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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-08-26, Page 4PAGE 4—GODERICH S1GNALSTAR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2b°,1981 dave sykes z e,tte J rats% Second class mail registration number -0716 The summer of 1' ; 1 has been one of upheaval and uncertain in the land of the true north strong and Tree, home of the beaver and hockey sticks. More to the point, the press hasiabielled it the summer of discontent. We've ex- perienced our share of economic pressures and yet, through it all, Canadians have risen above the discontent and laid claim to a global first. Canada leads all industrialized nations in time lost to strikes. An honor of dubious distinction, to.be sure, but it is a first. Canucks may not build thebest television set, radio, automobile or hockey player but there is some measure of consolation to be extracted from our country's exemplary strike record It is comforting that our diligent efforts have been recognized. Bud and Martha are fairly representative of the Canadian family norm. They have 2.7 children and live in a modest three-bedroom • bungalow valued at $100,000. They watch Bowling for Dollars, and while their materialistic aspirations are modest, they do enjoy the occasional holiday in Nashville. As Bud trudged into the house seeking relief from the heat and flopped un- ceremonioulsy into his favorite easy chair, Martha instinctively knew his day wasn't going well. She quickly produced one of the last precious cans of beer from the fridge and rushed over to ease Bud's troubles. "Hard day at the brewery?" she asked sympathetically while popping the tab. "Oh boy! It was a tough day on the line today I'll tell ya It was hot and my feet ache. I don't care much for these summer strikes," Bud said in between gulps of beer. "It's tough on the old legs but I must admit it is better than lugging those signs around in the winter." Martha knew that Bud's health just wasn't quite right the last few years and his legs were taking quite a pounding. 'There was also a hint of arthritis in the fingers that periodically flared up. While carefully and tactfully calculating her approach to the subject of finances, Martha also gave fleeting consideration to getting back in the labour force herself. But she knew Bud wouldn't consider the prospect. "Any sign you might get back to work. ' -The strike pay isn't stretching too. far anymore you know," Martha said raising her eyebrows a bit. "Strikes are costly on both sides Martha," Bud lamented. "But it's the Canadian way, It's what were good at'and nobody can take that away on us. About getting back to work, well, there's rumors the Government might legislate the -brewery workers back." "That's not fair," Martha cried. "You have the right." "Naw that might be true but there is a lot of pressure on the politicians. Apparently we're an essential service 'cause Canadians do a fair job of drinking beer and we have to keep the supply flowing," he said draining the can. "There is also talk that the strike is putting the .little guys out of work. I guess, that, means bartenders and winos. Just a joke hon." "It would be great to have a regular pay coming in again but then you should havea choice about fighting for benefits," Martha said. "Now don't • go, worrying about everything," Bud offered in comfort. "I could get a little part-time work until this thing is all settled. Why I heard the local college needs an instructor for a new night - school course. It's something about writing effective slogans for picket signs. Anyway, I have the experience." SINCE 1848 'THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded In 1140 and published every Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCNA and OWNA. Adver- tising Fetes on request. Subscriptions payable In advance 47.30 In Canada, °33.66 to Y.S.A., °38.66 to all other coun- tries. single copies S0'. Display advertising rates available on request. Please ash for Rate Card No. 11 effective Oc. tober 1. 941. Second class mall Registration Number 1716. Advertising 1s accepted on the condition that in the event of typographical error. the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable allowance for signature. will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be mild for at the an_ pilcable rate. In the event of • typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is me:.ly an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing pur- poses. PUBLISHED BY:SIGNAL-STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publisher DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX 220, HUCKINS ST. INDUSTIUL PARK GODERICH11 N7A 406 FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Plan is good start The town of Goderich is finally recognizing the recreational potential of the waterfront area and persuing goals througha master plan. That waterfront master plan was unveiled at a special public meeting Tuesday and the. general consensus of the modest crowd indicated that solid planning was vital in. future development of the waterfront. " The platys unveiled at the public meeting were prepared by the consulting firm of Knox, Martin and Kretch Ltd., Brampton. By the waterfront committee's own ad- mission, the plans were overly ambitious in some areas. But committee chairman, Elsa Haydon, reiterated the point that the study was merely a plan, a starting point on which to base development of the four, miles of waterfront. The master plan deals only with therecreational aspects, of the waterfront and park land overlooking the lake and river. Several concerns were expressed that the plan encroaches upon existing. industrial concerns on the waterfront but committee members . were quick to alleviate such fears. Industry and recreation have shared the waterfront area for years and while the marriage was not always been a harmonious and compatible one, both needs have been adequately.served. There is over four miles of shoreline from the southerly limit of town along Lake Huron and around the Maitland River bank td the easterly