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Citizen comment A tradgedy is averted but heed the warning A mental slip by a workman could have contributed to the death of a child last Wednesday night. Instead a 10-year-old boy suffered second degree burns and for that we can be thankful. It could have been worse. According to police a five gallon container of gasoline was left outside near a cement mixer at the end of a working day near a Robert and Dufferin Street housing con- struction site. The man in charge of the construction project is reported to have told police that normally such things like gasoline and other construction supplies are put away out of the reach of children. But that didn't happen last Wednesday and following what police suspect was similar to a molotov cocktail throwing incident, one child was severley burned. The gasoline came from the five gallon tank which was left out in the open - easily accessible to children. It was only a mental slip, a construction worker in a hurry to get home after a long days work in hot, humid weather. But it shouldn't have happened. Mental errors on the road, the water and at home can lead toa tragedy. . We can avoid similar mental slips in the future by taking this one as a warning of what might have happened but fortunately didn't. Comment from Queen's Park The fed's are hurting us by Arthur Evans, M.P.P., Simcoe Centre Ever since June 23 -a fatal day in the life of Ontario - Premier William Davis has in- troduced a series of measures to help protect our consumers and our provincial economy. This action was necessary and reasonable considering Ottawa's total disregard for all the provinces. I need only remind you of Ottawa's heavy-handed persuasion in getting all the provinces to join the National Medicare Program established some 10 years ago. In the June 23 budget, Turner suddenly changed the rules of the ball game by notifying the provinces that Ottawa was withdrawing from the medicare program. Ontario has constructively proposed that we will operate our own health care operation. Give us 17 percentage points of income tax and we will carry on. Ontario will participate in no future federal-provincial schemes where the ball game rules change to suit one player. There is no doubt in my mind that the June 23 budget has basically worsened federal- provincial relations and has hurt very badly chances for future co-operation between the two levels of government. Canadians are the real losers because of the last budget. Within Ontario's ability and resources, we have undertaken to soften the harsh treat- ment given to our province by: 1. Freezing the price of gasoline and heating fuel for 90 days; 2. Appointing a one-man royal commission to look into the whole issue of energy pricing; 3. Introducing new budget measures without spending any more money to help those sectors of our economy hurting the most during the present year. The provincial treasurer put more money into the housing sector for 4,000 senior citizens units, by increasing the number of family rental units and expanding our in- vestment in water and sewer projects for new housing. We eliminated the retail sales tax on smaller types of cars until the end of 1975. We improved pension benefits for retired teachers and civil servants, and increased student living allowances from $32 to $40 per week. These changes will be made by reducing spending in existing programs, calling off land sales for the greenbelts in the Golden Horseshoe region and not replacing civil servants retiring or transferring jobs. These cost cutting measures amount to $178 million. We have taken these actions to get our economy going, and get people back to work. In some quarters these measures are labelled crass opportunism. Are our critics seriously arguing that the only way to go up is by going down? The Ontario Government will continue to take positive action in protecting our economy from mischievious federal policies. Letter: Right on _ Shirley! While reading one of Shirley Whittington's recent articles - "Who needs cottages or sailboats when your hammock sways seductively in the backyard?" I thought of my hammock and how true her article is. A few years ago when I was travelling through Mexico I purchased a very colourful hammock which was in my back yard tied between two apple trees until a storm fell one of the trees. Since then my husband and I have moved into a new home. I hope in the summer of 1976 the spot I have chosen on our new lot beside the creek with its little waterfall will be ready for my hammock. Then I can lie in the hammock again, listen to nature and dream as Shirley does. Cecile Bertha Mailloux Looking back In the July 24, 1968 issue of the Citizen: The hulks of HMS Tecumseth and the Tigress were permanently installed at the site of the original ship-building slip used by the Naval Establishments at Penetanguishene in the early 1800s. The Penetanguishene