Huron Expositor, 2007-09-19, Page 4Page 4 September 19, 2007 • The Huron Expositor
Opinion
Proprietor and Publisher, Bowes Publishers Limited, 11 Main St., Seaforth, ON, NOK 1W0
Issues
best left alone
If the past few weeks are any indication,
Progressive Conservative leader John Tory might
want to regroup.
Dalton , McGuinty and the Liberals have been
using the days and weeks leading up the start of
the campaign by giving out money. Hardly a day
goes by that there wasn't some sort of funding
announcement and this riding is no different.
Meanwhile, Tory seems determined to turn the
school system upside down, looking at issues that
might be better left alone.
We're not talking smaller classes, standardized
tests or increased funding. Instead, he has
reopened two of the most contentious issues facing
our school systems in decades.
First, he made headlines when he said faith -
based schools which teach the Ontario curriculum,
hire accredited teachers and administer standard-
ized tests should be funded by the province.
At first blush, there is some logic to that. After
all, if Catholic schools are funded by the province
then shouldn't Muslim, Jewish and Christian
schools be afforded the same privilege?
In the mid-198Os, the Conservatives under then
premier Bill Davis granted funding to the separate -
school system. One can debate the merits of that
decision but what Ontario does not want is a myri-
ad of school systems, all funded by the taxpayer, all
with their own curriculums.
There's a social issue at . stake here as well.
Simply put - adding more school systems is divi-
sive. One of the good things about Ontario schools
is that our kids go to schools with fellow students
who are of another race, another religion, another
culture, another upbringing and so on.
In other parts of the world, where 'racism is a cri-
sis, bringing diverse'cultures together in common
schools is seen as part of a solution.
The second curious, not to mention controversial,
suggestion came when Tory raised the always hot
topic of teaching creationism in public schools. Tory
opened a political Pandora's box when he said he
didn't see why creationism couldn't be taught in
public religious schools on top of evolution and
"other theories."
Politicians wanting to knock out a current gov-
ernment and replace it with their own can't afford
this many missteps.
— The London Free Press
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Guinea pigs could come close
second as a favourite pet
When our family dog died
two years ago, my husband and
I were in no rush to fill the
void she left.
Replacing the dog who was
our baby before our children
were born was not something
we wanted to do without a
mourning period.
And, to be honest, we were looking forward
to one less commitment in our busy lives.
Our daughter, however, has been lobbying
for a new pet pretty much non-stop over the
past two years.
When it became clear that another dog was
not an option in a household with both par-
ents working and two kids involved in many
extracurricular activities, she began the
search for some other fuzzy mammal that
would still be huggable but involve far less
emotional and physical maintenance.
So, there were mixed reactions in the house
when we were presented with the possibility
of adopting two guinea pigs from extended
family members.
Without any experience of rodents in the
house, we were dubious. But, when assured
they were not going to keep us up all night,
dig up the plants, chew holes in our shoes or
leave messes all over the house, we relented.
Coco and Peanut, as they were renamed
when they entered our household, do not have
the personalities we've come to expect from
our experience with dogs.
But, we're finding that guinea pigs are still
pretty fun and entertaining pets.
Susan
Hundertmark
Anyone, for example, who
wants an alarm every time
they open the fridge each day
would be advised to buy a
guinea pig.
While they're not from Guinea
and they're not really pigs, I'm
becoming convinced that
they're called pigs because of
their insatiable appetites.
Every time the fridge opens or aplastic bag
rattles, guinea pigs are expecting to be fed
and will let you know by squealing "Reet,
reet, reet" until they are.
They are miniature lawn mowers and love
to be taken outside where they will graze to
their tiny hearts' content.
They will nibble down dandelion leaf after
dandelion leaf without complaint or hesita-
tion.
Are guinea pigs one of the many solutions
to ridding the world of greenhouse gases and
global warming?
How many guinea pigs would I need, I've
been left musing, to keep the lawn tidy and
get rid of my gas -powered mower completely?
Probably too many to house inside, I've been
forced to admit.
Because they're vegetarians, they won't
chomp your finger, unless they think it's a
carrot stick coming their way.
When provided with plastic tubing, they
will oblige by running through whatever con-
figuration of maze you create.
See WE'RE, Page 6
Ron & Dave
i Some scientists believe that there YOr in o different
are an infinite number of universes...
for example...In our universe the British
lost the American Revolution, but irr
another universe they might have won it
universe Nixon
beat Kennedy
in the 1960 electio
b David Lacey
Or maybe even I
got on "A" in
History in another
universe.
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