limits. The lake and river provide a natural asset that has never been fully tapped or explored. The potential is obvious but the initiative in orderly planning and development, save for private en- terprise, has been lacking. The waterfront master plan at least serves to provide planning goals in the future development of the town's shoreline areas. Planning is necessary for orderly and precise development as long as the goals are not so grandiose in nature that development is out of the town's reach and aspirations. For the most part, the plan is simplistic in nature and calls for improvements to existing parks along the lake. and river bank as well as the initiation of new park areas. The two major areas of redevelopment will be on the NIP lands at the Maitland River and at St. Christophers Beach. The town is likely to expedite plans for a' park on the, river flats ,across from the Domtar plant on Maitland Road with the help of the Optimist Club. The park would become the home of the group's music festival. Themajor development scheme as outlined in the study will take place at St. Christophers Beach. The proposal of Knox, Martin and Kretch is to upgrade the beach there with sand and grass background and create a large cove on the southerly limits for water sports, a marina and related activities and business. It only makes sense to develop the southern shoreline for recreational use, a move that could boost tourism for the area. Waterfront committee members Haydon and Bob Allen can be commended for taking initiative in getting the study done and providing a base for recreational land use. Plans are merely concepts but bit by bit, those concepts can be turned into reality. D.S. Check children seats It is quite pleasant,actually, to see a family on bicycles on a lazy summer evening; enjoying a group outing. But the Canadian Safety Council has warned that a child seat mounted on the back of bike is a risky proposition and the council openly opposes the practice. In fact, the council suggests that bicycles were made to carry one person and that additional carrying devices only puts the child in a potentially hazardous situation. Experts have argued, and rightfully so, that the ad- dition of a child carrier alters the balance and handling of the bicycle. Experienced riders may be able to overcome the added weight or balance shift, but it could be a big problem on the occasional outing. 'The child -carrier seats are legal, however, and studies indicate accidents involving the seats are few. But that fact should not eliminate the initiation of strict controls for the carriers. Children have been injured as limbs fall carelessly into moving parts of the bicycle. The potential for serious injury is always there. A doctor with the federal product safety branch is concerned about the flimsy construction of some brands and claims that some lack seat belts and have sharp corners and edges. Children should at least be strapped in when riding on a bicycle and it would also make sense for the regulatory agencies to enforce strict controls on the manufacturers and the use of child carriers. The cargo is a precious one and riders should take the time to ensure that children are seated safely. D.S. Links By Cath Wooden EAR REA Education in Ontario is no longer a growth in- dustry. Between 1975 and 1980, a total of 183 public elementary schools closed in this Province. Nine secondary schools closed during the same period. Most of these school closings can be attributed to declining enrolment, according to Doug Pen- ny, Executive Director of Planning and Policy Analysis at the Ontario Ministry of Education. Why do we have declining enrolment in the 1980s after a period of rapid growth in educa- tional institutions which dates back to the Second World War? "The basic reason is declining fertility," says Mr. Penny. "Hope always springs eternal with some planners that this situation will turn around. but the fact is..the children who will be populating our schools over the next twenty years are already born. "There will be no mini -boom in' the mid - to late Eighties as some people had predicted earlier," he adds. Mr. Penny believes, however, that the downward trend in enrolment will level out towards the end of this decade. "Enrolment will probably remain relatively flat into the next century at about one-fifth below our peak enrolment period between 1966 and 1970." he veva Ralph Denson, Chief, Education Finance, for the Ministry, comments that "the financial and educational impact of rapidly declining enrol- ment in a small remote eystem can be far greater than in a big city. If a northern school board with one secondary school loses 20 percent of its secondary enrolment, it can't just cut 2( percent of its teaching staff." For this reason, the Ministry of Education an -° nounced this year that it would be providing Special Assistance Grants for boards suffering from declining enrolments. 0 ERS These grants are provided on a per -pupil basis, and are awarded to cover a percentage of the student placements lost this year. If, for example, a small school board, with an enrolment of 3,000 students last year lost 400 of those students, it would receive grants for the 2,600' remaining students plus grants for 60 per- cent of the missing students. In other words, the Ministry of Education would provide per -pupil grants for 240 students who were no longer enrolled in the board's schools. Last year, the Ministry provided even more ,.grant assistance through improvements to fun- ding for schools with a low enrolment to help 12 small boards maintain the quality of their educa- tional programs. These boards had been hit ex- ceptionally hard by declining enrolment. Declining enrolment actually poses a far tougher challenge for board administrators than the rapid growth which was experienced in the late Sixties and early Seventies. "It's a very difficult exercise," says Dr: Ben- son. "The management required at the local board level of a declining school is much more difficult than in a growing system." ' "Administrators have to make some tough