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Clinton News-Record, 1985-07-17, Page 4THE BLYTH STANDARD) Ibn CIIntcn •Mews R,aPrd l4 130111!0',E4 PP -01 Cm mtfo Nom i61* Taa,. 46.2 0401 $Most riptlar, RakeF Canada 1111,9.13 Sr. Cross 11. ¢ 1¢.13 par year torelan.- *4340 PAT Year • It TA rgii0fAr?d.,l! sisal!' f' loss: 1lgltl:'.by Ppyt Of,! ilnwal�,r. tila,Q,r!nit 11a0pr. Od1i',. Tha moroirRacartii I6corporoligo,'M 19;4 $b . Huron PIRiniorpecQrd, fawaded In 11, 1, and The, Cllntan•PIew3Era, loyndgdd1.1(16S. Mind Prin4,run43,74q. Clinton Thews -Record Incorporating J. HOWARD AITKEN . Publisher SHELLEY McPNEE - Editor GARY HAIST - Advertising Manager MARY ANN HOLLENBECK - Office Manager A MEMBER Display advertising rates avallabie on request. Ask for Rote Cord No. 16 effective October 1, 1904. Send Ng horne Canada doesn't want mass murder suspect, Charles Ng. Ng, 23, faces charges of attempted murder, robbery and possession of a weapon or use of a weapon in committing an indictable offence. He was captured by two Calgary store security guards who tried to stop a man they suspected of shoplifting some food. The man pulled out a handgun and shot one of the guards in the hand.. Ng entered Canada recently after American police alleged his connec- tion to Leonard Lake and the grisly discovery of bodies at an isolated cabin in. California. The cabin has yielded the remains of at least nine bodies, bone fragments, weapons and video tapes depicting torture of women. Since the police allegations, Ng has been the subject of a massive inter- national police manhunt. Under its extradition treaty with the U.S., Canada can refuse to hand Ng over to American authorities if a death sentence is possible. A deci- sion would be up to the federal justice minister. Ng should be deported from Canada to return to California to face` charges against him in connection with the 25 torture killings. If Canada does not return him to his country, we will be accused of being a country that harborsfugitives. Canada could become a haven for murderers fac- ing possible death sentences. At present, Canada and U.S. civil rights groups are trying to block the deportation of an American murderer who escaped from death row in a Pennsylvania jail. Anti -capital punishment activists have asked Ottawa to seek assurances that Joseph Kindler, arrested in Montreal, will not be executed if he is returned to the U.S. Kindler should also be deported. Surely he deserves the -same fate as il- legal immigrants who are deported with few questions asked. Aod what's the sense of having a manhunt in Canada for a U.S. man when we don't know whether we're going to send him back to his country? Criminals should be returned to their country where alleged crimes have occurred. Should Canada decide not to return Ng, there will certain- ly be erosion of the American and Canadian justice systems. Besides, we don't want Ng. — From the Walkerton Herald Times. Food for thought Dear Editor: The concluding statement, "We will, in ef- fect, • become the 51st state," in Keith Roulston's most recent editorial I hope will promote some serious discussion in the com- munity. As Canadians we have benefited greatly from the U.S. economy and culture, certainly. On the other' hand, we have been harmed, I believe too. The item's you men- tioned in your editorial are perfect ex- amples of this. I hope that your editorial page will con- tinue to furnish food for thought on mean- ingful issues along these lines. This, in itself, is one of the best ways there is of strengthen- ing our culture, which, in turn, cannot help but strengthen our economy. i Let's work hard to prevent Mr. Roulston's prediction from coming true! Sincerely, Alexander McAlister Biases -won't be tolerated Dear Editor: On June 28,. 1985, The Hon. Jack Riddell, ( Minister of Agriculture, and Liberal MPP for Huron -Middlesex), made his opinion known about Mr. Larry Grossman. I would like to take this opportunity to say - that the Progressive Conservative party believes in judging individuals by their capability and commitment to the better- ment of society as a whole. Biases against an individual, for any other reason, shall not be tolerated. Thank you for your time and attention. Yours very truly, Deanna Such YPC Secretary Huron -Bruce (Federal) Behind The Scenes By Keith Roulston Huron's in, for now What's this? For anybody who took a year-long tour of the world or just got lost on a Disney World ride and are just getting, back from their Florida vacation, the strain might be too much when they come home to Huron County and find that suddenly we're represented by members of the government both at the federal and provincial level. Rip Van Winkle mustn't have been any more shocked at the changes when he woke up from a 20 -year -sleep. How can this be? Not only that, but in the new provincial government Huron County has two members of the cabinet! Huron County has been "out" so long it's hard to know how to react being "in". Sometimes it seemed we just wanted to ex- press our contrariness in being different than the rest of the country or the province. I mean I still get a shock when I look at an old picture in a paper that shows Pierre Trudeau being mobbed on the main street of Clinton at the height of Trudeaumania in 1968 but even then the Liberals couldn't elect, a member in Huron. As for the Con- servatives provincially, they were last seen when Charlie MacNaighton retired and have been an extinct species since. But knowing the personality of the Huron County voter, if