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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1972-03-16, Page 9aI Apathy Earns Its Own Reward It appears highly probable that the Wingham and District Hospital will soon be operated under an entirely new policy of directorship—and there is no guarantee that the change will be an improvement. Trouble arose at the 1971:annual meeting of the Hospital Association when a few of those in attendance were distinctly unhappy about the method used to ,elect directorsr- despite the fact that the election was held,in accordance with by-laws which have been in force for many years. As a . consequence the newly -elected board decided that the by-laws should be re- written in order to eliminate any possibility , of dissatisfaction with the procedure for democratic representation of the area served by the hospital. The final recom- mendation, which has been proposed as a last resort, ,after . two alternatives had been turned -down, is perhaps the least democratic means of providing for public representa- tion. At the 1972 annual meeting two weeks ago Association President Jack Goodall re- ported that the executive committee had been left with no choice but to recommend the by-laws be written. The latest version will call for the appointment of representa- tives to the board by the various town and rural municipalities concerned. •The Advance -Times quite freely admits that news coverage of the step-by-step ef- forts of the executive committee to reach a solution to the problem have been missing from the paper. There are two reasons for the omission. The first, of course; is that committee meetings of any publicly -elected body are not open to the press. The second is that the writer of this column, Barry Wenger, is the immediate past chairman of the board and there was alwaysthepossibil- ity that in his primary role as editor of the paper such news reports could have been considered as biased. Such is. the price of public service for any active news editor. It is time, now, that the public should be more clearly unformed about the. important matters of policy which are about to alter the fundamental base Of direction on which the hospital operates. Whether or not the editor is capable of prostituting his newspaper to personal bias you will have to decide for yourself. Our only interest in' the entire matter hinges upon one factor—the welfare of the patients who are treated in our hospital. Our readers may not agree, but it is our personal . opinion that the Wingham & District Hospi- tal is about to Jose its most vital principle— .the interest and guidance of the .Hospital,aAs- sociation. The Association was formed more than 50 years ago by a group of local people who were prepared to make great personal sacri- fices to provide this town and surrounding area with a health service which it badly needed. • The founders must 'have invested, heavily in both time and money to convert a• private residence into a small-town'hospital, and oyer the° succeeding years this same in- tense and unselfish interest fostered the growth and ever-increasing efficiency of the institution. Today it stands as an example of just how much can be accomplished when devoted supporters work with zeal and un- selfishness. About ten years ago, however,- a subtle change began to take place as far as public interest was concerned. Annual meetings, in earlier years,' were packed by citizens of the community who ' were. vitally concerned' about the maintenance of a good hospital here. Then the meetings began to wither. For the past six or seven years these gather- ings have become more of a formality than a time of decision. The public has stayed away in droves. One of the reasons, perhaps, was the as- sumption of financial control by the Ontario Hospital Services Commission. We have talked to many •who firmly believed that the government agency had completely taken over and there was no point in., local people worrying about what would• happen to the hospital. This was not true, but the damage was done. Public apathy had set in like dry rot. If the lieutenant -governor in council ap- proves of the latest version of the by-laws the Hospital Association will be called to a meet- ing, probably in about two months' time. The members of the association will then either accept or reject the change in representation policy. If accepted, the hospital will in future be governed by directly appointed representa- tives of the municipal councils, and will not be answerable to the general public first- hand. It is quite probable that the majority of such appointees will be good men and true— but as long as they satisfy their own councils they will - remain in office regardless of either interest or knowledge of the hospital problem s. Any sorf of government which is dele- gated to appointees lacks the independent spirit which motivates as freely elected group. The great danger in the case of the hospital board will be that the Hospital Asso- ci. tion will no longer. have any purpose. Sice it will not elect .its own directors it -might as well fold up and disappear. That leaves hospital direction fully -in the hands of municipal government and with regional control around the next bend, the plight of the hospital is self-evident. The next and'in- evitable step will be hospital control by° re- gional government—not by.the people of this _community •which it . was established to serve. That's the whole story in