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Wingham Advance-Times, 1980-11-12, Page 444 • 9 1 elk is pa • .._ •.... err ......... .... G• yr. r. a. i7 Ie,pcSiltlofl taken by two mem- hem .Public Utilities Iol 'W w1th regard to a letter speared In this newspaper sever ' ks ago clearly Is: untenable for tKnbers of a public body. While it is understandable, that they do not like having their'decisiorts , questioned in public, this is one of the conditions they accepted by taking public office. Their comments that the... PUC will not discuss Its business In public through the paper show a poor understanding of the position they oc- cupy. No matter what their personal feelings, they represent the public and should be prepared to discuss public business through a newspaper or any other public .forum. This is riot a new attitude, as the IUC for years has shown a marked re- luctance to: report on its operations to the public er even the town council. Unlike the town, the PUC does not pub- lishb flnanclal'statemiont at year end, and it rejected 'a request from town council -several years ago to receive copies of the ml►iutes of commission meetings. lt'also has been reluctant In the past to reveal prices paid for new equipment It has purchased. • • C'• t • • X11,` hot` suggesting that the cornnliss on members do not know their' business or have anything, to hide. Clearly they .are welt -versed In the operations of the PUC, and It is for pre- cisely this reason they should: be happy to explain their actions when request- ed. It appears from the explanation of- feredet the public meeting, that the tetter Writer had a valid concern over the letting of the contract fOr renova- tions to the PICC building.. Selecting a contractor at random fromhe Yellow Pages of the phone book instead of call- ing tenders certainly is a questionable procedure for a public enterpriseto follow, even for a comperatively minor project- The PUC is a public enterprise, wholly-owned by the Town of Wingham and operated on its behalf by an elected commission. Perhaps the fact, that. commission members ® through no fault of their own ® have time and again gained their seats through ac- clamation has dulled the realization that they are elected officials and, as such, responsible to the people they represent. Hopefully the election this year, regardless of outcome, will make this point clear. So mush for the polis With everyy election, both here and in the United States, there has been in- creasing use of polis, In an effor-•tto foretell the results of the impending' vote. Elections, after all, are much like horse races;, •it's highly profitable to be able to pick. the winners. • The theory behind the opinion, poll is 'that If the pollsters ask the same questions of a. selected group' of voters representing a cross section of those. who will cast their ballots, the answers will accurately predict the final out- come. utcome.' It's all very scientific. Response is' sought from a .certain number of pro- fesston 1 people, educators, blue collar mess " s worked* .independent bus oaNnler , , Skilled laborers, and'so on. Each tate gory selected must represent the same percentage bf the total as it does In the nation as a whole. tn;:Bonne :cases response ma►y` :be ,40 .'*ItereitbkAlit ue' tl+oris wit a, , shed of:,p00,ar- morer.Inrtiteory',,npn .tter.howfeiiir re- sponses are sought, the answers, will, provide. an ,accts fe basis for predict - Ing election. results- However, that was: blown all 10 blazes in.'theweeks before the Amer - lean presldentlal election. Every poll taken showed the 'IWO .candidates, Jimmy Car* -011 'Ronald an,. -ra. The<' ` ,..fore neci�..a f�9 erunnln r dais the of fon " ` x ala giv. a scant .., .,-► iii*en one percentage palntover Carter by tiut polls. General opinion was that with siu4.chi4tightmarg n,,ltaNas,highly prob- e,Carter would win because at least he was a known quantity.' Never in the history of election polls have so many been so far wrong. The Reagan win was a landslide, a total surprise not only for the pollsters but for the voters themselves. And certain- ly no one could have been more surprised than Carter or Reagan. There was a time, perhaps 50 years ago, when no polls were neededto pre- dict the outcome of an election.. Lib- erals always voted -Liberal and Tories never switched allegiance. Those days are long gone. Voters are much more volatile nowadays. Younger people tend to vote not for parties but for lead- `• ers - the men and women who come across best on television. Personality and appearance stronglyaffect a candidate's' chances, . pe"rhaps more than intelligence and .dedication. , Ronald Reagan is• an . unknown i1er The ai :r d eM at eWill iayg•atou gertangy in rOS foreign : policy thanhes Pre id erit Carter:. Canadians fear that Reagan may prove lessaccommodating in the world of international business than his predecessor; and thus