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The Huron Expositor, 1988-11-09, Page 2Huron E-r.xpositor SINCE 1860. SERVING THE COMMUNITY FIRST Incorporating The Brussels Post Published In Senforth, Ontario Every Wednesday Morning The Expositor is brought to you each week by the efforts of: Pet Armes. Nell Corbett, Terri -Lynn Dole. Dianne McGrath and Bob McMillan. ED BYRSKI, General Manager HEATHER MCILWRAITH, Editor Member Canadian Community Newspaper Assoc. Ontario Community Newspaper Association Ontario Press Council Commonwealth Press Union International Press Institute .Subscription Rates: Canada '20.00 a year. in advance Senior Citizens - '17.00 a year in advance Outside Canada '60.00 a year, in advance Single Copies • .50 cents each Second class moil registration Number 0696 Wednesday, November 9, 1988 Editorial and Business Offices - 10 Main Street, Seaforth Telephone (519) 527-0240 - Mailing Address - P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ontario, NOK IWO No signs of earthquake Had the richter scale been pinpointed on a certain BR Seaforth dwelling Sunday afternoon, it may very well have recorded an earthquake of magnanimous proportions. Today, Wednesday, that, same property is quiet. There are no discernable splits in the earth surrounding the house, there are no overturned cars, no debris lying around the yard - and the pig barns are still in operation. None of the usual tell tale signs of an earthquake are in evidence. Yet, something in direct defiance of the order of nature took place there on Sun- day, something that would have shaken the state of California off its moorings at San Andreas, and cast it adrift in the Pacific Ocean. Thank goodness for geographic favors. I suppose, however, had this dwelling had the misfortune to have been situated near San Andreas, proceedings such as those that took place on Sunday, might have legally been limited to Christmas Day. SWEATSOCKS by Heather McIlwraith Just what were those proceedings?, or specifically, what was the special occasion Sunday? To be perfectly honest - nothing special. Just a bunch of friends getting together for an afternoon, then deciding to forego the small talk in favor of a few rousing games of euchre. (And rousing is an understatement). For whatever reason Sunday, the regular card table buzz escalated to a frenetic pitch. Euchres provoked- squeals (I'm using that word because we were on a pig farm) of delight, guffaws of 'laughter or accusa- tions of cheating, while single points and lone hands prompted Indian war calls. (I'm sure those on the losing side, at times, even considered calling out the Cavalry - such was the aura of the entire afternoon). The quietest part of the day came around supper time, when forced with the reality that it might be easier to feed, rather than get the 10 afternoon guests to vacate the premises, our hostess served up some heaping helpings of - you guessed it - BEEF. It's hard to engage in a little noise pollution when you've got fork in mouth, and an overwhelming desire to stuff your face. All in all, it was a great afternoon for all of us who partook in it. I mean, we went through an earthquake and lived to tell about it. We are all now deaf - but... �i ...that ought to make the next euchre even more interesting! Exercise your vote Many people who regularly manage their own household budgets, plan home repairs and work out credit arrangements with their bank, often ab- dicate responsibility when it comes to community housekeeping. Ontario's local government elections will be held on November 14. In the past voter turnout in these elections has traditionally been low, and this year, because of the federal election on November 21, it promises to be even lower than usual. That would be unfortunate. The approximately 4,850 councillors and 2,100 school board trustees who will be elected will spent) about $20 billion annually, and the services they provide will directly affect the lives of everyone in Ontario. Casting a vote means contributing to decisions on the allocation of local resources and the quality of life in the community. Votes cast in local elec- tions work on a day-to-day basis to keep basic services working - the traffic flowing, the water running, the police and fire services prepared. Elected members of councils, school boards and public utilities supervise the planning and running of these services. The public gets an opportunity to share in that decision-making process once every three years. It is ex- tremely important that voters take advantage of that opportunity by making informed decisions when voting in their local government elections. Citizens who do no exercise their franchise are indirectly weakening the public mandate behind local government. The effects of casting a vote are more visible at the local municipal level than at any other level, and the public's decisions made through the elec- toral process can be seen in any municipality. Yet studies have shown that voters are often poorly informed about who is responsible for the services provided by their local government. The provincial Advisory Committee on Municipal elections, in its 1986 in- terim report, quoted a study undertaken in Waterloo Region. In that study, members of the public were asked to identify the agencies responsible for education, flood control, fire and police. Only one in four respondents could correctly identify just one of the appropriate agencies. Only one in a hun- dred could correctly identify all four. The advisory committee also quoted a survey of 16 and 17 -year-old civics students undertaken by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. Thirty-seven per cent knew what an enumerator is, and only three per cent' knew what a returning officer is. Although many factors can influence voter turnout - the number of seats contested, whether there is a lively contest for mayor, the issues of municipal interest in the community - the real key to public participation is an awareness of the local issues involved and the role and responsibilities of local municipal government. It is suggested that all eligible voters exercise their franchise to vote on November 14. The future of Ontario's communities is too important to be decided by a small percentage of the eligible voters. