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Clinton News-Record, 1984-12-12, Page 41348q 4,--PLAIT011 NEWS*RE VinNESDAV. DECEM iEIR 18. 1984 The Clinton News -Record In published each Wednesday at pO. Box 39. Clinton. Ontario. onaria. NOM 11.0. Tel.: 482.3443. Subscription Rate: Canada- 919.75 Sr. CCtlxen .516.73 per year U.S.A. foreign - 095.00 per year It Is registered as second class moll by the post office under the permit number 0817. The ttnelsAtecord Imsorparated Irl. 1924 the Non 149Y441ocecd. founded -111 101. and The Change haltw.yEra. founded In 180. Total pressruns 3.700. Incorporating THE BLYTH STANDARD .1. HOWARD AITKEN - Publisher SHELLEY McPHEE - Editor GARY HA1ST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOI,LENBECK - Office Manager CCNA MEMBER Display advertising rates available on request. Ask for Rate Card No. 11 effective October 1, 1984- A MEMBER ShopIifting is a crime This is the season when local merchants hope for their highest volume of sales for the year. This is also the time of year when they lose their highest volume of inventory through shoplifting. Shoplifting is simply a polite word for stealing, and the people who are involv- ed in this are nothing more than thieves. Shoplifting accounts for retail losses of more than $300 -million a year in Canada. Still, many people do not take shoplifting seriously. Some see it as a childish dare, a prank, just petty theft. However store owners know that shoplifting can't be overlooked. Locally, merchants must always be on the lookout for shoplifters. During the Christmas season many shops hire extra floor clerks, and attempts are made to display merchandise with extra safety and security protection. Fortunately shoplifting hasn't reached the serious proportions in our business communities as it has in larger urban centres. There, shoplifting, is a profession and experts can oist more than $3,000 worth of goods in one looting spree. In-store cameras, mirrors, fitting room regulations and electronic sensor equipment are used in most city stores as a preventative measure against shoplifting. Who shoplifts? There's no set pattern. Shoplifters may young or old, male or female, rich or poor. Some shoplift out of necessity, some out of greed. Still many others steal with lack of motive or thought. Robert Stephens, of Eaton's corporate loss prevention programs says, "Most feel it is a victimless crime, that Targe corporations can afford the Toss. Those are the same people who inflate their losses to insurance companies, don't pay park- ing tickets and disobey traffic signals." "Pro chore, what choice`," Dear Editor;, As a concerned Canadian Citizen, I would like some clarification on our present state of health here in Canada. Are our doctors, Hospitals and health department up to date? Are they doing everything possible, to make. Canada a safe place to live in! ' I know they can do a lot of new things like • heart transplants also liver and kidney transplants. And if your heart has stopped often they can make it tick again. • But what about those 65,000 women and girls in 1982 and the thousands and thousands after that had to get an abortion because their physical or mental health was in danger?: Can't anything be done about that! Maybe they had some kind of a disease the doctors aren't telling us about? In my mother's time some 50 or more years ago our whole town consisted of 2,500 rural people. Mothers had .from eight to 16 children - they were all delivered by a mid ' wife. There was hardly ever a complication. There was no doctorin the town. He had to come from eight.miles away on his bike. Morgentaler seems to be very concerned about our poor unfortunate .pregnant women. So much so that he publicly stated to. have broken the law because it was necessary. 300 Dollars worth of concern per woman. Are the doctors agreeing with this? Are we in such poor condition that we can't deliver babies safely? Or do we perhaps have the disease of irresponsibility and selfishness. Are we so uninformed that we don't see what is going on? Don't we know? We either are very ignorant, or we live in a society that murders 'for the sake of Ieidoscope Raising a family, the joys and sorrows of parenting is one of the most publicized topics of the '80s. The family has become a complex in- stitution, confusing and perplexing, for both children and adults, Times have changed, people's ideals have changed, children have changed. Liberal thinking and a fast paced society have taken its toll on family life as older generations knew it. Family life in our grandparents' time was much simpler and more secure. Marriage, making a living, raising a brood of kids were the objectives. Each participant had their well defined roles in the system. The woman