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Page 4 NORSHORE SENTINEL Thursday, February 2 1961 The Uninterested Half Nipigon has nothing to be proud of in the fact that 56 percent of the eligible voters not including delinquent taxpayers, used their franchise in last Monday’s election. It is one of the disheartening facets of democracy as we know it, that citizens should talk of an excellent or even good turnout when almost half of the population wasn’t interested enough to take a few minutes off in the year to use the most important right they have. Is compulsory voting as they have in other countries the answer? Should voting day be considered a civic holiday with everyone getting a long weekend? Or is it something deeper - a dangerous sense of security that is dominant in the North American continent and that makes our democracy a 'let Joe do it’ affair? It is a more dangerous problem than most of us realize. It is a fermentation at the heart of our democratic system and something which demands an immediate remedy or treatment. Fort Here in 1678 A recent survey showed that 72 percent of American tourists came to Canada to look for historical sites. This surprising statistic lends weight to the new proposal before the Nipigon Chamber of Commerce to push the history of the Nipigon area through a special brochure and historical plaques. The ideal location for the most important historical site is the left bank of the Nipigon River immediately north of the present point where the Trans-Canada Highway spans the River. Here, during the years 1678-79, Claude Creysalon established a trading fort at the junction to the West and North at that time. It is just one of the numerous points of historical significance that makes Nipigon a veritable treasure chest of native lore. Nipigon will be missing a tremendous opportunity if it passes up this attraction. Code of The Road Statistics show that an average of more than 3,000 persons are killed by gas annually...12 inhale it, eight light matches in it and 2,980 step on it. The Ontario Department of Transport offers some suggestions to motorists and pedestrians alike. Make courtesy your code of the road. The more patient pedestrians, the fewer pedestrian patients. Drive carefully and don’t insist on your rites. Don’t depend on the other fellowâ€"he may be depending on you. Good brakes on cars are no protection against bad breaks in behaviour. A reckless driver is someone who passes youâ€"no matter how fast you are going. Drive rightâ€"and be left to enjoy the next turn of life. Drive with reason in any season. Don’t drive the "high” way. WHAT'S YOUR BEEF? This letter is directed to ratepayers in Improvement Districts who have lost the democratic right to ELECT the administrators of their communities. Section 531c of the Municipal Act provides for an elected board of trustees after an Improvement District has been in existence for three years. Here, in Dorion, we have been an Improvement District for over 10 years and I, for one, want my vote back. Our board of trustees and a ratepayer committee have made repeated attempts to have the Municipal Affairs Minister, Mr Warrender, implement section 531c but so far to no avail. Such a denial smacks of dictatorship. The situation is an unhappy one for all concerned. The board is in the unenviable position of having to serve without a mandate from the people. On the other hand the people have no direct voice in the administration of their own affairs. If you live in an Improvement District and you believe in the democratic right to vote for your representatives, then let us get together on this problem. One voice is easily ignored but many command attention. N. Kay Dorion NORSHORE SENTINEL The Norshore Sentinel is published every Wednesday in Port Arthur. The Sentinel Office is located on Front St. in Nipigon, box 279. Phone 360. Authorized as second class mail, Post Office Dept. Ottawa. Charles D. McOuat, editor and publisher. Donald F. McOuat, advertising manager. LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY (dismay you) JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS POLICING OF TOWN? It is surprising to note that the only town in the North Shore which has shown criticism of its police force is the one town that has the best and the largest service..... Nipigon. It would be much easier to believe if the citizens of such company towns as Terrace Bay and Red Rock showed concern for the policing of their towns and the protection of their families and homes. They have much more reason plain and simply because neither town is properly policed. As Magistrate Connors suggested when he swore in the new chief of Terrace Bay, the days of one-man police forces went out with the days of the boots and saddle. It is shallow and wrong for a town to think they can save and still give good protection for their citizens by reducing their police force to such a degree. It just cannot be done. This is not a criticism of the ability of these men but rather a criticism of the men who have brought this setup about. It is a backward step, a dangerous step. It has been suggested that Terrace Bay and Red Rock are quiet, model communities where little or no crime exists. The towns themselves are closed tight by 9 or 10 o’clock and things are always under control and quiet. But the teenagers or trouble-makers cannot be expected to cease their devilment because their own town is closed. They quickly travel to Nipigon or Schreiber and thus the responsibility and the cost of 'policing’ these types is no longer on the closed towns but on the towns who are properly accepting their responsibility. Further, the job of a policeman is not merely to arrest persons after the deeds have been committed. The proper idea is to prevent a crime by seeking out the 'bad apples’ and trying to correct situations, which could develop into something serious. Again the closed towns are shirking their responsibility here. A one-man police force leaves the town unpatrolled for two thirds of the day and if, in the case of a large problem like the recent LeSarge death, the chief constable may be out of town for days at a time and then there is no protection. There is hardly time for preventive action when there isn’t even the proper manpower to patrol the town! Terrace Bay especially will find a serious problem now that the highway has opened. They will have their share of transients and certainly their share of tourists. This will open the town considerably and it is completely foolhardy to think that one man will be able to handle the problems that are sure to arise. Citizens of these areas have a legitimate beef and should bring it to the proper authorities. Citizens of Nipigon should look on these situations and feel thankful their children are growing up with a proper concern for law and order and proper protection as they sleep. DORION-HURKETT HAPPENINGS E.M. Jellett of the Royal Trust Company will be the guest speaker at the regular meeting of the Dorion Home and School which will be held Feb. 6 in the school. Mr. and Mrs. W. Angeloff of Hurkett are the proud parents of a baby son, Allan Steven, born Jan. 23, weight 7 lb. 12 oz. Incidentally Allan was born sporting his first tooth. Mr. and Mrs. John Nicholson of Hurkett are also the proud parents of a baby girl, Edna Marie, born Friday, Jan. 20 weighing 6 lbs. A bingo and candy sale was held Friday, Jan. 27 at the G. Coulombe home in aid of the Hurkett Hockey Club. The door prize was won by J. Wychopenand the draw for a car blanket was won by Wayne Cowan of Red Rock. Amount realized from the bingo and draw was $76.05. Everyone is reminded of the whist drive and parcel post to be held in Dorion on Feb. 9 at the home of Mrs. Margaret Gregory. Don’t forget the Dorion Hurkett TeenTown dance and bake sale to be held in the Dorion Community Hall on Feb. 4. Music will be supplied by the Sunny Mountain Boys of Port Arthur. NO BETTER The point to remember about all thought machines is that they can be no better than the brains that build them and operate them. . . The danger is not that the machine will replace the human brain but that the human brain will come to accept uncritically the machine’s results.â€"Cambellton (N.B.) Tribune.