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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1975-03-27, Page 4 (2)OUR POINT OF VIEW Constantly is preferred In his pre-election advertising, Mayor Bruce Shaw noted that "certainly the press is the most valuable asset in communica- tion ip Exeter, and it should be used con- stantly as a means of informing the public of council's plansandresidents' reactions". 'his newspaper had anticipated that the Mayor's comments would lead to an end to the periodic special meetings staged by council with the press not included. However, that apparently was wishful thinking. During the past week, council members have met twice at special meetings to discuss business affecting the ratepayers of this community and the press was not invited to either session. One of those meetings was to view the architect's plans for the new municipal ad- ministration offices in the former post of- fice. This project has been estimated by sorne members of council to cost between ;25,000 and 830,000 and obviously the ratepayers should be given information on a project of such a sizeable nature and one which is naturally of interest to all. The only reason we can see for the press beingexcluded from the meeting was a suggestion made by this newspaper that perhaps an expenditure of that nature was not required to transform the old post of- fice into suitable accommodation for town use. This difference of opinion should not provoke council into keeping information from the public who will be footing those bills. Hopefully. the Mayor has not altered his campaign promises so early in his tenure by changing his suggestion of "constant" communication with the ratepayers to "periodic". Vigilantes here? Vandalism is not new in our communi- ty, nor is it more prevalent here than elsewhere, but it is a growing cancer in our communities and no one seems to know how to cope with the problem. In one town in France, about the size of Ridgetown, the municipal council approved a plan to set up a volunteer vigilante com- mittee whose members would fire warning shots and. encircle rowdy youths until police arrive. Closer to home an Alvinston Presbyterian minister has suggested that armed vigilante groups be formed in Middlesex and Lambton counties where an- tique thieves have burglarized small coun- try churches six times in the past month. Rev. Robert Currie is the minister at Cameron Presbyterian Church which has been forced to close temporarily by losses in three recent burglaries. Flags. trees. windows. and cemeteries have been targets of vandals in the area. We are wondering what steps will have to be taken to protect valuable antiques plac- ed in the Centennial Museum. There are states where a custodian must be on the premises at all times in order to make the insurance valid. It is a sad commentary on our affluent s society., that those of us who have so much have not enough to keep us occupied and have to put in time destroying, just for the experience. Those people who steal antiques will probably be able to sell them. But to what state have we fallen when the church is no longer held sacred. Some legal scholars are showing con- cern that the modern approach to the law cuts jurisprudence off from its moral religious roots. "As a result the law has suffered. The scope of scholarship in the field has been reduced by the neglect of the sources of ttje law in the canons and transcendent beliefs of religion." That is a lawyer speaking not a minister. United States Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun said "The balance has been missing. It seems the old guideposts are no longer there. or at least no longer looked to or relied upon." He called for a restoration of basic moral and ethical prin- ciples, particularly in the legal profession. Until human law is once again rooted in divine and moral law we will continue to have such outrages committed by those who have no respect for God.or man. Ridgetown Dominion Torn between two old adages This may. seem an odd time of year for it, but I'm being torn between two old adages. That is -.better than being torn between two old harridans. but not much. At my age. of course. the chances of being torn between two young harridans is rather slight. As a matter of fact. there hasn't even been much of a line- up of old harridans lately. so I guess I'll have to settle for those two old adages. One of them goes thus: "There's no fool like an old fool." As adages go. it fills the bill. 11 is short. blunt, and. if you happen to be an old fool, brutal. I don't like that one much The other one says: "There's many a good lune played on an old fiddle." This is also short and to the point. It is usually delivered with a wink and a leer .by some old fool of either sex. speaking of which. that is what it usually refer§ to. 1 like that one better than the first, though 1 am not given to leering or winking. Not for years. Anyway. to get to the heart of the matter. I've taken