was wife and mother, and her job was to make a home for the family, raise the children and help her husband. The husband was the bread winner, a consuming task to keep this family clothed and well fed. Children assisted their parents and learned about the family business in preparation for the day when they would assume the respon- sibility. That was yesterday. Today the basic family structure remains the same, but the original foundation has undergone many restorations and renovations. Today there are more single -parent families, reduced birthrates and an increas- ing number of divorces. Many couples are co -habiting instead of marrying; married couples are choosing not to have children and among couples with children, fewer women are full-time housewives. Family life for children is much different selfishness and convenience. . A poorly informed girl or woman might be unaware of that little girl or boy within her • by the time of an abortion. But the doctor knows and the attending nurse too because they have to make sure there are .no parts left. How do they feel when assembling that little body? • , It is a scientific fact that by eight weeks a baby is completely formed. A doctor is sup- pose.to know or else he is not up to date. If he then still does the abortion when the mother is not in real danger he then is guilty of murder, according to the law and surely in the moral sense. In Quebec they find that the population is now in danger and abortions are soon to become fewer. No wonder Morgentaler wants to find richer pastures. We are a people that want to be informed at all times. Why are we so dumb as to fall for him? Why don't we get information from' that people that are really' concerned about all these women. and girls? They don't get paid for anything they do, except scorn and flack. • You hear a lot nowadays about pro -choice people. But think of it? What choice? To kill or not to kill? We all have a choice, a respon- sible choice to get pregnant or not. There is a very -safe way to prevent pregnancy. Ask for the Billings Method. Live up to it and no side effects. If for • any reason you do get • pregnant, it is no reason for murder. You will be surprised how much happiness it can bring to another couple if given up for adop- tion and to know you have loved enough not to kill. Just Concerned Behind The Scenes By Keith Roulston Equal pay, equal value - vvuen women say co me there should be equal pay for equal work, I nod my headsin solemn agreement. When women say there should be equel pay for work of equal value I'm apt to jump to my feet cheering and yell- ing "Rightldn-. I want some of that too." Equal pay for equal value is one of the most controversial planks in the platform of the women's movement. It has been applied not just to say that a man and woman work- ing side by side at the same job should be paid the same but that the waitresses in a fancy restaurant, say, should get paid the same .as the guy who parks the cars in the parking lot outside. • It brings up the whole tricky question of how important each job is. The answer of how valuable a lob is in the whole scheme of things should make many men cheer if it could be applied right across the board. For instance, shouldn't a farmer with his long hours and his huge investment be at least equal in what he makes from the production of food to the guy who stacks the cans in a supermarket? The supermarket worker, protected by his union, is guaranteed his pay week in, week out, good weather and bad, surplus of food or shortage. The farmer in a good year may make as much. In a bad year may lose the whole farm and, if he's lucky, get a job in supermarket stacking cans of the Beans he once grew. I think there's an argument, if we're real- ly talking about equal pay for work of equal value, that the farmer should earn as much as a doctor since, if it wasn't for the nutritious food our farmers produce, all the doctor's skill and medicine wouldn't do a thing. - By Shelley McPhee now than it was even a generation ago. Children face a variety of problems and choices, about sex and drugs, alcoholism and abuse, child abduction and teenage pregnancy. Problems that only a few teenagers in my generation faced, are more prevelant today for many more young people. What to do? Many family counselling agencies, like the Huron Centre for Children and Youth and Family and Children's Ser- vices recognize the problems logically and are working to develop some solutions. In Kent County educators are taking the lead in this direction by developing a paren- ting skills course for secondary school students. The family studies courses are being des- inged to teach parenting skills, money management and examine inter -family relationships. The proposed course