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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1972-11-23, Page 2PA GO RICH S,TGWA-STAR THt1RSD X. NOVEMBER 3, 197x, ORIAk COMMENT Council hedged •, The -answers to the six questions asked ot,Grzderioh Town Council several weeks 'ago .by B,p,, Robinson have been given. Theyare published in detail elsewhere in this issue, . This newspaper is not entirely satisfied with the answers provided by council to Mt. Robinson. It is doubtful if Mr. _Robin- son .will be any more satisfied. The, questions, asked at a public .meeeting,, were handled in :-a committee meeting. ''That ,fact alone suggests that council wished to discuss the answers fully before making them known to Goderich citizens. It is obvious now, judging by the content of the replies, that. council chose its words most carefully. r Whereve-possible, council evaded the questions posed by Robinson. It dodged the issues at hand by searching out the very technical interpretations of Robin- son's queries and delivered only partial and sometimes misleading, answers for them. It may be argued that Robinson's questions were poorly presented so ,that their specific intent was open to conjec-._ --bre. Conversely, it can be debated that council was fully aware of the meaning intended by Robinson in his questions. In either . case, it leaves' speculation as to the reasoning behind council's attitude and the ultimate answers it rendered to Robinson. It is this seeming desire to shroud the workings.of council with secrecy at every turn that most disturbs this newspaper. It. is evident to those associated as closely with council as this newspaper has been for the past two years, that the full and truthful answers to, Robinson's questions would reveal nothing too shady or too embarrassing. Why then must council continue to play this cloak and dagger game? Why must it persist in building mistrust'where none need exist? Before the new council takes over the reins of municipal government. here, the 1971-72 council should re-examine some of the answers it provided to B.R. Robin- son in this instance. Let members remove the smoke screen they tried to raise. Let them retire from this term of office on the tide of some., straight answers to some straight questions." Read before voting On' Page Three of this .edition of The Goderieh Signal-Str, readers will find a brief resume of the work of Goderich Town Council for the past two years. Gathering the information for the ar- ticle took considerable time but was com- pleted solely for the enlightenment of Goderich voters. It was therefore justified.. The. past two years have been busy. Much has been accomplished. Much has been-Heft—undone. There have been problems, some resolved, some still with us. A normal two years'in many, many W d respegts.., The article reveals more than the amount of 'work done by council and the decisions reached by it. It endeavours: to present fairly and without bias, the per- sonalities of the members of council who served Goderich in the past two years. It shows a popular mayor; very prac- tical in his outlook and very mild in his approach to municipal affairs, It shows in energetic reeve with vision, with ability to formulate policies, with the for- titude to stand alone. It shows a deputy.-, reeve with an eye far economy, sometimes justified, sometimes not. It "shows a council with as much variety as stew and about the same amount of Stick - to -the -ribs wholesomeness. Now this council is splitting up. Some members are retiring, some are reaching for higher goals, some are sitting pat, some are being challeng€d;-.some .are challenging. The voters will make the choice. Before they do, the resume of council's activities, . for the past two years is required reading. A good follow-up is. an honest appraisal of the candidates' statements in this issue and in the one planned for next . week. The Goderich Signal -Star has attemp- ted to inform the voters of Goderich. It, can do no more to ensure a good race, a fair election and a solid, progressive council for 1973-74. Salt and Public Works Now that the season of snow and ice is with us for another year, it is time the public \works department of Goderich . took a closer look at the application of de-icing salt in the municipality. Presently, de-icing salt is an inexpen- sive commodity for the town. That may be part of the reason itis occasionally used too liberally in the eyes of many motorists in and around Goderich as well as ecologists in all parts of the area. The Salt Industry in Canada consists of two companies, Windsor and Sifto. Together these two firms have had com- piled .. : a brochure entitled ; Information Salt," a highly. informative manual which expresses concern for the environmental effects of de-icing agents, including salt. a brief statement at the close of the booklet, a summation of the industry's stand on de-icing salt is made. Local Public Works should take it to heart. The -Statement •(in part) reads: -""There are many examples of damage apparently caused by de-icing salt and some of these are 'documented in the enclosed reports. When such damage occurs usually the application of simple correc- tive, measures will rectify it.. These have been incorporated into a Sensible Salting Program which requires careful storage of the de-icing salt prior to use and close . regulation of its rate of application on icy roads so as to use only what is required to do the job, and no more." 4 The statement continues: "Information Salt is available to' assist anyone using de-icing salt with information on salt storage and, use, calibration of spreader equipment and Spreading tips for equip- ment operators. Sensible salting will help- ' remove conditions which have traditionally been the cause of com- plaints.'' ¢fie BnOecftb SKALSTAIR "ha County Town Newspaper of Huron pica»dtdh 11041a sf 37 WestSt., Goderich, Ontario. Member of the Audit lureeuofCitc'utstiorr,theCWNA andOWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable in advance, $M t10 int *nide, $.50 in*Il countries other than Canada; single copies 20 cents. Second ImtailftegisttationNurtiber 0114. Advertising is accepted on the�conditiori that, in the event of typegraphialte'ror,thetp'ortronef the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, !mother with 'teasenabIaallowance tor aignatur'e', will not le Charged for"'irut the balance of the advertisement Will bei paid far at ttie applidabia rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or