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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-04-25, Page 2PAGE' 2.7:-GODERIIH. SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY. APRIL 25, 1971 Will people accept Ts The representatives from, Huron County who attended the seminar last week on restructuring were ex., tremely cautious about theway in which restructuring is to be approached here. -Who can blame them? Regional govern- inent is not only a sure way to put oneself out of office. It is proven to be expensive - supremely -e 'pensive. :In theRegiQn of Waterloo, costs in- creased in the first year by 36 percent, according to figures presented by some provincial government members. in North Dumfries, costs were up 120 per- cent and in the City of Waterloo alone, 82 percent! That's not small potatoes! In 'Georgian Bay Township, • one far-,, mer's taxes went from $106 to $496 in" •. one year when the Muskoka Region was 'formed. While this is perhaps a dramatic exception to the rule, it is also true that costs have soared in Ottawa -Carlton and Niagara: So, local elected people are'cautious not only at the possibil'it' of'losing their elected positions but also at the very real danger of having to live with bur- densome high costs for no more municipal ser%•ices then presently- en- joyed. .• It was refreshing, however, to learn that many,"Kart, county residents and most particularly elected officials feel • nother opinion a that some form of restructuring within the county is a must. When one looks around Huron, it is • easy to see that this county is well on the way to a type of regional concept whlch is beneficial to all. Here in Huron;. '°'l « ,, many services are already under county jurisdiction - ,health, welfare, library, planning, development. There could be more - roads, recreation, fire, police. -Biot strictly speaking, Huron is moving toward goals which are attained through regionalizing ... but with considerably. less friction' and cost. • The question remains though Will the citizens of ,Huron County be able to co- .•- oi'Serate.,successfully without some sort of government mediator? Some impartial judge? it has been relatively simple to slowly, slowly amalgamate services. But will it be easy to phase out municipalities and break down barriers? Will the peioplle accept changes which will threaten their ,..own, personal little kingdoms? Put representation just a lit- o tle further away? • �-,> � l Ill .,-•---- To be sure, Micro who,po.int the way 'to restructuring will have to be broadmin- ded individuals with an ability toxconjole and to bell. But how long will it be before the people will, approve - unless the government- intervenes:..1 Justice. needlessly delayed. If justice delayed is justice, denied,., then it's high time something was done ' to improve the workings of provincial courts. : Last Friday's special court sitting. in Exeter, for instance, was almost a com- plete waste of time for numerous people involved. There were otal of.17 names on the court docket and of those,, only three had their charges settled. • • Present at court. were one judge, one crown attorney, one duty. counsel, one defence lawyer,', about half a dozen ,policemen',, . one court :stenographer,' most of• the acqused people, and at least one, crown witness. The number of man hours involved -and-the- cost'of those man hours t; would be staggering, especially when one con- siders some of the "high priced help" in- volved are in the $30,000 plug salary bracket's: • y Court was scheduled to start "at 10:30 a.m. It got underway at 10:50: At 11:45 a.m. a recess of 20 minutes was called. The recess lasted until 12:15 and then court sat for another 15 minutes, being adjourned for the 'day at .12:30. -. That's .an actual working time of one hour -and 10 minutes.. • the lnai n result of the court sitting; as — it turned out, was to set trial :dates for ,,host -of the accused people. Some were set aside until- as late as July 23 on the basis there wasn't time on court sittings prior to that to -hear the cases. • It should be rathwr obvious that some' ''extremely poor planning is, involved. While court officials were decrying the , long delay in hearing cases due to time problems, almost • an entire day was "wasted,'. Many of the trials could .have" proceeded on that very day if ,someone had taken the time to.,,do .a bitof plan- ning. Multiply it by the number of other' "wasted" days and it -becomes evident that many of the delays in fulfilling the task of- the -court are needless. - Surely,:sorhe one r'npst be responsible for this poor planning, and someone must - be responsible