will involve more than a text book education. The program would also place senior family education students for work terms at nursery and day care centres to get first hand experience at parenting skills. Shirley Harrison, a Ministry of Education official in Toronto noted that the course would not solve all the problems of society. Instead "it might be seen as an awareness heightening in students," she suggested. Recognizing the problems is one of the first steps that adults and youth must take. Many of these problerrs and worries were aired nn nntir nn1 tt1P"ricinn last week. On the Global and NBC showing - S.O.S. - Secrets of Survival. - This innovative program took an honest look at today's teenagers, their concerns and dreams, their despair and destiny. S.O.S. talked about teenage suicide and drug abuse, prostitution and sex, rock roll, alcohol, parents.... It recognized rxaatiy teen problems, revealed during intense ;in- •terviews with many young people. There were tears, anger and despair in thepro- gram, but more importantly, it showed that these young people are looking for a better future. Despite its heavy subject material, S.D.S. was neither depressing or defeating. It .en- couraged parents and teenagers to talk to one another, to examine and understand the problems that they are facing. i' - The show was enlightened with upbeat in- terviews with several specialists, and the likes of Mr. T, Erma Bombeck and Bill Cosby. Popular rock music videos accom- panied the interviews and discussions. S.O.S. successfully blended a combination of thoughts and concerns from both parents and children. It frankly addressed issues from both viewpoints without conflict or quarrel. Dealing with today's parenting problems and growing pains means understanding and awareness, dialogue and education. Parenting courses like that being developed in Kent County, and programs like S.O.S. will help to make all of us aware and inform- ed. • 1 used to get in trouble back when teachers were striking here in Huron because I failed to have the correct amount of sympathy for their complaints that they were underpaid and overworked. Selfishly, as editor of a weekly newspaper, I felt I was in the education business too educating several thousand people a week. I worked full days, 50 weeks a year, most evenings and often on weekends but never made more than half what a teacher made. I think a poll of editors of newspapers in the county would prove the same thing today. I later worked in the arts as an ad- ministrator, dealing with thousands of customers, overseeing a staff of 40 - 50 employees. I never made more than three- quarters of what a mailman makes. At Thomson Hall in Toronto, a violinist in the symphony is likely to make less than half what the stage hand who sets up his chair and music stand makes. Not much justice in that. Nor is there justice in the fact that an ac- tor can make more in one day doing a silly television ad for underarm deodorant than in weeks creating a play that will really con- tribute something to society. There isn't much justice either in the fact the fisherman can risk his life on wild seas to bring in a catch and live below the poverty line while in far off cities people make good livings from serving up the fish in restaurants. Actually ladies, given the strength of the movement,, you stand a lot better chance of winning your battle than the rest of us. But get it quick. Justice tends to come to those who have power and your power may end with the passing of the current fashion. The first snowfall excites people of all ages. While children slid down the hills behind St. Joesph's Separate School on December 7, adults were getting into the Christmas spirit by decorating their homes and buying gifts. This year's winter has not been as harsh as last year's, with only 14.5 centimeters of snow compared to last year's 46 centimetres. (Anne Narejko photos) agar and Spica • Turkey f"r all WITH your kind permission, I'll tell you a little Christmas story this week. We'll call it: "Turkey for Easter-. In my own home town, when I was a boy, a Turkey Fair was held every winter, shortly before . Christmas. There was a district north of the town that was poor farming land. It was rough and rocky, like some parts of the Bruce Peninsula, and its in- habitants had a difficult time scraping a liv- ing cut of the inhospitable land. So most of them grew turkeys. They'd let therri run practically wild through the year. then br- ing them to town for the Turkey Fair. The main street would be lined with sleighs,'cut- ters and old cars, all piled high with turkey for sale. Buyers would come from the cities, and the townspeople would all be out to pick up their Christmas fowl. As a result, the town street would be