The Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-10-16, Page 4s
PAGE 4—GODERICH SIGNALSTAR, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1975'4
^L
EDITORIAL COMMENT
Need more dedication
Scientists predicting that by the
end of this century as much as 20
percent of Canada's power needs will
be produced by solar energy from the
vast sources available from the sun.
At first glance this sounds like the -
best news we've had in our energy -
depleted planet, since the Arab 'coun-
tries started asking a fair ,price, for
their oil. Only recently Canadians were
told that declining natural gas and oil
reserves in Canada, combined with the
burgeoning demands of our
technological society would face us
with serious shortages by 1980 if '
alternate supplies were not , found.
Conservation of energy is more than
just good stewardship of resources it is
now a serious practical necessity.
. Solar energy, 'then, would be of
-enormous valueJif,the.world is to find
viable alternatives to oil; natural gas,
hydra .and coal. At , the moment,
however, i#,S costs are unbelievable.
Energy from this source today costs. in
excess of $20.00 a watt and scientists
•
Looking Back
80 YEARS AGO
Mrs. R. S. Williams and her
son Hadden left town at 8 a.m.
Saturday ,morning and cycled ,
to London, returning the next
day, the distance either' way 68
miles. Neither of , them ex-
perienced any ill effects from
the•long wheeling,. and are quite
enthusiasticabout the run down
to Forest City.
The safest place on earth
during a thunderstorm is on a
bicycle. Being encompassed in
India rubber, and full of dry
air, it makes for a perfect in-
sulator aryd defies 'electric fluid.
electric fl old .
A ,good story is told at the
expense of a young 'man in
town. His watch had not been
conducting .itself in a
satisfactory manner, ' so he
handed it to a young wat-
chmaker with instructions to
put it to rights. A half-hour
later, his watch was handed
back with a bill for fifty cents.
When it was paid, he was in-
formed that it 'had run down,
and all, that was done was a
winding. His friends now offer
to wind it for him for a,quarter.
During the past summer and
this fall a large number of
horses have been shipped to the
old country markets. If this
continues much longer. the
price. of horseflesh must surely
rise. .
Harvest thanksgiving ser-
vices will be held in St.
George's church Sunday next,
His Lordship the Bishop of
Huron will`\ preach a at both,
morning and evening.services.
There will be a special of-
fertory at each of the services
which will be devoted to
reducing the debt on the
church. In the et&ning the
service will be entirely choral.
Mr. Rev. Jas. A, Andrews has
moderated in a call at Leeburn
and Union Church which dame
out in favor -of Rev. Jas,
Matthewson of Motherwell. The
call is being signed by both
congregations. and a special
meeting of the presbytery of
Huron will be held at Clinton
Tuesday the 15th at 10 a.m., to
dispose ,of it. Jahn Horton of"
Leeburn and William. McMath
predict that, its, will be nearly the year
2000 before it can be produced at the
economically feasible rate of 25 cents a
watt.
Government agencies, private in-
dustry and university laboratories are
now engaged in a major push to exploit
solar power cheaply within a decade.
forpossible major production by the
yeer 2,000:
It is like the major push back in the
early 1960's to put a man on the moon.
The analogy is apt, because while man
had the ability to reach the moon -years
before 1961.it required vast ex-
penditures of government money -
billions of dollars - to come up with a
feasible scheme.
The same dedication and ex-
penditures must be forthcoming if
solar energy is to„be viabl. Govern-,
ments must be urged to spend this
money so that pressure on our frontiers
for petroleum can be eased, pollution
lessened and stewardship of resources
practised for the right reasons.
through the Signal -Star
of Union church' will appear
before the Presbytery in the
interests of their 'respected
congregations.
60 YEARS AGO
A coming attraction at
Victoria Opera House is Hal
Johnson and a company who
will, put on a musical farce
comedy on Saturday. October
16. There will be a -matinee in
addition to. the evening per-
formance,
The 38th annual meeting of
the' West Huron • Teachers'
Association 'ill be. held at
Exeter Public School. Thursday
and Friday; October. 14th, and
15th. -
Mr. Orville White of
Whitevale. Ont.e is the new
teacher at G.C.I. He is a recent'
graduate ,of the Faculty of
Education, He will teach junior
science.. geography, arith-
metic. physical exercise and
cadet drill, being a specialist in
the two latter subjects. There
are now eight teachers on the'
,.Collegiate staff.
