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Smiley English Is going down the drain going to tbe dogs or going up in smoke then days Maybe that first sentence la whats wrong with the language Were are many In It that nobody can apeak or write tbe real thing any more University professors have expressed their publicly A couple of them recently announced that student who expect to graduate In one of the cant write one sentence without falling all over their syntax I agree with them But If they think they have troubles they should try teaching English in high school There hat been such a marked and rapid decrease in the standards of written and spoken English that teachers of subject can be found almost any day in the staff John weeping into the washbasin winter a teacher in a city school deckled to prove something she already knew drew up a list of words most of them of one syllable and tested several classes Nobody could spell forty Many of the kids couldnt spell of the words Her experiment and her subsequent Indignation were airily dismissed by a public school principal who said something like Oh we dart worry much about spelling any more Theyll learn to spell they they need to Hogwash What employer of anything but brute strength wants a loot fouling up his In voices order forms and everything be can get bis hands on What printer for example will hire a who cant even and doesnt even know what it means do a fair bit of gnashing and wailing myself when Im marking upper school papers and have to sort out something like The women were she was going as she when theyre everyday The thought is there but there Is something lacking when It comes to felicity of spelling Everybody blames everybody else for the sad state of English but as usual you have to read It In this column to get at the Let us establish the a priori fact that the high school English teacher is faultless And some would add that a fortiori high school English teacher is useless So be It Now for the real culprits They are not the elementary school teachers much as we would love to blame them They are victims First English had been derogated and eroded for the past of ft is now down somewhere in area of brushing your teeth and saying your prayers Remember you older and wiser people who went to school longer ago than you care to proclaim You had spelling and grammar and composition and reading and writing and orals This was English Maybe you didnt learn much about sex or conversational French or how to copy a project out of the encyclopedia but you sure as hell had English belted Into you Maybe you werent given much chance to express yourself but by toe time you were you had some tools with which to do it Nowadays English is practically crowded off the curriculum by such esoteric subjects as social behaviour getting along with the group finding your place In society and the ubiquitous and often useless project Kids one teacher told me shouldnt have to learn to spell words that are not in their own vocabulary Now ask you How else do they acquire a vocabulary But I repeat Its not the teachers of our tittle treasures who are at fault It the tinkerers tbe dabblers in education They are rarely found in a classroom They are more often baring after some Hew approach in education that has been tried and found wanting by tbe Americans or Armenians or tbe Aztecs Thus out went grammar and spelling drill The kids are supposed to learn these basic skills not througb their eyes and ears but in some mysterious way possibly througb their skin drill Is deadening to the spirit so off with its head be creative write poetry I saw tbe moon ovary the Doesnt that give you a unique freedom of spirit the tbe creativity Fortunately I am able to shake this off along with war and famine death and taxes It has its moments The other day I threw this old chestnut stacks and asked than to correct the grammar Forty cows were seen sitting There was total silence ft seemed OK hem Then a hand and Mr PHOTOGRAPHER DON HILTS visited the Maple Syrup also visited a buggy factory where the vehicles are still being made mainly for He reports the the Mennonite farmers who maintain the old ways Upper left Is an old forge still main drag in Elmira was Jammed with people at a m as the centre panel Mennonites of the old order shows He visited the maple sugarbush took a few shots of Mennonites displaying frown on the use of cars The Elmira area is the centre of their activities in theirwares while horses waited patiently for the buggy ride back to thefarm He Ontario Itisonlyafewmtautesridefromtlusdistrlct Let George do it and he does k who have been associated in any way with Bandmaster George Elliott were not really surprised when the Chamber of Commerce selected him as Citizen of the Year George will be honored this Saturday night at a dinner and dance appropriately at the Acton music centre where he conducts the band and teaches music Here he has hammered the rudiments of band music into all types of personalities ranging in age from the very young to middleaged with a patience that can only come from complete dedication to goals he has set himself Acton is one municipality in