The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-06-01, Page 46
Cii,01 A4.,5iTitA, 1 NESiiitX': sITIMB li, 19.83
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There has 'alw-a a at neassuable:
degree of a rehensior .. , � at the `back
k
of my' thinapparatus unci hiligrited,
this job of being; a father.
To suggest that I was well equipped .to.
handle the chore is tantamount to deciet so I
will not lay claim .to any illusions or
pretense. There are some things that have
been learned along the way, painfully, and
other skins seem to have fallen into place
naturally.
But I must still admit there is a certain
amount of fear knowing that my Child mill
siphon most of his worldly knowledge frogs -
my brain during the first critical years of his -
life. I must now submit to the realization,
considering the youngster has Lived beyond
two years, that his ways are ultimately set,
his personality is molded and his tem-
^' perment, established:
-6,77- Already the youngster has displayed
tlurbing signs indtcattng,,hig behaviour is
of the chi off the Old. blocks variety. In.
abort, the kids ,actionsSuggest he inherited
his. 'father's personality and zany ten-
percent. With those facts. at hand we, as
parents, have reason to be afraid.
taiinly every parent has had occasion
to wish•their children would grow up m the
image of someone - else, not follow their own
example. As my own. child beegins to mirror
my example I have reason to believe I am
--presenting a rather may, chaotic and topsy-
turvy view of the world.
Recently, while discussing the affairs of
the world in the bathroom, Bradley took
great delight in pointing out a miniscule
scrape on bisknee.•
While barely visible to the naked. eye, the
child views such maladies as testimonials to
his truculent 'style: the cruises. about. the
house, always at a run or gallop, -at break-
neck
reakneck speed and. like the novice skater who
slams,into the end boards before leprning to
stop 'graceiujionnakates,the kid has bad his •
"'share of run-ins withwalls, furniture and
people who dared to cross his busy path,
While looking sorrowfully at hos- alaraaost.
invisible scrape, the kid' casually suggested
that it would heal with time. And, -having
dutifully consoled him with my best bedside
manner, I suggested that a small measure
of caution would go a long way to ensuring -
that he lived to three years of age.
Assured that he would live . to his next
birthday, the kid inquires whether he can
see dad's scrape on dad's knee.
"Dad doesn't have a scrape on his knee," I
offered almost apologetically. "But just
wait until the second week of the baseball
_season and dad's body will resemble one
large scrape."
The kid looked rather distraught at the
prosPect of having a father without battle
sears and 1 nu p .e w1lep he B , gook to *hoe' he
won't be too ashamed to talk await Mh $ded,
the one without scrapes on his knees
Wishing to console tilo Ad boy, the `,°k$
replies that " dad can buy a scrape.at the
store and put it on his knee'
Since that little fatherson talk hithe
bathroom the kid has given further in-
dication that the world :can be bought at the
store and that money is merely something
that exists in dad's pocket in plentiful
supplies.
It's tough for kids to get a firm grasp sal
the order of things and I wonder wha goes
through my kid's bead; knowing he -Ls of the
opinion that all our needs and wants are
available at the store. I wish it was that
easy.
Until, then I will have to impress upon the
kid that dad's without scrapes are entirely
acceptable and that all his needs are not
available through the catalogue.
BLUE
RIBBON
AWARD
Second class
mail registration
numbe 0716'
SINCE 1848
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Lacked planning
As the joint PUC -council committee prepared to meet
with Ministry of Environment officials in Toronto
Thursday to buy time before proceeding with the ex-
pansionthe water pumping, distribution and storage
system, oise thing waspainfully obvious. The town of
Goderich-Ahadn't adequately worked out the financial
arrangements before applying for the grant.
When the Ministry ;informed the town it had approved
the grant of $900;000 it also informed the town that it had
six weeks to accept. Suddenly the town had to raise $1.1
million, it.'share of the$2 million project.
Not wishing to offend the ministry and embarrass itself
in the pro ess by turning down the grant, the town is fran-
tically searching for the funding.
Utility Customers now pay an extra $1 a month which
goes to ai reserve account. That surcharge amounts to
$38,000 aM ually.
The joint committee is proposing to council that the
monthly surcharge be increased to $3 a month, which
would raise $111,000 annually for the project and almost
cover they town's costs. The municipality would have to
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•
cover itself in the end and borrow anywhere near $300,000
a reasonable debt for a project of such magnitude.
The committee is now making the- best of a bad
situation. And the extra monthly fee is the best means of
getting the money from the taxpayer.
If the town had to borrow as much as $700,000 for the
project, the taxpayer would end up paying $1.5 million in
principal and interest.
