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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1973-02-08, Page 4In ,a'k1LtiL� • •l• } h .�\��. � .: Lit' LLi�1L*. :11 5n Conscience - a hard master We do not envy the responsibility of those comparatively few Canadians who are sitting in the House of Commons trying to make their decisions about whether or not convicted murderers should hang. Nor is their decision. made any easier by the fact that no less than.three Toronto po- licemen have beenshot in as many weeks— two of them fatally. Our elected representa- tives know they must, at least in some de- gree, reflect the wishes of the constitu- ts—and a good many voters are in a mood to emend the return of capital punishment. The dilemma of the members of Parlia- m t has not been made easier by the con- ct of. the Cabinet during the past five Years. At that time non -capital murder was the charge laid in each instance of a killing -- except where the victim vas a. policeman or a prison guard. However, Cabinet members have not been able.to make the decision to take even a murderer's life, so most hanging sentences were commuted to life imprison- Ment. Thus the intent of the law passed by Parliament was effectively thwarted. There is no point indenying that crimes of violence are increasing in our society. The streets of most Canadian cities were safe for LL`•,, SSLL L L• pedestrians—even late at night—until a few . years back, Now they have begun to re- semble'the jungles of steel and concrete in the United States, where violence and sud- den death have reached epidemic propor- tions. So it is obvious that our lawrnakers must find some method of deterring those who take humanlife so cheaply. The one snag in a return to hanging as the penalty for murder is that on rare occasions an innocent man or woman might be executed. Once dead there is no re,Prieve. The only alternative would be total life imprisonment ---'incarceration with- out any chance of parole unless new evi- dence is discovered. Exceptional cases might be given preference—such as a mur- der committed before a person is old enough to have full responsibility --or, of course, the many cases in which the murderer is not of sound mind. Certainly society can no longer tolerate the increase in crimes ofviolence-but it is not difficult to understand the horror of inde- cision which faces any member of Parlia- ment who must soon cast a vote either for or against the right of the state to legally de- stroy .a.human life. History or real estate? The battle which is raging in Goderich right• now over the possible,destruction of a portion of the former Huron County :jail building has reached proportions whichcon- cern on- j,. cr. 1 ;. i. t 'of hi art- f' Hai re n s i s o the r x e s de ce op p Qv� n - -pati ularly those who pay taxes- to -fid:;. nance Huron's various programs: We have never been particularly warm- ed by the proposal to use a portion of the building as a museum : in whichall the old and cruel practices Of what was termed jus- -tice in an earlier day would be- on " view.. There is the argument that oncoming gen- eratioons should be acquainted With some of the. barbarous'functions of bygone years. Museum, to the contrary; we :'do agree 'that it Would be foolish in the extreme, to de= stroy even, a part of a building which dates' backC~to'. the ear°tiers years of ` settlement in ' this ,part' of the province. Canada is not 'par- , ticular ly noted for its respect for Anything. that verges on the historical—although wee are slowly learning that the past has its les- sons for us • • The oldbuilding. jail '.ail u rld� ng has as been proposed as the site of a theatrical presentation. No, doubt there are Many other usesle which it can be put at.a later date. The -Solidity with- which it Was originally constructed will guarantee its well-preserved existence for many generations to come. After all the Tower of l.ondon was the scene-otsome pretty macabre events.but,no one has ever thought of :.tearing it,down to make use of .the highly va viable real estate on which' it stands. With .all•.the open space that surrounds the Town of-Goderrrch there must surely be,a site feria building to house the assessment office without the necessity of destroying an historical landmark. change r, five"years ago there was a tre- • mendous `furor in many high schools across the ;province . when ' the Department of. Edo- ;cation-annou. nced that two weeks would be added to the school year. Sonne of the argu- men#s sounded more.than a little silly at the. time and led to"walk-outs and student strikes with which ,more than a scattering of teach- ..