for making the - necessary. alterations to end the absur- dity. �. * * Another of the basic problems is the fact that courts are manipulated by a great extentby defence Lawyers, most -of • whom follow the basic philosophy that delaying tactics are among' the best forms of defence. , After all, the longer you delay a trial, the more difficult it becomes for wit- nesses to identify suspects. In some cases; witnesses even die or ttiove away. Defence lawyers of .course, appear to be able• to delay cases in' some courts for long periods of time. For instance, the cases of a group of Windsor .motorcyclists charged with 'rape last, Victoria Day weekend, •probably won't be settled until tong after this Victoria , Day weekend. The memories of orown witnesses wi l l be seriously, dulled with such tong delays, alit) the benefit of the accused people, and indirectly, to the defence lawyers. That's not justice! Exeter Times -Advocate (',RGULATON the foberio SIGNAL—STAR *IQ."' d The County Town Newspaper of Huron —Q. . Founded• in 1848 and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario: Member df the CWNA. and SWNA. Advertising, rates on request subscriptions, payable in advance $8 50 in C,nada, $10.00 in all countries other titan Canada, single copies 20 cents Second class mail Registration Number 07113. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of typographical erroi, the advertising`n` space occupied by the erroneous item, together with reasonable allowance for signatifre, will not be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at -the a_pptiaabte,rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising good6 or services at a' Wfe►1ng price. goods or. service may not be°sold. Advertising le merely an offer to sell. arid may be withdrawn at anytime The SignalStar'is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited menu soripts„or photos. Business and Editorial Office TELEPHONE 524-8331 • area code 519 Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 220, doderich Second class mail registration number -471$ Published by Sinai Star Publishing Ltd. 01O11EIRT 0. SHMER ,-M'N1dent and .publisher wHmtIY J. KILLIIIR .ditor 11111,01MMICK-.4diforial staff JEF, $1O0ON--4ditorial staff IOWARO J. 0VASKi-. dvertising manager DAVE Wt1,UAM .-advertising representative DEAR READERS Goderich Town Council has in recent weeks become in- volved in some hot and heavy debates about issues which are certainly .controversi,L,:,, hers in Goderich should really get out to council meetings ,on a more regular basis to under- stand .thekind' of gutsy issues With which the members are faced - and to hear the reasoning behind ` their decisions. Not lung ago, for -instance, cotrncil was endeavouring to. decide whether or not the GDCI drama club should have a, donation from the municipal coffers to „,help in . fi'nancing their trip to England during the spring break. The •debate; lagged on fdr . several meetings. Council really had difficulty' to reach a decision. But finally, on April 4 by recorded vote, rou nci l agreed that no assistance should besgiven to the GDCI ambassadors abroad, That vote, incidentally, was almost ,,unanimous. Councillor Elsa Haydon, a. -lady' who is very Much -in favor -o.f things cultural, was The onlv'membe"r of council who felt` the, project was deserving of council's sup; •port...• Other council members, it must be pointed out, are not anti-culturp, In fact, all mem- bers'of council deliberated long and carefully -'on the matter before making their collective decision. Those who voted against the funding did so because the project was not being carried, out under the auspices ,of th'e • -Huron County Board of Education ';or even local high school. [t was'an ambitious un-' dertaking ,by the. drama club members themselves who along with their instructor, 'W'arrer► • Robinson, agreed t� make the jaunt with' or without board andehool approval. • Council -'s decision Qn that matter was undoubtedly wise::' No one can 'argue the drama• club's ,enthusiasm was com- mendable**and that their talent is exceptional. But quite probably the entire,' project' should have been better promoted after an earlier start under the, guidance of a seasoned businessman who could have shown the young ac- tors how to raise funds by :.' themselves,'in a manner which would ,have been much more acceptable to the average citizen of Goderich. It is to he hoped that GDCI A, drama c.itih members will not forsake , future visionary plans like the ttip to England simply 'hecau+Se the ' municipality did not rise to the occasion. Truly, the people of Goderich many of whom made 'personal