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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-02-17, Page 4PAGE 4. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1988. Opinion Paying for the little things It is in paying for things like recreation costs that created regional governments and the current deadlock between Blyth and its surrounding townships proves the point. Whenever a service is located in one municipality but used by people of another municipality, problems of who should pay what arise almost inevitably. With only three municipalities involved Brussels, Morris and Grey were able to come to a joint recreation agreement nearly two years ago but there are still disagreements. With five municipalities using the Blyth and District Community Centre the problems are more complicat­ ed. '■> The latest Complication comes with the suggestion on the part of Hullett and East Wawanosh townships that Blyth should pick up 10 per cent more of the cost than would seem to be its share based on the survey of the users of the arena. The reasoning is that Blyth gets extra benefit because all the rural users who come to town bring business to local shops, restaurants and garages. Blyth Reeve Albert Wasson says if you want to get into that kind of thinking, how much should Blyth be compensated for providing the necessary services to keep rural residents provided with their needs. It’s the kind of argument that could go on forever. For instance, we could get into a debate on road costs. Perhaps the village residents should help pick up part of the tab for upkeep on township concession roads because they are used to get township residents to town to support the local businesses (not to mention village residents sightseeing). On the other hand, the townships would have to help pay some of the street costs in the villages because when they come to town they wear out the urban streets. On the other hand the towns should pay for township road improvements for people from town going to work where there is an industry that has moved outside the village boundaries looking for more space or cheaper taxes. But then maybe the townships should contribute some of those industrial and business taxes that get dropped in their laps because the rural businesses still want to make use of urban facilities. The townships should have to help pay the snowclearing costs of the villages because of the amount of snow that blows into town from the countryside. On the other hand the village residents should be willing to pick up more than their normal share of taxes because they get fresh air that blows in from the country. On the other hand there’s the matter of pollution when nearby farmers decided to spread manure, which should mean the urban people pay less than their share. But then there’s the pollution some urban industries might put into air or water so that should tip the scale in favour of rural residents again. This kind of dickering, ridiculous or not, could go on forever. When you try to measure intangibles you might as well try to carry water in a sieve. The municipalities must try to use some common sense to work out their problems. If not they only present one more good argument for the dreaded prospect of regional government. Canadians missing the fun of winter To listen to Canadians moan you ’ d think Canada was covered by the polar ice cap 11 months a year. To look at our success at the Winter Olympics in Calgary this week you’d think we had never seen snow. Perhaps it is something of the schizophrenic relationahip to ice and snow that makes Canada far from a dominant participant in the winter Olympics. We tend to think of ourselves as a small country in population but we lag far behind smaller countries like Finland, Norway and Switzerland when it comes to success in winter sports. It’s our loss. Watching the Winter Olympics on television is about as close as most of us get to winter sports anymore. We have lost the sense of fun about winter that every Canadian kid has from the first time he looks out the window and sees the first snowflakes in November. Pounded by television and movie views of California and Florida we find it fashionable by the time we’re teenagers to bemoan our fate at living in such a god-forsaken climate and rush off to Florida or to the Caribbean as soon as we can. Yet looking at the Olympics on television shows how much fun winter sports are. Few sports played in summer can equal the excitement of the luge, the bob sled, the downhill ski races or the speed and grace of speed skating. Winter games are fun 1 Sitting home in our warm living rooms watching the games on television we are apt to get upset that in so many of the winter sports Canadiansjust don’t measure up. Perhaps if we stopped dreaming of ourselves as Californians and learned to not just live with winter but take the opportunities for pleasure it gives us, we too could join the giants like Finland and Switzerland on the medal podium at future Olympic games. Mabel’s Grill There are people who will tell you that the important decisions in town are made down at the town hall. People in the know, however know that the real debates, the real wisdom reside down at Mabel's Grill where the greatest minds in the town [if not in the country] gather for morning coffee break, otherwise known as the Round Table Debating and Fili­ bustering Society. Since not just everyone can partake of these deliberations we will report the activities from time to time. MONDAY: Billie Bean was saying this morning that he thought Harold Ballard must have spent his time while he was in hospital down in Florida watching satellite feed of the Parliamentary channel. How else do you figure, he said, that when a hockey team is playing terrible you fire a guy that hasn’t been on skates for 20 years. Billie says he figures Harold must have been watching the goings on in Ottawa where there is always some new scapegoat to take the blame for the latest mess. Think of the possibilities, Hank Stokes went on. If the Leafs continue to lose they can fire the stick boy, then the trainer, then all the janitors and the girls who sell popcorn and if the team hasn’t improved in five years they can get around to the coach and the players. TUESDAY: Tim O’Grady was egging on Ward Black this morn­ ing saying he hoped that when Prime Minister Mulroney goes to the Olympics for the opening later this week he’ll get the physical fitness bug. Ward got curious enough that he finally asked why and Tim showed him an article in the paper where an election organizer warned Conser­ vative candidates they had better be prepared to “carry” Mulroney in the next election. “I wouldn’t want to see them get worn out before they even get into the running,” Tim said. WEDNESDAY: Hank was saying this morning that he’s thinking of forbidding his kids to watch television, listen to the radio or read newspaper sports sections for the next few weeks until the arbitration hearings are all over in baseball. “How are you supposed to give your kids a proper sense of what’s right in the world if they have to listen to a Tom Henke bellyaching and demanding to be traded because he’s only getting paid $725,000 a year instead of the $1,025,000 he thought he was worth. The guy is absolutely insulted because obviously nobody values him enough because he didn’t make the million. And wait until George Bell can’t get his $2 plus that he wants. “Imean,’’saysHank, “howare you supposed to tell the kids you can ’ t afford to raise their allowance from $2 to $3 if they’ve been listeningtotheseguys. They’re liable to report you to the Child­ ren’s Aid for child abuse.” FRIDAY: Ward Black was telling Tim this morning that he’d never been sued and he hoped he never would but just the same it might be worth it if you got sued like Hugh Hefner just did. Seems Hugh had been nuzzling Continued on page 5 [Published by North Huron Publishing Company Inc. ] Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Belgrave, Ethel, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships Published weekly in Brussels, Ontario P.O.Box 152, P.O. Box429, Brussels, Ont. Blyth, Ont. N0G1H0 N0M1H0 887-9114 523-4792 Subscription price: $17.00; $38.00 foreign. 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