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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1976-09-30, Page 4• SHARE YOUR BLESSINGS End of summer notes A very interesting question Page 4 Times-Advocate, September 30, 1976 V5•••,..55,1VOX,4%40.nresernwt•It•w". Don't play with fire Mount up on wings "We've got enough money to pay this month's bills — to mail them now." R could be a case of "playing with fire" if Exeter council follow suggestions for changes in the anti-burning bylaw. Fire Chief Gary Middleton has suggested that where permits have been issued and a fire breaks out, the person responsible should be charged at a rate of $200 per hour for the ensuing fire call. His idea has merit in that it should prompt people to practice safety in igniting blazes. However, the real danger comes in the person not responding quickly to call the fire department if things should get out of hand. Exeter council members escaped some sharp criticism from this newspaper• this week due to a discussion at their special meeting on Monday, After last week's regular session, we failed to understand how the costs involved in preparing the new official plan and zon- ing bylaws could go without comment. After all, it had been revealed that what was originally estimated at $6,000 was now going to cost $24,000 and even in these days of rampant inflation that's ridiculous. However, council members forced us to reconsider our comments prepared on October 14 is drawing closer and it is still debatable how many unions are going to join the Canadian Labour Congress in the day long strike against the anti-inflation. policy of the federal government. We are as much against big businesses making undue profits at the expense of the laborer as anyone, but we are also against the laborer making undue profits at the expense of the businesses. Labor unions have been very useful in the past in contributing to the general rise in living and working conditions of the working classes, but perhaps this time they are trying to go too far. The federal governments anti-inflation program is definitely curtailing salary increases, curtailing, but not destroying, so although, ,everyone may feel as if they '- are uftZtifikiiinder4he' program, no one is in setioafrcitible bicanse of it. So we believe Abrkers should not go out. On a one-day strike on October 14. We always thought when a contract was End of summer notes. - Can't think of one, single, useful, constructive thing I did during the past summer. Which is as it should be. I did threaten, once or twice, to paint the back stoop and the picnic table and chairs, But on the days when I was ready to put the stain on the picnic equipment, it rained, thank goodness. And I never did figure out how to paint the stoop. The cat sleeps there all day. I was either going to have a cat with green feet, or I'd have to tie him to the lilac tree until the paint dried. which I thought was a bit inhuman. One of the big events of the summer was having an oak tree taken down. It was about 70 feet high and two feet thick at the base. It was quite a thrill to watch the tree-slayers, two of them, scrambling away up into the blue of a summer evening, slinging ropes around in all sorts of mysterious ways, shouting incomprehensible directions to each other, like a couple of sailors reefing the foresail around Cape Horn, and lowering the mighty oak in sections. I now have four woodpiles in my back yard, about six cords of firewood, on which all sorts of people are casting an envious eye. Forget it, friends. It cost me $300 to have that oak down, and IMEMORWrrzmwmU408iMOVL SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND C.W.N.A., 0.W.N.A. CLASS 'A' and ABC Published by J. W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising, Manager — Jim Beckett Plant Manager — Jim Scott Composition Manager -- Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235.1331 +CNA The person may consider that $200 ex- pense and attempt to extinguish the fire himself without the aid of the department, and that can be an extremely hazardous position. People should not be placed in the posi- tion of having to decide what course of ac- tion to take in an emergency on the basis of a penalty for taking that action. The anti-burning bylaw appears to be working satisfactorily at the present time, and it's doubtful if changes can be made that would improve the situation. the weekend for publication as they did delve into the situation at their special meeting this week. Obviously it is a matter that is worthy of full discussion and consideration. It would appear that somewhere along the line a serious error was made, and while it may be too late to rectify the error, it is at least worth investigating to ensure that no such error occurs again. That error may well be the lack of a well defined agreement as to the services to be provided and the costs to be paid for those services. It's a basic necessity that a previous council apparently overlooked. agreed to and signed, both parties in the agreement were expected and in fact promising to abide by that contract. No mat- ter how wrong they think the government's methods may be, the workers of this country will be breaking their pledges to their employers if they go on strike. They are not only doing something immoral, they are doing something illegal and very dangerous. For if the unions can flout contracts at any time they wish, which is what they will be doing if they strike October 14, then what into stop the companies who employ them from flouting those same contracts when the workers return to work? To our mind, this could lead to a very dangerous situation. If unions can break contracts and the law, so can eveybody else. If you want to protest go ahead, but try to keep on the right side of the law. The ballot box in 1978 may seem a long time in coming, but in the long run that will be the place where your protest will be most keenly heard and felt by the government—and that is perfectly legal. Last time I was there was in the spring of 1942, on my