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Clinton News-Record, 1984-03-21, Page 4BLUE- RIBBON LUERIBBON AWARD .1983 nt P,la. ** i'MoAtm t!t' 'It -7t. sk Ctivw-114: Ts aov7nr 14,14t, 00.0511r,mr 111011 0111Wirto0 ran. Post tptNCI U Ata, Wil} i4Ntil Th• $wedWitiifiii.__uJw ;Pm r r� lit Thipoi*A s 4rir. wa al t1� i,I1�1, #o qit Pxoti woo 2 rqia. Clinton News ord Incorporating J. HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HCILLENSECK - Office Manager ge A MEMBER MEMBER DI„®1ov odvoril®1u,1 roles avalloklo on raaluosf. Ask for lia,o Card. No. 14 ofaoolleo .Oc,obor 1, 19113. MbneyWeI! spent -- Don't wait for the upcoming open house. Take time now to see the newly restored Clinton Library. 4.li.nton's grand. Qld, l ibrar4t re-apened this. week after mare than a year spend on remodelling and decorating as part of the town's $1,275,000 library -town 'hall restoration project. A tour through the new library should convince opposers thatthe money was indeed well spent. The interior has been completely remodelled and libraryfacilities are now pro- vided on three floors. The library includes basement meeting rooms, the ground floor main library and a separate children's section•on the second floor. The library combines the best of classic features and new design. Original woodwork, the old tin ceiling and lead glass windows have been restored. Addi- tional reading areas, good lighting, new shelving and washroom facilities have been added to the 88 -year old building. Clinton now boasts the. finest library in the county and a. facility that equally • compares to any library in larger .urban centres. ' As every Clintonian knows, that the library -town hall restoration project has not been easy. It's been an expensive', controversial, time consuming effort. It's caused headaches and hecirtaches for council and taxpayers. Most will agree, however,that the end result was worth our time and money. -by S. McPhee ' Farm education Many children who growup in the city know little about farmers and the business of agriculture. Unless they have rural relatives, their image of farmers is formed by songs like"Old MacDonald" and "The Farmer Song". Lyrics such as "straw hat and old dirty honky" and televisionprograms like ''Hee-Haw" where Winter's end Sugar and Spice by Rod Hilts is The joys of travel Sometimes I am convinced I was born 30 years too soon. When I see the wonderful op- portunities for travel young people have to- day, I turn pea-green with envy,, When you and I were young, most of us didn't get much farther than the next town. A minority visited the city occasionally,.and• it was considered a big deal. And a shal whale of a lot of people never did get to see a big city in their entire lives. And were no worse off for it, of course. Man, how that has changed. Nowadays, young people go galloping off to the four cor- ners of the earth with no more thought about it than we'd have given to a weekend in the city. They're so blase about it that it's sickening to an old guy like me, who has always yearned to travel, and never had the farmers are portrayed as unsophisticated and ridiculous hayseeds are the Images time or money or freedom to do it. --- •-some-•urbanite:-ha-ue-of__fa noas�. • .:._..._.-.__ __- ' -,-._.._ _._..._..�...,_ ._ ___..._-._._ .:�_.._ . ___..__.__...In.myslay_,_duringthe Depr,ession,_the_one. In many cases city children only see livestock in books or from the window of a ly people who could afford to travel were the car when they travel. from one city to another. And, ignorant of the work that hoboes. They could afford it because they do an think food comes from the shelves of,the super- didn't have any money. They rode free on hrou h the torrential rams of bonnie -goe-s into food production, n, m )! the: tops•and. inside.. the. box -cars .of freight take,a year off, -borrow _some money,:stuff ,a g , cotiand: -I've- be -to FralrM' Slept five" market. trains. And they didn't have any respon 'R 'p *knack and head out for f year of bairn- weeks in a tent in an orchard in Normandy. ' The Ontario Ministry of ‚Agriculture and Foods is working on a solution tp the sibilities except the next meal and a place to ing around Europe, the Mediterranean, North Africa, India. Rotten kids! Been to Belgium. Antwerp; buzzbombs. In the last decade, the travel bug has spill- Know Holland well. Spent two weeks locked ed over into the high schools. Some of them in .a box -car in a railway siding at Utrecht. are beginning to sound like agencies, with Am intimately acquainted with Germany. frequent announcements over the P.A. Was bombed in Braunsweig and Leipzig, system. and spent a delightful six months in "Will the group going to Rome in the salubrious Pomerania, as a guest of the winter break