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The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1970-05-21, Page 4OUR POINT OF VIEW Well done, gentlemen Three cheers for Charlie MacNaughton and . Bob McKinley for negotiating the deal whereby Ontario Hydro will take over one of the major buildings at CFB Clinton as the home of the expanded operations in the Clinton area. Hydro customers and taxpayers generally should benefit from the co-operation displayed by federal and provincial authorities in employing existing public facilities to maximum advantage. The $70,000 purchase price for the CFB Clinton supply building, plus whatever renovations and alterations are required, compare with a figure of $300,000 which Ontario Hydro had planned to spend to erect a new office in the Clinton area. The new office had been planned before the announcement came that CFB Clinton would be phased out, and the two Huron politicians are to be commended for their immediate action in having the Clinton site considered by Hydro officials. The very fact that one of the buildings has been utilized should prompt other government agencies or private industries to realize similar possibilities for their needs. While many of the buildings at Clinton are not suitable for industrial use as were the hangars at Centralia, there no doubt is a practical use for many of them and indications are clear that Huron's representatives are working diligently in filling the void at Clinton as they did at Centralia. Worm has turned Judging from an advertisement carried in daily newspapers last week, the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation is upset over the unified front being presented by the school boards in this province. Several of the comments contained in the advertisement are misleading. The situation in Ontario is that school boards are not hiring teachers at the present because of a trustee-teacher dispute in Metropolitan Toronto. The Toronto board has been pink listed by the teachers and the Trustees' Council has taken the unified position in action against the teachers' stand. Basically, the teachers want to set some policies presently under the jurisdiction of the board in regard to teacher-pupil ratios, and naturally the trustees are not prepared to give up their jurisdiction on the matter. The OSSTF suggests that the dispute in Toronto has nothing to do with other communities. This is nonsense, because there is no doubt but what other boards will face the same situation if the Toronto teachers gain their demands. For some strange reason, the OSSTF feel there is nothing wrong in their support of the Toronto teachers, but it is wrong for the Trustees' Council to support the Toronto board. Obviously, the standards for each group should be the same. The OSSTF attempts to make the point that other communities should not be obligated to follow the instructions of a Toronto-based organization such as the Trustees' Council. Oddly enough, they've never had any qualms about suggesting teachers throughout Ontario should follow the dictates of the Toronto-based OSSTF. It's clearly a matter of the pot calling the kettle black, brought about by the fact this is one of the first times the Trustees' Council has exhibited a united front in a conflict with the OSSTF and it appears the latter group finds it difficult to accept the fact they may be facing a united challenge from the boards. Metric mots If and when Canada eventually moves to the metric system, more than our standard of measurement will be involved, observes a wag. Think of all those bon mots which have either weight or measure as their basis and which will require to be converted: A miss is as good as 1.61 kilometres; there isn't 0.06 gram of truth in it; he felt 3.05 metres tall; he was wearing a 45.43 litre hat; first down and 9.14 metres to go. Not forgetting, of course — don't hide your light .under 0.363 hectolitres . Remesde4 the 604? The past decade witnessed many changes in the religious life of the area. There were church closings, amalgamations and new buildings. One of the latter was the Bethel Reformed Church on Huron St. in Exeter, which was dedicated in November, 1961. The church was built at a cost of $40,000 and members of the congregation are shown attending the opening service. EXETER 235-0487 The senior Trust Company devoted entirely to serving 1/u people of Ontario. VG 235-0530 425 Main St. Exeter N. T. MONTEITH EXETER LTD. 2354121 "The best in servtee when you need tt most/" INTRODUCING THE ALL NEW PROFESSIONAL HOMELITE XL-120AM: HOmelite XL-120 AM weighs only twelve pounds. Twelve pounds that pack the power of the larger professional saws , . . yet give you lightweight ease of handling. And more! The XL-120 AM sports the Power Boost Cylinder for greater power with less fuel consumption. Large oil reservoir for longer continuous operation. Less downtime. More dollars for you. MILT ROBBINS & SON LTD. 436 Main Street Exeter 235-2940 • Don't let lack of cash hinder a bargain buy! That house you hesitate to buy today because of the cost of a mortgage ... what will it be worth in ten years or longer? Just look everywhere at the record of increased real estate values over the years! So come in and discuss a mortgage loan to help you enjoy that dream home right, now . and own it while its long term value rises. Borrow today at Victoria and Grey. TIMM and GREY TRUST COMPANY SINCE 1889 lr HOME COMFORT With Forced Air Heating THE ALL-PURPOSE SYSTEM AiR CO MTN" Enjoy Heating, Cooling, Filtering, Humidification, de-humidification and Air Circulation YOU CHOOSE THE FUEL * OIL * ELECTRIC * GAS Free Estimates Cudmore Heating LAWN MOWER WITH YOUR INTERNATIONAL® CUB CADET® and CADET 60 LAWN AND GARDEN TRACTOR Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1424 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., O.W.N.A., CLASS 'A' and ABC Editor -- Bill Batten—Advertising Manager Phone 235.1331 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation, September 30, 1969, 4,751 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $6.00 Per Year; USA $8.00 , Expert advice can be useful A life