• ers. were sympathetic. r7 This paper did not support the rebellious students because :we believe that alaw is a law and -young people have a.greatneed to abide by the rules—or at least ;seek .to change them by 'constitutional •methods., • Jus? let us know This: is the third edition 'of' your' local newspaper which contains an extrasection called "Crossroads". We have tried to select material tor its pages which will add to Voaur enjoyment and provide you with- useful in- formation. Quite a few readers have already ex- pressed their interest in the feature section and this is precisely what we want. Content of that section will, as far as possible, be de- termined by what readers want to see in its pages. We cannot, of course; guarantee that we will be able to meet the demands, or sugges- tions of every one of our readers, but we will certainly attempt to select the sort of ma- terial that a majority of the subscribeks indi- cate ,they would like to see. One of the determining factors in our de- cision to add the Crossroads section was a survey' throughout the Wingham, Listowel and Mount Forestareas, when it was found that in a very high percentage of ;cases the local community paper is the only one which enters the home. Figures in this case are not guesswork. They are determined from the statistics provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulation --an international body support- ed not 'Only by r(ftwspaper and magazine ;6Ed :A . • • Now, however, the present Ministry of Education has announced that schools will be permitted to close a week earlier so that teachers will have an opportunity to assess the work of the students and evaluate the educational procedures they are employing. So, perhaps (that's a good idea too. The only thing we fail to understand is by what stroke of genius senior' educators have sud- denly recognized that nothing much was ac- complished by the additional two weeks which were tacked on a few years back? There just could be the possibility that the kids were right in the first place. publishers, but equally by the people who place and pay fpr advertising space. The semi-annual subscription audits carried out by this particular organization are stiffer than any ever devised by the.incom,,tax de- partment—and that's going some. Any exaggeration of facts gets the publisher thrown out of the'organization—or at least suspended. We are not bragging; merely quoting the facts of life as they exist in these changing times. ,.Local newspapers are the chief source of news and information other than television and radio. And, of course, news- papers have the space available to provide details sometimes lacking from other sources. Naturally Crossroads will have to carry advertising. Producing printed pages is a costly operation these days and revenue is vital. However, our prime interest is in pro- viding the over 8,000 homes into which it will go each week with the sort of reading ma- terial they want and need. Your suggestions will be welcomed --and complied with whenever possible. Just call or write us at our Wingham office. The box number is 390 and the telephone number is 357-2320. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES Published at Wingham, Ontario, by Wenger Bros. Limited. Barry Wenger, President Robert O. Wenger, Sec.-Treas. Member Audit Bureau of Circulations. Member Canadian and Ontario Weekly Newspaper Associations subaerIption $10,00 s 'Year 0.25 for Six Months, in United • States $12.50 in Advance Second Cass Mail Registration No. 0921 Return Postage Guaranteed 11� A page of editorial opinion Advance -Times; W m, Ontario. Dear Edits We were appalled to read your articles "Price of Progresso'' And "� for Disccussion" and ern that #creaming , f arme all had ill tempers,. We recognize that we as farm.- qrs do not have the money avail, able that Ontario Hydro has at `its disposal to promote our public image by radio, TV, and. the ,press, • but we believe :that our image has been severely tarnish- ed es. byove the. aho. :r - We We wish to point out. ;that :this new approach by Hydro has post likelyefforts hof appenedagrou.'pbecause- calledthe Goathe - lition of Concerned calms, ges Lee SyYnmes, chairman, who Pressured : the Ontario Govern- ment into appointing the Solandt Comintssion to look into the Nan- ticoke to ,Pickering .line.. Quoting . De. O� :gM. Solandt; chairman of .the. commission, "1 could find no real evidence that Hydro made any effort to keep its plans -secret, It was just .uncom- municative. FOr many years no one except landowners whose property vas affected showed much interest in Hydro plans and / L ,,. . r so there.has until recently. been HIND ROW CDNi WE,,�. .TALK. 62j na serious effort to involve the ! f public in the planning. Through - YOUR ZTLE TON out the discussions there was corned that suitable mechanism