However, both counc]r and, PJC have known for years
that the water storage, distribution and pumping system
was inadequate for the future. The system got the job done
but if there lwas a major fire the system was useless.
Reports confirmed suspicions but no-one looked into the
future and planned for the upgrading or replacement of
the system.
That was the case with the pollution control plant. The
planning was in place and the funding was smooth.
Ultimately the town will proceed with the p ect and
utility customers will likely pay an extra $2 per nth on
their water bills. But lack of planning has cost the tax-
payers more for the expansion project.
A dough decision
In just a few short 'weeks the leadership of the
Progressive Conservative party will be determined. Who
the final' winner will be is still anybody's guess, despite -
recent palls which indicate Joe Clark is well i,l front.
With 35 per cent of the,committed delegates, Mr. Clark
appears ,on the surface to be in a safe position in the race,
but veteran convention watchers say that should Clark
fail to win an overall majority on the first ballot many
delegates would feel their obligations to loyalty to have
been met and would switch to another candidate on the
second ballot. In that case, John Crosbie might 'well make
it up the middle between Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney:
.In fact; that was the precise way Clark won the leadership
of the party seven years ago.
Although Crosbie has tried valiantly, he has failed to
become even minimally fluent in French, as opposed to
Mulroney's easy fluency and Clark's stubbornly -acquired
ability in the language of Quebec. Although Crosbie hails
from Newfoundland, his 'very distance from Central
Canada might make him less tainted in the eyes of
western delegates than other candidates.
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Crosbie is credited with having the best -organized
system of supporters right across Canada and his ready
native wit makes him a unique platform speaker. He is
given a reasonable chance of eventual victory.
His declared platform as possible leader of a PC
government hinges to some degree on his statements that
we should ally ourselves more closely with the United
States in economic matters if we are to return to near -full
employment and increased gross national product.
So far neither of the other two front runners 'has
enunciated any earth -shaking policies which might be
expected to revolutionize the Canadian way of doing
things. One exception might be Joe Clark's statement that
as party leader and Prime Minister he would favor more
free votes in parliament, during which his party members
might more truly express the wishes of their constituents.
If the popularity of the Liberal party continues at its
present low ebb until election time a couple of years
hence, the man who is elected to the PC leadership on
June lith might become our next prime minister -and by
now every Canadian should be well aware of the im-
portance of that post. (Wingham Advance Times)
Benmiller by the Maitland
By Dave Sykes
DEAR READERS
SHIRLEY KELLER
'Tis the season. It's confirmation time, and
young people all across this land are culminating
study sessions of ,varying lengths by becoming
members of Christian church congregations of
many different denominations.
In our family, of course, it's a tradition.' The
Keller children for generations have all spoken
their confirmation vows at about age 14 :many of
them at the same altar. There's something warm
and wonderful about watching history repeat
itself osier aid over and over. It gives a feeling of
stability, I guess. And belonging. Something so
intangible it has to be experienced to be un- .
derstood.
On Sunday, my husband and I attended the
confirmation of one more of our nephews. He and
five other young people stood before a packed
auditorium wearing sparkling white robes and
repeating the age-old vows that had been spoken
by their parents 20 or 25 years earlier. Before
that, the very same promises had been made by
their grandparents, and their great -grand-
parents ...
As I sat there in that hushed atmosphere,
straining eyes and ears to catch every, part of
this ancient ceremony, I was keenly aware of the
invisible bond of faith that bound together that
particular assembly. And I felt privileged to be a
part of it and terribly humbled by the wonder of
it. My eyes clouded with tears at the beauty of it.
In his sermon, the pastor issued the usual
warnings to be on guard against falling away
from these promises made in God's sight. And I
knew that in the hearts of each of those
youngsters, there was a willing determination on
this day to fulfill their vows to the best of their
ability. "With God's help," they had said.
I knew as well, that their parents and their
families were ready this day to give them sup-
port to meet their goals ... for at this solemn
moment, moms and dads were renewing their
• own promises and rededicating themselves to
their own vows.
But even as the congregation prayed for the
steadfast faithfulness of the confirmands until
the hour of their death, everyone was aware of
the startling.statistics. A full one in three will fall
away from the church completely - and another
one in three will, become a lukewarm, apathetic
church member who will use the church for
marrying, burying, baptizing and a few other
"socially acceptable niceties" usually reserved
for the confirmed.
For this particular confirmation class, it could
mean that only two of the six will actually live up
to the intent of their promises on this day. Which
four will fail, I wondered. And why? What will
make the difference?
The Christian church is indeed losing its grip -
or so it appears. The percentage of confessed
church members is dropping. Pews are
emptier than ever before as a multitude of
worldly pleasures capture the attention and the
hearts of people everywhere.
