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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-05-29, Page 4TNS ADVAACE Vitaily important As time passes the subject of the replacement of the Lower Town pond maybe fading from public conscious- ness. After a proposal to replace the washed-out dam with a $300,000 weir, the town council opted to place the ex- penditure on this fall's ballot and leave the matter to a decision by the voters of the community. In the meantime the desolation apparent where once an at- tractive body of water existed con- tinues and worsens. Many communities in Western On- tario have at last awakened to the wis- dom of making their towns and villages interesting and attractive. A few ex- amples are Elora, where the natural beauty of the rocky river gorge has been effectively. exploited; St. Jacobs, where the Pennsylvania Dutch historic background has been utilized; Blyth, the nearby- village where the potential of live theatre has revitalized the com- munity; and Mitchell, where a once - weedy river flat has been transformed into a beautiful park. Aware of the necessity for local interest, a group In Chesty now pro- poses to transform the old Krug furni- ture factory Into a tourist attraction. Nor are tourists the sole reason for these projects. In Wingham we have always discussed ways of attracting industry — but we may find ourselves content to let our chief attraction, the river valley, fall into neglect. There is considerable danger that by allowing the dam repair project to be delayed for another year the public may lose ,interest and the whole thing may be forgotten. Of course It will cost money — but so did the new fire hall, the extensive renovations at the town hall and the .building program at the local hospital. If we must wait for a local election to make a decision about the Lower Town dam, let us make sure that the problem is not forgotten and left to die at the council table. Could have been worse Did you ever hear of a federal or provincial budget which everyone agreed was "good"? Since no efforts to change or improve the economic.situa- tion of the country can possibly make life immediately better for every seg- ment of the population, someone is bound to cry foul. The budget announced last Thurs- day by Finance Minister Michael Wil- son drew all the expected reactions. Opposition parties and the nation's taxpayers immediately began a howl of protest. Long beforethere was any op- portunity for careful analysis both politicians and public began to scream their objections. Like all other budgets, this most recent one will be helpful to some sec- tors and hurtful to others. Small busi- ness was assisted to some degree in the hope that, as the greatest single source of new jobs, any incentives which will assist the growth of new businesses will do something to aid in the grievous un ei'nployment situation. People who have been putting away their savings for new or first-time home purchases were disap- pointed to find that the Home Owner- ship Savings Plan has been abandoned. Nobody likes the prospect of higher taxes on gasoline. Since transportation is so total ly necessary to the production and distribution of everything we must purchase, additional fuel costs will be added to our present spending in the form of higher prices. Additional taxes on tobacco and al- cohol were to be expected. If we want to avoid them, we have the alternative of kicking our unnecessary habits. Obvi- ously that choice is open to those who smoke and drink. No one is surprised when op- position members criticize a budge. That is to be expected, but Liberal Leader John Turner's reaction was more than a bit, cynical. Questioned by reporters about his response to saving some two billion dollars on the deficit, Turner replied, "Two million dollars. So what?" It would appear that there has been a change in attitude about the value of money. Mexico --no thanks There must be a thousand places in this world which the travelling public would like to see. And in this day and age the dream of foreign travel is not too difficult to realize. More and more people can find the money and the time to go abroad. However, there are a few places the average tourist might well decide to leave off their travel list — and for our part, Mexico should be one of them. A recent experience by a Kitchener couple tells the story. When their plane landed at Aca- ,pulco airport there was the usual scramble in the aisle, as passengers stood up to retrieve their hand baggage prior to leaving the aircraft. A teen- aged girl accidently stepped on the Kitchener lady's foot and her husband had to push the girl slightly to free his wife. Then, according to news reports, the teenager went shouting up the aisle, claiming that the man had kicked her. Net result was that the couple was detained at the airport for four hours and then shipped back to Canada. There are horror stories about young Canadians being held in Mexi- can jails for; months without trial on drug charges and for other offences. Perhaps some of them were deserved imprisonments, but