Zurich Citizens News, 1978-11-02, Page 4Citizens News, November 2, 1978.
E9mo0,04
"The burden of responsibility, urgent problems to overcome, decisions, pressures...thank goodness parliament's
back in session so 1 can get away from all that!"
cminim„mimili munnmunn„imininn„mmmmmmmi m in„mimmmtmmmiinumlmimnnuinmtnnm„mmnmmmmtmrmmmnmmiimmmrni„mmmnt_
lYle
410
. __
nun„„nnnnuunnmruinniu mminuntnuiuunmmffirnlnuminiinuuniimmi nmunmunnnnuumnini „1„iiintimiiinnnun firm„„ unnmnnn„„ninE
A `different' election year
With the municipal elections a little over a
week away, only one municipality in this area will
be going to the polls to elect their civic officials and
that is indeed an indication of the lack of interest in
this year's election.
While elections on the local level have never
captured the voters' interest on the same level as
provincial. or feaeral elections unless there has
been some burning issue, the change in the voting
date seems to have caught the electorate, the bud-
ding politicians and existing elected officials off -
guard.
In talking with a few clerk -treasurers, the
general consensus has been that the moving of the
election date is a big factor in the apathy which sur-
rounds the elections.
Only in the township of Hay is there any indica-
tion of election fever with former deputy -reeve
Cjaire Deichert going up against incumbent reeve
Jack Tinney. It should prove to be an interesting
race withTinneysaying a month ago he'd like to try
for Warden of Huron County Council.
The race for the three council positions should
also prove interesting with Dick Rau and former
councillor Tony Bedard going up against Don
Geiger and Lionel Wilder.
In Zurich and Hensall both municipalities
avoided calling a second round of nominations with
Klaas Van Wieren filling _the final council spot in
Hensall and Jim Bedard doing likewise in Zurich.
For Board of Education, veteran Hensall
municipal politician Minnie Noakes could give this
area's present representative Herb Turkheim
something to think about.
All in all, municipal election '78 might turn out
to be interesting.
Universities are for the rich
A report released by the Ontario Economic
Council confirmed what most people involved in
post -secondary education have known all along.
Universities are for the rich.
Despite all the nonsense churned out by the
government about how the new student aid
programme will make university education more
accessible; despite the dribble of scholarships that
the corporations hand out to "deserving students” ;
despite all the drivel about "anybody can work
their way through college” universities are still
ivory towers for the middle and upper classes.
The study confirmed the fact that the doctor's
sons have an inside track for becoming doctors.
Law families breed lawyers, and the sons of factory
workers, well, .. .
If you think this state of affairs is fine and im-
possible to avoid anyway consider the tremendous
waste of human potential.
Children from lower-class families do not for-
sake their education and end up with menial jobs
because they're just not very bright. It is ridiculous.
to subscribe to the theory that the upper and middle
classes have the exclusive preserve on intelligence.
There is also no reason to assume that the poor
lack ambition. The barriers that they face are
economic. Their parents simply cannot afford to
put them through, the government loan programs
forces them to accumulate large debts, the lure of a
job and some quick money becomes almost
irresistable.
Of course, their are always a few super human
souls, poor boys and girls who "pull themselves up
by their boot straps” but they are only exceptions
that do not change the essential. point.
The fact is that children from lower classes are
badly under -represented on university campuses
because they find the cost on higher education_la
crushing economic burden.
It is not enough to take the smug attitude that
this is the natural way of things and nothing can be
done. All of us are losing in a big way because some
people never got the chance to reach their full
potential.
All across the country thousands of men and
women are slaving away at jobs that are deadly
dull because they are working below their mental
capacities. A lot of people who have the brains to
improve our society have been lost to us because
they have never had a chance.
Somehow the standards for university admis-
sion must change. Too many bright students never
make it out of high school. Too many mediocre
students slip through simply because they (or their
parents) can come up with the money.
The only really fair system is one based on
brains rather than money. A system . where
everyone who reaches a certain academic.standard
will be entitled to move on to post -secondary educa-
tion without worrying about the financial burden.
Of course that academic standard may have to be
high, perhaps much higher than it is' now. But it is
the only system that is fair, the only one that makes
sense.
The Gazette,
University of Western Ontario.
d.111111111I111111111m111111111111n1111111111m111a++f+++tf++t++f tfu++u+++un111efflnNaaltU
t..5,
Miscellaneous,
Rumblings
13y
TOM CREECH
A happy
anniversary
The column which is about to unfold marks a
minor milestone for the Citizens News and a major
milestone for this writer: it was one year ago minus a
day that you the readers, had a chance to find out
something about the latest person to assume the
Citizens News editor's chair.
It's been a year which this writer has enjoyed im-
mensely for I could not imagine a better place for an
inexperienced journalist to begin his career.
To all the people who have helped me, who have
complimented me and who have criticized me, Thank
you.
The preceding twelve months have been a period
of growth and change for the Citizens News editor.
While I have had some inkling of what I was get-
ting into when I was initially offered the position, it
hasn't been until recently that I actually think I know
what I'm doing. In fact some people still don't think I
know what I'm doing.
The most difficult part of this job was not in the
actual writing but the assembly or the pasting up por-
tion of the job. I can well remember venturing into the
paste-up department of the Times Advocate my first
Tuesday on the job and hearing the editor of the
previously mentioned newspaper say "Back that story
around the ad and leave enough room for a one and
one.”
One and what? Backing around an ad? In other
words, for about the first three months "Tuesday”
was synonym for utter confusion in the daytime and
chest pains in the evening.
Confusion also managed to find its way to the
coverage of various news events with this writer
recalling walking out of the Citizens Office, dashing
into his car to take a picture in Hensall. Only problem
was our "Joe ace photographer” forgot to take his
camera.
After five miles and fifteen minutes I can recall
rushing back to the office and remarking to office
manager Betty O'Brien "It's hard to take pictures
with a clipboard."
Even after a year of experience, I still can't take
pictures with a clipboard. Maybe Edwin Land, the in-
ventor of the Poloroid camera will read this and help
me out.
There are memories from this first year that I
will forever treasure.
Covering the Hay township secondary plan
meetings gave me a crash course in how a township
works.
Spending a day on a Grand Bend fishing tug taught
me that the life which these men lead is something
definitely out of the ordinary.
Being a "victim" for the Hoffman's Ambulance
crew taught me that the days of a rack in which tor-
turers of old stretched their prisoners, are not dead.
No matter what kind of camera you have it
doesn't pay to take pictures directly into the sur. My
apologies to the students and parents of Ecol; St.
Marie's graduating class for this "learning ex-
perience."
I hope the next twelve months will see an im-
proved performance from this writer, possibly to the
extent of eliminating that one comment that seems to
follow me where ever I go: "Have you got film in the
camera?"
Seriously, we welcome your comments both good
and bad, about the. paper or anything you have strong
feelings about,
• One item which we welcome is letters to the'
editor. If you've got something to say, get it off your
Please turn to page 5
:_:'•'.<i:::;'+.:ii::<s:;t>;�>;:.>..••:.:.;•.••r,:y:'i;;:::>::;a;x':;:;:;;;::;:.o-o-to-»:::.>:.;•`..R2iiRi'+'•): ... ... .. :..........v...... ,
..................... .
.. IIl3I WITH IDUI NEWS
Published Each Wednesday By J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd.
Me rn ba r ;
Canadian Weekly Newspapers Association
Ontario Weekly Newspapers Association
News Editor - Tom Creech
Second Class Mail Registration Number 1385
Subscription Rates: $7.00 per year in advance in Canada
$18.00 per year outside Canada Single copies 20¢