But even so, the church marches forward - a
little less prestigious perhaps than in the past,
but still proud .and positive, preaching the sante
forgiveness and proclaiming the immortality
that Christ taught.
Some say we're on the brink of a religious .
revival as the world's pleasures prove fleeting
and false. Others Claim— doom and destruction for
all but a select few who have subscribed to "the
truth" of this doctrine or that philosophy. More
• say we're just one, big happy family - all going
the same way at the same rate of speed to the
same marvellous blissful state of whatever you
think is blissful. .
Still the Christian Church asserts: "The wages,
of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life."
The message is unchanged; the hope is the. same.
Into this Christian faith - ' fragile by some
standards, impervious by others - many young
people are'confirrned at this time of year.•
For me it is an ongoing testimony that the God
of my faith is still alive, and held in high esteem
by many, many people. For me, it's a way of life
that has given me courage and stamina for years
and years.
For me, it's the greatest legacy I can leave to
my children, my friends, my acquaintances. A
Christian faith, shared and growing in someone
else's heart to be a comfort and a joy in this life
and the next, is the best inheritance of all. So say
the nation's confirmation classes again this
confirmation season:.
This is not an "I told you so", but it comes
pretty close.
I am referring to the expansion of the
town's water system, particularly to the
manner in which _tlib'subject has been handl-
ed. The projected figures and their alter-
native combinations wefe available in an
extensive front page report last week.
It bothers me greatly to see that the
municipality ands itself in what is called an
"awkward position" with respect to its
share of financing and that in a spurtof last
minute activity it now "scrambles to put the
financing of the project in order".
This is most unusual for the Town of
Goderich. Any project of the Town has been
prepared in an exemplary manner in the
past. The facts, figures, methods, plans and
alternatives have been completely worked
out and in place before an application was
made in any field. The resulting highly com-
petent and clearly business -like municipal
reputation may have had something to do
with the fact that this particular application
was so easily and swiftly approved by the
ministry. It is to be honed that this renuta-
tion will survive.
The water system expansion project is the
baby of the P.U.C. and only our - in some
respect - peculiar provincial haws make the
municipality its adoptive and legal parent.
Although the Public Utilities Commission
and the Town Council are two separately
elected bodies, the provincial statutes deter-
mine that the Commission has no power to
undertake certain financial transactions
and capital projects without council's ap-
proval. The above mentioned expansion, in-
cluding debenturing and other financing
such as rates, is in that category.
The P.U.C. has had the project in mind for
years. Their approaches to the municipal
council somehow never supplied complete,
conclusive and specific figures. In
September last year the commissioners ap-
peared again before the council, asking that
the final application be made without delay.
The P.U.C. financial preparation continued
to be so vague and its figures so flimsy that
it was difficult tit believe that under the cir-
cumstances one could be seriously expected
to consider taking the final step.
To make a long story short, considerable
(one could politely say extraordinary)
pressure was put on the council. The majori-
ty finally concurred with the P.U.C. re-
quest. Council members Carey, Wheeler
and Haydon voted against the motion. Town
Administrator Larry McCabe pointed out
the incompleteness of the financial picture
made available by the P.U.C. Quoting from
the minutes of September 20, 1982, "it is
pointed out that the Town of Goderich in any
application concerning grants has always in
the past prepared detailed reports concern-
ing the method of financing various projects
and has carried out the projects as planned
with great success".
Interestingly enough, during the same
September 1982 meeting an additional mo-
tion was made that "immediately following
the municipal election" a joint committee of
council and P.U.C. be formed "to meet and'
discuss the funding of the water expansion
upgrading". What does it say about horses ,
and closing of barn doors?
In October 1982 a further motion . was
made to rescind the application motion "un-
til more definite financing information has
been obtained" and to inform the ministry
to that effect. In view of the municipal elec-
tion, that motion was also referred to the in-
coming council.
So why is everybody acting so surprised
now? How can Mayor Palmer say "It came
up quite suddenly"? The tabled motions
were on the incoming council's agenda in
December. And the mayor is also a member
of the P.U.C. Did the P.U.C. not bother to
get the financial projections really sorted
out even in the eight months since the pro-
ject application was made? One could not
fail to notice that much of the new mayor's
immediate attention was on playing
"snakes and ladders" with the council's
standing committees. It is a pity that it took
her six months (and the ministry's project
approval) to activate the special joint com-
mittee to deal with a matter of such obvious
importance to the public, including the cool
suggestion for a possible 200 percent (or
more) increase in the water reserve rate.
I am just a messenger. The message
disturbs me.
ELSA kAYDON
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