The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-05-24, Page 4PAGE 4--GODERICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1979
Goderic`h
SIGNAL—STAFF
mminimaisolonamio
The County Town Newspaper of Huron
Founded In 1643 and published every Thursdaj, at Goderich, Ontario. Member of the CWNA
and OWNA. Advertising rotes on request. Subscriptions payable In advance •14.50 In
Canada, '35.00 to U.S.A., '35.00 to all other countries, single copies 35'. Display advertising
rates available on request. Please ask for Rate Card No. 1 effective Oct. 1, 19711. Second
class mall Registration Number 0716. 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 charged for but the balance
of tho advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event. of n
typographical error advertising goods or services at a wrong price, goods or service may
not be sold. Advertising 1s merely an offer to soli, and may be withdrawn at any time. The
SIgnal•Star Is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts or photos.
Business and Editorial Office
TELEPHONE 524-8331
area code 519
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 22Q, Industrial Park, Goderich
Second class mail registration number — 0716
Joe Clark gets his chance
The Canadian people decided this week they had
had enough of Pierre Elliott'Trudeau,the man
many people said was more of a dictator than a
prime minister. They elected Joe Clark and his
Progressive Conservatives with a minority
government in what most political observers are
saying was more an anti-Trudeau backlash than a
pro -Clark sweep.
When the first round of ballot counting was
complete, it showed the PCs with 135 seats; the
Liberals with 115; the ND Ps with 26; and the Social
Credits with six. It means that Joe Clark, Canada's
youngest -ever prime minister at 39, will have his
work cut out for him.
In Huron, incumbent PC Bob McKinley got a
whopping majority over Liberal Graeme Craig and
NDP Moira Couper. While few would have
predicted McKinley to lose, some felt his majority
would be cut by a well -organized Liberal campaign
and a surprisingly articulate newcomer, Craig.
But the Clark biorhythms were at a peak and the
country has chosen prairie youth to lead. Now at
last, Clark will have an opportunity to try his
methods which Canadians are hoping will bring this
nation out of a slump.
If Trudeau made a forceful prime minister, he
should be dynamic as leader of the opposition. For
political buffs, the next few months should make for
interesting watching, to say the very least. - SJK
Frightening legislation
This is one time it isn't muchfun to say, "We told
you-- so" but, "We told yoti'so." This newspaper
expressed the concern that The International Year
of the Child would carry children's rights too far,
and it has happened.
Recent legislation in Sweden now makes it
unlawful for Swedish parents to spank their
children. There's even a telephone "hot line" for
the kids to use in the event they have a complaint to
make about their parents' behaviour.
While this newspaper does believe that children
should be protected from unreasonable and har-
mful injury, either to the body or to the mind, this
newspaper also contends that loving, caring
parents should have the right and the privilege to
administer punishment, even spankings, as they
are needed to correct and train their children. No
government should- have the power to legislate
otherwise.
The International Year of the Child is a wonderful
opportunity to recognize the great gift of children,
their place in society and their rights within the
family circle,; But to remove the influence of
mothers and fathers who lovetheir children and
want to bring them up according to their -Own good
pleasure, is to invite disaster, now and in the years
to come.
Let's hope Sweden's legislation becomes so un-
popular it is soon abolished, and that other coun-
tries recognize in time tha,.i„oo much freedom for
the child is far from the proper way to raise future
generations of responsible, concerned adults.—SJK
Needstjll more understanding
A comment at last week's town council session by
Councillor Jim Searls deserves a second look. ,
The discussioncentred on council's wish to have a
closer liaison between Gordon Crabb, the town's
representative on the board of directors at
Alexandra Marine and General Hospital, and town
council. There was a suggestion from council that
Crabb submit reports monthly to council and while
there was some slight disagreement between
councillors on the matter, the comment was made
by Councillor Searls that "they (board members)
tell you what they want (you to know)
anyway.”
Councillor Searls' thoughts are reminiscent of
another thought put forth in a letter to the editor a
few weeks ago by former AM&G board member,
George Young. At that time, Young reminded the
editor that although a Signal -Star reporter is
present at the board meetings at AM&G, only those
things that the board wants the press and the public
to know will be expressed there.
Councillor Searls and Mr. Young .are quite
correct. The board of directors' at AM&G only
discuss in public those things they want to be made
public. Most board members attempt to be very
discerning about what they say .in public, so that
only the pertinent truthful facts and the things that
they believe are' relevant to the efficient,
economical management of the community
hospital are expressed. And it might also be said
that the board: members at AM&G are anxious that
the story the press conveys to the public is as close
to accurate as possible, preferably witha"positive
thrust.
But that kind of an attitude isn't confined to the
hospital board. That attitude permeates any public
body that is responsible to•the people. It is evident
everywhere elected and appointed officials sit in
session, from the parliamentary hall in Ottawa to
the modest town council chambers on West Street.
It was ever so and ever will be.