General Hospital started sketch plans for their emergency care facilities. Penetanguishene Royal Canadian Legion Branch 68 opened its large remodelled dance hall. Harold Nash, a ratepayer with Woodland Beach cottages accused Reeve Michael Asselin of entering his term of office with a determination to dispose of the present Clerk-Treasurer. In the July 23, 1969 issue of the Citizen: Msgr. J.M. Castex celebrated his 98th birthday. St. Jameson-the-Lines marked its 133rd anniversary. Town council approved the installation of a new main on Jury Drive. In the July 22, 1970 issue of the Citizen: Gilbert L. Gignac a native of Penetanguishene displayed some of his paintings at the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Midland. Clerk-Treasurer Guy Maurice recom- mended that Tiny Township council institute a collection of taxes on a quarterly basis in order to pay the School Board quarterly. In the July 21, 1971 issue of the Citizen: A monster parade, a street carnival, a buffet luncheon and the return of Msgr. 'Pere' Athol Murray were among the features of the program planned for the dedication of the new town gates and refinished angels. On her way to a final landbased resting place in DuLuth where she will be on display for future generations to inspect, the Hud- son's Bay Company vessel 'Nonsuch' pulled into Penetanguishene harbour for a night. In the July 26, 1972 issue of the Citizen: Only two of a dozen people survived when their aluminum boat capsized and Spilled them into the waters of Midland Bay. Mrs. Richard Contois and her daughter Monica were the two survivors. Missing and presumed drowned were Richard Contois and his children Martin, Anthony Nanette and a ward of the Children's Aid Society Sheila Ryan, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Contois and their children Karen, Michael and Danny. On the occasion of their second visit to Sainte-Marie La Compagnie Franche de la Marine presented a plaque of a sword and seabbard, duplicates of those carried by members of the regiment, to John Sloan director of Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons. In the July 25, 1973 issue of the Citizen: A new park in Penetanguishene was established between John and Scott streets. The paving contract for nine town streets was awarded to K.J. Beamish Limited. The streets to be paved before the end of last year were: Clarence, Scott, Water, Owen, Duf- ferin, Brock and Yeo streets, Gignac Drive and Country Club Court. The West end sewer project was to be completed before the end of August. a The Penetanguishene Citizen Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations Page 4, Wednesday, July 23, 1975 75 Main Street TELEPHONE 549-2012 Andrew Markle Publisher Victor Wilson General Manager Tom Grand Editor Member of the Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association Mail Subscription $7.50 yearly in Canada $9.00 in USA Audit Bureau of Circulations regulations require that subscriptions be paid in advance. Second Class Mail Registration Number 2327 Sugar and Spice Well, Canada's in good shape for a long, hot summer, it looks like. Don't be surprised, even in these days of women's liberation, if you hear some time this summer that a member of the male sex has given birth to a child. The figurative father would be Mayor Drapeau of Montreal, one of the great con artists of the 20th century. Asked near the beginning of the fiasco whether there was any chance of the Canadian Olympics being a financial disaster, His Worship replied something like this: There is as much chance of the Olympics losing money as there is of a man having a baby. Well, hi there, Dad! The 1976 Olympics, to be held in the Canadian city with the worst slums, the worst schools, the worst sewage problems, and the biggest crime rate in Canada, is now approaching $300 million over estimates. But don't sell M. Drapeau short. He has pulled so many rabbits out of so many hats in the last decade, baffling his audience in the proceedings, that it's not at all impossible that he will prevail upon one of his stooges to produce. I can see the headlines now: Drapeau Aide Bears Baby; Medics Baffled. The kid will be born with an Olympic coin in his mouth, and he'll be hustling lottery tickets from his cradle. But you and I will still be stuck with a tax bill that would have made the Fathers of Confederation have a simultaneous group stroke. The whole country wasn't worth that! Don't be surprised if M. Drapeau starts a completely new lottery, with the winner (men only) chosen as the first man in Canada to have a baby. I know a lot of women who would buy tickets. However, that's peanuts, only something like one tenth of the national debt. There's the very serious problem of the increase in the price of gas. Dear me, if they keep putting up the price of gas, it will soon be more than a pack of cigarettes. It has already soared past the cost of a bottle of beer. What is this