up cross- country skiing and those ancient adages ride with me, one on each ski. They are heavy. as well as old. When 1 -state that I have taken up cross-country skiing. I must confess that it is not a reciprocal deal, l have taken it up only once. and it has taken me down more times than I care to contemplate. But that's beside the point. Cross-country skiing is mot for everybody, though you'd never Times Established 1873 know it on a Sunday afternoon. No. it's really a sport for us romantics. the few of us left who are loners, who have a fierce. overwhelming urge to pit our muscles and will against a fierce and alien Nature. Even before I strapped on the ski'. I knew 1 would love it. Pictures rolled through my mind like a film. with me in the major role. Gliding, swift and silent. along a lonely winter trail. Slipping through the stilly woods like a wraith. Stopping on a peak for a belt of brandy and a munch of bread and cheese. before plunging. eager -eyed into the terrible, hurtling danger below. It's a tough world for us romantics For slime reason. the picture seldom lives up to the advance notices. 1 didn't exactly glide, not at first. I sort of shuffled rather like an old man with a double case of gout. Nor was the trail really 'lonely. Not if you count dogs. little children. and old ladies who' came up from behind. shouting "T -rack'" 'and went by me as though 1 were standing still. Which I was. a good deal of the time. Stopping on a peak for a bracing. solitary brandy is also a little difficult. when the only peak for miles around is about eight feet high. and is already populated byeleventy -seven of your friends. every last one of whom•loves•brandy. but doesn't have any with him. Not to mention those woods. It's hard to keep them stilly. when every time you get. anywhere near a tree, everyone Advocate Established 1 881 in sight shouts. "Timber -r -r -r!" 1 have taken up other sports, like golf and curling. and have learned that unless he is ex- tremely vigilant. the beginner may develop some bad habits which are hard to shake. • 1 was determined' that this would not happen with skiing. On my very. first out, 1 thought 1 was developing a bad habil. My left ski seemed to want to veer to the left, and my right ski to the right. This seems logical enough. but it was not conducive to skimming along the trail. especially when the skis took turns falling off the boots. Quickly 1 checked the harness. Sure enough the chap from whom I'd bought the outfit had put it on cockeyed. My ties fitted into it, but my heels didn't even touch the skis. They were dragging in the snow. Right there !decided to Raise Cain with the installer. Fortunately friend -came along. When he noticed that my skis seemed to want to go in opposite directions. he suggested that I had them on the wrong feet. This was patently ridiculous. But he persevered. Sure enough. the ski I'd had on my right foot was marked with a large L. for Left, and vice versa. Once that bad habit was resolved. I was skimming along like a bird. Dodo? I hada couple of other bad habits. but I solved them swiftly. One was jabbing my ski pole into my ski instead of the snow. This tended to throw me off my stride, not to mention off my feet. 1 put a Amalgamated 1924 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A. and ABC Publisher Robert Southcott Editor Bill Batten Advertising Manager 'Assistant Editor - Ross Haugh Plant Manager -- Les Webb Composition Manager — David Worby Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION • Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Poid in Advonce Circulation Morch 31, 1974, 5,309 Canada $9.00 Per Year; USA 51).00 RATES: CCNA !l U( p'RROV IOn LOOK AT THE MGM- SIDE- AT LEAST IT'LL TAKE PEOPLE'S- MIP OFF INFLATION. Petitions have -limitations Three cheers for the residents on Andrew St. for their battle to save the trees. Despite being losers in the verdict, they came out winners for having taken a stand on the issue and making an appeal to council to reverse the decision to remove the trees. The support they enlisted from other residents shows that people in this community are concerned about their environment and no doubt this fact will be instilled in the minds of elected officials as they make decisions in the future. The point made by the petitioners that engineers do not always consider the aesthetics of adjacent properties is one that should not be lightly dismissed. Engineers are naturally more concerned with the project itself and on• many. occasionsfail to consider the effect those projects have on people in general. In addition, they often -don't live in the community and are not required to face the residents to back their plans. �• The reaction of people over the prospect of losing trees is un- derstandable. They give our neighborhoods a character that residents in barren subdivisions envy greatly. They are also important in nature's cycle and their destruction must be weighed most seriously. Residents of the street will probably never be convinced that council's decision was correct, while the elected officials on the otter hand consider they are doing what is necessary. Unfortunately. it was never disclosed -what engineering costs would be involved to redesign the street considering the alter- natives suggested by the residents or what time delay may he involved. 