This newspaper has made no secret of the fact
that as town councils go, Goderich Town Council
has been among the most open and the most honest
()flown councils. But that is only because of some of
the personnel at the town hall and chances are that
if and when personnel changes, the openness and
the honesty could change too.
As for the board of directors at AM&G, this
newspaper feels significant strides have been made
in the past year that are worthy of commendation.
There was a time at AM&G when the community
learned next to nothingaout the inner workings of
the hospital. But through the co-operation of the
present board members and the prodding of the
local newspaper, the meetings have been opened to
the press. At present, the system is one of invitation
.. reporters are invited to sit in on the meeting, to
take notes and. to write their stories for their
papers.
This newspaper would certainly like to see the
hospital board meetings open to the public in every
sense of the word, but there S- no doubt that kind of
an attitude on the part of the board will be a while in
coming. At the moment, this newspaper is content
that the interested, reading public at least gets the
story through the Signal -Star. Hopefully, this is a
perfect starting point for trust and understanding.
In the meantime then, it behooves town council to
trust and to understand as well .... to note the
similarities between the two bodies but to keep in
mind the differences; to appreciate the autonomy
of the hospital board as well as the its own
responsibility; to treat the hospital board as an
equal but to remember always its own duty to the
citizens who pay the taxes in this municipality.-SJK
Retired
By Dave Sykes
Freedom here
Dear Editor:
A true measure of
individual freedom is
revealed in our local
press. Anyone may write
• to the editor expressing a
view on practically any
subject and it will
probably be published.
This same freedom
does not apply fully to
large circulation media
such as the big
publications and national
T.V. These are, .almost
exclusively reserved for
the views of experts in
their field who allegedly
have the greatest in-
fluence on their readers
or listeners.
The future may indeed
grow from grass-roots
ideas expressed by in-
dividuals, like yourself,
who contribute views at
the local level.
Canadatoday needs
ideas on conservation of
energy and other
resources, ideas for
bet ,er government,
better international
understanding and a
hundred and one other
things of interest to all.
Here is a unique op-
portunity to exercise an
important freedom,
locally! ,
Jack MacDonald
EDITOR
Still waiting
Dear Editor,
The following is an
open letter sent to The
Honourable Eugene
Whelan, Minister of
Agriculture, Ottawa,
Ontario and The
Honourable William
Newman, Minister of
Agriculture and Food,
Toronto, Ontario.
Gentlemen:
The farmers of Eastern
Ontario have been
patiently awaiting your
long -promised, joint
official announcement
that the Eastern Ontario
Rural Economic
Development Subsidiary
Agreement, which has
been negotiated for many
months, .has been signed
and is in operation.
Their extended wait
has so far been in vain:
their impatience grows
with each passing day.
It is vital to this region
of Canada that the
agreement be signed
immediately. Only then
can the many badly
stalled municipal
drainage, programs
proceed. Also, the South
Nation River Remedial
Project is being held up.
The OFA considers this
issue extremely
significant. When the
ARDA Agreement and
Drainage Program was
cut last September; many
farmers were left up in
the air. They had em-
barked on drainage
plans, counting on
financial assistance
which was not provided.
A new agreement was
promised by March, 1979,,
for the continued support
of Eastern Ontario
agriculture. This has not
been forthcoming. This
procrastination must stop ,
and a decision must be
made now.
Please advise the OFA
and Eastern Ontario
Turn to page 5 •
75 YEARS AGO
The Liberal papers
contain an advertisement
calling for tenders for the
construction of 500 feet of
the 'new breakwater off
the mouth of this har-
bour. The plans for the
breakwater can be seen
at the Post Office here.
They are in the charge of
P.M. Galt.
A number of dogs have
been poisoned the past
fe* days by strychnine.
Among those who lost
pets were Jailer Griffin
and H.D. Reed.
A horse attatched to a
wagon loaded with Mr.
Snazel's furniture ran
away on Saturday, up-
setting the furniture and
damaging it con-
siderably.
Mrs. William Clark,
LOOKING BACK
concession 5 of Goderich
Township, is the proud
owner of a goose 30 years
old. It has laid 12 eggs
this season and hatched
out 11 goslings all doing
well. Who can beat
Goderich Township
stock?
The Ocean House,
Captain William Babb,
has put in a telephone
service which is sure to
prove a great con-
venience , to citizens,
business men and others.
The number is 136.
25 YEARS AGO
After only 10 days of
round-the-clock work,
cement construction was
completed yesterday on
the 24 new grain bins
being built at Goderich
harbor by Carter Con-
struction Company for
the Upper Lakes and St.
Lawrence Transportation
Company.
Mrs. Harold Doak was
re-elected president of
the Goderich Horne and
School Association at the
annual meeting held
Tuesday evening.
A grant of $2,232.50 to
AM&G ,,hospital for the
purchase' of a new major
operating room table has
been announced by the
Atkinson Charitable
Foundation.