'A yield of 4000 bushels of
grain from 89 acres reported
from Ashfield, constitutes a
good record, even for that fine
township, Mr. Hector McLean
Harvested 'the crop from his
farm at Amberley. Twenty-
seven acres of wheat -yielded
1,000 bushels, and 3,000 bushels-'
of oats and barley were har-
vested off sixty-two acres.
A large -and appreciative
audience gathered in Masonic
Temple on Saturday evening,
on the invitation of Mr.'James
F Thompson to hear the,
selection of musical recjtals
rendered by ate Edison
Diamond Disc Phonograph.
The recital was in the charge of
Mr. F.W.. Johnson of Edison
, laborator.ies;, who 'told briefly of
the history of the development
of the phonograph to its present
state of relative perfection. The
first. number, "Somewhere a
.Voice is Calling,” was ac-
companied on the piano by'Mrs.
Johnson,' and was an almost
perfect reproduction of the
human voice: .Other numbers
demonstrated the further
capabilities of the "Diamond
Disc." Miss Hildred McColl
assisted pleasingly with vocal
numbers and a very pleasant
evening was spent.
5 YEARS AGO
The -main hangar at Sky
Harbour Airport was destroyed
by fire ' Saturday .morning
causing ao estimated $150,000
to 200,000 damage. Lost in the
blaze were two old aircraft; a
Tiger Moth"and an Aronca. The
fire broke out shortly after 10
a.m. and was noticed first by
two boys who saw flames
coming from the hangar fur-
nace room. An 86 -year-old
parrot named Polly, long time
pet of the pilot's lounge died in
the blaze. The building was
fully insured. .
The second fire in one week
resulted in an estimated 515,000
damage to the home of,Mr. and
Mrs. B.M. Ross Tuesday af-
ternoon. Firemen from the
Goderich 'Fire Department
were called to the home shortly
before 5 p, m. following an
explosion in a colour television
set in the family recreation
room.
, Persons 'who have been using
the railway passenger service
from Goderich. to Stratford will
have to find another mode of
travel beginning November '3.
On that date railway passenger
service in the area enclosed by
Stratford, Toronto. Owen Sound
and Goderich will ,be discord'
tinued. Town Council in
Goderich argued that Canadian
National moves throusands of
tons of freight including salt
and grain' annually could use
some profits -• from' this
operation to provide passenger,
service for the people of
Goderich who use it.
Do you
have a beef?
Tell it to the
Signal -Star!
oaerich
SIGNAL -STAR
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fec
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Published by iigna1•Star Publishing Ltd.
ROBERT G. SHRIEF?-president and publisher
SHIRLEY J. KELLER--editor
JEFF SEDDON--editorial staff
DAVE SYKES--editorial staff
EDWARD J. BYRSKI--advertising manager
'1
This week, due to the long
holiday weekend and the
shortened time ° 'before
publication, Dear Readers will
take the form of excerpts from
various bits of writing of
special interest to people in
Goderich and Huron County.
But this time,, they aren't dull
bits .... they are really meaty
little bits that should give
everyone something to think
about. -
The first is a copy of an
editorial written by Barry
Wenger of the Wingham
Advance -Times. Mr. Wenger,
incidentally, is one of the most
respected editorial writers in
Huron County with the
maturity to match his'ability. It
is entitled "Parent' in-
volvement" and says this':
''`The biggest challenge
facing education today is
getting parents involved in the
schools in •a meaningful way,
according to Education
Minister Tom Wells. He made
that statement jn. a recent
address to the annual meeting
of the Canadian Education
Association.
"Lack of involvement im-
plies lack of communication
and lack of 'communication
brings lack of knowledge,
misunderstanding, and
mistrust. The . misun-
derstanding and mistrust erode
the base of popular support on
which the viability of any
public institution, particularly
schools depends."
"The education minister
gave as an illustration of the
reason for parent "turn off" the
case of the child who brings
Dei',r Edilor
Just !w/Ore winter
k JtT Sildon
DEAR READERS
home a report card which tells
in only general terms of his or
her progress and- permits -the
parents to be lulled into the
belie that the child's work is at
least satisfactory. Later, when
teacher or principal tells dad or
mother that Sally is behind her
age group they are naturally
offended.
"Mr. Wells said, that. com-Y
mittees composed of parents
,.andteachers, school board
advisory committees of ' in-
terested citizens, and the more
-active pa -rent -teacher
associations . are all positive
moves in ,bringing about direct
parental involvement in
schools. cl=lowever, he says that
none of them are a substitute
for a policy of open classroom
duors and open and complete.
communication with the people
of the community.
"We agree with Mr. Wells
and can think instantly of
commendable efforts on the
part. of some teachers, par-
ticularly at the elementary
level, to keep parents informed
'of school activities.
