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Times-Advocate, 1982-06-30, Page 4Tktltas-Advocote. June 30.1982 Ames -. dvocate Times Established 1873 Serving South Huron, North Middlesex Advocate Established 1881 & North Lambton Since 1873 Amalgamated 1924 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Adsertis ng \tanager BILI BATTEN ROSS HAUGH tduor Assistant Editor HARR% DE\ RIES Composition Manager DICK JONGKIND Business Mapager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class MJ Registration Number 9.3K. Phone 235-1331 •SUBSCRIPTION RATES: • I t.1 •Canada $20.00 Per year: U.S.A. $55.00 C.W.N.A., O,C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' Vialtiffnecffis Improvement needed Members of Exeter council are correct in voicing concern over the lack of attendance of some members of the local planning board. Two recent scheduled meetings of the latter have been cancelled due to the fact a quorum, was not available. Without knowing the reason for the absenteeism in all cases, it is perhaps too harsh to. make a blanket critical statement regarding the situation. However, members who fail to show up without notice are displaying a lack of consideration for other people, such as the two county representatives who travelled considerable distance and therefore wasted time and money, in a fruitless trip. A telephone call to a member of the executive ad - Underdogs Area farmers should be breathing a collective sigh of relief this week in view of the decision by the Con- solidated Hearings Board to :veto a suggested hydro line through this district .connecting the Bruce generating station with London. That decision has only one major hurdle to clear and that is from the Ontario cabinet, but that should be a mere formality. While they're heaving that sigh of relief over the fact they will not have to face huge towers on their farmland and the exhaustive negotiations with Ontario Hydro, they should also be heaving some praise towards those who fought on their behalf to save some of this province's most productive farmland. The Foodland-Hydro committee, with some unex- • pected assistance from the provincial ministry of agriculture, obviously worked long and hard on their arguments that swayed the board into agreeing that the route being touted by Ontario Hydro through farms Patronage The only theory of relativity most people stumble upon is when applying for a job. Before the ink on their resume is dry, they discover the owner's nephew got the nod. 4 It happens all the time. But it never ceases to amaze us how often it's probably occured in govern- ment, where most of the operating capital comes from taxpayers. • Upon a public outcry last week, the Canada Post crown corporation quietly withdrew a plan that would Priorities It has often been said that small com- munities are less affected by adverse economic conditions. or at least they are victimized more slowly. Whatever the merits of the philosophy, there is little doubt that the current economic crunch is starting to hit this area extremely hard and in less than a one-month period there have been almost 250 people added to the unemployment ranks. That of course. is only a portion of the bad news_ The spin-off from that loss of employment is difficult to estimate but it will be staggering. At time of writing. there is no indication what Allan 34acEachen's budget may do to remedy the situation. but anyone ex- pecting a quick turn -around is probably, going 'to be disappointed_ Obviously. the community can not bury its collective bead in the sand and =pent the bad times to go away or that those whose livelihood has been hit a severe blow won't regipre financial and moral assistance. Individuals and groups. from elected through service. social and fraternal bodies. are going to have to take a close look at their priorities and keep their fingers on the pulse of the cammu pity- in which they serve. Every expenditure and every project. whether it is already in- cluded in a budget or not. should be reviewed and assessed to ensure it is a necessity. If oot it should be pit on the back burner. It must be conceded that in many respects. it is a damned if you do. damn- ed if you don't situation. Spending restraints slow the economy even further and put additional people out of work. On the other hand, public spending adds costs . to the people who can't afford them. . However, the fact remains that the plight of the unemployed must be con- sidered oo-sidered in decisions to proceed on pro - 1 t , • !PCNA vising of a member's inability to attend would probably have resulted in the meeting begin cancelled with lit- tle inconvenience to anyone involved. It is difficult to present strict guidelines for volunteers, but the record of some planning board members in recent months has indicated that there may be a lack of interest in the position for which they have accepted the responsibility. • Whatever the reason, it appears in the interest of the group as a whole and the town's planning process, that some members do a bit of soul-searching regar- ding the situation. The problem may be resolved as easily as switching to a night on which there are no conflicts for members. • are winners in this district was not the logical choice. "It is one of the first times the farm community has had such an impact, and that's because we did our homework," commented Foodland-Hydro committee chairman Tony McQuail. That comment should be stored away for future use by all groups who attempt similar battles or engage in arguments over proposed policies. Too often they are unprepared with the necessary facts to back up their