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HEADLINE REQUEST TO REOPEN ACTON SPEEDWAY TURNED DOWN- all IIC I i ra siaymgs snocK an ot us The brutality of international guerilla warfare involving civilians was brought home to us forcibly last week with the of and Christine Sinclair Incidents of this nature happen in many places and at many times throughout a year but it never really sinks until It involves people you know and with whom you can identify We are accustomed to reports of tragedies in faroff places which we we tend to think could never happen here or to us It just takes a slaying such as the one involving the two Rockwood friends to make us realize how much a part of that faroff world we have become It is true as John Donne has Ninety Eighth Year No 47 ACTON ONTARIO WEDNESDAY WAY Second Section There appears to be a general and growing concern about the quality of education these days Not only are teachers concerned and they are but students and rents are beginning to feel that they are tag shortchanged A couple of letters to the editors of two daily papers recently were revealing In one a university student stated that be had read a 000word essay written by a friend who was an honor student In the essay there was one l sentence which did not have a spelling or grammatical error And that was the sentence In which he repeated the professor topic In the other letter a girl who dropped out of school three years ago because or the rigidity of the system was flaming mad She returned to Grade 12 this year and discovered as she put it that education had disappeared in the interim This young lady said flatly that while teachers used to teach for the average in the class they are now teaching toward the poorest students with the keen and bright ones left to fend for themselves In her opinion standards had dropped drastically In three years There are few teachers who would not agree with her on the last point Adminis trators and educationists whatever they are right up to the minister blandly assure the public via the media that standards have not been lowered Perhaps they should take off their rose- colored glasses and take a good clear took at reality But they have managed to wrap themselves in such a fog of educational Jargon that they know reality unless it came up and bit them What happened Maybe lot pre judiced but I don t think the fault lies with Bill Smiley the teachers To my definite knowledge they are working harder than ever under steadily worsening conditions They are teaching as many as two more classes a day than they were three years ago They are doing more of the unpleasant and uneducaUonaT chores than they did Such a one Is trough patrol as some teachers call cafeteria supervision The name Is not inaccurate A few years ago supervising a students dance was an extra chore but few teachers really minded it One chatted with the students deplored their taste in music but felt that a good time was being had by all Everybody was dressed up and happy The lights in the gym were turned down but not out Theremlghtbetheoddcaseof akid smoking pot or slightly under the influence but they were rareUes A regular Sunday school picnic Nowadays it more like Saturday night In Dodge City A darkened gym except for the stage where four or five baboons caper and scream to the ac companiment of a volume of sound that would make a boiler factory sound like a cemetery Someone has thrown up again in the boys washroom Two grim faced cops stand by the entrance A teenage girl Is caught rum running not one but six mickey of rye In the good old days years ago a young buck could wear his own mickey in his hip pocket covered by his Jacket Today his pants arc so tight he t get anything In that pocket so he has some little girl take It in or him But six I m drifting away from my topic but Jiot entirely The defiance of rules the demand for new rights is all part of the school scene today It a curious mixture apathy and mindless defiance I sound as though I m blaming the kids I not They re human They 11 take what they can get and demand more They re pretty decent lot on the whole But what girl won I wear if she a allowed to wear jeans or blouse slit to the navel if they have to wear a bra What young man of sixteen t like to have a crack at growing a beard No the real culprit is neither teachers nor kids It is the little empirebuilders In the system They are so far away from the classroom and the taxpayers that they have acquired a godcomplex They vc never been in a classroom or not for years And if they are to preserve and expand their empires they must something bo they scratch each other backs come up with rovolu ttonary ideas that were stale years ago and hide behind a squid like emission such as input feed back communications concepts and individual needs These are the barnacles on the good ship Education and unless she Is careened and they arc scraped off ruthlessly they re likely to sink her Back Issues of The Free Press 20 years ago Take ran Ike t the Free Press MayZS1H3 Today Free Press has pages in eluding a special Coronation Supplement A colorful parade with our bands will march down streets decorated with bunting and flagiearrj Sunday afternoon preceding a drumhead service in Prospect Park to mark the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II Tuesday Local festivities wilt also include a tree planting ceremony at the public school band concert and a dance Town J McGeadue has wired a message from the town to the Queen pledging allegiance and reaffirming our faith democratic principles It is signed by Mayor Prank Seating at the park will be provided for 1 AJax Engineers and J Mackenzie and Son has assured sufficient planking and Jack Ridley has promised to haul cement blocks to support the A work committee from the Legion will erect the seats The addition to CampbellviUe school will be opened on Friday Miss June is one of the teachers A convoy of fire fighting equipment from Halton county wilt take part in a simulated atomic bomb raid on Niagara Falls New York It has been estimated 174 pumpers would be required should an atom bomb be struck the house of Holmes Park Ave shattering windows and knocking a hole in the wall Mrs William Kenney Church St who has lived here longer than any other person died In her year Katherine Kirkness represented