The Citizen, 1986-09-03, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1986.
New superintendent appointed for B. of E.
A Kent County man, Charles Eucation, it was announced recent-
Rowland, has been appointed ly.
superintendent of education for In his position, Mr. Rowland will
the Huron County Board of have special responsibility for the
The International Scene
Hungary, 30 years after
BY RAYMOND CANON
Thirty years ago I was just
getting back from a stint in Vienna
where I had been part of the
Canadian presence in that city
sorting out the many refugees who
had come across the border from
Hungary as a result of that
country’s uprising and the subse
quent Russian invasion to ‘ ‘restore
order.”
During my time there I had
handled thousands of the Hungar
ians who were in the process of
coming to Canada and, at a
reception which was held a few
years back in Toronto to celebrate
25 years in this country, I met a
number of people who had made
theirhomehereand whom I had
handled in Vienna when they were
still very uncertain just what the
future held in store for them.
As a result of the Russian
invasion, Hungary became the
epitome of Stalinism under its
leader Janos Kadar, a man who
had been handpicked by the
Kremlin so that there would be no
further nonsense. You may, there
fore, be surprised to learn that Mr.
Kadar is still in power 30 years later
and that the country is anything but
Stalinist; it is perhaps in the
position of having the most open
economy of any of the Russian
satellite nations of Eastern Eur
ope.
Certainly as Hungary has moved
from a rigidly controlled economy
to one which is as open as it is
possible to get under Marxism,
there is little doubt that the
standard of living for most people
there has risen considerably over
the years. There is a great deal of
trade with the West, the Hungar
ian government has about the best
credit rating with western banks of
any communist country. However,
just at the time when it is obvious
that Mr. Kadar will not be around
much longer, Hungary is in need of
some firm leadership; it is running
the risk of losing a great deal of the
prosperity which ithas attained
over the years since it started
moving away from its earlier
rigidity.
Right now in Budapest it is
possible to buy western newspap
ers, western clothes and there is
even talk of General Motors setting
up shop which to some communists
is tantamount to the Pope holding
mass in the Kremlin. However,
in the background there is a
considerable amount of rumbling
since, in a land where all people are
supposed to be equal, there are
obvious signs that some are
becoming more equal than others
or, as they would probably put it,
less equal.
Pensioners, who make up no less
than one-fifth of Hungary’s popul
ation are finding themselves a-
mong the have-nots. So are the
teachers and the unskilled work
same as it had in 1981 and 1982.
However, about all the statistics
that were formerly so favourable
have taken a turn for the worse and,
since Canadians like Hungarians
do not make a study of economic
data, this turnabout has not hit
home as yet.
To be honest part of the problem
is not of Hungary’s making. The
weather over the past year has
been a kind to drive up the amount
of energy which has to be reported.
There have been a number of very
bad fires, one of which had the
dubious result of wiping out almost
the entire production of microchips
in just four hours. The Hungarians
have even suffered from Chery-
nobyl in that the resulting ban by
the European Common Market on
food from eastern Europe affected
Hungary just as it did the others.
Under the same category comes a
drop in tourism and it might not be
too far wrong to say that just
student services department.
Mr. Rowland received his Bach
elor of Arts degree from the
University of Windsor and his
Master of Education from the
University of Toronto. He holds an
Ontario teacher’s certificate, a
principal’s certifice, has certifica
tion in special education and
obtained his supervisory officer’s
certificate in 1982.
Prior to this appointment, Mr.
Rowland’s entire professional ca
reer has been in Kent County
where he has taught special
education, served as a special
consultant to the Kent County
Board of Edu cation and acted as
principal and supervising princi-
about anything that could go wrong
actually did.
Janos Kadar appears to be a bit
too old to provide vigorous leader
ship at a time when something like pal.
that is needed. This is extremely
unfortunate for the Hungarians in
that they have worked hard to get
over the extremely adverse effects
which the uprising had on just
about every sector of their econo
my. It is probably safe to say that
they live better than people
anywhere else in the Soviet bloc
and it would be nothing sort of
tragic to see them lose all those
gains.
Because of their current pen
chant for fattening foods, the
Hungarians are said to be consid
erably overweight; almost half the
population falls into this category.
If the situation continues to
deteriorate, many of these same
people may be living off some of
their fat.
He served as principal in Kent
County for a total of 13 years and
has assisted on report card, special
education and ad hoc committees
for the Kent board.
Mr. Rowland has taken an active
role in community functions, serv
ing on such committees as the
United Way, Ontario Association
for the Mentally Retarded, Big
Brothers and minor hockey.
Married with two children, he is
no stranger to Huron County. The
Rowlands have a cottage north of
Goderich on Lake Huron where
they have spent a significant
amount of vacation time over the
years.
Mr. Rowland was recruited
because of the departure of R. J.
McCall who accepted the position
ofdirector of education with the
Timiskaming Board of Education.
ers. Much of their resentment is
directedatthose whohave been
able to rise above the average and
are now driving western cars and
living in homes that are generally
described as palatial. The offs-
spring of these well-to-do are
reported to be taking to drugs and
crime which can be put down by the
purists as just another example of
the evil western influences.
1 don’t want to flood you with
statistics but a few will suffice to
Each year in Canada, about 70 young
children are killed and 4000 are injured in
car crashes.
The latest national survey showed that
almost 80% of children under 5 are not
being protected adequately in motor vehicles.
Transport Canada sets tough safety
standards that manufacturers of infant car
riers, child safety seats and booster seats
must meet.
You can provide the best protection for
your children by securing them in a properly
installed seat, anchored to your vehicle by
a top tether strap.
Buckle up. It’s the thing to do.
demonstrate what I mean. Last
year to the surprise of many rhe
economy didn’t grow at all; it
actually declined although the
previous year (1984) it had shown
about a three per cent growth, the
Transport Canada Transports Canada Canada