Officers of the
Goderich Junior
Chamber of Commerce
for 1954-55 were elected
recently. They are, Pete
MacEwan, treasurer,
Ron Ripley, first vice-
president, Bill Anderson,
president, Bob Chisholm,
second vice-president,
Jack Brady, secretary
and Cec Hoffman, im-
mediate past president.
No. 532 Maitland Air
'Cadet Squadron of
Goderich and No. 19
Squadron of Stratford
shared honors at the
annual drill and
marksmanship com-
petition held at the RCAF
Station, Clinton, on
Monday.
5 YEARS AGO
The sketch plans for the
addition to and the
reconstruction of Victoria
Public School, Goderich,
were approved 'by the
Huron County Board of
Education last Tuesday
afternoon. The approval
is subject to the ac-
ceptance of the plans by
the Ministry of
Education.
The Ontario Municipal
Board hearing on the
proposed shopping plaza
on Highway 21 south in
Goderich has now been
set for July 15.
Members of Goderich
Town Council were
divided last Thursday
evening on the question of
whether or not the
municipality should
sponsor a Town of
Goderich Invitational
Race for the final
program at the Goderich
Raceway.
Taxpayers in Goderich
can heave a huge sigh of
relief -at least for this
year -with the an-
nouncement last week by
Goderich Town Council
that the residential mill
rate in the municipality
will not go up for public
school supporters.
DEAR
READERS
BY SHIRLEY J.KELL'ER
Ah spring. Wonderful spring. It•, is
just full of new experiences each year,
and this year has been no exception.
Let me see. Whereto begin?
Oh yes. We've had the mumps at our.
house. Our youngest offspring came
down with the dreaded swelling just
minutes before my husband and I were
to leave on our second honeymoon.
You will remember that we
celebrated our silver wedding an-
niversary on ]✓aster Sunday. Well,
plans were to spend Easter Monday
and Tuesday in town, catching up on
some matters that needed attention,
and then Wednesday morning right
after breakfast, we'd head out for five
glorious days on our own.
Our daughter was home for the week
from university,,,,studying for exams.
She would stay wilth our yotes,t. We
couldn't believe WA/ well it vial,ed out.
It was just minutes until I would have
put the lid down on our suitcases, when
our son came to us holding his jaws and
moaning, Daughter took one look at the
situation, realized she'd never had the
mumps, decided her examinations
were more important than our second
honeymoon, and left home.
And that's how 1 got my spring
cleaning .done. The windows were all
washed. The garage was cleaned out
and the unneeded items removed to the
dump. The drawers and closets were
exartlined for useless litter. Those
kinds of things could be easily com-
pleted while nursing a kid with the
mumps, but it doesn't make much of a
second honeymoon!.
What else? Oh yes. There's the
registration for baseball.. The sign up
for golf. The bowling banquet.
Education Week.
At our house, two of those important
four coincided with the mumps. And it
was ample cause for total upset.
The bowling banquet came, wouldn't
you know it, just when our bowler had
the mumps. The social event of the
year. What a time to be sick? And just
when you're in line for a trophy, too.
Why that's reason enough to make
others around you just as miserable as
you are yourself.
And then there was the play at school
during Education Week. Having the
mumps meant our youngest had to give
up his first dramatic part since he was
in Grade 4 and played Dirty -Grub in the
ecology skit. What a bummer.
But the blow of blows had to come
when the part was recast and a girl was
picked to fill the void. All that ... and
the mumps too.
Golf registration was another major
hurdle ... this time, financial. Money
can be such a deterrent.
When the golfer in the family came
up a little short for membership fees,
the expectation was the mom and dad
would simply fund the missing
sheckles. That was fine, too .... except
mom and dad just didn't have the
necessary supplementary money at the
precise moment of need.
There's nothing worse than having
brand new golf clubs and a few
playable holes at your favorite course
. and not enough money to sign up.
Now that's a crisis if there ever was
one.
Our golfer went through the normal
stages of despair ... tears; pouting,
drooped shoulders, pleading ... before
examining the alternatives and finding
a workable solution. But it does put a
crimp in a lovely spring day.
Baseball registration was con-
siderably less hassle. Just a photo copy
of the birth certificate, $15 up front and
a list of uniform measurements.
Nothing to it.
That's what 1`, thought too until the
first practice came andson arrived
home with a pulled muscle in his leg.
And the news th''t his sneakers were
one their last legs ... and his jeans were
too tight ... and a few other minor arid
sundry problems all brought to light at
the ball park.
Spring. Beautiful spring. It's a time
for weddings .... five to be exact for our
family. And a time for moving ... son
Number One and his wife; daughter
and her room -mates. It's a time for
school projects that have been left to
the last moment and a time for con-
ventions and rallies for every group
you can mention. Too many to list in
Qour case.
Spring. Lovely, green, im j}robable,
impossible spring.
1