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ESTABLISHED 1854 Published every Thursday by Fairway Press. a division of Kitchenerâ€" Waterioo Record Ltd.. 30 Queen St N . Kitchener. Ontario Address correspondence to Waterioo Square. Waterioo Ont Telephone 744â€"6364 Waterloo ratepayers went to the polls Mondayâ€"at least, a few did. The vast majorityâ€"about 80 percentâ€"couldn‘t be bothered. There were similar poor turnouts in many communities, especially those where there were elections for just school boards, as in Waterloo. In neighboring Kitchener, the turnout was only about 15 percent. | There will be much said following this poor showing about the apathy of the voters and how they don‘t deserve a democratic system of government. Such comments ‘ i modinind‘ Th may prick the conscience of those who did not vote, alâ€" though perhaps not enough to bear results by next elecâ€" tion time. But although the ultimate fault may rest with the voters, the immediate blame must rest to a large exâ€" I ) tent with the system. Ph’I omena . Education has become big business. And, as in big bUSiâ€" _ ‘The voter turnout at Monday‘s ness, efficiency is the keyword. To achieve this efficiency, election was a disappointing reâ€" many things must be sacrificed. Not the least of these is sponse to the campaign waged communication. The average voter feels that his single 0d the excellent roster of canâ€" vote for two or three candidates for a county school board 3";;‘:;2‘::“”“ peir names cannot have any real affect on the education offered in Indeed the 20.07 percent of the his community. * electorate who bothered to go to A small turnout at a school board election can be a proâ€" test against the bigness of the system. It can also be a protest against school boards. Let‘s face it: The voters aren‘t very happy with school boards anywhere in the county. The average taxpayer knows he is paying a great deal for education. What he doesn‘t know is if he is getting his money‘s worth. He‘s got a strong suspicion he‘s not. He may be stuck for a comeback when he‘s asked "Don‘t you want the best for your children?‘‘ but he may have reserâ€" vations about what is best. What he really wants is the best education for his chilâ€" dren. This requires, first and foremost, teachers who can teach. The average taxpayer is happy to pay such a perâ€" son a good wage, but he resents the fact that the mediocre and bad teachers will get the same money. Next, he wants sufficient teaching equipment for the teachers and students to do their best job. But this doesn‘t include $1,000 musical instruments the like of which the student will never be able to afford when he leaves school ; $500 typewriters when $250 machines will do the same job and are most likely what the student will find in the busiâ€" ness world; kitchen stoves that are traded in every two or three years in goodâ€"asâ€"new condition, although the averâ€" age homemaker may have only one or t wo in a lifetime; exâ€" pensive glass basketball backboards when wooden ones will do. Last in importance is the school building. The average taxpayer wants his child in a warm, bright, comfortable building, structurally safe and sound, and conducive to learning. But there is much about our schools that is exâ€" travagant and irrelevant to the teaching or learning proâ€" cess. Broadloom is often mentioned, but there are other feaâ€" tures which serve only to shove the cost up. Many of our schools have lavish front entrances, with porticos soaring two storeys high, although few students or teachâ€" ers of any height ever use them. Ever see rows of plastic "astrodome‘‘ skylights over a room which also has regâ€" ular windows plus lights which are never turned off? Ever see a long corridor with rooms off only one side when there could be on both? These frills are monuments to architects and the school boards who hire them. But it is the taxpayer who pays. The average person often retains his awe for the school system from childhood into adult life. He elects educated people to administer this system, perhaps without thinkâ€" ing too much about their motives for running. These trustees in turn hire experts to administer the system, for, after all, it is big business. But he can‘t help feeling that the trustees, the administrators and the teachers are in a world unrelated to his: That their ideas of spending and economizing are entirely irrelevant to what he can afford to pay. . He sees the tiger that is the educational system growing bigger and bigger under the prodding of the bureaucrats, and his tenuous grip on the tail growing weaker and weaker. Waterloo Chronicle, Thursday, December 10, 1970 Philomena Rutherford, editor SUBSCRIPTION RATES In Canada : one year $8, in United States and Foreign countries: one year $10 Member of the Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association Election apathy Indeed the 20.07 percent of the electorate who bothered to go to the polls is unbelievable in view of the criticisms levelled at the first county board. One would have thought the taxpayers couldâ€" n‘t wait to have their say in an election, judging by the. furor created several times in the last few years. The percentages also indicate more public school supporters cast their ballots this year than in 1968. There was a 17.71 perâ€" cent turnout compared to only 16.82 percent which formed the first county board. Catholic interest on the other hand showed a sharp decline from the 36.66 percent who