Loading...
The Lucknow Sentinel, 1985-06-26, Page 6Page 6 - Luckno.w Sentinel, Wednesday., June 26, 1985 "The Sepoy Town" BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 Thomas Thompson Sharon Dietz Pat Livingston Joan Helm Merle Elliott Alan Rivett -Advertising Manager •Editor. -General Manager -Compositor -Typesetter -Reporter Subscription rates in advance: 516.00 Outside Canada $45.00 Senior Citizen,.. $13.50 Outside Canada 543.00 Second class mailing reg. no. 0847 Advertising is accepted on the condition that in the event of a .typographical error, the portion of the advertising space occupied by the erroneous item together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balancoof.the advertisement will be paid at the applicable rates. Seniorscan't afford de -indexation Last month's budget, according to Finance Minister Michael Wilson, was supposed to be "tough but fair.'.' However, the budget turned out to be the toughest on the segment of society that can ill -afford it - the senior citizens. And that's not fair. Instead of levying a, minimum income tax on the rich which was promised by Progressive, Conservative leader Brian Mulroney before the Federal election, he chose to limit indexation of pensions to three per cent to reduce the • federal deficit.. This means pensions will not increase unless the inflation rate goes higher than three per cent. It also means that pensioners living near or below the pover- ty line willbe hard pressed to make ends meet. For example, an elderly person would receive $605 per month with the pensionnd the guaranteed income sup- plement offered by the government. This amount proves to be approximately$248 below the poverty line. There are estimates that there are approximately 600,000 elderly Canadians living in poverty. Thankfully, senior citizens in the province are not tak- ing Ottawa's de -indexation of pensions lying down. Numerou senior citizens groups across the province have gone to Ottawa and voiced their displeasure through demonstrations on Parliament Hill. Manyelderly people in Lucknow will certainly be feel- ingthe pinch after the budget. Although I,ucknow is a lit- tle far removed from Ottawa and there may not be a lot of ways our senior citizens can voice their concerns, there is something that can be done. - Recently, the Sentinel received a letter from the leader of the opposition, John Turner. The letter/states the op- position is embarking on a program called "Operation Justice for Senior Citizens". By sending out petitions, they hope to "convince the Mulroney government to treat elderly Canadians with justice." The petition will be at the front desk of the Sentinel of- fice. Any person who feels strongly about this issue and believes our community should voice our dissatisfaction. over the de -indexation of pensions should sign this peti- tion. We'll make sure it gets to the opposition party so they can get our message across to the government. A.R. Write a letter to the editor Pinecrest wheel-a-thon Although it was scheduled for two weeks ago, th;eey Pinecrest wheel-a-thon finally was held last . Wednes/day. ' The residents from the nursing home wheeled down the main street of Lucknow with some, help from students from Lucknow Central Public School. The wheel-a-thon, which is held on an annual basis at Pinecrest, raises funds for the Alzheimer's Society. At the end of the trip the residents and students were treated to some ice-cream. Here, Mary Mac- Donald (left) and Ina Young enjoy an. ice-cream cone. Photos ; by Alan Rivett As Neil MacCrimmon made his way to Jamieson's store, he cast his mind back to the time when the Friends of Skye had first come to the Caledon Hills. Much had been achieved since then. Where, once there had only been wilderness, the community of Redtrees stood like a monument tr) the courage and fortitude of brave men and women who had pioneered in a strange land. There ,were homesteads where families lived in contentment, assured of warmth, love and a full belly. In the fields won from the bush, the grain was lush, • green and waist high. Cattle and sheep grazed on the pastures, there was a lumber mill by the creek, a schoolhouse, a new stone communi- ty hall nearing completion and perhaps the greatest symbol of achievement - the Presbyterian Church of Redtrees. When he had first come to this place, Mac- Crimmon had not underestimated the tasks which lay ahead - the hardships, possible tragedies, and the difficulty ofkeeping his people united in a common bond .of mutual endeavour. But how could he had foreseen the havoc which could be wrought by the jealous and revengeful 9atuCe of just one woman by the name of Jane Cameron? He was not exactly sure how he would deal with the ex -doctor's wife. 1t would Crake a great deal of clever° negotiation and psychology to make her change her mind. Perhaps,, and Neil felt guilty at the very thought, he may have to use deceit. When he arrived at the store, he invited Jane to walk outside with him so that they could discuss their business in complete privacy. MacCrimmon was not a man given to preliminary conversation and came directly to the point. "With regard tae the money ye loaned to several people when they first came tae Redtrees - it would appear ye are now about tae demand payment in full." As they walked along, Jane bowed her heactin embarrassment. She had always felt a little afraid of MacCrimmon and his brus- que way of talking. "'That is so, sir. Why should I allow my money to remain here when it can, be in my bank gaining interest?" Jane said. "I take it then, that ye reason frae the decision is tae get interest en the money, and no frae silly jealousies, revenge nr other wicked motives?" "How dare you make such accusations, sir," Jane said furiously. "Since I am no longer a resident of Redtrees, it is only businesslike for me to take such action." "And how much, pray, will ye bank give ye as interest?" "Twopercent sir - at least two percent." MacCrimmon paused in ' his tracks and cupped his chin in his hands, pretending to be engaged in deep thought. "I have been given power of attorney tae act on behalf of your creditors," he lied. "Tae pay off their loans tae ye, it will be necessary frae them tae borrow money at the bank at four percent!" "And what has that got to do with me, Mister MacCrinundn?" "Well,, madam. It occurred tae me that if they pay you interest on their debts at the rate o' three percent, ye would gain mare on ye money and they would not hae tae pay as much." "And what security would I have on such an arrangement?" Jane asked cautiously. MacCrimmon waved hiss hand over the prosperous scene. "There is no a family here who would not guarantee the loans - there is enough property tae cover ye're lit- tle debt a hundred times!" Jane quickly realized she had been manoeuvred into a proposition, she could not refuse. "Very well, sir, I agree - subject of course to signing the necessary papers." "Then, we can conclude our business the noo, madam. I hae them already drawn up - they are right here in my pocket!" When MacCrimmon returned home, his wife Flora questioned him as to what he had been doing and where he had been. "Och lass, I was away tae see a woman on the sly," he said with a merry twinkle in his . eye. "I hope ye'll never be as spiteful and jealous of ye husband as she is about the doctor!"