The Goderich Signal-Star, 1974-08-15, Page 2' , PAGE 2. (, GDERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, AL ut-'s t id, 1974
Health is not a pawn
o -n
Health. Who can buy it?''' Who can
restore it once it is lost? Who does not
want it - glowing, perfect, incomparable
health?
it 'has been said that, health is wealth -
yet , if: The • Ontario government has its
way, this province /nay be poorer than
ever befdre because, of. the sweeping,
proposals and recommendations made
for the field of health care by the Health
Planning Task Force.
,This ' it the day of preventative
,medicine. Every ,day through the
--television programs people watch, the
radio stations to which they listen, the
newspapers they, read, the,. magazines
It' they buy, even the billboards on the side
, of the road at which they glance as they
sPeed by in a rush -rush world,, preven-
tion of disease is preached,.
The heart foundation,, the carice,r
society, the diabetes association, even a
hypertension group- have been spenVP
ding thousands and thousands of dollars
annually to convince people of the need
for regular medical checkups,,, early
diagnosis of illness and prompt, proper
treatment.
And people are becoming aware.. This
is a health conscious age. Nutrition
among ttie citizens is ,improving,
physical fitness is accepted and...sought
.after,, nearly' everyone 'knows the signs
Y of ' illness and doctors' offices and
emergency departments are filled to
.over -flowing with people from 'all walks
of life who are responding in a positive
way. •
The records are encouraging. The
general health of the people is im-
praving. They are living 'longer, healthier
lives and the .province can't help but be
wealthier t?,ecause of it.
Like all government reports, the report
of the , Health Planning Task 'Force is
• cumbersome • and sketchy. , tt leaves
rriany questions.in the minds of concer-
ned., citizens • who endeavor -, td piece
together,i glimpse of the future from it.
the e paragraph'on the,
of the
report which indicates that a team of five'
-or six doctors and as manynurses (with•
`"' the possible addition .of one ' full-time •
"social worker) "could serve a poputlation•
of 10,000 to 15,000. 'It. is understood from
the report this. team would provide a
continuous 24 -a -day, seven -day -a week -
service. "
Huron's population is about .50,000 On
the basis set forth in the report; Huron
could be served by 25 or 30 doctors plus
25 or 30 nurses.
In Huron at the.present time, there are -
something like 48 medical doctors phis
..a number of • •psychiatrists and '.the
medical officer' of health. One could
Cuest editorial o:
assume there would be about 24 nurses
working with the general practitioners
and psychiatrists as well as a full staff of
pLt.blid t ea•Ith nurses. If these
calculations are correct, there is a
medical team of °close t� 100 persons
serving this county - at the present time, .,
In other word,. right now there are
about twice the number of medical per-
sonnel serving Huron. County as "could
serve" a similar population if the Health
Planning Task Force is, implemented.
There may be some reason to believe
that because,, these, medical people in
, Huron are notvorking as a unit there is''
some duplica tion of services and a loss
of .efficiency. At times, this newspaper
has even suggested this, may be -so.
But too many questions remain unan-
swered in the task force proposal. Will a
patient be permitted a private and per-
sonal physician of his own choice? Will
he be able to'acontact him whenever' he
wishes without being 'referred' by a
burse? Will individual personalities and
little differences be into account'?
Will this continuous service beso.much
less costly a'nd so much more depen-
dable. than the same service available
today? Will' the whole, health system
become. one giant clinic where cold, im-
personal regimentation will discourage
many, many patients who -possibly won't
seek out the medical attention they
~night otherwise have. received? •
•The. 'Ministry of Health notes it is
'"comrriittedto the pr.i:nciple of public in-
volvement in the, planning of health ser-
viceschanges on so wide.a scale as the
'report proposes "and adds it' could not
be 'undertaken qby the government
without the understanding, co-operation
"and. full support of the public,health
professions and health agencies.".
That's difficult to accept, -.especially
siticethe letter is, dated June 18, usually
the beginning of the summer recess or
abbreviated schedules of many councils.
• and organizations, and responses are
requested by September 1 . to facilitate
the "Ministry's timetable for' discussion.
of the report"." ` "
By the Ministry's own admission the
report is a "comprehensive plan" that
p ould "bring aboutwide .and fundamen-
tal c.b es an g in the : entire n, healt care.
