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Times-Advocate, 1982-02-10, Page 44.! ,4 • 'e au Ting-Adv.suis, Meus,v 10, 1002 Ames - 1.` i vocate Times Established 1873 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex Advocate Established 1881 & North Lambton Since 1873 Amalgamated 1924 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications limited ,n. LORNE EEDY. Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager Bill BATTEN Editor HARRY DEV'RIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $17.00 Per year: U.S.A. $55.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' ltf*MNINVO Make views known A group of Separate School supporters in the Dublin area have called on fellow ratepayers to join their fight to encourage the Huron -Perth Separate School board to stand firm on the salary increases offered two board officials. The board's offer to the director and 'superinten- dent of education were recently "respectfully declined" and the two men said the increases did not keep pace with inflation and did not match orka percen- tage basis increases given to other personnel during " the past three years. The concerned ratepayers in the Dublin area suggest that the 6.4 and 7.3 percent increases offered were fair, particularly when it is noted that board officials .receive $46,500 and $41,000 respectively. . In seeking the support of other ratepayers, the letter writers question whether the director and superinten- dent have lost contact with the rest of society, where one million Canadians are unemployed and farmers and businessmee are fighting for survival, let alone trying to keep up with inflation. The arguments appear very solid, until the point where the group of Dublin ratepayers wonder whether the two board officials feel they are exempt from the plea of the nation's leaders in asking all Canadians to do their part to .boost the economy and reduce inflation by curtailing their. demands. They wonder if it is too much to ask them as men in positions of responsibility to show some example. Unfortunately, of course, this nation's leaders have been dealing in double -standards. While calling ° for restraint, they,have increased their own wages by 47 percent over the, past year and a half. Their leadership example has been appalling! The pay increases offered the two Huron -Perth of- ficials do appear reasonable and ratepayers should make their views known.. When the next federal elec- tion rolls around, they should make their views known again, by ousting the sitting members who have made a mockery of "the call for restraint by Canadian citizens and workers. Not very encouraging =1 "We will. succeed. It may be - in spite of governments, but we will do it!" That was the com- ment of Ontario Premier William Davis as he viewed this nation's ability\to recover from its economic ills. The statement was made as he departed from ' last week's federal -provincial economic conference. Little was resolved at that conference, indicating that Davis may well be correet in suggesting that any improvements in the current situation will have to be accomplished in spite of governments. That, of course, is no small challenge because • governments have become so ' dominant , in the private sectors of the nation that it is difficult to accomplish' anything in spite of them. For some unexplained reason, governments at all levels fail to see themselves as -the cause of many of the problems. Nor do they appear to comprehend that they should be affected in thesame way as those in the private sector. Private businesses have been forced to curtail spending, lay off employees, reduce their expenses. Yet, governments have not shown any similar action and certainly Ontario Premier William Davis has been particularly lacking in that regard, with his purchase of expensive jets and portions of oil companies. Hopefully, Mr. Davis is correct in his suggestion that We will succeed in righting the economic problems. It is doubtful that itwill be -done in spite of governments, however, because they have been most instrumental in leading the nation into' the problem and have to be equally instrumental in leading it out. That the economic summit ended in failure is not encouraging. Some gutty,generous amateurs Tuesday, February 2. It's the ninth an- nual Exeter Lions Sportsmen's dinner. Two OPP pipers start their march down the South Huron rec centre and the head table contingent follows behind. One of those in the procession walks with some difficulty. Christine Easter - brook has a disabling physical handicap. There is no sigh of self-pity on that cheery face. Christine does not allow her handicap to rule her life or dampen her attitude. Another petite young lady in the head table march also walks with a handicap. World class gymnast Kelly Brown of London_suffered an injury when she flew off the bars and hit er foot against a concrete wall. Such an injury must be a concern for any athlete, but Kelly has a positive at- titude and obviously is anxious to get back to her weekly schedule of 