crowded. Jingling sleighbells, scurrying people, filled with the Christmas spirit, and crowds of turkey farmers and their families, with the sharp - faced buyers from Montreal and Ottawa scutttling to get the best birds for the least money, made it an exciting day for the town's youngsters, and quite a few of us didn't show up at school that day. I'll never forget one Turkey Fair, when 1 was about 12 years old. It was right in the middle of the depression. As usual, the street was lined with turkey farmers, selling their wares, by nine o'clock in the morning. This was the big day of the year for them. The rest of the year, they barely managed to make ends meet. But when they had sold their turkeys, they were rich for a day. Some of them would have as much as 30 to 40 dollars, a lot of money in those days. This was for them. It meant that children would have something for Christmas, that Mother might get a new dress, or pair of shoes, that Father could. have a few beers and maybe buy some shells for his gun, and that their credit at the store could be sustained. They were tr , ibly poor. By Bill Smiley Well, this one year, something happened. At the time, I had no idea what it was, but it was probably a glut of fowl on the market, and too many people without money to buy turkey 'for Christmas. At any rate, the Turkey Fair was an utter failure. Only a few buyers showed up, a lot of the townspeople simply did not have the money, and were living on credit, and the farmers could not get rid of their turkeys. At first they were selling a few for outrageously low prices, 12 or 13 cents a pound, instead• of the usual 18 to 25. But by noon the turkey farmers were nearing panic. They were running around with a turkey in each hand, canvassing houses, try- ing to sell them for seven and eight cents a pound. By four o'clock in the afternoon, the full extent of the tragedy had been revealed. Women stood by their sleigh -loads of turkeys, with the tears streaming down their faces, and three or four of their children, cold and hungry wailing in sym- pathy. The men's faces showed anger,- fright and bewilderment. It was a bitter day for them. It meant that instead of a Christmas full of warmth and happiness they were fac- ed with a Christmas bleak with despair, lacking everything that usually made it good, as well as a cheerless winter ahead, existing by the barest of margins. It was a shambles. Turkeys were hurled into the streets and trampled on by bitter, frustrated men. Others spent their last 50 cents for a bottle of cheap wine and got drunk. The people of the town looked grave, sympathetic, worried. Even the heavens wept, and a down -pour of freezing rain foul- ed the white snow and increased the general misery. I don't think I have every felt more sad and depressed than I did that day, child though 1 was. When I got home, I wanted to spill all my feelings to my mother, but one look at her face told me she knew. She went about her work with that intense fury that always possessed her when she was t. g to hide her feelings, and I knew better. Tian to start babbling. A while later my Dad came in with a long face, and he and my mother held one of those low -voiced conclaves that drive curious -children crazy. Then he went back outside. My mother looked a little less harassed. Then the rest of the family began coming in, my young brother started hors- ing around, and with the tough indifference of a youngster, I almost forgot about the turkey farmers and their despair, in the babble of the family. When my dad got home, we all sat down to supper. In those days, you ate supper at sup- pertime, in our circle. Mother and Dad still looked pretty grave, but not so bad as before, and we kids were all talking at once, as usual. We had hamburg for supper. I was feeling a bit disgruntled with my parents for being so serious and uncommunicative, so, probably to attract attention, I said: "Ham- burg, hamburg, hamburg. We're always eating hamburg. Aren't we ever going to eat anything else around here?" You know how a kid will say things like that. We did have a lot of hamburg, but I liked it. My mother gave me one look, got up, took me by the ear, marched me to the woodshed door, off the kitchen, opened it, and said: "Yes, you're going to get something beiides hamburg. You're going to eat turkey from now until Easter." There, hanging from the, rafters in the woodshed, were about 12 or 13 big turkeys. - Next day I found out that other families in town, among those who were able, had done the same thing, out of sympathy for the turkey farmers. By the time they had given turkeys to all their friends, neighbors and relatives, in an attempt to get rid of them, there were a few people who went without turkey THAT Christmas, in the town.