"What the minister does not
refer to, • however, is the
definite deterioration in public
interest since the formation of
county school boards. In the
years prior to the county
education plan almost
everyone in the community
knew and was in daily contact
with members of the local
public and high school boards.
They felLfree to voice their
views, pro and con, 'about what
went..on in the schools. It will
require a good deal Of "com-
municating" with parents to
replace that sense of im-
mediacy and' community in-
volvement.'-'
-I-++' ,
Whether it is due to Mr.
Wells' statement or not,
directly on the heels of the
Wingham editorial the
Director's Monthly Memo
arrived on my desk. it is`
written by the Director of
Education for Huron County
Board of Education, D, J.
Cochrane.
The . Director's Monthly
Memo hasn't. been circulating
for about three years, but
according to Mr. Cochrane he is
now making an attempt at
"resurrecting" the publication.
I'm delighted. Jt goes to all
staff members; all members of
° the board and all represen-
tatives of the news media and is
designed to make the public
aware of "educational hap-
penings" in Huron County.
Among other things, the
memo contains a segment
entitled "How to contact .your
school system". Because it is of
such. special interest to parents
in this part of the county as well
as anywhere else, I've decided
to use this opportunity to
publish for you what Mr.
Cochrane wrote. Here it is -
verbatim unless there is some
slip between this desk and the
press:
"Have ,you ever had a
problem or a concern about a
matter relating tb the school
your children attend? What did
you do - or did you give up not
knowing what to do?
"Sir -lee no organization is
perfect, the Huron County
,Bg Shirley 1. Keller,
trustees have set up a line of
communication that should
--solve any problenn or concern
at some point along the way.
"First of all you should call
your school principal. Since the
principal is the person on the
scene that person is the most
likely to be able to ikesolve any
situation affecting the `school -
from booking the facilities to
solving a really deep seated
problem. Give your principal
some time and you'll receive a
report on the action taken on a,
complaint or a confirmation of
the booking arrangements
made for you. .
"Do -you ever contact your
area trustee? Certainly! If you
have referred what you think is
a serious complaint to the
school principal without getting
satisfaction, that's the time to
approach your trustee. Your
trustee will ask you to complete
a complaint form and this will
be used as a basis for the
trustee contacting the prin-
cipal. You may or may not be
asked to go along.
"Just suppose that things are
still not resolved satisfactorily.
In suchsases the'Director, of
Education will have the whole
matter investigated and a
written report prepared. If 'the
Director and his staff"are still
unable -to resolve the affair, the
administrative staff's report
will be referred to the Board for
a final solution.
"While this policy attempts
to cover any eventuality, you
can take heart from the fact
that only, rarely will you'need to
go beyond the principal. The
principal is your link to the
r
school staff, your children, the
administrative staff and the
trustees. Don't hesitate - call
your` principal!" ro
• +++
And finally, since it appears
this column is novidevoted to .
discussion about the schools in
our county, I have been asked
by . a representative of the
newly organized ° Home and
School Association to lend
support (if I can) to the
crossing guard situation at
Victoria Public School.
First off, I believe the lives of
our children ;are precious. And
while I no longer have a very
young child attending Victoria
School, I know the agony
parents can feel for their off-,
spring when they set off along
the busy Highway 21 for school.
There was an accident at the
Five Points last week.' Luckily
the youngster involved was not
too badly injured, although I
understand it was probably a
frightening experience for both
drisfer and child. Police Chief'
Pat King advises, however,
that there is evidence the
youngster was crossing against
the light.
In a case like that, the
question is often asked; "Who is
to'blame?"'Was it the school
for not having student crossing
guards there? Was it the school
board for not hiring crossing
guards for that location? Was it
the town fo �'•�"`t1advdting-- over
hiring.crossiii$ guards? Was it
the driver's fault for not an-
ticipating' the child's sudden
move? Was it the child's fault
for making an error? Was it the
(continued on page 5)
ighway widening, TV and poppies
O/►1►u.s"1
- irnfl rehv
Dear Editor:
In my opinion the Highway 21
'South widening to four lanes is
a million dollar' extravaganza
we neither need nor can afford
at this time. It is a' major
project which I have strongly
opposed from the early,
discussions. Being' the only
'Council member who voted
against it, in defence of the -
principles I represent, I want to
erriphasize my opposition and
to make it entirely clear that I
have nothing whatsoever to do
with this major upheaval which
will take place' in due course.