I were Murray Cardiff; Murray Elston or Jack Riddell I'd be wor- ried for the first time in my political career. We dislike government so much we may turn against these guys just for spite even though we've been giving then ridiculously easy wins for years. Political differences, religious beliefs, color and creed divided the people of the world for centuries. Government leaders and humanitarians have attelnpted to bring about worldwide peace through avariety of measures, ranging from• financial aid to intimidating nuclear -arms stockpiles, from truces to wars. This past weekend close to two billion people around the globe found a new common denominator of peace and understanding - rock 'n roll. The world's biggest rock show, Live Aid was designed to raise money to help people in famine -stricken African countries. It duel that and more. The equivalent of $95 -million Canadian dollars was raised in the global rock concert that was televised in 169 countries. More than $1.5 -million of that came from Canadians, whose calls to pledge donations plugged telephone lines in Toronto from 7 a.m. Saturday morning to 2 a.m. Sunday morning. Live Aid was a musical extravaganzaand a tremendously successful telethon. It also was an unlikely method of joining people from around the world in a common cause. Live Aid focused on two simultaneously run concerts in London, England and Philadelphia. They featured the best performers in rock 'n roll today, all who donated their time for the efforts. More than 75,000 people packed into Wembley Stadium in London for the 16 -hour concert and more than 90,000 took part in _the concert Philadelphia show. Giant 60 foot video screens at the stadiums broadcast the two concerts across the ocean and some 10 satellite dishes orbiting in space betamed the shows around the world. Live Aid did not end there, similar concerts were staged in Japan, Holland, Austria, Germany, Australia and the Soviet Union and in keeping with the global feeling of the musical friendship, performances from these shows were shown in London, and Philadelphia. and on television sets around the world. While people in the Soviet Their futures may be saved however by a failure of their governments.. In Ottawa, Brian Mulroney seems to be out to confound the experts who predicted his huge victory meant the Conservatives would control federal, politics until the turn of the century. From patronage to bonehead remarks by cabinet ministers to stepping on the fingers of senior citizens who were hanging on financially by their fingernails, Mulroney's people have seemed bent on committing political suicide. 1n Toronto, the "honeymoon" for the new David Peterson government lasted about 26 hours before the press began laying traps. Jack Riddell was jumped on for his remark about the people in i.iral areas of the pro- vince who walldn't likely ynte for a Jewish political leader is, unfortunately, all too true). CBC tried to Il. , t up the .:r.narate school funding issue by saying Li:- Libels were thinking of post-poning implementing the program for a year in one of those "refused to deny the possibility" stories. Every day since then there have been stories about the Liberals "backtracking on election promises" because they haven't managed to accomplish everything in their election platform in time for a report" on the six o'clock news. So hold on folks. Let's not panic yet. Just because Messrs. Riddell and Elston and Cardiff are in with the wrong crowd now doesn't mean they won't be back where we're more comfortable on the opposition side of the house before too long. By Shelley IMcPhee • Union were not able to see the marathon concert, the Russian group Autograph was given the rare opportunity to perform to the giant worldwide audience. Russian television commentator Vladimer Posner best summed it up by saying, "We are proud to participate in this worldwide endeavor to fight famine in Africa. It's, nice to know that for a change high technology is contributing to something positive and that music is helping our fellow men in a different continent. For us, it's a matter of policy and human love." Live Aid did just that. Music has endured over the ages as one of humankind's universal cultural forces. Rock 'n roll is no exception. In fact it is one of the most powerful forces in the lives of young people today. Yes, we hear lots of stories about sex and violence in rock lyrics, about the steamy lives of the rock stars, about drugs, booze, the wild life that"rock promotes and its poor influence on our people. But the tremendous accomplishments made by the Live Aid Concerts prove that rock 'n roll is more than that. The rock super stars and fans alike showed an unquestionable sense of responsibility, dedication and enthusiastic commitment to the need of others. For the people of the often criticized "Me Generation" it shed new light on their jaded image. And for rock 'n roll and its superstars, Live Aid, showed that not only does the music dominate the charts, but it has a major role to play in the betterment of the world. Irish born singer Bob Geldof of the Boomtown Rates rock group inspired the global concerts. The response to Live Aid far exceeded his expectations. An' even greater honor has conte from a member of the Norwegian parliament and some British M Ps who have nominated Geldof for the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. But Geldof's main ambition is not for further personal fame. He is primarily 'concerned with ending world hunger, Geldof wants governments