way overseas, and Halifax was real crud then. Cold, wet, dismal, blackout, poor food. England looked like paradise after war- time Halifax. Now it's a swinging, lively city. Had a fine trip on the Bluenosee II, all sails set, spanking along in the sunshine. Don't miss this, if you're there. Watched in fascination as a prominent western editor fell asleep, not once, but three times, during a speech by Joe Clark, a potential prime minister. Humored an eastern editor who, armed with a credit card from the Grand Trunk Railway, personally signed by Sir John MacDonald, thought he could finance a trip for several of us to Paraguay. Listened to a number of editors of my vintage tell me they're rich, retired and work one day a week, "just to keep my hand in." Which, of course, means in- terfering with their sons, or daughters, who are trying to pay off the old man the tremendous sum he wanted for the business. Gave sage advice and a bottle of rum to a young woman called Alic B. Toklas, who assured me MOSNASMOMMIN Amalgamated 1924 Mayor Bruce Shaw raised a very interesting question during the debate last week on RAP's financial plight, when he won- dered if the committee had been pushed into their current position or whether they were makers of their own fate. No doubt, a close examination of the situation would point to the fact that it came about through a combination of both' factors. Evidence would probably reveal that the committee reached the situation through their own fault, that of council and of their em- ployees. The fifst major contributing factor was that their budget was not established until almost half the year was completed. In ef- fect, the committee operated for half a year without any budget guidelines and that is a ridiculous situation. It was then com- pounded by the fact that council slashed the RAP budget. However, the reduction ordered by council could not then be spread out over the entire 12 months, but only during the months remaining ' after the budget had been established. The next major problem was the fact that RAP committee members were not vigilant in overseeing the spending of the funds available, Very little at- tempt was made to set priorities and the now famous book case purchase was a prime example. It was also an example of com- mittee members' failure to establish guidelines on what purchases and expenditures• could be made by employees without RAP approval. No other town employee could make such an expenditure on his or her own she had quit running around with Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald and all those rotters. And then, of course, we've had The Boys, as they are now called. The Boys are the two grandsons, When they are here, it takes four adults full time to keep things even minimally sane. One is at the hell-on-wheels stage. The other is at the crawling, "if you can't eat it pull it over on your head" stage. And every time our daughter leaves, with The Boys, we are cleaned out. She goes away with a big, green garbage bag full of steaks, chicken, pork chops, a box full of canned goods, and a pillow case stuffed with new clothes for The Boys and herself. Next morning, we have to go shopping to get enough grub for our own breakfast. Then there's been the golf. No matter what she does, my wife is an enthusiast. She believes that nothing succeeds like excess. So we've played golf every day. She is really a rotten player, because she reads books about golf and practices her swing. I am just ordinary rotten. I'm afraid we're going to be thrown out of the golf club. If anyone had tried to tell me that my sweet, shy bride of a few years ago would come out with the language she uses on the golf course, I'd have said: Sir, pistols at dawn, or nine irons at nine, Take your pick." I try to help, in a gentle, sincere sort of way. When she flubs a shot, I merely point out that her grip was slack, her stance sloppy, her backswing too fast, and her head went up like a toilet seat, and she screams at me, right across the fairway, I heard one elderly lady golfer saying to her husband, quite concerned: "Mark my words she's going to kill him, Why do you think she takes her seven iron home every day, after they play? I hear he's well insured." All in all, it was a pretty fair Summer. I think, decision. Council committee chairmen can authorize ex- penditures up to $100, but sums over that have to have full council approval. Obviously RAP need similar guidelines. As the summer wore on, RAP members realized their im- pending plight and made council aware of the situation. There was talk about discontinuing swim- ming sessions, but at that time council members assured RAP they did not want programs cut, So, council members contributed in part to RAP's current situation; and yet they have not seen clear to help rectify any problems that they helped create. In conclusion, it becomes evident that in some ways RAP sealed their own fate, but in other ways they were pushed into their current situation. + + + Drawing that conclusion may appear to do little to solve the predicament, but it does indicate quite clearly that everyone in- volved should assume some responsibility for the problem and therefore assume some responsibility for providing a solution. In fact, it would appear that some major deliberations should be held regarding the entire RAP situation better define the terms of reference under which the appointed members are to un- dertake their responsibflities. Perhaps a re-reading of the study done a few years ago would be worthwhile. Areas of responsibility are now vague. Examples of that are many. For instance, should council make the decision on the fate of the old arena without RAP's approval? Who should be responsible for the fate of the horsebarnthen?Why does council get involved with decisions on the park land north of the river and not park land on the south side? Should an appointed ,committee be making major decisions about facilities and property at all, or should they be concerned only with making recommendations to council? There are