Times-Advocate, 1982-03-17, Page 4Times.Advecg e, Moret 17, 19112
igt
imes
Times Established 1873
Advocate Established 1881
Amalgamated 1924
1 1
1
i
v
dvocate
Serving South Huron, North Middlesex
& North Lambton Since 1873
Published by j.W. Eedy Publications Limited
lORNI EEI)\'
Publisher
JIM.BECIst f f
Adsertr.inr; Manager
WI HAI P\
1 drtor
HARR\ 1)I \ RIt
Composition Manager
ROSs HAU'GH
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 $20.00 Per year: U.S.A. $55.00
C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A..CLASS 'A' and `ABC'
Causing undue hardship
Based on declining enrolment and the Huron board
of education's staffing formula, there will be an excess
of 16.7 elementary teachers in the system in
September:
However, because the loss of 16.7 teachers would
"cause undue hardship on the system" the board last
week decided to exceed the staffing formula, and with
some shuffling, will retain the teachers.
The result will cause undue hardship on the tax-
payers, but that appears to be of little consequence to
members of the board who don't seem to comprehend
the realities of.the current economic situation being
faced by taxpayers.
Would the teachers allow the board to operate
under the approved staffing formula numbers?
Doubtful!
If the staffing formula hasworked satisfactorily in
the past, what undue hardships are going to arise. by
maintaining it?.
C7
cn
PCNA
No one enjoys seeing layoffs in the teaching pro-
fession, any more than they enjoy seeing layoffs in any
other working group, but the reality is that those
layoffs are occurring because there is reduced demand
for the product or service the workers perform.
The private sector has had to meet the reality of
the current situation and yet those in the public sec-
tor keep rolling along with their heads in the sand,
oblivious to the unemployment, bankruptcies and
economichardships of those around them.
Everyone hopes the situation will be corrected ,but.
until it is, public officials must understand what is go-
ing on in the private sector of the economy, because
every cent they get comes from that sector in the first
place.
That is the reality that must be faced and it is ab-
surd that when taxpayers are facing hardships that
those in the education system don't think they have to
face some hardships as well.
A needless slaughter
The irresponsible action of some dog owners is
leading to the decimation of deer herds in this part of
the province.
Last week this newspaper carried a picture of a
deer that had been run down and mauled to death by
dogs in the Pinery Park, one' of 15 deer known to be
killed there .by dogs in the past couple of weeks.
Shortly after the issue was published, Blake Evans
of the ministry of natural resources, phoned to say that
a large buck had been destroyed by a couple of hounds
in Stanley Township and he reported his staff have
picked up about 20 such carcasses recently.
Those numbers are alarming, but they may only
be.the tip•of the proverbial iceberg. Mr. Evans sug-
gests the number of deer killed could run at least three
times as high as the number actually discovered, given
the fact many take place in unpopulated and remote
areas.
It is an unusually high number and there are three
basic reasons. First, the deer population has increas-
ed in recent years; secondly, the high level of snow has
made it difficult for deer to escape from their wanton
attackers.
But the main reason is the inescapable fact that
dog owners are failing'tave up to their responsibili-
ty and the law in keeping their animals from running
at large.
While a few of the kills are blamed on wild dogs
(ones abandoned by callous owners) the majority are
perpetrated by domestic canines.
The dogs, 'of course, don'tknow any better. Their
owners should!
Keep the -wagon train. together
A recent survey conducted by a branch
of the federal government indicated that
Canadians carry a high degree of racial
prejudice, which may not be as blatant as
that evidenced south of the border, but
which is just as dangerous nevertheless,
and perhaps even more so, in view of the
fact it is more secretive.
Knowing the enemy at least provides
the benefit of knowing whom to avoid.
Guerilla warfare is always more
'_ dangerous and frightening because one
never knows from where his enemy may
appear or when.
Distinguishing between friends and
enemies becomes impossible and unfor-
tunately leads one to the assumption that
he/she may well be surrounded by
enemies and should act accordingly.
It is impossible for most white Anglo-
Saxons to comprehend the feeling that
minority groups experience and it is
beneficial and enlightening to get thrown
into situations periodically where a per-
son becomes a member of a minority.
The writer had such an experience over
the past week while coaching a group of
15 and 16 -year-olds in a playoff series
against •Six.Nations.
