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Times-Advocate, 1983-05-25, Page 4Page 4 PF 1; Times -Advocate, May 25, 1983 MOMMIIMIMISUMMINV 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 LORNE EEDY Publisher JIM BECKE.TT Advertising Manager Jim BILL BATEEN Editor HARRY DEVRIES Composition Manager ROSS HAUGH Assistant Editor DICK IONGKIND Business Manager 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., .0.C.N.A. CLASS 'A' and 'ABC' Questionable reaction It's understandable that residents of any street want improvements to roads or any services, particularl in view of the high taxes every property owner pays but some of the statements made to back up a reques to council last week were difficult to understand. Sherwood Crescent residents, who have their noses ,out of joint over the decision to pave their neighbors' street on Churchill Drive, alluded to a threat of withholding taxes, suggested that their street could become a ghetto without curbs and gutters and added that their assessments are erroneously high in light of the atrocious condition of the street. They may appear to have a valid argument in sug- gesting that their street has been in existence longer and should have been given priority over Churchill but that argument is self-defeating if they suggest cbun- cil should undertake improvements on the basis of date of establishment. That would certainly put their street much farther down the list as it is relatively new in *CNA comparison to some of the other unpaved streets in the y community. Assessments, of course, have nothing to do with t street conditions. It is not a factor used in arriving at assessments and it is a rather snobbish attitude to sug- gest that a street of highly assessed houses should get any priority treatment for road improvements. Road construction constitutes"a very small portion of the tax dollars any property owner pays and Sher- wood Crescent residents appear to have overlooked the fact they are among the direct beneficiaries of the one major reconstruction project taking place on Pryde Boulevard this year. Residents on other unpaved streets will no doubt watch with interest how council deals with the Sher- - wood Crescent situation. If threats of withholding taxes and insinuations of being illogical, unjust and creating ghettos pave the way to action, then it will certainly lead to some interesting council sessions. Allegations surface For several years; there were allegations of an ur- ban vsrural undercurrent at Huron council. Some of those were to be expected, given the fact the needs of crural municipalities differed from their urban counterparts. The lifestyles and attitudes have become more closely aligned in recent years and there are few issues which arise on which there is a differential between' urban and rural municipalities in the county. However, according to Exeter representatives, there is still some anti -urban feeling on the part of the rural majority and there was even a suggestion last week that an anti -Exeter attitude has emerged. Hopefully, that is untrue. However, the fact re- mains that items brought to the county by Exeter's representatives have failed to gain support; One of those was the resolution calling on the pro- vince to provide some financial assistance to • municipalities which have lost assessment and tax revenue through the assessment reductions granted to homeowners who Or Stung. with urea fotji itlehyde foam insulation. That resolution failed to get county support, despite the fact every municipality in the county could be adversely affected. Ironically, it was given over- whelming support at the recent conference of Small Urban Municipalities. That overwhelming support suggests Exeter was on the right track as far as many other communities across Ontario were concerned. Although some Huron municipalities may not be affected, they should have understood the plight of those who are and added their support. Either they didn't understand the situation ( which would be rather surprising) or they didn't want to sup- port an Exeter resolution regardless of how valid it may have been (which would be rather disturbing). Too late to turn back now From time to time, most people get in- volved in projects which turn out to be much larger than initially contemplated. In fact; it happens'quite frequently and is possibly orle rt anon why some people never start projects. Gardeners are currently among those who know the situation well. They start out to pull the dandelions from their lawn, thinking the chore will take only a few moments of their. time. A couple of hours later they have covered only a small ,patch and realize they have to spend the 'rest of the day finishing the job because the area that has become devoid of the yellow flowers makes the rest of the yard appear rather odd looking. To top it off, everyone in the neighborhood would know if they didn't complete the task. Car owners.face the same dilenuiia. In an unguarded moment they take a swipe at a dirt spot on the family wheels and too late realize they then have to get out the