9 h
'system". Surely not even the provincial.
government could really expect "close
examination . and wide ..discussion" on•
the feport during July and August!
The people of Ontario are not opposed
to changes which bring improvement.
EIut does this report. represent im-
ppovement? Can its .i"mplications' be fully
realized on such short notice? Should
not the citizens of this .province protest
in a loud and -collective voice? ' •
Popularity in losing
Human nature, says The Bowmanville
,Canadian „Statesman, has to be con-
sidered peculiar in many ,ways. Look "at
what has hippen:ed 'since the federal
election".
David.Lewis., the TDP leader who was
.defeated..in his own" consitituency and
.whose. party also lost seats, has.
achieved much more `.popularity in
newspapers~ other media' and, with
people generally than' heever was able
• to. gather at the polling booths.
The same holds, .true ''for the
Progressive Conseriative leader, Robert
Stanfield. Now, everybody is praising
-.him ,to the skies publicly for his many •
sten lg characteristics; . iyt .They, in e-
'large numbers, didn't vote for him or his
party. And 'behi'nd'.the scenes' some of
-those 'praising him Are working.,hard to
•replace`,him.as soon as possible...'
We always seem to. feel usorry for the
losers. In newspaper circles it happens
V•
quite 'often. A citizen may be. a no-good~
bum all through life.,, b,ut let that person
die and his obituary will be filled with`
paragraphs of-- praise- and glowing
tributes, We alyvays do' our utmost ..td.
forget the bad- t�ualities and look only'
upon the goof when giving anyone. a
send,-of'f into the, great beyond.
Summing it all up ve have come to the
conclusion that deep down.we are all a
b�inch of sentimental frauds: We don't
like to kick anyone when he',ls down, at
least 'outwardly, where anyone can :ob-
serve •our. actions. Underneath' and over
the back 'fence we'll cut. the guy to rib-
bons,- but in public 'not ,a word'will be
said¢or read telling others exactly now
we do feel,
Maybe it's just as -well in the long"run.
Nobody gets hurt that way and the losers
nor their'supporters can take some solace
in` keeping the laudatory clippira'g. ,for
pest rity. Wingham 'Advance 'Tirnes
n
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SIGNAL-SAp
The. ,County Town Newspaper of` Hurons`
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Published by Sig oat -Star Publishing Ltd.
ROBERT 0.;.,SHRIER-.-president .and " publisher
• SHIRLEY J. KE'LLEReediter
BILL DIMMICK-editorial staff
JEFF SEDDON --•editorial staff
EDWARD J. BYRSKI dveriising manager
DAVE R'. 'WILLIAMS-7-advestisirtg representative
• aa+b
t
m
Business rand Editorial Office.
TEt;EPIONE 524-8331
area code 519
AMrffl erg Address: w,
VOX 220, Goderich
Second `cuss'^m�>il registration number --0716
CONSUMER
D4E:AR READERS
The tierce • is [2:30 a,m:
You've been asleep -for an hour
or more. Suddenly . you are°
wakened by a horrid whining
noise, like a car stuck on ice
and spinning desperately to
move. But it is summertime.
You get out, of bed and go to
the window. It has just •rained.
.`There across the "street on the
riiew. . pavement Go,lerich
'i'esidents have, paid So dearly to
have laid for -the convenienee 'of
mo orists,: you see the source of
th disturbance. •
One car and one driver, sit-
ting in a puddle. Obviously th.e
driver has applied every brake
on the vehicle and is now`
pressing the gas. pedal to the
floor. You watch as water
sprays in all directions and
steam rises from the roadway
as the hot tires are cooled in
the dampness.
• Unbelieving, you watch as
the drive gets out_of the car,
'checks his tires and the road-
Way
oadway and then climbs back in to
-give it anotl:Cer....go. More
whining.'
Then just as sudden.ly'•as he.
arrives he .releases' the brakes
and shootsacross the intersec-
tion leaving the neighbourhood
• quiet again. .
You go back to bed and 'just
as sleep overtakes you 'once
• more, the roaring begins afresh.
