Loading...
The Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-09-06, Page 4PAGE 4—CODER ICH SIGNAL -STAR, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1979 Godericht--= SIGNAL --STAR The County Town Newspaper of Huron Founded In TS4S and published every Thursday at Goderich, Ontario. Member of. Alio,CWNA and OWNA. Advertising rates on request. Subscriptions payable In odvanctic,.14.30 In Canada, •73.00 to U.S.A., '73.00 to all other countries, single copies Sr. Display gdvertlslng rages available on request. Please ask for Rote Card No. ! effective Oct. 1, 1971. Second clots mei) Registration Number 071A. Advertising 1s 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 the advertltoment will be paid for of the applicable rote. In the event o1 a typographical error advertising goods or services at wrong price. goods or service may not bop sold. Advertising 1s merely on offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at any time.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 arca 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 220, Industrial Park, Goderich Second class mail registration number — 0716 Palmer has . uphill climb Goderich Reeve Eileen Palmer is in the race for of the vote. County councillors would probably have elected a woman warden years ago had the con- ditions been right. That woman would have been the late Helen Warden of Huron County for 1980. That vote won't take place until later this year, but Reeve Palmer is on the_cammpaign trail already. An eager starter is the lady councillor. And :., wise, too. Chances are ExeternMs-RePali ef"IT etiIVOI III"d ,hdfOrtt' Jermyn, a former school teacher, won the hearts of county councillors for her political prowess, her out -spoken but intelligent comments on con- troversial issues and her genuine warmth and goodwill. A lady in every sense, Helen Jermyn was tough when she needed to be and soft when it was proper. She could easily have been elected warden had she not taken sick and died during her term of office. she is going to achieve her goal to become this county's first woman warden. A few things will deter Reeve Palmer from the outset of her campaign. Her ongoing battle with the county planning department may have hurt her badly in some areas of the county chambers, and while she will have scattered support in spite of it, it seems likely she will have to mend some fences in the next few. weeks if she expects to be warden next year. Traditionally, county council has elected a candidate for warden who has served longer at,the county level .than has Reeve Palmer. She's had only ,, three years in Huron's halls - the previous two-year term as deputy -reeve of Goderich and this current year as reeve. Some .are bound to feel that's a rather short apprenticeship for the prestigious position of warden. Some are sure to feel ex- perience is lacking in the sharp lady councillor. Another real threat to Reeve Palmer's bid is the fact that she lives in Goderich. Goderich repr"esentatives to county council are seldom popular:, probably because Goderich is this county's largest and most powerful urban inunicipality in Huron. And there's no doubt about it. (Reeve Eileen Palmer has always fought for the rights of Goderich citizens. Remember her battle to get more county funds to support Goderich's Sky Harbor Airport a few months ago? Good, for Goderich, but not an action that will endear the Goderich reeve to county councillors with long memories. Surprisingly enough, the fact that Eileen Palmer is a woman will not have any effect -on the outcome One other woman caused a stir in the county council chambers a few years ago, and could possibly have been elected warden had she been able to stick in for enough time to become a little more mellow. That was Minnie Noakes, formerly reeve of Hensall. Minnie was a firey debater who shot from the hip and kept everybody on his toes. Unfortunately, she was defeated in her. own municipality before she could mature as a politician. But she ,migh,t have been warden had she been given enough time. Eileen Palther could almost be described as a composite of Jermyn and Noakes. She has lots of political savvy and is articulate and clever in many of the same ways that set Helen Jermyn apart. She is a courageous orator who calls it the,way she sees it. She is seldom backward about corning forward when she feels -strongly about something and like Minnie Noakes, she makes most county councillors sit up and take notice when she has the floor. But Reeve Eileen Palmer has an uphill climb ahead of her to the warden's chair. It will be in- teresting to watch her strategy as she prepares to be the first woman in that honored position. Surely all of Goderich will be watching with interest.