please. assemble in Room 202 Third Reich. at 3:30 for a lesson in tying your toga.". •Oh, I've been around all right. But "All those taking the. Venezuela trip are somehow it wasn't quite the same. Rattling requested to see Mr. Vagabond in room 727 through Deutschland on a train. with a 10 - at 3:15 today " day stubble of beard on your chin and a tag - now a ge in battledress .blouse. is not quite similar to mechanical repairs are. some of the things farmers of the 1980s. must know to bourgeeistravels. They exchange anecdotes . break trip to the Canary Islands should ha• ve about Morocco and Moscow, Athens and their passports by March 1st." climbing aboard a 747 with your tote -bag keep up with the ever-changing i field of agriculture. Australia, Pari and Port-au-Prince, Delhi and waiting for the stewardess to brio our "An urgent meeting will be held today for g g' y The OMAF proposal is a positive step to get urban children to learn all about and Dubrovnik. Fair. nauseates me, it does. those who plan to take the London -Paris trip first meal. the business of farming.—from The Huron Expositor. By the time he was 22, my own son had liv- during spring break. All seats are now fill- Would I trade? Noton-yourlife.' • By Bill Smiley Hove year so Poor Editor oice your y opinions .ions not ed on both coasts of Canada, been to Mexico, ea. if enough are interested, we'll hire New Orleans, Texas, Israel, Ireland, and a another plane," hundred other places that are just names in . It fairly makes your head swim, especial - an atlas to me. He's been to Paraguay, ly when your own idea of a trip south is 100 South America, 'and has visited Argentina miles to the city for a weekend, a trip west and Bolivia. He speaks four languages. I means a visit great-grandad, and a trip east means yo " e going to a funeral or a not too well. . .... ..... ..... speak -one, wedding -among •mon t e relatives: My nephews have seen more countries Next thingyou know, this travel binge will than Chris Columbus or Sir Francis Drake. g One's an airline pilot, and knows Europe, bulge over into the elementary schools, and North America and the West Indies the way great 747 -loads. of little shavers from Grade I know my way to school. Another has work- 8 will be descending on the unsuspecting ed in the Canadian north, Quebec, the Con- residents of Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro. go, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. Lord help them. The residents, not the kids: • My nieces are just as peripatetic. They've Perhaps this sounds like sour.grapes. been to the West Coast, France, England, Well, it is. As Shaw said: "The trouble with Russia. A four-day trip to New York, for . youth is that it is wasted on the young."And them, is scarcely worth mentioning. as Smiley says: "The trouble with travel is Migawd, I'd have given my left ey ll t that is is wasted' on kids who don't know a the first Oh it's not that I haven't travelled. I've children settled -in outer"aebTiels"by-changes thought it was pretty earth -shakin Dear Editor:. Atter reading the letter by Mia, Stixne and the editorial by S. McPhee concerning the Vanastra PC- blie Sebooi, l would line to add another view to this issue. I do not have children in the Vanastra Public School yet, so cannot comment as Mrs. Stone can on how important this school is to her and her family, but I have heard these same feelings from a majority of parents in this community. I've also heard the other side of the story from some who state, "If the Vaiiastra Public School is the most expensive school, then it should be closed." To this I feel it is important to -note that busing costs, deben- tures owing, and teaching staff is not includ- ed in any of the figures released to the public. To bus the Vanastra students to Brucefield, for example, is estimated to cost. $3x,954.58- The .reg�.3lnr eat pm Mil (heat, .. hydro...) , would be added to tb,at figure. Preseaitiy at- Vanastraihe"•rent-(wliiCb'In eludes heat, hydro, water, maintenance...) is at $34,430.81: The transportation costs alone would increase the cost of educating these children, not decrease the cost. The Grade 7 and 8 students are now bused to Clinton. which adds an additional $9,000. in transportation costs. This is the first time this "School Review Procedure" has been used by the Huron County Board of Education. I don't feel this is just a way of having community input because the decision to close the school has already been made. This procedure is a way of exploring every avenue of making a school a viable operation and our small community has many good suggestions to offer. If you've been reading about the Vanastra School issue, I hope you realize it really does affect each of you and that of your