You get up again, go to the win-
dow, and watch the same
procedure again. Yes, the.
.di -fiver is actually outside the
car now checking his tires and
the roadway in a deliberate at-
tempt to, dig ruts in the new,
blacktop. Now , he's gone."
You shake your head in un-
• belief and • return to -.bed,"
listening now' for his return))
You aren't disappointed, He's
back- You don't' even get up..
He's gone:. :p
You listen and listen. He
dd'esn't return. °You go to sleep. '
The next morning you get up
and walk over to the intersec-
tion along with- to.
neigh-
` bour who is just aas'incredulous
as'vou. There they are - ruts
• the road; four perfect ;and
distinct holes dug by an asinine:
hiitrodd'er. That; dear readers;
is a true story. 'I was that sleepy
citizen.
• Did 1 call .the police? No.
'(Neither 'i did .the neighbours by,
the way:)
•
• ;,. Why? Because I knew the ofk.
-
f• ender would he long gone by
the time the police arrived. •
(Maybe ,:I'd react differently
now though.)
Do, I blame the police? Har4
dty�. They Can't be everywhere
'at once. •
° Did I think about confronting
the driver myself?, No. For the
ti amount 'of energy it -'Would take •
compared to- the impact it
would make on such a person,
as this driver .c)6viousfy was,t
made no sense.
Would 1 be afraid to confront
hit,,? I'd' think it oyer carefully.
Many people have regretted
their efforts to `see right prevail.
What's the answer?" Time.
'Maybe he'll h caught and.
'fined; maybe his''car will give
• oiit:under such.pressurei� maybe
`he'll have.. an accident and
tr'd six week in hospital;
vbe f2e'11 just grow up;' But
someone will replace him. deterring factor to a good ma y
"The pests will always 'be with young offenders. He has a vali
us. argument and one -which .is pu
- forth in many, marry
newspapers as the reason such
So I understand Bud Oke's `"news" is carried.'
complaint. •I know what" it is But does it work?
like to' be kept awake by Bud argued that rather than
squealing tires and unmuffled printing the accident- report'
mufflers. It is maddening, •I which usually draws attention
know but it is a fact. of life' in• to some ordinary citizen- who
*•*
every' municipality I know. . has simply made an error in
Maybe that's no reason to give judgement while driving a car;'
up and let these adolescent. 'the ' Signal -Star should ' be
fools have .their way. But it is ' nailing the real culprits of the
balm for an .aching head after a roads, the noisemakers! gather,
'-:sleepless' night.; ' ' . than embarrassing the poor
On this same page there's a folks who•,.are involved in., the
letter, to the' Editor from a fender -benders around town,
couple in Chatham who spent a let's embarrass , these young
few day' in this fair town. They punks who `regularly . make
are complaining—about the citizen'' miserable with their
same problem' - this time on noisy antics. The Square, a natural drag Experience shows, h'owe' er,
track" for persons ' bent on-
making
n-making • a nuisance of them-
selves. '
lb's not the first fetter we've..
had ... and it'probably' won't be•
the -last.. But this couple have
the same answer as Bud 'Oke
-and his 'neighbours - put a
policerhari on the street.' . part,., the noisemaker is a'
So': far in • this issue we've certain type of youngster who is
.heard : 'requests for two searching for attention in, the
policemen - one ori The Square first place and %ould welcoine
and One on, McDonald Street, the publicity in the. local* rag:
What about, the other 49 miles Usually the .only People who,
of roadway in 'Goderich?
ate embarrassed are the
'parents of the kids who have
their names in the paper. And
• In a 'brief conversation with this type• of embarrassment . is
Bud Oke last week', he followed up . with' ang•y•;
suggested that thet.S'ignal-Star telephone calls • to the
could help the situation • by newspaper office, bad. feelings
printing a list of the persons and,'poor community relations..
charged 'with' causing a dister= It is the • opinion of the
bance`A in Goderich ... and • management of the Signal -Star
',making public their fines. that -a •newspaper •is' not in the
Bud ,.felt this could be: a'' business of keeping law and.or-
that in the' majority of cases;
the reports of noisem.aking• only
serve It) glorify the offender .
