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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1983-05-11, Page 4Page 4 Times -Advocate, May 11, 1983 Ames INN dvocate Times Established 1873 Serving South Huron; North Middlesex Advocate Established 1881 & North Lambton Since 1873 Amalgamated 1924 Published by j.W. Eedy Publications Limited LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKETT Advertising Manager BILL BATTEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK JONGKIND Business Manager •CNA 11 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail 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' A legitimate question The grim news is out! Education levies from the school boards serving the area have increased sharp- ly, and are well above what ratepayers should have expected. They contrast sharply to the few municipal budgets that have been established so far in Huron. Most of those have been held at very reasonable levels as council members have been prudent in their spen- ding at a time when such prudence is a necessity. The elected school officials, of course, have given plausible reasons for the increases. Government fun- ding has been reduced, utility costs are up, sales tax has to be paid:on items that previously were exemp- ted, employee benefits have jumped, wages have been hiked, the cost of labor and material on capital pro- jects is high. Yes, 'those are plausible reasons. However, they are the same increases as the municipal councils had to face in most instances. They too have employees, operating and capital costs to face. Their government grants .were also reduced. In essence, the people who set municipal budgets had the same problems to face as those responsible for education budgets. Unfortunately the comparison between the two groups is not t an isolated situation. It's been that way for the past few years and obviously there is no indica- tion that trustees will turn it around by taking some of the bold steps that are necessary. One of the first steps is to tell Bette Stephenson and her bureaucrats that they can't operate some of her lavish innovations because the taxpayers can't afford them at the present time. However, they should be forewarned that the education minister has already excused herself from being the scapegoat for board of education budget in- creases .elsewhere. Right now, taxpayers aren't interested in sear- ching out scapegoats. They want the increases controll- ed to reasonable levels and obviously they're not get- ting that from school boards, but they are from municipal councils. Their legitimate question is: Why not? It's far from free If you're among those chomping at the bit to find out what the federal government files say about you, then startsaving your money to take advantage of the new freedom of information act. The information is not going to be free. In fact, the fee schedule may preclude the availability of information for all but the rich. A charge of $250 will be made for every 15 minutes of computer time used to retrieve the information. In addition, there Race on w One of the major points of intrigue was removed from the Progressive Conservative leadership race this' week when Ontario Premier Davis announced he would not be a candidate. Davis had kept the political pot boiling over his decision, but in the end apparently decided that he could lose the battle as well as being a devisive force within the party as leader, or in the nation as a poten- tial prime minister. While his power base in Ontario would be a formidable factor, there is little doubt that he would have had great difficulty getting votes elsewhere in the country due to his stance which has affected western will be charges for photocopying, microfilming and one to even implement a search. One NDP MP wonders aloud whether the govern- ment is looking at the department as a new revenue source. The government has yet to name a commissioner to administer the program. Perhaps theyiA give the job to Marc Lalonde and all the secret information will be available free if you show up with your camera and photograph him as he leafs through the files. ithout Davis Canada and Quebec in constitutional and energy matters. It is to his credit that he foresaw problems in his ability to unite the party and the nation and that, even more than the risk of losing, was probably the major factor in his decision. His announcement will result in a flurry of activi- ty on the part of the other candidates to pick up the delegates who were awaiting his decision before com- mitting themselves. 