lteritiCeitititvrtifigpriet,goodsortoevicatmayhotbe sold. Advertising is merely an offer to sell, and may b. withdrawtr at any lima. Sl a$ •Star Publishin Ltd. >r�uhMsi �►'1►.. �..1 � , ft011 T G. SHfl l pr$lde t end publisher *HHIf L IIIY d.. iCf l.i t-arditor IF 'ilii'. si HAW dltotisl staff i WAnty dr STASK --adv rtis1ng manager DI Vi 1. WILLIMiti.edsoirthilog representative SU$ioast *14 Editorial O'ffice TSLSMPsoN'E 524-11331 fr VII Aldo ourr bt r 't"6 A concerned Goderich residenthas provided the Signal- Star with the trio Or pictures presented here. With 'the photos came the suggestion that council for the Town'. of Q1 , Goclericha,shouid have a look at .these three examples of small problems allowed to exist iii this municipality. Elec- tion time seemed like the most opportune time to bring them to the attention ofa. the public, for somehow, at elec- tion time, things get done. • This isdhe south end of Goderich Memorial Arena. Our roving photographer tells us that last spring, a few nails would have repaired the damage to .these shingles. Now? A sizable ex- penditure? Incidentally, no ladder was needed to reach the area whichhas been a chronic headache. The prevailing westerly winds whip: around -this corner and have played havoc with the shingles in this area for years. The light which stood atop this base in front of Culbert's Bakery on West Street was knocked off three or four years ago: It has never been repaired or removed: And there are live wires encased inside which could prove dangerous! The unattractive twine sack covering it lb now rotting away. The Prettiest Town in Canada? ci tt,t V. This is the roadway by the lookout near the anchor on Cobourg Street (the area where Sully Park was sup- posed to have gone had the Town of Goderich. suppor— ted ted the Sully Foundation proposal). The photographer claims this "puddle" forms each time it rains. It has I had a brief conversation last Thursday evening with Sandy Profit, one of Goderich's most staunch supporters of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 109. Sandy had called the Signal - Star earlier in the day to ask why no pictures from the November 11 Remembrance Day service were in the Signal - Star last week. I broached the subject with him as carefully as possible, and assured him that the Signal -Star had pictures of the event and decided at the last moment, with : space at a premium, to use the picture of the bursery presentatiporis by the Legion 'Ladies Auxiliary of the scene at the cenotaph. Sandy very quietly and properly told me that in his opinion, the picture from the cenotaph ishould have had precedence that week, and that the picture of the Legion Ladies' presentation could have been run in the next issue. The gen- tleman, en•tlem tn, of course, had a valid point &id of argument You seer it was a conflict of been going on forfive years and three different councils have been requested to either dump in a load of gravel or drain off the area over the. nearby lakebank. Still no action. And this the sacred vantage point of all of Goderich and its . visitors! DEAR READERS the ages popping up. Sandy. remembered most vividly the times which were being recalled November 11. He, knows and understands all the sacrifices which were made by the men and the boys wl o fought in the great wars .... and his heart is filled with' gratitude. To Sandy Profit, and other won- derful people like him, Remem- brance Day is'an important day of the year during which no amount of appreciative acts would suffice. It is a, personal thing .... something for which there is no substitute. Not all -people, unfortunately, are like Sandy. ,Like me who came to the age of remembering just about the Brite the Second World War was ending, many people , cannot ` get emotional over Remembrance Day: The Legion seetned to recognize this 'sad fact this year. Their theme for Remembrance Day was "If you can't remem- ber, THANK'. I believe the Signal -Star helped the people of Goderich. • and area toward the Legion's ultimate goal. The placement of a well-written, truthful article by Neil Shaw in advance of Remembrance Day, had more meaning for many people than any picture of the cenotaph ser- vice five days after Remem- brance Day, ever- could have hada -- And in all respect to the mar- vellous people at Branch 109, the main thrust of the Legion is not to mourn the loss of devoted soldiers of the wars, but rather to perpetuate the peaceful en- deavors each one of them died tpsz4ke possible. The Legion is not a dead - issue. By their very actions, the Legion is truly one of the alive organizations of our time. In a host. Of exceptional ways, Branch 109 aids, assists, and promotes the 'good life we have here in Goderich. I'M sure that's the real function of the Legion soldiers could slea and if dead pe k, they'.d give their wholehearted approval of that course.' That's Why the Legion Ladies' awards took precedence in' my mind at least - over the Remembrance Day service pic- tures. 'The first is alive and meaningful. The second is a gesture of gratitude in memory of the dead: At this time as well, I would urge the Royal Canadian Legion in Goderich to be more aware of this image of being "alive and. active". Let the people of Goderich know you do more than parade to the cenotaph November 11. Let, them see through this newspaper, that yours is a vital service 8n -going from week to week for the -benefit of this community. That's performance. . ***. One other small topic deser- ving of mention is the Municipal Day Nursery in Goderich which now operates daily for the benefit of all children in and around ' the community, in- eluding the retarded children. nu told that more volunteers could be utilized during the time that the retarded children meet. Volunteers need not be specially trained. All that is required is a love for children who are men- tally handicapped as well as a desire to help in a meaningful sort of activity. The retarded pre-schoolers,' as you know, are special youngsters with special needs. Very often, . extra staff is required to make certain that everything runs smoothly so that the very most good . can come out of the sessions. If you can help out, get in touch wtch Mrs. Carol Bgener at MacKay Hall during school hours. She'll be -happy to give you .the 'details. t *::` j Much is written about the delinquent child; but little is said orthe hundreds of united way youth agencies in our)couna try that prevent delinquency before it begins. Support this, work for youth. Give, the: , nited Way.