c must now be found to leve so called "open .". Now that . open planning may have been achieved' we hope that newsmen, all ' regional planning committees, and the general public will. accompany .the• in- volved landowners to the meet- ings and help plan this area so that we may all be proud to sing Woody Guthrie's great song 'This land is our land,this land is 700r lend'` - Yours truly; Bruce Huron Power Lines Negotiating Committee, Burton Hodgins, Chairman. Dear Editor: This letter is a forerunner to a sample -type petition which *will be seen in your community re- garding our county'sroposal to tear down the jail wall adjacent • to the a assessment building in Goderich to mare way for an ad- dition and parking facilities. Why concern? , The fort -like structure, which is situated onvaluable land has been considered "unproductive" Once it lost its last ' inmate a Couple 'of years ago. Therefore, it is ew considered "feasible" to eat away 'At the property 'for other' county 'purposes. Should the county go •ahead ' with its plans it will• ` quite effectively deface the •�•l}'Y11Yi:�}}}:fi}}'�•:.•: :L}•{:'✓,fi•. •.}• •.L•r.V LLL. :Y.• ..L., .. - general. '••: agreement reement by•'•all c n- b ild1n which, while over 13 0 }LL�(—WIf. L�{Uyears old is 1Q0archilecturally �L3unique, structurally • sound, and imposing in. nature. The Ministry of Colleges and Universities, Historical and Mu- • seums Branch, Archives of On- tario is interested in' seeing it kept as a museum and feel it could 1beeome nationally and in- ternationally noteworthy. Of :course, as such, it would `,divert tourist interest to the entire area. There are three : alternatives open to council which will leave the jail intact.. • 1. The acquisition of property to the west which had not been in- vestigated as pf January 26. 2. An addition to the north with paridng',:option bn Gloucester Terrace. ` ' . it . ren County-/ownsIthe e isting building. There` has been considerable commentregarding items from FEBRUARY 1926 Charles Messer was named winner of the ,oratorical contest held at the commencement exer- cises- of Wingham High School held last week. The other speak- ers were Theodore Robertson and Alice Shackleton. Judges were A Cosens, T. C. King, R. Vanstone and C. P. Smith. W. T. ,`Doc' Cruickshank has applied to the govertunent forra . 1; license for his broadcasting sta- tion J -O -K -E. A new company has been form- ed to take over the plant and all assets of the late Aero Cushion Tire Company. The new company will\ be controlled by Wingham men. Mr. Marshallwillbe super- intendent . of the plant with Mr. Hirst as general manager. Rev. D. T. L. McKerroll of To- ronto andRew James MacKay of Jnk. . J t + P11 li 1oDAY CHILD BY HELEN ALLEN Standing straight and tall in his new crocheted suit is Davey, almost two years old. He is an O)ibway Indian• child with big brown eyes, black hair and dark skin. Davey is sturdy, boisterous and very active, apparently in excellent health. But he has a rare hereditary condition, Von Recklinghausen's disease, which .is characterized by smooth coffee -colored spots on face, chest, arms and legs. It \has no effect otherwise on him • at present but its implications are unknown. However, his natural mother who has the same disease, appears healthy and .Well. At present the feeling is that Davey will not bo' academically minded, although he is alert and responsive toimulation. He has just discovered the telephone and is always the first to answer it. With his limited vocabulary this may create puz- zlement at the other end, but members of his foster family nnAn-9_tand and .•h.,♦ .. . , �. e.:._ '-_., �s_ ,_ ,•' . ---- ----.- •.-- •� oA� my .ennnn waeaati L. a>t3V�u� YYii1� iap►3iD['pQ°Q1 • attention. y N Davey is a vocal boy who laughs a lot, sings to himself and tries to imitate everything said to him. An affectionate youngster, he loves other children. His beguiling personality wins friends quickly but he is timid with new people. He likes men better than women. He has a robust appetite and sleeps well. . Cheerful, noisy, lovable Davey needs loving parents who can accept his medical history without alarm. To inquire about adopting Davey, please write to Today's Child, Box 888, Station K, Toronto M4P 2H2. For general adoption information, please contact your local Children's Aid Society. fJ f 'r'•'%' *•• CHEERFUL ifkISIO' LOVABLE London leave this week'fomn New York for the 'Old Land to seek ministers ` for the vacant pulpits of Presbyterian Churches. Mr. McKerioll is a former minister of Lucktjow and bath have on differ- entoccasions occupied the pulpit of St. Andrew's Church, Wing - ham. Winners at the Wingham Mas- querade' Carnival included Mrs. T.