'At the present time, it appears to be a two-way bat- tle between Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney, but the lat- ter appears to have gained the most through the Davis decision. Exeter's balmy southern namesake Readers may recall a column of a few weeks ago where the writer indicated an interest in finding out about some of the Exeter namesakes in North America and to that end had sent out letters requesting information from Exeters in California, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. There was also a request that local citizens who had visited any of those com- munities get in contact with the writer. Well, the first source of information was closer at hand than anticipated. Front of- fice staffer Elaine Pinder came home from a holiday trip to the sunny south, and after reading that column (one of the first things she did on returning• home, no doubt) handed me a picture showing the welcome sign at the entrance to Exeter, California. She and Jim had travelled through that town and hart stopped to take a couple of shots (pictures that is). Shortly after, a large envelope arrived from the California community outlining a host of information gathered up by Ann Evans, office manager of the Exeter Chamber of Commerce. There were three postcards and six brochures providing a wealth of information that I would be hap- py to loan out to anyone interested in lear- ning more about our California namesake. . • . • Exeter is classified as a city, despite the fact the population is only 5,619 land it is located in the heart of the central San Joa- quin Valley 180 miles north of Los Angeles and 240 miles south of San Fancisco. The land on which Exeter now sits was once a vast plain where antelope, elk and deer grazed. The original townsite was started when John F. Firebaugh, a settler from Virginia, acquired title to about 240 acres and ran it is a sheep ranch in the 1870s. k In 1888, the Southern Pacific Railway began contruction of a line on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley through his ranch and he and the railroad's land development company laid out lots and streets. The town was named by one of the railroad company developers for his hometown of Exeter, England, as the Firebaugh family name had previously been given to a new town in the northern part of the valley. Toward the end of 1890, some of the grain and livestock ranchers became aware of the possibility of growing fruit in the area. The citrus and table grapes industry began about 1895 with first plan- ting on a commercial scale. The first school was built in 1897. Faced with the town's increased need for water, the residents voted to incorporate in 1911. . . . . . 0 Similar to this community, Exeter, California, has a basically agriculturally oriented background and economic base, although naturally the crops differ great- ly being primarily citrus, fruit and cotton, although beef and dairy farms are of some importance. • A mayor and four city councilpersons are elected for four-year staggered terms and the city operates on a budget of $1.7 million, which is almost identical to the PJ one passed last week by the local council. There are 36 full-time employees, 12 of whom are on the police force. The community out -numbers us with churches, having 18. There is a 74 -bed hospital with 12 physicians/surgeons in the community, along with three dentists, three optometrists and two chiropractors. Recreation facilities contained in 76 acres include 10 parks, four playgrounds, a nine -hole golf course, a swimming pool and five lighted tennis courts. , • There appears to he little connection with a Devonshire background with Nelson and Albert St. being the only ones found here. Citrus Ave., Plum Drive and Palm St. indicates a preference for native trees rather than any native settlers. Rentals for one and two-bedroom apart- ments and duplexes range from $175ito $300 per month and home rentals range from $250 to $600. Sale prices of existing homes were from $40,000 to $120,000 dur- ing 1981. There is one motel with 19 rooms. City ordinances include a $3 bicycle license fee and a $3 yard sale fee. Trash burning is prohibited. An. industrial promotion brochure states that "A unique environment is what doing business and living in Exeter is all about. The attributes of an affordable, stable workforce, a variety of attractive industrial sites and a location with many advantages for industry, combined with the appeal of a wholesome, pleasant small town environment, are what make Exeter different and 'a cut above' the rest. Come and take a closer look at Exetet and learn how this difference can be good for your company, your family and you". If you want a "warmer" invitation, con- sider the fact the yearly mean temperature is a balmy 62.9, P.E.T.- PIERAE two( Toth .yeiaM o iGlf Neither fish nor fowl One of the greatest pieces of miscasting (and there have been many) in that longrunning melodrama called The Liberals Ride Again - And Again - And Again, was the naming of one Paul Hellyer as Minister of Defence, back in the Pear- son days. Hellyer's qualifications' were awesome: ambition; an abysmal lack of knowledge of things military; a total insen- sitivity toward anything not affecting his own career and ambition. A political oportunist from the word go, he leapt at the chance to be Defence Minister, as a Step toward his next ambi- tion, Minister of Finance, and an easy shuffle from their, with a little nudging, political knifing, and treading on tender toes, into the BIG JOB. But Minister of Defence, in peace -time, is a rather tame, backwater spot. Hellyer had to do something to force himself into the limelight. He, or one of his ill- advised advisors, came up with a gimmick bound to gather headlines. It wasn't quite as dramatic as