When it was learned the team would be
competing against the lads from the
Mohawk Reserve near Brantford. there
were the usual comments about watching
our scalps. checking opposing players for
tomahawks and spears and other of the
nonsensical suggestions stemming from
an attitude fostered by Saturday after-
noon movies and TV depicting an era that
has nothing to do with today s native peo-
ple anymore than their local opponents
were not carrying muskets, trinkets to
trade. or wearing high -buckle shoes,
First game of the series was played in
Exeter. Members of the local team arriv-
ed at the rec centre to view their op-
ponents in the corridor prior to the game.
The Indian lads kept huddles together.
Similar to the local players, most wore
sneakers. jeans and had on hockey
jackets. -
z.' Once they donned' the helmets that
covered their dark hair and the face
masks which hid their complexions, there
was little difference exhibited in the two
teams from any of those which have per-
formed on the ice in Exeter this season.
Members of the teams had identical
goals: to score more than the other. On
the ice, each team went about that task
in an identical manner: skating. passing,
shooting and checking., There was nothing
BATT'N
AROUND
with the editor
to indicate any difference between the
players and indeed there were none. The
game was perhaps less brutal than some
in which the Exeter players have been in-
volved this season. The Indian lads pick-
ed up one unsportsmanship penalty. One
neighboring team had four of those in a
previous game.
The boys shook hands in the customary
fashion after the game and departed to
their dressing rooms. one to enjoy the vic-
tory and the other to mull over the loss
and take solace in the fact things could be
different in the next game.
. . . .
Things were different. indeed. The Six
Nations team won that contest. and while
it was a bit more bruising than the first.
it was well within the standards of a
midget hockey game.
Again. there was little to suggest any
difference between, the appearance or
conduct of the respective teams on the ice.
But there were some differences.
This time, it was the Exeter team
. :":•` . it. 'Is....
members who gathered together in their
corner of the Ohsweken arena. Whether
•that was by design or accident, I can't
say. but I did note that when they decid-
ed to head for the snack bar or the
washroom. they always enlisted a couple
of cohorts to go with them, a situation that
is somewhat out of the ordinary.
Normally. the haggared coach and
manager have to search every cornerof
the arena for various players. There's
usually a straggler whether it be in com- -
ing into the dressing room or departing
after the game. This time there was none.
Keep the wagon -train together.
There were questions about the water.
At no other arena this year had there been
questions about where the water came
from for the bottles lugged on to the bench
or for in-between period refreshment.
Some complaints were aired about the
dressing room and washroom facilities.
They weren't up to South Huron rec cen-
tre cleanliness standards, but still on a
par with many the team has encountered.
The writer has no way of knowing, but
I came away with the feeling that there
was an uneasiness among the local
players when they were in the Ohsweken
arena. Unusual for this brash bunch of
teenagers.
Most. of course. have been travelling to
arenas for the past 10 years as minor
hockey. players. But this one was dif-
ferent. They were in a minority situation.
Some were possibly showing the mistrust
of Indians through a prejudice that would
be interesting to determine an origin.
i was hoping a couple to native referees
may have been assigned to the contest.
That would have really tested us.
It was a test the Indian lads had to en-
dure in the series. Wonder if they ex-
pected a fair shake from a couple of
whitemen blowing whistles and calling
penalties' Probably not:
They too have their prejudices.
I am proud to report that the Exeter
Please turn to page .5
ti `ti • !.'' �-+.. , .....• •- .0. .4. 4..,.qm. �, ..+ • •.
r
You have to learn to shuffle
U you want to swing with
the senior citizen set in
Florida, there's two things
you have to do - shuffle.
That's only one thing, you
say? Well, you have to be
able to shuffle two ways, and
we're not talking about the
way you 'walk.
First. you have to be able
to shuffle and deal a deck of
cards. And once you've
mastered the art of euchre or
even King in the Corner, you
can graduate to the more
important shuffling - down at
the local shuffleboard
courts. •
We suffered through
lessons in shuffling (not to
mention humiliating defeat)
during a recent visit with my
parents in Lakeland.
Florida. You see, half of
Ontario's 65 t•lus crowd
settles into Lakeland each
winter, and what do they do
there? Why, they shuffle, of
course.
Lakeland is a small city,
attractively dotted with
many little lakes. Along the
shore of one lake is a com-
munity centre building
whe.je seniors can enjoy
dances. Behind it is a -lawn
bowling green and the most
popular . spot in town, the
shuffleboard courts.
