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The Brussels Post, 1981-03-25, Page 2IRON BR1DC,E BRUSSEL. Remember when? The Brussels Post had some interesting old pic- ture postcards brought in recently by Cal Krauter, One of the picture post- cards.is of the laying of the cornerstone of the Melville Presbyterian Church, in. Brussels in 1914: Another is of the old bridge that used to be across the Maitland Rver in Brussels. The third is a picture of Turnborry street, back in the horse and carriage days, postmarked 1907. 4".EST,"\. Brussels 1872 Ilobrussels Post Box 50, Brussels, Ontario Established 1872 519-887-6641 NOG 1HO Serving Brussels and the surrounding community Published at BRUSSELS, ONTARIO every Wednesday morning by McLean Bros. Publishers Limited Andrew Y. McLean, Publisher Evelyn Kennedy, Editor F1 A 0 414'SPIpER5 COM' Member Canadian Community Newspaper Association, Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association and The Audit Bureau of Circulation. Subscription rates: Canada $12 a year (in advance) outside Canada $25 a year (in advance) Single copies - 30 cents each \N BRUSSELS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 1981 The voters do care The election is over--the battle done, and William Davis won the majority victory for which he campaigned so hard. In Huron-Bruce, it was a surprisingly tight race between two new candidates for the position left vacant by the resignation of Murray Gaunt. Liberal Murray Elston won the vote though and should be congratulated for his victory. We're sure Mr. Elston will try to serve the people in the best way he knows, as did his predecessor. Although Progressive Conservative Gary Harron lost, he too should be proud of what he's done, considering the close election. His hard campaigning efforts obviously paid off. Tony McQuail representing the NDP also tried his best, but alas, he belongs to a party which isn't likely ever to come into power in the Huron-Bruce riding. Although it seethed apathy hung over the province in regard to this election, you would•never have known it in Huron-Bruce on Thursday night judging by the ,cliff-hanging suspense with Elston ahead one moment and Harron the next. Congratulations tool° the Huron-Bruce voters who showed they really do care about what goes on in an election. Marking examination papers brings out the best and the worst in a teacher. Any tomfool can set an examination. Any other idiot can write the thing. But marking the finished, or more often unfinished product is something else. In some ways, marking exams is the absolute anus of the sometimes creative body of teaching. It is to the teacher what an over-flowed toilet is to the plumber. Normally, a plumber's life is a fairly happy one, Whanging away at pipes. Cursing gaily as he tries to unscrew a rusted nut. Dropping a dirty great wrench on •the customer's new tile floor. And writing out a whacking great bill at $14 an hour, plus parts which' must be made of 24-carat gold. On the whole, a satisfactory, fulfilling life. A plumber is usually a smiling, afable chap, much like the highwaymen of olden times, who grinned gallantly as they stripped the passengers of the stage of their valuables. It's the same with teachers. You seldom see a teacher who is not similing, except between the first of September and the end of June. They too have their little joys in everday life: bullying kids; cursing the principal, ,Please turn to page 3 Whatever happened to exciting elections? It's exam marking time Sugar and spice By Bill Smiley - Behind the scenes by Keith Roulston Interest in the provincial election last week seemed to reach an all time low. Is it any wonder? 1 mean not only was it recognized from the beginn- ing that the odds were better that Bill Davis would be premier when it was all over than that the Toronto Argon- auts wouldn't win the Grey Cup this year, but everything else about elections was pretty predictable. Elections used to be exciting, exhilar- ating times in the lice of the country. Now they're about as interesting as watching the traffic lights change (in tact, with the drivers on the roads these days, traffic has the edge.) 'NoW I wouldn't exactly like to go back to the really exciting days. The early Elections in Huron County, back in the days of Tiger Dunlop and Col. Van Eg- mond, were times when you public imetiugs could sway might get your head split the vote. It was also a day open trying to get into the when there were at least two election poll to cast your newspapers in virtually every vote. Those were times when community, one always on votes were bought with the Grit side, and one on the drinks, or frightened off by Tory side. The natrie-calling gangs that roamed the ,.. tnat went on in the pages of streets with clubs. That kind those papers Would make of excitement I could do premier Lotignced and Prime without. Minister Trudeau blush. Elections of a slightly later I don't exactly wish to era, the late 1800's and early return to those days either. 1900's were More' peaceable They weft ,the days when a and eXeiting in their own change in parties in govern-and It was the day before merit could mean wholesale the mass Media, When the change in who held what jobs oratory of candidates at in the conlmunity. You might debated their gut feelings The election just past, for about who would win. There instance, was called because was an art on the part of the Conservatives have a people involved with the , sophisticated polling system parties in having an ear to that told party planners that the ground, for judging from now was the time for an the people you met how the election, that the mood was whole populace would react. right. There used to be an Some had a better instinct . art in that kind of judgement than othersfor this, but even but today it's a science. for the best there was the air Experts know that if you take of uncertainty. Today there's about as much uncertainty n an elec- a specified number of people tion as there is in t o Mebon- from specified pre-selected aid's hamburger. Everything areas and interpret the re- is computed and analysed to "suits of the poll according to point where you have the establish voting have saved all the money [fi f how the vote Will go: Yot.11 years you can predict within a few percentage points just patterns feeling they might as well the over the past number of 'tent.. cthoem campaignouters e elect andtfie govern= l et th e may k eep hoping that the "experts'' Will be Wrong lust ,._. Please litirn to page 3 suddenly have a new post master. Vote the`wrong way and you might not have the bridge you have been prom- ised for so long. Thankfully most of the patronage has gone out of politics in Canada. BITTERLY FOUGHT Election excitement I re- call Was the excitement of my growing-up years when There were issues that Were bitterly foUght Over during the elee- tion campaign: There Was a feeling of suspense wheri the pollS closed the people awaited the feSpcinse, People