Loading...
The Huron Expositor, 1984-11-28, Page 2OPINION Hurx onsitar SINCE 1880, SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating Brtl44t' s Post 10 Maln Street 527-0240 Published In SEAFORTH, ONTARIO Every Wednesday morning JOCELYN A. SHRIER, Publisher RON WASSINK, Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Asaoctatton Ontario Preee Council Commonwealth Press Union International Prase Institute Subscription rates: Canada $18.75 a year (In advance) Outside Canada $55.00 a year fin advance) Single Coplee-50 cents each SEAFbFITH, OINTAPIOr WED1NESltAYi NOVEMi=:ER 28, 1954 Second class mall registration Number 0868 ook at alternatives Once again, the question of a new landfill site Is in the limelight. And as with the first proposed location in McKillop township which was abandoned, residents are again concerned with the second location --the Seaforth lagoon property. The only difference now is that there are more people Involved, more who are concerned. They are worried that if the lagoon site Is chosen, and there Is burning, that effects of such burning will affect their health. The property Is located directly west of. Seaforth, about 1500 feet from the public school. The second concern is toxic wastes from such a landfill site could leach into the water system. It's already been proven that ground water from that area is tied to the water we drink. We know the water system Is connected because of what happened when a new town well was dug. The well, when pumped, lowered wells In Harpurhey. Is landfilling the answer to our garbage problems? One thing is for certain --it's the least expensive. But is it the healthiest? The engineer has said that "no burning" would be the criteria if the lagoon property was chosen. That's easy to say now. But will that be the case 10 or 20 years from now? If that was the case, the lagoon property could be too small. After all, that's a lot of garbage to bury. The present Seaforth dump is supposed to be operated as a "no burn" dump. j3ut it burns. As a matter of fact, there's burning at the Grey Township dump, the Harriston-Minto dump and the Hawick Township dump, just to name three. If there's going to be burning anyway, maybe it's time we did look at alternatives, and one is to incinerate. We all know incineration is expensive, but it's not as expensive as contaminated drinking water—or poor health. There are municipalities with incinerators, but there are none in Huron County. If Seaforth, McKiltop and Tuckersmith are having such a difficult time finding land tor a landfill site, then surely other municipalities In this county will face the same problem in the future. And if that would be the case, and we did have an incinerator, Its use could be unlimited. And, who knows, It could generate -revenue. Let's take a look at the alternative. Seaforth council went with it 10 ears ago, but were turned down. Maybe it's the only solution available oday. —R.W. ✓ To the Editor Grease raises questions Dear Sir: The article in last week's paper concerning the grease problem in the sewer lines brings to mind several questions. Earlier this year there was an article which suggested that the present sewage lagoon system was not really doing as well as was expected. if there is / sufficient grease flowing in the system to build up in the wet well it is obvious that much, much more must have gone through to the lagoon with a consequent rise in the biological oxygen demand (bod) in the lagoon. if the b,o.d. exceeds the lagoon capacity it follows that the bacterial breakdown of sewage will not take place as required. i onder if loss of efficiency in the lagoon operation is the result of excessive amounts of grease in the system? i seem to recall that the original bylaw, providing for use of the expanded sewer system, contained restrictive conditions sufficient to permit denial of access where such abuse of the system occurs. 1 wonder if the existing bylaw can be applied to prevent this abuse from continuing? This has been used at least once before to force deanup of a troublesome condition. It seems apparent that this discharge of excessive grease has been known for some time since public works personnel have been helping in cleaning out the resulting blockages of the lines. i wonder if this help has been gratis or has been charged for? Certainly there seems to be no reason why this situation should be allowed to continue or why the citizens of Seaforth should be paying for its correction. Ernest M. Williams Don't play with fire! Kids are own worst SENSE AND NONSENSrw ►y Ron Wassink Kids are their own worst enemies. It was common when I was a kid, but I'm sure such antagonism has grown. Most people will agree that kids are the worst offenders - I'm talking about kids picking on other kids. Sure, I was part of the "FBI" gang and looking back, I regret that 1 ever belonged. "FBI" was scratched, in blue ink, on our hands and arms --any place on the skin that was visible --to ward off what we called flea bags, We had "flea bag insurance," It's sad to say, but we picked on kids whose parent' had little money, whose father and perhatrs mother and father were alcoholics, The fads, our fellow classmates, were abused. They wore old, worn clothing to school. They had dirt smears on their faces and in -some cases their hair needed washing Sounds terrible, but it's true. And this was only elementary school. Some were as young as six. But we picked on them. Now thet I'm a not -so -small -kid, I realize how hard we were on our classmates. I can remember the time the school bully noticed that the brain off the school was wearing a "imitation" leather jacket. This was in grade seven. The'bully took his jackknife and in a jealous rage proceeded to tear the coat to shreds. Larry, the brain, was still wearing the coat, and he was in tears. We also had a kid in our class; a good friend of mine, who was a thalidomide baby. He only had four fingers on each hand and his hands ended at his elbows, $ut that didn't stop -him enemies from copying better notes than I, playing baseball and football, and being equal to his counterparts. Unfortunately, some rowdies taunted and teased him. They called him the four -finger- ed mummie. Later in life, 1 heard that Rick would go home and break down. He would cry all night and dread the thought of going to school. I recently read an article where a kid' in grade two was accused by his classmates of stealing from the teacher. He was threatened and accused to such a point that a few days later he hung himself. 