-SJK Clark promises reform Following last week's editorial entitled "Penalty for the married", a letter was received from G.C.White of Goderich. He sent a copy of the Progressive Conservative Party's "Policy on the Status of Women" and marked the' following paragraph: "We would amend the Income Tax Act to recognize women's participation in unin- corporated family farms, businesses and part- nerships by alowing the deduction of salaries paid to spouses as a business expense". Watch out drivers Many drivers have seen vehicles disregard the flashing lights on a school -bus, and go speeding past the stopped bus placing students'lives in jeopardy. There is simply no excuse: those generally heard, such as "didn't see it", "thought it was leaving", or "couldn't see anyone -on the -road" really translate into the fact that the vehicle was travelling too fast, the driver was impaired, inattentive, or exhibiting a callous carelessness. The Canada Safety Council has named the seven days from September 23rd to 30th as "School Bus Safety Week" in Canada, and school authorities, school bus operators, parent -teacher groups, and other organizations will be doing their part to en- sure our school children are safe as they travel to and froth school and school activities. But it only takes one inebriated, thoughtless, or careless driver 1' Three cheers for Prime Minster Joe`Clark and his government .... if and when they get around to enacting this legislation. Mr. White says he wrote to Joe Clark in February of this year, when Clark was still Leader of the Opposition. He says he wanted to complain "regarding this inhuman income tax treatment of many Canadian women". He adds he received a letter from Clark's office in..May .which noted -that if Clark was elected, he intended to implement the legislation outlined in the letter. Other legislation proposed by .the PCs includes the recognition of the unqualified right of women to work in all fields of endeavour; the elimination of discriminatory practices at manpower centres and the Unemployment Insurance Commission, and the implementation of new training and job placement assistance •along with necessary. •fundingof the. Outreach programs for women; and calling a conference of business, labor and educational leader's to plan realistically for women as a per- manent addition to the work force and to work out innovative ways of accommodating women's need for economic independence. The new government also has pledged to ensure that the principle of equal pay for work of equal value is not sacrificed in public sector settlements; and to accelerate the movement of women to an equitable share of middle and senior public service positions through improved training and job bridging programs. When Parliament reconvenes next month, there should be lots for Canadian politicians to get their teeth into. Too bad it often takes so long for the Wheels to get into motion.-SJK .. C. t By Cath Wooden DEAR EDIT'DR Support needed Dear Editor, The Arthritis Society in Goderich is actively engaged in a . c'amp'aign for. funds to Ftend its program of resegreh and education which will ensure better care of arthritis patients, greater understanding of ar- thritis and ultimately,:, eliminate arthritis from the spectrum of human disease. The suffering of those afflicted in our cc:m- munity contributes to the loss of livelihood and thus weighs heavily on local business and industry through lost production, `''los't wages and the loss of purchasing power. On behalf of the Council of Goderich, I am pleased to proclaim September as "ARTHRITIS MONTH", and I urge our citizens to co-operate whole-heartedly with The Arthritis Society in supporting their fund raising campaign from September 9 to 17 in- clusive and in learning more about this illness and the objectives of the Society. Harry Worsell, Mayor of Goderich. Successful Dear Editor, Family and Children's Services of Huron County is pleased with the suc- cess of its new com- -munity program FACES. '79 (Family and Children's Excursion Services). The number of children involved has substantially increased from 90 in the summer of 1978 to 219 children in- volved with FACES '79. An Experience '79 grant allowed the agency to hire Pauline Hall and Margaret Foran as program co-ordinators. Margaret, with the assistance of volunteers, involved 75 children in •a variety of special activity day camps throughout the county. Sixty-nine children participated in the week-long overnight camps with Pauline. In addition, another 70 children were sent to other organized camps including a one -parent family camp. Special thanks is ex - Turn to page 5 75 YEARS AGO Shortly after 2:30 a.m. on Monday fire broke out on the steam barge Abercorn and when ..the town firemen reached the dock, the boat was a mass of flames from the stern to midships. The Goderich Business College is doing famously. Eight new pupils joined the classes this week and others are joining daily. The cinder path down Harbor Hill is a great improvement over the old plank walk. On Thursday of last week a citizen went round to the liveries to hire a horse and buggy for Labor Day but found that LOOKING BACK every horse had been engaged for that holiday. The side streets were very dusty the past few days but the dust would not have been so bad but for the habit some people have of dumping their ashes on the road. The Organ Factory signs are being repain- ted. 25 YEARS AGO Goderich teachers returned to their schools Tuesday morning to face a record high enrollment of pupils, as 1,333 students were registered at the public school, G.D.C.I. and St. Joseph's Convent. Last year 1;256 pupils were registered on opening day. Goderich. Recreation and Arena Committee on Tuesday night took a concrete step toward seeing that Goderich has hockey this year when it named a three-man committee to investigate and make a' report on the hockey situation. One of the best Labor Day parades ever staged in Goderich attracted a banner crowd here on Monday jamming the Square and Court House Park. The Robert McKay Memorial Scholarship for highest standing among the pupils of Grade 13 of G.D.C.I. ,at ..the June Departmental examinations has, been awarded to Douglas Reid, son of Mr, and Mrs. William J. Reid of Dungannon. 