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Times-Advocate, 1981-08-12, Page 4t Page 4 esow Limes Established 1873 iibitiioll011 QOM.' Imes -advocate Times -Advocate, August 12, 1981 • Advocate Established 1881 . r r.rr.rw _, IPIKAIkkOir 44,1 SERVING CANADA'S BEST FARMLAND CW N A OW N A CLASS 'A' AND ABC MEMBER ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL Published by J W Eedy Publications limited LORNE EEDY, PUBLISHER Editor — Bill Batten Assistant Editor — Ross Haugh Advertising Manager — Jim Beckett Composition Manager — Harry DeVries Business Manager — Dick Jongkind Phone 235-1331 Amalgamated 1924 Published Each Wednesday Morning at Exeter, Ontario Second Class Mail Registration Number 0386 SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Canada $17.00 Per Year; USA $35.00 What's in a name? In a news item last week, it was suggested that with Exeter council embarking on several tree planting projects, the community could soon challenge London for the title of "The Forest City" or take aim at Chatham's "City of Trees" title. However. it would be encouraging to think that people in this community are more 'original than that, and wouldn't have to stoop to ar.y form of plagiarism to come up with a suitable title for their town. It's obvious that there may not be any one title that would sufficiently describe the town, but it would be nice to have a special handle to call our own. After all, our neighbors have such things as "The Stone Town", ,Canada's Prettiest Town," "The BLL RIBBON Ai.', ARD Fastest Growing Town in Canada", etc.. etc. Is there a name or phrase that would be appropriate and highlight our attributes? Some years ago, a contest came up with a slogan something along the line "Where Town and Country Meet". It never really caught fire, perhaps because it wasn't promoted. It never appeared on any welcome signs or municipal literature. Perhaps the victim of a committee named to put the plan into motion? At any rate, it may be time to either polish off the slogan or come up with a new one to add something unique to the town's welcome sign and literature. What do you think? Arty suggestions? Takes a stand U.S. President Ronald Reagan has left little doubt in the minds of most people that he is a man of action. His handling of the current strike by the air traffic controllers south of the border is ample evidence. Reagan warned the controllers they would be fired if they disobeyed the law and went on strike. They decid- ed to call his bluff and found to their dismay that he wasn't bluffing. Air travellers will undoubtedly be in- convenienced by the government's decision to fire those who failed to abide by the law. but there is every in- dication that people are prepared to pay that price in return for a govern- ment that will not succumb to anarchy. Now the Canadian government is faced with a similar situation. Air traf- fic controllers in this country, in a move to aid their U.S. counterparts, have decided not to handle flights arriv- ing from or departing to south of the border. They have no justification for the move. It is illegal. Will the Canadian government show that it too has some backbone and not allow this type of blackmail'? It could be a case of now or never! Cleaning up act Although wastes are a necessary evil in improving the quality of life, our self-centred "out -of -sight, out of mind" waste'policies are poisoning the entire planet before our bodies have had a chance to adapt to the new environ- ment. says an article in the United Church Observer. We dispose of wastes by allowing them to escape into the air, burying them. dumping them into water and even exporting them to other countries. says the article's author, Jim Taylor in the July issue. "Today, we're not deal- ing with natural products like smoke and ashes. but.with some 1.8 million ar- tificially created compounds and chemicals. Of these, about 100,000 are in regular commercial use." Our attitudes towards waste management remain old-fashioned, says Taylor. Halifax runs raw sewage into its harbour: ammonia, lead. mer- cury and 84 organic chemicals are dumped into Ontario's St. Clair river: and there's no proper industrial waste By SYD FLETCHER . Anyone who has ever been bitten by a dog knows the feeling of fear that can rush over you when one suddenly comes rushing at you and heads for your ankles. In most cases it's all show The pup is just protecting his territory and once he had stated that fact the show is over, and the tail starts wagging. A neighbour of mine had a pair of Doberman Pinschers. Beautiful dogs. They were well -kept. well-trained, and he assured me, well- behaved. He would walk them using a twenty -foot