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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes-Advocate, 1988-09-21, Page 24Page 4 Times -Advocate, September 21, 1988 Times Established 1873 Advocate Established 1881 Amalgamated 1924 Q•l. BLUE RIBBON AWARD 1985 dvocate Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S0 Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386. Phone 519-235-1331 ROSS HAUGH Editor PCNA cc A 11M BECKETT Publisher & Adsertising Manager HARRY DEVRIES DO% SMITH Composition Manager Business Ssanager SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada: $25.00 Per year; U.S.A. $65.00 When will it happen? If increasing speculation of the date of the next federal election is true, the big announcement should come this Friday, September 16. That's one day before the present four year term of the government headed by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney will con- clude. The date bantered about by party offi- cials is November 7. That's one day be- fore the United States election and one week before our municipal elections. The move to vote on November 7 would be a wise one for the Mulroney government as any trends in the presiden- tial vote by our southern neighbours could not have any effect on Canadian ballot casting. This may be a very dumb idea, but we would suggest the federal election be held on Monday, November 14, the same day as most area municipalities will got to the polls to elect local councils. Although such a move may cause confu- sion, it would certainly cut down on the cost of election officials and rental ac- commodations for polling booths. We realize there would be a need for two separate lists of eligible voters as re- quirements would be different and they would be difficult to keep separate. When we threw this idea at a fellow em- ployee, we got the answer, " You know what could happen? Brian Mulroney could end up being reeve of Hay town- ship". If this is a stupid suggestion, don't wor- ry. The next time it could possibly happen again would be in the year 2000 as federal elections are supposed to be every four years and municipal votes every three years. On a more serious note on the upcoming election, all voters should do their home- work and base their decisions on common sense questions asked of the parties and the individual candidates. Before the election actually arrives, there probably will be a number of opin- ion polls listing the popularity of each party. These should not be allowed to in- fluence anyone's actions when they get to mark the secret ballot. The polls say they reflect the views of average Canadians. But, what is aver- age. Each of us has a different personality with a variety of likes and uislikes. While Canada is one of the best coun- tries in the world , it's important for each voter to make his or her own choice after a clear and fair look at the options to keep it that way. The bottom line will still be, vote as you like, but vote. We have a democratic pro- cess at work. Let's keep it that way. By Ross Haugh Equal treatment The London media's blending. of two stories last week might help create inter- esting reading but we believe it is blatant- ly taking advantage of an opportunity rather than fair, impartial journalism. The United Church's well-publicized stand on accepting homosexuals and the recent arrests in the city of men perform- ing indecent acts in mall washrooms helped make the latter story much larger than warranted. Of the over 40 arrested we wonder why the occupation of minister of two of those arrested suddenly became the focus of the entire story? • How about the other equally sick indi- viduals who have also been charged? We can't condone this behaviour and stand with the police in their efforts to curb such activities, we do however sug- gest that either all or none of the occupa- tions of those arrested be released. By Jiff Beckett Drug education needed Concern over drug and alcohol abuse is greater now in Ontario than it has ever been. The drug problem, especially among young people, came to everyone's attention with the death of a 14 -year-old Toronto boy, Benji Hayward. Though Benji's death is unfortunate, it was not in vain. His death, and subsequent inquest into why it was allowed to hap- pen, made the public aware of the grow- ing, illegal drug problem in our society. It's not just young people who are into drugs, but people of all ages. And sadly, it's people much older than Benji, the ones who are supposed to be role models, who make the illegal drugs available. Drugs, like marijuana and cocaine, can be had for the asking. For teens, it's the • thrill they're looking for. Sadly, that thrill often leads to addiction, and for many, death.. It took a young boy's death to bring home the message that there is a drug problem. It's not just in Toronto, but even in small towns like Seaforth. But fi- nally we're going to do more to educate kids of the hazards of illegal drug use. In 1989, all schools must implement drug education programs. We don't have to wait till then - we can start now. The VIP (Values, Influences and Peers) 4 program in, Seaforth schools, operated with assistance from the police depart- ment, has seen success since its initiation into the schools. 'leaching ourselves and our kids of drug abuse and the conse- quences starts at home and at school. Did you know that some people who'experi- ment with cocaine for the first time never have a second chance? Many people have died, high, their first time. Teenagers take note - it is okay to say "no" to drugs. A teenager, who may feel left out because he's not with the drug crowd, has to be told he's with the in - crowd when it comes to knowing about the hazards of drug abuse. Teens, who say no, must be given the confidence through reassurance that they indeed are the nor- mal ones. They must be made to feel proud for having the courage to stand up for their principles. Drugs aren't normal. Kids don't need them, neither do adults. The ultimate high in life is living; being able to enjoy the sunrise and sunset; being with friends who care; and finally, having a body that doesn't hurt because of drugs or alcohol. Just remember: the addicted don't care about life, or the lives around them. Let's not end up like Benji. Huron Expositor Serving South Huron, North Middlesex & North Lambton Since 1873 Published by J.W. Eedy Publications Limited Other bad crops A bus trip to the state of Wis- consin last week showed us that other parts of North America have suffered worse from this summer's drought than farmers in this area. Most of the corn fields in Wis- consin were dried up and the stalks wcrc no more than three feet tall. We saw a couple of white bean