1 can't 'express my anger of what his classmates did. The kid was later proven innocent. but he was dead. Just`the other day 1 heard something that made me despise those ugly cabbage patch dolls even more. I heard of one school where kids who had such dolls wouldn't talk to kids who didn't. And I heard that at one Huron County SEE S/ ON PAGE THEE Hey Canucksl You're papular SOMETHING TO SAY_ by Susan White (Editor's note: Expositor managing there's too violence, but at least we don't editor Susan White is on a year's leave of c ane our kids in the schools. Note that we. Canadians and Americans, like Australians and, New Zealanders, practise resentment, bickering and defensiveness on home ground, but solidarity when we're together on the other side of the world. In the regular after-dinner debates with friends and acquaintances, nice neutral Canada comes up smelling like roses, always. "People think they're giving us a huge compliment when they mistake us for Canadians," an American friend here says. "They think it's about the nicest thing you can say about anybody." Our family has seen studied, polite disinterest turn to friendly enthusiasm, when people learn we come from Canada, not That Other Place. CANADIAN FLAGS I'm not sure what Canada has done to deserve this glowing reputation, but we take advantage of it. So do friends. One pair of third generation New Zealanders wore the Canadian flag pins we gave them all over Australia. Oz-N.Z. relations were at an all-time low after football defeats handed out by N.Z's touring All Blacks and our friends found it convepient to sometimes pretend to be Canucks. absence in New Zealand). No thanks to me, but because people I never knew made long sea voyages from the old countries years ago, I'm a Canadian. The randomness, luck and coincidence impresses me here in New Zealand. Friends here are children of British immigrants whe en�idered Canada but chose Neal Zealand instead. The owners of the shop where' we buy our fruit came here from Holland•25.years ago. They tried, then rejected, Canada first. Too cold in winter, too hot in summer. A woman in my night class was born in Scotland but her mother was a Canadian and she's read more about our country than I have. POPULAR But whether you're a Canadian by chance or by your pwn choice, do you know h w popular you are? Often, but especially now as a frighteningly feeble and over -simplistic United States president is re-elected, we're made aware that it's a damn good thing we're not from America (as the U.S. is>}iwa�yys called here). While most people don't condemn the American people just because they're afraid their choice of president will tip us all into a nuclear war, they are puzzled about why they vote that way. Why, they ask us, elect an aging actor who has little idea of what's really going on in the world? We try and explain about making America great again, isolation and the military-industrial complex, but it's difficult. We're so far away from them that the reasons become incomprehensible to us too. When the than politi • Canada's' aren't all ,1 We let our accents speak for themselves when we were in Australia in September. A man at one of the three petrol stations on the lonely desert road from Alice Springs to Ayers Rock had this Canadian -American business down pat. "From Canada are ya?" he greeted us. Surprised he'd gotten it right (mostly we were assumed to be Yanks) we ticism gets more perspnal asked how he knew, It seems he greets all we leap to the defense of North American voices as Canadian, thinking aanr•nei hbor. Nesethe•watnen he's"flattering 'the Americans turd' pleasing atter acid the men noisier. Yes, the Canucks. eft Just yesterday I wandered into the hand spinning, weaving and knitting shop a friend runs and found her apologizing profusely to a customer from Lethbridge, Alberta. My friend had called her an American. The reasons for America's unpopularity aren't too hard to find. Politically its seen as a fat cat bully, interested only in "what's in it for me?" Stereotyped ideas about American people come from the only sort of North American news coverage we get here....silly season whimsy and violent crime stories, (Perfectly understandable: what's the last news you've had from New Zealand?) The stereotype is reinforced by the terrible American TVp shows we see, without exception designed as an insult to anyone's intelligence. (Rich Americans are like Dallas, middle class ones like Three's Company. There are no poor Americans. In contrast there really is no stereotype of a Canadian. The occasional CBC or National Film Board TV shows we've seen have been sensitive as good as or better than BBC fare. Our government isn't powerful 'or noisy on the international scene. If at all we're considered calm friendly peacemakers, per- haps a legacy from the Pearson eta. We've resolved to enjoy the situation, even if it's with a faint sense of guilt that our international nice guy