choices, none of which. may prove to be very popular," he said. Dr. Benson notes the hard decisions faced by school boards with declining enrolment which are locked into staffing contracts, subject to local political concerns, and yet are required to provide quality education with the lowest possi- ble mill rate. School closings are increasingly one of the hard.educational realities which must be faced at the local level. To help local boards face this reality, and to minimize the impact of school closings, the Ministry of Education began issuing a series of directives in January 1981 covering a broad range of issues relating to school closings. One directive encourages the sharing of ex- isting school buildings by adiacent school boards, and by public and separate school systems. In the past, the level of co-operation between some boards on the sharing of public buildings was not the best, Dr. Benson says. "They simply weren't making the deals they should have been making. They weren't talking seriously enough to one another. There wasn't much give-and-take in negotiations between the boards 'so we've asked our regional offices to monitor such negotiations," said Dr. Benson. Other directives issued this year cover the management of accommodation disputes between boards, the creation of fair school closure policies for school boards, .the waiver of "negative" grants on the sale of surplus school buildings, mothballing techniques for schools and alternative uses for schools by other public and non-profit bodies such as day care, special vocational programs for early leavers, facilities for the trainable retarded, health clinics and community centres. In the past few years the Ministry of Education has been providing funding of about $70 million per year for new school construction," but we are now taking a much harder line on the pro- jects we approve," says Mr. Penny. Students will have to be housed in portables un- til there can be absolutely no question about the need for permanent accommodation. The Ministry is now placing its emphasis on the approval of "modular" or "core -type" schools. Such schools have a core" of perma- nent construction which contains services like washrooms and the heating plant. These facilities • are then augmented by modular classrooms which can be added or removed - "like a big Meccano set", says Penny - for relocation to growth areas. This strategy is needed to provide greater flex- ibility to meet local population changes, and, should the need for a school disappear, to leave a "core" that is more adaptable for other uses than a conventional school. It isn't fair. I am all alone here. The noise of machines has stopped except for the one I'm trying to work on. Everyone has either gone hone or gone out for a cool one. I am all alone here. It isn't fair. My nails are bitten down to the quick. My cigarette package is empty. And so is my mind. I am identifying strongly with a col- umnist that was on Lou Grant last night. He was at a loss for a column topic and in desperation re -wrote a press release. He didn't get away with it. 1 asked my editor if I could re -write a press release this week: He said no. Then he went out for a beer. I'm depressed. The realization is slowly dawning upon me that my life must be boring. I mean, the guy up there at the top of the page can always fall back on the latest adventures of his spouse or kid if he is in need of a topic. I don't have a spouse or kid. Me, 1 have a cat. Oh sure, I could write about her latest adventures. Like how she kept beating up on my kid brother's new little kitten on the weekend, or how she ran head first into a tree the other day when she was chasing a squirrel, but that would be boring and you don't want to read about it. The guy up there at the top of the page comes into - the office every morning talking about his son's teething difficulties or how cute he is when he's trying to crawl. We all ,listen intently and tee hee. But nobody wants to hear about my plants. One of them seems to have a dif- ficulty with its leaves. They keep falling off and turning black. Maybe I'm watering it too much or too little. But then, you don't want to read about root rot. It is boring. Cars are boring, too. Especially my car. I cotlld write about how the transmission recently fell out and how I had to get it re- built at a devastating cost. r could white about how the body seems to be turning into rust and how the tire treads are disap- pearing, but that would be boring and you don't want to read about it. I know. I should keep a positive attitude. We get these little pamphlets by Earl Nightingale (who is that guy, anyway?) with our paychecks, and Earl's latest little gem dealt with keeping a positive attitude. O.K., I'm positive my life is boring. How's that? The main concern in my life right now is the fact that I'm running out of socks and underwear that don't have holes in them. This means that pretty soon I'll have to go out and buy some. Now that's really boring! Tonight I am going to go home and have some zucchini for supper. My sister gave me a great big zucchini for my birthday, along with some zucchini bread and some zucchini cookies. That was two weeks ago. and I am still eating it. Zucchini is really boring. 1 t nen i am going to watch a few re -runs on television, maybe do some ironing, clean the bathroom, and check my plants for more root rot. I might have some iced tea if I get thirsty. Then I'll go to bed. My dreams will probably be boring. I think perhaps that simply identifying the fact that my life is boring will help to make me force some interest into it. I am con- sidering running naked through a field of wild daisies, or causing a revolution of some sort. ,I'd probably get arrested, but then again, that would be interesting also. There are a lot of interesting people that have been in jail. But with my luck they'd put mein solitary confinement and I'd bore myself to death. Well, most of you have probably quit reading this ecilumn by now. I'm writing_the darn thing, arid I certainly am not reading it. It's too hoeing. l 4