single leash which was split on the end so they could investigate separate fire hydrants. One night I saw him out on his usual walk. Suddenly both dogs spotted me and disposal facility in the Maritimes PCB's. hundred of thousands of tons of which have been manufactured since 1930. are extremely carcinogenic for humans, says the article. Lead, most of which has come from auto ex- hausts. can damage nervous systems and cause mental retardation. Acid rain. caused when sulphur and nitrogen oxides combine with moisture, has destroyed life in 140 lakes in Ontario and endangered another 140,000 in On- tario. Quebec and New England. While society's attitudes remain fixed . some companies are cleaning up their act. probably as a result of public pressure and government regulations, says Taylor. Some companies are tur- ning wastes into chemical fertilizer or cattle feed while others are recycling or re -refining oil. "One nose -wrinkling pulp mill in the US has turned part of its highly aromatic waste into flavours and fragrances which now sell for as much as a dollar a pound." Perspectives took off like a shot, knocking their owner flat on his rear, still holding his twenty -foot rope. Both dogs came flying at full tilt across the field barking madly. 1 stood there, frozen. till they came up and skidded to a stop at my feet, sniffed me and then went hack to their owner. No harm meant, I guess, but 1 was sure relieved to see them go. The mother of one of my former students was talking to me last week. Her case, this last spring, had not quite as happy an ending. She was at the back door of the house heading for the garden when two of her neighbours dogs came up. They had been there before and had never given any problems. "Shoo," she said to them, "go on home now," turned her hack on them and headed for the garden. The next thing she heard was a single growl and both of them, pit hull terriers by breed, were upon her. One grabbed her by the arm and the other the shoulder and neck, knocking her to the ground. This woman is not young anymore, nor is she very big but you can tell from talking to her that she would not be one to give up easily on anything. "1 guess 1 almost went like a wild woman," she said to me matter-of-factly. "Anyway my son was out of sight, working with the tractor going, but somehow he heard me screaming and came running. He picked up an iron bar and hit at the male dog, that's the one that had me by the arm. It turned on himthen,cut him badly on his arm too. Somehow we beat them off, even though after that first blow my son had lost the bar. When my husband came up from the barn I was crawling on my hands and knees up from the garden, blood all over me. By that time the dogs were gone." She showed me the scars on her arm. There were more on her shoulders and the back of her head, she said. It had taken many stitches to close up all the wounds. "1 guess 111 have a fear of dogs for a long time," she said with a wry grin. I can't say that 1 really blame her. l 41116;1111° d 3811? 19 �paa�a � ``jw�n�.� ""saOQS X ;\\ j C�//%%/.::•';tip\Oa .4TioN)4 Jew4",„fei "The three-man task force studying the causes of inflation has grown to forty-seven!" BATT'N AROUND •.• e * 6. Sometimes there aren't enough hands available It's difficult finding some light summer reading these days. particularly for those of us whose main diet of literature consists of daily newspapers. However. if you search far enough there is always something of interest to get one's attention away from the problems that appear to be grinding away at most of us. For instance. did you even consider the question of whether any of the early North American Indians were left handed? Perhaps it is an affliction brought to this continent by our forefathers. but at any rate, it has been noted that being left handed would have been a serious detriment for the brave warriors who battled for their frontiers as the white man encroached on their territory. We all have seen movies in which the covered wagons are drawn together in as small a circle as possible, while a horde of Indians on horseback ride around in a ring, firing arrows toward the centre of the wagons. The Indians, in case you hadn't noticed. necessarily rode in a counterclockwise direction, so that they could draw the bowstring with their right hands to shoot inwards. But what happens when one of the Indians is left handed? If the non- conformist brave were to ride inside the circle created by his cohorts, in a clockwise direction, his colleagues would have to shoot past him (if he was lucky). If he rode outside, he would be firing between his friends, and any small inaccuracy on his part would bring criticism, to