filled with troubles This may be cheating, but somebody else is going to write my column this week. I received a 12-page letter from a Prairie wife that made me sick of my own petty whining. With a minimum of editing, and changing only names, here it is. "Dear Smiley: We've read your column for a long time. I enjoy it. When you told of your daughter's illness, I wasn't able to read the column because my husband was seriously ill with cancer of the lung. I was with him most of the time. I read the one later where you thanked everyone for their prayers ... "Anyway, I wanted to tell you how so many people prayed for my poor husband. He died March 9th. I really believe all the prayers helped him accept it. He got pneumonia suddenly, had the last rites, went into a coma and died. He was quite thin, but could have lived down to skin and bones, because he had a strong heart, and was only 51. "He was taken prisoner at Dieppe. The first year they had their hands tied, When the Russians began getting closer, they (the Germans) moved them on boxcars and on foot, with very little food. He once said he thought he should always carry a piece of bread in his pocket the rest of his days so he'd never have to go hungry again. (Ed note: Me too.) "He came home in '45 and quite a few of his chums died of lung conditions soon after the war. Anyway, his nerves were really bad, and with trying to farm and father four boys he was an alcoholic for six years. Then he went to an A. A. centre. It was terribly hard on him, but he quit for six years. Then he ended up with cancer. "He used to tell of all the close calls he had had as a prisoner. Then, one day, he was riding a tractor, standing up and looking for a new calf. The big wheel hit a hole and then another, and threw him over the front and the tractor ran over him. "It broke his right hip and his pelvic bones. He turned over on his stomach and crawled a quarter-mile to the road. He had our faithful dog with him and sent him for help. The dog came back and licked his face, and Jack told him again to get help. He went south to the ege of some neighbor's trees and barked and barked. The farmer was just going with his tractor to work again after supper. He told his wife, who thought it was a coyote, that it was Jack's dog and something must be wrong. "When he saw Jack lying there on the road, he thought it was a clump of old rags. Anyway, Jack told us how he prayed and thanked God for the neighbor paying attention to the dog. "In the hospital, the doctor operated on his bladder. The pelvic bones had busted through and the blood was taking urine all through his system. "Our neighbors had a bee for him and put the crop in. He got home on crutches. That fall, our crop got hailed out. So he sure had his hard knocks in life as well as close calls. "He used to talk about his accidents so he could say, 'I'll likely die a mean death.' "So when he found out it was cancer in his lung, he seemed to expect it. He had his operation, and lost his voice all summer and got really thin. Then he gained weight up to 147 pounds and got his voice back with all our prayers. (But, to summarize, large lump on neck going to brain; loss of control of right hand, burning bedclothes when cigarette dropped; mixed up mentally.) "So I think the prayers helped him to come to his death sooner than he could have. He felt very bad about being a prisoner and being through so much and people didn't appreciate what they went through to save our country for us. He was very sad about Vietnam. "He would just cry when he'd see the Bob Hope show at Christmas, all those young boys going through so much and the big-shots making millions on their deaths and crippled lives. "Thanks, Smiley, for listening. I have four boys.'' Rest in peace, old kriegie. Be of good faith, noble woman. Be good to her, four boys. At last week's special meeting to consider the 1970 budget for Exeter, Councillor Helen Jermyn suggested that the matter of economics involved in the decision of whether or not to issue a debenture should be discussed with someone associated with the financial world. Her suggestion was quickly shot down by Mayor Jack Delbridge, who noted that discussion with such people would probably only confuse council and also that members of council had been elected to make the decisions. We'll agree in part with the Mayor, but Mrs. Jermyn's suggestion has considerable merit. In the complex world in which we find ourselves, few people are equipped with the necessary knowledge to make decisions on a multitude of topics and more and more we are requiring advice from specialists. While advice from , some so-called specialists and experts may be questioned, they at least present, viewpoints for consideration by laymen. Councils, by necessity, have to call on lalpers and engineers for assistance on many projects, and in the same way it could be advantageous to call on the advice of other experts before making decisions on matters out of the realm of knowledge of council members. We doubt that any members of council consider themselves to be financial experts. Several who are engaged in business no doubt have some valuable experience and knowledge in such matters, but some of the rules which apply to small businesses do not necessarily hold true for municipal business. * * * The preceding is in no way intended as a criticism of council's decision not to float a debenture of $35,000 in an effort to keep this year's mill rate at a lower level. We consider the arguments put forth by members to be sound, because borrowed money is extremely expensive these days and quickly doubles the cost of the use of that money. However, we still think Mrs. Jermyn's suggestion has merit and we certainly do not think council members are negating their responsibilities by asking experts for opinions before they make decisions on complex matters. In fact, we suggest that the seeking of such advice is prudent, and we suspect many of the businessmen on council do seek such advice in the operation of their own businesses. The final decision is still up to them, but the old adage of two heads being better than one has