more protective of the American business corporations • which backed him strongly in his run for the presidency. The effusion of pro-Canadtan'senti- ment in the U.S. whichbubbled up after • • Canadian, Ken Taylor smuggled six' hostages •.out"of Iran has somehow disappeared. We, will simply have to wait and see what happens south of the .border. atch for invoices it is' always enuring, hole" quickly! a successful racket catches tat; A year or so ago .some' bright guy managed to snatch- thousands di+"�c ollars from the unwary and superstitious by means of '•a,chain 'letterscherne. In no time at all there were similar letters popping . up -all over the. p tece, One of the more recent rip -Off 'schemes •to dr► the.orm of mailings lakkhanpaaeiatiatavoices, usually for listings in semi supposedly important directory. Most , of.th.ese demands do carry a tiny,linerwhlch states that the document Is not an Invoice, but more recently even-, that faint warning has • been missing.. Pollee ere usually help- less to take action because most of the It hasn't been From. time to time it does our per- spectives good to take stock of our good life, our freedom and what was sacri- ficed to maintain them, says the Thornbury Review -Herald. When the dollars get tight if Is too easy to complain, even though very few Canadians ever face.' real physical hardships. • . The good lfewe enjoy today hasn't w a. .. .�-....-�.: •:..v i..w."!CAi;�_ Vi Y...."!v_ y... 1�f..�X'i.O �. K...'!.;..V .. !��:. �':� ^w11.:i+4 ��+:'�:'i'. Y;��Y_WWr . mailings originate ab'hoad. ' Banks in this area recently re- ceived invoices for listings in "Casey's ,international Bankers' Directory" for a mere $$40. Payment was to be mailed to an address in England. Another •racket 'offers Individuals tremendous buys, such as genuine dia- mond -studded earrings for as little as s10, plus 81 shipping cost. Seven dollars was the asking price for "genuine emeralds". The suckers found they had bought low grade emeralds worth 10 or 15 cents. -Too bad that these ingenious people who•can think up all the crooked plans can't be harnessed Into a brain trust and come up with a plan to solve some of our real problems. easy come easily and it certainly hasn't been free. The sacrifices have been hard and heavy. We only need to look back one generation to see the cost of our way of life. Those whowpere honor- ed on Remembrance Day ' are silent messengers of our freedom. They gave the ultimate gift so that we, today, can enjoy the security of our democratic nation, even with its minor snags and stumbling blocks. THE WINGHAM ADVANCE -TIMES •:Pebi Iiit at Wingham. Ontario. by Wenger Rros. Limited y'wenger, prtsidetit • — • Member Audit Bureauof Cfrcutations Member idsMatilanCUMMUnity Newspaper Assoc.' ..Ontario -Weekly Newspaper Assoc: Six months 18,00 Return postage guaranteed Robert 0. Wenger, Sec•.-Treas. *`15.00 per, year seakid d tVfail RtgiSteittion NO. 0021 • • a d a R it It' • • ` ...!,Piii • t • .t t; 0 y i •ter �, x:13. .. NOVEMBER 1933 . A very successful Masquerade was held in St. Augustine last Friday. Costume prizes were won by Miss Angela Gi ons, J. P. Gibbons and A. PI kett. A local" student, Miss 'E. 'e'ati''V thbstier,'has nrttr'ihe CarterScholarship awardo`d to Huron County ' Upper School students • who write ten subjects, • including English and `' two Mathematics. 'f A large barn and straw shed on John Webb's farm, four mines from -town. en the Lucknow road, were com- pletely destroyed by fire. The fire was 'caused when a • lantern. fell 'off a nail into sortie straw. e cold snap on Sunday was Sp severe that it formed a thinsSuitini of ice over the river., The first, meeting o -.!ler r .: . ss h e ,Sc i�' actresses we t :.given lipt Alton Adams; et, Jain Lane,, an MarrRobson: Dane was elected .Worshipful Master of 'the Howick Loyal ()range Lodge-. Other officers include W. E. Weir, D. L. `Weir, W. T. Elliott, Webster.Jacklin and .Ira Neill. • NOVEMBER 1945 Pres' Pool owner protests annual fee for water Dear Editor, , Several years ago the Wingham PUC decided to bill swimming pool owners an annual fee because it was decided they were using more water than anyone else. At that time the fee was only $5.00, but now it is $20, quite an increase. I am writing this letter to strongly protest this discri- mi ; ,.,6 practice and I ve I spe'ali,. for most, if ,. all, swimming pool wners in the Town of Wingham, • ' I am not arguing the point that swimming pools use Water, but how much is a point for debate. When I discussed \ this with the chairman of the PUC earlier in the year and wondered about figures to back up their position, I was told that many communities were doing it. Does this make it right? It seems that the PUC considers a pool a luxury, but one might also consider a large whirlpool bath or a hot tub a luxury too. To my knowledge these people don't pay an annual penalty. Not too many years ago an