con- tribittions are 'proud,,of 'these,,., young men and worsen. Better. organized fund-raising efforts' with greater ern.phasis on self- help should yield superior , •results another..time. * * * One of the plays the GDCI drame club took' to England was Them, a one -act play about the problems of dealing with retarded children, Can you name them? This is the former clown bapdmf Goderibh. This picture was taken about 1925 says its iptwner, Jim. Magee. The group en- tertained at many local fisnotionsaround th.e,area and was Well loved by all who saw them. be you remember them? Do you know who they are? Watch this space next week for the answer. Remerrtber,-, if you have an old picture -you would like to share with the Signal -Star "readers, send it `along, Every attempt will bemade to return the photo Tn the condition in which it was received This writer had the privilege td see•..this produet°ion; written by Warren Robinson, at a recent meeting of the Goderich(• and Dtt;trict Association for the Mentally Retarded. • The play was tastefully done. Though dealing with ' some heartbreaking and highly per- sonal areas of concern for families 4 who have retarded people in their care, it offered understanding to those .who haven't '-experienced this problem and sympathy to those who have. It was offensive to no one. - , The members of the drama. -club who • presented the play very likely were the real win- ners. They could not help but come away from the production with a much keener insight into the ,ways of this life and their sensitive protrayal of these trouble people proved that the gap between the retarded and the world,is closing with time and education, Getting back t� town council and its decision-making on • matters which are not strictly municipal, at last; week's meeting members were forced to make a decision on a subject which should never have come to the council table.. _.ridRev.- a" Connie Osborn -arid Peter St. Don of Bethel Pen -a tecostal Tabernacle came before council to ask .for its sup- port in proclaiming a Pro -Life week in ,God'erich. At first glance, this may seem like a routine matter - much the, same as a Girl Guide By Shirley ;J Keller Cookie Day or a Rebekah Tag Day or a Child Safety Week,. But upon looking more closely,- one soon realizes that in endorsing a Pro -Life Week in Goderich, council would, have been taking sides on a highly personal and volatile issue which involves the rriorals of local citizens. Here 'again, those .who, are? Pro -Life workers should not assume that Goderich Town Councillors are opposed to their cause..- or on the ,side of pro -abortionists. Nothing could befurther from the truth. The question arises whether the Pro -Life group should have ever asked for municipal Sup-. port. , in this matter. Should Goderich's elected' officials* he expected to represent the people, -.of Goderich -in this? Should they add their weight to a project which has such stroni Moral implications? ' G`od'erich• Town Council represents all people 'of the municipality those who are Pro -Life andlthose who are not. Such a decision _is .not as ,for: th.right as passing a ',money - borrowing bylaw or, approving a new sidewalk...or even ruling on -who should have the joie, at the' municipal .office. Had G•o lerich Town Council proclaimed a ,Prto`-Life Week in Goderich, it would have given strong- indication that the woman who opts for an abor- tion is in conflict with municipal 'viewpoint., when in fact the municipality can have no jurisdiction whatever over her decidion - nor should it have. DE R EDITOR ()titer side, Dear Editor, The "other side" of the nuclear story is beginning to. receive more credible attention in international publications. Goderich citizens who are not concerned Abut the proposed development 'at Drysdale would do well to read the article in Time magazine, April 15,. page 70. A total commitment -to nuclear power by any govern ment, with so many unan- swered• questions, is not only incredible, but artesponsible. P. Carroll Thal n kyn u Dear Editor: - St. Joseph's- Kingsbridge Catholic 'Womeri'st League • would like .to thank you for• your excellent coverage of our news, reports in your paper during the past. year. Sincerely, Mrs. Jim Martin Corresponding Secretary h,i kgwl rl as i I V Dear Editor, Please find enclosed, herein, my check in the amount of $1.10 to cover cost of the en- closed billing,'for six'issues_of the "Young Canada Week Daili;�s" ' I would like tc' add my hearty thanks ,and appreciation to you and your staff for its cooperation for forwarding these to me and also my thanks and appreciation in the, ex- cellent coverage