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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-09-02, Page 5PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2,1981 Second class mail registration number -0716 Advertising is an effective sales and marketing vehicle and although people will not admit to buying a product because of a television commercial, subtle and subliminal persuasion is at work. Hopefully, the bulk of the female population will not rush out to buy a certain brand of oven cleaner because they can empathize with the portly matron, whose head is stuck in the oven. The product must do the job. Advertising appeals to a broad spectrum of society, their ideals, goals and their position in the socio-economic realm. There is a definite market for every product and advertising is geared to that market. I may be a football fan, and have on oc- casion enjoyed the athletic prowess of Winer quarterback Joe Willie Nemeth. I do, however, refuse to run off tackle to the nearest convenience store and purchase an ample supply of pantyhose. Nemeth can wear pantyhose but, personally, I think it's weird. As demented as advertising can get, evidence indicates ,that gimmicks do sell products to some people. With ' .respect to that, the Canadian Medical Association has called for a royal commission into drinking and related illness and a ban on alochol advertising m the electronic media. The association claims that television beer ads violate Canadian Radio -television and Telecommunication Cornmission guidelines. In short ,the meds insist that beer ads portray life-style advertising among the younger" generation and encourage non- drinkers to indulge in their product. Which, I would think, is- exactly the reason beer companies advertise in the first place. To sell the product. Several Canadian provinces have banned such beer commercials. Those ,provinces, like the medical association, don't believe that young people bouncing about the skies and waters of this land on assorted machines and then indulging in numerous beers, is acceptable advertising. Ques- tionable practices they say. Beer ads, I would submit, do tend to get carried away at times. But then I 'would have to ask the medical association how many times, as they sat in the backyard and flipped the lid on a cool one, have they noticed a balloon unobtrusively floating by. Several times I would think. Well, at least, I have noticed said balloon after heavily endorsuu}}gg such products. Television doesn't lie mdms-8ld dads. Why I simply can't recall the times this_ correspondent has zoomed around the lake on a little scooter type machine and then frolicked on the beach with well endowed, scantily clad young ladies. All this, while indulging in a col -Wok -trig beverage of course. ac ner the commercials, as soon as the cap is off, the good life begins. Every person in beer commercials, though, is relatively young, well built and seemingly void of all the tribulations that plague everyday life. Theirs is a life of constant frolick -and much glee. If you drink a certain brand of beer, well, life is pleasure -city. To be honest, I feel cheated. On the few occasions when I have indulged in the product, the people around medidn't quite measure up to the commercial stereotype. I didn't quite measure up to the standard either, but frankly, I expected more. Advertising has led me astray in that respect. Why not show an undershirted slob in front of the television, ripping open a can or two. One doctor said that such stringent measures would lead to the day when the shapely left buttock• of Canadian girls will be labeled "this object is dangerous to..." Now that's far enough guys. SINCE 1848 THE NEWS -PORT FOR GODERICH 8r DISTRICT Founded in 1$u and published ovary Wednesday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CCHA and OWNA. Adv .-. Using rates on request. Subscriptions payable In advance °17.SN Inianede. '33.1 to U.S.A., '3$.1110 to all other coun- tries, single copies Mr. Display advertising rates available on request. please ask for Rata Cord No. 111 effective Oc- tober 1. lief. Second class mall Registration Humber f)yli. Advertising Is accepted on the condition that In the event of typographical error. the advertising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable anowanee for signature. will not be charged for but that balance of the advertisement will be Mid for et the an. pUc ble rata. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. Rends or services may not be sold. Advertising ts merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star 1s not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited nanuscrlpts, photos or other materiels us.d for reproducing pur- poses- PUBLISHED BY:SIGNAL-STAR PUBLISHING LIMITED ROBERT G. SHRIER-President and Publishes: DONALD M. HUBICK-Advertising Manager DAVID SYKES-Editor P.O. BOX ;20. HUCKINS ST. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 4B6 GOS1eticV IGN FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Accountability fox RCMP The McDonald Commission report was made public last week and it at least served to confirm that our revered . Royal Canadian. Mounted Police always get their man; one way or another. While it was strongly hinted at and rumored that the .RCMP were involved in illegal, practices, the release of the commission report was somewhat anti -climactic in confirming the suspicions. Perhaps the contents of the report may not shock the Canadian public. But the fact that the RCMP became an agency of perverted law on their own is cause for alarm. The co*nfnitsion was headed by Mr. Justice David McDonald and he indicated that much of the trouble • stems from the Criminal Investigations Branch and the related security service. In that respect, McDonald has recommended the removal of the intelligence gathering and national security operation from the RCMP's jurisdiction. • A new agency would be created to handle matters of na- tional security and the RCMP would be limited to