'who is just immature enough to
bask in the notoriety of having..
'his name in ,the ,paper. Oh,.
there may be some who will he-.-
frightened
e-frightened off but for the most
•
•***
Open leiter
Chief of Police .
Goderich, 'Ont,,;
Dear Sir:
By Shirley J. Keller
oder. That is a police matter. A
newspaper may point out the
problems as this newspaper
'attempts to do front time to
time - but it -cannot actively
work to mete out justice and.
\control law 'breaking. .
* * :);
In this • issue of the Signal
St r, there ,is' portions of a let -
.
from Goderich Police Chief The directors of the Goderich • •
'Pal .King. That letter pointed Industrial,Exhibition have con -
out. v own personal failure to clucked arrangements with'
be• a ood citizen when I did • James E. Hardy, the., world,
not to 'phone the police conner- famous aerial artist, to perform
ping th. t midnight interlude at at the fair this fall. His mar -
out, co ' er during which 'real 'vellous-exhibitions f nerve and
and de 'berate damage was skill, over the greatest;'gorges in •
done to 'own property, not to America, Niagara, Genesee and
mention t e 'disturbance. Montmorency, h ve, in them-
Accordin • to Police Chief fielves, stamped ' him as the
King, the 1)car force depends °'Premier High ire Artist 'of
on the eyes and ears. of its the World''°and'he is said to be
citizens to wa'n them of trouble the • only. rani in the aerial
spots and of nders in town. business to ay' who is perfor-
That' makes s nse. With one, ming .feats with an ordinary
two or the 'mos . three officers street bicycle without. the aid of
MOONING BACK
E75 YEARS AGO
•
'The conditions' of those fou n-'°
,tains on 'the. Square, has not •
escaped the notice of visitors
'whose remarks concerning
them are not expressive of ad-
miration; It was understood
that the . council' refused to
plant the basins with, flowers,
• as was.done`last year, and that
they were to be removed
altogether, but there they are
still. Why does not the council
repair them or remove them?
Saltford is to have a new ap-
ple evaporating plant this
season. The old Kirkpatrick
property will be used for the
purpose; the big stone building
is to be rebuilt and fitted up for.
the evaporation of fruit on a
large scale.
' Pathmasters in the- various
divisions in the townships
should see to it that all weeds
and•thistles are cut this -month.
• The pathmasters are.1iable to a
fine of ten dollars if this is not. , t_
looked after during the month
of July, and any farmer who is
in danger of, having the seed
blown to his property can
prosecute. As the paathmasters
in a great many divisions,. have
not attended ta,thia matter the
variotis•1 councils should see
that they do. b •
-The water in the harbor in
Goderich is almost fourteen in-
ches higher than it was last
year. • .
50 YEARS AGO
Secretary France of the
Bluewater Highway
Association gives the infor-
mation that 60,000 ten day per-
mits have so far been issued
this season to American touring
cars entering Canada at Sarnia
and there are several months.
left of good touring .weather.
Mr.. France himself. has routed
15,000 cars` coming. through on
30 day perrrgits, and the great
majority of =these on the
Bluewater Highway. •
'one time, they. can hardly be ex-. • 'any fake car counter balance at
-pect'ed to -be'. )n • tot) •of tachmentA wf�'ateter, '
."everything.
- Burglars, robbed the
Besides this, "everybody Canadian National Express
knows of the game"of cit and
. Company's office in..Clinton
mouse
which :some drivers en- •.some time/ Monday night 'of -
joy with the local 'fuzz',' ... get taackages �!nd goods valued at
the 'constable off to one corner $5fJ0. Clinton ' police and' t2he - v,
of the municipality and then ' CN detective force have : been
raises,hell in the opposite 'cot- notified'although there ate only'
,ner. slender Hies to go ori. The
"We are here ,td serve • you,
warehou ,'e doors .had been for
ced and. :he thieves entered and "
completed their .work. -
ti
but we do need the assistance
of your eyes, your ears and your
finger in the' dial of the
telephone 524=8.33,3," says
Chief King.