of an outstan- ding Pee Wee Minor Hockey Tournament. Sincerely yours, Anthony 'M. Bonadio Port Huron, Michigan What shortages? ' .Dear Editor, For some time now I have been trying to refrain from these comments. However im- pulse htis overcome my better judgement, and, 1 submit the following: What's all this talk about food dshortages?. Everywhere, I. read aboutfood shortages, or ,expected food shortages. Anybody who" goes shopping must realize that the food stores are"well stocked with a, good selection of anything thev wish to pur'Chase. You can take your choice of fruits, vegetables, meats, pastries, •• (Continued on page 3) a L.OQkiNG BACK 75 YEARS AGO The Goderich Bowling Club - was re -organized for the season on, Monday night. The Curling , '"and Stunting Association, from• whom the - club rents its grounds, wanted to raise the rental, but the bowlers' strongly objected, claiming. that , they should not be asked to pay More beca°us>e of 'the 0 im- •,proveynents theyhad- them- selves effected., The matter, has • since been settled; we under- stand, on the 'basis of the -last year's rent. , A• shooting, match was ...proceeding yesterday afternoon • between teams from the cruiser Petrel and the Goderich Ridge There is a little too much bicycle "scorching" .a.ruurid the Square°ihese fine evenings. It's a da►igerous ' sport in a public place like the Square. -The storekeepers. in McLean's block• are getting tired of turning over the boards of the improved sidewalk. to • keep them from warping and tripping up people,. and would like the town council to take the job off their hands. Wilson 13ros., Huron Road, have- -1.10-,0 great success •wi t "' - their .incuhatorr this spring. Out of tOt) 'eggs placed in' the in- cuhator they had. ”ti chickens • which is 0 remarkable percen- tage. Wm.-Mari'r'on was here for a 'While, the past" week from Owen Sound, where 'he has been huilding.a tug.- He is, expected • to return here for good on • - Friday, and it's rumored he has a contract for building" a tug here. ,, There,ults • of exarni•nations of the Ontario • Dental College .were published last week, and among the names of those who passed the _final examinations is that of Albert R. Rohertsun, of town.. He has Our congratulations and • wishes for his success in his chosen calling. If ht asks foi• a word of ad•vi•ct it would he, "Deal gently with the erring tooth', • 50 YEARS AGO Work on the excavation for the foundation for the new part of the Col°Iegiate,Institute star- ted yesterday nto>rning. .John Avery and son of ,Mitchell are the contractors. -' FrOm_ the Kamloops Stan- aard-Sentinel we notice that our former townsman, now .Judge'_Swanscin, was elected a member of the sen,a-te of the tlniver•sity of British Columbia, . being fc>.rirth_in tin, list of elec- ted members. He is, the sole representative of the interior on the senate. A very v�ilrrable society in the congregat ion of Knox Church is .the Ladies' A,id Society. Every yeagr they Make,.a very suhstan tial contribution to. they church 'funds, but •this work does not exhaust.their efforts, as a score or so showed •at the manse Thursday night. The good ladies conceived the idea of making a iis•esentation of' a ,bmt of linen to 'the lady of the manse and made something of 0 surprise party out -of tilt oc• - casion. For dome Fears the local • water and light°con%lnitision •has been rer'eiving1what they called the „thirteenth •hill" from the. Hydra Commission for power. There are twelve monthly.bills, and when the Ilydro auditors get through there has always been a further frill oorne .along to, that the rate that had been fixeif'Tor the vicar was not sufficient to pipet the ccist of power, and the "thirteenth hill" wotil(t be a claim, for the additional payment. 'Th•i:8 year the "thirteenth hill" is one the Hydro Com rt'>is`s;ion will have to pay to the ti,wn. The year's billing was obviously more than the power the town's com- mission used, in elec tris power. The fishing .Mitts. were; out t`t few days ago setting net ': 5 YEARS AGO The Goderich Lions Club is to hold a summer school this. year, at (lPCi dur•i6g'th, `nton the of July and Au,guLt The courses, offered include sewing, woodworking, art, conver. rational French, typing and general airyiriess and theatre arts.• • Daylight Saving Time starts � at 2 a.m Sunday ('jocks. will advance one hour Studded ,n• tires roust not be used after April '30. ' For the 'first time 10 ten vetirs the annual meeting of the Synodical Society of llamilton and London Women's • Missi. nary Society of the Presbvteiia11 Church in Canada was held at Knox Preabvterian ChtW h from April 15 to 17.