be humorous. That aspect is that the two sides are arguing primarily about a clause relating to teachers’ workloads for the current school year. Ironically, it is ex­ tremely doubtful if the mechanics of the clause would be instituted even if the board met the teachers’ demands on the issue. The fact is, the current school year is nearing termination and any changes would be practically impossible to im­ plement at this late date. It can’t be made retroactive! In effect, it boils down to a matter of principle, a situation which makes both sides appear rather foolish in view of the fact neither can win or lose in the current cgntract. However, people have been known to stake their lives on a matter of princi­ ple, so perhaps it isn’t quite as strange as it may appear on the surface. * * * Last week, this newspaper suggested in an editorial that the teachers should provide examples of the inequities they now face in their workloads. That information was provided in part by a couple of people involved, and their assistance’ was appreciated, although the facts and figures they relate pertain only to South Huron District High School and do not reflect the situation across the county as a whole. We were informed that for the vast majority of teachers at SHDHS, the pupil contact guidelines as outlined in the controversial clause are now in effect, albeit on a “shall endeavour” basis. All but nine of the 61 teachers fall under another part, of the clause which provides that they teach for only six of the eight classroom periods each day. However, there appears to be some question as to whether the guidelines are followed that closely in other Huron schools. It was suggested that as many as 30 percent of the teachers may not be within those guidelines. The number may not be quite that large if one takes at face value the comment by Ron Lane, president of district 45 OSSTF. He said last year’s guidelines “guaranteed” a fair balance in class size and teaching load across the county, suggesting there may not be quite as many inequities as the 30 percent figure. If, as he suggests, a more equitable workload was “guaranteed” under the guidelines in the previous contract, and if that is in fact the case in one of the schools for which data was provided, then it seems reasonable that the old clause was all that was needed, even though it was on the basis of “shall endeavour”. * * * So, why can’t the two sides agree to have the same clause as last year? The board members have not in­ dicated that it provided any problems for them. It certainly gives them “flex­ ibility” in that it is strictly on a “shall endeavour” basis, and even if it is con­ tradictory to the pupil/teacher ratio, that contradiction apparently results in no major hardship for the board, or at least none has ever been outlined. The teachers should be agreeable to the same clause because Mr. Lane has already suggested that it “guaranteed” a fair balance in class size and teaching load across the coun­ ty. That appears to be their main in­ tent, although the clause would not be as firm as they want. It’s a solution with which both sides should be able to live, because basical­ ly it is meaningless anyway at this time in the school year. Keep radiators clean, and don’t block them off from the room with furniture or drapes. When painting radiators, use a matte or satin finish, not metallic paints or glossy light colours. Use a reflector, such as aluminum foil, on the wall behind the radiator to direct heat into the room. The steam heat system is similar in some ways, but in this case the water is heated to 100°C (212°F) in a boiler. The steam from this boiling water then rises of its own accord through pipes to the radiators. When it cools and condenses, the water returns to the boiler by gravity. You can help the system to stay in good working order in the following ways. Flush and clean out the boiler once a month during the heating season. Keep the water at the manufacturer’s recommended level. Too much water makes the boiler less efficient, and too little makes the heating unit shut off. Look for leaks at the joints, where steam and heat can escape. Insulate pipes as you would with hot-water heating. Check the radiators. If there’s a cold one, look for faults in air valves or vents in the system. Take care of steam radiators in the same way as hot-water radiators. If you want to know more about keeping your home warm in winter, including the use of hot-water or steam heat, write to Box 3500, Station C, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Y 4G1, for a copy of 100 ways to save energy and money ii. the home. It comes from the Office of Energy Con­ servation, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources. Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Times - Advocate fcrHnj South Huron. North Middles** K a North Umbton Since 1I7J SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager —- Harry DeVries Business Manager —■ Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 (♦CNA subsc...... Published Each Thursday Morning f at Exeter, Ontario I Second Class Mail I Registration Number 0386 I Paid in Advance Circulation 1 September 30, 1975 5,409 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $11.00 Per Year; USA $22.00| nui witirow AWAfD 1174 Sugar and Spice Dispensed by Smiley Adieu, big brother If you missed a column recently, it was because my big brother died, and between making arrangements, phoning family, and emotional exhaustion, I didn’t have much heart for turning out a column, the first time I’ve missed in about 25 years. It’s not that I went around weeping and tearing my hair. We don’t do that in the Smiley family, although I’ve nothing against it. It’s just that when one of your immediate family goes, it makes a gap in your own life, whether you were close or not. And it’s also a reminder of your own mortality. My big brother was five years older, and, naturally, something of a hero for me at times. He got all the good looks in the family: six feet tall, blond curly hair, strong white teeth, a great physique. He was a top athlete in high school. He passed, kicked and ran on the football team, and set a high jump record and lasted for some years. So you can imagine that little brother often basked in reflected glory. Because of the age difference, he hung around with a different crowd, but he