country coming to? Fearless John Turner, with about as much choice as a lady who is eight months pregnant, has produced again, with a budget that will go down in history with the same impact as the 50th anniversary of Joey Crack and Flossie Snail. So the price of gas has gone up. So, what's new? Did we all expect it to go down? And these stern, new prices are going to cut away back on our mis-use of one of our natural resources. My foot! Did you stop smoking when fags went up to All about money 80 cents a package? Did you stop drinking when beer crept up from about 12 cents a bottle to 30 cents? Are you going to stop driving and get off your lazy tail and walk down to the store for a pack of cigarettes or a pack of beer? Those, of course, are rhetorical questions. We're smoking more than ever, drinking more than ever, and we'll probably burn more gas than ever, just to prove how irrational we are. There is only one thing that is going to cut away back on our wastage of fuel. That is when some politicians (they'd have to do it in concert, because no individual would have the guts to do it) decree that the speed limit will promptly be reduced to 40 miles an hour, in Canada. If we did that, and at the same time cut by two-thirds the amounts spent on superhigh- ways, we'd almost pick up the amount M. Drapeau is flushing down the drain. I can see that you're wondering why Smiley isn't Minister of Finance, if he has all the answers. Well, I can tell you. I have the big, broad concepts well in hand, but sometimes the niggling little details escape me. Recently, for example, I had my wife convinced that if I paid up for my war ser- vice, and taught for another year, I could by Bill Smiley retire at a pretty good pension. Not that she was in favor of it. She wants me to work until I'm so old and sick and tired and stupid and useless that nobody will have me, except her. Then she plans to cart me off to Golden Glow Haven or such. One of those awful places where couples can _Tetire together. ; As My idea is that we should split wheky we finally decide we are mature. She can have the house, the car (1967 Dodge), the piano, rugs, the $147 in stocks and bonds, the lawnmower and the snow shovel. I won't need any of that. I'll just take my grandbaby, Pokey, and we'll go off somewhere and make a good life for ourselves, with no women. My calculations were out about 400 per cent on the pension deal, so I have to work for another 20 or 30 years. And perhaps that is the reason I am a very astute financial critic in the big world, and a complete failure in my own. On the other hand, there are not many guys still driving a '67 Dodge that runs like a well- oiled rabbit. And there are not many guys left who still have 12 shares of Elder Mines. And there are not many guys my age who could still make a good living in a pool room. So, watch it, John Turner. Seagulls by the seashore Meeting ac by Louise Mullie Outdoor lunch by the lake has become a popular meeting place for workers, seagulls and 'students of life'. What an ideal setting; sunshine above, waters all around and grease blending in with a French con- versation in the background! Such was the mood for a first French immersion class offered to a local man whose ears had never voluntarily tuned-in to French. While having lunch, a friend and I were involved in a quiet conversation in French, while two gentlemen whose backs were turned our way related in another language. While in the process of depositing our trash in the waste recepticle, a voice from behind echoed something we did not clearly un- derstand. Stuck in indecision between ignoring what could have been just another dirty old man trying to make a pass, I hesitantly asked him what he had said. "Is that Spanish you're speaking girls?" he repeated. Amazed at the chance to practise a bit of Spanish, I turned to respond. My friend in- terrupted as she recognized the man. She simply replied: '"'No sir, we're speaking French." As we walked away, I was baffled losed mind by the unusually cold vibes and asked my friend to offer some explanation. She had recently been introduced to the man at a social gathering where he had declared his dislike for French people. When asked to justify his statement, he had merely avoided the issue by stating, 'Do you want the reasons alphabetically or numerically?" This incident obviously surpasses the man who has personal convictions restricting his view. The Penetanguishene area offers everyone the rare opportunity of being exposed to the French and English cultures. Many people take advantage of it. Whatever the case, curiosity or interest, more people are pur- suing universal values and gaining awareness of others. Unfortunately, there are still people who try to hinder the growth process. Some are actively opposed to bridging the gap between the two cultures. Strangely enough, they are often the true nationalists who fail to see the whole of Canada