grand- children also. The logic used by the Board of Education with the Vanastra School issue will be the same logic used when they decide the future of other schools in years to come. This same logic will be used when deciding the future of a County high school, possibly as early as -. next year. Are you pleased to hear of a low "cost per pupil", yet upset to hear your child or grandchild has 40 children inhis classroom with one overworked teacher? How long should a kindergarten or elementary stu- dent have added to their school day by bus- ing - one hour or two? Is it a good policy to bus a child past the nearest school because it has a high enrollment - if so how far away eba should these children be bused? Are you see New—Yorke-when was their age'!.--I---Grecian.urniromanT.talianpiz a " . concerned at the possibility of uprooting g a rs time I saw Toronto. Toronto, ye -e -c -ch! been to Great Britain. And spent two years in the present bus zones? Is it wise to have Thousands of university students annually staggering around in the • blackout or wading families divided throughout many different Countyelementary echoole . Pm m sure-eaeli of tau has�eoncerns-Of y iir- own hut 'the'cbneei I've:teiitioned'fiffect not'only us at Vanastra but also every Coun- ty School supporter. This new procedure sets out three guidelines, 1: The needs of the children, 2. -The needs of the community and 3. -Cost. It will certainly be a difficult task to weigh costs against something as special as needs of children, so the Board of Education should know how each of you feel. The time for you.to contact your Trustee is not when your children are affected but now, before the Board of Education sets a precedent with the decisions now before the Board. Sincerely, •• (Mrs.) Sally Rathwelt problem. By including agriculture in .Ontario's grade nine science program, OMAF hopes to eventually reach 200,000. students. The. course will be tested. in ,.schools this'year for implementation in 1985. Though program's like the Junior Agriculturalist .program have started to available, and hang on to it like grim death, change the hayseed image of farmers, teaching agriculture in city schools will never venturing forth on the highroads of life. I was. the envy of my classmates, when, promote understanding between urban and rural areas even further. at 17 I nabbed a job on the upper lake boats, City students will learn that farming is big business that involves millions of and could come home bragging of having dollars, and advanced technology. Along with the cows and pigs on Old Mac- been to such bizarre, exotic places as Donald's Farm, city children will learn that farmers must' use specialized . Duluth, Sault Ste. Marie, Detroit, the k ledtheir operation.Accounting computer programming, and. Lakehead. Today's youngsters would sneer at such sleep. Looking back, I was one of the lucky ones. Most of my generation of youth was forced by circumstances to stay home, get any job "Those who are involved in the spring end of sour black bread stuffed into' your Soil loss is a quiet crisis By Arlin Hackman- Federation of Ontario Naturalists • Outside my train window a late winter sun is stripping the rich Southwestern Ontario croplands of. their snowy cloak. Spring runoff will soon begin clearing the way for a new cycle of planting and harvesting in Canada's breadbasget. ft will alsoopen a new season of soil erosion which seriously threatens our ability to feed'ourselves. It all seems a little remote as the freight cars thunder by the other window, laden with produce from California and Florida. But the fact is, our best agricultural soils are being borne ,away at an alarming rate. Water erosion is the major cause for con- cern, scarring the landscape and polluting even the Great Lakes, with agricultural chemicals. Wind also inflicts severe damage. One recent field study near Hillsburg, Ontario found that as much as one centimeter Of soil was removed by a. single storm. The costs are enormous. A 1982 Ontario study showed that reduced crop yields, and nutrient and pesticide, losses alone, amount to $68 million every year. The associated decline in soil productivity paints a gloomier picture still, since the bulk of all • food production is affected. Soil erosion is a natural process, of course, and no real problem in undisturbed eco -systems where protective plant cover helps keep soil regeneration and erosion in balance. But over the past 20 years, rapid technicological changes resulting in a massive expansion of row crop production ( especially corn and soybeans), and a cor- responding decline in forage crops and pastureland, has disrupted this balance. Ad- ditional neglect of soil conservation prac- tices has set the stage for disastrous deple- tion