its man- date to upholdand enforce the law as a national /police force. In that role, the RCMP would not be compelled to break the law and engage in clandestine activities in the name of national security. It has happened too frequently in the past and the. evidence is. documented. The RCMP has infiltrated groups and political organizations, burned a barn in . Quebec, stolen documents and faithfully scrutinized the merchandise of the postal service. McDonald has suggested that a new security agency should be entirely separate of any other law enforcement agency. It would have no police powers and• its specified duties would be clearly labelled in an Act of Parliament. There must be a certain measure of responsibility arid accountibility. Far too.often, in the McDonald Commis- sion inquiry, RCMP personnel, cabinet ministers, the solicitor -general and even the. Prime Minister disclaimed to have any knowledge of certain activities. If a ilew-a'gencyis created as a direct result of the com- mission recommendations, there must be accountability to the cainet, the Prime Minister and the people of Canada. The creation of a review body would help in that respect. ' . If the government intends to pursue the recommenda- tion of the creation of. a new agency,' the review body would play an integral rolein the accountability, process. The commission makes some sound recommendations and the government should pay some heed to the work of McDonald. If there is a significant lesson to come from the' inquiry; it would read that respect for the law must begin with the enforcementagencies. D.S. Taxpayers rising up in revolt The taxpaying public is slowly rising in revolt against policies and the next year could be a turbulent one. Economics has pushed many Canadian families into a tight budget situation and the government is slowly being pressured to ease the interest rate burden. Things are tough all over. ' But even when the federal government attempts to help out with assistance programs, bureaucracy tends to bungle the project. Homeowners with Urea - Formaldehyde Insulation (HUFFI) is a group that is star- ting to steam roll across the province seeking compensa- tion for the insulation after it was banned by the federal government last year. Many homeowners across the country took advantage of the federally -funded CHIP program to 'insulate their homes. But when the use of the foam insulation was bann- ed by the government, homeowners naturally assumed the federal government would be accountable for at least part of the removal and replacement cost. HUFFI is gaining momentum and locally a meeting is scheduled for Lucknow September 9. There are many homes in the Huron County area with the foam insulation It's the rain that does it. You listen to it working itself up harder and harder and try to guess at what moment the frenzied clouds 4,2 .will abandon their orgy and move their seperate ways. You secretly hope that this is the rain you've never seen before, the thunder you've never heard before, the, crescendo you've never felt before. It's the rain that does it. You sit at your kitchen table drinking tea and become hypnotised by the riversand tributaries and streams running down the window. You look inward 'and inward and inward until the cloud inside of you finally bursts. I always cry when it rains. There's only so much sunshine 1 can take before the win- dshield wipers have to take over and clear th e d ust a way. I don't think that we change our feelings -about. the .rain ,verve much` after. we finish... being children. We dodifferent things about it, but they mean the same things. and local organizers are following the example of Perth County homeowners who recently'' formed a group to peti- tion the government. The cost of removing the insulation is high and the government has not offered any assistance in that direc- tion. It is estimated that about 18 per cent of the homes with the foam have problems mainly because the insula- tion was installed in the wrong type of structures. Only homes with wood structures have escaped any of the corn plications with the insulation material. While people are faces with high costs of replacing. the defective insulation, others may simply have to abandon homes' in the face of high interest rates. Five years ago homeowners were able to pick up mortgages in'the 10 and 11 per cent range but renewals mean rates are as high as 21 per cent. A rebellion is taking shape across the province as people are threatening to withhold mortgage payments in protest of interest rates. A Mississauga homeowner is asking Canadians to participate nationwide beginning October 1. The protests will grow louder and stronger. D.S. Everyone at the office hears the initial clap of thunder and runs to look out the window as if we've never seen rain before. Then there is a mad dash out to the parking lot to roll up the car windows. Oh, I don't think that we are all that concerned about a little moisture getting in our precious automobiles. We just want to rush out into the downpour for a few seconds, just to feel some drops on our faces and feel the excitement we felt as children. Remember? There were rituals involved ''when the rain came down hard and the thunder a nd lightning made us scream. We'd rush outside in our bathing suits and bare feet and dance in the backyard, stepping on the occasional dreaded worrn. We'd march through muddy puddles, for- ming a parade of filthy happy children. mid we would invien ii yll"iologies `to ex- plain away the mysteries of precipitation. erries jubilee by Cath Wooden D EAR:REA BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER For a host. of .mothers and fathers in and around Goderich, Labour Day means the end of summer holidays for school children. It's back to classes and books for the kids who have played -..away the months of July and August. • But for me, it means the end of something else - ,reasonably, safe, easy -to -negotiate streets on my way to work in the mornings and home again at hunch