in any case it 'seems that Mexico is not really the safest place to travel. Unwarranted comment Allan Fotheringham, whose col- urtr-n-reggularly occupies the backpage • position in Maclean's Magazine, has a sharp pen. His acid remarks undoubt- edly attract a weekly following, simply because he is shocking (and frequently juvenile) in his criticism of other Can- adians and their political choices. — After -tfie-second=last-Ontaritrelec- tion he branded Ontario voters as "ar- rogant" because they re-elected the Davis government. Sobe it. Politicians are considered fair game for col- umnists. However, Fotheringham's com- ments in the ay 20 edition about the possibility that Bob Rae will be the real premier of the province include some less -than -fair comments about our lieutenant -governor, John Black Aird. Enlarging on the theme that the leader of the NDP will call, the shots until an- other election is forced, the column says: , Loot. -Guy. John Aird, who's al- ready puffing himself with importance for the occasion (the fall of the PC gov- ernment) will ,then have the biggest h i L dB c ha s nce or yng of the 1920s Byng-King crisis to get himself In the H head lines." Our present lieutenant -governor is possessed of aslittle self-Impor_tanceas.--- get -Ca- V servio TIIflES A page of editorial opinion May 29, 985 CBC ET A', 61.44/k/11/0761.44/k/11/071/o' 0/01z) 7'</E o®Ldit c2FF5 A /19414177Cp7/® ? News Items from OIdFiIes MAY 1938 H. T. Thomson has pur- chased the chopping mill at the south end of.Josephine Street from Russell Walker. He took possession last week. Carman Hetherington was successful in passing his second year at the Ontario Veterinary College at Guelph, with honors. C. R. Yeoman, who has been teller at the local branch of the Dominion Bank, has been promoted to the accounts department of the. Kitchener branch. Carl McKay has been promoted to teller here and Benson Hamilton to the position of ledger keeper. The CPR line from Wingham to Wingham Junction, five miles, is one section of the railway that the CPR ` proposed for abandonment in its unifica- tion plan as set out in detail in the Senate 'committee proceedings. This summer may be the last that thousands of tourists may be able to see the Dionne quintuplets on parade. A legal adviser to the family announced that such action is being con- sidered by the children's guardians. At a congregational meeting of Gorrie and Orangehill United Churches it was decided to extend a regular call to Mr. Watt of Mount Hope, to become the pastor of this charge. MXY 1951 On Sunday morning in St. Paul's Cathedral, London, Rev.. G. D. Vogan, rector of the parish of Gorrie, Ford- wich --and Wroxeter, was ordained to the priesthood of the Church of ,England. Mr. and Mrs. Herson Irwin of the Whitechurch area were at Guelph at the graduation exercises at the Ontario Veterinary College. Their son, Dr. Richard Ir- win, was among those graduating. Best wishes of his friends follow him to his new home at Flesherton. The Wingham Council accepted the application of James W. Irwin, St. Catharines, as chief of police. for this town. He will succeed Chief T. W. "Bert" Platt who has resigned. Miss Alice Laidlaw, a former pupil of Wingham High School, was successful. in passing her examinations at Western University, London, and won a scholarship for third year honors in English. Winners at the Belgrave School ' Fair Association Music Festival included Grace Thompson of USS No. 7, East Wawanosh; June Pierce of USS No. 3, East Wawanosh; Mary Jefferson, USS No. 7, East Wawanosh; and Audrey Hackwell, USS No. 11, Morris. Miss Edythe Weir of Wroxeter, whose marriage to George Gibson, Wroxeter South, will take place shortly, was guest of honor at. a kitchen shower hosted by Mrs. Calvin Moffatt, Mrs. Graham Work and Miss Jeanne Moffatt. MAY 1961 At a meeting of the Wingham Kinette Club, the members voted to pledge $100. to a fund for purchasing an electric organ for the Huron County Home at Clinton. Mr. and Mrs. Alex Shaw owick may soon any; public y official we have ever en- countered. As to seek headlines, John Aird is happiest when he is associating with handicapped people or the young girls and boys who receive Junior Cit- izen of the Year nominations each year. Fotheringham does not hesitate to malign a public figure about whom he obviously knows very little. Maclean's Magazine, which touts itself as "Canada's national news mag- azine" would do well to seek a feature columnist who contributes something to national unity rather than one who concentrates on all that is critical and divisive. Who's running the store? Ontario voters went to the polls Tess than a month ago, but we really don't know who won. Although the Progres- sive -Conservative party under Premier Frank Miller did win four more seats than their nearest rivals; the Liberals, it's still an open question who will gov- ern the province for the next four years. At the week's end the NDP under leader Bob Rae decided to give their support to the Liberals under David Peterson — which means that the Mill- er government can, and