The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutClinton News Record, 2014-08-20, Page 44 News Record • Wednesday, August 20, 2014 1 1_ www.clintonnewsrecord.com Clinton News Record PUBLISHED WEEKLY — EST. 1860 53 Albert St. P.O. Box 39 Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519) 482-3443 www.clintonnewsrecord.com SUN MEDIA A Quebecor Media Company MARIE DAVID Sun Media Group Publisher Grey Bruce Huron Division 519-364-2001 or 519-372-4301 NEIL CLIFFORD Publisher neil.clifford@sunmedia.ca MAX BICKFORD Advertising Manager max.bickford@sunmedia.ca TARA OSTNER Reporter clinton.reporter@sunmedia.ca DAWN JOHNSTON Sales Representative clinton.ads@sunmedia.ca CHRISTY MAIR Front Office dinton.classifieds@sunmedia.ca SUBSCRIPTION RATES 1 YEAR $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 2YEAR $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) SENIORS 60 WEEKS $50.00 (47.62+2.38 GST) 120 WEEKS $95.00 (90.48+4.52 GST) Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a typographical error, the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged but that balance of advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. In the event of atypographic error advertising goods or services ata wrong price, goods or services may not be sold. Ad- vertising is merely an offer to sell, and may be withdrawn at anytime. The Clinton News -Record is not responsible for the loss or damage of unsolicited manuscripts, photos or other materials used for reproducing purposes. Publications Mail Agreement No.40064683 RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES: CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT 53 Albert St., Clinton ON NOM 1L0 (519)482-3443 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. Canada ppcna Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association and the Ontario Community Newspapers Association editorial Teachers, province close to war again Ontario's teachers have locked horns with a succession of provincial governments over the past 25 years, save for a brief moment in for- mer premier Dalton McGuinty's first term. Now it looks as though the fight has officially resumed. On Wednesday, Premier Kathleen Wynne spoke to the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario's (ETFO) annual meeting in Toronto, and was greeted by a somewhat hos- tile crowd. Some members expressed fury over Bill 115, legislation introduced in the final months of McGuinty's government that imposed contracts and stripped benefits, including a generous sick day plan. Some deals were rewritten by Wynne's gov- ernment, but it's clear by Wednesday's meeting that ETFO members are wary of what's next. Since the days of Liberal premier David Peterson, Ontario's teachers have presented provincial governments with one of their most pressing challenges: How do you make teach- ers' unions happy without breaking the bank? Teachers' unions took credit for the Liberals' electoral collapse in 1990. And when Peter- son's successor, New Democrat Bob Rae, intro- duced austerity when faced with monstrous financial challenges, he and colleagues were vilified by the same unions, along with those representing provincial workers. Conservative Premier Mike Harris and suc- cessor Ernie Eves were never friends of the teachers and their unions, and encountered near -constant labour strife. McGuinty thought he had the answer when his Liberals formed the government in 2003. The new premier purchased a period of labour peace with organizations such as the ETFO by basically giving them what they wanted. It was a good deal for the teachers, but not a good deal for taxpayers. Faced with structural budget deficits and a provincial debt that would make Rae's NDP blush, McGuinty was forced to back down and introduce Bill 115. Part of the bill ended a costly sick day plan that allowed teachers to bank unused time and receive the cash on retirement. Wynne's government is only two months old, but history should tell her if she adopts McGuinty's original response to the ETFO and others, it will come at the expense of her budget, which is already due to be about $12 billion into deficit this year alone. column The utility of seeing the absurdity to life Tara Ostner The Clinton News Record The British writer, Horace Wal- pole, who lived from 1717 until 1797, became famous for pro- claiming that "life is a tragedy for those who feel, and a comedy for those who think." This makes sense to me. If one feels too much intense emotion and, for example, intensely feels all the hardship, pain and suffer- ing in the world, then it is easy to see how he could begin to view life as a tragedy. On the other hand, if one reasons his way through life and views the world from a rational and logical per- spective then he may be able to see the absurdity of life and appreciate a sort of comedic aspect to our existence. Having said that, sometimes people who regard life as a com- edy for whatever reason stop viewing it this way and, rather than letting their reason and logic guide them through life's misfor- tunes, they let negative feelings overcome them. Perhaps this is what happened to the great actor and comedian, Robin Williams, who took his life last week. I obviously didn't know the kind of person Williams was. However, given the kind of stand up comedy he performed and the acting roles that he was drawn to, it isn't hard to imagine that he was the type of person who viewed life as a com- edy or at least tried to. He was so heavily immersed in comedy his whole life that this seems reasona- ble to believe. So, what changed? When did Williams stop viewing the world lightheartedly and start letting his negative emotions consume him? This would be difficult to know and psychologists might say that the switch was gradual and ulti- mately beyond his control. Fur- thermore, because severe depres- sion is bio -chemical in nature and not something that an individual can turn on and off, or consciously choose to avoid, this is not some- thing that Williams could have prevented himself. I couldn't agree more with this and I know how crippling severe depression can be for people. At the same time, however, I am disappointed that the ability to see the lighter, ironical side of life slipped away from Williams. Had it not slipped away from him, per- haps he would have been able to overcome his depression, return to a more balanced state of mind and once again see the absurdity of it all. I believe that the ability to see the absurdity in life can be life saving and is something that peo- ple should work towards strength- ening in their lives especially dur- ing times of crises and upheaval. I think that a certain sense of invul- nerability can arise from being able to laugh at life and the trick, I think, is to be able to figure this out. clintonnewsrecord.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The News Record welcomes letters to the editor. All letters must be signed and include a daytime phone number for verification purposes. Letters can be sent care of the Internet at clinton.news@sunmedia.ca, sent via fax at 519-482-7341 or through Canada Post care of The Editor, P.O. Box 39, Clinton, ON NOL 1LO. CLINTON NEWS RECORD — HOURS OF OPERATION MONDAY: 9:00 - 5:00 • TUESDAY: - CLOSED • WEDNESDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • THURSDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • FRIDAY: - 9:00 - 5:00 • SATURDAY & SUNDAY: - CLOSED ADVERTISING DEADLINE: FRIDAY AT 2:00 • PHONE 519-482-3443 • FAX: 519-482-7341 www.clintonnewsrecord.com