crops and although they were dark green in colour, were only barely out of the ground. As Wisconsin is touted as America's Dairy Land it appears as if there will be a real problem this fall and winter in gettitig enough feed for the cows as the pasture fields also looked terrible and the second cuttings of hay were very short. We talked to travellers from Iowa and Nebraska that had the same kind of story. Iowa is one of the top corn producing states and we were told in some areas the yield could be as low as eight bushels per acre. The visitor from Nebraska in- dicated white beans would be running around 10 bushels per acre. The four day trip was with the retired teachers of Huron county and included those from Gode- rich, Wingham, Clinton, Bay- field; Brussels, Londesboro and Exeter. When I heard that Peggy had just turned 96, I said: "I must go and see her before it's too late" Peggy is one of the oldest residents around here. She knows things about this township that no one else remembers. And she told me that she had something to give me. Peggy lives with her 76 -year old son. I called him and asked whether I could speak to Peggy. "You'll have to yell at her," he said. But it's not true. Peggy's hearing is/almost as good as mine. Neither on the phone nor in direct conversation did she have any trouble understanding me. "Come on over," Peggy said, "I have nothing else to do anyway". She must have watched me drive up the lane because when 1 pulled up in front of the house, she stood at the door waiting for me. She uses an aluminum walker to get up from the sofa, but otherwise she walks without assistance. "You're looking well," I said. "No need to flatter me," she replied, "I'm an old woman and 1 know it". "O.K.," i said, "you're looking well for an old woman". We both sat down at the old chrome kitchen table. There was a pile of old photographs and newspaper clippings. "I'm going to give you all this stuff," she said. "You can do with it whatever you want, as long as you don't bring it back here. I'm through with it, and I don't ever want to see it again". "What about your son?" I asked. "He's not intereested in this, When we arrived at the motel in Mount Horeb in Wisconsin at after 8 p.m. the first night out, the first project was to get some supper. At the next table were the Nebraskans and their first question was " Are you at the clinic, too". - They wcrc visiting a chiroprac- tic clinic and the question seemed right in place as our back was also a little sore from riding more AA, rom the �i^�e''► c'editor's disk by Ross Haugh 1 than 600 miles on the bus. Despite the poor crops, the trip was actually very enjoyable. A lot of visting was done in two days before the long 700 milt jaunt home. We left the Wiscon- sin Dells at 7.50 p.m. Central time Thursday morning and were hack in Godcrich around mid- night thanks to the expert pilot- ing of bus driver Roy Finlay. Our tour of the city of Madison included the University of Wis- consin and the state capital build- ings. The bigggcst employer in addition to the university is the Oscar Mayer meat packing plant. Ninety-six and neither is anybody else I know", Peggy said. But she insisted in handing me each item separately and talking about it. PETER 'S POINT •• by Peter Hesse! "This here is a picture of my brother Harold when he was over in the war. He was killed in Francc in 1917." "Did you ever go to see his grave?" I asked. "Me? No, I never left this County. When 1 was young I didn't have the money, and later 1 didn't feel like travelling". "This is a picture of me and my baby sister Verna. Isn't it funny that she had to die before me? She just died in Saskatchewan three months ago". Peggy wiped a tear from her eye. "How old was your baby sister when she died?" I inquired. "She was 94", Peggy said. "This is a picture postcard my sister sent me from Craik, Saskatchewan in 1911". My eyes aren't good enough to read it now". I turned the card over and read to Peggy: "Dear Sister, just a few lines to see why you are not answering my letter. Be sure and answer this card. This is the place where I am working now". 1 remember, Peggy said. "I didn't Their main claim to fame is mak- ing wieners. The guide told us the average American cats 80 hot dogs each year. The University of Wisconsin is home to 45,000 students and has a very large campus. Included is a dairy , a veterinary college and a 5(X) bed hospital. We enjoyed ice cream manufactured right on campus and sold along with cheese in the university dairy store. Madison with a population of • 145,0(0 has 16 parks, but has no railway passenger service. We were told the Shrincrs of Madison give camel rides to the children in one of the parks eve- ry Sunday morning. Our city tour included a stop at the state building and we sat in the governor's conference room and in the front row of the Su- preme Court occupied by legal counsel when court is in ses- sion. One of the interesting side- lights was seeing..a four passen- ger baby stroller going along the sidewalk in Madison. That's right, it was occupied by what appeared to be quadruplets. Other interesting stops in Wis- consin wcrc at Little Norway, the Caves of the Mounds and the House on the Rock. We will talk about these three very interesting tourist attractions next week. answer her letter because she had forgotten to write me her address. All of that happened quite a long time ago, you know, probably before you were born". "Yes," I said, "it was 77 years ago". I did a quick calculation: in 1911 my mother was only five years old. Peggy is old enough to be my grandmother. It took a couple of hours to go through ail the papers. I was late for an appointment, and I made a phone call to cancel it. I couldn't possibly rush through this. All of Peggy's life was passing before her eyes. Her husband had died when she was in her twenties. She was left to bring up six children. She never remarried. Only one son is still alive. She has many grandchildren and great- grandchildren. But they live in places Peggy knows only from pictures and from TV. "Yes, the television is a great comfort to me," Peggy said. "I watch it a lot, and sometimes I fall asleep over it, isn't it awful?" "Not awful at all", I assured her. "I'm 40 years younger than you, and I regularly fall asleep as soon as the TV comes on". "You know what?" Peggy said as I walked away with an armful of papers that represented almost a century of living and working and loving and mourning. "There are two things I haven't told you yet. One is that I'm ready to die and not afraid of it. The other is that I don't feel 96 years old at all. In fact, I don't even feel old. Isn't it awful?" "Not awful at all, Peggy", 1 said, vin fact, it's wonderful".