These shufflers take their
sport quite seriously, and are
very intent on the game. In
fact if the alligator who lives
in the nearby lake were to
walk by. I'm sure they
wouldn't notice (unless he
happened to walk on a
court). Actually there is an
alligator living in the lake
he's blind in one eye and his.
name is Slinky. He comes up
on thepier each day to sun
himself. The city makes sure
he is well fed so that he is
content to stay in the lake
and he seems to be harmless.
But in some of the other:
lakes in the city there are
signs up warning people to
beware of reptiles.
Anyway. with cue in hand,
we joined my parents.on the
shuffleboard courts. As the
only people under 30 we
made quite a sensation.
(Actually. I'm pretty sure
we were the only people
under 60.) The seniors were
eager to tell 'us the rules of
the game, which they take
quite seriously. After
learning some of the
strategy (which is very
similar to curling) we were
ready .to'play. Well, Victor
and I lost our first game. And
our second. and our third,
and so on. And as if losing
wasn't bad enough. the
scores are chalked up on a
blackboard in bold figures
for everyone to see. About
the only positive thing I can
say about shuffleboard is'
that one can get a fairly good
tan standing out on those
• courts in the hot sun.
Unfortunately, rules of the
club dictated that Victor
couldn't take his shirt off.
The day grew hotter, and
by late afternoon we were
Mary's
musings
By Mary Alderson,
grateful to accept the in-
vitation of my parents'
friends to swim in the pool at
the Holiday Inn where they
were staying. We changed in
their room and headed to the
pool. Unfortunately, our host
and hostess had to leave for a
short time, but they urged
Mom , Dad, Victor, and I to
go for a swim.
All around the pool were
signs proclaiming
"Registered guests only."
We were somewhat nervous
about trespassing but we
went ahead. We selected
deck chairs and sat down,
trying to be unobtrusive.
There were several empty
chairs around the pool but
just as i sat down. a young
woman came running up to
me, yelling something about
a wallet. it seems she had
been sitting in that chair, left
her wallet there, and wanted
to know, if I had seen it.
By this time, everyone at
poolside was staring at me.
But soon witnesses came to
my aid. Yes• they had seen
a wallet there. but a young
man had sat in the chair for a
moment, scooped it up and
ran' off quickly. It would not
likely be seen again. Just
then the poor' young lady
began to cry. •'Champ's
gonna kill me. i had Sion in it
and all my credit cards." she
wailed.
It turned out she was llrs.
Champ Summers. wife of the
Detroit Tigers baseffall
player. The Detroit Tigers
play in Lakeland 'during
their spring training and
make their home in the
• Holiday inn. Several other
wives joined Mrs. Champ in
her search but to no avail.
Finally the police were
summoned.
We decided to enjoy our
swim and made a hasty •
departure. We . thought it
best not to be there when the
police asked what room we
were registered in. Several
Tiger players showed up, but
not Champ.
Unfortunately. the
Summers bad luck con-
tinued. for the next day we
heard on the radio that
Champ had been traded off.
In any case. it. was veru
difficult to be unobtrusive
that day. With our pathetic
score posted at the shuf-
fleboard courts and selecting
the wrong chair at the porrl,
we too. had bad luck.
On .dealing with urchins
When visiting various
Central and South
American countries,
tourists from Canada are
often surprised to be ap-
proached by a number or
urchins, all asking for
money. An initial response
is often pity and an im-
mediate handout followed
by some angers twenty
others approach you for
another gift, followed by
indifference and
callousness as more and
poverty is seen.
In the Muslim religion
one of the basic rules is
that each true believer in
the faith must support the
poor to the best of his abili-
ty. Many Christian chur-
ches also subscribe to this
•
philosophy in that it is
very difficult to minister
to a man's soul if his belly
is touching his backbone.
fed nim and gave him
some clothes. Then my
dad set out to find him a
job. About that time the
Perspectives
Here in Canada there is
of
very little
althoughbf ege above sort
ging, I can
remember one fellow
coming to our door many
years ago asking for food.
My parents took him in,
By Syd Fletcher
man disappeared. It turn-
ed out he'd been making
the rounds of all the
ministers in town and was
quite successfully making
an easy living.
While i was walking
down a main street in
Toronto one thy i was ap-
proached by a young
fellow - I wrote the follow-
ing about him:
Have you any spare
change, sir?
Ile said
i looked more closely at a
young face
Covered with 3 days beard
He had a bare chest. dirty
feet and ragged clothes
I've only pennies, i said
Thinking he'd go away,
insulted
But -
No sweat, he said
No problem man
it's all bread to me•
And walked away
Jingling my pennies in his
pocket
•
ir-
4 Sy