of the rich organic surface horizon of our soil base. In effect we are mining the soil, since nature takes literally thousands of years to generate a few inches of it., • Once the organic surface layer is gone, less fertile subsoils serve as the cultivation media. By nature they also have lower water storage capacities, poorer infiltra- tion, poorer structure, hence greater ar- tificial manipulation is needed (e.g. fer- tilizers) to maintain productivity levels, and agriculture becomes a veru precarious business. Stepping off this merry-go-round is dif- m f icult f or the average tarmer. In many cases the 'adoption of erosion -control' practices may not prove cost-effective even though the writing on the wall gets clearer with every inch of lost topsoil and the correspon- ding decline in output. Remedial action such as improved tillage, crop rotations, con- servation practices, grassed waterways, and sod buffer strips, must also be tailored to the individual site. So no single program will solve the problem. But at this stage the major problem is still the lack .of public awareness and pressure for soil conservation policies defining a viable agricultural system: The Soil Con- servation Society of America (Ontario Chapter) has taken a lead with a recent position statement on soil erosion. Copies are available from: R. B. Chang, Secretary, Ontario Chapter SCSA, 740 York Mills Road, Suite 506, Don Mills, Ontario, M3B 1W7 Party in Prescott Dear Editor, In co-operation with Ontario's Bi- centennial and the Town of Prescott's Ses- quicentennial Celebrations, the alumnae of the former Prescott High School have plann- ed a reunion for former students and staff on Friday and Saturday, June 29 and 30. Events will include registration, reception and tours of the former school building on Friday afternoon and evening. On Saturday, June 30, there will he a chicken barbecue served at noon, an afternoon beer garden and tribute to PHS ceremony, all on the old school lawn. The reunion will end with an old "PHS Formal" at the Community Centre on Satur- day night. . PHS graduated hundreds of persons between 1920 and 1958 and as these former students are spread across Canada today, we would appreciate your publishing this letter to help tell former students and staff in your community that Prescott High School is holding its first-ever reunion. Former students wishing further informa- tion can contact Barbara Mills, PHS Reu' Mon, Box 1984, Prescott, Ont., KOE 1TO. Thank you for your co-operation. John A.H. Morris, Publicity Chairman alQidoscop¢ Well, it's now mid-March and there's still no official word . on Clinton's newest industry. Talk says that a major automotive parts plant will be located in the former Wildex plant and more than 100 people will be employed. Announcement of the new industry was expected at the beginning of March, but so far Clintonians are still waiting with baited breath. A new major business will defintely help to put Clinton back on the map and everyone's anxious to get , the town's industrial wheels turning again. + + + Up in Blyth, the village's newest business The Theatre Circle made its debut at the Blyth Memorial Hall on March 15. The theatre touring company is headed by Keith Roulston, a familiar name in these parts. The Lucknow are native was formenly the administrator at the Blyth Centre for the Arts. He was also editor of the Clinton News -Record from 1970 to 1972; editor and publisher of The Blyth Standard from 1971 to 1977 and editor and publisher of *The Teeswater News from 1975 to 1977. He also helped to create two monthly Airmen reunion Dear Editor: The Wartime Pilots and Observers Association of Winnipeg has organized three very successful Commonwealth Wartime Aircrew Reunions and is presently organiz- ing a fourth Reunion for September 6-9,1984. It is expected a total of 5,000 registrants and wives will gather at the Winnipeg Con- vention Centre. In addition to organizing the Reunion, the Association has undertaken the responsibility of establishing an ap- propriate Memorial to those who gave their lives while training under the British Com- monwealth Air Training Plan. Most other Commands have their respec- tive Memorials, but the many hundreds of boys and young men from the Com- monwealth countries, whogave their lives By Shelley McPhee magazines, The Village Squire and The Rural Voice. Keith's latest venture was warmly received by audiences at Blyth on the weekend and should be a hit throughout southwestern Ontario. A review of The Theatre Circle's first production is featured in this week's News - Record. + + + Perhaps it has something to do with spring, but people seem to be more enthusiastic and involved this week. Baek in Clinton, our new recreation director Kevin Duguay