which does not have high school musical instrument classes But because of Georges keen interest in music those who wish to learn are accepted as students at the music centre and have the advantage of generous personal instruction in almost any instrument they choose to play This instruction has paid off of course in filling the thinning ranks of the Acton Citizens Band but it has also left those involved a rich musical legacy that will benefit them through their lives and which they in turn can pass on to their children Georges musical appreciation and enthusiasm has also spilled over into his association at Trinity United Church where he Is organist and choir master This is no humdrum organist spilling out churchy His know ledge of church music through the ages extends to the mediaeval period through to the rollicking rhythms now prescribed for those in the pews A lifelong resident Of Acton he is known around here as just plain George But at the University of Guelpb where he teaches food chemistry the handle is Doctor because of his Ph in science Doctor Elliott is also involved in experimental work at the university with guinea pigs which we trust he manages to keep separate from his instrumental students in the unflappable manner with which he has nurtured dozens of musical novices For recreation George Elliott has installed a large pipe organ in his bedroom which he assembled on his own snowing he possesses mechanical as well as musical talent He can bang out popular tunes on the piano when he feels the urge and play most other musical instruments although as a bandsman seems to prefer the comet or trumpet Consequently when the Chamber of Commerce picked George as Citizen of the Year for 1973 they are honoring many talents and much public dedication We would like to add our voice to those who will be expressing their appreciation in a formal manner Saturday Another hand in our pockets There is good reason for some concern over the recent budget announced by the Ontario Government especially the introduction of a seven per cent energy tax in a province which is cold eight months of the year This invasion into a new tax field is another hand in the publics pocket The two per cent addition to the sales tax was hard enough to stomach without a tax on heating at a time when housing costs are to a point beyond the reach of the average wage earner It is difficult to fathom the reasoning behind the Governments move especially since on the positive side they have introduced a new system of grants to the municipalities which will reduce the tax burden for those who now bear a heavy burden a long sought reform There are some other good points in the budget as well but we would far rather have seen additional taxes imposed on luxuries than on commodities people need from day to day It is fine for the treasurer to speak glibly about wearing more sweaters around the house and turning the heat down while amusing himself with statements about not taxing pets and flowers Probably most of us will be able to bear the extra cost of heating houses without undue suffering The people who will suffer most are elderly citizens on limited incomes who feel the cold more keenly than their children and grandchildren and are less able to afford it It was obvious several months ago that the Ontario Government was experiencing financial difficulties Along with some of the other provinces Mr Davis and his cabinet sought relief from the federal government which was having its own fiscal troubles with limited success It soon became apparent the people of Ontario would have to bear the burden from direct Acton budget reasonable credible a Grade girl bar hand and dashed all her teeth got it Yea Bonny I winced Carefully she i cows on the At the same time we express annoyance about some features of provinces budget we think tbe budget released by members of Acton council but week was a credible document which bad its finger on many of the towns trouble spots without developing into extra taxes We were pleased to see council is going ahead with much needed repairs at the community centre is going to pump some money Into the decaying YHCArAiildinganddidnotbesiutcto finance new facilities at publlt library At last residents of Cameron St are going to have a sidewalk stretching from Park Avenue as far as the entrance to Cameron as council continues ltd campaign to improve sidewalks Also planned are leadin into Glenlea subdivision The one area we might question if we were not aware of the increasing need for this type of financing is the allocation of over for a reserve working fund This fund is to be used at councils discretion for unexpected expenses and to improve situations around town which have been We have seen unforeseen expenses create havoc with past budgets but new provision should eliminate this risk If the money to not spent it will be applied to reduce next years budget but this is unlikely to happen Although we think remuneration for municipal officials has become increasingly exorbitant the money Acton councillors voted themselves in the way of a raise falls in line with that paid in other towns and townships Under the new