auto- matic washer was ,called a luxury too, and they use water. What about automatic dishwashers? and •what about people who water their lawns to excess? The argument can go on and on, It takes money to pump water (part of the PUC position), so when it rained a lot this year and 1 had to pump out my pool twice, does this entitle me to a rebate? Most swimming pools are only drained down about 12 to 18 inches once a year for winterizing and topped up again in the -spring; they are not filled up every year with new water. Pools are here to stay; they are great for exercise and recreation and con- tribute to a healthy family atmosphere- A pool is cheaper to purchase and operate than a `summer cottage and, with gasoline costs on the upswing, I think it's safe to sa y pools are a good investment. Maybe I'm all wet, . but I hope to get some response: to this letter so we can try and put a stop to this ridiculous levy as of next year, ' Perhaps an initial filling fee for people installing a new pool would make more sense, The $20 I can afford, but it's the principle I can't swallow. This annual fee is narrow-minded, ill con- ceived and discriminatory. Bill Stephenson Wingham Thanks for Scouting coverage Dear Editor, At our group committee meeting of the First Wingham Cubs and Scouts on Sunday evening, Nov. 4, all the leaders of the various groups expressed how pleased they are with the excellent coverage your paper is giving them. This year Scouting Seems very much alive in Wingham. Children love to see their pictures in the paper. Older .people in the community read ,with. in- terest what the younger people are doing in the community. Asa r Stilt they are keen to help elle rt With their projects. it is our hope that Scouting can be kept strong in Wingham. You ate.ilt'lipiltg us to do just that! Thanks again. lieterl+eldi recei`or Arthur w. has ved his discharge ifrom the Royal.Dental Corps after serving over five years. He will re -open his dental office in. the Hydro, building' next • week. c• Mr. and , C. H. *aide and;famaly : ve moved into. their b. ome in Bel'grave. Mr and Mrs. Rowland have en possessionof the ch. they recently our- ased from Mr. Wade A group of EastWawanosh, mens under the leadership of Robert Carrick, started to remove the Whitechurch station building which the Institute purchased. The WI will use it to enlarge the hall. Wilfdrd C. King and son, Earle;- have purchased the farm recently owned by John W. Wylie on the 15th con- cession of Howick, also the adjoining farm owned by Mrs. Elizabeth Wylie. NOVEMBER 1956 -. At the meeting of the Wingham General Hospital Board, it was decided to purchase an electro cardiograph, an instrument that registers graphically the' duration end character of the heart'smovements, at a cost of just under$1,000. • Jong Cruickshank has purchased the • property owned by Vin 1 Dittmer . on Catherine. Street. •The Cruickshank! home,' on Vic- toria Street has been bought by .f ohn'Strong who has been residing . in the Hillcrest section. ' ` • Fire which broke auteearly, Sunday; morning completely • destroyeda large. barn belonging to W. B. , Cruikshank . in Turnberry Township; near the -Lower Wingham sectionof town: St: Andrew's Presbyterian Church was the scene of a pretty • wedding -when -Donalda MacDonald was united in marriage with Roy Douglas Bridge. The couple will'residein Toronto. The official boards, of Whitechurch' United Church • and" Bluevale United Church. met, ..with a view of having Mese ; two congregations united .The pastor, Rev. R. A. Smote.' was- invited to remain :as minister of the two cpnggregations. ODAY'S CHILD You can tell from his smile that Larry, aged 12, is a friendly boy. This handsome youngster of registered Indian status has many friends his own age, and adults warm to him readily. He's above average in athletic ability and shows it in football, soccer, baseball and swimming. He's also an enthusiastic camper and loves to spend hours riding his bike. Larry is in special education, an 11 continue to need that kind of schooling because academic ability doesn't match his physical skills. A popular boy with h teachers and at home, Larry is a i'sponsible boy who can be counted on h finish anything he starts. He is fond of aninials, and would enjoy a home that has pets. Larry hopes to have a family who will share activities with children, especially an attentive father and he'd enjoy having older brothers. They should not be close to his age. To inquire about adopting Larry, please write to Today's Child, Ministry of Community and Social Ser- vices, Box ; : , Station K, Toronto, Ontario, M4P 2112. In your lettertell something of your present family and your way of life. , NOVEMBER 1966 A delegation of ratepayers from the Berry subdivision in the north-east corner of the community attended council` meeting and ob- jected to the proposed location of a new Ontario Provincial Police office. The new building is to be erected on a lot owned by Angus Mowbray on Shuter Street at the : corner of;:. Riverside. ;Drive The Wingham Corps df the Saivation Army marked. 