•J. McLean, Mist Mary, adie, Dave,;Haxnilton, Mist{ a..Jariet . a. Cathers, ' Alvis `µ Marturui Joe Ellacott. Winner's of races were Harry Brown, Laura Smith and Ronald Rae. DaveHaniltan was the oldest man an skates, Lucknow will pave its main street this . summer, also tie . street leading to Goderich and Kincardine. Havelock Street will be finished with a heavy coat of crushed rock,making it a' high class gravel street. FEBRUARY 1938 Ross Harrison, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. R. Harrison, will leave this weekend for Toronto where " he has accepted a position with Canada Packers. The home of John McGlynn, on the 12th cohcession Of Culross, was destroyed by fire. It is Wa- lleyed that a defective chimney. was the cause. At the Brussels Carnival on Tuesday night. Irene Clark Winn the girls' race for 14 and over. Irene and Jean McCallum of Bel- grave won the prize for the best dressed couple. The mild weather of the past few days with warmer sunshine is not the only sign that predicts that spring is not far away. George Orvis on Tuesday picked a bouquet of pansies at the side of his home. Alfred 'Mitchell was elected president of the Wingham 'Citi- zens' Citi-zens' Band. Ernie Seddon is vice president and Elgin Coutts secre- tary -treasurer. Those winning proficiency awards at the commencement exercises of Wingham High School were Isobel McKinnon, Dwight Reid, John Gear, Doris Armitage, Scott Reid, Noreen Benedict and Anna Chittick. Ath- letic medals were awarded to Evelyn Carter and Harry Posliff (seniors) ; Irlma Harrison and Kenneth Johnson (interme- diate) ; June Irwin and Gerald Roberts (juniors). Valedictorian was Dwight Reid. The annual meeting of the Wroxeter United Church was held with the pastor, Rev. A. M; Grant in charge. Named elders were George Allen, G, W. Gibson, F. Kitchen, D. W. Rae, R. J. Hann and R. Stocks. Mrs. G. Allen is choir leader and Miss M. Gibson is organist. FEBRUARY 1948 A fire loss of close to $35,000 was caused at Brussels last Wed- nesday morning when flames gutted the produce depot on' Turnberry Street, owned and operated by Hugh - Pearson, and the apartments above it. The Huron byeelection, to. fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dr. Hobbs Taylor last Decentt ber, will•be held next Monday. It will be a fight between the Pro- gressive •Conservatives' Thomas Pryde and. Benson W. Tuckey representing the Liberals. Both men are from Exeter. FEBRUARY 1959 Cal -Burke is chairman of the executive in, charge of _ arrange- ments for the 1959 Kin Trade Fair. to be sponsored by hs Kinsmen nd held June 4th and 5th. This` ist ' Pe ,�+ .`yy" .... r' Er a* years being a mos .�interesting and successful -one. A new Couples' Club has been organized at the Wingham United Church with ten couples attend-.; ink the first meeting. . • Cpl. K. D. Cunningham was one of two men who received the Canadian Forces ' Decoration from Wing Commander A. ' HL Moody CD, Commanding Officer of RCAF Station, Aylmer. The CD is awarded to all personnel completing 12 years meritorious service. Cpl. Cunningham was Win and raised in Wingham, attended Wingham High .Schaal and joined the RCAF. in 1946. The 90th Field Battery entry from Wingham places second in the opening draw of the first annual Armed Forces. bonspiel played at Listowel, Members of • i w1aa: uµr WC/ V Li.. i1.: tea iuiteu, II. S, Hastings, 0 Cadet J. McWilliams and, Capt. R. P. Ritter. Hospital administratrix Mrs. I. Horsey stated in her year-end re- port, that there were 2111 admis- sions during 1958. There were 970 operations performed,- 1689 Out- patients served and 69 deaths. The Wingham Kinettes, re- ceived two new members, Mrs. Matt Boyd and Mrs. Dave Bur- gess, at their February meeting. overcrowded county depart- ments and court facilities unre- - laced to the assessment function: The county should consider a new " site for -, .a larger assessment building and use the existing site to alleviate crowding in other de- partments. ' ' . - • The proposed solution not only destroys the Very nature of a his- toric landmark, bualso creates additional problems: 'No allow- ance would be made for addition- al parking and the existing "cramped and crammed" ap- pearance would become even more so. The jail, as it now stands, is Unique to North America and has been publicized in both Weekend Magazine and the British press. Furthermore, the oldest archi- tects' magazine in Britain has es- tablished a fund to preserve this structure. Interested persons in the area are asked to contact any one of the below. Joan Van den Broeck 175 Wellington St. Syd Lawson, 102 Wellington St, Brian Hall, 31 Victoria St. Paul Carroll, 186 Wilson St., Goderich, Ont. HOSPITAL �UIPS r'LET' S SEE... THE i'OE BONE'S CONNECTED TO THE FOOT BONE... THE FOOT BONE' S...;" 1