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 7i -/E PoL /Tical GREFNyovsE EFFECT I Canadians to make big choice Dear Editor: As Canadians prepare for this critical election we are faced with a fundamental choice in direction. Do we choose to restore our balance with the natural world or are we going to commit our future to the powerful stimulant of market economics. From the perspective of this writer, we cannot do both. The following analogy will explain why. In many respects, the growth of a society follows the patterns of growth of a single human individual. And growing is very im- portant to us as children since we cannot function, effectively without a full sized body. However, somewhere in our late teens our physical growth stops. Any additional muscle we grow or reserves of calories we might accumulate after age 20 is insignifi- cant in comparison to the successive doubl- ings of childhood. This is a good thing since we couldn't survive many more doublings in our basic sir*. Similarly, a few hundred years ago we discovered that industrial production could be done by machines powered from in- animate energy sources. By re -investing the profits in more of the same, the effects could be multiplied and our material growth was stimulated dramatically. This procedure has produced a miracle of abundance and it is no wonder many people see it as the ultimate good for society. The size of our economic activity has doubled again ever since. This has always seemed for the bet- ter, until now as a new element enters the picture. Today our societies are so big and so powerful that we are overwhelming the life supporting processes of our planet. Our waters are increasingly polluted, the at- mosphere is changing with potentially disastrous results, forests and the fertility of agricultural land are disappearing at an alarming rate. How many more doublings of economic activity can our we survive? The complexity of the situation is further clarified with the analogy. When we achieve mature size as indivivals, we don't stop growing, we just change the nature of our growth. We learn to use what we have in more and more effective ways, by develop- ing our understanding and skills. It can be the same with society. When you hear that we must control growth, it doesn't mean stagnation, just that our planet can only tolerate a certain amount of humanitys material activities. Further development must be sustainable within that capacity. How does this relate to the Canada -US. Trade Deal? Market economics is like the growth hor- mone produced by children. The deal is a major commitment, binding us to follow the United States in their faith that economic growth comes first and all else will follow. Unfortunately, even with supply lines to ex- tract resources from much of the world, the U.S. has lost its economic vitality. They are very much in favour of the Trade Deal Tura to. page 6A . Warden neglected To the Editor: On Monday, October 31, 1,,c, an Official Opening of the renovated portion of the Bluewater Youth Centre was held. Through an unfortunate oversight, the Warden of Huron County was not invited to be part of the Platform Party officiating at the Opening. The error and breach of protocol was mine. I have offered my personal apologies to Mr. Bell, the incumbent Warden. Through this letter I wish to apologize to the citizens of Huron County for omitting, albeit in- advertently, the highest office of their Coun- ty Government- The Warden should have had a prominent place in the day's events. I am sorry that through my error he did not. Carl DeGrandis Superintendent Writer commends cuts To the Editor: I wish to commend the administrative board of Seaforth Community Hospital for their efforts in conservation of scarce energy resources, such as cutting back on heating at night. If every building in Canada would do the same, Mr. Mulroney could give the USA enough energy to eliminate buying oil from the Arab countries. Chas. Williamson . Keep limits on voting Just how far are we going to take this rights and freedoms bit? I'm glad we have freedom of speech, especially glad we have freedom of the press, and like he idea that people are legal- ly bound not to discriminate on the basis of age, sex, race or religion, but there has to be limits. An advertisement caught my attention a couple days ago on television. It was urging children go to their local polling stations and demand the right to vote. The girl in the ad went on to say that the recent federal ruling which gave the handicapped the right to vote stands as a precedent for children to vote. She said there can be no discrimina- tion on the basis of age, as gauranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The scary thing is, she has a point. And ob- viously someone takes this issue seriously if they're willing to pay for air time on a television station. I think there is a certain age at which most people are responsible enough to make intelligent decisions, and most of our lawmakers thought the same thing. We have MY TWO BITS by Neil Corbett age limits for driving, for buying alcohol, for watching dirty movies, etc. I never got to do any of these things (legally) until I hit the right age, and I think that was probably for