probably will be toppled on a vote of want of confi- dence within a few weeks. If the Liberals and the NDP com- bine to throw out the PCs, Lieutenant - Governor John B. Aird will have the unenviable task of deciding whether or not to call on Peterson to form a gov- ernment. Thus, in effect we would be faced with a coalition of the two losing parties and the NDP would continue to call the shots. Another election would be inevitable within a matter of months, depending entirely on how far the Liberals could go along with NDP propose I s. At best a coalition is a shaky form of government, usually helpless to make firni decisions. Certainly a gov- ernment,with Peterson as premier would iniiate some new policies which have never been permitted to emerge under the long tenure of the PCs. Whether they would be better or worse no one. knows. GORRIE — The Township of Howick may be getting a cable television system that - will service the villages of Gorrie, Wroxeter and Fordwich. Bill Self of Toronto and Keith Ellis of Walkerton, owners of Maitland Cable TV, have been involved in the installation of services right across Canada. And they will be applying for a license from the Canadian Radio -Television Tele- communications Commis- sion (CRTC) to operate system in the villages of Howick. Mr. Ellis attended the May meeting of Howick Township Council to request a letter of support from the council to accompany_ their applic-ation to the CRTC. He told council he and Mr. Self "think there would be enough interest in the ser- vice in Howick to make it a viable venture." He says Maitland Cable TV will be able to offer about a dozen channels including two pay-TV channels . In each of the villages, Mr Ellis proposes that Maitland Cable TV would set up a "head -end" shack which would consist of a 60 -foot tower, a satellite dish and a shack to house their e wish to announce the engagement of their daughter, Dorothy Isabel, to James Martin Thompson, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Thompson, Bluevale. The marriage will, take place June 17. Miss Mary Elizabeth Skinn, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. , George Skinn, graduated from St. Joseph's School of Nursing, Guelph, receiving the paediatric nursing award. She will remain on staff at that hospital. Jack "Ace" Bateson was elected district commander when the Royal Canadian Legion held the District C convention in Markdale. Over 300 Legionnaires were registered. There aretwo new members on the staff of the Toronto -Dominion Bank, Miss Patsy Bryans of Brussels, and Mrs. Keith Montgomery of Wingham. A new auto body repair shop opened for business in Wingham this past week in the building that has housed the McKee Harvester depot for the past several years. John and Jim Marks, brothers, have teamed up in the new venture. Clayton Cober, son of Earl Cober of Howick Township, who has been attending Stratford Teachers' College, has been hired to teath at SS No. 9 on the sixth of Howick. MAY 1971 - A graduation ceremony was held for 18 nursing assistants at the Wingham RNA school. Graduates receiving , special . awards were Arlene Bauman, Jenny Stryker, Lynda Reid,Jill Bulmer and Clayton Baird. Rev. Charles Forrest, father of Mark Forrest of the F. E. Madill teaching staff, has accepted a call from Fordwich United Church. He succeeds Rev. William C., Parrott who is retiring. Another move will see Rev. Rea Grant go to Calvary United Church, Listowel. Darryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club will be guest speaker at the Minor Hockey Night in F. E. Madill Secondary School. Winners of safety quality, sweepstakes at Stanley- Bgrry. Linn►ted . were Elmex, . Sleightholm, Alvin Stacey, Vern Clark, Tom Wharton and Mrs. Gladys Yeo. Residents of Lakelet welcome Mr. and Mrs. Orton Howitt who moved to their home in the village, also Mr. and Mrs. Harry Judge Who moved to their farm, for- merly the Emerson Ferguson farm. Donald Gaunt of Whitechurch has passed his second -year exams in civil technology at Conestoga College and will be employed for the summer at Scar- borough. gIU New Books --� in the LibFary THE BURNING SHORE by Wilbur Smith In 1918 a ship is torpedoed by a German U-boat and a young French girl is cast onto the forbidding African desert shore of the Namib. This is the beginning of the stirring adventure saga, the story of the quest by this lovely and courageous woman for love ,and fortune and a safe place for her child — the quest for what the bushmen of the Namib desert call The Good Waters of Life. GEORGE, MEMOIRS OF A GENTLEMAN'S GEN- TLEMAN by Nina Slingsby Smith From hall boy to footman to butler, George's progress is full of acute observations and humor as he moves from house to house in his climb through the ranks of liveried servants. His ordeal in surviving the sinking of the Lusitania is described in detail and his whole life story, as told by his daughter, is one of service and thoughtfulness to others. Homemakers hold meeting of the board The board of directors of the Town and Country Homemakers met at Clinton May 22 with 11 members