25 to 30 hours of practice time to attain her goal of qualifying for the 1984 Olympics and other international competitions. , Two other youths take their place at the head table. There is just a noticeable hint of fatigue on the countenance of Lori Baier and Lloyd iEiler. On Saturday. they were making one of their strongest showings ever by placing second in the senior pairs competition at the Canadian Figure Skating cham- pionship in Brandon. Manitoba. For nine years they have toiled through the seemingly endless hours of practice to become eligible to represent this nation at the world championship next month in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Mitchell and Seaforth pair had ex- hausted every ounce of energy in their Saturday performance, then endured the long trip back and probably would have been happy to be at home resting on Tuesday night rather than attending a banquet. But these two teenagers are champions in every sense of the word. They want to help crippled children. • There's a decided hill in. the procession on to the stage at the rec centre. A con- tingent of men position themselves around a wheel chair and hoist it on to the platform. Father Joe Nelligan has arrived to take his place as master of ceremonies for the proceedings. BATT'N AROUND with the editor He had literally come from a hospital bed. recuperating from an operation in which the bone in one leg was replaced by an assortment of cement, metal and plastic. Later this year. he faces ---04 similar operation on his other leg. With difficulty. he pulls himself from his wheeled contraption to inch his way up the podium. He alone knows the pain, and only a comment made by Expo star Warren Cromartie prompts the audience to consider what the plucky priest from Mt. Carmel is enduring to be involved in the program. Joe never misses a beat. He trades quips with the stars, sends the audience into roars of laughter and keeps the program moving at a quick pace with a style that many local groups have come to enjoy in his relatively short sojourn in this community. More importantly, he passes along some words and advice on the art of playing and living. There was no real or imagined contradiciton between what he r was saying and what he was exhibiting through his attendance. Christine Easterbrook, Kelly Brown, Lori Baier, Lloyd Eisler and Joe Nelligan. Each hurting in his/her own way. But then. of course, the big money these athletes get should repay them for some pain, you say? But these were the amateurs. People who were there only because they wanted to be. No big appearance cheques for them. Each doing his/her part to make the banquet a success, which in turn results in a sizeable cheque to help crippled children. They were the superstars in .-a program of stars. However, that is not to suggest that this year's contingent of big names from the professional sporting world were as badly out -shone by the amateurs as some have been at past sports banquets when they stood at the microphone. Warren Cromartie, Joe Charbonneau, John Glassford, Dr. John Hayes, Mike Pelyk, Sam Pollock, John Priestner, Glen Weir and Jim Bouton were, as a group, the best that the sports banquet has ever.offered...and that is intended as commendation for this year's group as compared to criticism of any previous group. Normally, there are a couple of duds at any such event, but this year failed to turn up any. . Perhaps the gritty, generous appearance of the five amateurs spurred the pros on to their best! Jim Bouton may have thought the night was the Glen Weir show. I thought it belonged to Christine, Kelly, Lori, Lloyd and Joe. Their dedication to their careers and life's challenges is humbling and inspirational. s un or++wrru Titg 'wino. O Turning out shoddy seconds It's aneerie feeling, sit- ting here in this vast shoe factory writing a column, completely alone. It's not really a shoe 'factory, but a high school. However, I always think of it as the shoe factory, and it Looks like one, from the outside. Two storey high, miles of red brick, and churning out a product that ranges from classy to shoddy to cheap to "seconds" that have flaws but will do for knocking around in. The school, for the first time in my association with it, is closed on a week -day. Blizzard, high winds, drifting snow and choked roads have done the job. Usually, regardless of weather. the school is open, even when only a tenth of the students are able to get here. Days like that are euphemistically called "snow days", and are greeted with delight by both staff and students. On those days we go through a 'charade in which those students too dumb or too keen to stay at home, and leachers in the same categories, are supposed to carry on meaningful work. Students are supposed to go and get help in their weaker 'subjects. Teachers are supposed to be on hand to help them. But everybody spends most of the day talking about the weather, and feeling slightly heroic about plunging through drifts. getting noses frost- bitten, trying to get the car started. Today, after