hose, soap and car wax because the spot that was cleaned looks ridiculous. it's the same fate suffered by those who decide they just can't stand looking out through that dirty kitchen window any longer. However. once they have 11 clean- ed they come to the sinking realization that they then have to clean every window in the house. The list could go on at great length and certainly it would have to include the jobs people are lured into on the promise that "it won't take much effort or time". Peo- ple have tx'en known to end up with almost full-time work upon getting suck- ed into those won't -take -a -minute jobs. * * * The preceding is a type of foreward to the writer's predicament in having em - harked on a project to find out about all the namesakes to Exeter around the world. Starting out with a meagre list of three on which I did not have any information, it appeared to be a rather simple task. As noted last week, that list grew to eight. and now it has been extended to an even dozen. The latest additions were provided by Henrietta Ilarre, librarian at Exeter. No, BATT'N AROUND with the editor not the Ontario one, but the one in Nebraska. Responding to my request for informa- tion on her community, Ms. Barre in- dicates she has located Exeters in Maine, Missouri, Rhode Island and Virginia. The others, in case you had forgotten. are in New Hampshire, California, Penn- sylvania, Nebraska, British Columbia. .England and Australia. Exeter, Nebraska, marked its centen- nial.in 1979 and Ms. Harre sent her regrets at being unable to provide a copy of the hook, "They Called it Exeter" which had been compiled for that occasion, as all copies have been sold. However, she did take the time: to photostat a few pages, one of which outlin- ed the rather unique method in which the community was given its name. Seems the Burlington railroad propos- ed to build a line from Crete on westward. The plan was to have the towns named alphabetically so there was Dorchester, Exeter, Fairmont, Grafton. Uarvaed, in- land, Juniata, Kenesaw and Lowell. Exeter did not, however, end up in its intended place of designation. The towns • were planned to -be eight miles apart, but the site for Exeter was found to be too ex- pensive: consequently it was located on cheaper land seven miles from Dor- chester and nine from Fairmont. The first settler was Dr. II.G. Smith, who apparently arrived with enough foresight to bring provisions for his family in the sparsely settled area. Others were not as wise and after having given up some of his provisions to keep them go- ing, he ordered more from Chicago and inadvertently started the first store in the community. The population. of Exeter in 1915 was given as 1.100 people and has been decreasing since and now stands at about 835, consisting mostly of retired farmers. Similar to Exeter, California, the namesake in Nebraska appears to have little connection with our own town's ancestry being drawn from the Devon- shire area of England. Most of the early settlers in western U.S. came from the eastern part of that nation, although oh- viously-someone.must have had a connec- tion with Exeter. England to come up with the name. There are similarities in the congenial nature and pride of community, however. Ms. Harre advises that when she was compiling her information for me, the chairman of the Improvement Council came in, and upon being advised of her communication, asked her to extend a. cordial imitation to attend Exeter Day on June 12. "We would be most happy to have another 'Exeterite' join us on that day, she concluded. Due to a previous commitment, the in- vitation can't be accepted, unfortunately, although the writer still thinks it would be an interesting venture to visit as many of the namesakes as possible. 1f the list con- tinues to grow, it may turn out to he a comparatively short hop between each one as you criss-cross North America. y!i H Feverish. and incoherent If you've anything bet- ter to do, don't bother reading this column, as it's likely to be feverish and incoherent. Conditions for writing are not ideal. I'm sick. Not ill. Sick. Ladies and gentlemen are iii, -People like you and me are sick. Stuffed with antibiotics and cold remedies, suck- ing cough drops; to pre- vent me hoicking up the odd lung, I got bored in bed, went downstairs, was driven back up by the horrible sight and sound of my wife doing the Jane Fonda exercises to a thud- ding disco beat, and bellied up to the typewriter to get my mind off my miserable, whining self. With nothing in my head except limitless supplies of mucus ( where does it all come from, gallons of it?), I'm going to let some of my readers have their say this week. For the sake of space I'll edit a bit. Ralph Hodgson of Waterloo, after agreeing with my comments about the weirdos who handle our tax money, has something else to get off his chest: "Education is becoming too dammed ex- pensive for what we are getting.. (I agree)... "You are an intelligent educator, Bill, but how af- fective are you and your associates? (Thanks, Ralph. Not very)... "The history of