present. A letter was read from a patient regarding the care she had received from one of the homemakers. She was very pleased and sent a donation. The board discussed the mortgage on its building in Wingham. .It decided to reduce the mortgage by $1,400 and pay the interest. , Jean Young, the executive director, reported on the ,Canadian Council on Home- maker Services. Child abuse, depression in the elderly : and. Alzheimer's Disease were among the topics discussed. There was a demonstration of a com- puter being used by'a home- maker organization in Ottawa. It was suggested this would be an asset in the local office. The board has been invited to set up an information booth with information about its work at a public meeting being hosted by the Day Centre for the Homebound'in Wingham June 28. The fund-raising com- mittee made plans for the coming year. FA president calls. for fair trade in agriculture "Free trade has been compared to heaven : everyone thinks it's a nice place to be, but ----to-die-to-get-there." With these words Harry Pelissero, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, called for "fair trade, not free trade" as an acceptable; achievable objective Thr Canadian agriculture. Speaking to an audience of about 80 people at a con- ference on Can dian Agriculture in the Global Context, held at the University of Waterloo, Mr. Pelissero said that in an imperfect world, protec- tionist measures are a necessary evil. "Free trade would be a losing strategy for the agri- food sector." Pointing out that this sector is second only to forestry in its contribution to. net trade and that during the recession of 1981-82 agri-food was the only sector to in- crease trade continuously, 4 said the agri-food sector is the strength of Canadian trade. "I am troubled by the suggestion that we throw away the rule book that has governed that trade development." He cited several examples how this has occurred recently. The federal government has "backed down" and quadrupled the amount of beef from the European Economic Community to be allowed into Canada, he said, and he no one wants discussed the duty on_ Canadian pork and the American ban on sugar and items with traces of sugar. "I might be less concerned if it were a case of those without sin having the right to throw the first stone. However several , recent re- ports suggest that the U. S. farmer enjoys twice the level of government support compared to his Canadian equipment. "We could go with just one head -end shack," he says, "in Gorrie, perhaps, and plow cable to Fordwich and to Wroxeter, but we'd rather do it with three different systems under onelicense." The venturr c,'s not big enough to allow° the men to hire anyone. Mr. Ellis says the only way the project will become profitable is if he and Bill Self forego drawing salaries until the system is established. He says only about 40 per cent of the subscribers in' Howick will be initial. "the rest we will have to go out and get once the system is running." Since only one company can offer cable television in a given community, the CRTC will first find out if any other companies are interested in servicing Howick. If not, Mr. Ellis hopes Maitland Cable TV's license will be issued by the end of July and the service should be available by November. Howick Reeve Jack Stafford told Mr. Ellis the council would be happy to write a letter of support for the venture, saying such a service "would add some- thing to the community and - be a definite benefit." counterpart." He said the Reagan ad- ministration's actions in trade—1 a -w enforcement contradict the president's statements about the need for more ope trade, quoting from a business paper showing that between 1980 and 1983 Japan launched one counter -veiling duty action; the EEC started six; Canada and Australia started eght each while the United States, in the same period, filed 123 actions. Horticulturai oc. initiates memorial BRUSSELS — The hor- ticultural 'society met May 20 in the library with 22 members present. The meeting opened with the singing of "0 Canada", after Which the president, Mrs. Alice McArter, read a suitable spring poem entitled "Trees". A memorial to the group's late treasurer, Mrs. Margaret Tyerman, was discussed. Finally after some further discussion, it was moved by Luella Mit- chell that a $200 certificate be purchased and the ir►- terest used annually to present a flower bowl or vase as a prize for a junior competition at the society's August flower show. This was .seconded by Mrs. Glenna Stephens. Mrs. Jane White and Mrs. Shirley Wheeler were ap- pointed to make up a list of entries of juniors under the The rose bush presented to the society by the Girl Guides and Brownies, commemorating their 75th anniversary this year, is to be planted at Maple Villa. Slides dealing with the care of lawns were shown by Mrs. Jean Bewley, following which she and Mrs. Jean Veitch presided over a plant auction which raised $28. Miss Mitchell won the door prize. Hostesses for the evening were Mrs. Helen Alexander, Mrs. Arlene Hiemstra and Mrs. Rose Seibert.