Moses par- ting the Red Sea but his scheme, and scheme it was, propelled the political climber onto the front pages. Hellyer's plan was sim- ple, as simpleton's plans often are. it was to destroy the morale of the fighting forces by rolling navy, ar- my and air force into a glutinous ball, stuffing it into a plastic -green -bag - colored uniform, and declaring from the housetops that Canada was the first country in the world to unify its armed forces. It wasn't promoted as destruction, of course. The PR machine ran smoothly. The plot would increase efficiency, save money, improve com- What is unfathomable is that the .Canadian public, so recently so proud of their seamen, soldiers, airmen, sat back and wat- ched with utter lassitude. Or perhaps they were smotheredinthe smoke screens laid down by Ad - Sugar and Spice Dispensed By SmNey munications, create ins- tant pie in the sky, and stop servicemen's noses running. When Hellyer went to work on Canada's proud armed forces, an axe in one hand and a sledgehammer in the other, almost singlehandedly he ac- complished what Ger- mans had not managed in two world wars - send those forces reeling into disarray, dismay and despondency, from which they have never recovered. Esprit de corps was turned into dispirited cor- pse. Tradition was swept into the scuppers. Proud regimental names were trampled underfoot. Color and gallantry and high standards and self- sacrifice were put into the mincer and came out as the dull -green Canadian Armed Forces. Hellyer has a lot to answer for, but his ego and the murky twilight of politics will combine to cloud this petty piece of poltroonry. miral Hellyer. What is even more as- tounding is that the armed forces put up with . it. If such a thing were attemp- ted in Britain, the fleet would mutiny, the army would rebel, and the air force would drop a couple on Whitehall. Can you imagine the enormous foofawraw in the U.S. if some political upstart tried to pull such a deal? The resultant clamor would resound from the very heavens. A few, a very few senior officers in Canada's forces, mostly naval men, fought back. . They were promptly purged. Not garotted, or shot. Simply retired early. Since Hellyer's hatchet job, the Canadian forces have gone steadily, and not slowly, downhill. When he began we had one of the four or five best navies in the world, about the third largest airforce and an army that hacl fought with the best of them and stood their ground. By the time he had finished, we had a homogenous but anonymous thing that was neither fish, fowl, nor good red herring. - Our armed forces were effectively castrated. There were still good peo- ple in them, but pensions and promotions became the name of the game. About ninety percent were either officers or NCO's. There was nobody left to fight. The ships weren't fit to put to sea. The aircraft became quickly obsolete. The tanks you couldn't even sell to Lower Sl000via. Canada's NATO forces became a laughing -stock. Canada became known as a country that wanted a firstclass ride for a third- class ticket. And Pierre Trudeau, who managed to avoid any conflict except with his wife and the Tories, didn't give a diddle: Hellyer's rocket fizzled, of course, because there wasn't enough powder to keep it aloft. He ran for the Liberal leadership 'was creamed. He started a party of his own, which vanished into this air, he turned his coat, went to the Tories, ran for leader, and was creamed again. No regret for that. But the stench he created lingers after him• the damage he did is almost irreversible. I can hardly wait to get my hands on a book by Ad- miral Brock telling it like it is. And i'1l shoot a copy to my brother, the Col- onel,' Distinguished Fly- ing Cross, who left this country in disgust after serving it for years, in combat and afterwards. Some growing symptoms if you live on a farm right now then you're heading into one of the busiest seasons of the year, especially if you're a cash crop farmer. Fellows that I know who are farmers get a little hard to live with about this month. Maybe you've seen the symptoms. • They've already got all the equip- ment all checked over (did that back in February when the weather was so nice and it looked like they might be on the land in March 'cause it's been such an open winter), so they have to prowl the im- seed corn, especially as he plement dealer's lot in- remembers the price he Perspectives By Syd Fletcher IMMINIIMUM stead of their own shed. The ulcer's starting to give a little problem as he takes a trip into the feed and seed dealer and hears the latest costs of hybrid got for dried corn last year. He's taking a little walk back to the field and comes back saying a few sweet nothings as he cleans the mud off his knees. ( it's not a prayer he's been saying either. though the name of the divinity may have been mentioned a few times). The last symptoms that youmightnotice is that the colour of his face is just about the same as his forehead where the cap covers it up. Probably it's about time that he got out- side a bit and worked on that windburn again. Good luck on the crops, fellows and may the prices be at least a little closer to your break-even points(