agruments and often fail miserably because they can't defend their opinions under cross- examination however deep-rooted they may be. Foodland-Hydro has proven that having well- documented facts to back an argument can win and they should be commended for staging a fight in which they appeared at the outset to be odds-on underdogs. Some of the high-priced experts they won against must be slightly reeling. isn't limited see the children of letter carriers employed this sum- mer as student help. A provincial ministry was caught with the inten- tion to practise the same scheme several weeks ago. An intercepted memo revealed that niore than just several seasonal jobs within the ministry were to be reserved this year for the friends and relatives of the party faithful. Who says it doesn't pay to know somebody? must be established jects. and there are a couple of local ex- amples that could be cited. to make the point. The local Lioness Club members are wanting to spend 52,000 on a creative playground and local ice enthusiasts are considering the expenditure of about $4.500 to purchase a floor covering for the BATT'N AROUND rec centre so earlier ice can be installed. Both projects have merit. but it behooves the clubs involved to first ensure that all area youngsters can participate in present programs this summer and fall before expending funds that could be us- ed to pay registration fees for those who can't afford them and therefore have to miss out on swimming. hockey or figure skating. • It is not surprising that registrations for some programs are down and making certain people aren't prohibited from par- ticipating through cost should be a priori- ty before adding new facilities. There's no doubt that service clubs and. private citizens would assist in those cases of need. but there is a deficiency in communication that needs .to be overcame. Perhaps some of that money area municipalities have available through provincial make-work progr ms could be used to have surveys taken to determine the needs of those adversely affected by the economic conditions in the area. Another prime consideration for area residents is that of shopping at home. it 1� has always been economic common sense. but now it takes on even greater proportions as area firms feel the cnmch of the reduced buying power of customers whose pay cheques have been replaced by unemployment insurance or even social assistance. Money spent locally keeps the local economy going. It creates employment for your friends and neighbours. it con- tributes business and property tax money to reduce the burden you have to pay. A business failure has the same spin-off as any other type of unemployment. It creates direct hardships for some and in- direct consequences for many others. It is. of course. a two-way street. It is always mystifying to see some businesses patronizing out -of -area firms *hen they can get the same goods or services local- ly. and that includes advertising I should mention. Finally. it should be emphasized that these are not doom and gloom times for everyone. Some people have been hit hard. while others just think they have been because they can't live quite as high off the hog as they are accustomed. not considering fully that their lifestyle hasn't been severely altered. There is certainly considerable uncer- tainty. but most people still have the basic necessities. even by our Inflated defini- • tions of necessities The important thing is •to carry on "business as usual" and not take un- necessary. steps that in fact do add to the economic woes At the same time. it is essential that the needs of thers are given full consideration in an effort to help them through their difficulties. Small communities have always ex- hibited the ability to help neighbours and their is no reason to suggest that there will be any change in that regard if everyone just gives the matter due consideration. Weeklies Have just been reading a story in Canada's so- . called o- .called national newspapers, or communi- ty newspapers, as they now, rather swankly, call themselves. They have fallen, or are falling, on harder times. due to the usual causes: inflation, high interest rates. These factors are decreasing advertising revenues and increasing costs at an alarming rate. It is my considered opi- nion that a community without a spry, lively. in- telligent and'bometanes irreverent newspaper is, lacking a vitarsubstance of its existence. If the people in town don't say. "Well, it said in the Echo (or Times. or Free Press; or Advocate that it's all the mayor's fault." then there's something wrong with the newspaper: If they don't know the editor of their local paper: if he is a gray anonymity in the community. then there's something wrong with the editor. But if they don't know that he 'she is working 60 hours a week, and the paper is headed toward bankruptcy. then there's something wrong with the community. And if that's the case. it `doesn't deserve a decent. newspaper.., I've been the whole road. It's gone through a weird cycle in the twenty- . odd years since I left the business. Flat. boom. and potential bust. I entered the fraternity in the flat period. It shouldn't have been flat. The Canadian economy was healthy in the post- war euphoria. circa 1949. But newspaper editors were supposed to be dedicated. like teachers. not wealthy They were With the devaluation of support one's own country. the Canadian dollar infirst. terms of •American For example. I visited dollars. it is becoming the Bruce Penninsula more and more appealing for Canadians to look at their own country when it comes time to go on a vaca tion. Personally