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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-02-15, Page 4PAGE 4 —GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1979 Goderich` SIGNAL-STAFF The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded fn 18A8 and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CWNA and OWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable In advance '14.S0 In Canada. 'MOO to U.S.A..'35.60 to nil other countries, single copies 33'. Display advertising rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Cord No. 8 effective Oct. 1, 1978. Second class moll Registration Number 0716. Advertising 1s accepted on the condition that 1h the event of typographical error, the udvortising space occupied by the erroneous Item, together with reasonable allowance for signature. will not be charged for but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for of the applicable rate. In the event of a typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price. goals or service may not be sold. Advertising Is merely en offer to sell, and may be withdrawn of any time. The Signal -Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos. Published by Signal -Star Publishing Ltd. ROBERT G. SHRIER — president and publisher SHIRLEY J. KELLER — editor , DONALD M. HUBICK - advertising manager Mailing Address: P.O. BOX 220, Industrial Park, Goderich Second class mail registration number — 0716 Business and Editorial Office • TELEPHONE 524-8331 area code 519 •CNA c, ',Aa i'nr rias (Q t'. Still misunderstanding An editorial in The Clinton News -Record last week points up the kind of misunderstandings that are prevalant in Huron Cqunty these days.In fact, the attitude put forth in the News -Record article could be a large part of the reason there is so much apathy in Huron County about the bed closures. Without a grasp of what is at stake, there could hat dly be any real solutions put forth .... or any concern perhaps to look for answers. The editorial was summed up by these remarks: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, reads an old adage and the medical professions and the public should embark on practicing more preventive medicine, rather than the more ex- pensive curative brand." There can be little doubt the people of the county and of this province should be more concerned about their own personal health. Much can be ac- complished through proper diet, sufficient exer- cise, plenty of rest and a good mental attitude to life. But every time people become more aware of the advantages of glowing good health, there is an What's the real crux? Would a fine dinint spot and Goderich Elevators co -exist at Goderich Harbor without problem? That seems to be the big question these days for many local people including Goderich Town Council, Goderich and Area Planning Board, Goderich Elevator Limited, Robert Gibbons, the Huron County Federation of Agriculture and dozens of other citizens in and around Goderich who have an opinion. There's no doubt it is a prickly issue with the main weed of disagreement being whether or not diners and dust. -go together.While it is easily un- derstood why Goderich Elevator Limited wants to be on record as opposed to the development of a restaurant on its doorstep because of the dust problem at certain times of the year, it is surprising that the Huron County Federation of Agriculture would find it necessary to jump into the middle of a debate that only marginally affects the farmers of this district. There seems to be little likelihood that the existing elevator would be seriously threatened in the future by the restaurant.Certainly the elevator is well established at the harbor and if there is any immediate planning concern at all, it should be for the success of the restaurant. Goderich Elevator Limited to this point has been a good corporate citizen. The industry controls its dust and will continue to comply with en- vironmental regulations in Ontario which are more apt to be tightened than relaxed. It would seem that if a restaurant can co -exist at the present time with the nearby elevator facility, the- hopes for future neighborliness will be even brighter as far as dust is concerned. But expansion of the elevator facility may be the true crux of the matter .... expansion that in. years to come might encroach on much of the traditional public recreational use of the beach. And that is another kettle of fish ... a matter that could con- ceivably result in a battle the likes -of which this town has not seen for some years. - S,SK immediate backlash that results in a busier medical staff and a busier hospital. It only makes sense. A person who wants to prevent heart disease for instance, will invariably want to check with his doctor -... a blood pressure investigation, perhaps a cardiogram, a discussion about .diet and exercise. The doctor then will need more data and will send the patient off to the hospital for some routine tests. Once the doctor and the hospital are involved, the chances are excellent that the patient will get a complete report on his real condition. There•is even a remote chance some form of heart disease will be recognized ,,.. and a responsible doctor will want to recommend treatment. Maybe it is further testing at the hospital. Maybe it is bed rest in the hospital. Who knows? But the fact remains, the services of the doctor and the hospital are usually involved in this business of preventive medicine. In truth, it is just that kind of preventive medicine that is now in jeopardy in Huron County. There doesn't seem to be much concern that the hospitals in Huron won't be able to find some way to handle the emergencies .... the heart attacks, the strokes, the accident victims, the cancer