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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-06-22, Page 4£JAVE, sYKEt3 8t;'F 1880N AWARD AWARD Second class mail registration numbe 0716 JUNBA 1983 V 1' 'IJ A itVr Many external forces, including events and people, have a hand in shaping our lives and personalities. While our personalities are ostensibly established in the first few years, even months, of life, it I I: s not preclude the fact that lives- take ,1. teful twists and per- sonalities can be reshaped withtime: - - - -- ___. I had mentioned in this space that it was frightening to submit to the realization that my offspring would siphon much of their worldly knowledge from my brain. Perhaps, they will carry with them my hopes, fears, illusions and shortcomings. I speak in the plural sense because, even as I write this paltry piece, Mrs. Sykes is great with child as they say in the medical profession. To be more precise,, she is protruding noticebly about the midsection and the family doctor assures us she is scant weeks away from giving birth to a child, we suspect. We have exhausted all other alternatives and pregnancy appears to be our only SINCE 1848 THE NEWS PORT FOR GODERICH & DISTRICT Founded In 1010 and published every Wednesday at 6oderlch. Ontario. Member of the CCNA end OWNA. Adver. tilling rates on request. Subscriptions payable In advance •19.90 In Canada. '40.00 to U.S.A.. •50.00 to all other count- / tries. single copies 30r. Display advertising rotes available on request. Please ask for Rate Cord No.13 effective Oc- tober 1. H02. Second class mall Registration Number 5114. Advertising is 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 c.larged for but that belpnce of the advertisement will be paid for et the ep• pile -able rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. goods or services may not be sold. Advertising is merely en offer to sell. and may be withdrawn at any time. The Signal -Star 1s not responsible for the lou 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. INDUSTRIAL PARK GODERICH N7A 4B6 reasonable option at the moment. Rat least serves to eapiain away my wif4 pint condition, While we had,suspidons concerning the process of conception, thesecondpprree has done much.io-advance our knowleddgge and confirm earlier suspicions. We may forego seeking a Second and learnedopinion - on the matter this tittle. The announcement seemed appropriate subsequent to the global celebration of Father's Day this past Sunday. This dedicated dad, in a scenario that was un- doubtedly repeated.thousands of times, was presented with a deserving card and gifts that reflected impeccable taste. The prospect of having another child is exciting, to be sure, but it just isn't the same as with the first one. I can safely admit that I was nervous during the entire nine months of the pregnancy and the speculation on the sex, character, disposition and looks of the childconsumed our waking hours. This time its different and I now fully ondaratand $nonchalance of pareneapeetin theiralmost third,fourth or 6,t�b. , child. While :here ala a definite,- sensg o f anticiplationl, both of mare acting a bit more like professionals rather than rank amateurs. _..-- _That- is except for two-year Bradley. Re can't contain his excitement although lam certain he is -still somewhat skeptical Of the facts involved in this whole ordeal, Everytime we talk to the kid about the child inside his mother's uterus, he gives us a "you expect me to believe that jive" look. Other times, he abandons his skepticism and reacts in a charmingly childish way. "I want to hold 'em," he said after being informed his mother was growing a baby.' "Sorry, kid. You can't hold it yet. You have to wait untill it's born," I offer in my impeccable father-lmows-best style. "I want to play with 'em," the kid shoots back right away knowing he is driving his father crazy with questions. "You can't play with the baby yet. After 1t'$ b0m71 Y011 -CM! pia, withit. Wait willtake a while before tbe babyis capable of playing withyau," the fetherof the child replies. -- "The baby wu1..t nre a diaPer on. I want to toueh.the diaper," the kid with a marked predilection for disposable, diapers informs his father. . -- "The baby will not be born with a diaper on, we have to buy those at the store. And don't you dare touch the diaper, it could be messy," the father offers by way of ,,ex- planation. - "I wanna take the baby for a wa'ik. Bradley has baby in his tummy too," he says lifting his shirt to give the father a .better look It's obvious my best explanatory efforts - have failed miserably and the kid wanders over to his mother, and insists on giving the unborn child its third bone -crushing hug of the day. I think the wee one is going to come out swinging. FOR BUSINESS OR EDITORIAL OFFICES please phone (519) 524-8331 Open meetings A front page story in the May 25th edition of the Signal - Star outlined much of the contents of a letter. submitted by an area woman to the Goderich Police Commission. In that letter, the author suggested to the commission that she was harassed on The Square early one Saturday morning and was prevented from leaving The Square by cars darting alongside her. She wrote that the vehicles were filled with young people who repeatedly yelled and made faces through their open windows. A policeman later escorted the woman off The Square and eventually, to her Meneset Park home. The matter was discussed at length at a subsequent Police Commission meeting and in dealing with the woman's complaint, the talk drifted to policing The Square and the attitude of the town's force. The Commission dealt with the matter, wrote a letter to the complainant outlining the events of the evening, the action taken by police officers and their involvement in other duties. The author was invited to attend a meeting if she so desired. The story, or