hour. I'm not at all eager to begin the human obstacle course all again. That's exactly what it has been for the past few years m the vicinity of the, schools, and there doesn't seem much reason to hope that this September will be much better. .And in case .you parents of tiny tots start to worry, I should add that for the most part, the kindergarten and primary school children are not the problem. These little ones appear generally well behaved. They have been taught some safety rules - and they live by them. No, the real offenders are the boys and girls Who are a little older, but not necessarily wiser. Funny thing about kids. They start out smart and co-operative. Then somewhere around age 10 or s�, they revert back to acting dumb and be- ing disrespectful. Some of them don't pull out of this horrid stage until they are in their late teens or early twenties. In fact, some are never quite restored to that youthful state of wisdom and understanding. I was intensely interested in a front page story in The Clinton News -Record last month. Seems there, Clinton town council is taking some. direct action to control kids on foot and on bicycles who make the roads a nightmare for conscientious drivers. Thunder meant that God was bowling or moving furniture.he rain meant that Mother Nature was having a bath, and the lightning came as a result of her making the mistake of turning on the radio while in the tub. The ram would turn into a boring drizzle and weld all go inside and change into jeans and sweatshirts and feel incredibley safe and waren. The afternoon movie was turned on, peanut butter and jam sandwiches created, and the monopoly board set up. If the storm revived itself, it was back to the windows with speculations of tornados, hurricanes, monsoons, and other wonderful ,things. If we were really lucky, the hydro would go out. At that point, we would run through the entire house and turn on everything - radios, Lights, the TV, the stove, and open the fridge door - just to make sure that there wasn't D ERS Police Chief, in The Hub says school -aged children will be instructed on the rules of 'the road, and if, the laws are not obeyed, warning will be given, fines will be laid and bicycles will be confiscated by the police department. Sounds good to me. Interestingly enough, thefines will be handed out to the parents and not to the children. That makes sense too. Parents have the money and what's more, they should have control over their own kids. Fact is, parents are responsible for their children even -when they aren't right under their noses. That sounds good to me too. Sometimes it takes a slap in the pocketbook before mom and dad will take action to protect others from their offspring. But I know too, that some parents are reluc tant to believe that their little darlings are less than perfect away from home. To accept the ac- cusation that your children are nuisances and menaces is like admitting you are a poor parent isn't it? Not at all. Every child likes to stretch a point now and again, especially when mom and dad aren't looking. What really makes kids edgy is knowing mom and dad have eyes and ears planted everywhere who will quickly report' any indiscrepancies on the part of the kids - and be in- stantly believed in most cases: It's the readiness to believe that your children can get into trouble that helps discipline them. And it doesn't mean accepting just any old line about your children either. It involves really knowing your own children - really looking honestly at them, listening to them and fairly assessing their behaviour at home and away from home. The News -Record story pointed out that school something magically staying on. And then when the power returned, the house would be ap explosion of sound and light. And if there was a rainbow! Oh, the rainbow was the icing pn the cake. When the sunshine forced its way through the black blanket of cloud and created the most wonderous miracle of nature, it was the surprise ending to a magic show. It entailed going outside to look for the ends; to take a picture of it, and to phone up friends. on the other side of town to see if they could see it too. I don't think I have quit doing all that. No absolute knowledge of science could ever remove the feeling that the rain gives me. No amount of pollution could ever keep me out of it. There's someting cleansing about rain and about the tears that come with it. Thefe's-only- so- much sunshine I- can take _ before I forget what sunshine is. • crossing guards in that community have em- barked. on a mini -training course for wayward pedestrians and cyclists. One crossing guard, Bertha Gibb, says she acts as a "counsellor" between the time;the kids leave home and arrive at school. That's quite a responsibility too, made ,easier when the crossing guard has the co-operation and the support of both the home and the school to reprimand offenders and to teach safety. Ms. Gibb says some children actually appear not toknow the rules. So she attempts to teach them. 4nd slie maintains that once the rules are explained to the children, they are more understanding and co-operative. Could be. . There's no doubt the Clinton community is more sensitive about the dangers to children who do not obey the rules of the road. Clinton record- ed one tragic accident last season that claimed `. the life of a child. No one wants a repeat of that heartbreaking•scene. Here in Goderich, there were a couple of close calls last year involving children who always are more carefree than careless. But no one was seriously injured or died. Let's pray it won't take a tragedy like that to really drive home to folks that traffic rules are made to keep people safe and alive. With school starting next week, let's everyone . be a little more cautious. That's drivers and students, teachers and policemen, crossing guards and neighbors, anyone in a position to help. Maybe we can get through another school year without a serious incident involving a student and a motor vehicle.