patients. It is the elective procedures - the investigative procedures to diagnose illness before it becomes an emergency, the surgery to remove discomfort, worry and heartache before it becomes a life and death affair - that most doctors and hospital boards will recognize as being -threatened by the bed closure instructions from the Ministry of Health. The Clinton editor is right. Curative medicine is expensive. But so is preventive medicine costly in the first analysis ... .and while this cost seems justified when measured against loss of work, loss of production on the job not to mention loss of personal peace and comfort, it is this very costly item that is in question at the moment. The Clinton editorial pointed out that the Hon. Dennis Timbrell has not yet "offered viable alternatives" for patients, particularly chronic patients who wil be forced out of hospital. That's . only partially true, of course. The Minister of Health for Ontario and other ministers before him, did offer alternatives .... but they were alternatives the people did not like. And the Minister of Health is still offering alternatives .... some of them quite acceptable to many people, such as the matter of deterrent fees for chronic patients. There are even people who believe Timbrell's deterrent fees aren't broad enough, and that they should be charged against almost all patients while in hospital. What the Clinton editorial did not say, un- fortunately, -is that the. people of Huron aren't of- fering any sensible alternatives.' The hospital boards in this county with the exception of Goderich and possibly Wingham, don't even seem concerned about alternatives. And-, that is most probably because they don't recognize the problem.... or understand the ramifications of the Ministry's latest edict. Goderich and area people, should be proud of the board of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital. The members have a two-point attack. They are struggling to meet the Ministry's demands for bedding as well asttorganizing to make some well thought out and -viable alternative solutions to the Ministry's ruling. It is to be hoped when the board at AM&G makes its ovation to the other hospitals in Huron in the near future, it won't be greeted' by the kind of apathy that has been displayed up to now. And it is to be hoped that the people throughout Huron will get informed about the true facts in the issue. -SJK , • t Think on it Dear Editor, I am sure that most regular readers of the Signal -Star know by now that there are presently plans being made to build a theatre in the old livery stable on South St. I wonder, however, how many people realize that these plans are for a mere 300 seats - 260 good ones and 40 questionable ones,. While I realize I am not in possession of nearly enough facts, as I. was not able to attend the meetings of the theatre committee, I' do know enough from talking to some people who were present, to cause me great concern. I do know that the London Symphony Orchestra regularly draws 500 to 600 people a concert. The new theatre will not only be unable to house an audience this size but also would be unable to seat the or- chestra itself on the small stage, not to mention the fact that an orchestra of this size would create enough volume to blast the roof off in a small building such as this. Therefore the idea of holding concerts on two consecutive nights is no good. I do know that . the "Sound of. Goderich" concert sponsored by the Goderich Laketown Band, Teen Tones and Concert Choir played on the same night as Little Theatre and a Stanley Cup playoff game and still managed to draw about 350 people. It is hoped that this concert willbecome an annual event. -. Last year it was held in-- the nthe auditorium of North St. Church which com- fortably seats,300 people. This size of room proved to be far too small acoustically for the groups involved and therefore ' it has been moved to the G.D,C.I. DEAR EDITOR auditorium this year. The theatre could not be. ,used here. I do know that the Dutch Choirs who sang in the Presbyterian Church and G.D.C.I. auditorium drew well in excess of, 300 people. The volume of tone produced by them would have overwhelmed a small theatre. I do know that the two musicals produced by the high school over -the past five years drew in excess 'of 1,000 people over three nights. To run a production like this for an extra night or two would cost more in the way of extra theatre rental, janitorial fees etc. and Turn to page 5 • Up in sin,oke By Dave Sykes 75 YEARS AGO Not even standing room was available in Tem- perance Hall last Sunday afternoon at the Gospel Temperance meeting and if the interest continues to increase.. it, •may be a question by and by of securing larger ac- comodation. On Wednesday af- ternoon engineer Brough received aboring machine and yesterday with Captain J.R. Craigie and a party amen bored many holes at the proposed location of the outside breakwater. Although this town has been fairly well served by the Grand Trunk the past two .weeks, there are other parts where the inhabitants 'suffer. great inconvenience through LOOKING BACK the roads and railroads being blocked. The Goderich Organ Company has received requests from Japan for catalogues. The other day James Johnston landed through the ice a splendid specimen of rock lake trout, weighing 17 pounds and measuring 38 inches. 