merit on most occasions. * * One of the main arguments presented for the use of debentures in recent years is that the projects for which tne money is being spent will benefit the future generation and therefore they should be expected to help pay for them. A 10 or 20-year debenture therefore brings that about. However, there must be Serious doubts about such an argument. As people demand more and more services, a community seldom reaches the point where it can afford to "coast" in expenditures. The local sewer program is going to take a few more years to complete, and possibly even before it is paid off entirely, some of the initial installations will be nearing the point where they will have to be replaced. Street jogs are similar. If the community was fortunate enough to reconstruct every street in the coming years, by the time the last street was completed the first streets to be done would be in such condition to require the project to start all over again. So, there must be some doubt about asking the future generation to pay for the services we are now providing. There's ample evidence that they'll have enough of their own to pay for and perhaps shouldn't be saddled with the extra cost of paying for ours. By the same token, there is merit in the suggestion put forth by some that debentures should be issued to provide equal services for as many people as possible. • At the present time, many ratepayers in this community are paying a fair bit towards the cost of the sewer system and yet they do not have sewers available. This is obviously a bit unfair and there are those who argue that more work should be undertaken, even if it does mean the use of debentures. However, the high interest rate makes this rather costly and the community does appear to be moving along at an acceptable speed in sewer construction. * * * We share the opinion expressed by several ratepayers in the community that a 10 percent hike in taxes this year is too great. Some may be cheered by the thoughts of some council members who noted that next year's rate could be down some. However, that's an opinion we've heard many times in the past and has not been fulfilled. 50 YEARS AGO During June, July and August the following merchants will close Wednesday afternoons, J. A. Stewart, Jones & May, G. A. Hawkins, S. Martin & Son, Southcott Bros., W. W. Taman, Jas Lawson, S. 'Fitton, W. J. Beer and P. Frayne. The UFO purpose holding a big celebration in Kirkton on June 11 when Premier Drury, Hon. Peter Smith and Andrew Hicks, MLA, will deliver addresses. At an auction sale at Grand Bend conducted by C. N. Cooper of London for George Eccleston, 42 lots were sold, prices ranging from $150 to $360. Dr. Hackney of Calgary, James Hackney of Saskatoon and John of Detroit visited their mother at the home of their sister, Mrs. Alex Turnbull. Exeter bowlers started early in the season to put Exeter on the bowling map by winning the Montee Trophy at London and the Merner Trophy at Seaforth. 25 YEARS AGO A number from Exeter were in London, Wednesday evening to hear the Hon. Mackenzie King who spoke in the arena. An old landmark in Exeter, the sales barn at the rear of Jones & May, has been torn down and will be replaced by a modern seed-cleaning plant by Jones, MacNaugh ton & Co. Mr. James Grieve, in business for 50 years, has sold his business and his home and leaves forSanta Monica, Cal. Jim White was in London Friday representing Exeter High School when 34 boys of the Leaders Club were guests of the London Free Press. It must be noted that some of the costs in this year's tax rate are not the responsibility of council. The education mill rate is up over five mills and there's nothing the local administrators can do about that. However, when council set out at the start of the year to hold the line on pay boosts, we suggest they were committed to a program of cutting the budget as finely as possible. Some of the pay boosts handed out won't go much farther than paying the increased property tax some of the employees will face. One of the main problems associated with the 1970 budget is the fact many of the projects were already started, or certainly committed, before the budget was finally approved. Had council had an indication of the jump in taxes, they possibly would have given closer scrutiny to such projects as the street signs and the grandstand washrooms, projects which we previously suggested could be held for another year. These two projects could have cut well over two mills off the rate. The problem, as stated, is that the budget is drawn up after many projects are already approved. In the future, we suggest budgets should be drawn up as early in the year as possible so council members can have a complete picture of the entire budget before they reach the point where cuts are practically impossible. 15 YEARS AGO Three recreation projects — teenage jamborees, a wading pool at Victoria Park and Sunday evening concerts — were approved by Exeter council at its meeting, Monday night. Close to 500 Motorists had their cars safety checked at the voluntary inspection sponsored by Exeter Safety Council on Friday. Exeter Police Chief Reg Taylor and officials of the Ontario Automobile Association assisted with the project. Two symbolic cornerstones will he laid in a public ceremony at the new Huron County Courthouse on Monday, May 23. Mr. and Mrs. William Passmore visited in Wyoming on Sunday with Mrs. Anna Westlake. Mr. Noble Scott, bailiff, is ill in Victoria Hospital, London. 10 YEARS AGO Messrs. Carfrey Cann and Gerald Godbolt attended the provincial AOTS convention over the weekend at Glen Holme, Mrs. Verna Gamble, Helen, Dan and Tom of Glamis visited with Mr. and Mrs. William Horney on Saturday. Miss Helen Cudmore of Edmonton is visiting her cousins, Mrs. and Mrs, Allen Fraser and otherrelatives. mrs,Richard D. Etherington, RR 1 Hensall, was ejected president of Hurondale Women's Institute for 1960-61 at the annual meeting recently. Tenders will be called immediately for the construction of an Exeter curling rink. Close to 60 shareholders of the local club voted unanimously on the river bank site.