Last year the total cost of the
project was estimated one
million dollars of which about
$200,000.-, must be supplied by
the Town, plus full landscaping
costs. It will he considerably
more costly by the time the
work is done.
I am in favour'' of improving
(and would have voted for it, if
there had been a separate
motion) . the intersection' at
Britannia Road and Highway
21, oto make it safer and less
awkward.
My opposition starts at the
highway itself, The road to he
widened is slightly more than
.one mile long. Unless one has in
mind to increase the speed
limit or wishes to encourage
speeding in any case. does it
really make a terrific dif-
ference whether one drives at
30 miles or 20 miles an hour for
one mile? One million dollars
worth of difference?
The widened highway will be b
more difficult to', cross and
children will be crossing
'Undoubtedly sooner or later it
is necessary to install traffic
lights (expensive and not ins.*
cluded, in the.' original cost) at
some corner other than "the
Britannia Road intersection ^
where lights will be in any case.
Then what actual time saving
does the motorist anticipate on
that stretch of road? Or what
does anybody else gain out of
this more than one million
dollar expenditure? I am afraid
we shall find that it creates
more problems than it solves,
The only, good thing I, can
recognize is the .fact. ,that tlhe
usual, services would go un-
derground, thus doing away
with the', unsightly overhead
w i res.
However, ,all the greenery
and trees (other than those on
private lawns) will have to go,
as the roadway reaches within
a few inches of the sidewalk.
Stop along that road and look in
both directions, trying to
ve,ualize naked houses on the
shore of an asphalt river. New
trees can •be planted, with
owners' consent, on pr'iva'te
property, but it takes time for
them to grow•
in my eyes this project adds
neither to the beauty of the.
Town nor to any benefit and
convenience of its people. Yet
we are going to spend on it
'money which is short in more
essential services and im-
provements, being apparently
, oblivious of the general state of
-our «economy and of senior
governments' attempts to take
a . second look at where we are
going. '
It has been mentioned by
planners on several occasions
that the traffic on the.highway
in question consists of a lot of
through traffic by people
travelling to their cottages and
so on. Many of us pay
thousands of dollar's to visit
other countries, to enjoy the
unique beauty and character of
their villages and towns which
,,,are not being mutilated for the
dubious benefit of travellers in
'a burry to get through,
It bothers and saddens me a'
great deal that this kind of
visual and character mutilation
is planned for our Town, at
great a cpense. I have no doubt
at all that my fellow councillors
are just as sincerely interested'
in the welfare of our Town, but.
from where I look at it I must,
'say frankly that their thinking
appears to me backward and
outdated. Growth and progress
is no longer measured by large
expanse of asphalt and ac-
companying phenomena; it
does not mean 'becoming, by
hits and pieces, a , plastic
imitation of a more restless
lifestyle.
I believe that the people who
have elected'.us have the right
to know our views and reasons
for taking a particular stand in
Voting on major issues of ,
general importance,
Yours sincerely,
Elsa Haydon
J h'p•F'rs pf1lit'►r1
Dear Editor;
I understood that' the CRTC
ordered COM. CABLES LTD.
TV- to bring their reception up
'`tb' par at the time of their ap-
plication many months ago to
raise their subscribers' rates.
If this is true, they have
Completely ignored this
request. The reception at
present is, in my opinion, even
inferior as to what it was at that
time.
The question is who is
responsible to see that this
request is carried out. It does,c
not appear that the CRTC are
-interested.
The subscribers have been
more than patient ilk looking
'forward to the decent reception
we were promised when Huron
cable were issued a licence to
operate in this area.
It is beyond my wildest
dreams to feel that the sub-
scribers are happy with the
present reception.
I hope that some one can
explain to me why this situation
is allowed to exist,
James Durnin,
. Goderich.
Poppy 1i me
Dear Editor,
Once again the . Royal
Canadian Legion, Branch 109,
makes its annual, approach to
organizations and business
concerns of the community in
support of 'the Legion Poppy
Fund. The Poppy Campaign is
the only public appeal for funds
made by the Legion. x
The monies donated to the
Poppy Fund are held in a 'Dust
Fund. These funds are used to
provide emergency aid to'
Veterans and their dependents.
Today some Veterans require
financial assistance to educate
their sons and -or daughters
beyond the high school level. As
a result, each year much of the
Poppy Fund is awarded as
bursaries to these deserving
students.
We trust that this appeal to
you In support of the Poppy
Fuont1 will meet with your
generous response. Receipts
for Income Tax purposes will
-be issued upon request.
Yours truly,
Sandy Profit,
• Poppy Chairman
R.C.L. Branch 109