to take actipn. He said they are mistaken if they see the Live Aid extravaganza. as a way of shir+l ig their responsibility to help the millions starving in Africa. "What they saw ... was,a Message being sent to them that people have had enough and they want to see some action. They've given ,all they can give. I mean, people have phoned in from all over the country, from all over the world. That's enough of these things." The power and commitment of the people was clearly evidenced at Live Aid. It should encourage governments to do the same. And the state of rock 'n roll? Live Aid illustrated that rock 'n roll has a conscience. Teresa Mazzitelli of the London Free Press explained, "A contradiction of terms? Not really., The unison of secular music and noble cause may have been an awakening to those who've long equated rock 'n roll with sex 'n drugs, but conscience is not measured on a scale. "As private and as relative of virtue as faith, it often needs to be push,ed into the limelight to be visible. Because Bob Geldof pushed, the Wembley and Philadelphia concerts were a demonstration in collective conscience, rock 'n roll style. "The cynic will say any performer would be a fool not to perform in front of a global audience. True, but not,all of them offered. The cynic will suggest that rock stars aren't real people with real problems like you and ole. The cynic will consider that it was an impressive show of state-of-the-art technology without thought to the human effort consumed in such an undertaking. "The cynic will even say that problems like world hunger are always going to be with us, Maybe. But the day the world rocked was the day before a lot of the world's hungry were fed." Cabbage Patch Hour The Clinton Branch Library is featuring a special Cabbage Patch Hour on Tuesday, July 23 from 2::30 to 3:30 p.m. Children from the ages of four to 10 are invited to attend, and be sure to bring along your dolls. Protecting our prime farmland Dear Editor: I applaud CFPL television's 'Inquiry' pro- gram entitled "Power for the People" aired on May 26. However, though the broadcast was an hour in length, the surface of the issue - using foodland for a transmission corridor - was barely scratched. Ontario's foodland is extremely vital and totally irreplaceable and therefore should not be used to .support an electrical transmission line. The citizens of Ontario are already paying high prices for their electricity supply and .taxpayers are also supporting Ontario Hydro's inconceivable $2,3 'billion debt, with tax dollars. Now they are being pressured to sacrifice foodland. Ontario Hydro MUST be forced to use less productive land for transmission lines, ,our future depends' op it. During the last decade, the Ontario government has given Ontario Hydro an unfettered leash and it has run out of con- trol. This has spurred the formation of groups of concerned citizens, such as Foodland Hydro, to try and enforce some logical planning to save already depleted. prime agricultural land for our future generations. Ontario Hydro is cleverly manipulating these concerned citizens groups, pitting them against each other by proposing a scenario of vaarious transmission systems from the 4Brarce Nuclear Power Development. Hydro now recognizes the resistance of these groups is greater than anticipated; so recently it quietly put forward yet another system, the M7, which treats all areas of agricultural opposition "fairly" - they all get at least one "string of lines". The pro- posed M7 system consists of one 500kV single circuit from the Bruce Nuclear Power Development (B.N.P.D.) to Barrie, one 500kV double circuit from B.N.P.D. to London and one 500kV single circuit from Nanticoke to London. This will certainly not quell the resistance put forward by opposi- tion groups, but greatly increase their momentum. Frequently we hear of the "NIMBY" syn- drome - "Not In My Back Yard". No, of course not, nobody wants it in their back yard, but there is far more at stake here than a transmission tower being an eyesore. It is the damage to the land, frequently ir- reparable, that is the concern to agriculturalists.. These lands may never again be able to support the present crop yields. It is not only the area of the base of the tower that would be erased from produc- tion; the affected land would encompass the entire transmission line right-of-way. That is approximately .300 acres of prime agricultural land south from the B.N.P.D. to London, plus 250 or more acres for a transformer station. Yet Ontario Hydro em- phatically states only 25 acres are lost to a transmission line on this route. The inconve- Sugar and Spice niences of working around towers. damage to drainage systems, obstruction . to aerial spraying, and compaction of the land are a few of the many nuisances to be tolerated.. A responsible government should ensure the protection of prime agricultural land by effective legislative planning, to which On- tario Hydro must comply. These repeated malpractices. of Hydro should never be allowed to occur again. At present,, if Hydro feels its interests are threatened, it will use any power at its disposal which it deems necessary to pro- tect itself. Ontario Hydro has to convince no one, and so acts in its own interests, regardless of the consequences to others; it obeys no regulatory bodies, holds no shareholders' meetings and is subject to no elections. The new Ontario government must take the reins of Ontario Hydro and bring it under control, citizens groups must continue to fight, at their