educa- tion for over 5000 years has had many spectacular results but has also managed to bring the human race to the brink of extinction. (Don't agree. People have brought us there, not education)..." Mr. Hodgson says the best -educated persons in his life were his father and his aunt, neither of whom went beyond elementary school. My own parents went as far, or less. and both wrote better than most Ph.D.s and jourt►elijt :•: . - ,4., He go ori: `,`Perhaps I should" ?efuse to pay my V Sugar and Spice Dispensed By Smiley school taxes. How would you like that, Bill? For teaching 195 out of 365 days this year at say $40,000, maybe you are not worth $205.13 a day. ( You're r:ght. i'►n worth far more, but they won't give it to me). "Seriously, I'm truly concerned at the large number of reasonably well-educated young Canadians who are graduating with such a bleak employment future." 11 am not con- cerned. I am appalled. ► From Frank Somers, a sprightly 76, of North Bat- tleford, Sask., conies a solid suggestion: "Last week 1 was impressed by your idea of a tax strike...1 have an idea along the same lines which would be a boycott of the liquor stores... "i feel that anyone who drinks or smokes pays an undue share of taxes. I have quit the smoking habit but my wife .still smokes up a storm...it has burned me up every time the Finance Minister says 'Let's hit the » the poor old slobs that like a drink once again'... (Me too.► "So all the members vote in favor of either rais- ing the tax or putting more water in it. Then I suspect that after being so righteous they retire to their chambers, and hav- ing voted Down with Li - quor they will proceed tb exactly that..: (A nice pun, Frank ) "So how about a drinkers' union able to lob- by and even sacrifice tothe extent of going on a non - buying spree. This might make them think about us' and would even be good for our liver and pocket- book. The ad could read BOOZERS and ASSOCIATES: joinANA Alcoholics Non Anonymous. Let us stop acting like a down -trodden minorty and make ourselves heard. Who knows but we might even by a slient majority?" ( Amen. 1'11 drink to that, Frank ). Alex Lebreton of Chatham,'N.B., thinks we are headed toward a dic- tatorship in this couritry if our elected represen- tatives continue to ignore the wishes of those they represent. Ile cites the en- forcement of Metric as an example. Ile deplores the .futility of the Opposition parties to halt the power of the majority. 'I feel that the only solution is to get tough with politicians and remind them that we would like to be part of a democracy," • Mr. Lehreton is thoughtful. concerned, and fed up, like most of des. Eli Stevens of Colborne{, Ont., would like to get together" with me about the "incredible financial mess we have allowed our Canadian governments to get themselves into. and your conviction that ,con- certed corrective action by only 9,999 intelligent citizens can correct the situation fascinates me." Mr. Stevens had already begun such a movement. including a constitution ( too long for this space), with the general purpose of ordinary citizens get- ting some kind of handle on such things as the cost of government, the cur- rent financial status of the nation, the effects of federal, provincial . and municipal debt on the citizen, and the law, in terms of how to effect essential changes. His ideas are sound. The movement would consist of 20 -member groups (no larger), with each group dedicated to forming other similar groups, something like a chain letter. What 1 wouldn't give to see such a movememnt swell and swell until it had changed Canadians' attitudes from .the usual individual's shrug. "What can i do about it?" to a col- lective, "Let's get off our butts - learn - know - act ! " With an enlightened and determined citizenry. there'd be a lot more tippy -toeing and a Io( Tess riding roughshod and airi- ly dismissing deficits soar- ing by billions, among our politicians. Caught with zipper down Once arson gets near the age of 40 he/she starts wondering if one is really starting to get old. A friend of mine had his suspicions confirmed after a couple of incidents that convinced him he must he getting a little senile. One Sunday morning halfway through the se- cond hymn he looked down and realized that his zipper was down. He tried to get it up casually then realized there was no easy way to do it, so pulled it up the best way he could. At least he wasn't up in the pulpit acting as lay died so in friend and his wife paid a visit to the Perspectives By Syd Fletcher preacher. The second incident happened during the same week. A distant relative funeral home. It was rain - in when the and there were a couple of big mud holes to cross so he rolled up his pants for a moment. Then he went into the funeral parlour, chatted with some friends and relatives, went up to pay his respects to the dead person, and then out to sign the visitor's register. It was only then that he looked down and realized that his pants were still rolled up halfway to his knees. No wonder some folks were looking at him a lit- tle strangely.