a nutshell. You have a good hospital. For 50 years it has been yours to guide and'support. Next year or at most, a few years hence, it will probably be just another branch of super -government services—and we who have had such a vital concern in its operation will have little or nothing to say about how it is operated. Self-government has to be exercised. Unless the all-important circulation of inter- est and participation are maintained it just withers up. and blows away. Freedom in Excess There has been a trendwithin recent years to find every:and any excuse to "take it easy" •on persons convicted and im- prisoned in Canada. Psychologists have preached the wisdom of forgetting about vengeance, which they claimed was the sole motivation 'behind our treatment of crimi- nals in years past. Emphasis, they said, should be `placed on rehabilitation. • Basically, these experts are right.' It is shudderingly expensive to keep a man be- hind bars and to feed his wife and children while he occupies a prison cell. However, it would appear that the theories of humane .treatment can, at times, run away with com- mon sense. Take the now -famous case of Yves oeof- fory, who was let out of prison in Quebec at Christmas time to marry his girl friend. Yves was not properly appreciative of the kindly attitude of prison psychologists and the federal minister who approved of the temporary release, Jean Pierre Goyer. In- stead of co-operating.' he took off for parts then, unknown. He married the babe and they . both disappeared. They have. since been tracked down and returned to Canada'. The mystifying part of the whole story is the reasoning which permitted officials of the federal government to give Geoffroy even. temporary freedom. The man was servinga life sentence for strangling his first wife—and they let him loose to marry a second time. That's got to be something like giving a• convicted arsonist a carton, of matches for Christmas. Weti, let's allow the federal experts the benefit of the doubt. They tried to be kind and their judgment was a little out of focus. That, however, provides no excuse for, the arrogance of' the government in refusing ever since Christmas to agree to an official" investigation of the case or to even answer questions about the matter. A lot of those of- fice -holders in Ottawa have read too much about the Divine Right of Kings. Cool = and Abusive With Ottawa and its residents on our dr mind, another little item still rankles. Prime Minister Trudeau's contempt for the traditions of the House of Commons re- veal something less than the cool swinger who is usually so adeptat-handling anything from an irate farmer to a new baby. When he's really ruffled his cool can warm up in a most disgusting style. Everyone heard about and laughed off the episode some months ago when he claimed he had "mouthed" a phrase which has singe become a national joke. "Fuddle- duddle" was his interpretation -for the two words which are more usually heard in a low-grade beverage room.than in the House of Commons. In his latest outbreak he didn't bother with symbolism. Furious at the in- fighting of Opposition Leader Stanfield he plainly said, ". . . it was your goddamn question." Let's hope Mr. Trudeau never gets to China or returns to Moscow. With his highly developed self-control he could easily pre- cipatate the end of peaceful negotiations. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited. Barty Wenger, President ' - Robert 0. Wenger, Secretary -Treasurer Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Member Canadian and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associations. Subscription Rate: Subscription $10.00 a year, $5.2.4 for six months, in United' States $12.50 in advance. Second Class Mail Registration No .0821 Return Postage Guaranteed Wingha� Dear Editor; A while back, I was baidagA conversation with some Men m town and it was mentioned by.t 4f them, that the local law eP- forcement officers are respected by the young lads and thought .Of as personal friends. This is cause among other things, many of them give time tO `ttf!A athletic program. Doug Foxton and Bob Whittig coach the poU,ee team in the Novice Jjouse League. Ed Daer and(keOrge Foulon both referee hockey matches. Last but not least Nen Balzer is idealized by many of the boys who have played for him pn novice and peewee teams oven the past few years. Ken teaches them more than hockey for he ex- pects them' to be gentlemen both on' and off the ice. And let us not forget Roe Croskill who is chair- man of the Recreation Comms- sion. I believe. this community is very fortunate to have such a fine group of men, in the local force and the O.P.P., who take an 010 terest in community life along with carrying out the difficult, job we expect of them. Barry Passmore To the Editor: I haye never written to a newS- paper before, and probably never will again, but I would like .lp voice my opinion on a report which was in your newspaper last week. This is concerning the damage done to a police cruiser recently in the armouries. It ended, "It was suggested that young people attending a prac- tice session of a local dance band might be responsible." . My son is one of those young people in that group. Let .me make myself clear, that I am fully in favor , of punishing the persons responsible; whoever they may be, but I am concerned about the way this was handled, The very first inkling that these boys had, that they were being accused of