Britannia in the Empire Day pageant at school written by Miss Anderson MissM Z Bennett spoke to the pupils and the I O presented awards 50 years ago Two new Ford sedan cars of which their owners were very proud came into collision at the comer of Mill and Main Both were running at low speed and both bonked their horns thinking the other would stop Miss Ryan Georgetown had her radiator and lamps smashed Mr George of Bower Ave had the panel crushed in and the glass smashed The town hall was entirely inadequate to hold the crowd which came to hear Premier Drury speak before the elections Farmer a Tory of the old school presided He answered in a most convincing manner the charges that the government has been extravagant in its expenditures in old Ontario and had neglected the north Twenty five years ago a family came to Acton from Collingwood which has enriched the community In many ways The father John Brown an expert engineer died Friday Messrs Charles A G Matthews and J Victor Coleman of Toronto two graduates of the Free Press of years long past paid this office an appreciated visit Monday after attending Mr Brown funeral Among the girl graduates of the University of Toronto Edna Cobban of Mitchell Cobban formerly of Acton GrenvlUe last year captain Junior ball team who were Halton League champions had a painful accident Monday While sliding into third base he broke a leg and an arm Two local teams played a benefit game for him Tuesday Mr J A golf links at Georgetown will open today Mr and Mrs renew their invitation to those in Acton who wish to use the links Miss Ada Mackenzie will take part in exhibition matches on opening day 75 years ago Taken from the of the Free Press of Thursday May IBS Mr H Rolston butcher had a miraculous escape from instant death last Wednesday during the thunderstorm He was in a shed at the farm of Mr Wm Gray near Crewsons Comers when the boll struck The hair was burned off his head and face his clothes were singed his breast and limbs were also painfully burned Pieces of his boots were found five or six yards away He recovered consciousness during the night and is The narrow escape has been the principal topic of conversation Sam who drives brewery wagon experienced no smalt amount of trouble on his way to Acton Thursday morning About a mile from Eden Mills the front axle of his wagon broke and Sam kegs and all tumbled out on the road Mr Cameron has the front of the old Presbyterian church building moved to the front and set on a cement foundation The work of transforming the edifice into dwellings will begin at once Several new families moved Into town this week The Queen birthday should be the most generally observed of all the statutory holidays Make no other engagement for the eve of Victoria Day than to attend the cantata The Arch of Fame to be given by the Methodist Sunday School Her Gracious Majesty is now in her A movement is afoot on the part of our local merchants to have the streets a tered during the four summer months Negotiations are being made with Mr John Williams Liveryman The holiday rale to Toronto was fifty cents tor a return ticket New Black Dress Goods are at and Co Mill St Fine black Tine black serge new broadcloths black tons and new lustres said No man is an island entire of it self Any man s death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls It tolls for thee We offer our sympathy and condolences to the two families who lost the girls in a senseless murder in a quarrel which they likely knew little about and yet now has become frightening reality to family friendb and acquaintances Perhaps it does take shocks such as the one last week to make us realize that quarrels which once seemed so far away and belonging to others have now suddenly emerged on our own back door What affects another part of the world now suddenly to be part of our own Perhaps when we next read the statistics from a quarrel in the far east or Ireland the most recent tragedy help us realize that those involved were real people not unlike the and Christine Sinclairs on our own thresholdinnocent and seemingly not involved in the violent quarrels Two young lives were snuffed out in a few moments of tragedy at a famous tourist spot They cannot be brought back but if their deaths contribute in any way to solving some senseless slaying in that troubled part of the world it will be some measure of comfort Stop smoking children are worried Children want their parents to kick the cigarette habit now A S study of 2 children showed an astounding finding Of those aged seven to some percent said they would love their parents more if they stopped smoking That almost sounds like withholding love a discredited parental tactic Or a promise of extra love if the parents do what the kids want Actually the statement should probably read that children would really love it if their parents quit smoking Children are hurt and puzzled when their parents persist in doing something they know is bad for them They want their parents alive and well A word about the kids themselves They have to breathe in the smoke from their parents cigarettes New research suggests there is even more tar and nicotine in the smoke that drifts off the burning end of the cigarette than in the drag the smoker takes There are also high levels of other damaging substances like cad and carbon monoxide If parents smoke they inhale on each cigarette for about 24 seconds The total burning time in which toxic chemicals are released into the air is 12 minutes The pollution lingers for hours MiniComment Surprising who paint and elbow grease can do lo Improve which faded and worn from use A good example is the auditorium at Ihe ty centre where the floors and walls hae been painted windows and trophy enses rubbed up It looks like a different place Nothing like a walk in the country these days to see the carpets of marsh marigolds waving trilllums and other wild flowers Blossoms are blooming in the Irces the leaves have unfurled and the warm spring air Is gradually replacing the frigid arctic breezes which Ihe season long enough Fergus council is considering moving ahead In an arena renovation program originally scheduled tor because of available attractive federal provincial winter capital works project grants The town has decided on a program to renovate Ihe arena and it is fell the ap