went to the polls in 1968 to the 28.81 percent which showed up this week. Only 23 persons took advantage of the advance poll â€"â€" about half of them officials of a local insurâ€" ance company who were Bahamaâ€" bound _ for _ a _ convention. Accountant Ald. Ron Buddell got to figuring out the spiralling cost of democracy the other night as he and Ald. Charlie Voelker kept vigil with school board canâ€" didates in the council chambers as the results came in. He noted that the cost of operâ€" ating a King Street polling statâ€" ion where only seven persons out of a possible 160 turned out was §$7. Perhaps the most incongruous aspect of the Quebec crisis is the ease with which menind women You‘ll have to admit, it‘s someâ€" thing to think about! who have thrown a nation into chaos because of their supposed dedication to a part of that counâ€" try abandon it so easily when the chips are down . Fat chance the Cross kidnapâ€" Fire Chief Albert Pagel and pers will have now to do an atom his department members are I‘ve always been sceptical of awayâ€"fromâ€"homeâ€"patriots. It has something to do with my beliefs that one should never ask anyone else to do anything which you are not equally willing to do oneself. Hasn‘t someone said somewhere that patriotism is the last resort of knaves? Anyhow, I believe that the people who advocate war should be in the front lines and those who want to live in peace should be let do so. I have no time for mittenâ€" knitting old ladies talking about the brave boys in the trenches. A spell there might give them a new slant on things. Philomena Rutherford‘s Bits and Pieces 12 EENNIES ... 24 PoPS OF ACID HARRYV! â€" _ é for their fellow â€" Quebeckers, whose cause they allegedly esâ€" poused. They chose voluntary exile â€"â€" although admittedly the alternatives at that point were now exactly inviting â€" ~proving, their devotion to their province wa.; shortâ€"lived indeed. Tempo Theatre‘s Christmas play for children, Old King Cole, is now in its final stages of producâ€" tion. The eightâ€"member cast is directed by Candace O‘Connor of Toronto. Three shows are scheâ€" duled for Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo colâ€" legiate Dec. 27, with evening shows planned for Dec. 28 and 29. Meantime, the Village Players in north Waterloo report they were pleasantly surprised at the turnout for an organizational meeting in Cedar brae school last week. Evidently there is a great deal of interest in community theaâ€" tre in Lakeshore Village, where the group in being formed. 40 YEARS AGO Dec. 11 Reeve W.D. Brill was elected mayor with 908 ballots over his opponent incumbent Mayor Wes McKersie, who secured 623 votes. The voters approved twoâ€"year terms for all elected bodies. Two â€" fourâ€"monthâ€"old _ alligaâ€" tors are making their home at the fire hall. They were brought here by Town Engineer Claude Noeckâ€" er, following a trip to Miami, Fla. Scripts were read at the getâ€"toâ€" gether and the talent revealed was encouraging for those interâ€" ested in getting the group under way. The amount of experienced behindâ€"theâ€"scenes help available was also a real boost for the group. 30 YEA RS AGO A â€"16â€"inch snowfall Saturday brought Twin City traffic to a standstill. Street car service was suspended until Monday due to the clogged streets. All men laying trunk sewer lines this winter will be presented with a pair of workmen‘s gloves by Clayton Dotzert, president of Dotzert Glove Co. The public school board asked council to issue $125,000 debenâ€" tures for erection of a $121,999 school on Moore Avenue. Files of Yesteryear And just to show that Waterloo is abounding in variety of enterâ€" tainment, I might mention that a program of Indian classical dances will be presented at the Humanities Theatre this Saturday by Sudha Chandra Sekhar of Windâ€" sor. The presentation is sponsored by the India Canada Association of the University of Waterloo. Yet another drama group is at work locally. The annual producâ€" tion of the Equitable Life players is well into rehearsals. A Slight Case of Diamonds, written and produced by Janine Humphries, will be presented at MacGregor school, Jan. 1971. Actorâ€"comedian Dick Gregory has agreed to speak at the anâ€" nual celebrity dinner of the Fat Angel dropâ€"in centre at the Inn of the Black Walnut in January. The group meets again, Jan. 7, at which time readings for oneâ€"act plays will be conducted. Tentaâ€" tive plans call for the first public performance, an evening of oneâ€" act plays at Cedarbrae school, sometime in March. planning to repair and redecoâ€" rate toys for the community‘s needy children. Last year the firemen collected and repaired two truckloads. The board of education of the United Lutheran Church has inâ€" cluded a $79,783 grant to Waterloo College in donations totalling $1% million to seminaries and colleges in North America. Work is progressing on Waterâ€" loo‘s new business block between the Bank of Montreal and the railway tracks. Branches of the Atlantic and Pacific Tea Comâ€" pany and the Bank of Nova Scotia are among businesses planning to locate there. 20 YEARS AGO Twin City women played a big part in the better than usual turnout at last week‘s elections. Waterloo had a 67.1 percent turnout â€" the best in years. Christmas decorations _ on Waterloo‘s City Hall were turnâ€" ed on for the last time Dec. 2. By this time next year the municipal offices will be housed in the Waâ€" terloo Square office building. 10 YEARS AGO