I have always been amazed that Canadians would even consider going south of the border for their trips when there is so much to see and do right here in our own country Perhaps there is this idea that one has to tra vel great distances in order to see something special. . fall on hard supposed to work any given amount of hours, belong to , everything in town. shell out handsome- ly_ for every charity. and give free advertising from everything from a church bingo to a Lion's club car- nival. (I'm not picking on the Lions. The other ser - Sugar and Spice Dispensed Iy S�>nier vice clubs were just as cheap. But even they weren't as cheap as •the mer- chants. A twelve -dollar ad for a Grand New Opening was supposed to be automatically accom- panied by a front-page story describing in glow- ing terms the 20 -foot con- crete block addition somebody had made to his business. A half -page ad. with everything crammed in but the kitchen sink, and no wasted white space. which- took half a day to set in' type. was a phenomenon. Grocery stores and five -and tens ran the big ads. two col- umns wide by eight inches deep. Oh. boy. how the money. rolled in. With a partner. I bought into the weekly newspaper business. We didn't have 20 cents each. but manag- ed to raise the down pay- ment of five thousand by putting the heat on all our relatives and a few businessmen. The rest was a mortgage of twenty- one thousand. at five percent. "Don't weep any tears for him." you say. ••at five percent interest, when I'n3 paying 20". But don't forget coffee was a dime, beer 20 cents a draught. a hamburger 20 cents, a movie ticket 50. an apart- ment 45 dollars. For the first six months. my partner and I took home 10 bucks a week. out of the till. I had a small service pension, and he lived at home. After that, we took $30 for him and $35 for me. (I hada wife and kids). Our machinery was an- cient (some of it run by water power, if you can believe.) Our staff was loyal but underpaid - total wage. packet was $33 a week tor Linotype operator. S30 a week for journey -man printer. about S20 for bookkeeper - secretary. But we put out .a pretty good. lively paper. It was respected. and we were. I might add that we were both lousy businessmen. We didn't have the killer instinct. We hated, raising subscription and advertising rates. With that huge mortgage. we didn't have the guts to expand. Well.. we missed the boom. New methods of printing sprang into being. ' cheaper and better - looking. Photography and a sharp pair of scissors replaced the painstaking layout of real printing. The guy with _a shrewd head replaced the Try it, you'll like Mind you. I'm not knocking the places that the States has to offer There are many exciting things to see and do there but as a priority I would think it was only logical to the Niagara Escarpment Even if you are not a hik- ing enthusiast it would be worth your while to walk Perspectives er Syd Fletcher recently and was utterly amazed by the beauty of that area. Places like Tobermory. with respect to picturesque fishing boats. clear sparkling water and general charm could compete with any village from Spain to Maine. The Bruce trail starts at Tobermory and runs for over 4n't kikxnetrrs along along some brief stretches of it if you want to .see nature at its unspoiled best. When we went along the trail the first week of June. we had been warned by various people about the bugs, • Perhaps we were lucky 'but i've seen more mosquitoes in my backyard than we saw up there in the whole 3 day trip. times haphazard business methods of the gifted amateurs who mostly made up the business. Came the super- markets, with their full- page ads, and the sudden discovery by other mer- chants that it did pay to advertise more than a three -dollar Christmas greeting ad. Revenues soared. Subscription prices kept pace with in- flation. Printing costs were cut. Younger publishers ex- panded, built- up a. small chain of two . to •-five,. weeklies, even replaced their creaking, old, groan- ing buildings._They bout new equipment. They bor- rowed' money to buy it. They got themselves deep- ly in debt. But never mind. The money was rolling in. God was in His Heaven. And if things were slow, they'd sell a couple of pages of ads for National .Clean Up Excrement Day, supported by a lot of small advertisers, with a pile of excrement in the middle of the page. I used to twist arms and stamp on toes and appeal to the tiny glint of humani- ty in merchants to sell a two dollar ad. Well. the bubble has burst. The younger publishers have worked just as hard or harder. But they have finally realized that the sky is not the limit. The interest rate .is. They have my sym- pathy.. ym;pathy.It's a tough game. But one chap in the article I mentioned went into bankruptcy because he had a 570.000 mortgage. That's chicken feed com- pared to the one we took. on. At today's interest rates. ours would have been s120.000. We didn't go bankrupt. We just carried on. Like idiots. it At Cyprus Lake Provin- cial Park there is a stretch of trail that has to be one of the most spectacular pieces of scenery in all North America. and I would put it right beside' the Rocky Mountains and the Grand Canyon. You're about 80-100 feet up off the clearest cleanest water I've ever seen t including Silver Springs in Florida and the rock formations, caves. and grottos are breath -takingly beautiful. On the trail there are all kinds of wild -flowers, 'many which I'd never seen before. You don't have to be an athlete to get up there and it's well worth your time. Not only that, it's a lot cheaper than flying to Florida. Try it. You'll like it.