doing this, was when they read it on the front page of your newspaper on Wednesday night. Did the Town Council not have enough backbone to talk to these boys and ask *them if they knew anything about it before it was published in the paper? I understand, that when these boys went to some members of the council to try to clear their name, it was brought to every- one's attention that the door to the Armouries, which is supposed to be kept locked, is, in fact, unlocked, most of the time. Could not someone else have gone in and done this damage? These boys were given permis- sion to use the building for their practices: Why should they spoil a good thing and commit this silly act? Now this group have received a letter stating they cannot use the - 'Armouries anymore, the reason being given, that other young people were seem going in -there. So what! I feel sorry for the tee - ger.s in town.. Where else can they gather, except in the pool halls or the local taverns? This group wanted to try to hold dances in the Armouries for the young people, but, because, at one time, there was trouble with alcohol, we must penalize the whole group and never try again. I am sure most' of us -have been at dances where even "perfect peo- ple our age" have made fools of themselves and some have even been escorted from the dance hall. - Come on, council and citizens Of Wingham. Give our young peo- ple a chance. I have four teen- agers of my own, and with many coming; and going from our home, I have never had any complaints. I think we have a mighty fine group of young , people in our town. Let's show them we trust them and want them to stay. Norma Brenzil EDITOR'S NOTE: We would point out to the writer that no member of council suggested that the young people practising with the dance band group were responsible for the 'damage. The point in question w$s that the building was open at that time and an opportunity existed for entrance ofAthe person or persons responsible. If the newspaper report was interpreted as an accusation *of the band members, it was not the intention of the writer to leave that impression. Wingham Advance Times, Wingham, Ontario. Dear Barry: I note with interest your edi torial under date of March 9th regarding the cost of planning. In reading your editorial it would appear that the cost of MODA plus the Planning Department equals $107,000. I would like to explain that the actual costs to the County tills year in connection with planning and with the Development Department are as follows: Planning Department $446,392 MODA—estimated ;.6,600 which in total would be approximately $53,000 In addition, however, we do have our Development Depart- ment and the budget for this department has been approved at $25,900. Again an offspring from the planning Department is our Land Division Committee with a budget of $30,000 less revenue of $24,000 or a net cost to the County of $6,000. When these costs are added together, we get . a total of $84,892. I do know that the' figure of $107,000 was mentioned in discus- sions, at the session but I am rather certain that this figure included other items over and above the subject under discus- sion. I thought I should bring this to your attention as the figure men- tioned in your editorial is some- what larger than the actual cost. Nevertheless the $84,892 is still a very significant figure. . Yours truly, John . Berry Clerk -TI asurer. 2430 Honorah St., Detroit, Mich. Dear Sir: Thanks for finding a different way to mail your weekly paper. I like the envelope method much better than the "roll" method. Also, thank the person or per- sons responsible for fixing and starting the town clock. Kay (Cruikshank) Ripple Dear Editor: Having been an enthusiastic reader of your ed : torals for many years, I have been wonder- ing if some day you might put in book form' those articles that are not current in material, so youag- people some day could read what we present-day people think. These editorials seem to me so timely and factual it is a great pleasure to have someone cap- able of putting so clearly into wordsthink. what T believe most people With the odd exception,' (for in - •stance• in your Editorial Com- ' ment of March 2, 1972 headed "Who Should Judge?", I would have used three words instead of c•iotn' .used 1the last paragraph and said "on the floor" instead of "in his. teacher's.face". I know how you felt but some may take the words too literally. Your editorials are such. that I. look forward with keen interest each week to see. what subjects you are going to cover and where and how you get them really baffles me: We subscribe to two daily papers here, plus the Toronto Globe & Mail four days a week. These U.S. dailies are just filled with crime and political corrup- tion. There is no confidence what- soever in any politician, munici- pal employee or anyone from the president of the USA down—bri- bery, graft, payola, hush money, blackmail! The editorials are ' politically slanted. Anything else is hard to find and it is quite evi- dent to what extent American life is controlled by either big busin- ess or' the Mafia. Just where these conditions are leading is difficult to comprehend. Fortunately our Canadian weekly papers are apparently independent and our dailies rea- sonably so. I pass your editorials around to American friends here and, frankly, they ,generally want to keep the articles to show to still other friends. -My hope is that you may be able to continue for many years ' to write as you have been doing. If you every write.a book, put my name at the head of the list to get one. . • Very sincerely yours, R. E. (Mac).McKinney, Palm Beach Shores, Florida. ADDING THE SCENIC touch to the singing of The Daffodil Song by a group of Grade 4 students of the public school, Heather Redman, Debbie Lee, Barbara Fryfogle and Kara Sue Speiz flank Paul Hickey. —Staff Photo. blab= Abbancietreinice Wingham, Ontario, Thursday, March 16, 1972 SECOND SECTION Dirty Payers get the Laurels Watching our high school hock- ey team in action the other day, I could not refrain from brooding about how the game has changed. If what I was . watching was "sport", and • schoolboy" sport at that, I guess it's time I was put out to pasture. Oh, it was e„xciting, all right. That is, if you Like to watch. teen- age .boys trying to tear .each others' arms off with deliberate hooks, remove each others' teeth with high sticks, and smash each others' brains out against the boards. Throw in some deliberate slashing, tripping, -kneeing, butt - ending and a couple of fights, and you have the picture of young Canada playing its national game. Admittedly, the game is faster and more furious than ever. But furious isa word that does not be- , long in sport, unless you think professional boxing is a sport, which it is not, in my opinion. In vain do the coaches of high • school teams tell their charges to play hard but clean. The kids have watched too. much pro hockey, where most of the, fans; like spectators in a Roman .arena, want blood, and the pros oblige. `The only thing that redeems the spectacle—and it is a spectacle, not a game—is the fact that there are usually one or two players on • each team who still belie've in skill rather than violence and who use their heads for some- thing besides butting. These are the 'players .who emerge as the team leaders; even though some of the "wild men" may have more natural ability. These are the players who almost never get a penalty, who walk away from a stupid fight rather than look for one, who put some spark into the team when it is be- hind. A pleasure to watch. And then there are the others. Kids who are pleasant and well- mannered off the. ice, but go beserk the minute the first whis- tle brows. One of them expressed his philosophy,,/to me:. "Yah. Yer sposeta drop yer stick when a fight starts, but yuh don't drop it till the other guy drops his." And, of course, if the other guy is fol- lowing the same principle, there could be a stick -swinging match. Put four feet of hardwood in the hands of two young huskies, let oW cnA1E You WOMEN FOPLSEr "'P Y- fNe W/-If,v Yo) sEE A 'SALE' Alan/ t ,1 them start swinging .their clubs, and you have a stivation more deadly than many of the duels of history, fought with lethal wea- pons. - It's about as quick a way as any to wind up with a smashed nose, a permanentscar, a concussion, a skull fracture, or one eye. In my opinion, a great deal of the blame for the situation lies with the referees. They seem to be brainwashed into letting any- thing go, short of chopping a head off with a stick. The game is faster and more "colourful" that way. And the colour is that of blood. . The goalie used to be protectgd. by a sort of mutual" consent. 'He' was slower and more vulnerable because of his heavy padding. - You took your shot, and if he stop- ped it, skated around him.' Now, he comes out to stop a shot and is quite likely to get a mouthful of . high stick. Result? The goalie starts playing dirty, to 'protect himself. Maybe I'm just old-fashioned. But, when I played team sports— football, hockey, baseball.there were one or two "dirty" players on each team. Caught' in the act, they were penalized and ostra- cised. Nowadays, you have, to look hard to find 'one or two "clean" players on each team. And it's the "dirty" players who get the roars from the crowd. This is fact, and it's fact that is sobering, saddening and sickening. .Four-year-old Bobby was • stroking his cat before the fire. The cat began to purr loudly. Bobbygazed at her, then sudden- ly seized her by the tail and drag- ged her away from the hearth. His mother said: "You must not hurt the kitty, .Bobby." "I'm not," he said, "but I've got to get her away from the fire. She's beginning to boil." Note in fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant read: "Better tip big-we`'ve got the bomb too:" TODAY'SCHILD BY HELEN ALLEN LIKES ANIMALS Teddy is a handsome young fellow of four and a half, whose very dark eyes and black hair deflect his Indian ancestry.. He is a healthy, active boy whop enjoys any kind of vigorous games. His pleasant personality means adults like his company. Teddy is fond of children but until recently did not know how to play with them without conflict. Now he is attending nurs e1 y school and learning better how to socialize with his own age group. Teddy is felt to 'have great potential. A bright, alert youngster, he quickly absorbs whatever he sees and hears and he is eager for new experiences. This laddie is interested in farm animals with which he readily makes friends. He is fascinated by mechanical things, and likes to figure out how they work. Teddy needs° young energetic parents in a loving, stimulating home. It would be best if there were no children close to his age in the family. To .inquire a be tit adopting Teddy ple ase w rite to Today's Child, Box 888, Station K. Toronto. For general adoption information ask your Children's Aid Society.