wanth to organize a bicentennial committee to help celebrate Ontario's birthday: A general meeting regarding this proposal will be held on April 9 at 7 p.m. in the town council chambers. The meeting will outline all the provinically sponsored bicentennial events that Clinton could become involved in and hopefully a comm nittee of local citizens can be formed to incorporate some of these programs in 1984. Representatives from various clubs as well as the general public are invited to attend. + + Bayfield's impressive program of Bicentennial Events is just back from the printers. Chairman Helen Owen has done an outstapdine iob in nrenaring this extensive, exciting and enterprising series of events. We'll keep you updated on all these events as the spring and summer season get underway. +++ pOn March 14 there were eight tables of euchre in play at the Knights of Columbus match, held in St. 'Joseph's Church Hall, Clinton. Winners included: ladies' high, Margaret Reynolds; men's high, Bill Jenkins; ladies' low, Nellie Matthews; men's ,._low, .. Agnes Carbert; ladies' lone - hands, Omerine Watkins; men's lone hands, Donalda Flynn. Door prizes were won by Margaret Reynolds and Vera Priestap. +++ Mrs. Marion Malcolm and Kimberley of Chatham spend the March break visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. Leibold, RR 2 Clinton and Mr. and Mrs. John Smith and Kim of Brussels. They also visited with her aunt Mrs. Leibold, RR 2, Clinton and Mrs. Esther Baxter and her family from London. to be held in Winnipeg while training in Canada, now lie, all but forgotten, except by relatives and friends, in many cemeteries of cities, towns and hamlets, close by, where now long abandon- ed training fields once existed. They died just as honourably in the cause of freedom, as did their comrades in arms who lo t their lives while serving on op squadrons. The Association intends to erect a fitting Memorial, "Airman in. Training" of which we can all be proud, in an appropriate loca- tion, and to have it available for dedication during the parade and Cenotaph service on Sunday, September 9, 1984. The Association is inviting donations to offset the cost of this Memorial, especially from aircrew who were ttersonally involved ,with the B.C.A.T.P., but also from relatives, friends, or groups who would want to remember. If you believe it is 'important that future generations know about this time in history, when many thousands of young men from all parts of the Commonwealth, voluntarily came together in Canada to train and take their places in the War in the air and that many of these men made the supreme sacrifice while still under training, then you are asked to send your gift, cheque or money order in Canadian funds, payable to: B.C.A.T.P. Memorial, c/o Royal Trust, 330 St. Mary Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3C 3Z5, ra Clinton's CN School Car ne-eds-yourhelp . Dear Editor: It's now official. At a recent meeting of the • board of directors, chairman Ron Young reported that our application for incorporation has been approved and accepted. We are now a corporation, officially called the Original CNR School on Wheels 15089. The effects of the newly formed corporation read as follows: 1. to accept donations, gifts, legacies and bequests for the purpose of maintaining a fund, for the purpose of paying the costs of restoring and maintaining in its original state, the railway car that had been used as a school in northern Ontario by the late Fred Sloman and is now located in the Town of Clinton. 2. to carry out fund raising projects; promote the railway car and organize its . display as an object of historical, educational and tourist interest; to make the school car available for any worthwhile community use. Many hours of work have been already donated by a few dedicated people to bring the school car to its present state of restoration. Many of us do not have the time or talent to help in a physical way towards the restoration of this very unique object of Canadian history. Our bylaws allow us to sell memberships to the newly formed corporation. The board of directors have decided that the initial memberships will be $5 to include entrance fee and first year membership fees. To renew the metnbership will be $2 annually, unless the directors determine it should be changed at any further date. The board has also decided that any person making a $100 donation or more, would be granted a lifetime membership. Membership cards are now available for sale at the following locations: Bartliff's Bakery, Campbell's Men's Wear, Clinton Community Credit Union' and Ball and Mutch Furniture. Become a part of this historical restoration project by buying a membership today. Clarence Denomme, Membership chairman.