a weekend of wild weather, I actual- ly listened to the radio, and was stunned to learn that our school was dos, ed. First time in history. But teachers are sup- posed to go to work, even though they are in a plane on its w.ay, .back from' Hawaii, or a nuclear war Amused during lunch by group of adjacent truck drivers telling me of the horrors they'd •been through in the storm, while they slogged down the beer. Back to the shoe fac- tory at two. Prepared some lessons. without a single soul interrupting to Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley has begun. SO I went to work. I had two custodians and one little girl who didn't know the school was closed. • And I've had a most enjoyable day. No rotten kids to teach. No rotten teachers bugging me about their lastest hang- nail, oc whatever. No memos from .the ad- ministration categorical- ly stating that this must be attended to yesterday. Read my morning paper. which I seldom get to see between my wife yammering during breakfast, and my teachers snatching ,up sections the moment I arrived. Enjoyed a cup of coffee. Realized I should go home and get at the weather stripping I'd bought in October. Laugh- ed aloud several times. Went out and had a leisurely lunch, with a preprandial drink. Nobody to smell my breath when I got back. Not just- for When I was a teen-ager there was a significantly different attitude toward motor cycles than there is now. At that time the only people who drove them were the 'tough guys', the motor -cycle gangs who went about beating up people and terrorizing towns. Since then things have changed considerably. Motorcycles are now respectable. They've been made much more accessible and cheaper to run. Drivers of'bikes' range from housewives to grandmothers from labourers to professional people. One of the concerns I have about a Current trend is the placing of the 'mini -bike' type of vehi- cle in the hands of 'youngsters often as young as 9 or 10 years of age. whine about his Grade 9 four-year level who can't even read. Thought briefly about - the English department meeting I'd had planned for the first Snow Day, and promptly dismissed the silly thing from my mind. Wrote a letter to my brother, the retired colonel who seems a little frantic in retirement, his big moment of the day walking his dog on the beach in Florida, after a lifetime of working about 18 hours a day and play- ing the other 16. Banged out a note to old friend Don McCuaig, ex - newspaperman, ex -army private, who has withdrawn from the whole hurly-burly. And sat down and read with immense pleasure a hook I'd brought along, just in case the incredible were true. and the school was closed. Why do airmen wait until they're practically doddering before they write a book? This one was "Boys, Bombs, and Brussels Sprouts" ' by Doug Harvey, and it's a treasure of wit, Warmth and piognancy. Doug •went overseas as a sergeant pilot when h was in his teens, and with seems like total recall, conveys the flavour of what it was to be young, virginal, aed a little rough around the edges, a typical Canadian kid, in war -time England. If he'd written it 20 years ago, it wouldhave sold like the proverbial hot -cakes to all ex - bomber -force types in Canada. Trouble is, half of them are . dead now. But I think it willsell anyway.. It gives a marvellous feeling of what things were likefor bomber crews. And it doesn't have any hind- sight piety about what they were doing. Smashing German cities. Killing Germans. - Harvey. whom I know slightly. had the publishers send me a copy. and I'm glad. While I was reading it, all about the pubs. the English girls. the hilarious of- ficers' mess • parties which often wound up more like a rugger game than a party, all the old songs. mildest of which was "Knees Up Mother Brown," the polyglot Lamour of war -time London. the grim and sar- donic humour or air- crews, !h.: devotion of ground crews. made me feel like 21 again. Thanks, Doug. ough guys the first one a lad was driving along a country road (even though he was not a licensed driver.), Perspectives You see these children whipping along in ditches at speeds in excess of 30 or 40 miles per hour, or doing 'wheelies' across home field. I guess my sense of danger in this is heighten- ed by two incidents. In By Syd Fletcher suddenly made a sharp left turn into the path of an oncoming car which struck him. Although he was not seriously hurt, the" bike was totally wrecked. He ended up facing four separate charges. The second one in- volved a 10 year old boy who flipped his motor- bike over way back in a field where he rode regularly. Alarmed because he did not return after hours absence, his mother went out to find him. When I saw him. in the hospital he had been in a coma for 8 days and had never yet come out of it. Surely kids will have plenty of time as youft adults to get involved with various activities, but will be old enough to make their own reasonable decisions about it instead of bells shoved into the path 01 danger by over -indulgent parents.