1t appears that the matter of parking or traffic flow were not the issues of contention. but basically only that the street project had been designed in such a way that required the trees be removed. The question still remains then of whether the engineer con- sidered the value of the trees stop to this by wrapping the sharp tips of the poles in wads of foam rubber. They're not much'good in snow. but it's a lot easier on the skis. Another was a habit of making the sign of the cross with my skis. This seemed to bring about a precipitation, or downfall. 1 solved this by cutting off my skis right in front of my boots. I hardly ever get them crossed any more. Some people have trouble gettingup hills. I don't. I use the Doppelganger method (hands and knees). All in all, it's a fine. bracing sport. Here and now, in public print, 1 am ready to take on anybody over a 50 -meter course. Anyone under four or over 80. There are only a couple of things 1 don't like about it. One is my wife. When I get 200 yards behind her, she stops and waits for me. When 1 get to where she is, on my last breath, she's had a five-minute rest, and takes off. Another thing, more em- barrassing than otherwise, oc- curs when I get off the trail and get the blood out of my eyes and my heart out of my ears. A couple of young punks sail by, and I overhear "Jeez, it used to be stilly in these woods, but nowadays there seems to be great noisy gusts of wind." Little do they know it's only old Smiler trying to get his breath back. I've come to a decision Either I quit smoking or I quit skiing. Anybody interested in a pair of almost brand-new cross-country skis?' sufficiently when the design was undertaken. A compromise of reducing parking to one side and leaving the trees on the other would appear to have been worth some further investigation by council at least to the point of advising the residents what costs or delays would be involved in such a compromise. + + + One of the interesting sidelights to the issue was the credibility of the peitition presented by the residents. There were suggestions that many people had signed the petition "to get rid" of the petitioners, while others were reported to have later "back- tracked" and told council members they wished they hadn't signed. That's not all that difficult to understand. Many people can be described as "two-faced" and will claim to agree to one side of an argument 'when they talk to one person and then completely change their position when talking to another because they prefer to be in agreement with the side backed by the person to whom they are talking. This situation arises periodically because people are afraid to take a stand and let others know exactly where they stand. It unfortunately creates a problem for those on opposite sides of the argument, because many times they end up refering to the same people as proponents of their cause and it leads to situations where they end up calling each other liars rather than realizing that it's the "wishy-washy" people who have been less than honest. In that regard, some of the names on any petition must be suspect. It would be more advantageous for petitioners to present two forms to those they approach. This would then enable the people to give a "nay" or "aye" nod to' the question at hand and their signatures could not then be disputed. However, petitioners would certainly have to be prepared for the fact that many people they approach would not want to sign either way, because , there are still a great number of people ' who don't want to get involved. Petitions also lack, some credibility because those who circulate them Often present only one side of an argument or don't know the facts themselves. They must certainly be con- sidered by elected officials when they are presented in sufficient numbers, but they also must be weighed on the knowledge that they have serious limitations due to the credibility of some people involved. 50 Years Ago Master Eugene Howey, who was riding on his bicycle with his younger brother Lorne on the. handlebars, met with an accident Friday. Something went wrong with the front wheel and he was somersaulted over the wheel to the pavement where he landed on his face and was rendered un- consious. He was taken to his father's drug store where a stitch was required to close a wound on his upper lip. Lorne escaped with a few bruises. A horse belonging to a couple of Stephen Township ladies became frightened while tied in front of Jones and May's store. It corn- menced to kick, getting en- tangled in the shafts and breaking some of the harness. A four -team belonging to Ferdinand Desjardine, Grand Bend, became frightened while 50 bags of sweet clover were being delivered to Jones and May. Mr. Percy Webber who was assisting to unload, grabbed the lines, but was kicked by one of the horses and fell in the path of the on - corning wheels. Fortunately he rolled to safety. Syrup making is in full blast. 