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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times-Advocate, 2002-09-25, Page 5October is Breast Health Awareness Month Dear Editor: On Oct. 3 the Canadian Cancer Society and Huron County Health Unit will host a lunch and learn session at the Maitland Country Club, North Harbour Road, Goderich from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. Guest speaker will be Catherine Fenwick from Regina, Sask. speaking on ‘Healing with Humour’. Catherine is a breast cancer survivor who has several years experience in counselling, teaching and writing. Her published work includes: • Healing with Humour; • Telling My Sister’s Story; • Building Bridges: The Heart of Effective Communication; • Hope for People Facing Cancer. To find out more about Catherine, visit her Web site at www.healingwithhumour.com. Tickets are $15. To reserve tickets: E-mail tdickson@srhip.on.ca or call the Huron County Health Unit at (519) 482-3416 or 1-877-837-6143. Cheques can be made payable to the Huron County Health Unit. Please register early to avoid disappointment! The schedule is: noon-12:45 p.m., lunch buffet and networking; 12:45 p.m.-1:30 p.m. guest speaker Catherine Fenwick; 1:30 p.m. Wrap up. Sincerely, DEBORAH BARTON, Manager, Canadian Cancer Society; Tania Dickson, Public Health Promoter, Huron County Health Unit Village Connections is here Dear Editor: The Kirkton-Woodham History Book Committee has been working hard for more than six years to collect and compile historical information and photographs which will reflect Our History...and YES, it’s finally here. We welcome everyone to attend this unique and long awaited ‘Village Connections’ Book Launching which will be held Sat. Sept. 28, 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. at the Kirkton United Church basement in Kirkton. We are extremely gratified by your support for this project and thank all who have contributed in any way. We know our book will be a treasured reflection of our heritage. We look forward to seeing everyone on Sept. 28 when you come to get your copy of ‘Village Connection.’ Kind Regards JO-ANNE META Kirkton-Woodham History Book Committee Member Foundation facts Dear Editor: I would like to bring some facts to your attention con- cerning the Grand Bend Community Foundation. The Foundation was formed in 2000 by Grand Bend Village Council as a way to use the proceeds of the sale of PUC assets for the long term benefit of the community. Initially the seed money was just over $1.5 million, but it has since grown through additional donations from peo- ple in the community. As the ‘Centre for Philanthropy’ for the greater Grand Bend area, our main role is setting up permanent endowment funds for people who wish to give something back to the community over the long term. We have developed a comprehensive information package to demonstrate how donations to the Foundation can pro- vide significant tax advantages to the donor. The pack- age has been provided to a wide range of financial advi- sors and estate planners in this area, and is available to anyone on request. Each year the Foundation will make grants to local charities out of the proceeds generated from the pooled endowment funds received by the Foundation. This year we expect to grant in the neighbourhood of $30,000 in new grant money to worthwhile charitable causes in the greater Grand Bend area. The application deadline for these grants is Sept. 30, and I would encourage any group interested in applying for a grant to contact our Executive Director, Anne Donohoe for an application form and any assistance needed. We wanted you to know about the Foundation because it opens an important new door for those who wish to participate in the continued prosperity of our communi- ty. If anyone would like to know more about the Grand Bend Community Foundation please feel free to contact us at 238-2190. Sincerely, HANK KRECH, Chairman Wednesday,September 25, 2002 5Exeter Times–Advocate Editorial&Opinion 10 YEARS AGO September 23, 1992 - The Goderich OPP detach- ment received countless calls last Sunday of an object over Lake Huron described by viewers as a large,bright white light. The Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton confirmed it was a Russian satellite which happened to be passing over the area. Frieda Bierling, a former Hay township resident and presently living at the Exeter Villa celebrat- ed her 102nd birthday last Wednesday, making her the old- est resident of the town. 25 YEARS AGO September 22, 1977 - Mrs. Clarence Switzer of the Kirkton Women’s Institute recently received a life member- ship. The Crediton girls won the district juvenile girls softball championship. Team members are Maryann Desjardine, Barb Wein, Mary Ann Govers, Dianne Wilds, Patti Shapton, Deb Finkbeiner, Barb Mitchell, Sandy O’Neill, Tammy Regier, Marg Brennan, Jane Pickering, Brenda Mitchell, Kathy Davey, Tammy Schenk and coach Dick Lord. A retirement party for Sgt. Sid Daley of the Lucan detachment of the OPP was well attended at the Lucan Legion, Saturday night. Bill Berends, maintenance employee at South Huron Hospital for the past 17 years retired recently. Area bean growers and mills are becoming con- cerned about this year’s crop, which only a fort- night ago promised to be high in yield and quality. Due to continual rains, many of the white bean plants are turning black. 40 YEARS AGO September 24, 1962 - The youngest champions at the Exeter Fall Fair were the winners of the under four months baby show class. Sherry Louise, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Gilfillan of Exeter won the class and Wayne Donald McCann, son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald McCann was runnerup. Other champions at the fair were dairy cattle, Ross Marshall of Kirkton; sheep, Preston Dearing, R. R. 1, Exeter; grain and seeds, Russell Oesch, Varna; flowers, Mrs. Luther Reynolds, Exeter; fruits, Victor Jeffery, R. R. 3, Exeter; vegetables, Lloyd Reynolds, R. R. 1, Hensall and champion cook, Mrs. Ward Hern, R.R. 1, Woodham. 