5 YEARS AGO
Huron Co -Operative Medical
Come on;' Coderich. Let's try ~:Services ,will merge with 29.
it the Chief's way for a while: ; h r ' medical co-ops , in the
We've . nothing to 'lose . and'454' province in order to 'become
everything to gain. - ' agents of the -government under
the new. Ontario Health Ser-
vices Insut;ance Act which
creates the Ontario Health Ser-
. vices Insurance • Plan (OHIP)
• on October 1, The' new service
will take the main source of in-
' come from the co-ops and so
they° must amalgamate and ,ex-"
pard: services in order to exist.
l;t.oy 'Meriam's horse, Jerry
The net• result simply scaresri G., continued his winning ways
last. week when he came first in .
pigeons off for a few hours, the,
roof returning to original shade" the eighth race at Goderich
after first shower. Raceway. The horse turned in a
-._- time of 2:11 flat for his second
° - However, some weeks • ago a will, in as' many starts.
well-spoken young man convin- Canadian Forces Base, Clin-
ced me our roof needed another ton, will close in two years ari-
coat, the loose metal re,nailing.- pounced Defense Minister Leo
A price was agreed upon and Cadieux recently: -The announ- •
the. job done, A cement _was made to several
area newsmen and officials
My husband and I have just
returned from spending three,
lovely days in your town. The
nights were something else!,
$ince we stayed 'at the only
hotel'on The Square, we ;c-
'tainly didn't expect drag racing
and motorcycle races included
in the price of the room, with
front row seats at all. three°per-
formanc'es, 'tio- less! We 'speht
all "three nights sitting in mit„
4 window from 1 o'clock until 3
a.tn. each morning watching as
t 10 high „speed cars and -three
motorcycles screeched their
-tiresand revved their motors
around The Square. While hit-
ting speeds 'up to 40 mile' an
• hour , they managed a'' few
choice word's hack and forth
between cars.
I'm sure the whole town irl :na
eluding the police station' ran
hear this,. terrible noise. Or is
everyone in `Cmderich deaf? ' 'P
The simple answer to this
'left hand "problem could 'he
solved easily by putting :an of-
ficer. in an unmarked car for
just .one night on that square.
With a few aZrflsts' fbr distur-
• bing: the peace and certainly
your tourists, this might curtail
some of the activity.
It -is- real crime when a few
jelly -heads get their' jollies cir-
cling 50 time's around the court
house at 2 a.m. in the morning
to drag race. Perhaps if some .of
these .people saw the inside of
that, building in front of ;'a
judge, it would put a stop to
something which is giving your
pleasant and picturesque town
a very bad name.
4 �Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. `Peter Prisxter
'� Phyllis Ave,
Chatham, Ontario.
'D
Faith restored . .
Dear$ditor:,n
Too often, in the barn -roof
' paintitrg profession, the prac-
tice seems to be to spray as
weak a mixture as possible, as
rapidly as possible, collect the
fee and leave the lrii{alay'forever•;
'that ;evening it rained on the gathered on• the parade square.
still -wet paint, some washed "It is with sincere regret that I
off. ° Realizing, that the announce a government
Almighty, not barn -roof pain-
, decision to tertninatte military
ters, control • the weather.,. -' '
shrugged this off as an'acct-of• - training .operations, at C.FB
God, .thankful• that at least Clint n", said Colonel> Ryan.
Some color still adhered,, The Legion Pee Wee Vets
were sidelined by the Clinton
Ten', days later, the same Ponies ' rl~'riday night ,
young man drove in, repainted
score of 8-5 in their. thibyrd and
'the entire roof without 'fuss or deciding. game.
fee. His explanation •on leaving Restoratiori' hnd renovation
was a simple one "Alt 'our is 'now wel underway on two
work is guaranteed." oGc3det•ich landmarks. Work on
the, Huron County Court
House is near completion•.and
involved' taking out "several
large stories that had' slipped
and resealing ;the gap with rub=
ber. Knox Church has received
a sandblasting, 'sealirre. and
paint job ih the last,few weeks
also.
t,
The name of this firtih is
• Isaac Watson Painters, at
present operating out of• Gard-
ners' Trailer Camp just south
of town. T commend and recnrn
meted them. •
t•Iindr'narsh)