5 YEARS AGO Huron County Council has asked Ontario Health Minister Frank Miller to take a second look at this area before establishing a district health council here. Enrollment hit an all- time high this September at G.D.C.I. with 890 students turning up for classes Tuesday mor- ning. Enrollment at seven area public and separate - elementary schools is down slightly this Sep- tember as there are 24 students less entering school than left last June. In an effort to cur,b the noise and mischief that prevails at Agriculture, Park around midnight •n -1c1 the early morning, Goderich Town Council ha- decided to lock up the park at night and leave it locked until the daylight hours. W.C. "Bert" Robinson retired from Sheaffer Pen last Friday after 29 years of employment with the company. The Pied Painters of Goderich, who were commissioned by the businessmen this "sum- mer to paint the buildings, on the Square, completed their work on Aueust 29. DEAR READ .1 . BY SHIRLEY J.KEL,LER It is more than three months now since Prime Minister Joe Clark and his 'Progressive Conservative Party were elected to form Canada's government. After a stormy election campaign in which the Mr. Clark promised Canadians he would cut government spending and decrease taxes, citizens are beginning to ask when they can expect . the federal government to deliver the goods. It is a legitimate question. But Mr. Clark doesn't seem to have the an- swers. Even his new Minister of Finance John Crosbie is hedging, Crosbie may he right, of course, when'he says it would be "very much to our advantage" if the domestic price of oil was set before he draws up his budget. 'But who's advantage is "our" advantage? -The country's advantage? Or the government's advantage? And And then there is Joe Clark's plum - the mortgage interest deductibility plan. Canadians are rightfully asking the government when they can erect to Cash in on this election promise .... and again the answer is, wait. One news report shortly after the election noted that Joe Clark said Y.iis mortage interest deductibility plan may have to be delayed for a time. because the country was in much worse shape than he had at first believed. Now that's hard to fathom, isn't 'it? Few painted a blacker picture of the country's finances than Joe Clark who insisted, prior to the election, he could make the mortgage interest deduc- tibility scheme work no matter what anybody said. And the voters believed Mr. Clark. No wonder they are asking some questions and wanting some answers with time limits on them. To be fair, Joe Clark has cut some costs. Several weeks after the election, Joe CPark had 56 people at work in his own office - the Prime Minister's office. During Pierre Elliott Trudeau's last years, his office employed about 90 people. Almost half of the Trudeau aides worked in the correspondence branch answering letters from businesses, lobby groups, school children and taxpayers. Clark has only begun to hire for this section. Shortly after his election there were four persons in this branch but some Clark confidantes expect the four could multiply to 30 when things get in full swing. And if Mr. Clark doe'sn't soon start to deliver on his election promises, that correspondence branch could get very busy. The public does make demands on the prime minister's office. In the period,.1930-1935, when R.B.Bennett was Canada's prime minister, he had a 12- member staff. Fifty years ago, that must have been a fairly hefty number, too, and when you think about the way things have changed in 50 years, to multiply staff by eight doesn't sound all that ridiculous. After all there are now longer sessions of parliament, some of them on television giving more exposure to Canadian politicians; .more speeches; more statements in the House and to the press; more mail; more travel; more telephone calls; more ducuments to read; more meetin:s with people in Ottawa and throughout the country; more meetings with people outside the country. In effect, the staff in the prime minister's office often have to become the prime minister's eyes and ears, not to mention his spokesmen. Being prime minister of a growing country with growing complexities will undoubtedly mean more expense in the PM's office. It may be that the reported bill of $2.7 million to run the PM's office for a year in Trudeau's later years does sound a bit much. As everybody knows, when Trudeau stepped out as Canada's first minister, he stepped out in style. Joe Clark, a more modest man, may indeed trim some of that fat out of his office budget. He may even get by with slightly less staff,'too. But those kinds of savings won't impress too many people, if the PM gets - the reputation of making promises to the electorate he can't keep .... or won't keep.. Few will be satisfied with cut- backs in ' personal spending for the prime minister if inflation continues -to climb, if unemployment isn't curbed, if the cost of being Canadian gets just too hi:h for comfort.