rather some comments attributed to commission members, drew comments from members of the local police association. They, naturally, resented general inferences about attitude problems and claimed that accounts of the incident failed to adequately reflect the police side of the story. The integrity or ability of the complainant was never questioned and rightly so. Chief King outlined the ac- tivities of the police force during the time in question, suggesting it was a rather busy period. The complaint was heard at an open Police Commission meeting and the commission, in keeping with council's enviable record of openness, maintains that policy. However, the degree of openness is reduced considerably if commission members keep cautioning. the press to either use personal discretion on certain items or instruct the press to completely ignore other statements. Osten- sibly, it is a form of censorship. The Ontario Police Commission recommends, but does not insist, that commission meetings remain open to the public. If those meetings are open, then the proceedings are in the public domain. If the commission wishes to discuss items of a personnel or sensitive nature, it has every right to conduct that business in private. However, in open session, commission members or appointed or elected representatives on all committees, boards and councils must either have the conviction and personal integrity to stand behind their statements or refrain from making comments that are sensitive in nature. Complete openness and honesty would at least clearly establish the positions of all parties involved.D.S. Itemize the tax bill By now, most landowners in the area have grudgingly paid all or part of their 1983 tax bill. And while you may not have agreed with the numbers posted on the 1983 tax. bill, there is a good chance members of your town, village or township council have concerns about your bill. Those concerns centre around the fact that all councils are required to collect the education levy along with the municipal requirements. Over the past few years, town of Goderich officials have expressed a genuine concern over the increasing cost of education and the fact that it now comprises nearly 50 per cent of the total tax bill for a Goderich resident. When Goderich taxpayers receive their bills there is a natural tendency to blame the local council for all costs, even though municipal and education requirements are clearly identified on the bill. Also, in recent years, many local councils have kept their portion of the increase to an acceptable level only to have the board of education requisition boost the overall requirement. As long as people can understand and separate the costs on the tax bill, then the . cause for healthy increases can easily be identified. If councils and boards are to be truly accountable, then perhaps the board of education should be responsible for issuing its own bills. Goderich town council has main- tained a rather enviable record of limiting tax increases to respectable levels while the board of education has passed on larger increases. There are times when I feel with sadness that it may be easier to open a red light district in Goderich than to get official sanc- tion for establishing a supervised group home for a small number of mentally han- dicapped fellow citizens. I am not talking about the two locations proposed earlier in the year or the specific controversy of that period; these properties are no longer available or considered. I am referring to the general response and attitudes and in particular to the drawn-out methods used by the local authorities in dealing with the application by the Associa- tion for the Mentally Retarded, for general re -zoning. The Association has asked that the existing Zone By-law be amended by ad- ding group homes as a permitted use in residential areas, in accordance with the policies stated in our Official Plan, duly and unanimously passed by the previous town council and signed by the Minister. When the request was made in March, it was clearly council's choice to take a stand. Sunrise •Byllave Sykes DEAR READERS SHIRLEY KELLER I think there has been more written about Joe Clark since he lost the leadership of the Tory party in Canada than about Brian Mulroney who won the post from Joe. I suppose that's understandable. Joe was a much talked about politician for a good many years - and the talk wasn't usually good. It still isn't. I've read a few accounts here and there that say some interesting things about Joe. For in- stance,. one writer claimed that Clark failed to move over to John Crosbie's camp during the Conservative convention because his wife Maureen McTeer begged him to hang in there. Just how the writer knew that bit of in- formation wasn't really explained to my satisfaction, but let's assume for the purpose of this column it was true. One begins to wonder then how much more Ms. McTeer contributed to her husband's demise in politics. Did she, perhaps advise him to throw open the leadership of the Conservative party in the first place? Or did she suggest he should force his 1979 minority Conservative government into a non- confidence vote on the Crosbie budget even though it wasn't entirely necessary? Did she^maybe give Joe the impression it was politically expedient to relocate the Canadian embassy in Israel because Tel Aviv was not as beneficial to the Canadian cause as was Jerusalem? Was it Maureen who then advised Joe to back off on that plan when the smelly stuff hit the fan across the nation? Was it Maureen who helped Joe look indecisive? Was it Mrs. Clark - whoops Ms. McTeer - who urged Joe to wait a whole summer after his election before summoning Parliament and presenting any kind of legislation? Was it also Maureen who was the brains behind the Clark legislation, some of it quite remarkably good? It's pretty hard to believe as far as I'm