25 Years Ago Brady's Dry Cleaning plant which on February 15 was destroyed by fire has been reopened for business. Exeter District High School basketball teams swept through a field of WOSSA Senior "B" contenders to capture two championships in London Saturday. Mr. W. G. Medd, who, for many years, has operated the Exeter and Winchelsea creameries, has this week sold out to Canada Packers Limited. Harry Strang of Usborne, for the second consecutive. year the wheat king of Huron County, was crowned at Clinton Friday evening at the annual Farmer's Night banquet of Clinton Lions. 15 Years Ago Charles Reeves who retired this year as road superintendent of Grand Bend, was honored by civic officials at a dinner Friday night. He was presented with a summer lounge and his wife received a bouquet of- flowers. Reeve Jim Dalton said council had not received one complaint about Mr. Reeves' work during the seven years he had the position. News broadcaster Larry Henderson, speaking to 550 people in James St. United Church said the democratic peoples must start sactificing luxuries to compete with Russia for world power. - Rev. S. E. Lewis was elected president of Exeter and District Film Council. Vice-president is Rev. A M. Schlenker, Crediton; treasurer -librarian Mrs. Hilton Laing; secretary Mrs. J. M. Southcott; directors, K. J. Lanipman, A. B. Idle, Robert Millard, Mrs. R. S. Hiltz, Mrs. Edwin Miller and Rev. A. E. Holley. 10 Years Ago Most Reverend G. E. Carter, Bishop of London, paid his- first official visit to St. Peter's Church at Mount Carmel, Friday and during his visit confirmed 86 youngsters in the lounge of the parish of Father James Kelly. Bishop Carter also dedicated the two new rooms at the Mount Carmel School. One of the featured performers in the skating carnival scheduled fbr the Exeter arena, Saturday is Cathy Corbett, f6 -year-old daughter of Dr. & Mrs. J. W. Corbett. Teachers at SHDHS have unanimously approved the salary schedule proposed by the board, giving some staft members . in- creases of 8300 in one category and 8200 in the other three. Salary changes were from a previous 84,800 increaded to 85,000 and from 810,000 to. a maximum of 810,400. letivK 20&140gtI Continuing crucifixion As I grope through the torture and baseness of the crucifixion and work my way up to the glory and splendour of the resurrec- tion, I am struck, once again by how eachof us crucify Christ over and over in our own lives, We do it by our self- centeredness, by broken relationships. We hammer nails into the hands and feet of Jesus every time we refuse to listen sensitively to our children, our parents and to others around us. We crucify by refusing to share the wealth that is ours with someone who has little, by being blind to another's hurt, or deaf to the cries of the suffering ones. We add more blows everytime we reject another of God's children who happen to be handicapped, or of a different color, or creed, or religion than ours. In short, whenever we will not identify with the needs and feelings of others, we put Jesus up on the cross just as surely as the Roman soldiers did almost 2,000 yeara ago. For them, He prayed, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do," but since we do know what we're doing can we expect forgiveness? Everytime someone is plunged into heartbreak and despair, Christ suffers and looks to us to share and help carry that problem to show, in some small measure our appreciation for what He did for us when He went to the cross. There are times when friends and family disappoint us, when we feel certain people are not pulling their own weight. Too often, our response is to become angry or reject them because they're not behaving in the manner in which we want them to. How differently Jesus handled situations like this. He loved his disciples but freed them to become themselves. They often used this freedom in ways that disappoint Him and in the end they deserted Him. But He kept • the channels of communication open, identified with them and loved them to the end. Though .we fail miserably to catch on to what God is trying to show us, He continues to woo us by saying, "What more can I do? Since they have beaten my servants, I will send them my only Son. Surely they will respect him." (Luke 20: 9-13) We dop't like to.ask ourselves the question; "What more can I do?" but prefer to let the other fellow change, to wait for someone else to make the first move, or get his hands dirty. Sad to say, when barriers separate us from others we tend to blame somebody else. We don't want to listen to God telling us to examine ourselves by asking "What can I do? How can I change? How can I love more wisely? How