presently many areas of conflict which suggest some defined guidelines are required. Also required is a change of attitude on the part of some RAP members regarding their responsibilities. The laxity displayed by some has no doubt been a contributing factor in the current turmoil. + + + A couple of readers have been feeding .us with information lOtoti 1111. P1Folt two 111N.Diri itirft5 IT 40 THALI trouble is, we can't afford pertaining to pinball machines, apparently as part of the cam- paign which has arisen as the result of the establishment of an arcade in town. The piece of information was a news item from the Globe and Mail which explained that the Peel region social services committee has asked for a municipal crackdown on pinball equipment. The committee reported that pinball emporiums are causing too many problems, particularly creating negative behaviour patterns in young people, "and should be more tightly controlled, if not banned." A spokesman said he watched one child of 12 put more than $11 in 45 minutes into a pinball machine and said the establish- ments "have been identified by Peel police as the place to find a truant or a child shoplifter." The report said that the pinball machines themselves are not detrimental to children's behaviour, but there is clear evidence from a psychological' point of view that the repeated behaviour of feeding coins to a machine that produces flashing lights and a seeming reward of a high score falsely implants with the player a sense of ac- complishment which reinforces within the individual the real purpose of the individual's being there—to feedmore coins into the machine. Since a habit is formed (feeding coins) the habitirequires reinforcement and to gain reinforcement coins are required, The report went on to say that as long as a child had the.. wherewithal to feed the machine, no problem existed. It is the lack of money that contributes to negative patterns of behaviour as children who do not have enough money from their parents seek other means of finding it. + + + With shoplifting a problem in this community, the Peel report will do ,little to soothe merchants who are already experiencing losses. However, perhaps they should investigate a service provided by London Investigation Bureau. They provide a program of lectures on shoplifting. The program has been gaining wider acceptance with school officials in London as the very positive result become evident and many principals are now including the lectures in their budgets and curriculum. The lectures introduce the students to the laws affecting everyday occurrences such as shoplifting, property damage, petty theft and infringements on others' rights. The consequences resulting from these acts are spelled out in an easy, non- threatening manner. The Bureau, which charges $20 per lecture in London, claims that in the 20 schools visited, the number of cases resulting in arrests became almost non- existent (three cases of arrests by our company investigators), This compares to over 300 arrests made by the firm of students from schools not visited. Local merchants, police and school officials should seriously consider the use of the lecture series in , view of those remarkable statistics. We're certain most parents wouldn't mind seeing some education dollars invested in a program which apparntly prevents pupils from becoming another police statistic. called The Winged Life. In it she wonders why so many of Christ's followers are so drearily ear- thbound, unable to mount up as on the wings of an eagle as the Bible suggests. She says we lack joy, power, victory and love. Worse still, we often experience moodiness, frustration, the inability to get on with our fellow workers and even with the members of our own family. (That reminded me of the bickering group on the shore noisily fighting over the fish.) Miss Hunnard continues by saying' some of us are slaves to wrong habits, unable to master our impulses and instincts, are in bondage to our difficult tem- perament. We get depressed with ourselves by our inability to cope and because we "find ourselves unable to face up to the testings and temptations of life, we with- draw into unnatural ways . . sometimes a nervous breakdown is the result. (These are our feathered friends, who depressed and dejected, withdrew from the crowd to sit out on the water in lonely solitude.) In the human sphere, the author says, love is the law of the winged life. Only those who have learned to love truly and have received power to do so con- tinually and under all cir- cumstances, only those ex- perience the perfect freedom and the joy of soaring high above ordinary. souls. The higher the gulls go, the further they can see. And it is also true that those people who love most, see most, Love opens the eyes of understanding and allows us to see more truth. We can mount up on wings, little by little„ (like young birds learning to fly) as we allow God to show us the secret of being able to give to everyone we meet His radiant, transforming love. and dance for the new Dorchester arena. There were nearly 2,000 people at this opening. Judging from the people that we met and talked with, they were all rightfully very proud of their new facilities. We met and talked with the builder of this complex and for those who might be interested, we would like to comment on this building. It is an Armco Steel insulated building with decorated block front and all curtain walls (cement block to the roof line). It contained a public library, ample washroom facilities, an auditorium to seat 400 people, snack bar facilities off a large kitchen and a large conference room on the second floor. The ice surface is 180'x80' with plastic covered plywood around ice surface, and mercury vapour lights. There is a press room at the top of the stairs and a brightly painted spacious front entrance. This building has no frills, it is simply an arena complex, but that is what it was designed to be. In view of the fact that the South Huron Recreation com- mittee, deem it necessary to have nearly a million dollar complex, we wonder how so many Dor- chester area people could be so proud of their four hundred thousand dollar project. Gus and Gerry Gregus congregation of Bethel Reformed Church witnessed the laying of the cornerstone for their im- pressive new $40,000 church on Huron Street. Rev. A. E. Holley preached his farewell sermon in Grand Bend and Greenway United churches prior to leaving for Kitchener. Bob Becker and Paul Turnbull represented SHDHS at the International Plowing match in Belleville and placed fifth in the school boys' competition. 