here, at home in Penetanguishene. Louise Mullie is a free lance writer for Markle Community Newspapers. Oak Ridge attendants call for a royal commission investigation Gov't changes are unnecessary and impractical » Hospital for the Criminally Insane "Oak Ridge", Penetanguishene, Ontario. June 23rd, 1975 To those it should concern! This letter has been prepared by a duly elected committee of the "Oak Ridge" at- tendant staff at the Maximum Security Division of the Penetanguishene Mental Health Centre. The committee was unanimously elected and charged with the task of informing you of changes which are in the process, and which we believe will greatly jeopardize the safety and security of this institution. For those of you who are not familiar with the Oak Ridge Maximum Security Mental Hospital, may we first give you a short summary of its purpose and its enviable record in fulfilling that purpose. It is a 304 bed mental hospital which houses some of the most dangerous men in Canada. From the Federal Penitentary System, we have multiple murderers, rapist, arsonists, dangerous child molesters, and escape ar- tists. From the Provincial Reform Institutions, we receive men charged with lesser crimes, but still considered too dangerous to be housed elsewhere. From other mental hospitals, we received unmanageable and dangerously hostile patients. We also are responsible for the security, observation and assessment of warrants of remands from the Provincial Courts, charged with, but not found guilty of all manner of dangerous crimes. Even with a population made up of the above-mentioned types, the record we have maintained in the more than forty years since (Oak Ridge's ) opening is quite en- viable. Not one homicide and less than a half dozen escapes, compared to the Provincial and Federal Penal Institutions where, every day brings accounts of riots, murder and escapes. This has been accomplished by well- trained experienced and dedicated Oak Ridge attendants who realize the havoc that mentally deranged criminals could inflict on the public were they allowed to be at large. The difficulty in maintaining such necessary safety and security procedures was lightened somewhat by our ability to recruit the best men in the district and from across the Province, because we could offer on the job training and the opportunity for advancement to managerial positions. This incentive is in the process of being removed by the insistance of the department and the local management of the institute for what they refer to as unified nursing which will deny any promotions to responsible (and subsequently better paid) positions for the existing and future attendants. Unification of nursing services has removed all attendants from supervisory and managerial positions in all Ontario Mental Institutions with the exception of Oak Ridge. We are well aware that to improve there must be changes, but changes do not necessarily mean improvement and neither management nor the department of health has stated what improvements they hope to accomplish nor what expertise applicable to this hospital is to be gained by a nursing certificate. The patients treated here are a com- bination of mad and bad who for the most part are physically well. For more than thirty years, this hospital ran well and established a record second to none without a single nurse working here. We admit, however, that the few medical services needed here should be handled by trained nursing personnel and have welcomed nurses who fulfilled this function. The psychiatric medications with the exception of intra-muscular injections are still ordered and administered by the at- tendant staff. The recent incident in the British Columbia Penitentary is only one of many cases where people not trained for nor conscious of lengths to which the criminal will go to regain his freedom. Oak Ridge offers the only drug (editors note: illicit drugs) free, fear free place, where the hardened criminal can, if he chooses, change his attitude and learn with our help to become a useful and honest citizen; where the adolescent criminal or drug addict can change without the fear of the prison code where rape and other in- decencies are the lot he must bear for his mistakes. We, the attendant staff ask for your sup- port in maintaining the present structure of the attendant Oak Ridge classifications which gives the incentive of promotion which in turn keeps up the morale so vitally necessary if we are to maintain and improve our services to the public. We realize that in the preceeding pages, we have described our role as a very necessary and important one. This we believe to be true. We are proud of the job we do with very difficult people. We would welcome a properly constituted royal commission whose task was to evaluate the proposed changes and weigh their unknown advantages against a long established and ever improving program of dedicated efficiency in both