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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1983-01-05, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, January 5, 1983 Imes Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 dvocate Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited (ORNE EEDY Publisher IIM BECKETT Advertising Manager 1111 1. BATTEN ROSS HAUGH Editor Assistant Editor -HARRY DEVRIES' Composition Maratger DiCK IONGKIND- Business Manager Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mall -Registration Number 0386. Phone 235-1331 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $21.00 Per year; U.S.A. $56.00 C.W.N.A., O.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' -Deserve some comment . The statement issued by council gives no indica- tion that any of the boards will be given an opportuni- ty to discuss the report with council; despite the ramifications of the report to those boards or the fact Exeter council May have taken some of the. "heat" off the controversy and fear surrounding the salary, benefit and organizational study through a statement approved at -their final meeting of the year. However, that statement in itself had some gu'es- they deserve - the courtesy of being asked for their tionable aspects,. not the least of which was a tone of opinions. indignation in noting that "even members of at least- one board appointed by council have publicly gone so They'll join the public (who paid for the report) far as to criticize council's handling of the report." apparently in not having any opportunity for an expres- sion of opinion, or access to council members' opinions, as council will examine it "in private" to determine cil should not criticize its master? Hopefully not, par- . the process -for implementation. ticularly when it isassumed that one of the boards fingered in that statement is the South Huron rec cen- tre board of management. , Surely that board has some autonomy, particular- ly when it isconsideredthat other councils also make appointments to it. . *CNA BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1980 BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1981 The statement from council indicated they were "very pleased" that the report will force it "to examine itself, assess its strengths and correct its weaknesses." Hopefully it will see that the various boards which Members of the 'bo d did express concern that will b• e directly involved in the report's implementa- they •were not given copies. of the report, despite the tion constitute one of council's strengths and they will fact their employees and operations are included in give them the courtesy of expressing opinions -on the - that report. There was also concern that employees of report before it is implemented. the board were going to meet with council to discuss Failure to extend that courtesy and thereby ode the p re ort bef th board a members were given the nounce whatever autonomy or expertise those boards same opportunity. It appeared to be a case of putting may consider th y enjoy uWvould certainly not be cor- the 'cart before the horse and the criticism was recting a weakness of council that the statement justified. • 4-4! 0, - signalled. Preaching is practiced While restraint was one of the favorite platforms cited by candidates in the recent municipal elections, m rnbers of. Exeter council have left little doubt that it/was much more than an election promise. Their decision.,to restrict the number of delegates to the upcoming Good Roads convention is one that should be lauded by the taxpayers and considered by other area municipalities. Ratepayers dont begrudge money spent on gain- ing information that can result in more efficient opera- tion of their municipalities. But, there was never any evidence that an army of officials . from any one municipality was required to bring home all the valuable information gleaned at the Good Roads con- vention. It appears to have more social benefits than anything else. -. Given the fact there are a number of other wor- thwhile conventions throughout the year that would be of , equal, or higher,- merit - from the standpoint of knowledge gained, it makes considerable sense to restrict attendance at any one rather than opting out of others totally. One of the panel discussions at the Good Roads convention is on how to reduce costs. Exeter council members have obviously found one that can be easily followed by others without any detrimental effects. Her optimism should be catching 11's the season for tear -encs reviews and prognostications for the upcoming 12 Months. bunt you believe most of the ex- perts we'd best join the groundhogs and hope that shadows keep appearing to trighten us hack into our holes. • - it isn't .difficult to get swallowed up in the doom. •and gloom, but if you look around: you may find sotne optimistic :rsil;tts-l#tul-mill_ e .5•toreyour faith.. . • • • i had such an experience .last week, while heading into the locai,pharmacy to t.some relief for a stomach that was aving di-fic•uity withstanding the strain • of the festive season: There at the'display of Christmas cards.. ,and v. -rapping that Were being cleared out at half price Was a frail. old lady stuffing her shopping bag for next year. Obviously; there was no doubt in her mind that there would he a Christmas next year and that there would be the