own cost, for the preserva- tion of Ontario's foodland for the future generations of this Province. Foodland Hydro is fighting, fighting for all people in Ontario, to -help retain their foodland. If nothing is done, future generations will rightly condemn our generation for selfish misuse of Ontario's most important resource = prime agricultural land. Yours truly, Jane Rose, Ailsa Craig. A family reunion SUMMER is the time for family reunions. Other people — fighter pilots, newspapermen, Legionnaires, Women's In- stitutes, Librarians — have them any old time. But in alrhost every . weekly newspaper across the land, every week of, our two-month summer, you can read that the Jojes family, or the McIntosh family, or whatever, had a reunion, followed by a list of who was there, who came the farthest, who was the oldest, who was the youngest, who hosted the reunion, and everything down to what was on the menu, Not too exciting to the average reader, but important to the family, so dutifully reported. After the reunion, on the way home, there's the usual obituary. "My God, wouldn't you think that Esther would stop, after having seven in 10 years." And, "Tina's got turrible fat. She's due for the big slab if she don't stop eating. Seven pieces a pie after a feed a shanty man couldn't han- dle." Or, "Too bad Wilbur's got so fonda the stuff. They found him out behind the barn at 11 a.m., and hadda use a block 'n' tackle to get him up to the table:" And so on. Well, 1 avoid family reunions like the pla- que, but one summer I was guilty of atten- ding or. My reasons were three -fold: a sense of'responsibility, love, and a chance to spend some time with my only and beloved daughter. The occasion was the 99th birthday of my uncle, Ivan Thompson, patriarch of the clan, last of . a fainily of eight, and a . remarkable man. When you think of a 90 -year-old, you think of an old man, huddled in a shawl, toothless, senile or almost, sitting in a rocking chair, eating gruel. You don't think of a bright-eyed, lively keenminded fellow who could "walk people like me up a mountain and leave them, By Bill Smiley gasping, about halfway up, as he reached the summit. Born in 1892 on the island of Calumet, in the Ottawa River, in the lumbering days, he graduated from the school of hard knocks. His father was sluice -master atthe-Roche Fondue, a rapids in the river, where the logs were diverted down a wooden sluice so they would not• be smashed to splinters in the rapids. Young Ivan had to work on the fami- ly farm abutting the river. In his youth he was an athlete, playing hockey for Shawville, which produced NHL star Frank Finnigan. With little formal education, he went into business, did well during many years in Montreal, retired, and bought some land along his beloved Ottawa River, where he built, mostly by hand, a beautiful log cabin which he still visits every summer. In every respect, he is a self-made, self- educated and widely read man. He's my idea of what somebody with guts and in- itiative could, and still can do, in this great country. But, besides those virtues, he has charm, wit, and great vitality. And these are why I've loved him since I was a kid, not because he "made good." On my way overseas, I visited him in Mon- treal, was treated like a son, and slipped a small cash donation. When I got back from overseas, same thing. His life has not been all roses. He lost a brilliant young son who was in his 20s. His wife died in an automobile accident. But his spirit, though deeply hurt, bounded back. At 80, he seemed 60. At 90, he seems about a year older than I. And we look alike. When I was a kid, about half the time my mother called me Ivan before she remembered I was Billy. After serving in World War I, he worked hard in forming the Canadian Legion to 61 make sure you boys" of the second war got a better deal from government than his generation did. He was also active in politics, and is a great environmentalist. He is beloved by his huge collection of nieces ' and nephews, daughter and grandchildren, and hundreds of cousins. Dear Uncle Ivan, I salute you as a great ' Canadian, and will be there for your 100th, even if I have to take an ambulance. I had two bonuses in going to Ottawa for my uncle's birthday. I got away from my grandchildren for, a couple of days, just about the time I was going to crack up, and I had a good visit with my daughter. We ate at an outdoor cafe. We went to a horror movie. We ate a gigantic pizza in Ot- tawa's burgeoning city centre. We went to hear a rock group in which an old friend of hers, and a former student of mine was playing. My ears are still ringing, but I must admit 1 enjoyed it. We ate and drank in a swanky cocktail lounge at the Chateau Laurier and heard some excellent jazz. And we talked and talked and talked, without her kids or other interruptions. That was a treat. She was in great'spirits, doingwell in her university courses, and has found a place to live in a good section (but in a crumby base- ment apartment). She told me Ottawa was a beatrtiful city, as she drove me around, but you couldn't prove it by me. My eyes were shut tight and my fists clenched in my lap. She, drives a beat -up old Datsun as though she were in the Grand Prix. Most of us slow down when we see an orange light. She speeds upt to beat the red one. And everyone else in the city drives like that. Anyway, that was a big summer adven- ture. I was shaky from that driving for days, but soon recovered enough to start making peanut butter and honey sandwiches a in.