80. . years of service at special anniversary events:: Murray E. Coulter ofRR 5, Wingham has been awarded the Huron County Scholarship from the Faculty of Arts: and Scien- ces University of Western Ontario. The scholarship is based on academic per- formance in 1965-66. Miss Nadine Cooke of Corrie has taken a position at the Toronto, Western Hospital. Wroxeter welcomes Mr. and: Mrs. Thompson and family who have purchased the William Bolt farm, ' New Books in the Library, THE COVENANT by James Michener This is a story about people, real and imaginary, caught up in the march of world history a tale of adventure and heroism, love and loyalty, cruelty and betrayal. The main setting of this extraordinary novel is the stunning landscape of South Africa, the fictional characters moving against a background of historical events. VOICES IN TIME by Hugh MacLennan In the year 2030 AD an old man looks, back and remembers the destruction of civilization in the 1980s and the events that presaged it, John Wellfleet recalls how those who survived the nuclear holocaust that devestated the world's cities turned their backs on the knowledge that made such annihilation possible. MANCHU by Robert Elegant In Manchu the author takes the reader on an epic journey into the rich and exotic past of China in lite 17th century. The time is not long after the Jesuits made their first successful missionary venture into China by converting to Catholicism many of the mighty -- including the EMpre9s Dowager and the powerful prime minister, Paul Hsu. The author rive natn abotl the. katterworks 110 vert rErtr1y map8. =s1 w use iooil tike 'west 00. the brl OWIttft m operatli l installed by: Wintereite Engine Work6404, of Brants ford -and i:o$t:the.towe:.ovec $10,000. ":gat ' , _ In 1885 tie white brick pumphouse, which still • .etands at the,east end of the upper dam, Was;, built. - This building, u.491oilier_ repaint • to the,syetesn, 'amounted to $1100. Water from the pond, was carried in a flulneunder the road at the east end of ttie bridge to operate the water wheel in the lower part of the building. (The waterwheel is still' there.) This supplied power �'to piifnp -river' *retell Into.* ° main which' took th,e .:. shortest way te4040Blline St :and then weal south Ili various` hydrants di the main street. A coal stove wain placed in the wheelhouse to prevent the machinery front freezing_ In April, 1891 it,w.aii recorded,that a test of the system was made as a result of letters sent by a Wingham resident to insurance coon. panies with false and ' damaging reports of the waterworks.: With a .depth. Of. eight and one-half feet of water in the flume a pressure of -'140 pounds,„was made available in the mains. Each of -seven hydrants, was opened and tested. • Asa result of this- test it.. was decided to run, a larger main (8” instead of 6") from the pumphouse,? east on Water St. to, Josephine St. and then south to the hydrant at the Dinsley, . ,house. The main from the pilmphouse at that time. reg,' across the Button & Fessiant factory property and it=was thought it would be better -to have it on town propartYs The con- tract.to do this was given. to J. A. Cline & Co. in 1892 for $1100. The pipe that was re- moved were used to extend the main east on Patrick Street. From time to tiMe';there were reports of the semen making testa of the'~ tem and their equipmentsFor'in- stance, in 1' . ; ttte ;firemen were able to put hVe„streams of water twenty lilt higher than the Matidenaidr Block, from One hydrant. the next 'year when a hydrant was put M at the Patrick and Francis St. corner, it was tested by running a ose from it to the school. The water was thrown as high as the top of the building. In January, 1897, the editor of The Wingham Times paid a visit to the wheelhouse, which at that time was under the control of,the Chief of the Fire Company, T. Manuel. The room . was a model of neatness with plants and pic- tures on the walls, a cheery fire burning lithe stove. The chief turned on the power and the great wheels turned without jar or noise and in only 54 seconds the water pressure was up to 140 pounds. In 1899 the contract for the water power at the pump - house came up for renewal, but before negotiations got under way the dam went out le the spring flood. This was the third time in 20 years. To be continued combines historical truth and vivid imagination to - recreate the intrigue, decadence and corruption that led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty and the'rise of the Manchus, A FAMILY MATTER by' James Roosevelt Drawing on his experience in the White House and on his special knowledge as FDR's son and trusted companion, James Roosevelt has Written a - novel of Spine -chilling drama and authenticity.