5 Year§ Ago After delivering mail on rural routes out of Centralia and Crediton for more than 21 years, Wilfred Mack retired last week. Quick action by neighbors and the fire department saved the life of Alec Patterson 71 year-old Brucefield man within seconds after Mr, Patterson opened his bedroom door and found the house full of smoke. Mr. & Mrs. Norman Brock, town, spent a week touring through Ottawa, Montreal, Vermont State, New York and Niagara Falls, A serious error? Questionable tactic I'm going to enjoy it, if I have to keep the fireplace burning day and night all winter. That was a bad week. Just after the oak came down, the automatic washer in the basement blew its guts. The dryer was shot too, so this was another $700. An exciting in- stallation. The washer and dryer won't go down our cellar stairs. The boys had to rip out the stairs and lower the machinery. But they labored with great good nature and ingenuity. We didn't lose a single man. Nor even a married one. It could never happen if you bought the out-fit from one of the big, out-of-town firms. They'd just sneer if you said: "The stairs have to come out." That was a $1,000 week of pure loss. But it was somewhat redeemed the following week when I went to Halifax and won an award which included a handsome cheque for $500. It made me think God was back in His heaven, after being out to lunch for a whole week. That Halifax is quite a place. It looks like a city in Germany, circa 1950, that has been badly bombed, and is rebuilding. Beautiful new buildings rising right next to deadly, three-storey slums, with winos hanging out the windows. Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 eareferZimes-Ilitiorate SUBSCRIPTION RATES! Canada $9.00 Per Year; USA $11,00 Published Each Thursday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 Paid in Advance Circulation September 30, 1975 5,420 as, ",•••, , . ... CCNA RI III RIM* 01 W IVRD ,971 One of the pleasures of being at the Lake is to watch the seagulls. On an evening not long ago, I sat on the edge of the cliff fascinated by the antics of some of them, A large group had gathered on the shore around what may have been a dead fish, Greedily pecking away at it, they squabbled loudly and threatened and stamped around each other crossly. One daring fellow grabbed a large piece of the fish and flew a few yards down the beach. Several others, perhaps thinking to share his loot, im- mediately followed, so now we had two squawking camps, eyeing each other suspiciously as they shrieked angry insults. One or two stood dejectedly apart, heads down, wings drooping until they finally on low over the lake to settle on the waves out of the sound of their raucous friends. I saw them gently rocked by the placid water I thought,"Perhaps it was just too much for them, perhaps they had to get away from it all." Not that I really blamed them. Then my eye caught sight of half a dozen other gulls wheeling high overhead, swooping and diving into the wind in a boun- dless sky. I was thrilled by their ballet on wings as they whirled and soared almost out of sight before they came plunging downward again, only to change direction once more and ascend even higher. (They reminded me of Jonathon Livingstone Seagull.) As I watched them joyously mounting ever upward, I thought what a wonderful view they must have. High above the squabbling going on down the beach, far above the quiet ones being lulled into a trance out on the lake, high above me sitting on the cliff, they were free to see for miles around, to take in the total picture. This all reminded me of an old book written by Hannah Hunnard Letter to Editor We are writing in regard to the article in the Sept. 16 issue of the T-A entitled "Will Charge For Tables." We sympathize with R.A.P.'s problem of missing and borrowed picnic tables and agree that restraints should be put on the private use of the public's tables. However this is the limit to which we agree with RAP's new policy. We, as other service clubs, have used the local tables on numerous occasions for our projects. We have received permission and cooperation on all these occasions and felt justified in not paying for the use of the tables because all our proceeds from these projects go back into the community. Now it would seem RAP wishes to dwindle these profits so that they may realize profit off ser- vice clubs and direct that money where they want. Service work in this community is hard enough without RAP impeding its progress. We sincerely hope they will see the possible con- sequences of their proposal. Exeter Kinsmen Club + + + Dear Editor: We had the privilege of being invited to the opening barbecue 30 Years Ago Gross receipts'were over $4,000 at the ninth annual Lions Club Frolic held in the arena Wed- nesday and Thursday nights. With the lack of rainfall many of the wells in the district have gone dry and farmers are drawing water for several miles to supply their stock. The shingling of the roof of •the new Pentecostal Tabernacle has been completed this week. The construction has gone ahead fast, 20 Years Ago Donald Pollen, RR 1, Granton, was a major winner at the Western Onfario 4-H cham- pionship show in London Saturday. Mrs, Harold Knight was in- stalled as president, of Rennin Kinette Club when Charter Night was held Tuesday, October 9, Perla Hern, daughter of Mr, & Mrs. Ward Hem, Woodharn, was crowned queen of Exeter Kin- sMen's second annual Harvest Jamboree Friday night. 15 Years Ago On Thanksgiving Day the