system Acton councillors receive per annum instead of the previous 20 per meeting rate The mayor was given a hike to from the previous 3000 figure a raise long overdue for the amount of time and effort he puts into the Job The sale of townowned lands and increased assessment assisted the towns budget in this last years taxation which will immediately start pouring added shekels into the coffers If the operation of government is going to require increasing amounts of taxes we would suggest It Is time the Government did some rethinking about economies at Queens Park We have reports where some government departments escalate spending at years end to ensure their budget is not cut the next year They become more believable as time goes on Mr Davis should investigate some of this empire building before dumping the burden on already overloaded taxpayers operation as a separate municipality of course Some may maintain the saving should nave been passed on to the taxpayer but the number of situations where the town has fallen behind in ordinary maintenance have made this virtually impossible We would have liked to see some more money spent on road improve ments but realize these Items must wait until more pressing problems are solved We like the idea of taking an entire street and installing a new road curbs and sidewalks each year and hope under a regional setup the program can continue Tax relief on Page BS Free Press Back Issues years ago from Issh the Free Press Thanday April tt Over 100 boys attended the annual bun feed of the Acton Minor Sports Association at the to mark the conclusion of another successful season Special guest was George Birrs of who active In the while he resided In Acton Winner of the most valuable player trophy this year was Dob Coxe Councillor Dude Lindsay presented him with the trophy Runner up for the coveted award The trophy for the Junior division champions of the town league was presented to Reg Black and Bob manager and coach of the winning team Wilfred Duval and BUI Coon accepted the senior division trophy In conclusion Rev E showed slides Acton council will seek to have rent controls returned on Acton properties Two kilted Scottish farmers are visiting farms Graham Rogers who is staying with Mac and Hon DslgUah who staying with David Acton Men were host on the weekend to Men from the Central Ontario district Mr and Mrs John Buckman of Sussex England arrived In Acton Monday to make heir home here with Mr and Mrs Gerry Candler Mr Buckman Is Mrs Candler brother Pie G Is to return home from Korea While on his rounds looking after church furnaces In Sunday morning Richard Harris noticed smoke coming from one of the hydro transformers and notified the Guelph office During the day a new transformer was put in place years ago Taken from tbe issue of Free Press Acton loses a prominent citizen In the death of C Speight He was bom In Acton in and spent all his life in Acton For many years he was In the hardware business He became expert In the photo graphing of wild birds Their Majesties the King and Queen are to address messages to the children in the schools of the Empire on May 24 and have arranged to have these recorded for gramo phone reproduction so that the children may hear the messages in their Majesties own voices That will be unique and interesting A most profitable evening was spent at the League when the annual oratorical contest was held First prize was awarded to William who spoke on Patriotism second to Laura Murray The Natural Resources of Canada third Clara Savage The Golden Rule Other speakers were Ada Annie Wiggins Dora Lambert and Grenvllle Masales The annual meeting of Acton Flower Show was held In the town hall It was decided to bold the show In the drill hall August IS The following officers were elected President Woodhall first vice president Mae McDonald second vice president Mrs J Gamble directors Miss A Clarke Miss Gray Mrs Mrs R Gregory Mrs Hall Marsh AMochrieJ Gamble H J Savage secretary S Moore 75 years ago Takes from the Ismeotthe Free Press Thursday April 1MB Ad The Man wbo Rides a Wheel only half enjoys Its delights until he gets a Porous Waterproof Bicycle Suit Monday night saw a somewhat eventful session of the Municipal Council if the consideration of Important matters associated with tbe advancement of the town are to be regarded as eventful A proposal from the Stayner Electric Works offering to place electric lights on Acton streets and maintain them for HBO per year was presented In order to ac complish this it Is stated that an outlay of for building plant and power will be necessary Each or the five members of Council expressed himself In favor of electric light but considered If the town can afford It or If a better arrangement could be made The matter of sidewalks in the near future Is a serious question and Council favored the gradual Introduction of permanent walks Councillor Murray succeeded in getting his motion for the ringing of the town bell for church services through at last Name en rom wbo cut his throat a few days ago died on Wednesday THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE 8532010 Business and Editorial Office