image isn't totally earned. (We know the United States bad guy reputation isn't all deserved either). So we suggest you get travelling, fellow Canadians, while you can still cash in on your welcome. Sooner or later the world will learn for example, that nice, neutral Canada is Chicken Little when it comes to taking a stand against the Big Bad Wolf of the American nuclear weapons program. We test the cruise missile in Canada; we make components for nuclear weapon systems. Perhaps world wide popularity more deservedly belongs to New Zealanders. These days New Zealand is declaring herself nuclear free and refusing to allow visits by nuclear powered or armed ships. It's a brave stand that't'inspirin'g people everywhere who want an end to nuclear madness. Win battles now before power ends COUNTRY CORNER by Larry Dillon Flames were shooting 20 feet into the air above the house roof. It was a frightening thing to see from the highway. We sped into thelaneaand slid to a stop. A car coming from the other directions also stopped. We ran to the house door and pounded on it. No answer! We tried the door. it was locked. The men from the other car found the front door was unlocked and we rushed in. As four prospective heros, we tumbled inti the house and rushed throughout looking for women and children -to rescue. A defeaning roar greeted us as we burst into the family room. The fireplace sounded as if a freight train was rushing through it. The whole family was sitting there. They had been watching the chimney fire. This was much more interesting. Four wild looking strangers rushing in on them without so much as an invitation. With the fire subsiding and hurried introductions made, the gentleman explained that a chimney fire starts whenever they burn cardboard boxes in the fireplace. They did not answer the door because they did not hear our pounding for the noise of the fire. He said it's a new chimney, the fire will just clean it out. It can't hurt anything." Somewhat sheepish, we m mbled -sur-- apologizes and left. We wer barrassed. We shouldn't have felt that way. imney fires are dangerous! That house could just as easily have caught fire and burned to the ground. A fire can hurt a chimney. The masonry liners can disintegrate from thermal shock. if that happens, the whole hose will u goBurning wood is a good way to save mon v on heating costs. i tie new efficient stoves and fireplaces give off enough heat to warm a whole house. A danger with these new highly efficient units is that with less heat lost up the chimney there is a faster accumulation of tar and soot in the chimney. Such stoves require greater care than the stoves our parents used. To avoid, problems, good woods should be selected for burning and the wood must be dried properly. Chimneys must be inspected ftgularly and cleaned as often as necessary. This may be as often as once every second week. if this is not done, the chimney will become clogged, or if sufficient heat is present a fire will start. Cardboard boxes should not be burned in stoves or fireplaces. The multiple corruga- tions in the paper act like a Targe number of small chimneys and the cardboard will bum hotter than wood. The intense heat at generates can start a chimney fire. 1 have seen steel inserts in fireplaces, with the sides buckled froyn the heat of burning cardboard. The stuff burns too hot and too fast fosse for home heat. Too many people are unconcerned about the dangers of fire. One of my friends clogged his newl}constructed chimney by burning scraps of green lumber. He cleaned it out by pouring a gallon of kerosene down it and tossing in a match. No, it did not explode. It should have with ose fumes in a confined air space. He did have one heck oda chimney fire. He never did tell me how he explained the situation to the men who rushed there in the big red truck. Somehow, I don't think they would find the situation humorous. r� BEHIND THE SCENES by Keith Roulston When women say to me there should be equal pay for equal work, 1 nod my head in solemn agreement. When women say there should be sinal pay for -work of equal value I'm apt to jump to my feet cheering and yelling "Right on. i want some of that too." Equal pay for equal value is one of the most controversial planks in the platform of the women's movement. it has been applied, not just to say that a man and woman working side by side at the same job should be paid the same but that the waitresses in a fancy restaurant, say. should get paid the same as the guy who parks the cars in the parking lot outside, It brings up the whole tricky question of how important each job is. ig'he answer of how valuable a job is in the whole scheme of things should make many men cheer if it could- be applied right across the board. For instance. shouldn't a farmer with his long; hours and his huge investment be at least equal in what he makes from the production of food to the guy who stacks the cans in a supermarket' The superniarkct worker, protected by his union, is guaranteed his pay, week in, week out, good weather and bad, surplus of food or shortage. The farmer in a good year may make as much. In a bad year may lose the whole farm and. if he's lucky, get a job in a supermarket stacking cans of the beans he once grew. i think there's an argument. if we're really talking about equal pay for work of equal value, that the farmer should earn as rliuch as a doctor since, if it wasn't for the nutritious food our farmers produce, all the doctor's skill and medicine wouldn't do a thing. I used to get in trouble back when teachers were striking here in Huron because 1 failed to have the correct amount of sympathy for their complaints that they were underpaid and overworked. Selfishly, as editor of a weekly newspaper. 