the best.. I can't see why kids would even want to vote. When I was in school I found a lot of things more interesting than who had political power, some of them listed above. I know there some teenagers who are better polically informed than many adults, but most just don't care. If it ever happened that the courts allowed kids to vote -and it's not far fetched when you consider they're letting the mentally handicapped vote- can you imagine the ef- fect it would have on the political climate in Canada. Political cartoon advertisements would run Saturday mornings featuring the "Tory Busters" and "My Pet Politician". The teenage vote would all swing massively toward one "in" candidate who would be seen with deck shoes and a t -shirt with an obnoxious duck on it and a witty saying like "duck off Brian" on posters in high school hallways. There'd be a completely new market of police) votes for politicians to try and win. I'd hate to see anyone's rights or freedoms get trampled, but I also think age restric- tions are there reasons. Good reasons. • • • I could go out on a limb and predict that Sugar Ray Leonard would knock out Donny Lalonde in the ninth round, but no one would believe it if I said I wrote this column last Friday. But to all those who tried to tell me Leonard was too small to win, here's an "I told you so." Police arrest man for forgery in 1962 NOVEMBER 9,1 Mr. Frank Henderson, who is well known to many, and who is now 74 years of age, on Monday walked from Hensall to Seaforth, a distance of twelve miles. He carried a heavy pack on his back and was as fresh on his ar- rival here as many young men would be after a five mile hike. Mr. John McMann, has purchased the Murphy farm adjoining this town, paying for it $5,900. The farm contains one hundred acres and it has a good sand pit and a gravel pit on it. General Booth's brass band from London, England, containing 27 instruments now on a tour through Canada, will be here on Fri- day and will give an entertainment in the Salvation Army barracks as well as lead the street parades. It is a magnificent band and well worth coming a long distance to hear. The well-known horseman, Mr. Peter McGregor, of Brumfield, had just bought in Kentucky, a thoroughbred chestnut yearling entire, for which he pays the sum of $2,000 cash. Mr. Gilbert Muir, of Hullett, took 600 bushels of mangolds from half -an -acre of land, and would like to know if any one can give a better record. He also took 535 bushels of white carrots from the same quantity of land. eiN NOVEMBER 14,1913 The severe storm of Sunday caught many cattle and young horses in the cold. Many farmers are this week getting their stock home to warmer quarters. In St. Cohnnban, outside of a few apple trees being blown down, they have not heard of any damage being done in that vicinity by the severe storm of Sunday night. . James Leiper, reeve of Hull'ett, recently found the bridge over the C.P.R. track on IN THE YEARS AGONE from the Archives the boundary of Hallett and East Wawanosh in a very bad condition for heavy loads and advises all owners of traction engines not to cross it Mr. Leiper notified the C.P.R- company. Mr. Alexander Stewart of Cromarty recently sold a good filly five months old to noted horseman, Mr. W.M. Young of Col- borne. This foal weighed 825 pounds and Mr. Stewart received $150 for this fine colt. Mr. and Mrs. Alex. Gardiner, who spent the summer on their big farm at Cluny, Alberta, are now on their way home and ex- pect to reach here this week. Everyone will by pleased to welcome them back. NOVEMBER 11, 1938 When an Owen Sound truck driver com- menced making trouble in a Seaforth restaurant Saturday night, he soon found himself on the street and in the arms of Chief Snell. He later pleaded guilty to a drunk charge and paid a fine of $10.00 and costs. At the opening of the service in the First Presbyterian Church on Sunday morning , Rev. Hugh Hack presented Mr. Douglas Stewart with a handsomely bound Bible from the congregation to enter training for the ministry. Passengers in a light coupe bad a narrow escape from serious injury Wednesday evening when their car came in collision with another car driven by Wilson Little. In the coupe were John Arnold, his sister, and father,all suffered some injuries. The Ar- nold car rolled over on its side on the road, missing a 15 -foot ditch. The Little car was swung around and was smashed con- siderably about the front. Mrs. J.C. Laidlaw quietly observed her 89th birthday at her home on Goderich St. on Monday. Her many friends will join The Ex- positor in wishing her many happy returns. NOVEMBER 15, 1962 Seaforth police made an arrest this week in conection with a series of forgeries. In- vestigation is continuing according to Chief Hutchison. A man is alleged to have cached three cheques made out to himself and bear • - ing the signature of "Sam Scott." Each che- que was made out for $50 each and were cashed at Sills' Hardware, Savauge Jewellry, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Chisethurst United Women had a very successful bazaar, bake sale and tea in the church school rooms Thursday afternoon. The group made $140. Murray Moir, 7, formerly of Henson, is in Strathroy General Hospital wth serious burns to his leg form the onkel to the knee. Murray was returning home with two other boys when they stopped to play around the flour mill. Either the boy fell or was pushed into the incinerator, and his pant leg caught fire. A couple stopped to help him and to take !rime to the hospital. A few friends and neighbors of McKillop held a surprise party at the home of Mrs. Russell Barrows on Monday evening. Mrs. Barrows lived on the 13th concession of McKillop until taking up residence on Market Street, Seaforth, recently. e. i A