say the least. Perhaps lefties were forbidden to ride in battle and had to stay home and chew leather for moccasins. Another theory is that a southpaw would be forced to ride upside down and shoot under his horse. Speaking of hands, one of the most humorous displays at this summer's heritage show in Ilderton was a two- handed hammer, which had been fashioned from a forked tree branch. The inscription indicted the instrument was guaranteed to prevent one from hitting his/her thumb while using it. The alternative, equally effective, is No thanks, not until you get your new glasses. to let someone else htl the nail. - • • . Whether one is right or left handed, the battle with today's packaging industry is not only frustrating, it can be extremely dangerous. They have designed milk cartons that require the use of a bayonet and pliers to- get the spout open, then pour the contents in a dozen directions at once, none of which is towards the intended container. Worse yet, are those impervious and •mpenetrable plastic bubbles that enclose anything you care to buy. They are probably the cause of more slashed wrists. broken nails and frayed nerves than any other invention\ of man or machine. Then there are those cereal and soap boxes that collapse like an accordion and spew their contents onto the floor when you obey the simple instructions to "press here with thumb". Besides these annoyances, the packagers have a new gimmick: we are obliged to buy more than we need of a given article. If you need a couple of carpet tacks, you have to buy a box of Does your portable radio need five batteries? You must buy six. If you need a small bulb for a night - light. don't be surprised to find you'll have to purchase three. It doesn't matter that the bulb will probably last for two years and you'll have a supply until 1987. The problem, of course, is knowing where to store the extras until they are needed. Given my penchant for forgetfulness, I usually find the extras the day after having purchased another package, increasing the stock on hand to meet normal requirements until the turn of the century. There's nothing simple anymore, either. If you need a 154 washer for a car or appliance, you'll find that it comes complete with half the other innards at a cost of something over a hundred bucks. To top it off, it takes six specially designed tools to loosen the nuts to get at it. DOLLAR SEASE Cottage owner may avert taxes on profitable sale By Harley Mintz, CA When you sell your fam- ily home, any profit you realize is exempt from capital gains tax because the hone is your principal residence. Any capital gain you make from selling your cottage, however, will normally be taxed. Half of the capital gain will be added to your income -- and with property values having risen dramatically in recent years, this can lead to a significant slice of your profit going in taxes. It is possible, however, to avoid this additional tax burden. The key is to set up your cottage ownership in such a way that the tax department will agree that the cottage is the principal residence of one spouse or the other. What makes your cottage a principal residence? Con- trary to popular belief, it is not necessary to live there for a greater part of the year than you live in your home or apartment. It's possible that staying there for only two or three months a year would qual- ify the cottage as a princi- pal residence. On the other hand, if you rent the cottage out for ex- tended periods, you may lose the tax advantage. It is very likely that the tax authorities would view it as a rental property. Joint ownership, too, could reduce the tax advan- tages. In many cases, a married couple may own two properties jointly, a house and a cotta8e. Before a sale, it would be advis- able to arrange for owner- ship of each property to be transferred to one married partner •- the husband owns the house and the wife owns the cottage. Each of them can then have a principal residence for tax purposes, and the chances of this claim being accepted are greatly improved if the wife lives in the cottage for, say, the summer. In any case, the tax law is clear: A summer cottage can qualify as a principal residence -- and the profits from its sale can be exempt from capital gains tax -- even though one spouse already owns a house in town where both spend most of their time. Another way in , which owning a cottage can lead to tax savings is if the tax- free proceeds of a Register- ed Home Ownership Sav- ings Plan (RHOSP) are used to buy it. Many people don't realise that RHOSP proceeds can be used to buy a cottage, not just a family home. Mr. Mists is with Mists & Partners, Cbartered Account/tits, Tomato.