security and treatment now provided by us the Oak Ridge Attendants. The more than 150 yearly referrals for assessment sent by the courts who have not yet been found guilty of anything, the regular patient treatment programs and us the at- tendants all will suffer and through the decapitation of this vital service will suffer the general public whose best interests you are charged with serving. Give it some thought and we believe you will give support to our cause. Sincerely presented, H. Adams -- Chairman J. Sajan-Co-Chairman W. Salisbury L. Robillard K. Hagen H. Young M. Brunelle CC: All M.P.P.'s Referring courts O.P.P. Detachment Major City Police Depts. - Dr. Boyd, Med-Direct. MHC. Mr. Moritz administrator, MHC Crisis upon crisis in fresh water supplies for Ontario cities, towns and villages exposes the complete absence of water conservation and management policies in Ontario's Ministry of Environment - that department of government given responsibility for Ontario's water resources. Farmers puzzle as urban residents demand that their elected represen- tatives provide them with piped water, even for their lawns and gardens, while rural residents must find their own water supplies or do without. When farm water supplies fail, in- tensive livestock operations can not await the ponderous, vacillating decisions of government. Alternate supplies of water must be available immediately, often within a few hours or costly losses can occur. A farm well drilled in the more water accessible areas can mean a capital outlay of about $13,000. In other rural areas where deeper drilling is required, the cost can be much greater. Throughout the province, rural municipalities have watched in astonishment and with increasing resentment while their urban ex- pansionist neighbours have increased their demands on available area water supplies to the detrement of the potential development or the ongoing agricultural activities within the rurai area. In the Kitchener-Waterloo area, city to enlarge existing and develop new wells to serve their industrial ex- dynamic urban growth has forced the - Comment by Ron Jones Ontario's all wet on water pansion. As a result, farmers in neigh- bouring townships have found their wells declining in production. Recent proposals of the city suggest damming a river in a nearby Blenheim township and flooding several adjacent farms to provide a water reservoir for the city's future growth--Even though all concerned admit that it is only a stopgap measure and eventually water to supply that adolescent urban giant must be piped from the Great Lakes. Closer to home, in the current dry spell the town of Midland boasts over half of its water supplies are being pumped from a new well located in Tay township. The development of the well involved no discussions between the two municipalities and the fact that Midland's dependence on water from that area could represent lost development opportunities to the township as well as jeopardizing existing local water supplies seemed of little concern to officials of either municipality. ; Subdivisions spurting up in rural municipalities and having independent water systems constructed by developers at minimal cost in many cases are a time bomb that the host municipality is ill-equipped to defuse. The possible failure of these systems becomes the responsibility of and an expense to the entire municipality, not just to the residents dependent on that particular well. And as officials of the village of Victoria Harbour have learned to their dismay, the Ontario Ministry of Environment isn't prepared to trouble shoot every single water system in the province, nor to hold the hand of every municipal council that gets into difficulty over water supplies. Ministry of the Environment of- ficials, while claiming jurisdiction over existing water production facilities throughout the province, say that they have no authority over water reserves - that they cannot prevent inter- municipal pirating of water. The callous disregard that some developers and municipalities have shown respecting other's water needs makes it imperative that all water supplies in the province, both present and future, be the responsibility of a single government authority. And urban municipalities' leaders must begin to accept the fact that in some cases the price of their growth is too great and they must scale down their objectives. The accidents of history that caused urban centres to develop in locations that are now \ s prohibitively costly to service must not u be magnified with further expansion, and certainly not duplicated by creating new growth centres with the potential for similar development hazards in the future. The demands of growth areas must not take precedent over other uses such as agriculture. The present attitude can continue only at the peril of those very people whose interest the growth is purported to serve. Ron Jones is a Tay Township farmer.