45 YEARS AGO September 23, 1957 - Kirkton Fall Fair, staged on a different day this year, attracted a crowd of 1,200. Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Forrest of Kirkton and their seven children were injured in a head-on crash on Concession 4 of Usborne township Friday night. The cars met at the brow of a hill on the narrow township road. Robert McKenzie of Kippen was the driver of the second car. 55 YEARS AGO September 22, 1947 - Mr.Robert Sanders of town was awarded 15 firsts and one second out of 17 entries in the vegetable division at the Exeter Fall Fair last Thursday. Students who have resumed their studies at the University of Western Ontario are Don Traquair, Norman Hannigan, Peter Fraser and Misses Helen Snell and Gwenneth Jones. Miss Shirley Taylor won the Simpson’s special prize for the most points in the boys’ and girls’ department at the Exeter Fall Fair. The Exeter band is providing the music at the Teeswater Fall Fair this week. Murray May won the senior boy’s championship with 20 points at the Exeter High School field day. Hard frost did considerable damage, especially to the late beans in the district Friday and Saturday mornings. 60 YEARS AGO September 24, 1942 - Four girls in Miss Canada costumes, Marjorie May, Marion Elliott and Jean and Sheila Fullarton sold $60 worth of War Savings Stamps at the Exeter Fair Thursday night. 80 YEARS AGO September 23, 1922 - While threshing on Thursday last, Mr. Hal Brown of Usborne in trying to adjust a belt which runs the elevator, got his hand caught which resulted in the loss of one or more fingers from his left hand. ROSS HAUGH BACK IN TIME The Turner Report A LITTLE IS OKAY,A LOT IS NOT Last Friday economists were all atwitter when the feds released the latest inflation numbers. They showed the cost of living soared last month from just over 2% to 2.5% - a relative massive jump, due in part to higher insur- ance and energy costs. That prompt- ed immediate fears that the Bank of Canada will soon be raising interest rates to cool off the economy and prevent a 1980s-style wage-price spiral. However, that's ridiculous. The threat we face is not inflation. It's deflation. Consider what's going on with the two biggest economies in the world right now. In the U.S., things are sputtering along on one cylinder, unable to shake off the trauma of September 11 plus the bursting of the technology bubble. Washington has thrown a massive amount of fiscal stimulus at the country in the form of $1.6 trillion in tax cuts and the lowest interest rates in four decades. But it isn't working. The stock market is in the soup, corporate profits are terrible, the economy is barely growing, retailers are slashing prices and the inflation rate has plunged. Meanwhile in Japan, they already know all about deflation. Prices have been falling for years and the economy is in negative growth. The stock market has now lost 50% of its value and recently closed at a 19-year low. The Bank of Japan made the unprecedented move the other day of buying up shares in the country's big banks as a way to shield them from collapse, and the alarm bells sounded loudly last week when, for the first time ever, the country could not sell out an issue of government bonds. If you want to see Tokyo's official "Emergency Countermeasures to Deflation" policy, check out www.mota.go.jp/policy/economy/japan/mea- sure.0202.html. Deflation, of course, is the opposite to inflation. It's when prices fall instead of rise. That means your money becomes more valuable because it buys more. A good example of that happened a few days ago when General Motors announced price reduc- tions of up to $4,000 on new cars. In times of defla- tion interest rates fall, instead of rise - in fact, you can easily get 0% financing more many consumer prices today, and mortgages are down into the 4% range. Mild deflation, which the US has now, and which we will get soon, is not such a bad thing. But serious deflation, which threatens Japan and which we last experienced in the 1930s, is devastating. Wages start to decline along with prices, but debt levels remain the same . That means it gets harder every month to pay the mortgage. In addition, with things getting cheaper to buy, it makes sense for con- sumers to delay purchases - which hurts retail sales, and the economy. Could that happen to us? Well, the early signs are there - retailers cutting prices and margins to the bone, corporations unable to make money in a stag- nant economy, zero-per cent financing deals, falling commodity prices and falling expectations. Investors two years ago felt they should get a 12% return on their money. Today most people are delirious with 5%. Why is deflation stalking us? Partly because the economy of North American was inflating far too quickly during the dot-com era, and a correction was inevitable. It's also because in any era of rapid technological change, productivity goes up and prices go down. Additionally, we are now part of a global economy where countries like Canada and the States can no longer compete with lower-cost places that can turn out cheap goods and create an excess of supply. The entry of China into the World Trade Organization last year was a major deflation- ary event. Should we worry? Not yet. Stable prices, or mild deflation was the norm in the United States from 1790 to 1945. It was only after the Second World War that prices and interest rates started to climb - for almost exactly 50 years. But the pendulum now looks like it is swinging back with a vengeance. On a practical level, this probably means it makes a lot of sense for you to be cautious about debt (especially if it's non-deductible debt), to be realistic about investment returns, to expect lower interest rates and miniscule or non-existent salary increases. GARTH TURNER THE TURNER REPORT