1 felt 1 was in the education business too. educating several thousand people a week. i worked full days. 50 weeks a year, most evenings and often on weekends but never made more than half what a teacher made. I think a poll of editors of newspapers in the county would prove the same thing today. I later worked in the arts as an administrator, dealing with thousands of customers, overseeing a staff of 4050 employees. I never made more than three- quarters of what a mailman makes. At Thompson Hall in Toronto. a violinist in the symphony is likely to make less than half what the stage hand who sets up his chair and music stand makes. Not much justice in that. Nor is there justice in the fact that an actor can make more in one day doing a silly television ad for underarm deodorant than in the number of weeks creating a play that will really contribute something to society. There isn't much justice either in the' fact the fisherman can risk his life on wild seas to bring in a catch and live below the poverty line while in far off cities people make good livings from serving up the fish in restaur- ants, Actually ladies. given the strength of the movement, you stand a lot better chance of winning your battle than the rest of us. But get it quick. Justice tends to come to those who have power and your power may end with the passing of the current fashion. It's frustrating to have no audience SUGAR AND SPICE by Bill Smiley One of the worst things about being a widower and living alone is that there's no one to whine to when one becomes ill. One can sit or lie around feeling pretty ghastly. but thereg isn't much fun in it unless one can moan acid groan and clutch one's belly and hack rade cough a'hd wipe away the sweat of a fever, with an audience. That's why i've been particularly frus- trated for the past week or so. What's the point of staying in bed to get over your illness when there's nobody to bring you hot lemonade, fluff up the pillows, and put a cool hand on your brow? You mfgfi4 as well gulp, paddle down in bare feet, survey the dei of dirty dishes, scummy pots and greasy pans, pick up the mail and file all the bills, and pour yourself a medicinal potion. This week, 1 was about to go out on my first date in a year: a dinner date with a lady. When I called and told her she'd have to take a raincheck because i wasn't well, it was more like old times. She was even Tess sympathetic than my wife used to be. She didn t believe a word I said. Anyway, we patched it up, and 1 think she's going to bring her boyfriend along when we fix a new date. A bit down, i sought solace in the written word. Recently, 1 wrote a column including a couple of hate letters. After burning these, I dug out some others, which cheered me so much that 1 decided i deserved aeother medicinal potion. The only people who seem to like me any more are my former students. Nice, warm letter from Julie Noack, who has gone off for a year's immersion in French at Montpellier. She has discovered French bureaucracy, balconies, bread, and bidets. She had to ask a boyfriend what the last was, and was properly embarrassed. Any red-blooded Canadian knows that a bidet is either a foot -bath or a baby -bath. Bill Jory, another old student, wrote a laudatory article about yours truly in the weekend edition of the Findon Free Press, where he is a reporter. Bill sat with me for an hour one afternoon and we chatted. In his story, he said my manner was "brusque but avuncular", That sounds pretty good, but when 1 taught him, he coufdn't spell "brisk and uncle". so I don't know whether he knows what those words mean. At any rate, he did learn something from those boring English classes. He learned to back up general statements with specifie references. i was amazed. He'd contacted other writers, syndicate boss, weeklies using this column. Twenty years ago, he was out in my backyard, helping to put together the annual yearbook, at the picnic table. And, despite my deep fear that nobody would ask me to speak on Remembrance Day this year, i was wrong. Another former student, Bob Coghill, asked me to speak to his public school kids: "Fee all my year as a student, the most meaningful Remembrance Day assembly was the one when you spoke of your feelings of that day." Thanks, Bob. Perhaps i shouldn't say only former students cheered me up. f had a couple of terrific notes this week, From Doris Senicar of Milton comes a missive saying she met a cousin of mine, Kaye Thomson, who was playing in the band at her niece's anniversary dance in Saskat- chewan. They got talking and Cousin Kaye sent along a card. i've never met her but she's a genuine first cousin, Hi, Kaye. Hi, all the Saskatoon cousins. Sorry I didn't make the reunion. And another note from Mary and Ron Hunt that warmed the cockles: "We were quite thrilled to discover that Bill Smiley.... lived here. We have driven by the 'big, brick house' frequently, and I always crane my neck trying to see you — or some of your family. Lucky people who have met you — who have had children taking English from you." i agree, Mary, about the latter, but thousands wouldn't about the former. She goes on, "Any chance of you writing an autobiography — incorporating a great deal of your articles? 1 would stand in line for one...Thank you, Bill. for touching our heart strings and our funny bones. Please keep it up — and think about a book." Lovely lady. i think about a book all the time, but all 1 do.is read one. Well, there. Somebody loves me, and 1 feel a lot better. i guess the reassurance helps. though it seems self-seeking. it's just a year ago that my wife died, and to all those dim-witted people who go around nodding sagely and saying "it takes a year:, it takes a year " 1 say Phooey.