con- cerned, for I'm fully convinced Joe is quite able to make his own misjudgments. And have his own momentsof brilliance. What's more, I would hope that Joe's lack of authority as a politician hasn't carried over into his personal life. If it has, no wonder he told reporters before the convention his greatest fear for the future was making a new life after his career in parliament was ended. Sinclair Stevens is reported, to have said Clas biggest error was calling for a leadership convention at all. But Joe didn't agree. Said Joe, "I did not have the authority to lead the party with the kind of firmness that it needs. It was the right decision." Ifo Cape Breton at a riding association meeting he said it more forcefully: "It's my way or the doorway," announced Joe. I still think Joe's biggest problem was his own inability to believe he didn't have what it takes to be a political party leader in Canada. He talked tough but he wasn't perceived 'as tough. The "wimp" image stuck like glue for some reason or another. Soon after becoming leader of the party, for instance, Clark was forced to cede the party nomination in his own home town! Not a healthy sign of a strong leader. That's precisely how he ended up in the Yellowhead.riding of Alberta, north of his High River home. Despite all Brian Mulroney's talk about Clark's "dignity, honour and courage" it ap- pears Mulroney doesn't have much faith in Joe's The members appeared strangely uninterested in obtaining their solicitor's opinion for their own direct information and purposes; they preferred to refer the matter to planning board where it is still meander- ing on its laborious journey through a maze of impressively thorough discussions of minute details and remote possibilities. The planners have presented, amended and presented drafts of bylaws; the solicitor has been consulted on three occasions. The actual event can be followed through reports and minutes; it is not my intention to line them up here. I am not even knocking planning board. The members simply found the matter landed on their lap. Contrary to a lot of things said elsewhere, the planning board had no local precedent, procedure or even suitable application forms for an amendment of this nature. In many ways it had to find a footing before it was able to go forward: What I really set out to do is to take my hat off to the councils of Clinton; Exeter and 1 Wingham. They did not hesitate, delay, pro- long or pass it around; they hada decision to make and they made it. In similar cir- cumstances those councils said - yes, we see that there is a need for a group home and we encourage and back it, not only because of the social advantages for the handicapped, but also for the economic benefits to our community. Clinton council, for instance, agreed that the guidelines set in the Official Plan are well stated and offer adequate protection and control of a provincially licensed home under supervision. The section on group homes in the Clinton Official Plan is iden- tical to the one in Goderich Plan. Among other things both plans also state that "a public meeting will be held prior to the establishment of a group home." It is a pity that Goderich town council missed out on leadership, particularly in a field where even smaller communities do not fear or hesitate to take enlightened and constructive steps. I am never able to really understand what causes some of the hesitation and reluc- tance to welcome another group home, par- ticularly as the earlier established one is working out so well by all accounts. It will accommodate only those who are capable of benefitting from community living. Why should we want to make it so difficult for them? We are a community richly blessed with churches. Do the people who attend_these churches bring their religious commitment, brotherly love and compassion out with them when they leave the service? Should not thenumber of our group homes equal the number of our churches? Should there not be support where there is opposition? Even now the Goderich Town Council could drop all other arguments and say - we are talking about real homes for real people - we shall allow and encourage them, sub- ject to the same conditions applying to all homes. I could see a lovely gift of leadership in that - and I am hoping. judgment either. Joe has advised Mulroney not to be in a hurry to go after a seat in the. Commons. Clark says Mulroney --has more pressing business at hand - to organize the party in a strong, cohesive worldng unit, to mend broken fences, to develop strategy. Mulroney has already selected a seat he will contest. It's in Nova Scotia and Mulroney says he wants to be elected and in the Commons by the opening of Parliament in the fall. While Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau has the, power to delay Mulroney's bid for a seat (the Prime Minister of Canada has the control over when all federal elections or by-elections are called) it is unlikely he will. Last Monday when Mulroney appeared in the gallery of the House of Commons, Trudeau made a warm speech of welcome; saying he hoped Mulroney would occupy the leader of the Opposition's official seat at the earliest possible date. Incidentally, some people think Trudeau will tear the politically inexperienced Mulroney to shreds in the House ... it's likely those people saw Trudeau's invitation to Mulroney like the one the spider gave to the fly. But even more interesting than the type of sparring match that will develop between Mulroney and Trudeau, is speculation on where Joe Clark will wind up in a Mulroney cabinet. Or is that "if" Clark is part of a Mulroney cabinet? But there was a time when Canadians willingly handed him the reins of government. And you can bet that's what Joe and Maureen will remember in their final days in Stornoway. Bea L® . HAYDON ,.,.,....„..,„..,,....... 11,-.7..„,;‘,.7„,x6v..^-.:,,,,4 ...1,...._JAf