usual gifts to wrap in the paper she was buying. Nor was there any al,parentfear that new postal rates woulil make sending cards prohibitive;. It was indeed afong-range outlook that 'Was a lot brighter than'tnosi in evidence these days. The care she was taking in making her • selections gave evidence that the reci- pients of thegifts and cards were in her mind; not simply the discounted. price. • Iter • age suggested she had come through the good times and the had in the past, and I have.little doubt she'll come through 198.3 better than those who stand on its threshold with a pessimistic view. There are already indications that 1983 may be more oplimisticallc 'ewed in'thi4 area than some because' the pending visits by several Gennep business and in- dustry representatives as a result of the f • r 4 recent trip to that country by Mayor Bruce Shaw and Councillor Bill Mickle. While the state of the economy will Y temper some of the enthusiasm that such visits would normally, generate, they do represent an opportunity that should be explored fully and the entire community BATT'N AROUND with the editor should consider the need for putting its collective best foot forward. The welcome extended to the visitors • and the general attitude they witness will be important factors in their view of the comtnunily as a possible new home for their enterprises. There is little doubt that the most im- portant factor in such decisions is the human element. How they perceive the community as a prospective home for their families far but -weighs the availability of land, buildings and sewers. The latter can be found in any com- munity in Ontario. What sets us apart, hopefully, will be the friendliness of the community and the most important com- .ponent for any industry..people. * * ,. Among the communkations received over the Christmas season was a note . from Jack Malone,manager of the ODC ,Iluron industrial Park. He indicated'he had been rummaging through some old files and came across an editorial penn- ed by yours truly for a Christmas edition sdme 14 years ago. It was entitled "A bountiful Christmas" and noted that this area was reaping the. benefits of the industrial and educational expansion at the former air base. The point expressed was that many peo- ple in the area appeared to be accepting the rapid and welcome development of the complex as a"matterof'fact", not ful- ly appreciating the efforts of the people who were wot'king so diligently at produc- ing the results. - . It is a niessage that probably is worth repeating. While the rapid expansion of Huron Park in those days 14 years ago won't be duplicated in the forthcoming months, the same amount of effort by those directly and indirectly involved will be required to even make some gains in today's economy. Any development will not come about as a mere matter of -fact. It will take a herculean effort on the part of everyone in the community to make small gains. * , Jack also sent along the most recent brochure outlining the promotion for Huron Park. It,notes that prior to de- activation of the" air base, the site employed 250civiliaps. The ten major in- dustries now located in the park employ • in excess of 700 workers. Those industries currently occupy over 380,000 square feet and are continuing to expand. - Those figures do not include the staff and students at the agricultural college and the veterinary services laboratory. It is a success story through which this area continues to benefit dramatically and the brochure gives evidence that the 'story is on-going and ODC is continuing the search for new industries. it made Christmas 1968 most bountiful and undoubtedly has continued to do so through subsequent years. "Shoukjn't- t ey be out gathering winter fuel?" ATr�fring -writer Peoplekeep on asking Before yo call in the me, "But what will you do Mounties; ` t ice a deep when you retire?" It's breath. I'in not likely to do always asked in the same, any of those things, or -on - rather petulant way, sug- ly a few. It happens in gesting that" I will im- novels, but not often in mediately,become senile, real life. I'll probably just die of sheer boredom or - go on being Bill. Smiley : succumb instantly to some confused,angry, happy, unknown disease. • lazy, . - hopeful. These ideas are gross pessimistic, sweet, sour, canards, implanted in-peo- , greedy, generous, stupid _ ple whose retirement is far in the future, often by Jewish writers who have an overwhelming sense of guilt because they put their old man in a nursing home when -he interfered with their lifestyle. They didn't dare to put their mothers away. In the first place, it's none ofheir business. Maybe I'll grow a beard, get drunk for three months, take a twenty- year -old mistress, never wear a tie again, and write dirty poetry. Maybe I'll turn into a day -footed pillar of the community, serving on committees, running raf- fles, trying toteachyoung hoods that a past partici- ple is more important than a past bank holdup, and attempting to beat the. toughest game in town - Death: Maybe I'll cultivate my own garden, as Voltaire Suggested. Perhaps I'll do all the things my mother tried (tried is the key word) to.prevent me from doing: swimming on Sun- day, hanging around the poolroom, drinking anything but tea (she had a• few drunken uncles.) Maybe i'll kick up my heels entirely: go around barefoot; use a lot of four- letter words; never change my underwear; leave my wife in pitiable financial circumstances; ,buy a raincoat and go flashing in the park. Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley be, fifty yards away, wat- ching as she sank into genteel poverty, unable to pay the gas bill, the taxes, the plumbers and electri- cians and TV repairmen and all the other ghouls who haunt us. But I think she's plann- ing counter-measures. it s a bit like the Russian KGB . and the U.S. CIA. We A r -X time, that Macbeth would have been a pretty decent sort if his wife hadn't been ' .. so greedy. And, of course, what it . • all boils down to is that Fm not even retiring, which confounds mine enemies and friends alike. I am merely.ceasing the teaching of school. When the war ended, I retired from heing a - fighter pilot. When I'd had , enough, I retired from the weekly newspaper. business. Now that I've had a bellyful of teaching, and all the trivia that goes with it, I am not retiring, but beginning a new career. I plan to write. Not let- ters, which I never seem able to get around to. Not -• Harlequin romances, though I think I could rat- tle off some good ones, if. my sense of humor didn't get in the way. Not great fiction, dealing with little people re -discovering great truths. sprinkled with symbolism and sen- • sitivity. Not penetrating poetry, through 1 can rat- tle off a pretty Bang good poem, on order. No. Nene of that derivative stuff for .me. I'm going to write the messages on greeting cards. I hear there's good ;honey in it, and any idiot could improve on what is now offered. The dif- ference is that mine will be personalized. And they will be twenty bucks a throw. - lfow about this for a sympathy card, on the death of a loved one? • Sorry I couldn't be,with you when i knew you had a special yen For * more hi-jinks with good old pave With Abner cooling in the grave. about some things, bright respect each other, but we about - others; a • good plot. She's been buying grandfather, a lousy hus- - tools hand over fist. and literate scholar, an everything except her hus- band, a so-so father, an il- can repair practically observer of the trivial -band. She's talking about you name it; .I've .got it. • taking some music pupils The possibilities .of again (a secret source of retirement, of course, are . income? ) uness, and Well, to get back to fasbocinating.dlMy wife is retiring. When 1 look §cared stiff, because I'm across the . street at my difficult enough to neighbour. cutting grass dominate on weekends, let or shoveiling snow, or pat - alone the forever that is thing his roof, I don't retirement. worry about dropping On the very rare occa- dead three weeks after I sions when we exchange . retire. lie quit teaching heated words (three or . about- twenty years ago four times a week ),'i have the trump card. 1 merely say, "O.K. You take your blank house and your blank car and your blank blank bank account (that requires a careful tongue) and I'll take my pension and move into a boarding house." • That usually makes her trot out into the kitchen and start -making a pum= pkin pie orsomething.She knows the boarding-house is right across the street, and all I'd have to do is pack a hag and my typewriter, and there I'd and could probably wres- tle me to the ground with both hands tied bellitid his back. Another neighbour climbs high ladders and fixes things while i cower at the foot. holding the lad- der. Ile's retired. Another plays golf while i sit on the bt.ck.lawn. contemplating the birds and my arthritic foot. He's retired. Another retired teacher, two blocks away, skis in the Alps for four months in the winter while -I plod through the snow to teach, for the twenty-second --' Weakness of the system A few weeks ago Donald Oag, a prisoner in a federal penitentiary was released, under the terms of the 'mandatory supervi- sion' clause of our judicial system. This basically means that the parole •• board is by-passed when the prisoner has served two-thirds of his sentence. ,Thea' prisoner is then released with the expecta- tion that he will report fre- quently .to a supervisory officer, The idea is that with this possibility in mind, the prisoners will behave better while in custody so that their good behaviour will give thein some time off of their sentences. - To me, this is one of the years in jail, then that should be the time spent there, not some shorter Perspectives By Syd Fletcher weaknesses of our present time determined by a system. if a person is a group of people who were' violent criminal who has nowhere near the cote - repeatedly committed traom where the whole violent acts then he should case in all its brutality was be put away for a set *brought to light. period of time. If a judge I think it's time that sentences a person to ten , there was a public outcry erp rlairlIrlik . .....�........,..,�,.�.,,�,..- about the general laxness of a judicial syste'm that will allow criminals such as Olson ( British Colum- bia murderer) and the FLQ kidnappers (Quebec) to publish their memoirs and make money out of their wrong -doings. Sure- ly we can't condone such garbage being printed. . (i might note' that . Donald Oag was taken back into custody im- mediately. Somebody of his family was quoted as saying that this was truly an inhuman way for the authorities to act. I'm afraid I can't agree. Dangerous people deserve to be locked up.)