can I identify more closely and carry - another's burdens or mistakes as if they were my own?" Whenever there is recon- ciliation there is the glory of resurrection. There is resurrection whenevera parent truly listens to his child, when a marriage partner suffers with, but does not nag his or her mate, when a broken friendship is mended, when some young student from the western world walks along the side of a poor peasant in a poor country. Offtimes. reconciliation is a slow and painful process, but beyond the bleakness of every Good Friday there is the glorious dawn of Easter morning. If there is a dark Calvary in your life, my prayer for you this Easter is that you will ask for God's help to turn it into a brilliant resurrection. - Our response to now By ELMORE BOOMER Counsellor for Information South Huron For appointment phone: 228-6291 or 235-0560 Exeter speaking "We would like to interest all facets of the community to participate in making use of the. free commercial channel which will be provided in Exeter." ... The Rev. Henry Van Essen was giving voice to the local ministerial association in their concern for community use of a. projected facility. The Bluewater T.V. Cable Company will be expanding their service into the Exeter area. Assurances were made to me by President Ron McIntosh and Assistant Manager Bruce Davey that initial service will begin in the fall of this year.Theyforeseea local Exeter studio within a year of the commencement of service. They explained that all is a matter of gradual build-up. First the subscription to the service is enlarged to provide an adequate audience for any local broad- casting. Then the studio is provided. Initially the studio is a fairly simple installation with one or two cameras and a number of microphones. As use demands, other cameras . and items of equipment are added. The facilities for local broadcasting are supplied by Cable companies at the in- sistence of the Canadian Radio - Television Commission. The regulatory body has come out for this community -centered ap- proach to encourage .companies The readers write The Editor, The Exeter Times -Advocate Dear Sir: April 1, 1975 is the anniversary of the formation of both the Royal Canadian Air Force and The Royal Air Force. Last year, on this date a reunion of former members of both services was held at Wolseley Barracks. It was well attended and we are planning to hold another reunion this year. With the announcement that the Canadian Armed Forces is to have a separate Air Com- mand, it is hoped that all former members of the RAF and RCAF of all ranks will attend. The reunion is to be held in Beaver Hall, Wolseley Barracks, starting at 6:00 p.m. on April 1, 1975. I hope that all ex RCAF and RAF members will be there. Yours sincerely, J. C. Slater. Captain Canadian Armed Forces 679-5165 to serve local needs as well as make a profit. At this time when pressures against communities are per- sistently present, it is par- ticularly gratifying to see this interest in the enhancement of local solidarity. The initiative for the use of the Exeter channel will lie with the people of this district. The company looks upon itself as a facilitator. a resource for groups of people desiring involvement in such a local effort. Local people are trained to operate the equipment. This equipment is initially very simple; -becoming more sophisticated to match growing ability. Groups are encouraged to present their ideas for programming. Local talent is used. The company may know of other experiments in other localities which have proved to be very beneficial and word will be passed along to local broad- casters. Natural, unrehearsed per- formances are encouraged. Exeter productions will not rival the C.B.C.! For this reason live broadcasting is preferred. There is, then, little posing. One necessity for useful local broadcasting is promotion. Such efforts take planning. Interesting issues to be presented must be brought to the attention of the people in order that they might tune in. Local newspapers often carry T.V. listings of available programs. Included are, not only the national and international, shows, but notice of local programming as well. Talk shows centered on local issues of interest are encouraged. Open -line shows are also popular. Local Religious programming and musical events are apropos for this- medium. Initially, broadcasting will take place for an hour or so, one or two nights a week. But usually this grows rapidly. To initiate service the company usually calls a public meeting. Technrcal and program co- ordination committees are chosen from among those in- terested, to operate the com- munity station. The Bluewater T.V. Cable Company welcomes local interest and initiative such as that shown by the South Huron Ministerial Association. Where community identity is strong, local programming quickly develops. Ilere, then, is an opportunity to put Exeter on the map and this most importantly, in the eyes of Exeter itself.