was kind to me, and did for me a lot of things fathers are supposed to do with their sons. Like playing catch, showing me how to stick-handle a puck, letting me help gather sap and make syrup, and one glorious day about this time of year, allowing me to fire two shots at a tree with his .22. I was about 10 and its was some big deal. He had a strange sort of life, because he was a combination of doer and dreamer, He was a young man in the latter part of the Depression, and it was a bad time to be a young man, in some ways. His first job was in a bank at a miserable pittance. He was like a young bear in a cage. With some kindred spirits, he left the bank, they bought a Model T, and with a few dollars each, they headed north. He went into hard-rock mining and within a year was a shift boss, making big money for the times. He liked the hard rough work and play of miners. I remember the first time he came home from the north, for Christmas, huge, hearty, laughing, with generous presents for all, and to the horror of his young brother, whiskey on his breath. Funny, that memory. He was never much of a drinker. Came the war, and he joined early, obtaining a commission in the Engineers. He went overseas with the body of young Canadians who were to spend the next three or four years training and frustrated in damp old England. Next time I saw him, he was almost dead. I had just arrived in England, a young sprogue of a pilot, and was in­ formed that big brother had been blown up by a land mine. I went to the hospital, as I did again more than 30 years later, and found him in rough shape. The shrapnel from the mine had almost cut him in two, and he was still picking bits of it out of his skull and body just before he died. But the medics patched him up and within months he wasout squiring the nurses round the local pubs, minus one eye, but very much alive. The three Smiley brothers got together fairly often for weekend leaves in London. To the disgust of my little brother and I, big brother would try to organize everything for us, treat us with paternal pride, and try to keep us from sowing too many wild oats, which we were only too keen to do. A year after the war, he and I got married, within a few weeks of each other, and our wives struck up a close friendship-. Then I was off to the dull safety of university and he was off on a series of bizarre and adventurous jobs. First it was away up to Port Radium on Great Bear Lake, to mine pit­ chblende for radium. Then he worked as a construction boss for some quasi­ government agency, in Southern Ontario. Next he bought a well-driller’s rig and got into that. First thing I know, he’s off to South America to run a gold mine that ,did well but was closed when the govern­ ment decided to build a dam that would close the mine. Back to Canada. Side trips to Puerto Rico where there was a big job building houses. That didn’t pan out, Then a year or two in Newfoundland, building highways. Various jobs after that. I was never quite sure where he was, what he was doing, or who he was working for. But there was always that indomitable dream that the next job was going to hit real pay-dirt and set him for life. Two weeks before he died, he told me with great enthusiasm about a trip he’d made recently to Costa Rica, and felt there were great opportunities down ther for him as soon as he got on his feet. I’m sad that the big dream was always just over the horizon, and that he never quite achieved it. But I’m glad for his sake that he kept trying, There were lots of times when he could have settled into a nine-to-five job and lived dully and safely for the rest of his life. But in this age, when everyone is seeking to wrap himself in a security blanket, he remained a boy at heart, ready to drop everything, pack up and go to the ends of the earth for a look at something new and exciting. May he rest in the peace he never found on this earth. TYPICAL- HOT WATE.E HEATING SYSTEM ^awnmemory lane I j J 55 Years Ago Mr. John McKenzie has purchased the Mcllveen grocery business in the Cantelon Bros, stand in Clinton. Messrs. Pollen and Foote have taken over the garage on James Street and with their new facilities are well equipped to give first class service. Mr. Wilfred Mack, while splitting wood, had the misfortune to cut his left hand when the axe he was using slipped. He severed the cord in the little finger. Mr. Art Jones has sold his fifty acre farm at Chiselhurst and is moving to Hensail to work at tin­ smithing. Mr. Thos. Wren, of Chiselhurst has opened up a harness shop in Hensail. 30 Years Ago Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Love have moved from their farm near Kippen to Exeter. Mr. and Mrs. George M. Racey are moving to Lucan where Mr. Racey has pur­ chased a radio business. Elimville ladies met at the home of Mrs. Frank Skinner to organize an Institute. Mrs. Papple, district president, installed the officers with Mrs. Kenneth Johns as president, Mr. Stanley Smith has accepted a position as organist in Ingersoll. Mr. Andy Snelgrove was in London for a few days last week taking a short course in refrigeration. 20 Years Ago The Stephen township 4-H Calf Club, first 4-H organization in that town­ ship, was organized at a meeting in Shipka Thursday night. Gord Baynham, elec­ trician at RCAF Station, Centralia, was elected president of Exeter Kinsmen Club for 1958-59. Ralph Hicks, owner of Exeter Frozen Foods, this week announced the sale of the locker plant to Morley Hall, Benito, Manitoba. The transfer will take effect May 1. Exeter District Junior Band, practicing now for over a year, will blossom forth this summer in district competitions and local concerts. The band is under the directorship of James Ford. 15 Years Ago Prime Minister Diefen­ baker,* who speaks to a Huron PC rally in Goderich Saturday afternoon, will make a 10-minute stop at the CNR station in Exeter on his way through to Sarnia. Hensail council has agreed to stage a vote for liquor outlets, on the questions of men’s and ladies’ beverage rooms, dining lounges and Cocktail lounges. The first vote was held in 1960. Usborne township council has approved a debenture issue of $160,000 for a new central school. The line of Allan Thomp­ son, Bob Burns and John Lock scored six of the eight goals in Exeter Midget’s 8-5 win over Humberstone in the first game of the OMHA semi-finals Friday night.