25 YIEARS AGO An excess of income over -expenditures of $356.89 for the year 1953 was reported at the an- nual meeting of Alexandra Marine and General Hospital held Monday evening. R.C. Hays,Q.C. has resigned as Chairman of the Board of Govenors of AM&G but is remaining 'as a member of the board. Goderich is included in the list of " 180 com- munities in Canada in which civil service employees are slated to start a 40 -hour week on April 1. At present they work 44 hours weekly. Once a well-known and active lodge, the Nile Orange Lodge last night completed the final act in its disbandment by distributing some $450 which was in the treasury. The Goderich Kinsmen Club at its regular meeting Monday night, decided to go ahead with plans to build a log cabin - style building at the children's playground at South and Raglan streets this summer. Councillor Frank Walkom, chairman of Town Council's special committee, was chosen chairman of the newly - formed police committee at the first meeting of the group on Monday night. Members of the Goderch Recreation and Arena Council re -hashed the summer skating school Tuesday night, but they never changed their minds about a decision made earlier this month to drop the school this year. 5 YEARS AGO )7- Mel yMel Farnsworth began his job as Goderich's new postmaster on Monday. He , has worked for the post office for 22 years. The International Chemical Workers Union and the Oil,Chemical and Atomic Workers Union are on strike against the Union Gas Company. The Unions have set up picket lines in several centres across Ontario. Pickets were in front of the Bedford Hotel in Goderich last Friday. CP rail is shipping less grain out. of Goderich this year than last year despite record shipments moving out of Owen Sound, Midland and Port McNicholl to Saint John,N.B. With both sides screaming . "no com- munication", -the Huron County Board of Education and the Huron County Health Unit are caught up in a battle over a sewage problem in Blyth. The Goderich Lions Club have revealed plans of possibly building a new bandshell here at an estimated cost of $15,000 to $20,000 and Goderich Town Council has promised support "in spirit". I DEAR REA • ER. BY SHIRLEY J. KELLER One of Bruce County's top stories recently involved a comment from a pagent and a ratepayer who told the schoolboard, with embarrassment, that he and many other moms and dads in Bruce feel "intimidated" by the board. "We feel in an inferior position to administrators, board members, principals and teachers. We feel that merely by voicing concern, by feeding into the board, we are being disruptive, noisy and impertinent," the taxpayer told the board members. This man asked the board .to "find ways to open lines Of communication between parents and the board and administrators". What a sad story when you think about it a bit. Men and women who are the parents of the school's students and the 'very ones who help to pay the bills afraid, ashamed, embarrassed and 'pleading for a hearing. A few things come to mind in this situation. First of all is the number of times this newspaper has warned the Huron County Board of Education __ about similar feelings among the taxpayers here. And frankly, there have been times in the past when the Huron County Board of Education has just not been open to the people. In recent months, perhaps, the feeling of the community has been a little less antagonistic toward the board, but there is always the danger unrest does 'exist in various quarters, simmering away getting ready to explode at the slightest provocation. Not long ago, the Signal -Star had a letter from town councillor Elsa Hayden who reminded the people of the strange phenomenon that overtakes some 'people who serve on public boards and councils. She's right, too. There are cases where a person is a private citizen one day ... and a board member the next. And in the twinkling of an eye, or so it seems, that person changes from an uninformed, un- concerned, unintelligent taxpayer to a well informed, totally concerned, highly/intelligent public servant who is able to see answers to problems'that a day ago would have been too tough for him to comprehend. Over simplified? Maybe. But it is that kind of an attitude that leaves the public cord and explains why taxpayers are sometimes unable to understand why they should be "embarrassed" to try to communicate•, with board or council members. Just last week when the Huron County .Board of Education met in regular session,some citizens were left wondering just why they were being ignored'. These were, of course, the Freedom of Choice people who ap- parently aren't getting to first base with the board in their fight to have Margaret Laurence's novel The Diviners reinstated on the board's list of approved English Literature books. The board probably has some excuse to offer the Freedom of Choice sup- porters. There doesn't seem much sense in debating over and over again a matter that was fully debated_-, ro and con - only short weeks ago. But Peggy Rivers of Freedom of Choice has a point, too. That group has just recently organized and while some of its members were active at the time of the first hearing given to Lloyd Barth and the Huron Chapter of Renaissance International, the new group really riever has had a proper audience with the Joard. And that hurts just a little. Mrs, Rivers and her associates didn't expect the board would reinstate the book without a whimper. But they did hope their proposal would get a hearing in committee perhaps. A little courtesy was the very least they expected. One of Goderich's two represen- tatives on the board, Mrs. Dorothy Wallace, warned the board was being "autocratic" and felt' members were. - making a mistake by just, "filing" the request from Freedom of Choice. The board,Awould do well to heed Mrs. Wallace and to make absolutely certain it is not letywing the impression that people are being "disruptive, noisy and impertinent" by daring to approach the board with thoughts and ideas, suggestions and concerns. It happened in Bruce Couytty.,It culd happen in Huron. A word to the wise is usually sufficient.