plication can be made out in I lo meet the May 31 deadline hazards of being a reporter extend far beyond Ihe call of duty sometimes The Fergus Elora News Express rtporls an agree men I has been reael Ihe Mercury and the Fergus Fire Department following a recent incident It seems the fire department look un at a Mercury report of a fire at Lake when work was hampered by a chain or unfortunate Incidents At a subsequent fire a representative of the dally received a drenching from one of the hoses presumably held by a firefighter Then was the paper turn to show its teeth Obviously there arc belter ways to express your feelings when you feel Ihe paper Is all wet It took a good strong wind like Ihose of last week lo show there Is still plenty of dust around on the streets of Acton Pedestrians were engulfed In great gobs of the stuff left over from winter sand Some town streets still are not swept and the dust must be a great nuisance to households along them admire M Terry Connor for sticking to his abolitionist guns in the current debate about capital punishment and using his own convictions to guide him instead of being brow beaten by con st tuents Connor told a Globe and Mall ler he has been going through hell over issue losing friends and support but he says vote for killing people He has been surprised by Ihe numbers who want to retain the death penalty and shocked by the vehimcncc of some or the letters from those favor hanging At last count he had letters opposing his position and G7 In support He estimates the same number of letters have been received in his constituency office I armors in the area experiencing dlf flcullles In getting agricultural weather Information can get same from the following radio stations In the Toronto CULT Toronto CHUM Toronto and Hamilton The unit of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Is urging farmers to write or phone those stations who do not carry the form weather bulletin The information branch has established a codca phone at Toronto Call at anytime Weather forecasts are updated at 8 noon and m Wc are increasingly surprised by the upsurge of interest in horses and horsemen in this area There must bo more horses in the area Ihon there ever was any time In history What the weeklies are saying SI Marys Journal Wc have mentioned he growth of bureaucracy in these column before and some renders may feel that we over emphasize But when one reads a lead editorial in the highly reputable Globe and Mail complaining about the surely it has long ago extended Itself sensible limits Says Ihe Globe and Mail writer and we quote only the portion of the editorial Take s form and fill it out Yes sir I m sorry you can deduct this amount Yes sir application for a 1 has been received and noted and it will be cons in due course Yes sir Have you noticed how seldom it is that someone sas No I know what my rights are and wrong People used to say that but then they used to know what thcr rights were Nowadavs it is often impossible know what they ore Governments are churn ng out thousands of laws every year and lurk around every corner regulating activities from the cradle to the grave cabinets are always passing orders in council forms are always changing even lawyers can keep up And anyway it intimidating to confront a government that ore tola has civil servants In Ottawa or at Queen Park w th the r batteries of computers task forces legal departments and experts Authority becomes unchallengeable and and when that happens democracy suffers because it is built on the he that people can demand and protect It suffers because government is placed In the hands of bureaucrats bureaucrats in Government and bureau in private institutions BFST Dominion The Bible continues to be the most widely book n the world The Canadian Society reports that the indicate an unprecedented in Canada and overseas In Canada alone the Society distributed 108 and more than copies of the New Testament in addition to more than two and a half million copies of smaller scripture portions Included in those figures are 33 Bibles or Testaments in languages other than or French flic Bible Society each year furnishes free scriptures for ll blind More than units in Braille or on cassettes or tape were given the blind last year A highlight of the 1372 report was the announcement that the Canadian Bible Society forwarded 000 or more lhan jOO per week for the translation printing and but ion of he Bible overseas Much of this was used to furnish scriptures to those who arc newly literate According to Kenneth MacMillan fcnernl secretory the Society is aiming to ncrcasc its support or world distribution of the Bible The hundreds of thousands who wilt join he ranks of the newly litem depend upon their Canadian friends of all churches for copies of the Bible he points out The Bible societies of the world have made steady progress in the translation of the scriptures Today of worlds language groups have the complete Bible in their own tongue People speaking these languages mate up per cent of the worlds population The Canadian Bible Society Is an inter faith agency that receives the support of people of all denominations You might say that it is the best possible practical expression of Christian unity says the Bible Society general secretary Values must be rearranged Times have changed from days we knew was it not so long ago When money gave more value andthepacewasklndaslow When we could save a lltue bit and you often hear folks say Let us put some funds aside for that rainy day Our values have grown out of step we re moved from need to Keep up with the J ones become he daily creed We must try out this mat seems the way me The more we ha has led us to this strife Andthenlreadofalitueboy pride Takes part of his allowance toa bank aside He hopes his money will mount upsay ina year or two all bright and shiny new But the rate soaring prices he plans of this little man By the time he has enough saved up be U be on the pension plan Sol ve come conclusion of Prion ties for material things we will have torearrange The hope is to ihe future time may rid this crave infection And the youth of tomorrow take a meaningful direction To liveamuch more saner life with more humility And reminding us once again The best things In life are free THE ACTON FREE PRESS PHONE Buslnessand Editorial Office